Chapter 43: This Lute Is Truly Round

"Karida!"

Wilt called out the dead woman's name, his figure flashing as he gave chase.

Lei En quickened his pace by two steps, breaking free of the house's cover, and saw the Eye of the Spirit Demon atop the Wu Shi Ta.

Wilt's footsteps halted, and he stopped by the wall.

He could certainly catch up to Lei En, but once he made a move, as long as the commotion was even slightly too loud, it would draw the Eye of the Spirit Demon's gaze. As a follower of the evil god, he dared not expose himself to the Eye of the Spirit Demon's line of sight at all—once locked onto, it meant certain death with no chance of survival.

Wilt crouched down to check Karida's condition and found that she was already dead. He looked at Lei En with eyes full of hatred and said in a low voice, "You will pay the price for this."

Lei En paid him no attention, quickly left the scene, and disappeared into the night.

Earlier, when he was struck by Wilt's first sword strike, he had already noticed a Shadow Warrior lurking at the corner of the wall, waiting for the right moment to ambush him. He couldn't see the enemy hidden in shadow, but he could hear the other's heartbeat. After locking onto the position, he deliberately pretended he hadn't noticed.

Sure enough, this Shadow Warrior couldn't resist making a move and was caught red-handed.

Shadow Warriors were proficient in stealth and very fast, but their physical attributes were not formidable, and the other's class level was not high. Lei En squeezed her hard in a full embrace and crushed her to death.

Her class level was only level one, and her soul provided two bars of charge.

Lei En quickly walked several hundred meters away but did not give up his sonic probing of Wilt. After changing direction twice, he ducked into a corner by the street, preparing to track him.

Wilt did not linger by the house. He took Karida's body, his footsteps sounding out, and left in another direction.

Lei En hurriedly gave chase, only to find that Wilt's movement speed was extremely fast.

He pursued for less than a minute before Wilt ran beyond his sonic range, losing the trail.

"That's way too fast—I can't even catch up when he's carrying someone."

Lei En felt rather helpless. The Gale Magic Swordsman truly deserved his reputation for speed. He himself was only level one and slow, so he was genuinely outmatched. He could only head back to his apartment, also considering in his heart that if a suitable magic soul came along in the future, he definitely had to make up for this weakness in speed.

He took multiple detours along the way, even going around to cross the river via another, more distant bridge. It was not until nearly dawn that Lei En finally returned to the apartment.

While washing the blood from his body and war hammer, Lei En checked his injuries.

The second sword wound was very shallow and had already fully healed.

The first sword wound was not so quick. The bleeding had stopped, but there was still a shocking bloodstain. It ached faintly whenever he moved, and it would take at least several days to heal.

In addition, there was a faint fist mark beneath his ribs, left by Hogan's punch. It was not serious.

Lei En felt a trace of exhaustion. Recovering from injuries consumed his own soul power. At this moment, the charge in his interface was only 12%—and this was after absorbing the souls of two Transcendents, which had added five bars of charge.

In a single night, his soul power had grown by nearly half—this was the greatest harvest.

Lei En sat on the bed, confirmed there was nothing wrong with him, and began his first meditation.

The World Tree meditation method sounded very complex, but was actually quite simple: it was about continuously constructing the World Tree within the soul to promote its growth.

The taller the World Tree, the stronger the soul power.

A Wizard's soul power was the same as a mage's magic power—it could be used for casting spells and also for activating various alchemical items and runes.

Most importantly, soul power could also be used to elevate one's own Elements.

If they were physique-type Elements, the soul power used to strengthen them would merge into the body, becoming a materialized existence that could no longer be used for spellcasting.

If they were arcane-type Elements—that is, spells—soul power could raise a spell's tier, from the first circle to the ninth circle. The soul power invested in them could still be used for spellcasting and did not affect the soul power cap.

Ability-type Elements, however, could not be enhanced through soul power.

Only during Soul Transformation was there a certain probability of improvement.

Lei En was a combat Wizard and had to use at least part of his soul power to strengthen his body, so the soul power available for spellcasting was less than that of Wizards from the other two schools.

Simply put, a combat Wizard's mana pool was relatively low.

Therefore, every combat Wizard had to make trade-offs and strike a good balance in allocating soul power.

If one couldn't manage both, then one had to focus exclusively on one—either excel at melee combat or be skilled at spellcasting.

Under normal circumstances, combat Wizards did not master too many spells in order to reduce soul power consumption.

There were even extreme combat Wizards who only pushed a mere handful of spells to their absolute limit, devoting all remaining soul power to strengthening themselves.

For example, the legendary Holy Soul Wizard, the founder of the combat school, Ouroin Master—according to rumor, he only knew three spells, and the one he was most proficient in was a very ordinary spell—Light!

All this information was contained within that Soul-Fusing Seed, meant to remind later generations how to improve themselves so they wouldn't go down the wrong path.

As for Ouroin Master, there was no further content beyond this.

Lei En couldn't imagine how Light could be used in combat.

He certainly wouldn't go to such extremes. He had a perfect Soul Transformation, and his soul power was far greater than other Wizards', so it should be enough to allocate. But right now he didn't know a single spell, so he could only temporarily devote all his soul power to strengthening "Strength" or "Iron Body."

The Strength Element had already been strengthened once and was difficult to raise further, so he could only invest his soul power into the Iron Body Element.

Tonight's battle had made Lei En deeply appreciate the power of a supreme Element—his very life had been saved by Iron Body.

If he could strengthen Iron Body one more time, that would simply be adding another life!

During meditation, time passed especially quickly.

When Lei En emerged from meditation, he found it was already nearly noon.

Spellcasters had to meditate every day, but meditation time shouldn't be too long, as it would instead cause mental fatigue. Unless one used magic potions to eliminate this mental fatigue, continuing to meditate was meaningless and could not increase soul power.

Lei En ate lunch and went to the Basilisk Inn.

Yesterday he had agreed with Zoltan to borrow the iron blocks in his courtyard to train his fitness and increase his strength. After finishing his training, he would consult Zoltan about crafting soul guns, preparing to research and develop a firearm suited to himself.

If he'd had a gun in hand last night, Wilt standing on the balcony showing off could have been shot down with a single shot.

Immersed in training and research, the day quickly came to an end.

Lei En never saw Roger and Drelsa. The two of them stayed holed up in their room all day, inseparable as glue. Food and drinks were all delivered to the room by the inn's staff, and they didn't even play cards.

"There's only ever an ox worked to death, never a field plowed to ruin. I wonder whether Master Roger can hold up?"

"A legendary Transcendent should have more endurance than an ordinary man..."

Lei En grumbled to himself. He didn't return to his apartment and rested for the night in his room at the Basilisk Inn.

At noon the next day, after meditating, Lei En went home, changed into formal attire, and headed to the House of Violet. The trade fair Ovira mentioned was in the evening, and the two had agreed to meet half a day in advance.

When he arrived, the waitress saw Lei En and, without announcing him, led him straight upstairs.

Coming out of the elevator, Lei En heard a burst of piano music coming from Viola's room. The sound was very faint, probably because the room was soundproof; unless one is very close, standing outside the door, an ordinary person couldn't hear it.

The maid was about to knock, but Lei En called her back.

"Wait a moment; I'll go in after this piece finishes. You go attend to your business first."

The maid glanced at Lei En; the shop owner had previously instructed her to bring him up directly without reporting if Lei En arrived, indicating their relationship was close, at least friends.

So she left confidently.

Lei En listened intently to the music; the instrument resembled a piano, called a keyboard organ, and in both string‑striking method and timbre it was almost indistinguishable from a piano.

Viola's skill was superb; a lively piece poured from her fingers like flowing clouds, sounding extremely beautiful and infused with her emotions. Lei En was moved by the music, perceiving Viola's mood at that moment—just like the unnamed tune—joyful and delighted, full of hopeful anticipation.

Unwittingly, the piece ended and the music ceased.

Lei En took a gentle breath, steadied his mood, and knocked on the door.

"Please come in."

Viola's voice came from within; Lei En pushed the door open and saw her seated before the keyboard organ, a simple elegant long dress highlighting her graceful figure. She seemed still immersed in the music, golden hair cascading like a waterfall, her exquisite face radiant with a smile.

Seeing this, Lei En was stunned, his breath even pausing for half a beat.

For a moment, he didn't know how to compliment her.

"The piano is so round, or is the piece so pure?"

"Lei En, you're here."

Viola rose and walked over; her lake‑blue eyes fell on Lei En, seeing his upright posture and handsome appearance, a hint of admiration flashing in her gaze.

Lei En was dazed for two or three seconds before reacting, then smiled and asked, "I've been outside for a long time; I only came in after hearing your performance. What piece were you playing?"

"Lake Dance is a piano piece I composed myself," Viola said as she sat on the sofa, brewing tea for Lei En and continuing, "I love music, especially the keyboard organ; I have some talent in it. Whenever I have free time, I play to soothe my mood. Do you find it pleasant?"

"Pleasant!"

Lei En sat opposite her, clapped a few times in admiration, and exclaimed, "I didn't expect you, Viola, to compose music. It's a pity ordinary people never get to hear your performance; otherwise you'd already be a renowned music Title: Master."

Viola pursed her lips and smiled, "I don't want to be any music Title: Master; this is just a personal hobby."

"Then I can only express regret for those who can't hear," Lei En said, taking the teacup and sipping, feeling relaxed.

Viola smiled and nodded, then suddenly seemed to recall something, hesitated, and said, "Although I dislike performing for strangers, I hope to spread beautiful music to more people, letting them feel its charm, experience life's beauty, express emotions, soothe wounds, reduce conflicts, and add some artistic atmosphere to our world."

Lei En listened and found it odd; Viola's words sounded almost like preaching.