After Gegewu appeared, all the wizards present fell into an eerie silence.
They had the deepest possible understanding of how terrifying and troublesome the creature was.
Gegewu not only possessed formidable magical abilities, but could also replenish its body with wraiths and undead, recovering to its optimal state at any time. Even after being struck by the White Wizards' ultimate treasure, the Greedblade, it was only wounded—not killed—and after a brief period of dormancy, it quickly emerged once more to stir up chaos.
If it weren't for their inability to deal with the creature, the Soul Devouring Cult would never have risen to prominence on the South Coast, standing as equals against both White and Dark Wizards.
But now, the supreme leader of the Soul Devouring Cult—the object of their faith, that Gegewu who had caused untold terror—had been captured by the other side and suppressed beneath the steps?
The overwhelming sense of contrast left many wizards feeling as though they were trapped in an illusion.
But after several checks, they had no choice but to reluctantly accept the truth: even Leilin's subordinates possessed the strength to apprehend a peak third-rank wizard!
At the same rank of power, capturing someone alive was far more difficult than killing them. Every wizard present understood this principle.
If it had been Leilin himself who captured Gegewu, they might have simply felt even more awe. But when it was Leilin's subordinates who accomplished the feat, the effect was incomparably greater.
After the two Void Assassins gave a slight bow, they vanished back into the void. This mysterious method caused many of the wizards present to change color. Only now did they truly comprehend that with a single order from Leilin—even without lifting a finger himself—these two subordinates alone could eliminate every wizard present!
Once they realized this, they didn't even dare to let a single thought about Leilin cross their minds, fearing he might sense it.
"Gaah… gah… you are… Leilin!"
A hoarse voice emanated from the bone-white mask on Gegewu's horns, halting and broken, yet clearly brimming with far more vitality than when Leilin had first encountered it.
"Yes. What about that poor wizard mother and daughter? How are they now?"
Leilin asked calmly. He was referring to the old hag and her daughter from Trilijones City—the old witch who had not hesitated to strike a deal with Gegewu, even offering Leilin as a sacrifice, all to resurrect her daughter.
Of course, after Leilin's counterattack, they had reaped what they sowed, transformed into a two-bodied monster.
"They? I devoured them long ago! Two useless wastes…"
Gegewu's speech grew increasingly fluid.
"Is that so…" Leilin's eyes seemed to go distant for a moment, as though recalling some distant memory.
"Gaah!!!"
At that instant, two balls of blood-red flame erupted from beneath Gegewu's bone mask. Countless runes detonated across its body, and a thick black mist billowed outward.
"No! It's broken free from its restraints!" the wizards cried out in alarm and fury, colorful defensive auras flaring to life around their bodies.
"All things return to silence; only the eternal graveyard of souls… Gegewu!"
The earlier Gegewu had shouted words resembling a ritual incantation that now echoed continuously from the creature.
Boom! Amid the chanting, Gegewu's entire body detonated, and a multitude of spectral figures poured forth—old and young, male and female. The only thing they shared were twisted, hideous faces and the bloody tears streaming from their eyes.
"Heh heh! Perish together—Soul Cataclysm!!!"
The bone mask shattered into powder, scattering across the sky as motes of light merged into the spectral figures. The horrifying aura they radiated was enough to make the leader of the Black Night Lighthouse blanch.
A peak third-rank Gegewu had already placed half a foot on the threshold of Morning Star. An attack born from the creature's total self-destruction—no fellow third-rank wizard had the slightest confidence of surviving it.
He knew full well that if the full power of this spell were to detonate and spread, not only would every wizard in the auditorium perish, but even the Black Bone Forest Academy itself would not be spared.
"I have no choice! Using a secret technique will drain what little life force I have left, but it's still far better than dying right now!"
The Black Night leader growled. Dense, fine black runes materialized around his body, swimming through the air like tadpoles, on the verge of colliding with those spectral entities.
Hum! Hum! Hum!
At that moment, a cascade of blue starlight descended. The Black Night leader's entire body shuddered as he realized with horror that his spiritual power had fallen completely stagnant. Even the secret technique he had desperately activated was forcibly suppressed, yet he felt no weakness whatsoever—clearly, even the backlash had been quelled, without consuming a single shred of his life force.
"This… this is…"
The Black Night leader's eyes went wide as he beheld the field of stars extending from behind Leilin.
Pale blue starlight, cool and luminous, pierced through layer after layer of the Black Bone Forest's defenses and through the ground itself, descending into the auditorium and transforming its ceiling into a night sky. Pinpricks of starlight drifted downward, casting kaleidoscopic patterns of light and shadow.
Accompanying the starlight was an immense pressure that repelled elemental particles. Even the Dark Night Domain—the Black Night leader's proudest creation—burst like a bubble under this force.
"Aah… gaah… screech…"
The spectral figures hovering in midair froze like insects trapped in amber, utterly immobilized. Not a single wizard was harmed.
"This… this is…" The Black Night leader trembled, nearly collapsing to his knees involuntarily. "The Morning Star Domain of a Morning Star
Compared to the false domain of a third-rank wizard, the true Morning Star Domain, once unleashed, displayed a terror so absolute that the former seemed like a joke.
"Gegewu! Did you really think I hadn't noticed your little trick?"
Leilin's expression remained placid as he regarded the multitude of phantoms in the void. With a casual grab, one bewildered spirit was drawn of its own accord into his hand.
Instantly, the spirit's expression twisted into a savage snarl. Its body was cloaked in black, two small horns sprouting from its head as it roared ceaselessly at Leilin.
"A self-destruction on the surface, but in truth, you hid your consciousness within one of the phantoms? As long as even a single one of these spirits or wraiths escaped, you could possess a body and be reborn?"
Leilin cast a cold glance over the dense throng of wraiths in midair.
"A rather impressive ability. I suspect even an ordinary Morning Star wizard might have let you slip away through carelessness. Unfortunately for you… you're facing me!"
Leilin's right hand clenched.
Bang! The mass of wraiths detonated like popcorn, and a silver vortex coalesced, dragging all the spectral remnants into its depths.
"No!" An unwilling, furious roar echoed through the air before gradually fading into silence.
Every wraith generated by Gegewu's self-destruction—including the one Leilin had deliberately singled out—was utterly annihilated, drawn into the silver vortex.
Snap. The Morning Star Domain dissipated. Everything that had just transpired felt like a dream, yet had been utterly real.
"Anyan pays respects to Morning Star Wizard Lord Leilin Farell!"
At that moment, the voice of the Black Night Lighthouse leader rang out. He knelt respectfully on the ground, his expression one of fervent devotion, like a pilgrim before a sacred shrine.
"Lord Leilin!" Only then did the other wizards snap out of their daze and kneel as well, their faces flushed with overwhelming excitement.
Everything that had just occurred, combined with the appearance of the Morning Star Domain, had made it abundantly clear: the wizard seated in the place of honor, Leilin Farell, had truly reached the fourth rank!
And the South Coast, after thousands of years, once again had a Morning Star!
In that moment, some of the elderly wizards felt their vision blur, overcome by a surge of warmth.
…
Before the metal gate guarded by numerous White Wizards, elite first-rank wizards stood at the highest state of alert.
In several nearby buildings, the fluctuations of a handful of second-rank wizards could be faintly detected.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Three figures materialized from the void and flew toward the metal gate.
"Halt! This is the entrance to the Ganges Secret Realm, under the protection of the Black Night Lighthouse! What do you intend?"
A spiritual transmission came through, and then the wizard standing at the far left let out a cold snort as brilliant emerald light blazed from his eyes. "It's me!"
"Lord Leader!" The third-rank wizard's spiritual pressure radiated outward, prompting the guarding wizards to press their right hands to their chests in salute.
The three figures touched down, revealing the forms of two others beside the Black Night leader Anyan.
On the right was a beautiful sorceress with a delicate, doll-like face. But at this moment, she and Anyan both stepped back of their own accord, clearing the way, as though they dared not stand shoulder to shoulder with the wizard in the center.
The wizard in the middle wore a black academic robe with dark gold trim, impeccably tailored, radiating an air of noble authority. A black mask covered his face, inscribed with arcane patterns.
This attire, combined with the honored status of being escorted by the leader himself, immediately told the guarding wizards the identity of the visitor.
In the past, there had been no wizard on the South Coast who could make the leader himself step aside. But that situation had changed dozens of days ago.
The guarding wizard knelt respectfully and called out the visitor's name: "Welcome, great Morning Star Wizard Lord Leilin Farell…"
"We are entering the Ganges Secret Realm. Prepare immediately!" Anyan stepped forward to issue the command.
Leilin gave a casual nod and stood beside the metal gate with Niss.
"The Ganges Secret Realm… it's been quite some time!"
Leilin gazed at the enormous metal gate before him, a look of reminiscence in his eyes.
The perilous scene of his advancement to the second rank surfaced almost instantly, every figure as vivid as though it had happened only yesterday…