Sovereign of the Ashes

Among Feylis’ apprentices, Lorianne was the only one who had not visited the Knight Continent yet.

This absence lent credence to the rumor that visiting the Knight Continent—and surviving the experience—almost guaranteed elevation to the demigod level.

In her earlier years, Lorianne had multiple opportunities to travel to the Knight Continent, but each time, unforeseen circumstances prevented her journey.

Now that she had advanced to Rank Four, the costs and requirements to venture there had significantly increased.

Lorianne could no longer independently apply for a trip to the Knight Continent.

Instead, her mentor had to leverage a portion of her contributions from the Neisse Star Domain war to facilitate Lorianne’s exploration.

Moved by her mentor’s support, Lorianne’s eyes misted with emotion.

This epitomized the unique bond between mentor and apprentice in the Magus World.

Even among the dark mages, there were benevolent figures like Morsidor, let alone spellcasters raised in normal environments.

After careful consideration, Lorianne declined the offer in the end.

She was reluctant to impose such a significant burden on Feylis and, from a practical standpoint, deemed it unsuitable to explore the Knight Continent of the Western Archipelago at this time.

It had only been less than a few centuries since her promotion to Rank Four, and she still had much to learn about controlling the power of laws unique to her new rank.

Right now, her priority was to consolidate her newfound abilities rather than venturing into new territories.

Besides, the Viridian Venom Flame World war had just ended, and the development of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring was progressing rapidly.

If she were to leave the Viridescent Land to travel to the Knight Continent of the Western Archipelago for nearly a hundred years, it could jeopardize both the growth of the Divine Tower and her own progress.

Mages were a learned and sensible group, and Lorianne and Feylis were among the best of them.

After Lorianne explained her reasoning, Feylis nodded in agreement.

Lorianne’s decision not to go did not preclude others from going.

Feylis mentioned that Gregory, Bernice, and many apprentices under Andres and Holfson were planning to explore the Knight Continent.

These individuals were all direct apprentices under tower masters from a powerful divine tower, so Feylis was obligated to look after them.

Hence, the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame would become the referral for Andres and Holfson’s apprentices.

Gregory and Bernice’s apprentices would be managed by themselves—the Divine Tower of Whispering Flame and the Divine Tower of Floating Flame respectively.

Currently, Sein was Lorianne’s only apprentice.

Given that Feylis had always shown a preference for Lorianne, it was natural that she paid extra attention to Sein.

Upon hearing her mentor mention her apprentice, Lorianne replied, “Sein set out a few years ago to explore the Magus World, and I’m not exactly sure where he is now.”

In the light screen, Feylis appeared surprised as she exclaimed, “Really? That kid started his travels so early?”

Lorianne smiled wryly and responded, “I advised him to wait until he reached Rank Two, but he’s quite a stubborn one.”

“Well, it’s not necessarily a bad thing for him to start early and witness the prosperity and grandeur of the Magus World. However, he might miss out on this expedition to the Knight Continent,” Feylis remarked.

“Sein is exceptionally talented in research. Being a Rank One mage won’t be his ultimate potential. Even if he misses this opportunity, there will still be another chance,” Lorianne responded confidently.

Although she described her apprentice as “stubborn”, it was evident that Lorianne still deeply cared for and supported Sein.

Aware that Sein had once received a wisp of Planar Light from the Summer Guardian, Feylis agreed that being a Rank One mage was certainly not his ultimate potential.

Although the typical lifespan of a Rank One mage was about a thousand years, Sein simply needed to advance beyond Rank Two to secure a much longer life and wait for the next opening of the Knight Continent in another millennium.

At over nine thousand years old, Lorianne had not visited the Knight Continent due to various circumstances, so Sein should not have to worry about it.

Since Lorianne and Sein were going to miss this trip to the Knight Continent, the main purpose of Feylis’ call was addressed.

After exchanging a few more words, Feylis prepared to end the communication.

After all, maintaining ultra-long-distance interstellar communication was challenging, and other matters could wait until Feylis’ return to the Magus World.

Before ending the communication, however, Lorianne asked, “How is the war in the Neisse Star Domain progressing, Master? When will you return to the Magus World?”

On the screen, Feylis laughed softly. “It’s going well. In fact, I can even say that the war is already over for us. We could return to the Magus World in as little as thirty years, or at most, a hundred.”

Feylis’ face glowed with the success of the war and the influx of war gains, clearly delighted by the outcome.

However, Lorianne knew that her mentor had her own concerns.

In their previous communication, Feylis had only mentioned Gregory and Bernice’s commendable performances in the final battle at the Neisse Star Domain. There was no mention of Andres or Holfson.

Lorianne understood that had there been good news about them, Feylis would have definitely shared it. The absence of any mention indicated otherwise.

As demigod-level mages, Andres and Holfson had lifespans exceeding ten thousand years, but without a breakthrough to Rank Four, their remaining time was dwindling.

Both of them had previously attempted to advance to Rank Four several times, yet each attempt ended in failure.

The repercussions of these failures also worsened their physical condition.

After expressing her well wishes to her mentor and seniors, the ultra-long-distance interstellar communication finally concluded.

Watching the elemental light screen in front of her dissipate, Lorianne breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m glad that kid isn’t around right now. My wallet’s gonna bleed if I have to send him to the Knight Continent this time,” Lorianne mumbled to herself.

Each divine tower and order of knights recommended their knights and mages below Rank Four to visit the Knight Continent of the Western Archipelago at significant costs.

Each referee represented an investment of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of magicoins.

Lorianne was not a stingy mentor, but the thought of the tens of millions of magicoins in loans she was currently shouldering made her head spin.

Given this financial burden, she naturally preferred to minimize her expenses wherever possible.

Moreover, it was also a wiser choice to send Sein to the Knight Continent a thousand years later. By then, the financial situation of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring should have improved significantly.

More importantly, Sein’s strength would have also grown considerably after a millennium.

It had only been twenty years since Sein had been promoted to Rank One. Exploring the Knight Continent at this stage would likely yield minimal gains.

Truth be told, Lorianne was not fully informed about Sein’s recent progress and growth rate. Her understanding of him was still largely based on past observations.

Unbeknownst to her, her apprentice had quietly accomplished great feats.

At the very least, Sein was definitely above average among his peers at the same rank.

With his verdant flame body and Verdant Flame Heart Rod, Sein’s augmented battle power was now sufficient for him to compete with creatures in the late stage of Rank One, or even those at the peak of the rank.