Desperate Ice Seal, Domain of Despair!

"Roar!"

Just as the Bald Man finished speaking, a low, ancient, suppressed roar, mixed with hints of violence and cruelty, came from afar.

The tranquil atmosphere within the Secret Realm Space was instantly shattered. A sudden gust of wind arose across the black wilderness, and large swaths of mist were broken apart, as if a pool of stagnant water was beginning to boil.

"My little baby is awake."

The Bald Man slowly stood up from the metal chair, squinted at the distance, and muttered, "The last kid ran away too quickly. This time, you can have some fun."

The inexplicable sense of oppression in his heart, and the feeling of being watched, accumulated to a certain extreme, and Ronan unconsciously stopped in his tracks.

"Whoosh—"

A series of strange, enormous sounds came from directly ahead, like something breathing heavily and frequently, and the mist over the wilderness surged and spread outwards in the next second.

"Roar!"

A gust of hot wind carrying a foul stench swept in from directly in front, accompanied by a violent and suppressed roar. Rolling sound waves swept away all the thick fog in the surrounding area in an instant.

As the fog dissipated, the outline of the hazy hill in the distance became completely clear.

That wasn't a small hill at all; it was clearly a terrifying behemoth lying on the ground! It was like an enormous stone beetle, its massive body composed of hard rocks covered with dark brown and gray scales, with a faint crimson light shimmering between the gaps.

Its raised spines resemble several continuous, steep mountain ranges, each spine composed of dark yellow crystals, constantly releasing waves of energy that shake the air.

The giant stone beetle had eight strong legs firmly planted in the ground, each leg covered with rough textures like tree roots, and huge, Keen Edge claws on the soles of its feet.

Its broad, flat head, with a pair of horn-like protrusions, faced Ronan. Six small, deep red eyes stared intently at him, and its slit-like mouthparts opened, revealing rows of stone teeth like swords. Ronan stared blankly at the terrifying stone beetle beast before him, feeling the surging, tsunami-like pressure crashing down on him in waves, causing his robes to billow violently.

A few seconds later, Ronan snapped out of his shock and, without hesitation, turned and ran!

He chanted a short incantation, and his spiritual power flowed out like water. A flash of light appeared on his chest beneath his robe, and a large number of free ice-type energy particles in the air gathered, forming a thin layer of frost-like armor that floated faintly around him.

First-tier spell: Ice Armor.

The energy fluctuations caused by the release of the spell seemed to have thoroughly enraged the terrifying stone beetle, which let out another low growl and fiercely chased after Ronan.

Despite its massive size, the latter moved at an astonishing speed. With each step, the ground of the black wilderness trembled violently as if an earthquake had struck, and large swaths of soil and rocks were plowed up.

Ronan's face tightened slightly. After releasing the [Ice Armor], he immediately took out Lola's Flying Ring from his pocket and spun it rapidly.

An invisible force from below lifted Ronan's body into the air, but before Ronan could try to create some distance, he heard the giant stone beetle behind him seem to stomp its foot hard.

"Buzz!"

A deep yellow energy halo quickly swept across the open field.

Ronan felt his body suddenly sink, and his once light and agile body suddenly became clumsy and heavy, as if he were carrying countless iron rings on his back, and even began to slowly fall downwards.

Damn it!

Ronan's expression changed slightly. "Gravity! Anti-flight?!"

Once a magical beast reaches the first tier of strength, it gains the ability to further mobilize the energy particles deposited within its body, enabling it to unleash innate abilities similar to wizard spells.

The giant stone beetle behind them is clearly a top-tier first-tier magical beast. Not only is it enormous, but it also possesses abilities similar to the earth-based "gravity" spell, which can greatly restrict the use of first-tier flying items, achieving an effect similar to "anti-air".

"Boom!"

The moment Ronan landed, he slammed his feet into the ground, leaping into the air. An incredibly thick, arthropod-like foot slammed into the spot where he had been standing, grazing his back and embedding itself deep into the mud like a knife piercing butter.

Ronan's muscles and organs operated at high speed like a powerful and precise machine. His extraordinary physique, granted by his Master Level [Ascetic Body Forging], was fully unleashed. His figure transformed into a blurry gray shadow, narrowly escaping yet effortlessly maneuvering through terrifyingly [Great Strength] attacks! "[Frost Howl]!"

As Ronan pointed, a large swath of snow and ice particles appeared, like a white fog obscuring the head of the giant stone beetle beast that was relentlessly biting from behind.

The ice and snow power that could easily tear apart ordinary first-tier magical beasts struck the stone beetle behemoth, but only produced a dense "crackling" sound like hailstones hitting hard stone slabs.

The giant stone beetle roared furiously and burst out of the howling snow in a few moments.

"Frost.Spear!"

Keen Edge, thick ice crystal spear shot out, carrying billowing cold air and spreading large patches of white frost, aiming directly at the center of the flat head of the stone beetle behemoth.

The dark yellow crystals on the latter's back glowed, releasing a crystal wall-like energy that blocked the invasion of the rolling cold air. The beetle itself did not stop, stubbornly pushing forward bit by bit against the ice crystal spear. Ronan took a step back, and suddenly a slight energy fluctuation came from behind him, and a small crater exploded at his feet.

He suddenly turned around and found that he had unknowingly escaped to the starting square, with the Rune Array light screen representing "safety" just tens of meters behind him.

Inside the light screen, the Bald Man lay languidly on a metal chair, his face bearing a half-smile.

The middle-aged male wizard beside him held a black sphere that seemed to be gathering and surging like mercury in his hand. The crater that had just exploded next to Ronan was clearly his doing.

The middle-aged wizard stared coldly at Ronan, his eyes revealing an undisguised and strong warning, as if to tell him that if he retreated any further, he would have to face more than just the stone beetle behemoth.

Ronan suddenly realized that he seemed to have been deprived of even the right to voluntarily "give up" the test.

He stopped in his tracks and saw a giant stone beetle with bloodshot eyes, looking like it was going mad, that had already chewed up the ice crystal spear and was roaring as it charged toward him.

At this moment, Ronan calmed down.

He had anticipated that the test would be a bit too difficult, but he never expected it to be this absurd.

This wasn't designed for First Level Wizard at all, nor is it simply a test. "Is it because of Bennigo again?"

Ronan for a moment, then his eyes quickly returned to a look of "relief".

"It doesn't matter anymore."

Now that I've come this far...

Ronan lowered his head and muttered to himself. The terrible, bloody wind coming from ahead blew up the white hair at his temples, and his silver-gray robe billowed like a sail.

The savage roar of the stone beetle grew louder as it approached, and a mountain-like shadow quickly enveloped Ronan.

He seemed oblivious.

He slowly raised his head and began to speak, word by word.

"Then nothing can stop me anymore!"

At that moment, a clear, deep blue light shone in his eyes, piercing through the darkness before him like a sharp blade.

Beneath his robes, his hands clenched loosely, and a point of extreme deep blue rapidly bloomed! The [Frozen Earth] rune, which had already been anchored three times in his Consciousness Space, flashed for the fourth time, and the Ice Ring on his chest lit up automatically.

As the colossal body of the stone beetle closed in on Ronan's cold, icy voice rang out.

"Desperate Ice Seal, Domain of Despair"

In an instant, an almost endless chill burst forth from the boy's thin body.

A vast expanse of white snow swallowed all the colors on the black wilderness. A mysterious and terrifying aura surged and raged, with streaks of deep blue light blooming, like the veins of the Frozen Earth glaciers that have never melted for millennia. Beneath the ultimate beauty and magnificence of the aurora borealis swirling in the Northern Lands sky, despair was rapidly growing and spreading.

"Bang!"

In the small square, the huge black metal chair suddenly exploded, turning into clumps of flowing metal.

The Bald Man, who had been lazily reclining in his chair, suddenly jumped up and appeared like a ghost in front of the violently fluctuating Rune Array light screen. Through the light screen, he stared intently at the wilderness covered by pure white snow.

The middle-aged male wizard beside him had the spell on the metal ball he had been holding suddenly dissipate without him noticing, and he stood there dumbfounded.

After an unknown amount of time, the white snow that blanketed the world finally faded away.

The moment they saw the scene before them clearly, their pupils contracted sharply, and a look of immense shock and disbelief spread across their faces, lingering for a long time.

——

On the vast, now completely white, an Ice Sculpture as large as a small mountain stood silently.

The Ice Sculpture contains a motionless stone beetle, still retaining its ferocious appearance with its whiskers and claws outstretched.

A handsome young man in a silver-gray robe leaped down from the top of the Ice Sculpture.

As the boy's feet touched the ground, large cracks suddenly appeared on the surface of the giant Ice Sculpture behind him. The cracks grew denser and denser until finally, with a loud "boom," it collapsed, unleashing a torrent of Ice Tide and snow. "How is this possible?!"

A soft murmur echoed gently in the quiet, empty square.

"Tap—tap—"

Footsteps sounded.

Everyone in the room instinctively looked towards the entrance to the test.

"About two minutes."

The young wizard Fire Vulture, whose cheeks were adorned with fiery patterns, glanced at the time and frowned, saying, "To be honest, it's taking much longer than I expected."

But once he saw the figure emerging from the small door of the testing area, Fire Vulture's furrowed brows immediately relaxed. He sneered, "This kid probably didn't even leave the protected area of Rune Array before giving up and coming out..."

The boy who walked out of the small testing door was almost identical to the one who had gone in before.

His Gray Magic Robe were spotless, without a single tear, wrinkle, or stain, and certainly didn't look like they had just been through a battle.

The boy seemed to hear the Fire Vulture's mocking voice and glanced at him indifferently, but the Fire Vulture stared back without fear.

He had a great chance of making it to the "core", but because of the "personal" reasons of his guarantor, he only got the status of a formal member. This made him very angry. He didn't dare to vent his anger on Basil, who was his guarantor, so he could only pick on an easy target.

"Alright, Fire Vulture."

Basil stopped Fire Vulture's "childish" behavior, glanced indifferently at the boy in front of him, and said, "There's no need to waste your energy on insignificant people."

Fire Vulture snorted coldly and remained silent.

At that moment, a figure quickly walked out of the testing door.

He was a middle-aged male wizard with a grim face and a gloomy demeanor. As soon as he appeared, his eyes were fixed on Basil, and then he coldly announced, word by word, "Today's test is over. Go back and wait for further notice regarding the time of the next test."

Basil's face darkened upon hearing this, and he was about to say something.

Suddenly, the air in front of the small testing door began to distort, as if something terrifying was about to burst out from inside. "Boom!"

A sudden surge of immense spiritual power enveloped the entire room. From inside the small testing door, a figure darted out, countless black metals flowing around him like semi-solidified oil.

He was like a huge shadow that instantly blocked out most of the light in the room. Before Basil, who was standing in the center of the room, could react, he felt his collar and then his neck being tightly gripped by a large, iron-like hand.

"Basil!"

A hideous face covered in black lines was pressed tightly against Basil's eyes, and the terrifying Spiritual Force Field emanating from it, belonging to a second-level wizard, directly forced all the wizards around Basil who were waiting to be tested to kneel down.

The Bald Man's eyes were filled with anger and murderous intent, and his voice was as cold as the winter wind.

"You're really something, Basil! You actually managed to find such a genius, a first-level cultivator who wields such powerful magic domain energy, instantly killing Terra Behemoth whose strength was close to the second level! Do you know how much effort and cost I spent to obtain this Terra Beast?"

The Bald Man's rough, hard hands stroked Basil's face, and he nodded with a cold, sinister smile, saying, "You dare to scheme against me, huh?"

"Then I'll play along and see who comes out on top."

After saying that, the Bald Man flung Basil away as if he were throwing away a chick.

Basil staggered back a few steps, still reeling from the sudden attack, his mind replaying the Bald Man's words incessantly—

Genius!... Mastering the power of the Law Domain at the early stage of Level 1! Instantly killing Terra Behemoth with strength approaching Level 2! The person who made Tulpa so angry at him was... Basil's gaze shifted, subconsciously locking onto a tall and handsome young figure. Him?!

"Boom!"

Basil felt as if he had been struck by a series of electric currents, and his whole body trembled slightly.

At that moment, he finally understood.

The "big fish" that couldn't be found more than a month ago was actually "hidden" right under his nose all along!

The boy standing in front of the small door of the test site looked at him calmly and coldly, just like when he had been rejected for his guarantee request and the boy had silently watched him leave.