"I'll cleave you to death!" Derrick gripped his longsword tightly, pouring all the remaining magic in his body into the blade.

  A sharp sword aura slashed toward the magic lion's neck. The aura hit its target precisely, leaving a deep, bone-visible gash in the lion's black fur.

  The lion let out a painful roar, its ferocity fully awakened by the wound. It suddenly opened its massive jaws, condensing a dense black orb in its throat.

  This was the magic lion's signature skill, Shadow Shockwave. The black orb howled as it tore through the air, shooting directly at Derrick.

  "It can attack from range too?" Derrick's face changed drastically. He tried to use his movement technique to dodge, but the excessive magic expenditure slowed him by half a beat.

  The black orb slammed into his chest with full force, flinging him into the air and slamming him against an oak tree.

  As Derrick struggled to sit up, the clothes on his chest were already burned black by shadow magic. His exposed skin was covered with fine wounds, blood steadily seeping out.

  His consciousness began to blur, and even the strength to hold his sword was fading.

  The magic lion's eyes glinted with greed. It leapt toward Derrick, aiming to swallow the small human in one bite.

  But just as its claws were about to touch him, a sword light shot toward it with incredible speed, too fast for the lion to react.

  A crisp cutting sound rang out. The lion's massive body froze midair, then split cleanly in two, blood and entrails spilling to the ground. The cut was smooth, clearly a single fatal strike.

  A figure slowly emerged from behind the lion's corpse. It was Ryan:"Derrick, seems like your magic genius status is a bit inflated, huh? You couldn't even handle a magic lion."

  Though mocking, Ryan moved swiftly. He walked over to Derrick, took out a healing potion, and made him drink it.

  The magic potion rapidly repaired his damaged tissues, and the blackened wound on his chest healed before his eyes.

  Derrick's consciousness gradually cleared. Gritting his teeth, he shook his groggy head and asked with effort,"Mentor, have you ever faced such a large magical creature alone before?"

  Ryan raised an eyebrow, answering casually,"I've never faced a magic lion of this level by myself. But a woman several times stronger than this? I've fought her eight times, every time a life-or-death battle."

  Derrick's eyes lit up instantly, filled with admiration."Really? Mentor, you're incredible! So who won in the end?"

  Ryan scratched his chin, replying vaguely,"You could say I won."

  Derrick didn't doubt it for a moment, assuming Ryan had fought hard to earn the victory. His respect for his Mentor grew even more.

  He silently thanked the town prophet's advice to insist on apprenticing under Ryan. Having such a powerful Mentor was the greatest fortune of his life.

  "All right, stop daydreaming." Ryan patted Derrick's shoulder and pointed at the magic lion's corpse."Now it's time to train your physical strength. Carry this lion's body."

  Derrick looked at the two halves of the magic lion's corpse flying toward him and hurriedly reached out to catch them.

  Though the carcass was incredibly heavy, after ten days of physical training, he could barely hold one half in each hand. Even so, his arms still trembled slightly under the weight.

  During these ten days, the two traveled through many towns and villages, heading north, with Ryan's destination set on the Arcane Sword Academy, one of the top institutions in the Eryndor Empire.

  .

  Derrick didn't know that Ryan had already mapped out the entire route in his mind.

  Once they reached the vicinity of the Arcane Sword Academy, he planned to help Derrick fully awaken his Light Element affinity, then send him into the academy for formal training.

  For Ryan, traveling with his apprentice was enjoyable, but it also slowed down his plans.

  The resources and heritage of the Arcane Sword Academy would help Derrick grow far more than Ryan's personal teaching ever could.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  When night fell, Ryan stopped in front of a mountain cave. A faint trace of beastly mana lingered at the entrance clearly, a low-ranked magical creature had taken up residence inside.

  A flash of sword light cut through the air. A short, sharp roar came from within the cave, and moments later, silence returned.

  "Let's go in. It's safe for now," Ryan said as he stepped inside and retrieved a flame scroll from his storage space.

  It was an item he had exchanged for 100 Magic Origin Value, capable of continuously emitting gentle flames without the need for fuel.

  As the scroll activated, crimson fire ignited in the center of the cave, casting warm light across the rocky walls.

  Derrick followed him in and dropped the two halves of the magic lion's body onto the ground with a heavy thud, letting out a long breath.

  Carrying the corpse all the way had nearly exhausted him. Leaning against the stone wall, he looked at Ryan with deep admiration.

  Over these ten days, no matter how dangerous the encounter, his Mentor had always handled it with ease. Such overwhelming strength was exactly what Derrick aspired to achieve.

  Ryan said,"Derrick, for now, continue practicing the rare-grade swordsmanship technique I taught you. Unfortunately, I don't have any epic-grade sword arts to pass on."

  He wasn't unwilling to give Derrick a stronger technique the problem was that the epic-grade sword arts in the Grimoire shop were extremely expensive, often costing tens of thousands of Magic Origin Value, far beyond what Ryan currently had.

  Besides, Derrick's Light Element talent had yet to be fully awakened. Introducing an epic-grade sword art too early might actually become a burden rather than a benefit.

  Hearing this, Derrick quickly took out a weathered tome from his robes it was the Dawn Swordsmanship Manual Ryan had given him.

  Though he didn't fully understand the difference between epic and rare grades, the sword forms and mana circulation patterns detailed within were already intricate and profound.

  When Ryan had handed him this manual, Derrick had been too shocked to speak. It was the kind of treasure countless magic apprentices dreamed of obtaining.

  "Mentor, being able to study the Dawn Swordsmanship Manual is already more than I could have hoped for," Derrick said earnestly.

  Ryan smiled faintly. He had the Grimoire to exchange for whatever magical resources he needed, but his student had to learn to grow independently.

  Clearing his throat, he said,"When your magic level reaches Mystic Mage, you'll need to start creating your own sword techniques. A true sword master never relies solely on the legacy of others. My student must never be a mere imitator understand?"

  "I understand!" Derrick's eyes burned with determination."I'll never let you down, Mentor. One day, I'll stand beside you as a fellow sword master!"

  Ryan nodded with a smile, then stood up, lifting the two halves of the magic lion's corpse before heading outside the cave.

  He took out the Perpetual Magic Kettle, an item he had bought from the Grimoire that could continuously produce water perfect for cleaning and processing the magic lion's remains.

  Time passed quietly. What seemed like a long three days actually slipped by in the blink of an eye.

  The corpse of the magic lion had long since been eaten, and for three days straight, the scent of roasted meat had never once faded from their temporary camp.

  Standing in the center of the cave, Ryan said to Derrick,"Derrick, guard the entrance for me. Don't let any magical creatures come inside."

  Derrick immediately strode to the cave's mouth and pushed a large boulder firmly into place, sealing the passage.

  He turned around, his expression solemn."Mentor, don't worry. As long as I'm here, nothing will disturb you!"

  Ryan nodded in satisfaction. Having a reliable apprentice did indeed save him a great deal of trouble.

  He walked over to the fire and sat down, taking out the Magic Tiger's Blood from his storage space. It was the condensed essence of a Magic Tiger's power core.

  A transparent, amber-like membrane covered its surface, and inside flowed golden energy that pulsed with violent force. Even through the membrane, one could feel the oppressive pressure radiating from it, enough to make one's heart tremble.

  Without hesitation, Ryan threw the Tiger's Blood into his mouth. With a gentle bite, the outer layer shattered instantly.

  The golden essence melted on contact, and a surge of hot, metallic-tasting energy rushed down his throat like molten lava, spreading through his entire body in an instant.

  Ryan's body began to glow with golden light, his magical veins clearly visible beneath the skin. Wisps of white steam rose faintly from his pores.

  At the cave entrance, Derrick could feel the scorching surge of magic. He instinctively tightened his grip on his sword.

  The strength of his Mentor's magic was now at least three times greater than before, and the air inside the cave had grown noticeably hotter.

  Ryan closed his eyes tightly, enduring the raging current within him. The sensation was like forcing an untrained mortal to drink an entire vial of high-tier magic elixir at once.

  The violent energy rampaged through his veins, threatening to tear them apart.

  But this was far from his first time facing such pain. Having been reborn eight times, Ryan had experienced countless ordeals like this and had long since developed a method to endure and control them.

  A crackling sound echoed in the cave like dry branches burning caused by the clash and fusion of his magic with that of the Magic Tiger.

  Derrick watched anxiously. His Mentor's body trembled slightly, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. The pain must have been immense.

  Suddenly, a golden wave of energy burst outward, shaking loose rocks from the cave ceiling.

  Ryan was fully focused, guiding the violent magic within.

  The power contained in the Magic Tiger's Blood was even wilder than he had anticipated, its energy constantly hammering against his magic core, sending waves of searing pain through his body.

  Yet behind the agony came visible progress.

  Outside, daylight turned to night, and night to day. The campfire burned out and was relit again and again. Time slipped by quietly amid the endless cycles of magical impact and fusion.

  On the first night of refinement, Ryan's rank advanced to Third-tier Journeyman Mage.

  By the third midnight, he reached Fourth-tier Journeyman Mage.

  On the fifth morning, he broke through to Fifth-tier Journeyman Mage.

  By the ninth evening, when the last trace of the Magic Tiger's energy was fully absorbed, an immense surge of magic erupted from within him Ryan had advanced to Sixth-tier Journeyman Mage!