Chapter 171 Venting and Career Issues (Long live our prosperous nation)

Upon closer inspection, he soon discovered a new change in his meditation space. After the connection between the two magic arrays was formed, the condensed threads of spiritual power and mana did not dissipate. Instead, they remained in their thread-like state, connecting to each other's Three-pointed Star Magic Arrays. This discovery excited Shaoke, as it meant the connection between the two arrays no longer required his direct control; the still-intact threads of spiritual power and mana were now capable of handling this responsibility. Moreover, according to records in books, when such threads no longer vanish, it signifies that his future spellcasting cost would be reduced by nearly one-fifth. Of course, this reduction ratio would continue to increase over time.

After the maid delivered the meal, she easily noticed Shaoke's barely concealed excitement. Naturally, she did not inquire about the reason for his excitement, knowing that the mage before her would not tell her.

Watching the maid, clad in a light white robe, quietly leaning on the soft stool reading a book, Shaoke could no longer hold back the long-suppressed desire. Putting down the book in his hand, he quickly walked to the fireplace, scooped the maid into his arms, and his hands, having regained some muscle, immediately grasped her softness, groping and squeezing roughly.

The maid had not expected the mage to make a move like this, as Shaoke had not made any advances in the entire month since his return. Even when he slept, he had the maid leave the room. This situation had once led the maid to believe the mage no longer cared for her, causing her constant worry that he might abandon her, though she hid it well in front of him each time.

Although Shaoke's rough handling caused her pain, she still tried to arch her chest, making her chest appear fuller. Simple caresses could not satisfy Shaoke's desire. He abruptly lifted the hem of the maid's white robe and pressed her down beside the fireplace, and began thrusting into her again and again.

When it was all over, the maid curled up in Shaoke's arms, allowing his hands to continue kneading her exposed chest. Occasionally, she would let out soft gasps when Shaoke tugged at her nipples, though it was unclear whether from pain or pleasure.

Looking at the maid's exposed skin, now covered in bruises, Shaoke continuously increased the strength in his hands, making the maid's gasps grow more rapid. Seeing her slightly furrowed brows and slightly parted lips gave Shaoke a deep sense of satisfaction.

He felt that the suppressed frustration since the end of his mission had dissipated somewhat due to this behavior, making him understand why those mages had sex with their own maids or others in the medicinal pools. Of course, the few female mages did the same.

After tugging at the maid's nipples with force once more, the pretty maid suddenly let out a loud moan, her soft body tensing tightly, her hands frantically clawing at the thick carpet. This lasted for a long time before she collapsed again in Shaoke's arms, gasping for air.

"Mage Xueye, I... can I have a child?" After catching her breath slightly and using her robe to clean the fluid she had accidentally left on Shaoke's leg, the maid finally mustered the courage to make her request.

"Why do you have such an idea?" Shaoke suddenly pushed the maid away, stood up, put on his wide mage robe, and sat in a chair, staring intently at the flushed maid. "Who put this idea in your head?"

Faced with Shaoke's sudden coldness, the maid was not surprised. Instead, she quickly stood up, disregarding her disheveled robe, and knelt before Shaoke, trembling as she said, "I just want a child of yours. No one made me do this. I..." Before the maid could finish, Shaoke waved his hand, signaling her to leave.

"Drop this idea." Shaoke hesitated for a moment, then stepped forward to straighten the maid's disheveled white robe. "You may leave now."

Seeing that Shaoke did not agree to her request, the maid lowered her head, gathered her books, and left the room holding them.

Although unsure why the maid wanted a child, Shaoke had no hesitation in refusing. He did not want to leave his descendants at this age and with such a woman. After all, she was just a maid. Once he left this place, who knew what situation she would face?

After the maid left, Shaoke began replying to the letters from Mage Roman and others one by one, telling them that he was doing well here. As for his emotional state, Shaoke did not mention it, not wanting Mage Roman to worry about him.

The long period of cultivation made Shaoke feel he was nearing a breakthrough. He felt it wouldn't be long before he qualified for promotion to Fourth Tier Mage. As for success or failure, he did not dwell on it in detail.

That day, while searching for advanced Fourth Rank promotion meditation methods in the vast space storing books, Shaoke once again encountered the Seventh Tier Mage who had previously hoped he would undergo a specialization.

"You are about to be promoted to Fourth Tier Mage." After carefully examining Shaoke, the mage quickly detected his cultivation level. "Can you tell me why you still don't want to specialize? Don't forget, mages outside would fight tooth and nail for such an opportunity without success." The Seventh Tier Mage said this while staring intently at Shaoke, wanting to know why he repeatedly refused specializations, in order to persuade him based on his thoughts.

"Not every mage can successfully change class." Shaoke placed the magic book in his hand on a nearby shelf, lowered the brim of his hat, and continued, "The lower the rank of the mage attempting the change, the smaller the chance of success. Failure means being permanently stuck at the current rank. I'm not wrong about that, am I?"

The Seventh Tier Mage nodded, quickly acknowledging Shaoke's point. "You could change class at a higher rank, such as Sixth Rank, Seventh Rank, or even Eighth Tier." Saying this, he continued to look inquiringly at Shaoke, waiting for his other reasons.

"I have no plans for promotion at the moment. If you are still willing to accept my class change request after I become an Eighth Tier Mage, I will definitely come to you for it." After saying this, Shaoke also stared intently at the mage before him. "May I know why you are so eager for mages to specialize with you?" In fact, he had another question he did not voice.

"If you are certain you will still be in this Death Outpost after being promoted to Nine-rank Mage, I believe you are qualified to know." The Seventh Tier Mage slightly tugged at the corner of his mouth, offered Shaoke a friendly smile, then prepared to leave. "Whenever you wish to change class with us, we welcome you at any time." With that, he left without looking back.

"If I could know now why you want me to change class and if you could offer a better profession, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to refuse like I am now." Shaoke softly voiced his true reason for refusing the class change. Of course, this was something the other party could not fulfill, as they likely only possessed one specialized profession.

The maid nearby, seeing the conversation between the two mages end, quickly stepped forward to help the mage with the books he had selected and silently followed Shaoke back to the room.

Shaoke paid no attention to the maid's recent silence. He had now abandoned most of his other studies, instead devoting a great deal of time to meditation, striving to purify his spiritual power and mana as much as possible to increase his chances of a successful promotion in one attempt. He did not want his meditation space to be damaged again. He still remembered how it took over three months to repair the cracks in his mana space after the first injury. If the promotion failed, cracks could easily form in the meditation space.

The silver light within the Three-pointed Star continuously accelerated Shaoke's meditation speed, while the black vortex created by the elixir rapidly purified his spiritual power and mana. Three or five elixir-formed vortices were scattered throughout his spiritual space, forcibly condensing large amounts of spiritual power.

Now, the points of spiritual light in Shaoke's spiritual space almost filled the entire area. It wouldn't be long before the space could no longer accommodate new points. Of course, after purification, some space would be freed up for new spiritual light points to generate. Once the space was filled again, Shaoke would purify once more, repeating the process until a certain level of purity was reached before attempting promotion.

That day, after finishing his meditation, Shaoke went to the medicinal pool again. There, he would use the medicines to maintain his physical health, preventing his constitution from deteriorating due to the large amount of energy consumed during prolonged meditation.

The mage, who had not been here for a long time, quickly noticed that the medicinal pool he usually used was already occupied by another mage—a female mage. Seeing Shaoke standing by the poolside, the mage looked at him calmly. "Is there something?" She then signaled the attendant massaging her to temporarily stop his work.

Shaoke suddenly removed his cloak, still standing there, and said, "Can we talk for a moment?" As he spoke, he carefully observed the attendant. He found the attendant very handsome, much more so than most mages here, with many muscles visible above the water, which made Shaoke envious of the attendant's physique.

"I don't like you talking to me like this." The female mage said this, standing up completely unconcerned about her bare upper body, staring intently at Shaoke. After having the attendant step aside, she moved to where her clothes were placed, her small hand gently stroking the slender staff.