novelTele Chapter 16: Breaking Through Level 7
Chapter 16: Breaking Through Level 7
After the battle with the Black-striped Leopard, Lin Yun rested for seven days in a cave on the outskirts of the Monster Mountain Range.
For the first three days, he could do almost nothing. Although the wound on his chest had been treated promptly with light magic, the three claw marks were too deep, damaging his bones and internal organs. Every breath aggravated the wound, bringing waves of excruciating pain. The injury to his right arm was slightly less severe, but he still couldn't lift it.
Beibei seemed to know his situation. Every day she would go out hunting and bring back small animals like rabbits and pheasants, placing them in front of him. Then she would squat down beside him, tilting her head to look at him, her dark eyes full of worry.
"Don't worry, it won't die." Lin Yun smiled wryly and patted its little head.
In the past few days, his only task has been meditation to heal his wounds.
He casts his Light Healing spell more than ten times a day, white light flowing over the wound, repairing the damaged tissue bit by bit. He's also used several bottles of healing potion; a thick scab has formed on the wound, and the surrounding skin is turning a new pink.
By the fourth day, he was finally able to sit up and move around normally. The wound on his chest had mostly healed, and although he still couldn't do strenuous exercise, at least it was no longer painful.
"Chirp chirp!" Beibei saw him sit up and excitedly jumped around on his shoulder.
Lin Yun smiled, took out some dry rations from his bag, and ate slowly. His appetite was much better than a few days ago, which meant his body was recovering.
On the fifth day, he began to stretch his muscles and bones in the cave. He practiced the Qi Gathering Posture several times, and although his movements were much slower than usual, every breath was precise and accurate. He could feel the battle qi within his body slowly circulating under the guidance of the Qi Gathering Posture, nourishing his injured muscles and bones.
On the sixth day, he emerged from the cave and practiced basic swordsmanship in a small clearing near the entrance. His movements were slow, but he strived for precision with every strike. Beibei perched on a nearby branch, watching with great interest, occasionally chirping as if offering its critique.
By the seventh day, his injuries had basically healed.
The scar on his chest was still there, but it no longer affected his mobility. His right arm could move normally again. He stood at the cave entrance, facing the morning sunlight, and took a deep breath.
The magical elements in the air seemed more active and easier to perceive than usual. This was no illusion—after teetering on the brink of death, his mental strength had indeed undergone a subtle change, as if the barrier had become as thin as a cicada's wing, and only the final blow remained.
"It's time for a breakthrough," Lin Yun murmured.
Beibei chirped, as if saying "Go for it!"
Lin Yun decided to complete his breakthrough in this cave.
He set up several warning spells at the cave entrance—he would sense any person or magical beast approaching immediately. Bebe crouched on a rock at the cave entrance, vigilantly watching his surroundings, protecting him.
Lin Yun sat cross-legged inside the cave, closed his eyes, and began to meditate.
His spiritual power slowly sank into the depths of his consciousness.
There, seven colors of magical power flowed slowly within his body like seven thick clouds of mist. Earth-colored earth, fire-colored fire, water-colored water, wind-colored cyan, lightning-colored lightning, light-colored gold, and darkness-colored black—the seven colors intertwined to form a strange scene.
This is the magic power of a level six peak – mist-like.
The form of magical power is an important indicator of a mage's level. The magical power of first to third-level mages is gaseous, thin and scattered; the magical power of fourth to sixth-level mages is misty, condensed and orderly; the magical power of seventh to ninth-level mages is liquid, pure and powerful; while the magical power of a holy-level mage is solid crystal.
Now, what he needs to do is compress the misty magical power within his body into liquid.
This is an extremely difficult process.
Lin Yun took a deep breath and began to mobilize his mental energy, compressing the mist-like magical power from the outside in.
The earth-based magic, a yellowish-brown color, was the first to change. Under the pressure of his mental energy, the dense fog began to shrink and condense, becoming smaller in volume and denser in density. He could feel the originally loose and floating magical particles being squeezed together, colliding and merging with each other.
A sharp pain shot through his lower abdomen, as if a thousand needles were piercing him simultaneously. Cold sweat beaded on Lin Yun's forehead, but he gritted his teeth and did not stop.
Compress, and compress again.
The thick, yellowish-brown fog gradually shrank, from the size of a fist to the size of an egg, and then to the size of a walnut. Its color deepened, from light yellow to dark yellow, and finally became a thick, almost amber-colored liquid.
"Tick-tock".
The first drop of liquid magic power was formed.
The moment it fell, Lin Yun felt as if something inside him had been shattered. The barrier that had troubled him for so long crumbled in that instant.
Breakthrough.
But he didn't stop. After breaking through the Earth element, there were still six more elements waiting for him.
Fire, water, wind, lightning, light, darkness—one after another, each requiring the same compression process, each bringing the same excruciating pain.
Lin Yun's face was deathly pale, his clothes soaked with sweat, and he looked as if he had been pulled out of the water. But he didn't stop, nor dared he stop—once a breakthrough begins, it cannot be abandoned halfway. If he gave up halfway, not only would he fail to break through, but his existing magical power would also be damaged.
Fiery red, aquamarine, cyan, purple, gold, and black—the magical power of six colors was compressed in sequence, transforming from a mist into a liquid.
The moment the last drop of dark magic condensed into liquid, Lin Yun felt a roar within his body, as if something had exploded deep within his consciousness.
Seven different colored liquid magical powers flowed slowly within his body, like seven streams of different colors, each flowing independently yet resonating with one another. They were purer and more powerful than during his misty phase, their power increasing by at least one level.
Level 7.
Seventh series, seventh grade.
Lin Yun opened his eyes, and the seven-colored light in them flickered for a long time before slowly dissipating.
After breaking through, Lin Yun did not rush to leave the cave.
He knew that his newly acquired magical power was not yet stable and needed time to consolidate. If he rashly used seventh-level magic now, it could easily lead to his magical power getting out of control and all his previous efforts being wasted.
He spent two days gradually getting used to the new magical power within his body.
The difference between liquid and mist-like magical power is not merely a quantitative change, but a qualitative one. The same spell, cast with seventh-level magical power, will be at least 30% to 50% more powerful. Moreover, liquid magical power is more condensed and easier to control, making him more adept at casting spells consecutively.
The following evening, he emerged from the cave, ready to test the power of his seventh-level magic.
"Try this." Lin Yun muttered to himself. Dense earth elements gathered around Lin Yun as he chanted his magic spell, eventually forming a seemingly ancient armor. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the armor's material resembled jade, but this armor possessed an earth elemental aura.
Earth-type level 7 magic - Earth Guardian Armor (Jade Tier)
A level seven spell is far more powerful than a level six spell; its defensive capabilities alone are nearly ten times greater.
"Now, if I encounter a Black-striped Leopard again, I can easily withstand its attacks with just this Jade Saint Armor." Lin Yun nodded in satisfaction, then sighed with some regret, "Unfortunately, I only know level seven earth magic, and I don't know any level seven magic from the other six elements."
Earth magic was taught by Delinkowert, so apart from forbidden earth magic, the spells from level seven to nine had already been taught to the two of them. However, they could not obtain spells from other magic systems because Ernst Academy only taught magic of level six and below. Unless they joined a major power, it was very difficult for ordinary magicians to obtain spells from higher levels.
"It seems I'll have to find a way to get my hands on spells from other magic systems in the future," Lin Yun thought to himself.
The moment Lin Yun broke through to the seventh level of magic, "he" in another world also felt the impact of that power.
In the world of Swallowed Star, in a low-rent apartment in Yangzhou City.
Lin Yun's other body was sitting cross-legged on the bed, meditating with his eyes closed. Suddenly, a violent tremor came from the depths of his consciousness—the feeling was like a huge rock being thrown into a calm lake, stirring up a thousand waves.
His mental strength is surging.
The surge in mental power brought about by Panlong World's breakthrough to level seven magician is frantically flowing into this body through the resonance effect of the small cauldron. The intensity of his mental power is climbing at a visible rate, from late-stage advanced warrior to peak advanced warrior... to novice war god!
The growth only stopped when he reached the initial stage of the beginner-level War God.
Lin Yun opened his eyes, a glint of light flashing within them. Everything in the room floated up, hovering steadily in the air, completely still—this control was more than twice as strong as before.
"What a pity," he murmured.
Although the strength of his mental power surged to the level of a beginner war god, the power he could unleash was limited by his body.
In the world of Swallowed Star, the strength of a psychic depends not only on the power of their mental energy but also on their physical constitution. Mental energy is released through the body; if one's physical constitution is insufficient, they cannot withstand a strong output of mental energy. This is analogous to a water tap: if the pipe is too narrow, even with a large tank of water, the flow will be limited. Therefore, psychic practitioners are generally two levels higher in cultivation than martial artists!
His current situation is this: his mental power has reached the level of a beginner war god, but his physical fitness is only equivalent to that of a beginner war general. Therefore, the mental power he can exert can only reach the level of a senior war general at most.
"I need to improve my physical fitness as well," Lin Yun muttered to himself.
However, this limitation also gave him a clear direction—his next training should focus on improving his physical fitness. Only when his physical fitness catches up can the true power of his mental energy be fully unleashed.
He glanced out the window; the moonlight, like water, spilled onto the dilapidated rooftops of Yangzhou.
In the Panlong world, his other body had just broken through to the seventh level of magic and was consolidating its cultivation in a cave in the Monster Mountain Range. In the Swallowed Star world, this body of his had just experienced a surge in spiritual power, greatly increasing its strength.
Two worlds, two bodies, growing in sync, promoting each other.
This is the biggest advantage that Xiao Ding gives him.
After his breakthrough, Lin Yun did not rush back to Ernst Academy.
He decided to stay in the Monster Mountain Range for a while longer to consolidate his level seven cultivation and, incidentally, to find a few level seven monsters to test his skills against.
He won the battle against the Black-striped Leopard by a terrible margin. If the Black-striped Leopard hadn't held back at the beginning, if it weren't for the diversity of his seven magic types, and if Bebe hadn't been there to support him—if any of these elements had gone wrong, he might have died in the Monster Mountain Range.
Now that he has broken through to level seven, the quality and quantity of his magical power are vastly different from before. He needs to reassess his strength and needs more practical experience to adapt to the combat rhythm of level seven.
"Beibei, let's go further in," Lin Yun said.
"Chirp!" Beibei chirped excitedly, jumped off his shoulder, and darted into the depths of the mountains.
For the next ten days, Lin Yun continued fighting in the Monster Mountain Range.
He found another level seven magical beast—the Ironclad Rhinoceros. This was an earth-type magical beast with extremely strong defense, its entire body covered in thick iron armor, which ordinary magic could not penetrate.
Unlike the Black-striped Leopard, the Armored Rhinoceros was very slow. Lin Yun used the mobility of wind magic to constantly change positions in the air, used earth magic to restrict its movement, and used lightning and light magic to attack its weak points—its eyes and abdomen.
This time, he was not injured.
Although the battle lasted for nearly half an hour and his magical power was mostly depleted, he didn't allow the armored rhinoceros to touch him even once. His strength as a level seven mage, combined with the tactical advantage of rotating through seven elements, allowed him to calmly deal with this opponent with astonishing defensive capabilities.
"That's more like it." Lin Yun stood beside the armored rhinoceros's corpse, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and smiled slightly.
Beibei perched on his shoulder, chirped twice, and patted his cheek with her little paws, as if to say, "Not bad, not bad."
In the following days, he encountered several more level-seven magical beasts—the Gale Eagle, the Flame Lion, and the Thunder Tiger. With each battle, he improved. From initially needing half an hour to defeat one, he later only needed a quarter of an hour; from initially needing to use four or five types of magic in combination, he later could handle them with just two or three.
His fighting style became increasingly sophisticated and fluid. He wielded the seven elements of magic with effortless ease, like a precise fighting machine where every component played its most appropriate role at the most opportune moment.
By the fifteenth day, he was able to remain undefeated against most level seven magical beasts.
"That's about enough." One evening, Lin Yun sat by the campfire and said to Bei Bei, "It's time to go back."
Beibei chirped and pointed its little paws in the direction of the academy.
Lin Yun smiled, took one last look at the forest where he had fought for more than a month, and turned to walk towards the academy.