Two weeks passed, bringing a definitive end to the catastrophe in Bo City. As I later learned, Tang Yue had brought ten Intermediate-level mages to reinforce the front lines, in addition to two High-level mages.
Total casualties in Bo City stood at 832 people-the vast majority of them mages who had fallen in the heat of battle. Tang Yues foresight had paved the way for a remarkably efficient evacuation.
832 souls… Was that a large number, or a small one? On one hand, it was a harrowing loss. On the other, compared to the original canon-where forty thousand perished, a third of the population was wiped out, and the survivors scattered to forget the horror like a bad dream-the people of China considered these losses acceptable. The whole world did… including me.
After all, even in Jinling City, where the monster attack was known in advance and the population was hastily evacuated, nearly five hundred people died.
Here, we faced a meticulously planned terrorist act orchestrated by the Black Vatican. The whole country believed Bo City had been kissed by the goddess of fortune!
The internet was flooded with posts from people planning to move to Bo City. The logic was simple: having repelled the wolf tribe and severely thinned their ranks, a new attack in the near future was improbable, making the city relatively safe.
Bo City would quickly replenish its civilian and military losses, perhaps even growing stronger than before. I considered it a respectable outcome. Could I have done better? Probably. But I had pushed myself to one hundred percent, barely taking a moment to rest. Anyone looking for a better result would have to find a different altruist; I was perfectly satisfied with my work.
What hadn't changed from the original canon, however, was our years complete failure to get into universities. Due to the lingering chaos in the city, we missed the standard admissions window.
There was, of course, a special intake reserved exclusively for exceptional talent. But in our entire cohort, only Mo Fan and I stood a chance. My edge came from reaching the Intermediate level, while his came from his innate talent for two elements.
He was completely unaware of this opportunity, and my publicly demonstrated strength wasn't enough to make the impression I needed. So, yes-nobody got in, and we were left waiting for the next year. Heh, it reminded me of my past attempt to get into medical school on a tuition-free scholarship.
If I remembered correctly, I had a couple of months before Tang Yue would call on me to help catch a criminal. I intended to put that time to good use-though finding a new place to live came first…
Mu Zhuoyun had indeed been one of the High-level mages who drove off the winged wolf. But he suffered an injury, losing a finger on his right hand. With his fortune decimated by the disaster, he lacked the funds for treatment at Parthenon-the only place capable of regenerating a lost limb or digit. Unsurprisingly, his mood was foul.
Given that his adopted son was missing, while I had received praise from the military for my actions in the city… and considering our strained relationship following the duel… he expelled me from the clan. I accepted it without argument and left.
Why wouldn't I? Aside from housing, the clan offered me no real benefits. Why stay? It would only breed trouble. Renting an apartment in the city proved easy enough, leaving me free to focus on strengthening myself.
My first priority was to awaken a new element after breaking through to the Intermediate level. I needed to do this incognito. If I drew a weak element at the Primary and Intermediate stages, I could instead pass off one of my current elements as my official second choice.
I didn't waste time overthinking it. With the tragedy of Bo City now in the past, I simply shifted to the parallel reality at the start of the disaster.
Appearing near the Magic Awakening building, I glanced up at the Winged Wolf soaring in the sky, with Zhankongs silhouette circling it, and stepped inside.
The building was completely deserted. Walking into the designated room, I placed my hand on the stone resting on the pedestal.
I wasn't afraid of awakening an elemental alignment. In my past life, my only elemental affinity had been Light, and even that didn't fully belong to the standard elemental category. As for Mu Bai, if I recalled correctly, Ice was his only elemental affinity. I hoped for something from the Dimensional Magic school.
Immersing myself in my spiritual world, I watched as a light-silver magical dust began to coalesce. The Summoning element-the absolute best outcome for my situation. A smile tugged at my lips. It seemed my affinity for the spatial and dimensional arts was truly exceptional.
Canceling the spell, I found myself back in my rented apartment. Now, it was time to deal with the Ice Spiritual Seed.
I had a few options to consider:
First-do not absorb a Spiritual Seed now. Almost all of them contained impurities of other elements, which would prevent me from absorbing a Heavenly Seed in the future, as Heavenly Seeds contain no impurities and reject them outright.
Second-absorb a Spiritual Seed with a strong secondary effect now, followed by a Soul Seed later, creating a powerful combination. However, this would permanently close the path to a Heavenly Seed.
Third-find Yu Shishi. Not only did she know how to create Heavenly Seeds, but she could also make them upgradeable over time. She might be able to create a prototype Heavenly Seed in the form of a Spiritual Seed, scaling its power alongside my cultivation. But there was a catch: I only knew where to find her in the future. I had no information on her current whereabouts.
After weighing my choices for a couple of hours, enlightenment struck.
While people had not yet learned to detect the presence of elemental impurities in Spiritual Seeds-which was precisely what created their secondary effects-they did know that Heavenly Seeds were entirely pure. And considering that seeds developed gradually over time…
Grasping at the fleeting idea, I jumped onto the internet to research the most powerful Ice mages in history and what, exactly, had made them famous.
Three hours later, I found the right man: Mu Buhai. Eight hundred and fifty-six years ago, the founder of the Mu Clan discovered a major Heavenly Seed on Mount Luyashan and absorbed it, subsequently becoming recognized as the greatest Ice mage of his era.
His fame was partly due to the simple yet devastatingly effective rule of his seeds Forbidden Domain: Unbreakable Ice. As long as the Forbidden Domain was active, all ice he created was completely indestructible. His greatest achievement was slaying a Low-tier Lesser Emperor alongside another Forbidden Curse mage. He had simply encased the creature in Unbreakable Ice, allowing his companion to deliver the fatal blow.
Just as I thought, people loved to boast about historical achievements. After all, what harm was there in sharing that a major Heavenly Seed had existed on Mount Luyashan nearly a thousand years ago? The seed was long gone. They kept relevant secrets hidden, but to me, this historical record was a goldmine.
My new plan was as straightforward as a half-yuan coin. I would claim this exact Heavenly Seed back when its growth was at the peak of the Spiritual Seed stage. Later on, I would return to claim the same seed at a higher tier.
That way, I would possess a major Heavenly Seed by the time I reached the Super level, while ensuring my Ice element remained useful in the interim. It was a shame to forego secondary effects, but I was more than willing to sacrifice them for such a formidable Forbidden Domain rule in the future.
Now I needed to prepare thoroughly and calculate precisely when that seed had reached the peak of the Spiritual rank. Id have to dive into specialized literature, jump across realities to pinpoint the exact timeframe, and acquire elemental detectors. But it would be worth every bit of effort.