Chapter 139: Funeral Bell Mark, A Five-Year Advancement
Starlight Calendar, Year 1255, Summer Moon.
After more than half a year of recuperation, the Starry Sky Empire gradually emerged from the shadows of war. Ke Yi's control over the Grand Duchy had become increasingly stable. Now, he devoted most of his efforts to rebuilding Frostbitten Province, striving to restore it to its former glory as soon as possible.
In the same month, the six major provincial Knight Academies officially opened, welcoming the first batch of new students.
As time moved into Blazing Fire Month, the weather grew increasingly hot.
Base 2.
Inside the spacious and well-lit laboratory, Su Nan carefully imprinted the final trace of blood-colored lines onto the back of his right hand. With a flash of bloodlight, a blood-red horn-shaped mark appeared.
"It’s done!"
A genuine smile of joy spread across Su Nan's face.
After the battle of Kasham, he had dedicated most of his energy to researching the Death Knell Striker. After more than two months, he had finally succeeded in creating the Bloodline Mark using the Bloodline of Death Knell Striker.
"Let’s call it the Funeral Bell Mark."
Su Nan gazed at the mark on the back of his hand, his smile broadening even further.
The effect of the Funeral Bell Mark was to instantly unleash a formidable sonic wave, far surpassing the sonic attack released by the Death Knell Striker.
Initial estimates suggested it could instantly kill a Second-Ring Legend without issue.
Even a Third-Ring Legend, if struck, would be severely injured, if not killed!
The only drawback, if it could be called that, was that this item was a one-time consumable. Once used, it would vanish, and it wasn’t easy to create.
Without harming the Death Knell Striker’s body, drawing a small amount of blood each day would take about fourteen days to accumulate enough to make a single Funeral Bell Mark.
“Making four or five for self-defense should be sufficient.”
With another trump card in hand, Su Nan was in exceptionally high spirits. He turned and left the laboratory, making his way to the Confinement Zone.
This was the most heavily guarded area in the entire Base 2, aside from the warehouse and the laboratory.
The defenses of the first two zones were primarily designed to protect against external threats, while the defenses of the Confinement Zone focused on internal security.
Within the Confinement Zone, layers upon layers of formations had been established, including but not limited to Magic Nullification, Weakness, and Heavy Pressure. These formations ensured that the resistance of every creature imprisoned here was diminished to the lowest point.
Furthermore, there were numerous Golem and Twin Blade Spider guards stationed both inside and out, making the area as secure as possible.
As Su Nan approached the room where the Death Knell Striker was imprisoned, he peered inside.
The Death Knell Striker was weakly slumped on the ground. Upon hearing footsteps and recognizing Su Nan, it let out a frightened cry, instinctively shrinking back deeper into the room. Its beastly eyes reflected a human-like plea for mercy.
Seeing its pitiful state, there was no trace of the majesty expected from a descendant of the Ancient Bloodline.
This was hardly surprising; anyone subjected to daily blood draws for over two months would end up like this.
The Death Knell Striker's frail condition was not solely due to the suppressive formations of the Confinement Zone, but primarily because it had been drained of large amounts of blood.
Su Nan felt a sense of helplessness regarding this situation.
Both the Bloodline Mark and Divine Energy investigations required numerous experimental materials. In order to expedite the research progress, he had slightly increased the frequency and volume of blood drawn.
After all, it was a descendant of the Ancient Bloodline; it would recover eventually.
Unfortunately, the concentration of Ancient Bloodline in the Death Knell Striker was still too low, insufficient to awaken its Divine Energy.
Wu Ge sought the God Remains from the Starfire Cult to extract the Divine Energy within and fuse it into the Death Knell Striker, enabling it to awaken its Divine Energy and ascend to a higher realm.
Fortunately, Su Nan had other means to increase the Bloodline concentration of the Death Knell Striker.
Hidden Dragon was a prime example of such a method.
"It's a pity your power level is too high; otherwise, if I could contract you as a Magical Pet, your Bloodline concentration would increase significantly," Su Nan remarked with a tinge of regret.
The higher the power level of a creature, the more challenging it was to contract it as a Magical Pet, unless the power of the Wizard (Apprentice) was significantly greater than that of the contracted target.
An ancient exotic beast of the third circle, such as the Death Knell Striker, would require at least a formal wizard to attempt to form a contract with it as a magical pet, and even then, success is not guaranteed.
That’s why many magical pets of wizard apprentices are nurtured from their weak beginnings. It’s not that they don’t desire to contract powerful exotic beasts; they simply lack the capability.
However, while they cannot form a contract with such creatures as magical pets, taming a Death Knell Striker isn’t particularly difficult. As long as a small trick is placed within its body, this exotic beast, which possesses intelligence comparable to a human's, will instinctively choose to submit in order to protect its life. In fact, the Death Knell Striker is already showing signs of yielding.
It won’t be long before Su Nan can successfully tame it.
“To increase the bloodline concentration to the point where it can awaken Divine Energy will likely take some time.”
“Let’s take it slow.”
As usual, after drawing more than ten tubes of blood from the Death Knell Striker, Su Nan finally left the confinement zone contentedly and headed toward the meditation room.
Three days ago, he had already constructed his fourteenth Star Ring. At level 15, the experience needed for a Star Ring meditation to level up again had soared to two million.
“My daily experience gain is currently around 4,600. At this rate, it will take me about fifteen months to construct my fifteenth Star Ring.”
“The instant spell casting training is almost at 70%. By the Resurgence Month of next year at the latest, I should be able to master it.”
“I’m still twenty-eight pieces short of completing the Magic Pattern Core substitutions.”
“Mithril now weighs more than eight kilograms. I'm still about half short before I can refine the Secret Puppet.”
“I’m also about two or three pieces short of the Magic Mithril required to refine the Mithril Golem. Most of the apprentices have been busy refining golems recently. Once the golems are saturated, I’ll adjust the task ratios and increase the rewards for Magic Mithril tasks; then the speed should improve.”
“Miniature Soul Crystals need to be collected in advance to synthesize Small Soul Crystals, which are necessary to create the soul core of the Mithril Golem.”
Su Nan mentally reviewed the tasks he needed to undertake in the near future.
“The only thing left is to develop the Magical Plant Garden. The six new Knight Academies all require a large quantity of Dragon Blood Fruit, so I need to establish a new Magical Plant Garden to meet the demand.”
"It's just that Su Nan has been busy researching the Bloodline Mark and Divine Energy during this period and hasn't been able to spare time to address this matter.
Now that the research has reached a temporary conclusion, it’s time to get started.
"The available manpower is still too small."
Su Nan couldn't help but sigh.
Even with just one or two more people, he could relax considerably and wouldn’t have to handle everything himself.
While reviewing the intelligence on Wizards collected by the Star Royal Family earlier, he even considered recruiting a few Second-Level Wizard Apprentices.
He believed that those Wizard Apprentices who had experienced the hardship of resource scarcity would not refuse a trading platform with ample resources.
As long as the Base could guarantee a steady supply of resources and fair trading principles, there would be no need to worry about the loyalty of those Wizard Apprentices.
However, before Su Nan could take action, good news arrived from the Base.
Year 1255 of the Starlight Calendar, Harvest Moon (September).
Xie Man and Cole had successively constructed their third Star Ring and been promoted to Second-Level Wizard Apprentices.
Base Number 1.
In the public lounge area, Xie Man and Cole were surrounded by numerous Apprentices, like stars orbiting a moon, as congratulations poured in from all sides.
"Congratulations, Senior Brothers!"
"I knew Senior Brother Xie Man and Senior Brother Cole would definitely be promoted to Second-Level Wizard Apprentices!"
"Promoted to the second level in just over five years—Senior Brother Xie Man and Senior Brother Cole are indeed geniuses."
"I'm so envious! I’ve only constructed my second Star Ring so far."
"Senior Brothers, could you share your promotion experiences with us?"
A'Tier watched Xie Man and Cole, beaming with happiness for them, but her mood was mixed.
Her talent paled in comparison to that of Xie Man and Cole, and she was still a significant distance away from constructing her third Star Ring—likely needing at least two or three more years.
Even the second batch of Ethan Apprentices were constructing Star Rings faster than her and were very likely to advance to Second-Level Wizard Apprentices before she did.
"Alright, thank you all for your congratulations. We’re in a hurry to see our teacher, so we’ll talk about our promotion experiences another day," Xie Man said with a smile.
"Hearing that the teacher had summoned them, the crowd quickly parted to make way.
Xie Man and Cole stepped out from the throng, leaving the public lounge area to head toward the central district.
This was Su Nan's exclusive area, home to his Laboratory, Meditation Room, and Magic Training Area, among other facilities. Without his permission, no one could freely enter or exit.
Two Elite Stone Golem stood guard at the entrance.
Upon noticing someone approach, the two Golem immediately turned their thick heads. Their dark eyes paused on the two figures for a moment before issuing a mechanical, monotone statement.
"Target search in progress. Entry permission granted. Proceed!"
With those words, the two heads snapped back to their original positions with a series of clicks.
Cole gazed at the Elite Stone Golem with fervent admiration.
These were legendary-level puppets—much more powerful than Clay Golems or regular Stone Golems.
If he could one day refine a puppet of this caliber, it would be a tremendous achievement.
The two had visited the central district many times before and were already familiar with its layout. After passing through the gate, they made their way straight to the study.
Just as Xie Man was about to knock on the door, a voice called out from within.
"Come in."
Xie Man and Cole straightened their expressions and pushed open the door. Upon entering, they saw their teacher sitting behind his desk, holding a book, and looking up at them with a smile.
To their surprise, Master Amy, who had recently been staying in the Underworld, was also present.
The cat was curled up in the corner of the desk, appearing thoroughly content as it held onto a catnip toy, sniffing and nuzzling it.
"Teacher, Master Amy," Xie Man and Cole bowed respectfully.
"Meow, it's Xie Man and Cole, isn't it?" Amy snapped out of its reverie, waving its paw at them. "I heard that you two have advanced to Second Level Wizard Apprentice. Congratulations, meow."
Xie Man and Cole smiled in unison and were about to offer a few humble words when they noticed a shift in Amy’s tone.
"But your advancement speed has been a bit slow, meow. If this were the old days, being stuck at the Second Level Wizard Apprentice level for over five years would have already gotten you expelled from the Academy."
The smiles of the two men instantly froze on their faces."
Amy then exclaimed, "Su Nan, you actually ascended in less than a year! How impressive!"
Xie Man and Cole stared in astonishment, their eyes filled with admiration for Su Nan.
As expected of their teacher, he had indeed crossed the threshold of the Second Level Wizard Apprentice in such a short time.
"Alright," Su Nan interjected with a smile, glancing at them, "Don't pay attention to Amy's exaggerations. You two are already doing exceptionally well."
It’s the era of the Elemental Desert now—how could it possibly compare to a thousand years ago?
And it is certainly incomparable for someone like him with cheat-like abilities!
For Xie Man and Cole to ascend to the Second Level Wizard Apprentice within just over five years is already a remarkable achievement.
Of course, this is also due to the ample resources provided by the Base. Outside, many Wizard Apprentices struggle for twenty or even thirty years to reach the second level.
For those with slightly lesser talent, it’s not uncommon for individuals to take fifty or sixty years to overcome this hurdle.
Hearing Su Nan's praise, Xie Man and Cole's faces brightened with joy.
"It’s all thanks to our teacher's guidance!" they replied in unison.
Su Nan smiled gently and said, "I merely provided you with a platform. Your success today is primarily due to your own hard work."
Then, his expression turned serious as he continued, "However, you must not become complacent. The Second Level Wizard Apprentice is merely the beginning of the Wizard path. It only means you have qualified as an Apprentice. On this continent, one must at least reach Level Three Wizard Apprentice to be considered strong."
"Ascending to Level Three Wizard Apprentice is far more challenging than you might think, let alone becoming a Formal Wizard. You need to be mentally prepared; you still have a long journey ahead of you."
"Yes, Teacher!"
Xie Man and Cole responded solemnly, bowing respectfully.
After offering them a few pointers, Su Nan softened his tone once more, smiling as he handed each of them a bottle of Potion.
"This is Super Power Potion, a type of second-order potion that can enhance your meditation efficiency. Consider it a gift from me for your ascension."
"However, there are restrictions on the use of this potion. You need to reach a certain level of Spiritual Power. First, cultivate for a while, and only take it after you have stabilized your realm."
"A second-order low-grade Super Power Potion requires a Spiritual Power level of 13 to be consumed.
Newly promoted Second Level Wizard Apprentices may not have reached a Spiritual Power level of 13 yet, but they are not far off; a few months of cultivation will suffice to meet the requirement.
"Thank you, teacher!"
Xie Man and Cole were overjoyed.
Potions that increase meditation efficiency always require a higher amount of Contribution Points for exchange than other items.
Not to mention, this was a second-order potion.
If they were to exchange Contribution Points for it, they would likely need to undertake missions for more than half a month.
"Go back, and come find me after you've stabilized your realms. I have something for the two of you to do," Su Nan said, waving his hand.
The two solemnly agreed and bowed respectfully before leaving.
As they walked out of the study, Xie Man and Cole exchanged glances, smiles lighting up their faces.
"This time, you advanced thirteen days faster than I did. You won, but next time, I will definitely surpass you!" Cole declared with determination.
In the past, Xie Man would have simply laughed off Cole's words.
However, after Old Roger's death, his attitude toward increasing his strength had undergone a dramatic change. Now, hearing Cole's challenge, a confident smile spread across his face.
"Then I'll be waiting to see it, but you better be prepared, because I won't lose to you!"
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