Hamlin

The next day, Kolan left Blue Water Paradise.

Kolan headed to Proulx Hall.

Proulx Hall had been founded by Proulx, a master sculptor of his generation. Its branches could be found in all the major cities of the Yulan Continent, and it was a sacred place for the world of stone sculpture.

As soon as Kolan entered Proulx Hall, he heard the gentle music.

He admired every stone sculpture on display in the hall.

Proulx Hall was divided into three main exhibition halls: the Ordinary Hall, the Expert Hall, and the Master Hall.

The Ordinary Hall held the most works, with tens of thousands of stone sculptures. The Expert Hall had far fewer, with only several hundred.

As for the Master Hall, it had even fewer—just a dozen or two works.

Works by grandmasters were even rarer. Not every Proulx Hall had one.

As a grandmaster sculptor, Proulx had made a lasting name for himself. People would keep praising him for generations, Kolan thought.

It was difficult to reach the pinnacle in any field.

Stone sculpture was no exception.

Most master sculptors were already over a hundred years old by the time people began addressing them as masters. Those who weren't were still in their seventies or eighties.

As for grandmasters, in the more than four thousand years since the first year of the Yulan Calendar, only two had ever appeared: Proulx and Hopkinson!

Of course, Kolan knew that Doehring Cowart was also a grandmaster sculptor.

But Doehring Cowart's works had never been put on display, so no one knew about them. Only a very small number of people were aware.

After taking his time to view the sculptures at Proulx Hall, Kolan left.

Just then, he sensed the turbulence of a battle and spread out his soul force.

He saw a Saint Magus fighting a Saint Warrior.

Kolan flew through the air and soon arrived.

The Saint Magus was riding a Saint Realm Black Dragon, while his opponent was a middle-aged man wielding a sword.

"Achisoren, move aside! Otherwise, if I kill you today, you'll have no one to blame but yourself!" the Saint Magus in the robe sneered.

The middle-aged man, Achisoren, said, "Hamlin, you don't deserve that treasure. Put it down!"

Hamlin?!

Kolan looked at the Saint Magus. He hadn't expected this to be Hamlin, an old and powerful Saint Magus, and Doehring Cowart's longtime rival. Back then, while fighting Hamlin, Doehring Cowart had been ambushed from behind by a Saint Realm expert. In the end, he had been defeated. Rather than let Hamlin capture his soul and torture him, Doehring Cowart had sealed his soul inside the Coiling Dragon Ring.

Kolan had heard of Hamlin, a peak Saint Realm Saint Magus of the Dark Element.

But he was seeing him for the first time.

Looking at Achisoren, Kolan thought of Olivier and Blumer, who both came from the Achisoren Family. Could this Achisoren be their ancestor?

"Haha, now that I've got it, why would I hand it over?" Hamlin laughed.

Kolan was curious about what kind of treasure could make two Saint Realm experts fight.

He flashed forward and thrust his sword through Hamlin's body.

Hamlin hadn't expected anyone to launch a sneak attack.

Before he could react, the sword had pierced him.

"Hmph!" Kolan grunted. He reached out and seized Hamlin's soul, then sealed it inside a jade bottle.

As a Saint Magus who cultivated the Death Rules, Kolan was highly skilled at capturing souls.

A beam of light shot from Kolan's eyes into the Saint Realm Black Dragon's eyes.

The enormous dragon fell from the sky and crashed into the ground with an earth-shaking rumble.

With a wave of his hand, Kolan stored the dragon's corpse in his Space Ring.

Then Kolan locked his soul force onto Achisoren. Achisoren felt cold all over and didn't dare flee.

Kolan collected Hamlin's staff and Space Ring.

"Tell me. What treasure were you fighting over?" Kolan glanced at Achisoren. "Don't think you can deceive me. I've captured Hamlin's soul. A little interrogation will tell me everything."

"If you dare lie to me, I'll kill you and take your soul, then make it suffer endless torment!" Kolan sneered. "Think about what happens when you deceive a Saint Realm necromancer!"

Achisoren shuddered.

A necromancer Saint Magus was a taboo existence.

When Saint Warriors fought, they could at most kill one another's bodies. They had no way of dealing with their souls, which would enter the Netherworld.

But necromancer Saint Magi had such bizarre methods. They could capture souls with ease and subject them to endless torment.

Some even said that necromancers could lay curses, forcing their descendants to bear the power of those curses.

"I'll tell you, I'll tell you!" After thinking it over, Achisoren spoke honestly. "My lord, Hamlin and I explored a ruin. It was an Elven ruin. Hamlin found a seed brimming with life force. It seemed just like the legendary seed of the Tree of Life."

Kolan's heart stirred.

An Elven ruin, and a seed of the Tree of Life?

If it was real, no wonder the two had fought over it.

The Elven Race had once ruled the entire continent.

It was unclear why the Elven Race had later declined, but by now, they had disappeared from the Yulan Continent altogether.

The Tree of Life was an object of legend, a sacred tree of the Elven Race. It could produce Divine Life Water, a sacred medicine for healing. No matter how severe the injury—whether it was to the body or the soul—a single drop of Divine Life Water could heal it.

The Tree of Life did more than produce Divine Life Water. It could also nurture Elemental Elves, nature's darlings, who were exceptionally close to the elements. Anyone who formed a contract with an Elemental Elf could attain supreme elemental affinity. The Tree of Life could even nurture members of the Elven Race!

Kolan pricked his finger and bound Hamlin's Space Ring to himself. He soon found the seed brimming with life force inside.

Then Kolan used necromantic methods to torture Hamlin's soul.

It only took a short while for Hamlin to break under the torment and tell him everything.

Watching this, Achisoren broke out in a cold sweat. Thankfully, he hadn't hidden anything and had told Kolan the truth.

Otherwise, he would have been done for.

"Get lost!" Kolan said coldly, glancing at Achisoren.

Achisoren felt as though he'd been granted a pardon. He hurriedly flew away.

Kolan sealed Hamlin's soul in a jade bottle and tossed it into his Space Ring.

Then he didn't linger. He flew straight toward Chaotic Territory.

If it really was a seed of the Tree of Life, then not only Saint Realm experts but also the two god-level experts, the High Priest and the War God, would come to seize it.

After all, it was a priceless treasure, practically a sacred relic of life.

It was especially precious to anyone who cultivated the Life Law.

Kolan returned to the Miniature Space at once. This time, he didn't leave behind a Blood Specter. He sealed the passageway and went straight into the Miniature Space.

Throughout the Yulan Continent, no one except Beirut could detect him—not even the High Priest or the War God.