“Professor Matthew! Elune!”
A booming voice called out from behind them.
Jiang Lin turned to see Fenrir running toward them with great strides. The greatsword, as tall as he was, was slung diagonally across his back, and his burly frame stood out remarkably in the crowd.
Alicia followed close behind him, still dressed in her simple silver-gray leather armor, the rapier at her waist gleaming coldly in the morning light.
“I heard you’re going back to the East Continent?” Fenrir ran up to them and bent over to catch his breath. “Why didn’t you say anything to us?”
“I was just about to go and say goodbye.”
“What do you mean, say goodbye?!” Fenrir straightened up and grinned. “I’m going with you!”
Jiang Lin was stunned for a moment.
“You’re going to the East Continent too?”
“I’ve already learned everything I need to learn at Silver Moon Academy.”
Fenrir patted the greatsword on his back.
“Besides, I need real combat to digest the things you taught me. I’ve already challenged all the magical beasts around the Silver Moon Kingdom; there’s no point in staying any longer.”
He scratched his head, his voice dropping slightly.
“Besides, I’ve lived all these years and never traveled far from home.”
Jiang Lin looked at Alicia.
“I am going as well.” Alicia’s voice remained calm, but a faint light flickered in her pale gold eyes. “I need my teacher’s guidance for the path of swordsmanship ahead.”
Jiang Lin remained silent for a moment, his gaze sweeping over the three faces.
“The situation in the East Continent is completely different from Alderon. Human kingdoms are not as stable as the elves; the various factions are complex and intertwined, and I have some... rather troublesome enemies.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Fenrir grinned. “We’ll just follow you.”
“Wherever Teacher goes, we go,” Alicia added.
Jiang Lin looked at Elune again. She nodded slightly, a gentle smile in her pale purple eyes.
“Then let us go together.”
The morning light was perfect at the east gate of Silver Moon City.
The silver vines on the city walls shimmered with a faint metallic luster in the sun, and several unknown green-feathered birds hopped between the vines, chirping crisply.
The city gate was already open, and several ox carts were queuing to leave. The elven farmers on the carts talked in low voices, occasionally breaking into hearty laughter.
Jiang Lin stood under the ancient oak tree outside the city gate, his long golden hair fluttering slightly in the morning breeze.
He looked back at the city where he had lived for nearly three months.
The towering Moonlight Tower glowed with a pale blue halo in the morning light, and the massive moonlight stone at its peak emitted a soft light even during the day.
The spires of Silver Moon Academy were scattered across the west of the city, and he could vaguely see a few students in silver-white uniforms practicing magic on the platforms atop the towers.
“Stop looking. If you keep looking, I’ll start to have regrets.”
Fenrir’s voice came from behind him.
The burly elven swordsman was squatting in the shade of the ancient oak tree, his greatsword leaning against the trunk. He was stuffing a piece of freshly bought jerky into his mouth, his cheeks bulging like a hamster’s.
Alicia stood a few steps away, still in her silver-gray leather armor, her rapier gleaming coldly in the morning sun.
She didn’t speak, merely gazing quietly toward Silver Moon City, her pale gold eyes carrying a hint of imperceptible, complex emotion.
“Are you reluctant to leave?” Jiang Lin asked.
Alicia was silent for a moment, then she shook her head gently.
“There is nothing to be reluctant about. Silver Moon City is wonderful, but it is not my destination.”
She turned to look at Jiang Lin, her tone as calm as ever.
“But what about you, Teacher? You’ve been in Alderon for so long. Do you miss home?”
Jiang Lin was silent for a moment, then he nodded.
“I do. There are people waiting for me.”
“Then what are we waiting for? Let’s go!”
Fenrir had already stood up, stuffing the last piece of jerky into his mouth. He patted the crumbs off his hands, shouldered his greatsword, and began walking westward with large strides.
“By the way, Professor Matthew, how are we getting back? By boat? Or by teleportation array?”
“Neither.”
Jiang Lin raised his right hand, pressing his index and middle fingers together as a faint silver light condensed at his fingertips.
It was a new magic formula he had mastered after repeatedly refining his skills in the Starfall Corridor.
【Spatial Tunnel · Directional Opening】
“I tried to lock onto the coordinates of the East Continent directly, but the distance is too great. With the entire Endless Sea and the void faults in between, my magic essence isn’t enough to bridge it in one go.”
“However, we can do it in several jumps. First, we’ll leap northwest along the coastline, and then cross once we reach the junction of sea and land.”
“Then how long will it take to reach the East Continent?”
“If all goes smoothly, about half a month.”
“Half a month?” Fenrir’s eyes went wide. “I heard that even the fastest magic ships take several months to get from Alderon to the East Continent! You’re saying we can get there in half a month?”
“Provided we aren’t interrupted by high-rank sea beasts.” Jiang Lin paused. “You know the dangers of the Endless Sea. If we encounter a sea beast above the 7th-rank, we might have to take a detour.”
“A sea beast above the 7th-rank...” Fenrir swallowed hard. “Professor Matthew, can you beat a 7th-rank sea beast?”
“I haven’t fought one, so I’m not sure.”
Fenrir fell silent.
He suddenly felt that this journey might be even more exciting than he had imagined.
Elune walked quietly by Jiang Lin’s side, her silver-purple braid swaying gently as she moved, the silver bell at the end chiming crisply.
She didn’t join the discussion, only occasionally looking up at Jiang Lin’s profile before quickly looking away.
The four of them left the city and headed west along a broad dirt road.
On both sides of the road were vast stretches of farmland. Golden waves of wheat rippled in the morning breeze, and several elven farmers were working in the fields. Seeing them, the farmers would look up and offer friendly greetings.
After walking for about an hour, a small town appeared ahead.
Though called a town, it was more like a large marketplace.
At the entrance stood a wooden sign with the words “Windspeak Town” written in Elvish. Below the sign was a massive bulletin board covered with various recruitment commissions for adventurers and hiring notices for merchant caravans.
“This is the last supply point in the western part of the Silver Moon Kingdom,” Elune explained. “If we walk west for another half a day, we’ll reach Azure Port. It’s the largest port in the Silver Moon Kingdom and the main gateway to the other kingdoms of Alderon.”
“We’re going to Azure Port,” Jiang Lin decided. “I need to buy some supplies there that might be useful for crossing the Endless Sea, and see if I can find maps with more information about the East Continent.”
The four of them passed through the main street of Windspeak Town without stopping, heading straight for Azure Port.
Azure Port was even more prosperous than Jiang Lin had anticipated.
The port was built against the mountains, with layers of buildings extending from the coastline to halfway up the mountainside. The white walls and blue tiles shimmered with a warm glow in the sunlight.
Dozens of ships of all sizes were moored in the port, including fast schooners with triangular sails, broad-hulled merchant ships, and several magic ships with hulls covered in runes.
People bustled about the docks—elven sailors hurried past carrying cargo, vendors shouted loudly in front of their stalls, and several elves wearing captain’s hats huddled together, arguing about something.
The air was thick with the saltiness of the sea breeze, the sweetness of fresh fish, and the scent of some unknown spice.
“This way.”
Elune led them through the crowded docks to a shop with an iron anchor on its sign.
“This is the largest nautical supply merchant in Azure Port. The owner has some ties with my family, so he should give us a good price.”
As they pushed open the wooden door, the scent of tung oil, hemp rope, and dry wood wafted toward them.
The interior of the shop was much more spacious than it looked from the outside. The shelves were neatly lined with various nautical supplies:
Coils of rope, neatly stacked canvas, wooden barrels of various sizes, tightly sealed freshwater jars, and various tools and accessories that Jiang Lin couldn’t name.
Behind the counter sat an elderly elf with white hair. Wearing reading glasses, he was wiping a sextant with an oiled cloth.
Seeing Elune, he put down the sextant, took off his glasses, and revealed a wrinkled but hale and hearty face.
“Miss Elune? What a rare guest!” He stood up and greeted them warmly. “What brings you to my humble shop?”
“Grandpa Theran, I’m going on a long journey and need some nautical supplies.”
Elune got straight to the point:
“Do you have any portable desalination devices? Also, windproof and waterproof magic tents, spatial water pouches that can store large amounts of fresh water, and high-end nautical positioning devices?”
The old elf’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“A long journey? Where are you going, Miss? These are things only used for deep-sea voyages.”
“To the other side of the sea.”
The old elf’s hands paused.
He looked at Elune, then at Jiang Lin, Fenrir, and Alicia behind her. His gaze lingered for a moment on Jiang Lin’s face, which was clearly not elven, and then he let out a long sigh.
“Miss, are you serious?”
“I am.”
The old elf was silent for a moment before turning and heading into the back room.
A moment later, he emerged carrying a wooden box. He placed it on the counter and opened the lid.
Inside was a silver-white disk the size of a palm, its surface covered in dense runes, with a pale blue crystal embedded in the center. A faint light pulsed within the crystal.
“This is a high-end nautical positioning device, an old piece I used back when I sailed the deep seas in my youth.”
His voice held a trace of nostalgia.
“It can accurately locate islands and continental outlines within a thousand-mile radius. It can also record routes and predict storms. It’s a bit old, but it’s much more reliable than those flashy new models they make nowadays.”
He then pulled out two palm-sized water pouches and a folded silver-gray tent from under the counter.
“Spatial water pouches—each can store ten tons of fresh water.”
“And this tent is made from the hide of a wind-wing beast. It’s waterproof, windproof, and can block out the perception of most low-rank magical beasts.”
He pushed everything toward Elune.
“All of this comes to five thousand gold coins. For your father’s sake, I’ll just charge you the cost price.”
Elune didn’t haggle. She paid directly and put the items into her spatial ring.
“Thank you, Grandpa Theran.”
“Don’t mention it.” The old elf put his reading glasses back on and picked up the sextant to continue wiping it. “It’s a good thing for a young lady to grow up and want to see the world. However...”
He paused, speaking without looking up.
“The world outside is not like the Silver Moon Kingdom. Be careful in everything.”
“I will.”
The four walked out of the merchant house and purchased some dry rations, fresh water, common medicines, and several sets of spare clothes near the docks.
Jiang Lin also specifically bought a stack of blank high-grade parchment and several bottles of quality drafting ink, preparing to draw nautical charts and record spatial coordinates along the way.
By the time everything was ready, it was already noon.
The sunlight turned the surface of the sea at Azure Port into a field of shattered gold. Sea birds circled among the masts, letting out long cries.
“Let’s go.” Jiang Lin stood at the edge of the dock, his golden eyes looking out at the endless blue expanse of the sea. “It’s time to leave.”
He raised his right hand, a ring of pale silver spatial ripples condensing at his fingertips.
The ripples spread silently, sketching a circular frame about three meters in diameter in the air.
The space inside the frame began to twist, compress, and fold, finally forming a stable, temporary spatial tunnel connected to an uninhabited island several hundred miles away.
Silver light flowed along the edges of the tunnel, and the view of the other end was visible within.
It was a small island covered in lush green vegetation, looking like an emerald set in the azure sea under the sunlight.
“Folding several hundred miles of distance at once requires high spatial control, and the magic essence consumption is quite significant.”
Jiang Lin explained.
“In my current state, I can use it at most three to four times a day before needing to rest and recover my magic essence.”
Fenrir was the first to step into the tunnel, his massive silhouette vanishing in a flash of silver-white light.
Alicia followed closely, then Elune.
Jiang Lin took one last look toward Azure Port before stepping into the tunnel.
The silver-white light swallowed him.
After a brief sensation of weightlessness, his feet were standing on the sandy beach of the uninhabited island.
The sea breeze carried a salty scent to his face, and the waves gently lapped at the shore with a rhythmic splash.
The vegetation on the island was even denser than it had appeared through the tunnel. Tall palm trees swayed in the wind, casting mottled shadows.
“This is about five hundred miles from Azure Port.” Jiang Lin withdrew his space perception. “At this speed, if we can maintain this travel distance every day, we should cross the Endless Sea in about half a month.”
“Half a month...” Fenrir sat down on the sand and let out a long breath. “This feels much more reliable than taking a boat.”
Jiang Lin sat cross-legged and began to perform his breathing technique to recover his consumed magic essence.
He needed to use space folding twice more today to reach their intended first long-term rest point—a larger island located in the middle of the Endless Sea.
He closed his eyes, and all three breathing techniques operated simultaneously.
Holy light magic essence, ice soul power, and blood energy circulated within his body, gradually replenishing the magic essence he had just spent.
About half an hour later, he opened his eyes and stood up.
“Let’s continue.”
The spatial tunnel opened once more, and silver-white light enveloped the four of them.
With the second teleportation, they landed in a completely unfamiliar sea area.
Huge ice floes drifted on the surface, refracting blue and white light in the sun.
In the distance, several towering icebergs were vaguely visible on the horizon, their snow-capped peaks glistening in the sunlight.
“Have we reached the north?” Elune looked around. “The water temperature here is much lower than at Azure Port.”
......
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