Full-Time Magister: I Had No Intention of Reaching the Dimensional Throne

"A brief history of half of the last human civilization?" Bai Mo repeated, looking at Lingling.

Why do you say that?

Lingling paused, gathered her thoughts, and then continued:

"Bai Mo, I wonder if you've ever wondered just how long human history is, and whether there was another era of humanity before us."

Bai Mo nodded, which was considered an answer to Lingling's first question. He glanced at the golden leaves covering the ground.

"You mean these things, the relics of a generation of humans before us, from who knows how long ago?"

Lingling nodded emphatically, her face beaming with excitement at discovering a great secret.

"That's right! Do you remember those murals we saw when we were searching for the Vermilion Bird's Seven Mansions totem, those scenes of a raging flood? Actually, the legend of the world-ending flood exists in our present-day Kyushu, as well as in Western countries, and even in the Americas and Australia."

Lingling pointed to the gold leaf beside her and continued:

"This records a world-ending flood, just like the flood we see in the murals of the Vermilion Bird and the Seven Mansions, which submerged the entire world."

At that time, in order to save themselves and ensure the continuation of civilization, the people of this land created this secret realm before the flood arrived, thus leaving behind their legacy.

Lingling's eyes held a quiet contemplation, as if she were telling Bai Mo a story, or perhaps murmuring to herself.

"No living creatures can survive in the secret realm, so they left behind only their legacy, hoping that any survivors can find it."

"A Brief History in Half a Step" is somewhat similar to our history textbooks, except that it mostly records the process of this civilization's final self-salvation.

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo fell silent. Although Lingling's words were simple, they were already quite tragic.

"What else did they do to save themselves?"

"It's probably a battle with a siren." Lingling's eyes flickered slightly.

"I'm not sure if it's a siren; in the texts they're called sea creatures."

Did they succeed?

"I don't know, it's not written on it."

Bai Mo nodded slightly. He had learned about the sea monsters' longing for land from the old Vermilion Bird.

At the time when Suzaku was born, there were no humans.

Clearly, this major flood was not caused by the one in Jianggu.

Bai Mo was deep in thought when he noticed Lingling staring intently at him.

After he cast a questioning look at her, Lingling finally spoke:

"It contains some information about your summoning talent, which was called the Primordial Contract back then. In the early days of human civilization, this was an ability that everyone would awaken."

Their summoning magic is also unique; it hardly relies on self-awakening, as if they were born with it.

This talent only gradually became rare towards the end of human civilization.

"Why is that?" Bai Mo couldn't help but ask curiously.

"I don't know. It says something about evil pollution and the erosion of time, but it's vague. However, it seems to touch on the reasons for the birth of humankind."

Lingling frowned involuntarily as she recalled that description.

"The purpose of the Return to Origin Contract, as described above, is to allow demons to return to their original state and, at the same time, to acquire some of the powers possessed by demons."

"Returning to the origin..." Bai Mo murmured to himself upon hearing these four words. He suddenly remembered what Jingwei had said to him when he broke through to the summoning system's super-tier in the Taihang Mountains.

His summoned beast was transforming into a totem, and it already had totem radiance on its body.

If "returning to one's origin" refers to this, then there are actually quite a few totem beasts, which may very well have been bred by humans!

Thinking of this, Bai Mo raised his head in disbelief.

"Yes, returning to the origin means turning demons into totem beasts. It also says that humans call themselves the king of all beasts."

Lingling nodded, her expression still very serious.

"I don't know what the connection is between the two, it's not written above, but based on the article, I speculate that demons and totems should be related."

Bai Mo shook his head.

"Leaving aside the issue of connections, if some totem beasts really did originate from this, then it's not surprising."

Lingling nodded. Although Bai Mo hadn't finished speaking, she understood why.

No wonder totem beasts protect humans; no wonder some totems can even forgive human betrayal; no wonder the relationship between totems and humans is now so complex.

No wonder the descendants of totemists turned into demons.

In general, although Bai Mo and Lingling's conversation was short, it conveyed a general message.

That is, before the current stage of human civilization, there may have been a beast-taming civilization, or a civilization that mainly used summoning magic.

They possess a Primordial Contract, which grants them power by binding with demons.

Moreover, their Origin Return Contract seems to be better than Bai Mo's.

Because Lingling didn't mention any restrictions, such as the requirement that it must be a single-attribute demon.

There are also things like the requirement that the growth potential of demon bloodlines be high.

Humans who possess a Primordial Contract nurture summoned beasts into totem beasts.

This sounds like something truly incredible these days.

On the other hand, Bai Mo felt that this kind of training was not simple.

After all, he could compare himself to them. The Wind Spirits and the others have some totem characteristics, but they are not yet totems.

At most, they would be considered descendants of totems.

However, in the end, this civilization seems to have declined and even disappeared because of its struggle against the great flood.

It's been such a long time, without professional verification, that Lingling also has a hard time determining how long ago it happened.

And time can change so many things.

That's the general situation. I'll organize the information and send you a copy so you can take a look.

Lingling's voice broke Bai Mo's reverie.

Bai Mo nodded, having no objection.

Some details would go on and on, and it's better to see them for yourself than to hear Lingling tell you.

Moreover, I've already learned most of the general situation and the things I wanted to know.

"Let's go out now." Bai Mo paused, took out the small silver stone, and handed it to Lingling.

"I obtained it during my seclusion in the tree hollow. There are some things inside, along with descriptions, but I can't understand the descriptions."

Lingling rolled her eyes. This guy only knew how to boss people around, but she still reached out and took it.

Bai Mo immediately summoned Da Ju to carry Ling Ling on his back.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, he gathered up the gold leaves scattered on the ground and neatly arranged Lingling's draft, placing it beside her.

The two then headed towards the exit of the secret realm.

Four masks were re-embedded on the human face above the door, and the bronze gate slowly opened.

······

Shanghai, Qingtian Hunting Grounds.

Back in the city, Bai Mo realized he had been away for nearly ten days.

Sitting on the sofa, Lingling and Bai Mo had a lot of things on the coffee table in front of them, all of which were taken out of the silver stone.

"This metal, which is similar to bronze, is called Chaos Gold. It is a kind of..." Lingling paused for a moment, seemingly considering how to describe it aptly.

"It is a particularly abnormal metal. Its hardness depends on the amount of energy injected during forging. If a forbidden-level energy core can be incorporated during forging, it can even reach the level of an emperor."

Lingling was quite excited when she said this, because this metal was already incredible.

Bai Mo was also somewhat surprised. Thinking of the bronze beasts all over the city, he could only think of two words at this moment.

"waste!"

Unfortunately, these metals cannot be reused after being cast once.

Lingling had examined the bronze fragments that Bai Mo had brought out.

Bai Mo took a shallow breath and looked at the other things on the table.

"Let's talk about something else, Lingling."

"Just think of this pile as elemental diamonds; they serve the same purpose. They're probably being kept for you to forge Chaos Gold."

Lingling glanced at the various stones that looked like jade, her eyes sparkling yet filled with disdain.

Then they started introducing those things one by one, finally settling on a small stone that Bai Mo hadn't noticed before.

The stone is black, with a hint of white crystalline color.

"This is quartz, a dark mineral. Legend has it that the Dark King was fond of it. It's a pity you're not a dark mage, otherwise it might be of some use."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo didn't say anything, but Old Man Bao, who was lying on the other side of the tea table, glanced over and said quietly:

"Do not summon the Dark Lord lightly."

"I understand," Bai Mo said.

Lingling hesitated for a moment, looked at the thumb-sized piece of quartz, and continued:

"The description of the origin of quartz above is quite strange, saying that it is a derivative of the origin stone."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo's relaxed expression immediately froze, his face turning serious. He sat up straight and asked:

"Lingling, what did you say?!"

"The above description states that SiO2 is a derivative of the origin stone."

Every word of those words sounded like a thunderclap to Bai Mo, so loud it could blast his soul out of his body.

He certainly knew what Si Shi Ying was, and he knew even more about what the Origin Stone was.

But the two things were actually connected, something he had never known before.

Quartz is a derivative of the origin stone. What did it evolve into?

Origin Stones evolve only according to rules. Quartz is a dark mineral, and naturally it evolves according to the laws of darkness, thus becoming a byproduct.

Conversely, there is almost no quartz available today.

This is precisely because Origin Stones are almost nonexistent.

The Tianshan Mountains have been found to contain quartz, or more precisely, the Tianshan Traces.

If there is quartz here, then is there an origin stone?

That thing, the ancient king used a piece the size of an egg to create the necromancy that belonged to Kyushu.

Bai Mo also wanted to use it to search for more possibilities in dimensional magic.

If there are still Origin Stones.

A cold hand touched his neck, the chilling sensation instantly bringing Bai Mo back to his senses.

"Hey, what are you thinking about? I'm talking to you." Lingling took her hand back expressionlessly.

Bai Mo glanced at him, his gaze settling on his face.

"What did you say?"

"Mo Fan messaged me yesterday, asking me to investigate the matter concerning Si Shiying."

"You want me to give this to him."

Lingling nodded, then shook her head. "When I replied to the message yesterday, I hadn't seen the stone yet. He received my information and had already set off for Tianshan."

"So you mean..."

"Should we go to Tianshan too!" Lingling's eyes lit up. Tianshan was a thrilling and unseemly place.

Seeing Bai Mo's somewhat teasing expression, Lingling coughed lightly and continued:

"Mo Fan is looking for Si Shiying to save Mu Bai. He might not be able to find her. That would be a good opportunity for us to lend a hand. Even if he does find her, one piece might not be enough."

"I can tell. If Lingling can't go to Tianshan, Mu Bai is doomed." Bai Mo nodded seriously.

Lingling rolled her eyes, then couldn't help but laugh out loud.

"Just tell me if you're going or not?"

As Lingling spoke, she took out a stone slab from the silver stone and pointed to the picture on it, saying:

"This is a map, and the place it shows is located in the Tianshan Mountains. I feel that there should be a site of the Beast Taming Civilization here."

That civilization was based on summoned beasts, so Lingling called it the Beast Taming Civilization.

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo's eyes lit up, and he immediately said:

"I'll take a couple of days off, then I'll assemble a team to handle some things."

"Okay, I just happen to be preparing some materials."

Bai Mo first sent Feng Zhoulong the data on his use of fusion magic over this period of time.

Later, when they arrived at Huo Tuo's location, they gave him a small piece of Chaos Gold and asked him to study it.

"Is this thing really as amazing as you say?"

"You'll find out once you take a look, but I'll only give you this one piece to study."

"Alright, it's been a long time since I've seen such a rare material." Huo Tuo's bright eyes never left Chaos Gold. He picked up the small metal and turned to walk towards the laboratory.

"Hey, wait a minute." Bai Mo quickly pulled him back. "Don't rush, I haven't finished yet. Once you've finished your research, design a set of magical tools for me, using Chaos Gold as the main material."

Huo Tuo waved his hand to indicate that he knew.

Bai Mo's set of magical artifacts had long been ruined and had not been replaced.

So after learning about the characteristics of Chaos Gold, his first thought was to create a set of magical tools.

He didn't have the Chaos Gold technology used by the Beast Taming Civilization, but he was also very skilled in modern human magic tool forging techniques.

Moreover, after reading Lingling's translation of half of the history of civilization, Bai Mo felt that their use of Chaos Gold was entirely aimed at creating steampunk-style mecha.

Magic tools and artifacts do not exist.

After leaving the Pearl Tower, Bai Mo met someone.

The girl was wearing a black long trench coat, which was unbuttoned to reveal a half-collar knit sweater underneath, along with black wide-leg trousers. Her ankle boots made her already slender legs look even more shapely.

The clouds were half-covered, and the sunlight shone on his face, making his fair skin appear even whiter. Although his neck was partially obscured, it remained long and fair.

It's as if they're gazing at the moonlight.

Her hair was cool, delicate, and clear, with long, flowing hair pulled back into a bun.

Paired with slightly sleek, cool-toned clothing, a cool, serene feeling, like white moonlight, becomes even more prominent.

This kind of aloof style of dress was something Bai Mo had never seen on Ding Yumin before.

"Why are you here?"

"I just came back from the beach and happened to be passing by. I saw you going upstairs when I was buying water."

Ding Yumin spoke softly, handing him one of the two glasses of lemonade she was carrying.

"Your eyesight is pretty good."

Bai Mo glanced at the men and women in the lobby who were pretending to chat or conduct business, but were actually secretly observing them. He smiled and took the item, then led her outside.

"Of course," Ding Yumin said.

"You look great today."

"Did I dress badly before?"

"It looked good before, but it looks good in a different way today."

Ding Yumin naturally knew what he meant. Aside from when she was doing cosplay with this lecherous guy, her daily style was usually casual, simple, and with a touch of quiet freshness, a forest-style aesthetic. This time, however, she appeared to be a cool and aloof goddess.

"Since the beaches in Shanghai recently opened, some hunters keep coming to me. Dressing like this will reduce a lot of trouble."

Bai Mo raised an eyebrow. "A beating will do the trick."

Ding Yumin ignored those words; he wouldn't do something himself, so why should he ask someone else to do it?

Honestly, how can you even say that?

"Going to school?" Bai Mo asked, not caring whether she answered or not.

"Let's go over there."

Bai Mo nodded and then refrained from using teleportation. Upon reflection, he realized that he rarely took such a leisurely stroll down the street anymore.

He doesn't necessarily have a precise answer as to when exactly, but it's been a long time.

Even though Bai Mo first reclaimed land from the sea and then disrupted the sea monsters' attack rhythm, the changes brought to Shanghai by the rising sea level were still significant.

First of all, there are more people, especially homeless people on the streets.

They may have migrated from other coastal cities, other coastal villages, or even from the banks of some rivers.

Having lost their means of livelihood and having just faced the challenge of an increasingly large city, many people need time to adapt.

The base city plan has been implemented in an orderly manner. With more people, more disputes arise. Under such circumstances, the authorities will not use relatively mild and enlightened governance methods.

Most pedestrians on the street were in a hurry, and an invisible pressure enveloped every corner.

At first, it only sped up people's pace a little, but perhaps when someone discovers it, they will find that they can no longer stop.

Besides these, Bai Mo saw even more teams of city-building magicians.

Some of these people are transforming the old city of Shanghai into new urban areas suitable for more people to live in.

The other part involves the maintenance, updating, and upgrading of the security formation.

It's just unknown whether these Anjie people, those who have been protected by the authorities, Bai Mo, and countless others, will survive the day when disaster strikes Shanghai.

Thinking of this, Bai Mo recalled the first sirens attack that the Demon Capital was about to face: an invasion led by the Sea King Skeleton, with the Dragon King Ant Queen Emperor lurking in the shadows.

That was the siren's test of the Demon City, and Bai Mo thought that he could take this opportunity to test the siren.

"What are you thinking about?" Ding Yumin suddenly sensed that Bai Mo's originally peaceful mood had suddenly turned murderous, and she couldn't help but look at him with a puzzled expression.

She didn't need to look around; she knew there was no danger.

"I'm wondering if sirens will attack Shanghai."

"Of course we will, we'll catch it." Ding Yumin pursed her lips. Her lover, her caring teacher, her younger sister, and her deceased grandmother were all in Shanghai.

How could I possibly abandon this city?

"Let's not talk about that. Here, take this." Bai Mo sensed the heavy atmosphere, so he took out a necklace made of elemental jade that was similar to fire elemental diamonds.

He had Huo Tuo make five of them, all made of fire element jade, which looked like a burning red line, dazzling and gorgeous.

That's why Huo Tuo is considered a master craftsman; his skills are both fast and excellent.

To fire five shots in one go, and do so in a short period of time, is something that not everyone can do.

"What is this?" Ding Yumin asked in confusion as she looked down and helped Bai Mo put the necklace on her.

She could sense the extremely strong fire element, but she could also recognize that this thing was not a fire elemental drill.

Bai Mo briefly explained his trip to the Dark Cave and also mentioned his trip to Tianshan.

"So, you're leaving the day after tomorrow?"

Ding Yumin suddenly said, and seeing that he nodded, she squeezed Bai Mo's hand, "Then let's not go to school, let's go to Mingzhu Courtyard instead."

"What's wrong?" Bai Mo asked, puzzled.

"It's been so long since we slept together." Ding Yumin's face was slightly flushed as she moved closer, her warm breath brushing against Bai Mo's cheek as she whispered:

"I bought black stockings and a camisole, and..."

Bai Mo's breath hitched instantly. He hadn't wanted to, since Ding Yumin's work was quite important and very energy-consuming.

But the cadre who withstood such a test even had handcuffs and ropes.

It's almost time, so he's going to interrogate this woman to find out what she's up to!

The sun, shining brightly in broad daylight, finally dispelled the dark clouds with its warmth, casting its intense rays upon the entire city.

Two people, however, tried to avoid it and hid in a room.

The spring chill lingered, and the birds in the trees dozed off in the sunlight, their movements never ceasing. Meanwhile, Bai Mo remained motionless inside the room.

He didn't care about the handcuffs at all, but it was really fun.

One night, the wind was strong and the waves were high. The already deserted neighborhood was often filled with howling sounds, and there were clanging noises in the courtyard, like metal clashing.

One day, dawn broke.

Bright, blinding light streamed through the window where the curtains had been left drawn. Opening her eyes, Bai Mo discovered that Ding Yumin was gone.

I picked up my phone and glanced at the time; it was 11:07 a.m.

Below the time, there is a floating message for Ding Yumin.

I'm off to work at school now; there's breakfast in the fridge.

It's that same study again; working people really have it tough.

Bai Mo made a couple of sarcastic remarks to himself.

Get up and eat.

He still had four necklaces left to give away, so after finishing his meal, he went to Jinyuan Apartments.

Upon opening the door, the first thing you see is someone, their body tense, lying prone on a yoga mat.

Jiang Shaoxu supported her upper body with both hands and bent backward with force, her lower body pressed tightly against the ground.

The loose-fitting clothes were made of soft fabric and clung tightly to her body.

Bai Mo felt that he could wrap his arm around her slender waist.

The curves of her tummy, shaped like a peach, were outlined.

The curve is full and rounded, and it feels like it would feel even better to dribble than a basketball.

The two clumps were drawn along the direction of gravity, neither too big nor too small.

The sunlight streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows created a bright and airy effect, as if by divine intervention, further enhancing her ethereal beauty.

In addition, the clothes are form-fitting.

It is exactly the preceding line to "A dragonfly had already alighted on it":

The lotus buds are just beginning to emerge.

Bai Mo felt that it might be because he had just woken up in the morning.

I'm always thinking about evaluating the people in front of me.

Yesterday it was raining heavily and the wind was strong; we used up all our umbrellas.

Jiang Shaoxu heard the door open and assumed that Ai Tutu or Mu Nujiao had returned.

She turned her head and saw Bai Mo standing at the door looking at her.

Just as a smile appeared on her face, she noticed him staring intently at her.

I just realized that my current clothes aren't very good.

Her fair face flushed instantly. Ignoring the "last action" message on the television, she dashed into her room. (End of Chapter)