hsntnovel Chapter 26: Two More Years
Chapter 26: Two More Years
Lin Yun returned to Ernst College one early morning.
He climbed over the wall behind the hill and quietly returned to his dormitory along the familiar path. Morning mist shrouded the campus, the white stone walls appearing and disappearing in the fog, and the distant chirping of birds rang out. The academy was quiet; most students were still asleep.
Pushing open the gate to dormitory 1987, Lin Lei was practicing earth magic in the courtyard. When he saw Lin Yun walk in, he was stunned for a moment, then his eyes widened suddenly.
"Lin Yun?!" Lin Lei rushed over, looking him up and down. "You're finally back!"
"I didn't expect it to take so long to pass it down," Lin Yun smiled.
Lin Lei wanted to say something, but in the end he just patted him on the shoulder: "It's good that you're back."
Lin Yun glanced around the courtyard. Reno and Yale's doors were still closed; they were clearly still asleep. He lowered his voice: "Has nothing much happened at the academy these past few months?"
"It's nothing serious," Linley said in a low voice. "The instructors have asked you a few times why you haven't been coming to class. I told them you were in seclusion in the back mountains researching magic, and they didn't ask any further questions. After all, your previous grades speak for themselves, so they're being lenient with you."
Lin Yun nodded. He had already made up his mind—he wouldn't reveal his level seven magician cultivation for the time being. Although level seven was already a step into the threshold of becoming a strong person, on the Yulan Continent, there were levels eight and nine above level seven, not to mention the Saint Realm. With his current strength, he was far from being able to roam the continent freely. Revealing too much would only attract unnecessary trouble.
"I haven't told anyone about your breakthrough," Linley added. "Grandpa Delin also said not to make a fuss about it for now."
"Okay," Lin Yun said.
He decided to continue "lay low" at the academy. He would attend classes, cultivate, and sculpt stones as usual, pretending to be just an ordinary level six mage. As for his level seven cultivation and the inheritance of necromancy, he would keep them as a trump card, revealing them only when truly needed.
After returning to the academy, Lin Yun's life resumed its usual rhythm.
During the day, he occasionally attended a few practical classes to maintain a certain attendance rate and avoid arousing suspicion from his instructors. Most of the time, he cultivated in the grove behind the mountain—practicing level seven magic of the light, wind, and lightning elements, studying advanced dark spells, and consolidating the foundation of necromancy.
Stone carving didn't stop either. Every evening, he would spend half an hour sitting in the courtyard, carving the stone in his hands bit by bit with a carving knife. He had mastered the flat-knife technique to a high degree, and the works he carved were lifelike. Even Delin was amazed by his progress.
"Your stone carving skills are almost on par with mine back then," Delin exclaimed. "This shows that your mental strength is already very solid. Keep at it, and it will greatly help your future magical cultivation."
Lin Yun nodded and continued carving. He was not short of money now, so he didn't need to sell stone carvings. He just treated it as a secret technique for cultivation!
Nighttime is the time for necromancy. He would find a secluded corner and probe the stone tablet in his spatial ring with his soul power, continuing to comprehend the mysteries of the rules of death. The core inheritance of the stone tablet had ended, but it contained many fragments of the rules of death, enough for him to study for a long time.
Soul perception, soul soothing, soul barrier—he had already mastered these basic skills. Regarding necromancy, he would occasionally summon Darkblade to the mortal realm to help it adapt to the environment. Darkblade was very powerful; a peak level seven undead knight, coupled with its equally undead warhorse, their combat strength was not to be underestimated.
But he never used necromancy openly. Each time he summoned the Darkblade, he would choose a sufficiently secluded place and immediately purify himself of the undead aura with light magic afterward. Caution was the most important lesson he learned from the Monster Mountain Range.
The days passed by peacefully and fulfillingly.
Before we knew it, nearly two years had passed.
Lin Yun is fifteen years old.
In the past two years, he did not deliberately pursue breakthroughs, but simply cultivated, comprehended, and accumulated knowledge day after day. The seven elements of magic flowed slowly within his body, like seven streams of different colors, each flowing independently yet echoing one another. He did not rush to learn new seventh-level magic, but instead repeatedly refined the magic he had already mastered, until he could cast each spell instantly with a thought.
The breakthrough came naturally.
It was an ordinary morning, and Lin Yun was meditating in the back mountain as usual. Suddenly, a subtle change occurred in the seven elements of magic power within his body—they became more condensed and purer. Although the quantity did not increase much, the quality improved by a level.
Level 8.
He opened his eyes, a fleeting seven-colored light flashing within them. There was no surprise, no excitement, only a calm acceptance. Level eight was not the end, but merely a stepping stone to something higher.
As for the soldiers, his progress has been relatively slow.
For two years, he practiced Qi Gathering Technique and basic swordsmanship every day without fail. However, the concentration of his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline was too low, preventing him from cultivating battle qi. He could only rely on Qi Gathering Technique to strengthen his body. Naturally, this method of cultivation was not fast.
At fifteen, his warrior strength reached the peak of level five. He was only one step away from level six, but it was unknown how long it would take to cross that threshold.
"Your physical abilities are already quite strong," Delin said after an assessment. "A peak level five warrior could already serve as a squad leader in the army. But compared to your magical prowess, it's indeed quite lacking. This is a limitation of your bloodline; it can't be rushed."
Lin Yun nodded, not paying much attention. Magic was his main focus; warrior skills were secondary. Peak level five was enough for him.
Lin Lei's progress in the past two years has been equally remarkable.
He was even more diligent than Lin Yun—getting up before dawn every day to cultivate and practicing until late at night. His earth and wind magic improved day by day through repeated practice, and he did not neglect fire magic as a secondary skill. Delin's evaluation of him became higher and higher, saying that he was "more outstanding than expected".
At the age of fifteen, Lin Lei broke through to become a level six mage.
This pace is more than a year ahead of the original story. Delin said that this is largely due to Lin Yun's "stimulation" - having a younger brother whose talent far surpasses his own, Lin Lei has never relaxed his demands on himself.
"Level six." Linley stood in the grove of trees behind the mountain, looking at the earth magic he had conjured in his hand, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes. "Still a long way off."
Lin Yun smiled and said, "You're already very fast."
"I'm still far behind you." Lin Lei shook his head, his tone devoid of jealousy, only filled with unwavering determination. "I'll keep chasing you."
Beibei perched on his shoulder, chirped twice, and patted his cheek with her little paws, as if to say "Go for it!"
Lin Lei patted Bei Bei's little head, remained silent for a while, and then said, "Lin Yun, I want to go to the Monster Mountain Range for training."
Lin Yun was slightly taken aback.
"A level six mage can't learn much more at the academy," Linley said earnestly. "I need real combat experience, I need to hone myself on the edge of life and death. Just like you did back then."
Lin Yun was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Go. Take Beibei with you."
"Chirp!" Beibei chirped, patting its chest with its little paws, looking like it had "I'll take care of it."
Three days later, Linley, with Bebe, quietly left Ernst Academy and embarked on the road to the Monster Mountain Range.
As the sun rises in the world of Panlong, the moon in the world of Swallowed Star is slowly setting.
Over the course of two years, Lin Yun's other body also grew in tandem.
Fifteen-year-old Lin Yun was already tall and straight, not much different from a seventeen or eighteen-year-old youth. His face still had some childishness, but the composure and depth in his eyes far surpassed those of his peers.
In terms of martial arts cultivation, he has already reached the fifth level of apprentice—equivalent to a mid-level warrior by Earth's standards. This speed isn't fast, but it's solid. He insists on basic training every day without interruption.
His progress in mental power was even more significant. Two years ago, his mental power had already reached the level of a beginner-level War God, but due to limitations in his physical strength, he could only exert the power of a high-level War General. In the past two years, he has been working hard to improve his physical fitness while continuously honing his mental power.
Currently, his mental power has reached the eighth level of Apprentice—the intermediate War God level. Although his physical attributes have improved to the intermediate War General level, they are still three levels lower than his mental power. According to the rules of mental power masters, the strength he can exert can only reach the peak of the initial War God level at most.
"It's still a little short," Lin Yun muttered to himself.
Even so, a fifteen-year-old intermediate-level warrior and a beginner-level war god-level mentalist is already one of the most outstanding geniuses on Earth.
Of course, on the surface he still only showed the level of a senior student approaching a quasi-martial artist, but even so, the Limitless Martial Arts Academy attached great importance to him. Master Jiang Nian talked to him more than once, hoping that he could give up his studies and focus on breaking through to the martial artist realm.
Lin Yun politely declined each time. He had his own rhythm and didn't want anyone to disrupt it.
Luo Feng's progress over the past two years has also been astonishing. Under Lin Yun's supervision and guidance, his martial arts cultivation has reached the advanced student level, two years ahead of schedule in the original story.
"You're much better than me," Luo Feng exclaimed after a training session.
Lin Yun smiled and said, "You'll catch up too."
Luo Feng shook his head without replying, but a determined glint flashed in his eyes.
Late at night.
In the grove behind Ernst Academy, Lin Yun sat cross-legged on a blue stone, closed his eyes, and slowly circulated the magic power within his body.
The seven elements of magic flowed slowly within his body, and his level eight cultivation was now completely stable. His mental strength was more solid than it had been two years ago, and his soul power was also steadily increasing through his practice of necromancy. Although his warrior cultivation was progressing somewhat slowly, his peak level five strength would not be a weakness in close combat.
For two years, he didn't rush to pursue higher levels, but instead chose to settle down. He solidified the foundation of the seven magic systems, mastered the skills of necromancy, and perfected the method of cultivating spiritual power through stone carving.
He doesn't need to rush. He's still young; he has plenty of time.
In the world of Swallowed Star, his other body was also growing in sync. His martial arts cultivation as a mid-level warrior and his mental power at the level of a beginner war god were already top-tier on Earth. But he knew that beyond Earth lay a vast universe, where there were planetary, constant, and cosmic-level powerhouses, and cosmic lords who could destroy galaxies at will.
Compared to those beings, he is nothing now.
He needs to continue becoming stronger. He needs to grow in sync with and support each other in both worlds.
Lin Yun opened his eyes and looked at the starry sky above. Moonlight filtered through the leaves, casting dappled shadows on his face.