The tradition of tea gatherings, much like the sunset meetings, has always been a custom in the wizarding world.
In an era when the elements of heaven and earth were still in ignorance, and the boundaries between different schools were not yet clearly defined, wizards would light bonfires in the starry wilderness, using knowledge as fine wine and experiences as delicacies, sharing with one another.
They exchanged spells, meditated, shared the results of their experimental research, and even exchanged their unique rune marks.
The brilliance of any civilization cannot be separated from the contributions and advancements made by those with exceptional talent and broad minds.
Of course, as time has progressed to the present, tea gatherings among wizards have become much more purposeful and private.
The glow of dawn was more radiant than the midday sun, reflecting on the faces of the various ring masters of the Silver Magic Ring. The expressions of the crowd shifted, but the first ring master of the Law Ring, who was also a level four Dawn Wizard, remained calm.
He raised his right hand, and a silver-white short staff inlaid with gems emitted a hazy white light. An invisible mechanism in the void was triggered, and the massive metal ring beneath everyone's feet suddenly disintegrated into countless equally sized metal cubes, blooming outward like flowers, before quickly reassembling into a gigantic bowl-shaped platform, with metal steps extending outward like a bridge connecting to each Spell Airship's position.
The "Dawn" light hanging high in the sky converged, and figures descended, walking step by step along the metal steps toward the center.
The entire Silver Magic Ring was stirred by this sudden commotion, and numerous wizards from the Silver Magic Ring flew out from around and beneath the eight silver towers, looking up in confusion.
On the massive metal platform, seven Dawn Wizards gathered together, slowly approaching the ring masters.
Each of the seven was surrounded by almost tangible magical fluctuations, each one seemingly an endless source of power, exuding an aura that surpassed everything with every gesture. Even standing at the same height, one would need to look up to them.
The leader wore a black robe, his skin smooth and his appearance handsome, looking like a young man in his thirties, yet exuding a hint of inexplicable weariness. His presence was even stronger than the other six, making him seem like an ancient well, hiding immeasurable depth within his calm demeanor, giving off a sense of having been tempered by time and accumulated countless knowledge and experiences.
Aside from the first ring master, the other ring masters, who were merely late-stage level three wizards, felt as if they were struggling to breathe under the close-range pressure of the seven Dawn Wizards.
"Manuel, it has been three hundred years since we last met..."
The handsome wizard leading the seven smiled and spoke, while the first ring master, Manuel, calmly stepped forward to greet him.
The four level Dawn Wizards gathered and then quickly ascended into the sky.
"That's Frant!"
Watching the handsome black-robed wizard chatting amiably with the first ring master Manuel above, one of the seven ring masters below took a deep breath and slowly spoke, "The only level five wizard Rona's chief disciple from the south, and the current head of Star School."
"Now I understand what the little trouble Manuel mentioned is."
Someone's expression darkened, gritting their teeth as they whispered, "Frant is here representing level five wizard Rona.
They know the ins and outs of our Law Ring; I knew they would never let Herams' legacy be taken from the south so easily!"
In an instant, everyone's mood grew heavy.
The legacy left by Herams in the south was equivalent to a "ticket" for all of them to return to the central region.
And judging by the current situation, it was clear that the wizards from the south were trying to forcibly keep this "ticket," even tearing it apart.
The previous excitement and joy had all turned into worry and agitation, an inexplicable emotion swirling among the few.
Suddenly, at a certain moment, someone spoke in a low tone, "So, where exactly is Damien now? Ke Si Di, you should know, right?"
As soon as this was said, all eyes turned to one person.
Ke Si Di met the gazes of the crowd, gently pressed her lips together, and remained expressionless, saying nothing.
In the vast, boundless blue sea, a few scattered seabirds soared freely in the azure sky.
Suddenly, the calm sea surface below began to stir, and dark blue frost surged rapidly from the depths, massive waves rising high. Before they could reach their peak, they were frozen into walls by terrifying cold, then collapsed heavily, shattering into countless ice flowers.
In the blink of an eye, the vast, undulating sea was covered by a thick layer of solid ice, resembling a smooth mirror floating on the surface, reflecting large patches of brilliant sunlight.
"Crack—"
The strange scene had not lasted long when the ice-covered sea surface was suddenly broken by something.
A large amount of stray energy particles gathered, and dark clouds rolled in, with dark blue lightning falling. Following that, from beneath the shattered ice, a head of a giant snake, indescribably fierce, domineering, and majestic, burst forth.
As the head of the giant snake emerged, the cold air surging across the sea seemed to intensify dozens of times, the terrifying chill rapidly spreading across the frozen surface.
If one were to look down from above, they would see the sea at this moment resembling a massive blue cloth, its folds being swiftly smoothed out by an invisible force.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
The continuous cracking of the ice layer echoed, and thunder rolled in the sky, the absolute icy aura nearly filling the entire world.
Three more heads of giant snakes emerged from beneath the ice layer, and the coldness in this realm reached a peak, the originally clear sky suddenly shrouded in dark clouds, even snowing dark blue flakes. At this moment, it felt as if an ancient dominant creature, hidden deep in the ocean's depths, had awakened from slumber, ruling over ice and snow, intent on sealing the entire world.
"Crack crack—"
A series of sounds of breaking ice rang out.
On the sea surface, thick with frost like black mist, a tall and slender figure stepped out from the depths of the water.
He was surrounded by four fierce heads of giant snakes, and the countless frosts swirling in the air seemed to be bowing to him.
A large amount of seawater rolled off his black robe, and before it hit the ground, it transformed into billowing white mist.
A seabird, affected by the cold and frozen into a block of ice while maintaining its flying posture, fell at the figure's feet. The latter reached out a hand and gently touched it, and the frozen seabird silently disintegrated into tiny ice dust.
Ronan watched as all traces of the seabird were completely erased from this world, continuing forward, slowly walking onto a coral reef island that was only a few square kilometers in size.
He gently raised his hand, and the gathering dark clouds in the sky dispersed, the frozen sea surface melted, and the four heads resembling ancient frost overlords vanished into countless specks of light.
The world became clear again, but now there were large and small icebergs scattered across the sea, sunlight pouring down and refracting dazzling colors, devoid of any warmth.
"It seems this idea is indeed feasible."
Ronan casually sat down on the frozen beach, opened his character panel, and his gaze fell on one of the spells in the skill bar—[Mirror Soul (Expert 142/800)]. This unranked spell, derived from the ruins of the Ancient Mirror Court, was originally intended to be cast using his blood containing the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline, capable of simulating a powerful spell summon with traces of the Ancient Frost Hydra's aura.
This idea was not wrong; it was just that due to the low proficiency of [Mirror Soul], the strength of the summoned spell fell far short of the trump card's height. Additionally, since Ronan had always had an Ice Crystal Demon Serpent as a battle pet by his side, he had not used it much.
However, after the battle for the prodigy, when he faced Serena, he had a sudden inspiration to use the [Multiple Mirror Image] rune to forcibly replicate the Four-Domain Fusion's [Hekalto's Ancient Devour], which gave him new ideas about this spell.
During this time, he had furthered his understanding of runes and upgraded the [Multiple Mirror Image] rune once again. Combined with the replication effect of the [Mirror Soul] spell, he finally achieved a preliminary realization of [Four Heads. Hekalto's Ancient Devour]! Initially, [Multiple Mirror Image] had only replicated a trace of the Four-Domain Fusion's aura and nearly collapsed; now, with the assistance of [Mirror Soul], it could perfectly withstand the backlash of the [Four Heads]' power.
Not only did the spell's power far exceed that during his battle with Serena, but Ronan even felt he still had some strength left. In an extreme state, he might attempt to condense [Five Heads]! The Ancient Frost Hydra Hekalto had a total of eight heads, and every additional head he condensed based on Hekalto's ancient true body would exponentially increase its power.
From [Hekalto's Despairing Gaze], which merely constructed one eye of Hekalto's true body.
To [Hekalto's Ancient Devour], which constructed one head of Hekalto's true body.
Then to [Four Heads. Ancient Devour].
The power of this spell was continuously approaching the realm that represented "Taboo"!
"Now that I cast [Four Heads], its power is already infinitely close to the realm of Forbidden Magic Domain. Perhaps the realm of [Five Heads] could fully enter... or further merge into a new ice-based extraordinary law domain, achieving a fusion of five law domains or six law domains, which might also reach the true effect of Forbidden Magic Domain."
Ronan sat silently on the frozen beach, deep in thought.
The former required him to continue researching the space and mirror runes in his hands, optimizing and upgrading [Multiple Mirror Image] to enhance its upper limit and replication effect, or to raise the proficiency of the [Mirror Soul] spell to a higher level.
The latter involved continuing to delve into the path of merging multiple law domains; the more law domains he fused, the more intense the ancient majesty belonging to Hekalto would be replicated.
Neither path could be said to be simpler; the best approach was to grasp both.
"If I can elevate my original spell's power to the realm of Forbidden Magic Domain, then when I encounter an unstoppable enemy, I won't have to knock on the 'Door of Taboo,' risking being eroded by Hekalto's will to use the power of [Taboo. Red Ice]."
[Taboo. Red Ice] represents the power of killing among the eight extremes of frost, imprinted on one of Hekalto's heads.
Ronan had never comprehended it; it was "instilled" in him by Hekalto.
This was not entirely his power; it was a double-edged sword that would harm him as much as it would his opponent, so he had always treated it with caution.
Ronan glanced at the proficiency of several "cornerstone spells" in his ice magic system—
[Ice Ball - Desperate Ice Seal (Master 1351/1600)
Frost Ray - Ice Veins (Master 1322/1600)
Ice Blade - Extreme Frozen Soldier (Master 1407/1600)
]
As the mastery level increased, each point became more difficult to achieve. However, due to his Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline, the proficiency of these spells had always progressed quite steadily. This time, after returning to the East Coast for soul completion and "intelligence" growth, the rate of improvement had become even more pronounced.
It was estimated that it wouldn't take long to reach the resonance realm of three law domains.
Among the other master-level ice spells, [Frost Spear] and [Ice Armor] were also nearing the second stage. Ronan had already planned to use [Ice Armor] to construct the scales of Hekalto's ancient true body, and the next step would be to use [Frost Spear] to create Hekalto's "teeth."
At that time, the power of the multi-law domain fusion would surely rise another level, and "Taboo" would not be far from him.
"This time returning to the south, I must visit White Stone Fortress. Besides asking Aunt Soraya for the 'Frozen Soil' third-tier legacy, I should also inquire about the 'Arliss Ice Ring.'"
Ronan instinctively touched the center of his collarbone, where he had once worn the 'Yarilis Ice Ring Necklace.' Now, the necklace was shattered, and the ice ring had transformed into a special mark, branded into his soul.
Setting aside the training plan for the ice magic system for the moment, Ronan flipped his palm, revealing a crystal-like circular ring.
The light within the ring flickered gently, as if an entire galaxy was contained within, exuding an indescribable mystery and beauty.
Ronan gazed at the ring for a long time, then slowly put it on his arm.
Taking a deep breath, the light in his eyes brightened, and he suddenly pointed toward the sea surface directly in front of him.
In an instant, within the realm of consciousness, nine Mental Power Crystals simultaneously burst into light, the [Multiple Mirror Image] rune igniting, an incredibly intense mysterious aura surging forth. Countless stray energy particles flocked in, condensing in the blink of an eye into a massive, majestic river of seven colors.
One river, two rivers, three rivers. A total of four seven-colored rivers emerged, then converged at a point, pooling and spilling, forming a gigantic, deep, and pitch-black bottomless vortex.
A hint of Taboo-like aura emerged, dark clouds rolled in the sky, and blinding thunder fell upon the vast sea surface, where countless waters were stirred, forming a deep, unfathomable giant whirlpool, its terrifying might akin to a cataclysmic tsunami.
However, just as this terrifying whirlpool phenomenon began to show signs of collapsing and dissipating, Ronan's temples were drenched in beads of sweat, his outstretched fingertips nearly trembling. What he desired—
That black hole that devours everything, absorbs everything, and destroys everything had not formed.
"Why?!"
"Ha—"
Ronan, as if drained of strength, suddenly lowered his arm, gasping for breath, his pale and handsome face tightly furrowed.
"Why can I no longer harness the power of this armlet?"
Ronan gritted his teeth, feeling deeply perplexed.
Since embarking on the journey back to the south, he had attempted many times to recreate [Taboo. Black Hole], yet not once had he succeeded.
Back during the prodigy contest, the Law-Enforcer Armlet he had easily manipulated against the level five wizard of the Resurrection Society now felt "dead" in his hands, completely unresponsive to any of his commands.
It had completely lost any additional amplification effect on the spell [Energy Missile - Particle Torrent].
(End of Chapter)