Chapter 513: Research Association Established, The Mage's Inner Journey

"From today on, the Research Association is officially established!"

Someone declared this on the platform, with such infectious enthusiasm that the passionate youths couldn't help but push aside the fellow cultivators around them, just to get a clear look at the person on the stage.

The cultivators from all corners of the Qing Kingdom, after the establishment of the Divine Tree Sect, found their original sects had all but disintegrated; thus, they either returned to their hometowns to live in seclusion, merged into the Divine Tree Sect, accepted assignments from the imperial court, or spontaneously headed to the Border Great Wall—in short, they were a scattered mess.

These scattered individuals were not actually living well.

Not to mention those who went to the Border Great Wall, who were at least filled with high spirits.

As for those who returned to their hometowns and mountains, because cultivation resources were becoming increasingly scarce, they were simply waiting to die; those who merged into the Divine Tree Sect were mostly unaccustomed to it and eventually chose to withdraw; and those who accepted assignments from the imperial court gradually showed signs of becoming mere lackeys, likewise deviating from their original intentions.

Under these circumstances, they were lost and at a loss for what to do.

Noble, powerful cultivators who directly inherited the legacies of their ancestors actually found themselves with no foothold in the precarious Qing Kingdom, which was in urgent need of strength; they possessed neither the status they should have had, nor a place suitable for them to shine.

It was at this moment, just as the young mage was feeling lost and was saying goodbye to the Shaman Priest Qinglan, choosing to leave the Divine Tree Sect, that a notice spread throughout the Qing Kingdom.

The Research Association, an academic society for studying the ancestral techniques and methods of the past, was to be established in order to find ways to resist and resolve the harm of the Grudge Demons, casting aside the many sectarian prejudices of the past.

The founder, that first Association President, officially issued an invitation to the cultivators of the Qing Kingdom.

As long as one was determined to eliminate demons and walk the path of righteous research, anyone could join!

Suddenly, the cultivators rose up, the scattered sand gathered once more, leaving the imperial court personnel and Divine Tree Sect members who had come to help feeling quite surprised; they had not expected that there were still so many cultivators in the country.

The youth did not pay attention to the expressions of these outsiders; amidst repeated apologies, he finally reached the front row and saw the Association President standing on the ruins platform, announcing various detailed rules.

She appeared very young.

Not the kind of youth that an old antique pretends to have, but a youth that naturally radiated from body and mind.

Her eyes were bright and piercing, her gaze slightly upward, looking at the crowd below and also at the sky, possessing an intense thirst for knowledge; even the blue sky of the Divine Tree could not satisfy her, or rather, from the very beginning, she was not satisfied with merely being under a fake blue sky.

Compared to this heartfelt thirst for vitality and unparalleled youthful state, her specific age and the beauty of her appearance all seemed insignificant, merely small, side details.

At the end of her speech, she made her declaration once more: "Come, fellow Daoists, let us strive together toward beyond the blue sky, toward the high heavens!"

The youth felt his blood boil, as if he had found the true meaning of his cultivation life.

Cultivators therefore changed their title to 'mage', a complete transformation, ready to strive upward once again.

And then, very quickly, reality struck like a heavy hammer, nearly crushing him and them flat.

The establishment of the Research Association was naturally driven by the Association President, but it also had the support and help of the imperial court and the Divine Tree Sect, so some feedback had to be given.

This was not actually much; the truly critical point was that the Grudge Demons were an existence in the current Qing Kingdom that could not be bypassed no matter what, so the Research Association also had to cooperate with the Divine Tree Sect and the imperial court to send blood to the Border Great Wall together, to resist the constantly attacking Grudge Demons!

As a direct beneficiary of the Research Association's founding, the young cultivator was entrusted with this heavy responsibility after using the spirit stones from the association to break through to the Foundation Establishment stage, and then began to face one dangerous situation after another.

Faced with that group of Grudge Demons, the various spells and methods of the elite-level Foundation Establishment stage were actually hard to have any effect; instead, they were inferior to the martial soldiers who danced with blades and guns, and even less able to compare to the guardian warriors—who were inexplicably, ridiculously strong, almost like Body Refiners.

Mages could basically only do odd jobs, mainly responsible for post-battle treatment; if they encountered a massive invasion of Grudge Demons and were forced to enter the battle, it was basically a nine-deaths-and-one-life situation.

The mages of the Research Association who went with the youths truly had a ninety percent casualty rate!

Of course, the martial soldiers were also constantly suffering losses...

"Don't be discouraged, young man. Before you arrived, the casualty rate was much higher than it is now. This... uh, besides, your healing and recovery spells are very useful!"

The old warrior, who had a hint of old age, appeared at this moment; having already formed a bond of war-time friendship with him in battle, he came over to comfort the somewhat depressed young mage.

Wurei watched this person appear again and sighed slightly; though she was only a young girl, she now had a sense of vicissitudes.

As for Du En, hearing the "non-nutritious" conversation, he shifted his attention slightly to observe the inside and outside of the Border Great Wall.

It was not like the old warrior who swept past in a hurry, having already cast aside most of his obsessions with this place before his fall.

It was not like the heaven-proud warrior, whose perspective was not very clear due to the interference of the main subject, only pointing out the key points.

This old mage of the Research Association was very concerned about this experience from his youth; it was the source of all his obsessions, so it appeared exceptionally intense and clear, down to the finest detail!

Therefore, Du En could now clearly see that the ancient Grudge Demons, those behemoths that looked like monsters and evil ghosts, were actually decreasing year by year.

"These primitive Grudge Demons are not like the current Grudge Demons. I originally thought they were transformed from demonic beasts or demonic cultivators, or even experimental subjects created by the Immortal Sects, but looking at it now, it seems more like there really were Demon clans in the past. Could it be that the Extraterritorial Heavenly Demons have entered the human world to reproduce?"

Such a situation differed somewhat from previous speculations.

Unfortunately, that was just the other side of memory, impossible to actually touch; he would have to wait until he actually went to the Border Great Wall and managed to unfold an analysis and investigation to be certain about this aspect.

Du En's gaze shifted again, placing it on the Shaman Priest Qinglan who was currently purifying.

She was currently in her girlhood stage; her frame could already support those heavy, cumbersome clothes, and the patterns on the mask on her face were beginning to decrease, as if reflecting the decrease in primitive Grudge Demons.

Conversely, the number of Grudge Demons transformed from Qing Kingdom people was increasing; these were the war-dead whose bodies could not be processed in time, and the war-wounded who wailed in pain as their wills constantly disintegrated, all undergoing transformation within a certain invisible, pervasive fluctuation.

That was the source of the Grudge Qi and Demon Qi.

It would become obvious when primitive Grudge Demons gathered, and it would also become obvious when primitive Grudge Demons decreased; it looked very contradictory, but the reason was actually very simple: the medium carrier in the middle was being replaced.

The star that was completely dying was also constantly deepening its own evil transformation; through the core's spirit source and life source, it radiated and expanded its influence on all living beings involved in its causality, hence the transformation into Grudge Demons.

Primitive Grudge Demons should be primitive creatures, directly related and inseparable; that transformation fluctuation naturally appeared more prominent in its manifestation.

The Qing Kingdom people, who should be a later race of creatures, were more compatible with the breeding of evil, and had already been included as part of the star realm's life source through reproduction.

Such a star realm that was dead yet not dead was just in a state of accepting all comers and devouring them together, so the transformation fluctuation was becoming obvious.

Therefore, the tug-of-war at the Border Great Wall was simply a chronic suicide, and there were even signs of intensifying and accelerating the evil transformation.

"Meaningless..."

So, after his comrade left, the young mage, who was barely holding on, sighed heavily.

Having been tempered by the fires of war and having quickly unearthed his potential, he had already stepped into the realm of geniuses and now keenly noticed some clues, hence he felt despair. Because there was simply no way to solve it, and Shaman Priest Qinglan's purification was only slowing down the various changes, even making him feel that this lengthened time was a greater torture, making people see and feel more deeply as they watched everything gradually perish.

Some people, faced with a hopeless future, would choose to rise up and fight, and would not compromise or give up.

But more people were not like that, and would not have such firm determination.

So he became dejected.

Appearance stems from the heart; soon he became as aged as an old Grudge Demon.

Others only thought he had excessively exhausted his magic power, so the old warrior spoke up, asking him to go and teach his son in his hometown, a roundabout way to let him leave the front line to recuperate.

The Research Association had no objections, and Shaman Priest Qinglan, seeing the reason, would not stop him, but rather pushed it forward; thus, the old mage, who had lost his fighting spirit, muttered to himself, his legs moving nimbly, as he left his nightmare land, the Border Great Wall.

"To tell the truth, being asked by that martial soldier who only knows how to dance with blades and guns to go to his hometown and teach his son, I am actually a bit reluctant, because I know without looking that this is a waste of time. Unfortunately, that girl Qinglan is also putting in a good word, so I have no choice but to go and take a look!"

Sitting in the departing carriage, the old mage wore an expression of "I am only doing this out of necessity" as he spoke to the soldiers around the carriage, leaving them not knowing how to respond.

After all, the martial artist he spoke of was a renowned and capable general at the Border Great Wall, always charging into battle ahead of his men, earning the deep respect and affection of the soldiers.

If not for the fact that the speaker was a mage who had cast spells to save them many times, preventing many comrades from falling into corruption due to the torment of their wounds, and was also someone they needed to respect, they would have long since turned hostile and dragged the old man off the carriage to beat him.

As for now, they could only smile awkwardly and pretend not to hear.

The old mage seemed to have some self-awareness, so his eyes rolled, and he changed his tune: "Tsk, why does that guy have to hide and cover things up? Is he afraid the brat will be resistant and unwilling? Are this father and son really that awkward?"

Upon hearing this topic, the soldiers immediately became energized, looking back at the rapidly receding Border Great Wall and beginning to sigh and lament, one after another.

These were all very mundane mutterings, because they also had children, and due to years of fighting, their families were generally not very harmonious and had all sorts of awkward situations, so once they started talking, they began complaining to each other and couldn't help but discuss strategies for reconciliation.

As for the content regarding the old warrior's family, it actually didn't take up much of the conversation.

The old mage didn't mind either, discussing it enthusiastically; he enjoyed this long-lost tranquility and peace, his state of mind already very relaxed and aged.

As for the comrade's entrustment, that was just the excuse on the surface.

"If I can teach him, I'll teach him! If he can't learn, I'll force him to learn!"

In short, he did not want to return to the Border Great Wall, nor did he want to come into contact with the Grudge Demons again!

The result.

"Damn it, this kid is actually quite capable, unlike his father who is a brainless fool!"

Arriving at the old warrior's hometown and facing the young prodigy, the old mage was soon shocked.

Anything he taught, the other party could understand and grasp after hearing it just once.

Sometimes, the boy could even draw inferences from one instance, asking questions that left the old mage choked and unable to answer.

He was secretly astonished, struggling to maintain the face of a teacher, but in his heart, he had already regarded the other party as a disciple to whom he could pass on his mantle, rather than the shallow teacher-student relationship of the Association.

And so, he felt very regretful.

"What a pity, what a pity. There is no spiritual energy now. He is clearly able to easily master all sorts of methods, but even a clever housewife cannot cook without rice. I can only wait until he is older and send him to the Association so he can formally cultivate!"

It would delay the boy, and it wasn't that the old mage had no other ways—for instance, he still had some spirit stones from combat rewards on him—but he was unwilling to take them out from the bottom of his heart.

Because once he started formal cultivation, the boy would advance rapidly, and with that kind of talent, he would soon stand out; at that time, it would be inevitable for him to get involved in matters related to the Grudge Demons.

That was truly too terrifying!

If it weren't for the fact that cultivation now required the Research Association and only they had relatively abundant resources, he wouldn't even think about sending the person there in the future.

On one hand, he cherished the talent and didn't want to delay him; on the other hand, he didn't want him to stand out too quickly. In short, it was very awkward...

"Why give up so easily!"

The ten-year-old half-youth, eyes flashing with brilliance, had already reached his own conclusion.

Kill all the Grudge Demons and save the Qing Kingdom! The old mage was suddenly exasperated.

"I've already told you, you brat, Grudge Demons can only be purified! They are indestructible and cannot be killed!"

"Nonsense! How can there be anything truly indestructible in this world? It is only because you haven't reached the same level that the illusion of them being unkillable appears!"

"Oh my, your tone is really big, kid! You really don't know the immensity of heaven and earth!"

"You old guy, you clearly still have some spirit left, and your heart is always filled with unwillingness, yet in the end, you find all sorts of excuses to ignore your own heart. You're so wishy-washy, it's really unsightly. Just wait for me, I will prove it to you!"

"..."

The old mage fell into silence.

Because his own inner thoughts had been completely seen through! He only feared the torment of being powerless, not truly fearing the confrontation with the Grudge Demons; he just didn't want the efforts and heart's blood of everyone to be in vain, so he often couldn't help but pray in his heart: if only it wouldn't be in vain, then such and such would happen.

Watching the back of the disciple running away, he let out a long, heavy sigh.

"An acuity beyond ordinary people, a shocking talent, learning at a glance and understanding at once—what terrifying aptitude. But, what can that do? In the end, one cannot create something from nothing, cannot achieve anything..."

He felt dejected and lost.

Then, the next day.

"Look!"

"Old guy, I've refined Dharma power!"

The young prodigy who ran back displayed his first wisp of Dharma power, shocking the old mage so much that he couldn't stand steadily, stumbling over with wide eyes.

(End of this chapter)