Chapter 13: 12. Transition Between Clear and Rain

12. Transition Between Clear and Rain

"You want a duel that badly? Very well."

Li Ang raised his right hand, extended the index finger of his left hand to trace across his right palm, and simultaneously drove the output of his magic power.

This was the highest-grade magic power he had used since arriving on the island, reaching the 6th rank. Without an energy source to assist him, his magic reserves were depleted by a quarter.

Magic power is not stored within the body; the so-called magic reserve is merely a figurative term. In reality, it refers to the amount of atmospheric magic power a person can mobilize after exhausting their own energy.

Once the spell was cast, he felt a significant drain on his stamina.

The dense magic power released from the tip of his index finger left behind complex trajectories, forming a peculiar pattern.

This was a spell-seal, a high-level casting method for spellcasters. By layering spell-seals with different effects, one could construct the desired spell.

After writing the spell-seal, Li Ang took out three water-mist stones and placed them in his palm. They were instantly illuminated, their shells taking on a glazed texture before rapidly shattering into powder, releasing all the water elements contained within.

The temperature in the air plummeted. Dewdrops hung from the leaves and inflorescences in the surrounding meadow, denser than they had been at dawn.

With every breath, Zoe could feel the thick moisture, and the chill within it seeped into her body bit by bit through her skin and nasal passages.

Within seconds, those dewdrops turned into frost, and the larger water droplets became ice shards.

This was the manifestation of the cold spirituality of the water element.

The center point of this extreme cold was Li Ang's palm. Under the effect of the spell-seal, after the water element spirits permeated the surroundings, they swirled through the air once before re-converging in his palm according to his will.

In Zoe's eyes, she saw the young man opposite her summon water mist in the air, which then turned into snowflakes that fell toward his hand, finally condensing into a sword of ice.

6th-rank spell construction: Spell—Elemental Weapon.

Li Ang's expression was extremely grave. Whether it was his demeanor or the surrounding chill, Zoe only felt the cold penetrating her body and wrapping around her, and the smile on her face faded away.

"You initiated a duel so casually; this is a very serious matter," Li Ang said.

He raised the ice sword in his hand and slashed down at Zoe's head.

The young girl raised her sword to block and simultaneously retreated, but these movements, which had been practiced to the point of instinct, could not be executed at this moment.

Ranks 1–3 are the mortal realm, while ranks 4–6 step into the transcendent realm.

The magic power in the atmosphere nurtures everything in Nubis. Matter nurtures spirit, spirit draws magic power, and magic power interferes with matter. Elements are the smallest units that make up matter, and they are also interfered with by magic power.

Humans and other intelligent races are material beings of high complexity with complex spirituality, thus they are adept at guiding magic power to perform various material manipulations.

Below rank 3, people can only use magic power for physical enhancement; even spellcasters rely on external objects like casting materials to release powerful magic.

However, existences in the transcendent stage possess the ability to gather magic power to shape matter. Relying on these abilities, they are capable of destroying ordinary city walls not built with magitech and razing small towns.

Those at rank 5 can shape transcendent shields, and their power is sufficient to trigger natural phenomena.

Rank 6 can shape transcendent weapons; if the power contained within a magic-shaped weapon were released, it would be a small-scale disaster capable of ravaging a village.

Zoe's various abilities were still at the mortal stage. Even with a treasure providing magic power, there was a qualitative difference between the elemental weapon shaped by 6th-rank magic power and the young swordswoman.

Whether it was her arms or her calves, they were too cold to move!

The young girl gritted her teeth and, in a moment of crisis, used the Wind-Breath Sword to release a gale, blowing the cold air away and allowing the warm afternoon air to flow into the surroundings.

The incoming warm breeze immediately merged into the cold air and vanished, but the girl gained a moment of respite and blocked the strike.

After retreating a few steps, she knew her strength relied entirely on the coordination between her sword and her swordsmanship, so as soon as her arms regained a little feeling, she swung repeatedly, attempting to use the wind she stirred up to blow away the chill.

Li Ang held the sword in his right hand, making it difficult for the girl to parry, while pointing toward the clouds in the distance, where the outlines of other floating islands were vaguely visible.

"In this world, although there is competition between people, one must also cooperate to build a home. Force is not a toy; it is an ability used to protect oneself, and it should only be used against evildoers and enemies."

The extreme cold rapidly sapped Zoe's stamina. Finally, her sword was knocked away by the ice sword, and the icy blade struck the armored part of her steel bracer, leaving a small dent.

Frost is not as hard as steel; it shattered into a large amount of ice shards at the point of contact, splashing onto Zoe's face. In an instant, she felt that half of her face lose sensation, and the hair touched by the ice shards frosted over, feeling as if it would shatter at a touch.

"When interacting with others, if you resort to force, it means you have already identified the other party as a mortal enemy. And between mortal enemies, there is only one ultimate goal: slaughter—a life-or-death struggle that will not end until the very last moment."

Li Ang spoke without emotion, unhurriedly. As he walked forward step by step, the bone-chilling cold grew stronger.

Or rather, this was the killing intent Zoe had never experienced before.

Zoe felt as if her breathing had stopped. She closed her eyes as he reached her and the coldness brushed past her neck.

When she felt raindrops hitting her face, the young girl came to her senses and opened her eyes. She did not know how much time had passed; in the moments just now, she had even forgotten how to think.

Before her, the ice sword was stuck in the ground, melting. The surrounding chill had dissipated, as if the cold mist in the air had melted into water, falling in the sunlight. She felt the warmth of the sun once again.

Li Ang was standing before her, looking down at her. Only then did she realize she was kneeling on the ground.

"The sword I took from you before was not out of greed; my original intention was to give you a warning, but clearly, you did not understand it before."

His calm eyes met hers: "If you do not understand why you should use your power, then you are no different from the monsters that cause disasters. In this endless airspace, you can satisfy temporary needs by relying on violence, but one day you will destroy yourself along with it."

He stepped past her and walked further and further away.

"Your sword was yours to begin with; keep it well. This time it was pointed at me; if it were pointed at someone else, it would not be a matter that could be resolved so simply."

Watching the young man's figure gradually walk away, Zoe slowly came to her senses.

Her chest felt as if it had been stuffed with something, pulling painfully and feeling a bit hot.

Yes, I was wrong.

I shouldn't have done that.

Actually, I just wanted to... just wanted to...

The tearing sensation in her chest traveled through her throat to the bridge of her nose, turning into a sour ache, and then welled up from her eye sockets.

"I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

Li Ang walked on, hearing the wavering sound of crying behind him.

Zoe sobbed as she followed him, her crying turning into wailing as she walked, and finally, as if venting something, she howled quite loudly.

Li Ang scratched his head. *Sigh*, was he too harsh with the intimidation? Does this count as bullying a child? She wasn't a child, though; she was just mentally immature from being trapped on the island.

Based on ten years of experience traveling the world, a stern warning was necessary.

No one is treated with favor their whole life. Every moment of slackness fate gives you only serves to sharpen the butcher's knife in the dark.

But she had followed him again, and Li Ang had no idea how to handle the aftermath. He had no idea whether to coax or ignore a child after disciplining them.

Just like that, one in front and one behind, Li Ang arrived at the entrance of the village on Satus Island.

In the distance, he could already see villagers watching him.

In this isolated area, everyone knew each other perfectly. After ten years, he was long since an outsider, and they looked at him with measuring and guarded gazes.

"Who are you?" among the villagers who had gathered, one asked, emboldened.

Their gazes also turned toward the sobbing Zoe behind Li Ang.

They wouldn't misunderstand anything, would they?