Learning of the Profound Mysteries of the Laws

Haoyue, Linley, and Bebe traveled east into the outskirts of the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.

They were in no hurry to reach the O'Brien Empire.

For one thing, the Radiant Church was hunting for them everywhere, and the situation was tense. For another, both men needed time to consolidate their gains and cultivate.

The Magical Beasts Mountain Range was undoubtedly the best place to cultivate.

There were plenty of magical beasts to practice against, and with few people around, they were less likely to be discovered by the Church.

One day, in a secluded valley deep in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.

Haoyue sat cross-legged on a boulder, an earthy yellow light flowing around him.

He was cultivating Earth Element magic.

Although his Earth Element magic had reached the level of a Level 9 Great Mage, taking another step and breaking through to Saint-level was no easy feat.

Saint-level was a chasm.

Countless Level 9 experts spent their entire lives unable to cross that threshold.

"Sigh..."

Haoyue opened his eyes and sighed.

He was still a little short.

The bottleneck in Earth Element magic was even harder to break through than he had expected.

"Big Brother Haoyue, worrying again?"

Linley walked over, carrying two magical rabbits roasted golden brown.

Bebe stood on his shoulder, his little eyes fixed on the roasted rabbits, almost drooling.

"Mm."

Haoyue nodded and jumped down from the boulder.

"Breaking through to Saint-level in Earth Element magic is too hard."

"Just accumulating mana won't do any good."

Linley nodded in complete agreement.

His own Earth Element magic was currently stuck at the Level 7 bottleneck, and he had been unable to break through to Level 8.

"Oh, right, Big Brother Haoyue." Linley suddenly remembered something. "Grandpa Doehring said he could teach you about Earth Element magic."

"Even though you can't hear or see him, I can relay what he says."

"Oh?"

Haoyue raised an eyebrow.

Doehring Cowart?

The foremost Earth Element Saint Magus of the Puang Empire five thousand years ago.

His mastery of Earth Element magic was absolutely top-notch.

Receiving his guidance would be an enormous boon for Haoyue.

"Great." Haoyue nodded immediately. "Then sorry for the trouble, Grandpa Doehring."

Linley smiled, closed his eyes, and exchanged a few words with Doehring Cowart.

A moment later, he opened his eyes and said to Haoyue:

"Grandpa Doehring said it's no trouble."

"He also said it's already incredible that a Tiger-Striped Warrior like you managed to cultivate Earth Element magic to this level."

Haoyue smiled without speaking.

Half of his achievements today came from the advantages of being a transmigrator, and the other half from the boost provided by the Hextech System.

When it came to understanding magic, he was still far behind an old monster like Doehring Cowart, who had lived for five thousand years.

"Grandpa Doehring asks how far your understanding of Earth Element magic has progressed," Linley continued to relay.

Haoyue thought for a moment and said:

"I've mastered the basic spells, and I can use Level 9 magic proficiently too."

"But I don't understand much about deeper things, like the nature of the earth element."

Linley nodded and relayed Haoyue's words to Doehring.

A moment later, Linley spoke again:

"Grandpa Doehring said that's perfectly normal."

"He said that the further you progress in cultivating magic, the more important it becomes to understand the nature of the elements."

"Level 9 and Saint-level might seem only one step apart, but a chasm actually lies between them."

"Many people remain trapped at Level 9 their whole lives because they can't fathom the nature of the elements."

Haoyue nodded.

He wholeheartedly agreed.

He was stuck at that very bottleneck.

He had accumulated enough mana, but his understanding of the earth element remained just a little short.

"Grandpa Doehring also said he could start with the most basic structure of the earth element and help you strengthen your foundation step by step," Linley said. "Once your foundation is solid, breaking through to Saint-level will come naturally."

"All right." Haoyue nodded firmly. "Then I'll be counting on Grandpa Doehring."

And so, Doehring Cowart began "teaching Haoyue remotely."

Although Haoyue could neither hear nor see Doehring, things went smoothly enough with Linley relaying their words.

Doehring Cowart truly deserved his reputation as the foremost Saint Magus of five thousand years ago.

His understanding of Earth Element magic ran bone-deep.

From the most basic structure of the earth element to the principles of intermediate magic formations, and then to advanced elemental combinations-

He explained everything clearly and systematically, making profound concepts easy to understand.

Many things Haoyue had only half understood before suddenly became clear after Doehring explained them.

Take the spell Earthquake, for example. Previously, Haoyue had only known how to cast it mechanically, with little understanding of the principles behind it.

In just three days, Doehring thoroughly explained the spell from multiple angles, including the frequency of the earth, elemental resonance, and the transfer of energy.

After listening to him, Haoyue cast the spell again, and its efficiency immediately increased by thirty percent!

There was also Earth Element defensive magic-

Doehring began with the structure of Saint-level Earthguard Armor, breaking it down layer by layer and analyzing the function of every magic rune and the principles behind each layer's elemental arrangement.

After listening, Haoyue's understanding of defensive magic leaped to a new level.

His Saint-level Earth Guardian Armor was fully twice as strong defensively as before!

"Grandpa Doehring really is amazing..."

One day, after finishing his cultivation, Haoyue couldn't help but exclaim.

"Of course." Linley looked proud, as though he were the one being praised. "Grandpa Doehring was a genius five thousand years ago!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Doehring Cowart's voice came from the Coiling Dragon Ring:

"Haha, young Haoyue, you don't need to be modest either."

"Your talent is the best I've ever seen."

"For many things, I only need to explain them once and you understand. You can even apply what you've learned to other situations."

"Given time, your achievements will surely surpass mine."

Although Linley was relaying his words, the admiration and approval in Doehring's tone were unmistakably genuine.

Haoyue smiled.

His rapid progress was partly because Doehring taught well and partly because his foundation had already been solid.

With the dragon soul's boost as well, his comprehension was far beyond that of ordinary people to begin with.

Of course, there was no need to tell Doehring any of that.

The days passed.

Under Doehring's guidance, Haoyue's mastery of Earth Element magic advanced by leaps and bounds.

Not only that, Linley also made considerable progress.

With Haoyue as a "classmate," Linley was much more motivated to study.

The two brothers sparred and compared their understanding, both progressing at an astonishing pace.

One day, after they finished cultivating, Linley suddenly sighed.

"What's wrong?" Haoyue asked.

Linley fell silent for a moment, then said:

"I was wondering, will Grandpa Doehring... have to stay in the Coiling Dragon Ring for the rest of his life?"

"He was so powerful back then, but now he doesn't even have a physical body..."

Haoyue's heart stirred.

In the original story, Doehring Cowart's end came when he used forbidden magic and died after exhausting his soul power.

In this life, although Haoyue had saved him, remaining in soul form was ultimately no long-term solution.

The only way to truly bring Doehring "back to life" was for him to become a deity.

A Deity-level expert could condense a Divine Spark and reconstruct his physical body.

Then Doehring would truly be able to return to life.

But Haoyue couldn't say this directly.

He couldn't very well tell Doehring, "I transmigrated here, and I know you can become a deity as long as you comprehend a Profound Mystery of the Laws," could he?

That would be far too shocking.

So he needed a plausible "pretext."

For example-

An ancient secret discovered in a cave.

Haoyue pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke:

"Linley, there's something I've never told you."

"What is it?" Linley looked at Haoyue in confusion.

"Actually, back then, I found some ancient inscriptions in a cave deep in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range," Haoyue said slowly. "Those inscriptions recorded some... very startling secrets."

"Secrets?" Linley's eyes lit up. "What secrets?"

Haoyue gathered his thoughts and said:

"The inscriptions said that when a Saint-level expert breaks through to Deity-level, he can condense a Divine Spark and reconstruct his physical body."

"Even someone in soul form can regain a physical body, as long as he can comprehend a Law and condense a Divine Spark."

"What?!"

Linley shot to his feet, his face full of shock.

"Big Brother Haoyue, is that true?!"

"Grandpa Doehring... he can get his body back too?!"

Haoyue nodded, then shook his head.

"That's what the inscriptions said."

"But I don't know whether it's true."

"After all, they were just some ancient inscriptions. No one knows whether they're true or false."

But Linley was already beside himself with excitement.

He didn't care whether it was true or not.

As long as there was a glimmer of hope, he wouldn't give up!

"Grandpa Doehring! Grandpa Doehring, did you hear that?!"

Linley shouted at the Coiling Dragon Ring.

"You can get your body back!"

"You can become a deity!"

Soon, Doehring Cowart's voice rang out as well, carrying a trace of excitement.

"Linley, is what you said true?"

"Can a Deity-level expert... really reconstruct his physical body?"

"Big Brother Haoyue said so. He found the inscriptions in a cave!" Linley hurriedly said.

Doehring Cowart fell silent.

A moment later, his voice rang out with a slight tremble:

"Young Haoyue, could you tell me what else the inscriptions in that cave said?"

Haoyue thought for a moment and said:

"The inscriptions also said that the source of a Deity-level expert's power is the Laws."

"Each element corresponds to a Law."

"And each Law is divided into different Profound Mysteries."

"As long as you comprehend one of those Profound Mysteries, you can condense a Divine Spark and break through to Deity-level."

"Laws? Profound Mysteries?"

Doehring Cowart's voice was full of confusion.

"How come I've never heard those terms before?"

"Back then, I reached Peak Saint-level by bringing my understanding of the Earth Element to its utmost limit."

"But these so-called Laws and Profound Mysteries... I have no idea what they are."

Haoyue laughed inwardly.

Of course you've never heard of them.

Only those who had truly reached the Deity-level would understand these things.

"I don't remember exactly what the inscription said," Haoyue continued to make things up. "It was a long time ago, and there were a lot of words I couldn't understand."

"But I remember it listed several Profound Mysteries of the Laws of Earth."

"The Profound Mysteries of the Laws of Earth?" Doehring Cowart's voice immediately grew serious.

"Which ones?"

Haoyue pretended to think back and slowly said:

"Let me think... I think there were the Earth Element Profound Mysteries, the Earth Travel Technique Profound Mysteries, the Profound Mysteries of Strength, the Pulsation Profound Mysteries, the Profound Mystery of Gravitational Force, and the Life Force Profundity."

"Six in all? Or was it seven... I don't remember clearly."

"Anyway, that was roughly it."

When he finished speaking, Doehring Cowart fell completely silent.

The Earth Element Profound Mysteries, the Earth Travel Technique Profound Mysteries, the Profound Mysteries of Strength...

He had never heard a single one of those terms.

But for some reason, he had a vague feeling that these things... were very likely real.

When he cultivated Earth Element magic all those years ago, he had vaguely sensed that it seemed to branch off in several different directions.

Some leaned toward defense, some toward attack, some toward speed, and some toward life...

Could these different directions correspond to the so-called "Profound Mysteries"?

"The Earth Element Profound Mysteries..." Doehring Cowart murmured.

"If I'm not mistaken, five thousand years ago, I probably reached the Peak Saint-level in the Earth Element direction."

"Otherwise, I couldn't possibly have understood the essence of Earth Element magic so thoroughly."

"I just never knew that it was actually one of these so-called Profound Mysteries..."

Haoyue was secretly delighted.

He took the bait.

"Grandpa Doehring, do you know which direction to take now?" Haoyue asked, pretending to be curious.

"I do." Doehring Cowart's voice held a trace of excitement, as well as a trace of relief.

"For five thousand years, I've been stuck at the Peak Saint-level, unable to advance an inch."

"I thought that was my limit."

"I never imagined there was a higher level."

"The Profound Mysteries of the Laws... the Deity-level..."

"Good! Good! Good!"

Doehring Cowart said "good" three times in a row, his voice full of excitement.

"Starting today, I'll begin comprehending the Earth Element Profound Mysteries!"

"I want to see just what these so-called Laws are!"

Linley was beside himself with excitement too.

"Grandpa Doehring, you can do it!"

"Once you become a god, we can travel the continent together!"

"Haha, good!" Doehring Cowart laughed. "May your words come true!"

Seeing how excited Linley was, Haoyue could imagine that Doehring Cowart was also very happy, and he smiled too.

This way, Doehring had a new goal and direction.

He would no longer spend his days in a daze as he had in the original story.

With a goal and motivation, his condition would surely keep improving.

Perhaps one day, he really could break through to the Deity-level and recreate his body.

He just didn't know whether having no body would affect becoming a god. After all, in the original story, he had never heard of anyone becoming a god without a body. Still, it was fine; when the time came, he could just ask Bebe's grandfather, Beirut.

A trace of anticipation flashed in Haoyue's eyes.

He really wanted to see what Doehring Cowart would look like after regaining his body.

After that, Doehring Cowart completely "disappeared."

He spent his days and nights in the Coiling Dragon Ring, comprehending the Earth Element Profound Mysteries.

Sometimes, he would only come out once every month or two to give Linley and Haoyue some guidance in their cultivation.

Then he would hurry back to continue his comprehension.

As he put it-

"Before, I had nothing to do. Now that I have a goal, I have to make the most of my time."

Haoyue and Linley both understood.

He had already spent five thousand years waiting, and now that he had finally seen hope, of course he wanted to make every second count.

Linley also learned the names of the Profound Mysteries of the Laws of Wind from Haoyue.

It was just that Haoyue himself didn't know exactly how to cultivate or comprehend them.

In his previous life, he had only read the novel, so he knew only the rough outlines of those settings. If they were really that easy to comprehend, everyone who knew a name would have comprehended them.

Still, knowing the direction was already quite good.

It was far better than stumbling around like a headless fly.