Chapter 523: Usage of Minor Time Spell

Chapter 523: The Usage of Minor Time Magic

The next day.

Gu Ze, unusually for him, rose early from his bed.

Stretching lazily, he stepped out of his room, preparing to wash up and have breakfast.

As he turned his head, he saw Li Wei emerging from Gu Sewei's room.

He froze instantly in place.

Gu Ze looked at Li Wei with a stiff expression, his tone harsh as he said, "Why did you go to Weiwei's room so early?"

Li Wei hesitated for a moment—should he tell Gu Ze that he had actually spent the entire night in Gu Sewei's room last evening?

Being cautious,

Li Wei didn't reveal the truth, instead offering an excuse to brush past the matter.

"Oh, nothing much. I just remembered something important I needed to discuss with Gu Sewei," Li Wei replied.

Gu Ze looked at him suspiciously, narrowing his eyes as he asked, "What could be so urgent that it had to be said this early?"

Li Wei casually responded, "Last night while sleeping, I recalled some speculations about magically transformed creatures. I was afraid I'd forget if too much time passed, so I came early."

Gu Ze smacked his lips, visibly relieved as he said, "Is that so?"

Though he couldn't quite articulate how he felt about Gu Sewei and Li Wei being together,

Gu Ze instinctively cherished this precious cabbage of his household, unwilling to see it snatched away by a pig—

even if that pig was one he himself had raised.

There was deep conflict within Gu Ze's heart.

On one hand, he greatly admired Li Wei's talent and strength.

On the other, he held special care and affection for his long-separated sister.

Gu Ze wasn't opposed to anything developing between Li Wei and Gu Sewei.

It was just that he hoped it would happen a little later—

allowing him more time to feel his sister's love.

He didn’t want someone snatching his sister away right after he’d found her again.

That would be a sorrowful thing indeed.

While Li Wei was speaking with Gu Ze, Gu Sewei walked out of her room.

She looked at Li Wei and smiled, saying, "Li Wei, thank you for what happened last night."

Upon hearing this, Gu Ze immediately stiffened, turning his head mechanically like a stuck mechanism toward Gu Sewei.

Li Wei’s mouth twitched slightly as he turned and quietly slipped away.

Coming back to his senses, Gu Ze instinctively reached out to grab Li Wei, demanding an explanation.

What exactly had happened last night?

His left hand grasped only air. Turning around, he saw Li Wei's figure already vanished beyond the courtyard gate.

Gu Ze's facial muscles twitched.

Seeing the reactions of both Li Wei and Gu Ze, Gu Sewei wore a puzzled look.

She couldn’t understand what those two were doing.

A single sentence shattered the sincere friendship between two men.

Throughout the morning, Gu Ze searched for Li Wei.

Yet Li Wei seemed to have vanished without a trace, as though he had evaporated into thin air.

If not for knowing that Li Wei possessed extraordinary power, unmatched by anyone else in Fuerleide City,

Gu Ze might have feared that something untoward had befallen him.

The more Li Wei avoided him, the more convinced Gu Ze became that there was a hidden secret between Li Wei and Gu Sewei.

And the more determined he grew to uncover what had really transpired last night.

Originally, he could have simply asked Gu Sewei directly.

But constrained by his role as an elder brother, Gu Ze felt somewhat embarrassed.

Questioning Li Wei posed no such psychological burden.

In a certain sense, the relationship between Li Wei and Gu Ze was even deeper than that of biological siblings Gu Ze and Gu Sewei.

Li Wei had saved Gu Ze's life and changed his destiny.

Likewise, Gu Ze felt the same way toward Li Wei.

Li Wei hadn't disappeared intentionally to avoid Gu Ze.

Rather, he had entered the Magic Hut.

Last night, he had stayed in Gu Sewei's room all through the evening.

Li Wei hadn't done nothing... He had discussed many arcane secrets of magic with Gu Sewei.

At last, he had discovered a method that might allow him to cast Minor Time Magic.

Li Wei had entered the Magic Hut specifically to experiment with Minor Time Magic.

The key lay in Sheng Xi.

More precisely, it was the reverse scale of the Time Dragon upon Sheng Xi's body.

If the Time Dragon's reverse scale contained temporal power, then perhaps he could successfully perform Minor Time Magic.

"Sheng Xi, are you ready?"

Li Wei stood before Sheng Xi, speaking gravely.

Minor Time Magic was a spell never recorded before.

Even Li Wei did not know what consequences its casting might bring.

He had to prepare for the worst-case scenario.

Although according to the creator's notes on the beast skin scroll, the sole function of Minor Time Magic was to accelerate the passage of time,

he hadn't clarified the specific effects of accelerating temporal flow.

Exactly how many times faster would time pass?

Double speed? Tenfold? A hundredfold? Or even a thousand or ten thousand times...

Li Wei thought such extreme outcomes unlikely, but still prepared himself mentally for the worst possible result.

Sheng Xi had taken on the form of a young girl, with a seven-colored scale centered on her forehead.

That was the reverse scale of the Time Dragon.

Ever since Sheng Xi absorbed temporal energy within the Time Domain to rapidly mature,

The reverse scale of the Time Dragon seamlessly merged with her form.

Sheng Xi nodded with utmost seriousness and said, "I am ready."

Then, with a hint of confusion, she asked, "But, Levi, I don't know how to wield the power of time. What must I do?"

Levi replied, "You need not do a thing. Just stand there and remain still."

Sheng Xi nodded earnestly once more. "Understood."

Between Levi and Sheng Xi lay a single, sprouting seed.

Levi intended to use this nascent life to test the efficacy of the Minor Chronomancy.

Closing his eyes, he attuned himself until his condition reached its absolute peak.

Levi focused his mind and quieted his breath, channeling every ounce of his concentration to cast the Minor Chronomancy upon the sprouting seed.

As the spell took shape, his attention converged entirely upon the Time Dragon's reverse scale on Sheng Xi’s forehead, attempting to draw forth the power of time hidden within. A moment later, the invocation concluded.

Levi and Sheng Xi stared at one another, their wide eyes shifting back to fixate upon the sprouting seed before them.

...

Nothing changed in the slightest.

Levi consoled himself aloud, "Perhaps the acceleration factor of the Minor Chronomancy is too small to be immediately noticeable. Let us observe it a while longer."

Half a day drifted past.

"Damn it!"

Levi could not help but let out a bitter curse.

Though they had watched for half a day, not a single trace of transformation had occurred.

During that time, Levi had repeatedly invoked the Minor Chronomancy over and over again.

He had been deeply afraid that the spell's active duration would simply expire.

In the end, time proved that his Minor Chronomancy was entirely useless.

Levi let out a heavy sigh, a sense of helplessness washing over him.

"Spells of the temporal school truly are not meant for ordinary mortals to toy with... Alas!"

Seeing Levi so deeply troubled, Sheng Xi thought for a moment before offering, "Perhaps the power of time within the reverse scale has yet to be stirred. Why don't you cast the Minor Chronomancy directly upon me instead, Levi?"

Levi shook his head firmly. "No. I cannot allow you to take risks with a spell whose effects remain entirely unknown."

He would rather the Minor Chronomancy be utterly worthless than place Sheng Xi in harm's way.

Sheng Xi shook her head with a gentle smile. "What is there to fear? I am a legendary Divine Dragon. Even if the Minor Chronomancy were a Forbidden Curse, it could not slay me, let alone when it is nothing of the sort."

Despite her words, Levi remained deeply reluctant to take the gamble.

Ultimately, swayed by Sheng Xi’s persistent persuasion, Levi reluctantly agreed to a tentative attempt.

He casually cast the Minor Chronomancy upon Sheng Xi just a single time.

His secret hope was that the magic would simply fail to take effect.

The moment the casting concluded, Sheng Xi froze in place.

Levi inquired, "How do you feel?"

A long silence followed, yielding no response.

Looking at Sheng Xi with mounting anxiety, he asked, "What is wrong with you?"

Gibberish and chatter...

A string of completely unintelligible sounds suddenly burst from Sheng Xi’s lips.

The duration of the sound was incredibly fleeting, as though a sentence originally meant to span a full minute had been compressed into a single second.

Levi’s brow furrowed tightly. "Did the Minor Chronomancy actually work?"

After what felt like an eternity, Sheng Xi’s voice finally resonated within Levi’s mind.

"Oh, oh, oh! Levi, the Minor Chronomancy worked! You have become so slow; it takes half a lifetime just for you to utter a single sentence, to the point where I can barely understand you..."

Levi was momentarily stunned as a realization dawned upon him.

He initiated a soul connection with Sheng Xi.

Through a brief exchange between their minds, Levi finally grasped the reality of their current situation.

The Minor Chronomancy had indeed taken effect upon Sheng Xi.

Just as Gutherie had once proclaimed, the Minor Chronomancy was merely missing a certain indispensable element, which was why it could never be successfully manifested.

That indispensable element was precisely the power of time.

Because Sheng Xi possessed the power of time within her body, the Minor Chronomancy was able to exert its influence upon her.

Under the effects of the spell, the flow of time that Sheng Xi currently perceived was twenty times faster than its normal velocity.

Consequently, this discrepancy manifested whenever they attempted to converse.

To Sheng Xi, Levi spoke at a painfully sluggish crawl.

To Levi, it was entirely impossible to decipher what Sheng Xi was saying.

Similarly, while Levi felt that his own speech and movements were perfectly normal.

In Sheng Xi’s eyes, his actions were slowed down by a factor of twenty, rendering them incredibly ponderous.

Conversely, Sheng Xi’s movements appeared to Levi like a film played in fast-forward; he could not discern the intermediate actions at all, perceiving only the final results.

Only when the two engaged in communication on the spiritual plane did this anomaly born of the temporal rift vanish.

In a soul-level exchange, the thoughts of both parties were transmitted to each other instantaneously.

Even if the flow of time were accelerated twentyfold, twenty times an instant remained an instant.

Infinity multiplied by infinity is still infinity.

Perhaps if the flow of time were to exceed a certain profound threshold, even the communication between souls would suffer a delay.

But at least for the foreseeable future, Levi had no need to worry about such an occurrence.

"A twentyfold acceleration of time, and yet it can only take effect upon you?"

Levi let out a sigh, thinking to himself that this was utterly useless...

Sensing Levi's thoughts, Sheng Xi immediately corrected his misconception.

She spoke into his mind, "It is incredibly useful, and its significance is monumental."

"Right now, I am growing and becoming stronger at twenty times the normal speed!"

"What?"

An expression of profound astonishment washed over Levi's face.

He pondered the matter carefully for a long moment, nodding as he realized that this was indeed the case.

For a creature like Sheng Xi, the rapid passage of time would not inflict the slightest harm upon her.

Instead, it would propel her swiftly into the next stage of growth, allowing her power to rapidly ascend.

Time itself was the greatest catalyst for the dragon's development.

A twentyfold acceleration in growth speed.

In the past year, Sanctis had effectively grown for twenty years.

Over the past hundred years, Sanctis had matured for two thousand years.

Two millennia of temporal progression were sufficient for Sanctis to reach the maturity period of a sacred dragon, perhaps even its complete form.

Whether she could step into the peak period depended entirely on Sanctis's own accumulation.

Growth built merely through natural time alone could never achieve such heights.

With just one hundred years, Sanctis could attain the level of power that originally required two thousand years to reach.

Levi was overwhelmed with joy.

Sanctis was equally delighted.

The crucial point was that Minor Time Magic remained only at the mastery level.

If Minor Time Magic continued to advance, the temporal acceleration multiplier would increase further.

(End of Chapter)