Bai Shi now stood on the ground before the tower, setting down the nomadic merchant and the Bloodhound Knight he had carried. With his skills, an unexpected event could never harm him. But without the lift, things were a bit more complicated. "Whew... I didn't think they'd actually destroy the lift." "Repairs are going to be a huge expense later on." Yes, Bai Shi already saw the Academy as his own prize. Bai Shi turned to the nomadic merchant and the Bloodhound Knight. "It looks like there's no way up for you two." "Just wait here. It'll prevent any accidents, anyway." The feeling of plummeting down had, for the first time in a long while, reminded him he was truly alive. "Whew... I just had a revelation. Turns out, I'm still afraid of dying." "Even if you find a way up later, I'm not going..." As for the Bloodhound Knight, he was clearly reluctant, but with the lift destroyed, there was no way for him to ascend. The nomadic merchant looked at Bai Shi and couldn't help but ask, "So what about you? How are you getting up there?" "The lift's gone, you know..." Bai Shi eyed the tower leading up to the Academy, a plan already forming in his mind. "Me? Of course, I have my ways." Bai Shi walked back into the tower and gazed upward. The tower was quite tall; simply jumping wouldn't be enough to reach the top. He supposed he could probably parkour his way up, wall-jumping from side to side until he reached the top. Or he could just climb straight up one of the walls. But Bai Shi had no intention of climbing or wall-jumping. The tower was almost completely enclosed, a cylindrical structure leading straight to the top. The terrain was perfect. All Bai Shi had to do was conjure a storm inside, and it would lift him up with ease. The unique terrain made flight a possibility. As for flying in open spaces, that was still somewhat difficult for him. He would probably need certain attributes to reach a higher level before he could truly fly. Bai Shi unleashed a fierce storm within the tower. Instantly, an incredible storm swirled into a vortex, rapidly lifting Bai Shi upward. Down below, the nomadic merchant and the Bloodhound Knight watched in stunned silence as Bai Shi flew up. He was wearing a sorcerer's robes and had only used magic during the fight, but this guy was clearly no sorcerer. Bai Shi landed at the top of the tower. There were no enemies here now; the sorcerers from before had vanished. Bai Shi stepped out of the building and was immediately captivated by the breathtaking beauty of the Academy before him. Wreathed in a dreamlike mix of starlight and ethereal mist, the mystical Academy appeared and disappeared from view. Its towering spires pierced the clouds as if reaching for the cosmos, while the glintstones embedded in the architecture twinkled in the darkness, like true celestial bodies. Throughout the Academy, the gentle, orange-yellow glow of candlelight flickered quietly, offering a touch of warmth in the cool-toned atmosphere. Magic so dense it was visible to the naked eye drifted through the air with motes of starlight, creating a display no different from an aurora. In the past, the Academy must have been even more beautiful than this, a true sanctuary of learning. Bai Shi felt a surge of wonder. It had been daytime down below, yet here at the Academy, it was completely night. It seemed the Academy used some special means to fix the scenery here. Perhaps such a scene represented a reverence for the stars, the origin of glintstone sorcery. Bai Shi walked forward. There was only one path ahead, leading straight to the magnificent and magical Raya Lucaria. By now, those inside the Academy had received news that the lift was destroyed and the intruder trapped below, so they had let their guard down. They had no idea that a master and apprentice, a pair more terrifying to them than a hundred thousand murderers, were about to enter the Academy. —— Googlᴇ search 𝓷𝓸𝓿𝓮𝓵~𝕗𝕚𝕣𝕖~𝙣𝙚𝙩 Using his superhuman vision, Bai Shi spotted two sorcerers guarding the entrance to what looked like a church. He scanned the area. Other than these two sentries, there were no other sorcerers in sight. It would be difficult to take them both out at the same time without them making a sound. After all, there was a slight delay when casting spells; a small gap always existed after releasing one spell. The Dual Casting technique he had just learned could fire two spells at once, but different spells had different travel speeds. And so, Bai Shi decided to ask Sorceress Sellen. She had mentioned earlier that she would teach him other techniques. This trip to the Academy was the perfect opportunity to learn from his teacher while practicing on the local sorcerers. "Teacher, is there any way to eliminate both of those sorcerers at the exact same moment?" Sellen's reply came from the primeval glintstone: "As a matter of fact, such a technique does exist." Sellen began to explain the technique to Bai Shi: "You already know that Dual Casting allows you to cast two spells with non-overlapping trajectories at the same time." "Well, the technique I'm about to teach you can be called Split Casting for now." "It involves gathering and channeling mana just once, letting it flow along a single trajectory, but ultimately releasing two identical spells." Bai Shi's first instinct was that it was impossible. Dual Casting, at its core, was about utilizing an empty channel. But this new technique required using a completely overlapping trajectory to channel mana, only to split it into two spells at the end. Sellen seemed to sense Bai Shi's disbelief and feigned a wounded tone. "Sigh, my student, you really don't trust my skills, do you?" "This truly hurts my feelings, sniffle, sniffle..." "You know, your teacher was once called the Academy's once-in-a-millennium genius." Bai Shi quickly shook his head, insisting he had no such doubts. Sellen sighed, deciding to give him a hands-on demonstration. "Alas... it seems I'll just have to make your body remember the feeling." "My student, lend me your body." Bai Shi once again relinquished control over his mana. "Feel this carefully." With that, Sellen began to manipulate Bai Shi's mana, circulating it within him. Bai Shi focused his senses, not daring to miss a single detail. Inside him, a stream of mana was flowing slowly. Sensing the path of this mana flow, Bai Shi already knew what kind of spell Sellen was casting. It was a sorcery from the town of Sellia: Ambush Shard. As a spell designed specifically for assassinating sorcerers, it was exceptionally efficient in stealth scenarios . But so far, the entire circulation path and manipulation were identical to what he knew. It was just a normal Ambush Shard. This confused Bai Shi. Could this process really release two spells? But the moment the spell was fully formed, Bai Shi finally understood the true depth of Sellen's skill. Just as the mana completed its trajectory and was about to coalesce and take its final form, Sellen deftly sliced the coalescing mana into two perfectly identical parts. Then, she supplemented each part with a bit more mana. In the end, two Ambush Shards, each with the same power as a normally cast spell, formed simultaneously. The two shards found their targets, manifesting behind the sorcerers. With the dull thud of piercing flesh, the shards impaled their hearts. Bai Shi remotely summoned a gust of wind, letting the two bodies fall gently to the ground. The entire process was utterly silent; the two sentries had fallen without making a sound. "How did you do that?" Bai Shi was stunned, unable to comprehend it. Sellen didn't rush to explain. Instead, she spoke gently to Bai Shi: "This is what precise control over mana looks like." "In this area, you are indeed lacking in experience." "After all, in your past battles, as long as you cast the spell and it hit the enemy, that was enough to secure victory, wasn't it?" "Of course, the sheer power of your output is an important factor and shouldn't be overlooked. That is part of your strength." "But only by adding precise control and technique can you reach the more profound levels of sorcery." "My student, you still have much to learn~" Bai Shi nodded. This was indeed his shortcoming. Once he was strong enough to defeat his enemies, he was more inclined to diversify his abilities rather than specialize and refine them. It was a lingering side effect of having been a player. After analyzing Bai Shi's current state, Sellen finally explained the principle: "The principle is actually very simple. You split the spell just as it's about to take its final form." "But you don't cut it from side to side; that would destroy the spell's structure. Imagine slicing it horizontally into two thin layers." "By supplementing them with mana at the end, you can cast both spells at their normal power." "This technique consumes the same amount of mana, but it saves casting time, which is very useful in a real fight." Sellen paused for a moment before continuing: "Actually, there is another, simpler method." "That is to channel two equal amounts of mana into the flow from the very beginning." "Throughout the spell's trajectory, you maintain them as two distinct, parallel streams of mana. They eventually coalesce separately, achieving the same effect." Bai Shi thought about it. The principle this time was quite simple. It was just a matter of dividing the mana, but the practical difficulty was still immense. It seemed that either method was a bit too difficult for him at his current level. However, a question suddenly occurred to Bai Shi: "Teacher, can these two techniques be used together?" Sellen seemed surprised. "What? You want to run before you've even learned to walk?" Bai Shi shook his head. Sellen chuckled softly. "Hehe, then let me satisfy your curiosity." "I'll tell you, it is indeed possible." "Because splitting a spell once is already the limit of maintaining its integrity. It's not like cutting a real object, you understand." "So, you need to combine both techniques to cast a single spell four times simultaneously." "However, because there are few opportunities to use it in battle, it's not very practical." Upon hearing this answer, Bai Shi was utterly astonished. Multiple casting... was truly a terrifying skill.