Chapter 25: Three Years

Yunluo Li year 10003, Spring.

Aikesi pushed open the gate of the Earl Mansion; the morning chill struck his face. He took a deep breath; the air carried the scent of green grass and dew, along with the faint clamor drifting from the distant market.

Another new day.

He walked along the stone path of the mansion toward the cultivation room, pausing as he passed the garden. The gardener, Old Tom, was squatting before the flowerbed trimming branches; hearing footsteps, he looked up, revealing a smile missing a front tooth: "Good morning, My Lord."

"Morning." Aikesi nodded, his gaze falling on the fiery red plant in the center of the flowerbed. "The Fire Flame Flower has bloomed?" First release of this book: Read good books on Tiantian Novel, ttkx. tw. Super worry-free, providing you with error-free chapters and non-misordered chapter reading experience.

"It has, it has; it bloomed yesterday evening." Old Tom stood up, his tone carrying a hint of pride. "This thing is very delicate; I tended it for two years before I got it right. Look at this color; it's a genuine Fire-type Mage plant. On the market, it could sell for at least thirty gold coins."

Aikesi smiled. Thirty gold coins meant nothing to him, but he understood Old Tom's pride. This old gardener was a native of the Didu; he had worked in the Earl Mansion for three years, turning the originally somewhat desolate garden into an orderly place, and even figured out how to grow some magic plants himself.

"You've worked hard. This month's bonus is doubled."

"Oh my, thank you, My Lord!" Old Tom smiled until his eyes squinted into a single slit.

Aikesi waved his hand and continued toward the cultivation room.

Three years.

When he first arrived in the Yulan Empire three years ago, this Earl Mansion was empty; besides a few servants King Clade had forced upon him, there was nothing. Now the mansion had a butler, Kaman; a gardener, Old Tom; a cook, Auntie Masha; a coachman, Xiao Luke; and four guards—all retired veterans he recruited from the Mercenary Guild, average in strength but loyal enough.

Days passed like this, one by one.

Aikesi pushed open the door of the cultivation room; the familiar scorching breath struck his face. The magic array beneath the ground operated day and night, keeping this place at high temperatures year-round. He took off his outer robe, hung it on the rack, and sat cross-legged on the cushion.

Five centers facing the sky, contemplating the Nuwa Diagram.

The figure of a human head and snake body in his mind had become as clear as a real object; the surrounding star river rotated slowly, and with every turn, a wisp of cool breath seeped into the depths of his soul. Three years of uninterrupted contemplation had made his spiritual power a bit more solid than when he first arrived.

By his own estimation, his spiritual power should have touched the threshold of Level 9. His Magic was still lacking; currently, it was Eight-level Mid-stage, still a distance away from the High Stage.

This speed was not slow, but it could not be called particularly fast.

The Fallen Heart Flame burned quietly within his body, tempering his Magic without cease. The Five Spirit Wheel absorbed the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, transforming it into the purest Fire Element, which flowed endlessly into his Magic Core. The combination of these two treasures made his cultivation efficiency more than ten times that of ordinary people.

But the Magic required to go from Level 8 to Level 9 was too vast; even with these cheats, it could only be ground down bit by bit, slowly.

No rush.

Aikesi gathered his thoughts and sank into cultivation.

Two hours later, he opened his eyes and exhaled a cloud of turbid breath. The walls of the cultivation room were wet with a layer of sweat; he stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff limbs.

It was noon.

He walked out of the cultivation room, returned to his room to take a shower, changed into clean clothes, and came to the dining hall. Auntie Masha had already prepared lunch: snow beef roasted to perfection, served with fresh vegetable salad, and a bowl of steaming hot mushroom soup.

"My Lord, there are fresh bluefin fish at the market today; I bought two. Shall I make fish soup for you tonight?" Auntie Masha asked while setting the tableware.

"Fine, you decide."

Aikesi sat down and began to eat. Auntie Masha's cooking was good, far better than the big-pot meals he ate in the cafeteria of the Ernst Institute back in the day. He ate slowly, but his mind was on other things.

An appointment with someone this afternoon.

Sir Huerman, a councilor of the Magic Guild of the Yulan Empire, a Level 7 Wind-type Mage. This person was someone Aikesi had known after arriving in Yulan; they were not deeply acquainted, but he was one of the few people in the Didu magic circle Aikesi could chat with.

Huerman was an interesting person. As a noble, he lacked the arrogance and hypocrisy of most nobles; as a Mage, he was not like those old scholars who kept a stern face all day. He liked drinking, he liked chatting, he liked hearing about strange news and anecdotes from various places, and occasionally he would drag Aikesi to the Douyouchang in the Didu to watch matches.

There was no serious business for the afternoon meeting; Huerman had just said he obtained two bottles of good wine and invited him over to taste it.

Aikesi felt this kind of association was good. No need to waste effort, no need to guard against anything; just drink some wine, chat a bit, and each returned to their own home.

After finishing the meal, he changed into somewhat more formal clothes and went out to Huerman's mansion.

Huerman's title was not high; he was merely a Viscount, but the mansion's location was excellent, on the eastern side of the inner city of the Didu, very close to the Magic Guild. When Aikesi arrived, the servant led him directly to the garden.

"Haha, Aikesi has arrived!" Huerman was lying on a lounge chair in the garden sunbathing; seeing him, he stood up and waved. "Come, come, come, see what good thing I obtained."

Aikesi walked over and saw two bottles of wine on the stone table. The wine bottles were dark glass, with wax seals still on the stoppers.

"Flame Wine from the Fenlai Kingdom, twenty-year vintage." Huerman was proud. "A friend brought it back from there. Although that incident happened in Fenlai a few years ago, this wine is a good thing; the stock is running low."

Aikesi took the wine bottle and looked at it. He had heard of Flame Wine; it was a Fenlai specialty, brewed by soaking the feathers of flamingos, offering a weak beneficial effect for Fire-type Mages. However, with his current strength, this benefit was negligible.

"Indeed rare." He placed the wine bottle back on the table. "Are we drinking this today?"

"Of course; otherwise, why would I call you?" Huerman signaled the servant to bring two crystal glasses, opened a bottle, and poured the amber liquid into the cups, which carried a faint flame-like luster.

The two clinked glasses.

The wine entered his throat; it was indeed strong enough, a hot current rising from his stomach. Aikesi savored it for a moment and nodded: "Not bad."

"Right?" Huerman happily poured himself another cup. "By the way, I heard you recently turned down the Magic Guild's invitation again?"

Aikesi glanced at him: "Your news is quite timely."

"Hehe, I am familiar with those old fellows in the Guild." Huerman leaned back on the lounge chair. "They have been mentioning you several times, saying that Count Aikesi, so young yet with Level 8 strength, and a graduate of the Ernst Institute, why is he unwilling to participate in the Guild's activities?"

"Lazy."

Huerman was choked by this answer, then burst into laughter: "Fine, that reason is solid enough. But seriously, don't you plan to make more friends in the Didu? You are a Count, holed up in the mansion cultivating all day, not attending banquets, not going to the Douyouchang; what are you aiming for?"

Aikesi raised his wine glass and took a sip: "Aiming to reach Level 9 sooner."

"And then?"

"And then aiming to reach the Saint Domain sooner."

Huerman blinked, then poured himself another cup of wine: "You... how to put it? Having clear goals is a good thing, but cultivation, sometimes, also requires a balance of tension and relaxation. If you cultivate hard with your head down every day, you might get stuck at a bottleneck and be unable to move."

Aikesi thought for a moment; this actually made some sense. Before his transmigration, he had read many novels; there were indeed cases of those who cultivated so hard they went mad.

"Fine, I'll listen to you; I'll go out for a walk more often in the future."

"That's right." Huerman nodded in satisfaction. "Next month, there is a good show at the Douyouchang, a Level 9 magic beast match. I got two tickets; let's go together then."

"Done."

The two drank for a while longer, chatting about idle news and anecdotes from the Didu. Huerman was well-informed; he knew which noble family had made a fool of themselves, which merchant house had lost a fortune, and he told these stories vividly, which was quite interesting.

In the evening, Aikesi took his leave and departed.

Back at the Earl Mansion, Auntie Masha's fish soup had just come out of the pot. He drank a bowl, ate some bread, and then went to the study to handle today's letters.

Most were trivial matters—merchant house accounts, reports from the territory, invitations to a certain noble's banquet. Aikesi read them one by one, signing where needed and rejecting where needed.

The last was a letter from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce.

He opened it and looked — it was from Yelu. The letter wasn't long; first he complained at length about how busy things were at the Chamber, then said he'd recently gotten his hands on a batch of rare magical materials and asked if Aikesi needed any. At the end he added a line: "That guy's still in the mountains and hasn't come out, but he's alive."

Aikesi finished reading, folded the letter neatly, and put it in a drawer.

For three years now, he and Yelu had kept up their correspondence. Not often — one letter every month or two, and the contents were always just everyday trivialities. Sometimes Yelu would mention Linlei — after all, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce's intelligence network spanned the continent, so knowing a bit of news was nothing strange.

Aikesi never pressed for details.

Everyone had their own path to walk.

The night had grown late. Aikesi stood up and walked to the window. Didu's night was very quiet; from far off came the occasional bark of a dog, and the nearby streets were empty of any soul.

He stood for a while, then turned and walked toward the cultivation chamber.

Time for the night's cultivation.

He pushed open the door, and the searing heat once again wrapped around his whole body. Aikesi took off his outer robe and sat cross-legged on the meditation cushion. The Falling Heart Flame circulated within his body, and the Five Spirit Wheel turned slowly, absorbing the thin Fire Element in the night.

Another day.

He closed his eyes, and his consciousness sank into cultivation.

He didn't know how long had passed when suddenly his heart sensed something. The Magic within his body seemed to tremble lightly, and the speed of its flow quickened by a fraction. The Falling Heart Flame grew restless along with it, the flames leaping far more violently.

Aikesi opened his eyes, a trace of surprise appearing on his face.

This is… a breakthrough?

He swiftly gathered his focus and ran his art at full power. The Falling Heart Flame frantically tempered his Magic, and the Five Spirit Wheel also spun faster, pouring out all the accumulated spiritual energy in one rush. Magic surged through his body, scouring that almost imperceptible barrier.

Time passed bit by bit.

When the sky outside the window flushed the pale grey of dawn, Aikesi let out a long breath.

Eight-level High-stage.

He stood up and stretched his joints and muscles. The Magic within his body was full, nearly thirty percent denser than before. His spiritual power had also subtly loosened, seeming to be one step closer to Level 9.

Three years of bitter cultivation, and at last another step forward.

Aikesi pushed open the door of the cultivation chamber, and the morning sunlight spilled over him. In the garden, Old Tom was already busy at work; seeing him, he smiled and greeted him: "Good morning, my lord!"

"Morning."

Aikesi stood where he was, bathed in sunlight, feeling the brand-new Strength Profound Mystery within his body.