Fiona the Genius

Desolate—utterly desolate. Pirate Island, which had been bustling yesterday, had barely anyone left today.

Though it had not been reduced to ruins everywhere, most houses stood empty. Holes in the walls were common, and some places were scorched black. Fortunately, these houses were made of stone and were not afraid of fire.

Yang Mu walked all the way to Barrel's villa without seeing a single corpse. Just as he wondered where all the bodies had gone, he turned a corner and saw three piles of corpses of varying sizes.

Jack and Higgs, those two beasts, were still grinning as they tossed corpses onto the piles, looking as though they were not throwing away bodies but picking up money.

Of course, in a sense, they really were picking up money. These corpses were fuel for their Dark Furnace; burning them would make them stronger.

The reason they had been divided into three piles was simple: they could not burn that many at once. Burning too many at a time would not benefit either of them.

After estimating their limits, the two of them piled everything they could not digest onto the largest heap. If they could not digest it, could their captain not?

After the two explained the situation, Yang Mu casually tossed a Flame of Annihilation onto the largest pile and burned it. Ordinary people did not provide much benefit, but there were enough of them, and the Dark Forge Meditation had no diminishing returns.

Even Yang Mu gained considerably from burning that pile of corpses. His mental power reached 8.91, nearly 9 points, and he was about to inscribe his third spell model.

Although last night had been chaotic, those who had bought potions had not suffered any harm.

Though Yang Mu had said nothing, Jack had still sent some of his Undead Servants to protect them yesterday. There was no need to do much—twenty Walking Corpses standing at the entrance, combined with their own guards, was enough to ensure that no one dared provoke them.

As for why they had not fled, one reason was greed—they wanted the potions. The other was fear. As representatives of certain powerful figures, they understood very well that just because those figures had not said something outright did not mean they were free to do it.

Yang Mu might not hold an exalted position, but he was powerful enough. Power gave rise to authority, and he still stood high above others.

When Yang Mu truly handed the eight bottles of potion over to them, they naturally thanked him profusely. How they left afterward was no longer Yang Mu's concern.

After allowing his crew to indulge themselves for a few more days on the ruined Pirate Island, Yang Mu set off for Shipwreck Island, towing a ship full of cargo behind him.

This cargo had originally been meant for Barrel, but Yang Mu had killed Barrel himself. He could only haul it to Shipwreck Island now, which was rather self-inflicted.

Over the past few days, Jack and the others had been venting the frustration of being cooped up aboard the Undead, while Yang Mu continued sweeping up newly replenished materials at Seaside Cottage.

This time, however, Fiona was no longer the only one receiving him. Her grandmother was there as well—a powerful First-Order Witch and the true owner of the cottage.

Compared to her grandmother's kindly gaze, Fiona stood nearby with her lips puffed out in anger. Yang Mu had thrown Pirate Island into complete chaos. Until another powerful pirate arrived and established a new order, their business would plummet. It was no wonder Fiona was angry.

Yang Mu leisurely conducted business with the elderly witch, completely ignoring Fiona beside him. A smile lingered at the corner of his lips; he was clearly teasing her on purpose.

The more Fiona watched, the angrier she became. She let out a heavy snort and left.

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"Child, your future is shrouded in fog. I cannot see through it, but it is filled with death. You may encounter danger after you leave this time. This is the greatest warning this old woman can offer you. Thank you for visiting us so often and for tolerating Fiona."

"Hehe, it is nothing. Fiona is very innocent. You have protected her well, but it seems your lifespan is running short. How much longer can you take care of her? It is time for her to gain some experience."

"As the shop where I obtained my first batch of extraordinary materials, I will leave you a gift as well. The strong prey on the weak; only the strong deserve innocence."

Before leaving, Yang Mu left the old witch—or rather, Fiona—with a copy of the Dark Forge Meditation.

Fiona's talent was exceptionally high, so high that even if she practiced an ordinary meditation method, she could easily become an Official Mage.

Yet such a genius, lacking a proper training system, had reached her twenties without even attaining the level of an Intermediate Apprentice in mental power. It was truly a pity.

The training system of the Mage World might seem indifferent to whether apprentices lived or died, but for geniuses, the path to advancement was incomparably smooth. As long as they followed the rules step by step, they could reach the upper limit of their talent. As for breaking beyond that, it depended on themselves.

Do not think that practicing the Dark Forge Meditation required no talent. Yang Mu had merely leveled the threshold; that did not mean he had paved the road to the peak as well.

Once one reached the Third-Level Peak and wished to advance to a Fourth-Level Wizard, one needed to grasp at least one law. At that point, the more talented a Mage was, the faster they progressed. It was not that lower-talented Mages had no hope of breaking through; they simply needed to wear away at it with time.

Take Fiona and Jack, for example. Before reaching Third-Level Wizard, Jack's cultivation speed might be several times Fiona's, perhaps even more. He would reach the Third-Level Peak before her.

But he would remain stuck at the Third-Level Peak for a long time. Perhaps by the time Fiona advanced to a Fifth-Level Wizard, he might only then break through—provided his lifespan had not reached its limit.

This was also why Yang Mu had only completed the general framework of the Third Order in advance. Above the Fourth Order, someone first had to cultivate to that level before Yang Mu could have a reference point.

But before he had the chance to experiment on himself, he had fallen.

Fiona was a very good test subject. Though he would certainly cultivate to the Fourth Order before her, Fiona was still an excellent control group.

There was another point as well: the more talented a person was, the faster they learned to precisely control their mental power.

The intervals they needed between burnings would become shorter. If Jack slackened off, and Fiona underwent a drastic change in temperament for some reason, then who would reach the Third-Level Peak first was still uncertain.

Naturally, Yang Mu did not want Fiona's talent to be wasted like this. Rather than studying that witchcraft of hers, she would be better off becoming a Mage.

As for whether she would learn it? Once her witch grandmother died, she would certainly do so. Not only would she urgently need power to protect herself then, but even innocent Fiona would be unable to resist the temptation of the meditation method's increased mental power growth rate.

Not just Fiona—even in the Mage World, Mages who claimed to be the most rational would certainly switch to the Dark Forge Meditation when they saw no hope of a breakthrough. Even if they knew it was a trap, they would still jump in.

This was the meditation method Yang Mu had created only after exhausting all the knowledge of his life. It was what he relied on to break through to the Seventh-Level Wizard and become one of the strongest beings in the Mage World.

How could it possibly be so simple?