Chapter 209 - New Notes. (Long Chapter)

Cale turned his gaze toward Du Xiao and Sun Hao. "Hmm, so what am I supposed to do with you two?"

As he walked forward, he shook the dust from his sleeves. "And here I thought I wouldn’t get any souls to refine in these few days. Hehe, fate really is interesting."

The commotion had drawn a crowd. People were gathering around the grounds, and many were peeking through the huge hole torn into one side of the mansion.

As Cale started toward Du Xiao, several guards from the Taiyi Sect’s other branches rushed forward to stop him. But before any of them could reach him, Sirius’s voice rang out across the courtyard. He wasn’t physically present, but his spiritual pressure settled over every guard in the place like a heavy blanket.

"Let the fight between the kids stay as it is. Don’t make it a big matter."

The figure who stepped forward was the young-looking avatar of Sirius. He couldn’t openly help Cale using his original identity, or the faction fights would begin in earnest.

Another man entered the scene along with a few others, and Cale’s brow furrowed. It was Ryan Midgar, watching him with a completely blank face.

Ryan sighed. "Causing trouble again? And where did you even go for so long? If you wanted to just roam around, you shouldn’t have enrolled in some academy."

Cale looked back at him, pulled his attacking hand back, and gave Ryan a light bow.

More people filled in after that, and their arrival only added pressure to those who didn’t belong to Vaeloria. There were two monsters standing here whose cultivation they couldn’t see through. If the three Transcendents of their own continents had appeared, they wouldn’t have had to suffer such humiliation.

Cale looked at Sirius first, then at his father. "Surely you aren’t going to stop me, are you, Father?"

"Who said I’m stopping you?"

Cale grinned and ran toward Du Xiao. It was necessary to defeat this man, at least to build his reputation in Vaeloria. Reputation was a deadly tool in situations like this. If he lost here, just as before, he could be blamed for it and wouldn’t be able to walk away from it.

As Du Xiao drew out two artifacts, Cale unleashed his domains. Many of the people present at Sage stage and above felt the pressure of all three domains at once, and they understood that Cale was not someone to be taken lightly in a fight.

Cale pulled Noxis from his shadow and raised it overhead. All three domains shrank and coated themselves around the blade, making the onlookers gasp.

"S-such a thing can be done too?"

"His skills are unimaginable."

Many people stepped back involuntarily, crushed by the pressure gathering around Cale.

As Du Xiao’s remaining guards charged toward him, Cale was just about to finish him off when two mental messages reached him, one from his father and one from Sirius.

{Don’t kill him.}

{Don’t kill him, or it will rebound back worse.}

Cale sighed and shifted the angle of his strike mid-slash, cutting only through Du Xiao’s right arm.

"Arghhhh! M-my arm! My arm!... You, you damned servants, kill him! Go kill this man, he dares cut—"

Cale sighed. "Shut up, or the other one won’t be around for long."

And shut up he did.

The guards rushed forward and begged. "Please spare the young master. He’s the second disciple of the Vice Patriarch. It will be a problem for all of us if he isn’t left alive."

Cale narrowed his eyes. "Are you threatening me with his identity?"

"W-we wouldn’t dare! Please, spare his life at least..."

Cale sighed, and the pressure around him vanished. He smiled at the guards. "I hope you have a good amount of compensation ready, right?"

They could hardly refuse him in this position, so they nodded frantically.

Sirius’s main body appeared from behind the crowd. "Everyone, this was just a fight between children. I hope it hasn’t disrupted anyone’s work. We do accept a little competition among the younger generation, but I hope this doesn’t escalate."

Many of the people from the four borders bowed quickly. "We too have been a bit aggressive in our approach. We hope you’ll overlook our past transgressions as well."

Cale looked over them. "Is there no one who wants to avenge this person, hmm?"

"Ah, no. We wouldn’t dare. Unless the sect leaders and head disciples of all the sects arrive, how could we dare take the lead?"

While they spoke so politely, what they really meant was, ’Just wait until our main forces arrive, and then we’ll show you.’

They could only wait, since the four border continents had a total of three Transcendents, with the Northern Border Continent not having one. And honestly, they couldn’t care less about whichever continent they themselves belong to, it was of no meaning after living for hundreds of years, but since their descendants were on the ruling side of the continent, they had to help them.

Cale sighed inwardly. ’Such simple creatures, I would have abandoned them and focused more on increasing my cultivation.’

Nex slipped away quickly. "I... have many other things to do, so I’ll take my leave as well."

Of course he didn’t want to take the blame for destroying one of the royal family’s mansions.

As Sirius and Ryan walked off, Ryan glanced back at Cale. "Come with us."

Cale followed them from behind.

’What’s up with the old man today? He doesn’t seem too cheerful.’

"How have you been these past few years?" Ryan asked as they walked.

"I’m fine," Cale replied.

"You’re using too many techniques at once. It’s a mess. Try sorting them according to your enemies."

Cale thought for a second before answering. "It’s fine. I’ve already practiced them against all sorts of enemies."

"You should come see your mother once in a while, too."

Cale tsked. "Even you yourself don’t believe that."

Sirius tried to lighten the mood, and failed again. Then he said, "Oh, right. Ryan, why don’t you give him your soul sword refining technique? Didn’t you see how crude his version is?"

Ryan nodded. "Right. It’s not very refined. Maybe since he hasn’t formed it properly on his own, he doesn’t know any better."

Cale stared at him. ’What do you mean I haven’t formed it properly? I’ve literally formed my soul sword two times in this life. Three times in total! People usually only form it once, you know!’

Ryan tossed a book at Cale and vanished from where he stood.

Sirius smiled at Cale. "Would you look at that. Your evaluation has gone up in his eyes."

Cale nodded and opened the book. It was a technique for using one’s own bloodline as an evolution method for the soul sword.

"That technique only works for people with rare bloodlines, otherwise it won’t be applicable. Yours will likely turn into a flame sword, huh. Don’t worry, it can still be used for other attributes too."

Cale sighed. "If you had such an amazing technique, why didn’t you give it to me before?"

"Oh? Do you want to be spoon-fed everything on the very first day? I’m not your babysitter, feeding you every single step along the way."

As Sirius started to leave, he said, "Meet me in the evening later," and then he disappeared.

Cale watched his uncle vanish and sighed. "When will I be able to do that trick?"

He tucked the book away and looked up. "Alright. Let’s go back to training."

In the recent bunch of pages he’d gotten, there were quite a few interesting techniques. There was also a very detailed description of mana circles, something Cale had never really considered in depth.

The first technique was for refining an elemental hand. It was literally a hand made of elemental energy, and even if it was cut or burnt, it would simply regenerate using elemental energy. It would even raise the user’s affinity and attack power. All in all, it was an amazing thing. The only problem was... well...

"I will have to cut my arm off?!"

Cale shouted as he read the page.

"Sigh. If I’m getting an arm out of it, I understand, but... what if this thing fails!"

Seriously, who the hell was writing these techniques?!

The next item on the list was a weapon refining technique.

’Oh, right, this is exactly what I was looking for.’

In his past life, Cale had worked as a blacksmith, forging swords and other weapons, so refining weapons wasn’t that difficult for him. With ashes of undying, the process would be even easier.

"Hmm? There are two of them?"

One method was called soul forging, and the other was called blood refining. Cale was even happier to see this. He had an affinity for both metal and blood, so why not learn both techniques? Maybe he could even combine them someday.

Next was an entire script on how to form a ten thousand poison body, even for someone with a mortal body. The technique was extremely complex, requiring hundreds of different poisons. Worst of all, its minimum requirement was that the user be at least at the Sage stage. So it was impossible for now.

"I’ll try it later. But a ten thousand poison body, huh? I have this thing called the Ten Poison Immunity Physique... I wonder if they’re related. Hopefully this physique makes forming the body easier."

The last topic was the formation of mana circles. According to the notes, mana circles actually served as limiters. A person with an affinity for magic could indeed wield mana, but that didn’t mean their body could withstand an unlimited amount of it. Without a proper limit, drawing out too much mana could overwhelm their body and lead to death.

That was precisely why mana circles existed.

Magic wasn’t simply a matter of comprehension or understanding. No matter how profound one’s knowledge of magic became, the amount of mana one could safely wield was ultimately determined by one’s capacity to withstand it.

Most of this information was nothing new to Cale. He had already come across similar explanations in the books he had read. However, a few details caught his attention. One of them was the possibility of using one’s entire body as a source of mana.

Cale’s eyes lingered on that particular passage for a moment.

’Interesting...’

Another detail concerned the progression between mana circles.

Apparently, the gap between two consecutive circles wasn’t a single, unbroken stage. There were smaller levels of progression in between, allowing a mage’s mana output to increase gradually before reaching the next circle.

Based on the information available, it was estimated that each circle contained approximately ten such levels.

If his master’s calculations were correct, Cale’s current mana output would place him somewhere in the level thirties.

To an ordinary mage, such a number might not mean much. Without a proper frame of reference, it was little more than an arbitrary measurement.

But Cale was different. His Astral Sovereign body had been constructed around the very concept of mana circles. For him, these levels weren’t merely a way to measure magical strength. They provided a framework through which he could better understand his own body’s capabilities.

More importantly, he could compare these levels with the minor realms of his cultivation. A faint glimmer of interest appeared in Cale’s eyes.

If he could establish a precise correspondence between the two systems, he might be able to synchronize the progression of his mana and qi. Rather than allowing them to develop independently, he could gradually integrate their respective strengths into a single, harmonious foundation.

And if he succeeded, the refinement of his Origin Essence could reach an entirely different level.

It wasn’t merely a matter of increasing his strength. By understanding the relationship between mana and qi at their most fundamental level, Cale might be able to achieve a degree of compatibility that ordinary practitioners could scarcely imagine.

For the first time since beginning his analysis, Cale felt that these seemingly familiar notes might contain something truly valuable.

It helped clarify Cale’s mana output calculation and strengthen the connection between mana and qi.

"Good. It’s been stuck on the same level for months. Now I can finally see some direction."

With that, he returned to his training, since Sirius had called for him in the evening.