Chapter 620 - 530: Setting Out for the North

Chapter 620: Chapter 530: Setting Out for the North

Ellis’s words fell like a giant stone cast into a stagnant pool, sending silent yet violent ripples through the quiet night.

Holland’s expression, a mix of worry and curiosity, instantly froze.

He turned his head, looking blankly from Ellis to Roland, as if he hadn’t understood the word.

"Spiritual Master? What in the world is that? Some kind of new Caster school?"

He scratched his head, his brown eyes filled with confusion.

"Sounds a bit like ’Mind Flayer,’ doesn’t it? How could Rudolph..."

"It’s not the same!"

Ellis interrupted Holland—a rare occurrence. His voice was pitched high with excitement, his gray-blue eyes burning with a fiery mixture of shock, awe, and disbelief, completely fixed on Roland.

It was as if he were looking at something that existed only in the illustrated frontispieces of ancient, forbidden texts, or in the legends his mentors spoke of in hushed tones—tales that were equal parts warning and aspiration.

"Completely... different!"

He took a deep breath, as if needing extra oxygen to support the reality-shattering words he was about to speak.

His fingers tightened unconsciously, his knuckles turning pale. He struggled to maintain a scholar’s clarity in his voice, though every syllable trembled with excitement.

"Holland, you don’t understand. A ’Spiritual Master’ isn’t some ’new school.’ It can’t even be simply classified under any system of magic we know!"

"Arcane Magic relies on the analysis, simulation, and manipulation of the world’s fundamental elements and the laws of energy. It requires knowledge, formulas, materials, and precise control."

"Divine Art stems from faith and devotion to Deities or supreme ideals, a power granted through prayer and ritual."

"Natural Magic is a gift born from resonating with all living things..."

"But all of those..."

Ellis’s finger shot out to point at Roland, then recoiled as if burned. Finally, he pointed to the now-tranquil Obsidian Thin Slice in Roland’s hand.

His eyes held the reverence one would show a Sacred Artifact, yet also the caution one would have for the Abyss.

"Spiritual Energy... is another path! A path that is more... fundamental, more dangerous, and... closer to the ’forbidden’!"

He spoke faster and faster, as if he would be drowned by the immense cognitive shock if he didn’t immediately pour out the knowledge churning within him.

"It doesn’t rely on external Elements, it doesn’t plead for the boons of Gods, and it doesn’t achieve Natural Resonance."

"It originates from within! From the will! From the untempered ’Spark’ ignited in the deepest part of the soul!"

"Spiritual Masters are those who have successfully ignited the fire of their own Spiritual Energy and learned how to command, shape, and unleash that immense inner power!"

He paused, as if recalling the profound and obscure descriptions that only High Tier tutors would mention, and only with great caution.

"They twist reality with pure will. A single thought can form a Spiritual Shield strong enough to deflect a blade. A single gaze can plunge a foe into illusions of their deepest fears. With a mere intention, objects can be made to levitate and shatter... and even..."

He lowered his voice, which now carried the tremor and excitement of someone recounting a terrifying legend.

"...directly invade the minds of other creatures, read their surface thoughts, implant suggestions, and even... exert complete and total mental control!"

"And that’s not even the most terrifying part..."

Ellis’s gaze fell back to the Obsidian Thin Slice, and he swallowed hard.

"Truly advanced Spiritual Masters, according to the records... can use their own Spiritual Energy as a bridge to temporarily ’link’ to or ’interfere’ with... ’collective consciousness networks’ or ’external fonts of Spiritual Energy’ that are built upon it as a core."

"For example..."

His voice was dry.

"...the Main Brain of the Heartstealers. Or certain vast legacies of Spiritual Energy originating from ancient times, settled in the cracks of the world."

"They can traverse them, eavesdrop, and even... under certain conditions, exert a limited degree of reverse interference and control!"

"This transcends the conventional scope of ’Casting’! This is using one’s soul and will to directly converse and contend with another of the world’s fundamental Rules!"

He shot a look at Roland, his expression impossibly complex.

"Just now... the change in your pupils, that inhuman, milky-white glow... That’s a classic sign of highly concentrated consciousness, of Spiritual Energy manifesting externally. And this slice... the pulse it emitted and the resonance it had with you... that was a standard Spiritual Energy channeling-guidance wave!"

"To be able to access that... that network, even for a moment, even just the periphery... it requires more than just a talent for Spiritual Energy. It requires astonishing control over one’s own power, a profound understanding of the network’s nature, and..."

He struggled to force out the final words.

"...an unbelievably resilient will to resist the assimilation and erosion unconsciously emanating from that vast collective consciousness!"

"In the academy’s secret archives, any records concerning ’Spiritual Masters’ are accompanied by labels: ’Extremely Rare,’ ’Difficult to Cultivate,’ ’Uncanny Power,’ ’Prone to Backlash,’ and... ’Highest-Level Alert and Surveillance’!"

"Any orthodox Mage Tower or Divine Hall would have an extremely contradictory attitude toward a true Spiritual Master. They would be desperate to study the principles of their power, yet terrified of their unpredictability and potential threat."

Ellis’s chest heaved. Having said his piece, he seemed to have exhausted all his energy, and he slid further down against the dead tree trunk.

But his gray-blue eyes remained fixed on Roland, unblinking. They were filled with the shock of having his entire worldview upended, a new assessment of the young, dark-haired man’s unfathomable power, and even an imperceptible trace of...

Awe.

Holland stood with his mouth agape, listening dumbly to Ellis’s long-winded explanation. It was peppered with unfamiliar terms, but its terrifying implications were easy enough to grasp.

He looked at the young Mage who had lost his composure in his excitement, then at the silent Roland. Finally, his eyes landed on the small slice in Roland’s hand, and he swallowed instinctively.

"...So, Rudolph."

He licked his dry lips, his voice faint with disbelief.

"So... a minute ago... you weren’t just spacing out... you were... using this thing to go to the octopus-heads’ home turf and... eavesdrop?"

"And from the sound of it... this ’Spiritual Master’ business of yours is even wilder than we thought? You can give people nightmares with a thought, knock someone up just by looking at them... oh, no, I mean, make them all woozy just by looking at them?"

Though Holland’s summary was crude and exaggerated, it had somehow hit upon the most shocking core of Ellis’s explanation.

Hearing Holland’s overly blunt, almost comical summary, Roland couldn’t help but shake his head with a sense of resignation.

"It’s not that dramatic."

His voice was calm, betraying little emotion.

This wasn’t false modesty; he was simply stating an objective fact.

He was indeed a Spiritual Master. Of that, there was no doubt.

After successfully acquiring the Profession through his Professional Panel, he had ignited his own faint "Spiritual Spark," gaining a glimpse into how to use this inner power.

The strange sense of power, originating from the depths of his soul and directly linked to his will, was undeniably real.

However, that was precisely where the problem lay.

First, although Spiritual Energy originated from the soul and will, he had almost no idea how to effectively temper, increase, and refine this power.

The Heartstealer captive previously captured by Duraga had, under harsh interrogation, revealed only some basic Spiritual Sensing, ways to form simple shields, and the most rudimentary Spiritual Shock techniques.

Among the Heartstealers, these were perhaps more like innate instincts, akin to a human infant waving its arms—far from a systematic method of training.

As for how to make this "Spark" grow into a "Flame," let alone progress further, the low-tier Heartstealer had likely been clueless itself, to say nothing of teaching it to a member of an Alien Race.

Second, a Heartstealer’s physiology, Spiritual Energy circuits, and even its ways of thinking were vastly different from a human’s.

Its so-called "imparting of knowledge" was more just fragments of information Roland had painstakingly stripped from its pained and chaotic consciousness through a forced Spiritual Energy link.

The information was already fragmented and steeped in the Alien Race’s twisted perspective. Many techniques were fundamentally unsuitable for a human to perform. Forcing himself to imitate them was not only inefficient but could even damage the stability of his own soul.

As a result, Roland’s current application of Spiritual Energy was still at a very rudimentary stage.

At least, he was nowhere near the level of the lead Heartstealer in the Dark Moon Hall, who could crush a Heavy Armor Guard from afar with a tangible palm of condensed Spiritual Energy just by lifting a hand...

...or like the truly advanced Spiritual Masters Ellis described, who could weave complex Illusion Realms and perform meticulous mental probes and manipulations...

All of that was far beyond his current capabilities.

His Spiritual Energy was more like a newly forged sword blank, still without an edge.

While it held the potential to become a Divine Weapon, for now, it was little more than a special extension of his senses and a limited means of self-defense—far from being something he could rely on as his main power or use to perform incredible feats.

Compared to true Spiritual Masters who might have inherited their knowledge through an established lineage and studied for many years, he was merely a novice who had just pushed open the door to a new world, his steps still unsteady.

’At this thought, Roland’s gaze couldn’t help but drift to the Spiritual Energy Crystal he had just placed in his bag.’

’When he had been examining it moments ago, he could clearly perceive that the Spiritual Energy it contained was exceptionally pure. Perhaps...’

’...he could find a way to make its power his own?’

’If his own Spiritual Energy could grow—even just to the level of that lead Heartstealer—his power would take a qualitative leap.’

’Whether for exploring the deeper mysteries of Spiritual Energy or for facing the unknown dangers ahead, he would have more cards up his sleeve.’

However, there was currently no safe or viable method to absorb or channel it.

A rash attempt would be like playing with fire, and could even contaminate his own nascent "Spark."

With a silent exhale, Roland temporarily suppressed the tempting but dangerous thought.

"If you’re rested, let’s move out."

Roland said, his voice returning to its usual even tone, devoid of any emotional fluctuation.

He was the first to stand, brushing the dead leaves and dust from his robes.

Ellis scrambled to his feet almost immediately, his movements carrying a new, subconscious gravity.

"Yes, sir."

His response was concise and firm. As his eyes passed over Roland, his newfound deference was more apparent than ever, having clearly surpassed that of a simple partnership.

As for Holland...

The Priest’s thick skin seemed to have filtered out most of the reverence. His attitude hadn’t changed much, but his curiosity had clearly been piqued to a whole new level.

He deftly packed up his Nail Hammer and satchel, then trotted over to Roland’s side, counting on his fingers as he walked, his eyes shining.

"A powerful physique, clean and decisive Combat Skills, scales covering your arms, and Supreme Slash! And now..."

He grinned.

"...you’re a Spiritual Master, too! You bastard, what else have you got up your sleeve?"

The questions tumbled out one after another, and he was completely oblivious to the complex look Ellis shot him—a look that screamed, ’You’re blaspheming a great mystery,’ and, ’I really want to shut you up.’

Roland just shook his head without offering an explanation, his steps never faltering as he headed toward Lin Ye Town.

The three of them encountered no further major setbacks and returned smoothly to the familiar tavern in Lin Ye Town.

After handing the still-unconscious Ogre over to a few of his men, Roland and the others didn’t linger.

They replenished their water and portable rations, checked their gear, and before dusk had fully settled below the horizon, they set off again, melting into the night as it was gradually lit by the stars.

A cold draft swept across the wilderness, rustling the sparse blades of grass and whistling over bare rock.

Their shadows stretched long, pointing north.

That was the way to the Broken Star Sea.

And the path to that dangerous sea—a place wreathed in storms, legendary treasures, and countless tales of shipwrecks—had a first, unavoidable checkpoint: the Border City standing in a pass of the Gray Rock Mountain Range, a place known for its chaos, opportunity, and ironclad laws.

That was their destination: Gray Rock City.