Chapter 22: Dawn’s First Light
Chapter 22: Dawn’s First Light
Li Yi crouched forward, his limbs on the ground, steady as a mountain.
Around his body, a gushing, surging Elemental Tide rolled in, like a colorful and brilliant storm, dazzling and radiant!
The Ancient Alligator was an ancient ferocious beast, born in the Ten-Thousand Dragon Epoch when Ancient Dragons like the Tyrant Dragon, Sun-Eating Sword Dragon, and Wind-Passing Wyvern coexisted. Its nature was greedy, no less than the Taotie, and its patience far surpassed that of the Ba Snake. It was one of the very few ferocious beasts that survived the great “Annihilation” when nearly all dragons perished.
Its way of survival was plunder and devouring!
As if defying the heavens, its entire hide trembled, and violent elements gathered into spheres, crushing down from all directions like Mount Tai pressing overhead!
Li Yi’s meditation speed clearly could not keep up with the elemental accumulation. It was like a snake trying to swallow an elephant—a task beyond its strength!
His bones made sounds of being overburdened, and his soul felt as if a giant hammer was constantly pounding it, buzzing and ringing.
No wonder. The “Star-Slaying Knot” was originally meant to supply the “Star-level” Arcane Energy heavy cannon—the “Star-Slaying Cannon.” Now, even a ten-thousandth part channeled into the Meditation Chamber had still created a meditation environment that could be called astonishingly spectacular! Combined with the Ancient Alligator’s insatiably greedy meditation characteristic, this strange phenomenon occurred.
The gathered elements converged beneath his abdomen, first as droplets, then like earth and stone, piling up like a tower of sand.
This elemental earth gradually took form and actually lifted his body, suspending him in mid-air.
His posture resembled an Ancient Alligator perched on a stone!
The phoenix would only roost on a parasol tree, and in ancient legends, the Ancient Alligator also favored perching on a certain stone, called the “Evil Stone.”
Anyone who knew their stuff would probably gasp in recognition immediately—this was a Meditation Phenomenon!
A Meditation Phenomenon was a unique type of communion between heaven and man, a rare occurrence requiring the right time, place, and people, as well as that elusive luck.
And once it formed, it manifested all sorts of mysterious and wondrous phenomena, incredibly profound.
Li Yi’s expression became dazed. In his mind, voices echoed, distant and ancient, their reverberations lingering.
“I am the Ancient Alligator. I feast on the sky, devour the sun, consume the moon, swallow the stars. From the highest Nine Heavens to the deepest Nine Nether, all are my food!”
He suddenly showed a slightly pained expression, and then immediately lost consciousness.
His soul seemed to sink into the deep sea, yet also soar in the vast sky. It was like a dream, yet like waking, as if he had drunk a huge barrel of aged wine, too intoxicated to rouse.
In the Meditation Chamber, scattered points of seven-colored light suddenly brightened. From the “Star-Slaying Knot,” like water flowing downhill, they poured in crazily.
These scattered points were like fireflies, even more like living sprites.
These were nothing else but the “spiritual essence” of Elemental Life!
Within the “Star-Slaying Knot,” the elemental concentration was staggering. Elemental Life would naturally be born from time to time, be it Fire Elementals, Lightning Elementals, or even Storm Giants! Of course, the Star-Slaying Knot would not allow this to happen. Within its magic array, fierce waves of Arcane Energy fluctuations would periodically sweep through, obliterating them one by one.
Although the destroyed Elemental Life dissipated into smoke, spiritual essence remnants lingered, with nowhere to go.
This spiritual essence lingered, often only erupting when the Star-Slaying Cannon fired, to enhance its power!
However, the cycle was extremely long.
This time, it had found another outlet.
The starlight glimmered, flickering and fading, descending like tinkling spring water, gently nourishing Li Yi’s soul.
And Li Yi’s spiritual power, under constant nourishment, became robust, expanded, and stood tall, like a tender sprout bathing in rain and sunshine, growing strong.
…
Dawn broke.
Li Yi opened his eyes. The moment his eyes opened, a brilliant light filled the chamber. In the Void, a thunderous sound suddenly rang out, like a bell or chime, reverberating outward.
If any ordinary person were nearby, they would certainly cover their heads and wail, or even faint on the spot.
“Thunder from the Void?”
Li Yi looked around, confirming there was no one else. The sliver of doubt in his heart turned to certainty.
“This… was caused by me? No way?”
“A single thought, and a Psychic Blast, thunder from the Void! This is an ability only a Lower-Rank Spell Disciple, and a mentally stable one at that, possesses!”
“My spiritual power has already reached such a level?”
“In just one night? The Star-Slaying Knot might be marvelous, but it shouldn’t be this effective…”
Though doubtful, after thinking for a moment, he stopped dwelling on it.
“Let’s test the effect!”
With a slight stir of his mind, several flashes of purple light flickered in his eyes. Instantly, silent thunderclaps erupted to his left, right, above, and below, psychic ripples spreading out.
“A Psychic Blast might become one of my methods! Against those below the level of Spell Apprentice, I can suppress and crush them with spiritual power!”
His eyes rolled a few times. Li Yi rubbed his chin, thinking.
The Martial Display was imminent, arriving in the blink of an eye.
Li Yi knew that the so-called one-year period was just for show. The upcoming Martial Display was the main event.
“You can tell a child’s future from the age of three”—this saying also applied to Mages.
Three months was enough for those with exceptional talent to stand out.
To put it bluntly, this Martial Display was to let these individuals emerge, leapfrogging the inner sect to become Direct Disciples, the so-called “Heaven’s Pride.”
Mediocre folks needed to proceed step by step, cautiously passing the one-year period to become inner sect disciples.
This one-step difference could create a butterfly effect, a world of difference!
Therefore, this Martial Display was extremely important!
Springing up from the ground in one leap, Li Yi patted off the dust. After looking around carefully, he sealed the brick hole in the wall.
Meditating at night was one thing; meditating during the day easily left clues.
…
“How can I make a stunning impression?”
Li Yi racked his brains, sorting his available methods into categories. What to use early, what to use late, what to do in favorable situations, in adverse situations, in desperate situations—he had plans for all.
His trump cards, especially secret techniques, absolutely must not be exposed early. They needed to come as a surprise to be effective.
His eyes shifted, his mind whirled rapidly, and his hands weren’t idle either. Two Mana Missiles spun and danced nimbly.
These two Mana Missiles, one pale white, one dark gray, both had a restrained ferocity, deep and unfathomable.
Li Yi was practicing to increase his Spell Proficiency.
Spell Proficiency was a Metamagic Specialty.
Metamagic Specialties were similar to Bloodline Abilities, except they didn’t require a specific bloodline. Anyone could manifest them with enough practice and honing.
Spell Proficiency was the most basic. Above it were Spell Instant-cast, Spell Potency, Spell Extension, and so on.
“To be honest, Level 0 spells aren’t very valuable against those Heaven’s Pride talents…”
Li Yi shook his head, thinking to himself.
Counting on his fingers, Yu Qian, Su Xuan’er, Zhangsun Shenji, and even Yan Zhao undoubtedly had secret techniques, not to mention many also possessed powerful Bloodline Abilities!
Against these people, Level 0 spells were of little use.
“What about Level 1 spells?”
Suddenly, a flash of inspiration streaked through his mind. Li Yi’s thoughts became sharp. He reached out, grasping that fleeting spark of inspiration!
“Below the level of Spell Disciple, one cannot practice Level 1 spells because of insufficient spiritual power and Mana! But I’m different. My spiritual power is already no worse than a Spell Disciple’s, and my Mana… my Dragon-Turtle Qi and Ancient Alligator Qi are of such supreme quality, unmatched in the world! Perhaps they can make up for the lack of Mana.”
As he thought, his eyes began to gleam.
“However, perhaps the spell incantations need some adjustment…”
If Li Yi voiced this idea, it would likely cause a huge uproar!
The land of the Nine Provinces was known for being rigid, conservative, and methodical. Even though Xiao Changkong had once injected a breath of fresh air, it was still so.
Hence the saying, “Read ten thousand books, and writing will flow like a god!” It meant creating spells required sufficient long-term accumulation and insight until one day, things naturally fell into place, and inspiration came like a Heaven’s Revelation.
But Li Yi came from a completely different generation. Though respectful, he was not blindly obedient. He was happy and courageous enough to forge his own path!
At this moment, he didn’t know that this step of his was about to set him on a narrow, difficult path with cliffs on both sides. This road, though rugged and bumpy, had absolutely beautiful scenery, vibrant and colorful! Along it lay the Dao Transformation Armament at the pinnacle of the era, and even groundbreaking spell construction…
Li Yi closed his eyes, recalling, organizing, pondering. Then, in his own way, he began to calculate.
The Great Dao had countless paths, but all were interconnected.
Runes, magic arrays, restrictions, arrays, and spells—all sorts of knowledge verified and complemented each other. The barriers between them seemed to be gradually dissolving.
“Shall I give it a try?”
Li Yi raised his palm. In his palm, a ball of crimson flame rolled, reddening the entire room. But it didn’t last long before collapsing with a bang.
“Interesting, interesting…”
He wasn’t discouraged. His fingers unconsciously twirled, his eyelids lifted, and he began to think again.
Time, just like that, slowly passed by.