In the shattered winter mirror of the snow country, the terrifying force of the collapsing space surged forth from every fallen shard, cutting the vast platform into disarray with ink-black traces.
Ronan was perhaps the only intact thing amidst this "shattering."
He watched as Jupiter's body fragmented into countless pieces, only to quickly reassemble, then shatter again as the entire space was almost completely engulfed by the dark background. Suddenly, Ronan reached out, seemingly grasping something amidst the flickering silver light of the broken pieces.
When all the splendor faded, and there was no trace of ice, snow, or thunder left on the platform, it was as if nothing had ever happened. Only Ronan stood quietly in the center of the platform, one hand raised, fingers tightly gripping a slender figure that appeared quite fragile compared to him.
"You..."
Jupiter's face was pale, his eyes filled with deep shock and disbelief.
He looked at Ronan in disbelief, then slowly lowered his gaze—an arm, muscular and intertwined with pure white lightning, resembling the claw of a giant beast, was deeply embedded in his body.
Inside him, a triangular prism, constantly rotating and emitting a faint silver light, was firmly held by the fingers of that hand.
A tremendous sense of tearing and pulling emanated from the depths of his soul, sending waves of dizziness through Jupiter.
Jupiter gritted his teeth against the discomfort, his lips moving slightly as he attempted to recite the spell once more.
At that moment, a calm voice abruptly halted all his actions.
"It's over, Jupiter."
After a brief silence, a massive hum erupted from the crowd of watching wizards surrounding the dueling platform, enclosed by thirty-two stone pillars.
Like a tide, it spread outward in waves.
This was the first climax battle since the ranking match began, with the fight reversing multiple times within the two extremes, and the final outcome was beyond everyone's expectations.
Including those top wizard geniuses occupying the stone pillars.
Countless gazes converged on the figure with flowing white hair, resembling a demon emerging from the pages of legend, and everyone began to speak the same name—"Ronan!" "Ronan.Damien"! This name, for the first time, officially entered the sight of countless wizards in the entire southern region.
Life Court headquarters.
The silver-haired witch, the young wizard Donny, and several Life Court wizards who had interacted with Ronan before stared blankly in the direction of the central battle group.
"It seems he really gained a lot from Princess Serena."
The silver-haired witch broke the silence, speaking calmly, though her eyes revealed a hint of unease.
Donny snorted softly, a cold smile appearing on his face. He was about to say something to cover up his earlier moment of distraction.
At that moment, an invisible force suddenly surged from above, causing Donny's expression to change drastically. He instinctively wanted to flee elsewhere, but under this force, he ultimately wore a face of "despair" as he and several other Life Court wizards were pulled into the sky.
"Damn it, damn it..."
After Donny and the others "ascended," a series of murmured curses immediately echoed from above.
What was clearly a pleasant, silver-bell-like voice of a girl sounded in the ears of all the Life Court wizards below, yet it felt like a nightmare, sending chills down their spines.
Everyone instinctively touched their cheeks, then cast sympathetic glances at the unfortunate "losers" like Donny.
No one knew why this "witch lady" had suddenly become so irritable and needed to vent her anger. But thankfully, the targets of her ire were not them; their faces were almost devoid of space to doodle.
"Once Princess Serena returns with the inheritance, all problems will be resolved."
The silver-haired witch quietly comforted Grace beside her.
However, Grace seemed not to hear her words, quietly gazing into the distance at the battle group, fixated on a certain "magnificent" figure.
The silver-haired witch's eyes flickered slightly, then she shook her head and fell silent.
"Did Damien win?"
In the bustling crowd, the wizards of the Silver Magic Ring stood frozen in place, each with a dazed expression.
They opened their mouths, wanting to say something, but their throats felt as if blocked by something, unable to utter a word.
At this moment, the surrounding noise seemed distant, and each of their minds felt like a large bell was ringing repeatedly, causing their heads to buzz, making it nearly impossible to think.
It was hard for outsiders to understand the immense shock and impact the wizards of the Silver Magic Ring were experiencing at this moment.
As the younger generation living under the "rule" of Thunder Council Jupiter, no one understood Jupiter's power better than they did.
Among the six major factions, Jupiter was like a sun hanging over all young wizards, scorching, dazzling, and unreachable, only to be gazed upon.
There were too many legends about Jupiter, so many that they could not be counted, and often they had become numb to them.
They had grown accustomed to Jupiter's "rule," even the former top genius of the Silver Magic Ring, O'Ryan, regarded Jupiter as the "target to surpass in a lifetime."
But what were they witnessing now? Ronan had actually defeated Jupiter in a direct confrontation! At that moment, something within them seemed to shatter quietly, and amidst the broken remnants of the past, something new was rapidly being born.
This feeling was difficult for wizards outside the six major factions to empathize with, and even they themselves felt a strong sense of unreality.
"Ronan.Damien."
Moments later, the young wizards of the Silver Magic Ring all heard Clemens's low murmur.
"Everyone... the future of the Silver Magic Ring may be written by this name."
No one spoke; only complex expressions remained on each face.
Ronan released his grip, and Jupiter's pale face "fell" backward.
Ronan ultimately abandoned the idea of forcibly extracting the Dawn-Tier Magical Artifact that he had "grabbed."
Jupiter's soul was mostly fused with the Magical Artifact, and if he did so, Jupiter would likely die on the spot.
Although falling in the genius battle was relatively common, Ronan still did not want to do that. However, he had explored the core of the Dawn Magical Artifact and noted the runes within.
Looking up, Ronan saw Jupiter now gazing at him with an incredibly complex expression.
The humanoid shadow behind him, interwoven with electric light and silver, quickly shattered, and a massive mysterious light group surged from his body, then entered Ronan's own.
In an instant, Ronan felt his soul power rapidly increase, the fourth Mental Power Crystal in his mind almost reaching its peak in a single breath.
Within his consciousness space, specks of golden brilliance gathered, and the fifth Mental Power Crystal was rapidly condensing at an astonishing speed.
The speed of this mental power growth...
"For true strong ones, the genius battle is the best breeding ground for their growth."
Ronan couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
At this moment, the gray smoke surrounding him and behind him was also rapidly expanding, growing by more than a third, the massive gray cloud occupying a significant portion of the platform's height.
Countless layers of gray clouds surged, wisps of smoke cascading down, originating from Ronan's body.
The mysterious substance Ronan had acquired to enhance his soul power was stored in this gray cloud, at least two-thirds of it.
The soul ash smoke, materialized by Herams's unique methods, represented the strength of the participants in the seat competition and was also their "bet" in this contest of talents.
Only the "big winner" who reached the end would be qualified to leave with the most abundant rewards and glory.
"Ronan..."
Jupiter, in a "disheveled" state, leaned against the void, his lips moving as if he wanted to say something to himself.
In the end, he merely turned into a cluster of exploding lightning and vanished.
Ronan sensed Jupiter's aura gradually fading, likely retreating to find a place to "heal" in silence.
For someone like him, who had walked a path adorned with flowers and praise, the psychological "wound" from this battle's defeat was likely unparalleled, but that had nothing to do with Ronan.
Ronan calmly walked out of the platform.
He exited the state of "complete giant transformation," his towering ancient giant form gradually returning to normal. Ithium's fabric slowly adhered to his body, but only his long, pure white hair could not revert, blowing slightly in the wind like a pure white cloak.
Outside, his stone pillar began to rise, elevating to a level that matched the previous winners.
At this moment, countless gazes fell upon Ronan.
As the ranking battle began, that soul-tingling sensation reemerged.
Ronan squinted and looked up at the sky, where white light rapidly wove into the pattern of an eye on his forehead.
Yet even the Eye of Truth could not capture the source of this power that stirred the soul.
The only thing Ronan could be certain of was that this power originated from the ancient Rune Array deep beneath him. He could only marvel at the great methods of the legendary wizard Herams; only a powerful wizard like Herams, who had analyzed the soul to an unimaginable height, could construct such a magical domain.
Unfortunately, aside from feeling a slight heat in his soul, he had no other sensations.
He was still far from manifesting the soul characteristics of Serena and the others. Clearly, the amount of soul ash smoke materialized around him was almost the highest on the field, yet his "soul quality" was vastly inferior.
Returning to the old, familiar problem, Ronan shook his head, no longer thinking about it, and instead focused on the mysterious runes he had just obtained from Jupiter.
This rune seemed to share some commonalities with Multiple Mirror Image, but it was more complex and profound, ultimately presenting a completely different rune effect.
Based on the body "mirroring" ability Jupiter had demonstrated, he temporarily named this rune—Mirror Flower, Water Moon.
The mirror system originates from space; although it is a mirror system rune, it can also be considered a type of space system rune.
Ronan was very interested in this rune.
Was this "body mirroring" ability weak?
On the contrary, this technique was incredibly powerful, almost immune to the vast majority of elemental spell attacks.
But just as he told Jupiter—"It's a pity to encounter him."
The "space stagnation power" that Ronan mastered just happened to have a certain restraining effect on this "mirroring" effect. If it were another third-tier wizard, they would likely have no ability to break Jupiter's spell.
If Ronan could master this ability, he could "ignore" a large portion of spell attacks in battle, greatly enhancing both his combat power and defensive and survival capabilities.
"Perhaps I still have to rely on the old method."
Without the corresponding space and mirror system spell inheritance, he could only achieve it through the Soul Rune method.
Ronan had done this before; he planned to modify the Space Silverization rune again. This was undoubtedly a major project that could not be accomplished in a short time, and he would have to wait until the competition was over to attempt it.
"Hmm?!"
Lost in thought, Ronan suddenly opened his eyes and quickly looked in a certain direction.
His gaze wandered between two stone pillars.
On one pillar, a young man clad in pure white knight armor, handsome and with a masculine aura, was focused on grooming the mane of the Unicorn Horse beside him.
As Ronan gazed at him, the young man cast a faint glance back, and in the radiant light of dawn, the magnificent and sacred white palace behind him floated.
"Not him."
Ronan expressionlessly shifted his gaze away, turning to another stone pillar—
There sat an elegant young man, holding a pure black-covered wizard book, cross-legged on the stone pillar, exuding a strong aura of mystery and ominousness.
Behind him, a strange shadow with countless tentacles was continuously expanding.
"Chaos Secret Society, Livicky..."
Ronan exhaled softly, slowly uttering the name of the other.
Ronan glanced at him, then quickly withdrew his gaze, lowering his head again. He appeared calm, but in his unseen eyes, a flicker of light danced, and various thoughts began to grow in his mind.
After the battle with Jupiter, the combat power Ronan had displayed had thoroughly established his position as the "dark horse" of the current field.
Many were watching him, some in fear, some in surprise, and some in awe, all eyes upon him.
But aside from Andariel, who harbored hatred for him after losing an arm, he was the second person to reveal such sharp and cold killing intent toward him.
"Chaos Secret Society. Livicky."
Ronan silently repeated this name in his heart. His understanding of the three major wizard forces in the south was not deep, and the "Chaos Secret Society" was the most mysterious among them, belonging to the dark wizard faction.
"If it's a black-robed wizard, it would be normal to feel an inexplicable killing intent, right?"
Ronan narrowed his eyes, looking at the smooth back of his right hand, slowly tucking away certain speculations and thoughts.
"Perhaps."
The first round of the ranking battle ended at sunset on the third day.
Half of the participants were eliminated, and only sixteen of the thirty-two illuminated stone pillars remained. Following that, the second round of the ranking battle officially began.
Before the competition commenced, almost all the geniuses who had been in the first tier, except for Jupiter, entered the second round.
Ronan had effectively taken Jupiter's place, while Havid, a fellow member of the Azure Mist Society, unfortunately faced a powerful opponent in the first round and left in silence by a narrow margin.
The rules for this round of battles were no different from the first; it was still the mysterious mechanism left by Herams that randomly selected one-on-one duels.
The quality of this round of matches was undoubtedly much higher.
Those who won in the first round were almost all top-tier existences among mid-level third-tier wizards, most of whom had the strength to challenge general late-stage third-tier wizards.
That said, how could there be "ordinary" existences among those who could reach the late third tier? Moreover, these prodigies, who were already exceptionally talented, experienced significant growth in their soul power after winning a round under Herams's special mechanism.
Ronan was not the only one rapidly growing in battle.
Ronan also took this opportunity to observe the spell systems of those top figures on the field.
His focus was on Serena.
The princess from the central wizard empire, everything about her was a mystery to the southern wizards.
Establishing a ruling empire in the central region, the strength of the Life Court spell inheritance was undoubtedly formidable.
In the first round of battles, Serena didn't even need to make a move; she merely relied on the display of her talent to make her opponent concede, completing the manifestation of her soul characteristics.
The second round of battles was not as outrageous, but Serena still only released one spell.
Under the resonance of the three-stage law domain, a vast ocean of energy in white light instantly engulfed her opponent. Before everyone could fully recover from the moment's shock, Serena had already returned to her seat, her soul shadow adorned with a crown, bow, and staff shining even more brilliantly, as calm as if she had never left her position.
"Is even the three-stage law domain resonance not enough to serve as a trump card?"
Ronan gazed at Serena on the high platform, his mind involuntarily trembling slightly.
Jupiter had comprehended the three-stage law domain resonance, and so had Serena. He ultimately had a gap in training time and age compared to them, perhaps also due to the fact that he had studied too many diverse spells.
The spell Serena cast was as rich in life energy as the name "Life Court" suggested.
Most of this life energy stemmed from Serena herself.
The vitality sphere within Ronan had remained in a semi-compressed state, extremely restrained. He could only mobilize this power through his physical body, making it difficult for ordinary wizards to perceive the extraordinarily dense life energy contained within him.
However, Ronan was extremely sensitive to the concentration of life energy in others.
He could sense that if the life energy contained in a normal third-tier wizard's body was "1," then the life energy of the several Life Court wizards he had previously encountered ranged between "5" and "10."
Having practiced the Body Refinement technique, Ronan's life energy likely exceeded "50."
Yet the feeling Serena gave Ronan was close to "100"! And that was without her fully unleashing her power.
Ronan found it hard to believe.
It was precisely because he practiced the Body Refinement technique that he understood how difficult it was to cultivate such immense life energy through training.
He suspected that Serena might possess a body refinement inheritance far more powerful than the Body Refinement technique.
Or perhaps it was due to a special bloodline power flowing through her that provided immense vitality.
Or maybe it was due to some external factor. Regardless of the reason, Ronan was filled with curiosity about how Serena managed to master such vast life energy.
(End of Chapter)