“I see. What beings are used as the standard?” Leylin wasn’t that interested in this star system. Instead, he was rather tempted to perform research on the organisms that had been set to be the standards for Morning Star Magi.
[The organisms that have been set as the standard are the beings of the astral plane— the Heavenly Astral Race! At birth, they possess strength at the Morning Star realm, and it’s unknown how powerful they can become. The race was wiped out during ancient times. The Magi of Sky City obtained some of the data from ancient times, which is how it became the standard when it came to evaluating strength!]
“Heavenly Astral Race? Beings from the astral plane? Morning Stars at birth?!”
This piece of information had Leylin completely stunned. Never did he expect there to be dwellers in a place like the astral plane, and they were even so powerful that they had Morning Star strength right from birth.
If compared to the Heavenly Astral Race, Giant Kemoyin Serpents could only cry. Their end point was this race’s beginning! There was no way to begin to compare them since they weren’t even on the same level.
“Even such gifted creatures went extinct. Looks like the events during the ancient times were unfathomable…” Leylin sighed deeply.
[Acquired information on a standard individual of the Heavenly Astral Race. Change standards?]
Leylin’s current system of measurement used the standards from his previous world, which was why the numbers in each attribute seemed to be so phenomenally high, especially since they were calculated with regular humans in mind. If he used the standard criteria of the Heavenly Astral Race, his stats would immediately drop sharply.
Compared to before, with the standard strength of a regular person at 1, this was now compared with the terrifying strength of a Heavenly Astral Race at 1. There would obviously be a marked difference in quantity.
‘Changing the measurement units? Let’s try!’ Leylin touched his chin. “Display it!”
[Beep!] A blue light flashed, and the numbers immediately changed before Leylin.
[Leylin Farlier. Rank 4 Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent (complete form). Strength: 1.5, Agility: 1.2, Vitality: 2.7, Spiritual force: 4.3 Soul force: 4.3 (Five Star)]
Seeing the numbers that had decreased drastically, Leylin was rendered speechless.
‘In other words, my strength and agility are only slightly higher than a Heavenly Astral Race at Morning Star. My vitality is twice that of theirs, while my spiritual and soul force are more than four times greater. All in all, I can take on two or three of them at once?’
This comparison had stunned Leylin. He was now considered to be at the apex amongst Morning Stars in the central continent. He could even rival a Radiant Moon, and yet he was only slightly stronger than a child of the Heavenly Astral Race?
This was quite a blow to his ego.
“Forget it! Show the numbers according to the units from before. At the very least, the smaller the base numbers, the higher the precision!” Leylin stroked his chin, ‘When the numbers in all aspects increase by a large amount, I’ll then begin using the units of the Heavenly Astral Race. That’s better!’
With a flicker from the A.I. Chip, all his data reverted to the original.
[Display host’s soul diagram?]
At this moment, the A.I. Chip showed another prompt.
“Of course!” Leylin did not hesitate at all. After the soul force database was completed, his grasp on soul force was even greater, and he could do things that would have been very difficult before.
One of these included the structural diagram of his soul.
*Bzz!* A diagram that had been magnified countless times was projected in front of Leylin’s eyes.
His soul, which was also the truesoul of a Morning Star, was protected within the point mass. The point mass’ terrifying density and strength was the last defensive layer protecting a Morning Star’s truesoul.
There were few Magi who could clearly observe their own truesouls within their point mass, and make appropriate changes to train the soul. In fact, there were practically none.
With the help of the A.I. Chip, he could finally pass through this barrier.
In the diagram, Leylin’s truesoul was like a tiny star, emanating bright rays of light, with a tinge of crimson within. It was as if a crimson Giant Kemoyin Serpent was cruising inside the thing.
[Beep! Host’s soul composition is loose and not dense enough. Suggestion…] Through the diagram and the A.I. Chip’s analysis, Leylin’s issues when training the soul were made apparent, and the A.I. Chip gave concrete suggestions.
If other Morning Star Magi were to know of this, they’d want to commit suicide out of envy.
When had the mysteries of the soul ever been displayed before Magi?
‘It was probably because of the hasty infusion of Fireplume.’ Leylin stroked his chin, ‘Luckily, I can still salvage the situation through the improved meditation technique.’
Every three ranks in training as a Magus was a major hurdle. The first to third focused on training spiritual force, and the fourth to sixth on the soul. If problems with the soul were not resolved now, there would be huge issues during his future advancements.
However, this was not the end of the surprises that the A.I. Chip had to offer.
[Beep! To generate a conjecture of Radiant Moon soul and compare it to a diagram?] The A.I. Chip asked robotically,
“Yes!” Leylin obviously chose that option.
Afterwards, beside his soul diagram, a few other similar ones appeared, marking out the initial, middle, and late stages of Radiant Moon.
In the diagram, the difference between Morning Stars and Radiant Moons was made obvious. The soul of a Morning Star was similar to a star, dazzling and condensed, but a Radiant Moon who had just advanced had a soul that was tens of times larger than that of a Morning Star, forming a large and full sphere.
In other words, it resembled the moon.
As for the Radiant Moon stages, those who had just advanced had souls which only emanated bright rays from a small portion of its full area. The rest of the moon was dim, forming a crescent. It was like a new moon being blocked by the sun.
Magi at the middle stage of Radiant Moon had half their soul emanating clear rays, like a half moon. Peak Radiant Moon Magi had light that was dazzling and transparent, like a full moon.
“Name these stages New Moon, Half Moon and Full Moon!” Leylin did not hesitate to label these Radiant Moon stages.
Of course, his soul was now merely a star and was a large distance away from reaching Radiant Moon.
‘There were mistakes in my previous conjectures. Zegna was probably merely a New Moon, while Scarlet Eye was at most a Half Moon. He had yet to achieve the peak, Full Moon!’
Leylin’s eyes suddenly flashed with understanding. He had not obtained the twelfth and thirteenth levels of Fireplume, so it was plausible that the fourteenth level could still be at the Radiant Moon realm, and was representative of the soul reaching Full Moon.
‘In that case, the road from rank 4 to rank 5 has completely unravelled in front of me!’ Leylin looked ecstatic. The third and fourth ranks had a very large disparity between them, with spiritual force upgrading to soul force. There was another huge gap between rank six and seven, with soul force upgrading to the manifestation and wielding of Laws. Hence, all these gaps were immense and usually caused tremendous changes.
Advancing from rank 3 to 6, one’s training was mostly on the soul, because it was the level of one’s soul that signified one’s strength.
“First is Morning Star, where the soul becomes a tiny star, with power from one star up to five. Next are the New Moon, Half Moon and Full Moon phases at the Radiant Moon realm!”
The path through Morning Star and Radiant Moon were completely presented before Leylin.
‘That’s basically it. Of course, there might be some odd geniuses at the apex who break through these boundaries, but in general, that’s ho
w this is divided.
‘This upgrade was definitely worth it! Even just the completion of the soul force database alone would have been enough, not to mention the rest.’
An expression of elation rose on Leylin’s face as he could not hold himself back and burst into laughter.
“My Lord!” At this moment, Yuro’s voice travelled over. It was very low, and she was obviously afraid of disturbing the other scholars.
“Mm?” Leylin turned back and saw Boffel behind her.
“Haha! So Your Grace has been staying in the library all this while. Such a thirst for knowledge is definitely admirable, but the Sage Appraisal is about to begin. Besides, the Monarch of Skies would like to meet Your Grace…”
Boffel had on an amiable smile, while the female Magus beside him looked rather flabbergasted.
WMW Chapter 594
Stuart
‘Boffel? Could it be the ‘Divine Luminescent Wing’? And calling him ‘Your Grace’? Isn’t that a title used in ancient times for Morning Stars? And the Monarch of the Skies? Oh, goodness. Could this Magus be a Morning Star as well?’
The female Magus who had a pair of thick glasses on peeked at Leylin, feeling like he was as unfathomable as the mountains and the seas. She could not help but lower her head, feeling ashamed at her previous conjectures.
Boffel did not spare her a glance. Since violence could not be employed in the library, the usage of Morning Star domains was restricted. She could hear some of what they were saying, but since this was an honest conversation there was nothing to be hidden anyway.
“Oh, my apologies. The information here is just so abundant that I forgot about the time!” Leylin stood up, looking apologetic.
“Anyone who disturbs a Magus immersed in the ocean of knowledge should have their souls scorched in the flames of the ninth hell. Why would I mind?” Boffel had a very witty way of speech, and Leylin immediately formed a better impression of him.
Boffel was not at all surprised about Leylin staying in the library all day. Many scholarly Magi would treat the Great Library as their home upon reaching Sky City for the first time. There were people who stayed within from a few months to even decades, and if not for having too little information points, they would even stay there for their whole lives! Compared to these people, Leylin had only been there for a month, which was very normal. Boffel felt that he seemed to have too many information points, but then again, considering he had just returned from a foreign world, he must have gained large amounts of knowledge from it, so this was understandable.
“Alright. I shall head there now.”
Leylin placed the book back in its original position. He had reaped a great harvest this time, and the Great Library currently did not have anything especially useful to him. Besides, the Monarch of the Skies had summoned him, and it was best that he tidy himself up. This was a necessary part of etiquette.
“And you, earnest young lady!” Leylin shot a glance at the female Magus who only wished she could hide behind her book.
“Your Grace, Boffel, and this… your Grace. Please forgive me for my offensive behaviour!” Cold sweat was already dripping from the female Magus’ forehead.
Though Sky City was a peaceful area that paid attention to the law, Morning Stars always had privileges. The moment Leylin or Boffel found her an eye sore, she would wind up in a pitiful state even if they didn’t act themselves.
“Haha… don’t be afraid! I want to thank you for accompanying me while I studied for this past month. Treat this as a gift!”
Leylin laughed, and the library card in his hands flew out. Scanning the female Magus’ library card, he transferred his remaining information points to her.
The Great Library now held little meaning for Leylin, which was why there was no point in having these information points with him.
“This…” Though Leylin felt that the number of information points left was pitifully low, to the point that it had almost hit zero, this was still a gigantic amount for the female Magus! She immediately cried out in surprise.
By the time she had recovered from her shock and wanted to thank Leylin, she found that they had long since left.
“Your Grace’s act of providing financial aid to other Magi is truly admirable!” Boffel could not understand Leylin’s actions, since the information on him showed that Leylin was not someone so charitable.
“Hehe… I’m just in a good mood!” Leylin chuckled.
This explanation rendered Boffel completely at ease. Warlocks were truly a group of Magi who were very emotional. In such good moods from the benefits from the library, they could indeed reward any low-ranking Magi as they wished. This unusual situation lost all strangeness when Warlocks were involved.
Boffel did not pay much attention to Leylin’s momentary act of kindness, and instead brought to attention some things to take note of when meeting the Monarch of the Skies.
“I don’t get it…” Leylin immediately asked Boffel, “I’m merely a Morning Star. Why would the Monarch of the Skies want to see me?”
The other party was a Breaking Dawn Magus with influence all over the central continent. He had complete control of the airship networks, and possessed a foreign world of his own that had been completely taken over. The Morning Stars and Radiant Moons under him were innumerable.
This sort of person should, by right, be far superior to him. Why was there the sudden desire to meet Leylin?
Leylin had once had the idea of making a trade with the coordinates of the Lava World, but he’d never once expressed these thoughts.
‘Something’s suspicious…’ Leylin stroked his chin and immediately, Jupiter’s Lightning came to mind. It could not be helped. He had few enemies in the central continent, and Zegna was the only one of them could influence the organisation behind Sky City.
‘I was just worried you wouldn’t come!’ A smirk appeared about Leylin’s lips.
The heart of Sky City was a large-scale floating garden, forming the ‘floating’ landscape that gave the title of the floating city.
This garden— the Drifting Garden— was the heart of Sky CIty’s power. It was also the temporary imperial residence of His Majesty, the Monarch of the Skies.
“This is Boffel. Step aside.” Boffel flew all the way to the Drifting Garden with Leylin in tow. The Warlock had tidied up and was now dressed in formal attire.
The deeper into Sky City one went, the more the instances of probing and detection, to the point that Leylin’s expression changed slightly. If not for Boffel guiding him, it would have been inconvenient for him to sneak into the Drifting Garden without being detected.
Looking down from the edges of the Drifting Garden, one could see all the sights of Sky City. It left one’s heart free and unfettered.
Further in was a cobbled lane. On both sides of the path were Devil Fungi Taro, Heavenly Intoxicating Nectar, and large amounts of other precious plants that Leylin did not even know the names of. They were numerous, and all in full bloom. If not for the A.I. Chip detecting powerful shackling runes there, Leylin would have had plans of taking a bunch.
“After walking through this area, we will arrive at His Majesty’s residing quarters. I can only accompany you up to this point.” Boffel laughed as he spoke, “His Majesty is a very amiable person, and he’ll definitely…”
“Boffel, you seem to have brought someone new here. That’s against the rules!” Another voice sounded, and Leylin especially went stiff, feeling like he was being stared at by a poisonous snake.
“You!” He raised his head, seeing what looked to be a kindly old Magus approaching them.
“Lord Stuart! This is Duke Leylin Farlier of the Ouroboros Clan, here to meet His Majesty.” Boffel bowed. At the same time, he introduced the person to Leylin in a quiet voice, “This is Lord Stuart, a Radiant Moon Magus. Since His Majesty is often absent, he is usually in charge of managing Sky City…”
“So it’s Lord Stuart!” Leylin bowed, neither too enthusiastic nor
too cold. His sensitive soul immediately found a trace of ill intent directed at him. In that case, he wouldn’t bother being too cordial.
“Hm?!” Such an attitude rapidly increased the distaste that Stuart already had. He did not hold back and began to criticise Leylin. “As expected, it’s a little chap with no manners. Is it really alright for this kind of person to meet with His Majesty?”
“Lord Stuart, Leylin is a treasured guest of our Sky City.” Boffel coughed and answered with a warning. Stuart’s attitude was obviously biased, and he could not watch further.
“Your Highness, Stuart, you are in no position to judge whether I have any manners!” Leylin retorted without restraint.
This immediately left Boffel dumbfounded. This was a Radiant Moon, a great rank 5 Magus! In Sky City, he had tens of thousands of subordinates under him, and yet, Leylin was not giving him any face?
In actuality, if the other party was merely a little arrogant, Leylin did not mind humbling himself and treating him the way he did Weyers. However, Stuart was obviously here to create trouble, finding Leylin an eyesore before even meeting him. No matter how much Leylin tried to endure this, he would only be humiliated, and all for nothing. There was therefore no reason to be courteous.
“Good! I’ll teach you some manners right now!” Hearing Leylin’s tone, Stuart was evidently exasperated. Never did he expect a Morning Star like Leylin to speak to him in such a manner!
*Rumble!* Formless soul force was like a raging sea as it gushed towards Leylin.
He had intentionally controlled the might of the spell, such that it affected only this small area. With Stuart’s control, he was confident that he could keep the battlefield within the area and not alarm anyone else.
Boffel could only laugh wryly. While he did agree that Stuart had gone too far, he only stood aside.
“Hmph! Is a rank 5 so fantastic?” Leylin sneered, his soul force that had reached five stars surging forth.
The gigantic phantom of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent with scarlet lines on it appeared behind him, hissing at Stuart.
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