Chapter 82: Dividing the five natural elements of the East and West with Mr. Orochi...

Several years ago, Shu Li had asked Mr. Serpent why he did not move elsewhere when living at the edge of the Faerie Forest meant constantly encountering dangerous foreign intruders.

Mr. Serpent’s answer at the time had been that he was used to living here and did not want to move.

Later, after watching Mr. Serpent reap the spoils, Shu Li understood.

People made their living from the mountains if they lived near mountains, from the water if they lived near water, and from the forest... if they lived near the forest.

There was no reason to refuse “supplies” that delivered themselves right to his door.

Eyeing the pile of belongings “picked up” from the intruders, Shu Li scratched the back of his head and accepted Mr. Serpent’s invitation.

He had no use for the equipment, and the storage pouches contained a jumble of miscellaneous items, two-thirds of which were gold coins.

The magical serpent had no need for money, so he gave all the coins to Shu Li.

Shu Li reluctantly accepted them.

Dragon King Harmon had already given him mountains of gold coins, all piled inside his storage ring. A few more would make no difference, nor would a few less.

Besides the coins, Shu Li also took the potions and magic scrolls for study and research.

Every member of the adventuring party carried a map. Shu Li found them fascinating and kept them as well.

Geography changed with the passage of time. Great and small kingdoms rose and fell, and those changes were reflected on the maps, helping him understand the outside world.

One storage pouch contained a thick notebook written in the Continental Common Language. It described the customs of various kingdoms and the ways of life of all the major races in meticulous detail. It was practically an encyclopedia for traveling across the continent, and Shu Li could hardly put it down.

The Faerie Forest was wonderful. Its only drawback was its isolation and the difficulty of obtaining news.

Even when Fairies left the forest to gain experience, it took them a very long time to return.

Chris, for example, had left the forest ten years ago and had yet to return. No one had heard a single word from him.

After dividing the spoils, Shu Li pointed down at the three corpses beneath the tree. “What... should we do with them?”

They might have been intruders who deserved their fate, but after taking their belongings, surely basic decency demanded that they at least dispose of the bodies?

“Leave them,” the magical serpent said lazily. “The Elves patrolling the forest will handle them.”

“Uh...” Shu Li froze.

As though proving the magical serpent’s words, the sound of beating wings came from overhead. A moment later, a familiar silver-haired Elf descended onto the grass astride a unicorn.

Upon seeing the bodies, he did not act immediately. Instead, he looked up at the magical serpent in the enormous tree and... the Little Fairy standing on the serpent’s head.

“Galot!” Shu Li’s eyes lit up. Spreading his wings, he swiftly flew down from the magical serpent’s head and approached the silver-haired Elf.

A trace of surprise flashed through Galot’s golden eyes. “Little Sperien, what are you doing here?”

He glanced at the magical serpent coiled around the enormous tree.

The serpent raised his head and flicked his tongue in a lukewarm greeting.

“I came to bring Bazien a gift.” Shu Li beamed. “Are you patrolling the forest today?”

“Not quite,” Galot corrected him. “I’ll be patrolling the forest for the entire month, starting today.”

“Oh. Then, um...” Shu Li pointed at the three bodies on the ground. “What are you going to do with them?”

Galot examined the corpses. Noticing that some of their belongings were missing, he raised an eyebrow but did not mention it. “Throw them outside the forest.”

Shu Li was surprised. “You aren’t going to bury them?”

“There’s no need,” Galot said. “They would prefer to be buried in human territory rather than inside the forest.”

Countless adventuring parties had trespassed into the Faerie Forest over the past ten thousand years, and more than ninety percent of them had slaughtered one another under the influence of the mist. If the Elves had buried them all, the ground beneath the entire forest would be filled with corpses by now.

The proper solution was naturally to throw them out of the forest and let the mercenary companies that specialized in “collecting bodies” take them away.

Where the bodies went afterward was none of their concern.

Shu Li asked no further questions. Galot recited a short incantation and swept his magic staff through the air with practiced ease. Wind enveloped the three corpses and swiftly carried them into the distance.

Galot recited another incantation, conjuring a small waterfall out of thin air. It washed the blood from the grass, and before long, the bloody water seeped into the soil and vanished without a trace.

That was... certainly convenient.

Shu Li could not help marveling.

Once he was finished, Galot smiled and waved goodbye to the Little Fairy before riding his unicorn away to patrol elsewhere.

After watching him disappear into the distance, Shu Li also said goodbye to Mr. Serpent.

It was almost noon. He needed to leave for the Elven Kingdom. If they flew fast enough, he might still arrive in time for lunch.

He returned to the enormous tree, and the magical serpent carried him up to the crown. Shu Li put his fingers to his lips and blew, sounding the whistle that summoned Dore.

Having eaten his fill, Dore flew over from nearby like a bolt of lightning. Avoiding the magical serpent, he landed on another branch and instinctively remained on guard.

Shu Li transferred from the serpent’s head to Dore’s back. After waving goodbye once more, he burrowed into Dore’s feathers and erected a protective defensive barrier around himself.

The moment Shu Li was seated securely, Dore impatiently spread his wings and shot into the clouds like a cannonball.

The journey from the eastern edge of the Faerie Forest to the Elven Kingdom was extremely long. Even a Sekern bird known as a Gale of the Sky needed two hours to complete it.

More than an hour later, they left the Faerie Forest and entered the Yager Forest within the Elven Kingdom. Shu Li had Dore land so they could rest for a while.

Dore crouched on the branch of a large tree. Shu Li fluttered his little wings, landed on the grass, and took out a miniature shovel to dig up a kind of purple grass.

This was the item required for one of his missions.

As a ten-year-old adolescent Fairy, he was already an experienced mission-taker.

Regularly accepting simple gathering missions helped broaden his knowledge.

The purple plant was called Thunderflame Grass. It was a primary ingredient in an antidote and grew only in the Elven Kingdom’s Yager Forest.

Since Shu Li passed through the Yager Forest every month, he had conveniently accepted the gathering mission.

Thunderflame Grass grew quite large, reaching forty centimeters in height, and possessed an extensive root system. Digging it up was arduous work for a Little Fairy.

The first time Shu Li attempted it, he had spent two hours digging up only three plants. His efficiency had been abysmal.

As he grew older and accumulated gathering experience, practice had finally made him proficient.

He first pushed the shovel into the soil, then stomped on it with his little foot to drive it deeper. Next, he pressed down hard on the handle. Once part of the Thunderflame Grass’s root system was exposed, he took out his magic staff and recited an earth-element incantation.

When the incantation ended, the earth surrounding the Thunderflame Grass churned, pushing the entire root system up from below.

He had successfully gathered one intact plant.

Shu Li grabbed the grass, vigorously shook the dirt from its roots, and placed it inside his storage ring.

After digging up one, he moved on to the next. He gathered twenty plants in total before putting away his magic staff and shovel and dusting off his hands to signal that the job was done.

Shu Li climbed back onto Dore’s back, and they resumed their journey.

After his rest, Dore was brimming with energy and flew all the way to the Crystal Castle without stopping.

The moment the Elves saw the black Sekern bird, they knew the adorable Little Fairy had returned.

“Sperien, you’re a little late today!”

“Good timing. You made it just in time for lunch.”

“Are you hungry? Hurry to the dining hall and eat!”

“Oh, our little mage is back! Another batch of fruit has ripened in the orchard. Want to gather it with us this afternoon?”

Shu Li calmly answered the enthusiastic Elves before flying along the familiar route to the dining hall.

The dining hall was filled with Elves eating lunch. When they saw him, they all raised their hands and beckoned him over.

Shu Li calmly declined every invitation. The moment he spotted Sayah, he decisively landed on her table.

As if he would fall for that! Most of the Elves calling him over had ulterior motives. If he foolishly went to them, he would only end up being squeezed and petted!

“Good afternoon, Little Sperien. You must be hungry.” Sayah thoughtfully prepared lunch for him.

“Thank you.” Shu Li gave her a toothy smile.

Sayah suppressed the urge to stroke the Little Fairy and picked up a piece of bread, biting into it fiercely.

Little Sperien grew more exquisite with every passing year. He looked especially adorable today, his swishing ponytail making him seem particularly lively.

Completely oblivious to Sayah’s restless hands, Shu Li washed them in the small dish before picking up a piece of fruit and taking a bite.

His table manners had grown far more refined. No matter how hungry he was, he now ate slowly and chewed every bite carefully.

After spending so long in this other world, he had unconsciously been influenced by the Elves and Fairies. Some of his minor bad habits had disappeared, and every movement he made carried an air of elegance.

After finishing his meal, he contentedly wiped the corners of his mouth, left the dining hall, and headed toward the orchard outside the castle.

The Elven King no longer needed to assign him work. Shu Li knew how to find things to do by himself.

Upon reaching the plots for which he was responsible, he took out his magic staff and baskets and began practicing magic.

To this day, the only silent spell he had successfully mastered was Purification.

He had even advanced it from Junior to Intermediate.

Every other spell had ended in failure.

But he was not discouraged.

Failure was the mother of success. As long as he persevered, he would succeed one day.

Besides, silent casting was a special skill normally available only to Saint Mages and Mage Sovereigns. Successfully casting even one spell at his current rank already demonstrated extraordinary talent.

Great Wind God Wendis Inor, command the wind elements to gather around me and bring forth small blades of wind to sever the fruit stems.

One advantage of becoming an Intermediate Mage was that he no longer needed to introduce himself to the god, slightly shortening the opening of his incantations.

Unsurprisingly, his attempt at silently casting wind magic failed again.

Shu Li continued reciting the incantation in his mind.

After failing four times in a row, he decided to rest. He landed on a curved vine and leaned back, using it as a hammock.

What exactly was he missing?

Was the difference truly just his rank?

Then why had he succeeded in casting Purification while he was still a Mage Apprentice?

After increasing his proficiency, he could now cast it successfully every single time.

It made no sense for Purification to work while every other spell failed.

A gentle breeze made the vine sway from side to side like a cradle. Shu Li involuntarily yawned, his eyelids growing heavy.

“Well, Little Sperien, slacking off isn’t a very good habit.”

At the sound of Ilio’s teasing voice, Shu Li’s drowsiness vanished. He beat his wings and left the vine hammock.

“I wasn’t slacking off. I was thinking,” he defended himself solemnly.

“Thinking about silent magic?” Ilio stood with his arms crossed, leaning dashingly against a tree as he asked with a broad smile.

“Of course.” Shu Li confidently raised his little chin. He would never admit that he had nearly fallen asleep.

Ilio’s vivid blue eyes studied Shu Li. “And what conclusions did you reach? Tell me. Perhaps I can offer some advice.”

As if Ilio had not offered him enough “advice” already.

Shu Li puffed out his cheeks.

He was lucky Ilio had not led him completely astray.

“No need.” He shook his head in refusal.

The corner of Ilio’s mouth lifted. He walked over to Shu Li, raised an arm, and pointed his palm toward a fruit tree. A moment later, countless wind blades severed the stems of every ripe fruit, sending them dropping neatly into the baskets.

A vein throbbed on Shu Li’s forehead. “This is my orchard,” he said expressionlessly.

Ilio was the youngest Elf ever to become a Mage Sovereign. Naturally, he could cast silent magic successfully.

Even under the adorable Little Fairy’s glare, the black-haired Elf continued smiling. “Sometimes you need to approach the problem from a different direction.”

Shu Li tilted his head. “A different direction?”

Over the past five years, he had tried countless approaches and searched through a great deal of material in the library, but none of it had worked. What else could he possibly do?

Ilio winked. “Let me pinch your little cheeks, and I’ll tell you how.”

Shu Li swiftly retreated and covered his still slightly chubby cheeks. “Not a chance!”

He really did have ulterior motives. Hmph! Shu Li would never fall for it.

“All right.” Seeing the Little Fairy avoid him as though he were some deadly monster, Ilio spread his hands with a slightly wounded look.

Shu Li gave two disgruntled little huffs. Ilio could stop trying to win his sympathy.

If he wanted to squeeze and pet him, he could dream on!

Ilio laughed and stopped teasing the little fellow. After clearing his throat twice, he asked, “Have you ever heard of the essences of the five great elements?”

“The essences of the five great elements?” Shu Li shook his head blankly. “No, I haven’t.”

Ilio took a harp from his storage ring, sat down on the ground, and beckoned to Shu Li.

Shu Li hesitated, then slowly approached and sat on a nearby vine.

Ilio’s slender fingers plucked the strings, playing a melody Shu Li knew well. Shu Li instinctively opened his mouth and began to sing.

“Essence of water, essence of fire, essence of wood, essence of wind, essence of earth,

“Elemental spirits born in ancient times,

“Open the gateway through time and space,

“Carry us to the glorious age when the gods gathered together.

“Isve Haya, God of Creation,

“Lient Freyus, God of Light,

“Afama Chiepus, God of Fire,

“Hildani Geti, God of Water,

“Wendis Inor, God of Wind,

“Ouroman Pas, God of Wood,

“Hedfis Lofven, God of Earth,

“Meter Lena, God of the Moon,

“Asad Migat, God of the Sun,

“We sing and dance in praise of the gods...”

When the song ended, Shu Li asked in confusion, “What does the essence of the elements have to do with the Song of Creation?”

Ilio set down the harp and smiled. “Sing the first line again.”

“The first line... Essence of water, essence of fire, essence of wood, essence of wind, essence of earth, elemental spirits born in ancient times...” Before Shu Li could finish, Ilio interrupted him.

“The answer is in the first line.”

Realization dawned on Shu Li. “You mean the essence of water °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and essence of fire in the song are the essences of the five great elements?”

“Exactly,” Ilio said. “As long as you obtain the elemental essences, you can compensate for your insufficient rank.”

Shu Li stared at Ilio’s handsome face in astonishment. After a long moment, his light green eyes began to sparkle.

“Where are they?”