Thane and his companions, after a long and arduous journey, were finally able to return to Seabloom Academy. Ullar was warmly welcomed by Renes and invited to become a professor of incantations there. Rin and the other children were provided with the best possible conditions for study and growth.

  All of these benefits came with one most important condition. Thane successfully broke the seal and officially became a Champion. Through Xevia, he was nominated to the Flying Tower and became a promising candidate for the position of a Hero.

  One week later, in the vast outdoor training ground of Seabloom, scorching flames enveloped Thane’s body and radiated powerful waves of heat. The nearby grass caught fire, and the overflowing energy was quickly suppressed by the supervising teachers. The terrifying heat of the flames made even Warlord level instructors unwilling to confront it directly. Within the flames stood a young boy. His eyes were tightly shut, his bare upper body gleaming with mysterious runes. In the area around him, only a small wolf lay on the ground, yawning lazily, as if the flames could not affect it at all.

  Today was the last day before the tournament and also the day Thane broke through to the Warlord rank. Power swelled and surged through every muscle. Thane clenched his fist, and the sound of bones cracking echoed like muffled thunder. The mana in his body surged explosively. The phenomenon outside was likely caused by mana resonating with the ancient runes on his body.

  Thane swung the massive sword in his hand. Mana coursed through his body like a complex formation, forming a closed circulation. Whatever his Ultimate Skill might be, it would inevitably be influenced by Terror’s power. The flames surrounding him grew increasingly violent. Thane’s eyes flew open, and he slashed fiercely toward the nearby training dummy.

  "Ultimate Skill: Hellfire Cerberus"

  The wave of fire formed by the sword aura surged forward violently and powerfully, taking the shape of three roaring heads of a Cerberus. The heat wave devastated and devoured everything in its path. It finally shattered the training dummy and exploded, forming a huge crater in the ground.

  A deafening boom rang out.

  When the smoke and dust dispersed, all that remained after the explosion were charred and deformed remnants of the dummy. The magic stone inside it shattered into pieces. The trace of mana that had maintained its form was gone. A gentle breeze passed, and the cracked dummy collapsed and turned into fine dust.

  "The destructive power was truly terrifying."

  Xevia watched silently from afar. She smiled and nodded. According to Mira’s account, Thane possessed the qualities of a leader, with formidable strength and enormous potential for growth. The only thing left to verify was his temperament. If everything passed, there was no doubt that Thane would become the sixth Hero of the Alliance.

  "Well done."

  Renes applauded and slowly walked up behind the boy. The strong smell of alcohol still emanated from the middle aged man. For a long time now, alcohol had been indispensable in his daily life. Renes had once been a promising candidate for the position of Hero, but unfortunately he failed to pass the trial. Elisa’s death was like a blade carving deep into his heart, leaving a scar that could never be erased.

  "You are very strong Thane. If nothing unexpected happens, the championship will surely be yours."

  Hearing this, Thane understood Renes’s hidden meaning. It seemed that the other representatives of the Ossa tribes mentioned by Ramos had already arrived. With Thane’s current strength, Vogar was no longer his opponent.

  Ramos’s Encouragement of Learning policy required each tribe to send its most outstanding member to participate in the Great Will selection. Those who were sent were certainly elites of the younger generation, and they would not easily concede the position of team leader to BloodClaw, especially DragonScale.

  Thane knew they did not really care about that empty title. What they were after was nothing but the honor of their tribes. They wanted to wash away past defeats and prove once again to all of Ossa which tribe was truly the strongest.

  "The championship will definitely be mine. I will defeat them all in the same way that Reddan once did when he unified Ossa."

  ...

  The Fecilitas Palace had yet to fully recover from the Babi incident. Countless guards and servants had been drained dry in the massacre. Manpower was mobilized from neighboring regions, but due to the brutal nature of the event, very few dared to take up work here. They believed that an accident like the previous one could very well happen again. Compared to money, life was far more important.

  In the vast grand hall, Aster sat upon the main throne, and below him were the contestants who had been fortunate enough to survive. They included the Four Great Families of Greaton, the naga squad from EverSand, and a small group from the Red Hat gang. Jacor and Valen were also present.

  Jacor stared intently at the beautiful woman seated across from him. He had thoroughly investigated every contestant here, verifying all available information, yet the woman before him remained a complete mystery. His instincts told him that she was connected to the incident of the previous night. Naturally, the fact that she had survived also proved that point to some extent.

  "You are Valena, right? I heard that you come from the distant IceStorm region, an area under Stronghold’s jurisdiction. It is rather strange that Stronghold would want to cultivate another competitor when they themselves are already here."

  This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author's work.

  Jacor chuckled softly, as if asking a casual question. Yet his eyes never stopped observing her reactions, searching for the slightest flaw.

  Hearing this, the Stronghold group also turned their attention to Valena. Her face was unfamiliar, essentially that of a nobody. If a high tier mage appeared in their territory, sooner or later their envoys would have extended an invitation to recruit them into the family or to join the Mages Association.

  Melin frowned. Clearly, she was not on the Association’s membership list either. Mages were erudite beings with memories far more formidable than ordinary people. Valena truly seemed like someone who had stepped out of the void, a mysterious Archmage existing beyond the strict control of the Association.

  What a cunning old fox, Valena cursed inwardly. With a single casual remark, he had immediately drawn the attention of two major powers to her existence. Without a reasonable explanation, she suspected that she might be accused of being a Legion spy right here in today’s meeting.

  Valena calmly offered a graceful smile. Her noble bearing and mature beauty drew countless gazes. The vulgar brutes from Break Island even licked their lips without restraint, lust flooding their minds.

  "IceStorm is a land of harshness, but it is precisely such a place that forges resilient people. Stronghold is the family that represents such resilience, the sturdy shield of Greaton. However, Stronghold is not well suited for the growth of a mage. That is why, since childhood, my dream has always been to join the Association, the place where the strongest mages of Veynar gather."

  "Oh? Then why is there no record of you in the Association’s membership list? I am certain that with the rank of Archmage, we would warmly welcome you into the Association. Or could it be that you have already joined another faction, one even better than the Association?"

  This time, Melin interjected. The elderly mage smiled sharply, his gaze sweeping briefly over the area of Break Island. A thread of Will radiated outward, suppressing the lust of those ignorant barbarians. Only then did the pirates regain their composure, clamoring their thanks to Melin.

  Valena’s little tricks could not fool the old mage. Among all the factions present, he alone was a Sorcerer Emperor. With just a few subtle gestures, she had already managed to bewitch most of the people here. The woman before him was an extremely powerful psychic mage.

  Melin believed that his granddaughter was more than capable of winning this ridiculous competition. Not to mention that StromBlade had already been a troublesome opponent, and now another heavyweight contender had suddenly appeared, which greatly unsettled him and made him deeply suspicious of the woman’s origins.

  "I believe you already know the answer. The Association is not the only option, is it, honored SpellSpeaker?"

  Melin’s pupils constricted. He immediately thought of a mysterious force that existed within his own family. If what she said was true, then they might not be enemies. The only problem was that organization was supposed to consist solely of ice element mages.

  "Do you like flowers, Miss Valena?"

  Melin’s attitude suddenly became mild. He laughed heartily, his bushy beard trembling like a white cloud. He walked closer to Valena, and the Will radiating from him pressed down upon her, forming an invisible pressure.

  Valena maintained her cold composure. Facing Melin directly, she gently brushed her side bangs with her right hand, her expression turning contemplative and subdued.

  "Of course I like flowers. As a child of IceStorm, I especially love flowers that bloom in frigid climates, for example the Flos flower."

  Upon hearing this, Melin immediately withdrew the pressure he had released. He reached for the teapot and personally poured her a cup of tea. Melin now believed that Valena belonged to that organization. The Flos flower could only grow on the Marcanis continent. Whatever Valena’s purpose here was, it was no longer within his jurisdiction.

  "Miss Valena is truly a refined person. A blizzard is, in essence, a gigantic garden of flowers. It is a pity that not everyone has the capacity to appreciate it."

  Melin’s change in attitude drew the attention of many factions. Valena’s identity no longer needed to be probed further. She was clearly connected to SpellSpeaker. Everyone tacitly understood this, except Jacor, who looked irritated, as if he had offended someone he should not have offended.

  Naturally, the meeting was not held merely for idle chatter. Its core purpose was to accelerate the progress of the selection tournament.

  "We cannot delay any longer."

  Melin slammed the table. As an Emperor and a pillar of the Mages Association, he could not be absent for too long. Zeroth would surely sanction him. Melin glanced around the half empty hall. At least on the bright side, Babi had helped him eliminate the weaker contestants. Now, the only true rival to SpellSpeaker was StromBlade. Melin understood Hestor all too well. That man was a schemer who never acted without ulterior motives.

  The selection tournament will begin in two days.

  Jacor confirmed it. He did not need Aster’s approval. Two days later was also when Melor would be able to return to Fecilitas. The perceptive all knew that Aster was nothing but a useless puppet. The competing factions were now confirmed as the Four Great Families of Greaton, Team Two of the Red Hat gang, the naga group of EverSand, and finally Valena alone. The competition format would be a draw, with one team receiving a bye directly into the next round. The first day’s matchups were determined as follows:

  Match 1 Stronghold versus SpellSpeaker.

  Match 2 Divilight versus Valena.

  Match 3 EverSand’s naga squad versus StromBlade.

  The Red Hat team advanced directly to the next round.

  The pirates howled with excitement. To them, this was nothing more than a game. Their presence here was simply due to Red Hat’s orders. In contrast to their cheerfulness, Valena felt as though she had been deliberately targeted. In her very first match, she would have to face a cleric of Divilight. They specialized in purification and in dealing with dark energy, and their minds were also exceptionally steadfast.

  "Those old foxes are still suspicious of me."

  Valena thought to herself. It did not matter. It was only a light aligned Archmage. In the era of Madenes, the number of light aligned clerics she had killed was beyond counting. They all shared one fatal weakness. The purer and more holy something was, the easier it was to stain.

  …

  At night, in the most luxurious guest quarters reserved for the major factions, Melin stood by the window, letting the cool night breeze brush against the rough skin of the mage. He closed his eyes and savored it, sensing the gentle fluctuations carried by the wind. He heard the rustling of leaves, the clatter of carriages, the footsteps of patrolling guards, and then the sound of wings beating.

  "How did the investigation go?"

  A small crow perched on his arm. Its eyes were filled with intelligence, unlike an ordinary bird. It was clearly a druid in animal form.

  "The physical appearance matches the records. She truly was once a member of Cold Heart, code name Lady Vasena. However, there was a period when she was confirmed missing during a mission. Her purpose in coming here is unclear. At present, the Association cannot establish contact with Zeroth."

  "I have received the information. Thank you."

  "You are welcome, Lord Melin."

  The crow bowed respectfully and then flew away.

  Melin closed the window. He had examined Valena’s body carefully at close range earlier that day. There were no signs of dark energy, no connection to the Ancient Gods. What she used was purely the power of Will

  "For now, let Divilight test her. Hmph. Before the power of holy light, all schemes will eventually be laid bare."