A mage's journey begins with a battle mage.

Chapter 346 Igniting the Astral Gate

"Come on, lower your head."

Jiang Shuzhou gave the order.

Upon hearing this, Laps obediently lowered her head; she would absolutely obey Jiang Shuzhou's orders.

"Wearing flesh and blood as a crown, and order as a scepter."

"In my name, I crown you."

"I am your Creator and your King and Father."

"I give you the power to shepherd life, and grant you a body of glory."

Jiang Shuzhou's voice rang out, ethereal and distant, and at the same time, a small and exquisite crown materialized in his hand.

"I'm asking you, are you willing?"

Jiang Shuzhou asked.

"I do."

Laps replied.

Immediately afterwards, Laps closed his eyes, and Jiang Shuzhou placed the crown on Laps' head.

This was created by Jiang Shuzhou using the Order Cube; it is both a gift and a constraint.

Through the crown, Jiang Shuzhou granted Laps the ability to command every flesh and blood creature, while also binding them more deeply to himself. This would help Jiang Shuzhou better manage all the flesh and blood creatures.

Although Jiang Shuzhou can directly command all flesh and blood creatures, isn't that what his subordinates do?

Just as Jiang Shuzhou rarely managed his territory, he also left many flesh and blood creatures to their own devices, only taking stock when necessary and otherwise ignoring them.

Now that this matter has been handed over to Laps, things are completely different. As a Tower Spirit, Laps has extremely strong calculation abilities, even stronger than Jiang Shuzhou. Moreover, compared to Jiang Shuzhou, Laps' thinking is much colder.

Her associative abilities are not strong, and she can turn them off at any time, so she has a lot of computing power available.

Jiang Shuzhou, on the other hand, is different. He excels at abstract thinking and doesn't really like cold, calculating methods.

After all, nobody likes calculating a bunch of cold numbers every day. Besides, those numbers aren't very useful, since they're just numbers for living beings.

At the same time, giving the authority to Laps has another advantage: Jiang Shuzhou can control flesh and blood creatures to fight, just like in a game.

For example, Jiang Shuzhou could have Laps turn the battlefield into a giant sandbox, with both sides acting as pawns.

Just like in a game, Jiang Shuzhou can play however he wants. He can even perform micro-management to make a flesh-and-blood creature move one meter to the left. And what Jiang Shuzhou likes most is micro-management.

"Thank you for your trust, Master."

"Laps said, but her face remained cold, seemingly devoid of any emotion."

Jiang Shuzhou was taken aback, then realized that he hadn't activated the emotion module yet.

Then, Jiang Shuzhou opened the emotion module and began some minor adjustments.

Now, Laps finally showed some emotion.

"Master, is there anything else I can help you with?"

Laps looked at Jiang Shuzhou with tenderness in his eyes and said with a smile.

That made me feel so much better.

"Come with me to ignite the Astral Gate."

Jiang Shuzhou said.

For mages, the mage tower is not just about increasing combat power; owning a mage tower means that a mage can unleash large-scale spells.

For example, the Enchanted Lock is a perpetual spell that can exist indefinitely, and the amount of mana it consumes depends on its effect.

If it's just a simple matter of maintaining a constant temperature, Jiang Shuzhou can easily handle the energy consumption. However, if he needs to do something more complex, Jiang Shuzhou's magic power might not be enough.

For example, it could be used to check whether everyone in a territory has a religious belief, or to allow people to tell the truth in certain places, or to allow only certain groups of people to enter certain places.

Meanwhile, the Mage Tower has an even more important task: to ignite the Astral Gate.

Igniting the Astral Gate requires special magic, which consumes a massive amount of magic power and also requires the mage to have extremely strong spell control skills without the slightest mistake.

However, with the help of the mage tower, these things become easier.

Theoretically speaking, Jiang Shuzhou should be able to cast the spell alone and light up the Astral Gate directly, but it would be foolish not to use the tool he has, just like trying to start a fire by rubbing it together when you can start a fire with a lighter.

Since there was a simpler option, Jiang Shuzhou naturally wouldn't waste his energy.

"Master, hold my hand tightly."

As Laps spoke, she extended her hand.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Shuzhou nodded slightly and reached out to shake Laps's hand.

Subsequently, his spirit connected with the Dharma Master's Tower, and his ability to expound the Dharma was greatly enhanced.

Under normal circumstances, if Jiang Shuzhou is not connected to the mage tower, his spell power can only be increased by about 50%, but if he is connected to the mage tower, his spell power can be increased by two times.

The only downside is that this state cannot be maintained for an extended period. A short period of one or two days is fine, but if it's for one or two months, the mage tower will become more prone to damage.

The mage tower is like a large staff; however, prolonged use under heavy load can cause problems.

Jiang Shuzhou wouldn't use it continuously unless absolutely necessary, since it was really too expensive. If it broke even slightly, Jiang Shuzhou would have to spend tens of thousands of magic stones.

The spell to ignite the Astral Gate is called the Astral Gate; simply fix it onto a specially made door.

Once this spell is solidified, it is extremely difficult to extinguish. Even if 50% of the main body of the Astral Gate is destroyed, it can still maintain the mage's stability, and the Astral Gate can still be used even with the spatial anchor in place.

These have all been tested.

As Jiang Shuzhou cast his spell, a massive amount of magic power began to converge like a tide. Then, according to Jiang Shuzhou's will, runes began to condense and arrange themselves. As the fluctuations of magic power became more and more intense, the spell was soon completed.

With a thought, Jiang Shuzhou released the spell.

Soon, countless runes on the massive door lit up, accompanied by bursts of powerful magical energy. A golden light curtain, like a waterfall, slowly flowed through the middle of the door.

The Astral Gate has been successfully ignited.

From this point on, Jiang Shuzhou was able to officially begin his journey in another dimension.

"The day has finally come."

The mage's journey is through the Astral Plane; for mages who yearn for freedom, the Prime Material Plane will never be as interesting as the Astral Plane.

The Astral Plane is a magical place, with countless planes embedded within it. Some of these planes are extremely large, as vast as the Prime Plane.

Some planes are very small, as small as a few hundred thousand kilometers.

Some planes are fraught with danger, filled with all sorts of perils, and may even contain gods or demigods who are in the process of being resurrected.

It might even contain the legacy of a legendary ancient mage.

In short, anything is possible in the astral plane.