My health recovery is incredibly fast.

Xia Zuo successfully arrived at the planned town.

Wearing a hood that concealed his face, he walked through the bustling hotel lobby, found the owner, had a conversation, and left a handful of copper coins as payment for his lodging.

In the hotel room, Xia Zuo took out two tripwire bells and placed them on the door and windowsill respectively.

He lay on the soft couch, adjusted the position of his pillow, and mentally reviewed the rewards he had gained from using the Windwalk spell to travel today:

"Today, I have used Tivanas Windwalk for about 6 hours, with an average spell power of 20 points, a reward of 72 experience points, and a certain amount of Spirit and Perception attribute points."

If you float for 6 hours every day, you should gain at least 2000 experience points in a month.

If we only consider the efficiency of experience acquisition as a metric, this is the fastest way to gain experience.

Xia Zuo pondered for a moment, then drank the diluted calming potion and entered into deep meditation.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he embarked on his journey once again.

...

Day 7 of the arduous journey to Ye Nan Province.

Xia Zuo entered the territory of Ye Nan Province yesterday morning.

He took the shortest route and flew straight to the village north of West, where someone was waiting to meet him.

noon.

Smoke rose into the sky not far away, and Xia Zuo drifted towards the village for more than ten minutes.

Mars appeared on the opposite bank of a small river.

He was holding a two-handed staff, leaning against a tree trunk, and like all mages who prefer to keep a low profile, he covered his face with a hood with a low brim.

A gentle breeze swept across the grass in front of Mars, and the cloud of blue light stopped in front of him, instantly transforming into a man wearing a black hood.

"Senior Mars, it's been a long time." Xia Zuo lifted his hood and greeted him with a smile.

Mars looks very different.

His facial features had become more defined, making him look much more mature than when he left the academy two years ago. His long, light golden hair had been cut short, and his frame had become noticeably thicker, with the muscles in his arms subtly outlined by his sleeves.

He looks handsome and capable.

Mars seemed startled by the sudden appearance of the figure. His previously calm face showed surprise, and he lost his previous elegant demeanor.

"Xia Zuo, you...you got the Wind Walk spell from the Master-level Elemental Bottle? No wonder you arrived so quickly!"

Mars' eyes gleamed with excitement. After lightly touching Xia Zuo's right shoulder in greeting, he circled around him. "Change it again, change it again. This is the first time I've ever seen the Wind Walk spell in person."

Xia Zuo chuckled. It seemed that Beatrice hadn't told Mars or anyone else about his innate magical talent in the past two years.

"Alright, watch closely." Xia Zuo calmed down and pondered for a second, his figure fading and transforming into a cloud of energy.

"This is truly amazing. It's no wonder it's a high-level spell."

Mars reached out to touch the flowing blue aura, but immediately realized something was amiss, smiled apologetically, and withdrew his hand.

Xia Zuo dispelled the spell, reverting to human form, and asked, "And you, senior, what talent spell did you learn?"

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Mars' handsome face as he raised the two-handed staff in his hand and said:

"Uh... a rather unconventional spell. Two years ago, when I first acquired this innate spell, my mentor, Professor Bethel, said that I needed to master two-handed staff fighting techniques in order to unleash the full potential of this innate spell. So now I carry this staff with me wherever I go."

What should I master first? Dual-wielding staff fighting techniques?

Xia Zuo blinked curiously.

Mars was all too familiar with the inquisitive look in his junior's eyes. Although the two hadn't seen each other for a long time, he could still feel the thirst for knowledge in his junior's eyes.

"Okay. I'll show you."

Mars wiped the smile off his face, instantly entering a shallow meditative state. With a calm expression, he raised his staff and slammed it onto the ground with a "thud".

He finished casting the spell, his smile returning, and pointed to the low bushes not far behind the two of them, saying confidently:

"In that grove of trees, there are three very dark-colored stones. Exactly three, no more, no less."

Xia Zuo ran over in amazement, parted the bushes and counted, and indeed there were three dark-colored stones.

“This is a shockwave spell. My spell power isn’t enough yet; for now, it only has the effect of detection,” Mars explained from the side.

Shockwaves... well... they strike the ground, sending out ripples in all directions, and we can then use the feedback from these ripples to discern the surrounding objects.

interesting.

Xia Zuo pondered for a moment, then asked in confusion, "But what does this have to do with martial arts?"

"Uh..." Mars paused, then waved his hands to change the subject, "You'll understand later. Let's go to West Town first."

Xia Zuo looked him over suspiciously, his gaze falling on the two-handed staff in the other's hand.

This is a staff woven from thick vines, and its entire body is dark green. The head of the staff is thick like a hammer, and the end is thin like a needle. Its top-heavy shape makes it look particularly suitable for swinging and smashing at enemies.

“Oh, this is the rough vine staff. It was a gift from my teacher after I completed my first meditation.”

Mars gave a brief introduction, then gestured forward, "Let's go. I've arranged a carriage. We'll set off now and arrive at West City Castle by evening."

Xia Zuo scratched the back of his head.

He was considering handing over the delivered poison to the other party, then using the remaining time to search for unruly elements and earn some extra money before returning to the academy.

But he hadn't seen Mars for two years and genuinely wanted to know what the job of a resident mage's assistant was like...

After a slight hesitation, Xia Zuo boarded the carriage at Mars's enthusiastic invitation.

Chapter 16 The Secret Message Ring

The setting sun hangs low on the horizon, dyeing the clouds red.

Birds returning home drew graceful arcs in the sky, circling as they landed on the roof of the stone house.

The castle in West City, its gray walls reflecting the glow of the setting sun.

Bright alchemical lamplight shone from a window on the third floor of the castle.

Xia Zuo stood by the window, enjoying the view of West City.

In the distance, the bustling market town lit up rows of lights illuminating the night streets, and the faint sounds of noise drifted from the market town, still able to penetrate the windows of the castle from a distance.

Mars entered the room, placed two silver goblets on the table, and beckoned to his junior by the window:

"Xia Zuo, I've prepared some food and drinks. The food here can't compare to what you get at the academy, so I could only bring some fresh ingredients."

On the table were a plate of translucent cured pork slices, a plate of fresh and tender salmon, a steaming bowl of vegetable soup, a plate of fresh strawberries, a basket of white bread, and two dishes of jam.

It's clear that Mars has put a lot of effort into preparing the food. Even though the effects of the satiety potion haven't worn off yet, they should still eat as much as possible.

Xia Zuo glanced at the dishes on the menu without making a sound, and replied with a smile, "Senior Mars, you're too kind. You even prepared dinner for me."

He exchanged pleasantries with the other person and sat down at the round table.

Mars brought out the wine glass, not because he wanted to drink with his junior until they were both drunk.

The mage rarely drinks alcohol, as it interferes with meditation. Moreover, as the resident mage's assistant, Mars needs to maintain a clear mind to handle affairs within the territory.

Mars poured juice for his junior and himself, and the two clinked glasses lightly before sharing their experiences.

Xia Zuo's life and work were relatively monotonous. Every day, apart from refining poisons to complete orders, he spent his time with An Ru'er, without any major ups and downs.

Mars then began by recounting the people and events he encountered when he first arrived in West City.

Whenever the topic turned to thieves, highway robbers, or murderers on the run, he would emphasize his feelings and pour out his frustrations to Xia Zuo.

These cunning criminals constantly created trouble for the already busy assistant mage stationed in the city, occasionally popping out from the shadows to disturb his meditation or pre-processing raw materials for alchemy.

Like here in West City.

In addition to the common logging sites and mines, there are more than a dozen collection points that produce raw materials for alchemy.

The collection work was entrusted by the resident mage to the warriors' guild in the city.

The Warriors Guild regularly dispatches mercenaries to gathering points to collect raw materials, which are then handed over to the guild and given to the resident mage.

After receiving these raw materials, the resident monk handed them over to his assistant for pre-processing.

Every morning after finishing his meditation, Mars would go to the castle's backyard to tend to the raw materials for alchemy, such as separating basic toxins, refining ores needed for the science of giant creations, or brewing base medicines with herbs, and so on.

Once the alchemical raw materials in the castle have accumulated to a certain inventory, the resident mage will entrust the Warriors' Guild to transport these inventory to the Starry Night Academy.

Mars works hard to keep the university running smoothly, but he is often interrupted by unexpected errands that require him to run errands, forcing him to put down his work and travel outside West City.

This is the daily routine of a resident monk's assistant.

Listening to his senior's words, Xia Zuo still felt that making poisons in the academy was a better job.

In terms of the speed at which they accumulate points, the two are about the same.

Mars has slightly more.

Besides the stable income from managing alchemical raw materials.

He earns a considerable amount of points every time he leaves the castle to handle urgent matters outside the city.

Xia Zuo is quite concerned about this extra income.

He is still a long way from his ambitious goal of 25,000 points.

Over the past seven days, I've wandered the desolate wilderness and caught five unruly elementals, earning a total of 100 points. Adding the 270 points from this delivery mission, I now have a total of 370 points.

Compared to the goal of tens of thousands of points, this amount of points, though plentiful, is still somewhat insignificant.

Seeing that his junior seemed somewhat interested in handling the emergency, Mars wiped his mouth with a napkin and asked:

"Interested in running errands for me? I happen to have a mission to complete. You have Wind Walk, so handling this will be a breeze. Of course, all the points reward is yours."

Xia Zuo looked on with great interest. "Senior, tell me what it is. If time allows, I can stay here for a few more days."

Mars removed the napkin from his collar. "I'm going to the study. I'll be right back."

About five minutes later, Mars came in carrying a tray.

He sat down at the table, took a letter from the tray, and handed it to his junior.

"At this time yesterday, the Warriors' Guild sent a notification. Something was wrong with the snake cave that produces chlorophyll. The mercenaries who went there to collect venom glands the day before yesterday only brought back half of the amount. The snake cave is about 10 or 20 kilometers away from West City."