"A legend? What legend?"
Carl wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. Her True Spirit had already been damaged during the earlier Dream Curse, and her combat power was clearly not at its peak.
"I only heard about it from the Throne — the Comorin Giant Serpent Wizards carry the bloodline of the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, and there is an extremely slim chance that a fifth-level Emperor can appear among them!"
The leader's voice was exceptionally gloomy; Carl and Eugene could even detect a hint of concealed trembling in it. "When the Comorin Snake Emperor appears, the entire Comorin race will unite under its banner, forging a new era of glory for Bloodline Wizards..."
"Something so obviously prophetic — who would believe that?"
Eugene curled his lip in contempt.
"If it were merely a prophecy, then naturally no one would believe it. But what if the one who made the prophecy was Grand Astrologer Delareck — and he perished because of it?"
The leader cast a glance at Eugene.
"Delareck? The Brilliance Moon
"That is why our organization, while suppressing Bloodline Wizards, has been closely monitoring the Ouroboros Circle as well. If not for our fear that the turbulence of Destiny would drive them underground, the Ouroboros Circle would have been eradicated by us long ago..."
The wizard slowly revealed a piece of hidden history.
"So their bloodline hope — that would be Leylin?" Carl's expression grew heavy.
"Yes! Today, no matter the cost, Leylin must perish here!"
Several Brilliance Moon Wizards communicated via Soul Power, reaching their decision in the span of a single heartbeat. And it was at that very moment that the colossal black serpent struck.
A blood-red crescent energy blade shot forth from the belly of the serpent phantom, aimed directly at Carl.
"That's a high-grade magic artifact attack!"
The expressions of several Brilliance Moon Wizards shifted rapidly as Carl retreated at full speed. Her Innate Defensive Wizardry activated in a flash, and one by one, items radiating the fluctuations of mid-grade magic artifacts detonated around her, clashing against the blood-red energy blade.
After three mid-grade magic artifacts had exploded in succession, the blood-red energy blade finally dissipated, revealing Carl's figure behind it — her face as pale as that of a corpse.
"So it was you who ambushed me?"
The phantom of a colossal serpent coiled behind him as a warlock of unnervingly beautiful features looked coldly at the three Wizards before him.
A single sweep of his gaze was enough to make the three Brilliance Moon Wizards' scalps tingle, as though they had been locked onto by some nightmarish apex predator.
The newcomer possessed an almost inhumanly gorgeous face. Though Carl had already studied his files and recordings countless times, she still had to admit that this high-level Warlock called Lei Lin was the sort of man who could drive any witch to madness.
The involuntary aura of spiritual charm he radiated was already quite comparable to an advanced illusion attack.
"Who are you?" Lei Lin regarded the three Wizards opposite him, his mind stirring slowly.
His greatest enemy on the Central Continent, Thunder of Jupiter, fielded only a single Brilliance Moon Wizard — Jethya — yet every one of the three standing before him was at least Jethya's equal. They were complete strangers to Lei Lin.
"Could it be the Sky Throne's forces? Or some other hidden hand that fears my growth?"
Lei Lin's thoughts raced. At that moment, the Chip relayed the data it had gathered.
"Two peak New Moon Wizards and one Full Moon-level Brilliance Moon Wizard! If this were the old me, even with the Scorching Sun Annihilation bloodline wizardry, I probably couldn't have killed them all..."
These three Brilliance Moon Wizards had clearly come to erase him, and the realization instantly sharpened Lei Lin's wariness to a razor's edge.
"Just who are you?"
He spoke in a measured tone. Meanwhile, the Chip was meticulously scanning the auras and fluctuations emanating from the three. There were only so many Brilliance Moon Wizards across the entirety of the Central Continent — he could cross-reference each one later and inevitably trace their origins.
For now, all Lei Lin needed was to vent his fury.
There was no denying it — their earlier Dream Curse had pushed him well past his limit.
"Lei Lin? Phyreir! To have broken through the bloodline limitations of the Comoan Giant Serpent and ascended to the fifth tier — you truly are the most gifted bloodline talent I have ever laid eyes on. But no matter how extraordinary your talent may be, you will fall here today!"
The leader of the three Wizards fixed his gaze on Lei Lin. A flicker of wariness crossed his eyes before hardening into resolve in the blink of an eye.
"Brilliance Moon Wizardry Formation! Triune Spirit Convergence!"
A radiant Full Moon phantom rose from behind the leader, and at the Full Moon level, his soul force surged forth with a piercing, frigid brilliance.
Behind him, Eugene and Carl took up their positions at the other two corners, forming a loose triangle with the leader. Soul-force phantoms projected from their true spirits as well.
The three streams of cold, luminous soul force merged into one and shot toward Lei Lin like a bolt of white lightning.
"A contest of true spirits, then?" The colossal phantom of the Komodo Snake Emperor roared, and crimson runes began to spread across Lei Lin's body.
Truthfully, even after advancing to the Full Moon level and becoming a fifth-grade warlock, his true spirit still fell short against their combined might.
Once the three had completed their Three Spirits United wizard formation, Lei Lin felt his true spirit come under tremendous suppression, his very domain power being steadily eroded.
"My soul power may have reached the peak of the Crescent Moon level thanks to the stimulation of my bloodline, but facing three wizards of the same grade — one of whom is a Full Moon existence — is simply too draining..."
Lei Lin's brow furrowed, and behind him, the phantom of his own true spirit emerged. The soul power of the fifth grade was released without the slightest restraint.
Cold moonlight, carrying terrifying soul force, clashed against itself.
Compared to the expenditure of casting spells, combat at this tier was far more perilous — a single misstep could plunge one into an abyss of eternal damnation.
The void fell utterly silent, not a sound escaping into the world.
Yet invisible ripples propagated outward in every direction. Every creature caught in the shockwave of the soul battle — ordinary or extraordinary, even those who had reached the third tier — silently crumpled to the ground.
The terrifying soul fluctuations even reached the Alliance of Nature Academy. Despite the wizard formations in place and Lei Lin's prior precautions, the academy still suffered devastating casualties.
Pfft! Blood welled from Lei Lin's eyes, and he staggered back several steps.
In the soul power exchange just now, he had clearly been at a disadvantage, taking a measure of damage.
The Full Moon wizards opposite him were faring no better — the massive loss of soul power had left their faces deathly pale.
"You've already reached the peak of the Crescent Moon level?" The lead wizard stared at Lei Lin with utter disbelief.
He understood all too well how difficult advancement at the Full Moon tier was, and this man had clearly just recently advanced as a warlock. To have pushed his soul power to the peak of the Crescent Moon in such a short time was genuinely staggering.
A few threads of jealousy even began to coil in his heart, gnawing at his mind like venomous serpents.
"Surrender! In a contest of soul power, you are no match for us. The damage to your true spirit will only feed back into your physical body — you have nowhere left to retreat!"
The lead wizard glared at Lei Lin, whose skin was now seeping blood from beneath, and let out a cold snort.
"Is that so?" Lei Lin smiled coldly, sending a jolt of foreboding through his opponents.
"Devour!" The majestic and elegant phantom of the Komodo Snake Emperor materialized behind him, its serpentine maw opening wide toward the three Full Moon wizards.
A terrifying black hole took form, drawing into itself every object within its range — even light, and even time and space itself.
The overwhelming pull of its force was so tremendous it spawned a horrifying energy storm.
Boom! In an instant, the ground beneath the three Full Moon wizards crumbled into nothingness, while streams of Life Energy surged forth from every part of Lei Lin's body, healing his wounds at a furious pace.
"Hah… Come again!" Lei Lin roared, charging straight at the three wizards.
With the Devouring talent in his possession, he was practically immortal. He could even use the energy gained through his body to replenish his True Spirit, recovering instantly no matter how grave the wound — a downright cheat in wizard combat.
Pfft! The three combined their forces once more, and a blade of soul-light carved a gaping wound across Lei Lin's chest.
But in the blink of an eye, a torrent of Life Energy flowed in, flesh and muscle regenerated, and the injury was completely healed.
Lei Lin fought with reckless abandon, trading blow for blow. Blood-red energy blades sprayed in every direction, pushing the three opposing wizards ever closer to their limits. Carol, the weakest among them, was in the worst state — still reeling from the earlier backlash, she was now teetering on the verge of collapse.
"This can't go on! His regeneration is too terrifying!"
The wizard leader felt a chill creep into his heart. Trapped beneath the pull of the other's black hole, they not only had to watch for Lei Lin's attacks but also had to resist the hole's devouring force.
And Lei Lin was clashing with them without a shred of restraint. Even for the leader, such losses were becoming unbearable.
"He's clearly restoring his Life Energy by devouring large quantities of matter. Let's retreat into the rift between worlds — at least there won't be much debris there to fuel him!"
With a flash of insight, the leader identified the weakness — or rather, the flaw — of this Devouring ability.
If the battle took place in a void, Lei Lin's Devouring power would indeed be hampered. Even if it could consume space itself, the efficiency would inevitably drop, and the Life Energy produced would be drastically reduced.
"Thinking of running?" A flash of crimson passed through Lei Lin's eyes.
"Hsss!" The Komodo Snake Emperor's terrifying amber slit-pupils locked directly onto the weakest target — Carol.
A layer of greyish-white stony skin abruptly spread across her body.
Bang! Bang! Lei Lin let the enemy's attacks hammer into his back, scales and flesh exploding outward, and charged straight into the heart of the wizard formation. Numerous black shadow claws materialized and wrenched Carol free from within.