Chapter 107

Ma Genusi chuckled, took out an ancient pocket watch from the inside of his robe, opened it, and glanced at the time:

"Since it is still early, I think we can talk about some more in-depth topics."

Luo En felt slightly surprised but quickly nodded in agreement.

"How much do you know about extraordinary organizations outside the Black Fog Jungle?" Ma Genusi asked suddenly.

"Not much; Lady Ailan mentions some occasionally, but they are all very brief."

Luo En answered truthfully, and at the same time, his heart stirred; this old potion master clearly wanted to tell him some important information, and it must have something to do with Lady Ailan.

"Then, have you heard of the Crystal Spire?"

"I have heard Lady Ailan mention it a few times, and the books in the school also have records, but the information is not complete; it only records that it is an extraordinary gathering place larger than the Black Fog School." Luo En recalled.

Ma Genusi nodded, his eyes becoming distant:

"The Crystal Spire... that is one of the most glorious wizard organizations on the Huanyuan Continent group, located in the central fertile land, where the magic concentration is more than five times that of the Black Fog Jungle."

Huanyuan Continent group... Luo En narrowed his eyes slightly; he noticed that the other party mentioned another larger geographical term, but did not mean to explain it in detail.

The old man stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the black fog-shrouded forest in the distance:

"In fact, the Black Fog School is nominally affiliated with the Crystal Spire, considered one of its peripheral branches. But due to geographical isolation, this subordinate relationship is not particularly strong."

Luo En was thoughtful: "Then why would wizards choose to come to the Black Fog Jungle instead of going to the Crystal Spire, which has richer resources?"

"That is a good question." Ma Genusi turned around, a flash of approval in his eyes:

"Do you know? Lady Ailan and I, as well as many old-generation wizards you see here, were actually members of the Crystal Spire."

Luo En's eyes lit up; this information matched Lady Ailan's previous vague hints.

Ma Genusi sighed: "Young man, you should have already started to come into contact with advanced meditation methods, so you should already have a preliminary understanding of spiritual pollution, right?"

"Yes, Lady Ailan told me that it is an incurable disease that wizards cannot avoid contracting during meditation and experiments."

"Not only that." Ma Genusi's voice became deeper:

"The accumulation speed of spiritual pollution is directly related to the magic concentration of the surrounding environment. The more concentrated the magic, the faster the erosion speed of spiritual pollution."

As he spoke, he pointed to the distance again, probably the west:

"The magic concentration of the Crystal Spire is five times that of here, and the spiritual pollution that wizards there endure during daily meditation is at least three times more than here."

Luo En suddenly realized: "So you and Lady Ailan..."

"You guessed right; for those of us who are already old and have no possibility of moving upward, the Black Fog Jungle is a good place for retirement."

Ma Genusi laughed at himself: "Of course, a more direct reason is that we failed in the struggle of the Crystal Spire and were marginalized."

Luo En took the opportunity to raise another question: "However, Lady Ailan once mentioned 'Grace', saying that it is an important means to resist spiritual pollution."

"Oh... she even told you about 'Grace'." Ma Genusi nodded, confirming his guess:

"You are right; Grace can indeed delay spiritual pollution, but in places with extremely high magic concentration, even with the help of Grace, the accumulation speed will be astonishingly fast."

He suddenly changed the subject and talked about a seemingly unrelated topic: "By the way, do you know how long a formal wizard lives?"

Luo En shook his head; with his permission, he could basically not find much information related to formal wizards in the public materials in the school.

"In the case of no spiritual pollution outbreak, the most ordinary formal wizard can live to at least three hundred years old."

Ma Genusi turned around slowly: "And those who are slightly stronger, or wizards who have undergone physical transformation, can reach the limit lifespan of five hundred years, until the decay of the soul essence."

This number shocked his heart—five hundred years of life was enough to witness the rise and fall of a mortal kingdom.

"Of course, the premise of all this is that spiritual pollution does not break out in advance."

Ma Genusi added, a flash of vigilance in his eyes:

"Many wizards have not lived to the end of their natural lifespan but were backlashed by the pollution they accumulated halfway, either crazy, or distorted, or... worse."

After a moment of silence, Ma Genusi's expression became softer:

"However, you don't need to worry too much about these for now. With your talent and Lady Ailan's guidance, the road ahead will be very long."

After sighing, he put down the teacup and changed the subject: "Speaking of which, I am going to organize a small potion master gathering in half a month; are you interested in participating?"

"Potion master gathering?"

This was clearly an opportunity for the other party to intentionally give him to build connections and exchange knowledge.

"Yes, it is held once every quarter; the scale is not large, just a dozen like-minded peers gathering together to exchange recent research insights, and sometimes they will exchange some formulas they are interested in."

Ma Genusi explained, a trace of expectation in his eyes: "For a newly promoted potion master, this is a good opportunity to meet some old seniors in the industry."

"I am very interested, Master Ma Genusi." Luo En nodded immediately and agreed: "I am very willing to participate in this gathering."

"Great, then see you at the 'Cedar Hall' in the North District of the school on the afternoon of the second Wednesday next."

Ma Genusi nodded with satisfaction, his beard trembling slightly: "Bring some formulas you have improved yourself; everyone will be very interested."

A flash of scrutiny crossed his eyes: "I heard that the potions you prepared for Trish had very good effects; perhaps you can bring one or two samples to display."

Luo En was shocked; he didn't expect Ma Genusi to be so clear about even such a small matter.

"I will prepare it, Master." He responded respectfully.

Ma Genusi finished the last sip of tea and stood up: "I won't disturb your work, young man; I look forward to seeing your research results at the gathering."

His gaze stopped on the tree spirit in the corner in the distance:

"For an assistant, a tree spirit is indeed a good choice; their perception ability for plants is a rare help in potion refining."

Luo En smiled slightly: "Yes, Ailan has already helped me a lot."

"Ailan?" Ma Genusi raised his eyebrows: "You have already named it? Interesting; most people only use them as tools, forgetting that tree spirits are also intelligent creatures."

The old man nodded slightly, as if satisfied with Luo En's attitude toward the potion assistant: "Treat it well, and it will reward you more."

After sending Ma Genusi away, Luo En returned to the laboratory.

His gaze fell on the scroll on the table, Ma Genusi's gift—the formula for "Sun Flame Extract."

Luo En carefully unfolded the scroll and began to study this precious material in detail.

The formula structure was clear, and every step was marked with precise dosage and time, and even the substitutes for various materials were explained in detail, showing the writer's care.

As the reading deepened, Luo En's eyes became brighter and brighter.

This formula was even more exquisite than he had imagined; not only was the material selection well-considered, but the hints for various configuration timings were also extremely precise.

"Perfect to the point that it is almost difficult for me to improve... Master Ma Genusi is indeed a potion professor who came from the central fertile land."

Luo En praised in a low voice, and at the same time, a bold idea appeared in his heart:

If he could combine this potion with the bloodline activation potion he was currently researching, perhaps he could solve the directionality problem he was currently facing.

The two potions were theoretically complementary—"Sun Flame Extract" focused on blood and energy activation and yang energy guidance, while the bloodline activation potion focused on awakening dormant genetic potential.

"The key lies in the 'yang energy' guidance medium."

Luo En muttered to himself, his eyes flickering with the light of thinking:

"Sun Flame Extract can activate and strengthen the yang energy in the body, and this happens to be the essential characteristic of the Sun Flame Dragon bloodline."

He quickly grabbed a pen and recorded this inspiration in his notebook:

"Use Sun Flame Extract as a guidance medium for bloodline factors, and through yang energy resonance, precisely activate the bloodline fragments related to the Sun Flame Dragon."

After his train of thought was clear, Luo En immediately picked up his pen and wrote a short letter to Andre, telling him his new idea.

"... This formula will help us solve the problem of unclear bloodline activation direction. I already have a preliminary plan, but I need you to come over to discuss the details. If everything goes well, we might be able to complete the refining of the first batch of samples within two weeks..."

After finishing the letter, Luo En looked at the experimental products and notes on the table with satisfaction.

Today's harvest exceeded expectations; Ma Genusi's visit not only brought a precious formula but also opened a door to a wider network of connections.

When night fell, only a few candles were still burning in the workshop, and Luo En still did not stop to rest.

He picked up the ironwood sword and began his daily sword training; the wooden sword drew beautiful arcs in the air, making a slight whistling sound.

As the breathing body-forging reached the proficient layer, his control over the sword was no longer what it used to be.

Every movement was like flowing water, precise and powerful, as if the sword had become an extension of his body.

He could feel the flow of energy in his body, changing direction with the change of the sword momentum, forming a unique rhythm.

But strangely, the experience value of basic sword art still stubbornly stayed at that last point, refusing to break through.

【Current progress: Basic Sword Art (Proficient 99/100)】

"Why can't I break through?" Luo En frowned and asked himself, putting down the wooden sword in his hand, the sweat on his forehead sliding down his cheeks.

He carefully recalled every sword style, the coordination of every breath and movement, and even every subtle angle of his wrist.

Every style and every move of the basic sword art had been memorized, and the muscle memory was so firm that he could almost complete the whole set of movements with his eyes closed.

Everything looked impeccable, but he just couldn't take that last step.

After thinking for a long time, Luo En suddenly thought of a possible reason—lack of actual combat experience.

Theoretically, the highest realm of sword art was not in the moves themselves, but in the state of "heart and sword as one."

That was an instinctive reaction honed between life and death.

And his training, although strict and systematic, always stayed at the formal and theoretical level, lacking the test of real combat.

"But there is no need to rashly go outside to fight to the death with monsters or extraordinary races just to seek a breakthrough..." Luo En fell into entanglement.

After working so hard for so long, he finally became a professional potion master in the school, and now everything was stable and improving, he would not be stupid enough to seek any life-and-death excitement.

"Let's see, there will always be a turning point; ask Andre when he comes tomorrow."

The next morning, Luo En and Andre chatted casually about the recent situation, and then started to get straight to the point, asking him about the problem that the sword art was difficult to break through for a long time.

"Well..." Andre touched his chin and thought for a while:

"If we were still in the kingdom, we could ask those sword art masters to give you a guidance battle, but obviously there is no such environment here."

(End of chapter)