Ronan immersed his mind into the armlet, the space within as magnificent and mysterious as ever.
No matter how many times he had entered, each time still left him deeply shaken.
Countless runes scattered like stars across the celestial dome; he had explored them and found that these runes encompassed everything, nearly every type imaginable, with no connections between them.
The only commonality was that all the runes were closely linked to the enormous core rune at the center, which was comparable to a planet and was the true core of the armlet.
They all formed a whole, like an asteroid belt surrounding a planet, or like a galaxy slowly revolving along a predetermined path.
"Clearly, the last time I tried, it was still able to be summoned by me."
The last time Ronan thought of was when he faced the Level Four wizard from the Resurrection Society in the town of Homer Blue.
At that time, his power of [Taboo. Red Ice] was restrained by the Phoenix bloodline, and he could only rely on the power belonging to the Herams Law-Enforcer Armlet.
Although he ultimately did not use this power, when he attempted to cast [Taboo. Black Hole], he did receive a reliable response from the armlet.
Since then, however, the armlet seemed to have "died," as no matter how Ronan tried, he could not pry even a bit of its power.
"What's the problem?"
Ronan fell into deep thought.
His current mental strength and understanding of the core rune within the armlet far exceeded before; logically, it should be easier to summon the armlet now.
"Is it only possible to use this power when casting spells against opponents stronger than oneself?"
Ronan felt as if he had grasped something, yet it remained unclear. In the end, he could only shake his head, putting the armlet away for the time being.
Ronan slowly rose from the beach, took out a map, locked in his direction, and then continued toward his predetermined goal.
There were no more favorable ships to take back to the south, so Ronan chose to cross the ocean alone.
He had memorized the entire route when he came, and for him, now at the peak of a Level Three wizard, having condensed nine Mental Power Crystals, traveling alone was faster and much safer than taking a boat.
With the powerful physique brought by [Immaculate Body] and the continuous recovery of mental strength from [Clarity Realm], Ronan possessed an extraordinary endurance that ordinary wizards could hardly imagine.
He was completely unafraid of the exhaustion from long-distance travel, and he could even practice while on the move.
This return journey felt more like a journey of ascetic training for him.
Amidst the vast and boundless sea and sky, Ronan was completely immersed in the tempering and refining of himself like an ascetic monk. He even longed to see again the enormous ancient marine creature, the silverfish, that he encountered on his way here, but unfortunately, it did not come to pass.
"Boom—"
On the massive silver metal platform, the dazzling crystal-like Spell shattered, and a figure slowly emerged from the surging energy waves.
It was a handsome young man with golden hair, his face pale, showing signs of severe mental exhaustion. Behind him was a young wizard whose aura was weak, needing to support himself with a staff to avoid collapsing to the ground.
"O'Ryan"
Someone quickly approached to receive the golden-haired handsome youth at the edge of the metal platform.
The wizards of the Silver Magic Ring gathered below, their faces revealing subtle excitement and joy, with some whispering cheers, seemingly celebrating a victory.
"What do these people from Star School want?"
In a high place at the edge of the metal platform, a group of high-ranking members of the Silver Magic Ring looked expressionlessly at the ongoing duel among the young wizards below, "Are they planning to just wait until we hand over the inheritance?"
"They probably don't even know that we ourselves are unclear about where the inheritance is now."
This inexplicable wizard tea party had been going on for some time. After the initial awkwardness and probing, it gradually evolved into a platform for the wizards of the Silver Magic Ring and Star School to communicate through duels.
Members from both sides continuously took the stage, each achieving victories, secretly competing against each other, presenting a harmonious and friendly competitive atmosphere.
"Whoosh—"
A swirling silver-white hurricane suddenly arose, and then, breaking through the hurricane, a middle-aged man holding a silver metal short staff, with gentle eyes, walked out.
All the high-ranking members stood up and slightly bowed to the newcomer.
"Frant's meaning is very clear…"
The first ring master, Manuel, gently rubbed his forehead, his gaze sweeping over the crowd, and slowly spoke, "Inheritance, or people.
One of the two must be left behind."
"What if we leave the inheritance? What if we leave people?"
Someone frowned and asked.
"If we are willing to leave the inheritance, Star School, led by Frant, will fully support our Silver Magic Ring's independence in the south until it develops into the fourth large wizard force. At that time, the inheritance belonging to Herams will also be returned to us; it can be considered a lease, but the time limit will not be less than a thousand years.
If we are willing to leave people…"
Manuel paused for a moment and continued, "Everyone present can receive three pieces of guidance from Ronan the wizard. Of course, the premise is that it must be within the scope of his abilities."
After Manuel finished speaking, the crowd fell silent.
Both conditions seemed incredibly enticing.
They had come to the south without any support from the headquarters, struggling to establish the Silver Magic Ring, and by now, they had reached a limit.
It was precisely because of the difficulty in breaking through the bottleneck that the thought of returning to the headquarters arose.
But if there were external support, the situation would be entirely different.
If Star School could truly support the development of the Silver Magic Ring, helping it grow into a large wizard force, then whether they returned to the headquarters or not would not matter. The rights and resources enjoyed by a high-ranking member of a large wizard force far exceeded those of a mid-level member at the "Elemental Ring" headquarters.
Unfortunately, they had already lost the opportunity to choose that condition—before Frant and the others arrived, all matters regarding the inheritance had already been reported to the headquarters.
Perhaps the people sent by the headquarters were already on their way, not giving them any chance to reconsider.
"It seems we can only leave people…"
A ring master wizard sighed and spoke, "Guidance from a Level Five wizard in person, and with three opportunities, is indeed precious. It might allow us to take that crucial step and embrace the dawn."
Someone nearby nodded in agreement, but soon someone spoke with a strange expression, "The people from Star School know our background; they should have guessed that we would report the inheritance matter to the headquarters at the first opportunity, right?"
"What do you mean?"
Someone frowned, and the latter added meaningfully, "Don't you think that the second condition is much easier to accept than the first?"
The crowd was taken aback, and then someone instinctively blurted out, "They are here for the people?!
Ronan Damien! What Star School truly wants is simply Ronan Damien himself!"
In an instant, those who realized this gasped in shock.
It was only now that they understood; yes, everyone had focused on the "Herams' Natural Law Master inheritance," to the point that they had almost overlooked—compared to this inheritance, there was something equally significant: the inheritor who stood out among countless talented individuals.
Ronan Damien, a prodigious genius belonging to their Silver Magic Ring, had accomplished a feat in the southern wizarding world that had not been achieved in a thousand years, clearing the "Blood War of Herams," and even defeating top wizarding geniuses from the central region, ultimately becoming the Chief Talent of this session.
He should have been radiant, yet due to a massive blood-red upheaval, his reputation had not fully spread until now.
They had always thought that the people from Star School coveted the inheritance "in their hands," but little did they know that the Level Five wizard standing behind Star School saw much deeper and further than they did.
What he truly valued was Ronan Damien, this unrefined "raw gem," a young inheritor personally recognized by the legendary wizard Herams, and there was no one more suitable to take as a disciple than him.
"In fact, from the letter from the teacher, I read that the importance placed on Damien surpasses that of the inheritance."
Manuel's gaze swept over the crowd, and he calmly spoke, "Therefore, I rejected both conditions proposed by Star School."
The crowd was slightly taken aback.
At that moment, a powerful and domineering wave of mental energy suddenly surged from the distant silver metal platform, faintly reaching the peak of Level Three.
A clear and peaceful voice carried by the Spell wind came from afar.
"Star School Zephyr wishes to consult the ring masters of the Law Ring."
The expressions of the crowd changed slightly, feeling a powerful dawn-level consciousness suddenly descend, sweeping over them coldly, with an undeniable meaning behind it.
In their view, on the massive silver metal platform, the duels among the ordinary wizard members had long been cleared away, leaving only a young wizard draped in a deep blue Wizard Robe, surrounded by countless starlights, quietly standing at the center of the platform.
"Whoosh—"
Manuel raised the short staff in his hand, and the radiant dawn light dispelled some of the pressure on the crowd. He continued the unfinished words from earlier.
"…So, what they want to do now is to do everything possible to thwart us, forcing us to voluntarily give up the qualification to teach and guide Damien…"
"Everyone, I cannot take the stage; I can only rely on you."
Manuel's gaze finally fell on Ke Si Di in the crowd, and he said solemnly, "If you have contact with Damien, tell him not to return during this time."
Ke Si Di bit his lip, instinctively gripping his staff tightly, and nodded solemnly.
"Splash—"
Amidst the surging waves, a tall and slender figure suddenly broke through the water.
Stepping on the white waves, he walked onto the surface of the sea. All over his body, numerous pure black patterns moved slightly like living creatures, giving a mysterious, eerie, wild, and primal feeling.
Ronan held a peculiar dagger resembling a "trident" in one hand, and beneath him, the sea was surging with a large amount of blood, with one shark corpse after another floating to the surface, belly up.
In this thick stench of blood, it seemed that a trace of blood energy was being drawn to the dagger, and the strange eyeball embedded in the middle of the handle was now spinning continuously, exuding a bloodthirsty and greedy expression.
"Whoosh—"
Ronan gently flicked his hand, shaking off the water from his body and hair, as Ithium transformed into the appearance of a black Wizard Robe, automatically draping over him.
"So this is the effect of the malevolent weapon?"
After doing all this, Ronan looked down at the peculiar dagger in his hand.
He had just tried using the malevolent weapon obtained from Beatrice and found the effect to be indeed miraculous.
The special composition of this dagger could convert all external malevolence into power to enhance the wielder.
This enhancement mainly occurred in two aspects: mental strength and physical strength.
Ronan estimated that he had deliberately attracted a school of sharks, and the "malevolence" provided by nearly forty sharks had raised his overall strength by nearly ten percent.
This level of amplification was already quite exaggerated; considering his massive base of strength, a ten percent increase in mental strength could determine the outcome of many battles.
And this did not seem to be the dagger's limit for amplification.
"It truly is a power that most people would find hard to refuse."
Ronan looked at the malevolent dagger in his hand. As the battle ended and the source of malevolence disappeared, the power amplification brought by the dagger was rapidly fading.
Ronan read the intense desire in the strange eyeball embedded in the dagger, and even received some fragmented information about how to "permanently retain this power."
"Feeding it with my own blood?"
Ronan deciphered the information conveyed by the dagger, something that Beatrice and her group had not mentioned to him. He did not know if they had deliberately left it out or if he was simply unaware.
"It looks like a scam, a trap. If an ordinary wizard were in the immense sense of loss brought by the fading of this power, they might indeed succumb to temptation and feed it with their own blood, ultimately likely becoming a slave to the weapon as their will is eroded by malevolence step by step."
Ronan took a deep breath, casually putting away the malevolent dagger, his expression calm, completely ignoring the temptation and pleading conveyed by the eyeball on the dagger.
"Unfortunately, this temptation is useless to me.
What I pursue now is the purity and strength of soul power; relying on this mixed power born from malevolence feels like wearing a dirty, greasy, and foul-smelling ragged apron, which is simply uncomfortable."
Ronan stretched his limbs, the runes of [Immaculate Body-Ancient Power (Intermediate)] gradually fading, and checked his character panel—
[Skills: Basic Meditation Technique—Clarity Realm (Master 1357/1600)
Energy Missile - Particle Torrent (Master 1302/1600)
Charged Weapon - Power of Breaking the Law (Master 670/1600)
Ascetic Body Forging - Ancient Power (Master 1470/1600).]
His mastery level of [Ascetic Body Forging] was nearing one thousand five hundred points, and if all went well, [Ancient Power] would advance from (Intermediate) to (Advanced).
As the proficiency approached, Ronan could feel the runes growing along his flesh throughout his body, and within these [Ancient Power] runes, it seemed something was trying to break free and be born.
Ronan had not forgotten his initial speculation about [Immaculate Body], that it might merely be a "container" for "bearing" [Ancient Power], a customized "soil" suitable for the growth of [Ancient Power] runes.
The truly core and powerful aspect of [Ascetic Body Forging] was not [Immaculate Body], nor the vitality sphere within him, but the [Ancient Power] runes that he was still in the exploration stage.
"Time will provide all the answers one desires."
"Before that, I just need to quietly take each step in front of me."
Ronan thought calmly.
At that moment, he suddenly sensed something, flipped his palm, and a Message Stone shimmering with faint light appeared in his hand.
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