Several months passed in the blink of an eye.
By October, the trees lining the streets of Hess City had shed their yellowing leaves.
A hint of chill hung in the air.
Jonathan was getting closer and closer to becoming a Level 9 Great Mage. He felt he could already touch the threshold; all he lacked was that final spark of insight.
Many peak Eighth-level Magisters spent their entire lives trapped at that stage, unable to find that spark.
Jonathan understood very well that sometimes, the more you fixated on something, the less you could force it to happen. So he began devoting himself to training his battle qi and conditioning his body.
As his battle qi grew stronger, it nourished his muscles and bones as it circulated through his body, gradually strengthening them. One day, his physical body would break through again and reach a higher realm.
Without a special bloodline, he could only endure and steadily work his way up.
One morning, after finishing his exercises, Jonathan stretched his body. A series of strange sounds suddenly rang out from within him. Then his muscles began to ripple as if mice were scurrying beneath his skin, and even the veins stood out.
The dark battle qi within him roiled incessantly, bringing a stinging sensation throughout his body. The battle qi in his dantian was compressed into droplets of liquid black water.
By now, the amount of liquid battle qi in his dantian was considerable.
"Late-stage Eighth-level Warrior at last!"
"But Linley should have already broken through to Seventh-level Warrior by now. If he succeeds, then after Dragonform, he'll be comparable to an early-stage Ninth-level Warrior."
"And Bebe, too. Once he reaches the Seventh-Level Magical Beast rank, his fur will be so tough that even attacks from Level Nine Magical