I Refused To Be Reincarnated-Chapter 651: Dust of the Magus

However, the next volume caused him to sigh in relief. Unlike their academies, everyone could learn magic from childhood here. But with the opportunity came the familiar competitiveness for potions, weapons, and adequate knowledge.

Even if easier to access, without formal education, most commoners never developed their own techniques as Adam did. Preferring to understand how to use ready-made ones, they perfected their uses by modifying slight components to fit their needs.

Engrossed in the discoveries, he didn’t notice the darkening sky nor the annoyed glares Jack threw at him. He continued to read historical tomes, one after another.

His friends were the same, their lips twisting a little more with each book they returned to the shelves. Body cultivation along with magic? Ready-made mana techniques from the very first tier? It felt as if everything they had learned was mere fragments of a shattered fresco—rather, they were the dust left by the magus.

As the flickering candles brightened the lounge through the night, a frown creased Adam’s brows in his blessed land.

Two months had already passed since he began altering his cells, and though bored to death by the process, he inched toward a ten percent completion rate. In fact, he was now so familiar with the process that he could do it half-consciously while focusing on something else... like the source of his frustration.

Unfurled on the table, the complex diagram’s octagonal shapes drawn on a broad piece of parchment seemed to mock him. Even worse, the Qi nodes at their junction looked like curved eyes challenging him to force them to fuel the formation with natural energies.

"Damn it." He gripped his forehead, his fingers massaging his temples.

This was just a miniaturised version of the inactive spiritual condensation formations he found in the throne room. Yet no matter how he imbued them, the nodes rejected his Qi like a gourmet dissatisfied by mediocre food.

To add insult to injury, Lulu confirmed his drawing was flawless, leaving a single possibility—the quality of his Qi was too low. And since he would stagnate in the Qi gathering realm to perfect his body, the formation restoration effort would have to wait.

A frustrated sigh escaped his clenched jaws. "How infuriating to have all the affinities and so much energy but feel limited."

Lulu, patted his hair gently, her voice soothing. "You have time, so don’t press yourself. You can also see this as a lesson. Mana emphasises control, while qi focuses on quality. I’m sure you’ll perfect your body soon enough."

He nodded reluctantly. Indeed, cultivators didn’t focus much on energy control. Why would they, when raw might could fuel their techniques? But as Lulu said, it was an interesting contrast to note. ’I’ll raise quality and control to perfection, anyway.’

He pinched the bridge of his nose, exhaling. "I’ll continue to fix their faded parts and wait until Misha and Xie Lian break through a few more realms."

Lulu nodded, an encouraging smile curving her lips. "That’s even better. It’ll serve as an improvement check. I wonder if you’ll catch the slight imperfections you left months ago."

Adam scratched his head. How did every hurdle sound like an opportunity in her mouth? Seriously, she impressed him even after two months.

The corner of his lips rose as he changed the subject. "Did you make progress on the demonic puppet?"

However, Lulu lowered her head, a heavy sigh escaping her lips. "Progress is... slow. The lack of data on demonic enchantments and the puppet’s high tier doesn’t help either."

Adam nodded, the answer predictable. "How long will you need to isolate, record, and adapt its enchantments?"

Lulu raised her palm, then added two trembling fingers. If only she had access to a demonic library as well furnished as the void emperor’s collection, it would have taken a few days at maximum. Then, a month would suffice to alter the energy into a mix of qi and mana.

Alas, enigmatic items were too dangerous. Only perfection could work, and even that wasn’t enough to satiate Adam’s ambitions.

Meanwhile, Adam tucked his fingers around his chin, his smile broadening and his eyes sparkling with a dream. "Seven years? That’s fast. Let’s use it as a base to create an ego puppet!"

He clenched his fist, dreaming of matching Luna’s skills for a second before Lulu’s reminder brought his wandering mind back to the present.

"Yunxu will cause another commotion if you’re late."

Memories of their discussion a week ago made him roll his eyes and grit his teeth. Because he made her wait for a brief... two hours, Yunxu had screamed on every roof that he was a hero the moment he had shown up. If not for her help to camouflage his whereabouts and fix the dream place’s misunderstandings, he would have cut ties without regret.

Still, he couldn’t help but shudder and smile simultaneously. Though annoying, those quarrels and distinct characters also made those relationships meaningful.

"You’re right. I’ll go before that mad dog does something unreasonable again." With a chuckle, he closed his eyes and rushed to the dream place’s plaza.

The crimson moon glow shone on his dark purple robes, illuminating the stars embroidered on the enchanted magical butterfly’s silk as he stepped on the ivory’s pavements.

The cultivators seated around tables or behind stalls glanced at him as he passed, their earlier suspicions replaced by curiosity. They offered him a curt nod before returning to their spirited haggling or conversations about subjugating the tower’s floors, sect missions, and techniques.

He couldn’t help but return their nods, delighted by Yunxu and Ye Feng’s made-up story.

Before he could delve into the memory, Yunxu waved at her table, her eager voice echoing under the dark sky. "I’m here, Adam." She added, a mischievous grin curving her lips. "I guess I won’t have to reveal you’re connected to Prometheus since you’re dead on time."

He clicked his tongue, the cups and pot clanging as he dropped on his seat. "I guess I won’t have to turn the mad dog into a dead dog, then."

They glared at each other, their eyes narrowed into slits for a second, then exploded into laughter.

"So refreshing. You’re the only one who dares to talk back. Well, I got what you asked last time." She winked, unfurling a map on the table.

Red crosses of different sizes smeared the detailed mountains, lush forests, and isolated regions. Adam even saw a few in the middle of the sea with a side note—underwater. But his eyes locked on the westernmost island. No, considering its size, it should be called an archipelago.

Following his gaze, she continued. "That’s all the mages’ known dwellings." She taped on the archipelago’s grand cross to illustrate her next words. "The bigger the cross, the more powerful they are. But why do you need it?"

Adam stored the map in his spatial ring, then poured a steamy cup of tea and took a seep before answering.

"Their knowledge is ancient, Yunxu—things of legends, erased from the magical world’s history. I won’t visit them all, but I plan to record their techniques after leaving the blessed land."

Yunxu nodded before her voice grew grim. "Speaking about the blessed land, I have news... bad news. Three more righteous sects joined us. Tianlong and Yan Fei are already enforcing formation control training to launch a full-blown assault."

Shadows danced on Adam’s darkening face. Now that he had studied them, he knew how versatile formations were. From utility like the ones he tried to fix to lethal traps or summoning, they posed a real threat to him. One type he had read about in particular caused even his blood to freeze and his heart to drum.

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