My stats are higher than yours!

"It's been resolved."

"Oh?"

The old village chief raised an eyebrow, then flipped his hand and took out a crystal ball. A deep blue light rippled from the crystal ball, then reflected the terrifying scene inside the bandit stronghold in Nanshan.

Blood and corpses covered half the mountain, and crows circled in the air, cawing.

"..."

The old village chief fell silent, then looked at Bai Shuodong again and asked, "This, did you do this? How did you do it?"

"Well... he encountered his enemy and was killed in the process."

Bai Shuodong thought for a moment and then answered.

"..."

The old village chief looked at him, then sighed deeply and said, "The waters of this world are indeed very deep; it's truly astonishing."

"I'll give you the map to the Holy Mountain of the Royal City later."

"In addition, regarding the powerful beings in this world, those who are publicly known are the Demon King of the Demon Clan and his seven vanguard demon generals. These demons possess strength far exceeding that of humans and are often able to defeat humans on the front lines."

"Even human heroes may not be able to defeat the Demon King of the Demon Race."

"so..."

Bai Shuodong nodded slightly, then asked, "What about the strong people on the human side?"

"There are more strong people on the human side, but their strength is generally inferior to that of the demons. The strongest are called Sword Saints and Archmages... The situation here is quite complex, and even I am not entirely clear about it."

The old village chief sighed and then continued, "Once upon a time, I was also a mage with exceptional talent, and I had the potential to reach the level of a Grand Magus. However, resources were limited that year, and at the same time, the offspring of a nobleman happened to need those resources."

"so..."

"I was essentially crippled. Even after years of recuperation, I can only use a small amount of spiritual energy now. If I use too much..."

The old village chief didn't finish his sentence, but the sorrow on his face made the whole story clear.

He will be seriously injured.

They might even die.

Under normal trial procedures, he should first get acquainted with the villagers, and then fight the bandits to the death with the help of everyone the next day, but in the end he still couldn't defeat the bandits.

Finally, his and the villagers' will and faith moved the old village chief, so the old village chief used all his remaining magic to kill the bandits.

Now that the bandits are dead, the old village chief no longer needs to use magic at the cost of his own life.

"What is that nobleman's name?"

Bai Shuodong asked.

“Jetton Brando, the Brando family is very powerful and has a lot of influence in the kingdom. Just make sure you are safe and don’t worry about avenging me.”

The old village chief lowered his head, sighed deeply, and said, "Many years ago, I was filled with anger and hatred, but gradually, time has worn away the waves in my heart. Now I am just an ordinary village chief."

"Can you teach me magic? I want to see if I can learn it," Bai Shuodong asked.

"Teach you?"

The old village chief looked at him with a puzzled expression, and then continued, "It's not that I don't want to teach you, but learning magic requires talent, and a very strong mental talent at that. Not everyone can learn it."

"I think I have this talent."

Bai Shuodong said with a smile.

At this moment, all his attributes have increased fivefold, and his mental attribute has reached 19 points.

The stronger one's mental attribute, the higher the probability of mastering psionic energy and the easier it is to learn skills. Under normal circumstances, Bai Shuodong only has a mental attribute of 3.8, which makes it virtually impossible for him to master the use of psionic energy, let alone learn basic spells.

But now he has 19 points of energy!

While my mental attribute is high, I need to quickly learn how to control psionic energy and use basic spells. The experience won't disappear after I leave the trial, and it will be much easier to master psionic energy then.

"..."

The old village chief looked at him for a long time, and finally sighed deeply, saying, "Then give it a try. If you can become stronger, you'll have more security in the future."

"Thank you."

"No need to thank me. Ultimately, learning magic depends on your talent. If you don't have enough talent, there's no need for me to teach you."

The old village chief leaned back slightly and then said, "So-called psionic energy is a kind of energy that lies dormant within our bodies."

"However, not everyone can discover and utilize this energy. Only those with sufficiently strong mental power can sense and master this power."

"There are also tricks and techniques to using mental energy. It's not something you can feel by simply closing your eyes and concentrating. You need to first get yourself into the best state, and then activate your mind in the way that suits you best."

"The more active your mind is, the higher the probability of being able to sense psychic energy. Of course, simply being mentally active is not enough. You also need to forcefully control your mind while you are mentally active to sense the energy that exists within your body."

"I know it's difficult, but it's the necessary path to becoming a magician. Alright, you can try it for a few days first..."

"Is that right?"

A ray of azure light emanated from Bai Shuodong's raised hand. He looked at the old village chief and said admiringly, "As expected of the old village chief, I succeeded on my first try by following your method. I have never felt this kind of energy before. Is this how it is accomplished?"

"...Is it finished?"

The old village chief's lips twitched, his heart filled with shock. However, he quickly coughed twice and said, "Not bad. Your mental talent is not bad. I can teach you a little bit."

Chapter 43 He! He never even left the starting village!

Evening

Bai Shuodong lay in the small house, reflecting on the knowledge he had learned during the day.

He then asked the spirit realm, "Is there a time limit for how long I can stay in the trial?"

A: There is no time limit, but the improvements gained during the trial cannot be applied to real life.

"Tch! Is that really how it is?"

Bai Shuodong was not discouraged.

Although the improvement is fake, the knowledge gained is real, and there's no problem with learning more.

Then he asked again, "So, when can I go to the holy mountain? Is there any restriction?"

Answer: No restrictions.

Bai Shuodong lowered his head.

Bai Shuodong pondered.

Bai Shuodong suddenly realized!

He exclaimed, "I've grasped it! The core of the trial! Hahaha! It's too easy!"

...

three days later

"flame."

Bai Shuodong opened his hands, and his spiritual energy transformed into blazing flames.

He has already learned the basics of psionic attribute conversion, but the conversion efficiency is relatively low. If his mental attribute hadn't been high enough, he probably wouldn't have been able to complete it so quickly.

He frowned and muttered to himself, "No, if it's only this level, I'm afraid I'll still have a hard time mastering the use of psionic energy after I get out. I must try to use psionic energy with as little mental attribute as possible to improve its efficiency."

So Bai Shuodong found the old village chief and asked with utmost seriousness, "Village chief, I feel that my spiritual energy conversion efficiency is still too low, and the strength of my spells is not high enough. What should I do? Is there any way to improve it?"

"This one..."

The old village chief smiled and said, "This is a problem that all mages will encounter, and the solution is very simple: enlightenment."

"Insights?"

“Go and gather some firewood, light a natural fire with it, and then observe and feel it up close. The closer the better, but don’t hurt yourself. As your understanding of fire improves, your spiritual energy conversion efficiency will naturally increase,” the old village chief said.

"Is that so?"

Bai Shuodong understood.

...

The next day

Bai Shuodong arrived at a distant mountain, punched a hole in the mountain, piled firewood in a large circle, then took off his clothes, sat in the middle, and lit the fire with a match. The firewood immediately burst into flames.

He sat in the fire, the burning sensation of the raging flames causing him a slight stinging pain, but he could still bear it.

[Note: Pyro damage detected in the vicinity, triggering short-term adaptation]

[Hint: Fire resistance increased]

Bai Shuodong sat by the fire, reflecting on his thoughts.

The flames burned fiercely.

...

One month later

The Kingdom of Heckler is in dire straits at the front lines. The vanguard demon general is wreaking havoc on the front lines, and the soldiers at the very front are on the verge of collapse. They have repeatedly requested reinforcements from the royal family.