No wonder the Wind Element excelled so much in speed. Strictly speaking, this was merely a very basic Profound Mystery, yet even just getting started with it could bring about a qualitative leap in strength.
Moreover, only after the Profundity of Speed merged with the Profound Mystery of Slow would it form its complete state—the Profundity of Speed. With it, one could look down upon all other laws in terms of speed, not to mention further fusing it with other Wind Element laws that enhanced speed.
There were gains and losses. While possessing extreme speed and physical attack power, the Wind Element was severely lacking in both defenses and soul-related aspects, leaving it with glaring weaknesses.
Of course, heaven and earth were fair. The various laws each had different emphases and excelled in different directions. Overall, the potential of the various laws and Edicts was roughly equal. How much strength one could wield depended entirely on the cultivator.
Simon believed that the ultimate profundity of the Wind Element was this: fast!
Not only did one have to run fast, one also had to attack fast.
As the saying went, all martial arts under heaven could be broken by speed alone.
Simon continued immersing himself in the ocean of laws. Before long, while consolidating his realm, he also gained entry into the most basic laws of the Wind and Water Elements—the Profound Mystery of Wind Element and Water Element Essence.
"This really is an unexpected delight. They say Saint Magi have the easiest time comprehending the basic elemental laws corresponding to their elements. It seems that truly isn't false." Simon looked exhilarated.
"Still, with a soul nearly a hundred times stronger than before, it does make sense that I could so easily comprehend the basic elemental laws—especially since my elemental affinity was already extremely high."
Simon released his soul power and discovered that, while it had previously covered only a few hundred meters around him, it could now effortlessly spread across dozens of miles. The difference was like heaven and earth.
Simon could now also easily use Soul Transmission. Its essence was simply to constrain soul power into a line and send it into another person's mind.
Naturally, this required powerful soul power as support. Simon estimated that the bare minimum threshold was the spiritual power of a Saint Magus, along with additional techniques.
The current Simon had not only easily mastered Soul Transmission, but could also crudely unleash his immense soul power, forming a powerful Spirit Shock. Its might was sufficient to knock unconscious more than half of all Saint Realm warriors, and that was without incorporating any technical Profound Mysteries.
There was no other reason. His base stats were simply too high.
"Soul Mutators really are stat monsters." Simon sighed inwardly.
After briefly consolidating his gains, Simon realized that the secret chamber he had used for cultivation was still too small. It was adequate for quiet meditation, but insufficient if he wanted to demonstrate certain moves. Besides, now that he had entered the beginner stage of three Profound Mysteries, blindly meditating no longer served much purpose.
Thus, Simon came out of seclusion. After spending some time with his father and mother and asking after their recent circumstances, he headed to where the patriarch was staying.
When the Old Patriarch saw Simon emerge from seclusion, he hurriedly rose to welcome him.
"Simon, your seclusion this time wasn't long at all. You came out after just one year. I thought you would stay in seclusion for several years at a time like before."
"You flatter me, Patriarch. Previously, I needed to meditate quietly to comprehend the laws and practice meditation to strengthen my spiritual power, magical power, and Battle Qi, which was why my seclusions lasted so long. Now that I've successfully broken through to Saint Magus, continuing to meditate blindly doesn't mean much."
Revenge
Upon hearing this, the Old Patriarch Solo was overjoyed. "Simon, you really broke through to Saint Magus? I thought it would take you several more years. That's truly remarkable! You just turned forty this year, right? Tsk, tsk. A forty-year-old dual-element Saint Magus, and also a Saint Realm warrior... My Herbert Family is destined to rise!"
Seeing how happy the Old Patriarch was, Simon was pleased as well. "Patriarch, this time, I not only successfully broke through to Saint Magus, but also entered the beginner stage of the Profound Mystery of Wind Element and Water Element Essence."
As for the Profundity of Speed and his Soul Mutation, Simon chose to keep them secret for the time being. After all, merely comprehending two basic elemental Profound Mysteries was already impressive enough, and it remained within the Old Patriarch's understanding. Sometimes, saying too much was not a good thing.
Solo became even happier upon hearing that. "It seems I was right to insist that you pursue Magical and Martial Dual Cultivation. I'd always heard that Saint Magi had an easier time comprehending laws, and now it seems that really is true."
Afterward, Simon chatted briefly with Solo and mentioned that arduous cultivation was no longer useful to him. Like his Saint Magus teacher Phil, he wanted to travel the world, broaden his horizons, and push his comprehension of the laws to a higher level.
Solo strongly approved. Simon's current strength also reassured him. There was no need to worry that Simon would encounter any danger he could not handle while traveling.
Dual-element Water and Wind Saint Magi possessed numerous methods of attack and defense, and Simon was now considered a peak Saint Realm warrior.
As long as he did not become overly arrogant, preserving his life would not be a problem.
So Simon packed his luggage, took the Wind-Annihilation Longsword that had accompanied him for decades, and set out toward the empire's border.
The reason Simon hid his Soul Mutation from Solo was, first, to retain a trump card known only to himself. Second, in an ordinary Material Plane, people most likely neither knew of nor had any means to learn of such a secret. Not to mention an ordinary Saint Realm expert—even after becoming a god, unless one had visited the Supreme Planes and Divine Planes and possessed vast experience, one would not know about Soul Mutations.
If Simon confessed it, he would only invite unnecessary trouble. Based on what he had experienced in his dream, Simon knew very clearly that although Solo's strength was decent—having reached the Saint Realm Peak and even nearing the Saint Realm Limit—he knew little about the Supreme Planes or Divine Planes. He had never even met a Plane Guardian and only knew from secrets circulating across the continent that Saint Realm experts could travel to other planes.
Yet what puzzled Simon was that those rumors even included the advice that Saint Realm experts were best off not leaving their Material Plane, and should ideally wait until they became gods—or even Midgods—before traveling to other planes.
Simon guessed that this information had been spread by some kindhearted Plane Guardian, or perhaps by an expert born in the Rayast Plane who had gone to a Supreme Plane and later returned.
No matter what, those were all the details Solo knew as a mere Saint Realm expert. As for anything else, he was completely in the dark. He had never even heard of Soul Mutations.
Furthermore, Simon's instincts told him that the fewer people who knew this secret, the better.
Although the Rayast Plane currently appeared to be merely an ordinary Material Plane with an immense land area, its planar structure was also quite ordinary. It was roughly composed of two continents separated by a vast sea. The eastern continent was the Rayast Continent, where Simon resided. The western continent was called the Shadow Continent, while the sea between them was a vast expanse known as the Endless Sea.
Although its land area was much larger than the Yulan Continent from the original work, greater size did not mean more powerful experts. Overall, the Rayast Plane gave Simon a feeling similar to the Ocalan Plane from the original work: equally vast, equally populous, but with mediocre top-tier experts. Perhaps Highgod-level experts had once been born here, but they had most likely gone to the various Supreme Planes. Those who remained probably did not exceed Midgod level, and were more likely only Lowgods.
It was unlike the uniquely special Yulan Plane, which had a Chief Sovereign, super Divine Beasts, Soul Mutators, and had even produced a Paragon. It truly deserved to be called the hometown of the original protagonist.
In most other Material Planes, the strongest expert was likely only at the Midgod level, and most likely that Plane Guardian. If powerful Midgods and Highgods could emerge casually, then Plane Guardians would not deserve the title of guardians. The Chief Sovereigns would not feel at ease sending them to guard the major Material Planes and spread faith on their behalf.
At least based on Simon's current understanding, the Rayast Plane was indeed unremarkable in every aspect other than its size. Still, he could not rule out the possibility that he was simply too weak at present and had yet to come into contact with more powerful circles.
Therefore, for safety's sake, Simon kept the secret buried in his heart and treated it as his trump card. The fewer people who knew a trump card, the better. Ideally, only he himself would know it. That was the safest way.
Always leave yourself room to maneuver. Always keep a backup plan.
That was the lesson Simon had learned after losing to Elodi.
Flying northwest, Simon soon arrived at the Despair Mountain Range.
This mountain range was somewhat famous throughout the Gale Empire. Its tallest main peak rose over thirty thousand meters high—equivalent to four Mount Everests from his previous life.
Ordinary people could not possibly reach its summit. The Despair Mountain Range itself stretched across more than a million square li, bordering several empires, and powerful magical beasts could be found everywhere within it.
This made it a paradise for adventurers. Though magical beasts were dangerous, in the eyes of humans—especially powerful humans—they were nothing more than walking gold coins.
If they were not, that only meant one was not strong enough.
Simon had come here not only to travel. Another reason was that this was the location of the disputed Magic Crystal mine. Now that his strength had greatly advanced, Simon urgently needed battle to prove it. Naturally, Elodi, who had a grudge against him, became his first choice. With Simon's current strength, even if he could not kill Elodi, he would have absolutely no problem protecting himself. Besides, only one year had passed since their last battle, so Elodi's strength could not have improved greatly.
The other reason was that Simon wanted to search this place carefully and see whether he could find the cultivation secret chamber hidden within the Magic Crystal mine as described in the original work.
Although the chances were slim, he would never be fully at peace if he did not come and take a look.
Part of this Magic Crystal mine belonged to the Herbert Family, while another part lay within Joshua Clan territory. Naturally, ownership of the Magic Crystal mine found here became disputed.
The best way to settle a dispute was through battle. The Joshua Clan, which had declined for a long time, was unwilling to miss any opportunity to strengthen its foundations. As it happened, Elodi had achieved a major breakthrough and believed his strength had surpassed Simon, the young genius of the Herbert Family. Thus came the initial event in which he challenged Simon for control of the Magic Crystal mine.
If the Joshua Clan learned that Simon had greatly increased his strength because of this, one wondered whether they would regret it.
As Simon moved through the mountain range, he released all his soul power to search the surrounding area, focusing especially on the underground.
"Maybe I'll discover a Micro-Plane Secret Chamber. Even if I can't find one, finding a Saint Realm expert from the Joshua Clan would be good enough."
With such an enormous Magic Crystal mine, the Joshua Clan would certainly send Saint Realm experts to guard it.
Although they had agreed that, regardless of victory or defeat, neither side could use the battle as an excuse to continue causing trouble, that was merely an outward rule everyone followed to preserve basic appearances. If an opportunity arose in secret, neither side would show mercy.
Simon, who was familiar with the rules of the Coiling Dragon World, would not be so foolishly rigid. If he encountered a Saint Realm expert from the Joshua Clan, he would never let the other party go. The other party was surely thinking the same.
The Joshua Clan currently had two Saint Realm experts. One was Patriarch Lachlan, an ordinary Saint Realm expert who had remained at the Saint Realm Mid-Tier for centuries. The Joshua Clan had risen again because of him. The other was Elodi, who had severely injured Simon.
As he searched quietly, Simon gradually drew closer to the depths of the Despair Mountain Range.
Simon, who constantly radiated soul power to search, soon discovered traces of humans.
"As expected, the Joshua Clan has already begun mining Magic Crystals. It looks like quite a few people have come. I just wonder whether Lachlan or Elodi is stationed here."
His soul power spread over without the slightest concealment.
"Who is it? Which Saint Realm friend has come here? Please show yourself."
Elodi, who had been cultivating in seclusion, opened his eyes and called loudly in every direction. Although Elodi had entered the Saint Realm Peak, his soul power was still only at the level of a Level 9 Magician for the time being. He could not use Soul Transmission and could only sense that soul power had swept past him.
His voice, infused with Battle Qi, echoed throughout the surroundings. The people still mining could not help putting down their work and looking around.
"So it really is Elodi stationed here. Today, I'll make you repay everything with interest." Simon licked his lips, his expression cruel.
Elodi was a hidden danger Simon had to eliminate no matter what—not only for himself, but also for his family. After all, he would certainly head to the Supreme Planes in the future. He could not leave such a threat behind.
"Elodi, it's me!" Simon transmitted with his soul.
"Simon? Weren't you still unconscious? Why have you come here? Even if you've awakened, have you forgotten our wager?" Following the direction of the Soul Transmission, Elodi flashed over and arrived some distance from Simon.
The two faced each other in midair.
"The wager? It's only a Magic Crystal mine. My Herbert Family doesn't lack this one. I came here to spar with you again."
"Heh heh, a spar? Aren't you afraid I might slip up and kill you outright?" Elodi looked at Simon before him. He was merely a defeated opponent. So what if he had awakened by luck? Elodi was extremely confident in his own strength.
"As long as you have the ability, come and kill me."
"Hehe, it seems you're still as reckless as ever after waking up."
"Enough nonsense, Elodi. Are we fighting here, or changing locations?"
"Of course we're changing locations. I don't want our fight to damage my family's Magic Crystal mine. That would break my heart."
A moment later, Simon and Elodi flew above the main peak of the Despair Mountain Range. They were tens of thousands of meters above the ground, so no matter how great the disturbance from their battle became, they would not need to worry about affecting the ground below.
"If you hadn't shown up, I was planning to spare you for now." Elodi said softly.
"Haha, Elodi, I hope you'll still be able to say that later." With that, Simon charged at Elodi with all his strength and directly unleashed the signature ultimate move of a Saint Magus—Spirit Storm.
When Elodi saw Simon charge straight at him, he could not help feeling delighted. This Simon is still so reckless. Since he dares charge at me, it saves me the trouble of finding another opportunity. He immediately launched a Soul Attack at Simon.
In an instant, the two streams of soul power collided in midair. Elodi's soul power blocked Simon's only briefly before being dissolved by Simon's overwhelming soul power. Then Simon's soul power, still fierce and violent, surged toward Elodi.
Elodi, who had been utterly confident of victory, underwent a drastic change in expression as he felt the storm formed from this seemingly unstoppable soul power.
He had assumed that since Simon dared challenge him again, he must have made a breakthrough. But hadn't Elodi improved as well? He had been quite confident in his own strength. Recently, after all, he had made considerable breakthroughs in both soul defense and attack.
The violent soul power instantly invaded Elodi's mind. Elodi hurriedly mobilized his remaining soul power and used the Profound Mysteries he had newly comprehended to defend himself.
But it only held for a moment. It was like a wooden plank trying to block raging waves; in an instant, it was smashed apart.
Elodi's trusted soul defense was breached just like that. His Soul Ocean descended into chaos, and he fell unconscious from the sky.
Taking advantage of Elodi losing consciousness and falling, Simon mercilessly activated his Fused Battle Qi to its limit. Wielding the Wind-Annihilation Longsword, he used the Profundity of Speed to cleave the falling Elodi directly in half!
Thus, this Saint Realm expert, who could originally have had a bright future, fell just like that.
After carefully searching through the spoils Elodi left behind, Simon found a ring. Upon examining it closely, he tried dripping blood onto it and discovered that it was actually a Spatial Ring! Extending his soul inside, he found that its interior was quite spacious, roughly one hundred meters in length, width, and height. Within were scattered high-quality Magic Crystals, gold coins, weapons, books, and other items.
"This is quite a harvest." Simon thought happily. He had just been finding it inconvenient to carry things around, and now Elodi had delivered a pillow just as he was feeling sleepy.
Although the Herbert Family had risen long ago, the entire family currently possessed only one precious item such as a Spatial Ring: the one belonging to Patriarch Solo. Even that had been awarded by the emperor of the Gale Empire.
After carefully storing the Spatial Ring and dealing with Elodi's corpse, Simon left the area and returned to the sky above the Joshua Clan encampment.
"Elodi is dead. There's no need for you to keep living either." Simon said coldly, then unleashed the Wind Element forbidden spell—Destruction Storm.
As countless seventh- and eighth-rank wind blades swept through the area, the entire Joshua Clan encampment, with more than ten thousand people, vanished from where it stood. That included Elodi's younger brother.
Afterward, Simon found a nearby mountain peak and sat cross-legged upon it. He released his soul power to cover the surrounding area as he waited quietly. "If there's no news from this Magic Crystal mine for a long time, the Joshua Clan will certainly send people to investigate. Perhaps even Patriarch Lachlan will come. Then I can eliminate the threat completely. Even if he gets lucky and doesn't come this time, there will always be another chance later."
Before you continue