The last of the attacks went in.Antonov’s battered body was already at its limit, his frame trembling as the accumulated force finally reached its conclusion.The final blow was meant to hail him backward, to launch him uncontrollably through the air toward the distant enchanted barrier.His spine arched unnaturally as the momentum seized him, boots scraping uselessly against shattered stone as he was dragged backward by sheer violence, the ground beneath him exploding into more dust and fragments.But—The being moved first.Faster than thought.Before Antonov could even be launched, before the final force could complete its trajectory, the parallel being was already behind him.Antonov’s eyes had turned white, consciousness slipping away in fragments.Blood streamed freely from the corner of his lips and down his chin, droplets splattering against the broken stone below.His nose bled heavily, staining his breath crimson as pain forced his mouth open in a silent gasp.Then—Thud—!

“Kid, you don’t get it, do you?” Eclipse Bal said, his voice calm but carrying a sharp edge as his gaze settled on Duwe Sparrow.“I heard that old man Devi has already stepped into the Saint Realm,” Eclipse continued.“So, young Sparrow—since you are of this city—request an audience with him one day, and you will understand just how terrifying that power truly is.”His eyes swept across the noble gallery.“First of all, I’m certain that most of you here didn’t actually see what happened down there. You didn’t see what attacked Antonov, nor how it attacked him, nor how he was defeated.”Eclipse lifted a finger and his tone grew colder.“And I will have you know this—what Elanor used was nothing more than the basic level of that technique.She deliberately restrained herself. She had no intention of stripping away the majority of Antonov’s lifeforce.”He paused, then continued evenly:“At most, only a single year of lifeforce was stripped from him.”A ripple of restrained shock spread t

The tag of magical energy raged on within the grand sanctuary. Second by second, it grew heavier—denser—more violent.Yet one thing remained unchanged.The distance between Oasis and Lukan never increased, nor did it shrink.Less than a foot.Always less than a foot.Despite the torrents of mana screaming between them, despite the surging waves of power crashing head-on, neither took a step forward nor retreated even an inch.They stood locked in place, two immovable centers of devastation.As their energies intensified, the environment began to suffer.The massive, gigantic battlefield groaned as if alive.Stone tiles fractured and lifted from the ground, dragged upward by invisible currents before shattering into dust.Deep cracks spread outward like spiderwebs beneath their feet, glowing faintly from heat and pressure.The enchanted barrier walls surrounding the battlefield vibrated violently, runes flaring one after another as they absorbed shockwave after shockwave from the colli

“Not only that—did any of you realize the number of circles on that spell?”Ryu Pogoda’s sharp voice cut through the murmurs in the noble gallery, his eyes narrowed as he leaned forward.“I’m certain those were three circles.”A brief silence followed before Marcarov Denzai spoke, his brows knitting together.“Now that you mention it… I noticed as well. And isn’t Lukan also said to be a third-circled mage?”The weight of that realization rippled through the gathered elders.“But that’s impossible,” Mokai Ghecho said, shaking his head slowly, disbelief thick in his tone.“Advancing as a mage is already absurdly difficult. Even most mages at the early Enlightened Realm barely manage two circles.”He clenched his fist.“And now this kid—this kid—is a three-circled mage. On top of that, he can somewhat wield martial techniques.”His voice grew darker.“I’ll say it again. This child needs to be investigated. There’s no way he’s just a child. An ancestor must have taken over that body.”His

“Let’s show this kid the true might of Water Magic,” Lukan said calmly as his eyes slowly closed.The battlefield seemed to fade from him.Within Lukan’s Conscious RealmDarkness dissolved into vastness.An endless ocean stretched in every direction—black-blue, ancient, and silent.The surface was unnaturally still, like a sleeping abyss holding immeasurable depth beneath it.Above, the sky was frozen in twilight, neither day nor night.At the heart of this boundless sea, a colossal slab of ice floated, unmelting, radiant with pale blue runes etched deep into its surface.And upon it—A monstrous presence lay dormant.The White Abyss Ursa.Its body was enormous, covered in pristine white fur that shimmered like frost under moonlight.Each breath it took caused the ocean itself to tremble, waves rippling outward endlessly.Ancient scars traced its massive frame, and icy mist escaped its nostrils with every slow exhale.Then—Its eyes opened.Two abyssal-blue pupils ignited like frozen