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A massive ball of light a hundred meters in diameter floated in the center of the hall, maintaining a tight connection to the thousands of mysterious arrays around it through countless beautiful silver light ribbons.

The light ribbons were not pure energy streams. If anyone were fortunate enough to be able to capture a strip of the light and magnify it tens of thousands of times, they would find that the so-called light ribbons were actually a stream consisting of innumerable tiny and interconnected runes.

Every tiny spark was a miniature runic light array.

There were thousands of these light ribbons, each of them shining with countless tiny sparks. These ribbons were entangled and connected, forming an even larger and more complex system of runic light arrays.

A pair of strange and indifferent eyes silently observed the operation of the entire runic array system from within the ball of light. The frail and lean body of an old, bald adept floated behind the ball of light.

While the entire array system ran in a perfect and self-consistent manner, a beam of radiant light penetrated the countless stone walls surrounding it. The light passed by the hundreds and thousands of defensive arrays and pierced into the head of the sleeping old man within.

“Yuri, wake up. Hurry up and wake up.”

The voice was unusually loud, sending shockwaves through the air and causing the light ribbons to tremble and distort. However, all of this disturbance vanished as the pair of indifferent eyes glared at the light ribbons. They returned to normal without any disruption to the operation of the arrays.

Finally, roused by the booming voice, the old and lean adept slowly opened his eyes.

“Dammit! Which bastard is it that has come to disturb my sleep this time? Don’t you know...er, Lord Freed, it’s you?”

The old adept was still somewhat drowsy from having just woken up. He grumbled aloud while connecting with the mental consciousness that had reached out to him. His ‘weak’ Spirit made slight contact with the consciousness, and he instantly recognized the owner of that unique mental flux. Thus, he hastily stopped himself and put on a smile instead.

“Yuri, you promised me that the animated Kerslin would be entirely under our control. What happened with the transgressive act of conferring authority without approval from two days ago? Why did it suddenly go out of control?”

“So, that’s what you’re here for?” Yuri was a Third Grade adept and a mean character who could shake the skies and move the earth with a single stomp of his leg. However, in front of a furious Fourth Grade adept who had come to demand an explanation, he could only bow his head and hurriedly explain. “This was a small mistake I made when setting up the rules on conferring authority.”

“What mistake?” The booming voice pursued, his tone full of dissatisfaction.

“When I confirmed the rules for Kerslin’s operation, it was established that all Third Grade adepts of the Association would have Second Class authority.”

“I know. This rule was unanimously agreed upon by all Fourth Grade adepts. Is there a problem with that rule? That kid is not an Association member at the moment!”

“The problem is that Kerslin sensed the aura of a ‘compatriot’ on him. That was why Kerslin considered him an ally, and the authority conference system was triggered!”

“A compatriot? You mean to say...that the kid also has some sort of animated lifeform on his person?”

“Yes,” the old adept quickly continued. “Of course, it could also just be similar to an animated lifeform!”

The booming voice fell silent for a moment before speaking, “That might be a possibility. According to the data obtained from investigations, Greem has Soul Equipment bound to his person. I’ve heard that he has managed to cultivate the Soul Equipment into a pseudo-contracted spirit with its own consciousness. Could that be what Kerslin sensed?”

“It’s possible, but we can’t be sure. We can only confirm by capturing that kid and examining him thoroughly. Chairman, do you think we should?”

“Forget it! We can’t touch that kid for the moment.” After a long break, the loud voice let out a long sigh. “We are holding a tournament soon. That kid is the protagonist we have gone to great lengths to prepare. We can’t make a move on him without a proper reason. So, just keep a closer eye on Kerslin and make sure no more security loopholes show up again!”

“Yes, Mr. Chairman, as you wish!”

“Mm. That will be it!”

The loud voice faded away, and that one bright ribbon of light vanished in an instant.

“A compatriot? Hehehe. It can’t be as simple as a contracted spirit. I’ve heard stories about this kid. He is able to pilot a giant, hundred-meter tall war golem and is even hiding a monster in another plane that is capable of assimilating magical metals. If I can dig out all of his secrets, it will be incredibly beneficial for gaining more control over Kerslin.”

The old adept couldn’t help but start mumbling to himself once he was the only person left in the arcane hall.

“However, that brat is currently the Association’s sweetheart. They are still hoping for him to be their scapegoat! Touching him right now would be...”

After thinking for a long time, Third Grade Yuri finally decided he wasn’t brave enough to go against the will of the great Fourth Grade adepts. He could only grit his teeth and instill this information about Greem in his mind as best as he could. Finally, he then fell asleep once again, his mental consciousness merging with the giant ball of light.

............

Kerslin Castle. Inside a strange room.

Sanazar casually turned off the long-ranged communication crystal on the wooden table before her and fell into a long period of silence.

Someone knocked on the room’s wooden door while the fires of fury were blazing furiously in her heart.

Sanazar opened the door and was shocked to find two powerful adepts in some apparel of strange design standing right outside, smiling at her.

“Gallow, Dante, why are the two of you here?” Sanazar’s voice was a little sharp. She was still hidden in her purple mist.

“Why aren’t you welcoming us? Won’t you even let us into your room?” Scarface Adept Gallow’s appearance was simply too horrifying. When he smiled, the numerous stitches and gashes on his face began squirming in unison. That tremendous visual impact was not something that the ordinary person could endure.

After a moment of hesitation, Sanazar finally stepped aside and let her two competitors walk into her room.

She closed the door and reactivated the defensive arrays before speaking in a tone of mild annoyance, “Speak, why did the two of you come all this way here to look for me?”

Scarface Adept Gallow took a look at the inside of the room before turning around and facing Sanazar. His two-meter tall physique and his horrifying face gave him an incredibly oppressive presence.

“Sanazar, how much do you know about the tournament this time?”

Adept Dante, whose silhouette was somewhat faint and blurry, also stared at the purple mist with interest.

Sanazar wasn’t in a hurry to answer. Instead, she stared at Gallow coldly and responded with her own question, “How much you know about it?”

Gallow smiled, flashing his teeth. “I don’t know much, but it’s more than enough.”

Sanazar laughed coldly, “You are Lady Kerala’s most hopeful subordinate for Fourth Grade advancement. Wouldn’t she make sure to look out for you?”

The smile on Gallow’s face became even more ‘brilliant.’

“Her Ladyship has indeed looked out for me, but...”

“Was Lady Kerala’s care not to your liking?”

“Hmph.”

Sanazar turned and looked at Dante, but he also hastily waved his hands and said, “Don’t look at me. I’ve been strictly warned as well.”

Sanazar nodded her head in understanding and said in a dejected tone, “It seems like the information the three of us have obtained matches. The winner of this tournament has been inofficially decided. It has to be Greem!”

“Mm!” A bitter smile appeared on Adept Dante’s blurry face, “I have also been warned. I can do whatever I want if I’m fighting the two of you, but I have to lose if I run into that Greem!”

“The ‘care’ I received is similar to that!” Gallow also chimed in with resentment and anger on his face.

“That brat has just offended Lord Declan. There is no way that the Association will turn around and support him all of a sudden. Therefore, I suspect that the Association is intentionally helping Greem become a Fourth Grade Association Adept as quickly as possible! Do the two of you have any insider information to share with regards to this?” Sanazar stared at her two ‘companions.’

Dante shrugged and put on an expression like he knew absolutely nothing.

Only Gallow lowered his head in silence, as if he was thinking about something.

After a long while, he finally raised his scary scarface that had been torn apart and stitched together. He spoke in a soft voice, “The Association is facing some trouble currently. The Great Adepts of the realms beyond have requested that all of the major forces choose a Fourth Grade to go on a mission. I’ve heard that it is fairly dangerous.”

“Then it’s pretty obvious what their intent is. This tournament is a trap. What the Association wishes to give away isn’t the origin substance, but the identity of an Association adept. The four of us have already reached peak Third Grade. It doesn’t matter which of us gets the origin substance. It will allow us to have an incredibly high chance of advancing to Fourth Grade and maybe master some powers of principles ahead of time.” At this point, even the typically calm and collected Sanazar started sounding frustrated.

“Perhaps we can try to fight for it? After all, a mission assigned from the realms beyond might be dangerous, but it not mean certain death! Moreover,” Adept Dante’s voice suddenly fell softer, “when it comes to talent and potential, both of you are superior to me. Your chance of advancing to Fourth Grade is also higher than mine.”

“What does potential and talent count for?” Scarface Gallow spoke out coldly, “When has there ever been an advancement that hasn’t been a struggle of life and death!? Were the current Fourth Grades of the Association all the most potent Third Grades of their time before their advancements? Hmph! There will always be a limit to individual effort! What truly determines our fate is damned luck!”

The three adepts couldn’t help but fall silent in dejection at this point in the conversation.

If they were to walk out of their towers, every one of them would still be prodigies envied by the entire world. However, they knew their own conditions and situations the best. Their past glory meant nothing for their advancement towards Fourth Grade. No one among the three of them had more than fifty percent chance of successfully advancing.

Advancement was a gamble!

Win, and they would naturally jump to the next level, becoming top-tier adepts in the World of Adepts no longer constrained or limited by any force or individual. However, if they lost the gamble? There were far too many losers who simply retreated in low-spirits, forever caught in their setback, and being reduced to an irrelevant character in the world.

Just flip through the historical chronicles of Zhentarim! Where were all the prodigies and geniuses that had popped up throughout the years now? In the end, these fourteen winners were the only ones who would be remembered by history!

Perhaps this was the deep darkness hiding behind the brilliant halo of glory that belonged to the adepts.

“I don’t care what you two think. Either way, I will be fighting for that origin substance!” Scarface Gallow smiled viciously and left promptly after leaving behind this one last statement.

Adept Dante sighed once again, but could only say his farewells and leave with a heavy heart.