"Are you telling the truth?" Mo Han asked, disbelief coloring his voice. "Are these magic sprites truly spirits with life and thought? It's not that I don't trust you, but what you're describing is simply too miraculous, too unbelievable."

Seeing his reaction, the Elemental Sprite spoke up. "I can help you open that door of communication. You can try speaking with them now, and then you will know if I speak truly or not?" As the Elemental Sprite finished speaking, a beam of rainbow light shot from its hand and enveloped Mo Han before vanishing without a trace.

Mo Han quickly checked his body. There seemed to be no obvious change, except for a peculiar magical aura settling upon him—an aura identical to the one he sensed emanating from the Elemental Sprites across from him. The aura on Mo Han was faint, however, while the sprites radiated intense power.

The Elemental Sprite opposite him spoke, sounding slightly weary. "I have instilled the Elemental Essence within you—the primordial form of these magical elements. With this, you can communicate with the magical elements swirling in the air. The rest is up to you to master. I need to rest now. If you have any further questions, you may ask us anytime."

Hearing this, Mo Han quickly bowed in gratitude. "Thank you all, esteemed Seniors, for your assistance to Mo Han. I shall never forget this."

"Heh. Don't celebrate too soon. I already told you, we did this under conditions. So, we are quite even now."

The Elemental Sprite continued, "Very well. Your main task for the next few days is to converse with these little magic sprites until they fully accept you. Do you understand?" After saying this, the Elemental Sprites slowly faded away, leaving Mo Han standing alone.

Seeing them depart, Mo Han dared not hesitate.

He immediately settled into a cross-legged position to meditate, beginning his communion with the magical sprites in the air.

After the meditation, Mo Han distinctly felt the activity of the magical sprites. Innumerable sprites danced joyously around him. Mo Han could even sense their delighted moods, which lifted his own spirits. For a time, he lost himself completely in this mutual exchange with the magic sprites.

After an unknowable span of time, Mo Han finally awoke.

He discovered the magical elements within his body were incredibly abundant, seemingly inexhaustible. It felt as if, with a mere command, these elements would surge forth wildly. He was magnitudes stronger than he had been before. Mo Han understood that he must have broken through his former Great Magus realm and ascended to the rank of Saint Magus. He couldn't help but cheer in unrestrained joy.

At that moment, Mo Han noticed the several Elemental Sprites hovering quietly not far from him.

Seeing Mo Han wake, the sprite who had been primarily communicating with him spoke gently. "You are awake. I never expected your affinity with these magic sprites to be any less than ours. In fact, it seems even greater. To meditate for such a long duration in one session... You have just entered the Saint Magus realm. Your primary task now is to consolidate your foundation. If you continue to strive like this, your strength will soon catch up to ours. At that point, you will have created a miracle in the history of human magic."

Mo Han’s face lit up as he replied eagerly, "Will I advance further? Wouldn't that mean I would reach the legendary level of a Magus God?" The Elemental Sprite let out a soft laugh. "Of course not so easily! Reaching Magus God is not a simple feat. Even we are still some distance from the Magus God realm, let alone you. Furthermore, the further you advance, the harder it becomes to ascend, requiring exponentially greater effort. However, if you persevere in your efforts, you will surely reach the Magus God realm. For now, though, you must focus on diligent effort."

Mo Han asked with confusion, "What? Isn't the level after Saint Magus the Magus God? Why would further advancement not lead there?" This was because, according to the theories Mo Xiuyi had taught him, the highest level beyond Saint Magus was the Magus God. Yet, from the Elemental Sprite's words, it seemed there were other stages beyond Saint Magus, implying it wasn't the pinnacle. Mo Han felt a wave of doubt.

"What you said is essentially correct; the level immediately following Saint Magus is indeed Magus God," the Elemental Sprite replied.

Hearing the explanation, Mo Han became even more muddled. The Elemental Sprite had just stated that advancing past Saint Magus didn't immediately make one a Magus God, but now it claimed that Magus God followed Saint Magus. Wasn't this contradictory? Still, Mo Han trusted the sprite would clarify his doubts, so he suppressed the urge to question and waited quietly for the next words.

True to his expectation, the Elemental Sprite continued after a brief pause. "The truth is, the Saint Magus realm is divided into three tiers: First-Tier Saint Magus, Second-Tier Saint Magus, and Third-Tier Saint Magus. Only after Third-Tier Saint Magus does one become a Magus God. You, currently, can only be considered to have barely met the standard for First-Tier. You are still very far from the Magus God realm."

Mo Han exclaimed in surprise, "Saint Magus has such tiered distinctions? I thought Saint Magus was only one rank!" The Elemental Sprite patiently explained, "In fact, long ago, during the peak era of human magic, a very small number of exceptionally talented individuals achieved the rank of Third-Tier Saint Magus. Sadly, no one could ever break through the Third-Tier barrier to enter the Magus God realm, making the Third-Tier arguably the most difficult stage to pass. However, later, several great human nations engaged in devastating internal conflicts, triggering a catastrophe. Many major powers vanished overnight from the Dragon Ascent Continent, and numerous high-level mages perished in that cataclysm. Much advanced magic was lost then, including many Forbidden Curses. Even the classification of the Saint Magus stages likely faded away from common knowledge during that time. Too much time has passed; many details have gradually been forgotten. Nowadays, since no one can surpass the First-Tier Saint Magus realm, these matters are entirely unknown to anyone."