Ten years is a long stretch of time.
During those years, aside from his daily mandatory meditation practice, Leilin spent his time absorbing knowledge from the Extreme Dark Domain and expanding the Chip's database.
As a second-rank
Moreover, Leilin had obtained a wealth of advanced disciplinary techniques through contribution exchanges, complementing the South Coast's reserves in a mutually advantageous way.
"Chip! Begin the Giant Serpent Breath Potion compounding experiment!"
A sharp gleam flashed through Leilin's eyes as he issued the command.
He slapped the spatial leather bag, and a wide assortment of materials instantly spread across the entire laboratory table.
The Giant Serpent Breath Potion was an unexpected find from a minor academy's vault in the Extreme Dark Domain.
It was a remnant formula for an ancient Spiritual Power potion. Of course, it hadn't originally gone by this name—but Leilin, with the Chip's assistance and his own modifications, had tailored the recipe to better suit bloodline warlocks, particularly those of the Komoan Giant Serpent lineage, and thus gave it this name.
One could say this was an improvement he had made upon the ancient formula, adapted to his own practical circumstances.
For a warlock who had already advanced to the second rank, the ancient potions he had previously collected—even
This Giant Serpent Breath was the fruit of a decade of research, an ancient potion capable of providing a tremendous boost to a bloodline warlock's Spiritual Power.
However, there was one unfortunate obstacle—a substitute ingredient, the Earth Sovereign Beast Heart, had never been obtained, and this had stalled Leilin's progress.
The cultivation of advanced meditation methods was all about patience and persistence—wearing away stone with a steady drip. It required time to slowly grind forward.
By now, the daily progress of Leilin's Spiritual Power had been growing slower and slower.
This was a common trait of advanced meditation methods—the higher you climbed, the harder it became.
Unfortunately, as the intensity of the war continued to escalate and formal Wizards fell in battle, Leilin felt the urgency of time growing ever more acute.
This Earth Sovereign Beast Heart had arrived at exactly the right moment!
Furthermore, after a full decade of consolidation, all the hidden dangers within Leilin's body had been purged, allowing him to proceed to the next stage of potion-enhanced advancement.
For Leilin, this was undoubtedly welcome news.
But there was more. Leilin closed his eyes and assumed
Ailin, despite having aged ten years, still appeared remarkably youthful thanks to the unique power of a Wizard.
"Finally... I've finally returned!"
Ailin touched a roadside signpost, a barely contained excitement showing on his face.
This was his academy's headquarters. The buildings remained unchanged, but the apprentices who walked the grounds were all strangers. A bittersweet sense of everything having changed washed over him.
"Ha! Isn't that Ailin? Still alive, are you? What are you doing back here? Shouldn't you be in Duolun City? Don't tell me you deserted!"
A young Wizard with a hawkish nose suddenly spotted Ailin, as though he had seen something utterly unbelievable.
Immediately, a throng of apprentices poured out from the surrounding buildings. They gathered around one Wizard like stars orbiting the moon, and behind that Wizard stood a young woman, her gaze fixed on Ailin with a complicated expression.
The Wizard at the center of the adoring crowd wore an expensive robe. Though his energy fluctuated at only the third-rank apprentice level, he was adorned with several Magical Items.
"Ailin?" He furrowed his brow and glanced at the young woman beside him.
"Is that the Ailin?"
"Yes!" The young woman nodded, clutching the young man's hand. "But I have nothing to do with him anymore. I was the one who suggested he go to Duolun, remember?"
"Oh! That's right!" The noble-born youth slapped his forehead.
Watching this scene, Ailin's expression grew increasingly grim.
"I don't care how you got back, but let me make one thing clear—she belongs to me now. So behave yourself, or else..."
The young man yawned languidly, dismissing Ailin as though shooing away a beggar, and turned to leave.
The gathered apprentices dutifully erupted in laughter.
"Oh ho! What a fine spectacle!"
Ailin suddenly raised his head, and the spiritual pressure of a formal Wizard erupted from his body, sweeping across the entire area.
Countless apprentices collapsed to the ground, not daring to move a muscle.
"A—a formal Wizard!" The noble youth's face drained of color, while the young woman's features twisted in disbelief.
How could she have imagined that the waste she had abandoned would truly find his day of reversal?
Regret flickered through her mind for only an instant before it was swallowed by intense fear and resentment.
"Destroy him! Destroy him!"
The hatred came so suddenly, so viscerally, that the emotions playing across her face twisted into something grotesque.
"Which Wizard has graced us with their presence?"
Whoosh! A black shadow flickered, and in the center of the grounds, a white-haired old man appeared.
"Master! I've returned!" Ailin bowed respectfully to the old man.
"Wh—you... you're Ailin!!!"
The old man rubbed his eyes, almost convinced he was hallucinating.
...
Several hours later, inside the old man's office.
"Ha ha! Wonderful! Ailin, you've not only recovered your talent, but you advanced to formal Wizard status using only the simplified version of the Heart of Flame! And you've earned enough merit to come back..."
A faint flush colored the old man's face—he had clearly already been in contact with the authorities in Duolun.
Though Ailin smiled along, inwardly he felt a chill.
His situation wasn't exactly a secret. Anyone who had been paying attention should have known long ago. This performance made it obvious that even this mentor had assumed he would die in Duolun and had long since written him off.
But he was an adult now, tempered by years on the battlefield. He could control his inner emotions perfectly, revealing nothing on the surface.
"Master, I'd like to apply for cultivation access to the Heart of Flame. And I'll be expecting the benefits afforded to a formal Wizard of the academy."
Ailin spoke evenly.
"Mm! Quite right! You should be practicing this now—the simplified version is useless past the formal Wizard stage!"
The old Wizard nodded. "As long as you pass the meditation method signature verification, everything can be issued immediately!"
The meditation method signature verification technology was, of course, an academy invention, designed to identify traitors and infiltrators.
But Ailin touched the black ring in his hand and smiled casually.
In private, he was communicating with Merlin in secret: "Grandpa Merlin, why do we have to come back specifically to pursue the Heart of Flame?"
Over the past decade, Merlin within the ring had not only saved Ailin's life many times but had also taught him a great deal. The two had gradually grown close.
"You've already cultivated the Holy Candlelight, but you need a cover!"
Merlin manifested within Ailin's mind, taking the form of a wise elder, and analyzed slowly: "You were originally just a minor apprentice who never learned an advanced meditation method. How would you explain your later progress to others? Therefore, you must obtain the academy's advanced meditation method as a cover. Besides, the resources within the academy can't be ignored either. I have a design blueprint for a Magical Item here—if you can complete it, it will undoubtedly be a tremendous boost to your strength!"
"What Magical Item?" Ailin's interest was piqued.
"The Fallen Longsword—a high-grade Magical Item. Though I still remember the blueprints for many magical artifacts, most of them are far too unrealistic for someone at your current level..."
Merlin said calmly.
Ailin nodded, understanding that with his current strength as a formal Wizard, he was nowhere near capable of crafting magical artifacts. Even high-grade Magical Items were typically only within reach of second-rank Wizards. Being able to obtain the design in advance was already quite fortunate.
"Also, the plan to find the other fragments for Grandpa Merlin needs to be put on the agenda..."
For a moment, Ailin was brimming with ambition and purpose.
...
"Ding! Advanced Meditation Method—Heart of Flame has been recorded and stored in the advanced meditation methods database!"
Several days later, the Chip's notification tone sounded directly.
Ailin had obtained the advanced meditation method, which meant Leilin had obtained it.
Though Leilin was particularly covetous of the Power of Destiny, the advanced meditation methods of various academies held no small appeal for him as well.
Using his own apprentice wasn't just about avoiding attention—this was part of the consideration too.
Additionally, the longsword Leilin had designed for himself had entered the actual manufacturing phase.
The Fallen Longsword was a warlock-exclusive weapon Leilin had designed specifically for himself. Its inspiration came from the mid-grade Magical Item he had obtained on the South Coast—the Dawnlight Longsword. It had consumed enormous amounts of time and energy; one could say that most of his time in Bert Town had been invested in it.
But the material requirements for this warlock-exclusive weapon were exceedingly demanding, and even Leilin had not yet gathered everything.
Therefore, he had deliberately released partial blueprints, using Ailin and those few apprentices who cultivated the Holy Candlelight to search for materials.
With the power of destiny foresight, they stood a considerable chance of success.
"Besides, some of the potion ingredients I'm missing could also be sent out for them to find!"
Leilin stroked his chin, struck by yet another idea.
The seeds he had planted long ago were beginning to bear fruit.
Through the widespread distribution of "old grandpa" mentors, Leilin had selected a number of reasonably talented apprentices. He had secretly distributed modified versions of the Holy Candlelight to them while maintaining central coordination, collecting the contents of these Wizards' prophecies.
Through extensive comparison and analysis, Leilin had gradually begun to grasp the trajectory of future destiny.
He had even glimpsed himself faintly within these apprentices' prophecies...
Of course, all these images and premonitions had been secretly intercepted by him, never reaching the apprentices.
At that moment, Leilin's brow furrowed.
His eyes immediately beheld a scene: A blonde female apprentice, her eyes rolled back to whites, her body trembling involuntarily.
Fragment after fragment of broken images were transmitted to Leilin.