The snow is still falling.

Feather-like snowflakes silently descend, as if draping the world in a layer of pure white feathers.

The pine branches droop slightly under the weight of the snow, and the outlines of the wasteland mountains loom faintly in the vast white.

The cold wind howls past, swirling a few strands of snow in the air, spinning and leaping.

Inside, the flames lick the iron wall, emitting a slight crackling sound, driving away the chill with its heated breath.

A pot on the fireplace boils with bubbling water, steam rising upwards.

The blazing fire and the hot hearth make the room warm, but also exceptionally dry.

The rising steam moistens the air inside, so those sleeping on the hearth bed won't wake up with a dry, scratchy throat.

In the studio, Luo De sits cross-legged on the hot flue covered with thick animal hide, holding a purple Spirit Gem in his hand, feeling the mysterious energy slowly flowing into his body.

As he continues his absorption, the gemstone's brilliance gradually dims, turning from dazzling to lackluster.

[Absorbed a small amount of spiritual energy, spiritual strength increased by 5%, body energy affinity increased by 10%]

The system prompt appeared, and Luo De realized that this Extraordinary Gem had been almost entirely depleted by him.

According to the Crystal Ball's detection results, Luo De's current spiritual strength should have exceeded 11 points.

Linda had mentioned that a spiritual strength of 11 points is similar to Lusen's, and is a prerequisite for qualifying as a wizard apprentice.

As for the so-called body energy affinity, which Linda also mentioned, it's the body's ability to naturally absorb free energy.

Witches don't necessarily have high spiritual strength, but their energy affinity far surpasses that of wizard apprentices, which is why they can naturally awaken.

Wizard apprentices must rely on meditation techniques to increase spiritual strength and activate energy.

This made Luo De even more certain that he should first follow the path of a 'Warlock.'

After absorbing the spiritual energy, Luo De exhaled lightly, rested for a while while watching the snowfall outside, and picked up the Flame Gem, holding it in his palm.

According to the detection instructions, he decided to first absorb this bright red gem.

Following the same method as handling the Spirit Gem, Luo De continued cautiously.

However, to Luo De's surprise, as soon as he focused his spirit on it, the intense energy flowed into his body through his palm.

And not only did Luo De not find it uncomfortable, but he also enjoyed the scorching sensation brought by the flame.

This Crystal Ball really sees accurately.

Luo De absorbed the flame energy exceptionally quickly, and in no time, the Flame Gem in his hand lost its luster.

[Absorbed a small amount of flame energy, flame energy affinity increased by 20%, gained mild flame resistance.]

After the pigeon-egg-sized Flame Gem's energy was completely absorbed, the system prompt immediately appeared.

Luo De could clearly feel a hot energy merging into his body, permeating every inch of his skin.

Is this the magical energy they speak of?

How exactly can this energy be released?

Luo De didn't rush; he first went to the fireplace to test his body's resistance to fire.

Luo De first placed his hand on the nearest flue to the fireplace, feeling the temperature.

"Be careful, it's hot!"

Avril rushed over, setting aside her work, but was stopped by Luo De raising his hand.

"It's okay, I don't feel the heat."

Luo De smiled slightly, casually placing his hand directly on the fireplace.

"You..."

Avril slightly opened her mouth, her face full of surprise.

However, Luo De quickly removed his hand this time, but it wasn't burnt.

Only this time, Luo De felt a burning sensation.

Avril came to her senses as well and returned to her work.

Initially, she was just worried and lost her composure, knowing rationally that Luo De wouldn't act recklessly.

Now, Avril had a lot of work in her hands.

Since the two of them started sharing a bed, Luo De had completely opened up, transferring many trivial tasks to her, thus bidding farewell to her leisurely free time.

Avril is now writing educational materials.

She is mainly responsible for literacy education in the territory, and to maintain consistent teaching standards, she continuously explores the learning and literacy system and method steps.

She constantly recalls her learning process, compiling basic literacy materials.

After finishing this work, Avril needs to organize the herbal knowledge provided by Luo De into notes, to be used as herbalist materials in the future.

Many similar tasks remain, especially since most carpenters and artisans in the territory are illiterate.

Specific methods and experience summaries require Avril's participation, especially the work of drafting blueprints.

Every day, Avril stayed up late along with Luo De, without any time to breathe.

While Avril lowered her head to draw, Luo De quietly turned around, using his body to block her view.

Then, Luo De picked up a piece of ember and tried it out with his hand.

Sss—

Luo De gritted his teeth, quickly pulling back.

It was fine when he first put it on, but he couldn't hold it for more than three to four seconds.

The pain caused Luo De to rapidly withdraw his hand.

It seems that this mild flame resistance is not enough for Luo De to be unafraid of fire; he still needs to continue enhancing it.

Returning the ember to the stove, Luo De went and sat down next to Avril.

"Avril, I'd like to ask you some things about witches."

"Mhmm, go ahead," Avril paused her writing.

Luo De organized his thoughts briefly, then asked: "How did you release your witch abilities? Especially the process of first acquiring the ability."

"Is that method of release something innate?"

"It's hard for me to say."

Avril gently stroked the pen, her gaze deep as she reminisced,

"Like I said before, I remember it was when I felt extremely lonely, as if another person was accompanying me."

She paused,

"But Vivian first appeared during a walk outside when I encountered a wild dog."

"Just as the wild dog was about to pounce on me, in a moment of panic, Vivian suddenly appeared in front of me."

"She stood in front of me, drove away the wild dog, and saved me."

"What happened?"

Avril asked eagerly, "Did we discover a new witch here?"

Luo De shook his head slightly, silently contemplating, trying to summarize Avril's words.

First sensing Vivian's presence, then suddenly releasing it in moments of urgency or need?

"It's nothing, you go ahead and continue with your work."

Luo De smiled and waved, Avril was somewhat curious, but there were too many tasks at hand, so she nodded and continued to busy herself.

Luo De glanced at the swirling snowflakes outside the window, preparing to experiment outside.

If one must first feel the "need," then naturally flame energy would be needed in the cold.

Luo De took off his coat and walked out into the snow.

The snow in the Northern Wasteland comes early, and it's still in late autumn now.

The weather is not very cold, just dropping below freezing. Even without his coat, Luo De does not feel the chill.

Given his formidable physique now, to truly feel cold and shiver, it would probably have to be the severe winter below minus thirty degrees in the Northern Wasteland.

Luo De was not in a hurry; he casually found a pile of snow and inserted his hands into it to try it out.

The icy sensation instantly spread throughout his body through his skin.

Indeed, in the next instant, he felt a slight agitation in his body temperature, but it wasn't obvious.

It was effective.

Luo De thought for a bit, further taking off his shirt, revealing an impressive muscular physique.

Continuous training and the boost from his constitution made Luo De's body full of firm muscles, clearly defined like carved art, forming perfect lines.

From shoulders to arms, then to forearms, the muscle lines were smooth and aesthetic, complemented by fair skin, handsome features, and short golden hair, resembling a meticulously crafted artwork.

After undressing, Luo De found a clean patch of snow and lay down directly.

- If it were the urine and feces-covered Frost Leaf Town of the past, Luo De certainly wouldn't have laid down.

With his naked body in close contact with the white snow, he carefully felt the flow of energy in his body.

His curious action attracted the intrigued gaze of the guards, who turned their heads to observe.

"Who would have thought the Lord would train so diligently, even without clothes to enhance cold resistance in the snow."

"Who would have thought the Lord has become a noble and works even harder."

Due to Luo De's usual protection of soldiers, not interfering much with military discipline, only issuing orders,

whipping and restricting soldiers were Durant's responsibility, coupled with the previous incidents with Ao Er, the soldiers truly respected Luo De from the heart.

Seeing his efforts now, they couldn't help but sigh.

If the Lord works so hard, naturally, they should strive even more.

Luo De didn't mind the attention around him, focusing entirely on feeling the cold in the snow.

As his body temperature got lower, the scorching energy within him began to gradually stir, the same energy he absorbed from the Flame Gem.

This power surged again, and Luo De's mind began to become active.

When he felt it was about right, he began to concentrate his spiritual power on that energy.

Then, Luo De recalled scenes from films he had seen, where superpower users displayed their abilities.

He raised his hand, aiming at the open space ahead, keeping the intention to gather constantly, secretly commanding it to launch.

Suddenly, a small cluster of orange-yellow energy waves shot from his hand, transforming into a flame in the air!

Bang!

The wooden stake ahead was instantly pierced!

It was a success!

Luo De's eyes sparkled with excitement!

He actually managed to cast a spell!

Even though the distance was only a dozen meters!

"A witch!"

Seeing such a scene, a guard couldn't help but exclaim.

Another guard immediately slapped his shoulder, displeasedly retorting,

"What witch? The Lord is an Extraordinary one! That's a Warlock!"

"Right, right!"

The guard promptly corrected himself, "Warlock!"

It's just that many legendary stories only spoke of witches, never mentioning any warlocks.

Luo De noticed the guards' reactions, couldn't help but laugh.

He wasn't worried about the guards in the manor leaking the secret; they were all his close, trusted aides.

Luo De merely didn't want to scare them, so he waved his hand and explained, "Relax, I'm normal."

Luo De brushed off the snow on him, walked to the wooden stake, squatted down for a closer look.

The wooden stake with a diameter of about twenty centimeters had been completely pierced, and its surroundings were charred black.

Three meters or so of melted snow marks were behind the wooden stake, likely caused by the continuous energy shot.

Luo De felt that he had only used a very small portion of energy just now, but he dared not release it casually again.

Luo De was uncertain if this energy would restore, so he needed to wait further to test if this energy would recover and increase on its own.

After all, he had no other Flame Gems in hand.

The snowflakes continued to fall silently, the sunlight shattered into golden flecks on the snow through the clouds.

Luo DE stared at the marks on the wooden stake, stood up, considering silently.

Shouldn't this ability have a name?

What should it be called?

Flaming Arrow?

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