The Mother of Myriad Serpents' beautiful eyes seemed to pierce through the river of fate, gazing upon a fragment of the future.
After uttering the prophecy, the Mother of Myriad Serpents was once again enveloped by the sphere of serpents, appearing to sink into slumber.
"What's going on? This feeling of being watched, and a bad premonition!"
At the very instant the Mother of Myriad Serpents' gaze fell upon the Wizard World, Leilin—who was in mid-flight—felt every hair on his body stand on end. Fear and a sense of awe constantly welled up in his heart.
"The Mother of Myriad Serpents…"
Leilin's mouth tasted bitter. He hadn't expected that simply advancing to rank 5 Warlock and reaching the Brilliant Moon tier would draw her attention.
"But! This is the Wizard World—getting here wouldn't be so simple for her!"
Whether this attention was benign or not, the current Leilin wanted absolutely nothing to do with an existence of that caliber. He had always preferred to plan carefully before acting. Even regarding the Mother of Myriad Serpents, he hoped to seek her out himself when he was fully prepared, rather than having her come to him—that would put him in a far too passive position.
"Brilliant Moon-level strength is probably insufficient to attract the Mother of Myriad Serpents' attention. Unless…"
Leilin rubbed his chin, the sharp light in his eyes flickering rapidly. "Unless it's my Comorin Serpent Emperor bloodline that has made her feel… threatened?"
Leilin couldn't help but turn his gaze to the bloodline information displayed by the Chip, focusing on the line about the Dominance ability.
"The Comorin Serpent Emperor holds supreme dominion over Comorin Giant Serpents and their bloodline descendants! Could this have overlapped and conflicted with the Mother of Myriad Serpents' dominion ability?"
Leilin suddenly had a strong urge to test something—if he and the Mother of Myriad Serpents both gave a command to the same Comorin Warlock at the same time, what would that person do?
But this crazy thought was immediately suppressed.
With his current strength, challenging the Mother of Myriad Serpents' authority was truly a death wish.
The Comorin Serpent Emperor's Dominance ability had, in reality, only given him a breakthrough point—a seed—to pierce through her control. It still needed constant nurturing before that seed could finally blossom and bear fruit, forming something resembling hope.
And before that day came, what he needed was to remain low-key, silently accumulate strength, and prepare to soar to the heavens—waiting until he had thoroughly broken through the shackles of the bloodline and severed the Mother of Myriad Serpents' control once and for all!
…
"Found it! This is the place—the Great Asura Volcano!"
Several figures shrouded entirely in black robes materialized in the sky above the volcano. Massive eruptions of molten magma parted around them without causing the slightest disturbance.
"Time Reversal!" One of the black-robed figures solemnly cast a wizardry spell. Brilliant streams of light coalesced at his fingertips.
A semi-transparent mirror surface suddenly materialized before him, revealing hazy, indistinct scenery.
"Carol, it's your turn now—after all, you're best at this sort of thing…" Once the mirror had been summoned, the black-robed wizard who had cast it was clearly somewhat fatigued. He addressed another wizard standing behind him.
"Of course!" Though the wizard behind him was also clad in black robes, she was noticeably shorter than the other figures, and her voice was soft and melodic.
"Essence Extraction!" She stepped up to the luminous screen, her right hand smooth and lustrous as polished jade, passing through the mirror's surface to seize a wisp of dark aura.
A low hum resonated through the air. As soon as the wisp of aura appeared, magical artifacts on several of their bodies erupted with brilliant light and sound.
"The Hound's Nose is reacting—it looks like he really did come here, and not long ago!"
The leading wizard spoke with certainty.
"We once thought he'd return to the South Coast, but instead the bastard burrowed underground like a rat!"
One of the wizards gritted his teeth.
Leilin's methods of concealment were far too sophisticated—even Divination Wizards had been completely helpless against him, making things all the more difficult for these hunters.
However, through the vast intelligence network of their powerful backing and brute-force methods like process of elimination, they had finally tracked down Leilin's trail.
"A bloodline Warlock's body has been reinforced—their hide makes the finest material for works of art! And this Leilin's leather will become the most perfect treasure in my study!"
The wizard who had spoken earlier clearly harbored a deep grudge against Leilin, his entire being radiating a dangerous aura.
"Eugene, if you don't drop that disgusting habit of yours, I'll sever all ties with you!"
The witch from before shrieked.
"Enough! Although our target is only a Morning Star, he is universally acknowledged to possess Brilliant Moon combat strength and must not be underestimated!"
The leading wizard cut off Eugene and Carol's exchange. "Everyone, stay on your guard. Brilliant Moon Wizards have fallen at his hands. If you don't want your true spirits returning to the Star Realm, then keep your wits about you and don't underestimate him!"