"This voice... a Morning Star Wizard?"
Leilin's pupils contracted. If there was one Third Level Wizard on the Central Continent who had studied the Morning Star realm the most, it was undoubtedly himself! Through the Chip's simulations and deductions, along with the intelligence he had gathered previously, he had already developed a deep understanding of the Morning Star realm.
And the owner of this voice — that tone carrying an unusual power, the faint touch of Laws beneath it — was something no Wizard below the Morning Star level could ever hope to replicate.
"Grandfather! Save me!"
Up ahead, Leo's face burst with elation, and his speed even slowed.
With a Morning Star Wizard present, Leilin could never lay a hand on him — this was his absolute trust in his grandfather, and in the might of the Morning Star realm!
"Hmm?!" At that moment, Leilin noticed something different.
"The essence of the aura hasn't changed, but the intensity is only at the peak of Third Level Crystallization... Could it be... a puppet or a clone of some sort?"
After all, this was within the territory of the Serpent Ring. Any foreign Morning Star Wizard who rashly set foot here would be considered a provocation, potentially triggering a war.
But the restrictions on clones and similar constructs were somewhat vague.
After all, it was exceedingly difficult for a Morning Star Wizard to create a clone of equal strength — very few could succeed, and most could only produce clones at the peak of the Third Level.
With Leilin's keen eyes, he could already see a brilliant streak of blue light shooting toward him from the distance at tremendous speed.
"Haha... you're dead!" Leo laughed exultantly.
But then, his smile froze. The scenery on both sides shrank and expanded at dizzying speed, the landscape arcing past his eyes in a parabolic trajectory, until all he could see was a patch of brownish-yellow ground.
"This is my head... my head has been cut off..." With that final thought, Leo sank completely into darkness.
Whoosh! A blue figure materialized before Leilin, gazing down at Leo's headless corpse, anger surfacing on his face.
"I just told you to stop!"
His voice was deep, yet it carried an irresistible force — once the words left his lips, they had to be obeyed.
This was the kind of authority that could only be forged through long years of holding supreme power and commanding absolute strength.
Lein studied the Morning Star Wizard as well. He had never met the Blue Mountain King in person before, but he had reviewed plenty of information about him — the real thing was identical to the images. Blue hair, and a pair of eyes that gleamed like stars.
Yet at this moment, the man was clearly burning with rage — the rage of a Morning Star! More than enough to reduce Lein to ashes!
"My apologies! I killed him!" Lein shrugged his shoulders.
If the man had come in his true body, there would have been nothing Lein could do. But against a clone, there was at least a slimmer hope of escape.
"Do you know who he was?"
The Blue Mountain King's eyelids lowered, and anyone close to him would have recognized this as a sign that his fury had reached its absolute limit.
"The patriarch of the Orkheart family, was it..." Lein shook his head, his eyes fixed on the Blue Mountain King. "I don't care who he was. Anyone who intends me harm can only atone with death!"
"Then let me tell you as well — the last Wizard who dared to offend the Orkheart family had his ashes buried beneath the steps of Blue Mountain City!"
The radiance in the Blue Mountain King's eyes blazed to a fever pitch.
And before him, a circular mirror materialized, reflecting Lein's figure within it.
"Deprive!" The Blue Mountain King pointed a finger gently at the Lein inside the mirror.
Bzzz! As though rejected by the entire world, Lein immediately felt the elemental particles — once so intimately bonded with him — scatter and drift away, as if he had been reduced to an ordinary person in the span of a single heartbeat.
The isolation domain of a Morning Star Wizard once again displayed its terrifying power!
"That's not right!" Lein had, at the very least, experienced the true domain of a Morning Star Wizard back at the Demon Hunter's place. He naturally detected the difference between this isolation and a genuine Morning Star's.
Compared to last time, things were considerably better. His connection with the elemental particles was still barely holding on. As long as he spent more Spiritual Power than usual, he could still communicate with them and cast spells.
Still, it was the equivalent of forcibly suppressing half of his Spiritual Power.
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Lein's mouth. Even though the opponent was merely a clone, and even though his Spiritual Power and total mana were roughly on par with Lein's own, the man's understanding of sorcery and the power of laws was something Lein could never hope to match.
A single, simple suppression had instantly thrown him into an impossible dilemma.
Fight a peak Tier Three opponent after having half his strength cut away? Lein shook his head, realizing he had been far too optimistic before.
"But... this is also an opportunity! A chance to go toe-to-toe with a Morning Star Wizard and collect data!"
Lein's eyes lit up. To advance to the Morning Star realm, an understanding of this level was indispensable. Although the Chip had previously simulated data and experimental materials, without actual samples, progress had only reached slightly above ten percent.
And across from him, a clone of a Morning Star Wizard stood waiting. He didn't need to defeat his opponent — he only needed to engage long enough. The data the Chip collected alone would give Lein an enormous harvest.