A month after the Hangzhou incident, Mo Fan emerged from the Three Step Tower. It was another period of arduous cultivation; though tedious and boring, by persevering, he made significant progress. In one month, He was awaiting his breakthrough. THE Fire element he had went and used all his money to go and buy a Star River Vein. Breaking through to Advanced level becomes significantly harder for Mid-Tier. Very few instance, have mags been able to advance their Star Clouds into Star River without any external help. Even Mo Fan and Mu Ning Xue who were consider prodigal Mages of their generations required help from a Star River Veins to get their Star Clouds to breakthrough into Star River. The Star River was 343 stars -> 49 Star Paths -> 7 Star Maps -> 1 Constellation -> to cast High Tier Magic.
A Stardust cannot possibly measure up to a Star Cloud in terms of the amount of magic energy, a Star River offers magic energy so much that a Star Cloud cannot compare. In addition, Mo Fan recalled that upon reaching High Tier Mage, not just his reflexes and alertness to surroundings would improved, his physical abilities would increased as well.
Mo Fan slowly took out the Little Loach Pendant as he reached the corner.
The Little Loach Pendant was humming violently, trembling like it was about to leap out of his hand. It felt as if it had been starving for years and had finally found something it truly desired.
"Take it, take it, you better digest this properly," Mo Fan muttered, placing the Star River Vein in front of it without hesitation.
The moment the Star River Vein appeared, the Little Loach reacted instantly.
The crystalline structure of the Star River Vein dissolved into a streak of radiant light, drawn directly into the Pendant like water flowing into a vortex.
The Little Loach finally stopped trembling after absorbing it.
But in the next second—
it erupted.
A dazzling glow burst forth from the Pendant, illuminating the entire hall in brilliant radiance. The light was far more intense than anything Mo Fan had seen from it before.
Mo Fan froze for a moment, then immediately focused his consciousness inward, entering the world within the Little Loach Pendant.
The Nether River flowed quietly as usual, carrying countless Soul Remnants along its dark current.
But now—
something new had appeared.
At the center of the river, a vast stream of starlight energy spread outward, like a flowing galaxy pouring into the water itself. The Star River Vein had not remained as a physical object. Instead, it had dissolved completely, merging into the Nether River as pure energy.
Ripples of starlight pulsed outward.
The entire river began to change.
"What the hell…?" Mo Fan frowned, unable to immediately grasp what he was seeing.
But then—
he noticed it.
The energy wasn't just sitting there.
It was being consumed.
Refined.
Converted.
The Nether River began to surge, its currents growing stronger, wider, more alive. The starlight energy continuously broke apart, transforming into waves of pure magical essence that spread throughout the Pendant's inner world.
Unlike before, this energy didn't resist.
It didn't regenerate.
It was being completely devoured.
Mo Fan watched closely as the Star River Vein's essence steadily diminished, its once boundless energy now being digested piece by piece.
And it didn't stop.
The more it was absorbed—
the more the entire space expanded.
The Nether River widened.
The surrounding darkness deepened.
The entire internal world of the Pendant grew larger, more stable, more powerful.
"A level up…?" Mo Fan whispered, disbelief flashing across his face.
Ever since the Little Loach had absorbed the Underground Holy Spring, it had grown incredibly picky. Even Warrior level Soul Essences worth tens of millions meant nothing to it anymore.
It had stopped evolving.
Stopped responding.
No matter what Mo Fan fed it—
it simply didn't care.
But now—
it had found something worthy.
The Star River Vein.
A resource meant to push mages into the High tier.
And it had devoured it completely.
Mo Fan clenched his fists slightly, his heart pounding.
"How long has it been…?" he muttered.
Years.
It had been years since the Little Loach last evolved.
And now—
it finally responded again.
The glow intensified.
The energy surged.
And then—
it happened.
A massive wave of refined energy burst out from the Pendant and flooded directly into Mo Fan's Spiritual World.
Mo Fan's expression instantly changed.
He didn't hesitate.
This was the opportunity he had been waiting for.
He immediately guided the overwhelming energy toward his Fire Element Nebula.
The moment the energy entered—
his Fire Nebula trembled violently.
The forty-nine stars shook as if they had been ignited from within, each one glowing brighter, denser, more explosive than before.
Mo Fan focused intensely.
He could feel it.
The barrier.
The wall separating Intermediate from something greater.
"More…!" he growled under his breath.
The energy continued pouring in.
The stars began to move.
Colliding.
Expanding.
Pushing outward against the invisible limits of the Nebula.
The pressure was immense.
But Mo Fan didn't stop.
Because he knew—
this chance would not come again.
His soul, strengthened by multiple elements, could endure far more than an ordinary mage.
This was his advantage.
And he would use it fully.
The stars slammed forward again—
harder.
Fiercer.
More violently than before.
The entire Fire Nebula roared like a living inferno inside him, pressing against the boundary with unstoppable force.
Mo Fan's breathing grew heavy.
His mind burned.
But his will did not waver.
"If I don't break through now…"
"…then when?"
This was the gamble.
The same kind of gamble that had brought him here in the first place.
Power was never given.
It was taken.
And right now—
he was taking it.
The reason why his Fire Element could not improve further was the barricade surrounding the Fire Nebula. No matter how much effort he put into meditation, the energy would not increase at all.
Mo Fan had sensed the presence of the barricade not long ago. If he did not have three other Elements to focus on too, his cultivation would not have been stuck at the same level for a long time.
He could already cast the third-tier Fiery Fist at Jilin City. The truth was, he had been stuck at the same level for almost a year(not counting how he decreased a level cus of demon element)!
Now, Mo Fan had finally obtained enough energy to break through the barricade. It could only be done in one go!
It turned out that the energy provided by the level four Stars was stronger than ordinary Stars, too. The formidable energy from the strengthened forty-nine Stars suddenly became restless, trying to ram its way out of the Nebula.
It was like even the Stars were tired of being restricted within such a confined space. They were demanding more room! The forty-nine Stars suddenly became Mo Fan's vanguards in breaking down the barricade. Cracks were appearing on the thick walls!
Once there were cracks, it was a lot easier to focus on the weak spots and break down the barricade. Mo Fan held his breath and prepared himself to break down the barricade fiercely when Little Loach provided him the next wave of energy!
The petals of the lotus on the Nether River fully wilted, implying that Little Loach had sucked away all its life force. The green ripples spread further in the newly spacious world. At the same time, surges of green energy were directed into Mo Fan's Spiritual World!
"It's coming, here it comes!"
Mo Fan was standing on his toes. He immediately directed the energy into his Fire Nebula.
As soon as the energy arrived, the forty-nine Stars propelled themselves forward wildly, landing consecutive glows on the barricade surrounding the Nebula. It had already started to expand. The Stars were so vigorous that they were on the verge of exploding, this little Nebula could not satisfy their ambitions!
The cracks on the barricade grew larger. Mo Fan held his breath as he gathered all his focus, directing the energy to pour into his Nebula like a waterfall. He was determined to destroy the barricade!
Each time he broke through, he would experience overwhelming pain. The feeling of his head exploding was unbearable, yet even under the pain, he could not afford to lose his attention. He continued to direct the destructive energy into his Nebula, adding to the pressure...
"AHHHH!!!" Mo Fan uttered a deep scream from the depths of his soul due to the pain. His voice echoed in the palace.
Mo Fan was now at the most important part of the process. The barricade surrounding the Nebula was half-destroyed. The truth was, Mo Fan had already felt the urge to give up several times during the process. It felt like his soul was going to break into pieces if he decided to hold on even a second more.
Advanced Level; once he leveled up to the Advanced Level, he would be able to cast the Advanced Spells!
Advanced Fire, Lightning, Summoning and Shadow Spells, once he mastered these powerful spells, he would no longer be afraid of Commander-level creatures!
Most importantly, the fact that he could Awaken more Elements...
If nothing went wrong, he would be able to Awaken two other Elements once he achieved the Advanced Level, which meant he would have six Elements in total!
Six Elements... even Forbidden Magicians only had five Elements, but he had one more than them. If he managed to train all the Elements up at the same time, how formidable would he be?
As Yao Nan had mentioned, Double Innate Elements only granted him a slight advantage in the Basic Level. However, with six Elements, each giving him access to three spells in the Advanced Level, it meant he would have all kinds of defensive, movement, controlling, and destructive spells. How many people left would stand a chance against him?
Advanced Level!
Mo Fan's Advanced Level was a totally different concept than other people's Advanced Level. Having six Elements would allow him to challenge those with a higher cultivation, something that any other Innate Talents could not possibly achieve!
Yao Nan was right about Mo Fan's potential. The Double Innate Elements would only make Mo Fan stronger the higher his cultivation was!
He had to achieve the Advanced Level!
-Break! Break! Break!
-Just break, you goddamn barricade!-
Mo Fan felt like his blood was about to burst from his arteries. His body was flushed red on top of the flames burning fiercely around him. He felt like he was standing right at the edge of an erupting volcano!
"AAAAHHHHHH!!!!"
With a raging roar, the blazing red flames sprang into the air in the form of a fiery phoenix. It struck the ceiling of the hall and produced an astonishing mushroom cloud!
He did not expect to see the rising fiery phoenix. It was the sign that Mo Fan's Fire Element had improved from the Intermediate Level to the Advanced Level!
"The Nebula has grown into a Galaxy, three hundred and forty-three Stars!" mumbled Mo Fan in excitement.
The Fire Galaxy floated in Mo Fan's Spiritual World. It was so much more vast and majestic than the previous compact Nebula. The Stars were lining up in rows as they flowed elegantly in the Spiritual World...
The three hundred and forty-three Stars were densely accumulated in the Galaxy, flying around like the rest of the Stars. Forty-nine of the Stars among them were brighter and more vivid than the rest of the two hundred and ninety-four Stars. They were the forty-nine Stars that Mo Fan had already strengthened. The other two hundred and ninety-four Stars were still in their early stages with a faint glow.
As Mo Fan opened his eyes, he could see the vague silhouette of a Star Constellation revolving around him. It was constructed with three hundred and forty-three connected Stars. In other words, once Mo Fan connected his Stars by following the Star Orbits and Star Patterns, it would merge into a Star Constellation, which would then transform into the wide-area destructive Advanced Spell, Sky-Flame Funeral!
However, the silhouette of the Star Constellation soon dissipated. There was no way Mo Fan could remember it, as he had only caught a glimpse of it. That being said, it was only a matter of time until he figured it out!