Sovereign of the Ashes

Sein had chosen not to share his alchemy knowledge as a way of honoring his first mentor, Morsidor.

The Verdant Flame was an elemental mystery he had inherited from the Verdant Flame Faction. Naturally, he did not have the right to sell knowledge that was not his own.

Ashen Flame was Sein’s current source of power, and he had no intention of giving his trump card away.

His body-tempering experiments remained a closely guarded secret, granting him a decisive advantage over his peers.

These four profound truths were treasures he would only consider sharing under one condition—when he took on apprentices.

Even while withholding these secrets, Sein had still managed to amass an impressive number of Arcane Points through his contributions to the Arcane Light.

Over the years, Sein had not limited himself to studying the elemental mysteries bestowed upon him by his faction.

If he were that kind of scholar, he would never have become a battle mage or survived in numerous interplanar wars.

Since Sein’s mentor was a Dendromancer, he had often been left to his own devices, especially after reaching Rank One.

Even during his initiate period, Sein had earned the title of Despairer for his signature spell, Solar Eye—a creation he had developed and refined on his own.

Sein’s innovative abilities and his keen sense for uncovering the mysteries of truth undoubtedly set him apart as one of the brightest among his peers.

After half a day of knowledge transfer, Sein had successfully accumulated 4,768 Arcane Points.

To put this achievement into perspective, 100 points were required to attain the status of a Rank One Arcanist, 1,000 points for Rank Two, and 10,000 points to reach Rank Three.

This accomplishment officially elevated Sein to a Rank Two Arcanist.

Surpassing the 4,000-point milestone without contributing any of his core knowledge, and at only a few hundred years old, was already quite a feat.

Magicoins could be earned through sheer luck or by accomplishing feats on battlefields that altered the tide of a local interplanar war.

Anyone capable of a performance like Sein’s during the Gumo Plane War could easily amass wealth.

Magicoins, being transferable, could be traded or earned.

Arcane points, however, were a different matter entirely—there were no shortcuts to obtaining them.

In the Magus World, Arcane points could not be bought or sold. They served as a precise measure of one’s knowledge, quantified by the Arcane Light.

Unlike other measures of status, Arcane points had nothing to do with talent, qualifications, family background, wealth, or strength. They were tied solely to the depth of one’s knowledge.

This made Arcane Points the most genuine and impartial measure of a spellcaster’s academic achievements.

Given the Magus World’s deep reverence for knowledge, it was no surprise that the Alveroth Empire placed immense value on the Arcanist rank.

“If I were to submit all four pieces of my core knowledge to the Arcane Light, I could probably meet the requirements for Rank Three Arcanist,” Sein mused, stroking his chin thoughtfully.

“But there’s no real need for that. I only need to retain a thousand of these four thousand Arcane points to maintain my current rank. The remaining three thousand can be exchanged for knowledge that truly interests me.”

Wearing his new Rank Two Arcanist badge on his chest, Sein walked through the Divine Tower of Golden Moon and the vast territories of the Alveroth Empire without any shame.

Along the way, he encountered numerous Rank Three grand mages who, like him, wore Rank Two Arcanist badges. Among them were even elderly mages on the brink of death.

Carrying his Arcanist badge significantly eased Sein’s travels throughout the Alveroth Empire.

At the Divine Tower of Mustardwood, Sein received his first invitation to an academic salon hosted by a fellow Rank Three grand mage.

The topic of discussion was the “Relative Convergence Theory of Wood and Pyro Elements”.

Later, Sein was invited to a seminar at the third-best public magic academy in the Silvango Empire as a guest Rank Three grand mage.

During his time there, he delivered a two-hour mini-lecture on pyro element magic, his area of expertise.

This lecture was offered as a gesture of gratitude for the academy’s invitation and captivated many Rank One and Rank Two mages in attendance, who listened with rapt attention.

During his travels, Sein also visited the Order of the Azure Dragon Sea, where he politely declined their invitation to join them on an expedition to a foreign plane.

Instead, he engaged in an in-depth exchange with the knights regarding their dual cultivation path.

The knights of this order were known for their dual cultivation of battle qi and magic, a tradition seemingly inspired by their grand master, who was also a formidable dual cultivator.

It was rumored that the grand master of the Azure Dragon Sea wielded battle qi at the level of a Rank Five knight, alongside magic power comparable to a Rank Four spellcaster.

With the combined might of their battle qi and magic, it was said that the grand master could contend with Rank Six creatures for a short period of time.

According to the broader understanding of dual cultivators in the Magus World, the grand master might even possess the ability to defeat weaker Rank Six creatures outright if their elemental power were elevated to Rank Five.

What a terrifying thought!

Hearing these rumors during his travels in the Magic Empire, Sein had gone out of his way, making a significant detour to the west just to visit the Order of the Azure Dragon Sea.

This detour had even sparked an argument with the Spider Queen.

Driven by his insatiable curiosity for exploring mysteries and truths, Sein had talked back to her, fully displaying his obsessive pursuit of knowledge.

In the heat of their argument, Sein completely forgot the overwhelming power of the being standing before him.

It was only after the exchange that he came to his senses, breaking out into a cold sweat.

Fortunately, the Spider Queen seemed unbothered by his impudence.

Whether she was preoccupied with her own concerns or had no urgent need for Sein to reach the Western Archipelago, she chose to overlook his disrespectful behavior.

Sein began to notice that the Spider Queen’s clone had started appearing less frequently. At times, it was not uncommon for her to disappear entirely for one or two months.

In fact, Sein had not seen the Spider Queen even once since arriving at the Order of the Azure Dragon Sea two months ago.

He had spent his time mingling with the knights of the order, most of whom were Rank One or Rank Two.

Yet, one should not underestimate these knights.

Sein had even sparred with one of the strongest Rank Two knights in the training room.

This knight, named Gino, wielded both battle qi and magic with equal proficiency at Rank Two.

His battle qi attribute and the elemental mysteries he explored happened to be the pyro element, which aligned perfectly with Sein’s preferences.

The outcome of their duel left Sein in awe.

Gino’s full-power strike had reached the power range of a Rank Three creature—a truly astonishing phenomenon!

The explosive power generated from the combination of battle qi and magic elements far exceeded Sein’s expectations.

While this extraordinary strength was undeniably impressive, the daunting challenge of advancing as a magiknight left a profound impression on Sein.

Gino was 2,100 years old.

In the Magus World, the lifespan of Rank Two knights and mages was typically three thousand years.

Despite possessing combat power comparable to that of a Rank Three creature, Gino was still far from advancing to Rank Three.

The exchange with Sein had benefited Gino significantly.

Whether he would manage to break through in the future remained uncertain.

If Gino were to ascend to Rank Three as both a grand mage and a Sky Knight, even at the early stages of that rank, Sein estimated that his combat power could rival that of a demigod!

The greater the sacrifice, the greater the reward.

Sein, while uninterested in practicing battle qi himself, found his interactions with these magiknights to be profoundly inspiring for his body-tempering experiments.

Furthermore, the knights generously shared many practical close-quarters combat techniques with him.

Unlike the techniques of Natalya and Reina, who were pure knights, the skillset of these magiknights were far more suited to Sein’s needs.