Versatile Mage: Starting with the White Tiger Pendant-Chapter 203: Mind Palace, Ding Yumian’s Perception

Lu Jun lived comfortably at home, gradually returning to the familiar routines he once shared with his sister.

He often used his phone to chat with Tang Yue, but with the Tribunal's constant missions, she could only spare a few minutes every few days.

There was no helping it even Lu Jun didn't have much time for romance. He soon threw himself fully into strengthening his powers.

If he remembered correctly, the Heavenly Tribulation Flame in Dunhuang's Scorched Northern Corner would erupt in a week or two. When that happened, a massive amount of fire-element materials would emerge, and the Specter Bride would begin her entanglement with the ruler of the Scorched Northern Corner—Flame Witch Jiang Feng.

The Cursed Element material for his Wraith Slave spell was tied to the Specter Bride. Moreover, his sister's fire-element Spirit Seed and possibly even a Soul Seed might be found during the heavenly tribulation's cleansing.

Of course, Lu Jun also wanted to try saving Jiang Feng and see if he could coax the Flame Witch into becoming his sister's bodyguard.

After all, how could the little Flame Fairy compare to a fully matured big sister figure? The former required tons of resources to nurture, while the latter an elemental wraith in its variant form was already a Pseudo-Monarch-level powerhouse.

If she bonded with Lu Mei, her combat strength would shoot up to a proper Monarch. Once Lu Mei stepped into the Super Tier in fire magic, taking on mid-tier Monarchs would no longer be a problem. In short, the fire path would have unlimited potential.

Besides, the Flame Fairy didn't suit Lu Jun. Though he had the Summoning Element, he lacked any Fire Element.

As for Lu Mei, she didn't have the Summoning Element either. Only a Monarch like Jiang Feng, who had grasped Space abilities and could open an alternate space, could stay by her side at all times.

In summary, Dunhuang was a must-visit for Lu Jun a three-birds-with-one-stone mission.

But before that, he didn't have much confidence in taking on the Specter Bride, a top-tier bounty. He needed to further advance his Psychic Element.

"Mind Palace,"

Lu Jun murmured. With his current mental strength at the Intermediate level, he could barely achieve it. It was time to look for an external boost to upgrade himself again.

After a moment, he summoned his long-unseen professional driver, secretary Qingyu, to take him to Pearl Institute.

In the car, Lu Jun's consciousness delved into the White Tiger Pendant, guiding the forty-two stars floating above the blood lake into a translucent nebula of the spiritual world. Eight stars still remained incomplete.

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

His spiritual energy surged, and the forty-nine stars of his Psychic Element rapidly expanded in size, reaching Intermediate Level, Stage Four.

[Mental Ripple: Psychic Invisibility]!

Upon learning this ability, Lu Jun was quite surprised it was exactly the stealth skill he lacked.

And it was totally overpowered. It could generate a layer of spiritual light membrane to shield his presence. As long as he didn't make physical contact or create major noise, all his actions would become invisible to others.

In theory, with high enough spiritual realm, he could dance under the nose of an Emperor-level being. And if that Emperor happened to be asleep, he could stroll through forbidden zones at will. Might even throw a party on top of the Pharaoh's tomb in the Great Pyramid someday.

Originally, he upgraded the Psychic Element to boost his mana enough to construct the Mind Palace spell, but now he'd gained an unexpected bonus.

Qingyu parked the car on campus and said calmly, "We've arrived. Oh, and in another week, it's time for the Inter-Academy Chief Battle. Any thoughts?"

Lu Jun had long since surpassed the academy level. Unbothered, he replied, "Tell them to come all at once. Pick a day that doesn't waste my time."

As he stepped out of the car, he spotted a woman in a white dress standing gently in the distance, tilting her head and waving softly.

Seeing this, Lu Jun winced. His mind drifted to Tang Yue's face and body his sister's checkpoint was easy to pass, but Ding Yumian's? The disaster survivor of the Psychic Element? That was a nightmare to deal with.

What kind of bad luck was this, to have to face emotional trials from two women back to back?

"Long time no see," Lu Jun scratched his head and approached. "Sorry to trouble you again."

"It's no trouble," Ding Yumian replied softly. "You turned the tide against that natural disaster in Hangzhou. I'm beginning to believe you really might succeed."

They chatted as they walked. Students and passersby on the way dared not disturb them these were the top students of the Water and Fire Institutes.

They arrived at their usual spot behind the academy, sitting cross-legged facing each other.

With the gentle girl's soft voice beside him, Lu Jun's inner restlessness gradually calmed.

"Then let's begin,"

Ding Yumian said softly. She quickly controlled her stars, one constellation after another lighting up, each echoing the next, forming a vast transparent star domain. The stars twinkled across the sky, weaving countless trajectories.

She coldly uttered: "Soul Control: Heart Possession!"

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

In an instant, Lu Jun felt a vast mental force carrying a consciousness descend into his body. His body lost all control, and his sense of self was pushed aside.

Still, he remained relaxed he had gone through this many times and was very familiar with it.

Likewise, Ding Yumian showed no shyness. She began manipulating Lu Jun's rather abundant spiritual energy and Psychic Element mana.

"Intermediate Tier, Level Four?"

She was quite surprised. That was already the equivalent of half a High Tier spell. With such mana, constructing the Mind Palace would be much easier.

Ding Yumian then used translucent mana as ink and her spiritual energy as the brush, carefully painting a grand palace within Lu Jun's spiritual world.

The Mind Palace was entirely crystalline and transparent, with sharp edges. Inside, layers upon layers of psychic walls created countless corridors and chambers a maze that was ever-shifting and unpredictable.

No one knew how long had passed. Ding Yumian's weary consciousness withdrew from the spiritual world. At the same time, a lazy voice reached her ears: "It's done."

Lu Jun opened his eyes, his consciousness quickly filled the gap and regained control of his body.

Immediately, he sensed the difference the power of the Psychic Element had surged, and his mind felt as steady as a mountain. freewebnøvel.coɱ

If Lu Jun activated it with a single thought, he could deploy a star chart and unleash full psychic control, projecting the Mind Palace into reality, controlling over a thousand people in one breath. This was already the embryonic form of a Psychic Domain, and a very powerful type of domain at that.

He smiled. To possess the prototype of a domain at the Intermediate Tier was nearly on par with Mu Ningxue's strength at that level.

Once he advanced to the High Tier, Lu Jun would likely master it simultaneously—yet another Element capable of battling a Commander-level foe.

The hallmark of High Tier mages was Domains. Unlike elemental magic, which could rely on Soul Seeds for mastery, special Dimensional Magic, Dark Magic, and White Magic weren't so easy to command.

Even Lu Jun's Curse Element had fused with the top-tier cursed material Blood Abyss Curse Mark, but it was still a step short of forming a domain.

On the other hand, once a domain was involved, its effects surpassed those of ordinary Elemental Domains.

He observed the illusionary palace in his spiritual world. Though its scale was far inferior to Ding Yumian's and lacked the dual-mirrored structure, it would inevitably become more formidable as he grew stronger.

In the original story, the Holy Bear Mercenary Corps of Northern Europe had a Super Tier psychic mage who could, with a single thought, construct an entire city successfully suppressing Mo Fan, who was almost at Forbidden Curse level at the time.

Lu Jun was confident he would reach that level eventually.

"Thanks for your help." Lu Jun opened his eyes and looked at Ding Yumian in front of him, expressing his gratitude.

"It's fine," Ding Yumian curled her lips into a smile. Her tone, however, was laced with chill: "But I do have a question. Which woman was it?!"

As soon as those words fell, Lu Jun's body stiffened. His eyes darted around as he replied, "What woman?"

Ding Yumian's main soul consciousness had clearly fallen into slumber from the exhaustion of helping him construct the Mind Palace. The one speaking now was clearly one of her secondary soul personalities, pressing aggressively, "Who did you sleep with?!"

Cold sweat broke out on Lu Jun's forehead. Shit. Busted.

Though it was just a few seconds, it felt like a whole year had passed. His mind spun at lightning speed, searching for an excuse—only to realize there was nothing he could say.

With no way out, Lu Jun decided to be honest: "It was... Sister Tang Yue."

After saying it, he anxiously watched for Ding Yumian's reaction.