By transforming a gold coin into Golden Sword Aura and simultaneously accelerating that aura with magnetic magic, Ye Chui not only instantly mastered Golden Sword Aura but also created a brand-new spell. The stone wall on one side of the dining hall that had been utterly obliterated demonstrated just how devastating this attack was.
Ye Chui could still feel that when he had flicked the coin a moment ago, his timing with the magnetic magic had been slightly off. Not all of the Golden Sword Aura had been fully converted into the strike. With a little more practice, the power of the Golden Railgun would rise to another level entirely.
He excitedly licked his somewhat dry lips, took out another gold coin from his storage space, and prepared to try again.
At that exact moment, a half-transparent figure appeared in front of him. The undead housekeeper Dangini stood with hands on hips, glaring furiously. “Guild Master, do you intend to demolish the entire castle?”
“…Huh!?”
Ye Chui froze, then suddenly realised that in his excitement he had started wrecking the place. One whole wall of the dining hall was gone, and the gust from the Golden Railgun had turned the room into a complete mess. No wonder Dangini, who already treated the castle as her own home, was livid.
He hurriedly gave an embarrassed laugh and summoned everyone to repair the room. Collapsed walls could be restored easily with earth magic, and the chaos inside was quickly tidied up by the group.
While helping, Ye Chui thought excitedly to himself, “All this time I’ve relied too much on unlocking spells directly from my movie and TV library. Actually, I can combine the spells I’ve already mastered into brand-new, far more destructive ones. This is a completely new direction. The Golden Railgun has already proved how powerful it can be. That means I could probably use my other spells to create even more original attack patterns, like…”
Countless ideas surged through his mind.
He had a strong feeling these ideas would soon become unique, devastating techniques that belonged to him alone.
…
Time passed quickly. Three days flew by in the blink of an eye.
At dawn on the third day, the heroic BGM from One-Punch Man echoed through the morning castle. Every member of the Random Name Magic Guild was jogging around the castle gardens to Ye Chui’s music.
The One-Punch BGM possessed a miraculous ability to boost training efficiency. After Ye Chui’s grimoire upgrade, its effect had become even more pronounced. Every guild member was enthusiastically throwing themselves into the workout.
Even the castle’s maids and servants, after receiving Ye Chui’s permission, had joined in. They were ordinary people with little talent who had luckily become part of this guild. Now they had a chance to change their mediocre fates. Despite the BGM making every step feel impossibly heavy and exhausting, they still pushed themselves to keep running.
Ten kilometres of running every day to that pulsing BGM, plus one hundred push-ups, one hundred sit-ups, and one hundred squats. In three days they would be reborn. In three months they could become strong. In three years they could become the strongest…
Of course, Ye Chui had also noticed that normal training gradually became easier with persistence. Under the One-Punch Hero BGM, however, the body grew heavier and the effort harder every single day. To keep it up for three full years would require extraordinary willpower.
Even Ye Chui himself wasn’t confident he could manage it, let alone ordinary people. In fact, one young servant had only lasted two days. On this third morning he flatly refused to run again. Among everyone close to Ye Chui, it seemed only Green had any hope of completing the full three-year path to becoming the strongest man…
Perhaps that was why he had gone bald?
Baldness as proof of qualification?
Yeah, that was very possible…
…
After morning training, Ye Chui and the others enjoyed a delicious breakfast, then left the guild. A large crowd had already gathered outside. Today Ye Chui would duel Prince-level Mage Boothly inside the beast garden. Few people ever dared challenge someone who stood at the absolute pinnacle of magic, so this duel had attracted enormous attention and excitement.
When Ye Chui’s group appeared, the crowd offered their highest respect. The trinity guild emblem printed on their clothes seemed to glow with sacred light…
In an atmosphere that felt almost like a triumphal procession, Ye Chui and his companions arrived at the Jores family mansion in the northern district of the city.
Their arrival stirred a wave of excited noise among the waiting crowd, which included commoners, nobles, and important figures who had come specifically to witness the duel. The two most eye-catching people were a pair of old men standing together.
Their expressions were complicated.
These two held very special status. They were guild masters themselves.
The current Random Name Magic Guild was rated five stars. In the Star Empire, five-star guilds were not particularly rare. The imperial capital alone had seven. Across the entire empire there were only two six-star guilds, and just one seven-star guild.
Of the empire’s two six-star guilds, one was extremely secretive and rumoured to be a hidden royal organisation whose members rarely interacted with outsiders. The remaining six-star guild and the sole seven-star guild were genuine superpowers.
The six-star Dragon War Magic Guild and the seven-star Flower Village Magic Guild.
The two old men were none other than Fare, master of Dragon War, and Sheral, master of Flower Village.
“Lately everyone is talking about the Random Name Magic Guild. A guild that has existed for barely a year has already surpassed the reputation of old, established guilds like ours. Brother Sheral, don’t you have anything to say about that?” Fare was a short, stout man with a bald head and a thick white beard. Though he deliberately kept his voice low, it still boomed. As he spoke he glanced sideways at the old man beside him.
Sheral was the complete opposite in appearance. Tall and gaunt, his wrinkled face bore not a single whisker, only long white hair. His clothing was also unusual and distinctive. Sheral was not originally from the Star Empire. He came from the distant Tidal Empire.
The Tidal Empire was an island nation with its own customs and culture, and it had developed unique combat styles. Its most famous fighters were called Dark Swordsmen, a variant of magic swordsmen. Their bloodline made it easy for them to comprehend shadow magic, which they combined with short swords to create an elusive, deadly fighting style.
Certain special Tidal royal bloodlines could also awaken summoner talent, allowing them to call forth unique phantom beast spirits to fight alongside them.
Rumour had it Sheral was Tidal royalty. Both he and his two sons were Dark Swordsmen who could summon mighty divine dragon phantoms in battle. Fifty years ago, after a rebellion in the Tidal Empire, he had come to the Star Empire and founded the Flower Village Magic Guild. Relying on the unique power of Tidal Dark Swordsmen, Flower Village had step by step become the empire’s foremost magic guild.
“Strength always has its reasons. The Random Name Magic Guild earned its current fame through their own efforts,” Sheral replied softly to Fare.
“Brother, a lot of people are now saying Random Name is the number one guild in the empire. That would make things rather awkward for Flower Village, wouldn’t it?” Fare watched Sheral with a strange smile. “As your old rival, I’m almost embarrassed on your behalf.”
Sheral found Fare’s obvious provocation distasteful and gave a cold snort. “The top magic guild in the empire? That title is not so easily claimed. At the very least, Master Ye Chui must first survive today’s duel!”
While they spoke, Ye Chui had already entered the Jores family mansion. Naturally outsiders were strictly forbidden, so only nobles and royalty of sufficient status were allowed inside. Ye Chui spotted Prince Gayler, the Second Prince, the Third Prince, and others. A direct descendant of the Jores family personally came to greet him. Ye Chui recognised her immediately. A dark-skinned girl who, despite her petite frame, wielded an enormous spiked club.
At the Second Prince’s naming-day banquet, she had taken part in the attempt to surround and kill Ye Chui. The death of Snake-Hair Yulen had only deepened her hatred for him. Yet now she seemed to harbour no hostility. Her eyes even held a trace of admiration.
“Master Ye Chui, please follow me. I will take you to the entrance to the beast garden,” the dark-skinned girl said respectfully, leading Ye Chui’s group toward the rear of the mansion. Prince Gayler, the Third Prince, and the others walked alongside Ye Chui, anxiously asking if he was fully prepared. Ye Chui smiled and assured them everything was ready.
Aside from the Golden Railgun, over the past few days he had unlocked and created several other powerful and interesting spells. Today would be the perfect chance to test their might.
The beast garden was an independent spatial world. Its entrance was extraordinary. In the rear courtyard of the Jores mansion stood a jaw-dropping sight: an enormous turtle statue floating in mid-air. The sculpture was astonishingly lifelike, as though alive. Its rear half extended into empty void, making it appear to hover impossibly in the sky. This was the only connection between the beast garden world and the outside.
The Jores patriarch could communicate with the Beast God through thought to open the entrance. At this moment, the patriarch was already waiting beneath the colossal turtle, his face cold and grim.
Nearby, surrounded by several believers, Boothly, Black Priest, and Criann were also waiting.
Seeing Ye Chui arrive, Boothly walked forward with a smile. Her eyes briefly met Green’s before settling on Ye Chui. Ye Chui smiled back and approached her.
Yet at that very instant, Ye Chui’s brow furrowed. From among the onlookers to one side, a black-clothed man radiating intense heat suddenly charged out like a maddened bull.
“Ye Chui! A mere ordinary mage dares to fight a Prince-level Mage? If you want to duel Miss Boothly, you’ll have to get past me first!”
No one had expected a sudden attack on Ye Chui. Faces changed all around. Only Criann, hidden among the believers, revealed a cold smirk. This black-clothed man was one of his subordinates. As the son of a Prince-level Mage, Criann naturally had bodyguards when travelling alone. The man in black was assigned by his father and also used a Prince-attendant grimoire, wielding extremely powerful fire magic.
Criann would never let Ye Chui reach the duel unscathed, so he had arranged this ambush. Even if the man could not kill Ye Chui, he would at least gravely wound him and claim revenge.
The black-clothed man’s combat strength far exceeded Criann’s own. Though he had not fully stepped into the Saint domain, one foot was already inside.
Boothly’s expression instantly turned ice-cold. She recognised the attacker and knew this was Criann’s doing. Immense displeasure rose within her, but she did not intervene.
There was no need.
The man’s magic was pure, overwhelming fire. As he charged, an orange-covered great grimoire floated at his side. Flames blazed like a sun, transforming into a fire dragon that lunged to devour Ye Chui. At the same time, countless fireballs appeared around Ye Chui’s body. This was an extremely powerful super fire spell. The dragon’s swallow could lock down space itself, preventing escape.
In an instant the fire dragon engulfed Ye Chui.
Mad joy flashed across Criann’s face, only for him to sense something and look to one side. At some unknown moment, Ye Chui had appeared on empty ground nearby.
Teleportation?
No. The fire dragon spell sealed space. Ye Chui could not have escaped with teleportation magic. Though instant movement and portal spells could shift the caster’s body extremely quickly, they still required a brief moment to open the gate. The flames would have consumed him first. How had Ye Chui evaded the dragon’s swallow so swiftly? That speed surpassed both teleportation and portals.
Seeing his attack fail, the black-clothed man seemed to become living flame himself. Half a step into the Saint domain allowed part of his body to merge with fire. An even stronger assault was about to follow.
But at that moment Ye Chui smiled at him and said, “Nice special effects. Have a tip!”
With a flick of his hand, dozens of gleaming gold coins flew into the air and hovered. Ye Chui aimed his right hand at the man, gave a casual flick of his fingers, and in the next instant the coins began spinning at terrifying speed. They transformed into streaks of Golden Sword Aura carrying overwhelming pressure, howling through the air as they swept toward the fiery figure…
