Breaking Through to Level Seven

After the battle with the Black-Striped Leopard, Lin Yun spent seven full days recuperating in a cave on the outskirts of the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

For the first three days, he could do almost nothing. Although the wounds on his chest had been treated in time with a Light-Element Healing Spell, the three claw marks were too deep, damaging his bones and internal organs. Every breath tugged at the wounds, bringing waves of heart-wrenching pain. The injury on his right arm was slightly lighter, but he still couldn't lift it.

Bebe seemed to understand his condition; every day, it would go out to hunt, bringing back small animals like wild rabbits and pheasants to place in front of him. Then, it would squat to the side, tilting its head to watch him, its dark, round eyes filled with worry.

"Don't worry, I won't die." Lin Yun smiled bitterly and patted its little head.

During these few days, his only task was Meditation to heal his wounds.

He had to cast the Light-Element Healing Spell over a dozen times every day, the white light flowing over his wounds to repair the damaged tissue bit by bit. He also used several bottles of healing potion, leaving the wounds covered in thick scabs with the surrounding skin showing a newborn pink hue.

By the fourth day, he was finally able to sit up and move around normally. The wounds on his chest had mostly healed; although he couldn't engage in strenuous exercise, at least they no longer hurt.

"Chi chi!" Seeing him sit up, Bebe jumped around on his shoulder in excitement.

Lin Yun smiled and took some dry rations from his pack, eating slowly. His appetite was much better than the previous few days, which indicated that his body was recovering.

On the fifth day, he began to stretch his muscles and bones in the cave. He performed the Qi Cultivation Style several times; although his movements were much slower than usual, every breath was precise and on point. He could feel the Battle Qi within his body flowing slowly under the guidance of the Qi Cultivation Style, nourishing his injured muscles and bones.

On the sixth day, he walked out of the cave and practiced his Basic Blade Technique on the small clearing at the entrance. His movements were very slow, but he strove for precision with every strike. Bebe squatted on a nearby branch, watching with great interest and chirping "chi chi" from time to time, as if offering a critique.

On the seventh day, his injuries were basically fully healed.

The scars on his chest remained, but they no longer hindered his movement. His right arm could also function normally. He stood at the cave entrance, facing the morning sun, and took a deep breath.

The magic elements in the air seemed more active than usual and easier to perceive. This was no illusion—after walking on the edge of life and death, his Spiritual Energy had indeed undergone a subtle change, as if that barrier had become as thin as a cicada's wing, needing only one final strike.

"Time to break through." Lin Yun murmured.

Bebe chirped, as if saying, "Go for it."

Lin Yun decided to complete his breakthrough right there in the cave.

He set up several warning spells at the cave entrance—if any person or magic beast approached, he would be the first to know. Bebe squatted on a rock at the entrance, watching the surroundings vigilantly to stand guard for him.

Lin Yun sat cross-legged inside the cave, closed his eyes, and began his Meditation.

His Spiritual Energy slowly sank into the depths of his consciousness.

There, seven colors of magic power swirled slowly within his body like seven thick mists. The earth-yellow of the Earth Element, the fire-red of the Fire Element, the water-blue of the Water Element, the cyan of the Wind Element, the purple of the Thunder Element, the gold of the Light Element, and the black of the Dark Element—the seven colors intertwined to form a strange scene.

This was the magic power of a peak Level 6 Mage—mist-like.

The form of one's magic power was an important indicator of a mage's rank. The magic power of Level 1 to Level 3 Mages was gaseous, thin, and scattered; the magic power of Level 4 to Level 6 Mages was mist-like, dense, and orderly; the magic power of Level 7 to Level 9 Mages was liquid, pure, and powerful; and the magic power of a Saint Realm mage was solid crystal.

Now, what he had to do was compress the mist-like magic power in his body into liquid.

This was an extremely arduous process.

Lin Yun took a deep breath and began to mobilize his Spiritual Energy, compressing the mist-like magic power from the outside in.

The earth-yellow Earth Element magic power was the first to begin changing. Under the pressure of his Spiritual Energy, the thick mist began to shrink and condense, its volume becoming smaller and its density increasing. He could feel the magic power particles, which had previously been floating loosely, being squeezed together, colliding, and fusing.

A sharp pain radiated from his Dantian, as if thousands of needles were piercing it at once. Cold sweat seeped from Lin Yun's forehead, but he gritted his teeth and did not stop.

Compress, and compress again.

The earth-yellow mist grew smaller and smaller, going from the size of a fist to the size of an egg, then from the size of an egg to the size of a walnut. Its color deepened, turning from light yellow to deep yellow, and finally into a thick, amber-like liquid.

"Drip."

The first drop of liquid magic power had formed.

The moment it fell, Lin Yun felt as if something within his body had been shattered. That barrier that had troubled him for so long collapsed with a roar at this very moment.

He had broken through.

But he did not stop. After the Earth Element breakthrough, six other elements were waiting for him.

Fire, Water, Wind, Thunder, Light, Dark—one element after another, each requiring the same compression process, each bringing the same intense pain.

The color had drained from Lin Yun's face, and sweat had soaked his clothes; he looked as if he had been fished out of water. But he did not stop, nor did he dare to—once a breakthrough began, there was no turning back. If he gave up halfway, not only would he fail to break through, but his existing magic power would also be damaged.

Fire-red, water-blue, cyan, purple, gold, and black—the six colors of magic power were compressed in turn, transforming from mist into liquid.

The moment the last drop of Dark Element magic power condensed into liquid, Lin Yun felt a roar within his body, as if something had exploded in the depths of his consciousness.

The seven colors of liquid magic power swirled slowly within him, like seven streams of different colors, each flowing on its own yet echoing one another. They were purer and more powerful than they had been in their mist-like state, their potency increased by at least one level.

Level 7.

Seven elements at Level 7.

Lin Yun opened his eyes, the seven-colored light flickering in them for a long time before slowly dissipating.

After the breakthrough, Lin Yun did not rush to leave the cave.

He knew that the magic power he had just broken through with was not yet stable and needed time to consolidate. If he were to rashly use Level 7 magic now, it would likely lead to a loss of control over his magic power, causing all his previous efforts to go to waste.

He spent two days familiarizing himself with the new magic power in his body, bit by bit.

The difference between liquid magic power and mist-like magic power was not just a change in quantity, but a change in quality. The same spell, when cast with Level 7 magic power, would have its potency increased by at least thirty to fifty percent. Moreover, liquid magic power was denser and easier to control, which made him more adept when casting spells in succession.

On the evening of the second day, he walked out of the cave, ready to test the power of his Level 7 magic.

"Let's try this." Lin Yun muttered to himself. Dense Earth Element elements gathered around him following his incantation, finally forming a suit of armor that appeared ancient and simple. Looking closely, one could see that the material of the armor resembled jade, only this armor possessed the aura of the Earth Element.

Earth Element Level 7 Magic—Saint Armor of Earth Protection (Jade Grade).

Level 7 Magic is far more powerful than Level 6 Magic; its defensive capability alone has increased nearly tenfold.

"If I were to encounter a Black-Striped Leopard now, I could easily withstand its attacks with just this Jade Saint Armor." Lin Yun nodded with satisfaction, then sighed with a hint of regret, "It's a pity that I only know Level 7 Earth Element Magic, and I don't know a single Level 7 spell from the other six elements."

The Earth Element Magic was taught by Delin Cowart, so aside from the Forbidden Curse Magic of the Earth Element, the incantations for Level 7 through Level 9 magic had long been taught to both of them. However, the incantations for the other elements were unobtainable because the Ernst Institute only taught magic up to Level 6. Unless one joined a major faction, it was very difficult for a commoner mage to acquire higher-level magic incantations.

It seems I will have to find a way to obtain magic incantations for the other elements in the future, Lin Yun noted to himself.

At the very moment Lin Yun broke through to become a Level 7 mage, "he" in another world also felt the impact of that surge of power.

In the Swallowed Star World, inside a low-rent housing unit in Yangzhou City.

Lin Yun's other body was sitting cross-legged on the bed, eyes closed in meditation. Suddenly, a violent tremor rippled through the depths of his consciousness—the sensation was like a giant boulder being thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves.

His Spiritual Energy was skyrocketing.

The growth in Spiritual Energy brought about by the breakthrough to a Level 7 mage in the Coiling Dragon World was pouring madly into this body through the resonance effect of the Small Cauldron. The intensity of his Spiritual Force climbed at a speed visible to the naked eye: late-stage High-Level War General, peak-stage High-Level War General... Primary War God!

The growth only ceased once he had just entered the Primary War God level.

Lin Yun opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. Every object in the room floated up, hovering steadily in mid-air without the slightest tremor—this level of control was more than twice as strong as before.

"A pity," he murmured.

Although the intensity of his Spiritual Force had surged to the Primary War God level, the power he could actually exert was limited by his physical body.

In the Swallowed Star World, the strength of a Spiritual Master does not depend solely on the power of their Spiritual Force; it is also closely tied to their physical fitness. Spiritual Force is released through the body; if the physical constitution is not strong enough, it cannot withstand the output of overly powerful Spiritual Force. It is like a faucet: if the pipe is too thin, no matter how much water is in the tank, the amount that flows out is limited. This is why Spiritual Masters are generally two levels higher in cultivation than Warriors!

His current situation was exactly this—his Spiritual Force had reached the Primary War God level, but his physical fitness was only equivalent to that of a Junior War General. Therefore, the Spiritual Force he could actually utilize was at most at the level of a High-Level War General.

"I need to improve my physical fitness in sync," Lin Yun said to himself.

However, this limitation also gave him a clear direction—his subsequent training would need to focus on the improvement of his physical fitness. Only when his physical constitution caught up could the true power of his Spiritual Force be fully unleashed.

He glanced out the window; the moonlight was like water, spilling over the dilapidated rooftops of Yangzhou City.

In the Coiling Dragon World, his other body had just broken through to a Level 7 mage and was consolidating his cultivation in a cave within the Magic Beast Mountain Range. In the Swallowed Star World, this body of his had just experienced a surge of Spiritual Force, greatly increasing his strength.

Two worlds, two bodies, growing in synchronization, mutually reinforcing each other.

This was the greatest advantage the Small Cauldron gave him.

After the breakthrough, Lin Yun did not rush back to the Ernst Institute.

He decided to stay in the Magic Beast Mountain Range for a while longer to consolidate his Level 7 cultivation and, incidentally, find a few Level 7 magic beasts to test his skills.

He had won his battle against the Black-Striped Leopard too miserably. If the Black-Striped Leopard hadn't failed to go all out at the beginning, if not for the versatility of his seven-element magic, and if not for Bebe providing support from the sidelines—if any one of those links had failed, he might have died in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Now that he had broken through to Level 7, the quality and quantity of his magic power were no longer what they once were. He needed to re-evaluate his strength and required more real combat to adapt to the rhythm of Level 7 battles.

"Bebe, let's go deeper," Lin Yun said.

"Chi chi!" Bebe squeaked excitedly, jumping off his shoulder and darting toward the depths of the mountain range.

Over the next ten days, Lin Yun continued to fight in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

He found another Level 7 magic beast—an Iron-Armored Rhino. This was an Earth Element magic beast with extremely high defensive capabilities, its entire body covered in thick iron armor that ordinary magic could not penetrate.

But unlike the Black-Striped Leopard, the Iron-Armored Rhino was very slow. Lin Yun utilized the mobility of his Wind Element magic to constantly change his position in the air, used Earth Element magic to restrict its movement, and used Thunder and Light Element magic to attack its weak points—its eyes and underbelly.

This time, he was not injured.

Although the battle lasted for nearly half an hour and he consumed more than half of his magic power, he did not let the Iron-Armored Rhino touch him once throughout the entire fight. The strength of a Level 7 mage, combined with the tactical advantage of rotating through seven elements, allowed him to calmly deal with this opponent of astonishing defense.

"Now that's more like it." Lin Yun stood beside the carcass of the Iron-Armored Rhino, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and the corners of his mouth curled upward slightly.

Bebe squatted on his shoulder, squeaked twice, and patted his cheek with a small paw, as if to say, "Not bad, not bad."

Over the next few days, he encountered several more Level 7 magic beasts—a Gale Eagle, a Flame Lion, and a Thunder Tiger. With every battle, he improved. From initially needing half an hour to finish off one, to later needing only a quarter of an hour; from initially needing to coordinate four or five elements of magic, to later being able to handle them with just two or three.

His combat style became increasingly mature and fluid. The seven elements of magic rotated at will in his hands, like a precision combat machine where every part played its most appropriate role at the most appropriate time.

By the fifteenth day, he was already able to remain undefeated when facing most Level 7 magic beasts.

"That's enough." One evening, Lin Yun sat by the campfire and said to Bebe, "It's time to go back."

Bebe let out a "chi" sound and pointed a small paw in the direction of the institute.

Lin Yun smiled, took one last look at the mountain forest where he had been fighting for over a month, and turned to walk toward the institute.