novelraw Chapter 502: Flight
Chapter 502: Flight
This portion of the ability likewise required the wizard artifact to produce subtle resonance with his own mental power and perform dynamic adjustments—falling into the category of “semi-manipulation.”
In his present state, with his soul damaged, he could not provide the stable resonance support needed.
The good news was that the core “acceleration” function of Great Void Step, along with the “basic concealment field” that automatically disrupted energy detection while accelerated, were trigger-type automatic effects. They only consumed energy to maintain and required no precise control.
“At least… I can still run.” Jie Ming let out a breath of relief. This was already a stroke of fortune amid misfortune.
He activated another wizard artifact storing [Return to Ruins Armor].
A faint transparent glow flowed across his body’s surface. At last he had basic protection.
As for how to cover his tracks, Jie Ming pondered briefly.
Then, enduring the discomfort, he summoned a Black Giant Priest from his internal cave-heaven.
The moment this pitch-black, six-tier existence holding a staff appeared, worried spiritual flames flickered in its hollow eye sockets. It had clearly sensed the abnormality in Jie Ming’s soul.
Jie Ming offered no explanation. Through the remaining soul connection, he transmitted a simple command, then handed over a wizard artifact. The Black Giant Priest nodded silently, mobilized its mental power, and activated the artifact Jie Ming had given it.
Soon, the artifact released an invisible wave of power that spread outward in all directions.
What was inscribed on this artifact was precisely the Causal Trace Shadow Technique. Jie Ming was having the Black Giant Priest cast the spell in his place.
Though the effect was not as exquisite or thorough as when Jie Ming cast it himself, it was sufficient to broadly disrupt and obscure the more obvious traces he had left in this area.
As the spell took effect, faint, almost imperceptible ripples spread through the surrounding space. Certain “existence imprints” belonging to Jie Ming began to blur and become muddled.
Once the casting finished, the Black Giant Priest’s mental aura visibly wilted.
Jie Ming nodded to it and withdrew it back into his cave-heaven.
This way, although a trace of the Black Giant Priest’s distinctive obscure energy fluctuation would linger here, once it was recalled into the cave-heaven, that wisp of fluctuation became rootless—essentially eliminating any concern that enemies could track him through it.
But this was still not enough.
Jie Ming waved his hand again. More than ten thousand [Prowlers] poured out from the cave-heaven entrance like a swarm leaving the hive.
These were early designs of his—expendable aerial cannon-fodder units shaped like darts, with streamlined all-metal bodies and tails jetting faint blue ion streams.
Unfortunately, Jie Ming had advanced too quickly while his knowledge reserves lagged behind, causing these personally designed cannon-fodder units to fall out of use on the battlefield.
In today’s battlefields where fifth- and sixth-ring wizards clashed routinely, their once-proud speed and firepower had long since become obsolete.
But now, they had a new purpose.
Jie Ming took out the last specially reserved batch of diversionary substance—mixed with a small amount of his own aura—and divided it into tiny portions, injecting one into each Prowler.
Then he issued his final command.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh!!!
Tens of thousands of faint blue streaks scattered like celestial maidens dispersing flowers, hurtling in every direction at speeds exceeding fifty times the speed of sound!
They would fly as far as possible before their energy ran out, spreading the diversionary aura along their paths and creating a massive web of false, chaotic trails.
Having done all this, Jie Ming dared not delay another second. Turning toward the direction of the Noren Workshop encampment, he pushed Great Void Step to the absolute limit his current condition could endure and began a desperate flight for his life.
…
In the dull, agonizing journey, time seemed stretched to infinity.
Every step he took brought a dull, tearing pain in his soul. Every breath required fighting against the all-pervasive weakness.
Yet amid the agony and sluggishness, Jie Ming’s mind involuntarily churned up a long-standing doubt.
The wizard spell system was vast and complex, but if roughly divided by manipulation mode, it could be categorized into two types.
One was the “release-and-forget” type.
Examples included Fireball Technique, Ice Cone Technique, and even his frequently used Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light.
For these spells, once the model was constructed, energy injected, and the spell released, they largely became independent. While limited manipulation was still possible afterward, even if one played with a Fireball Technique in creative ways, its core power and effect would not change dramatically.
The quality of control mainly manifested in hit rate and timing.
The other type was the “continuous-manipulation” type.
Typical examples included Soul Search, Alchemy Technique, precise elemental shaping, high-tier curse implantation, and so on.
These spells required the caster to continuously invest mental power for fine-tuned regulation from release to completion. The final effect was directly tied to the caster’s manipulation skill—sometimes differing by worlds.
What had always puzzled Jie Ming was that, in the vast array of wizard artifacts in wizard civilization, the overwhelming majority of spells solidified and inscribed were of the “release-and-forget” type.
Spells that required ongoing operation—reconnaissance, control, support—tended to exist in automated or semi-automated forms that “enhanced the self” or “triggered on activation,” rather than types demanding continuous attention from the wizard.
Among wizard artifacts, the most common continuous-manipulation spell was probably Soul Search. Beyond that, Jie Ming had hardly ever seen wizard artifacts inscribed with other manipulation-type spells.
Only now—in this desperate situation where his soul was shattered, computational power nearly nonexistent, and even maintaining consciousness was a struggle—did Jie Ming suddenly understand.
This was battlefield wisdom forged in blood and fire.
Wizard artifacts were not merely extensions of power; they were the final safeguard in desperate straits.
When a wizard was gravely wounded, their mind on the verge of collapse, unable to perform complex thought or high-precision control, those “release-and-forget” spells that could activate automatically to provide basic offense, defense, mobility, and concealment became the last straw for survival.
“So that’s how it is… not for convenience, but for a ‘safety net.’” Jie Ming sighed inwardly. “This way, even in extreme disadvantage, a wizard can still maintain the most basic combat capability.”
The fact that he had overlooked this “common sense” all along was likely because he had never truly fallen into such utterly hopeless straits before.
Fortunately, he was not stubborn.
Even if he had not understood the profound reasoning behind this widespread choice at the time, based on the premise that wizards were intelligent people, he had subconsciously followed this unspoken rule.
Even when selecting spells for modification, at the most fundamental levels of offense and defense—whether Trigram Fire Annihilation Divine Light or Return to Ruins Armor—the core was “release-and-forget.”
For mobility, Great Void Step required no deliberate operation in its pure acceleration aspect.
Looking back now, this unintentional decision had become the key reason he could still struggle for survival in this moment.
He fled continuously for more than ten days.
There was still no sign of improvement in Jie Ming’s injuries.
The damage to his soul was like a bucket riddled with holes at the bottom. The Qi Refinement method mobilized essence to convert into soul power, like constantly pouring water into the bucket—only to watch it leak away at terrifying speed.