After traveling for five hours straight, the elders decided to take a break. They were in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees, with almost no space to move around. Since everyone was tired, no one complained and sat wherever they could find a spot.
Vaelorian sat on the ground, resting his back against a large tree. Following his lead, Lan Liuyue sat next to him.
"Alright, listen carefully, everyone," Elder Solon spoke. "We are going to be entering the territory of wolves as we continue our expedition. But do not fear—you all have at least one defensive spell and one offensive spell. Remember to attack the neck of the wolves; you will instantly kill them. Most wolves here are not evolved, so it won't be a problem to hunt them. Elder Osiris and I will teach you how to hunt and cook them, so pay close attention when we encounter them. Since some of you might not be around to watch when we hunt, we will demonstrate until everyone is sure they can kill a wolf. We have the advantage in numbers, so you don't need to worry. Rest for an hour and a half, and then we will start our journey again."
Lan Liuyue snorted. "Who are they kidding? We're three hundred people here—advantage? It's a damn crowd. I bet one or two are gonna get eaten up by the wolves."
Vaelorian stayed silent. He turned his attention away from Lan Liuyue and looked around, noticing several people moving away in groups.
"Let's go check out this area."He heard a guy nearby speaking to his friends. Vaelorian looked at the group and recognized a familiar face.
"Hey, Alice," Vaelorian called out, walking toward the blonde girl from the education and training team.
"Oh, Vaelorian, right? Hey, what are you doing here?" Alice smiled back.
"Well, I got the spells I needed from the King, so I decided to join the exploration team."
"Hehe, same."
"Who is this, Alice?" The guy who had spoken earlier stepped forward.
"He's Vaelorian. I met him on the education and training team. Vaelorian, meet Henry, he's my good friend."
"Hello," Vaelorian greeted politely, extending his hand.
Henry shook it without saying much. "So, let's go explore. Might as well practice some spells and prepare. What do you say?"
"Okay. Do you want to come, Vaelorian?" Alice asked.
"I do. Thank you for the invitation." Vaelorian smiled, glancing back toward Lan Liuyue—but there was no sign of him.
"You know Alexa, right? This is Lance."
Vaelorian looked at the tall, brown-haired guy. Lance had no expression on his face and simply nodded at Vaelorian, who nodded back.
Without further delay, they all started moving away from the main group.
"Where are we going?" Alice asked Henry.
"My system just told me there's a place nearby where we can farm some XP and level up. The animals aren't that dangerous."
"How did you see that?"
"I bought a map from the shop. But man, things are really expensive there."
"You unlocked the shop?"
"Yeah, just today," Henry replied, picking up his pace.
After ten minutes, the forest thinned out, revealing a large grassland with dozens of creatures in sight.
"Alright, how do you want to do this? I can see deer, boars, and hares. Pretty easy to kill."
"Can I kill them all? I'm only level three, after all," Alexa asked with a sly smile.
"Go on." Henry sighed, opening his system while looking for more spots.
Alexa mumbled something, and a large magic circle engulfed the entire grassland. Two seconds later, it emitted a massive burst of flame, killing all the creatures instantly.
"It's really hard to level up! And my mana is gone!!" Alexa said in shock at the minimal experience she gained.
"You'll need to kill stronger beasts, not common fodder," Henry laughed, starting to collect the burnt animals.
Vaelorian was stunned by the sheer intensity of the spell. That could have killed him easily.
For the next hour, they explored and took turns killing whatever creatures they could find. When it was Vaelorian's turn, the elders' voices echoed through the air, telling everyone to regroup.
The rest of the journey went smoothly. The elders taught them how to handle the wolves, which seemed easy—even to Vaelorian. After spending the night in tents, they continued their journey and soon reached the west side of the Empyrean City.
Vaelorian looked at the massive piles of rubble that had once been the city walls. Between the ruins, he could see several intact buildings.
"Listen carefully, everyone," Elder Osiris called out. "You may now explore the city, but remember to regroup here after five hours. If you encounter anything unexpected, use the crystals I gave you—it will alert us, and we will find you."
Everyone nodded, and the group dispersed.
Vaelorian quickly separated from the others, increasing his pace. He passed countless ruined houses, some reduced entirely to rubble, others with walls or ceilings still standing.
After making sure no one was following him, he moved deeper into the city and found a house that was perfect. He rushed inside, feeling a sense of urgency after witnessing Alexa's overwhelming spell.
Vaelorian took a deep breath and sat in a corner. He was completely drained. He knew that once he started his mana circulation, his blood would be corrupted again, and his death clock would start ticking.
Clearing his thoughts, he began inhaling mana and exhaling smoke. He channeled his mana through his meridians to the point his mother had told him about. A cool sensation began to build just above his stomach. Continuing the process, he soon felt something on the verge of bursting open there—followed by intense pain. Vaelorian stopped immediately, feeling completely full.
"I guess it's time for a break now?" he muttered, leaning back against the wall.
Closing his eyes, he focused inward. He could feel the tiny dantian throbbing like a heartbeat. After resting, he resumed channeling mana through his meridians.
This time, however, unlike before, he started feeling fatigued as soon as he poured mana into the dantian. He decided to take another break, but when he tried to stop, he couldn't. It felt as if his body was no longer under his control.
Soon, his vision turned dark.
"Visit my temple."
The voice was ancient, echoing in the void.
"Who are you?" Vaelorian called out into the darkness.
"Empyrean Palace," the voice replied.
Vaelorian's vision returned, and before him stood a boy.