DipNovel Chapter 10: Settling Down
Chapter 10: Settling Down
After returning from Fenlai City, Lin Lei and Lin Yun's training pace became even more intense than before.
The test results moved Hogg to tears—his hands trembled as he repeatedly stroked the two test reports, murmuring things like "May our ancestors bless us" and "There is hope for the Baruch family." That night, he stayed in the ancestral hall all night, speaking many words to the portraits of the past patriarchs.
Lin Lei and Lin Yun did not slack off because of their test results; on the contrary, they worked even harder.
Every day before dawn, the two brothers would appear punctually in the grove behind the mountain. Delin would hover in front of them, solemnly instructing them on their magical training.
"Linley, your Earth Spike is too slow." Delin's voice was devoid of any emotion. "In real combat, the enemy won't give you time to slowly gather magic. You need to be able to create magic the moment you think of it."
Lin Lei gritted his teeth and practiced again and again. Sweat dripped from his face onto the ground, but he didn't bother to wipe it away. The stone spikes, as thick as an arm, shot out from the ground again and again, their speed and power gradually increasing.
"Good, you've improved. Let's try again."
Lin Lei took a deep breath and continued practicing.
On the other side of the woods, Lin Yun's cultivation presented a completely different scene.
He wasn't practicing magic—he already knew the earth magic taught by Delin by heart. He was sitting cross-legged on a blue stone, his eyes closed, completely immersed in deep meditation.
In the surrounding space, magical elements of seven colors flowed into his body like rivers converging into the sea. Earth, fire, water, wind, thunder, light, and darkness—each element was being refined by him, transformed into pure magical power, and stored within his body.
Delin floated over, looked at Lin Yun's condition, and a hint of amazement flashed in his eyes.
This refining speed... it's simply inhuman.
A single-element mage's cultivation is like drinking water through a single straw; a dual-element mage needs two straws working simultaneously; while Lin Yun's simultaneous cultivation of seven elements is like drinking water through seven straws at the same time. Logically, such a level of refinement should cause mental breakdown and demonic possession. However, Lin Yun's soul is strong enough to support all of this; the refinement of the seven elements within his body is orderly and does not interfere with each other.
"What a freak," Delin muttered to himself.
Time passed day by day.
Linley's progress was visible to the naked eye. His earth magic became increasingly refined; the casting speed of Earth Spikes had been reduced from the initial three seconds to less than one second, and the size and power of the stone spikes were also steadily increasing. His mental strength was also constantly growing, having firmly reached the level of a first-level mage, and was now moving towards second level.
But compared to Lin Yun, these improvements seem insignificant.
Three months later, one morning, Lin Yun sat cross-legged on the bluestone in meditation as usual. Delin was instructing Lin Lei in magic practice when suddenly his gaze turned sharply towards Lin Yun.
A powerful surge of magical energy erupted from Lin Yun.
That was the fluctuation generated by the simultaneous vibration of the seven elements—the heaviness of the earth element, the violence of the fire element, the agility of the wind element, the gentleness of the water element, the fierceness of the lightning element, the warmth of the light element, and the profundity of the darkness element. Seven completely different auras intertwined to form a strange harmony.
Delin's eyes widened.
"Breaked through... to level four?"
He sensed the changes in Lin Yun's magical power and his face showed an expression of disbelief. At this moment, all seven magical powers underwent a qualitative leap, officially stepping from the peak of level three into the level four realm.
More importantly, Lin Yun's mental strength also rose with this wave of breakthroughs, directly approaching the threshold of a level five mage.
"Seven elements, level four..." Delin murmured, "It's only been a little over a year since he started practicing magic."
Lin Lei also sensed the fluctuation, stopped his practice, and looked in Lin Yun's direction, a complex expression flashing in his eyes. But soon, that complexity was replaced by pure joy.
"Lin Yun has broken through!" he shouted excitedly, even happier than if he had broken through himself.
Lin Yun slowly opened his eyes, a flash of seven-colored light appearing briefly within them. He looked down at his hands, feeling the abundant magical power within his body, and a slight smile appeared on his lips.
I've reached level four.
By the standards of this world, a level four mage can already cast mid-level spells and possesses combat power far exceeding that of ordinary people. And he is a level four mage of seven elements—meaning he can switch to the most suitable spell at any time during battle, based on the enemy's weaknesses.
Water magic is used against fire-type monsters, earth magic is used to restrict wind-type enemies, and light magic is used to purify dark-type creatures... The advantage of mastering all seven elements is gradually becoming apparent.
"What did Grandpa Delin say?" Lin Yun asked Lin Lei.
Linley listened intently for a moment, then relayed the message: "Grandpa Delin said that your magic power has steadily reached level four, and your mental strength is approaching level five. Such a rate of progress... he has never seen anything like it before."
Lin Yun nodded, his expression remaining largely unchanged.
He knew where his advantage lay—the powerful spiritual strength accumulated from three lifetimes of soul cultivation, combined with the superposition of cultivation achievements from the two realms through the small cauldron, allowed his magical power to accumulate at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary people. Level four was just the beginning; the road ahead was still long.
"However," Delin's voice turned serious, "Lin Yun, you must remember, magical power is only the foundation. True magical combat relies on the understanding of magic. These things cannot be obtained by refining magical power. You need more practical experience and more thought."
Lin Lei relayed these words to Lin Yun.
Lin Yun nodded seriously. He knew Delin was right—magical power was the ammunition, while the understanding of magic was the marksmanship. No matter how much ammunition you have, it's all for nothing if your marksmanship is inaccurate.
Besides magic, Lin Yun also did not neglect his warrior training.
Every afternoon, he would practice Qi-gathering techniques and basic combat skills with Linley and Hillman. Although Delin said that with his magical talent, specializing in magic would be enough, Lin Yun had his own considerations.
First, in the world of Swallowed Star, he needed a strong physical body to support the exertion of his mental power. The warrior training in the Panlong world, however, could precisely nourish that body.
Secondly, he didn't want to put all his eggs in one basket. While magic is powerful, a warrior's abilities are the last resort when facing magic-blocking fields or enemies with high magic resistance.
"Lin Yun, your Qi Gathering Style is getting better and better." Hillman walked over and watched him complete a set of movements, his eyes full of approval.
Lin Yun's breathing rhythm was precise and steady, and the coordination of all his muscles was just right. Each breath carried a strange sense of rhythm. After more than two years of training, his physical fitness had made a qualitative leap - his strength, speed and reaction were far superior to his peers.
"Try this." Hillman handed over a wooden sword. "Twelve basic sword techniques. I'll demonstrate them once, and you can follow along."
Hillman, wielding a wooden sword, moved with steady steps, demonstrating the basic sword techniques one move at a time. Chopping, thrusting, parrying, sweeping, pointing, picking, striking, intercepting, slashing, blocking, parrying, and blocking—twelve basic sword techniques, each move clean and crisp, without the slightest hesitation.
Lin Yun watched intently, his mind racing. Although he had never practiced swordsmanship in his previous life, his understanding of mechanics far surpassed that of ordinary people. Every move, every shift in weight, and every angle of attack became quantifiable data in his eyes.
"Did you see it clearly?" Hillman asked, sheathing his sword.
"I saw it clearly."
Lin Yun took the wooden sword, closed his eyes, and mentally reviewed all twelve sword techniques. Then, he opened his eyes and began to practice.
The first move, the chop—the blade chops diagonally from the upper right to the lower left, with a precise angle and steady force.
The second move is the thrust—the tip of the blade points straight forward, with the arm, wrist, and blade all in a straight line without the slightest deviation.
The third move, "Lifting"—the knife is lifted upwards from below, with a beautiful arc and just the right speed.
……
The twelfth move, parry—the wooden sword is held horizontally in front of the body, steadily blocking the imagined attack.
The twelve basic knife techniques are executed in one smooth, flowing motion.
Hillman's mouth dropped open, and he was speechless for a long time.
He had taught basic swordsmanship for so many years and had seen even the most talented students make mistakes in one or two moves during their first practice. But Lin Yun's every move was as precise as a veteran who had practiced it hundreds of times.
"You...have you trained before?" Hillman asked with difficulty.
"No," Lin Yun shook his head, "I just saw it clearly."
Hillman fell silent.
How can you achieve such a perfect result just by looking closely? What kind of monster is this?
Little did he know that although Lin Yun had never practiced swordsmanship in the Swallowed Star world, he manipulated objects daily using his mental power, giving him a level of control over force far exceeding that of ordinary people. Coupled with his understanding of physics and mechanics from his previous life, replicating something with near-perfect accuracy after just one look was not a difficult task for him.
"Keep practicing." Hillman suppressed his shock. "Practice each move until it becomes muscle memory. There are no shortcuts to basic swordsmanship; it's all about repetitive practice."
"Yes."
In the days that followed, Lin Yun spent an hour every afternoon practicing basic sword techniques. His progress was astonishingly fast—in just one month, he mastered the twelve basic sword techniques; two months later, he was able to combine these basic moves into coherent offensive and defensive routines; three months later, Hillman began to teach him more advanced combat techniques.
"Your talent... is truly terrifying. In just three months, your swordsmanship has become as skillful as a veteran with ten years of service," Hillman couldn't help but exclaim after a sparring session.
Lin Yun wiped the sweat from his forehead and smiled, "Uncle Hillman, you flatter me."
Lin Lei's warriors also made rapid progress in their training.
Although not as exaggerated as Lin Yun's, his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline was gradually awakening under the stimulation of the Qi Gathering Technique. His physical attributes were far superior to those of his peers, especially his strength—at the age of eight, he could easily lift objects weighing over a hundred pounds.
As the sun sets in the world of Panlong, the moon in the world of Swallowed Star is slowly rising.
The night in Yangzhou was still quiet and oppressive, but Lin Yun's heart was fuller than ever before.
Half a year has passed, and his strength in the Swallowed Star World is also steadily improving.
The meditation methods of the Panlong World have become an indispensable part of his daily routine. Every night, he spends at least an hour in deep meditation to hone his mental strength. The precise control he achieved over the elements when refining magical power in the Panlong World has been perfectly transferred to the use of his mental power.
Now, the range of his mental power has expanded to a radius of two hundred meters. Within this range, no slightest movement can escape his perception—the sound of his grandfather turning over in the next room, the footsteps of a stray cat walking through the alley outside the window, the whispers of soldiers changing shifts on the distant city wall… everything is under his control.
He can manipulate more than twenty objects at the same time, and the trajectory of each object is accurate to the millimeter level.
Based on the standards of strength in the Swallowed Star world, he roughly estimated that his mental power should have reached the level of a junior warrior.
In terms of martial arts, his physical attributes have also improved thanks to the training he received as a warrior in the Panlong World, reaching the level of an intermediate warrior. His strength, speed, and reaction time far surpass those of his peers. During physical education classes at school, he has to deliberately suppress his strength to avoid standing out too much.
At school, he remained low-key. His grades were above average, his performance in physical education was "not bad," and he had a good but not close relationship with his classmates. No one knew that this quiet boy already possessed strength comparable to a warrior general.
Only when Luo Feng and the other person were training could he sense the changes in him.
But Luo Feng wouldn't say it. They were brothers, the kind of brothers who could entrust their backs to each other.
In the course of six months, Lin Yun also discovered an important phenomenon—the cultivation results of the two worlds were resonating in some way.
When he broke through to the fourth level of magic in the Panlong World, his mental power in the Swallowed Star World also surged dramatically. Conversely, when he conducted high-intensity training with his mental power in the Swallowed Star World, his mental power in the Panlong World became more solidified.
This resonance is not a simple addition, but a wonderful multiplicative effect.
It's as if his soul is a container, and the cultivation achievements from the two worlds are the two liquids poured into that container. The two liquids not only don't repel each other, but instead fuse into an even more powerful substance.
"Is this the power of the small cauldron?" Lin Yun murmured to himself.
He became increasingly convinced that this small cauldron was not merely a teleportation tool, but a bridge connecting the cultivation systems of two worlds. It caused a strange resonance between the laws of the two worlds within him, allowing his cultivation efficiency to far surpass that of ordinary people.
But he also knew that this resonance came at a price.
Cultivation in both worlds requires a significant investment of time and energy. Without proper planning, it's easy to neglect one for the other. Moreover, as one's strength increases, the difficulty of cultivation in both worlds will rise, requiring even greater investment.
He needs to find a balance.
But that's for later. Right now, he just needs to keep moving forward.
It was another early morning. On the hill behind Baruch Manor, Lin Yun slowly opened his eyes from meditation. A flash of seven-colored light appeared in his eyes, and his demeanor was even more composed than it had been six months ago.
"Lin Yun, your mental strength is almost at level five." Delin's voice drifted from the ring, carrying a complex emotion. "You only need one more opportunity to officially step into the ranks of level five mages."
Lin Lei relayed these words to Lin Yun.
Lin Yun nodded, his expression unchanging. He knew that the opportunity could arise at any time—perhaps a battle, a sudden enlightenment, or simply a moment of meditation.
It can't be rushed.
"Linley, you've made great progress too." Delin turned to Linley. "You've already reached the peak of level one and are about to break through to level two. At this rate, you should be able to steadily reach the level of a level two mage in another month."
Lin Lei smiled; this achievement was already top-notch among his peers.
"We're leaving tomorrow." Lin Lei looked at Lin Yun, his eyes full of anticipation. "Ernst Magic Academy... I've heard it's the best magic academy on the Yulan Continent."
"Mm." Lin Yun nodded.
Tomorrow, Hillman will take them to Ernst Academy, the legendary magic academy.
Bebe seemed to sense Linley's emotions, chirping on his shoulder and excitedly tugging at his hair with its little paws.
"Stop fooling around, Beibei." Lin Lei laughed as he took it off his head and placed it in his palm.
That evening, Hogg called the two brothers to his study.
The study was small, but very tidy. Several rows of yellowed books sat on the bookshelves, mostly handwritten copies of family history and warrior training manuals. An oil lamp burned on the table, its warm orange glow illuminating the entire room.
Hogg sat behind his desk, looking at his two sons with a complex expression in his eyes.
"You're leaving tomorrow." His voice was a little hoarse. "To Ernst Academy, to study magic."
"Father..." Lin Lei opened his mouth.
Hogg waved his hand, signaling him to be quiet: "I know the Baruch family has declined and can't give you much. But remember—no matter where you go, you are still children of the Baruch family. Your ancestors were once the most powerful warriors on the Yulan Continent."
He stood up, walked to the bookshelf, and took down a dusty wooden box from the top shelf. The box wasn't large, but it looked very old, with the paint peeling off and crumbling.
"You two take this back and study it carefully, and make a mental note of it," Hogg said, placing the wooden box on the table and gently opening it.
Inside was a book. There were no words on the surface of the book, but when you flipped through it, the first page had four big characters on it: "Dragon Blood Codex".
Linley carefully took the wooden box, as if he were holding some rare treasure. He knew that this was a secret manual passed down through generations of the Baruch family, which recorded the core methods of Dragonblood Warrior training and some of the deeds of the family's ancestors.
"Father..." Lin Lei's voice choked with emotion.
"Go ahead." Hogg waved his hand, turned around so they wouldn't see his expression, "Study magic well, and wait for you to come back."
"Yes," the two brothers replied in unison.
Late at night.
In the world of Swallowed Star, his other body is sleeping soundly in a low-rent apartment in Yangzhou City. Tomorrow, in the world of Panlong, he will embark on his journey to Ernst Academy; while in the world of Swallowed Star, he will continue to quietly accumulate power at the school, waiting for the day he can join the Ultimate Martial Arts Academy.
At the age of nine, with two worlds existing side by side, the path to the magic academy begins.
Ernst, I'm here.