Hamlin

The next day, he left Blue Water Paradise.

Kolan headed toward Proulx Hall.

Proulx Hall was established by the legendary master sculptor Proulx and could be found in all the major cities of the Yulan Continent; it was the holy land of the sculpting world.

Upon entering Proulx Hall, he was greeted by soft, soothing music.

Kolan admired every single sculpture exhibited in the hall.

Proulx Hall was primarily divided into three exhibition areas: the Common Hall, the Expert Hall, and the Master Hall.

The Common Hall held the most works, with tens of thousands of sculptures; the Expert Hall was much smaller, containing only a few hundred.

As for the Master Hall, it was far more exclusive, housing only a dozen or so pieces.

Grandmaster-level works were even rarer, and not every Proulx Hall was guaranteed to have one.

Proulx, as a grandmaster sculptor, has certainly left his mark on history, being praised and remembered through the ages, Kolan thought to himself.

In any profession, reaching the pinnacle was no easy feat.

Sculpting was no exception.

In the sculpting world, most individuals honored with the title of "master" were well over a hundred years old, or at the very least, in their seventies or eighties.

As for grandmaster sculptors, in the four thousand-plus years since the start of the Yulan Calendar, only two had ever appeared: Proulx and Hopkinson!

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

However, Doering Cowart's works were never exhibited, and others were unaware of his skill; only a very select few knew the truth.

After thoroughly touring the sculptures in Proulx Hall, Kolan departed.

Just then, he sensed a fluctuation of battle energy, and Kolan's soul power rippled outward.

He saw a Saint-level magus and a Saint-level warrior locked in combat.

Kolan flew through the air, arriving on the scene in moments.

He saw the Saint-level magus riding a Saint-level Black Dragon, while the other combatant was a middle-aged man wielding a sword.

"Achisoren, step aside! If you get yourself killed today, don't blame me!" the Saint-level magus in the magic robe sneered.

The middle-aged man, Achisoren, retorted, "Hamlin, that treasure is not something you should possess. Hand it over!"

Hamlin!?

Kolan looked at the Saint-level magus. He hadn't expected this to be Hamlin, a veteran Saint-level magus and an old rival of Doering Cowart. Back then, it was during a battle with Hamlin that Doering Cowart had been ambushed by a hidden Saint-level expert, leading to his defeat. Not wanting his soul to be captured and tortured by Hamlin, Doering Cowart had sealed his soul within the Coiling Dragon Ring.

Kolan had heard of Hamlin—a peak Saint-level dark-element magus.

But this was his first time seeing him in person.

Looking at Achisoren, he recalled that Olivier and Blumer hailed from the Achisoren clan. Could this Achisoren be an ancestor of Olivier and Blumer!?

"Haha, now that I have it, why would I ever hand it over?" Hamlin laughed heartily.

Kolan was curious as to what kind of treasure could incite two Saint-level experts to fight.

With a flash of movement, Kolan thrust his sword through Hamlin's body.

Hamlin had never expected a sneak attack from a third party.

Before he could react, his body was pierced through.

"Hmph!" Kolan snorted. He reached out a hand, grabbed Hamlin's soul directly, and sealed it into a jade bottle.

As a Saint-level magus practicing the Death Law, Kolan was highly skilled at such soul-capturing techniques.

Kolan's eyes shot a beam of light into the eyes of the Saint-level Black Dragon.

The massive body of the Saint-level Black Dragon plummeted from the sky, crashing into the ground with a force that shook the earth.

With a wave of his hand, he stored the corpse of the Saint-level Black Dragon into his spatial ring.

Following this, Kolan locked his soul power onto Achisoren, who turned cold with fear, not daring to flee.

Kolan confiscated Hamlin's magic staff and spatial ring.

"Speak. What treasure were you fighting over?" Kolan glanced at Achisoren. "Don't even think about lying to me. I have Hamlin's soul in my grasp; it will be easy enough to find out through a bit of interrogation."

"If you dare to lie to me, I will kill you, capture your soul, and let it suffer endless torment!" Kolan sneered. "Think about the consequences of deceiving a Saint-level practitioner of Necromancy!"

Achisoren shuddered uncontrollably!

A Saint-level practitioner of Necromancy was practically a taboo.

When Saint-level warriors fought, they could at most destroy the opponent's body; the soul would simply depart for the Netherworld.

But the methods of a Necromancer were far too sinister; they could easily snatch a soul and subject it to eternal agony.

Legend even had it that Necromancers could cast curses, causing the descendants of their victims to bear the weight of the curse.

"I'll speak, I'll speak!" Achisoren thought for a moment before answering honestly, "My lord, Hamlin and I were exploring some ruins—an ancient elven ruin. Hamlin obtained a seed brimming with immense vitality. It looks very much like the legendary seed of the Tree of Life."

Kolan's heart skipped a beat.

Elven ruins? A seed of the Tree of Life?

If it were true, it was no wonder it would spark a conflict between the two.

The Elven Race was once the hegemon that ruled the entire continent.

It was just unclear why the Elven Race had declined later on, to the point where they had vanished from the Yulan Continent entirely by the present day.

The Tree of Life was something that belonged to the realm of legends; it was the sacred tree of the Elven Race and could produce Divine Life Water. Divine Life Water was a miraculous healing medicine; no matter how severe the injury, whether it was physical or a soul trauma, a single drop of Divine Life Water could heal it completely.

The Tree of Life could produce more than just Divine Life Water; it could also gestate Elemental Elves. Elemental Elves were the darlings of nature and possessed an unparalleled affinity with the elements. If someone were to form a contract with an Elemental Elf, their own elemental affinity could reach the supreme level. Furthermore, the Tree of Life could even gestate the Elven Race itself!

Kolan dripped his blood to claim ownership of the space ring belonging to Hamlin, and he quickly found the seed containing immense vitality within it.

Following that, Kolan used the methods of a Necromancer to torment the soul of Hamlin.

After only a short while, Hamlin could no longer endure the soul torture and confessed everything.

Seeing this scene, Achisoren was so terrified that he broke out in a cold sweat, feeling fortunate that he hadn't hidden anything and had honestly told the truth.

Otherwise, he would have been finished.

"Get lost!" Kolan glanced at Achisoren coldly.

As if granted amnesty, Achisoren hurriedly took to the air and fled.

Kolan sealed the soul of Hamlin into a jade bottle and tossed it into his space ring.

Afterward, he did not linger and flew directly toward the Chaotic Territory.

If it truly was a seed of the Tree of Life, then let alone Saint-level experts, even the two god-level powerhouses, the High Priest and the War God, would intervene to seize it.

After all, this item, which could be called a holy object of life, was simply too precious.

It was even more invaluable, especially to those who cultivated the Life Law.

Kolan returned to his Miniature Space at the first opportunity. This time, he didn't even leave the Blood Specter behind; he sealed the entrance directly before entering the Miniature Space himself.

In the entire Yulan Continent, apart from Beirut, no one else could discover him—not even the High Priest or the War God.