Chapter 010: Breakthrough

Du Fan frowned and said, “Don’t you know how many years you’ve been imprisoned by the Holy Church? How do you know so much?”
Chenchen raised her head proudly and said, “What’s the big deal? These days, besides helping you prepare potions, the most I’ve done is chat with some servants. Naturally, I’ve learned a lot about this era. Otherwise, what do you think I’ve been doing all day?”
Du Fan gave a wry smile, not knowing how to respond.
Since Chenchen could transform, they had agreed earlier that she could take Du Fan’s appearance and go out whenever she had time, as long as she didn’t give herself away.
Fortunately, Chenchen went out every day. Otherwise, if the people in the duke’s mansion noticed that their third young master hadn’t shown up in three months, they might worry enough to break into his basement.
“Never mind,” Du Fan said, shaking his head slightly. “Let’s talk about this after I break through to level three. Otherwise, if I can’t even protect myself outside, it would be a complete failure.”
Chenchen laughed and said, “But don’t I have you to protect?”
Du Fan rolled his eyes. *Missy, if you dare show up in front of strangers and happen to be caught by the Church’s people, won’t that get me hunted by them? Although the mind-control ability you gave me is powerful, it only works on those with average mental strength. For those with exceptional mental strength, its effect is very limited. The fact that Emily could still retain some consciousness under its influence proves that.*
After days of hard training, Du Fan realized that mind-control, a type of mental magic, was completely useless against advanced magicians. Apart from tricking unsuspecting warriors or messing with magicians below level three, it had no other uses.
At first, Du Fan thought this skill was amazing, but now he understood that strength was everything. One couldn’t rely too much on shortcuts.
After thinking for a while, Du Fan made another gesture. Once Chenchen left, he sat cross-legged again and drank all the potions in his hand.
Instantly, a strong wind magic element surged from his abdomen and spread throughout his body. This intense sensation was far stronger than any previous time he had taken a potion.
Du Fan was delighted, thinking that with this opportunity, he might just be able to break through to level three.

At the thought of this, he immediately calmed down. His tightly closed eyes slightly parted, and at the same time, the wind magic elements inside the magic circle rushed toward Du Fan like mad. The magic elements from inside and outside seemed to blend together, converging violently.

In the center of the green light, Du Fan’s figure was barely visible, as if every pore on his body was absorbing those magic elements. At that moment, his entire body was filled with sharp pains, and his head felt like it might burst. Yet he knew clearly that this was a sign of about to break through to the third level. If he could endure this moment, he would succeed.

Finally, all the wind magic elements flowed into Du Fan’s body. He suddenly opened his eyes, and a green flash seemed to pass before them. Then he let out a soft hum, and the pain throughout his body vanished instantly, replaced by an indescribable sense of relief. The combat energy stored in his body and the magic power in his mental space seemed to have increased significantly.

Du Fan lowered his hands and exhaled softly. Looking at the magic circle that had become ineffective due to the loss of magic power from the magic stone, he couldn’t help but whisper, “I’ve finally broken through… a third-level warrior and a third-level mage… Even in the Imperial Capital, I can’t act recklessly. But from today on, those who envy my good looks probably won’t dare call me a useless priest anymore.”

Standing up slowly, Du Fan recited a spell. Moments later, a translucent triangular magic shield suddenly appeared beside him, spinning around his body.

This was the third-level wind magic—Wind Shield, a shield formed by combining highly condensed wind magic elements. It was said to be able to block most magic and physical attacks. Of course, the size and strength of this magic shield were directly proportional to the caster’s magic power and mental strength. The higher the level, the better the effect.

This magic was learned from the book given by Archbishop Anthony. After breaking through to the first level, Du Fan had wanted to ask Chenchen for a few spells to practice, but she said something that depressed him for a long time. She said, “After you break through to the sacred level, not only can’t you even think about learning my spells, you won’t be allowed to even take a look.”

With no other choice, Du Fan had to learn from the book given by Archbishop Anthony. Fortunately, it was quite good—containing not only some basic magic spells but also instructions on how to use Light Combat Qi, which surprised Du Fan quite a bit. Considering he hadn’t gone elsewhere to find secret manuals for practice and fearing suspicion from others, Du Fan tried practicing Light Combat Qi, only to find that his progress was extremely fast. What Du Fan didn’t know was that Light Combat Qi didn’t require much affinity for magical elements, as the Holy Church emphasized equality before the Light God. Since this combat qi was said to have been passed down by the Light God, it naturally wouldn’t exclude those with affinity for certain elements. Even if one had affinity for dark magic elements, as long as they were devoted and pious to the god, the Light Combat Qi they cultivated would still be pure and holy. Additionally, since Du Fan had already practiced “All Arts,” which was known as the source of all arts in the Roland Continent, it didn’t conflict with other cultivation methods, allowing him to cultivate Light Combat Qi. Otherwise, if someone else practiced different methods simultaneously, even if they didn’t conflict, their progress would likely be extremely slow. After watching the wind shield spin in front of him for a while, Du Fan nodded in satisfaction. But instead of retracting it, he recited a few spells and casually threw out a wind blade. This was also an ordinary magic, but one of the essential spells for wind mages in the early stages. The wind blade sliced through the air, leaving several cracks in the ground. Frowning, Du Fan threw out more wind blades. This time, halfway through, they suddenly turned and headed back toward him. At that moment, the wind shield seemed to detect the danger automatically and began swirling around Du Fan. “Boom—boom—boom!” With a few loud noises, the wind blades collided with the wind shield, creating chaotic gusts of wind that were almost suffocating. Once the air settled, Du Fan stuck out his tongue and couldn’t help but say, “I didn’t expect that after reaching level three, the power of the same magic would increase so much. I wonder what the power of Combat Qi will be like?” With that thought, Du Fan clenched his fingers and slashed forward abruptly. A faint green beam of Combat Qi shot out, exploding on the ground with a “boom,” creating a deep pit.

Du Fan walked over, took a few glances, and compared them with the traces left by the wind blades before muttering to himself, “Magic is powerful, while combat energy saves the time needed to chant spells. It seems each has its advantages. But I know how to use both… I’ll decide depending on the situation.” Finally, satisfied, Du Fan nodded. He jumped into a nearby pool to take a bath, changed into new clothes, and then walked toward the door with a smile on his face.

Du Fan descended through the secret passage to the third basement level. He couldn’t help but stick out his tongue—this place was piled high with various alchemical waste. The once-large space was now filled with countless substances. Since these activities had to be kept secret, Chenchen hadn’t gotten rid of them yet.

Seeing Du Fan enter with that sly grin, Chenchen, now in cat form, leaped onto his shoulder and said in his mind, “How about it, Du Fan… From the look of you, have you already broken through to level three?”

“What do you think?” Du Fan smiled. “My training speed, if not unmatched, is surely unparalleled, right?”

Chenchen snorted and sharply criticized him, “If it weren’t for you practicing the ‘Ten Thousand Methods,’ with the magic array to assist, and me, a great alchemist, helping you create potions to speed up your training, how fast do you think you could go? By the way, let me tell you something—just to make those potions for you, I not only spent all your tens of thousands of gold coins but also spent hundreds of thousands more just on things ordered from your Grandpa Mark. You’d better come up with a good excuse. Otherwise, I wonder how you’ll explain this when you go out.”

“What!” Du Fan exclaimed in shock. He rushed to the table, dug into his space ring, and then cried out in despair, lacking any trace of a master’s composure, “Oh no! Not only have I spent all the tens of thousands of gold coins I earned later, but I’ve also lost all my other valuable items, even my savings from years of hard work…”

Chenchen looked at him disdainfully and muttered, “You want fast training speed and no money spent? How can there be such a good deal in the world? If I hadn’t been helping you make potions, buying these things would cost at least ten times more.”

Still, seeing Du Fan’s “pained” expression, she couldn’t help but comfort him, “Well, you still have some magic stones left, right? Sell those now, and you’ll get your money back.”