Chapter 115: Successful Promotion

Beneath a dim and gloomy sky, countless forms of sorcery manifested, some with power that transcended even Xius's imagination.

"Why am I here?" Xius looked down at his own ethereal form. He had forgotten that he was in the midst of advancing to a formal wizard; he was merely puzzled as to why he had suddenly arrived in this place.

"You must return!" A soft voice suddenly echoed within Xius's heart just as he prepared to look around.

"Who is that? Where am I supposed to return to?" Xius was startled by the voice. He remembered that no one on this battlefield had been able to see him.

Panicked, Xius glanced around and caught sight of the phantom of the ancient tree he had seen before. The massive apparition was constantly sweeping through the enemy ranks, absorbing them, and as it did so, the image grew increasingly solid.

As Xius watched, the phantom became indistinguishable from a real tree. Suddenly, the image shuddered, and a branch sprouted from it, darting toward him. Nearby, several members of the Elven race were also staring in his direction.

Xius could feel that these elves were capable of seeing him. Just as he was about to speak, the branch of the ancient tree pressed against his chest.

He felt as though he had lost the ability to speak. He could no longer see the battlefield; his vision was completely enveloped by waves of green light.

"Hah!" Xius woke up with a gasp, panting heavily. He looked around and suddenly remembered that he had been using a vitality potion to advance to a formal wizard.

"I—I remember now. I need to... I need to advance to a formal wizard..." Even now, the pain remained unbearable, though it was slightly better than before.

"Why was I in that place just now?" Xius felt that everything he had experienced was real. The sheer sense of realism made him wonder if he had somehow traveled through time and space once more.

"Beep! Host’s mental runes have finished splitting. Preparing to begin integration!"

"Beep! Defensive sorcery template: Elemental Body ready!"

The chip’s notifications forced Xius to set aside the thoughts racing through his mind. Successfully advancing to a formal wizard was the only thing that mattered now.

Inside his sea of consciousness, the purple-gold mental runes had converged, and a vast power was brewing within them.

"Beep! Interference from unknown energy detected. Integration failed!"

"How can this be?" Xius could hardly believe the chip’s warning. He never imagined that the unknown energy in his eyes would obstruct his advancement.

"Beep! Unknown energy detected to be highly active!"

"Beep! Unknown energy has begun to spread!"

"Aah!!!" A pain even more intense than before hammered at his nerves. With his stamina already depleted, Xius fainted once again.

Xius’s body began to turn scorching hot, and a leaf-shaped pattern—identical to the one on Roni’s brow—suddenly appeared on his chest.

Once the leaf pattern emerged, a surge of natural energy began to spread through Xius’s body, mending his physical form.

The dark red liquid in the pool suddenly began to contract, rising over Xius’s head and encasing him entirely. It formed a cocoon, and within it, Xius awaited his rebirth.

Time ticked by. The liquid encasing Xius shifted from dark red to purple, and wave after wave of heart-stopping power emanated from it, though it was contained by the surrounding sand walls.

The vitality potion, which had been in a liquid state, slowly transformed into an energy cocoon that seemed to breathe, expanding and contracting rhythmically.

"Teacher, is this the place?" A somewhat disheveled young man looked at the stone entrance Xius had blasted open, turning to face an elderly man approaching his twilight years.

Both appeared quite bedraggled. The young man was fine, save for some tears in his clothing, but the old man’s once-pristine robes were now stained by the yellow sand.

Despite this, the accessories they wore and the intricate patterns on their garments spoke volumes of their status.

"Yes, yes, this is the place. I can feel a surge of energy here. Do you know what this means? This is my last chance!" The old man stared at the cave entrance, his expression verging on madness. His lifespan was nearly exhausted, but if he could harness the energy he had sensed, he could leave Alkeri, go elsewhere to advance, and regain his vitality.

"But..."

"There are no 'buts'! Phoebe, you should understand what it means if I become a formal wizard!" Tafar looked at Phoebe with a grave expression.

"If I become a formal wizard, I can help you become the King of the Star Empire! I could even annex other empires! Do you not want that?"

"Yes, Teacher!" Phoebe’s voice grew urgent as he listened to Tafar. Every word his teacher spoke struck a chord in his heart; this was exactly what he desired.

With their own hidden agendas, the two decided to descend into the cave. As Xius had feared, someone had indeed discovered his location.

Tafar had originally been a wandering third-rank wizard apprentice. With no hope of advancement, he had joined the Star Empire. Just as he was waiting for death, he had sensed a massive surge of natural energy in the sky. Tafar knew that if he could obtain this energy, he would have a chance to advance.

Even if he failed to advance, the vast life energy would allow him to regain his youth. He had cast a tracking spell and followed the trail all the way from the Star Empire to the Black Sea Desert.

Fortunately, the Star Empire was not far from the desert, and Tafar had arrived at the entrance Xius had created with his student.

"Teacher, look! There is someone inside!" After descending, Phoebe saw the energy cocoon and Xius within it.

"The energy is in his chest!" Tafar also saw Xius and realized that the natural power was emanating from his chest—the very thing he had been desperately pursuing.

"No, I cannot stand by and watch this energy dissipate!" Tafar stared at Xius with a crazed look.

Inside the cocoon, Xius seemed to have reached a critical moment. His brows were furrowed, as if his transformation were nearly complete.

"Scorching Ray!" Tafar aimed a Scorching Ray at Xius. He did not know Xius’s current state, but it appeared the boy was performing some kind of ritual.

If that were the case, the target would have no chance to retaliate, and even if his consciousness returned, the backlash from the ritual would be more than enough to finish him off.

However, the sorcery stopped less than five centimeters from the energy cocoon, hovering in mid-air, motionless.

"How is this possible!" Tafar stared in horror; the scene before him defied his understanding. No sooner had he spoken than a thread of energy extended from the cocoon. The moment it touched the sorcery, the Scorching Ray dissolved into specks of fluorescent light and vanished into the cave.

"Run!" Phoebe, seeing this, had only one thought in his mind. He regretted coming down here with Tafar. What was a throne compared to survival?

Seeing Phoebe prepare to flee, Tafar grabbed him and hurled him toward Xius, turning to run toward the exit himself.

Before Phoebe could scream a curse, he was pierced through by a purple thread. Tafar, just reaching the cave entrance, met the same fate.

Both men dissipated into purple fluorescent light, and the purple threads retracted back into the cocoon.

Xius remained completely unaware of what had occurred in the cave; he was in a state of total unconsciousness.

The color of the energy cocoon began to fade, the purple light receding as Xius neared his rebirth.

The cocoon slowly vanished, leaving Xius lying flat on the floor of the now-dried-up pool.

"Did... did I fail?" Xius stirred and awoke. His mind was filled with the chip’s last notification about the failed integration of his mental runes.

"What is this?" Xius was still naked, but he suddenly sensed the power brimming beneath his skin and within his muscles. He felt remarkably clear-headed—hardly the state of someone who had failed an advancement.

Thinking of this, Xius immediately checked his mental power and discovered it had surged significantly compared to before.

"Did I succeed?" Xius felt the changes in his body with a look of pure joy.