Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, several months had gone by. February had arrived, and many trees on Wushan Mountain had already sprouted new buds. A hint of spring was quietly in the air.
Under an ancient tree.
Lin Lei sat cross-legged, engaged in meditation to refine his magic power.
In his meditative state, Lin Lei clearly sensed a multitude of earth-yellow and azure light points swirling around his body. These two types of light points were continuously entering his body from all sides, penetrating his limbs and bones, being purified before ultimately gathering in the 'middle dantian' at the center of his chest.
Within the middle dantian, an earth-yellow mist and an azure mist filled the space.
The earth-yellow mist was earth-system magic power. The azure mist was wind-system magic power.
"Hoo." Lin Lei slowly exhaled a breath, returning from his meditative state.
Derinkoort, dressed in a moonlight-white robe, sat cross-legged on the ground with a smile, taking in the surrounding scenery. Seeing Lin Lei awaken, he chuckled and said, "Lin Lei, you're leaving for Ernst Academy tomorrow, yet you're still working so hard today."
Lin Lei pouted playfully and replied, "Grandpa Derink, you yourself once said that the strong are forged through daily effort in cultivation, never relaxing for even a moment. Only through long-term practice can one achieve astounding strength."
"Good boy, now you're teaching me," Derinkoort laughed, scolding him lightly.
"Hehe." Lin Lei grinned.
*Whoosh!* A black phantom abruptly flashed into view in the distance before reappearing on Lin Lei's shoulder. It was none other than the shadow mouse, Bei Bei. The little creature was baring its teeth at Lin Lei while pointing to a dead wild rabbit on the ground.
Lin Lei took one look at Bei Bei's expression and understood immediately.
"You want me to roast it for you?" Lin Lei asked with a smile.
Bei Bei nodded vigorously.
"Lin Lei," Derinkoort transmitted mentally, "this little shadow mouse is really peculiar. It's been several months, yet its size hasn't grown at all. During the juvenile stage, growth should be quite noticeable."
"I don't understand that either," Lin Lei shook his head.
While the shadow mouse Bei Bei's size hadn't increased, its movement speed had definitely gotten much faster.
"Truly strange," Derinkoort glanced at the little shadow mouse. At this moment, Bei Bei had no idea that a soul was observing him.
"It's getting late. I still have my evening training later," Lin Lei stood up, grabbed the dead wild rabbit, and started heading down the mountain. Derinkoort drifted alongside him, complaining, "Lin Lei, you're going to be a mage in the future. You're still doing warrior training now?"
Lin Lei smiled. "Grandpa Derink, I've discovered that doing warrior training can improve my willpower. And increased willpower can also boost my mental power."
"I know that," Derinkoort grumbled. "But the mental power increase from that kind of primitive training can't possibly compare to a mage's 'meditation'."
Lin Lei fell silent.
Doing warrior training could indeed improve mental power, but that was just an excuse.
The real reason Lin Lei still trained as a warrior was: "In the future, if I ever have the chance to drink live dragon blood and cultivate the 'Dragon Blood Secret Manual', I'll need a well-trained body. This body is the container, and the battle qi is the wine. The body is very important. I'll lay a solid foundation early, so that when I cultivate the 'Dragon Blood Secret Manual' later, I'll progress much faster."
In truth, given Lin Lei's elemental affinity, the time he spent each day refining magic power was quite short.