Rufus was filled with intense killing intent, and Ronan noticed his left hand holding a bloodied head. As he recognized the face, Ronan's pupils slightly contracted.
It was the face of a young, beautiful woman, frozen in shock, pain, and fear from the moment of her death.
The key was her identity.
She was another third-level wizard genius from the Crimson Tower besides Rufus, who had also participated in the competition. As a female wizard, she had always attracted attention, leaving an impression on Ronan.
But now, the young witch was dead, her head gripped like a rotten apple in Rufus's hand.
From the scattered limbs and robes on the ground, this witch seemed to have been a "mole" from the Resurrection Society planted within the Crimson Tower. This space had previously held several Resurrection Society wizards.
Ronan squinted, casting an expert-level [Detection Spell], a faint white light glowing in his eyes.
He could even see the lingering resentment of the dead wizards encircling Rufus, hovering with a mix of fear and hatred.
He speculated that the Resurrection Society intended to control or kill Rufus, having sent at least three third-level wizards against him. Yet all had perished at Rufus's hands.
This low-key first genius of the Crimson Tower hid a violent ferocity beneath a facade of weakness, like an ancient demon cloaked in a wizard's guise.
Clearly, Rufus felt the same way about him.
The two silently stared at each other, an indescribable tension rising in the air, but neither moved to attack.
After a moment, Ronan calmly raised the mirror dagger in his hand, following the rotation pattern of the "cube map" in his mind, and lightly stabbed his shoulder.
As Ronan's figure disappeared, Rufus stood silently at the other end of the space, amidst a large mass of blood threads.
On his half-shattered flesh form, countless buds rapidly grew, healing his wounds and enveloping him once more.
His pale, handsome face gradually vanished into the mass of rolling flesh, with only two pin-sized, eerie eyes glinting with a crimson, bloodthirsty light.
"Silver Ring... Ronan Damien, is it."
"I'll remember this punch."
Ronan checked his position on the "cube map," silently calculating the rotation pattern of the silver cube in his mind.
In reality, there was no pattern.
The Dawn artifact was manipulated by the Resurrection Society, who knew his location and would rotate his current space to the "center of the prison," repeatedly returning him to "start."
But this didn't mean Ronan couldn't find a way to break free.
Just like how the mirror dagger required a thirty-second cooldown with each use, the Dawn-level spatial spell also needed some preparation time with each activation.
"As long as I can time it right..."
"Shhh—"
Ronan teleported, landing calmly, comparing his location on the "cube map" to his expectations.
This "game" was much simpler than the one he encountered in the mysterious garden secret realm.
A true master of spatial magic could construct complex and intricate mazes in a garden-sized area; a clumsy apprentice, even wielding a Dawn artifact, could only manage crude blockades.
"Two more... at most three more teleports, and I should be able to completely escape this prison..."
Ronan thought, timing the mirror dagger's cooldown, readying for the next teleport.
But then, in the empty space, a golden light orb filled with vitality suddenly entered.
Ronan paused, and the blurred female shadow entwined with the golden light orb hesitated upon seeing him.
Laura.
What a coincidence?!
"Damn it! What did those bastards lead me to?"
Laura, reduced to her soul core after Ronan completely shattered her flesh body, let out a piercing scream upon seeing Ronan's face, followed by a stream of curses.
The golden light orb quickly tore open a path, hastily trying to escape.
But Ronan was faster.
In an instant.
"Boom!"
Golden lightning seemed to explode in the space, swapping their positions.
In soul form, Laura looked at Ronan with extreme displeasure, while he curiously held a golden light orb in his hand.
"Is this the heart of the Immortal Wood?"
Ronan examined the amber-like object, its potent vitality hundreds of times richer than the Immortal Leaf he once took from Laura.
Having consumed most of his life force during the "fully giantified" state, merely holding this heart in his hand initiated a rapid recovery.
Ronan carefully stashed the heart away, looking up at Laura.
Her expression was as bleak as the fading light of dawn.
Her dark green eyes were filled with deep-seated resentment and hatred for him.
"Shhh—"
A silent rift opened beside Laura's soul form, and she glanced deeply at Ronan.
"I will return."
Ronan's eyes flickered, dismissing Laura's threat. He contemplated whether to chase her down and eliminate her.
After some consideration, Ronan decided against it.
Chasing Laura, in her soul form with spatial freedom, would be troublesome. The priority was to escape as planned.
With that, Ronan didn't spare Laura another glance, silently gripping the mirror dagger, selecting his next teleportation destination.
He was about to leave when he unexpectedly saw Laura, who had just left, returning through the ripples of space.
Her expression was fearful, her ethereal face tense and anxious, filled with screams and curses as if someone was pursuing her.
Someone else wanted Laura dead besides himself?
Ronan frowned, watching as Laura's form was tightly grasped by an invisible force, her soul stretched out before being gently clenched by a slender, powerful hand emerging from the air.
"Poof—"
As if snuffing out a tiny flame.
The hand's fingers closed, silencing Laura's screams and curses, her soul extinguished, utterly destroyed.
Ronan's pupils contracted slightly, without hesitation, stabbing the mirror dagger into himself.
"Shhh—"
The brief teleport ended, and Ronan landed, his expression growing serious as he took in his surroundings.
He was still in the same space.
But his position had shifted 500 meters in the intended direction.
This independent space had expanded, so much that a single teleport with the mirror dagger couldn't escape it. While he deciphered the Resurrection Society's manipulation of the Dawn artifact, they also discerned his means of space traversal.
So... they had crafted a unique "prison" just for him!
The owner of the hand that extinguished Laura's soul fully emerged from the air.
A tall black-robed figure, with an aura as deep and obscure as a black hole, stood quietly, absorbing all surrounding light.
Yet Ronan felt "heat," with blinding light emanating from beneath the blackness, causing him to squint.
He "saw" nine radiant mental power spheres, arranged in an unusual pattern, forming a tight circle.
The pinnacle of a third-level wizard was to condense nine mental power crystals, constructing a larger whole.
This black-robed wizard clearly stood at the final stage before advancing to the fourth level, on the brink of dawn.
Such power surpassed even the Silver Ring's leaders he had encountered.
Neither Kirstie, Caroni, nor Archido had given Ronan this impression.
"Third level peak... half-step dawn?"
Then, Ronan saw the surrounding void transform into a solid silver, reflecting a mirror-like brightness. He attempted to activate the mirror dagger again, but it merely flickered in place, unable to breach space.
One by one, black-robed figures emerged from the mirror-like void.
Most auras were familiar to Ronan, those who had come with Laura to besiege him.
They approached the first black-robed wizard, bowing their heads in salute, murmuring, "Dark Leader."
Ronan remained expressionless, but his power quietly surged.
His eyes turned pure white, fine lightning flickered from his pores, his form rising, muscles bulging as he re-entered the "fully giantified" state.
Almost without words.
Upon completing the "ancient giant form" transformation, Ronan vanished without warning.
Sensing the swift movement in the air, the Resurrection Society wizards surrounding the Dark Leader quickly scattered.
Like blinding white lightning, a massive, gnarled form suddenly appeared before the black-robed Dark Leader!
"Boom!"
Space collapsed with a drum-like thunder, countless white streams erupted between Ronan and the Dark Leader, forming a massive vortex.
Ronan maintained a punching posture, the [Ancient Rune] in his right palm channeling all his power, black light flowing like ink.
The violent currents lifted his long hair, flying high like a dark blue and white flag snapping in the wind.
Yet all the power in his punch was completely blocked.
The Dark Leader merely extended a hand, transparent light blooming from his palm, firmly halting Ronan's fist.
Invisible ripples cascaded from their clash, gently lifting the Dark Leader's robe, with countless mysterious runes faintly appearing around him.
Ronan's expression remained calm, but his ice-sealed eyes under [Lake of No Thoughts] trembled slightly.
When he first mastered the "fully giantified" state of [Immaculate Body], he tore apart Clemens's one-stage resonance domain with his bare hands.
Now, this state had strengthened tenfold, with the [Ancient Power] rune's enhancement.
Yet the Dark Leader blocked it single-handedly.
He hadn't even cast a spell, using pure mental power to nullify Ronan's punch.
The gap was vast...
Was this the power of a wizard truly standing at the peak of the third level?
Ronan inhaled quietly, shifting like a flash of white lightning, disappearing and reappearing.
Tungsten-steel and Neman alloy silvered over his body, solidifying into massive, jagged blades on his arms and legs.
"Whoosh—"
His body carved long, black traces in the air, attacking the Dark Leader from various angles.
No wizard fought like this, abandoning the composure and elegance of a wizard, like a primordial beast. The Resurrection Society wizards watched, their eyelids twitching.
Ronan's speed reached a level beyond the eye's ability to track, visible only as flashes of pure white and black lightning streaking towards the Dark Leader.
But no matter the ferocity of the assault, once within five meters of the Dark Leader, it was blocked by a transparent, viscous force, the black lightning ripples dissipating into waves.
"Haa—"
In a moment, the storm of attacks ceased.
The black ripples faded, revealing Ronan's figure.
"Inhale—exhale—"
Ronan breathed heavily, his form altered again.
His hair had a foot-long gradient of dark blue, his muscular giant form covered in dense, scale-like patterns, even the ice-sealed eyes showed signs of cracking and loosening.
The white center of his eyes held a hint of blood, leaking violent light.
The series of attacks and the surge of life force further awakened the ancient frost hydra bloodline within him.
Ronan seemed to hear the slick, sinister murmurs softly echoing.
"[Ancient Power]! Break—"
Countless streams of silver converged in his hands, under [Ancient Power] and his terrifying physical power, he plummeted like a meteor.
Within, only a grain-sized life force crystal shone brilliantly, the light bursting from his eyes, slamming into the Dark Leader.
"Boom!"
An unprecedented shockwave formed a massive white wave, washing outward, shaking the entire space.
The Dark Leader finally stepped back, his transparent, invisible wall deeply indented.
Ronan stood before the Dark Leader, his black-lit fists inches from the robe, inching closer.
On the verge of breaking through the barrier, the black hood lifted slightly.
"Aging."
A calm, deep voice sounded from beneath the robe, accompanied by a rapidly expanding gray circle.
In an instant, the black light on Ronan's fists shattered, his aura crumbling like a sandcastle in a rushing tide.
His flying hair fell limp, and Ronan stumbled back.
The violence in his eyes faded under the gray ring's eerie power, seemingly regaining calm.
As he retreated, Ronan made a horizontal slicing gesture.
Countless mysterious energies surged, three serene, flowing seven-colored rivers emerging in the void.
The rivers merged into one, silently rushing towards the Dark Leader's position.
"Two-stage domain resonance?!"
A shocked murmur arose, and the gaze beneath the silent black robe seemed slightly moved.
He raised his hands, extending them outward, dense shadows flowing from his arms, silently clashing with the vibrant river.
"Cough—"
Ronan staggered to the space's edge, looking utterly defeated.
He couldn't suppress his coughing, black, foul blood spraying from his mouth.
"Advanced curse power?"
Ronan looked at his hands, the veins receding, his skin slightly wrinkling.
[Immaculate Body] countered all curses, abundant life force negating most powers.
But now, his life force was nearly depleted, unable to maintain the "fully giantified" state, relying only on his body's toughness to resist the curse.
The power to age, wither, decay... even die.
Constantly consuming his remaining life force.
"Tap—tap—"
As if someone walked barefoot on a cold surface.
Blocking his last [Double Mirror Light]-enhanced [Shbiart's Seven-Color River], the Dark Leader approached step by step.
Ronan looked up, watching the approach calmly.
"Crack—"
Suddenly, a sound like shattering glass echoed in the silent space.
The Dark Leader halted, everyone looking up to see clear silver cracks appearing in the void.
"Dark Leader!"
Someone urgently called, and he raised a hand.
"The entire cube space is collapsing, the Dawn artifact's power is fading."
Ronan exhaled, looking at the seemingly unconquerable Dark Leader, calmly saying, "Aren't you leaving?"
"With the time remaining..."
The cold gaze beneath the deep robe fell on Ronan, "It's enough."
Ronan fell silent.
The Dark Leader continued forward, much faster than before.
The gray aging ring circled him, the closer he got, the weaker Ronan seemed.
As the robe neared Ronan, only a few meters away.
Ronan suddenly raised his head, blurting out:
"You want the World Stone coordinates I have, you don't necessarily need to kill me, right?"
The Dark Leader paused.
"Indeed, not necessary."
Ronan blinked, trying to lift his head, continuing, "What if I join you with the coordinates?
Turning to the dark...
Honestly, I've longed for the black robe for a long time!
Gray-robed wizards, really quite dull..."
"I've longed for the black robe for a long time, gray-robed, really quite dull..."
His clear voice echoed, met with bewildered faces beneath the black hoods.
Even the Dark Leader was taken aback.
He lowered his head as if pondering.
The sound of shattering space grew frequent.
Finally, the Dark Leader steadied, calmly saying, "If."
But his response was cut off by a soft laugh.
"Haha."
Ronan slowly stood, placing an amber-like gold piece in his mouth, chewing loudly.
He raised his right hand, fingers deeply pressing into his left chest, gently holding the sharp, hard bloodline crystal along with his heart.
Looking up, he gazed at the close black robe.
As if seeing through the deep darkness, glimpsing the true face beneath the robe.
Ronan's lips curled, looking at the Dark Leader, he laughed.
"I was just kidding."
With that, he clenched his right hand.
"Crack—"
The bloodline crystal shattered, merging with the "Immortal Wood" heart he had just swallowed.
Two unprecedented forces collided like torrents.
"Boom—"
Ronan's long hair surged, a terrifying aura spreading like ten thousand volcanoes erupting at once.
A hoarse, nearly indistinct voice echoed in everyone's ears.
"Bring! It! On!"
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