Ronan had only stayed in the Uta tribe for a day before bidding farewell to Evaque and leaving.
As he traversed the endless clouds with Moriel in tow, Ronan contemplated his next destination.
For now, he did not wish to return to the Silver Magic Ring. With Moriel by his side, the entire southern region felt unsafe.
Moreover, he had issues to resolve within his soul. "It would be better to take this opportunity to leave the south and return home."
Ronan quickly made up his mind, opened the southern map, and flew in a specific direction.
Two days later, in a bustling wizard town.
In front of a small house adorned with a black-necked swan carving, a slender girl sat on a brown wooden bench at the door.
She was wrapped in a somewhat ill-fitting wizard's black robe, nearly concealing her entire figure within it, revealing only her new deerskin boots and two segments of her pale white calves.
The girl sat quietly when suddenly a young wizard passed by, drawn in by her unique aura. His gaze swept over her exposed, fair skin, and a flicker of curiosity and heat flashed in his eyes. He paused, unable to resist reaching out toward the girl.
"What do you want?"
Just as the young wizard's hand was about to touch the edge of the girl's hood, a cold voice suddenly rang out.
Startled, the young wizard instinctively withdrew his hand as if shocked, turning to see a handsome young wizard standing beneath the black swan-patterned door.
The mental energy radiating from him was like a vast tsunami, instantly engulfing the young wizard. The coldness contained in his deep blue eyes nearly froze his very soul.
"I apologize, sir. I didn't know she was yours... I meant no harm."
The young wizard stammered, his face pale as he explained.
As a first-level formal wizard, he felt that his mental strength was not even a thousandth of the person before him. If he had a "regret potion" that could take him back a minute in time, he swore he would kick his own butt for what he had done. Who knew he had provoked such a terrifying figure? Fortunately, the other party seemed unwilling to pursue the matter further.
"Get lost!"
"Yes, yes."
The young wizard felt as if he had been granted a reprieve, almost crawling away in his haste, completely forgetting the purpose of his visit.
"Lord Linus, do we need to intervene?"
Behind the handsome young wizard, a middle-aged fat man wearing half a crystal glasses watched the departing young wizard and whispered a few words.
The former shook his head slightly, and the middle-aged man immediately fell silent, then respectfully bowed, saying, "A ship will depart for the port in three days. We will trouble you then, Lord Linus..."
The handsome young man said nothing, simply walking over to the black-robed girl who had almost been harassed and casually beckoning, "Let's go."
The girl obediently stood up and followed behind the young man, and the two left together.
Homer Blue, a small wizard town with a population of less than twenty thousand, was even smaller than the former Hoddam.
It was said that this town was established by a wandering wizard named "Homer Blue," gradually developing into its current state.
Ronan strolled through the streets of the town, casually playing with a rune stone marked with a special symbol, depicting a black-necked swan.
Coincidentally, the ship fleet he was looking for to return home was the "Black Heron" merchant association, which he had previously traveled with from the Silver Magic Ring to White Stone Fortress.
The "Black Heron" merchant association specialized in shipping, with its fleet spread across the south like a flock of geese.
In fact, Ronan had a better option: he could contact the genius wizard Fa Lin from the Arcane Workshop, whom he had met during the competition. He could arrange everything for Ronan, as the Arcane Workshop's influence was much greater than that of the "Black Heron." However, Ronan did not want to expose his whereabouts, so he used Linus's alias with the "Black Heron."
Ronan's "hometown" was collectively referred to as the "East Coast Region" in the southern wizarding community.
According to the theory of "World Fragmentation Layers," it should be a small piece of land composed of fragments from the edges of continents. Of course, for the secular kingdoms, it was already large enough, positioned even higher than the entire Upper Ring continent.
There were many regions similar to the "East Coast," which maintained stable communication channels with the wizarding community, with fixed ships traveling back and forth every year.
The next scheduled flight was originally three months away, but when Ronan casually revealed his status as a third-level wizard to the "Black Heron" merchant association, they immediately agreed to arrange a ship for him to the East Coast right away, waiving his fare and even offering him a portion of the payment.
In three days, a merchant convoy from the "Black Heron" association would pass through Homer Blue, and Ronan would follow this convoy to the port, then take a ship to his hometown on the "East Coast."
If all went well, he would return to his "homeland" in about two months.
As he reflected on his upcoming itinerary, Ronan slowly tucked away the token given to him by the "Black Heron" association, unknowingly arriving at the inn they had arranged for him.
"The next time we encounter a similar situation..."
The sunlight slanted across the wooden sign, casting a shadow on the street in front of the inn. Ronan paused in the shadow and said to Moriel behind him, "Make sure to inform me in time."
Moriel remained silent in her oversized black robe, slightly lifting her head to reveal half of her pale, exquisite face.
"Is there any need?"
Her voice was cold as she stepped past Ronan and entered the inn, speaking in a calm yet gritted tone, "After all, everything I am suffering now... I will make you pay back a thousandfold."
Ronan frowned, watching Moriel's figure slowly disappear from his sight, feeling an immense headache.
Since leaving Evaque, Ronan had been contemplating whether he could reach a "reconciliation" with Moriel.
But it seemed that due to the hardships she had endured under his command during this time, she had developed a deep-seated "hatred" for him. The more "obedient" she appeared, the more Ronan could sense the turbulent "hatred" within her.
She even seemed to blame him for everything, even though he was the biggest "victim," right? The more he thought about it, the more agitated he became. Moriel was like a ticking time bomb to him—he couldn't easily discard her, yet having her around felt perilous, as he never knew when she might explode. He truly had no idea how to resolve this.
"I can only take it one step at a time."
Ronan exhaled a breath of frustration and entered the inn.
Upon entering his small room, he could hear Moriel's steady breathing from the adjacent room.
Ronan temporarily set aside his distractions and immersed himself in intense training.
He had too much to sort out, and time was simply not enough for him.
Soon, two days passed in a hurry.
In the quiet room, the light of the Rune Array flickered gently, and the air seemed to come to a standstill.
In the center of the magic circle, a tall figure sat cross-legged, bare-chested. Dense black-blue frost coiled around him silently, taking the shape of a serpent.
His dark blue and white interwoven hair sprawled across the floor, and beautiful ice flowers condensed along the patterns of the floor, with the temperature having long dropped below freezing.
"Hiss—"
Accompanied by a snake-like inhalation, all the icy essence in the room converged toward the figure. Those ancient, evil, and noble auras coalesced, the dark blue gradually fading. With a series of cracking sounds from his joints, Ronan returned to his normal state, awakening from his meditation.
"The concentration of the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline has reached six percent, enhancing the effects of ice magic."
Ronan raised his hand, examining the smooth and delicate skin on the back of his hands, which had previously been covered in ancient patterns resembling snake scales.
Since completely severing ties with "Hekalto," Ronan had been exploring the mysteries of the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline.
He referred to the state of fully activating the power of his bloodline as—[Ancient Ice].
In the state of [Ancient Ice], the frost power he wielded would transform into "Ancient Frost" under the enhancement of his bloodline power, changing from the normal deep blue to a dark blue, almost black hue, significantly increasing its chilling essence.
If he further tapped into the bloodline's power in this state, he might step into the "Taboo Domain."
That was a "Taboo Gate" left in his body by Hekalto after their transaction—behind the gate lay the powers of slaughter and death.
The ancient frost would transform into red, and a part of Ronan's will would be dominated by the violent instincts of the multi-headed serpent, turning him into a ferocious and terrifying monster.
This gate could not be opened lightly; the more times it was opened, the smaller Ronan's chances of winning in this game against Hekalto would become.
This state was also referred to by Ronan as—[Crimson Ice].
"The Taboo power of [Crimson Ice] cannot be used frequently; it does not fully belong to me. Once I become addicted to it, Hekalto wouldn't even need to descend again; I would naturally fall into becoming his puppet."
Ronan took a deep breath and once again took out the "Herams' Lawkeeper Arm Ring," rubbing its crystal-like smooth surface in his palm.
Ronan had once stepped into the realm of Taboo, yearning for the splendor of that level. In the absence of the ability to explore [Taboo. Crimson Ice] deeply, the power brought by the "Herams Lawkeeper Arm Ring" naturally became his primary research focus.
However, the "Herams inheritance" contained within this arm ring was far too profound and vast. Fully deciphering and understanding it was undoubtedly an enormous undertaking.
"I wonder how many parts of the inheritance Herams left behind? If each part contains a similarly vast amount of knowledge, is it really possible for future generations to completely inherit Herams' complete legacy?"
Every time Ronan probed into the space of the arm ring with his mental energy, seeing the vast sea of runes like a starry sky, he couldn't help but express such thoughts.
Legends are often called legendary precisely because they are irreplaceable.
It took countless years for the Upper Ring continent to produce a single Herams; the probability of another wizard appearing to rival him is exceedingly small.
Ronan naturally hoped to become such a successor, but for now, all he could do was patiently "move mountains" bit by bit, gnawing at the knowledge left by Herams within the arm ring.
"Tap—tap—tap—"
At that moment, Ronan suddenly heard a faint, rhythmic tapping sound.
He listened carefully and realized the sound was coming from next door.
After a moment's hesitation, Ronan slowly extended his mental energy into the adjacent room.
Soon, he "saw" Moriel sitting by the window, alternating her right hand's index and middle fingers to tap on the wooden window frame. Not only that, but it seemed she was also softly humming something.
It sounded like an ancient and beautiful ballad.
Ronan didn't know why, but he felt an inexplicable touch in his heart.
He had never seen this side of Moriel; she was completely different from the impression she had always left in his mind.
So tranquil, so serene.
Yet her face and song revealed a deep sense of longing and sorrow.
"Does the spoiled witch, who is despised by everyone, have such an unknown side?"
"Perhaps this 'misfortune' has allowed her to gain some insights."
Ronan thought silently to himself.
Suddenly, the singing and tapping from next door came to an abrupt halt.
In his mental probe, Moriel, who had been sitting by the window, suddenly stood up, a cold smile appearing on her face as she "looked" at him, her lips moving as if she were cursing him with harsh words.
Ronan felt a sense of shame as if he had been caught "peeping," quickly realizing that his emotional fluctuations in the "symbiotic" state had been detected by Moriel.
He was about to withdraw his mental energy, pretending that this incident had never happened.
At that moment, Moriel, who had been glaring coldly at him, suddenly turned pale and then abruptly turned to look up at the sky outside the window.
At almost the same time, an extremely strong sense of danger surged within Ronan.
It felt as if some terrifying danger was rapidly approaching him.
This warning also originated from Moriel! "Boom!"
Ronan had no time to think; his mental energy suddenly spread out, transforming into an invisible force that tore through the walls separating the two rooms.
He passed through the wall and instantly arrived beside Moriel.
"They're coming?!"
Ronan's expression turned serious as he followed Moriel's gaze toward the sky.
"Get out of here now!"
But Moriel shook her head, murmuring, "It's too late."
Suddenly, her expression changed rapidly, revealing a smile that was somewhat deranged and liberated.
"Just in time, I can finally kill you, you despicable little bug!"
Moriel looked at Ronan with a beaming smile, exuding an indescribable sense of pride and exhilaration.
"I won't die so easily; it's you who will truly die, hehehe."
"Bang! Crack—"
Ronan's large hand struck fiercely at the smooth, beautiful nape of Moriel's neck, and her enchanting, wicked laughter abruptly ceased, turning into a painful groan. She then shot her head up, biting her lip, and glared at him with tear-filled eyes, as if she were about to pounce on him and take a bite.
Ronan frowned. He had intended to knock Moriel out, but he hadn't expected her to be so resistant; her shoulder felt like it was about to break, yet she still hadn't passed out.
Not bothering to deliver another blow, Ronan grabbed Moriel and flew out of the window.
At that moment, he clearly sensed a massive mental energy of fourth-level dawn rank, imbued with a chilling and eerie aura, rapidly descending from the sky.
From a visual perspective, looking up, a thick, almost unbreakable gray cloud loomed over the vast Homer Blue wizard town, sweeping in like a tidal wave from one side of the horizon.
Within that gray cloud, a figure clad in pale bone armor with purple hair flickered in and out of view.
Ronan's pupils constricted as he took a deep breath.
Suddenly, as if he had made a certain decision, a crimson light flickered deep within his eyes. He forcefully threw Moriel down and fiercely struck the "Taboo Gate" within him, preparing to charge directly at that figure.
"You get away! I'll find a way to hold him off for a while!"
Recommended book: "Starting from Eight Hundred Sparrows to Become a Deity"
Synopsis: Cao Xing opened his eyes to see his parents being skinned and butchered. He realized this was a world of cannibalism.
Fortunately, he had a cheat.
Starting point: Commanding eight hundred sparrows to seize a black shop!
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