Linley Graduates

In the forests at the edge of the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.

Haoyue stood quietly in the middle of a clearing, the Purple Blood Soft Sword in his hand.

More than twenty level-four Wind Wolves had gathered before him. Their limbs were taut and their eyes gleamed with ferocity; they already regarded him as prey. A level-four Wind Wolf was not strong on its own, and a level-five warrior could easily kill one. But they lived in packs and worked together seamlessly, surrounding their quarry in successive layers. Even a Level Six Warrior would find them troublesome.

The pack leader let out a long howl. The twenty-odd Wind Wolves instantly spread out into a fan-shaped encirclement, then lunged at him in streaks of gray.

Haoyue remained calm in the face of the pack's attack.

During his recent training, he had been trying to channel magic of three elements into the Purple Blood Soft Sword. At the same time, he recalled the principles of Taiji Fist from his previous life, incorporating its roundness and softness, the redirection of force, and the use of an opponent's strength against them into his swordplay.

He discovered that the water element was best suited to the intent of Taiji's roundness and softness.

Water-element magic flowed into the Purple Blood Soft Sword, coating it in a film of water and making the blade supple and responsive. Haoyue turned his wrist lightly, wielding the sword with Taiji Cloud Hands. The blade traced layers of arcs before him, forming a closed circle of water force.

Several Wind Wolves pounced, snapped, and struck with their claws in succession, but every attack was redirected by the arcing water force.

He subsequently encountered several more groups of magical beasts, including swift pack-dwelling creatures such as lightning mice and Wind Wolves. No matter what angle they attacked from or how many wind blades and bolts of lightning they unleashed, they could not break through the defense of Haoyue's Water Element Taiji Sword. Every attack was deflected and neutralized by the round, supple movements of his sword, unable to touch him in the slightest.

Once his defense was secure, Haoyue began experimenting by alternating between the three elements of magic.

When he channeled earth-element magic into the blade, it grew heavy and solid, its power surging. A single sweep could shatter a Wind Wolf's bones;

When he channeled fire-element magic into it, flames flared along the blade, and a precise, explosive strike could blast a magical beast's head apart in an instant;

With the water element, he continuously redirected force and entangled his opponent before following up with a fatal strike.

Entire packs of Wind Wolves and lightning mice could not even touch the hem of Haoyue's clothes. In the end, he calmly killed every last one.

After dealing with the final Wind Wolf, Haoyue put away his sword and stood still.

He was now a Level 9 Great Mage and had grasped the basics of Taiji's round, supple sword intent. Level-four magical beasts posed no threat whatsoever to him in his normal state, leaving him completely unable to bring out the Purple Blood Soft Sword's true power.

After a brief moment of reflection, Haoyue lingered no longer. He set out with Linley and returned to Fenlai City.

Half a month later, at the Ernst Institute.

After surviving the magical beast tide and training in the mountains, Linley returned safely to the institute. By now, he had not only awakened as a Dragonblood Warrior and gained the strength of an Eighth-level Warrior, but had also fully consolidated his magical cultivation, becoming a full-fledged Level Seven Mage.

Linley promptly applied to the institute for early graduation.

The Ernst Institute had kept clear records of the ages at which its mages graduated since its founding:

Haoyue Bolei, at eighteen, was the youngest Level Seven Mage graduate in the institute's history;

A former student who graduated at nineteen and was now a Saint-level Mage ranked second;

But seventeen-year-old Linley broke the record outright, becoming the youngest Level Seven Mage in the history of the Ernst Institute on the Yulan Continent.

He was also the second-youngest Level Seven Mage on the continent.

(The youngest was sixteen.)

The news immediately shook the entire institute.

Everyone knew that with such talent, he was certain to reach the Saint-level in the future, and might even strive for a higher realm.

The Radiant Church of the Holy Union immediately extended an olive branch to Linley, offering to recruit him on exceptional terms.

But under Haoyue's influence, Linley was more inclined to align himself with the Fenlai Kingdom and restore the Baruch Clan. In the end, he politely declined the church's invitation and accepted a title directly from the king of Fenlai, receiving the marquisate established in the original story and officially becoming the Fenlai Kingdom's newly appointed Marquis of Wushan Town.

Meanwhile, Haoyue returned home.

Maia, the director-general of the Proulx Gallery, had been unable to forget Linley's five "Dream Awakening" stone sculptures ever since seeing them at Haoyue's home.

He and Haoyue had become acquainted through stone sculpting. During the preceding period, he had frequently visited Haoyue and sent people to inquire, asking repeatedly whether the sculptor had returned and whether the works were for sale. He was deeply fixated on them.

Haoyue had always respected Linley's wishes and had never relented.

Once Linley had temporarily moved into the Marquis of Three Elements' residence, Haoyue sought him out immediately to tell him something important.

The Baruch Clan's ancestral treasured saber, Slaughter, was now in the hands of the noble Lucas Clan.

The two immediately went together to pay a personal visit to the Lucas Clan.

Both were gifted mages and marquises of the kingdom, and their future as Saint-level Mages was all but assured. The simultaneous visit of two rising stars of the continent drew the utmost attention from the Lucas Clan's patriarch, who was eager to establish good relations with them.

The patriarch took the initiative, offering to sell them the superb war saber Slaughter, worth a million gold coins, at the discounted price of 550,000.

But both men were short of money at the moment.

Haoyue had long since sent all his savings back to his mother, Martha, to help support Hogg in the distant O'Brien Empire and cover living expenses and resources, leaving himself no spare money.

Linley had always been poor and was even less able to produce such a huge sum.

They could only explain the situation to the patriarch and arrange to return for the treasured saber once they had gathered enough gold.

On their way back from the Lucas Clan, Haoyue told Linley about Director Maia's obsession with the sculptures and his repeated attempts to buy them. He suggested putting the five "Dream Awakening" sculptures up for public auction at the Proulx Gallery.

Linley had no objection.

The only valuables he possessed were a Saint-level magic crystal and the stone sculptures into which he had poured his heart. The gold from the auction would be just enough to reclaim the war saber Slaughter and support his cultivation.

But as the two were returning to the residence, more than a dozen black-robed figures sprang out onto the road. Their strength was astonishing: seven or eight level-six mages and warriors, two level-seven warriors and two level-seven mages, as well as an 8th-level Warrior.

They did not attack immediately. Instead, they said, "My lords marquises, I sincerely invite you to join our Dark Alliance. We will surely offer you better terms."

"Of course, you can also choose to refuse. If you choose the latter, we can only nip you in the bud!"

Hearing the threat, Haoyue merely chuckled and asked Linley beside him, "Ready?"

Linley nodded.

Linley immediately transformed, raising his strength to the level of an 8th-level Warrior. Haoyue then handed him the Purple Blood Sword at his waist.

Haoyue himself extended a hand and instantly cast the eighth-level Medium Gravity Spell, followed by the eighth-level fire-element spell Fire Serpent Strangulation.

Linley then rushed forward and killed the level-six mages and warriors outright.

The two worked together seamlessly, and their speed caught the Dark Alliance members off guard. It also surprised the Radiant Church experts protecting the pair from the shadows.

After dealing with them, Haoyue and Linley continued toward the residence.

Word of their formidable strength also reached the pope of the Radiant Church. After hearing the report, the pope murmured, "They killed all the assassins? And his body turned cyan? Baruch, Baruch... hmm, the Baruch Clan is the Dragonblood Warrior Clan, one of the four Ultimate Warrior Clans, isn't it? As for Haoyue, he's progressed so quickly that he's already an 8th-level Magus, and he can even cast spells instantly. What terrifying magical talent."

Before long, the "Dream Awakening" stone sculptures officially went up for auction at the Proulx Gallery.

The masterful sculptures, whose artistic conception and craftsmanship far surpassed those of Linley's peers, drew bids from countless influential figures. In the end, Delia bought them for the astronomical price of twelve million gold coins.

Haoyue immediately told Linley the result, and Linley learned that Delia had secretly stepped in to help him.

As a single master of romance, Haoyue only wanted to tell Linley, Wasn't she making her feelings obvious enough? How could you be such a blockhead? Oh, my foolish little brother!

With such a huge sum, reclaiming the war saber Slaughter was no longer a problem.

Afterward, Linley settled down at the marquis's residence to focus on cultivation, honing his Dragonblood Battle Qi and magic.

Haoyue did not slack off either.

He set up a training area in an empty room of the residence, purchased a large quantity of iron weightlifting equipment, and cast the ninth-level spell Greater Gravity Domain.

He artificially multiplied the gravity several times over, lifting weights, training his body, and circulating his Battle-qi under the immense pressure.

Using the extreme load, he repeatedly sought to grasp the true essence of controlling force so that he could lift heavy weights as though they were light. He tempered his body, refined his control over Battle-qi, strengthened his foundations, and steadily consolidated the cultivation base of an Eighth-level Warrior.