I reign supreme in the Western fantasy world for eternity.

Days passed by like this.

In spring, the hillside behind the manor was covered in wildflowers. Elena asked Ji Tian to go with her to pick them, saying she wanted to make dried flower bookmarks. Ji Tian was circulating his internal energy while picking flowers, which earned him a scolding from Elena.

"Are you here to pick flowers or to practice your martial arts?"

"at the same time."

"And what about the flowers you picked?"

"...I forgot."

In the summer, the wooden dummy on the training field was scorching hot. Ji Tian had punched it all over, and Elena stood under the eaves watching him, holding a glass of ice water. She drank half of it, forgetting to drink the other half.

Ji Tian later told her, "You can give me the ice water." Elena blushed and asked, "What do you want to do?" Ji Tian replied, "Ice water will help me temper my body." Elena was so angry that she splashed the remaining half cup on his face.

The body tempering effect was at least achieved.

In autumn, when the first leaf falls, the season completes its first full cycle.

He didn't tell anyone, but during dinner that day, Elena suddenly said, "You look different today."

Ji Tian casually made up an excuse, saying, "It might be a lighting issue." Elena snorted and didn't press the matter, but that night, she had the kitchen prepare extra supplements for him.

In winter, the fire in the fireplace burned brightly. Elena sat on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, while Ji Tian sat on the floor beside her, leaning against the sofa leg.

She read her books, he practiced his alchemy. Outside the window, snow fell layer upon layer, and inside the house, only the sound of turning pages and crackling firewood could be heard.

Once, Elena looked down and found him with his eyes closed. Thinking he was asleep, she gave him half of the blanket. Ji Tian opened his eyes and said, "I'm meditating," and Elena pulled the blanket back.

One year.

Two years.

Three years.

The wildflowers behind the manor bloomed and faded, faded and bloomed again.

Three wooden dummy stakes were replaced in the training field.

Elena has grown from a little girl into a young woman; the naivety in her eyes has faded, replaced by a more serene demeanor.

She no longer used "humph" to mask all her emotions, but occasionally she still would, especially when Ji Tian said something that left her speechless.

Ji Tian has grown from a boy into a young man. He has grown much taller, his shoulders are broader, and his fingers are longer, but he is still quite thin.

Elena mocked him, saying he was "like a bamboo pole that can't be blown down by the wind." Ji Tian replied, "Bamboo poles have their advantages too." Elena asked him what the advantages were, and he explained, "Low center of gravity, so it's not easy to fall over." Elena rolled her eyes.

Four years.

Five years.

Ji Tian began to train in the Viscount's territory and the surrounding area, but he would still return to Elena's place, like a house cat that likes to go out to find food.

Along the way, he saved some people, took in some disciples, and founded a sect called "Fenglingyueying".

In the sixth year, Ji Tian used forbidden-level magic for the first time.

It happened on a wasteland three hundred miles from the lord's manor, where a goblin tribe had massacred three villages. When Ji Tian arrived, the fire in the last village was still burning.

He stood amidst the ruins, gazing at the charred corpses scattered across the ground, and remained silent for a long time.

Then he closed his eyes and recited a spell that no one had ever heard before.

Three days later, all the goblins in that area began to kill each other and die suddenly.

A month later, the entire race completely disappeared from the eastern part of the human kingdom.

Nobody knows who did it.

The Adventurers' Guild classifies it as "Forbidden Spell"—a spell that can only be cast by Archmages and above.

The church's investigation team came and went, finding nothing.

Only Elena knew.

The day Ji Tian returned, she didn't ask him where he had been. She simply glanced at him and then brought dinner to him.

"Eat more," she said, propping her chin up with one hand and poking his cheek with the other. "You've lost weight."

Ji Tian didn't say anything and continued eating with his head down.

That night, he sat on the roof of the manor, looking at the starry sky above.

Elena had climbed up at some point and sat down next to him, her skirt covered in dust, but she didn't care.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked.

"I've been thinking about it for six years."

"Yeah, it's been six years."

"You said before that your father sent you here to hide you."

"Um."

"Are those who want to marry you still eyeing you? I'm already at the peak of the Golden Core stage, half a step into the Nascent Soul realm. If you have any trouble that needs to be eliminated, just come to me."

Elena was silent for a moment. "They should still be there. It's just not in such a hurry anymore."

Why?

"Because—" she paused, "because a mysterious archmage has appeared in the eastern border of the kingdom, and the church and the capital are both focused on this matter, so they don't have time to bother with a nobody like me."

Ji Tian turned to look at her.

Elena didn't look at him; she stared at the distant stars.

"Do you think," she asked softly, "that archmage will stay in the Eastern Territory forever?"

"No," Ji Tian replied.

How did you know?

"I guessed."

Elena turned to look at him. The moonlight shone on her face, making her eyes bright.

"Are you sure you're right?"

"good."

Elena stared at him for a few seconds.

"Ji Tian".

"Um?"

"Six years."

"Um."

"You said you were going to create your own power," she said. "Did you create it?"

Ji Tian thought for a moment.

"I guess so."

What does "consider" mean?

"I have a few people who follow me in cultivation. Not many, but enough."

"Where?"

"exist--"

"Forget it, don't tell me," Elena interrupted him. "The less I know, the better."

Ji Tian glanced at her but didn't say anything.

They sat side by side on the roof, looking at the starry sky above, the night wind blowing from the wasteland, carrying the scent of earth and withered grass.

"Ji Tian".

"Um?"

"If you leave in the future, will you come back?"

Ji Tian didn't answer immediately. He thought for a moment and then said, "Yes."

Why?

"Because someone here owes me something."

Elena paused, taken aback. "Who owes you?"

"you."

What do I owe you?

"You owe me an answer," Ji Tian said seriously. "Six years ago, you said 'I'll think about it,' but you still haven't told me the result of your consideration."

Elena stared at him for three seconds, her eyelashes fluttering slightly, and a smile spread from her eyes like moonlight falling on a forest floor.

The laugh was very soft, like a sigh in the night wind.

"Then you'll just have to wait and see," she said, her cheeks slightly flushed. "I haven't made up my mind yet."

"Then take your time to think it over," Ji Tian comforted him. "I'm not in a hurry."

"Aren't cultivators in a hurry?"

"There's no use rushing it. Breakthroughs should happen naturally; forcing them can easily lead to disastrous consequences."

"...Could you please stop bringing up cultivation in everything?"

"cannot."

Elena couldn't help but chuckle softly, her laughter clear and melodious like a spring in the forest.

They sat there until the moon reached its highest point.

…………

A week later.

Kold, a fortress in the western frontier.

The city wall was built of whole blocks of gray granite, twenty zhang high and eight zhang thick. Every fifty steps there was an arrow tower on the city wall, with the banner of the Duke of the West flying on the top of the tower: a black eagle with outstretched wings, fluttering in the wind.

The city was built between two mountain passes, serving as the last crucial line of defense for the empire in the west.

Further west lies a vast wasteland stretching for thousands of miles, beyond which lies the territory of the Demon King's army.

Ji Tian stood at the city gate and looked up at the arrow tower on the city wall.

Six years ago, he first heard the words "Demon King's Army" from a merchant at the village post station.

Six years later, he stood before this fortified city that faced the Demon King's army.

time flies.

Today he wore an ordinary gray linen coat, leather boots, and a blunt iron sword hanging at his waist, purely for show.

He looked like an ordinary, penniless adventurer who had just arrived in the Westerlands to try his luck.

In reality, he didn't have much money.

The construction of the sect's base exhausted all the savings he had accumulated over the years from his chivalrous deeds.

The magic crystals for the mountain-protecting formation, the disciples' equipment, daily expenses... Although the Wind Spirit Moon Shadow Sect only has five disciples, supporting a sect is much more expensive than supporting a family.

So, besides "seeing what the brave squad leader is like," he came to Kold City for a more practical reason: his cultivation had reached a bottleneck, and he urgently needed a greater challenge and more resources.

The Adventurers' Guild's hall was larger than he had imagined.

It is three stories high, with several huge crystal chandeliers hanging from the top, but they are not lit during the day. Natural light pours down from the high arched windows, illuminating the entire space.

Directly opposite the main entrance was a long row of counters, behind which sat seven or eight receptionists, each with a queue in front of them.

Several huge notice boards were nailed to the left wall, covered with colorful task lists. The ones at the top had to be tilted up to be seen—they listed prices for monster cores and rewards for hunting dragons.

To the right is a wall of honor, inlaid with portraits of past S-class adventurers, with their achievements engraved densely below the portraits.

The air was filled with the smells of leather, rust, sweat, and some kind of unidentifiable herbal medicine, and the cacophony of voices bubbled and gurgled like boiling soup.

Someone was shouting, "Who saw my quest sheet?", someone was arguing about who should own a magic crystal core, and in the corner, two dwarves were laughing so loudly for some unknown reason that it sounded like they were going to lift the floor off the ground.

Ji Tian waited in line for a while. When it was his turn, the receptionist was a young girl with a ponytail, her hair tied up, blonde hair and blue eyes, but her eyes already looked very tired.

They were clearly worn down by the people in front of them.

"Name?"

"Li Feiyu".

"Your surname is Li?"

"Yes, his surname is Li, and his given name is Feiyu." Ji Tian casually gave an alias.

"Profession?"

"A magician."

The receptionist looked up at him.

Ji Tian looked to be under twenty years old. He was dressed simply and had neither the badge of the Mage Association nor a staff on his body.

"Mage level?"

"I didn't pass the test."

"Then how do you prove you're a magician?"

Ji Tian extended his right hand, palm facing up.

There is no spell.

There is no staff.

No spellcasting action was performed.

He just "thought about it"—and then the flames came.

It wasn't an ordinary fireball.

The flame burned quietly above his palm, almost white in color with a faint golden tinge at the edges, as if it had been highly compressed by some kind of force.

It makes no sound, doesn't jump, and is as stable as if time has stood still.

The receptionist's eyes widened.

She worked here for five years and saw countless magicians display fire: chanting spells, waving wands, drawing talismans, and even awkwardly dancing.

But I've never seen anything like this before.

There was no magical fluctuation.

There is no trace of model building.

The flames appeared "out of thin air," as if they were always meant to be there.

Several people nearby noticed it, and someone whistled.

"Alright, alright," the receptionist quickly handed over the registration form. "You can fill out this one."

Ji Tian extinguished the flames, took the registration form, and leaned against the counter to fill it out.

The table is very simple: name, age, occupation, area of ​​expertise, and past performance.

He paused for a moment in the "Past Records" column, and finally wrote: "None".

The receptionist took the form, glanced at it, her lips twitched, but she didn't say anything.

"This is your adventurer's nameplate." She handed over a bronze plaque with a number engraved on it. "Newcomers are all at the F level. To level up, you need to complete quests to accumulate points. Of course, you can also exchange magic crystals obtained from hunting monsters for points."

"understood."

Ji Tian didn't pay any attention and simply put the nameplate into his pocket.

He wasn't in a hurry to leave.

A short while later.

A commotion arose at the doorway.

"Here it comes!"

"The Hero has arrived!"

"Get out of the way! Get out of the way!"