Astral Apostle

In less than two days, the closest lord from the surrounding cities rushed over and met with the Imperial Hunter Squad to successfully take over Deep Rock City.

With the arrival of the professionals, the hunter team did not stay any longer. After handing it over to the lord, they took the Cloud Spine Dragon's corpse that had already been processed by the craftsmen and set off.

The surviving civilians were very grateful to the Imperial Hunters, who had been accidentally involved in the incident but ended up becoming the saviors of Deep Rock City. Although they had suffered considerable losses, they still gathered some food and gave it to Zhou Jing and the others as rations on the way.

The outline of Deep Rock City was soon left behind. Zhou Jing and the others pulled the Cloud Spine Dragon along the road. Compared to when they came, two more people were on the team.

One was Dorton, whose limbs were broken and tied to a handcart. His thrice-enhanced physique guaranteed that he would not die easily. At this moment, his jaw was still dislocated, and he could not speak. He could only whimper weakly.

The other was Lynen. He had brought simple luggage with him and was wearing a thick burqa. He held a wooden walking stick in his hand and was dressed like a wanderer.

After thinking about it, he finally decided to accept Zhou Jing's invitation. He would end his seclusion and leave with Zhou Jing.

As for his future plans, he did not think far ahead. It was just that after the turmoil of the night, where he had used sorcery to defeat the Mutant Blood Warrior for the first time, he was finally no longer willing to be ordinary and was determined to open the door to a new world.

Lynen did not trust Zhou Jing much, but as Zhou Jing had said, this was the most suitable teammate for him at the moment, so he might as well form a team. He was not someone who liked to take the initiative and thus did not mind moving to live in the capital. His main goal was to form a team with Zhou Jing and hope that Zhou Jing would protect him in the future to find more nature spirits.

However, Cole and the other hunters were confused, not understanding why Zhou Jing had brought a civilian along.

"Why bring him along? Is there anything special about him?"

At the front of the group, Cole whispered into Zhou Jing's ear.

Zhou Jing chuckled, "There's nothing special about it. Didn't I save him previously? His family was burned down and he plans to move to the capital. We might as well bring him along."

Cole accepted the explanation. He didn't mind protecting a civilian who happened to be passing by. He looked back at Lynen, who was sitting on the cart.

Lynen had a slightly delicate appearance. Because of that, he looked younger than his actual age of 26 or 27 years old. He had thin arms and legs, and his figure was rather frail.

However, his physical fitness improved slightly after fusing with the nature spirit. He was healthier than ordinary adults and comparable to a soldier who had received long-term training.

"I see. I thought you took him in as a hunter's apprentice… He looks thin and weak, but his stamina is not bad. He has potential." Cole clicked his tongue, and his burning gaze wandered over Lynen's body with interest.

Under this gaze, Lynen subconsciously clenched his buttcheeks. He turned his body awkwardly, not daring to look directly at Cole.

...

Soon, it was nighttime. The team found an open grassland to camp and started a bonfire.

Usually, hunters would eat and sleep outside, and since they also had to track mutated beasts, they would usually only bring some jerky and dried vegetables as food. This time, they saved Deep Rock City and obtained many ingredients from the commoners. On their way back, they had the time to cook.

A few of them took out the iron pot that the Deep Rock City had given them from their luggage and threw in some vegetables. Then, they used some materials to cut some useless meat from the Cloud Spine Dragon's body and threw it into the pot to make a stew.

Because there was no seasoning, the taste was not very good. However, the ingredients were of good quality, and the meat of the mutant beast was quite delicious. The mixture was stewed until it turned soft and mushy. When one put it into his mouth and chewed, his teeth could easily bite through the stewed meat, and the gravy with the fragrance of meat would instantly fill one's mouth.

The hunters had an astonishing appetite. They cut a few rounds of meat from the Cloud Spine Dragon and threw them into the pot. It was like a buffet stew pot, with additional dishes that could be self-serviced at any time.

The group ate until they were all around 80% full before they packed their things and went to rest.

Zhou Jing took the initiative to keep watch. When the hunters were all asleep, he woke Lynen up and went to the side to communicate in a low voice, asking about his experience in sorcery cultivation.

According to the incomplete book, there was only one way to perform sorcery: fuse with a nature spirit.

The first step was to attempt to sense the natural elements and enter a state known as "Elemental Vision." Otherwise, it was impossible to fuse with the nature spirit.

The method was recorded in the book. According to the explanation, this could test if a person had the potential to cultivate sorcery.

The main world also had a sorcerer system, but it was different from those "sorcerers" recorded in the incomplete book.

In Zhou Jing's opinion, this spell system in the Mutant World should be more accurately called "Shaman" or "Elemental Sorcerer." They utilized a primitive and special spell form and did not place as much emphasis on the accumulation of knowledge as the main world's spell system. This system was more inclined to the use of mental and psychic powers.

"…Back then, I tried to sense the natural elements according to the contents of the book. I'm the only one who practiced it, but I'm sure you could succeed…"

Lynen lowered his voice, holding a small wooden box filled with blue paste in his hand. He kept using his fingers to draw out a little and smeared it on Zhou Jing's exposed upper body.

The remnants of the sorcery book wrote the method to let ordinary people sense the elements—they required supplementary materials. They could crush a few special herbs and minerals, add water, stir them into an ointment, and then draw special symbols on their bodies. Then, through a meditation-like state of concentration, they could slowly enter the Elemental Vision state.

Only after fusing with the nature spirit would there be no need for such a ritual. One could activate his elemental vision at any time.

Soon, the symbols were drawn. The ointment felt cold on his bare body.

Zhou Jing checked and confirmed that the symbols on his body matched those in the book.

"Empty your mind, imagine a fire. Focus on thinking about it burning. That way, you can get rid of all kinds of distracting thoughts." Lynen generously imparted his experience.

Zhou Jing did as he was told. He sat on the ground and closed his eyes to meditate.

From time to time, the wind would blow, causing the ointment to feel even colder. However, as time passed, the ointment gradually coagulated and dried, forming a layer akin to dried mud on the body.

However, from start to end, Zhou Jing did not sense any natural elements. The world in his perception had never changed.

"I don't think it worked. Let's try again."

Wiping away the dried salve, Lyn reapplied a fresh coat of the symbols.

Zhou Jing tried twice more, but he still did not succeed.

He raised his hand to refuse Lynen's offer to do it again, shaking his head.

"There's no need to continue. It seems that I don't have the potential."

After thinking back to the [Secret of Sorcery] achievement that was triggered at that time, he already understood the situation. If he wanted to sense the elements, he would most likely need the aptitude of "Magic" or "Natural Amicability."

However, his second Astral Realm Apostle, Jason, did not have the aptitude for this. Zhou Jing had a faint premonition, but he decided to give it a try. Unfortunately, there was no miracle.

Although he had the small aptitude enhancement rewards for "Magic" and "Natural Amicability," the foundation of "Jason" was too low. Their base was not even at the white tier. He probably would not be able to reach the threshold of cultivation even if he used it all on Jason.

"Don't be too sad…" Lynen didn't know what to say. He was afraid that Zhou Jing wouldn't be able to accept reality and would vent his anger on him.

"It's alright. It's not a big deal."

Zhou Jing dried his body and put on his clothes again. He did not show any disappointment.

This made Lynen heave a sigh of relief. Instead, he was surprised that Zhou Jing was so open-minded and calm.

Zhou Jing was indeed not too disappointed. It would be best if Jason could cultivate sorcery or at least figure out the requirements for the aptitude needed. In the future, if he had the chance to create a new apostle from the Astral Realm, he could make use of this opportunity.

"Besides, Bill might be able to practice sorcery."

Zhou Jing thought about it and felt that there was a high chance that his other apostle was able to do so.

Bill didn't have any Magic aptitude, but his Natural Amicability aptitude had reached the Green tier. He was much better than Jason and might be able to enter the Elemental Vision state.

What a pity. He had originally wanted Jason to dual cultivate in magic and martial arts, as well as the profession of "Mutant Blood Warrior" and "Elemental Sorcerer." It seemed that this apostle could only be a muscular man…

That was fine too. This apostle would focus on physical development. At least, it was a pure route.

Zhou Jing smacked his lips.

He was not discouraged. As long as there was another Eternal Apostle who could become a shaman, he could transform his spellcasting ability into his main body and let his main body walk the path of dual cultivation. There was still hope.

"This is worth a try…" Zhou Jing secretly set a new goal.

...

Although he had failed to learn sorcery, Zhou Jing did not neglect Lynen. Along the way, he kept asking for his cultivation experience as a deliberate way to get closer to him.

When Lynen realized that Zhou Jing did not have the aptitude for magic, he instead became easier to talk to. He no longer had to worry about Zhou Jing abandoning him after becoming a sorcerer. With less awkwardness in his heart, the two of them got along much more naturally.

The team trekked all the way. The journey was calm and without any twists and turns. Finally, they returned to the capital at noon a few days later.

Everyone traveled faster than the news. When they returned, the news of the chaos in Deep Rock City had yet to reach the capital. No one knew about it, and the capital was tranquil and peaceful.

Zhou Jing and the others immediately looked for Keriber to report this matter, causing the commander to reel in shock. He pulled the few of them to understand the situation in detail before hurriedly leaving the empire's hunter base to report to the empire.

It was not until dusk that Keriber returned to the base. He went straight to Zhou Jing and got straight to the point.

"Jace, get ready. Follow me into the palace to see the king!"

Hearing this, Zhou Jing's eyes flickered.

His identity had finally been noticed by the core power of the Empire, like Bill.