Kaelan's comprehension of the Dark Elemental Law sinks deeper and deeper.
Every passing second pulls him closer to the late Dust Stage of comprehension, where vague intuition sharpens into structure and authority. Darkness is no longer a single concept to him—it unfolds into layers, directions, and paths.
A Path is a singular expression of a Law.
Just as the Law of Fire contains the Path of Heat, the Path of Combustion, and the Path of Expansion, so too does the Dark Elemental Law fragment into distinct principles.
As Kaelan's mind aligns with this world's framework, seven paths reveal themselves with increasing clarity:
• Dark Path – the fundamental essence of darkness itself
• Corrupt Path – erosion, decay, contamination of structure
• Distortion Path – warping of perception, space, and form
• Cold Path – absence of warmth, thermal collapse
• Silent Path – suppression of sound, vibration, and presence
• Oblivion Path – gradual erasure, thinning of existence
• Shadow Path – concealment, reflection, and layered darkness
Kaelan senses instinctively that seven is the limit of this world.
In other words, Dark Elemental Law may contain more paths—or fewer.
Some worlds may lack it entirely.
Others may be built upon it as a core principle.
But here, these seven define darkness.
And among them, he chooses only one.
The Dark Path.
This path exists in every world that contains darkness.
It is the foundation.
The skeleton upon which all other dark paths hang.
It governs control.
Not corruption.
Not death.
Not distortion.
Pure manipulation of Dark Elemental Energy.
Kaelan does not attempt to comprehend all paths at once.
That would blur the distinction and weaken mastery.
Instead, he isolates.
He will complete one path fully—then move to the next.
---
To deepen his understanding, Kaelan constructs spells using only the Dark Path.
Or rather—
He attempts to.
Very quickly, he realises a truth that separates theory from reality:
A spell cannot exist through a single path alone.
Even the simplest spell requires participation from auxiliary principles.
The Dark Path provides identity—
But other paths provide function.
For example:
The Zero Tier Dark Arrow appears simple.
Yet beneath the surface, it combines:
• Dark Path – elemental identity
• Sharp Path – penetration
• Solid Path – structural coherence
Without Sharp, the arrow disperses.
Without Solid, it collapses.
This limitation becomes more severe with higher-tier spells.
Still, Kaelan restrains himself.
He allows only minimal participation from non-dark paths—never paths from the Dark Elemental Law itself.
Only neutral or universal principles.
---
His spell hierarchy stands as follows:
Zero Tier (Apprentice Wizard)
• Dark Arrow
• Dark Blade
• Darkness
First Tier (Bronze Wizard)
• Dark Grip – condensed darkness that binds and restrains
• Dark Blast – explosive release of compressed dark energy
Second Tier (Silver Wizard)
• Dark Armour – layered dark energy that absorbs and disperses force
• Dark Step – instantaneous displacement through localized darkness
Third Tier (Golden Wizard)
• Dark Wings – flight through sustained dark manifestation
• Dark Pierce – a concentrated thrust that ignores surface defences
• Dark Pulse – a radial surge that suppresses enemy energy circulation
Fourth Tier (Initial Spiritual Wizard)
• Dark Cage – spatial imprisonment formed from interlocking dark planes
Each spell strengthens his grasp of the Dark Path.
Each reinforces precision.
Each strips away ambiguity.
---
Now, Kaelan stands before the final threshold.
The Fifth Tier Spell.
The spell that will complete his mastery of the Dark Path at the mid–Spiritual Wizard Realm.
Its name already exists in his mind.
Its vision is clear.
Dark Vortex.
A spiralling convergence of dark elemental energy that devours motion, direction, and resistance. Not explosive. Not violent.
Inevitable.
Yet this is where difficulty truly reveals itself.
At this level, creating a spell with a single dominant path becomes nearly impossible.
The vortex wants rotation.
Rotation invites distortion.
Distortion tempts the Distortion Path.
The density invites Corruption.
The pressure invokes Oblivion.
Kaelan resists.
He strips the construct down again and again.
Rejects every trace of secondary dark paths.
Allows only:
• Dark Path as core
• Universal motion principles as scaffolding
Nothing more.
The vortex collapses.
Again.
And again.
Midnight arrives.
Kaelan opens his eyes.
Without a word, he rises.
The window slides open.
He steps into the night sky, dark robes fluttering as he ascends above the town, where lanterns glow like scattered stars.
His gaze drifts eastward.
There, a small forest lies crouched against the horizon.
The Green Serpent Sect.
Even from this distance, the forest feels wrong.
A thick green poisonous miasma blankets it, drifting slowly like a living thing. The moonless night deepens its colour, turning the trees into warped silhouettes. Insects buzz relentlessly, and distant beast cries echo through the undergrowth, creating an eerie, oppressive rhythm.
Kaelan does not descend directly.
The miasma interferes with spirit investigation, scattering perception and dulling clarity. Instead, he lowers himself several meters from the forest edge and watches in silence.
If he were still mortal, he would never approach such a place.
But now—
He steps forward.
The moment he crosses the boundary, the poisonous miasma assaults his mana body, pressing against it like corrosive fog. His mana resists automatically, stabilising his form.
He takes one step into the forest.
Then stops.
His eyes narrow.
Realisation strikes him with sudden force.
This is not ordinary poison.
The miasma is composed of evil energy—not crude, but refined—rising from deep beneath the earth. The sheer quantity of it freezes him in place for a heartbeat.
Evil energy is an advanced form of elemental energy.
And this world does not possess it in abundance.
Shock ripples through his thoughts.
"Did Xiang Xin gather all the wood-element evil energy in this forest?"
The idea forms instinctively.
Then he shakes his head.
"No… that can't be."
Even within a single element, evil energy has countless variations shaped by environment, time, and circumstance. For the entire world to contain only one type of wood-element evil energy is impossible.
Something else is at work.
Kaelan presses deeper into the forest.
The air grows heavier. His spirit sense strains under the pressure of the wood-element evil energy, its influence gnawing at perception rather than force.
Finally—
He stops.
A barrier stands before him.
Invisible to ordinary sight, yet absolute.
He extends his spirit to examine it.
Almost immediately, he frowns.
The arrangement is… unfamiliar.
The structure does not align with this world's laws. The runes do not resonate with the elemental framework he knows. Their logic bends differently, flowing in patterns that feel foreign and distant.
"This isn't from this world," he murmurs inwardly.
Then the answer surfaces.
"The world of the Sword Immortal."
Those swords sent into this world were not merely weapons.
They carried knowledge.
That realisation ignites a sharp spark of greed within him.
His desire for the sword deepens.
Yet reason restrains him.
Those swords are fragments of the Sword Immortal's natal sword—a Fifth Stage Transcend Weapon. Even divided into nine parts, each fragment still stands at the Fourth Stage Transcend.
With his current strength, he cannot subdue them.
For now, they must remain in the hands of their chosen heirs.
He can only observe.
Only learn.
His spirit glides gently across the barrier's runes, tracing their curves, memorising their rhythm, attempting to decipher their meaning.
But—
The sky lightens.
Dawn approaches.
Kaelan withdraws his spirit.
He knows better than to overreach.
Before completing the Dark Path and forming the full Authority of Storm, he should not begin another major project.
Priorities matter.
Through the open window of the inn, he returns to his room.
He lies down.
His conscious threads settle.
The mana body disperses quietly, dissolving into motes of darkened light.
On the bed, a miniature flying ship rests in his place, motionless and silent.
Kaelan takes a short nap—
Not for the body.
But for the mind.
---
Hours later, Kaelan stands within the flying ship as it cuts through the sky toward Silver City.
This time, he does not conceal himself.
He does not suppress the ship's presence.
He wants the world to see.
The auction is approaching—the once-in-a-decade grand auction of the Silver Treasure House, the largest auction in the entire human world. Every kingdom sends representatives. Every great faction sends eyes. Cultivators, refiners, nobles, sect masters, wandering experts—all will be gathered in one place.
There is no better stage.
Kaelan's goal is clear.
The Wizard Way must no longer spread quietly in the shadows. It must be placed under the sun, undeniable, undeniable in strength, undeniable in potential.
Let them compare.
Let them judge.
Let them fear.
The flying ship does not rush.
It moves with a steady, overwhelming presence, arrays humming softly as clouds are pushed aside. From below, it looks like a moving sky island—vast, refined, impossible.
Then—
Kaelan's expression sharpens.
His spirit sense catches something ahead.
He raises a hand.
The flying ship slows… then stops completely in midair.
Kaelan steps forward onto the deck.
Ahead of him, five figures stand suspended in the sky, blocking the path.
They are arranged in a loose arc, each radiating a vast, oppressive aura that presses down on the air itself.
Heavenly Officials.
Five of them.