I Really Don't Want to Kill Arcane Circle People (Happy New Year, Everyone!)

After Cooper left, Ronan sat alone on the balcony for a while until a maid carrying freshly brewed tea interrupted his wandering thoughts.

The lightning and storm raging outside the energy [Protection] of the ""Silver Falcon" Airship" airship were indeed terrifying to ordinary people, but the fear shown by the girl in front of her was mostly feigned.

She trembled all over, putting on a pitiful appearance, and deliberately raised her full breasts when Ronan's gaze fell on her.

Ronan didn't drink the tea; he simply waved for the girl to leave. As she obediently bowed her head, a hint of undisguised disappointment flashed in her eyes.

Ronan glanced one last time at the entrance to the Storm Realm, which resembled the Eye of the Sky, then turned his gaze back to the direction where Cooper had disappeared, before calmly turning and leaving.

As soon as Ronan stepped into the meditation room, his body suddenly trembled slightly.

A faint look of surprise flashed across his face, and he sat down cross-legged on the spot.

He used his mental energy to look inward at himself and saw a small sacred tree pattern spinning rapidly in the location of his heart.

The heart expanded continuously as the sacred tree rotated. The instant the rotation stopped, the heart, which was nearly twice its normal size, rapidly shrank like a deflated balloon. Immediately afterward, red threads resembling capillaries grew from around the shrunken heart. "The first bloodline deduction is complete."

Ronan blinked, and with a mix of hope and expectation, he manipulated the red threads to extend in all directions, each one piercing into his flesh.

In an instant, Ronan felt his skin tighten suddenly, and then his already smooth skin seemed to become even more delicate, taking on a moonlight-like color under the light of the Illumination Crystal in the quiet room.

"What is being purified is the bloodline of the Moonlight Elf within me."

Ronan let out a soft breath, directly severing the red threads within his body from further altering his bloodline. This simulation could be considered a complete failure.

I wouldn't say I was disappointed.

The chances of successfully selecting the Ancient Frost Hydra on the first simulation were extremely slim, and he had never been known for his luck.

Ronan had even prepared for the worst, that is, the exhaustion of his Bloodline Origin and still not getting the result he wanted.

Ronan calculated that this simulation, from start to finish, took less than nine months.

Looking at the data on the Character Panel again, the bloodline concentration of "Ancient Frost Hydra" under the [Talent] column has decreased from 6% to 5%.

"That means I can only attempt five more simulations. If I fail after five attempts, I will completely lose the Ancient Frost Hydra Bloodline."

Ronan was not particularly affected by this result.

If he could use this to completely break free from the control of Hecalto's will, it wouldn't be unacceptable. However, he would have to find another way to resolve the entanglement caused by the "Posilena Soul Contract".

Seeing that the Saint Tree Magic Array on his heart continued to operate, Ronan withdrew his attention.

The worse the situation, the harder we must work in our current spiritual practice.

During this period of arduous training, Ronan devoted almost all his energy to practicing the [Primordial Star Meditation Technique]. With his current level of mental strength, he could complete a basic star chart calculation in about two to three days.

Each time he completed a deduction, his proficiency in the [Primordial Star Meditation Technique] increased by one. When his proficiency in the [Primordial Star Meditation Technique] reached "Entry-level (23/100)", he finally fully understood the core [Law Control] rune within the Helamus Law Control Armlet.

Ronan rationally divided the entire [Law Control] rune into six parts, which were then inscribed on his six missing Spiritual Power Crystal.

He has already begun the first part of the rune inscription. Whether he will succeed depends on whether this first step can be completed perfectly as he expects. If he cannot, he will have to start over and consider a more detailed breakdown plan.

During this time, Ronan experienced the aftereffects of the "Dream of Reincarnation" that Alazan had mentioned.

The specific symptom is that, when he is thinking or meditating, some memories of his dream experiences from those seventy-two years ago will occasionally pop up in his mind.

In reality, the impact is not significant, and the frequency of the symptoms is not high, but Alazan still provided a solution—an ancient potion recipe called "Clarity Potion".

The name of the potion reminded Ronan of a potion called "Sleepy Potion" that he had taken when he was still struggling as an apprentice in the Hoddam Treehouse Area. The names of the two potions were quite similar, but their quality, the knowledge contained in their formulas, and the understanding of Magic Potion Studies were worlds apart.

Ronan and Alazan had carefully discussed the recipe together. Based on his knowledge and Alazan's profound expertise in Magic Potion Studies, 90% of the ingredients needed for the recipe could be replaced in the current Wizard World.

There is one material that cannot be replaced: "Clarity Snake Venom".

According to Alazan, the Clarity Snake is not a creature of this world and is not considered rare, but it requires opening Space Passage to travel to another world to capture it. In Alazan's time, this was not a difficult task at all, and he even knew the coordinates of several worlds where the Clarity Snake was confirmed to exist.

But for the Wizard World today, and for Ronan today, achieving this would be extremely difficult.

The Wizard World currently doesn't know if "Clarity Snake" or "Clarity Snake Venom" still exists, so Ronan can only temporarily put the preparation of this potion on hold and see if he can gather the materials in the future.

Without the aid of "Clarity Potion," relying solely on the soul's self-purification ability, the safest and most stable interval between two "dream entries" is three years.

Considering Ronan's willpower far surpasses that of a normal wizard, and that he was able to live out his entire 72-year life in his first dream, Alazan suggested that it should be at least a year.

Ronan privately considered shortening this time to six months. As usual, Ronan was practicing meditation. In his Consciousness Space, ancient stars transformed and scattered, and starlight flowed.

Suddenly, a giant Golden Ladybug streaked across the sky like a burning comet. Ronan was jolted awake and slowly exited his meditative state.

Immediately afterwards, some unclear images began to appear in his mind.

Intermittent voices could be heard coming from the screen, giving Ronan the feeling of watching an old-fashioned television with a poor signal reception.

"Do we, two level fours, really need to use this to deal with a level three kid?"

"The Purple Mist Flower Juice is to ensure absolute success. This was a plan personally devised by Fomingge. You should know his temperament; he's the kind of person who can't tolerate the slightest unexpected event."

"One-tenth of the amount is enough to turn him into a lamb to the slaughter. Such precious poison cannot be wasted on a mere level three. The rest we can divide equally. I happen to have something I need to do with the Purple Mist Flower Juice."

"I know what I'm doing."

"... If Goodman had known that the disciples he neglected and sent to the south would one day bring him such a huge reward, he probably wouldn't have risked trying to reach level six ten years ago."

"... Fomingge is talented, resourceful, and ambitious. He has been planning for this day for two hundred years. This is what he deserves. Everything was destined long ago and will not be changed by anyone or anything."

"You said, after we receive the inheritance, if..."

"Get rid of those unrealistic ideas in your head, Lumian, or you'll get yourself into trouble."

Ronan watched the two people, one standing and one sitting, talking in the scene until the image completely disappeared from his mind.

In the quiet meditation room, the magic array flickered with a faint light, and an inexplicable oppressive atmosphere slowly spread.

After a long silence, Alazan's voice broke the calm.

"It seems your concerns are unfounded. How do you plan to deal with this?"

Ronan pondered for a moment and then said, "There are too many uncertainties here, and I am not entirely confident."

"So what are your thoughts?"

"Let's find a way to leave early."

Ronan calmly said, "I've tried. Although the [Protection] array on the outside of this airship [Fortify], I have ways to break through it quickly. However, if I want to do it without alerting them, I might need your help."

Alazan remained silent for a few breaths before slowly saying, "Okay."

Ronan nodded and closed his eyes again.

He continued his meditation, which had been interrupted.

My emotions remained completely calm, as if nothing had ever happened.

On the first floor of the garden villa, a well-built maid carried steaming dishes and hurried upstairs to the second floor.

As you turn a corner on the stairs, time seems to stand still.

A tall, slender figure slowly emerged from the wall.

Cooper reached out and gently stroked a steaming bowl of thick soup on the maid's tray, a few barely visible powder particles falling from his fingernail into the soup.

The white steam rising from the thick soup instantly transformed into a mysterious and beautiful purple, like a blooming Roland. In the blink of an eye, all the purple faded, and "still time" resumed its flow.

Unaware of what was happening, the maid continued her ascent upstairs and soon arrived at the door of a room at the far end of the second floor.

After a gentle knock, the door opened from the inside, and a handsome young man with white hair, dressed in a black robe with silver trim, stepped out.

The maid carefully presented the plate, and the latter's eyes swept over all the food. He naturally picked up the silver spoon, scooped up the most tempting-looking soup from the plate, and took a sip.

After tasting the food, the young man showed a slightly satisfied expression. He accepted the food, waved his hand, and the maid who had served him respectfully withdrew.

The instant the door closed again, Cooper's figure appeared silently in front of the door like a ghost, gave a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and then vanished into nothingness.

The spring water gurgles, and in the beautiful and tranquil garden, two figures appear side by side on the cobblestone flower path.

"It's been three days."

Lumian, who seemed to emanate wisps of heat, lightly brushed off his salamander-skin robe and spoke expressionlessly, "That kid should be nothing but a pool of pus and blood by now, right? His soul should be completely corroded as well."

Cooper, the true owner of the garden, walked calmly toward the house not far in front of him, shaking his head as he went.

"I didn't use much, otherwise I wouldn't have needed to wait three days. I estimate he would be in a near-death coma right now, but there's definitely no cure."

As he spoke, Cooper flipped his hand, and a crystal ball emitting a faint blue light appeared between his five fingers.

He glanced casually into the crystal ball, but his brows quickly furrowed.

"What? Is something wrong?"

Lumian noticed the unusual expression on Cooper's face and asked him a question.

Cooper didn't speak, but narrowed his eyes, and with a flicker, appeared directly on the second floor of the garden villa.

He raised his hand and waved it, and the door to a room at the far end of the second floor opened automatically.

The two stepped inside and immediately spotted a young man sitting cross-legged in the center of the room with his back to them.

"Good lad, he can still sit up."

A cold glint flashed in Lumian's eyes. He snorted and unleashed a powerful burst of spiritual energy. Just as he was about to make his move, someone else acted faster than him.

"Call--"

A deep purple ball of magical light, carrying a terrifying energy pressure, roared towards the figure sitting in the room, creating a series of continuous bursts of air along its path.

The young man sitting on the ground sensed this intense crisis and suddenly leaped up, only to be precisely struck by the Energy Light Sphere in the next moment.

"Bang—"

The figure exploded, most of its body was swallowed by the ball of light, and some fragments that looked like flesh and blood were scattered everywhere, hitting the surrounding walls with a crackling sound and triggering one [Protection] magic array after another.

Cooper reached out and grabbed some of the splattered "flesh and blood" in his hand.

Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that it was just some partially molten metal residue, mixed with tiny traces of blood.

"We've been tricked."

Cooper's face instantly turned grim and cold. "He used some kind of clone technique; his aura is almost identical to his original body, even fooling the monitoring array."

"Damn it."

Lumian spoke slowly, each syllable accompanied by a wave of heat more intense than lava.

"It's alright."

Cooper said expressionlessly, "Having been poisoned by the Purple Mist Flower Juice, he can't run very far even if he wants to."

It's just a matter of putting in a little more effort.

After saying that, Cooper uttered a rapid series of syllables as a spell. As he chanted the spell, the metallic residue and bloodstains he had just grabbed surged violently and quickly transformed into a strangely shaped, headless black moth, which then darted out of the room with a "whoosh".

The headless moth flew out of the room, passed straight through the external [Protection] array, and disappeared into the vast air turbulence and lightning outside the airship.

Cooper and his companion relentlessly pursued the headless moth, and after five hourglasses, the headless moth that had been leading the way suddenly exploded.

Beside the enormous eye of the storm, beneath a dark Sky Dome filled with dense clouds, storm, and lightning, a figure finally came into view.

Upon seeing the target, without any further words, the red-haired Lumian let out a long roar. Beneath his robes, layers of crimson light surged forth, transforming him into a blazing river of magma that instantly swept away all the storms and lightning in the area, swiftly blocking the figure in front of him.

A cold glint flashed in Cooper's eyes, and layers of Black Mist spread out from his body. In the blink of an eye, he also caught up with the figure in front of him, and together with Lumian, they blocked the figure firmly from the left and right.

The two figures, one in red and one in black, one fiery and one cold, possessed a terrifying aura befitting Level Four Dawn Wizard. This aura divided a small patch of sky into two colors, creating an energy hurricane even more terrifying than the outside world. Like a reinforced iron barrel, it sealed the young figure within.

"My dear Damien... why did you suddenly leave without saying goodbye?"

Cooper squinted at the young man in the robes below, asked with a bright smile, but his eyes were icy cold.

"Why waste words with him?!"

Lumian let out a low growl, like many voices overlapping, or like the impact of magma boulders, which shook the void and made it hum.

The hurricane created by the two men's auras caused the young man's robes to flutter wildly, and his hood to slip off.

The young man brushed aside the white hairs that had fallen across his face and sighed softly, "I thought I could escape this calamity."

"With those clumsy magical techniques?"

The red-haired Lumian sneered, his mouth burning like flames, "You think you can escape this time?"

"No."

The young man shook his head, then looked at the two of them and calmly said, "I was talking about you two."

Before he finished speaking, an incredibly dense golden halo suddenly emanated from the young man's body.

In an instant, a Spiritual Force Field far exceeding that of a typical fourth-level cultivator, as vast and powerful as a boundless ocean, tore through the heavy heat and chill in the void, like an incomparably dazzling golden sun rising slowly from the dark valley floor. "After all... I really don't want to kill people with the Arcane Circle."

Happy New Year everyone! Wishing you all a peaceful, healthy, successful, and prosperous Year of the Snake!