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

Chapter 88 Mountain Spirit

"Can spatial manipulation change the location of the mage casting the spell and the location of the spell he casts?" Bai Mo confirmed.

He had clearly seen it just now: two silver lines suddenly flew out from the star map, connecting Xiao Jun and Lie Quan, and then space flashed, revealing the scene before him.

"That's right, but the range of the intermediate-level magic spatial rhythm is limited. Reversing it won't allow you to achieve instantaneous movement." Xiao Jun nodded and continued explaining.

"Space is ever-changing, and how much we can achieve depends on the wisdom and ingenuity of us space-based mages. Next, I will talk about time lag and compression."

"I believe you can sense it when you use these two spells: spatial time delay and spatial compression. In addition to the control of spatial gravity that we always have, there is also the shrinking and expansion of normal space. These two spatial techniques, when used well, are extremely brilliant."

Next, Xiao Jun demonstrated the application of shrinking and expanding space. She condensed a section of space and threw a fireball in front of her. In an instant, the fireball passed through a large area of ​​the arena and hit the opposite wall.

Then, she pointed to her feet, and endless spatial expansion power surged into the ground. In an instant, deep cracks appeared on the ground.

She then reached out and grabbed at the patch of ground that had been cut into pieces.

A large patch of land flew up and landed directly in the small space in her fair and delicate palm.

Bai Mo stared at Xiao Jun in astonishment, suspecting that this man possessed some kind of hidden power.

"I'm just showing you these techniques. With your current magical power, it's still very difficult for you to do them." Xiao Jun flicked his hand, and the piece of land fell to the ground, exactly the same as when it was put away.

"That's all for today, you can go back now." After saying that, Bai Mo saw a flash of silver light, and Xiao Jun instantly moved away.

Bai Mo's mind was currently focused on only two words: six.

He looked at the piece of land and tried to draw a star map of the space system, condensing a rhombus-shaped space in his palm, and he continued to expand this space.

However, he discovered that after expanding the space to three times the size of his palm, the consumption of magical energy increased exponentially, making it impossible to expand to such a large area.

Therefore, Bai Mo decisively gave up. The application of these skills should be adapted to the times, follow one's heart, and adapt to circumstances. They should be used flexibly for attack, defense, or support when appropriate.

Instead of simply copying the answers from Xiao Jun's demonstration.

Bai Mo was looking forward to learning about spatial arrays later, wondering what Dean Xiao would talk about.

When Bai Mo returned to the classroom, Dean Xiao was already waiting there.

"The knowledge of formations is vast and boundless. At your age, you should focus more on cultivating, gaining experience, and broadening your horizons."

After Bai Mo sat down, Dean Xiao began to speak.

"The purpose of the spatial array course offered by our school is not to make you a master of arrays, but to teach you how to use and create some common and practical spatial arrays."

"The earliest spatial magic arrays were modeled after spatial magic, but you still need to have some basic knowledge of array formations."

Bai Mo was wrong. The knowledge of formations is not interesting. Like mathematics, it is rigorous and cannot be taken lightly. There are many points that need to be memorized and understood.

By the time Dean Xiao had finished explaining the basic theories of formations, it was nearly noon.

Bai Mo was a little surprised. He hadn't expected that spatial arrays, like necromancy, were different in Kyushu than in other countries.

The spatial arrays of the Nine Provinces emphasize harmony between heaven and man, and the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches, resulting in natural and dynamic movements. In contrast, the spatial arrays of the West are angular and full of rules and boundaries.

After finishing the brain-numbing array theory class, Bai Mo sat on the second floor of the cafeteria, looking out at the lake, and cleared his mind.

He planned to go back and check on the hollow willow tree. As he rode his bicycle along the road, he saw a woman calling out loudly in the street, calling someone's name.

She looked extremely unwell, and her expression seemed somewhat insane. Judging from the conversation of the elderly people on the roadside, it seemed that her child had gone missing some time ago, and she would come here every day at this time to call for him.

Bai Mo was neither a champion of justice nor an angel to save humanity. Finding missing persons was the duty of the police. He glanced at the scene and continued on his way.

The length of a day is fixed, and so is the length of a three-month period.

Today is the winter solstice. The maple leaves in the yard have fallen thickly, lying on the ground in a red carpet. The glutinous rice balls in the bowl are steaming, with wisps of white mist rolling around them.

"Why didn't my brother-in-law come?" Ding Yunwu warmed her hands by touching the scalding bowl and looked at her sister beside her in confusion.

"He also needs to spend time with his family."

She replied softly, and Ding Yumin, sitting in the pavilion in the courtyard, looked at the broken glutinous rice ball in the bowl, scooped it out of the bowl, and gently blew on it.

"Phew~"

Bai Mo sat at the table at home, picked up his bowl, and took a sip of soup. As for the big, mahjong tile-shaped things inside? His mother, Zhuang Xingyan, wouldn't eat those, and neither would he.

I just went to sweep the tombs this morning; the tedious process was exhausting. Now I can't even have a decent meal.

"So annoying!"

Lingling sat in the classroom, listening to the demon teacher boast about his hunter exploits and the students' amazement, and felt a little annoyed.

The winter solstice is not a public holiday, so even though it's a holiday, she has to be at school on Friday.

It was almost time for get out of class to end, so she decided to ask for leave in the afternoon. After making her decision, she took out a stack of leave slips from her homeroom teacher's desk.

Walking back down the street, Lingling looked at the alley ahead, shrouded in the shadows of tall buildings, and her delicate eyebrows arched slightly.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a student from the same school walk into that shadow and then disappear!

Lingling tossed the half-empty can of cola in her hand toward the trash can in the shadows.

The bottle missed its target, but the echo of it hitting the ground carried far into the distance.

She silently took out a bead, held it in her hand, and walked over unhurriedly.

Lingling walked into the shadows of the seemingly normal building, approached the beverage bottle lying on the ground, bent down, picked up the bottle, and threw it into the trash can.

Nothing happened; it was as if what she had just seen was a hallucination.

She walked back on her way at a leisurely pace. The Qingtian Hunting Grounds were neither too far nor too close to her school, and she had no intention of taking a car.

She was just walking back normally, but she could always feel a gaze fixed on her.

Lingling looked through the shop windows and the rearview mirrors of the cars parked on the street, but she didn't notice anything following her.

Most people might think it's an illusion, but Lingling knows it's not; she trusts her instincts.

There weren't many pedestrians on the road leading to the Azure Sky Hunting Grounds, and Lingling had no intention of changing her route. She wanted to see what was following her.

But before that, we need to find a helper.

So Lingling took out her phone and sent Bai Mo a location sharing message.

Lingling: [Location]

Lingling: Come here and grab something.

Bai Mo: Okay

Lingling wasn't afraid of being seen fiddling with her phone by the guy behind her. What bad thoughts could a little girl possibly have?

Since that guy dared to snatch a student directly from a crowded place like a school, he must not be a coward.

Most people wouldn't pay attention to a little girl's actions.

Meanwhile, Bai Mo had already flown out.

Lingling is such a savior! At least I don't have to eat those weird-tasting foods anymore.

On the deserted street, yellow leaves lay coldly clinging to the ground, some as small as a palm, others as large as a human face.

Lingling stopped and frowned as she looked at the humanoid figure in the middle of the street, whose hands were behind their backs and whose entire body was encased in a hooded trench coat.

Although there weren't many people on this street, it wasn't completely deserted. The fact that it's now completely empty is clearly the work of that thing.

Lingling asked without changing her expression, "What are you?"

"I'm a good man, little sister. Uncle will take you to an interesting place." A kind and gentle male voice came from the shadows hidden by the hood.

As it spoke, it took a step forward and followed the continuous shade of the trees to Lingling's side, extending a crystal-clear palm to press against Lingling.

Lingling stared at it expressionlessly, her fingers, which held the bead containing the Demon-Slaying Sword, showing no intention of applying any force.

A wisp of breeze swept through, lifting the ends of Lingling's hair.

"Buzz!"

A barely perceptible spatial tremor resounded, like the dying chirp of a cicada. The man in the trench coat abruptly withdrew his hand, only then realizing that the gentle breeze was not a natural phenomenon.

His figure twisted and contorted, about to merge into the shade of the trees beneath his feet. However, an even more powerful, invisible force suddenly grabbed him.

The distorted shadow quieted down and transformed back into a person wearing a trench coat.

A gust of wind blew, knocking off the trench coat man's hood and revealing a man with emerald green hair, pointed ears, and green eyes.

Bai Mo landed beside Lingling from the air. Looking at this strangely-looking person, he asked in surprise:

"An extraordinary person?"

"No, it's not human." Lingling shook her head, her sharp eyes scanning the creature's face carefully before explaining to Bai Mo:

"In the southwestern part of our country, south of Ningzhou, there is a small city-state called Danan. In the vast mountains and forests of Danan and Ningzhou, there dwells a group of demons called mountain spirits."

"They look very similar to humans, and most of them have unusual appearances, but their eyes and hair are emerald green, and their ears are pointed. They do not have a physiological distinction between male and female, and they often reproduce on their own."

Upon hearing this, Bai Mo's first reaction was, "Isn't this a transvestite?"

He examined the thing he had controlled with his mind, reached out and tugged at its hair, which felt like grass, and then pinched its pointed ears.

Bai Mo was unfazed by the angry look in this thing's eyes and asked unhurriedly:

"So why are these things here? Why are they targeting you? What are their strengths? And why do they possess shadow abilities?"

Lingling's face was unusually cold and her eyes revealed extreme disgust as she looked at the creature in front of her.

"Mountain spirits were easy to identify in ancient times, but in modern times, people's outgoing clothing styles have made it easier for them to come to human cities. At the same time, they are quite intelligent and can speak some human languages."

"And what they like to eat most are human children or young women. In fact, the hunting agency has received many cases of abduction, fraud and disappearance, and some of them should be the work of these mountain spirits. They are actually the leaders of many fraud and abduction gangs."

After explaining why the mountain spirits appeared in the city and their purpose in coming, Lingling began to educate Bai Mo about the power of these demons.

"Mountain spirits are good at manipulating plants and can merge into them. Some of them also master an additional elemental power, mostly earth or shadow. If they master an additional ability, they can also merge into objects that have that element."

As for their rank, they are generally warrior generals; if they possess two magical powers, they are great warrior generals.

"Therefore, it is generally difficult for city monster hunting teams to capture them. It was only because of you this time that even a mid-level mage could not do anything to it and would instead be killed by it."

After listening to Lingling's explanation, Bai Mo understood the situation of the thing in front of him and recalled some rumors from Shanghai.

It is said that some trees along the streets prey on children and women.

He glanced at Lingling. "Looks like it's got its eye on you. When?"

"Not long after, when I came out of school, before that, it had kidnapped an elementary school student. I don't know if it ate him or hid him somewhere."

Bai Mo stroked his chin, not killing the mountain spirit, but instead asking:

"In that case, there must be more than just one mountain spirit in Shanghai. Since they are quite intelligent and can communicate, we should try to use him to find out the mountain people hiding in Shanghai!"

"Yes!" Lingling nodded. "That's what I was thinking too. Let's put it in Grandpa's room."

Bai Mo's lips twitched. What a great idea.

Back at the Qingtian Hunting Grounds, Lingling had to go to school, and Leng Qing had become the deputy chief judge, so he had more and more to do. When Lingling and Leng Qing were not at the hunting grounds, Old Man Bao would sit in the hall.

When the two returned, he looked up at the mountain spirit that Bai Mo had controlled by his side.

"Old Bao, do you have any way to get this mountain spirit to reveal his accomplices? This guy almost kidnapped your granddaughter today."

Upon arriving in the hall, Bai Mo asked.

"You want to find the other mountain spirits in Shanghai through him?"

"Is there a problem?" Bai Mo asked, puzzled. Lingling also looked at her grandfather with a furrowed brow.

"Mountain spirits are too cunning. They can live in groups or alone, and they mostly cooperate with their own kind," Old Man Bao said slowly.

"In the past, some people have captured mountain spirits in an attempt to find out the whereabouts of all the mountain spirits and wipe out all the human trafficking and fraud organizations led by the mountain spirits, but they have all failed."

"Why!?" Lingling stared at Old Man Bao and pressed for an answer.

"Because each mountain spirit acts alone when it comes to the city, they usually meet in the wild and do not communicate their identities in the city."

If two mountain spirits were to discover each other within the city, they might even consider killing each other.

(End of this chapter)