With the aid of the Sky Throne, the entire
Once the external energy storm passed, Wells looked at the scenery nearby and suddenly cried out in alarm: "The Akefulei Layer! Where did the Akefulei Layer go?"
Normally, beneath the Sky City there should have been a massive sea of black thunderclouds—a naturally formed landscape and also the Sky City's most formidable natural defense.
Even Crystallized Wizards would find it extremely difficult to cross alone, and for anyone below a Morning Star
But now, the enormous black thunder sea had completely vanished, leaving only a haze of condensed water vapor.
"Of course it's all been destroyed—even the Sky City ended up like this..." the Bright Moon Wizard said with a bitter smile.
Only then did Wells come back to his senses. Looking at the Sky City, which now resembled ruins, he lowered his head in dejection.
Although the Sky Throne's protection had saved the entire Sky City from total destruction and the main structure hadn't suffered catastrophic damage, more than half of the buildings had still been ravaged by the firestorm. The losses were incalculable.
Even the massive floating island itself had been scorched halfway through, looking incredibly unsightly.
"What... what exactly happened? Could this have been Leilin's doing? How is that possible?" Wells's eyes went blank with disbelief.
"This is peak Sixth Level! It involves the power of rules! It must be the ancient Son of the Sun's 'Solar Extinction'!" The Bright Moon Wizard's voice carried a note of gravity. "Although that Leilin somehow obtained the Son of the Sun's bloodline, the fact that he could reproduce this ancient attack through a bloodline imprint means his mastery of bloodline sorcery is probably unprecedented..."
"Was it Leilin?" A bitter taste welled up in Wells's heart. "Then Steward..."
"The Sky City is in this state. What could he have done?" The Bright Moon Wizard sighed wistfully. "After all, he was still a colleague..."
Watching his fellow colleague fall like this didn't sit well with him either.
"Steward defied my decree and unilaterally participated in the war between the Ouroboros Circle and the Thunder of Jupiter. I hereby declare him expelled from the Sky City!"
A strange voice echoed throughout the Sky City.
"That's the voice of the Sky Throne!" Wells blurted out. "Even His Excellency doesn't want to provoke Leilin anymore?"
Only now did he realize just how vast the gap between himself and Leilin truly was—so vast it could only inspire despair.
...
Boom!
The void shattered, and torrents of golden-red flames surged inward.
"What is this?" Jesiah had barely formed the thought when the golden-red flames instantly engulfed him, drawing out a piercing scream.
The golden-red solar fire showed no mercy to anything else, rampaging outward in every direction—even a Fifth Level Bright Moon Wizard's tower couldn't withstand it.
Faintly, a woman's shrill scream also emanated from Jesiah's arm.
"Damn it! It's the ancient Son of the Sun!"
"The ancient curse that clings to him—obey my command! Rain down the wrath of time and space upon him!" The woman's voice chanted rapidly.
Zzzzt! Accompanied by eerie and terrifying incantations, the black currents within the Pool of Sighs surged violently and all rushed out, entwining with the solar fire.
Numerous distorted spirits emerged from the void, forming a resilient membrane of light to block the scorching flames.
When the storm finally passed, the black currents in the Pool of Sighs had greatly diminished. All that remained of the original Jesiah was a single charred arm lying on the ground.
Crack! The charred arm exploded. Flesh and blood rapidly grew and reassembled into Jesiah once more.
But this time, not only was his complexion terribly grim—he was also covered in horrific burn scars.
"The ancient solar fire... Fortunately, the eruption occurred far from us, and the spatial corridor weakened its power by more than half. Otherwise, it wouldn't have been as simple as just costing you one life..."
The mysterious woman's voice rang out.
"Damn it! Damn it! How could this happen? Everything was supposed to go smoothly... Ugh..."
Jesiah's furious roar cut off halfway, as though someone had seized him by the throat. Wisps of flame reignited across his body.
"The Son of the Sun is a peak Sixth Level Wizard who has begun to attempt the comprehension of rules. Even a trace of rule-infused power within his flames is not so easily dispelled!"
The woman's voice carried a note of helplessness. A large quantity of the Pool of Sighs' water flew into the air, reshaping itself into a black robe that draped over Jesiah.
"Mm..." Jesiah exhaled with satisfaction.
Once he donned the black robe, the terrifying golden flames finally died down.
"The Son of the Sun? How did he accomplish that?" Jesiah was bewildered, with even a hint of fear.
He had to admit—this Leilin had brought forth too many miracles, giving him the uncanny feeling of having met his nemesis.
"I don't know!" The woman's voice turned cold. "What you should be worrying about is the Pool of Sighs... To save your sorry hide, I consumed more than half its accumulated energy. It will have to start accumulating all over again..."
"What?" When Jesiah saw that only a thin layer of black current remained, his face finally crumpled. "That's impossible! Just building this Pool of Sighs already cost me every last bit of my savings!"
"Therefore! The next phase of the plan should be set in motion..." the woman's voice intoned slowly.
The secret chamber fell into a long silence. It was a long while before a quiet murmur of agreement came in response.
...
The incident at the Sky City concluded with the fall of a Bright Moon Wizard. Such a figure's demise immediately swept across the entire continent like a hurricane.
A Great Wizard of the Bright Moon level! Even across the entire Central Continent, there were precious few of them—they were the true upper echelon of the wizarding world, the aspiration of countless young wizards, each one renowned and either commanding a major power or holding a high position beneath the Throne. Nearly every Bright Moon Wizard's life could be written into a rich and colorful legend.
But such a figure had actually fallen? And been killed by a Morning Star Wizard?
The first reaction of the countless wizards who heard this intelligence was outright disbelief. But when increasingly definitive evidence arrived—especially after the Sky Throne's official notice expelling Steward spread—the entire Central Continent sank into a strange, profound silence.
The wizarding community was collectively struck dumb. To forcibly slay a Bright Moon with Morning Star strength! This was beyond the realm of genius—it was something monstrous!
If even a Bright Moon could be slain, what did a Morning Star count for? And how many factions in the entire Central Continent possessed a Radiant Sun Throne?
As a result, numerous wizard organizations placed Leilin firmly on their list of individuals who must never be provoked. The Ouroboros Circle had recently received a flood of overt and covert gestures of goodwill and inquiries, with even the two Dukes kept running ragged.
And the protagonist of this entire event—the greatest Kemonin Warlock in all of history, or perhaps the greatest Morning Star ever—Duke Leilin Farell, had mysteriously vanished from public view.
Torrential rain poured from the sky, lightning flashing everywhere, with occasional meteors mixed in.
The direct consequence of this clash between the Bright Moon ultimate technique and the Sixth Level bloodline imprint was that roughly a tenth of the Central Continent, centered on the Sky City, had been affected. Abnormal climate was merely the mildest manifestation—filling the world-rifts that had been torn open would likely require tremendous effort from all the Throne-holders.
In a desolate mountain, a secret chamber had been carved into its belly, with no external passages. Countless concealment runes blanketed the surroundings, sealing the place tight.
A figure in a tattered white-gold wizard's robe leaned against the rock wall, gazing at the back of his own hand with a contemplative expression.
"My current combat power is comparable to a Bright Moon! And with the Sixth Level Son of the Sun's bloodline imprint on my body, the radiated influence is terrifyingly powerful! Even if every divination-system wizard on the entire Central Continent joined forces, they still couldn't find my traces..."
Leilin was supremely confident in his concealment abilities. Right now, unless a Radiant Sun Wizard who specialized in divination took personal action, there might be a chance of detecting some trace. But such wizards had appeared only a handful of times in the entire history of the Central Continent, and currently there were none at all—so he was perfectly at ease regarding his safety.
"I never expected the solar fire's backlash to be this severe!" Leilin recalled the events of that day, and a bitter smile still involuntarily appeared at the corner of his mouth.
Under the threat of Steward's Bright Moon ultimate technique, Leilin had boldly activated the bloodline imprint on his left hand, unleashing a terrifying strike reminiscent of the ancient Son of the Sun's resurrection!
The moment Solar Extinction was unleashed, the Bright Moon ultimate technique was completely shattered—and Steward himself perished on the spot.
Not only that—Leilin had even followed the curse's connection, driving a portion of the spell's destructive power to pursue the caster. Jesiah would be lucky to escape without losing a layer of skin.
But a Sixth Level's terrifying spell! Even when channeled through a bloodline imprint, it had nearly hollowed Leilin out entirely!
Furthermore, because Leilin himself was not at Sixth Level, and certainly was not the Son of the Sun, he suffered the solar fire's backlash as well!
Had it not been for the other bloodline imprint protecting his body, and the black flames of his Fire Feather Technique being extraordinarily effective against fire, the outcome would not have been mere severe injuries—it would have outright killed him!
Throughout history, there had been far more than one or two wizards who were consumed by the backlash of casting spells far beyond their actual level—and Leilin had nearly joined their ranks!
"Thank goodness I made it! If I'd been killed by my own spell, that would have been the most pathetic way to go!"
Leilin still shuddered at the memory.
"No matter what, at this point the injuries have finally healed. What should I do next? I need to give this some serious thought."