Sovereign of the Ashes

The gathering of the Verdant Flame Faction’s members was naturally a joyful occasion.

This time, Feylis had not summoned any of her grand apprentices below Rank Four. Only the few who had already stepped into the law-wielding realm were gathered here.

With everyone together again, there was naturally plenty to talk about. They exchanged insights into the truths they had been exploring recently and shared their experiences on the civilizational battlefield so far.

Everyone was also curious about what Sein had experienced after being cast into the shattered space-time corridor.

By now, the Myriad Springs Worlds, the Dawn Empire, and the Insectoids had all officially intervened in the Magus Civilization battlefield. There was little reason to keep those matters secret anymore, so Sein openly recounted some of his experiences in the distant foreign star domains. 𝒻𝑟ℯℯ

“Myriad Springs Worlds... I actually traveled through that large-sized star domain when I was younger.”

When Sein eventually mentioned the Insectoids, Feylis could not help interjecting. “They’ve returned as well?”

“Yes, Grandmaster,” Sein replied respectfully. “The war in the Divine Descendants Star Domain has largely come to an end. In the end, it was brought to a close through the combined intervention of the Insectoids and the Dawn Empire.”

Of course, Sein had not come to this gathering merely to share stories. He had also brought gifts.

As a member of the Verdant Flame Faction, Sein had received considerable support from the others throughout his journey of growth. It was only natural for him to give something back.

Mages of Magus World placed great importance on factions and mentorship, and for Sein, this was also his way of repaying the knowledge and guidance the Verdant Flame Faction had given him over the years.

Most of the gifts he brought out were spoils of war obtained during the conflict in the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

Among them, Marduk’s secondary divine relics and Venerable Tianyang’s overlord blood were undoubtedly the most precious.

The moment Sein brought them out, even Grandmaster Feylis was visibly stunned.

Aside from these exceptionally valuable gifts, Sein had also prepared various specimens and local specialties unique to the Divine Descendants Star Domain.

As a mage himself, Sein naturally knew what the group would be most interested in.

Even so, everyone’s attention remained firmly fixed on the divine relics and the overlord blood.

Sein possessed several secondary divine relics that had once belonged to Marduk. All of them were pyro-attributed, making them especially suitable for members of the Verdant Flame Faction.

Aside from the peak Rank Six divine relic Sein had reserved for the creation of his future Ashen Scepter, he had already spent the past several years thoroughly studying the remaining relics.

Their properties had been analyzed, and even the special laws contained within them had been carefully documented.

To Sein, these divine relics now served mainly as exceptionally valuable energy cores.

Precious as they were, however, they still could not compare to his bond with the Verdant Flame Faction.

Feylis received a Rank Six divine relic, Gregory a Rank Five one, and Bernice a Rank Four one.

Sein actually had another Rank Five divine relic in his possession, but he intended to save that one for Leena.

He had also already given another Rank Four divine relic to Mel, the Dragon Warlock, as advance payment.

As a result, Selphy and Aelid did not receive any divine relics. Instead, Sein gave each of them a small portion of the Venerable Tianyang’s overlord blood.

Even so, what Sein had brought out was already more than enough to leave everyone in the Verdant Flame Faction stunned.

Feylis and the others’ first reaction was to refuse the gifts.

After all, for Sein to have obtained so many divine relics and even the blood of an overlord at his current rank, they could only imagine what kind of dangers he must have faced along the way.

And these divine relics were no ordinary treasures. Each still carried a trace of Marduk’s overgod aura. Even the Rank Four divine relic Sein had given Bernice possessed tremendous research value.

As Sein brought out one treasure after another, Lorianne could no longer hide the smile spreading across her face.

Her apprentice had truly made her proud this time!

The long journey to the Apocalypse Star Domain had been more than worth it.

When Feylis once again insisted that the gifts were simply too valuable for them to accept, Sein explained, “Actually, these divine relics were all given to me by the Insectoids as part of our inert crystal trade. I still have another one left.”

“As for the overlord blood, I did obtain that myself, but I was quite fortunate at the time and never faced any real danger. I still have enough left for my own experiments, so there’s really no need for any of you to refuse them,” Sein said sincerely to Feylis, Gregory, and Bernice.

At that point, Lorianne finally stepped forward to help him.

“Just accept the gifts. They’re a token of Sein’s goodwill. This boy is quite well-off these days, so you don’t need to worry about leaving him short. He even gave me a vial of dendro-attributed overlord blood, along with several large vials of life mucus.”

“I’ll use the life mucus to make a new batch of potions. Their restorative effects should be comparable to the Golden Apple potions we used before,” Lorianne commented with a smile.

She spoke as though it were nothing worth mentioning, but the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth made it obvious just how pleased she really was.

Feylis looked at her in surprise. “Blood from another overlord? And potions comparable to Golden Apple Potions?”

Lorianne nodded. “Yes.”

Sein had truly made his mentor proud.

Gregory, as straightforward as ever, could not help exclaiming, “No wonder you’ve grown so quickly, kid. I really can’t compare with you anymore.”

Bernice, meanwhile, walked straight over to Lorianne and hooked an arm around her junior’s.

“Why did Sein give Gregory a Rank Five divine relic, but only a Rank Four one to meeee?” Bernice whined.

“This won’t do! Tell your apprentice to swap mine out! Didn’t he just say he still has another Rank Five relic?”

Of course, she had only been joking.

The easy, harmonious atmosphere among the faction members gave Sein, who had spent so many years away from home, a sense of warmth he had not felt in a long time.

Although Selphy and Aelid had not received divine relics, Venerable Tianyang’s overlord blood was already a treasure far beyond anything they could have imagined.

Selphy now looked at Sein with undisguised admiration.

She had only joined the faction slightly earlier than him, yet Sein had already reached heights that ordinary mages could scarcely imagine.

At least among all the mages Selphy knew, there was no one more outstanding than Sein.

Aelid’s attitude had changed as well. Whatever competitiveness he might once have felt toward Sein had long since faded. By now, he was thoroughly convinced.

How could he even compete with him?

Sein had already surpassed Senior Master Gregory, and the next person stronger than him was Grandmaster Feylis.

If Aelid still refused to adjust his mindset at this point, he would only be making himself miserable.

They were members of the same faction, after all. There was no reason for him to stubbornly put himself in such an awkward position.

After receiving a blood crystal from Venerable Tianyang, roughly the size of a little finger, Aelid sincerely thanked Sein. He then reached into his spatial storage device and took out a Rank Four biological specimen as a return gift.

It was a long-necked creature resembling a swan. It had already died and been carefully preserved by Aelid as a specimen.

According to him, the creature was known as the “Tower-Swallowing Swan”, a native Rank Four species of the Grand Apocalypse World that wielded rather unusual law power.

Aelid had gone through considerable trouble to defeat it.

With Sein’s discerning eye, he could naturally tell that the specimen was of exceptional quality.

More importantly, it was Aelid’s way of returning the gesture.

If Sein refused it, he would only leave his senior in an awkward position.

Sein looked at Aelid for a couple of seconds before smiling. “Thank you very much for the gift. This is perfect. I don’t have any similar specimens in my laboratory.”

His response allowed Aelid to quietly breathe a sigh of relief, and the atmosphere in the hall grew even warmer.

Seeing this, Selphy stepped forward as well.

“I don’t have anything as impressive as Aelid’s, and I certainly don’t have a complete Rank Four biological specimen... but I did collect a rather unusual flame on the Civilization Battlefield. I hope you’ll accept it, Sein.”

As she spoke, a slender, eerie purple flame appeared in the center of her palm.

Of course, gifts had a way of inviting gifts in return.

Once Aelid and Selphy took the lead, Gregory, Bernice, and the others also began pulling out treasures of their own.

Their gifts might not have been quite as valuable as what Sein had presented, but they were still quite valuable.

This turn of events caught Sein completely off guard.

When he brought out those gifts, he genuinely had not expected anyone to give him anything in return...