Chapter 124: Gao Man’s Experience

The goblin airship flew at thousands of feet in the air. Donald and Ferdinand stepped out of the cabin and stood at the deck railing, facing the southern wind as they gazed down below.
Although they had seen even more spectacular views from airplanes in their past life, nothing matched the profound sense of being directly above the world below.
Ferdinand pointed to a plain ahead and said, “That’s the Six Southern Towns. I led a team here before; it seemed dull and uninteresting from above, but seeing it from the sky is indeed different from seeing it on land!” Donald also leaned on the railing and sighed, “The scenery in the south is truly very different from the north. Though both are in the northern regions, the climate here is much warmer!”
The southern part of Celt was warmer throughout the year compared to the western and northern parts because it was closer to the central continent and benefited from the warm monsoons blowing in from the Eastern Gulf. Even now, at the end of winter, many deciduous shrubs and trees still had green leaves, and the land below was covered in greenery, with little ice or frost.
It was Donald’s first time leaving the North County so far. The previous two times he had gone to places like the capital and the northwest border for important purposes, in a hurry and without time to appreciate the surroundings. This time, after witnessing the magnificent landscapes of central and southern Celt, he was deeply moved.
In fact, this kind of experience was common in his past life as well. Some doctors and experts recommended that patients with depression visit beautiful places, enjoy nature, look at the sea, and gaze into the distance, as it could greatly help relieve their gloomy moods.
The same was true in this world. Appreciating such grand and spectacular natural views was not only pleasing to the eye but also beneficial for mages and Rocksmen in cultivating their mental states.
Especially for Rocksmen at the Green Key level, if they could understand nature and have their hearts touched at this time, it would greatly assist them in gathering their Rock Will when ascending to Silver rank.
For example, Marquis Vincent of Ansel was able to envision the immense power of nature in his heart after, due to his youth and a fortunate opportunity, witnessing a once-in-a-century great sea storm. This allowed him to comprehend his own Storm Rock Will, earning him the title of Storm Fool Sage.

Such opportunities don’t come by force, and if pursued with ulterior motives, they often fail to yield perfect results. Donald, having focused mainly on mage cultivation, knew little about swordsmanship and had no teacher to guide him, yet he seized this opportunity and unknowingly laid the foundation for refining his sword intent in the future. As for Ferdinand, due to his own subjective intentions, he reaped fewer benefits than Donald, who simply enjoyed the scenery. Born in an era filled with countless wonders from famous mountains and rivers, tides and lightning, to galaxies and solar storms, Donald had seen much of these natural phenomena through movies, TV shows, and the internet—even if he hadn’t experienced them firsthand—thus his horizons were far broader than most people in this world had seen in their entire lives. However, Donald hadn’t yet thought of or reached a level where he could utilize these past memories. But once he reached the Golden Tier, his strength would improve at an astonishing rate thanks to these advantages. “Cornelia was called back by her teacher, Sword Saint Abel, to train. Otherwise, she would definitely have insisted on joining in the fun.” Ferdinand said with a smile, like a child who had gotten his way. The Ansel family was small, and he cherished his sister dearly. Donald envied such sibling bonds. Whether in his past life or this one, he had always been an only child with no chance to have siblings. He had had a few friends like Ferdinand during school, but their relationships were different. “I really envy your sibling relationship—your parents are healthy, and your family is harmonious and happy!” Realizing his earlier words might have touched on Donald’s pain points, Ferdinand joked with a smile, “Donald, you’re only seventeen or eighteen, right? Why do you act like you’re seventy? Always gloomy. Are all mages like this?” Hearing this, Donald felt warmed inside, knowing Ferdinand was trying his best to comfort him. He replied irritably, “Haven’t you heard that children of poor families mature early? Children who go through tough experiences grow up much more mature than aristocratic young masters like you who were born with a silver spoon in their mouth!”

Regarding Donald’s claim about past lives, although Ferdinand heard it for the first time, he still understood its meaning. He immediately protested, “Who says life for children from noble families is easy? You don’t know—I started learning noble etiquette at the age of four, training physically at five, studying continental history at seven. By thirteen, I had to endure my old man’s cruel training. If I get half a month off in a year, I already consider it a blessing! How can you still say I’m happy?”
“All of this is for your own good. Surviving in the noble world isn’t as easy as among commoners. Without enough strength, you could easily be devoured by others!” Outside the cabin, the two of them joked around like old friends. Edwina, inside the cabin, felt happy upon seeing this. As for Donald, the newly risen noble, Ferdinand valued his similar temperament and saw him as a friend worth truly befriending. Edwina, on the other hand, had a different perspective, focusing more on Donald’s potential for growth.
In fact, after this year’s Harvest Festival, Donald would already be eighteen, though his birthday hadn’t arrived yet. An eighteen-year-old Young Mage was a highly valuable asset in the eyes of any faction.
As the goblin airship flew over the southern territories of the Celt Kingdom, on Shadowhammer, the closest of the Southern Six Locks to the Dual-Legged Swamp, Mage Gorman was frustrated after failing for the fifteenth time in sending Evil Phantoms to explore the swamp.
“Damn that mage! If not for him stealing my treasure map, I would have already obtained the treasures from the ancient arcane ruins and be enjoying life somewhere else. How could I end up exhausted every day feeding that woman like an ox?” Ever since suffering a major loss in the North Counties, Mage Gorman had fled cautiously to the most chaotic Southern Six Locks of Celt.
It wasn’t just to hide from his enemies but also for the ancient ruins marked on that old map.
Although he couldn’t read ancient phantom script, he had once disguised himself as a mage and infiltrated a mage tower, successfully translating part of it. That’s when he learned the map marked a relic from the era of the Arcane Mage Empire.

However, he only knew that the general location was in the dangerous region of the Twin Feet Swamp, where the southern parts of the Northlands bordered the central part of the continent. Without a map, it was impossible to determine the exact direction of the ruins, so he had to summon the stealthy Evil Nightmare from time to time to explore the swamp, hoping to luckily find the location of the ruins. But this approach was undoubtedly a gamble, and the sorcerer’s luck had been poor ever since he arrived in the Northlands—he had not only been defeated by a young mage and suffered severe injuries but also lost much of his equipment, including the crucial treasure map. After that, he had no choice but to flee in desperation. While recuperating near the capital of the Celt kingdom, he dared not reveal his identity too much, only to be pursued by lackeys of the Hands of Justice shortly after. Without time to recover fully, Gao Man was forced to embark on another escape. After finally reaching the Southern Six Locks, the exhaustion from his journey caused his already healing internal injuries to worsen. To make matters worse, the inn he stayed at turned out to be a den of thieves! Taking advantage of Gao Man’s weak condition, they gave him speed-inducing drugs and treated this once-great sorcerer like a slave. Fortunately, the innkeeper, impressed by his appearance, did not mix him with ordinary slaves but sold him to the actual ruler of the Dragon Shadow Hammer, the female bandit leader of the Blood Sword Mercenaries, to be used as a sex slave. To survive in the chaotic region of the Southern Six Hammers, Gao Man had to endure humiliation and use his best skills to please his mistress. After being fed and cared for well for a while, he gained some freedom. Later, he revealed his identity as a spellcaster and joined this organization, which was actually a band of thieves. The mercenary group was called the Blood Sword Mercenaries, founded by a famous female warrior among the Southern Six Towns—Lady Caroline, the Silver Swordswoman. The Blood Sword Mercenaries were one of the most powerful forces in the Southern Six Locks, controlling two-thirds of the trade in Dragon Shadow Chain goods and possessing smuggling routes to the continent. After joining them, due to his striking appearance and superior abilities inherited from his lineage, he was quickly promoted to a full member and became Lady Caroline’s top consort. Gao Man saw no harm in being a male favorite of a woman. Although Caroline wasn’t breathtakingly beautiful, she wasn’t ugly either, and after all, she was a Silver-level warrior. In this world, the strong ruled, and women’s status was not much lower than that of men.

With the help of Caroline, a powerful silver-tier being, Gao Man quickly restored his strength. He created several more Evil Nightmare Medals and sacrificed the blood and souls of several slaves to gain the power of a formidable silver-tier Evil Nightmare.

In reality, Gao Man’s lineage as a Sorcerer Giant was not originally that of an Evil Nightmare from the Infinite Abyss realm, but rather that of a nightmare monster known as a Sorcerer Giant from the outer realms. These monsters were said to have been created by the ancient gods, but most of those banished were defective creations with abnormal souls, whom the gods referred to as “divine abominations.”

Divine abominations came in a wide variety of forms and shapes. They considered themselves children abandoned by the gods, wandering alone in the endless void, filled with jealous hatred. Although they were failed creations, they still possessed divine bloodlines bestowed by their creators, granting them great power.

Legends say that some of the most powerful divine abominations could rival true gods. For example, the Hundred-Armed Giant was so formidable that even true gods feared it and had to unite to seal it forever, banishing it into the infinite void of the starry realms.

Moderately powerful divine abominations often had the strength of demigods or top-tier legends. The rest were offspring born from the unions of divine abominations. Though they also belonged to the race of divine abominations, their strength generally ranged between gold and silver tiers. Although their numbers far exceeded those of their ancestors, they posed little threat to the gods, so they were not eradicated but instead driven to remote places.

This is why occasionally lower-tier divine abominations invade the main world or are summoned by spellcasters.