Chapter 58: Grandmaster Mastery Level Spell! Knight Breathing Method!

Chapter 58: Perfected-Level Spell! Knight's Breathing Technique!

Back in his room, Li Wei let out a long breath.

He was safe now.

Li Wei took out two memory fragments.

Seeing how much of them had already dissipated, he couldn’t help but worry that the essential memories might be lost forever.

As he digested El’s memories, fragmented images surged chaotically through his mind.

At first, nothing.

Then suddenly, a familiar memory welled up from within.

“This is… the memory of practicing Minor Fireball and Fireball spells?”

Huuu—

Li Wei opened his eyes and exhaled slowly. The memory fragments had scattered too greatly; their contents were now disordered and fragmented.

Yet still, he had gained something.

[Minor Fireball (Zero-tier Perfected)] 1688/8000

[Fireball (First-tier Novice)] 888/1000

The proficiency in Fireball had improved—casting speed increased.

Five seconds to construct the spell matrix, 1.5 seconds for magical charging. Total casting time nearly halved.

Now it was barely usable.

Previously, with a casting time approaching twelve seconds, he’d been reluctant to use it in battle at all.

Too slow. Enemies would never grant him such leisure.

Unless it was a carefully prepared ambush.

Li Wei cast Minor Fireball again, testing the changes brought by its perfected level.

The flame swelled rapidly in his palm, this time reaching five times its original power before hitting its limit.

A smile crept across his face.

“A perfected-level Minor Fireball rivals a novice-level Fireball in raw power. True, its range and projectile speed still fall short compared to Fireball—but its main advantages are low cost and incredible casting speed.”

“Even at fivefold charge, it takes less than three seconds—twice as fast as Fireball, with only half the mana cost.”

“And its self-detonation power is far greater!”

He guided the fireball one meter away—any farther and the mana link would break.

Carefully, he poured more energy into it, pushing beyond the spell matrix’s designed capacity.

Sixfold! Sevenfold! Eightfold!

Boom!

The spell matrix shattered. All concentrated force erupted at once.

A torrent of terrifying flame engulfed the entire room.

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Li Wei even heard the sound of his invisible armor fracturing.

“This feels bad!”

Puff—

When the explosion ended, the room lay in darkness, a massive crater at its center.

Li Wei lay sprawled at the edge, invisible armor shattered.

He struggled to rise, every inch of him aching, skin burning from searing heat.

“This turned into a real self-destruction!”

Before, he could rely on his invisible armor to withstand the backlash, trading injury for mutual annihilation with enemies.

But now, the fireball’s power was too great—the armor couldn’t endure it.

With a thought, the wreckage vanished. Everything returned to normal.

His wounds healed instantly, though the broken invisible armor did not regenerate.

He recast the spell to reconstruct it anew.

Second attempt: self-destructing fireball.

This time, he controlled the flame with utmost care, letting it swell slowly, incrementally.

Boom!

A conical wave of raging fire consumed everything. His vision drowned in red embers.

He waved a hand—reality reset.

“At sevenfold power, I reach the control limit. About thirty percent of the blast still rebounds onto myself.”

The enemy would suffer full damage—seven times the original.

Li Wei himself would only bear twice the recoil of a Minor Fireball.

By focusing the explosive force forward instead of allowing dispersion, the frontal blast radius expanded by roughly 1.5 times.

He tapped his forehead, inhaling sharply.

“My skull aches… the mental backlash from containing the explosion is intense.”

Containing the blast wasn’t free—his mind bore the brunt of the strain.

After a moment’s rest, the throbbing pain in his spirit eased considerably.

He picked up the knight’s memory fragment and began absorbing it.

Not long after, Li Wei opened his eyes.

The knight’s memory was even more fragmented, yet not without reward.

He had obtained the Stoneheart Breathing Method—the very technique the knight had cultivated.

For knights, breathing techniques were what meditation methods were to mages—the foundation of their strength.

The Stoneheart Breathing Method emphasized defense and endurance, cultivating a type of battle qi suited for resilience.

But due to the incompatibility between arcane and martial energies, Li Wei could not generate true battle qi through this method.

Unless he abandoned magic entirely, destroyed his own cultivation, and started anew.

Practicing it would at best enhance his physical constitution and stamina.

It could train the body—but not awaken supernatural power.

[Stoneheart Breathing Method (Novice)] 425/1000

After a brief session, Li Wei was lightly sweating, heart pounding. The physical benefits were evident.

“Not bad. Even if I can’t cultivate battle qi, improving my physique and endurance is still worthwhile.”

At least it’s far more plausible than making him run ten kilometers every day for physical training.

High-tier mages can use magic to transform their bodies, overcoming the frailty typical of spellcasters.

Low-tier mages who wish to strengthen their physique have no choice but to train physically—just like ordinary people.

In sheer physical strength, low-tier mages are even inferior to well-trained soldiers.

Many mages are aware that bodily weakness is their flaw, yet they find it difficult to change.

At dawn, after breakfast, everyone assembled in the military camp beneath the city walls.

Following Orin’s orders, Alan assigned new tasks to the group.

“Vince, George, Honas… all first-rank mages, accompany the troops on external operations and provide magical support.”

“The earth-mage team will repair the damaged walls and construct new defensive structures.”

“The water-mage team will remain with the logistics corps later to produce drinkable water.”

“The wind and fire-mage teams will take turns standing guard on the walls, offering magical aid to the defenders.”

The fire-mage team, fifteen strong, was divided into three squads for rotating shifts.

Lewin and Rota were in one squad, along with Dales, Jonah, and Fesia.

Jonah and Fesia were both apprentice ring-mages from the Magister’s Academy teaching circle.

Those remaining behind were mostly initiates and apprentice ring-mages.

On the first day, Lewin’s squad was on duty.

Rota, familiar with the routine, had barely stepped onto the wall before slipping into the watchtower to find a quiet spot for cultivation.

Lewin and the other four wandered idly along the ramparts.

Soldiers were setting up new defenses and preparing supplies needed for the siege.

Lewin’s group could offer no real help; after a brief circuit, they returned to the tower.

Once seated, Fesia approached him with a smile. “Hello, I’m Fesia—Dalisia’s cousin. She’s mentioned you quite often.”

Lewin was slightly taken aback. He stood and shook her hand.

“Hello, I’m Lewin.”

Hearing Dalisia’s name, he paused, momentarily struggling to recall who she was.

Their last meeting had been during the apprentice trials two months ago.

He’d nearly forgotten her entirely.

Fesia said, “Lewin, would you consider joining the Magister’s Academy teaching circle? I could recommend you to Mage Alan.”

“Joining means free access to all spells within the Magister’s archives.”

“If there’s a spell not in our collection that you wish to learn, the Magister’s Court will fund its purchase from the Mage Tower.”

“All cultivation resources you need in daily practice will be fully provided.”

Thanks to book friend “1210yang” for a generous tip of 1500 Qidian coins! And to “Hei Yun Daoren” for a tip of 100 Qidian coins!

(End of Chapter)