Chenxi Calendar, Year 9266. The summer trees cast deep, cool shadows.
The training grounds, Magic area.
Sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leafy canopy, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow across the wooden floor.
Inside the quiet treehouse, Darian’s calm and steady voice echoed.
"...The key to Lightning Arrow is ’Polarity Lock.’ Lightning naturally tends to diffuse, so you must use your Spiritual Power to force directionality upon it. It’s like carving a riverbed for water, making it surge in only one direction."
"The core of its rune model is a wedge-shaped structure, with the tip pointed at the target. When you infuse it with Magic Power, the tip of the wedge charges first. The Thunder Element then erupts in the direction the tip is pointing..."
Below the lectern, six young Elves listened with rapt attention, occasionally lowering their heads to take notes.
After Anton, Aemon and Braiden had also successively constructed their Magic Power circuits and begun to learn Magic.
Afterward, three more newcomers had gradually joined, forming the small class of today.
After the morning lesson, Darian kept Anton behind as usual. After explaining a few difficult concepts, he asked in a gentle voice, "You haven’t come to me for Scroll-scribing materials in a long time. Have you given up on learning how to scribe them?"
Anton paused, taken aback for a moment, then nodded with a feigned look of embarrassment. "I don’t think I have much of a talent for it, so I decided not to waste any more time."
’In truth, he hadn’t spent much time learning to scribe Scrolls at all.’
’The only reason he hadn’t been mooching materials off Darian all these years was that he had found his own stable supply.’
’Besides, after more than twenty years of practice, his skill in drawing Talismans had improved considerably.’
’Now, when drawing the Talismans he’d practiced the most—like the Spirit Gathering Talisman, Storage Talisman, and Concealing Breath Talisman—he barely needed a spiritual catalyst to assist him, which drastically reduced his need for materials.’
’Perhaps in a few more years, he’d be able to draw all of his Talismans without needing any spiritual catalyst at all.’
Hearing Anton’s words, Darian nodded slightly. "Very well. This way, you can put more thought into studying Magic..."
Seeing his master was about to start his usual lecture, Anton quickly changed the subject. "Master, besides scribing Scrolls, what other arts are there in Magic?"
Darian wasn’t annoyed at being interrupted and patiently explained, "Magic has three major arts: Enchantment, Alchemy, and Potion Making."
"Enchantment represents the communication between runes and energy. All sorts of self-activating Arrays and long-lasting devices rely on the runic effects meticulously engraved by an Enchanter. Strictly speaking, Scroll scribing is also considered a branch of Enchantment."
"Alchemy represents the transformation of matter and structure. It focuses more on solidifying Magic Power within specific mediums to create lasting, stable, and supernatural effects. Things like crafting magical items and creating Golems all fall under the domain of Alchemy."
"As for Potion Making, I don’t need to elaborate on that, do I?"
Darian looked at Anton. "Are you asking because you want to learn one of the other arts?"
"I’m a little interested."
’Anton had only meant to change the subject, but Darian’s explanation had actually piqued his interest.’
’Potion Making and Enchantment were out of the question.’
’Once he broke through to the Middle Stage of Qi Refining, he could start practicing the Alchemy Dao.’
’And from what he understood of the potions on the Dawn Continent, they couldn’t even hold a candle to the Alchemy Dao.’
’Ultimately, the development of potions on the Dawn Continent was just too crude.’
’Not only was the variety of potions far inferior to those of the Alchemy Dao, but their potential was also low. They were essentially useless for experts at the Golden Tier or above.’
’The Alchemy Dao was different, however. There were top-tier Pills that were effective even for mighty experts at the Tribulation Crossing Stage or the Mahayana Stage.’
’There were even the legendary Immortal Pills consumed by Immortals.’
’No matter how he looked at it, the cultivation system’s Alchemy Dao completely crushed the potions of the Dawn Continent.’
’With the treasure of the Alchemy Dao right in front of him, Anton had absolutely no need to go out of his way to learn Potion Making.’
’As for Enchantment, it simply wasn’t very useful to him at his current stage.’
’Once his Cultivation Level was higher, it would be more fitting to study the cultivation system’s Arrays.’
’Only Alchemy held some interest for him.’
’Of course, what interested him wasn’t the crafting of magical items, but rather the creation of Golems.’
On the Dawn Continent, the power range of Golems was enormous. At the low end were simple wooden puppets that could only serve as laborers for heavy lifting, while at the high end were Adamantine Golems capable of fighting Golden Tier experts.
During the "Rise of the Gods" era, there were even Divine Body Golems made from the corpses of Divine Spirits, possessing power rivaling the gods themselves.
The cultivation system also had its own schools of puppet-crafting.
Cultivators refined puppets from wood, stone, metal, Spirit Jade, beast bones, and even flesh, blood, and corpses. These puppets were used to guard mountains, protect estates, and fight in lethal combat.
The most well-known among these was the Corpse Puppet Dao, also called the Corpse Refining Dao.
Cultivators refined zombies into puppets, ranging from White Corpses, Black Corpses, Hopping Zombies, and Flying Zombies to Roaming Corpses, Hidden Corpses, and Undying Bones. They could even command the legendary Drought Demon against their foes.
Next were the Daoist Soldiers of the Daoist tradition.
These were guardian Divine Soldiers, refined or summoned through Secret Techniques. Existing in a state between living beings and inanimate objects, they obeyed the commands of a Cultivator, fought fearlessly to the death, and would never betray their master.
The most famous of these were the Yellow Turban Warriors, the Six Ding and Six Jia deities, the Five Camp Divine Soldiers, and the Heavenly Soldiers and Generals.
Yellow Turban Warriors are a type of Talisman Soldier, refined from Talismans supplemented with various materials. They are also the favorite Daoist Soldiers for Cultivators at the Qi Refining Stage to command.
’The materials needed to refine Talisman Soldiers are relatively simple, and it should be easy to find substitutes on the Dawn Continent. I can reference Alchemy’s methods for Golem creation and see if there’s anything worth adopting.’
’Used effectively at a critical moment, Daoist Soldiers could be incredibly useful.’
’Anton could never have too many ways to defend himself.’
"Master, do you have any books on Alchemy? Specifically about Golem creation."
Darian gave Anton a deep look, then nodded. He turned, took several books from the shelf, and handed them to Anton.
"Take it one step at a time. These books cover the fundamentals of Alchemy. Read them first, and then come back to me when you’re finished."
"Thank you, Master."
Anton thanked him again and left with the books in his arms.
Gazing at Anton’s departing back, Darian let out a nearly imperceptible sigh.
’He had sensed long ago that Anton’s heart was never truly in his Magic studies.’
’He had no idea what Anton had been so busy with these past years, often disappearing for long stretches. The frequency with which he came to Darian for guidance had also dropped off significantly.’
’At this age, Eleanor had already started learning Second Ring Spells, yet Anton was still stuck on One Ring Spells.’
’Although his progress wasn’t slow, given his natural talent, Darian believed that if Anton simply put more of his mind to Magic, he could be doing so much better.’
’And now he’s interested in Alchemy...’
"Young people are so fickle."
Darian shook his head and worriedly rubbed the bridge of his nose.