Chapter 32

After Jiang Fei left the room, both Arran and Lord Jiang remained silent for a while, studying each other . Arran found that even though he had only just met the man, he already liked him .

Unlike most of the mages he had met so far, Lord Jiang seemed open and straightforward, with little taste for secrets and deception .

“Are you the leader of the Jiang Clan?” Arran finally asked .

Lord Jiang laughed . “I haven’t held that title in a thousand years . These days, my only job is to prevent those Academy dogs from getting any ideas . ” He sighed in disgust . “They really have been getting too bold for their own good these past few centuries . “

“Are we safe from them here?” Arran asked . He understood that after the deaths of three powerful Academy mages, people would certainly come looking for those responsible .

“For now, you have nothing to fear from the Academy,” Lord Jiang said . “They likely believe I killed their men, and with them this close to my estate, I would have been well within my rights to do so . ” He shook his head . “What you should be worried about is the aftermath of your spectacle . “

“What is the aftermath?” Arran asked, slightly worried .

“Take a moment and see for yourself,” Lord Jiang replied .

Arran did as the man said, closing his eyes and focusing his attention on the Essence inside of him . To his surprise, he found that his body was flooded with Shadow Essence, more than he thought possible .

In the sea of Shadow Essence, he had some trouble locating his other Realms . When he finally did so, he discovered that although the Shadow seal covering his forbidden Realm was still intact, new seals covered his Fire and Wind Realms . Unlike the previous ones, these seals were made from a type of Essence that was unfamiliar to Arran .

“You sealed my Realms?” Arran asked .

“I had to,” Lord Jiang said . “The Realm Opening Pills you took forced your Realms open so far that your body now draws more Essence than it can handle . “

“That’s possible?” Until now, Arran had believed that his own Essence posed no threat to him .

“Clearly,” Lord Jiang replied . “This is the first time I’ve seen it, but then, this is the first time I’ve seen someone who dared take ten Realm Opening Pills . “

Arran nodded thoughtfully . It made sense that the Realm Opening Pills would have lasting effects .

“Normally,” the large man continued, “by the time a mage opens his Realms as far as yours, his body will have had decades to strengthen, or even centuries . You, on the other hand, still have the body of a mortal . Had it not been for that forbidden Realm of yours, I doubt you would still be alive . “

Arran nearly choked . “You know about the forbidden Realm?!”

“It wasn’t hard to figure out,” Lord Jiang said . “The seal covering it is well-made — Shadow, I think? — but when I examined you, its signs were hard to miss . “

“You can sense Shadow Essence?” Arran was astonished . Until now, he had believed Master Zhao, who had told him mages were unable to sense others’ Shadow Essence .

“Of course not,” Lord Jiang answered . “But I can sense the disturbance it causes in the Essence around it . ” Seeing Arran’s face fill with worry, he added, “No need to be concerned . Very few mages would be able to discover it, and of those, I doubt any would be interested in a mere initiate . “

Arran nodded, although he still felt some concern, finally understanding that not even Shadow Essence could hide his forbidden Realm completely .

“But how did my forbidden Realm keep me alive?” he asked, putting aside his worries for the moment .

“I cannot be completely certain,” Lord Jiang said, “but if I had to venture a guess, I would say that the forbidden Realm somehow accustomed your body to the destructive force of Essence . “

Arran knitted his brows in thought, but he remained silent .

“Not that that would have saved you, of course,” Lord Jiang added . “When I found you, you were only hours away from death . Even now, without the seals, you would be lucky to last a week . “

“Then what do I do?” Arran asked . From the unconcerned look on Lord Jiang’s face, he could tell that the man had a solution to the problem .

“There is only one thing you can do,” Lord Jiang said . “You need to grow stronger, and quickly . “

“So I just need to continue my magical training?”

Lord Jiang shook his head . “If you focus on magic, it will take your body years to become strong enough just to handle the Essence you can draw right now . And if one of the seals should fail during that time, you would certainly die . “

Arran frowned in confusion . “But if training magic doesn’t help, then what do I do?”

“What needs to strengthen is your body,” Lord Jiang said . “As luck would have it, I can help you with that . ” A broad grin appeared on his face, and he seemed eager at the prospect .

“Strengthen my body?” Arran asked, wondering how that would help him resist Essence .

“Most mages focus only on Essence, ignoring their bodies,” Lord Jiang said . “But true power requires strength in all regards — magical, mental, and physical . “

His face turned serious at these words, and he continued, “What I will be teaching you is Body Refinement — a way to increase your body’s strength and endurance beyond anything normal magic can achieve . Mastering it has many benefits, but one thing it will do is help you control your Essence . “

At this, Arran’s eyes widened with interest . “When can I start?” he asked .

“When you’ve recovered, in a week or two,” Lord Jiang said, grinning at Arran’s impatience . “Until then, you can study this . “

He took a scroll from his robe and put it on the dresser next to the bed .

“This scroll contains a body strengthening technique,” he continued . “Studying the technique will help you recover from your injuries faster, and once you’re fully recovered, we can begin your real training . “

Arran nodded . “I’ll start immediately,” he said, eager to begin .

Lord Jiang smiled, then stood up . “I’ll leave you at it, then . There are some things we’ll need to discuss later, but those can wait . For now, focus on recovering quickly . “

As soon as Lord Jiang left, Arran unrolled the scroll and began to read .

Almost immediately, he saw that unlike the Realm Scrolls he had read earlier, this was just normal writing — without strange symbols, and without Essence infused in the characters . Instead, the scroll gave a detailed description of a technique to use and increase his body’s own energy .

Soon, Arran found himself engrossed in the scroll . The technique was unlike anything he had encountered before, and the more he read, the more excited he grew at the idea of learning it .