Homer Blue, Ancient Ice, Scarlet Ice

Ronan stayed in the Uta Clan for only one day before saying goodbye to Evaqu and leaving.

As Ronan carried Moriel through the endless clouds, he pondered his next move.

He doesn't want to return to the Silver Magic Ring for the time being; with Moriel in tow, the entire south doesn't seem safe.

Adding to the issues that needed to be resolved on my own, I thought, "Why not take this opportunity to leave the south and go home?"

Ronan quickly made up his mind, opened the southern map, and flew in one direction.

Two days later, in a bustling wizard town.

In front of a small house with Black Swan pattern carved on the door, a slender girl sat on a brown wooden bench.

She was wrapped in a black wizard's robe that didn't quite fit, almost completely concealing her body, with only her white calves showing above her brand-new Deerskin Boots.

The girl sat quietly when a young wizard passed by the door. He was attracted by her unique aura. His gaze swept over her exposed, fair skin, and his eyes flashed with curiosity and desire. He stopped and couldn't help but reach out to grab the girl.

"What you up to?"

Just as the young wizard's hand was about to touch the edge of the veil on the girl's head, a cold voice suddenly rang out.

The young wizard was startled and instinctively withdrew his hand as if electrocuted. Turning his head to look at the sound, he saw a handsome young wizard standing under the Black Swan patterned door.

The spiritual energy emanating from him was like a vast ocean tsunami, instantly engulfing the young wizard. The coldness contained in his deep blue eyes almost froze his soul.

"I'm sorry, sir. I didn't know she was yours... I meant no harm."

The young wizard fell silent, his face pale, and stammered an explanation.

As a Level One Wizard, he felt that his mental strength was less than one-thousandth of the person in front of him. If he had drunk the "regret potion" that would allow him to travel back to a minute ago, the young wizard swore he would kick his own butt a minute ago. Heaven knows what kind of terrifyingly powerful figure he had offended! Fortunately, the other party did not seem to want to make a big deal out of it.

"Roll!"

Yes, yes.

The young wizard felt like he had been granted a pardon and practically scrambled away, having long forgotten the purpose of his visit.

"Lord Linas, do you need us?"

Behind the handsome young wizard, a middle-aged, overweight man wearing half- Crystal Glasses watched the departing wizard and whispered a few words.

The former shook his head slightly, and the middle-aged fat man immediately shut up, then bowed respectfully and politely, saying, "A ship will be heading to the port in three days. We'll have to trouble you then, Lord Linas..."

The handsome young man said nothing, but walked up to the black-robed girl who had just been almost harassed and casually said, "Let's go."

The latter "obediently" got up and followed the young man obediently as they left together.

Homer Blue, a small wizarding town with a population of less than 20,000, is even smaller than the former Hoddam.

It is said that this town was founded by a Wandering Wizard named "Homer Blue" and has gradually developed into what it is today.

Ronan strolled through the town's streets, casually toying with a Rune Stone bearing a special mark—a pattern of a Black Swan.

Coincidentally, the fleet he found that was preparing to return home was the "Black Swan" merchant guild, which he had once taken when he traveled from the Silver Magic Ring to White Stone Fortress.

The Black Swan Chamber of Commerce's main business is shipping, and its fleet of ships is spread throughout the south like a flock of geese.

In fact, Ronan had a better option: Falin, the genius wizard from the Arcane Workshop whom he met during the battle. Contacting him should be able to arrange everything for Ronan. The Arcane Workshop's influence was much greater than that of "Black Swan." However, Ronan did not want to reveal his whereabouts at the moment, and he was using the alias Linas to contact "Black Swan."

Ronan's "hometown" is collectively referred to by the Southern Wizard World as the "East Coast Region".

According to the theory of "world fragmentation and stratification", it should be a small piece of fragmented land composed of some continental corners. Of course, it is large enough for the Secular Kingdom, and its position is even "floating" higher than the entire Upper Ring Continent.

There are many regions similar to the "East Coast," which have always maintained stable communication channels with the Wizard World, with regular ships traveling back and forth every year.

The most recent flight was originally scheduled for three months later, but Ronan only slightly revealed his status as Third Level Wizard to the "Black Swan" Merchant Guild, and the latter immediately agreed to arrange a ship for him to the East Coast, not only waiving Ronan's ticket but also giving him a portion of the reward.

Three days later, a caravan from the "Black Swan" merchant guild will pass through Homer Blue. Ronan will follow the caravan to the port and then take a ship to his hometown on the "East Coast".

If all goes well, he will be able to return to his "homeland" in about two months.

Thinking back on the upcoming itinerary, Ronan slowly put away the token given to him by the "Black Swan" Merchant Guild. Before he knew it, he had arrived at the hotel that the guild had arranged for him.

"Next time you encounter a similar situation..."

Sunlight slanted across the wooden signboard, casting a shadow on the street in front of the inn. Ronan stopped in front of the shadow and said to Moriel behind him, "Remember to let me know in time."

Moriel remained silent within her wide black robe, slightly raising her head to reveal half of her pale, exquisitely beautiful face.

Is it necessary?

Her voice was cold and clear as she walked past Ronan into the hotel in front of her. In a calm yet resentful tone, she said in a low voice, "Anyway, I will get back at you a thousand times over for everything I'm going through now."

Ronan frowned, watching Moriel's figure slowly disappear from sight, feeling an immense headache.

After leaving Evaqu, Ronan wondered if he could reconcile with Moriel.

But it seems that because she has suffered a lot under his command during this period, she now "hates him to the bone." The more "obedient" she is to Ronan, the more Ronan can feel the surging "hatred" in her heart.

There was even a tendency to blame him for all of this, even though he was the biggest "victim," right? Ronan became more and more agitated as he thought about it. Moriel was someone he couldn't easily throw away, but keeping her around was like a time bomb, and he didn't know when it would explode. He really didn't know how to solve the problem.

"We can only take it one step at a time."

Ronan exhaled a breath of stale air and entered the inn.

Entering his own small room, Moriel's room was next door, and he could hear her even breathing.

Ronan temporarily set aside his distractions and immersed himself in ascetic practices.

He had so much to organize, and time simply wasn't enough for him.

Two days passed quickly.

In the quiet room, the light of the Rune Array flickered faintly, and the air seemed to stand still.

At the center of the magic circle, a tall and slender figure sat cross-legged with his upper body bare. Thick black-blue frost transformed into the shape of a python, silently coiling and swirling around him.

Long, dark blue and white hair was spread out on the floor, and beautiful ice flowers condensed along the floor's texture. The temperature had already dropped below freezing.

"Hiss--"

With a hissing sound like a snake inhaling, all the icy chill in the room converged on the figure. The ancient, evil, and noble auras receded, the dark blue gradually faded, and with a series of cracking sounds from his joints, Ronan returned to normal and Awakening from his cultivation.

"Once the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline concentration reaches six percent, the amplification effect on Ice Magic becomes even stronger."

Ronan raised his hands to look at the smooth, delicate skin on the backs of his hands, which had previously been covered with ancient patterns resembling snake scales.

Since completely separating from Hecalto, Ronan has been exploring the mysteries of the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline.

He called that state of fully unleashing the power of his bloodline—[Ancient Ice].

In the [Ancient Ice] state, the frost power he possesses will transform into "Ancient Frost" under the blessing of bloodline power. That is, it will change from the normal dark blue to a dark blue-black color, and the icy coldness will be greatly enhanced.

If one were to further explore the power of their bloodline in this state, they might step into the "forbidden realm."

That was a "Forbidden Door" left in his body by Hecalto after he made a deal with Hecalto —behind which lay the power of killing and death.

The ancient frost will turn red, Ronan's will will be dominated by a part of the Hydra's violent instincts, transforming him into a ferocious and terrifying monster.

This door cannot be opened easily; the more times it is opened, the smaller Ronan's chances of winning in his game against "Hecalto" will become.

This state was also referred to by Ronan as "Scarlet Ice".

"The forbidden power of [Scarlet Ice] cannot be used frequently. It is not a power that entirely belongs to me. Once I become addicted to it, I fear that Hecalto will not even need to descend again; I will naturally become His servant and puppet."

Ronan took a deep breath and took out "Helamus's Magic Armband" again, gently stroking its crystal-smooth and delicate surface in his palm.

Ronan had once ventured into forbidden territory and yearned for the scenery of that level. Since he couldn't explore the [Forbidden. Red Ice] in depth, the power of the Forbidden Black Hole brought by the "Helamus Law Adept Arm Ring" naturally became his primary research subject.

However, the "Helamus Inheritance" contained within this armlet is far too profound and vast, and to fully analyze and comprehend it would undoubtedly be an enormous undertaking.

"I wonder how many parts of the legacy left by Helamus were there in total? If each part contains a similarly vast amount of different knowledge, is it really possible for later generations to completely inherit Helamus's complete mantle?"

Every time Ronan probed his mental energy into the arm ring space and saw the vast sea of runes like a starry sky, he couldn't help but exclaim in amazement.

A legend is called a legend precisely because it is unrepeatable.

The entire Upper Ring Continent has only produced one Helamus in countless years; the probability of another wizard comparable to him appearing is extremely small.

Ronan naturally hoped to become such a successor, but for now, all he could do was patiently and painstakingly gnaw on the inherited knowledge left by Helamus in the armlet, like the Foolish Old Man Who Moved Mountains.

"Tap—tap—tap—"

At that moment, Ronan suddenly heard a soft, rhythmic tapping sound.

He listened carefully and realized that the sound was coming from next door.

After a moment's hesitation, Ronan slowly probed his mental energy into the next room.

He soon "saw" that Moriel was sitting by the window, tapping the wooden windowpane alternately with the index and middle fingers of her right hand, and that she seemed to be chanting something softly.

It's like an ancient and beautiful ballad.

For some reason, Ronan felt a strange stirring in his heart.

He had never seen Moriel like this before; she was completely different from the image he had always had of her.

It was very peaceful and serene.

Yet, a deep longing and sorrow were revealed on her face and in her singing.

"Does this seemingly unpleasant and unruly Witch also have such a hidden side?"

"Perhaps this 'misfortune' made her realize something."

Ronan thought to himself.

Suddenly, the singing and knocking sounds from next door stopped abruptly.

During the mental energy detection, Moriel, who was sitting by the window, suddenly stood up, looked at him with a cold smile, and her mouth shape changed as if she was cursing some unpleasant words.

Ronan felt a sense of shame at being caught spying, and immediately realized that Moriel had captured his surface emotional fluctuations in the "symbiotic" state.

He was about to withdraw his mental energy and pretend that nothing had happened.

Just then, Moriel, who had been glaring at him coldly, suddenly turned pale and abruptly turned around to look up at the sky outside the window.

Around the same time, Ronan suddenly felt an extremely strong sense of alarm.

The feeling was as if some extremely terrible danger was rapidly approaching him.

This warning sign also originated from Moriel! "Boom!"

Before Ronan could think, his mental energy suddenly spread out, transforming into an invisible force that directly tore apart the walls separating the two rooms.

He passed through the hole in the wall and instantly arrived beside Moriel.

"They're here?!"

Ronan looked solemnly at the sky, following Moriel's gaze with a serious expression.

"Get out of here immediately!"

Moriel shook her head and murmured, "It's too late."

Suddenly, her expression changed rapidly, revealing a smile that was both slightly manic and relieved.

"You've come at the perfect time! Perfect time to kill you, you despicable vermin!"

Moriel looked at Ronan with a beaming smile, a sense of pride and delight in her expression.

"I won't die so easily, but you are; once you're dead, it's really over, hehe."

"Bang! Crack—"

Ronan's large hand struck Moriel's smooth, beautiful nape hard, abruptly stopping Moriel seductive, wicked laughter, which turned into a painful groan. She then abruptly raised her head, biting her lower lip while glaring at him with her tear-filled eyes, as if she were about to pounce on him and bite him at any moment.

Ronan frowned. He had originally planned to knock Moriel unconscious, but he hadn't expected her to have such high "stun resistance." Even with his shoulder bone almost broken, she still hadn't passed out.

Without even bothering to deliver another blow, Ronan grabbed Moriel and flew out of the window.

At this moment, he clearly sensed that a vast spiritual force at the Level Four Dawn Realm, containing a strong, cold, and sinister aura, had traversed numerous spatial distances and was pouring down from the sky.

Looking up from a visual perspective, a thick, almost impenetrable gray cloud swept rapidly from one side of the sky above the vast town of Homer Blue Wizards, just like a tidal wave.

Within the gray clouds, the figure of a middle-aged man clad in pale bone armor and sporting purple hair appeared and disappeared.

Ronan's pupils contracted, and he took a deep breath.

Suddenly, as if making a firm decision, a crimson light flashed deep in her eyes. She abruptly threw Moriel to the ground, fiercely knocked on the "Forbidden Door" within her body, and was about to rush directly towards the figure.

"You go quickly, I'll try to hold him off for a while!"

Book recommendation. "Starting from Eight Hundred Sparrows, I'll Grind My Way to Godhood"

Synopsis: When Cao Xing opened his eyes, he saw his parents being skinned and dismembered. He realized that this was a cannibalistic world.

Thank goodness.

He has cheat codes.

Starting point: Command 800 sparrows to seize the black market!