Chapter 1: Moving In (Part 2)

Luo Jie smiled in a childlike manner and said, “Let’s certify the twelve advanced spellcasters.”
Chang Ye Ren readily agreed, “No problem! Huh? Twelve advanced spellcasters? That’s… that’s impossible!” He knew exactly when Guo Shieru had joined the North Spellcraft Sect and how recently he had become an apprentice. Advanced spellcaster? That was far too exaggerated.
Luo Jie laughed heartily and said, “Why impossible?” He was filled with pride—this young apprentice had truly impressed him with his talent and hard work, making him feel extremely proud.
The certification process was simple: the apprentice had to launch one-time attack spells and create ten such spells, achieving a specified number of successes. Additionally, they had to create treasure spells, with two successes out of ten being sufficient.
Relying on his spiritual power, Guo Shieru launched thirty one-time attack spells in one go, leaving everyone present in awe. This was not the strength of a beginner spellcaster but rather close to that of an intermediate one.
Next came spell creation. Guo Shieru surprised everyone again—nine out of ten spells succeeded, marking his best performance yet. At this point, Chang Ye Ren immediately declared Guo Shieru an advanced spellcaster, sparing him the need to create more treasure spells, as it was no longer necessary. Reaching this level already made him stronger than many beginner spellmasters.
Under Chang Ye Ren’s admiring gaze, Guo Shieru became the youngest advanced spellcaster in the North Spellcraft Sect.
After obtaining his identity badge, Guo Shieru returned home with his master Luo Jie.
Luo Jie’s joy was evident on his face. The old man was very pleased with his youngest apprentice. He said, “Shieru, you can move to my estate. From now on, you’ll study under me. I’ll have someone prepare a larger courtyard for you. If you need anything, just go to Uncle Hu—I’ve given him instructions, so you don’t need to come to me for permission.”
“I’ve taken hundreds of apprentices in my life, but only about thirty remain alive. Most have died. Among the surviving thirty or so, seven or eight are disabled. Most are guarding the family’s properties in other towns, while a dozen or so are traveling. Only five or six return to the North Spellcraft Sect frequently. It’s a pity that none of my apprentices have yet advanced to become grand spellmasters.”

Luo Jie clicked his tongue with slight regret and continued, “I stopped taking apprentices seventy years ago. I never expected to take on you, a kid, even in my old age. Hehe, you’ve done well too—advancing to a Spellcaster in less than a year. Guo Shier, although you’ve surprised me, your master must remind you of one thing…”

Guo Shier nodded solemnly and said, “Master, I will surely follow your teachings.”

“Shier, your young age is an advantage, but it also has obvious drawbacks. You lack experience and a great deal of knowledge. You’ve only just begun to touch on what needs to be learned during your apprenticeship—things like runes and sigils. Right now, you can only recognize certain runes and sigils; you haven’t learned all of them systematically. You’re also lacking in other areas. So, you need to study harder. This requires long-term effort and cannot be achieved overnight.”

“…Don’t become complacent just because you’ve advanced to a Spellcaster. Keep up your hard work and keep delving deeper into your studies…”

If Guo Shier were a child, he might have ignored these words or even thought his master was nagging. But he had the mind of an adult and could clearly sense the old man’s high expectations for him, which moved him deeply.

Guo Shier said earnestly, “Master, rest assured. I’ll study hard and never slack off. I’ll catch up on all the lessons left from my apprenticeship as soon as possible.”

Luo Jie nodded in satisfaction and said, “I’ll have someone help you move. Well, go back and pack up first. Move here tomorrow.”

Guo Shier simply packed up the items from the underground laboratory, especially the books. As for the other trivial things, he left them alone—Aunt Lan could take care of those. He also asked Aunt Xin to sell the flour. Once at Luo Jie’s manor, all his needs would be taken care of by his master, so he wouldn’t have to worry about making money anymore.

With such a powerful mentor backing him, Guo Shier certainly wouldn’t refuse. Moreover, his master’s home had excellent conditions, especially the learning environment. The master had a large database and a huge material storage, with every kind of equipment available. Such favorable conditions would greatly help him further his studies.

Luo Jie sent a few carriages and over a dozen people, who quickly moved Guo Shier’s home to a courtyard in Luo Jie’s manor. The courtyard was located by a stream, surrounded by other courtyards spaced a few hundred meters apart. Dense fruit trees grew around it. Above the courtyard’s gate was a plaque inscribed with—Xijian Ju.

The main building is a two-story structure, with a spellcrafting hall underground as well. It’s a standard dwelling for a spellcaster, its layout already carefully planned. Guo Shieru fell in love with it at first sight. Xijianju is a truly elegant residence, with a stream flowing in front of the courtyard and a small pond nearby.

A small patch of light yellow cold bamboo grows by the pond. When the breeze blows, the bamboo sways, adding to its graceful appearance. The water in the pond is shallow and clear, allowing one to see the smooth pebbles on the bottom. Dozens of colorful carp swim around, and mist rises from the surface. It was then that Guo Shieru discovered there was actually a hot spring beneath the pond.

Huo Bao, Chen Bing, Hong Shi, and Chen Hong weren’t particularly impressed by this beautiful scenery; they simply found it spacious and open. They ran around, laughing and playing with each other. Only Guo Shieru stood by the pond, once again marveling at his luck in this life—to be able to live in such a beautiful place was truly a great pleasure.

The path in front of the house was paved with pebbles, winding through the woods. In the distance, the eaves of another small building could be seen above the treetops—that was the building in the neighboring courtyard. Everything was quiet, with only the sound of birds echoing through the trees.

Guo Shieru stood by the pond for only a moment. He knew he couldn’t get lost in this beauty; cultivation was his main task.

He rearranged the spellcrafting hall underground. Since Xijianju was originally meant to be a dwelling for spellcasters, the underground hall was quite large—more organized and twice as big as the original courtyard. It had more rooms, its walls reinforced with runes, and even a shooting tunnel for testing the power of spells.

Guo Shieru had lived through three lifetimes. The longer he lived, the more timid he became. He was extremely focused on skills to protect his life and on the cultivation of his soul. His greatest concern now was cultivation. He was very satisfied with the spellcrafting hall, which served as his laboratory. After inspecting it carefully, he began to clean it and arrange the items inside, knowing he would spend most of his time here from now on.

He had spent a long time pondering the final set of basic exercises to strengthen spell power. He could complete the first eight sets smoothly, but the last set posed a challenge for him. It wasn’t because of its difficulty in movement, but because it caused tremors in his soul—a phenomenon that hadn’t occurred while practicing the first eight sets.

His soul was Guo Shieru’s foundation, and he didn’t dare take risks. That’s why he hesitated to practice this set of exercises, fearing it might damage his soul and affect his future reincarnations.

But if he didn’t perform the ninth set of movements, his cultivation of spell power would remain incomplete, yet he couldn’t avoid practicing—it was a contradiction. If he undertook an adventure, the cost would be his soul, either leading to great good or great harm. After much hesitation, Guo Shier finally resolved to practice; he had no choice. If he stayed at the level of a spellcaster, he would remain weak and might perish before even reaching reincarnation. This life was not peaceful, so he had to give it a try. He performed the movements with great caution, and after finishing, he fell into deep thought. Since the movements weren’t smooth or seamless and the tremor in his soul wasn’t intense, he felt the movements should work fine and wouldn’t cause major problems. But why did his soul tremble? He couldn’t figure it out. Since he was sure there was no harm, Guo Shier decided to continue practicing. Repeating the ninth set of movements until he became proficient was his habit. He would master each movement individually, practicing them over and over until the entire set was ingrained in his soul, allowing him to perform it effortlessly—only then would he consider it complete. For three days straight, Guo Shier stayed underground most of the time, except when he came out to eat, practicing the movements repeatedly until he fully mastered them. He didn’t rush to combine the nine sets into one practice session but instead spent time reading a book. After resting for two days, Guo Shier went outside. There was a small clearing in the bamboo forest by the pond, where he planned to cultivate his spell power using the full set of movements. According to the book, regular practice didn’t require a specific location, but for the first time practicing the entire set, it had to be outdoors, preferably in a bamboo forest. It was only then that Guo Shier realized this bamboo forest had been planted specifically for cultivating spell power. In fact, completing this set of movements smoothly was also a sign of progressing from apprentice to spellcaster. But Guo Shier’s soul power was so strong that even without finishing the set, his internal spell power was already sufficient for advancement. Being cautious, he asked Luo Zhan to bring a few spell warriors to protect him in case he was disturbed during practice—disturbance could be troublesome. Although there was no such thing as going mad from cultivation here, being interrupted mid-practice was still not ideal. Starting with the first move of the first set, Guo Shier practiced move by move, quickly immersing himself in it. Gradually, he closed his eyes and let his consciousness take over, following the sequence entirely at the will of his mind.

Luo Zhan stood not far away, responsible for Guo Shier’s safety, so he kept an eye on his surroundings, including Guo Shier himself. But when Guo Shier began to cultivate, he sensed something was wrong—Guo Shier’s aura suddenly disappeared, yet he could still see him clearly, which gave him a very strange feeling. Suddenly, Luo Zhan turned around and heard footsteps on the path.