Breakthrough, Fenlai City

With the help of the Stone Orb, Jonathan customized a series of extreme training plans for himself.

Without the use of battle qi.

At the beginning, his physical body was nearly crushed; the bones within him trembled incessantly, and cracks even began to appear.

Ten times the gravity was almost destructive to him, but with the Dao Fruit constantly healing the injuries inside his body, he managed to survive the most difficult initial stage by sheer luck.

The bottleneck of his physical body began to loosen.

Autumn passed and winter arrived.

In the blink of an eye, nearly four months had passed.

The place where Jonathan stayed was already blanketed in white snow, with everything wrapped in silver.

Dead leaves were buried under the thick snow, destined to become nourishment for the earth.

Four months had passed, and the graduation assessment had already been failed, but Jonathan did not care.

Because his efforts had not been in vain.

His physical body had broken through to the seventh rank two months ago, and his spiritual energy had also successfully broken through. Furthermore, it had been strengthened by the Dao Fruit once again, multiplying several times over to reach the mid-stage of the eighth rank.

After the breakthrough, when he activated the Stone Orb, his spiritual energy could reach a maximum of sixteen times gravity, equivalent to the Gravity Spell cast by a ninth-rank earth-element grand magus.

However, he felt he hadn't reached his limit yet; the maximum might perhaps reach twenty times.

Under this Gravity Spell, Jonathan continued his training.

In two months, his physical body reached the mid-stage of the seventh rank, and his battle qi also increased rapidly under the appropriate Gravity Field, reaching the peak of the seventh rank two days ago.

"Compared to the breakthrough in spiritual energy, the cultivation of battle qi is indeed much slower."

A seventeen-year-old seventh-rank peak warrior could be ranked in the history of the Yulan Continent.

"With the Stone Orb, I am equivalent to a gravity grand magus, and I am not affected by the gravity myself. Even if I face a ninth-rank warrior, I can easily win."

After all, a ninth-rank warrior basically only has a sixth-rank physical body; coupled with battle qi, their movements would be very slow in a sixteen-fold Gravity Field, likely not even as fast as a fourth or fifth-rank warrior.

It would be effortless for him to kill them.

"Finally, I have some ability to protect myself. I will announce my breakthrough to the seventh rank when I return."

With his current strength, there was no longer any need to stay at the Ulada Magic Academy and rely on their influence.

"Time to go back!"

He withdrew the Gravity Field, shouldered his three packs, and ran through the forest without restraint. In less than half a day, he was out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

However, this place was very unfamiliar to him. A group of people approached, consisting of both warriors and magi, and they were heading toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Jonathan stepped forward and asked, "Excuse me, may I ask if this is the territory of the Dark Alliance or the Holy Union?"

The leading young warrior in brown armor replied, "The Holy Union. Why, are you from the Dark Alliance?"

"However, I see you just came out of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, could it be..."

"I just came out of the mountain range, thank you."

"Is this the Fenlai Kingdom?"

A magus said, "That's right. Following the main road for a day's journey, you will reach the capital, Fenlai City."

Jonathan's heart stirred. "A super-large city, and it will be destroyed in a few years. It would be a pity not to take a look."

He began to head toward Fenlai City. Those people glanced at Jonathan's back, looking thoughtful, but soon continued on their way toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Although the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance were like fire and water, the conflict was mainly between the Light Church and the Dark Church.

It didn't matter much if ordinary people traveled between them; some large chambers of commerce had businesses on both sides.

Organizations like the Dawson Chamber of Commerce had branches all over the Yulan Continent.

The few people just now said it would take more than a day, but that was for them. Jonathan reached the gates of Fenlai City in just two hours.

Fenlai City was not only the capital of the Fenlai Kingdom but also the holy capital of the Holy Union, because the headquarters of the Light Church was in the western part of Fenlai City.

That area was entirely controlled by the Light Church, while the eastern city was governed by the Fenlai Kingdom.

Therefore, the scale and prosperity of Fenlai City were incomparable to Black Phoenix City.

Walking on the "Champs-Élysées Avenue," the main street of the eastern part of Fenlai City, the ground was paved with smooth bluestone slabs, wide enough for several carriages to travel side by side.

On both sides of the street were hotels, clothing stores, weapon shops, bars, and various other commercial establishments.

At the same time, there were rows of neat and tall pine and cypress trees along the road.

Jonathan walked into a bar, ordered a few drinks at random, and began to drink by himself, quietly listening to the gossip of the people around him.

Some were talking about the Yulan Festival in a few years—a millennial grand event that was bound to be incredibly lively.

Others were talking about what geniuses had emerged in Fenlai City, or the decadent private lives of the nobles—whose family had an illegitimate child, or who was keeping a mistress on the side.

There wasn't much useful information, just something to listen to for fun.

However, bars were always a mix of good and bad people. At Jonathan's age, walking in with three bulging packs, he was soon targeted by a group of people at a peripheral table.

Their gazes lingered on Jonathan for a long time. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly, revealing a hint of coldness.

A quarter of an hour later, he paid the bill and left with his pack on his back.

He deliberately chose to walk through secluded alleys, but suddenly, two men appeared in front of him, and looking back, three more were closing in.

Every one of them wore a ferocious expression.

"Gravity Field, eightfold!"

Under his precise control, the Gravity Field filled the entire alley perfectly without affecting the buildings on either side.

Thud, thud, thud~

After a series of sounds, the men were pressed into the ground, bleeding from their seven orifices as their internal organs ruptured and their bones shattered, killing them instantly.

Jonathan retracted the Gravity Field, walked out of the alley, and after turning a few corners, reappeared on Champs-Élysées Avenue.

He then checked into a hotel and fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

As the top magic genius of Ulada Magic Academy, his name, appearance, and identity information had been in the hands of the Light Church from the moment he was recruited.

Both sides had arranged many spies and the like in each other's territories, specifically to gather intelligence.

Jonathan had caught the eye of the Light Church, just as Linley, a genius born and raised in the Holy Union, had naturally been targeted by the Dark Alliance.

It was difficult for either faction to infiltrate the academy, but that was not necessarily the case after graduation.

Jonathan had not expected that on his very first day in Fenlai City, he would be spotted by someone who recognized him, and that the news would be reported to the King of Fenlai, Clyde.

"Jonathan? The Dark Alliance, the top magic genius of Ulada Magic Academy?"

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I understand. Send men to watch him secretly, and report to me if there is any movement."

This man was a palace guard named Rayson, a warrior of the eighth rank, who had been fortunate enough to see Jonathan once; he had happened to run into him while home on leave.

After Rayson left, Clyde summoned another guard and ordered him to go to the East City to deliver the news to Bishop Gilmer.

By nightfall, Jonathan woke up, intending to stroll through the night scenery of Fenlai City once more before leaving the next morning to return to the Dark Alliance.

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