Her Charisma remained in a league of its own — a runaway leader. Her Morality was a runaway leader in the opposite direction. Her Intelligence was equally exceptional, her Strength, Constitution, and Agility were relatively balanced, her Fortune and Command had risen steadily with the tide — only her Aptitude continued to drag along the floor like a deadweight.
"Hmm… counting the Intelligence pendant (+1 INT), the special-enrollment brooch (+2 INT), Fairy Honeytongue (+3 INT), and Quietsong (+20 INT), I just need to Meditate a while longer and my Intelligence will comfortably crack a hundred."
Li Fei ran the mental arithmetic quickly and arrived at her answer: "At this point, each point of Intelligence already adds 7 points of mana… heh."
A smile bloomed across the courtesan queen's face — because she had just realized that as long as she maxed out Intermediate Meditation, she could fire off a single cast of Abyssal Lava without needing to burn her soul at all.
If she'd had that kind of firepower back in Folded Space D-07… no, she'd still have had to play it safe and negotiate. The casting time alone was long enough for an orc army to turn her into a pincushion with throwing axes — and if their formation were spread out, one Abyssal Lava wouldn't actually kill that many people anyway.
Regardless — Intermediate Meditation, here we go!
With that thought, Li Fei murmured:
"System — Meditation and Summoning Magic. Level them up!"
Anyone who'd ever played an RPG knew how critical the skill-point allocation phase was. Given her terrible Aptitude and the shop's complete lack of any respec item, Li Fei had always been painstakingly cautious with her Potential Points — terrified of making a mistake. But whatever else might be in question, maxing out Meditation and Summoning Magic was an absolute no-brainer.
The former was universal across all five elemental affinities — pouring points into it could never be a bad investment. As for the latter… the Secret Garden was now generating seventy to eighty gold coins of revenue every single day. Doing the rough math, each fairy contributed roughly two gold coins of output per month — and that income counted toward her Wealth stat.
With Intermediate Summoning Magic and Fairy Honeytongue working in tandem, Li Fei could now summon six newborn fairies per day. That meant even if she lay in bed doing absolutely nothing, her daily income would increase by approximately twelve gold coins — and that wasn't a flat twelve, it was twelve added on top each day, compounding indefinitely — plus an equal amount in Wealth stat gains. That rate of asset appreciation was far faster than grinding away selling wine for pocket change.
There would be a ceiling, of course — but it would be a long while before she hit it. After all, the Fairy Mother had already been sending over volumes such as Postpartum Care for Fairies, Essentials of Secret Garden Development, Theory of Fairy Organization, and Cultivation Techniques for Economically Valuable Transcendent Flora, with instructions for Li Yue to have the sharpest and most clever of the newborn fairies study them diligently. Knowledge, after all, had always been the most precious intangible asset.
Back when the Secret Garden had grown wild and unchecked under Sasha and the generations of fairy chieftains before her, the total fairy population had been stuck at just over a thousand for the longest time and couldn't advance a single step further. Plenty of valuable materials had been squandered too — left without proper care and cultivation — which had cost a certain Miss Li several villas' worth of missed earnings. A textbook example of how not to do things.
By contrast, Yusura's half-orc tribe was a model of the opposite: working from incomplete knowledge, she had scraped together an entire army from nothing, swept all before her without resistance, plundered a fortune from that desolate backwater of a location — and had even managed to construct a Chaos Altar on top of it all.
The Fairy Mother was confident that, with the resources she was providing, the management framework she had established, and the steady supply of knowledge and new fairies she would continue to funnel in — the fairy population and the Secret Garden's productive capacity would balloon by several times over, at the very least.
"Hm?"
The next moment, her pleasant daydream shattered. Li Fei sat bolt upright on the bed, startled.
The Summoning Magic level had upgraded without issue — but her Meditation had not budged a single inch, and she had received a notification: "Natural Magic level insufficient."
"Hmm… Each school of Transcendent knowledge includes one core knowledge, two subsidiary knowledges, and one special knowledge. Natural Magic is the core knowledge; Cycle Principle and Meditation are the subsidiary knowledges. Does that mean…"
Li Fei formed a hypothesis in her mind. After a brief hesitation, she lit up Foundational Natural Magic.
As the Potential Points drained away, a torrent of knowledge surged into her mental sea, baptizing her mind — while hazy, layered, overlapping visions flickered to life in her consciousness.
Time stretched endlessly. In the span of a single breath, she seemed to witness the World Tree wither and bloom in its eternal cycle; flowers burst into glorious bloom beneath her feet only to wilt and decay, dissolving at last into arcane patterns, lines, and symbols — flickering, dancing, never still — whispering of the Cycle Principle that governed all things.
The courtesan queen, whose Aptitude had risen to 3, found herself genuinely moved by the dazzling, fantastical visions. A spark of inspiration surfaced in her heart — she reached for it, and caught nothing. Like a clumsy child creeping toward a white dove, she could only watch helplessly as those pure white wings vanished into the sky at the very moment she almost had them.
"What a pity…"
A flash of green flickered through her eyes and was gone. Li Fei let out a quiet sigh.
Then, just as quickly, she set the faint regret aside, steadied her mood, and continued testing her hypothesis.
"System — can Natural Magic still be leveled up?"
The system replied with: "Cycle Principle level insufficient."
"As I thought."
Li Fei articulated her newly discovered rule aloud, cementing it in memory: "The level gap between core and subsidiary knowledge cannot exceed one tier. Special knowledge, however, is unaffected. — System: Intermediate Five Elements Meditation."
The Knowledge Tree representing Natural Magic on her panel grew once more, branching out into new shoots. Li Fei stared at her remaining 7 Potential Points and added:
"The only exception is when cultivating multiple schools of Transcendent knowledge simultaneously — leveling Meditation first, allowing an entry-level spell school to coexist alongside Intermediate Five Elements Meditation…"
Knowledge Tree:
1. Natural School:
Foundational Natural Magic: Unlocks the ability to learn and cast Tier-2 Natural spells.
Introductory Cycle Principle
Intermediate Five Elements Meditation (Advanced Five Elements Meditation unlocks after reaching Sequence 7)
All-school casting speed +40%; All-school spell effect +10%; All-school spell penetration +30%; Mana recovery speed +20%; Increases Meditation efficiency, mana affinity, and spell resistance.
Can enter Meditation state. While in Meditation, mana recovery speed increases by 70%, and Intelligence, Charisma, EXP, mana cap, and Perception gradually improve.
Note: Intermediate Five Elements Meditation can raise Intelligence by up to 30 points, Charisma by up to 15 points, and mana cap by up to 300 points.
Intermediate Summoning Magic (Advanced Summoning Magic unlocks after reaching Sequence 7)
2. Chaos School:
Introductory Chaos Magic
Intermediate Five Elements Meditation
Her mana — purer now, more refined.
Li Fei could feel it clearly: what had once resembled mana in a fog-like state was now far denser, carrying a sense of weight and substance.
She couldn't help but raise her hand — no incantation, no spell model activated — and with nothing but a raw surge of pure mana, she shattered the mirror on the window.
The stacked combination of Entry-level, Foundational, and Intermediate Meditation had granted her a total accumulated bonus of: all-school casting speed +90%, all-school spell effect +30%, all-school spell penetration +60%, all-school spell cooldown reduction −5, all-school mana cost −5%, all-school spell level +1, mana recovery speed +30% — plus permanent boosts to Meditation efficiency, resistances, Perception, and mana affinity.
Beyond that, under Lady Zhihua's care, the young mistress would surely move through the post-breakthrough power-adjustment period smoothly and in short order — fully absorbing the dividend of a permanent +60 Intelligence, +30 Charisma, and +600 mana cap.
"Heh. At this rate, maybe I won't even need to reach Sequence 7 to be completely unbeatable at lower Sequences."
Li Fei lit a cigarette with quiet satisfaction, then shifted her gaze to the Witch of Depravity class entry — and her eyes sharpened.
It had to be said: the class the Wishing Ritual had tailor-made for her was genuinely formidable. Not only did it comprehensively enhance her casting capabilities, it had also fully accounted for the courtesan queen's Strength, Constitution, and Agility — stats that placed her in a completely different league from ordinary mages. The resulting leaps in explosive power, physical penetration, damage resistance, and wound recovery speed would give Li Fei's close-combat ability a dramatic boost. Dynamic visual acuity and neural reflex speed in particular — two hidden attributes that warriors spent fortunes trying to raise, yet which mages stood to benefit from equally — would let her dodge all manner of ambushes with ease, while enabling sharper, more efficient spellcasting performance in the heat of battle.
The only thing…
Li Fei stared at the Sensitivity +5% entry for a long, long moment, unable to let it go, and finally exhaled a long, suffering sigh.
This one had gone through so much to evolve from a Great Emperor (tidal interval: 3–4 minutes) to a Red Dust Immortal (5–6 minutes)… only to now face the great calamity of the Witch of Depravity class. Not only would her Constitution become even more "acute" — factoring in the imminent upgrade of Sensitivity Aura, plus the spell amplification from her class, Sequence, and Meditation… she was probably going to have to walk the Red Dust Immortal road all over again from the beginning.
Her gaze traveled further down and locked onto the spell-like ability: [Depravity].
Depravity (Lv???)
Spell Effect: Reduces the target's Morality stat. The lower the caster's own Morality, and the higher their Charisma, Intelligence, Sequence level, Bloodline Witchification concentration, and mana output — the higher the success rate and the stronger the effect. (Influenced by the target's Sequence level, resistance, willpower, emotional state, and other factors.)
Cooldown: None
Mana Cost: 1–100%
Spell-like abilities could be understood as a kind of Innate Talent — an instinct. They could be activated instantly and could not be learned through normal study; they wouldn't even generate a spell model in the mental sea. Like a Moonlight Wolf bathed in moonlight receiving immediate stat boosts, it was an extraordinarily rare capability that only a handful of classes could ever grant a Transcendent.
"Interesting skill… if I develop and apply it creatively, it might even be more useful than that bottle of 'antidote'…"
Li Fei gave a satisfied nod.
Obviously, [Depravity] and the Witch of Depravity were a match made in heaven — sure to shine brilliantly in the days ahead.
After examining her newly acquired class from every angle several times over, Li Fei was certain: while the Witch of Pride was nothing to scoff at, the Witch of Depravity suited her far better.
Having resolved to continue customizing her Sequence 7 class, Li Fei cast a tempted, eager eye at the Gacha Panel, her mind buzzing with restless schemes:
— No, can't do it yet. Enthrall Fate gives one extra Fortune point for every full 100 Charisma. Pulling now would be wasteful… hold on a little longer. Meditate a few more days, wait for Charisma to break 500, then max out Fortune and do a full multi-pull!
— This Sequence advancement didn't grant the usual bonuses of 'skill level ups, cooldown reduction, mana cost reduction, and bonus stats on level-up'… Those aspects must be harder to advance than regular attributes. If I'm guessing right, they might work like Innate Talents — only breaking through at the threshold boundaries between low, mid, and high Sequences. Or even the reverse: maybe it's precisely because of those breakthroughs that the gulf between low, mid, and high Sequences exists at all?
— Still have 7 Potential Points remaining… Natural-school buffs plus close combat, or Natural-school Summoning plus Chaos-school damage output? If I want all of the above… that might actually… not be out of the question?
After carefully reviewing her thoroughly overhauled panel, Li Fei had formed a clear and intuitive understanding of all the changes she'd undergone, gained a far deeper and more comprehensive grasp of the System, and mapped out at least part of her future plans in her mind — but she also had to face the question she had been dodging for a while now.
Choosing her "Path."
The inter-school tournament was fast approaching, and pre-tournament special training was urgently needed. Relying on Natural Magic alone, their trio of mages clearly couldn't withstand the pressure of a dedicated melee squad…
Although Li Fei's original vision had been a Natural and Chaos hybrid, as the saying goes — one wrong step leads to wrong step after wrong step. Ever since that accursed System had pulled Dragon's Might for her, the young mage lady had been drifting further and further down the path of close combat…
Even as she recalled her old oath — "I will absolutely never stoop to brawling around like some brute" — she flexed her fingers, as if she could still feel the deeply satisfying recoil from caving in an enemy's skull with the Ogre Staff, and the fleet-footed, swallow-light joy of Agility +50 after picking up the Blade of Joy…
At this moment, the scales in Li Fei's mind spun like a fan blade: on the left side, "Close combat is always a good time, every time"; on the right, "Defending the honor of mages is our sacred duty." The furiously spinning thoughts made her head run hot, and her mind eventually dissolved into mush.
Gwaaaargh!
Finally, a thoroughly undecided Li Fei let out a draconic roar of frustration and decided to call in the professionals for advice!
Some ten-odd minutes later, the little fairies surged out in full force once more. As translucent butterfly wings fluttered and danced, one after another — limited-edition letters bearing the courtesan queen's lip print seal — were dispatched to the Magic Academy, the War Academy, the Thieves' Guild, the Mercenary Guild, the Golden Kumquat Tavern, the City Hall, and even the not-yet-open Four Seasons Apothecary…
At the same time, in a quiet meditation room elsewhere, a black-haired girl who had been diligently cultivating her "one hour of hard work per day" habit felt the vibration against her chest interrupt her Meditation.
She opened her eyes — faintly misted — reached into her collar, and retrieved the phone that had been warmed to a comfortable heat by the warmth of her body. She read the incoming message.
Life's Greatest Passion Is Turning Straight Girls: Got a question for you. I've discovered I have real talent in combat, natural, and chaos — all three schools of Transcendent knowledge. And my class gives me comprehensive boosts across the board too. But time and resources are limited and I can't decide, so give me some advice.
"Well now, you're being unusually serious."
Bai Mengtian gave a light laugh. Her fair, slender fingertip danced across the screen, and without a moment's hesitation, she typed her reply.
Dozens of li away, Li Fei — propped chin in hand, staring out the window — glanced sideways, picked up her phone from the desk, and muttered under her breath:
"That fast? She's probably just brushing me off."
She swiped down. New messages filled the screen.
Palpitation Warrior: I used to struggle with this exact question too.
Palpitation Warrior: As for the answer… want to learn the five-school hybrid forbidden spell I invented myself? I'll teach you.
From that breezy, effortlessly superior tone, Li Fei caught — for the first time — a genuine whiff of the great villainess's imperious arrogance.
She smiled, and typed back: "Get lost."
But the replies came faster than expected. Before the sun had even set, the fairy messengers had returned bearing a flurry of letters from all directions.
Qin Zhihua's reply was a blank sheet of paper. Clearly, she believed Li Fei was fully capable of finding her own path.
Magic Academy Principal Nicole's reply read: "I still have that Archmage's secret formula" — as it was common knowledge that the qualification for becoming an Archmage required mastery of three spell schools, she had expressed, with graceful and tactful elegance, her recommendation that Li Fei abandon any thought of "messing around with melee combat."
War Academy Vice-Principal Chloe's reply was blunt and to the point — just two words: "Warrior."
Leona, the Mercenary Guild president's daughter, tucked a rose petal inside her letter. The note contained only a time and a place — she intended to meet in person with her good friend's girlfriend.
Melodia… Hathaway… Irena… Kalida…
Li Fei read through every letter one by one, then carefully set them aside.
In truth, by the time Bai Mengtian had sent her reply, the answer had already taken shape in her heart.
Eating soft rice was indeed comfortable and pleasant — but the greedy, competitive, ever-ambitious courtesan queen also had a target she was determined to surpass, no matter what it took.
No matter how many options were on the table, Li Fei's answer was always the same: she wanted all of it. That wasn't merely her chosen Path on the road to Transcendence — it was Li Fei's personal creed. And Bai Mengtian had simply accelerated the moment she made up her mind.
Three schools was only the beginning. She wanted more, later on.
As for Potential Points — wasn't the Continent of Enlos just teeming with walking, breathing EXP waiting to be harvested?
____
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