Chapter 890 – Outpaced Again

“!!!”

The moment Mo Lan’s words fell, three sharp gasps of disbelief echoed through the room.

“Eighth Rank?” Lilith’s voice rose involuntarily, dripping with incredulity.

“Only… Seventh Rank?” Vasida’s eyes went perfectly round as she repeated what, to her, was Mo Lan’s utterly inconceivable choice of words.

Although Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph’s respective Sorceress Magic also generated steady returns, their audience reach and propagation speed ultimately couldn’t compare to Mo Lan’s extraordinarily adaptable, all-encompassing Card Magic. Naturally, the rate at which they accumulated Mana wasn’t nearly as staggering as hers.

Their current Mana ranks hadn’t yet officially broken through to Sixth Rank, but none of them were far off.

After returning to Valen this time, they had also met with their senior Traci, who mentioned that once a Witch Explorer’s strength reached Sixth Rank, she would qualify to join the higher-tier Witch Explorer organization known as Starault Hall. They also learned that Mo Lan had already been Sixth Rank the last time she returned.

But even so, Mo Lan’s words still dealt them a tremendous shock.

“Eighth Rank… that means your total Mana must be on the scale of hundreds of billions!”

Even though Vasida wasn’t usually the sharpest with arithmetic, she could still calculate the staggering tenfold gap between each major rank clearly enough.

She counted on her fingers, growing more alarmed with each calculation. “We’re still a ways from reaching Sixth Rank, yet you’re already at Eighth Rank… d-doesn’t that mean our total Mana right now doesn’t even amount to one percent of yours?”

Lilith nodded in deep agreement, her face a tapestry of complicated emotions.

“The gap in Mana ranks growing ever wider — that much I can understand. After all, when it comes to promoting and spreading Sorceress Magic, you really do have a gift for it. All of us, and indeed the entire Witch race, have benefited enormously. In the eyes of other races now, practically every Witch is considered wealthy. But for you to have pulled so far ahead of us in magical rank as well — that’s just absurd! How on earth did you manage it? Even studying Magic every single day wouldn’t be enough, would it?”

“It’s been so long since I’ve felt this… this feeling of being completely outpaced by you again…” Sylph let out a soft sigh, though a nostalgic smile flickered in her eyes.

Having spent years immersed in the tranquil study of plants and flowers, it had been many years since she’d experienced this complex blend of helplessness and irrepressible happiness at being so thoroughly surpassed by Mo Lan in raw strength.

Mo Lan’s existence seemed to serve as an eternal reminder that even for Sorceresses blessed with exceptional talent, those who grew complacent would inevitably be left far behind by those who pressed ever forward.

“Don’t forget — my mirror space has the ability to alter the flow of time in certain areas!” Mo Lan lifted her chin toward the magical clock by the door. “During long cosmic voyages, most of the time is actually spent in transit. Not using that time for studying and researching Magic — wouldn’t that be a terrible waste?”

Her tone grew slightly more serious. “Besides, you haven’t seen it with your own eyes — those Dao Ancestors who possess enormous reserves of immortal power yet only specialize in a single school of Ninth Rank Magic, with inadequate primordial spirit cultivation — how passive and fragile they become in actual combat. I have no intention of ending up like them someday, sitting on a high rank only to be easily defeated by someone weaker who exploits my weaknesses!”

Lilith nodded thoughtfully. “It seems once I get my own mirror space, I’ll need to go into serious seclusion for a while.”

She had no intention of being left too far behind by Mo Lan!

Though Vasida and Sylph said nothing, the same resolute gleam shone in their eyes.

They too realized that their current magical proficiency had indeed fallen behind their Mana ranks, and it was time to settle down and focus on improving. Seeing Mo Lan achieve such astonishing progress, they were happy for her, yes — but it also ignited an even fiercer fighting spirit within them.

And a mirror space capable of adjusting the flow of time had become all the more alluring to them, the desire to obtain one growing ever more urgent.

The three immediately channeled this enthusiasm into practical card design work.

Drawing carefully from the cultural backgrounds, power systems, and characteristics of intelligent races across sixteen different otherworlds documented in Mo Lan’s 《Cosmic Travel Journal》 — including White Crystal Star, Celestial Profound Realm, Verdant Depths Realm, and Canlan Realm — they engaged in deep discussions with Mo Lan about how to effectively localize the card series corresponding to each of their respective Sorceress Magic specialties.

Mo Lan also took this opportunity to carefully examine some of the new cards that Lilith, Vasida, and Sylph had listed in the Card Shop over the past few years.

After leaving Valen, the Card Shop’s updates had been delayed, and those notifications only popped up upon her return.

By browsing through the descriptions of these cards, Mo Lan gained a general understanding of what her friends had been up to during these years.

Judging from the {blood cards} of powerful magical races well-known throughout the cosmos and their corresponding {blood fusion spells}, Lilith’s research and development of her Sorceress Magic — Blood Magic — had grown significantly more refined.

Vasida’s Sorceress Magic cards hadn’t changed much — still the same old lineup of {Dietary Fortification Cards}, {Dietary Recovery Cards}, and various {Trash Can Cards}.

However, through her {Management Card}, she had provided a massive quantity of card-crafting materials, producing numerous {ingredient cards} and {gourmet cards} from Gurgling Gurgling Gourmet World, along with a set of {Knowledge Cards – culinary magic} listed exclusively in the Witch-edition Card Shop — likely another specialty product from Gurgling Gurgling Gourmet World.

It seemed she had reaped quite the harvest in Gurgling Gurgling Gourmet World over these years.

Sylph’s listings, meanwhile, featured many {Hybrid Magic Cards} and corresponding {Mutant Seed Cards}, with {Mutant Hollow Trees} among them.

Mo Lan spotted quite a few cards that piqued her interest and purchased them on the spot, planning to study them carefully when she had time.

“Oh, by the way — where are the things you wrote?”

When they had communicated across worlds previously, Mo Lan had not only coordinated their return to Valen to coincide with Starault Hall’s centennial gathering, but had also drawn inspiration from the Starault Hall Witches’ tradition of sharing 《Cosmic Travel Journals》. She had proposed that everyone write up their otherworld exploration experiences as travelogues or journals, whether to share with each other or to consign for sale at the Otherworld Archives.

“Here — these are mine.” Lilith was the first to hand over several beautifully bound, thick leather notebooks with dark crimson patterns on their covers.

She had organized her years of searching for magical bloodlines into this set titled 《Journey of Magical Bloodlines》, which currently comprised five volumes.

“These are mine!” Vasida excitedly produced a hefty, weighty tome. “This is my deluxe hardcover edition of 《Gourmet Adventure Notes》! It doesn’t just record my experiences in Gurgling Gurgling Gourmet World — for anything food-related, there are exquisite illustrations and scent reproductions too. It’s absolutely a book that’ll make your mouth water. I only made four copies total, and this one’s yours!”