The Ice Snow Grand Assembly

After leaving Lundria, the Fire Thunder above its head continued striking it.

"Damn it, this thing must be the Storm Mage they mentioned! Damn it, how did she know I was going to find her? And what's with this lightning? It hurts so much..."

The Flesh Staff was driven mad with rage. The thunder in the sky did not stop until it crossed the border of the Uruk Kingdom, whereupon the Fire Thunder finally ceased completely.

By the time it returned to the underground altar, the Blood Pool was already half empty. It was furious, cursing as it ordered the men in black to bring in some livestock for it to replenish itself.

Hekate brought Teacher Ivin back to the Astrology Tower.

Puli had somehow found some Sugar Grass and was dangling it over the water, teasing the Mermaid Baby.

After failing to eat it several times, the Mermaid Baby angrily took several mouthfuls of water and spat them at Puli. By the time the two returned, Puli was soaked all over.

"Puli, what are you doing?" Hekate asked helplessly.

"Oh, I was just teasing her a little. Tea... Teacher Ivin, you came too." Puli turned around, quickly tossed away the Sugar Grass in her hand, and gave an awkward smile.

Sugar Grass looked similar to foxtail grass. The spikes at its tip were sweet and could attract bees and butterflies. It could also be used for fishing and was one of the main ingredients in common folk sweets.

This stuff was attractive to all babies.

Teacher Ivin nodded and walked over to the fish tank. She sighed. "It really is a Mermaid. I never expected you to get one. Unfortunately, it was only just born, so it most likely doesn't know why its clan retreated."

"Teacher, I'll help you investigate why the Elf Clan left."

Teacher Ivin truly wanted to find her mother. Unfortunately, Star had only revealed that they retreated because the Magic Concentration had fallen. As for where they had gone, even Star did not know.

Teacher Ivin found a stool and sat down.

She did not continue the topic. Several hundred years had passed, and she had long since come to terms with much of it. Instead, she asked, "What was that thing you fought just now? Last time, your red lightning only struck a few times before turning that king to ash. The soul body that appeared afterward could endure a few more strikes, but not nearly as many as this time."

"I don't know what it was either, but it should have been stronger than that soul body from last time." Hekate shook her head.

Teacher Ivin smiled. "I never expected that after only a few years of enrollment, you would grow to this extent. Even those old monsters whose names no one knows are no match for you now."

"Just luck." Hekate chuckled. Without the Gift of Fate and immortality, she would not have been able to exploit loopholes and break through like a rocket.

"Are you a Magus now, or have you already broken through to Grand Magus?"

"I'm already a Grand Magus."

Puli, listening from the side, was completely stunned.

Hekate was already a mage at the Grand Magus level?

Hadn't she still been a Magus last time? She had broken through to Grand Magus in such a short time. Was that even reasonable?

Puli felt like she was going mad. She had not even broken through a single minor star level of Intermediate Mage, while Hekate had already become a Grand Magus!

"Oh, right. The Ice Snow Tournament of the Ice Snow Empire on the northern continent is about to begin. It is held once every ten years, and many mages from other kingdoms and empires will attend. I have an Ice Snow Ticket. If you're interested, you can go take part."

The Ice Snow Tournament?

It sounded rather cold.

Hekate did not like overly cold environments, so she declined.

Teacher Ivin did not press the matter. She told Hekate to take good care of the Mermaid Baby, then got up and left.

After Teacher Ivin left, Puli stared at Hekate in shock and asked, "Have you really broken through to Grand Magus?"

"Why would I lie to you?"

Puli snorted and rubbed Hekate's hair. "You're not being fair. You broke through so quickly all by yourself. None of us can catch up to you anymore."

"It's fine. Even if you can't catch up to me, I'll still protect you." Hekate smiled.

Puli stared at Hekate, then suddenly sighed. "Sigh, if Sweet knew how monstrous you are, he'd probably fall into despair."

Sweet, the former freshman representative of Meditation Studies. It had been a long time since she had seen him.

Hekate thought with some emotion.

"Hekate, does that mean you'll be able to live for a very long time?"

"I heard those Magi can live for several hundred years. Our headmaster is already four hundred years old."

"Mm." Hekate nodded, then said, "If you cultivate seriously, you can live a very long time too."

Puli's talent was good enough for her to enter Grants Academy. As long as nothing went wrong, becoming a Magus would not be difficult for her, though it might take several hundred years.

"But I'll never be able to catch up to you." Puli sighed.

A fifteen-year-old Grand Magus was simply too heaven-defying. By the time she cultivated to that level, who knew what level Hekate would have reached?

Was someone like Hekate really someone she was worthy of pursuing? Puli thought gloomily.

Hekate comforted her. "It's all right. I'm not going anywhere. I'll wait here for you to catch up."

Puli's eyes shone as she said, "You said it, okay? You have to wait for me. I'm only fifteen too. I'm going to work hard at cultivating!"

After saying that, Puli left full of determination.

Beyond the northern mountain range lay the Peters Kingdom.

As the center of power in the Peters Kingdom, the Elder Council could influence the direction of the entire nation. When Queen Sophia saw Chaos launch a war against Uruk, she felt that the Peters Kingdom had an opportunity to expand. The Elder Council had also let Queen Sophia do as she pleased, but they had never expected...

Inside the Elder Council.

Kraf Cole sat in the hall with a grave expression. Beside him sat Elder Strong, who specialized in defensive and healing magic.

It was with Elder Strong's help that Queen Sophia had endured Hekate's curse for a day, though she had ultimately still been burned to death.

"If someone from our Elder Council were cursed by that curse mage, what method could allow them to survive?" Great Elder Kraff asked with a frown.

Elder Strong shook his head. "There is no way. The other party's magical strength is too high, likely having reached the Grand Magus level. Moreover, she can nullify any form of retaliation. Unless we can find a powerhouse at the God of Magic Level to protect us at all times, we will eventually be burned into a pile of ashes."

Elder Kraf frowned.

He truly had not expected the Uruk Kingdom to produce such a powerhouse. Worse, she had shown them no respect at all, burning the queen of the Peters Kingdom to death in front of so many people. If their kingdom gave no response, would they not become a laughingstock?

But if they declared war on the Uruk Kingdom, then everyone in the entire Elder Council would be burned, one after another, into ashes.

"This truly is a difficult problem."

Elder Strong then reminded him, "Great Elder, staying alive is more important than honor."