Mage Manual

In the past seven days, Ash has discussed more than once with Sonia and the others about the situation in the seventh layer of the Void Realm.

Because he knew he had a prophetic need, Ash deliberately fished up the Prophetic Faction’s World Secret Domain "Sky Tower" from the Heavenly Kingdom of All-knowing while at Fishing Heaven—though it might have been sent over voluntarily—to further strengthen the authority of the Sky Tower, Vishi specially constructed a one-time Prophetic Wonder "Hand and Eye to the Sky," condensing a hand-eye linking the Sky Tower, flying to the top of Heaven to personally touch the supreme boundary, to probe the internal information of the seventh layer of the Void Realm as much as possible.

As a result, their Technique Spirit inventory was depleted by one-third, and all the Technique Spirits accumulated in the Wish Pool over the past year were completely exhausted. This is the consequence of their rapid advancement causing insufficient foundation — in the Five-winged Domain, Technique Spirit Wonders are enough to handle most situations; in the Six-winged Domain, Technique Spirits basically need to rely on Eternal Wonders to be effective; if one wants to touch the supreme Seven-winged Domain, Technique Spirits can only be used as disposable consumables, chasing the brilliant moment when authority burns out.

Like Dazzling Star and other Divine Lords, Technique Spirit accumulated over thousands of years is as vast as mountains and seas, and can be squandered without concern, while Ash and the others are left with an empty house after executing only one large-scale prophetic technique. But it’s no big deal, as the saying goes, my neighbor has grain and I have guns, my neighbor is my granary, if Technique Spirit runs out, Ash will just go fishing in Heaven; the sensible Divine Lords won’t leave him airforce, or else next time Ash will take a water pump instead of a fishing rod.

The intelligence gained from the prophecy is scant, but one thing is certain: Dazzling Star hasn’t set a trap in the seventh layer of the Void Realm.

Although the unfamiliar Void Realm itself represents high danger—the ocean of the Sea of Knowledge, the Static Domain of the Time Continent, the forbidden secret rituals of the Wind, Flower, Snow, Moon from the Distant Realm... at least Ash won’t find himself blocked at the gate by Dazzling Star as soon as he enters the seventh layer.

If Dazzling Star were lying in wait inside, Sonia and the others would rather Ash die in bed than allow him to step into the seventh layer.

Aside from this, Vishi heard a strange sound during the prophecy process.

Rhythm.

Profound.

Heavy.

Innocent.

It sounds almost like... a heartbeat.

Thump!

When Ash crossed over the supreme boundary of Heaven along the variegated sword ladder, stepping into the mysterious unknown seventh layer of the Void Realm, the colossal heartbeat instantly drowned his soul, prying open his mind!

Thump!

A thunderous heartbeat echoed inside Ash’s chest, resonating with the mysterious enormous heartbeat, like a battle song playing in the silent starry sea. As the two heartbeats gradually synchronized, Ash seemed like a dust-covered war drum suddenly roaring, dust falling and transforming into variegated colors painting the world.

Now as the gods of Heaven looked up, they could see a speck of variegated nebula appearing in the lonely cold starry sky. The nebula swept the star sea like a tide, as if a painter had casually poured a bucket of paint onto the canvas, the paint naturally merging into the artwork, coating this great piece with myriad colors.

Reality quietly underwent change.

Mages of swordsmanship, Fist Claw, Time, Truth, Prophecy, Soul Faction, and so on, as long as under the sky, gained benefits of reduced Magic Power consumption and enhanced Technique Spirit strength; observing the starry sky or the sun might trigger "flash of inspiration" to advance faction realm. Ordinary people, depending on their talent, might experience Void Realm resonance and summon Technique Spirits of swordsmanship and other factions when viewing the sky.

If quantified, the environmental boost is actually about 1% for an individual, so no Mage believes their achievements are propelled by the environment, but feels it’s the rightful reward.

But when magnified to the scope of the entire world, and to a scale of hundreds of years, this 1% boost is enough to ensure swordsmanship, Fist Claw, and other magic factions firmly seat in the top tier. This is a historical trend that cannot be altered by one or two geniuses, as from this moment, Ash’s major factions like swordsmanship receive Void Realm preference from the basic structure, if previously the Void Realm was unbiased public attire, now it’s Ash-defiled personal clothes!

This is why swordsmanship and other factions can only be in the top tier, because above countless magic lies one that crushes all other factions from the bottom parameters—the Royal Path faction of Star Magic!

Thump, thump, thump... Once Ash synchronized with the mysterious heartbeat, he heard the third heartbeat in the seventh layer of the Void Realm. Following the sound, he saw a dazzling starlight.

That was the heartbeat of Dazzling Star.

But Ash did not rush to meet the vigilant supreme senior, instead casting his gaze into the depths of the starry sky. Previously, he speculated this heartbeat belonged to the World Snake or was the heartbeat of Dazzling Star, but could never have imagined it was actually...

The heartbeat of the Void Realm.

Ash took a step forward, heading toward the depths of the starry sky. Each step unfurled a variegated path beneath his feet, he walked at neither a fast nor slow pace, yet thousands of stars brushed past him, even the last glow of a shattered Constant Star couldn’t catch his silhouette. But his steps gradually slowed, the variegated path grew smaller, as if running out of paint never to squeeze out again.

When the variegated path shrank to its limit, Ash also halted. At this moment, he remained extremely distant from the depths of the starry sky, seemingly unable to ever reach the end. An overwhelming greed suddenly surged in Ash’s heart, like a snake seeing an apple hanging high on the tree, willing to pay any price just to taste the dream-like sweetness.