Chapter 155 - Ember
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The troops did not dare riot after Yang Ling’s response. Just those few hundred bloodthirsty soldiers donning heavy armor was not a force an ordinary person could overcome. The Magical Beast army was unmatched.
“Murbaqi, get Goode to investigate what is going on when he returns!”
Having given those clear instructions, Yang Ling walked quickly toward the villa where he lived. Goode was more proficient in these things; there was no need for him to spend more of his efforts on these little things.
On his way by, Yang Ling checked in on the Tree of Life sapling in the yard. It had grown to a head taller than himself in his absence, perhaps because of the rich spiritual energy in the area, but it would still be a long time before he could harvest any Water from the Spring of Life!
Sitting cross legged in front of the Tree of Life sapling, Yang Ling thought. The spiritual energy was richer near the Wizard’s Pagoda. The sapling might grow faster if he transported it and nurtured it in that space!
But the Tree of Life sapling was only a few years old and was quite incomparable to the ancient trees. Was it possible to transport it into the space that contained the Wizard’s Pagoda if it did not have enough spiritual qualities? Would its youth prevent it from making the journey?
Yang Ling placed a drop of blood upon the sapling, but it barely even rippled. The effect was so miniscule it was almost as if the young Tree of Life was not even alive. No matter what he did, he would not be able to tame the sapling and thus transport it to the Wizard’s Pagoda.
Perhaps the area where the Wizard’s Pagoda rested was more different from the Space Ring than Yang Ling had thought. Could it be that other than the Magical Beasts and Magical Tree Warriors he had tamed, the Wizard’s Pagoda could not absorb other types of things the same way the Space Ring could?
Stroking the ring on his finger, Yang Ling wondered. He still did not understand that much about how a Space Ring was constructed. He understood even less about the Wizard’s Pagoda’s properties.
Unable to come to an understanding despite racking his brains, he carefully compared the differences between the Space Ring and the space that contained the Wizard’s Pagoda.
The space that contained the Wizard’s Pagoda had rich spiritual energy and could absorb Magical Beasts with spiritual qualities after he had tamed them with his blood. There was no spiritual energy inside the Space Ring and he could not place living creatures with spiritual qualities inside it. But it was like a refrigerator at a constant temperature; the corpses of Magical Beasts and crystals he put within would not decompose no matter how long he left them.
Using the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda expended his Wizard Power, Blood Essence and mental energy, but using the Space Ring only required a certain amount of mental energy. It was rumored that some of the top notch Space Rings required Magical Energy to activate, but Yang Ling had never seen a treasure of that sort.
Could it be that just like using the Space Ring, he could place an object without spiritual qualities into the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda with just his mental energy?
After a moment’s deliberation, Yang Ling decided to test this idea with a small stone he found nearby.
Yang Ling soon found that he was able to place the pebble into the space without using his blood or Wizard Power. Using the same principle, he was able to retrieve it using just his mental energy. But putting the stone in and retrieving it again required a substantial amount of mental energy, as if he was faced with a layer of invisible obstacle every time he tried. The mental energy he expended was more than what he had used to tame a few dozen Vampire Bats.
If it was so difficult to keep a small pebble, how hard would it be to transport everything in the yard into the space?
Yang Ling knew that there were only three explanations. It was either that the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda could only absorb living things with spiritual qualities through the use of Wizard Techniques, or that he was still not powerful enough; the last possibility was that he had not grasped the secrets of the Wizard’s Pagoda and had not found the most suitable method.
After exhausting much mental energy to transport the sapling of the Tree of Life into the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda, Yang Ling transported his consciousness into the space.
Compared to the last time he had been there, the Wizard’s Pagoda space seemed to have grown a bit larger. It was as if it was growing slowly as it absorbed energy from the outside world. But the small pond in the middle of the green field remained unchanged. Two Unicorns, one full grown and the other a foal, were running and playing near the pond. Catching sight of Yang Ling, the foal galloped over happily, extending its tongue to lick his right hand.
Yang Ling stroked the little Unicorn’s head affectionately. Then he proceeded to plant the sapling of the Tree of Life next to the pond. He intuited that the spring that had appeared was connected in some way to the green life force. Planting the Tree of LIfe sapling by its side might make it grow even faster than if it were planted by the entrance of the Wizard’s Pagoda.
Can I recall the Magical Beasts outside this space if he himself was within the Wizard’s Pagoda’s space?
After circling the area a couple of times, and surveying the Horned Bee Beasts, Evil Eyes and spiders who wandered and sipped on the white fog, Yang Ling recalled the Heavenly Fox Yuna that he had left outside. He instinctively used a Wizard Mantra.
“Ah, Brother Yang, you… I…”
Yuna’s face was red. She appeared in front of Yang Ling instantly, hugging an armful of clothes. She was naked, her hair still dripping wet, as if she had just taken a shower. Her slender thighs, fair smooth skin, petite and alluring figure… They were all presented in full before Yang Ling!
Yang Ling stole a few glances, pretending to feel awkward. He turned his back and waited for the rustling behind him to subside, indicating Yuna had finished dressing herself.
“Brother Yang, you were looking for me?” After adjusting her clothes, Yuna walked barefoot before Yang Ling.
“Yuna, what do you think of this place?”
Seeing Yuna’s blushing face, and taking in her fair, petite feet, smelling her faint fragrance, Yang Ling felt his heartbeat accelerate. Yuna naturally had a unique charm, her every action filled with allure and style. Perhaps that was the cause. But she was different from Maryse, who was doing it deliberately. Yuna was a natural beauty!
Even though she had been to the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda before, Yuna had not had the time to observe the place closely. With Yang Ling’s question, she looked closely, and saw the boundless green field and the pond’s crystal clear water. She took a sip of the spring water and felt refreshed and comfortable, her mind becoming more alert.
Taking a few steps around Yuna, the playful little Unicorn leaned into her embrace and nuzzled her, its nose twitching as if it was appreciating her fragrance. It was completely unafraid of her.
A baby Unicorn?
Yuna was surprised. She gently stroked the little Unicorn’s head and said, “Brother Yang, this place is amazing. I feel a very rich Magical Energy here. It would be able to greatly boost the speed of my training!”
Yang Ling smiled and said nothing. After having absorbed a large amount of energy, the Wizard’s Pagoda was now not only releasing white fog, but also bolts of pure chaotic energy. He could turn the energy into pure Wizard Power, while the Spellcasters in this world could turn them into pure Magical Energy.
Yang Ling wondered if since Yuna could convert the chaotic energy into Magical Energy, maybe he could do the same.
The magic spells in this world were marvelous. In Yang Ling’s eyes, even though the spells were not as powerful as the mysterious Wizard Techniques, they were still terrifying forces when trained appropriately. Recalling the conversation with the black robed elder Klive, he decided to give it a try. He sat down and crossed his legs.
As a sage level Spellcaster, Klive had his unique interpretation on the source of magical spells. According to him, the world was filled with various Magical Elements. One could influence their ripples with mental energy and gather them to release various magical spells.
But even though he could vaguely understand the reasoning behind magical spells, Yang Ling could not release even a fireball, no matter how hard he tried.
The power of a magical spell was derived from the combined size of his Magical Energy and mental energy. Even if his mental energy was not so powerful, he considered himself at the level of a so-called Magical Apprentice. There was no reason he could not launch even a tiny fireball.
Could it be that the protective Wizard Power had blocked his connection with the Magical Elements in the air, making it such that he was unable to absorb Magical Energy?
After closely recalling all of his actions, Yang Ling had a thought. He stopped the circulating protective Wizard Power in his body and spread his mental energy out like a spider web, feeling for the ripples of energy that filled the world.
Indeed, with his mind clear, he soon noticed with some surprise that there were countless unique ripples in the air. Some of them were flickering like balls of flame, some gathered and scattered like the clouds…
According to Klive’s methods, he tried his best to absorb the most active fire element Magical Elements in his immediate surroundings, gathering it onto his right index finger. Slowly, he felt a numbing on his fingertip, and finally, a flickering ember of fire appeared.
Hehe, so that is the case!
Yang Ling built upon this discovery and replicated his efforts and soon, ten weak embers of fire appeared, one on each of his fingers. The embers flickered, releasing a guttering glow in the gathering darkness.
After absorbing a portion of the Magical Energy, Yang Ling closely observed its differences from the Wizard Power.
Wizard Power was pure and obscure, not only able to hone his constitution over time, but also the base of all Wizard Techniques; Magical Energy had obvious ripples, and could easily attract ripples from the outside world. The energy could attract the Magical Elements in one’s surroundings to create powerful magical spells. Its only shortcoming was that it did not improve the Spellcasters’ constitution.
After gaining a preliminary understanding of the foundation and power of magical spells, Yang Ling exhaled and stood up slowly. He brought Yuna around the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda several times. After taming Yuna, he could more clearly feel the thoughts in her heart. He was not worried that she would expose his secret.
Allies might betray him, subordinates might cross him, but according to the explanation on the stele, Magical Beasts, once tamed, would never reject his orders. After gaining control over their souls, to some extent, their bodies had become his vessesl. If he were to meet with misfortune, they would not be able to escape from the crisis either!
After taking a few rounds around the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda, Yuna fancied the place even more, and decided she wanted to train in the space for a while in order to strengthen her abilities quickly. To the Heavenly Foxes, evolving to take on a human form was an achievement. Only by breaking through the hurdle could they cultivate powerful magical spells.
Yang Ling heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that Yuna liked the space of the Wizard’s Pagoda. After all, unlike the Horned Bee Beasts and Evil Eyes, Yuna was an intelligent being of flesh and blood. From the outside, she was no different from a human.
Even though he knew that Yuna could not directly disobey him, Yang Ling hoped that she did not possess any conflicting thoughts. He hoped to help Yuna cultivate the mysterious Wizard Techniques when the time was right, and allow her to help him lead the massive Magical Beast army.
Even though the champion Magical Beasts like the Tarantula King and Evil Eye Tyrant had a certain amount of intelligence and could lead their kinds in battle, they could not compare to humans when it came to adaptability and overall leadership abilities.
Yang Ling hoped that he could free up the time to tame higher level Magical Beasts one day. He wanted to spend more of his energy to cultivate his Wizard Techniques and discover the secrets of the Ancient Summoner as soon as possible, so as to find a path back to Earth.