In the Magical Beast Mountain Range

The Magical Beast Mountain Range stretched without end.

Once you stepped inside, ancient trees that had grown for hundreds or even thousands of years towered overhead, their canopies blocking out the sky. Weeds carpeted the ground, and thorny undergrowth grew everywhere. Just one look was enough to make you feel as though you had entered a place of profound antiquity.

Withered leaves blanketed the ground, crunching beneath each step. Old vines and weeds grew thickly all around.

Zhao Nan carried Ace Hyde in his arms, constantly releasing his soul force to sense whether there was any danger nearby.

Although Zhao Nan was now a Saint-level Magus and they were only in the outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he still couldn't afford to let down his guard for even a moment. After all, no one knew whether one or two powerful beings might appear in the range.

Zhao Nan didn't wear any of his Saint-level equipment. He had only a Space Ring on his finger and wore nothing but coarse hemp clothes. He was barefoot and walked at an unhurried pace.

Zhao Nan planned to emulate Linley's harsh training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range and see whether he could comprehend the Profundity of Earth Laws.

Now that Zhao Nan had taken Ace in as a disciple, his attribute panel had changed as well. His Earth Element aptitude had risen from super to ultra-super.

As soon as Zhao Nan entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he opened the system panel to check his status:

[Host: Zhao Nan

Talent: Wind Element, super; Earth Element, super; Fire Element, super;

Bloodline: None;

Magic Rank: Early Saint-level;

Warrior Rank: Seventh rank;

Secret Art: Visualization Technique;

Profound Mysteries: Wind Laws (Wind Element 2%, Wind Space 2%);

Mystery Fusion: Two Wind Element mysteries fused, 2% (Wind Element, Wind Space);

Disciples: (SSS-rank) Linley Baruch (shared), (SSS-rank) Ace Hyde (shared);

Items: One set of Saint-level equipment;

System Acceleration: Level 2.]

[Disciple Name: Linley Baruch

Disciple Rank: SSS-rank;

Disciple Talent: Wind Element and Earth Element, super; Fire Element, intermediate;

Disciple Bloodline: Dragonblood Warrior (not activated);

Disciple Secret Art: Visualization Technique;

Disciple Magic Level: Second-rank Magus;

Disciple Warrior Level: Second-rank warrior.]

[Disciple Name: Ace Hyde;

Disciple Rank: SSS-rank;

Disciple Talent: Fire Element and Earth Element, super;

Disciple Bloodline: Violet Flame Warrior (not activated);

Disciple Secret Art: Visualization Technique;

Disciple Magic Level: First-rank Magus;

Disciple Warrior Level: None.]

Zhao Nan looked over his attribute panel and those of his two disciples. After checking them, he nodded in satisfaction.

There was no need to mention anything else. Linley was only eight years old, yet he was already a second-rank warrior. Clearly, he had been working hard.

Ace had also become a first-rank Magus in just a few days.

Zhao Nan had made good progress with his own Profound Mysteries, too.

His approach to cultivating Profound Mysteries was always to comprehend one, fuse it with another, then comprehend and fuse some more.

Based on Zhao Nan's understanding of the original story, the Yulan Continent was still quite safe before Linley grew up. Reaching the Saint-level would be enough for him to roam freely across the continent.

Zhao Nan had a clear purpose for crossing the Magical Beast Mountain Range and heading to the Eighteen Duchies of the Northern Territory: he wanted to comprehend one or more Profound Mysteries of Earth Laws. After that, all that remained was to develop one or two ultimate techniques.

After all, Zhao Nan was already a Saint-level powerhouse, but he still hadn't developed any techniques of his own.

That didn't worry him, though. With the mindset of someone from a future age of explosive innovation, Zhao Nan was confident he could develop his own techniques.

After checking his attribute panel, Zhao Nan continued deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Perhaps it was the danger sense of his various magical beasts, or perhaps it was the pressure of his soul force, but for three whole days, Zhao Nan didn't sense any powerful magical beasts nearby.

Zhao Nan didn't mind. When he first entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had carried Ace in his arms. But once they were inside, he began teaching Ace how to train as a warrior and let him walk on his own.

Ace was very well-behaved. He was only four, but four-year-old children living on the Yulan Continent weren't the unruly brats they might have been in Zhao Nan's previous life.

With Ace along, the two of them didn't travel very quickly.

Zhao Nan wasn't in a hurry. He only needed to return to Wushan Town before the Eighth-rank Magus fought his opponent there, so that the shockwaves from their battle wouldn't reach Linley.

There was still plenty of time.

As for Ernst Institute, Zhao Nan didn't give it much thought.

After all, with his current Saint-level cultivation, he was already more than qualified to graduate.

He was only out on a training expedition, so it wouldn't cause any problems.

Another ten days passed in the blink of an eye. Zhao Nan had now brought Ace more than a hundred kilometers into the Magical Beast Mountain Range. They were in what could be considered the central region, though still near its outer edge.

By then, Ace could walk on his own and no longer needed Zhao Nan to check on him from time to time.

Zhao Nan was finally at ease. While Ace trained, he began thinking about his own goal.

The first thing Zhao Nan considered was the Profundity of Earth Laws.

The Profundity of Earth Laws consisted of six mysteries: Earth Element, Earth Movement Technique, Mysteries of Strength, Vitality, Gravity Space, and Pulse of the Earth.

Of these, Vitality and Gravity Space were high-level mysteries; Pulse of the Earth and Mysteries of Strength were intermediate mysteries; and Earth Element and Earth Movement Technique were low-level mysteries.

As he thought, Zhao Nan compared them with the Profundity of Wind Laws he had already comprehended.

Wind Element corresponded to Earth Element. Both were mysteries that explained different Laws, yet they shared common ground. He could use Wind Element to work backward toward Earth Element. Though they differed, both ultimately described the nature of an element.

Wind Space corresponded to Gravity Space. Both mysteries involved spatial power. The difference was that one bound space with wind, while the other altered space through gravity. Even so, they had common ground.

The Sound mysteries formed by Sound Music and Sound Wave corresponded to Pulse of the Earth. Both involved fluctuations in space, so they had similarities as well.

Wind Movement Technique and Earth Movement Technique were like Wind Element and Earth Element: both were ways of moving through the Laws, and they could be studied together.

By that reasoning, the only differences between the Profundity of Earth Laws and the Wind Laws were Vitality and Mysteries of Strength.

Those two mysteries probably had nothing in common with the Wind Laws.

Of course, it was also possible that they shared something after all, while still being different.

For example, Vitality and the Clone Technique seemed unrelated at first glance. But Vitality could sustain life, so could the Clone Technique also be connected to life force?