A few days later, at Ernst Academy.
After breakfast, Lin Feng set out for the back mountain to train.
As he walked along the academy's paths, the Shadow Mouse perched on his shoulder, looking around in every direction. Plenty of students at Ernst Academy had magical beasts, so no one paid Lin Feng's Shadow Mouse any attention. Just then, a clear voice rang out from up ahead. "That's Lin Feng. He's the real number-one mage in our year!"
Lin Feng glanced toward the voice. Two adorable young girls were whispering to each other, stealing glances at him now and then. When Lin Feng looked their way, the girls covered their mouths and giggled softly to each other.
I've become famous, too, Lin Feng thought with a wry smile.
Over the past few days, he had often heard people talking about him whenever he ran into them. After defeating Land, the year's top competitor, Lin Feng had become widely regarded as the strongest student in their year.
"Ah, is that...?" Lin Feng's gaze suddenly fixed on a petite figure in the distance.
He had golden hair and a slight build, about the same size as Reynolds. His expression was cold as he walked along the path, indifferent to everything around him.
"Dixie?" Lin Feng had seen him from afar when he was with Dilia, so he recognized him at a glance.
Dixie was nine years old now. By the month, he was even a month younger than Lin Feng. Yet this nine-year-old boy was already a third-level mage. Magic grew harder to master with each level, so becoming a third-level mage at nine was still astonishing.
"That's Dixie. I heard he reached fourth-level mage after yesterday's year-end test," some girls around seventeen or eighteen were saying to one another.
Most third-year students were over sixteen. Dixie was the only one who was a once-in-a-generation talent.
"Fourth-level mage?" Lin Feng was taken aback, though only slightly. He wasn't shocked at all. He was already a sixth-level mage, while Dixie, hailed as an unparalleled genius, was only fourth-level. Instead of feeling astonished, Lin Feng couldn't help feeling a little smug.
Lin Feng left Ernst Academy through the back gate and headed straight into the back mountain. As he hurried through the woods, Doehring Cowart suddenly said, "Lin Feng, find a place near a cliff face."
"Near a cliff face?" Lin Feng was delighted. Grandpa Doehring is finally willing to teach me flat-blade carving.
The back mountain was mostly covered in vegetation and wild grass, with all kinds of towering trees growing there. After searching for a while, Lin Feng found a spot that met Doehring Cowart's requirements. A mountain peak, hundreds of meters tall, rose nearby, and Lin Feng stopped at its foot.
"Grandpa Doehring, why did you bring me here?" Lin Feng already knew the answer, but he still had to ask.
With a stream burbling nearby, Lin Feng sat cross-legged, holding a flat blade and a palm-sized stone.
"Start with the basics. Practice on this small stone first."
Alone in the back mountain of Ernst Academy, Lin Feng began learning to carve under Doehring Cowart's guidance. As he gained a clearer understanding of carving itself, he also came to understand why the flat-blade school could improve one's spiritual power in its middle and later stages.
Lin Feng wouldn't slack off in his flat-blade carving practice. He knew that in the original story, Lin Feng's spiritual power had skyrocketed like a rocket precisely because he had learned this art. He became the youngest person in Yulan's history to reach the Saint Realm and become a god, rewriting Yulan's history.
From then on, besides his usual magic and warrior training, Lin Feng added another subject to his routine: practicing flat-blade carving.
At the end-of-term test, Lin Feng showed just enough of his abilities to pass the fourth-level mage assessment. In only a year, he had become a fourth-level mage. When his results were announced, his fame spread through the academy, and he began to eclipse the unparalleled genius Dixie. If Lin Feng had revealed his full strength as a sixth-level mage, the whole academy would probably have gone wild.
When the school year ended, Lin Feng returned to Wushan Town.
After the New Year, little Wharton spent only a few days with his older brother, Lin Feng, before setting off for the O'Brien Empire under the care of the housekeeper, Hiri. Lin Feng could only watch Wharton leave with reluctance. The six-year-old Wharton cried his eyes out as he parted from ten-year-old Lin Feng.
Time flew by. Before long, a month had passed since school started.
"Grandpa Doehring, why haven't I shown any signs of a breakthrough, even though I reached sixth-level mage so long ago?"
Lin Feng had reached the peak of sixth-level mage before the previous school year ended. Yet several months had passed, and he still hadn't sensed the slightest sign of a breakthrough. No wonder he was getting anxious.
At that, Doehring Cowart flew out of the Coiling Dragon Ring. Looking at Lin Feng, he stroked his beard and smiled. "Lin Feng, magic isn't that simple. The step from sixth to seventh level is a major hurdle in a mage's cultivation. Crossing it takes more than talent and hard work. You also need an opportunity."
"An opportunity?" Lin Feng was speechless. An opportunity meant luck, the most unfathomable thing of all.
"You've reached sixth-level mage, and your warrior cultivation has reached level five. It's time to go train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. I think you'll have a better chance of advancing by fighting for your life."
"Go train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range?" Lin Feng's eyes lit up. He had wanted to go there for a long time, but since Grandpa Doehring had never brought it up, he hadn't felt comfortable asking. Then he hesitated, looking a little embarrassed. "Grandpa Doehring..."
Seeing the rare embarrassment on Lin Feng's face, Doehring Cowart couldn't help laughing. "If you have something to say, just say it. There's no need to be so formal with your Grandpa Doehring."
Lin Feng gathered his thoughts before answering. "Grandpa Doehring, I'd like to take Dilia with me to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Would that be all right?"
Doehring Cowart's expression immediately turned strange. He studied Lin Feng for a long moment, then burst out laughing. "Lin Feng, if you want to take your little girlfriend along, go ahead. But I'll warn you first: the Magical Beast Mountain Range is extremely dangerous, and your little girlfriend has barely reached second-level mage. Even with you protecting her, there's no guarantee she'll survive. You'll have to think it over carefully."
Before Lin Feng could answer, Doehring Cowart continued, "Besides, as far as I know, you and that little girl Dilia haven't even made your relationship official. What makes you so sure she'll agree to go with you to such a dangerous place?"
Lin Feng replied with confidence, "Don't worry. She'll definitely come with me."
The reason Lin Feng wanted to take Dilia to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range wasn't that he couldn't bear to be apart from her for a moment. In fact, he hadn't wanted her to go somewhere so dangerous. It was just that, from the original story, he knew Dilia's natural talent was limited. She probably couldn't become a god through her own cultivation. And he didn't want Dilia, his future wife, to become a god by refining a Divine Spark. Once she refined a Divine Spark, there would be little room for further progress. At most, she could later refine a Midgod or High Godhead and become one of the weakest Highgods. Lin Feng didn't want that for her. After all, they would have endless lives ahead of them. If they had no room to improve through cultivation, wouldn't an eternity of life become unbearably dull?
That was why Lin Feng decided to take Dilia to the Magical Beast Mountain Range and undergo life-and-death training together, hoping to help her become a god through her own efforts one day, or at least reach the Saint Realm on her own. Once she reached the Saint Realm, her life would become limitless. With Lin Feng protecting her, she would have plenty of time to comprehend the Laws of the World and become a god.
Besides, Lin Feng believed that with him protecting her, Dilia wouldn't be in any danger of losing her life in the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
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