Chapter 371 Encountering Interception

One day, after Shaoke finished dealing with the young students' matters, he was about to return to his residence to continue studying the black crown. At that moment, a young instructor found him. "Honorable Mage, there is someone outside the academy looking for you. They said they are from the Imperial Capital." The instructor then produced a badge with the emblem of the Orpheus Family on it. Shaoke glanced at it casually and shook his head.

"Tell him I have no time and ask him to leave here." With that, he returned to his room alone. As for the person from the Orpheus Family who came from the Imperial Capital, he soon forgot about him. He had no time to waste on such trivial matters. Moreover, he no longer held the responsibility of teaching the young; instead, he now served as a guardian in the newly established grand library.

Previously, the Storm Academy had a library, but it contained few books, many of which were copied by Shaoke and some instructors. However, not long ago, the Imperial Capital's military department sent a large number of books, which were three to five times more than those in the academy where Shaoke had originally been. The collection was also quite comprehensive in terms of types. Most importantly, a large number of young spellcasters and instructors from other professions arrived, which eased Shaoke's workload.

Over the following period, although Shaoke remained in the academy, he still sensed the changes taking place in the empire. The most noticeable was the significant improvement in the academy's food supply; large quantities of magical beast meat were delivered by merchant caravans. Shaoke also noticed that among the crops used for baking bread, there were some mutant crops he had seen from the Blue-robed Mage. According to some young students, these crops were already being promoted nationwide. Shaoke estimated that if this continued for a few hundred years, the number of spellcasters in the empire would increase significantly.

Obviously, the empire had found better crops, which allowed them to popularize food that was previously only enjoyed by the upper echelons. Of course, there were other changes, too many to list here.

"Mage Xueye, have you not advanced yet?" Just as Shaoke was studying a book in the library, an image of the Blue-robed Mage appeared on his scepter. At this moment, the Blue-robed Mage looked very strange—her pale blue eyes not only contained two nine-pointed star formations but also had small net-like objects occasionally flashing across them. She exuded a peculiar aura that made Shaoke feel very oppressed.

After stabilizing his mind, Shaoke nodded and said, "Can you share some experience about advancing? I think it would be very helpful to me." He stared intently at the Blue-robed Mage, unsure whether she would agree to his request.

"Of course." The Blue-robed Mage did not hesitate. She then asked Shaoke for his current address and quickly headed his way. Shaoke was about to remind her to be careful of the friends from the Violet Family and any retaliation from the Orpheus Family, but she had already closed the communication.

A day later, Shaoke met the Blue-robed Mage again. This time, she looked more comfortable than in the image. It seemed that over time, the newly advanced Ninth Rank female Confinement Mage had gained better control over herself.

Without any unnecessary words, the Blue-robed Mage spent a few days explaining in detail the things to note before and after advancement. She also described in words the insights during advancement and the changes afterward. All this was of great help to Shaoke's advancement.

"When do you plan to advance?" After explaining everything, the Blue-robed Mage asked Shaoke with concern. "If you need it, I can provide some protection during your advancement." At this point, her expression turned somewhat unnatural. "Among those who had fought for the Violet Family's resources back then, only I and another mage advanced to the Ninth Rank Mage. Most of the others died." She choked up as she spoke.

The news brought by the Blue-robed Mage surprised Shaoke. He hadn't expected that out of over a dozen Eighth Rank Mages, only two had become Ninth Rank Mages. And this was with a high-level method. If ordinary methods were used, the mortality rate might be even higher.

"Perhaps they could have waited a bit longer. There's no need to rush to become a Ninth Rank Mage," Shaoke said uncertainly. An Eighth Rank Mage's lifespan is very long. Over a long period, they might obtain a more advanced method or attempt the method multiple times to increase the success rate.

The Blue-robed Mage disagreed with Shaoke's response. She lowered her voice and said, "Those mages had very little lifespan left. Even if they hadn't, no one can resist the temptation of a higher rank. Worrying about this and that will never lead to a good result." At this point, she regained her composure. "Why do you want to become a Ninth-rank Professional now? I think you still have several thousand years of life left, right?"

In response to her question, Shaoke nodded. She was right. "I want to try. Failure means death or permanent loss of the chance to advance. I don't want to live in hiding anymore." He then thought of something and asked, "Did the friends from the Violet Family not trouble you? What about the Orpheus Family?" He had been curious about this for a while.

"I paid a price," the Blue-robed Mage said, touching her missing arm. Then she lowered her voice and continued, "You don't need to worry about the Violet Family. If you become a Ninth-rank Professional, the Orpheus Family won't do anything to you either." She added, "A Ninth-rank Professional is not someone the Orpheus Family can casually kill." At this, she frowned, and her expression looked like that of someone in battle.

Shaoke didn't ask further. Instead, he sat by the fireplace and added some firewood. After a moment, he asked, "Did the empire promote the crops you researched? Did you have a hand in that?" He looked at the Blue-robed Mage, who nodded in acknowledgment. "I want to leave the Blue Feather Empire and go to a place without any constraints."

The Blue-robed Mage fell silent for a long time before suggesting, "If you become a Tenth-rank Professional, there is a place that would suit you well. There, you will face no constraints, but they do not restrict higher-ranked individuals from hunting lower-ranked ones."

"Those are matters for the future. For now, I think I should focus all my energy on advancing to the Ninth Rank," Shaoke said. Then he asked the Blue-robed Mage, "Can you come to help when I'm about to advance?" He looked at the female spellcaster. Under the firelight, she appeared very charming.

"You should save that gaze for your wife," the Blue-robed Mage said, her eyes briefly flashing with the nine-pointed star pattern. Then she quickly left. Shaoke sat alone by the fireplace, staring blankly into the flames. In truth, he was already capable of advancing to the Ninth Rank, but for safety, he decided to study the advancement methods thoroughly for a while longer. Only then could he maximize his chances of success.

At Shaoke's request, Mage Roman and the others stopped visiting him. Instead, Shaoke spent some time each year visiting them. They met at the Bloody Fortress. The leaders of the fortress no longer objected to his presence, as he didn't stay long.

Perhaps due to his status as an academy instructor, his pursuers didn't attempt to assassinate him. But Shaoke remained vigilant every time he traveled.

This vigilance was not misplaced. One day, just after leaving the Bloody Fortress and approaching the fortress near the Misty Forest, he had just exited a spatial rift when he felt two powerful psychic and magical forces locked onto him. The undisguised killing intent made him quickly prepare for battle. But before that, he immediately tore open another spatial rift and fled a distance. The two pursuers used the same technique, chasing him via the psychic lock.

Shaoke quickly cast two unique defensive spells. Just after he summoned a butterfly-shaped defensive spell from his spellbook, a bolt of lightning struck him. The impact shattered the newly formed butterfly spell, but the circlet remained undamaged. Without checking the enemies' identities, Shaoke tore open another spatial rift to escape. The two pursuers, as expected, chased him using two consecutive spatial rifts.

As soon as Shaoke emerged from the spatial rift, the two pursuers were about to come out as well. Blink—three consecutive instantaneous blinks brought him next to one of the pursuers. This mage had three layers of defensive spells activated, but only one was a special type.

Death Gaze—two black eight-pointed star beams illuminated the mage, freezing him for half a breath. Although the pursuer was shocked, he used an arcane secret to shatter his staff and spellbook immediately, thus breaking Shaoke's confinement.

"Decree: Blazing Night"—This spell was one Shaoke had acquired from ancient tomes. Its power was immense. In the air, a black light appeared, surrounded by densely packed magic scripts. Then the light twisted and coiled toward the mage's neck.