The Magician

When Lilith appeared before him, Ye Chuan simply smiled and snapped his fingers. Under her astonished gaze, one soul essence after another materialized in the air.

"Where did you get these from?" Lilith blinked her large, round eyes, genuinely baffled this time. How had Ye Chuan managed to acquire another batch of soul essences?

Though she had been dormant for most of the past few days, she would have definitely sensed any surge in soul energy. Yet, Ye Chuan seemed to have conjured these essences out of thin air, leaving Lilith utterly perplexed.

Seeing the usually haughty loli wearing such a bewildered expression secretly amused Ye Chuan. He pushed the floating essences toward her. "Here, use these to restore your soul energy."

"..." Lilith fell silent for a few seconds before finally refining the higher-quality essences around her.

Once her soul energy was replenished, Ye Chuan noticed something unexpected—Lilith had grown slightly taller, and her "slime" had also expanded a tiny bit.

Just a tiny bit, though.

After absorbing everything, Lilith looked up at Ye Chuan again. He remained as nonchalant as ever, acting as if he expected nothing in return. He had even said before that all he wanted was her trust.

"I won’t let you down once my power is fully restored," Lilith declared before transforming into a streak of light and retreating into the jade pendant. But just before disappearing, Ye Chuan thought he heard a faint "thank you."

And then there was the strange purple core she left behind.

Curious, Ye Chuan picked it up and stored it in his inventory before checking its description—

[Item: Supreme Archmage’s Origin Core

Effect: Unlocks a mana core unconditionally upon use (Allows the user to learn magic)]

Huh?

This seemed like a valuable item. Did it mean he could learn magic now?

Ye Chuan wasn’t opposed to gaining new abilities. Without hesitation, he used the core.

As the purple light merged into his body, it flowed along his meridians and fused with his spiritual energy. Soon, the power condensed into a swirling vortex in his dantian—a mana core.

Though called a core, it resembled a miniature energy vortex, continuously radiating power.

"So this is mana?" Ye Chuan extended his hand, summoning a swirling purple glow in his palm, intertwined with chaotic energy. It looked both mystical and enigmatic.

The aura was similar to spiritual energy, with only subtle differences.

Then, as if struck by inspiration, Ye Chuan raised a finger.

Hey, he just had a brilliant idea.

He summoned his peachwood sword and attempted to manipulate it using mana.

Though still unfamiliar with mana control, he soon realized that his sword-control technique actually worked under mana’s influence—the sword hovered in the air!

It really worked.

Ye Chuan’s eyes lit up. If mana could substitute for spiritual energy, wouldn’t that mean he now had double the energy reserves?

Practically speaking, his combat power had just doubled!

"Awesome!" Satisfied with Lilith’s gift, Ye Chuan pulled out his phone to check the unclaimed rewards from his app.

Sure enough, Lilith’s favorability had increased.

[Daily Creation Reward: 9000 → 15000, Higher chance of obtaining magic-related items]

[Daily Points: 25 → 40]

As expected of an S-rank. The growth rate was something neither Bai Qianshuang nor Lan Xiaoke could hope to match.

[Obtained Lilith-related item. Added to inventory.]

Noticing that Lilith had "dropped" another item today, Ye Chuan immediately opened his inventory to inspect it.

[Item: Mysterious Candy

Effect: Instantly raises cultivation by one realm (Usable only by low-tier cultivators)]

Instantly raises cultivation by one realm?!

What kind of miraculous item was this?

Ye Chuan took out the candy—a thumb-sized sweet wrapped in blue. It looked and smelled completely ordinary, like any other candy.

"Should I eat it?" he wondered.

Would it be more efficient to give it to Bai Qianshuang? After all, she was already at the mid-stage Golden Core realm, two major realms above him. But he quickly dismissed the idea—the description specified "low-tier only."

He wasn’t sure if Golden Core cultivators counted as low-tier.

Was the Golden Core realm considered low-tier? Ye Chuan wasn’t entirely certain.

If it didn’t work, the loss would be significant. Though he frequently obtained items, something that could instantly boost cultivation was probably rare.

Whatever. Strengthening himself was the priority.

Ye Chuan popped the candy into his mouth.

Unlike bitter pills, this one actually tasted decent.

A warm current spread through his body, and soon, he felt his power surge—

[You have advanced to the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm.]

Ye Chuan nodded in satisfaction. He had leveled up without lifting a finger.

Next, he refreshed the app’s mission log. Ever since he had stockpiled unclaimed rewards last time, he’d made it a habit to check for completed missions whenever favorability increased.

Sure enough, scrolling down revealed an unclaimed reward.

[Mission: Become a Mage (Completed)]

It seemed that unlocking the mana core had qualified him as a mage.

Ye Chuan claimed the reward, and a new card appeared in his inventory.

[Item: Realm Synchronization Card (Magic)

Effect: Elevates magic cultivation to match the highest attained cultivation system (Usable below Tier 3)]

Hmm?

Meaning…?

He activated the card, and instantly, the mana within him surged.

Through internal vision, he saw the mana core in his dantian expand, its intensity rising by an entire tier.

[You have advanced to Tier 2 Mage.]

Now officially a mage, Ye Chuan browsed the magic section of the points store and exchanged for several spells.

[Fireball]

[Ice Blade]

[Magic Shield]

Among them, his favorite was Magic Shield. Channeling mana, he enveloped himself in a protective energy barrier.

It functioned similarly to when he had used spiritual energy to block bullets, but this was far more convenient—360-degree coverage with no need for complex spellcasting.

Moreover, just as mana could substitute for spiritual energy, he discovered that spiritual energy could also power these spells.

"A bit of a mixed bag, but damn useful."