"Bah, don’t thank me, lad. Just remember to eat something good while you’re here," the driver laughed, flicking the reins. "You’ve got that hungry look about you!"
A faint smile tugged at Tian Lei’s lips as the cart rolled away, leaving him at the gates amid the growing crowd.
He joined the line of travelers entering the city, handing over a few spirit coins at the toll post. Once through, the air changed—dense with spirit energy, alive with motion and sound. The streets were paved in white stone that shimmered faintly under the afternoon light, lined with inns, markets, and towers crowned with beast-shaped ornaments.
He walked for a while, taking in the architecture and rhythm of the place. Despite the bustling crowd, every corner seemed disciplined, watched, structured—a city governed by order, not chaos.
After a short search, he found a modest inn tucked between a weaponsmith’s forge and a beast supply shop. Its sign read Silver Fern Resthouse in elegant script. The innkeeper, a portly man with a neatly trimmed beard, greeted him with a practiced smile.
"Traveler or competitor?" he asked, sizing Tian Lei up.
"Traveler," Tian Lei replied calmly. "Room for one month."
The man’s brows rose slightly—long stays were uncommon. But silver spoke louder than curiosity. Tian Lei placed a small pouch of coins on the counter, and the man quickly slid over a bronze key.
"Second floor, end of the hall. Comes with breakfast and warm water every evening. Stable’s out back if you need it."
Tian Lei nodded, taking the key. "That will do."
He climbed the stairs, found his room, and shut the door quietly behind him.
The room was small but tidy—a single bed with clean white sheets and a neatly folded blanket sat against the wall. A modest wardrobe stood in one corner, and in the middle of the room, a small table with two wooden chairs completed the furnishings.
Tian Lei nodded in approval, then took a seat by the table.
He didn’t deactivate his Transfiguration Magic—it consumed very little energy to maintain, and he preferred to keep it active just in case. With that quiet precaution in place, he let his body relax as he stretched, then reached into his pouch and pulled out several rings.
"Now," he muttered, eyes glinting faintly, "time to learn another spell... one that can break these enchantments."
On his way here, he had encountered plenty of bandits—and a few young tamers as well. Their losses had been his gain. Among their possessions were several spirit rings—rings infused with spiritual essence, each containing a storage space within.
Tian Lei smiled faintly. He didn’t need such trinkets.
He already possessed his own form of spatial storage—Expansive Space, a spell from the Magus King’s Legacy. It worked by folding and stretching a fragment of the void itself, forming a private dimension bound solely to his soul.
It bore a faint resemblance to the ancient cultivation art known as the Grand Void Technique, particularly its "Void Space" part—though his version was far more refined, woven with true arcane precision.
Unlike ordinary rings that could be stolen or destroyed, Tian Lei’s Expansive Space existed beyond the material plane—accessible only through his will and mana signature. It was safer, deeper, and infinitely more versatile.
"Better than any ring that can be taken," he murmured with quiet pride.
Then he exhaled softly and closed his eyes.
His consciousness drifted inward, recalling the legacy of the Magus King—each spell, each rune, each principle of arcane order unfolding in his mind like a library of light. In normal circumstances, he would have simply entered his Infinite Library, the boundless repository of spells sealed within his Golden Fortune Core.
But here, in this trial world, things were different.
He could no longer access that core. The Golden Fortune Core—his Artifact and most importanatly the cheat—remained sealed, unreachable. It was as though a shroud of divine interference kept it hidden from him.
Thankfully, Primordial Mana still existed naturally in this world’s atmosphere; otherwise, he wouldn’t even be able to cultivate his magic at all. Still, the process was painfully slow—this realm’s mana was thinner, less abundant than the spiritual energy the tamers relied on. It was 100:1 ratio of spirit energy and mana, that painfully low.
Though, it might be also due to the reason, the Golden Fotune Core, itself is also telling him that he is now in a trial, so complete it on his own.
But whatever the reason, the truth is simple he can’t access his core.
Yet, he wasn’t entirely powerless. The Magus King Path was etched into his very soul—its runes, sigils, and arrays permanently engraved into his spiritual foundation. Even without the core, his knowledge, insight, and comprehension remained intact.
He let his mind wander deeper into that vast web of memory, where countless runes shimmered across the dark expanse of his consciousness.
There, among the runic strands, one set of glyphs pulsed faintly—Runic Erasure, a high-tier spell from the Magus King’s own repertoire. It was designed to dismantle complex magical or spiritual structures, erasing enchantments, arrays, and even bound contracts with surgical precision.
Perfect for what he needed next.
Tian Lei focused on it as the entire spell unfolded before him, the mystical runes forming intricate patterns of power and logic. As he began to study them, time lost meaning. Days—or perhaps weeks—slipped by unnoticed within the silence of his soul sea.
When he finally opened his eyes, he had achieved perfect mastery.
Unlike spirit techniques, spells had no gradation of mastery. There was no "partial understanding" or "half-success." Either one had learned it flawlessly, or the entire structure would collapse into nothing. It was a razor’s edge—perfection or failure.
He exhaled slowly, feeling the faint echo of void mana ripple through his veins. "Finally," he murmured, his voice calm yet edged with exhaustion.
Runic Erasure was now etched into his mind, each rune glowing faintly in the depths of his consciousness. It wasn’t merely memorized—it was engraved into his soul.
Like the Arcane soul marks, he can also engrave his soul with some spells, though unlike the Arcane soul marks which he can engrave endlessly as long as his Soul continue to grow stronger, he can only engrave some spells and that too, one for every hundred Arcane soul marks.