Disposition and Great Joy

"Tell me how you got in?"

After a long silence, Ronan slowly spoke.

Hathaway slowly got up from the ground. She had rolled around on the ground for a while, her robes were covered in dust, her clothes and hair were messy, and her cheeks were sweaty. She looked very disheveled.

Yet they displayed unprecedented docility and obedience.

"I followed behind you, and after you entered the Lost Land, I sneaked in as well."

"How did you break the magic seal outside the Lost Land?"

"Zalan has the key to activate the magic circle. He has always been Grandma's suitor, so I secretly made a replica."

"."

Ronan thought for a moment, looked at Hathaway in front of him, and calmly said, "So, you came in just to find an opportunity to cause me some trouble?"

Hathaway bit her lip and whispered, "Not entirely. I mainly wanted to see what secrets you were hiding that allowed you to make Misha admit defeat in the final round."

That's pretty much the same as what Ronan thought.

With the Spirit Lake Pact in place, Hathaway cannot directly harm him. All she can do is try to cause Ronan some trouble to satisfy her long-held desire for revenge.

This is also why Ronan didn't kill her.

Of course, if the Elemental Pool had been destroyed, the outcome might have been different.

"Now you know why Misha lost?"

Ronan looked at Hathaway and spoke calmly.

Hathaway nodded quickly, her eyes filled with disbelief and fear that she hadn't fully processed yet.

Clearly, Ronan's transformation into the "Ancient Demon God Body" and his ability to instantly kill a fifth-tier Mosquito Monster had left an indelible mark on her mind.

While everyone believed that Ronan had forced Misha to relinquish her position Son of the Deep Sea by relying on the "power" of the Deep Sea Grand Elder, no one could have imagined that the truth was that in a direct confrontation, the level five Misha was no match for Ronan at all! Beneath Ronan's appearance as a level four early-stage wizard lay an ancient and terrifying ancient demon!

"You should have realized that the contract between the Spirit Lake and the Deep Sea does not bind me."

Ronan spoke calmly, "You've caused me some trouble and learned my secrets. Now I'm giving you two choices."

"I'm willing to sign a contract with you, Master and Servant, the most demanding kind!"

Hathaway spoke quickly, her eyes fixed on Ronan, revealing a hint of pleading and even anticipation.

Ronan remained silent for a moment under his gaze, then finally nodded, "Okay."

Fingertips traced the air, leaving marks like flames burning.

Ronan quickly drafted a Master and Servant Soul Contract, which was much stricter than the one he had made for Alazan, leaving the servant with almost no dignity or rights.

In fact, Ronan wasn't even sure if Alazan's Master and Servant contract would actually work, which was one of the reasons he always maintained a certain level of respect for Alazan. But he didn't have that concern with Hathaway. He directly aimed to completely and thoroughly control her, leaving her no chance to "exploit loopholes."

After the contract was drafted, Hathaway reviewed it and hesitated before asking, "May I... mention one of my own requests?"

Ronan frowned. "What do you want to ask?"

Hathaway quickly wrote some words in the air. Ronan glanced at them briefly and his eyelids twitched as he saw words like "reward," "whipping," "pain," and "satisfaction."

Hathaway looked at him pleadingly.

Ronan remained silent.

After a while, he added what Hathaway had written to the contents of the Soul Contract. Hathaway was immediately overjoyed and couldn't wait to bite her fingertip and sign her name.

With the contract concluded, Ronan heard Hathaway say to him with deep gratitude, "Thank you."

Ronan shook his head, speechless.

With the Master and Servant contract in place, Hathaway had almost no secrets in Ronan's perception. Ronan "examined" Hathaway's past, and his eyes suddenly became somewhat strange.

"You're still a virgin?"

"Yes."

Hathaway seemed to adapt to her "servant" role quickly, behaving even more obediently and submissively than before.

"In this respect, my personality is completely opposite to my Grandma's; I don't want to choose my partner too hastily."

In today's terms

Hathaway looked at Ronan with bright eyes and said, "Having a master is enough for me!"

Ronan pursed his lips, somewhat unaccustomed to being addressed as "master" by Hathaway, but he didn't say anything. This was one of the "conditions" that Hathaway had requested to be added to the contract.

Hathaway once tried to seduce Ronan with her body, making some ambiguous hints, to the point that Ronan always thought she was a "promiscuous" woman.

After all, this is quite common among wizards. Many wizards maintain the habit of frequently changing their "bed partners," and a large number of wizards even believe that physical pleasure can stimulate the growth of the soul to a certain extent.

"Then, Master."

Hathaway addressed Ronan more and more naturally, "What can I do for you now?"

Ronan considered for a moment, then walked to the Elemental Pool and pressed down with one hand.

"Gurgle gurgle gurgle—"

The Elemental Pool was slightly boiling, and deep blue bubbles rose to the surface. From each bubble emerged a Water Elementals form.

Ronan sensed it briefly and found that thanks to the pile of monster corpses he had just thrown in, the energy accumulated in the Elemental Pool had increased again, and the Elemental Lifeform he was creating were now stronger than before.

There were a total of twelve Water Elementals. Ronan "shared" control over them with Hathaway, then casually pointed her in a direction and said indifferently, "Go explore in that direction, and bring back the corpses of the monsters you kill."

"Yes."

Hathaway nodded respectfully without the slightest hesitation, picked up her staff, and led a group of Water Element toward the darkness Ronan had designated.

Hathaway is at the late stage of level four, and with the support of a group of level three Water Element, ordinary level four monsters should not pose much of a threat to her.

Of course, if she's too stupid, or unlucky enough to encounter a level 5 monster, everyone has to be responsible for their own actions, and Hathaway is no exception.

After seeing Hathaway off, Ronan turned his attention back to the Elemental Pool in front of him.

He took out the corpse of the fifth-tier Mosquito Monster he had previously killed and threw it into the Elemental Pool.

Just as a sulfuric acid pool corrodes flesh, the corpses of fifth-tier Mosquito Monster can be seen being continuously digested and decomposed by the Elemental Pool, transforming into a continuous source of energy.

"Boom--"

A moment later, the Elemental Pool suddenly expanded outwards, and the entire pool seemed to stabilize completely.

Ronan's eyes brightened slightly, and with a thought, he released the "Mirror of Emptiness".

Where his hand was outstretched, a vortex-like crack silently appeared in the air, then engulfed the enormous Elemental Pool along with a large area of surrounding land. "Whoosh—"

Ronan appeared in the Mist Space, staring intently at the turbulent pool of "oil paint" situated on the Black Earth.

Gradually, the pool calmed down and returned to its tranquil state, and Ronan finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"It's done."

Although some energy was lost during the transfer, the Elemental Pool was successfully moved into the Mist Space. From then on, it became a mobile base that could continuously create Elemental Lifeform, and Ronan was no longer bound to one place.

Ronan stood in the Mist Space, sensing the flow of energy particles within.

Even after being transferred to the Mist Space, the Elemental Pool continued to absorb energy from the air. However, surprisingly, the number of free energy particles in the Mist Space did not decrease. On the contrary, due to the presence of the Elemental Pool, they tended to become more concentrated.

This seems like a counterintuitive phenomenon, but it makes sense when applied to a spatial treasure.

Ronan took out the Crown of Deep Knowledge, his eyes fixed on the Elemental Pool, which shimmered slightly.

Soon, several Elemental Lifeform with Primordial Spirit Writing symbols growing on their foreheads slowly rose from the Elemental Pool, each radiating energy fluctuations comparable to those of a fourth-order being.

Suddenly, Ronan's eyes flashed, and the newly formed bodies of these Elemental Lifeform shattered with a bang, just like several water spheres colliding together, giving rise to an even larger water sphere.

Among them, several core Primordial Spirit Writing merged with each other, gradually forming more advanced and mysterious spiritual script symbols.

The vast Elemental Pool churned violently, its energy being continuously extracted, causing the water level to drop rapidly. "Whoosh—"

Finally, the water sphere shattered, and the liquid energy cascaded back into the pool, while the symbols of the Primordial Spirit Writing quietly disappeared into the void.

"Almost there."

Ronan gripped the Crown of Deep Knowledge, lost in thought. "But a fifth-order Elemental Lifeform form is still possible; it's just that the current accumulation of the Elemental Pool is still somewhat weak, insufficient to support the birth of a fifth-order Elemental Lifeform."

If Ronan can assemble a team composed entirely of fifth-tier elementalists, the exploration of the Ancient Waterway will undoubtedly proceed much more smoothly.

"A team of fifth-tier Elemental Lifeform that are as attentive as an extension of one's own arm, tireless, and fearless of death—this advantage is too great for any other force to match, even if they also possess Elemental Pool. Who else can carry Elemental Pool with them wherever they go, like me?"

As Ronan pondered this, he suddenly narrowed his eyes and stared intently at the bottom of the Elemental Pool for a while.

He suddenly made a move, his five fingers grasping at the bottom of the Elemental Pool, where several colorful, diamond-like crystals were caught in his hand.

"Magic Crystal?"

Ronan examined the crystal in his hand, his eyes lighting up. He then tossed a few pieces of broken diamond crystal into the white mist wall beside him.

White mist flowed along the high wall, shifting slightly backward.

"It really is Magic Crystal!"

Ronan was overjoyed.

So the Elemental Pool can produce Magic Crystal?! This is the first time he's ever known this! "Now we even have an energy source to expand the Mist Space!"

Ronan manipulated his mental power, casually "grabbing" a stream of energy water from the Elemental Pool. The mottled water column shot straight towards the white mist wall on one side and disappeared into it without any hindrance.

"Boom!"

All that could be seen was billowing white mist, and the high walls kept receding.

Ronan shook off the water jet, stopping it, and burst into laughter.

He should have thought of this sooner.