Chapter 593: The Dilemma of the Combat School

Ouroin Master sat for a moment in the Weizelan Tower, then followed Lei En to Ge La Mo Gen Castle. After all, Weizelan is Anxiwodasi's Fu Kong Cheng, essentially a private domain; other Holy Soul Wizards may visit occasionally, but staying long is considered taboo.

One Fu Kong Cheng cannot accommodate two Holy Soul Wizards, no matter how close their relationship.

Lei En let Anwei La come to the castle together.

Po La Rui Si and Da La Ma were both jealous, yet they knew they were not combat Wizards; seeing that Ouroin Master had no interest in instructing them, they politely took their leave.

Originally, Anwei La rarely came to the castle, usually residing in Lei En's Wu Shi Ta, like a homebody never leaving, but this time, to draw closer to Ouroin Master, she had to obediently accompany him.

Stepping out of the portal led directly into the castle's living room.

"Lord."

Fabian happened to be handling business here with a few servants, and quickly rose to bow respectfully: "You have returned."

Then he saw Ouroin and Anwei La behind Lei En; both exuded an extraordinary aura, and the lord's demeanor toward them differed, making him curious about their identities.

Lei En nodded and instructed: "Fabian, prepare the two finest guest rooms in the castle, everything to the highest standard."

The highest standard means treatment equal to that of the castle's master, Lei En.

This was the first time Fabian had seen Lei En make such a request.

"Yes, my lord."

Lei En, fearing the elven steward might be lax, reiterated: "Ouroin Master and Anwei La will stay in the castle for a while; you must meet all their requests, do not slack off."

"Yes…"

Fabian's reply halted abruptly, his expression as if struck by a petrification spell, frozen for a moment; years of stewardly poise vanished, and he stammered, "O‑Ouroin Master?"

He couldn't help but look at the white‑robed Wizard with snow‑white beard, his eyes full of astonishment; who else in the world could be addressed as Ouroin Master besides the founder of the combat Wizards?

Not only Fabian, the surrounding servant guards also turned pale together.

Ouroin Master!

A member of the Supreme Council, one of the great Holy Soul Wizards!

Throughout the Empire, who hasn't heard of Ouroin Master's name? People grew up listening to his tales; a legendary figure suddenly appearing before one's eyes inevitably sparks curiosity.

Ouroin Master has come to visit Ge La Mo Gen Castle!

"Welcome, Ouroin Master, please forgive my clumsiness, this truly…" Fabian was so excited that his words stumbled.

Ouroin, already accustomed to such scenes, smiled kindly: "My apologies for the trouble."

His approachable demeanor made Fabian even more excited, yet he did not forget the other distinguished guest, and respectfully bowed: "Lady Anwei La."

From Anwei La's name, Fabian discerned her status.

She is the lord's student, and like the lord, a combat Wizard; she had been heard of before, and today she was finally seen.

The three before him were all combat Wizards.

Fabian's mind raced, roughly guessing why Lei En could invite Ouroin Master to the castle; it must be related to Lady Anwei La, so he dared not be negligent, elevating Anwei La's status to be on par with Reslin.

Anwei La gave a slight nod.

She surveyed Fabian twice, showing slight curiosity toward this half‑of‑her‑kind wind elf.

"Fabian, go prepare." Lei En waved his hand.

"Yes, my lord!"

The elven steward hurriedly led others to tidy the rooms.

"Master, I have embarrassed you." Lei En turned and said, "Your name is known throughout the Empire; everyone greatly admires you, and finally meeting a True Person, I could not help but be a bit clumsy. If I had met you a few years ago, my performance might have been even worse than most people's. Which combat Wizard does not wish to hear your guidance? Today my wish is finally fulfilled."

"Lei En, you need not flatter me," Ouroin shook his head and smiled, "Without my guidance, wouldn't you still have the strength you possess now?"

Lei En modestly gestured, sincerely saying, "Without your invention of the World Tree Meditation Method and the Soul‑Fusion Seed, I could not have reached this point."

Ouroin nodded, his face full of satisfaction.

He sighed, "The World Tree Meditation Method is not wholly my invention; I refined it based on predecessors' research. In the centuries before me, many combat Wizards devoted their lives, even their lives, to the combat school. Without their selfless dedication, the combat school would not exist; I am merely the most successful, lucky to have ascended to Holy Soul Wizard and live to this day."

"No one can luckily ascend to Holy Soul Wizard; Master, you are being overly modest," Lei En said earnestly.

Ouroin laughed a non‑committal laugh.

He glanced at Anwei La beside him and added, "Unfortunately, the combat school ultimately demands too high an innate talent, relying only on the Soul‑Fusion Seed as a medium; to this day it remains the school with the fewest members."

Lei En nodded, deeply moved.

All wizard schools require a meditation‑method medium, and there are multiple types; the price is not exorbitant, generally around two hundred Gold Shields, affordable for anyone with money.

However, combat Wizards have only the Soul‑Fusion Seed as an option.

The main ingredient of the Soul‑Fusion Seed is the World Tree seed; its yield is scarce, and even rarer when it reaches the Empire, making it much pricier than other media.

Back then, I purchased a Soul‑Fusion Seed at Viola's Violet House for fifteen hundred Gold Shields, even signing a trade contract.

Anwei La's Soul‑Fusion Seed also cost over two thousand Gold Shields, bought at Mo Du's auction house.

Among newly Soul‑Transformed Wizards, how many can afford that much money?

The worst part is that even with money, it is often unattainable.

The innate talent requirement is extremely high; the medium is costly and rare, with a high ceiling but low floor of power. The fused magical soul must be both potent and demanding, requiring several times the resources and effort of other Wizards, yet not necessarily yielding proportionally greater strength; all these constrain the flourishing of combat Wizards.

"These past years, due to your influence, the number of combat Wizards has increased somewhat, though not much," Ouroin smiled, then shook his head, "Your emergence surprised me, but in my view, your rise is entirely due to personal talent. Even if you hadn't chosen the combat school, becoming an Elementalist or Arcane, you would still possess power far beyond ordinary people."

"Combat Wizards are not the cause of your strength, but the result."

Ouroin held Lei En in very high regard, praising him, though his tone carried a slight regret.

Because Lei En's success is unrepeatable, he is merely an exception; perhaps in the short term it will encourage some new Wizards to join the combat school, but over time, as people recognize its drawbacks, the fervor will wane and the combat school will again decline.

This phenomenon persisted for decades after Master Ouroin's ascension to Holy Soul.

In the end, the combat school's dilemma remains unsolvable.

Lei En, also fully aware of the crux, asked aloud, "Master, is it possible to use a different medium, so that one could become a combat Wizard without the Soul‑Fusion Seed?"

"Impossible!"

Ouroin slowly shook his head, "Without the World Tree seed, one cannot learn the World Tree Meditation Method. Our meditation method originally derived from the elves' practice, adapted to human souls; its primary function is to ease conflicts between magical souls."

Other meditation methods can also fuse demon souls, but the later they are, the more severe the conflicts become.

In fact, over the past several hundred years I've been studying how to replace the medium and meditation method to lower the combat school's requirements, but unfortunately to no avail.

The soul‑fusion seed is irreplaceable.

Without the soul‑fusion seed, a combat Wizard can hardly ascend to Legend. Even if one forcibly fuses ordinary demon souls to ascend, the power remains mediocre and lacks casting ability; then they're no longer combat Wizards, so what's the difference between us and berserkers?

Lei En nodded with a solemn expression.

He has been a combat Wizard for many years and knows the strengths and weaknesses of the combat school well; those with a high ceiling like himself fuse only the best demon souls and can dispatch enemies across ranks with ease, while those with a low ceiling fuse mediocre, highly conflicting demon souls, their power plummets, resembling a berserker or demon‑sword wielder, utterly no match for other Wizards and become a laughingstock.

Most combat Wizards are middling in strength, spending more resources and effort to barely match Wizards of other factions.

In the end, they will all regret their original choice.

Lei En can see that Ouroin Master strongly wishes to expand the combat school and produce more combat Wizards; that may be his greatest desire.

If he can help Ouroin Master fulfill that wish, he should defect and join the Mo Du faction.

Lei En's face showed contemplation as his thoughts began to turn.

Three factors—the superior talent, the costly and rare soul‑fusion seed, and the choice of strong or weak demon souls to fuse—jointly determine a combat Wizard's strength.

Talented students can be cultivated.

He can afford the price of the soul‑fusion seed, but the problem is that it cannot be bought; the World‑Tree seed is a precious material among the elves, and to obtain more he must negotiate with the elven race, which might resolve the issue.

The strength and selection of fused demon souls—that's his forte!

The root cause of demon‑soul conflict lies in soul frequency; the closer the wave frequencies, the lower the conflict, which may be one of the world's most important secrets.

Only his own Soul Eye can perceive the frequencies and locate the most suitable demon soul.

Solving those three factors allows mass cultivation of powerful combat Wizards!

Lei En glanced at An Weila.

This is a ready-made example.

An Weila only recently ascended to Senior Wizard, currently at level seven, yet she could defeat level‑nine Po Laruisi, showing how strong she is. Besides her talent and personal secrets, she also relied on his guidance; the Soul Eye matched her with the most suitable demon souls, and the seven demon souls she sourced herself fused successfully with almost no conflict.

Cultivating one An Weila means he can cultivate a second, a third…

Even if the talent is a bit lower, it doesn't matter.

At least they can surpass most Wizards, exceeding peers of the same rank and joining the ranks of the top‑tier super‑humans.

This will certainly take a longer time; you won't see results in just a few years.

Lei En previously found it troublesome and costly, so he never entertained the idea; now that he wants to win over Ouroin Master, he can give it a try. The longer the plan takes, the better, as it will keep Ouroin Master in Ge La Mogen for several more years—the longer, the better!

A barely perceptible smile lifted the corner of his mouth.

"Master, what do you think of An Weila's strength?" Lei En asked softly.

"Quite good."

Ouroin's gaze fell on An Weila, and he smiled, "Although I haven't seen her act in person, my eyes tell me her talent is extremely rare, and like me she follows a path of balanced development of strength and agility."

He did not hold back praise, "Aside from you, An Weila is the most promising combat Wizard I've seen in a hundred years."

Being praised as "quite good" by a Holy Soul Wizard is already very rare.

And she's also the founder of the combat Wizards!

"Thank you, Master." An Weila felt very pleased, a hint of shyness on her face, her slightly pointed ears trembling gently; she lowered her head and whispered, "It's thanks to the teacher's good teaching."

Lei En also displayed a smug smile.

"Master, earlier at Bu Lu Wozi, when you asked how I cultivated her, I said it was An Weila's talent, but I didn't tell the whole truth." He tossed out a bait.

"Oh?" Ouroin raised an eyebrow.

Sure enough, he took the bait.

"Master must have sensed something, right?" Lei En continued, "I have seven students; their talents are comparable to An Weila's, even better. Doesn't that strike you as odd, Master?"

"I have indeed suspected it," Ouroin nodded, "The other students can be explained by good talent, but a combat Wizard isn't necessarily strong just because of talent. You yourself are a combat Wizard, An Weila is a combat Wizard; producing two strong combat Wizards in succession, I've never seen before—this cannot be a coincidence."

He gave Lei En a deep look, curiously asking, "Do you possess some unique method for cultivating combat Wizards?"

"Master, your insight is like a lamp; you indeed guessed correctly." Lei En laughed.

Ouroin's eyes flickered slightly, "Can you tell me?"

"Why not?" Lei En chose his words carefully, half‑truthfully saying, "Master, I was born with a keen intuition; when two demon souls are placed together, I can sense whether they conflict and the degree of that conflict…"

"Really?" Ouroin stood up abruptly.

The Holy Soul Wizard was excited, his gaze fixed on Lei En, looking astonished.

The ability Lei En described is too amazing!

Demon‑soul conflict is the most vexing problem for all human super‑humans, without exception; previously one could only rely on predecessors' personal trials to gather experience. However, Ai Lun E Si's demon souls are countless, and even souls of the same species may not fit past experience, often leading to accidents; fusion then depends on luck.

A combat Wizard's strength further depends on the degree of demon‑soul integration; if one can know in advance whether conflict will occur, the biggest hurdle is solved.

"Naturally it's true," Lei En replied earnestly.

"There truly exists such a wondrous ability in the world!" Ouroin exclaimed, steadied himself, sat down, and thought, "No wonder Lei En's strength is so great!"

No wonder Lei En could cultivate An Weila!

He immediately thought, if he could borrow Lei En's ability, could he mass‑produce more powerful combat Wizards?

(End of Chapter)