Now, I Lack Nothing

"Good morning, Krisha."

"Good night, Krisha."

"Good morning, Mentor."

"Good night, Mentor."

Daily morning greetings, nightly farewells before sleep.

Silently, time flows by in these ordinary exchanges.

A day, a month, a year.

While living through it, time feels unbearably slow, but looking back, decades seem to pass in the blink of an eye.

In an instant, the witch grew up.

In a flash, Xu Xi grew old.

At fifty-two, he was not yet at the end of his life, but Xu Xi could already feel the deep-seated decline and withering within him.

"Fortunately, there are still things to be happy about."

"After so many years of waiting, I’ve finally reached the limit again and gained the possibility of advancing further."

The realm of a Saint-level Archmage was within reach.

To achieve this breakthrough, Xu Xi halted his travels around the world.

He and Krisha stayed in the nearest city, meditating and nurturing their spiritual energy, striving to be in the best possible state for the breakthrough.

The city was called Lawush.

It was steeped in religious atmosphere, with most citizens being devout followers of the gods. Churches dedicated to various deities were everywhere, each adorned with their sacred symbols.

The sun emblem of the Sun God, the hammer insignia of the Blacksmith God, and the vine-like patterns of the Nature Goddess.

The most magnificent wonder was a grand statue dedicated to the God of Light, a masterpiece crafted with the devotion of artisans and the prayers of the faithful. It stood sacred and majestic upon the earth.

"Praise the God of Light, praise the Lord of Infinite Radiance."

"Great Lord, your humble servant prays for your protection."

"May eternal radiance accompany me in my dreams."

"Ah, the light is upon me, the holy light shines upon me!"

Their voices were pious, their attitudes humble. The mortals knelt before the statue, offering hymns to the God of Light with the most fervent devotion they could muster.

Xu Xi first observed the praying devotees.

Then, he looked up at the sky.

From his perspective, the city of Lawush was continuously emitting golden threads of faith, rising endlessly into the heavens, converging where the gods resided.

Yet, compared to the intensity of this faith, the presence of the gods was remarkably faint.

This indicated that despite the abundance of believers, Lawush had not earned the attention of the gods.

"Mentor, why do they do this?" Krisha, standing beside Xu Xi, asked in confusion.

"Krisha, some people cannot survive on their own."

"They need a goal, a faith, to fill their hearts with a sense of security. Only then can their godless bodies move forward."

"This isn’t about right or wrong; it’s just a different way of life for different people."

Xu Xi spoke with a voice deepened by age, carrying the weight of years and contemplation of the world.

Krisha felt she understood.

Because she, too, was such a person.

However, unlike those pitiful devotees who received no response, Krisha felt she was fortunate, favored by fate.

Now, she stood beside Xu Xi, within the "sun’s" radiance.

Feeling its precious light and warmth, her body and heart were filled with comfort.

"Let’s go, Krisha. Before advancing to the Saint-level, we still have much to prepare."

"Yes, Mentor."

Krisha quickly followed, her pale black dress swaying with each step. Under the interplay of light and fire, amidst the whispers of wind and air, the witch closely followed her "god."

...

[You decide to seclude yourself in Lawush for the breakthrough.]

[This city is remote, insignificant in the eyes of the gods. You believe the disturbance caused by your breakthrough will be minimal here.]

[The breakthrough to Saint-level Archmage is a fundamental elevation, a grasp of the world’s authority. Within a specific range, you will wield elemental control second only to the gods themselves.]

[You remain 1000% wary of the gods, believing they possess more than just the power to suppress laws.]

[To this end, before officially advancing, you prepared numerous contingencies.]

"Let me see."

"Large-scale linked concealment magic generators."

"With the Shadow Orb as the core, paired with the aquatic Siren’s skull, this short-term cloaking array is complete."

"Add to that the pre-planned concealment incantation, which I’ll activate immediately after the breakthrough. That should buy me some more time."

"Besides these measures to mask elemental fluctuations, I’ve also left some distractions in other cities to divert the gods’ attention."

Three days later.

On the outskirts of Lawush.

Xu Xi stood in the boundless wilderness, eyes closed, reviewing his preparations for any oversights.

Krisha stood not far away, holding the "Gray Rekindling" staff, expressionlessly standing guard, vigilant against anything that might disrupt the breakthrough.

"..."

Soon, as Xu Xi exhaled a deep breath, the breakthrough to Saint-level Archmage officially began.

Wind rose, clouds surged, the earth shook, and fire roared.

Water churned, light blazed, darkness dimmed, and thunder rumbled.

Xu Xi controlled too many elemental attributes, and naturally, the domain he formed was a complex amalgamation of multiple elements.

"Gather!" His vast spiritual energy solidified, following the sweep of his staff, transforming into a roaring tidal wave that engulfed the myriad elements of the world.

Forcibly merging, forcibly piecing together, he hammered the disparate elemental attributes into one with sheer, brutal force.

"Again!"

Another surge of spiritual energy crashed forth.

Xu Xi’s eyes glowed, his body surrounded by explosive energy. His overflowing spiritual energy affected reality, and amidst the continuous cracking of the air, he forcefully seized control of over a dozen elements.

Compressing, condensing, and finally erupting at an infinitesimal point.

In an instant, a vast domain expanded.

"Now, I lack nothing," Xu Xi murmured as over a dozen elemental forces swirled around him. With a mere gesture, the chaotic changes in the world caused by his domain instantly calmed.

With just a thought, his ocean-like spiritual energy restored the frenzied elements to their original state.

"This is the power of a Saint-level Archmage, second only to the gods," Xu Xi marveled at the might of his newfound strength. But he did not linger to test it further. Instead, he quickly left Lawush with Krisha.

Simultaneously, all the preparations he had made earlier were activated in an instant.

Chaos.

Noise.

Panic.

Disturbances erupted across the magical world. Countless devotees pleaded for the gods’ protection, and many faiths were momentarily severed.

The divine power from above descended.

Not from one, not from two, but from all the gods.

Invisible wills clashed in the heavens, swiftly sweeping the area around Lawush. Yet, after lingering for a long time, they found nothing.

On the ground, the citizens of Lawush knelt in piety, believing their daily prayers had finally drawn the gods’ attention.

They cried out to the deities, begging for blessings.

But what answered them was endless thunder, terrifying and apocalyptic.

It was the wrath of the gods.

"Find him! He must be found!"

"This world will not tolerate any new god dividing our authority!"