Duel

In his view, Heliodore was a "good-for-nothing" who was completely led by the nose by Valentine.

Who was Valentine?

The leader of the "Mycelium Society," the initiator of the "Wisdom Spores" project, and a figure who can "coax" a group of Level Five Wizard into a frenzy with just a blueprint for the project.

In terms of eloquence and tactics, Heliodore outmatched by him.

However, his own appearance as an "anomaly" disrupted Valentine's "rhythm".

It's not fair to call Heliodore "stupid." Many wizards of the Deep Sea School are like that. They possess superhuman wisdom and profound knowledge in their respective fields of expertise, but their long-term solitary life in their "own little world" inevitably leads to certain shortcomings in some areas.

Moreover, in the Deep Sea, wizards who reach level five basically lack nothing. Sometimes, deliberately competing with each other is a unique "game" in their long and boring lives.

After Ronan stepped down from the tower, his "halo" began to peel away layer by layer.

He had already experienced something similar once.

Those people went from amazement to understanding, then to curiosity, and finally to indifference or regret, before turning their attention to the "Crown of Deep Knowledge," which was more worthy of their attention.

His performance in the entrance selection was no secret; he entered the tower twice, spending a total of more than three years to comprehend all the Primordial Spirit Writing within the Knowledge Tower.

While it is still an incredible achievement, it is undoubtedly much more acceptable than the "monstrous" performance that many people previously mistakenly believed—memorizing more than 2,300 Primordial Spirit Writing in just eight days.

Moreover, he also has something equally "remarkable" about him—his soul aptitude! A soul aptitude of three stars being able to advance to level four is itself a "miracle".

God knows Heliodore spent on him after "picking him up" to get to this point.

Although he successfully advanced to Dawn, he can forget about reaching Level 5.

Even if a wizard who is destined to have little "future" shows some "extraordinary" talent in a certain aspect, there is nothing worth paying much attention to.

"It's ironic, isn't it?"

Because entering the dream required Alazan to transmit spiritual texts, Ronan did not sever his connection with Alazan witnessed the entire process of Ronan's rise and fall.

"A school of thought that prides itself on its scholarship, yet values least the members' performance in scholarship. If I were the leader of this school, you would already be wearing the laurel wreath and declaring the end of this farcical selection process."

"Don't project your outdated thinking onto modern wizards..."

Ronan shook his head. "This is not the era you live in now. Even resources and methods to improve soul aptitude can be found easily. Their idea is not wrong, they just misjudged the people."

And"

Ronan narrowed his eyes and looked in one direction, then whispered, "How do you know that the leader of the Deep Sea hasn't given me any attention?"

Ronan was looking at the soaring spire of the Crystal Palace, where the true high-ranking figures of the Deep Sea Faction stood.

Ever since he emerged from the Knowledge Tower, the gray-robed man at the head of the crystal spire had been staring at him without ever taking his eyes off him.

Besides this Grand Elder, another member of the Council of Elders also frequently cast concerned glances at him.

Ronan was initially puzzled, but he quickly came to his senses.

The latter is probably the one standing behind Misha.

"After falling out with Misha, what I really need to consider is the trouble this person might bring me. Level Six Wizard."

Ronan's eyes flickered, and he suddenly looked thoughtfully at the Deep Sea Grand Elder in the distance, who was dressed in a gray robe and whose face was completely obscured.

An idea slowly formed in my mind.

As it turned out, the message Ronan sent to Zorn immediately after leaving the Knowledge Tower did indeed have a good effect.

Misha was overjoyed. Misha had returned to her original confident, spirited, and radiant state, even surpassing her previous self.

Ronan saw Misha and Zorn talking about something, and then Misha looked up, her gaze sweeping across the field until she found her own spot.

Misha looks exactly like a fourteen or fifteen-year-old boy, but he acts like he's too old for his age.

He smiled approvingly and nodded to Ronan from a distance.

Ronan responded by bowing hastily.

It was obvious to the naked eye that Misha's gaze toward him was becoming increasingly satisfied and appreciative.

Ronan felt a pang of shame. He wondered how Misha, this delicate flower who had never experienced the "vicissitudes of life," would react when he finally tore off his "disguise." The appearance of the "Crown of Deep Knowledge" suddenly propelled this year's "ordinary" Son of the Deep Sea Selection to an unprecedented climax.

No one cared about the results of the first stage of the knowledge test anymore. Everyone looked up at the dazzling Crystal Crown on the Inverted Tower, wondering who it would eventually belong to.

As the few gazes that had been hovering over him withdrew one after another, a strange magical fluctuation emanated, and the second phase of the selection for the Son of the Deep Sea officially began.

The Inverted Tower vanished into the void, leaving a gap in the center of the circular Crystal Palace, from which a crimson tower, seemingly cast from magma and flowing with countless flames, slowly emerged.

The Battle Tower of the Flame Faction. Projection.

Ronan's eyes flickered slightly as he watched the crimson tower tremble gently, "shaking" out orbs of light of different colors, emitting different elemental energy fluctuations, like colorful bubbles floating in the air.

At that moment, Ronan suddenly felt the Spirit Lake Ring on his finger getting slightly hot, and he looked down to check.

Inside the Crystal Palace room, Madam Mel was nowhere to be seen. Hathaway sat alone in a Gothic high-backed chair with pointed decorations, talking to an old thrush with bald feathers in front of her.

"Hathaway, this is against the rules."

The old thrush spoke in a human voice, the voice of a young man, filled with a deep sense of helplessness.

Hathaway's pretty face turned slightly serious as she looked at the thrush and said earnestly, "Laun, I'll say it one last time. Right now, don't force me to expose all the dirty things you've done!"

The thrush wore a conflicted, anthropomorphic expression. After a half-breath, it reluctantly said, "Alright."

It's only you, Hathaway.

"Besides you, there will be no one else I would risk doing something like this for."

"Stop talking nonsense."

Hathaway urged impatiently, "Hurry up."

The old thrush opened its beak and spat out a thin white worm, then rolled its eyes and fell straight down, instantly turning into a dry, cold bird carcass.

Hathaway didn't even glance at it, but instead picked up the white worm that the thrush had spat out and slowly rubbed it between her fingers. Soon, the white worm was rubbed open layer by layer, revealing that it was just a piece of white paper that had been rolled up very finely.

Hathaway picked up the piece of white paper and softly read the name on it, "Koske. Du".

Her beautiful eyes flickered, and she raised her slender fingers, gently flicking them to produce a crystal pendant-like object from thin air. She brought it to her lips and whispered a few words.

A moment later, Hathaway shook her head, flicked her fingers, and the carcass of the thrush and the white paper in front of her turned to ashes and were silently blown away.

"Koske Dulin"

Ronan read the message transmitted from the Spirit Lake Ring, then turned to look at Heliodore, who had been staring at him. "Does the teacher know him?"

Heliodore frowned, shook his head, and said, "There are so many wizards in the Deep Sea, it's impossible for me to know them all."

"Then we'll only find out who it is once we go inside."

Ronan didn't care; the message transmitted from the Spirit Lake Ring was the name of his first opponent.

I wonder if it was specifically designed to accommodate the Deep Sea wizards who are "unfamiliar with combat" on a regular basis, to avoid the tension and anxiety that might arise from suddenly entering the arena.

The second round of selection involved informing each person in advance of their opponent's name, as well as providing a short preparation period.

"To be honest, after all this time, I still don't know which school of magic you specialize in."

Heliodore sighed, then began taking things out of his personal Space Ring.

The bottles and jars were almost entirely filled with magical potions.

"... This bottle contains 'Gargoyle Potion,' which can significantly enhance the body's resistance to energy elements within fifteen minutes of consumption."

You recognize 'Elemental Water,' it's a bit more advanced than the one you concocted before. It can summon an Elemental Lifeform, 'Vomit Potion,' comparable to Level Four Wizard. After using it, be sure to immediately move away from the area where the potion evaporates. It has an extremely strong stench and can even directly affect the soul. It's impossible to defend against with ordinary methods. If a Level Four Wizard is affected, it's unlikely they can continue casting spells."

Ronan stared blankly at Heliodore, who was stuffing potions into his arms while rapidly explaining the effects of each potion.

"Old... teacher"

"That's fine."

After introducing the last potion, Heliodore patted him on the shoulder and encouraged him, "If you're unlucky enough to run into Level Five Wizard, just admit defeat. Go Damien, don't let them look down on you."

Ronan was at a loss for words, not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

At this moment, wizards were constantly flying towards the central arena.

As each person approaches the central projection of the Flame Tower, a ball of light immediately illuminates around the projection, engulfing it.

All the wizards from both sides of the battle were "swallowed" into a ball of light. The ball of light flickered and then disappeared into the void.

Ronan put away the potions that Heliodore had given him and slowly moved forward with the crowd.

Just as I was thinking about how to find my own ball of light, I suddenly felt a blue ball of light flash rapidly next to me.

Immediately afterwards, an invisible force dragged him away violently.

When Ronan came to his senses again, he found himself on a shimmering blue sea, suspended in mid-air, with a small island covered with coconut trees below him.

A short distance away, a chubby boy wearing round Crystal Glasses was standing there, staring intently at him.