Preparation for Training

After a night of stabilization, Lin Tian fully digested the breakthrough in his mental strength and firmly stepped into the sixth rank. Suppressing the surging joy in his heart, he packed his belongings early and set off for Laun's private estate, informing his mentor of his successful breakthrough at the first opportunity.

"Well done, Lin Tian." Laun spoke slowly, his tone full of approval. "A sixth-rank mage is the fruit of your tireless cultivation and persistence, enough to bear witness to your talent and determination."

Lin Tian bowed slightly. "Without the teacher's meticulous guidance and patient instruction, this disciple would have struggled to break through steadily. I must thank the teacher."

After a brief moment of praise, Laun's expression gradually turned serious, his gentle smile fading as he spoke bluntly: "Do not let this make you complacent. A sixth-rank mage is still only within the intermediate mage sequence; on the path of magical cultivation, you have merely found your footing. Only by breaking through to the seventh rank and entering the realm of advanced mages can you truly cross the critical threshold of cultivation and step into a new stage of training."

Laun's gaze was solemn as he meticulously analyzed the barriers of the seventh rank for him: "Advancing from the sixth to the seventh rank is the most important watershed in a mage's life, completely different from all previous realm breakthroughs. Ascending from the fifth to the sixth rank is merely an accumulation of magical power in quantity, but breaking through from the sixth to the seventh is a comprehensive, essential transformation. This step requires two core breakthroughs. The first is the liquefaction of magical power—fully condensing and compressing the gaseous magical elements within your body into liquid form, greatly enhancing magical purity, endurance, and spell power."

At this point, Laun's tone eased slightly, and he stated with certainty: "Given your foundation, talent, and accumulated hard work, liquefaction of magical power will pose no difficulty for you. With normal cultivation, it will happen naturally; there's no need to worry."

Then, his brow furrowed slightly, and his tone carried clear concern: "But my only worry is the transformation of your mental strength. The core bottleneck of the seventh rank has never been magical power, but the qualitative change in mental strength and temperament. You are still young, having devoted yourself to cultivation since childhood, living in a stable environment without ever experiencing the storms of the world or trials of life and death. Your experience is shallow. This will be your greatest obstacle to breaking through the seventh rank."

Lin Tian listened intently, and a sudden clarity dawned in his heart. He had always focused on honing his magic and accumulating cultivation, never realizing that temperament and experience were the weak points on his path. He spoke proactively: "Teacher, is there a way to quickly temper my mental strength?"

Laun nodded: "To quickly temper the mind and refine your temperament, life-and-death trials are the only shortcut. Across the continent's major magic academies, most students enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range for training when they reach the fifth rank. The Magic Beast Mountain Range is fraught with danger, with unknown perils lurking at every moment. Staying there keeps you in a constant state of heightened mental tension. By continuously fighting, struggling, and growing on the edge of life and death, as long as you survive, your mental strength will keep breaking through and transforming, and your temperament will grow tougher. This is a method of growth that closed-door cultivation can never replace, and it also greatly hones your combat ability and on-the-spot adaptability."

After speaking, Laun gave him the right to choose, his tone gentle and fair: "With your talent and foundation, even without undergoing dangerous trials, as long as you cultivate steadily step by step, reaching the Saint Domain is a foregone conclusion. The seventh rank is, for you, a hurdle you can easily cross. The Magic Beast Mountain Range is perilous and unpredictable. Whether to go or not is for you to decide on your own; there's no need to force yourself."

Lin Tian didn't hesitate for a moment. A resolute light blazed in his eyes, and his tone was firm: "Teacher, I must go! There is no shortcut on the path of cultivation; comfort only shackles growth. If a weakness isn't addressed, it will eventually become a bottleneck in future training. The life-and-death trials that peers my age can endure, I can endure as well. All the hardships on the cultivation path must be faced sooner or later. I want to truly grow stronger through my own trials, and I will never shy away from challenges."

Laun was filled with deep satisfaction and laughed heartily: "Good! This is truly my disciple, Laun's—bold, responsible, and tenacious!"

"Rest assured, for this training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range, I will accompany you the entire way, ensuring your life is safe. But the meaning of training lies in self-tempering. I will only intervene when you face a fatal crisis; the rest must rely on your own growth through experience."

A warmth spread through Lin Tian's heart, and he set aside all his worries, quickly asking: "Thank you, teacher! When do we set off for the Magic Beast Mountain Range?"

"No need to rush." Laun waved his hand and gave orderly instructions: "You've just broken through to the sixth rank; your magical power hasn't been refined yet, and you haven't mastered the sixth-rank magic incantations. Focus on cultivation for now, refining the elemental energy of the world to bring your magic power up to the sixth-rank level, and once you've fully mastered the sixth-rank magic incantations, we'll depart immediately."

"Understood." Lin Tian accepted solemnly, and from then on, he threw himself entirely into cultivation, honing his strength with single-minded focus.

Over the following week, Lin Tian worked diligently to refine the elemental energy of the world while also studying the basic principles of the sixth-rank fire magic incantations in advance, preparing to master them.

A week later, Lin Tian successfully completed the refinement, reaching the level of a sixth-rank mage. After that came practicing the magic incantations.

As a Fire Meteor composed of blazing flames slammed into the ground of the training field, the already pockmarked surface gained another, slightly larger crater.

"Your spellcasting is proficient. Go back and pack your belongings. We'll set out for the Magic Beast Mountain Range on time tomorrow morning."

"Yes, teacher!" Lin Tian acknowledged with a bow, took his leave of Laun, and turned to head straight back to the palace. With unknown dangers awaiting him on the training expedition, he had to personally inform his father and mother, the emperor and empress, so they would know the details and be at ease.

Upon returning to the palace, Lin Tian immediately paid his respects to his father and mother, truthfully reporting that he had successfully broken through to the sixth-rank mage and would soon follow Laun to the Magic Beast Mountain Range for training. Hearing that their son's cultivation had advanced once more, both parents were filled with joy and pride. But when they learned he was going to train in the perilous Magic Beast Mountain Range, the smiles on their faces instantly vanished, replaced by deep worry and concern.

Hubble Leo gave detailed instructions: "Lin Tian, your cultivation progresses day by day, and I, your father, am very pleased. But the Magic Beast Mountain Range is overrun with fierce beasts, fraught with danger, and hides countless unknown perils. You must not be careless. Stay close to your teacher, always put your own safety first, and returning safely is the top priority."

His mother, Nicole Rossi, tightly grasped Lin Tian's hand, repeatedly urging him to be careful.

After a round of heartfelt reminders, Hubble raised his hand and took out an ancient, exquisitely crafted ring. He handed the ring to Lin Tian, saying: "This is a Space Storage Ring, highly secure and suitable for use during training expeditions. I've long had people prepare training supplies for you and store them inside. Keep it close and don't lose it."

Then, Hubble patiently taught Lin Tian the method of blood-bonding and controlling the ring with mental strength. Following the instructions, Lin Tian pricked his fingertip, letting a drop of blood fall onto the ring's surface. Instantly, the ring completed the bond.

He channeled his mental strength into the ring's interior and was immediately impressed. The ring possessed a spacious independent space of over a hundred cubic meters, neatly arranged inside with spare clothes, various high-grade medicines for stopping bleeding, healing wounds, detoxifying, and relieving pain, as well as rare potions for quickly restoring magical power, and a large amount of gold coins neatly divided—everything one could need.

Seeing the fully stocked supplies, Lin Tian was stunned, his heart both warm and helpless. He was only going on a short training trip, with a brief round-trip time, and with Laun guarding him the entire way, there was no need for such abundant reserves.

Before Lin Tian could decline, the empress stepped forward and handed him a translucent Anonymous Magic Crystal Card, saying: "Lin Tian, this card has one million gold coins. Out in the world, with no one to look after you, it won't be as comfortable as the palace. Don't stint yourself."

Lin Tian wanted to say that he was just going to the Magic Beast Mountain Range with Teacher Laun for a short training period, not long at all, and that he wouldn't need all this, and with Teacher Laun there, he wouldn't face life-threatening danger. But seeing his mother's gaze, he had no choice but to accept it.