Chapter 41: Great Dream Astral Travel Technique

Chapter 41: The Great Dream-Wandering Heaven Technique

Li Wei and Vince brought the unconscious crowd back to the surface.

After listening to Vince's account, Alan cast an approving glance toward Li Wei.

He had not expected that some remnants of the cultists would survive after he killed the Dark Cultist, nearly leading to a catastrophe.

In the end, it was thanks to Li Wei that there were no casualties.

Had the Nightmare chosen to assault Vince, Vince might never have returned.

Alan smiled and said, "Li Wei, we owe it all to you that we escaped unharmed this time."

"Would you be willing to come to the Polar Night City Mage Tower? If you do, I can apply to the tower to grant you the treatment of an official mage. The Polar Night City Mage Tower also possesses the heritage of traditional orthodox schools; you can choose either the traditional mage path or the ring-mage path."

Alan's sincerity was palpable as he warmly invited Li Wei to Polar Night City.

Li Wei replied, "Thank you for the invitation, Mage Alan, I shall consider it."

Alan said, "As long as you are willing, you may come find me at any time."

Following the death of the Dark Cultist, those who had fallen unconscious began to awaken one after another.

"Ouch! It hurts to death, what happened? My back hurts so much!"

An apprentice mage crawled up, attempting to touch his back, tears welling up from the sheer pain of moving his arm.

Hearing this, Li Wei looked over, feeling slightly embarrassed.

Caught in the aftershocks of the Lesser Fireball technique, the two apprentice mages used as meat shields by the Dark Cultist had both been injured.

Those whose bodies had been parasitized by the Nightmare felt entirely devoid of strength upon waking.

Gu Ze was the only one whose body had not been occupied by the Nightmare; once awake, he quickly climbed to his feet.

Thanks to the protection of Li Wei's Invisible Armor, the Nightmare had been unable to possess his body.

Gu Ze looked around, and seeing Li Wei, asked in astonishment, "What happened?"

Li Wei recounted the events to him.

Gu Ze fell into deep thought and said, "After we entered the sewers, we encountered several Nightmares while searching for the cultist. During the battle, I suddenly felt my thoughts grow heavy and drowsy, and after killing the last Nightmare, I couldn't hold on any longer and fainted."

"Thinking back, we must have fallen victim to the cultist's Mass Sleep spell during the battle!"

Li Wei asked with some curiosity, "Why didn't the cultist use the Sleep spell on me?"

Mage Alan walked over and said, "The power used by the Dark Cultists originates from Yubis, unlike the spells mastered by mages. Putting Lyle and the others into a dream state was likely already his limit."

"Another possibility is that he had already completed the blood sacrifice ritual and believed he could easily deal with you and Vince, so he did not employ the Sleep spell."

"To the cultists, the realm of dreams is a sacred sanctuary not to be easily defiled. They do not enter dreams lightly, for it might cause them to hear the whispers of the evil god and lose themselves. I once saw a Dark Cultist who did not sleep for three consecutive years."

"Though the Sleep spell possesses immense power, it is considered a forbidden art to them and cannot be used casually."

Mage Alan's words resolved the doubts in Li Wei's heart.

The reality was very likely as Alan had spoken.

After completing the blood sacrifice ritual, the Dark Cultist had successfully advanced to the second rank, causing his combat power to skyrocket.

Had Mage Alan not intervened at the critical moment, Li Wei and Vince alone would have been utterly incapable of dealing with a cultist possessing second-rank strength.

Seeing Mage Alan, Gu Ze hurriedly bowed in greeting.

The two injured apprentice mages also endured their pain to quickly bow in greeting.

Mage Alan was a third-rank mage; the necessary respect could not be omitted.

"Li Wei, Lyle is injured, so I am taking him back for treatment. When you have time, you can come to the Practitioners Association to chat with me; I have a few decent spell models on hand."

Alan smiled at Li Wei, offering a subtle look.

Li Wei understood implicitly, nodding as he said, "Thank you, Mage Alan, I will certainly visit when the opportunity arises."

Alan then departed with Lyle, Vince, and the others.

As they walked, Vince remarked, "Li Wei's strength is somewhat astonishing. I suspect he hid his true capability during his match with Lyle last time."

He retained a deep impression of Li Wei's startling casting speed.

Lyle looked at Mage Vince in surprise, not expecting him to hold Li Wei in such high regard. He could not help but feel a twinge of jealousy in his heart.

He had already lost to Li Wei last time, and now Vince was praising Li Wei endlessly, even claiming that Li Wei had hidden his strength.

It gave him a humiliating sensation akin to having his corpse flogged.

Lyle glanced back at Li Wei, clenching his fists as he muttered inwardly, "Li Wei, I will definitely become an official mage before you do!"

Li Wei and Gu Ze returned to the Mage Tower.

Before long, news arrived from the Practitioners Association that they had found the corpses of the apprentice mages in the sewers who had previously failed in their crusade against the Dark Cultist.

The corpses had already turned into desiccated mummies, used by the cultist for the blood sacrifice ritual.

This was perhaps one of the reasons that had propelled the cultist's advancement.

The Practitioners Association returned the bodies to the Mage Tower, and the tower notified the families of the apprentice mages to come and handle the remains.

Standing by the window, Li Wei watched a few men and women dressed in aristocratic attire weeping over the corpses in the courtyard outside.

The family to which this apprentice mage belonged was merely a minor noble household.

They did not even possess an official title bestowed by the Empire.

They were minor nobles with titles granted only within the borders of the Kingdom of Machir.

For such a small family to lose an apprentice mage was no different from half their sky collapsing.

Li Wei watched as the weeping group carried the body away.

Turning back into the room, he reflected on the gains and losses of this battle.

He realized he lacked a control spell, or rather, an escape spell.

At the end, the Dark Cultist's power had erupted and skyrocketed; if Mage Alan had not intervened, Li Wei felt he might have faced grim prospects.

That was an uncontrollable factor, and Li Wei had no way to govern it.

But if he possessed a control spell or an escape spell, he would have a chance to retreat when encountering danger.

Before heading out to select a suitable spell, Li Wei sat down to meditate, focusing his mental strength within his mind.

A memory that did not belong to him surfaced.

After a long while, Li Wei opened his eyes and saw new writing appearing upon the wall.

Great Dream-Wandering Heaven Technique (Rank Zero) 0/10000

An ability unexpectedly obtained after killing the Dark Cultist.

Li Wei was not even certain if this qualified as a spell.

It possessed no spell model; it could be released simply by consuming mana.

Upon activation, he would enter a sleepwalking state, capable of shuttling between dreams and reality.

Li Wei hesitated over whether to use this ability.

The texts had warned that any knowledge or power from an evil god would demand a price.

The Great Dream Soaring Technique came from the Black Cultist—likely tied to some dark deity.

Li Wei dared not employ it recklessly.

Then another thought surfaced: the moment one gained knowledge from an evil god, the price had already been paid.

But what was that price? Li Wei did not know.

"It should be fine," he reasoned. "I merely inherited the ability from the Black Cultist. If there is a cost, he has already borne it."

Still, for safety’s sake, Li Wei went to the library in search of any information about the Great Dream Soaring Technique.

He searched until midnight, yet found nothing concrete.

Only one fragment seemed possibly related:

“A rare few among Yubis’s followers possess the power to traverse dreams.”

(End of Chapter)