Preparing to Leave

Deep within the Magical Beast Mountain Range, in a gathering place for level five and level six magical beasts!

Lin Feng was focused on carving a statue of his younger sister, Lin Ruo.

"Boss, when are you going to reach the core area of the Magical Beast Mountain Range?" Beibei asked through a soul transmission, sounding somewhat dissatisfied. "In these parts, the strongest we encounter are only level six magical beasts; there's not much of a challenge. I want to challenge a level seven magical beast, Boss, I want to challenge a level seven magical beast!"

Lin Feng glanced at the little Shadow Mouse. "Alright, don't be so arrogant. You say level six magical beasts aren't a challenge, but what about that Azure Wind Eagle leader from last time? Could you handle it?"

"That's not my fault." Beibei rubbed his nose with his tiny claw and huffed. "Boss, you saw it yourself. That Azure Wind Eagle leader just stayed in the sky and wouldn't come down, firing off wind blades like they didn't cost any magic power. Was I supposed to just stand there and let it attack me?"

Lin Feng chuckled.

After several battles, Lin Feng had gained a certain understanding of the little Shadow Mouse Beibei's strength. In terms of speed alone, Beibei had reached a terrifying level, but due to his small size, his attacks were limited to his claws and teeth. He was confident in dealing with level six magical beasts, but facing a level seven beast would likely be difficult.

Doehring Cowart suddenly drifted into view beside them. Watching Lin Feng, Doehring Cowart felt immense gratification.

"Lin Feng," Doehring Cowart spoke up suddenly.

Lin Feng turned his head, looked at Doehring Cowart, and smiled. They communicated through their souls: "Grandpa Doehring, is something the matter?"

Doehring Cowart smiled and said, "Based on your recent works, I can officially tell you that your stone carving skills have finally entered the hall of fame."

Lin Feng's eyes lit up. After six years of hard practice with the Flat Blade School, he had finally received Grandpa Doehring's approval today. Six years—in those six years, Lin Feng had spent at least half of his time on flat blade carving. Today, it had finally paid off.

"Now you know I wasn't lying to you back then. Flat blade carving is absolutely a cheat code for a mage's spiritual energy cultivation," Doehring Cowart said proudly.

Having created the Flat Blade School of stone carving, Doehring Cowart certainly had the right to be proud. Not only did the Flat Blade School pioneer a new style of stone carving, but its greatest benefit was the enhancement of a mage's spiritual energy. If this benefit were to become public knowledge, major powers would likely spare no cost to recruit Lin Feng.

Hearing Doehring Cowart's words, the corners of Lin Feng's mouth curled up. Relying on the Flat Blade School, his speed of magical cultivation could not be measured by conventional standards.

Ever since Lin Feng mastered the flat blade carving two years ago, his spiritual energy would grow rapidly whenever he carved, at a rate more than ten times faster than a mage's standard meditation.

"Grandpa Doehring, thank you. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have been able to break through to the peak of the eighth-rank mage level so quickly." Lin Feng said this with absolute sincerity. If not for Doehring Cowart guiding his cultivation and teaching him the flat blade carving, his current magical cultivation would at best be slightly stronger than Dilia's, with the peak of the sixth-rank being his limit.

Doehring Cowart laughed and scolded, "Lin Feng, why are you being so polite with me? If you hadn't accidentally dripped your blood on the Coiling Dragon ring to claim it, I don't know how long I would have had to wait to see the light of day again."

"It's a pity, though. I haven't found any Blue Heart Grass, so I can't drink the blood of a living dragon to awaken the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline within me. Without that, I can't practice the Dragonblood Secret Manual, which has caused my warrior cultivation to lag far behind my magical cultivation—I've only reached the seventh rank so far," Lin Feng said with some regret.

In the original story, Lin Feng found the Blue Heart Grass in the Mist Valley, but Lin Feng and his group had searched the outskirts of the areas where level six and even level seven magical beasts gathered, yet they still hadn't found the Mist Valley. However, Lin Feng firmly believed that the Mist Valley must exist; he just hadn't had the luck or the right opportunity to find it yet.

"Be content. The fact that you reached the seventh rank as a warrior without practicing battle qi, relying solely on your physical strength, is already incredibly lucky. Besides, with your current strength, even if you found the Blue Heart Grass, you wouldn't be able to slay a dragon," Doehring Cowart poured cold water on him without hesitation.

"Sigh, this method has such high requirements for dragon blood. Only the blood of a ninth-rank dragon offers a chance at success, and only the blood of a Saint-level dragon guarantees a hundred percent success. If only the blood of a Velociraptor could be used," Lin Feng mused whimsically.

The Velociraptor was only a level seven magical beast; for Lin Feng, who was at the peak of the eighth rank, killing one would be effortless.

Lin Feng's heart stirred, and he suddenly asked, "Grandpa Doehring, how is your comprehension of the Laws going?"

"The profound mysteries of the Laws are obscure and deep. Now that I lack a physical body and am merely in a soul state, while it is not impossible to comprehend the Laws, it is far more difficult than it is for a Saint-level expert with a physical body."

Changing the subject, Doehring Cowart continued, "Fortunately, before I fell, I had already reached the peak of the Saint level, and my comprehension of the Laws had reached a bottleneck. Although I have gained some insights during my seclusion these past few years, I still haven't been able to break through that bottleneck to achieve mastery. However, I believe that within a hundred years, I will certainly be able to fully comprehend them and become a god."

Although Doehring Cowart was in a soul state, Lin Feng could feel the determination and confidence in his words. It was as if the Earth-style Saint Mage of the Puang Empire from five thousand years ago had returned.

However, Lin Feng was skeptical of Doehring Cowart's confidence. Having read the original Coiling Dragon, he knew that across the entire Yulan continent, and even in the countless material planes, the seven major divine planes, and the four supreme planes, there were far too many people stuck at the peak of the Saint level. But how many could truly break through the bottleneck and become a lower god? Everyone who managed to cultivate to the peak of the Saint level was a brilliant genius, but what was the result? Too few, far too few, ever broke through.

Flowers bloomed and withered; another half a year passed quietly.

One day, Dilia suddenly walked up to Lin Feng and said with some hesitation, "Lin Feng, are we still going to venture deeper into the Magical Beast Mountain Range?"

Seeing the unusual look on Dilia's face, Lin Feng asked in return, "What's wrong? Dilia, are you homesick?"

Dilia nodded heavily.

Seeing the determination on Dilia's face, Lin Feng reached out his right hand, brushed her beautiful golden hair, and said softly, "Dilia, you've suffered."

Dilia had come to the Magical Beast Mountain Range to train with Lin Feng when she was nine. Back then, she was just an ignorant little girl who didn't understand anything, but now she was fourteen, and she had grown increasingly radiant. At one meter sixty, she was not much different from a girl of seventeen or eighteen.

Nine years old to fourteen—five-plus years had not only made her appearance more beautiful and moving, but her mind had also fully matured. Dilia had persisted through five years of daily combat, but now she was a little tired, weary, and homesick.

"It's not suffering, I'm not suffering. As long as I can be with you, nowhere is suffering. It's just that I miss my parents and my brother." Dilia did not hide her feelings in front of Lin Feng, nor did she need to.

Having been together for so long, a single glance was enough to know what the other was thinking.

"That's true. In the blink of an eye, five and a half years have passed. Flowers bloom and fall, spring departs and winter arrives; we have spent five winters in the Magical Beast Mountain Range," Lin Feng sighed. "The flowers are the same year after year, but the people are different each year."

Doehring Cowart, dressed in moon-white robes, flew out from the Coiling Dragon ring and said to Lin Feng, who was lost in sentiment, "There is no need for such sighs. In these five and a half years, your gains have been extremely gratifying. Fighting magical beasts every day and tempering yourselves on the edge of life and death has not only greatly improved your realms, but most importantly, your combat awareness and techniques have been honed. I believe that if you go out now, you likely won't have any opponents at your own level. Even against opponents a level higher than you, with your rich combat experience, you might not necessarily lose."

After hearing Doehring Cowart's words, Lin Feng shook off his sentimentality. He stood up and said loudly, "Alright, our training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range ends here. Starting tomorrow, we are going home!"