Versatile Mage: Starting with the White Tiger Pendant

The more Lu Jun studied the Psychic Element, the more discoveries he made. This intent force was the most direct manifestation of spiritual cultivation and could unlock various passive abilities when combined with the Psychic Stardust.

Abilities like Telepathy were just the basics. Recently, after using the Metal Element to slay demons, Lu Jun noticed his perception had become extremely sharp, akin to a legendary "Mind's Eye" in swordsmanship or a martial artist's intuitive foresight. This greatly enhanced his combat and survival abilities, allowing him to sense threats like the saying "The cicada senses the autumn breeze before it moves."

Even though the Psychic Novice-Tier Level 1 spell Spirit Pacify was not particularly powerful, the Level 2 spell Psychic Impact became terrifying. The principle was the same: using intent to probe others' "mind lakes." The former calms, while the latter stirs, creating storms that disrupt the opponent's focus and render even Mid-Tier mages unable to cast their spells.

Upon reaching Level 3 Psychic Wall, one could construct a protective barrier over their own or their allies' "mind lakes," effectively blocking external spiritual intrusions.

This concept of a "mind lake," as Lu Jun deduced from his spellcasting experience, seemed to correspond to a mage's spiritual world — that mysterious inner realm.

From this, he derived an insight: if a mage's spiritual cultivation was high, their mind lake would be vast. Attempting to disturb such a vast "lake" with Novice-Tier spells would require much more effort and might even be as futile as a breeze over an endless ocean, having no effect at all.

Thus, Psychic Mages were wary of those with strong spiritual realms.

However, Lu Jun felt there was no need to worry about this below the High-Tier level. Looking at someone like Mo Fan, who was High-Tier dual-element but only in the second realm, Lu Jun felt confident he could easily toy with those at the same level.

For experimentation, Lu Jun also tested his Curse Element Novice-Tier spells. He immediately noticed a distinct difference. While controlling the Curse Stardust and its star patterns with his spiritual energy was similar, the resulting force was a strange, eerie energy.

This time, his test subject was still Lu Mei, though he made sure to control the spell's power.

"Level 1 : Must of Fear"

Lu Jun's eyes turned a blackish-red, and an ominous aura emanated from his body.

Lu Mei, seeing this, momentarily felt dazed. Darkness engulfed her vision, and she vaguely perceived a pair of blood-red eyes looming above Lu Jun's head. The gaze was high, cold, and bloodthirsty.

The next moment, her heartbeat quickened, her breathing became erratic, her body stiffened, and cold sweat poured down as her heart constricted painfully.

Sensing that her mind lake was on the verge of collapse, Lu Jun quickly cast the Psychic Novice-Tier spell pacify. A gentle breeze seemed to brush through, calming Lu Mei's emotions until her mind was like still water.

Moments later, the magic dissipated. Lu Mei, gasping for breath, collapsed on the sofa, drenched in sweat. The transition from extreme fear to extreme calm left her mentally exhausted, appearing completely drained.

Witnessing this, Lu Jun panicked and attempted to slip away, guilt-ridden for pushing Lu Mei to this state.

"Lu Xiao Jun, stop right there!"

As expected, Lu Mei's teeth-gritting voice came from behind. Before he could react, a soft yet forceful impact struck his back. Lu Mei pounced on him, pinning him down. Her long legs wrapped around his waist, and her arms encircled his neck, her limbs clinging to him like an octopus. She grabbed both sides of his face and tugged hard.

"You little brat! What happened to controlling your power?!"

Lu Jun's mind went blank as he struggled to breathe, mumbling, "I'm sorry, it wasn't on purpose!"

"Not on purpose?!" Lu Mei vented her anger by roughhousing him further, trying to release her lingering fear.

To be fair, if it had been an ordinary person under the Fear Curse, they might have suffered a heart attack and died instantly. Its dual-purpose of control and damage made it an exceptional skill.

The two continued their scuffle in the living room, their playful fight growing increasingly chaotic.

Eventually, Lu Jun's expression turned awkward as Lu Mei's soft breathing tickled his ears. The sensation of her curvaceous figure pressing against him made him blush. He stammered, "C-can you get off me?"

"What? Are you in your rebellious phase now?"

Lu Mei initially seemed annoyed but then noticed his reddening ears and realized what was going on. She released him, stood up, and brushed her hair back with a teasing smile. "Oh~ so you're shy, huh?"

Looking up from his position, Lu Jun saw her from an angle that accentuated her elegance and beauty. Her confident demeanor and graceful curves made his throat dry.

"What's the matter? It's not like we haven't bathed together as kids."

She laughed, patting his back before stretching languidly. "Anyway, you've made me all sweaty. I'm going to take a shower."

Without waiting for his response, Lu Mei headed for the bathroom.

Once the door closed, she leaned against it, her hand clutching her chest as her face turned crimson. Memories of Lu Jun's heroic figure in battle and the strong sense of security he exuded flooded her mind.

In the living room, Lu Jun remained dazed for a while before snapping out of it. He tried to meditate but found his thoughts scattered. Frustrated, he cast Pacify on himself.

A refreshing sensation washed over him like a bucket of cold water. His racing emotions calmed instantly, allowing him to regain focus.

Reflecting on his earlier experiments, he observed his spiritual world, where the blackish-red and transparent stardust clusters of Curse and Psychic Elements lay close together, slightly dimmed from exertion.

"So that's it," Lu Jun mused. "Psychic and Curse are two sides of the same coin, both rooted in the soul. One doesn't harm the body, while the other damages it, forming the distinction between white and black magic."

He realized that the two elements shared a deep connection. If he could master this link, it might lead to the creation of fusion magic, with shared mana pools within the stardust.

As he practiced further, he found that the Psychic Element could indeed amplify the Curse Element's effects. For instance, combining Psychic Impact with Curse would create an almost impossible-to-defend attack.

This also allowed him to conceal his dual-element talent. Psychic Element's transparent nature was subtle and inconspicuous, and any noticeable effects could be attributed to Curse Magic or special artifacts.

From now on, his second Mid-Tier element would officially be Curse.

Of course, the paths of Psychic and Curse diverged significantly after Mid-Tier. Though their origins were similar, they led to vastly different outcomes.

Lu Jun was pleased with his progress. The Psychic Element gave him an edge in duels, promoting balance and equality, while the Curse Element added deadly and mysterious offensive capabilities. Together with the Metal Element, these four magics covered a wide range of combat scenarios.