A short while later. Outside the Oriental Pearl Tower.
Fang Yu took out his phone and opened a housing rental platform.
Buying was out of the question; he could only spend some money to rent a decent place.
A few days earlier, Fang Yu had already taken a liking to a residence east of Pearl Academy.
Now, he just needed to contact the real estate agent.
By evening, Fang Yu arrived at the destination with the agent, Feng Tang.
Aside from a central residence, in front of it was a courtyard with a pond and ancient trees, while behind it lay a large, independent open space.
Unlike his hometown, the residences here were spaced far apart. It seemed he wouldn't have to worry about exposing his magic when casting spells.
"The environment's quite nice, right?" Feng Tang said cheerfully after giving Fang Yu a tour.
"Very nice."
Fang Yu nodded.
Although it was located in the suburbs, this was still the Magic City, so the rent was expensive. But the surroundings were beautiful. If he rented it, it would be worth it.
After walking around, Fang Yu became thoroughly familiar with the place.
Seeing his satisfaction, Feng Tang smiled. "As long as you're happy with it."
"Let's sign the contract," Fang Yu replied.
Fang Yu took the contract from Feng Tang, reviewed it carefully, then paid and signed after confirming there were no issues.
"Then I won't disturb you any longer. For the next year, the usage rights to this courtyard are yours," Feng Tang said.
"Alright."
Moving into his new home, Fang Yu felt great. It was as if his drive to grind was slowly reviving. Cultivating in such a beautiful environment was refreshing.
After helping Fang Yu settle in, Feng Tang quickly left.
Before long, the spacious courtyard was left with only Fang Yu.
"Once everyone's gone, this big house feels empty."
"It feels especially lonely. Sigh, having a big house is troublesome too. Urgently in need of a hostess," Fang Yu sighed.
No more words, turn sorrow into motivation. To celebrate moving in, time for an all-out grind today!
The next day.
The Star Trace Fang Yu had ordered online arrived.
The Star Trace was extremely important to Fang Yu. Within his magic Nebula, there were a full forty-nine stars.
In the past, as long as he connected seven stars together, he could release a Basic-Tier spell.
However, Mid-Tier magic was countless times more difficult than Basic-Tier.
First, Fang Yu had to connect the stars into specific Star Paths. Then the Star Paths had to link together into a complete Star Map. Only then would the gateway to Mid-Tier magic open, allowing him to fully release a Mid-Tier spell.
For a mage who had just stepped into the Mid-Tier, connecting all forty-nine stars flawlessly at the very beginning was nothing short of a fantasy.
On one hand, you simply couldn't memorize the pattern of the Star Map. On the other, your mental focus couldn't possibly remain at peak concentration for that long.
The Star Trace was a kind of magical scroll. If one compared a Star Map to a Chinese character with numerous strokes and a complex stroke order, then the Star Trace was like calligraphy sheets for each radical and stroke.
A newly advanced Mid-Tier mage greatly needed the guidance and standardization provided by the Star Trace. Otherwise, forming a random and chaotic star pattern would make it impossible to cast magic at all.
Fang Yu needed two volumes, one for the Space Element and one for the Ice Element.
With the Star Trace in hand. Fang Yu was brimming with motivation. Not wanting to waste even a single day, he began practicing control inside his residence.
Cultivate, cultivate!
Hurry up and train properly. Until the divine art is mastered, I swear not to step outside!
One month after obtaining the Star Trace—
"I've practiced for almost a month. Let's see what my limit is."
Fang Yu sat cross-legged on his bed, gathering his strength, preparing to connect all the stars to the maximum extent he could.
Through the Star Trace, Fang Yu had already become very familiar with the trajectories and methods of linking the stars. Now it depended on how many stars he could truly control.
The first seven went without saying, they were the seven stars that formed a Basic-Tier spell. With complete proficiency, Fang Yu linked them into a perfect Star Path.
Control continued. Fang Yu began commanding the other rapidly drifting stars to obey his will.
The first thirteen stars were fairly compliant. Fang Yu had spent plenty of time communicating with them. After what could be described as friendly negotiations on both sides, the first thirteen stars had yielded within twenty days of Fang Yu moving into his new residence.
The fourteenth star was clearly much less cooperative. Fang Yu had to resort to both coercion and temptation before finally forcing it into submission. If he was even slightly distracted, this fourteenth star would easily cause a break in the sequence.
A so-called "break" referred to failing to control a star due to outside interference or insufficient mental focus during the process.
Just like in the Basic-Tier, once a single star failed to connect, the entire Star Path would collapse in an instant, and everything would have to start over from the beginning.
"Good, good. Next is the fifteenth!"
After successfully stabilizing the fourteenth star, it was immediately time for the comparatively more difficult fifteenth.
The first fourteen stars belonged to two separate Star Paths. Fang Yu had to maintain both complete Star Paths without letting them collapse while simultaneously opening up a new Star Path.
Completing one Star Path might not be difficult. Two were manageable as well. But controlling additional stars while already maintaining two completed Star Paths increased the difficulty several times over. This placed tremendous demands on a mage's mental concentration.
"Come on!"
Fang Yu shouted inwardly, not daring to relax his focus in the slightest.
During this period of control practice, he had failed at the fifteenth star countless times.
"There it is, good!"
The silver star gradually settled down, and under Fang Yu's control, it obediently remained fixed in its designated position.
One Star Path, one newly stabilized star.
For Fang Yu, this was a major breakthrough.
Many Mid-Tier mages would likely spend several years studying this Star Map. Some who had reached the Mid-Tier early only managed to release a Mid-Tier spell when their temples had already turned gray.
The difficulty of a Star Map far exceeded that of a Star Path. Without sufficient willpower and personal insight into control techniques, one could remain stuck at this stage for a lifetime.
Fang Yu's progress in control was already quite smooth.
At this point, so long as he proceeded step by step, releasing a Mid-Tier spell was only a matter of time.
Moreover.
Fang Yu's gains were not limited to this.
During this month, while practicing star control, he also trained his Basic-Tier spells. Ever since breaking through to the Mid-Tier, his control over stars had become much more fluid, and his casting speed for Basic-Tier spells had increased significantly.
Now, Fang Yu could cast Telekinesis and Ice Spread in about one second.
Of course, truly powerful mages could practically cast Basic-Tier spells the instant they raised their hands, achieving near-instant casting.
Fang Yu was still far from that level.
But one second was already exceptional.
-----
If you like story please donate some power stones and leave a review
For additional chapters
Join pateron.com/Translaterappu