"Mm."
"Thank you for clearing things up, Master. Next, I'd like to go out to temper myself and search for some things. Please give me your permission," Lu Ling said, taking the opportunity to voice his thoughts.
"Are you trying to run away?"
"No!"
"I could tell long ago that your disposition was unusual, not as innocent as a newborn's." His master's words carried a pointed meaning.
"Master, the kindness of raising me weighs as heavily as Mount Tai. I won't leave you. It's just that I need time and opportunities to grow right now, so I can ease your troubles in the future." Lu Ling dropped to both knees and solemnly vowed.
At the sight, a little more gratification appeared on his master's face.
With a casual wave of her hand, gentle spatial power lifted Lu Ling to his feet.
"Silly child, unless you become the strongest mage in the world, you won't be able to ease your master's troubles."
"Is it the Holy City?" Lu Ling asked gravely.
"You really do know a lot," his master said, taken aback.
"Because you seem to be hiding from something too, Master... I could tell."
"Yes. All these years, I've been hiding here to recover from my injuries, and raising you along the way."
"Don't worry, Master. Even if it's the Holy City, I can overturn it!"
His master laughed. It wasn't a smile, but a laugh that verged on losing her composure, as though Lu Ling's words were some enormous joke to her.
In all these years, it was the first time Lu Ling had seen his master laugh like this, and he couldn't help wishing he had somewhere to hide his face.
"Master..."
"You don't need to think about all that right now. Since you want to leave my embrace, accept this."
The blond girl pinched Lu Ling's face, then pressed her forehead against his.
Humm...
A flash of light passed, and when Lu Ling opened his eyes again, he found himself back in his inner world, with his master now beside him.
"Your magic elements really are quite a spectacle. To think someone could obtain so many kinds of magic without paying any price," his master marveled.
"Master?"
"It's nothing. I'm just here to remove the shackles I placed on you back then."
"Shackles?!" Lu Ling's eyes widened.
He seemed to finally understand why his cultivation had been so slow.
"Since you know about the Holy City, do you know about Calamity Bringers? During your Magic Awakening, I felt that your magic seemed even more terrifying than a Calamity Bringer's. If I'd simply let you grow freely back then, I feared certain uncontrollable situations might arise, so I used a special method to suppress your growth."
"Master, why didn't you tell me sooner!"
"Why didn't you trust me sooner?" His master was quite mischievous in her soul form, flashing a wicked grin.
"..."
Lu Ling swallowed everything he had been about to say. He had indeed hidden a great deal from his master...
The blond girl pointed toward the sea of stars. Lu Ling immediately felt the stars tremble, and the shackles obstructing his cultivation vanished like smoke and clouds. Even the flow of his magical energy became unobstructed at that moment.
"Stay here and cultivate for a week first. You can leave once I'm done observing you."
"Yes!"
One year later.
Lanyang City.
A boy was wandering around a water treatment plant, his white hair securely coiled up with a red hair tie. His unusual appearance looked quite strange among the crowd, but few people came here, so he couldn't be bothered to disguise himself.
This boy was none other than Lu Ling, who had left Bo City a year ago. After a year of tempering himself, he had shed the last traces of childishness. Already seasoned, he had grown even more mature.
"The Earth Fire Pistil..."
He held a detector as he surveyed the area for a spot with an unusual temperature-the location of the Earth Fire Pistil and the Lightning Fire Altar.
Beep, beep, beep... The detector's sounds suddenly grew rapid.
Right here!
A dark aura instantly filled Lu Ling's eyes. Under his control, seven stars lined up in succession, completing the connection of a dark Star Path in the space of a breath.
"Fleeing Shadow, Shadow Form."
Following the water pipes, Lu Ling plunged underground at tremendous speed.
Having cultivated the Fire Element, he was naturally sensitive to fire elements as well, and could clearly sense the precise direction even while using Fleeing Shadow.
After searching for some time, a pitch-black shadow rose straight from the ground within a Lightning Fire Altar, like a rapidly growing tree, slowly taking on a human shape.
"Found it!" On the way here, he had broken through a lightning-magnetic restriction. Even with his current Third Realm mental strength, it had taken considerable time.
Lu Ling looked at the altar, excitement gleaming in his eyes. At its center, countless feathers as large as banana leaves lay piled in overlapping layers, in utter disarray.
There were still roughly ten years before the Extreme South Emperor would use its divine ability to raise sea levels, so the altar here remained fully intact, with no seawater having contaminated this place.
This was very likely the Vermilion Bird's burial place. Deeper in the underground world, there was also an Earth Fire Pistil!
However, that was not something Lu Ling could lay his hands on at present. Even approaching it would be extremely difficult. He had only one objective on this trip: the totem here.
Totem Power held boundless mysteries. No matter how powerful his talent was, he couldn't bear to pass it up.
Mysterious feather totem... let's see whether you can give me any surprises!
Lu Ling gently placed his hand on it. A single downy plume was larger than his palm; he truly couldn't imagine how enormous a beast these feathers had belonged to.
"No reaction?"
Unwilling to accept it, Lu Ling instantly completed the connection of seven Fire Element stars.
"Fire Burst, Burning."
In an instant, crimson-gold flames blazed over his hands. More terrifying than ordinary fire, their intense temperature climbed higher and higher.
The instant the crimson-gold flames touched the Maple Fire Feather, the feathers they contacted actually began burning too. The crimson-gold flames spread, crisscrossing like branches until they completely covered the altar!
"It's working!"
He had thought it would take a long period of burning, never expecting to resonate with the feather totem so easily.
The moment the crimson-gold flames completely covered the feathers, every feather floated upward at once. As though an invisible wind were guiding them, they slowly drifted toward Lu Ling.
It was as though he were surrounded by countless flaming meteors. The magnificent sight gave Lu Ling a small surprise.
At the center of the altar, a spatial rift formed from flames slowly opened, and Lu Ling caught sight of it amid the countless glowing streams of fire.
That was...
A golden feather?
It was very small, only about the size of an ordinary fountain pen.
What was this...
Suddenly... an unexpected change occurred.
As though it possessed a mind of its own, the golden feather shot straight toward the space between Lu Ling's brows.
"Wait!"
Before he could dodge, the golden feather had already invaded Lu Ling's mental world.
Led by the golden feather, the remaining Rosy Glow Feathers and Maple Fire Plumes all plunged into the space between Lu Ling's brows in a rush.
Lu Ling seemed to have been struck by an immobilization spell. Even after all the altar's fiery feathers had vanished, he did not move.
After some time, Lu Ling slowly opened his eyes. A faint fiery aura lingered around him, a crown of fire elements. Between his brows, a faint flame burned, endlessly renewing itself, never burning out.
"Vermilion Bird... I'll protect it well."
Only a few short minutes had passed, yet Lu Ling felt as though he had communicated with the totem's will for a very long time.
There was no other meaning. What the totem conveyed to him was just one word.
Protect.