Thunder Elements and Gilmor's Attention

"Moke?"

Dixie looked at Moke, confusion in his eyes. "Linley said you were stronger than him, but you're only a Third-Level Mage. Have you been hiding your true abilities all along?"

"My talent for training as a warrior is a little better than my talent as a mage."

Moke gave only a vague reply.

"I see." Dixie suddenly understood. "No wonder you have such a good build. I'd always suspected that you also trained in battle-qi."

Moke was only fifteen, yet he was already nearly 1.9 meters tall. Among those present who were his age, only Yale was comparable to him.

But Yale did not have Moke's physique, much less that faint, almost imperceptible pressure surrounding him.

Linley pouted and said nothing after Moke glanced at him.

When he said Moke was stronger than him, he had not meant as a warrior, but in mage rank.

Not long after that dinner, Linley quietly left the Ernst Institute.

Taking Bebe with him, man and magical beast set foot in the Magical Beast Mountain Range for the first time.

When Linley enters the Magical Beast Mountain Range this time, he'll meet Alice on his way back, won't he?

That Alice seemed to have caused Linley quite a bit of heartbreak.

In the back mountains of the Ernst Institute, Moke stroked the little White Tiger, Fu Gui, in his arms as he pondered. Still, going through these things might not be bad for Linley. It seemed that after Alice hurt him, he carved Stone Sculpture: Awakening from a Dream in the depths of his grief, allowing him to quickly reach Seventh Level as a mage.

"Alice... she's just a foolish woman." Moke lightly tossed Fu Gui from his arms, then closed his eyes and began comprehending the Laws of Earth.

Dark clouds gathered overhead, as though moisture were condensing within them, yet the rain remained suspended and refused to fall.

Moke had come to comprehend the Laws of Thunder and Lightning, but unfortunately, no lightning had appeared yet.

Of the Laws of Earth, Wind, Light, and Thunder and Lightning, the Laws of Earth were the easiest to comprehend while standing upon the boundless land, while the Laws of Thunder and Lightning were the hardest.

That was why Moke treasured every thunderstorm so greatly.

Rumble!

Suddenly, a clap of thunder resounded through the heavens from within the dark clouds overhead.

The thunder was like a war drum, as though it were hammering heavily against the depths of one's heart. Even though the thunder was an unknown number of kilometers away, Moke still felt shaken. Even his soul seemed to tremble with it.

Along with the thunder, purple arcs of lightning flashed through the clouds and vanished in an instant. They resembled furious pythons, or writhing dragons, darting through the black clouds.

Moke could clearly sense the water and thunder elements around him growing denser. Under the deliberate perception of his spiritual force, the water elements were pushed aside as he carefully focused on the gathering thunder elements.

In his perception, countless purple thunder elements danced around him like tiny sprites, while even more thunder elements gathered within the clouds.

The minute thunder elements continuously rubbed and collided against water droplets and ice crystals. When those collisions reached their peak, lightning formed and directly tore through the clouds.

The instant it pierced the clouds, thunder that seemed capable of shaking the soul followed. Even the surrounding magnetic field underwent subtle changes at that moment. Had Moke's spiritual force not been so powerful, he would never have detected such a detail.

"Thunder, lightning... thunder and lightning... and that changing magnetic field."

Moke had a slight headache.

At that moment, he seemed to understand yet not understand, seemed to have realized something yet not realized anything. It was as though a hazy veil covered his mind, preventing his comprehension of the Laws of Thunder and Lightning from ever taking its first step.

"Thunder, lightning, and the changing magnetic field... these should be different profound mysteries within the Laws of Thunder and Lightning, right? I haven't even entered the door yet, but I'm already dreaming of comprehending several profound mysteries at once. I really am being far too greedy."

Moke shook his head and muttered, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. From today onward, I'll focus on comprehending the thunder produced when lightning forms!"

When that thunder sounded, it seemed capable of intimidating the soul. Moke greatly yearned for such power.

If he could incorporate that ability into his attacks, his enemies would likely suffer greatly.

Fenlai City, eastern district.

The western district of Fenlai City was controlled by the Fenlai royal family, while the eastern district was the territory of the Radiant Church. It was the "Holy Capital" of the Radiant Church within the Holy Union.

Gilmor, a red-robed cardinal of the Radiant Church and a Ninth-Level Archmage, was responsible for handling all local affairs in the Fenlai Kingdom.

"Lane, have any geniuses emerged at the Ernst Institute in recent years?"

Gilmor casually asked a white-robed priest beside him.

The white-robed priest named Lane smiled. "My lord bishop, several geniuses really have appeared at the Ernst Institute in recent years."

"Oh?"

Gilmor looked at Lane.

Lane explained, "One of them is Dixie, whom you already know about. He has attended the institute for six years and is now a Fifth-Level Mage."

"I know Dixie. He's a genius and may have a chance of becoming a Ninth-Level Mage, or even a Saint Realm mage in the future. But he is from the Yulan Empire, so we cannot recruit him."

Gilmor casually waved his hand. "What about the other one?"

Lane hurriedly said, "The other is from our Holy Union. His name is Linley. He and Dixie are students of the same year, and he is also now a Fifth-Level Mage. They are called the peerless twin prodigies of the Ernst Institute."

"Oh?"

Gilmor was somewhat surprised. "Linley... I seem to have heard that name before."

Hearing that, Lane hurriedly said, "My lord bishop, Linley is Moke's younger brother. I mentioned him when I introduced Moke to you before."

"Oh, I remember now."

Gilmor smiled. "Moke is that genius with exceptional affinity for every element, isn't he? Unfortunately, his spiritual-force talent is simply too poor. Otherwise, it might have been possible to recruit him into the Radiant Church early."

"Yes, his spiritual-force talent is very poor." Lane followed Gilmor's words. "I heard that he trains extremely diligently at the institute and goes to the back mountains every day for arduous cultivation, yet after six years, he has only become a Third-Level Mage."

7

"Six years, and only a Third-Level Mage? He is far too inferior to his younger brother Linley.

The further one progresses, the harder it becomes to improve spiritual force. The time needed to advance from Third Level to Fourth Level may be longer than the time needed to go from First Level to Third Level combined."

Gilmor shook his head. "With such poor spiritual-force talent, even exceptional affinity for every element is useless. Our Radiant Church currently has no resources capable of directly raising his spiritual force to the Saint Realm."

Gilmor casually instructed, "Pay more attention to Linley. Once he graduates, we can directly recruit him into the Radiant Church.

Becoming a Fifth-Level Mage at such a young age means he has a high chance of becoming a Ninth-Level Mage in the future."

"Yes, my lord bishop." The white-robed priest Lane nodded respectfully.

"Oh, and keep an eye on that Moke as well. He has exceptional affinity for every element, but his talent in spiritual force is appallingly poor."

"What a pity. He is tasteless to keep, yet a shame to discard." Gilmor shook his head regretfully.