Under the terrifying pressure that felt like an overwhelming ocean, his heart, which had nearly stopped beating, was gripped by an intense stillness.
The Bloodline Crystal, firmly embedded in his heart like a nail, quietly shattered, and the fragments swiftly merged into his body.
At this moment, time seemed to stand still.
In a daze, Ronan felt as if he had returned once more to the dream he experienced when he first transplanted the "Hekalto" bloodline.
——
An endless expanse of snowfields, with raging blizzards; this was a world entirely belonging to ice and snow.
He stood atop a steep icy peak, looking up to see, through the hazy snow, the rounds of crimson suns and moons.
Those were His eyes.
Suddenly, a pair of "Crimson Suns" rapidly magnified, an ancient serpent's head larger than towering glaciers breaking through layers of frost, silently approaching Ronan, watching him without a sound.
Compared to Him, Ronan felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.
Yet at this moment, Ronan's mood was extraordinarily calm.
He stared intently at Him, seemingly forgetting the purpose of his arrival here.
Uncertain how much time passed, Ronan slowly reached out his hand.
His fingertips brushed against the serpent scales on the forehead of that ancient serpent, resembling the veins of a primordial glacier.
He saw a blood-red scale, adorned with a complex and exquisite rune pattern like a snowflake.
Gently caressing the pattern, he spoke softly.
"Beautiful."
In the next moment, the entire world around him, with its falling snow, froze and stopped.
Then it began to rise, until it boiled!
The vast ruins of Fairy Ancient City lay in silence.
The energy flow in the sky, swirling like countless evening glow, had dissipated without anyone noticing.
The entire sky presented an unprecedented clarity and brightness.
Serena's arrow seemed to have cleansed this realm.
"It's over."
Under the slowly receding golden light, someone murmured softly.
No one doubted the outcome of this battle.
With the full set of Dawn-Tier Magical Artifacts, the astonishing tenth Mental Power Crystal, and that arrow capable of piercing through the mist and breaking dawn, Serena's power could no longer be measured by conventional standards of mist-tier combat.
Perhaps, as some had said, this so-called contest of prodigies was merely a "game" for the proud daughter of the Central Wizard Empire, Serena.
Only when all the top talents of the South were combined could they possibly qualify to make her take it a bit "seriously."
Many wizards from the South fell silent, caught in a strange sense of regret and complex emotions.
They had witnessed the rise of the genius wizard named Ronan Damien, who had surged forth like a comet, a once-in-a-century prodigy from their South, initiating a blood battle, just a step away from completing it and obtaining the legacy, only to be forcefully suppressed by Serena.
To some extent, this was also a significant defeat for their Southern wizarding community.
"If... if only Ronan Damien had been given more time to reach the same level of mental power as Serena, the outcome of this battle..."
Someone spoke with a tone of reluctance, but could not finish, and those around merely shook their heads.
In this world, how many "ifs" could there be?
But regardless, the name Ronan Damien would be etched into the annals of Southern history, remembered by countless people for many years to come.
"Clemens."
"Do you think... Damien is still alive?"
In the crowd, the members of the Silver Magic Ring stood silently, someone turned to Clemens with a dazed expression, asking.
The latter's eyes were filled with an indescribable emotion, his lips pressed tightly together, offering no answer.
Across the heavy distance, Clemens could not see the residual Spell energy waves still lingering on the central platform, yet a voice in his heart kept saying—
How could someone like him die here!
"Damien should be fine."
In a position closer to the platform, Havid spoke in a low voice, comforting O'Ryan beside him.
"I've looked into Serena's background; although she is the princess of the Life Court in the Central Wizard Empire, her arrival in the South was aimed at recruiting Southern talents to strengthen her own faction. Damien has performed exceptionally well; Serena wouldn't want to kill him. If it were just for the legacy, she had countless opportunities earlier."
At this point, Havid sighed softly and said, "This battle ultimately had no suspense.
But Damien has already proven himself; he is undoubtedly the Chief Talent of this session."
The members of the Azure Mist Society around him nodded in agreement, their faces showing genuine admiration and emotion.
Indeed, the strongest inheritors of the three major wizarding factions in the South—Adam, Livicky, and Andariel—had all been defeated by Ronan.
If it weren't for Serena's appearance, Ronan would have been the chief of this session, and he would have been a standout among the strongest chiefs in history.
Serena was a "rule-breaking" existence, and she would eventually leave the South, returning to the Life Court in the Central region.
Once Serena departed, the South would be left with only the legend of Ronan Damien.
Listening to Havid and those around him softly lamenting, O'Ryan turned his gaze toward the void beside him.
He saw the figures of Jupiter, Rufus, and Andariel—those he had once viewed as targets to chase or rivals.
"Ronan Damien."
O'Ryan whispered this name, a hint of daze appearing in his eyes.
Even now, O'Ryan found it hard to believe that the person he once thought was always behind him had suddenly transformed into a star in the sky, needing him and those around him to look up in "awe."
On the Life Court side, the wizards showed no surprise at the outcome of this battle.
Grace, however, visibly tensed for a moment but soon relaxed under the whispers of the silver-haired witch beside her, her expression shifting from worry to a subtle complexity.
Above all their heads, Moriel yawned and stood up from the red lotus staff that served as a swing.
She squinted at Serena's direction, adopting a posture as if ready for a grand showdown at any moment.
It was over.
Almost everyone had this thought in their minds.
Serena's arrow had thoroughly drawn a conclusion to this grand gathering.
The wizards waiting for the final "wrap-up" phase began to discuss various aspects of this event in low voices, the noise gradually increasing. Even those who had been hidden in the void, silently observing, began to reveal themselves, watching the final curtain of this century-old contest.
Amidst this clamor, a figure with gray hair and green eyes stood calmly with a smile at the corner of his mouth.
"What an unforgettable experience."
Lin Di Si clapped his hands and sighed softly, "I haven't seen such an exciting and interesting plot in hundreds of years."
A figure in a black robe silently appeared behind him.
Then came the second, third, and fourth figures, as Lin Di Si continued to clap and marvel, one after another, like ghosts emerging behind him.
A shadowy group suddenly appeared among the crowd, yet strangely drew no attention from those nearby, as if they existed in another independent spatial dimension.
Suddenly, high above, a figure of an old woman in a black robe seemed to sense something.
She abruptly looked down, casting a sharp gaze like that of a white-headed eagle.
This gaze ultimately locked onto Lin Di Si, who smiled and met her eyes.
"Boom," the space between them seemed to collapse continuously.
"Doru, it's almost our turn to take the stage."
Lin Di Si watched the slowly rising figure of the old woman in the black robe, the corners of his mouth curving upward, and spoke softly, "Are you ready?"
Lin Di Si raised one hand, about to bring it down forcefully under the cold, indifferent gaze of the old woman in black.
However, at that moment, a strange wave suddenly caught their joint attention, and they instinctively looked in the same direction.
The vast ruins of Fairy Ancient City had unknowingly entered an atmosphere of absolute silence, the previously noisy sounds had mysteriously vanished.
The silence in the air was terrifying, as if all the air had stopped flowing.
Everyone seemed to sense something, all looking up at the same high sky.
——
That was the sky directly above the central platform.
In the originally clear blue sky, countless dark red lightning bolts, resembling tree branches and spider webs, had emerged without anyone noticing.
Thick and dense, they almost occupied half the sky.
The sky quickly darkened, large swathes of dark clouds rolled in, the temperature dropped rapidly, and the entire area of Fairy Ancient City seemed to have instantly transitioned from late autumn to the depths of winter.
A hint of dark red slowly fell from the sky.
In an instant, it transformed into countless points.
They were flakes of snow, exquisitely beautiful, resembling ancient and complex artworks, yet the color was dark red.
As if... soaked in blood.
Everyone looked up, their expressions dazed, gazing at this mysterious scene that exuded an inexplicable beauty, completely forgetting their words.
An indescribable atmosphere of unease descended from the sky, enveloping the entire area.
In this extreme cold and deadly silence, a deep voice, seemingly woven from two tones, echoed through the heavens and earth—
"Serena, our battle... is far from over."
At this moment, everyone seemed to see—on this stage of a grand event that was about to declare its end, a pair of large hands suddenly reached out, grabbing the curtain that had slowly begun to hang down, and then fiercely tore it apart to the sides!
(End of Chapter)