"Why have I never seen this person before?"
"He's only at the early stage of level three, two whole realms below Andariel. Where did such a powerful and domineering ice magic inheritance come from in the south?"
"Not only is he a top-tier ice mage, but he also practices metal magic. I can even sense fluctuations of spatial magic..."
Whispers of disbelief and shock filled the air among the onlookers, with every wizard's eyes reflecting a deep sense of astonishment.
As the contest for the talented positions in Herams began, some may have thought that Andariel could be defeated, but no one expected that he would fall in the first round, and to a "nameless" mysterious wizard at that.
An inexplicable emotion rolled through the crowd like a growing boulder.
On the side of the Azure Mist Society, although Claire had given them a "precautionary warning," the few mid-tier wizard talents led by Havid were still greatly impacted, exchanging glances and left speechless.
Even Claire himself, beneath his relatively calm demeanor, felt a storm brewing in his heart.
He knew Ronan was strong and that after advancing to level three, Ronan's power would surely undergo another transformation, but he never imagined it would be to such an extent, shattering Andariel's "terrifying myth" with just one encounter.
"He shouldn't have mastered level three spells yet."
Claire bit his lip, instinctively glancing at O'Ryan beside him.
He saw that O'Ryan's eyes were somewhat dazed and unfocused, lost in thought.
Ronan stood calmly in the air, picking up Andariel's severed arm, prying open the clenched fingers to retrieve the gray-white bone spike held within.
In fact, he hadn't completely evaded the attack of the bone spike; the black ghostly light it emitted had still affected him to some degree.
This influence came from the soul, causing a slight burning sensation.
It was hard to imagine what his condition would be if he had been fully struck by the ghostly light.
No wonder Andariel had considered it a "trump card" to use; of course, now this "trump card" belonged to him.
Ronan stored the bone spike in his spatial ring, intending to examine it later when he had the time. He raised his gaze to where Andariel was standing, illuminated by a glowing stone pillar in the distance.
During the contest, wizards who had not completely lost their combat ability would only be stripped of most of their soul gray smoke after a single defeat, but they still had the chance to continue participating.
Thus, even after losing an arm, Andariel was not "expelled." The soul gray smoke surrounding him was simply too dense; a small portion remaining was enough to light up the stone pillar and qualify him for a seat.
Ronan gained significant benefits; the gray smoke he had plundered from Andariel coalesced into a vast gray cloud behind him, greatly enhancing his soul power.
At this moment, he maintained the battle-ready state of the [Lake of Extreme Boiling] for an extended period, which left him slightly fatigued, yet his overall condition was even better than before his fight with Andariel.
The fourth Mental Power Crystal, which had only recently formed in his consciousness space, had expanded several times, and he even felt he was on the verge of condensing the fifth crystal.
"This battle isn't over yet. Why are you in such a hurry to retreat?"
Ronan had no intention of letting Andariel off the hook. As he spoke, he stepped through the void, walking toward Andariel one step at a time.
An invisible pressure slowly emanated from Ronan.
The onlooking wizards were momentarily stunned by this scene, and then their expressions turned excited.
When had they ever seen Andariel provoked like this? When had they seen the imperious Andariel forced into such a position? Many were breathing rapidly, anticipating the moment when Andariel would truly be defeated.
"I admit I underestimated you. You've been holding back for a long time, haven't you? For this very moment."
On the stone pillar, Andariel, having lost an arm, wore a face so dark it seemed it could drip water.
He looked at Ronan, pulling out a robust arm from his spatial ring that was quite disproportionate to his own body, placing it on his shoulder, sprinkling some kind of powder, and quickly reciting a spell.
Soon, the newly attached arm began to move freely, but compared to the other arm, it appeared somewhat deformed and strange.
Andariel took a slow step forward, exuding an aura that seemed even more terrifying than before.
Ronan was not surprised; as someone at the pinnacle of the younger generation of wizards in the south, Andariel could not simply be defeated like that.
He surely had other means, other trump cards yet to be revealed. Once all underestimations were set aside, the Andariel to come would be the most dangerous.
Of course, Ronan was also looking forward to it.
Ronan and Andariel locked eyes from a distance, an invisible momentum rising from both of them, clashing in the void.
The atmosphere in the arena suddenly became tense again.
Almost everyone was focused on this battle, but at that moment, a sudden commotion interrupted the impending clash.
"Quick! There are only three spots left!"
Several wizards rushed toward the central stone pillar, and many only then realized that, at some point, the light curtain symbolizing the progress of the first round of the contest had shrunk closer.
In fact, one overly focused wizard was caught off guard and swept by the light curtain, directly eliminated from the contest.
Chaos erupted in the arena.
As the contest progressed, most of the seats had already been settled, with only a few previously occupied by Andariel still vacant. Now, only three remained.
Involving their own interests, many wizards could no longer afford to just "watch the show," and they rushed toward the remaining three stone pillars.
Many realized halfway that the soul gray smoke on them was insufficient to light the pillars, leading to a small-scale brawl.
The sudden chaos made Ronan frown. He saw Andariel looking at him with a cold smile, his lips moving—"I will wait for you in the arena, twisting your head off bit by bit," and then he turned his face away, seemingly no longer looking at him.
Ronan quickly lost his fighting spirit as well; compared to defeating Andariel once more, the upcoming ranking battle for talented positions was clearly more important.
At present, the soul gray smoke surrounding him was as vast as a cloud, more than enough to light a stone pillar.
With the example of Andariel's severed arm, no one in the arena dared to contest with Ronan.
He flew toward a stone pillar, and the wizards near it immediately scattered, leaving no one to obstruct this terrifying newcomer from the south.
Ronan did not rush to light the stone pillar but instead directed his gaze toward the Azure Mist Society and the others.
He didn't mind grabbing a spot for O'Ryan as well, but after witnessing his battle with Andariel, O'Ryan seemed to have lost much of his edge. When Ronan looked at him inquiringly, O'Ryan simply shook his head slowly.
However, Havid, the president of the Azure Mist Society beside him, had a look of eagerness on his face.
Moments later.
The light curtain stopped shrinking, and in the center of Fairy Ancient City, all thirty-two towering light pillars lit up.
The previously hazy Fairy Ancient City suddenly became clear and real at this moment, as the barriers between the inside and outside seemed to be completely broken.
The eliminated wizards retreated one by one, revealing the figures of tens of thousands of wizards waiting outside to watch.
The vast ancient city slowly sank beneath countless retracting colorful lights, leaving only thirty-two magnificent white light pillars between heaven and earth.
All the talents of Herams had taken their seats, and the climax of this grand event was about to begin.
"Thank you, Damien.
Once this contest is over, I will gather all members of the Azure Mist Society and nominate you to be the president."
Havid stood on a neighboring stone pillar platform, bowing to Ronan from a distance to express his gratitude.
Ronan shook his head, saying nothing.
In the end, he had helped Havid secure a position, and with him included, the Azure Mist Society had two members in the top thirty-two, which was quite a good achievement.
Now, it seemed to be the preparation phase for the upcoming ranking battle.
On the thirty-two seats, everyone was silently preparing and waiting.
Many gazes fell on Ronan; the outcome of his battle with Andariel had exceeded many people's expectations, and many were astonished by this dark horse that had suddenly emerged.
Ronan returned the gazes that scrutinized him, the first one he saw being Serena.
It was rumored that Serena was the first to light a stone pillar and had faced little challenge afterward.
The top talents of the first tier had tacitly avoided conflict during the first round of the contest, and even Andariel would only seize seats and harvest lesser talents in the final stages.
Ronan's early clash with Andariel was undoubtedly an accident; he originally did not need to step on such a significant stepping stone to rise.
At this moment, the princess from the central Life Court maintained her usual lofty demeanor, looking at Ronan with a calm gaze.
This gaze made Ronan feel quite uncomfortable.
He knew very well that people like Serena would never regard you with respect unless you defeated her in the very aspects she was most proud of.
"If given the chance..."
Ronan's eyes lowered, avoiding Serena's gaze.
He really wanted to try doing just that.