Meeting Yale

After staying in the Warcraft Mountain Range for nearly two and a half years, Arnold decided to take a break and go find Yale.

After saying goodbye to the Red-Eyed Black Dragon, Arnold set out north from the central region of the Warcraft Mountain Range, heading toward the O'Brien Empire.

Eager to leave the Warcraft Mountain Range, and traveling with Earth Escape Art, Arnold reached its northernmost edge in just over a week.

The northern edge of the Warcraft Mountain Range was only a few miles from the North Sea. Standing there, one could see the boundless azure expanse of the North Sea.

Between the North Sea and the northern edge of the Warcraft Mountain Range was a route connecting the O'Brien Empire and the Holy Alliance. Large numbers of travelers passed along this broad road almost every day.

Whether merchants from the O'Brien Empire and the Holy Alliance or people traveling for other purposes, nearly everyone took this road.

However, residents of the O'Brien Empire were born with a sense of pride when facing residents of the Holy Alliance. This was because the O'Brien Empire was the most powerful empire on the entire Yulan Continent, and it also had the War God. In the martial-minded O'Brien Empire, almost every resident was proud to be a member of the empire.

Arnold casually found a caravan on the road and followed it into the O'Brien Empire.

The highest-ranking cities in the O'Brien Empire were naturally the imperial capital, followed by the provincial capitals of the seven major provinces. Each of those seven provinces was considerably larger than an entire kingdom. Below the provincial capitals were prefectural cities, then ordinary cities, and below those were rural towns.

Following the caravan, Arnold arrived at Blackstone City in the northwestern part of the O'Brien Empire.

He contacted the personnel of Dawson Commerce within the city and soon received a letter from Yale.

Learning that Yale was currently in Scarlet Flame City, the imperial capital of the O'Brien Empire, Arnold set off for the capital once more.

After a dusty journey to Scarlet Flame City, Arnold learned that the eastern district of the imperial capital was where nobles and dignitaries lived, with the imperial palace also located there. Yale was staying at an estate on Blue Stone Road in the eastern district.

At an estate on Blue Stone Road, two burly guards stood ramrod straight at the gates. After briefly informing the guards of his arrival, Arnold entered the estate.

The moment he entered the estate's reception hall, Yale gave Arnold a bear hug.

They had not seen each other for a full two and a half years, and Yale had grown much more mature than before. Yale was now a head taller than Arnold. Arnold was only 1.8 meters tall, while Yale had already reached two meters.

"Fifth Brother, we haven't seen each other for two and a half years. I was worried sick about you," Yale said with a smile. "I didn't expect you to change so much in just over two years, Arnold."

Arnold wore a dark blue mage's robe, and his entire bearing seemed especially calm and steady. However, Yale knew that Arnold had already reached the level of a Seventh-level Mage more than two years ago.

"Arnold, what level have you reached now?" Yale asked, his eyes shining as he pulled Arnold over to a chair in the reception hall.

"I've become an Eighth-level Mage," Arnold answered casually.

"An Eighth-level Mage? Incredible! Fourth Brother is probably only at that level too!" Yale could not help exclaiming.

"What about your battle-qi cultivation?" Yale asked, naturally knowing that Arnold cultivated battle-qi as well.

"Sixth-level Warrior," Arnold answered.

"So fast?" Yale was stunned. He had not even reached the realm of a Sixth-level Mage yet!

"You know I've done quite a bit of research into Gravity Spells. Now, when I cast one, I can make gravity thirty-two times stronger. Cultivating battle-qi under gravity every day naturally speeds things up," Arnold answered again.

"Thirty-twofold gravity?" Yale was utterly dumbfounded. He knew about Gravity Spells too. Fifth- and Sixth-level Gravity Spells produced double gravity; a Seventh-level Gravity Spell produced fourfold gravity; an Eighth-level Gravity Spell produced eightfold gravity; only a Ninth-level Gravity Spell produced sixteenfold gravity. Arnold could actually cast a thirty-twofold Gravity Spell. Good heavens, it directly surpassed a Ninth-level Gravity Spell and was nearly twice as effective.

"Can you make it so I'm unaffected by this Gravity Spell whenever I want?" Yale asked.

The moment Arnold heard that, he knew Yale wanted to test his Gravity Spell. "No problem."

"Can you cast tenfold gravity? Last time, I accidentally stepped into Fourth Brother's fourfold gravity, and it nearly killed me," Yale asked again.

"I can, but your physical condition is lacking, Big Brother Yale. I'm afraid you might not be able to endure tenfold gravity," Arnold said tactfully.

"Who gives a damn? Fifth Brother, cast tenfold gravity on me and let me see. But make sure you quickly withdraw its effects."

Seeing Yale insist, Arnold could only let him try.

The two stood up from their chairs and walked to the side.

Arnold silently chanted a spell, aimed at Yale, and cast a tenfold Greater Gravity Spell over the one-meter area around him. In less than a second, Arnold withdrew the effects of the Greater Gravity Spell.

The gravity produced by Greater Gravity Spell was actually a special energy formed from earth elemental essence filling a certain area. Once Arnold withdrew that special energy, the effects of the Greater Gravity Spell naturally vanished.

Yet during that brief moment of less than a second, Yale felt as though he had been cast into the Infernal Realm.

After the effects of the tenfold Greater Gravity Spell passed, Yale breathed heavily and took nearly ten minutes to recover. Fortunately, it had lasted only a very short time. Otherwise, Yale's physical condition truly might have caused problems.

Ten minutes later, Yale said with a bitter smile, "Fifth Brother, thankfully I was smart enough to only try tenfold gravity. Just now, my whole body felt unbearably awful. It even felt as if my heart had stopped. I have no idea how you can endure thirty-twofold gravity. No wonder your battle-qi cultivation is so fast!"

"No. Even if I didn't resist it, I couldn't endure thirty-twofold gravity either. But my body has now adapted to fivefold gravity. I'm striving to adapt to tenfold gravity. By then, my physical strength might even break through to the Sixth-level," Arnold said modestly.

After that, Yale and Arnold talked about the situations of their other brothers. George had returned to the Magnolia Empire and entered officialdom; Renault had been sent into the army by his father after returning to his family; as for Yale, he mainly traveled and made his way through the O'Brien Empire and the Magnolia Empire.

At the estate in the O'Brien Empire, Yale also arranged living quarters and a place for Arnold to train.

After arriving there, Arnold did not devote himself entirely to cultivation. Sometimes, he rested and accompanied Yale to attend noble banquets in the imperial capital.

Moreover, because Arnold was now an Eighth-level Mage, the Council of Elders within Dawson Commerce believed that it was only a matter of time before he became a Saint Domain expert. Yale therefore gave Arnold a token representing elder status, and Arnold accepted it without hesitation. Back in Fenlai City, Linley had displayed the strength of a Ninth-level Warrior after dragonform transformation, so a Council of Elders token had been prepared for him as well. However, Linley had not been seen yet, so Yale was still keeping the token for him.