Ever since the news broke that Linley had advanced to Level Seven Mage, the King of Fenlai and the Light Church had both tried to recruit him. The Four Great Empires and the three great merchant guilds had also sent people to approach him.
Linley hadn't even shown his face to them. He was part of the Holy Union, and his roots were here. If he were to join a faction, the Light Church was the best choice.
The Light Church had already sent a Cardinal to recruit him, showing ample sincerity.
Meeting with people from other factions now would only incur their displeasure.
During this time, Linley had devoted himself to cultivation. The only exception was when he had to deal with the Stone Orb, Dream Awakening, which had taken him to Proks Hall with Yale.
On the way, they ran into people from the Dark Church, and Linley had been forced to go with them.
However, the Light Church had been keeping a close eye on Linley, and someone had pursued them at once.
In the end, the people from the Dark Church had no choice but to give up and return to the Dark Alliance.
Black Phoenix City, church.
"You failed?"
"I had him at first, but then the deputy head of the Inquisition from the Light Church showed up, along with an Ascetic Monk and seven or eight Inquisition officers. I had no choice but to give up."
Wesport said, "Thanks for your efforts, Vikas. We expected the Light Church to value Linley so highly. We were only trying our luck."
"Besides, our Dark Alliance has a genius who's no less talented than Linley—and he's a dual cultivator of magic and martial arts."
Vikas said, "Jonathan's progress in magic really is astonishing, but he's a little weaker as a warrior. Almost two years have passed. I wonder how strong he is now."
"He should have reached Level Seven, right? Though I'm not sure."
"Why don't I make a stop on my way back to the Judgment Court and test him?"
Wesport glanced at Vikas. "That would be good. I'll leave it to you."
"No trouble."
That night, Vikas slipped into the Bred Mansion and pretended to assassinate Jonathan.
With his skills as a Level Nine Warrior, ordinary guards couldn't possibly detect him.
Jonathan was exceptionally perceptive. He was startled when he noticed Vikas, but when he realized the other man had no killing intent, he relaxed and waited for him to make a move.
Until he knew who the intruder was, he didn't dare reveal his true strength.
Vikas watched for a while, then suddenly emerged from the shadows and attacked Jonathan.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
They exchanged blows with their bare hands. Each collision rang out loudly, but no matter how Vikas attacked, Jonathan managed to block him.
It showed that Jonathan's physical techniques were solid and that he had plenty of combat experience.
Vikas was slightly surprised. He really has reached Level Seven. But his physical strength is almost as great as mine. Could it be...?
How old is he, anyway?!
Vikas was a Level Nine Warrior, and the Dark Church had raised him and used various methods to stimulate his body. That was how he had broken through the physical limits of a Level Six Warrior and reached Level Seven.
He's actually touched the limits of the body, too?!
Vikas felt a pang of envy, but he didn't dare do anything to harm Jonathan. The Dark Church valued him highly; if he hurt Jonathan, the Church might no longer have a place for him.
Any faction would choose Jonathan, a genius mage with the potential to reach the Saint Realm, over Vikas, a Level Nine Warrior who had little chance of advancing any further.
Vikas abruptly retreated at tremendous speed. After one last glance at Jonathan, he used the artificial hill to leap dozens of meters away. He ran along the rooftops for a while, then disappeared into the night.
"A Level Nine Warrior? It probably wasn't Prell. He doesn't have enough influence to casually send a Level Nine Warrior to test me."
"The Dark Church wants to find out how strong I am?"
Jonathan gave a cold laugh and turned back to the cultivation room.
After more than a year of secluded cultivation, Jonathan had reached mid-Level Eight as a warrior, while his magic had reached peak Level Eight. His body, meanwhile, had reached peak Level Seven.
He had the Stone Orb's twentyfold gravity to thank for training his body to this level.
Once his spiritual force reached peak Level Eight, he had been able to push the Stone Orb's Gravity Field to twenty times normal gravity. That was the current limit. To go any further, he would have to break through again.
Once his body reached Level Seven, Jonathan felt that he had truly reached his limit. Even training under a stronger Gravity Field might not help his body break through again.
His battle qi had just reached mid-Level Eight, more or less as he had expected. His spiritual-force cultivation, however, had progressed beyond his expectations.
He had originally thought that reaching late Level Eight would be good enough. But during his cultivation, he had briefly entered a special state once or twice, and his spiritual force had grown considerably.
It hadn't been as astonishing as Linley's, though. Linley's spiritual force had increased tenfold in one go, taking him from early Level Six to Level Seven.
That state was impossible to seek out. Jonathan hadn't experienced another moment of enlightenment since. Otherwise, he might have already broken through to Level Nine.
Ordinary mages could be stuck at the peak of Level Eight for many years before reaching Level Nine. But Jonathan had a premonition that he would break through in a year, two at most.
If he succeeded, becoming a Level Nine Great Mage at twenty would truly be unprecedented.
"Dylan should have emerged from the Magical Beast Mountain Range by now. Going there at this point wouldn't be wise. I'll wait a little longer. Soon, I won't need to keep my strength hidden."
After reaching a bottleneck in his cultivation, Jonathan spent most of his time studying various Magic Arrays.
He had spent a fortune collecting them from every possible source. Some people, having heard of his interest, had even brought them straight to his door.
He hadn't forgotten about comprehending force, either. He had mastered Heavy as Light and combined it with his battle qi to create techniques of his own. He had even begun to comprehend Light as Heavy.
"How do I comprehend Light as Heavy?"
Jonathan held a twig flat across both hands and closed his eyes, but nothing came of it.
After a while, he began wielding the twig, practicing basic movements like chopping, slashing, sweeping, and thrusting. He then kept refining them with the help of his own insights.
Several days passed in a flash.
In the back courtyard, Jonathan trained with great intensity. He swung the twig, practicing his techniques and trying to make it hit with the force of a heavy sword. But clearly, it wasn't something he could accomplish easily.
Countless twigs had already snapped on the ground.
He had no better solution, so he could only practice and reflect day after day.
He alternated between practicing his techniques and sitting in quiet contemplation, cultivating almost obsessively. During this period, he turned away everyone who came to visit.
Before long, Wesport heard about it and made a special visit.
Jonathan didn't dare treat him carelessly.
"Jonathan, I finally understand how you've achieved so much at such a young age. You have exceptional talent and work harder than anyone else."
"If we'd been born in the same era, I would've been utterly discouraged. Back in my day, I was one of the top geniuses at Ulada Magic Academy."
"I always thought I was hardworking, but compared to you, I'm nothing."
"Hard work is good, but sometimes you need to relax, too."
"There's a stone sculpture auction in Fenlai City soon. The piece was carved by a young man named Linley. He's quite remarkable."
"You may not know this, but he cultivates even faster than you. He just turned seventeen this year and has already become a Level Seven Mage. He's also a Level Seven dual-element mage, skilled in earth and wind magic."
"I hear the sculpture is of master-level quality. Would you like to come see it with me?"
"Fenlai City, a stone sculpture auction? It's already time for that?"
Jonathan thought for a moment, then replied, "All right."
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