My stats are higher than yours!!

"It's nothing, I went to comprehend the fire element, and I burned my clothes while I was doing so," Bai Shuodong replied with a grin.

"so it is."

The old village chief nodded slightly and said, "Then use elemental transformation and let me see how much you've improved in the past two months."

"okay!"

Bai Shuodong stretched out his hand, and a fierce spiritual flame instantly ignited. The flame was extremely intense, the temperature was terrifying, and it also possessed a strong explosiveness, making it clearly extraordinary.

"Hmm? What a powerful flame! To comprehend it to this extent in just two months? What a genius!"

The old village chief exclaimed in shock and emotion.

"Hey hey hey."

Bai Shuodong smiled. Actually, he wasn't that talented. He just spent every day immersed in lava, so his speed of comprehending the fire element was naturally fast. This was much more exciting than watching flames burn from a distance.

“Joey, you are a true genius. Although the kingdom’s front is stretched thin, I do not recommend that you go to the battlefield. If you fall now, your talent will not be able to be brought into play.”

The old village chief, with a solemn expression, grasped his hand with utmost seriousness and continued, "Therefore, I suggest you continue learning magic from me until I deem you ready to graduate. Until then, do not go to the front lines to die. This is my request."

"Of course!"

Bai Shuodong smiled and said, "Actually, my strength is still very weak. I need enough time to develop and master more powerful spells. Only when I have enough power will it be the right time to save the kingdom."

"Oh, by the way, I still have some questions about magic. Could you please answer them for me?"

"Good~"

Chapter Forty-Four: The Hero is Dead?!

On the Court

"bump!"

The king slammed his fist on the armrest, glaring and roaring, "Two months have passed, where is the hero? Where is the new hero? Half of the territory Hecas conquered has already been taken away! Do you know how great this loss is?"

The ministers looked at each other, then lowered their heads and remained silent.

"Useless! A bunch of useless trash!"

"Do you know how much money I'm losing every day? Those useless bastards at the front can't stop the demons at all! A bunch of good-for-nothings! If the demons keep fighting like this, they'll be driving into the capital in a few months!"

The king grew angrier with each word, his eyes fixed on one of them. He slammed his hand on the armrest and roared, "Leo, it's because of you that Hecas discovered those secrets, and it was you who plotted to kill Hecas! If he were still alive, would I have suffered such a great loss?"

"Your Majesty, but if we don't get rid of him, our business will be..."

"Get rid of him, then you go to the front lines! You're going to fight the demons? Do you even have the ability?"

"..."

The courtiers lowered their heads and remained silent.

Many people cursed him in their hearts. When Hecas was designed, this old man did not object. He even felt that if a hero died, he died and a new hero could take his place.

And now?

With no new hero appearing, the battle lines of the Kingdom of Heckler are becoming increasingly strained. He's getting anxious and is now trying to shift the blame, acting as if he's completely blameless.

"Your Majesty, I wish to report Leo!"

The minister wearing gold-rimmed glasses said.

"say!"

"Because Hecas discovered what he had done before, he sent people to control the Holy Mountain, preventing those with a strong sense of justice from successfully entering. The potential heroes might be among those people, but these guys are being kept out!"

"You still dare to do this? I'll beat you to death!"

The king instantly flew into a rage. He grabbed his scepter, stepped down from his throne, went to Leo's side, and, right in front of Leo, smashed the scepter down on him.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!..."

In an instant, wails and screams echoed throughout the palace.

...

On the other side

Bai Shuodong is still cultivating.

"Joey, mastering the skills of psionic energy and elemental transformation is only the starting point of magic. If you want to truly become a powerful mage, you need to understand the internal structure of magic, that is, the true composition of magic."

"But spell formation is extremely difficult and cannot be learned in a short time. Therefore, I hope you can learn the theoretical knowledge while improving your elemental perception. This process may take a long time, but I hope you can have the patience."

The old village chief began to speak.

"it is good!"

Bai Shuodong nodded seriously.

"Ah."

The old village chief slowly twirled the walnuts, still thinking about how to stall this kid a little longer.

Bai Shuodong is very talented and a true genius, but having such talent is not a good thing in the capital. If he offends any noble, he might be crippled the next day.

There are many geniuses in the Kingdom of Heckler, but the human race is not strong. The core reason is that geniuses are often suppressed by nobles, and rising geniuses will be hostile to nobles, which makes the old nobles hate geniuses even more, and they will even actively kill geniuses.

Anyway, there are brave warriors in foreign wars, and the kingdom doesn't need that many high-end combat forces. If a genius dies, so be it.

'We can't let this kid go to the capital; it's too dangerous for him.'

The old village chief thought to himself.

Soon, he thought of a brilliant plan and looked at Bai Shuodong with a smile, saying, "Joey, although you are very talented in fire element, it may not be your best type. You can try to comprehend the transformation of other elemental attributes. A mage who masters multiple different elements is very powerful."

"Indeed."

Bai Shuodong wholeheartedly agreed.

Later, he went to the seaside with the old village chief, dived into the deep sea to hone his water resistance, and at the same time further mastered knowledge related to magic.

.....

Two months later, in the royal court.

"Oh!"

"Four months, four months! Hecas's conquered territory has been wiped out! If they keep attacking, they'll be here with us! Don't any of you have anyone who can fight back against the demons? Without heroes, are you completely useless?" the king roared angrily.

"Your Majesty, I wish to file a complaint."

The minister wearing gold-rimmed glasses spoke.

"say!"

"This is a critical moment for the kingdom. The young master of the Brando family had a healing magic genius killed due to a personal dispute, which means that our kingdom will forever lack a healing archmage, weakening the kingdom's combat power against enemies."

"Bastards! What time is it? You're still killing our nation's geniuses! Are you all out of your minds? You'll be happy when the kingdom is destroyed? You'll all become demon slaves!" the king roared.

The minister wearing gold-rimmed glasses smiled and continued, "There's one more thing. After Leo was reported last time, he let his son cause trouble in the streets, bullying men and women, and killing anyone who dared to stop him."

“I strongly suspect that he is deliberately hunting down heroes with a strong sense of justice. The fact that no heroes have emerged from the Holy Mountain for so long may be because new heroes have already been killed by them in this way.”

"The new hero is dead?"

"what?"

"Another hero has died?"

Suddenly, the court was in an uproar, and the Yu family realized the seriousness of the problem.

If a new hero dies, there's a high probability that no new heroes will appear for the next few months. They'll have to rely on themselves to keep going. If this continues, the Kingdom of Heckler will truly perish.

"You bastard!"

"You actually killed the hero at this time?"

"Execute Leo!"

"Execute Leo!"

"Execute Leo!"

Leo slumped to the ground, muttering to himself, "No, no! I didn't design it! He was always like this, it has nothing to do with me!"

...

Later, after Leo was executed, the Xiongnu began to restrain their subordinates and their children to avoid being reported and executed like Leo. Soon, the security situation in the entire capital improved significantly.

Unfortunately, these nobles have maintained their ways for many years, and short-term changes will not be effective. The demons' offensive remains fierce, continuing to advance towards the royal city.

The king and nobles, who were in high positions, were in a panic and began to make arrangements desperately.

Officials who embezzled frontline supplies were swiftly executed, generals who held their positions without merit were dismissed, and previously overlooked but powerful individuals proactively sought out opportunities to serve and protect the kingdom.

but...

The kingdom's corruption has taken deep root in people's hearts, and the powerful are unwilling to take action.

In their youth, they too had experienced that dark period and truly witnessed the shadow of the empire. Very few could emerge from it, but they were all true super geniuses, possessing both exceptional intelligence and formidable strength.

As for those geniuses who are not smart enough or lack ability?

They died long ago!

Chapter Forty-Five: The Old Village Chief Presents a Magic Staff

One month later

The deep sea, 2000 meters underwater.

Sunlight cannot penetrate the deep sea, and the environment here is extremely dark, with only a few fish emitting scattered points of light through their bioluminescent organs.

Bai Shuodong continued to dive, his body enduring the intense pressure from his surroundings. He felt as if he were about to be crushed at any moment, but he was still barely alive and could still move, so there was no problem.

As long as I can survive, I'll adapt!

whee!

[Note: Long-term exposure to high-intensity water element pressure has been detected, triggering adaptive evolution.]

[Hint: Water element resistance increased]

[Note: Prolonged exposure to an environment where breathing is impossible has triggered adaptive evolution.]

[Tip: Respiratory system optimization]

[Note: Prolonged exposure to high-pressure environments has triggered adaptive evolution.]

[Hint: Physical strength increased]

[Note: The body has been detected to be at a critical point of collapse for an extended period, triggering adaptive evolution.]

[Tip: Self-healing speed increased]

...

Various spiritual prompts sounded, and Bai Shuodong's basic attributes increased again. It was precisely because of the continuous improvement in adapting to evolution that Bai Shuodong was able to dive into the two-thousand-meter deep sea, and even continue to dive down to feel the higher intensity of water elemental power.

Attribute loans are just the beginning.

He can also improve other stats by "perceiving elements".

A true stat monster should have no weaknesses; its resistance to damage, self-healing ability, elemental resistance, physical defense, and so on should all have extreme stats.

The pressure from the Demon King is immense. His highest attribute can reach 38 points, while mine is only 31. So, it's reasonable to use adaptive evolution to increase other attributes a bit more, right? As for the slight changes that occurred in a certain kingdom while I was increasing attributes... well, that's just how it is.

Our abilities are limited!

...

"Thump!"

Bai Shuodong emerged from the water, releasing spiritual energy from his body. This energy transformed into high temperature, evaporating the moisture inside his clothes.

My teacher at school once said that.

Psychic energy is a fundamental form of energy that can be transformed into any attribute, whether it be earth, water, fire, wind, ice, lightning, poison, or light, darkness, space, etc. The efficiency of the transformation depends on the individual's understanding of the elements, as well as their mental strength and control.

Mastering psionic energy and understanding the elements does not necessarily mean becoming a true mage. For example, the fire enchantment used by warriors also requires an understanding of the elements, and the requirements in this regard are common to all.

in addition...