After advancing dozens of miles into the Magical Beast Mountain Range, Lin Feng and the others stopped again.
"Lin Feng, what magical beast are we going to kill today?" Dilia asked when she saw him stop.
"Dilia, it's not what magical beast we're going to kill. It's what magical beast you're going to kill," Lin Feng corrected her.
Dilia's face fell, and she said with a wounded air, "You're so mean. You made me face that ugly Broken Scorpion for over a month, and now what do you want me to do?"
"Haha, Dilia, as your strength grows, the strength of your opponents naturally has to grow with it. This area is home to third- and fourth-level magical beasts. We won't go any farther until you reach the fifth level as a mage," Lin Feng said with a laugh.
"What? A fifth-level mage? I've only just advanced to the fourth level. Doesn't that mean it'll take ten years or even longer for me to reach the fifth level?" Dilia had no confidence in herself at all. Not only was Lin Feng a genius, but her brother Dixie was one too. After spending so much time around them, Dilia had long since lost all confidence.
"In my estimation, you'll break through to the fifth level in four years at most. That means we'll be here for four years at most," Lin Feng said nonchalantly.
"Boss, are you running a fever? We're supposed to stay in this lousy place for four years? Won't we die of boredom?" Beibei was shocked, too. He had never been one to sit still, and staying in one place for four years would be pure torture for him.
Lin Feng replied through Soul Transmission, "How could you get bored? There are at least third-level magical beasts here. Dilia definitely can't handle them by herself, so you'll have to fight, too. Your speed is freakish, but your attack power is too weak. This is the perfect chance to train alongside Dilia."
"Woohoo, Boss, you're the best! I get to fight, too! I want to fight, I want to fight!" Beibei got excited. As a magical beast, he had never fought another magical beast before. That was truly a tragedy.
Beibei sprang from Lin Feng's shoulder onto a tree branch seven or eight meters above the ground.
"Boss, there's a wild boar far away to the rear right," Beibei's voice sounded in Lin Feng's mind.
At that, Lin Feng used Wind of Knowing, and the wild boar's information quickly appeared in his mind.
"Unicorn Wild Boar, a third-level magical beast. It has an affinity for the Earth Element and can only use Earth Spike." Information about the Unicorn Wild Boar surfaced in Lin Feng's mind.
Lin Feng turned and smiled at Dilia. "Dilia, there's a third-level magical beast, a Unicorn Wild Boar, to the rear right. You and Beibei go take it down. We'll have it for lunch today. Wild boar meat's pretty good."
When Dilia and Beibei approached to within ten meters of the Unicorn Wild Boar, Beibei, who had long since learned to coordinate with her, instantly became a streak of black shadow and shot toward it. At the same time, Dilia cast the wind-support spell Wind Binding at the boar.
Sensing danger, the Unicorn Wild Boar tried to dodge, but suddenly its body tightened, as if something had bound it. While it hesitated, Beibei had already arrived. He dodged the Unicorn Wild Boar's lowered horn and sank his teeth into its throat. With a splurt, a gaping wound appeared, and blood sprayed out.
The furious Unicorn Wild Boar whipped its body around, flinging Beibei away. But before it could counterattack, a transparent Wind Arrow empowered with Precision and Extreme Speed shot through its wound and into its body.
"Snort! Snort!"
The Unicorn Wild Boar managed only a few grunts before the light in its eyes dimmed. Its several-hundred-pound body toppled like a small mountain, shaking the ground.
Although the Unicorn Wild Boar was one of the strongest among third-level magical beasts, it wasn't known for its attack power. Its fame came from the freakish defense of its thick hide. But this poor Unicorn Wild Boar had run into an even more freakish Beibei. Beibei's teeth were so hard that chewing gold coins was child's play, so piercing the boar's hide was no problem. And with Dilia already a fourth-level mage, it was only natural that the boar was killed before it could even use its signature Earth Spike.
Lin Feng and the others had been in the Magical Beast Mountain Range for a year and a half. Dilia had also successfully advanced to the fourth level as a mage half a month earlier. With her fourth-level strength, combined with Beibei's freakish speed and teeth, third-level magical beasts had no chance to fight back against them. Even weaker fourth-level beasts could only be slaughtered.
Lin Feng took the Flat Blade from his Space Ring and went to the Unicorn Wild Boar's corpse. In a few quick movements, he opened its skull. He pried out a yellow-earth-colored Magic Core with the blade, pocketed it, then sliced off all four large trotters.
He expertly shaved off the thick hide from the trotters, built a fire and a roasting rack, and skewered them. Then he casually tossed out a Small Fireball. Before long, all four trotters were roasted.
Beibei took the trotter Lin Feng tossed him and ate as he sent a Soul Transmission. "Boss, third-level magical beasts aren't a challenge anymore. Tomorrow, let's go hunt some stronger fourth-level ones."
Spring turned to autumn, flowers bloomed and fell, and two years slipped by.
A waterfall somewhere in the Magical Beast Mountain Range!
"Rumble—" The waterfall poured down like a curtain of water, crashing into the deep pool below.
Beside it, Lin Feng held a Flat Blade nearly thirty centimeters long and carved away at a half-person-high stone. The blade almost became a blur as it moved, sending chips of stone flying. The rough shape of the sculpture gradually began to emerge.
From morning until evening, the carving grew clearer and clearer.
Lin Feng's gaze was fixed entirely on the sculpture. At that moment, he seemed immersed in nature, his mind in harmony with the sculpture's every detail. That marvelous sensation made him completely unaware of time passing. This feeling of being so close to nature actually began to restore his spiritual power, even breathing new life into it and making it grow.
Lin Feng himself seemed not to notice. He continued wielding the Flat Blade as naturally as if it were an extension of his arm.
As more and more stone was carved away, the sculpture's features became increasingly distinct. When the sun set, the Flat Blade in Lin Feng's hand finally stopped.
"Phew!"
Lin Feng let out a soft breath. Stone dust flew away, revealing the completed sculpture. A mouse nearly half a meter long stood lifelike before him. At first glance, it looked like a real mouse, which made the little Shadow Mouse Beibei squeak wildly nearby.
From beginning to end, it had been done in one smooth motion!
"What a marvelous feeling." Only then did Lin Feng realize that his spiritual power had increased by a great deal.
Doehring Cowart, dressed in a moon-white robe, stood beside him with a smile. "Lin Feng, as of today, you can barely be considered a beginner. You felt that marvelous sensation, didn't you? Still, your work only resembles its subject. It's not quite on the level of the pieces by the masters in the Proulx Gallery's exhibition hall."
In the autumn of Yulan Year 9995, thirteen-year-old Lin Feng had taken his first steps in the art of stone carving.
Before you continue