A vast stretch of grassland was burned to a crystalline state by flames, and the hills were flattened. The battleground between Moriel and Selena left behind shocking traces of their fight.
In this battle, both displayed terrifying strength, almost reaching the Fourth-Level Dawn.
After the battle, Moriel settled in the central area closest to the Fairy City Ruins, directly opposite Selena's Life Court territory.
Both Moriel and Selena's surrounding area cleared out all the wizards within a five-kilometer radius, creating two empty zones in the inner layer, as if large pieces had been bitten out of the large doughnut shape from above.
The events surrounding Moriel and Selena's identities began to spread within small circles.
Three days after their battle, the top wizard genius from one of the South's three major wizard factions, the "Chaos Secret Society," arrived. He was a young, handsome man dressed in a black suit, courteous yet immediately and effortlessly seized the souls of two level-three wizards who had shown disrespect.
On the fifth day of the sunset gathering, the strongest genius from the "Spirit Light Dawn" faction arrived, shining brightly like midday sun, riding a creature resembling a legendary "unicorn."
By the eighth day, the "Poison Mask" tradition appeared.
The three-tiered living arrangement around the Fairy City Ruins was broken, and new layers were formed, making the atmosphere around the gathering of Southern wizards more tense as the battle approaches, with each day feeling more intense than the last.
Beneath the calm, countless undercurrents stirred.
In a quiet and bright room, Ronan sat cross-legged on a soft wool carpet.
With his eyes closed, a light yellow crystal the size of a pebble floated in front of him.
The crystal cast a soft beam of light on his forehead, and with the passage of time, the mental energy fluctuations emanating from Ronan's body slowly grew stronger.
At a certain moment, a strange wave emanated from Ronan's body, as though invisible ripples were spreading out. His robe floated up silently, and the furniture around him emitted a soft "whoosh" as it shook lightly.
"Whoosh—"
Ronan opened his eyes. His gaze was bright and blue, like a pair of top-tier sapphires shining in the night.
The light soon dimmed.
He extended his hand and gently grasped the pebble-sized crystal, inspecting it. The light yellow color on the crystal had become much fainter, almost transparent.
"This Moon Soul Stone is indeed useful," Ronan murmured softly before slowly putting the crystal away.
Half a month ago, he had rejected Selena's invitation from the Life Court and requested this Moon Soul Stone in exchange.
The Moon Soul Stone is a magical crystal that requires absorbing moonlight for hundreds of years to grow. Its effect is to promote the growth of a wizard's soul power.
Once the "moonlight" inside the stone is depleted, it can be recharged by exposing it to moonlight again, though this "recharging" process can take a long time.
Even so, a reusable item that boosts soul growth is still incredibly precious, and only someone as rich and powerful as Princess Selena from the Life Court would casually provide it.
If this were in the outside world, many third-level wizards would likely be fighting for it.
As for the conversation with Selena from half a month ago—if her invitation had only been a regular "recruitment," Ronan thought he might have accepted. Seeking support and protection from a large faction was a normal thing to do, especially since he wanted to go further in the future and needed more resources and better inheritance.
Selena's offer was indeed tempting, and Ronan was almost moved.
But her condition, that Ronan stay by Grace's side and even become her companion, was a step too far. Let alone whether he could accept it, he and Grace had not developed to that stage at all.
They were just friends, and in this world, many things get distorted when profit is involved, especially when it's forced. Someone like Selena, who was so high above, probably wouldn't understand that.
Perhaps she understood, but didn't care.
She simply wanted to find a "companion" for Grace, just as Grace was to her.
The communication stone that Grace had left for him had been taken back by Selena the moment he received the Moon Soul Stone.
The whole process looked like a transaction. Perhaps now, Grace would think of him as a "scumbag" who sold out his friend's feelings for personal gain.
"Let them think what they want," Ronan muttered to himself. "It's better than both of us feeling uncomfortable. It's a pity though, this brief but unique friendship with Grace."
Ronan casually opened his character panel. With the aid of the Moon Soul Stone over the past half month, his progress in the "Power" section had reached [Level Two Official Wizard: 200%].
Inside his mind, three crystal-clear and full mental power crystals emitted a faint golden glow, even more dazzling than the finest gemstones.
Now, Ronan's mental power, both in quality and quantity, surpassed that of an average third-level wizard, especially after undergoing two purifications.
Perhaps that's why he still lacked enough soul power for the breakthrough from second to third level, as he still needed more.
"I wonder if I can find something else to boost soul power in the market."
It seemed unlikely, but at this point, Ronan could only hope, as the energy in the Moon Soul Stone had already been used up.
"Buzz—"
Suddenly, Ronan heard a faint commotion from outside.
He quickly tidied himself up and left the space tent.
As soon as he stepped outside, he saw wizards floating in the air, all looking towards two directions, their expressions varied and murmuring.
"Has someone else arrived?"
Ronan's gaze flickered as he activated his flight ring, slowly rising into the air.
He had already witnessed similar scenes many times in the past half month. Ever since the battle between Moriel and Selena, the top wizards of the Southern factions had been arriving one by one. Every time an extraordinary figure arrived, it caused a stir.
Following the gaze of the others, Ronan saw a massive golden bear-man stride forward on the eastern hillside.
With each step, it emitted deafening sounds, crushing the ground beneath its feet, leaving large footprints and creating a tremor in the earth, like a massive force rolling forward.
After the giant bear passed over a high hill, it was suddenly enveloped in bright light, transforming into a giant black wolf, running swiftly across the hills, kicking up strong winds and tearing up large patches of grass, forming swirling sandstorms.
The black wolf leapt into the air, transforming again in the light into a giant white-feathered eagle, surrounded by lightning, soaring through the sky.
"It's Ewaque!"
Ronan overheard a nearby conversation.
"Apparently, he's following the path of the ancient spirit witch. Someone once saw him shake the mountains and tear apart a third-level magical beast."
Ancient Spirit Witch...
Ronan's eyes glimmered as he caught that term.
The grand gathering covering the entire Southern continent was underway, and more and more top genius wizards were appearing. Ronan was witnessing many powerful and unusual schools of magic, some passed down from ancient times, like legendary pages slowly unfolding before him.
The white giant eagle flew over Ronan's head and landed deep in the Fairy City Ruins, where it transformed into a muscular man wearing a black animal skin robe with a unique appearance.
The man glanced coldly around, then closed his eyes and sat down right where he was, under the watchful eyes of many.
Alongside Ewaque, a blue-purple ball of light wrapped in lightning descended from the southern sky, like a sun made of electricity.
Ronan's expression became intrigued.
Sure enough, after the lightning ball shattered, a young man with an imposing presence walked out. It was Jupiter, the number one genius from the Thunder Council, one of the six major wizard factions.
Three years had passed, and Jupiter, now fully recovered from his injuries, appeared stronger than before.
At least now, he had entered the top tier of genius wizards without being expelled.
Now, the Fairy City Ruins had formed four new layers—at the innermost level, the number of top-tier geniuses was minimal, but each of them was a renowned figure, with the weakest being a mid-level third-tier wizard close to the late third-tier stage, led by Moriel, Selena, and the Southern three major wizard factions' geniuses.
The second layer consisted of the next strongest geniuses, with third-level wizards as the dividing line. Only those with at least third-level wizard strength could enter.
The third layer was where Ronan was, populated mainly by second-level wizards.
The outermost layer consisted of the largest group—the level-one wizards, scattered like ants around the surrounding hills and plains.
If the top-level geniuses in the innermost layer were like the scorching sun, then the third-layer geniuses were like the bright moon, and the outermost layer was like fireflies gazing at the sun and stars.
"This grand event, even second-level wizards don't qualify to participate, only to witness, as mere accompaniments, or even decorations."
Ronan squinted, gazing inward. As of now, the number of top-tier geniuses in the innermost layer had reached eleven, and in the second layer, nearly two hundred.
Of course, these were only the geniuses visible to everyone. There must be many powerful and hidden geniuses, like Angrelle, who remained in the shadows.
So far, Ronan had yet to spot Angrelle's figure.
Just as he was scanning the crowd, he suddenly felt a communication stone in his space ring vibrating.
After confirming the identity of the sender, Ronan's gaze flickered.
Orrion had contacted him unexpectedly at this moment.
Half an hour later, in a room with an elegant style, a servant from a level-one wizard faction placed tea and snacks on the table in front of Ronan and Orrion, and bowed respectfully before leaving.
As more and more wizards gathered at the Fairy City Ruins, it became increasingly difficult to find a quiet place without disturbance within a few dozen miles.
As a result, tea rooms and taverns like this one began to emerge, set up in space tents. The rent was high, but after activating soundproofing and shielding magic arrays, it was possible to talk freely without fear of eavesdropping.
Ronan poured a cup of tea from the steaming pot on the table and gently pushed it toward Orrion.
"Thank you."
Orrion thanked him.
Ronan didn't speak, instead studying Orrion's appearance.
Compared to the last time he saw him three years ago in the Silver Circle's meditation tower, Orrion had changed a lot.
The most noticeable change was the small silver mask on the left side of his face.
In addition, the once sharp and radiant Orrion, like golden crystals, now appeared much more restrained, his entire demeanor more mature.
Orrion noticed Ronan's constant gaze. After a moment, he reached up and removed the mask from his face.
Ronan's eyes narrowed as he saw the left side of Orrion's face, which had been covered by the mask. The skin around his eye and cheekbone was completely decayed, revealing parts of the eye socket and exposed eye, emitting a foul odor from the ghastly wound.
"It was left by Andariel," Orrion said calmly.
"Poison Mask?"
"Yes."
Orrion nodded.
Ronan fell silent. He had only recently heard of Andariel.
Andariel was the current strongest inheritor of the "Poison Mask" tradition, one of the three major wizard factions of the South. His specialty was necromancy and poison magic.
He was powerful, at the late third-level, part of the first-tier genius wizards, and notorious. Many third-level wizards would shudder at his name.
Ronan recalled Andariel's image, though all he could picture was a tall, slender, blurry figure, and the enormous skull burning with green fire that Andariel had stepped on when he appeared.
"My luck was actually quite good. In the battle against Andariel, three genius wizards from our Silver Circle-like mid-level wizard factions died, and five were heavily wounded, two of whom still haven't fully recovered..."
Orrion lightly tapped the edge of his teacup as he spoke, his tone detached, as if recounting something unrelated to him.
Ronan's expression grew complicated. After such a dangerous battle, it was no wonder that Orrion had undergone such a profound change in demeanor.
Perhaps his goals had changed now—not to surpass Jupiter, but to challenge "Poison Mask" Andariel.
"Is the gap really that big?"
After a brief silence, Ronan asked.
Orrion put the mask back on his face and replied, "It's even more exaggerated than you think.
Talent, intelligence, strength, and inheritance... unless you've directly faced someone from that level, you can't imagine the despair and horror."
Orrion paused slightly before continuing, "As far as I know, Rufus hasn't had an easy time either.
He's been hunted by the inheritors of 'Giant Rock Peak,' and his body has nearly been shattered twice."
"Rufus?"
Ronan frowned, remembering the first genius of the Crimson Tower who had unknowingly clashed with him in the Goblin Plains.
He remembered that Rufus practiced some ancient blood magic, capable of transforming into a terrifying creature with exposed flesh.
His physical strength seemed to be his advantage, able to confront Ronan's "complete giant demonization" head-on three years ago.
To be able to shatter such a powerful and domineering body twice... How strong must his opponent be?
"Giant Rock Peak?"
Ronan thought for a moment before speaking, "This is the first time I've heard of that faction."
"It's normal," Orrion replied. "Giant Rock Peak doesn't refer to a specific wizard faction. It represents a tradition, a school of inheritance. Each generation may have only a few or even just one inheritor, and their numbers are smaller than even small wizard factions."
"But their inheritors can sometimes be even stronger than the top geniuses from large wizard factions."
Ronan's expression shifted slightly after hearing Orrion's response. "Is Ewaque one of them?"
"Yes."
Orrion nodded, "But the ancient spirit witch tradition Ewaque represents is extremely rare. It's the first time it has appeared in the South. This time's contest for the Helaams Genius Seat has already far surpassed the previous two in intensity. Even people from the central region are coming to join."
Orrion shook his head and took a sip from his teacup.
Ronan knew he was referring to the battle between Moriel and Selena, but he didn't bring it up. Instead, he continued with his previous question about Ewaque, "What is the Ancient Spirit Witch tradition? Do you know much about it?"
Orrion thought for a moment and said, "It seems you don't know. In ancient times, wizards didn't initially pursue bloodlines."
"Oh?"
Ronan's interest was piqued by Orrion's words, and he gestured for him to continue.
"Wizards initially sought soul immortality. So in the beginning, many powerful pursuits... started with the soul."
Orrion spoke calmly.
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