"Alright, Hualiz, next time for sure, Hualiz."
Moriel replied expressionlessly.
The handsome young man, with numerous golden patterns growing on his face and orange-red hair interspersed with many golden strands, shook his head helplessly. He said nothing more, simply taking out an object to show Moriel.
It was a translucent crystal ball, filled with a large amount of black smoke, which occasionally morphed into the distorted, agonized face of a man.
If Ronan were here, he might recognize that the soul sealed within the crystal ball bore an uncanny resemblance to the purple-haired middle-aged Wizard from the Resurrection Society who had chased him and burned down the entire Homer Blue Town.
Upon seeing the man's appearance, two beams of brilliance suddenly shot from Moriel's beautiful eyes, but her brows quickly furrowed, and she couldn't help but ask, "What about the other one? That damned fifth-level Resurrection Society member in Abyssal Demon Armor?"
"Unfortunately, Moriel."
The handsome young man shook his head and said, "I was a bit careless and let that little guy slip away, only managing to leave behind one of his arms..."
"You are truly useless, Hualiz."
Moriel glared at the handsome young man, gritting her teeth as she said, "It's precisely because you always do this that those people don't take us seriously at all. If the glory of Phoenix hadn't fallen, Vivian wouldn't have died!"
Moriel screamed hysterically, her long-suppressed emotions erupting at that moment.
Golden, slender tongues of flame shot out from her body, instantly scorching the surrounding grass, air, and the fallen horses into charred remains.
Moriel's pupils turned into an eerie golden-red, releasing an aura of ancient nobility, as a vision resembling a feathered crown faintly materialized behind her. Just as it seemed Moriel's emotions were about to spiral out of control, the thin particles of fire energy in the air suddenly converged, forming a massive and dazzling fire ring. At that moment, a more powerful and overwhelming invisible force appeared.
With a "whoosh," it extinguished all the phenomena.
"I'm sorry, Moriel."
The handsome young man opened his arms and gently embraced Moriel, the golden flames licking and swaying on his neck and cheeks, yet unable to harm him. At this moment, his eyes were filled with deep regret.
"I didn't know it would affect you so much. I am willing to make amends for my mistakes..."
"I know of several hidden bases of the Resurrection Society. Would you be interested in accompanying me to take a look?"
After a long silence, a muffled "mm" sound came from her embrace.
The handsome young man immediately showed a relieved expression.
He released his hands, bending down to look at Moriel with utmost tenderness.
"It seems this incident isn't entirely a bad thing; your bloodline is almost awakening to my level."
"Time flies; I still remember the first time I saw you, lying in Menier's arms, just a little baby."
The handsome young man's words seemed to evoke something in Moriel, her gaze slightly stirred but quickly masked.
"Enough, Hualiz. Sometimes you can be so fussy, like a sissy..."
Moriel dodged the handsome young man's hand as he tried to touch her cheek, coldly saying, "When are we leaving? If you want me to be in a better mood, you'd better hurry."
The handsome young man sighed helplessly yet indulgently, then his expression returned to calm as he looked in the direction behind Moriel.
He raised a finger, and a cluster of pale golden flames silently ignited at his fingertip.
"What do you want to do?!"
Moriel sensed the coldness emanating from the handsome young man, her eyes shifting as she spoke urgently.
"Erasing the traces of your existence in this place? And that guy who formed a cohabitation contract with you for a time."
The handsome young man looked at Moriel in surprise, frowning as he said, "I smell the scent of rotting snow on you; I think you've had enough of it, right? My poor little Jasmine, you've really suffered."
"No! Don't!"
Moriel pressed down on the handsome young man's finger, "What I mean is, at least not now."
She took a deep breath and quickly said, "That guy is too annoying; I want to kill him myself. But not now; I need to go back and think about some interesting ways to torture him."
Under the handsome young man's astonished and puzzled gaze, Moriel feigned nonchalance.
After a long while, the handsome young man finally lowered his hand slowly, choosing to compromise.
"Alright. Everything is up to you."
Upon hearing this, Moriel let out a long sigh of relief.
She impatiently moved forward, urging, "Hurry up, Hualiz! I really hate your procrastinating nature."
The elegantly dressed handsome young man watched Moriel stride ahead, glanced back at the direction she had come from, shook his head, and finally transformed into a burst of dispersing flames, enveloping Moriel and vanishing into thin air.
The place returned to tranquility, with only a patch of scorched earth left behind, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Ding—"
Like the crisp sound of the finest crystal glass clinking.
Ronan slowly opened his eyes, waking from his meditative training.
At this moment, within his consciousness space, nine shallow golden Mental Power Crystals, resembling diamonds, were shining brightly.
Among them, five Mental Power Crystals were sealed with runes, while the remaining four were pure and transparent.
On his character panel, Ronan's strength progress displayed—[Level Three Official Wizard: 100%].
Theoretically, he could now attempt to break through to the fourth-level Dawn Wizard realm.
"I wonder how far my soul quality is from being a true genius now?"
Ronan looked down at his right hand, murmuring to himself.
Only he knew how significant his improvement had been.
The replenishment of his mental power was merely the shallowest manifestation; the greatest enhancement lay in the essence of his soul.
According to the classification of ancient wizards, reaching the third-level Mist Stage was merely the foundational stage for wizards; the true differentiation between wizards began at dawn.
Having experienced the talent competition for the Herams seat, Ronan's soul foundation had been greatly reinforced.
Throughout the southern wizarding world, perhaps no wizard had ever achieved such a significant improvement as he had, after all, he had completed a round of bloodshed, defeating a number of opponents that most could hardly reach.
The more arduous the process, the greater the benefits reaped in the end.
Now, the issue of his soul not fully merging due to soul crossing had also been resolved, with most of the soul impurities eliminated. If Ronan were to retest his talent now, the results would undoubtedly be far better than before.
"The enhancement of my soul quality has also significantly boosted my intelligence."
In Ronan's understanding, the concept of "intelligence" was not entirely synonymous with "wisdom"; it more represented the ability to learn and comprehend, the capacity to absorb and digest new knowledge, and the frequency of inspiration bursts.
As a first-level wizard, he had consumed six bottles of "Murphy's Kiss," resulting in a substantial increase in intelligence. With the enhancement of the [Clarity Realm], his learning and thinking abilities were not only unparalleled among his peers but also rarely matched by other wizards of the same level.
Now, Ronan's "intelligence" level had risen significantly again.
He felt that his brain's activity level now could almost compare to the state he had after activating the [Clarity Realm].
This improvement was immensely beneficial to Ronan, meaning he could greatly shorten the process of analyzing the inherited runes within the Herams' Lawmaker Armlet, and he could also optimize and upgrade his own Spell system more comfortably.
After two purifications of mental power, his soul had been completed, and Ronan's mental power strength had thoroughly reached over a hundred times that of a wizard of the same realm.
Based on his understanding of Dawn-level wizards, Ronan estimated that in terms of total mental power, he was already comparable to an average fourth-level wizard; he just couldn't achieve the elemental effects that a fourth-level Dawn Wizard could impart to his released mental power.
This was something that even Serena, who had entered the "Mist Forbidden Zone" and condensed her tenth Mental Power Crystal, could not compare to.
"And I still have room for improvement."
"If I can reach a mastery level of 1,500 points in the [Basic Meditation Technique] during the third-level wizard stage and undergo a third purification of my mental power, even if I can't step into the 'Mist Forbidden Zone,' I will far surpass the top wizard geniuses in the central region based on my mental power alone."
Ronan took a deep breath and slowly stood up.
The unparalleled strength of his mental power brought about an incredibly terrifying mental pressure. Even though Ronan had fully restrained himself, the void around his body naturally formed a striking sense of distortion and collapse.
A large number of stray energy particles in the air spontaneously gathered, coalescing into a thick energy barrier around him. This naturally formed energy field was already approaching the strength of a protective Spell released by an average third-level wizard.
"The soul is the immortal destination."
Ronan looked at the natural protective field outside his body, which was now many times stronger than before, and suddenly gained a deeper understanding of this phrase he had heard since his apprentice days.
The pursuit of a wizard's powerful soul is not that the physical body is useless; rather, strengthening the soul is the most cost-effective path.
The soul is the foundation of everything, and mental power is nurtured from the soul. Besides offense, mental power can also provide powerful defense.
The benefits gained from body refinement or physical transformation are truly not as significant as the slight enhancement in mental power.
Of course.
All of this is predicated on the premise that mental power always has enough room for growth.
Once mental power cultivation hits a bottleneck, the physical body may find alternative paths.
Ronan slightly dispersed his mental power, sending out an invisible ripple that instantly spread throughout the Damien family's ancient castle.
To his surprise, he discovered many individuals within the Damien family possessing "wizard potential," including his father, Earl Fereisha.
Yet before this, he had clearly checked every single person, all of whom were "acquired" wizard seedlings.
"Is it because of the soul mutation that radiated the power of the soul?"
"This 'radiation' seems to be limited to those of the same bloodline as me."
Ronan pondered, seemingly gaining a deeper understanding of the concept of "bloodline" inheritance.
He expanded his mental power to nearly a ten-mile radius around the castle but did not find Moriel's figure.
Within his soul, the "cohabitation" connection had also been severed.
It seemed that during his seclusion, Moriel had already been taken away by someone, and the issue of their soul fusion had been completely resolved.
This outcome was far better than he had anticipated.
No retaliation.
Moriel quietly left, and all the backup plans he had prepared went unused.
Yet, inexplicably, a sense of loss welled up in Ronan's heart.
Over this period, he seemed to have grown accustomed to Moriel being by his side, even though just a few months ago, he had countless times wanted to snap that guy's neck.
"It must be what Evaque said, the remnants of the soul."
"What a pity... I couldn't get the legendary Phoenix bloodline for free..."
Ronan smoothed out the mixed emotions rising in his heart, his expression returning to calm.
He took out several Message Stones that he hadn't opened in a long time, checking them one by one.
Then, with a gentle step, he vanished into the sky outside the castle in the blink of an eye.
With the soul issue resolved, it was time for Ronan to leave.
He did not say goodbye to anyone; he would most likely never return here again.
There is nothing eternal in this world; even those ancient wizards who once shone in the firmament were ultimately submerged by the river of time, let alone a small secular family.
He had done everything he could for the Damien family; in the future, it might usher in glory or decline. However, none of it concerned him.
He still had his own path to walk; everything was just beginning.
"With Moriel safely gone, the headache will fall on those from the ancient Resurrection Society."
"Given Moriel's personality, one can guess that the people behind her won't have good tempers."
"In the coming period, the southern wizarding world will actually be the safest."
Ronan thought as his figure gradually faded into the horizon.
"Still no news of Damien?"
Silver Magic Ring.
At the top of the magnificent silver-white tower, resembling an iron throne, eight ring masters, led by the first ring master of the Silver Magic Ring, stood on a slowly rotating metal ring, discussing something in low voices.
"No."
Ke Si Di shook her head and replied softly, "He seems to not want to be disturbed, nor does he want anyone to know his current location."
"Can we rely on the contract to forcibly summon him back?"
Someone frowned and spoke.
"Do you think we have the ability to protect him?"
Ke Si Di's gaze turned cold as she retorted aggressively.
The speaker was about to refute when a voice faintly sounded.
"I have already informed the teacher."
Ke Si Di's expression stiffened, and the next moment, she saw the first ring master turn around, looking at her with a gentle expression, saying, "The teacher is very pleased and values this matter greatly.
He has clearly stated that he will send someone to take Damien to the central region, and is even willing to take him as a disciple and teach him personally. And we..."
The first ring master's gaze swept over everyone present, his tone calm yet filled with an inexplicable emotion as he spoke word by word, "Will also gain the qualification to return triumphantly as 'outstanding individuals.'"
In an instant, among the ring masters present, except for Ke Si Di and the plant-type female wizard who had joined later from the Thorn Palace, everyone else couldn't help but show hints of excitement on their faces.
As members of the "Elemental Ring," they had been away from the central region for far too long.
So long that they had almost forgotten why they had come to the south in the first place.
Sometimes, returning wasn't a simple matter; if not at the right time, even if they returned, they would soon be neglected and abandoned. In that case, it would be better to stay in the south.
Now, finally, a golden opportunity lay before them; to say they were not excited would be a lie.
However, Ke Si Di showed no signs of joy; her eyes flickered as if she wanted to say something.
At that moment, the first ring master changed his tone and continued, "It will take some time for the teacher's people to arrive.
Before that, we have some minor troubles to solve ourselves."
Before his words had faded, everyone, including Ke Si Di, felt the shadows cast from above suddenly shift.
Everyone instinctively looked up, only to sense a vast and scorching mental power pressure rolling toward them.
It was a Dawn-level wizard!
And not just one! Everyone's expressions changed slightly as they saw massive Spell airships gliding through the sky like floating whales from all corners.
On each airship, there was a powerful figure radiating light l
ike the sun.
Streams of Dawn Tier mental power poured down from all directions, scattering the flowing clouds in the sky and creating countless transparent ripples in the void.
A deep, thunderous voice echoed like thunder in the heavens.
"Silver Magic Ring, Manuel. Do you remember the tea gathering we agreed upon three hundred years ago? We have come to fulfill our promise."
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