Chapter 14: Magic

Time flew by, and before he knew it, a week had passed.

In the following days, Xu Feng had it pretty good. Princess Ailiya's health was rapidly recovering, and the Emperor, overjoyed, bestowed numerous rewards. Now, he was the most sought-after figure in the empire, with many nobles extending their goodwill. However, Xu Feng did not accept anyone's overtures. Though young, he came from Earth, a place with advanced information, so he understood early on that as the center of imperial power, the court politics of Alsace were a cutthroat world, and he had no desire to get mixed up in it.

Xu Feng had no interest in power. Rather than scheming and guarding against political rivals every day, he'd rather make more gold coins and marry more beautiful women. Enjoying fine wine, great food, and the company of lovely companions—that was the life he yearned for.

This was the life Xu Feng aspired to, but there's an Earth saying: "Once you're in the game, you can't escape it." Now that Xu Feng had arrived in the imperial capital, could he truly stay out of it?

Everything was wonderful, with one regret: since Yu Sha left, she had never come to see him again. I wonder what's up with that girl? Xu Feng truly missed the beautiful and lovely elf girl. He touched his lips, thinking back on that sweet kiss.

Ugh, back then, he forgot to ask for her address.

In truth, Yu Sha also missed Xu Feng deeply. Perhaps it was love at first sight, or perhaps fate had its own designs. Regardless, Xu Feng had left a deep impression on the heart of this beautiful elf girl.

But... last time, she had sneaked out. Now, her father kept a close watch on her. Besides her maids, guards from the family stood at the doors and under the windows. Yu Sha was just a delicate girl, without any magic or martial arts skills. Under such strict surveillance, the chance of sneaking out was almost zero.

Her absence left Xu Feng feeling a bit down. These past few days, he rarely went out, spending most of his time reading. Thanks to the supercomputer, although the written language of Hailan Star was completely different from Earth's, Xu Feng had somehow mastered it all. He also gained some insights into the abilities he acquired during his transmigration. Like passive skills in a game, they always automatically came into play at critical moments.

The races, history, and customs of Hailan Star—books were an ocean of knowledge. Through extensive reading, Xu Feng had learned much about these topics, but what interested him most was magic.

Back when he was studying on Earth, fantasy novels became popular online. Magic had captured the imagination of countless people. Now that he had the chance, Xu Feng naturally wanted to try it.

However, unlike the depictions in novels, this world had no so-called magic schools. In fact, across all of Hailan Star, very few had the talent to learn magic. As a power bestowed upon humanity by the gods, only a minority mastered magic. Like nobles, they belonged to the privileged class.

Magic schools? A complete joke. Mages guarded their knowledge jealously, passing magic down through master-apprentice relationships. This situation made Xu Feng frown. How could he get a chance to learn magic?

Fortunately, he was no longer the newcomer to this world he once was. Now, Xu Feng was an Imperial Viscount, Princess Ailiya's savior, with a prominent status. Leveraging his status, he finally managed to obtain a few ancient magic books.

Simply put, magic involved drawing natural power through meditation. On Hailan Star, this natural power was called elements, divided into six types: water, fire, wind, earth, light, and darkness.

Among them, light mages were also called priests, exclusive to the church. Light magic not only had healing effects but was also incredibly powerful in combat.

As for dark mages... they were rather unfortunate. The church viewed them as heretics, and once discovered, they were exterminated. Since the Temple of Light became the state religion of the empire, countless mages practicing dark magic had been burned at the stake.

Xu Feng didn't give it much thought. Whether magic or battle aura, power was power. Good and evil depended on the one who wielded it.

Of course, Xu Feng had no intention of changing the status quo. He focused all his energy on those ancient magic books.

To practice magic, the first step was to test for talent. This could be done with a mana crystal ball. However, such items were not sold in shops; only true mages possessed them.

Once again leveraging his status as a viscount and going to great lengths, Xu Feng finally managed to purchase a crystal ball.

Placing his hand on it and meditating according to the method described in the books, the originally dim crystal ball began to glow. A smile appeared on Xu Feng's face, but just then, an unexpected event occurred...

A faint *crack*—a very slight sound, yet it seemed particularly sharp in the quiet room. A fissure appeared at the top of the crystal ball, then expanded continuously. With a *crash*, the entire crystal ball exploded into a pile of fragments...

Damn, how could this happen? Xu Feng was dumbfounded, completely taken by surprise. Fortunately, he was experimenting alone. If a mage had been present, they would surely have worshipped Xu Feng as a god. Damn, shattering a crystal ball with mental power—was this even human? Even a legendary archmage couldn't do that!

Xu Feng didn't know that during his journey through the black hole, besides fusing with the supercomputer, he had also absorbed a vast amount of mental power. However, since this wasn't gained through cultivation, he couldn't use it yet; it was all stored within his body. Transformed by this mental power, Xu Feng's magic practice would undoubtedly achieve twice the results with half the effort!

Progress was swift, but unfortunately, those ancient books only contained introductory knowledge of magic, such as Fireball and Wind Blade. In just three days, Xu Feng had mastered everything in them.

After all, truly profound magic was passed down through master-apprentice relationships, and Xu Feng had yet to meet a suitable teacher.

That afternoon, Xu Feng was reading in his study when the door was gently knocked.

"Come in!"

The door opened softly, and the steward led a man inside. He was around thirty years old, dressed in the livery of a court attendant, his hair meticulously combed. He bowed respectfully: "Viscount, by order of His Majesty the Emperor, I invite you to attend the court ball this evening."

"A ball?"

"Yes." The man handed over an invitation. "At eight o'clock tonight. You are requested to attend."

"Alright."

Xu Feng nodded. Although he didn't enjoy carousing with nobles, as the saying goes, "When in Rome, do as the Romans do." Moreover, it was an invitation from the Emperor himself; there was no way to refuse.