Spring of Magnolia Calendar Year 9997

At this moment, Fu Gui, who had been rolling around in the thick snow in the distance, ran over and said excitedly, "Boss, that sword strike was amazing! What move was that?"

At first, he had always called Moke Master. Later, influenced by Bebe, he changed how he addressed him and called Moke Boss, just as Bebe called Linley.

"This was momentum. One sword strike draws upon the momentum of heaven and earth."

Moke replied with a smile, then saw the little White Tiger staring at him expectantly.

He immediately laughed and took an Eighth-Level Magic Crystal Core from his spatial ring, tossing it to the little fellow.

"I was wondering why you suddenly started flattering me." Moke smiled irritably.

The little White Tiger shot into the air, flipped over as it caught the Eighth-Level Magic Crystal Core, then promptly stuffed it into its mouth and crunched away.

"Boss, I'm going to play!" After eating, the little White Tiger informed Moke before vanishing into the snow with a whoosh.

Elsewhere, Bebe also notified Linley before darting away. He quickly joined Fu Gui, and the two whispered together, who knew what they were plotting.

"These little brats!" Moke could only glare from where he stood.

Then he closed his eyes again and began circulating the Holy Dragon Secret Canon to cultivate his battle qi.

His blood and qi surged like a dragon, while his battle qi flowed endlessly like a river. The waves of heat pouring from his body melted the vast snow around him.

A large patch of bare ground appeared there.

That was the path of cultivation. Most of the time, it was dull and tasteless.

The battle qi within him slowly grew. Moke kept his mind utterly clear, sometimes sensing the movement of the wind and sometimes feeling the heaviness of the earth.

Whenever the sun shone brightly, he would climb to the mountaintop and bathe in the sunlight as he sensed the element of light.

During thunderstorms, he would leap onto the treetops and feel the wild violence of lightning.

With the help of his top-tier comprehension in the Coiling Dragon world, Moke's understanding of the four elemental laws advanced rapidly. Almost every so often, he gained a new insight.

His life was fulfilling, and time passed swiftly amid Moke's diligent cultivation.

In Magnolia Calendar Year 9993, after two years, Moke successfully entered the realm of a Seventh-Level Warrior.

However, Moke discovered that even after becoming an Advanced Warrior, transforming still only allowed him to reach the Ninth-Level Warrior stage. He had merely reached the Ninth-Level Peak.

"Looks like I'll need to become an Eighth-Level Warrior before my transformation can reach the Saint Realm."

Moke was not in a hurry.

Though he had not entered the Saint Realm, his strength had still increased by a substantial amount.

As a Ninth-Level Peak Holy Dragon Warrior, coupled with the insights he had gained into the laws of wind, earth, light, and lightning over the past two years, Moke was confident that he could fight even a Saint Realm expert.

After cultivating battle qi and magic for years, thirteen-year-old Moke had grown as tall as an adult. Although he concealed his strength, his handsome appearance still made him quite popular among the older female students at the academy.

Of course, Moke, who was wholly immersed in cultivation, had no thoughts about anything else.

Other than occasionally returning home with Linley to visit Hogg and Hillman, Moke spent most of his time immersed in cultivation.

Sometimes, however, he would enter the Magical Beast Mountain Range for a round of slaughter, gathering food for Fu Gui, the little White Tiger.

After two years, Fu Gui's appetite had grown enormously, and he had begun eating Ninth-Level Magic Crystal Cores.

Naturally, Fu Gui's strength had also surged. In just two years, he had risen from the strength of a Fifth-Level Magical Beast to roughly the combat power of a Seventh-Level Magical Beast.

Although he still looked like a cub, his body had grown slightly larger.

This delighted Moke.

Because, as Divine Beasts, Fu Gui seemed to develop even more slowly than Bebe.

This suggested that Fu Gui, the Sacred Beast White Tiger Cub, might possess even greater potential than Bebe.

After reaching the Seventh-Level Warrior stage, although the growth rate of his battle qi remained steady, it seemed that becoming an Eighth-Level Warrior would take longer than he had anticipated.

Furthermore, the growth of his spiritual essence left Moke helpless.

Two years had passed, yet he still seemed quite far from becoming an Eighth-Level Mage.

This made Moke sigh. Spiritual essence truly grew much more slowly than battle qi.

In the spring of Magnolia Calendar Year 9997, Moke, who had entered Ernst Institute six years ago, had with great difficulty advanced into "third year."

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Of course, his speed was not particularly slow. At the very least, Yale was only a third-year student as well, though Yale had entered third year last year.

The reason it was called extremely "difficult" was because Moke's younger brother Linley, now known as one of the two unmatched prodigies of Ernst Institute, had already become a Fifth-Level Mage and was considered a freak by most people.

Compared to such a freak, Moke's rate of "improvement" appeared completely ordinary.

However, at fifteen, he had grown increasingly mature. He was nearly 1.9 meters tall, and his handsome appearance and calm demeanor made him stand out from the crowd. Whenever he walked down the road, groups of pretty older female students would lock their eyes on him.

The older brother of the peerless genius Linley—if they managed to win him over and had a little fun, it would be quite glorious to brag about.

Besides, this Moke had outstanding looks and temperament. Having him as a boyfriend would be quite flattering.

Unfortunately, in the eyes of many, the "mediocre" Moke cultivated with extreme diligence and spent nearly every day training bitterly in the back mountains.

He also kept his distance from most of the older female students who approached him.

"With aptitude as mediocre as his, graduation might be difficult if he doesn't work hard. Still, judging by his build, perhaps he could achieve something by following the path of a warrior."

Where there was attention, there would naturally be trouble. Some male students could not help feeling jealous, but they could only talk behind his back.

No one wanted to provoke a freak's older brother, especially when that freak seemed to be a "brother fanatic" who often stuck close to his brother.

Ernst Institute's dining hall, second-floor private room.

Quite a few people had gathered here: Moke, Linley, and their friends Yale, George, Reynolds, Dixie, and Lydia.

The boys were chatting, while Bebe and Fu Gui were "competing for favor" in Delia's arms, mouths open as they waited for her to feed them.

Although they could eat by themselves, they simply liked this feeling.

Dixie stared at Linley, his eyes filled with intense fighting spirit toward his opponent. "Linley, I heard you'll be heading to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for training soon?"

"Yes. I'll make preparations over the next few days, then head to the Magical Beast Mountain Range for some real combat."

Linley nodded with a smile.

He knew that his older brother Moke had already visited the Magical Beast Mountain Range more than once, so Linley had long yearned for actual combat.

Not long after becoming a Fifth-Level Mage, he had begun considering a trip to the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Dixie nodded and said solemnly, "Perfect. I'm also going to the Magical Beast Mountain Range soon. How about we compete to see who obtains Magic Crystal Cores of greater value?"

As Ernst Institute's former unquestioned number-one genius, Dixie felt tremendous pressure now that Linley had caught up with him.

The pride of youth made him want to compete with Linley.

They had previously competed only in secret, but now he wanted to compare themselves openly.

"Brother~"

Delia looked up and called out unhappily. "Training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range is extremely dangerous. Even if you want to compete, you can't do it there."

"Indeed."

Moke nodded as well. The moment he spoke, everyone turned to look at him. "The Magical Beast Mountain Range is dangerous not only because of magical beasts. Countless assassins and mercenaries also lurk in the shadows, hunting humans. You must be extremely careful when entering the Magical Beast Mountain Range."

"Otherwise, with the strength of Fifth-Level Mages like you, one mistake could get you killed."

"Right, I'll listen to my brother." Linley smiled at Dixie. "Dixie, my brother is Ernst Institute's true number-one genius."

"There's no point in the two of us competing. It would only be interesting if someone could surpass my brother."

Linley had always regarded Moke as his goal.

Although Moke had never told Linley about his strength, after spending so much time together, Linley's intuition told him that his older brother Moke was definitely stronger than him.

Doering Cowart acknowledged this as well.