Elara glared, her crimson eyes locking onto Ryan, Elder Mage-level mana surging wildly around her as if any second it would break free and crush him on the spot.

  At this moment, the golden shield of the Invincible Defense Magic Card around Ryan began to dim; the protective time was almost up.

  He decided to take this last chance to irritate the three old women one final time.

  "Honey."

  "Shut up!" Evelyn interrupted sharply the instant he spoke, glaring at Ryan with a warning in her eyes.

  Seeing this, Ryan could only pout aggrievedly and obediently closed his mouth.

  At the same time, the golden shield completely dissipated, marking the official end of his invincible defense.

  Without the defensive boost, Ryan immediately toned down his provocative stance, gently tugged at the hem of Evelyn's dress around her waist, hiding most of his body behind her, only leaving a pair of eyes that looked slightly aggrieved.

  Evelyn instantly felt the faint touch at her waist; her body stiffened almost imperceptibly. She instinctively tried to move her steps away, but Ryan subtly pressed closer, relying on her protection to the fullest.

  This scene was extremely subtle, and the three raging Elder Mages did not notice, only staring fixedly at the two of them, their chests rising and falling violently with anger.

  Until Elara gritted her teeth again and spoke:"Headmistress! This boy is a lurking tumor in the Academy!"

  Among the three, Elara was the most senior and the most protective of Evelyn. At this moment, her hatred for Ryan was so intense it almost made her teeth itch.

  Her voice carried sharpness from losing control, like a lioness whose reverse scales had been touched.

  "Tumor?" Ryan peeked out from behind Evelyn, half his face showing, and said,"I want to ask, a genius like me with Grand Magus potential, which magic academy wouldn't treasure me? Only you all, just because my Mentor and I are mutually fond, think you can torment me at will!"

  Even though he no longer had the invincible defense, Ryan, relying on Evelyn backing him, remained bold with his words. Today, he was determined to anger these three old women to the utmost.

  "Shut up!" Evelyn could no longer tolerate it. She reversed her hand and grabbed Ryan's lips.

  Mana surged through her fingertips, instantly freezing his mouth into a crystalline ice shell, completely sealing his words.

  "Uwu~!" Ryan gritted his teeth and whimpered unclearly at Evelyn.

  With his physical strength, he could have forcibly shattered the ice, but he knew he could not cause more trouble and had to endure obediently.

  "Headmistress, we have served you for tens of thousands of years, assisting you in managing the Glacial Arcana Academy, never making excessive demands."

  Elara took a deep breath, forcing down her anger, her tone heavy with earnestness.

  Evelyn felt a faint unease; the three Elder Mages, usually composed, were pressing relentlessly today. This was clearly not a simple matter.

  "Now, we have only one request: lock him in the Ice Prison and subject him to one month of ice erosion punishment to uphold the Academy's rules!"

  Elara's eyes were bloodshot with anger, her teeth gritted as she spoke.

  "Go back first." Evelyn turned to Ryan, whose mouth was frozen shut.

  This wayward student truly knew how to cause trouble. He stirred up such a mess, and in the end, she had to clean it up.

  Ryan slightly lifted his previously lowered head, and his eyes immediately met Evelyn's cold, unreadable gaze.

  "Alright…" he muttered weakly.

  Then he walked away, glancing back repeatedly, his gaze glued to Evelyn's retreating figure.

  He knew in his heart that if he caused any more trouble for Evelyn now, it would be truly ungrateful.

  Evelyn had already exerted tremendous effort to protect him under the relentless pressure from the three Elder Mages. He could not make things harder for her.

  Seeing Ryan preparing to leave safely, the three Elder Mages grew anxious. Their Elder Mage mana surged once again as they prepared to pursue him and capture him.

  If they did not vent their anger, the frustration in their hearts would not dissipate. At the very least, they wanted the wretch to endure some ice erosion punishment before they could feel satisfied.

  If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  "You are truly getting bolder and bolder," Evelyn said. Her tone instantly turned ice cold. The moment the words left her lips, a chilling cold spread outwards, freezing the surrounding snow into crystalline ice.

  The next moment, a faint light suddenly appeared between her brows. Within the light, a tiny figure curled up faintly.

  After separating from her, the tiny figure rapidly expanded, slowly stretching its form in midair. By the time it touched the ground, it had transformed into an unconscious puppet roughly the same size as Ryan.

  The puppet was enveloped in chaotic mana, black and white interwoven, exuding a suffocating pressure.

  Evelyn knew that if she did not display sufficient deterrence now, the three Elder Mages would become even less obedient to her in the future.

  Although they harbored no intent to harm her personally, their relentless pressure in the name of rules was essentially a form of mental coercion, which went against her purpose of managing the Academy.

  When the Grand Magus-level puppet, surrounded by chaotic mana, appeared before everyone, not only did the three Elder Mages freeze in shock, but even Ryan, who had already seen the puppet from his eighth life, could not help but stop in his tracks, once again stunned by the terrifying presence.

  Elara, who had been preparing to capture Ryan, instantly retracted her gathered mana. She stared at the puppet, instantly understanding Evelyn's determination to protect Ryan.

  For the sake of this wretch, the Headmistress had dared to deploy such a trump card. Today, it seemed impossible to take him away by force.

  Elara could only stop, her gaze glued to the puppet enveloped in chaotic mana, filled with horror.

  They had no doubt that if this Grand Magus-level puppet were to act at full strength, a single strike would crush all three of them instantly, leaving no chance of resistance.

  At this moment, the three Elder Mages were simultaneously shocked by Evelyn's trump card, enraged at Ryan's escape, and frustrated at their inability to defy the Headmistress's will.

  "Get into the loft!" Evelyn said, her gaze sweeping across the three Elder Mages.

  The moment her words fell, the Grand Magus-level puppet began to advance with heavy steps, slowly closing the distance to the three Elder Mages.

  As the puppet moved, Evelyn's face gradually paled, visibly so. Controlling a Grand Magus puppet consumed an enormous amount of her mana.

  Seeing the puppet steadily approaching, feeling the soul-crushing pressure it radiated, the three Elder Mages no longer dared to resist. Reluctant but helpless, they obeyed her command.

  Evelyn led the way, the puppet following closely behind. The three Elder Mages lowered their heads and followed, unwilling yet unable to do otherwise.

  The four figures slowly walked into the loft from Ryan's viewpoint. The loft door closed gently behind them, isolating them completely from the outside world.

  Ryan gradually came back to his senses, gathering his mind and starting to carefully feel the strange fluttering in his chest.

  The next moment, his pupils constricted. He had somehow formed a faint, extremely weak connection with the Grand Magus puppet.

  The connection was as thin as a thread, yet undeniably real. However, it was so weak that he could not control it at all.

  "Grimoire, what is going on?" Ryan quickly called out in his mind. This was something Grimoire surely knew.

  After all, his resurrection through nine cycles of reincarnation had always been managed by Grimoire.

  【Detected host's homology with the Grand Magus puppet. Current return degree: one percent.】

  "Return degree?" Ryan muttered, walking along the snowy path toward the Holy Ice Hall, questioning in his mind. He had never heard this term before and had no idea what it meant.

  【In the host's previous life, you successfully advanced to Grand Magus, and the corresponding corporeal puppet was preserved intact.】

  【You share the same root and essence with the puppet, which creates a special opportunity. By increasing the return degree, you can fuse with the Grand Magus puppet again and directly regain your Grand Magus status.】

  "So you mean I don't need to go through the laborious process of meditative magical advancement. I can just go to Evelyn and get that Grand Magus puppet?"

  Ryan paused mid-step. The confusion in his mind instantly gave way to excitement, even making his breath quicken.

  However, he forced himself to calm down.

  After thinking carefully, Evelyn might not be willing to give him such a powerful puppet.

  Moreover, if Evelyn knew that the Grand Magus puppet's original body was actually him, she might immediately forget any previous ambiguous feelings between them and deliver a few lethal attacks.

  But on second thought, if he could directly regain Grand Magus, what did he have to fear from the three Elder Mages?

  Then he could directly use Grand Magus-level mana to suppress them and see if they still dared to target him at every turn.

  【The key is the return degree. Host, please focus on the return degree!】

  【Simply put, if the return degree is not full, even if you obtain the Grand Magus puppet from your eighth life, forcibly fusing with it will be useless. You may even suffer backlash from the puppet's mana!】

  Grimoire's voice carried a hint of exasperation. If it had a physical form, it would probably be rolling its eyes by now.

  Ryan felt even more exasperated. He rolled his eyes and complained in his mind:"So every time it's something I can see but can't touch? Can't get it directly, and I have to slowly meet the conditions. Isn't this setting a little crazy?"

  He really wanted to reach out through the mental connection and slap Grimoire to wake it up.

  "Got it. Go play with it yourself," Ryan said, cutting off the mental link without bothering to argue further.

  【You fool…】 Grimoire's half-spoken insult was cut off instantly by the severed connection.

  In an instant, Ryan felt the world grow completely quiet.

  Relaxing, he practiced sliding on the snow casually, step by step heading toward the Holy Ice Hall.

  Back in his room, Ryan sat on his bed. With a thought, his status panel appeared before his eyes:

  【Name: Ryan】

  【Magic Rank: Ninth-tier Senior Mage】

  【Mastered Spells: Chaosforge Arcana,…】

  【Arcane Arts: Magic Sword Domain Inheritance, Arcane Enchantment】

  【Held Items: Stellar Sword, Soulweaver's Pendant, Perpetual Magic Kettle,…】

  【Origin Value: 657565】

  Ryan sighed inwardly. Earning Origin Value was still too difficult. There wasn't enough to exchange for high-level items.

  He opened the shop and refreshed the item list, hoping to find something cost-effective. But the new list left him stunned:

  First item: plump juicy grapes, price: 1 Origin Value.

  Second item: Edelweiss Frost x10, price: 1 Origin Value.

  Third item: Edelweiss Frost x99, price: 99 Origin Value.

  Fourth item: Edelweiss Frost x999, price: 999 Origin Value.

  Fifth item: Edelweiss Frost x9999, price: 9999 Origin Value.

  Sixth item: Edelweiss Frost x99999, price: 99999 Origin Value.

  Seventh item: Edelweiss Frost…

  Why is it all Edelweiss Frost? Has this shop been completely monopolized by Edelweiss Frost?

  Ryan's face filled with question marks. He was completely speechless.