“How did he do that…?”“I didn’t even feel any shift in mana in the surrounding.”“So does it mean…”“If he wanted…”“He could have sliced my neck off?”“What kind of magic is this?”“How is it possible?”“I have never heard of such.”“If he had used telekinesis to twist bones or break joints, that would be understandable…”“Because even how I manipulate moisture within or around an opponent’s skin comes from the principle of telekinesis…”“But this…”“This is different.”“So he could have won against me in one move?”Lukan’s throat tightened.Shock swallowed the pride in his chest and chewed it slowly.“I am certain you are asking yourself many questions,” Oasis said calmly, reading the air like it was a book.“But why are you surprised?”“If you can manipulate your opponent using moisture around them…”“Then why is it strange that I manipulated wind in this space?”He looked at Lukan as if the answer was obvious.“Because you can do it easily, you ignore it as a simple trick.”“But

Meanwhile, just after Oasis left the guest courtyard where Lukan Maser was residing within the Woods Estate—Delvan Dica and Vesta walked at an unhurried pace, making their way back toward the guest courtyard where Oasis and his people were staying.The Woods Estate at early evening was a place of crafted serenity.Miniature gardens stretched between stone walkways, carefully arranged bonsai-like spirit trees glowing faintly with natural mana.Small canals of slow-moving, crystal-clear water wound between white stone bridges, the water reflecting lantern light like flowing glass.koi drifted lazily beneath the surface, their scales shimmering with faint elemental hues.The air was cool.Clean.Carrying the scent of wet leaves, cultivated herbs, and distant incense from inner halls.They walked slowly.Not out of fatigue.But because the place invited slow steps.Vesta walked with both hands tucked into the pockets of his tailored spirit garments, posture relaxed, chin slightly raised

Oasis and Theodore stood in the training field, a few distances away from each other, ready to spar.The training ground stretched wide beneath the night sky, its surface made of layered slabs it was evident from Oasis's Perspective that they were reinforced by formation scripts.Scorch marks and scars told silent stories.The air was cool.Still.Waiting.Oasis stood in a relaxed but ready stance — a martial mage’s posture.One foot slightly forward.Shoulders loose.Fingers half-curled, ready to weave spells or shift into movement techniques at any moment.His breathing was controlled, slow, efficient.Mana rested quietly beneath his skin like a coiled storm waiting for permission to awaken.Across from him—Theodore stood like an ancient mountain.A pure martial artist stance. Feet rooted yet light. Spine straight. Shoulders open.One hand loosely behind his back, the other relaxed at his side.No aura.No visible pressure.Yet—The wind around him was wrong.“Indeed… the peak Enli

Few hours later, as midnight approached.Florentis City.Bal Manor.Main Hall.The Bal Manor stood illuminated beneath the deep midnight sky, its layered roofs and jade-inlaid pillars reflecting the glow of floating mana lanterns that hovered like slow-moving stars around the estate.The streets beyond the manor walls were still alive — taverns echoing with tournament stories, merchants closing late deals, nobles whispering rumors — but inside the Bal Manor, silence ruled.A heavy, ceremonial silence.Inside the Main Hall, the air itself felt dense.Eclipse Bal sat upon the main chair — the Patriarch’s seat — carved from ancient blackwood and inlaid with veins of silver mana-stone that pulsed faintly like sleeping stars.His posture was straight, composed, immovable like a mountain that had weathered centuries of storms.Across from him, seated on guest chairs of equal craftsmanship — a silent acknowledgment of status — sat Marcellia Valmorra and Elanor Bal.Elanor had only woken less

“Mm… sacred beasts are truly made from a different mold,” Tyron murmured to himself, his eyes fixed on the rolling dark clouds above.“It’s no exaggeration to say that cultivation itself was copied from them.”He sat leisurely within the vast courtyard pavilion, porcelain cup resting between his fingers, steam rising in thin spirals.From below, the clouds looked like nothing more than a natural storm.His gaze narrowed as he studied the black storm advancing with eerie precision.“So basically, whoever is in front of Conri is using these clouds to pass unnoticed. Created out of thin air, yet indistinguishable from a real storm"His beard shifted slightly as he stroked it.“Indeed… one cannot tell the difference between a natural storm and that one.”“No killing intent.”“No aura leak.”“No fluctuation.”“Everything perfectly concealed.”A faint smile curved his lips.“These monsters… could launch an attack on a city, and nobody would even know until it was too late.”The sight amused