It was this incredibly fortunate and coincidental slaying of a Fallen Emperor that bestowed upon Adept Gallow an incredibly powerful Undying Body. Over seventy percent of his power came from this Undying Body of his.
Ranked second was the Tyrant Adept, Sanazar of the Sarubo Clan.
She had inherited the strange bloodline of the Flying Venom Dragon and could transform into a mighty dragon during battle. She not only had incredible Physique and excellent magical resistance but fearsome poison as well.
As such, an ordinary Third Grade adept was hardly the opponent of Sanazar after her transformation.
In third was Legendary Fire Adept Greem, a unique existence whose legendary tales were endless.
It was his miraculous rise that had set several unreachable records within the Central Region.
It was said that this Adept Greem had only taken two hundred years to attain his current power since his advancement to First Grade!
Two hundred years might be a long time for ordinary humans, but it was hardly anything for adepts.
Two hundred years. That much time was perhaps only enough for an ordinary adept to reach advanced First Grade, yet Adept Greem had climbed to the peak of Third Grade.
Chapter 1032 - Am’s Feelings
While Fügen and Keoghan whispered to each other, a young adept standing near their side was staring into space.
The young adept stood there in a daze, as if the name repeatedly mentioned by the two adepts had touched on some memories of his. His face was full of confusion and frustration. Who knew what he was thinking about?
“Am…Am.” Adept Fügen had to call his name twice before he snapped back to reality.
“Oh, Lord Fügen, you called for me? I was thinking about something a little too hard there.” The young Adept Am smiled and hurriedly bowed before Adept Fügen.
“It’s nothing much. I just wanted to remind you of something. I heard that Meryl, the girl who advanced alongside you, has also arrived at Kerslin Castle. There’s a possibility that you will run into them there. You must be mentally prepared. Dammit! Even that girl’s advanced to Second Grade. What’s going on with this world.”
Am’s body trembled when he heard this, and he quickly lowered his head and acknowledged Fügen’s advice.
Adept Keoghan and Adept Fügen’s gaze lingered on him for a moment before moving away, but there was a trace of pity and cautiousness in the depths of their eyes.
Am was once the senior to the now-famous Fire Dragon Adept Mery. Both of them had been apprentice adepts personally taught by Greem. However, the path of development they each took had diverged tremendously.
Meryl had been an ordinary female apprentice with average talent. Advancing to First Grade was already an incredible fortune for her that had probably taken up most of her luck for the rest of her life. In comparison, Am definitely had far more potential for development after advancing to First Grade.
With Meryl’s disappointing talent, reaching intermediate First Grade by the end of her lifespan would already have been a commendable feat. Meanwhile, Am had the potential to reach advanced First Grade. If he was slightly more fortunate and could improve his powers to peak First Grade before the end of his lifespan, he would have one chance at advancing to Second Grade.
Thus, Am’s development should have been far superior to Meryl from every aspect!
Unfortunately, the path of one’s life would not always peacefully follow the predicted trajectory.
Naturally, being able to advance to First Grade, Meryl’s heart was filled with gratitude towards her teacher. As such, she defended Greem at every turn and juncture, displaying tremendous loyalty to her teacher. Even when a rift appeared between Greem and the Sarubo leadership, she chose to stand by her teacher’s side without any hesitation.
Meanwhile, Am…chose a different path.
Tempted by Adept Fügen’s words and promises, Am didn’t look favorably upon Greem’s decision to secede from the Sarubo Clan. He had willingly become a spy and a sellout. It was his betrayal that caused insider information of Fire Throne to flow into the hands of Adept Fügen.
The first crisis of extermination that Fire Throne had faced was when a Third Grade vampire led his clan members to attack the tower.
Greem’s faction should not have had any chance of surviving under those circumstances.
Am took advantage of that crisis to officially leave Greem’s faction, return to the Sarubo Clan, receive Adept Fügen’s reward, and become his disciple.
However, the changes that followed were entirely beyond everyone’s expectations.
Not only did Greem’s faction survive, but they even managed to obtain more power through the multiple crises they had to deal with.
They slaughtered the vampire clan, beat back the allied army of five adept clans, and Greem himself even killed the Third Grade Adept Yurga in a fair duel. Recently, the Crimson Clan had thwarted the invasion of the Fabres Clan, one of the five mega-clans in Zhentarim. Am’s former teacher, Greem, even displayed his powerful might and forced the Fourth Grade body-refining adept, Declan, to run away.
This series of events was stunning and mind-boggling news!
Am even heard that Greem had ‘wasted’ an incredibly precious fire dragon’s bloodline on Meryl as a reward for her continuous loyalty and diligence.
When Am heard news of this, his heart was rent in two!
He shut himself in his room, smashing and thrashing every single object there, including the limited edition alchemical platform he had purchased at high cost.
In his crazed state, Am even summoned several of the female apprentices he was training and ravaged them for three days and nights before he managed to calm down. Of course, after the whole matter, Am spent another sum of resources to conceal the mattere of his outburst.
However, from that day onwards, his heart had been upended.
It was important to note that back when he was an apprentice adept, he was the only one among Greem’s five apprentices who possessed fire as his primary attribute. If–Am had fantasized over and over again–if he had still at Greem’s side, could there have been anyone else besides him who would have inherited the legendary fire adept’s powerful fire techniques?
It was these impractical delusions that tortured Am at the very core of his being.
He thought about it day and night, so much so that it was almost as if he had been possessed!
It couldn’t be helped! He couldn’t avoid thinking about it.
His identity and what he has done was well-known throughout the clan. As such, whenever something happened in the distant Crimson Clan, the members of the Sarubo Clan would look at him with a weird look in their eyes.
He hated this expression to death!
He needed no pity, nor did he want to see others rejoicing at his circumstances. Most of all, he did not want to hear anything regarding the Crimson Clan.
Unfortunately, the feats of the Crimson Clan were simply too shocking and unbelievable!
When the Fabres Clan marched out in full force and invaded the Crimson Clan’s territory without opposition, all of the Sarubo adepts had gone to praise Am for his excellent foresight in escaping that terrifying death trap ahead of time.
Am had even rejoiced over his decision for a while.
However, when the legendary fire adept forced the Fourth Grade adept to flee upon his appearance and slaughtered the Fabres army, all of the Sarubo Clan adepts fell silent. The looks they gave Am returned to the usual as if they were looking at the biggest, most foolish idiot in the world.
During that time, Am also lost an incredible amount of weight.
In all honesty, when he heard that the legendary fire adept was making history once again in being selected as one of the Third Grades for the Association’s tournament, Am was incredibly calm.
Adept Fügen and Adept Keoghan had no intention of bringing Am along on their trip to Kerslin Castle. However, for some unknown reason, Am had actively reques
ted that his teacher bring him along.
Even Am couldn’t explain why he wanted to come.
He no longer wanted to dwell on the rights and wrongs of his choice in the past.
All he wanted to do now was see his former teacher and his old companions with his own two eyes. As for why he wanted to see them, what he would do after seeing them, Am had absolutely no clue.
…………
Five days later, the flying ship finally arrived at Kerslin Castle.
As the dense crowd of people walked down the flying ship, the first thing that came into view was a massive and beautiful plaza. The plaza was tiled with moonwhite stone that glowed brilliantly in the warm sun. If this were nighttime, then after having absorbed an entire day’s worth of light elementium, the moonwhite stone would emanate a soft and faint light, making the place even more beautiful and unreal.
An incomparable giant statue stood at the center of the plaza. It was in the liking of an old adept dressed in an adept’s robe, standing at over a hundred meters tall. The statue of the adept was carved out of a large stone. Every single detail, from the eyes and the brows to the skin and the robe itself, was life-like and realistic. It was the peak of craftsmanship.
Anyone would have thought that this was a living adept at first look, an adept carefully assessing every outsider that came to Kerslin Castle.
“This is Adept Csanad, first Chairman of the Zhentarim Association.” Adept Keoghan lifted his head to look at the statue and lamented.
Of course, Keoghan and Am knew that Adept Fügen wasn’t lamenting the deeds and accomplishments of this Chairman Csanad, but his regrets. Regardless of how talented Chairman Csanad was, he had never managed to cross the threshold of Fourth Grade to become a Great Adept.
As such, he was fated never to achieve immortality, dying of old age in Kerslin Castle at 1,173 years of age.
However, this was Kerslin Castle. If Adept Fügen were to express this lamentation of his out loud, it would be considered offensive to the Association. He could only express his feelings through a simple sentence like that.
“The fire dragon adept. It’s the fire dragon adept…”
Suddenly, a commotion spread out amongst the adepts who were enjoying the scenery of Kerslin Castle. Gasps and cries rang out throughout the plaza.
Fire Dragon Adept Meryl?
Adept Keoghan and the two others were stunned for a moment. They quickly turned their heads in the direction where the voices were coming from.
Two young and spirited female adepts walked side by side near a stone arch on the west side of the plaza. They were greeting a group of adepts that had just walked down from a flying ship.
Over the past decade, as the Crimson Clan was subtly acknowledged as a Fourth Grade force, more and more adept clans became willing to form alliances with them. In particular, small and mid-sized clans that lacked in power were ready to lean towards a rising group like the Crimson Clan in hopes of borrowing their strength to fend off advances by their enemies.
As such, as one of the authority figures of the Crimson Clan, Meryl had to maintain intimate connections with the allies of the clan, even if she was thousands of kilometers away from headquarters.
Now was such a case. A few allies of the Crimson Clan had come to Kerslin Castle in support of them today. Thus, Meryl had come here to welcome them.
Apart from the clan allies, Meryl and Emelia also greeted the other adepts that stepped forward to greet them. When the two pretty female adepts stood side by side, it was truly a very refreshing sight to take in.
Meryl would not have been considered a top beauty in the past. At the very best, she had been a gentle and demure woman.
However, nourished by the fire dragon’s bloodline, Meryl’s figure had become increasingly slender and pretty. Her smooth skin radiated with an overwhelming energy aura, giving off a sense of tremendous power.
Worldly beauty had no value to adepts. Uncontested strength was the only beauty that they acknowledged!
Am looked upon the pretty, smiling figure in the distance through the crowd, his heart once again torn in two.
Chapter 1033 - Bluesea Plane
Kerslin Castle appeared to be exceptionally eye-catching with all its decorations.
Countless stone tiles of uniform shape and size paved the main path leading to the castle. The path led upwards, winding around until it reached the massive lapis lazuli gate of the main castle. On either side of the road were a series of shops and small fountain plazas. Every region was distinctly unique, making for a varied and colorful splendor.
There was great variety in the style of architecture around Kerslin Castle. There were domed buildings, pointed roofs, flat roofs, murals, and stained glass walls and windows. The entirety of Kerslin Castle had been revamped to welcome the representatives of adept clans coming from all over Zhentarim and was refreshing to view.
The adepts that had rushed here for the event also came in all sorts of strange and distinct vehicles.
Apart from the public flying ships, some adepts came on wyverns, griffins, Socrates Condors, two-headed chimeras, and other winged beasts. The adepts with more unusual tastes slowly arrived on Berserk Elephants, Armored Tyrant Bears, Moraq Goats, Magiclaw Lizards, and other strange creatures.
These accompanying magical beasts and creatures could not be brought into Kerslin Castle and had to be left in the large stables outside the plaza. The people diligently receiving the adepts here were all elite apprentices cultivated by the Association. Not only were they dressed well and had proper etiquette, but they were also impressively powerful.
With their abilities, they would be treasured prodigies in any of the small clans, shielded from any kind of danger. Here, however, they had to lower themselves to do the work usually left to ordinary slaves.
It couldn’t be helped. There were far too many adepts coming into Kerslin Castle during this time. All of the adepts were of different grades as well. If mortal slaves were the ones working the reception for the Second and Third Grade adepts, they would have to be replaced with a new group of slaves every thirty minutes.
After all, most high-grade adepts had twisted and unusual personalities. An ordinary mortal would not be able to endure their elementium radiation if they didn’t actively hold back their overwhelming magical energies.
Most foreign adepts had no right to enter Kerslin Castle. They could only find a place of shelter near the castle and await the day of the tournament.
Many impressively constructed flying ships descended in the port daily. Adepts dressed in uniform robes with uniform emblems on their chests would then ride towards the main castle on black carriages under the lead of Association adepts.
These were all famous large clans and organizations in Zhentarim. Naturally, they wouldn’t have to lower themselves and stay outside the main castle. Moreover, they were obviously reasonably familiar with the Association adepts. They immediately gathered together with the Association adepts upon arrival and hid in their rooms to whisper gossip and rumors.
No outsiders had no idea what the Association leadership was thinking about in coming up with this tournament.
However, if the most powerful person were to be selected at the end of the tournament to advance to Fourth Grade, then the quicker the news, the more initiative they would have in the political changes that would follow.
Of course, such an initiative meant hardly anything to Fourth Grade adepts, but it could decide the rise or fall of those small and mid-sized clans. It was only natural for them to become nervous about the whole affair!
Of course, the selection of the strongest Third Grade within the Association this time had also attracted the attention of the other three major forces.
It was said that the three forces had already sent out undercover observers to witness the entire tournament in hopes of indirectly gaining insight into Zhentarim’s development over the recent years.
The battlefield for the tournament was set to be
in a lesser plane known as Bluesea.
The four peak Third Grade powerhouses would be split into two groups. They would be teleported to different regions in the Bluesea Plane, where they would engage in a fifteen-day-long battle. The two participants would each have half of a fixed teleportation crystal on their person. They would be able to successfully return to Kerslin Castle after obtaining their opponent’s half of the teleportation crystal.
The people to successfully return to Kerslin Castle would be the winners of the preliminary.
If neither competitor could obtain the other person’s teleportation crystal, then it would be considered a loss for both of them, and they would both be eliminated.
The finals would be held fifteen days after the first preliminary with the same rules and win conditions. The one to obtain a complete teleportation crystal and return would be ruled as the victor.
These rules meant that the person who wished to become the strongest Third Grade of Zhentarim had to defeat two competitors in succession in a span of thirty days. It was both a test of power as well as a test of determination.
Of course, if any person could dispatch their opponent in a single day and return to Kerslin Castle, they would have not only fourteen days to rest, but also the opportunity to watch their next opponent fight. It would be incredibly helpful to know more about their opponent before going into the finals.
That said, while that might sound like a brilliant idea, it wasn’t exactly the most practical.
After all, the adepts that had been chosen for this tournament were all peak Third Grade veterans that had fought in hundreds of battles. They were incredibly experienced. None of them should be able to defeat their opponent easily.
…………
Bluesea Plane.
It was a small plane with a vast landmass and a wealth of biological and ore resources.
Ever since it became a lesser plane of the Zhentarim Association, the most powerful individuals among the natives had already been captured or killed. The survivors were then reduced to slaves and ore miners beneath the Association, spending their days working in all sorts of plantations and lightless mines.
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