Chapter 20

He did not dare delay and stepped through after him.

After a brief sensation of weightlessness, his feet touched solid ground again.

The familiar furnishings of the room still surrounded them, yet everything was shrouded in an eerie silence, and even the light felt distant and cold.

They had entered another dimension.

Standing in this realm that overlapped with reality yet remained isolated from it, the guardian turned and fixed his gaze on him.

"Your foundation is already solid enough."

The guardian's voice rang especially clearly in this space. "You have also mastered quite a few spells for destruction and defense.

"Now, it is time for you to encounter the Mirror Dimension."

He paused before continuing, each word slow and forceful:

"It is the foundation of our tradition.

"It can become both shield and spear, extend into eyes, or serve as a trial ground to temper oneself.

"Its importance goes without saying.

"You must study it with care. There can be no negligence whatsoever."

Zhao Yu bowed slightly, bringing his hands together before him in a thoroughly humble posture.

He knew exactly how formidable the realm known as the Mirror Dimension was.

Within that dimension, entirely controlled by its caster, the creator was the supreme ruler.

All laws were determined by a single thought.

He recalled scenes from certain light-recordings: a red-robed sorcerer had once made a god of mischief from a distant starfield spend an eternity in endless descent.

That deity, who claimed mastery of countless secret arts, had been unable to find any way to escape.

That alone demonstrated the absolute control of that space—so long as one could not tear apart the barriers of space from within, any captive could only become a puppet in its master's palm.

He had long yearned for such power.

"Then let me tell you the key points."

The middle-aged man called Wong seemed quite pleased by Zhao Yu's respectful demeanor. His voice softened as he began analyzing the core principles of the spell one by one.

Creating a mirrored realm was fundamentally no different from other spells that constructed spaces.

All of them used immense energy to distort and sever off a corner of reality, shaping it into a private world belonging solely to the caster.

The only way to leave was through that ring-shaped gate of light connecting the two places.

If one could not master the method of opening that gate, any living being trapped within would face eternal imprisonment.

Zhao Yu listened intently, committing every word to memory.

At that moment, a faint chime, perceptible only to him, rippled through the depths of his consciousness.

A certain understanding suddenly clicked into place. Fragments of knowledge about folding space, establishing boundaries, and maintaining stability rapidly assembled themselves.

Immediately afterward, his newly formed comprehension of the mirrored realm seemed to take on a life of its own. It began actively absorbing all the experience and essentials he had just heard, entering an unusually active and efficient state of growth.

As a result, his speed of mastering this power increased significantly.

Wong's explanation finally came to an end.

Meanwhile, Zhao Yu's ability to construct that illusory space had quietly crossed the awkward threshold of beginnerhood and reached an entirely new, stable level.

Another soft chime sounded.

The newly acquired ability seemed to sense the urgent desire in his heart and began operating, tempering, and consolidating itself on its own.

It had leveled up.

A glint of light flashed uncontrollably through his eyes.

The instructor did not notice that subtle shift in expression.

Constructing the Mirror Dimension belonged to the category of advanced spells.

Yet mastering it did not require extraordinary talent.

So long as one patiently grasped every detail, one would naturally comprehend its principles.

Remember, remain focused and humble.

Whenever Wong taught students, he always spoke several times more than usual.

He broke down every key point and conveyed them clearly to Zhao Yu.

"Thank you for your guidance, Teacher. I will remember it."

Zhao Yu clasped his fists and bowed.

"Teacher, may I try it now?"

His voice restrained a restless eagerness.

"You may."

With a casual wave of Wong's hand, their figures detached from the reflection of the Mirror Dimension and returned to reality.

"Try it."

"But remember—if you sense that the spatial structure is unstable, do not enter rashly.

"Once the mirror shatters, the consequences will be unimaginable."

Wong's tone grew grave.

After all, it was an imitation and replication of the real world.

If stability could not be maintained,

and the constructed realm began to collapse,

the flying fragments of space would create terrifying tearing forces.

Even the Sorcerer Supreme himself,

if caught in that shattered vortex, would likely find it difficult to escape unscathed.

Beginners needed to proceed with even greater caution.

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder, Teacher."

Zhao Yu bowed in acknowledgment.

"Begin. I will stand guard beside you."

Wong stepped half a pace back, his gaze settling on the young man.

He did not believe Zhao Yu could succeed on his first attempt.

When Wong himself had first learned this spell, it had taken him two full years just to barely construct a stable entrance.

The first time he entered the Mirror Dimension alone had been under the personal protection of the Sorcerer Supreme.

Yet Zhao Yu had been learning it for barely more than ten minutes.

And now he wanted to open the dimension? That was asking far too much.

Then again, this was Zhao Yu.

If anyone else had started clamoring to cast the Mirror Dimension spell after learning for only a moment,

Wong would probably not even have bothered to spare them a glance.

Zhao Yu did not notice Wong's thoughts at that moment.

A faint tremor traveled through his fingertips, as though invisible threads were moving beneath his skin.

He lowered his gaze and felt that power slowly gather from deep within his body, like a snake awakening from hibernation and winding segment by segment toward his arm.

Then he raised his right hand and lightly touched the empty air ahead with a single index finger.

First came a faint cracking sound, like someone stepping on thin ice.

Then the air began to fracture—countless transparent lines emerged from nowhere, spreading and interweaving into a web of cracks.

Crystal-like light refracted from within those fissures, resembling frost-covered glass.

Wong's breathing stopped for an instant.

He watched the cracks expand, their edges gleaming with an icy radiance.

He knew this sight too well: the barrier of space had been torn open, and an entrance to another dimension was taking shape.

One try.

With just one attempt, this brat had pushed open that door?

His gaze fell upon Zhao Yu's profile.

There was little expression on that face, only a slight furrow between his brows from concentration.

Wong suddenly felt his throat go dry as an almost absurd thought seized him—did the concept of "unable to learn" simply not exist for the person before him?

The Mirror Dimension.

It was an advanced spell that even many seasoned sorcerers needed months to glimpse the doorway to.

Ten minutes? No, perhaps not even ten minutes.

If those people in the Sanctum who had studied until their beards turned white learned of this, what would they think? They would probably lock themselves in the library and refuse to come out to face anyone again.

Wong shook his head, casting aside those chaotic thoughts.

He realized that he seemed to be getting used to these successive shocks.

Even if something else happened in the future, it would probably be difficult to make him lose his composure again.

The fissures stabilized, forming an irregular entrance with faintly glowing edges.

Zhao Yu stepped inside.

There was another world within.

The outlines of its streets and buildings vaguely resembled those outside, yet they were different everywhere.

Walls could flow like liquid, while the ground could rise or collapse at will.

Here, with a single thought, he could flip an entire street upside down or make streetlights grow and entwine like vines.

He was the weaver of this space, the temporary maker of its rules.

He tested every possibility.

He made rubble float and assemble into formations of sharp spears; he made the flat ground suddenly split into an abyss; he rearranged scattered bricks and stones into the walls of a maze.

Within this realm controlled by his will, attacks could come from any direction, while traps could be laid in the most unexpected corners.

Of course.

Such operations also consumed mental energy intensely.

They were far more difficult than merely causing space to fluctuate.

The more meticulous the control one sought, the greater the mental effort required.

Thus, the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj exhausted all their strength merely expanding the Mirror Dimension.

No one had ever tried to make that realm undergo complex transformations.

Even the Sorcerer Supreme had never crossed this boundary.

But Zhao Yu was different.

The mirrored dimension he had summoned seemed to have become part of his body.

When casting this spell, he could scarcely feel any loss of mental energy.

That was why he had enough leeway to sculpt the shape of space.

As he watched everything around him twist and fold with his thoughts, the corners of his mouth rose uncontrollably.

With such an ability, his strength had improved by far more than one or two levels.

Especially when facing opponents who knew only brute force—such as that big green brute.

All he needed to do was exile the other party into this Mirror Dimension. Even if that monster exhausted itself to collapse, it would never find the path back to reality.

"Ding!"

"You have displayed extraordinary comprehension of spatial laws. The Mirror Dimension has gained an additional cultivation bonus."

"Ding!"

"Your Mirror Dimension has advanced to the second stage."

Before his joy could fully spread, the following notification interrupted it.

Ding!

"The Mirror Dimension's level has reached parity with the Portal."

"Due to their similar essence, the Mirror Dimension has initiated a forced fusion with the Portal."

"Ding!"

"The Portal fusion failed. Its core laws have been absorbed by the Mirror Dimension."

"Your Mirror Dimension has undergone an unknown mutation."

"Ding!"

The succession of text that appeared left Zhao Yu's thoughts stalled for a moment.

Those notifications had appeared without warning, one line after another.

The Mirror Dimension had undergone an evolution he had never anticipated—it was no longer merely a single dimensional layer, but had overlapped into a multilayered structure.

What stunned him even more was that this newborn space had absorbed the traits of both spells on its own and quietly advanced to the third stage.

Then a crisp chime rang out.

The notification told him that this space was in some kind of "excited" state, greatly increasing its cultivation efficiency.

It took Zhao Yu some time to read every piece of information word by word.

For a moment, he could not understand it.

Magic... could actually fuse on its own and mutate?

There seemed to be no such record in Kamar-Taj's archives.

He recalled the texts he had studied, but there was no similar precedent in his memories.

Apparently, those sorcerers had never encountered such a situation either.

He calmed himself and sank his consciousness into the newborn Multilayer Mirror Dimension.

As the stream of perception conveyed by the system flowed into his mind, Zhao Yu's expression froze.

The changes brought by this fusion far exceeded expectations.

The new space not only retained the original traits of both types of magic, but also gave rise to unprecedented abilities.

Now, even within a Mirror Dimension constructed by someone else, he could unfold a layer of space that belonged to him.

If his mental strength surpassed the other party's, he could even seize direct control of that space; even if he was slightly inferior, he could still weaken the other party's advantage in control.

This simply broke all conventional rules.

Even the Sorcerer Supreme himself might not have been capable of such a feat.

Other sorcerers could at most open a Portal within someone else's mirror realm and escape—just as Kaecilius had done.

That traitor's mastery of mirror magic was exceptionally profound, and he had once successfully escaped the Sorcerer Supreme's confinement.

But there was no way he could turn the tables as Zhao Yu could now.

Not only that, Zhao Yu's Portal had also undergone a mutation.

He raised his hand and lightly drew forward with his fingertips.

A golden arc immediately appeared in the air.

Yet the surface of that glow seemed veiled by a thin layer of water, its outline slightly blurred and faintly trembling, no longer as clear and stable as before.

Transparent crystalline particles flashed into existence and vanished in an instant, making the Portal shimmer with flowing light.

Those were fragments of energy leaking out from his Mirror Dimension.

The other end of the doorway led to his Mirror Dimension.

Anyone who entered without permission would not arrive where they expected—they would only fall into a layered mirror maze.

The complexity and tightness of that maze were already incomparable to what they had once been.

"Even a fusion like this can happen..."

He murmured, "It's as if magic itself has come alive."

The changes brought by the system always left him feeling dazed.

It not only allowed magic to cultivate itself, but also let different spells intertwine and give birth to entirely new forms.

"But what exactly are the conditions for fusion?"

His fingertips unconsciously brushed across his chin.