Another Two Years

Lin Yun returned to Ernst Academy one morning.

He climbed over the wall behind the mountain and followed the familiar path back to the dormitory without a sound. Morning mist blanketed the campus, and the white stone walls appeared and disappeared in the haze. A few birds called in the distance. The academy was quiet; most of the students were still asleep.

When he pushed open the courtyard gate of Dormitory No. 1987, Linley was standing in the yard practicing Earth Element magic. Seeing Lin Yun walk in, he froze for a moment, then his eyes widened.

"Lin Yun?!" Linley rushed over in a few strides and looked him up and down. "You're finally back!"

"I didn't expect the inheritance to take so long, either," Lin Yun said with a smile.

Linley looked as if he wanted to say something, but in the end, he only patted Lin Yun on the shoulder. "It's good to have you back."

Lin Yun glanced around the courtyard. Reynolds and Yale's doors were still shut, so they were obviously still asleep. He lowered his voice. "Has anything happened at the academy over the past few months?"

"Nothing major." Linley lowered his voice, too. "The instructors asked a few times why you weren't coming to class. I told them you were studying magic in seclusion behind the mountain, and they didn't ask much more. Your past grades speak for themselves, after all, so they're more lenient with you."

Lin Yun nodded. He had already made up his mind: he wouldn't reveal his Level Seven Mage cultivation for the time being. Level seven marked the threshold of the strong, but on the Yulan Continent, there were still levels eight and nine above it, not to mention the Saint Realm. His current strength was nowhere near enough to let him roam the continent unchecked. Revealing too much would only invite unnecessary trouble.

"I haven't told anyone that you broke through," Linley added. "Grandpa Doehring also said not to make it public for now."

"Good," Lin Yun said.

He decided to keep "lying low" at the academy. He would attend class, cultivate, and sculpt as usual, pretending he was still an ordinary Level 6 Mage. As for his Level Seven cultivation and inheritance in Necromancy, he would keep them as trump cards and reveal them only when truly necessary.

After returning to the academy, Lin Yun's life fell back into its old rhythm.

During the day, he occasionally attended a few practical classes to maintain a reasonable attendance record and keep the instructors from growing suspicious. Most of the time, he cultivated in the small woods behind the mountain—practicing Level 7 Magic from the Light, Wind, and Thunder Elements, studying advanced Dark Element incantations, and strengthening his foundation in Necromancy.

He kept up with his stone carving, too. Every evening, he spent half an hour sitting in the courtyard, slowly shaping a piece of stone with his carving knife. His Flat Blade Style had reached a level of mastery, and his sculptures looked lifelike. Even Doehring marveled at his progress.

"Your stone-carving skills are almost as good as mine were in my prime," Doehring said admiringly. "That means your Spiritual Energy has become remarkably condensed. Keep at it, and it'll greatly benefit your future magic training."

Lin Yun nodded and continued carving. He had no shortage of money now, so he didn't need to sell his sculptures. He treated it as a secret cultivation technique instead.

At night, he turned to Necromancy. He would find a secluded spot and send his soul power into the Stone Stele inside his Space Ring, continuing to study the mysteries of the Law of Death. The Core Inheritance in the stele had ended, but it still contained many fragments of the Law of Death—enough to keep him studying for a long time.

Soul Perception, Soul Soothing, Soul Barrier—he had mastered these basic techniques. As for Undead Summoning, he occasionally summoned Dark Blade into the living world to help it adapt to its surroundings. Dark Blade was powerful: a peak Level Seven Undead Knight, accompanied by a warhorse that had undergone the same undead transformation. Its combat strength was not to be underestimated.

But he never used Necromancy in public. Every time he summoned Dark Blade, he chose a sufficiently secluded place, then immediately cleansed the undead aura from himself with Light magic afterward. Caution was the most important lesson he had learned in the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

Days passed, peaceful and fulfilling.

Before he knew it, nearly two years had gone by.

Lin Yun was fifteen.

Over those two years, he hadn't deliberately pursued a breakthrough. He had simply cultivated, comprehended, and accumulated day after day. The magic power of the Seven Elements flowed slowly through his body like seven streams of different colors, each running its own course while echoing the others. He hadn't rushed to learn new Level 7 Magic. Instead, he repeatedly refined the magic he had already mastered until he could cast each spell in an instant, with only a thought.

The breakthrough came naturally.

It happened on an ordinary morning, while Lin Yun was meditating behind the mountain as usual. The magic power of the Seven Elements inside his body suddenly underwent a subtle change. It became denser and purer. Its quantity had barely increased, but its quality had risen to another level.

Level eight.

He opened his eyes, and a flash of seven-colored light passed through them. He felt neither surprise nor excitement, only a calm acceptance. Level eight wasn't the end; it was merely another step toward greater heights.

His progress as a warrior had been much slower.

For two years, he had practiced the Qi Cultivation Style and Basic Blade Technique every day without fail. But his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline was too weak, and he couldn't cultivate Battle Qi. He could only strengthen his body through the Qi Cultivation Style alone. Naturally, progress was slow with this method.

By the time he was fifteen, his warrior strength had reached the peak of level five. He was only one step away from level six, but he had no idea how long it would take him to cross that threshold.

"Your physical abilities are already quite impressive," Doehring said after one assessment. "A peak level-five warrior could already serve as a squad leader in the army. But compared with your magic cultivation, it really does lag behind. It's a limitation of your bloodline. There's no rushing it."

Lin Yun nodded, not particularly bothered. Magic was his main discipline; being a warrior was just a supporting role. Peak level five was enough.

Linley's progress over the past two years had been just as astonishing.

He was even more diligent than Lin Yun—getting up before dawn to train and keeping at it until late at night. His Earth and Wind Element magic improved steadily under constant practice, and he didn't neglect Fire Element magic, either. Doehring's opinion of him grew ever higher. He said Linley was "even more outstanding than expected."

At fifteen, Linley broke through to become a Level 6 Mage.

That was more than a year earlier than in the original story. Doehring said it was largely thanks to the "stimulation" Lin Yun provided. With a younger brother far more talented than himself, Linley had never let up on his own demands.

"I'm level six now." Standing in the small woods behind the mountain, Linley looked at the Earth Element magic gathered in his hand. A hint of satisfaction flashed through his eyes. "I've still got a long way to go."

Lin Yun smiled. "You're already progressing quickly."

"I'm still nowhere near you." Linley shook his head. There was no envy in his voice, only steely resolve. "I'll keep trying to catch up."

Bebe perched on his shoulder and chirped twice, patting Linley's cheek with its little paws as if to say, "Keep it up."

Linley stroked Bebe's little head. After a moment of silence, he said, "Lin Yun, I want to go train in the Magic Beast Mountain Range."

Lin Yun was slightly taken aback.

"As a Level 6 Mage, I can't learn much more at the academy," Linley said seriously. "I need real combat. I need to temper myself on the edge of life and death, just like you did back then."

Lin Yun was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Go ahead. Take Bebe with you."

"Chirp!" Bebe cried, patting its chest with its little paws as if to say, "Leave it to me."

Three days later, Linley and Bebe quietly left Ernst Academy and set out for the Magic Beast Mountain Range.

As the sun rose over the Coiling Dragon World, the moon was slowly setting over the Swallowed Star World.

Over those two years, Lin Yun's other body had been growing in parallel.

Fifteen-year-old Lin Yun was tall and straight, already looking much like a young man of seventeen or eighteen. His face still carried a trace of boyishness, but the composure and depth in his eyes far surpassed those of his peers.

As for his warrior cultivation, he had reached apprentice rank five—equivalent to an Intermediate War General by Earth's standards. His progress wasn't especially fast, but it was solid. He stuck to basic training every day without fail.

His progress in Spiritual Force was even more noticeable. Two years earlier, his Spiritual Force had already reached the Primary War God level, but his physical strength had limited him to the power of a High-Level War General. For the past two years, he had worked to improve his physical fitness while continually tempering his Spiritual Force.

Now, his Spiritual Force had reached apprentice rank eight—the Intermediate War God level. Although his physical strength had improved to Intermediate War General, it was still three ranks below his Spiritual Force. According to the principles governing Spiritual Masters, the most he could bring out was peak Primary War God strength.

"Still a little short," Lin Yun murmured.

Even so, a fifteen-year-old Intermediate War General and Primary War God-level Spiritual Master was already one of Earth's most outstanding talents.

Of course, publicly, he still showed only the abilities of an Advanced Trainee, nearing the Quasi-Warrior level. Even so, the Limit Dojo valued him highly. Head Instructor Jiang Nian had spoken with him more than once, hoping he would give up his studies and focus entirely on becoming a warrior.

Lin Yun declined every time. He had his own pace and didn't want anyone to disrupt it.

Luo Feng's progress over the past two years had been just as astonishing. With Lin Yun's encouragement and guidance, his warrior cultivation had also reached the Advanced Trainee level—two years ahead of the original story.

"You're way better than me," Luo Feng said admiringly after one training session.

Lin Yun smiled. "You'll catch up."

Luo Feng shook his head without replying, but a determined light flashed in his eyes.

Night fell.

In the small woods behind Ernst Academy, Lin Yun sat cross-legged on a blue-gray rock and closed his eyes, slowly circulating the magic power within his body.

The magic power of the Seven Elements flowed steadily through his body, and his Level Eight cultivation was now completely stable. His Spiritual Energy was more condensed than it had been two years ago, and his soul power continued to grow through his study of Necromancy. His warrior cultivation had lagged behind, but peak level-five strength wouldn't hold him back in close combat.

He hadn't rushed to pursue higher levels during those two years. Instead, he had chosen to build on what he had. He had strengthened the foundations of his magic across the Seven Elements, mastered the techniques of Necromancy, and honed his method of using stone carving to temper his Spiritual Energy to its utmost.

He didn't need to hurry. He was still young and had plenty of time.

His other body in the Swallowed Star World was growing in parallel, too. His Intermediate War General cultivation and Primary War God-level Spiritual Force already placed him among Earth's top talents. But he knew that beyond Earth lay a far greater universe, where there were Planetary Level, Stellar Level, and Universe Level powerhouses, as well as Universe Masters capable of destroying star systems with a casual move.

Compared with beings like them, he was nothing right now.

He needed to keep growing stronger in both worlds, advancing in tandem and helping each other improve.

Lin Yun opened his eyes and gazed at the starry sky overhead. Moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting dappled shadows across his face.