“Now!”
Jiang Lin’s eyes snapped open, a brilliant light erupting from his golden pupils.
He compressed all the power within his body to the absolute limit, condensing it into a three-colored light spear that felt nearly solid. With a final surge, he thrust it toward the shackle that was already spiderwebbed with cracks!
Crack.
A crisp sound of shattering echoed within him.
The shackle that had bound him for so long finally broke.
In the next moment, an indescribable torrent of energy surged from the broken shackle, rushing through his body like a flood breaking through a dam.
This was his own long-suppressed potential, released all at once the moment the shackle shattered.
【Level】: Level 40 → Level 41
【HP】: 900,000 → 910,000
【Spirit】: 900,000 → 910,000
He had broken through to the 4th rank.
And he had done so by relying on his own strength, without any external help.
Jiang Lin opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of turbid air.
This breath carried a hint of his ice soul power, condensing in the air into a faint ice crystal lotus that slowly drifted away.
He clenched his fist, feeling the new strength coursing through his veins.
While the numerical values hadn't changed drastically, his life level had truly advanced.
As a result, the amount of power he could actually mobilize had increased significantly.
...
The morning light grew brighter.
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged on the bed, his golden eyes shimmering with light.
Breaking through to the 4th rank felt even more wonderful than he had imagined.
“Is this... the path Master walked?”
He gripped his hand, sensing the surging power within.
Though his level had only increased from forty to forty-one, his actual combat strength had improved by at least thirty percent.
“If I faced those 5th-rank peak demon geniuses again, I should be able to fight them head-on even without using a strengthening technique.”
Moreover, this was a path he had carved out for himself.
He stood up and stretched his muscles and bones.
His joints gave off a slight crackling sound, like a long-dormant machine starting up again.
“I'm hungry.”
He hadn't eaten for three days. Although his current body could go a long time without food, the sensation of hunger still persisted.
He walked over to the small table and picked up the tray Alice had brought yesterday.
The food was cold, but it still tasted good.
The elven style of cooking leaned toward light flavors, emphasizing the natural taste of the ingredients. The bread was soft, the jam was sweet, the vegetable salad was refreshing, and there was a cup of flower tea that had gone completely cold.
“You're finally awake, kid?”
Little Black lifted its head from the cushion on the windowsill.
“It's been three days. You were sitting there motionless like a corpse. That little elf girl came by several times. Every time she saw you like that, her expression looked so conflicted.”
“Elune?”
“Who else? Who else would it be?”
Little Black licked its paw, its tone teasing.
“Every time she came, she stood at the door staring at you for a long while before leaving.”
Jiang Lin cleared the food in a few bites and then pushed open the door.
The hallway was quiet.
Several landscape paintings hung on the dark wood paneling, depicting rolling mountains and vast forests with delicate brushstrokes and soft colors.
The carpet beneath his feet was thick and soft, muffling his footsteps completely.
Just as he reached the top of the stairs, he saw a familiar figure coming up from below.
It was Alice.
She was still wearing that light green dress, her silver-gold hair woven into a loose braid draped over her chest. She held a tray with a fresh breakfast.
Seeing Jiang Lin, her eyes visibly brightened.
She said something in Elvish, but Jiang Lin didn't understand it.
However, he guessed she was saying something like “You're awake.”
So, Jiang Lin gave a slight nod.
Alice looked him up and down, a flash of surprise crossing her eyes.
She could feel that this human's aura was much stronger than it had been three days ago.
She said something else in Elvish, but Jiang Lin still couldn't understand.
Then, she held out the tray in her hands.
“I've already eaten, no need.”
He raised a hand to decline.
Alice didn't understand and continued to press the tray into Jiang Lin's hands.
Jiang Lin had no choice but to take it. The bread was still warm, giving off the aroma of freshly baked wheat. The jam was made from fresh berries, its color vibrant. The flower tea was steaming, its fragrance elegant.
It would probably taste much better than the cold meal.
“My Lady... has been here... several times over these past few days,” Alice said suddenly, her tone carrying a hint of deeper meaning.
“She saw you were cultivating and didn't want to disturb you.”
Jiang Lin didn't understand the words, but he nodded anyway.
Alice glanced at him again and made a gesture for him to go back into his room and wait.
“Please go back to your room and wait. I will go find my Lady.”
With that, she turned and headed back downstairs.
Jiang Lin, pondering what she had been trying to convey, carried the tray back to his room.
When Little Black saw the breakfast in Jiang Lin's hands, its eyes lit up.
“The female elf brought food?”
“Yeah.”
Jiang Lin set the tray on the table. Little Black jumped down from the windowsill, approached the tray, sniffed the bread and jam, and then began to feast heartily.
“Warm food is much better.”
It spoke with its mouth full.
Jiang Lin had just eaten the leftovers, so he didn't eat again.
He walked to the window and looked out at the manor.
In the morning light, the manor was exceptionally peaceful.
In the garden, several elves were pruning flowers and trees.
Further away, the grape trellises were heavy with deep purple fruit, shimmering with an enticing luster in the sunlight.
At that moment, he noticed that there were pens and paper on the desk, along with several thin booklets.
He flipped one open. Inside was the Elvish alphabet and basic vocabulary, with annotations in Human Common Tongue next to them. The handwriting was delicate and neat, clearly left by Elune.
“Is this... an Elvish textbook?”
Little Black leaned over to take a look.
“Elune left that here.
“It seems she spent the last few days specifically studying the Human Common Tongue for you. She's much more fluent than before.”
Jiang Lin flipped to the first page.
The Elvish alphabet had many more letters than the Human Common Tongue—sixty-four in total—and each letter had multiple variations.
The grammar was even more complex. Nouns changed based on gender, number, and case; verbs changed based on tense, aspect, voice, and mood; and adjectives had to agree with the nouns they modified.
“Start with the letters.”
He took a sheet of blank paper and began to copy the Elvish alphabet.
He wrote stroke by stroke, with extreme focus.
His memory already far surpassed that of an average person, and he soon had all sixty-four letters completely memorized.
Then, he began to look through the basic vocabulary and grammar notes.
Elune's handwriting was elegant and tidy. While the Human Common Tongue annotations were occasionally a bit stiff, the meaning was expressed clearly. Little Black, having eaten its fill, jumped back onto the cushion on the windowsill and curled into a ball.
“You're learning pretty fast,” Little Black commented. “But just being able to read is useless; you have to be able to speak it.”
“I know.” Jiang Lin didn't look up. “Memorize first, then find someone to practice with.”
Just as he finished speaking, there was a gentle knock on the door.
Jiang Lin set down the booklet and rose to open the door.
Elune was standing there.
Today, she wore a light purple gown. Her silver-purple hair was still in a loose braid behind her back, with an unknown pale blue flower tied at the end.
Her pale purple eyes brightened slightly the moment she saw Jiang Lin.
“You're awake.”
Elune spoke in the Human Common Tongue.
Though still stiff, it was much smoother than it had been three days ago. Clearly, she had practiced a lot during that time.
“Yes.” Jiang Lin stepped aside. “Come in and sit.”
Elune walked into the room.
She sat in the chair at the desk, and as her gaze swept over the open Elvish textbook on the table, a flash of surprise crossed her eyes.
“You are... learning Elvish?”
“Yes.” Jiang Lin sat on the edge of the bed opposite her. “Thank you for the textbook. It's a huge help.”
The tips of Elune's ears turned a faint red.
“It's nothing. You didn't seem to know our language, so I thought you might need this.”
Jiang Lin nodded firmly.
“Yes, thank you.”
Elune pursed her lips slightly, seemingly weighing her next words.
“You said before... you came from across the sea. I checked some books, and there are indeed records.
“It's said there is a continent ruled by many different races across the sea. But because the distance is so great and there are many dangers at sea, there is almost no interaction. Only some high-rank powerhouses occasionally travel between the two.”
She paused and continued in her unpracticed Human Common Tongue:
“If you want to go back, you need to find a ship that can cross the Endless Sea. But such ships are very rare in Alderon. Only the Royal Shipyard in the capital or a few large merchant guilds have them. And...”
She hesitated.
“And what?”
“And... you will need a lot of money. A lot, a lot of money.”
Jiang Lin was silent for a moment.
Money—he did have some.
He had saved up gold coins from completing tasks back in the Saintas Kingdom.
But his money was the currency used on his continent. It certainly wouldn't be usable here.
So he would definitely need to find a way to earn money or find another way back.
“Roughly how much?”
Elune thought for a moment and gave a figure:
“At least... five hundred thousand gold coins. If it's a magic ship that can resist sea beasts, it might be over a million.”
Jiang Lin fell into deep thought.
Did he really have to earn money to buy a ship?
But even if he bought a ship, it would take a year or even several years to get back...
Perhaps he should look for other ways to return...
Maybe he could study spatial magic and find a way to teleport himself back?
“I understand.”
Looking at his expression, Elune felt a flash of confusion.
She had originally thought that upon hearing this number, Jiang Lin would look despairing or dejected.
But he didn't.
He simply accepted the fact quickly, as if a million gold coins were just a small problem that required time to solve.
“Are you not worried?”
“Worried about what?”
“Worried that you won't be able to go back.”
Jiang Lin sighed and answered:
“Worrying is useless. Finding a way to solve the problem is what matters.”
“Then have you thought of a method?”
“Maybe I can try studying spatial magic or knowledge about teleportation arrays to teleport myself over.”
“Spatial magic? Do you even have an affinity for the spatial attribute?”
Jiang Lin shook his head.
“No, but I can try to find a way to gain it.”
Hearing this, Elune smiled slightly, thinking Jiang Lin was chasing a pipe dream.
The spatial attribute was a rare one.
How could gaining an affinity for it be an easy task?
At that moment, Jiang Lin picked up the Elvish textbook from the desk, flipped to a page, and pointed at a word.
“How do you read this?”
Elune was taken aback for a moment, then leaned in to look at the word.
“‘Elendil.’ It means ‘starlight.’”
“‘Elendil.’”
Jiang Lin repeated it. His pronunciation was quite standard.
“That's right. Your pronunciation is excellent,” Elune encouraged him.
“The teacher taught well.”
Jiang Lin's words made Elune pause.
Teacher...
She had become a teacher?
Seeing this youth—who was handsome enough to make most elves feel inferior—calling her teacher, Elune felt a strange sensation in her heart.
For the next half hour, Elune taught Jiang Lin Elvish pronunciation and basic grammar.
Her teaching style was very detailed. She would demonstrate each word repeatedly, explaining the roots and common variations.
Jiang Lin learned very quickly.
His memory was already far beyond that of a normal person.
Additionally, his experience learning multiple languages gave him his own method for tackling a new one.
In less than half an hour, he had mastered the basic pronunciation rules of Elvish and dozens of common words.
“Are you... truly a human?” Elune couldn't help but ask.
“Of course I am.”
“How can a human learn so fast? When I first learned the Human Common Tongue, it took me three whole months before I could barely hold a conversation. You've only used half an hour, and you've already...”
She didn't finish her sentence, only looking at Jiang Lin with a complicated gaze.
Jiang Lin answered again:
“It's because you're a good teacher.”
Elune opened her mouth, but in the end, she said nothing.
She simply gave a small nod, then lowered her head and continued flipping through the textbook.
In the hallway outside, Alice leaned against the wall, a meaningful smile on her face.
Though she couldn't hear the conversation in the room clearly, judging by the intermittent sounds drifting out, her Lady was having a very pleasant conversation with that human youth.
“Young people...”
She sighed softly and turned to go downstairs.
Inside the room, the lesson continued.
Elune flipped to the third page of the textbook, pointed at a short passage of Elvish text, and said in her stiff Human Common Tongue:
“This part... is the most basic greeting of the elves. I will read it once, and you follow.”
She cleared her throat and read it in standard Elvish.
After listening, Jiang Lin recalled it for a moment and then spoke.
His pronunciation was extremely precise, every syllable almost identical to Elune's demonstration.
Elune's eyes widened slightly.
She read another passage, longer and more complex.
Jiang Lin again listened only once before repeating it flawlessly.
“Have you really never studied Elvish before?”
“Never.”
“Then how is it possible for you to...”
“Good teacher, good teacher.”
Elune was silent for a moment, then she lowered her head, a faint blush appearing on the tips of her ears again.
This time, it wasn't out of shyness, but rather a certain indescribable sense of defeat.
She had been called a genius since she was a child, whether it was in magic, swordsmanship, or languages; she could master anything in an extremely short time.
But in front of this human, her talent seemed so mediocre.
“What's wrong?”
“Nothing.”
She looked up, a competitive light flashing in her pale purple eyes.
“Continue. Next section.”
...
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