Black Hole!
Cooper saw an unimaginably massive energy black hole!
Its edges twisted, voraciously devouring all energy and light in the world. The void seemed to have inexplicably ruptured, creating a colossal hole through which all matter was draining.
Only a tiny figure emerged as if born from this black sun, soaring upward and swiftly escaping the void, heading toward the distant horizon.
At this moment, Cooper's mind went blank, and he seemed to fall into a dazed, trance-like state.
With all the knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of a fourth-level Dawn Wizard, he still couldn't comprehend—how could a mere third-level wizard, who hadn't even cleared the fog to embrace the dawn, repeatedly escape the grasp of a fifth-level wizard? No, this couldn't even be called escaping anymore.
This was resistance!
A clash of spells, a confrontation between an ant and a dragon, yet the result was a draw, with the former calmly walking away.
Suddenly, some information that Cooper had once scoffed at and dismissed resurfaced in his mind.
It was the earlier report from the Southern Law Ring about Ronan Damien.
"A once-in-a-millennium prodigy of spells, an unparalleled wizard genius."
These descriptions, which Cooper had once deemed exaggerated and flattering, were likely all true. The person who wrote this report might have even struggled to find the right words.
"If only we had known we were dealing with such a monster, perhaps befriending him would have been more appropriate..."
Cooper couldn't help but murmur in his heart.
Unfortunately, this was just an impossible hypothesis.
Fuming Song was not the rigid and harsh Goodman. In his wizard's dictionary, there was only the law of "the strong devouring the weak," not "equivalent exchange," let alone "investment and return."
"Where are you planning to go?"
"Is this your last resort?"
The wind howled past his ears, his black hair fluttering, and his aura billowed like a flag. Ronan heard Alazan's slightly weary voice.
"I no longer have the ability to leave you and find another soul to inhabit... Don't drag me into the abyss of destruction because of foolish pride."
"Don't worry, I've already found a way out."
Ronan replied calmly and confidently, "Though I might need a bit of your help."
"..."
Alazan didn't speak again, only letting out a soft sigh.
Ronan sped through layers of lightning and storms, traversing the void.
Herams' Law-Controlling Bracelet was firmly secured on his right arm.
"Crack—"
The sound of something shattering echoed, and a surge of energy began to flow back into the world.
Ronan didn't need to look back to know that it was the [Taboo. Black Hole] collapsing.
Waves of terrifying magical fluctuations, far surpassing any previous ones, emanated from behind, causing Ronan's back to feel as if it were being pricked by needles and stabbed by knives.
Yet Ronan's gaze remained calm, and he paid it no mind.
On the top of the "Silver Falcon" airship, a massive hexagram spell array began to expand outward. The six points of light that formed the hexagram gradually brightened, resembling one blazing sun after another, illuminating nearly half of the dark, cloud-covered sky.
The radiance of the spell array projected downward, extending endlessly, making Ronan's fleeing figure seem utterly exposed at this moment.
However, at a certain point, the hexagram spell array, which was about to reach its peak and unleash its power, suddenly came to a halt.
Immediately after, the entire array began to contract inward, and the terrifying aura that had previously dispersed started to gradually subside.
As the six dazzling points of light converged into one, a humanoid figure, seemingly formed by countless refracted beams of light, slowly emerged from the void.
The figure raised its head and gazed into the distance, where another figure had just come to a stop.
Ronan stood at the edge of the massive Eye of the Sky, a deep cyan storm vortex. His wizard robe and long hair were both tugged by the storm, yet his body remained as steadfast as a rock, firmly anchored in the void, staring directly at the humanoid figure projected from the distant hexagram spell array.
A fifth-level wizard skilled in spatial magic, in this region, no matter where he fled, he would inevitably find it difficult to escape the pursuit of the other party.
Thus, the storm realm, so close at hand, became his best sanctuary at this moment.
After all, it was a perilous place where even a sixth-level Dawn Wizard had once perished. No matter how much the other party desired the legacy he carried, they likely wouldn't dare to venture into the storm realm to capture him.
The "ceasefire" of the hexagram spell array also served as proof of Ronan's conjecture.
"Ding—"
Ronan lightly flicked the Law-Enforcer Armlet on his right arm with his finger, producing a crisp, crystal-like sound.
He raised his right hand, wanting the distant figure to get a clearer look at the armlet on his arm.
"Fumingge,"
Ronan softly uttered the other's name, then turned around, tore through the layers of storm before him with both hands, and leaped forward without hesitation, plunging into the deep cyan, bottomless storm vortex.
"I will return."
The tiny figure entered the Eye of the Storm, like a speck of dust being drawn into a whirlpool at the bottom of a lake, not even stirring the slightest ripple.
Cooper slowly withdrew his gaze, but as he turned his head, both his soul and body trembled violently.
"Lord... Lord Fumingge,"
Cooper deeply bowed his head toward his chest, his right hand, raised in salute, trembling slightly beneath his wizard robe.
He was well aware of the mistake he had made this time, yet he couldn't gauge the extent of Fumingge's impending wrath.
However, after waiting for a long time, Cooper only heard an unusually calm voice descending from above.
"Notify the south, in the name of Goodman,"
"Ronan Damien, for harming his fellow disciples and betraying the Law Ring, has been executed outside the storm realm."
"Yes,"
Cooper respectfully acknowledged.
Under the dark and gloomy sky, the humanoid figure formed by countless refracted beams of light gazed at the seemingly eternal Eye of the Storm, murmuring softly.
"Foolish ant, do you think entering there will grant you a way out? The entire storm realm is under the surveillance of the Weavers. Inside, you will only die faster..."
"What a pity. The legacy of the legendary Law-Controller Herams will likely be even harder to fully assemble from now on."
As the words fell, countless rays of light scattered, and the humanoid figure dissipated into nothingness.
In the south, the Silver Magic Ring.
At the top of the Seventh Silver Tower, a beam of golden sunlight filtered through the transparent crystal skylight, casting a serene glow in the quiet study. The only sound was the faint trickle of the hourglass's silver sand.
Ke Si Di sat at the poplar wood desk, quietly flipping through a blue book in front of her. A feather pen occasionally glided across the pristine paper, leaving delicate marks.
"Rustle—"
A sudden sound, like the rapid flipping of pages, broke the tranquility as a blue shadow darted into the room. "It's a message from the central region!"
The brightly feathered parrot, roused from its nap, immediately pounced toward the blue bird, chirping joyfully.
"Let me guess... it must be a message from Ronan. By my calculations, he should have arrived by now."
"Polby!"
Ke Si Di sternly reprimanded the parrot, raising her hand slightly. The blue bird obediently landed in her palm, transforming back into a paper bird.
"Quick, let's see, let's see!"
Polby flapped its wings insistently, urging her on.
Ke Si Di's fingers brushed over the smooth surface of the message bird, her eyes flickering with anticipation.
However, that anticipation vanished the moment she opened the paper bird.
"Damn it! Why is this thing on fire? Ke Si Di, what are you doing? It almost singed my eyelashes!"
Polby frantically dodged the sudden burst of flames as the blue message bird was quickly consumed by fire, squawking incessantly.
Ke Si Di paid it no mind, simply shaking the ashes from her fingers and stepping out.
"I'm heading to the central region."
Her voice was devoid of emotion, each syllable rippling through the air, causing the books on the surrounding shelves to rustle.
Polby perched on the table, sensing the unusual shift in her mood, and was left dumbfounded, unsure of what had just happened.
Unable to help itself, it blurted out, "What are you going to the central region for?"
"To ask the mentor in person."
"Whoosh—"
The floor-to-ceiling windows at the top of the tower suddenly swung open, and a gust of wind rushed in.
An inexplicable chill rose in the air as Ke Si Di's figure vanished, leaving only her voice echoing in the attic.
"Damien cannot die in such an unclear manner!!"
This was likely the worst experience Ronan had ever had crossing the entrance of a secret realm.
The highly unstable spatial energy, combined with the forces of wind and lightning, made him feel as though his entire body was being torn apart.
After what felt like an eternity, it finally ended.
Ronan felt himself entering another space, assuming he had fully entered the Storm Realm. The tearing sensation quickly faded, replaced by a numbing feeling that seemed to penetrate his flesh and seep into his soul, along with a faint, cutting sensation on his skin.
Ronan strained to expand his mental field, opening his eyes. The sight before him made him pause in surprise.
――――
The sky was split by countless pale fissures, with bolts of lightning weaving a spiderweb-like pattern across the heavens. Leaden clouds rolled like colossal waves, each surge accompanied by thousands of cyan-purple electric serpents that sliced the sky into countless fragments before transforming into torrents of lightning, at least several kilometers in diameter, cascading down from the clouds. The liquefied plasma condensed directly on the ground into shimmering silver-blue lakes, their surfaces constantly bulging with energy columns resembling pythons, only to be torn into particles of light by the next gust of hurricane-force winds. In the void, massive vortexes, seemingly composed of billions of transparent blades, floated, their outer edges lashing out with spiral-shaped light whips that left molten, blackened trenches with each strike.
The air was perpetually filled with a strange, immense wind, indescribable, like the dying cries of a thousand giant whales, interspersed with the high-frequency hum of electric currents, making every hair on one's body stand on end with unease.
There were also lightning bolts that took the shape of ancient weapons, hurricanes that manifested runic traces, and ground soaked in thunder plasma, sprouting crystalline tentacles. Ronan had never seen hell, but if the legendary abyssal inferno truly existed, a corner of it would surely match the scene before him.
"Is this the escape route you had in mind all along?"
Alazan's voice echoed in Ronan's ears, carrying a sigh that was hard to define as anger or resignation.
"What else?"
Ronan quickly regained his composure from the shock, adapting to the harsh environment as he calmly replied, "Do you have a better idea?"
"In this place of elemental convergence, apart from the energies of wind and electricity, all other energy particles are completely repelled. Your ice and metal Spells will be suppressed to an unprecedented degree here."
"No matter."
Ronan gulped down several healing potions and once again entered the state of the "Ancient Mara Body."
His body, filled with primal and demonic energy, stretched out, black aura swirling around him. With a casual punch, he shattered several ball lightning that had strayed too close, the electric sparks causing a slight tingling sensation on his skin.
"Perfect, let me temper my body. It's been stuck in a plateau for too long."
The proficiency of [Ascetic Body Forging] had slowed to a crawl after surpassing the master level at 1,500 points, partly because Ronan hadn't had the time to properly hone it. He was in dire need of an opportunity to fully cultivate [Ascetic Body Forging].
Now, this was the perfect place for rigorous training.
"You're oversimplifying the problem."
Alazan shook his head, a strand of soul energy extending from Ronan's brow towards the stormy, hellish sky above.
"This place is monitored by an ancient elemental spirit on the verge of ascending to the seventh level. It can sense your presence."
"I know."
Ronan narrowed his eyes, following Alazan's perception as he looked up.
From the moment he stepped into the storm realm, he had felt it—a powerful, indescribably ancient and majestic will hovering in the sky.
It was like an unseen eye of the heavens, constantly watching over Ronan.
"But a dragon wouldn't take much interest in an ant crawling under its nose, would it?"
"If that ant continues to survive and attempts to cross its territory, then it's uncertain."
"I have a solution."
Ronan replied indifferently, unilaterally ending the conversation with Alazan on this matter.
He could imagine Alazan gritting his teeth in frustration at his "stubborn" and "self-righteous" demeanor, but as Ronan had previously stated—what better option was there?
Lumian, a fourth-level Dawn Wizard of the Elemental Ring, had indirectly died at his hands. Behind Lumian and Cooper was a fifth-level wizard named Freminger, a man of boundless ambition who would stop at nothing to achieve his goals.
From his two-century-long scheme to betray his master and rise to power, it was clear that as long as Ronan remained within the territory of the Elemental Ring or even the Life Court, he would face endless pursuit.
Unlike his previous situation in the south, this time he had few escape routes.
Although entering the Storm Realm to seek refuge might seem reckless and risky, Ronan had already considered every possible outcome beforehand. If nothing unexpected occurred, there shouldn't be any major issues.
This was a strategy of fighting for survival in the face of certain death.
Walking a tightrope across a cliff—that rope connecting the two sides still counts as a path, doesn't it?
"Even if you can evade the ancient elemental spirits, how will you get out? You can't just rely on luck and wander around aimlessly like a headless fly, can you?"
"That's where your guidance comes in."
Ronan exhaled softly, then raised his hand slightly, releasing something from the space ring on his finger.
"And—this."
(End of Chapter)