“`
Over three months had passed.
Ivan had long since finished negotiating with the other families. The nobles did not ask for magic stones, and with the face of the Grand Duke at play, no one made outrageous demands, although there were some rather peculiar conditions.
For instance, the Giant Waves Marquis shamelessly stated he would let his granddaughter or daughter marry into the Cassia family, single or in numbers, as long as he could ensure at least one offspring would remain in the Cassia household.
Such a request was, of course, rejected by Ivan. He wasn’t a seeding machine, and it was outrageous that the Giant Waves Marquis had the audacity to make such a proposition.
In the end, Ivan garnered four Legendary Class Knight Breathing Methods, including the Rich Fertility Breathing Method from the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke, as well as the Rampaging Bear, Gray Salamander, and Swift Wolf Breathing Methods. Among these, the highest quality one was the Rich Fertility Breathing Method, which could be cultivated up to the Flying Knight level.
Now with so many Great Knight Class and Legendary Knight Class Breathing Methods at hand, he had achieved his goal of collection. The following days turned to research on these methods, as well as organizing his spells.
Shortly after returning from Fragrant Stalks City, a messenger from the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke arrived at Mulberry Valley with an embossed iron scroll and a brocaded scroll from the Grand Duke.
Under the incredulous gazes of the onlookers, Leider became an Earl and received land corresponding to his title.
With Ivan’s encouragement and support, Leider began his career as an Earl. His new territory was vast and wealthy, including a small commercial city, naturally shifting the focus there.
Ivan did not accompany him but stayed behind in Mulberry Valley.
As an Earl, if Leider wished to and was willing to cede territory in a few years, he could easily create two or three Barons, which was the wealth Ivan left for the Marichadon family.
He also gave his older brothers, younger brother, and sisters quite a few Knight Class Breathing Secret Medicines.
He had more to offer, not that he couldn’t afford it, but for fear that they couldn’t handle it.
After examination, it turned out that neither Peggy nor Sean had the qualifications to become a sorcerer. Ivan was the only one in the family who could walk the path of a sorcerer.
In fact, not only had the knight cultivation system on Tidal Island declined, but the output of qualified sorcerer candidates was also trending downward. Based on what he had learned, while the Moon Pincer Peninsula academies enrolled students every two years, Tidal Island did so every three or even four years.
Among the students sent out, it would be twenty to thirty years before one might become a sorcerer. The number of local sorcerers was dwindling, which was one of the reasons Ivan himself was so sought after.
It was foreseeable that over time, Tidal Island would decline further.
The Marichadon family were not even nobles before, and in earlier years, they were merely a Baron family. It was normal for such a situation to occur. Having him with a 3rd Class talent was already a fortunate stroke of serendipity.
Time passed day by day.
Ivan had organized most of the spells, made adjustments to the Level 1 Black Magic Hand, optimized the Level 1 Insect Shadow Eyes and Thorny Jungle, developed applications for the Flower Tree Shield spell, and even explored a new spell—Turbid Wind.
Turbid Wind, a Level 1 spell, could create a blast of foul wind that brought mental confusion and harm, as well as a special toxic effect.
Like most Level 1 initial spells, Turbid Wind consumed 5 graduated degrees of spiritual power and 5 graduated degrees of mana. It’s worth mentioning that his spiritual power recovery rate was now more than three times that of his apprentice days.
Regarding spell organization, only the less impactful Powerful Immobilization Technique was put aside.
In terms of Breathing Methods, he had deduced the Bat’s Eyes to Great Knight Class, but lacked materials for corresponding secret medicines, and needed to return to the academy for further research.
The Insect Breathing Method had also undergone optimization. The Breath of Life cultivated by the rapid wood silkworm clan remained the same; in fact, the main function of this breathing technique was not to increase strength but to control and stabilize the power within the body.
As Randall mentioned, this greatly benefitted the survival rate during the metamorphic transformation of insect-type creatures.
With a month left before returning to the academy, Ivan entered Black Fog Forest with the Scented Butterfly and Wind Moth.
“Sorcerer Ivan, did you call us here for a sparring session?” asked the Wind Moth eagerly, eyeing the traces left by spell tests not far ahead.
“Don’t talk nonsense.” Hearing those words, Scented Butterfly immediately scolded, but then quickly reconsidered her words, “You can spar with Sorcerer Ivan if you want, just don’t include me. I don’t have much fighting ability, I can only stand aside and heal you at most.”
“Coward.”
The Wind Moth muttered under its breath and assumed a ready posture, looking expectantly at the sorcerer.
As they continued forward, more traces of spell tests appeared in front of them.
Obviously, Ivan needed to validate his spell organization from time to time. With no dedicated testing range in Mulberry Valley, he had to find another place, and the depths of Black Fog Forest bore the brunt of this responsibility, suffering greatly as a result.
Seeing a section of the forest floor sunken down by one or two meters and the clear, massive handprint, along with the extensively destroyed trees, the Wind Moth’s expression gradually became rigid.
At that moment, Ivan slowed down and cast a glance back at the creature.
The Wind Moth shuddered, suddenly realizing the folly of its words, and began slowly moving, trying to take cover behind Scented Butterfly.
“We don’t have the time today; we’re here to explore a place,” Ivan said, turning back and continuing to move forward. “Since you’re so willing, I’ll satisfy you another time.”
The Wind Moth had just breathed a sigh of relief when it heard the second part of Ivan’s sentence, and its heart skipped a beat.
“Sorcerer Ivan, I was just making a casual remark, just joking, only joking. In truth, I’m like Scented Butterfly—I don’t really have any fighting ability either,” the Wind Moth said, trying to bluff its way out of the situation.
Hearing its desperate attempt to backpedal, Scented Butterfly gave a figurative eye roll, unable to face such shame. This creature was really losing face for the rapid wood silkworm clan.
“`
Ivan hadn’t walked for long when he found a transverse ridge to use as a reference. He summoned the blood-colored pigeon and rode on it, heading deeper into the Black Fog Forest.
The reason he came here was related to a deal with the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke.
The Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke had offered a clue about a higher-level Breathing Method, said to be related to the Tidal Empire’s Royal Family, and it was something Ivan had to investigate.
During the era of the Tidal Empire, humans had a Knight King, a realm above that of Legendary Knights. The Knight Kings of that time were considered sovereigns, dominating the entire Tidal Continent.
According to the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke, the Knight Kings all came from the Royal Family of the Tidal Empire.
The blood-colored pigeon flapped its wings vigorously as it forged ahead.
The Black Fog Forest was vast and boundless, spanning three kingdoms, its area no smaller than the entire Aromatic Wheat Dukedom, and it hid countless fierce wild beasts and monsters.
To Ivan today, these beasts with a low degree of demonization didn’t amount to much.
Besides the beasts, the Black Fog Forest was most famous for its mist—thick and gray-black, which deterred ordinary people from attempting to pass directly through it.
It was said that at the center of the forest lay an unfathomably deep rift, from which all the black fog emanated.
With the alternation of day and night, the gray-black fog spilled out at night, thinning under the sun during the day, only to rise again in the evening, in an endless cycle.
The Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke also mentioned that many sorcerers had ventured into the rift. Some got lost, others brought back news that there was a labyrinth of passageways below, with volcanic lava even deeper, making the environment extremely harsh and not worth the effort to explore.
The location Ivan aimed to reach this time was near the Great Rift Valley.
Above the forest sea, the blood-red bird of prey swiftly flew past.
After merging materials like the heart of a giant eight-tentacle monster, the wingspan of the blood-colored pigeon had reached thirteen to fourteen meters wide, becoming swifter, no less than the transformed state of the Silkworm Queen gathering the strength of other rapid wood silkworms, making it very suitable for traveling in such places.
The blood pigeon glided on the wind, and under Ivan’s guidance, arrived near the destination. He recalled the blood-colored pigeon and landed on the ground.
“Sorcerer Ivan, why don’t we just fly straight there?”
“You really are foolish. The map wasn’t made by us; there could be deviations. This place is shrouded in fog all year round. If we inadvertently fly past it, wouldn’t that be troublesome? Besides, there could be other monsters hiding deeper in.”
“Who cares about what monster it is, leave it to my Wind Moth.”
With the Wind Moth and Scented Butterfly around, there was never a shortage of lively banter. No matter what, these two critters always loved to argue for a bit, as if they were naturally confrontational.
“Stay quiet.”
Ivan’s words silenced them, and they communicated only through their eyes.
Upon arriving here, the trees around them grew taller and denser, rather than shorter and sparser, and the vines entwining the trees resembled thick snakes.
Ivan verified the direction and chose a path to delve deeper. The presence of one man and two insects was extraordinary. No creature dared to disturb them on their way, leaving the Wind Moth visibly disappointed.
Sometime later, they arrived at the foot of a mountain peak, which was only faintly visible through the mist.
“This fog here has formed a natural array, concealing traces. No wonder it hasn’t been discovered for so long, with only some signs revealed when the mountain collapsed.”
Ivan examined the place shrouded in fog, which the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke had sent people to investigate multiple times, leading to countless deaths and injuries. Those who returned spoke of terrifying monsters within. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire
The Path of Knight Cultivation had declined and Legendary Knights were rarely born anymore. Naturally, the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke’s interest in this place had waned.
With the situation unclear, knowing only that it might be related to someone from the Tidal Empire’s Royal Family, further exploration would require deploying the Glory Knights Order or enlisting a sorcerer, which could be more trouble than it’s worth.
Seeing his keen interest in Breathing Methods, the Aromatic Wheat Grand Duke took the opportunity to use it as a bargaining chip.
The delusional array was originally formed by the mountain’s terrain, and with the mountain now showing signs of collapse, there had to be flaws in the array.
“Stay close, let’s go in and take a look.”
Ivan paused frequently as he walked, soon locating the vulnerabilities in the array, and then plunged into the unpredictable fog.
After delving a certain distance, he sensed the presence of undead in the air.
“Everyone be cautious, there should be undead creatures here.”
“Really? Don’t lift a finger; I’ll deal with this.”
The Wind Moth perked up immediately upon hearing this. If it weren’t for being in the middle of an array, it would have loved to fully extend its own body, to show those undead creatures its strongest form.
“They’re coming.”
Soon, the opportunity it had been waiting for arrived. Clear hoofbeats echoed through the fog, as two large shapes, one following the other, charged towards them.
Seeing no objection from Ivan, the Wind Moth didn’t hesitate and charged forward.