Three months passed in a quiet blur. For the students of Rose Petal Royal Academy, daily life had largely returned to its usual routine, save for the lingering whispers surrounding the sudden disappearance and presumed death of Senior Professor Wright Reel.
The initial news had sent shockwaves through the campus. That a powerhouse of Wright's standing could be ambushed and kidnapped without a trace on the outskirts of the Academy Forest raised severe safety concerns.
However, because the incident occurred beyond the central perimeter, the academy's administration successfully contained the political fallout.
Wright's remaining supporters attempted to demand a full investigation, but without evidence or leads, their protests quietly fizzled out.
Among the imperial elite, only a select few understood the true horror of what had transpired: Queen Crista, Principal Keith Henry, and Lita.
While external factions assumed Lucian Alister was simply a high-born noble backed by a formidable clan, Keith knew better. The old principal realized that beneath Lucian's polite scholarly facade lay an apex predator who would casually deploy dangerous means like Soul Fire to incinerate his obstacles, and most probably has the support of the faction under His Eminence.
Following Wright's elimination, Queen Crista's attitude shifted drastically. She mobilized the full weight of the royal treasury under her to fulfill Leylin's resource requests, eager to keep the mysterious powerhouse appeased.
Her covert intelligence agents had meticulously audited Lucian's schedule on the day of Wright's disappearance, only to find an airtight mundane routine. The clean execution terrified her.
For Leylin, these three months were exceptionally productive. With Lita managing his administrative affairs as an exceptionally capable personal secretary and an endless stream of rare materials delivered directly to his laboratory, he fully immersed himself in research.
For a Magus, months spent in isolation were merely brief moments of progress.
Sitting behind his mahogany desk, Leylin took a slow puff from a fine cigar, letting a plume of aromatic smoke drift toward the ceiling before taking a sip of aged wine.
Seated opposite him was the silver-haired beauty known to the academy as Rhea Allen. Her posture was stiff, her expression vacant, and a vivid purple light swirled within her pupils.
It had taken Leylin weeks of refinement to construct a Rank 3 variant of his vision spell, the Abyssal Purple Demon Pupils specifically engineered to suppress the Brigadier-Stage soul imprint embedded within her sea of consciousness.
"Let us start from the beginning," Leylin said smoothly, leaning back in his chair. "Tell me... what is your real name?"
"My name is Blair Welbring," the girl replied in a flat, hypnotized monotone.
Leylin searched his memory, but the name triggered no regional references. "Continue."
"I was born into the house of a Great General within the White Tiger Dynasty," Blair explained. "My father is Rakim Welbring, one of the military commanders of the empire. In any of the Four Great Dynasties, only those of direct royal bloodline may hold noble titles in the Imperial Capital. My father is from that direct lineage, making him one of the strongest individuals in the entire dynasty. I am his only daughter. My mother passed away during my birth, and he chose never to remarry. I was raised like a princess, not just by my family, but by the whole capital... until my ceremony."
Leylin's eyes glinted with intrigue. "What happened during your ceremony?"
"When my Innate Beast was tested... it manifested as a mutated Wampus Cat," Blair said, a trace of suppressed anguish creeping through her hypnotic trance. "In the Four Great Dynasties, strict bloodline laws dictate that only those possessing pure Ancient Bloodlines or their primary derivative are permitted to remain in the Capital to receive resources and cultivation. All others are cast out. No one dared physically harm me due to my father's standing, but the political disdain and constant insults were unbearable. To protect me, my father sent me to this vassal empire to integrate into the local royal family. As a General, he holds the authority to depose this empire's rulers and crown me queen if he so wishes. To the higher-ups of the Dynasties, secondary empires are merely disposable ants."
Leylin evaluated her story calmly. The bloodline purism of the Four Great Dynasties was absolute; any offspring born with diluted or mutated lower-tier beasts were disowned to preserve the capital's concentration of power.
"Tell me about your father's exact strength level," Leylin commanded.
"My father's strength is at the peak of the Brigadier Stage (Rank 3 Vapour-State Magus)." Blair answered softly. "His Innate Beast is an Abyssal Tiger. He is widely acknowledged as the strongest General in the White Tiger Dynasty."
"And what of the rulers of the Four Great Dynasties? Who are the strongest entities in this world?"
"The mainstream power structure is dominated by the Four Great Emperors," Blair recited. "His Imperial Majesty of the White Tiger Dynasty is Kaminsky Ravinia Dyly XVII. I do not know his exact strength, but my father once admitted he could not last a single exchange against him. His Majesty commands the legendary White Tiger, just as the rulers of the other three dynasties command the legendary Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise."
Leylin processed the data, using the A.I. Chip to map the comparative power matrix:
Sergeant Stage: Rank 1 Magus equivalent.
Captian Stage: Rank 2 Magus equivalent (divided into Initial, Middle, and Final sub-tiers).
Colonel Stage: Peak Rank 2 Magus equivalent.
Brigadier Stage: Rank 3 Magus (Vapour State).
In the Magi World, a Rank 3 Magus progressed through three distinct spiritual phases: Vapour, Liquid, and Crystal. Each stage represented a three-to-five-fold leap in energy density, creating an insurmountable chasm between a newly promoted Vapour-State Magus and a peak Crystal-State entity.
'The bloodline lineages of the Four Great Dynasties... White Tiger, Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.' Leylin analyzed, his thoughts racing with thrill. 'They function identically to Ancient Warlock bloodline hierarchies, like the Giant Kemoyin Serpent compared to its lesser derivatives like the Black Horrall Snake. If I can acquire their pure bloodline samples and ancestral cultivation texts...'
"His Majesty and the other three Emperors are known in the ancient texts by a sacred title," Blair continued, her voice echoing in the quiet office. "In the forgotten tongue of the ancient ancestors, they are called Irues Derutuei Warloi No Savioure, which translates to—"
"—THE FOUR GREAT WARLOCKS," Leylin and Blair uttered simultaneously.
Leylin's eyes flashed with a blinding, dark radiance. The realization clicked into place like a master key turning in a lock, and a solidified aura erupted from his body, rattling the crystal glasses upon his desk.