Age of Adepts

“I’ll move when it’s time to!”

Greem was calm and composed as he looked at the battlefield in the distance.

“These Central adepts think too highly of themselves and are too used to having no restrictions. Making them obey me is no easy task. Naturally, I have my way of suppressing them while I’m around. But what do you all intend to do to maintain the authority of the Crimson Clan once I’m gone?”

Everyone couldn’t help but freeze up when they heard Greem’s words.

“Teacher, you…you are still so young. Why would you say something like that?” Concern flashed on Meryl’s face as her cheeks flushed red.

“Meryl, don’t fret. My lord doesn’t mean it that way.” Emelia was incredibly smart and sharp. She pondered for a moment and asked, “Clan leader, could it be…that you’re almost about to take that next step?”

The next step.

This shocking sentence shook everyone to their core. They opened their eyes wide and stared at this towering figure before them.

Everyone had felt something out of the usual from their clan leader this time.

The overwhelming fire energy their clan leader used to radiate had vanished without a trace. If it weren’t for his familiar voice, silhouette, aura, and scent, everyone here would have treated Greem like an ordinary human as he stood in front of them.

Indeed, the clan leader’s energy aura was completely concealed, replaced with a genuine warmth and an unquestionable aura of dignity.

His smile was like spring, able to infect the heart through some unseen, extraordinary means; it made one feel warmth throughout their bodies. His anger was like infernal fire, able to ignite the souls of anyone in the most violent and barbaric fashion.

They only had some vague idea of their clan leader’s might, but they did not know what made him so powerful. Now, having heard Emelia’s question, they understood what was being implied. Everyone held their breath and waited silently for the clan leader’s reply.

The smile on Greem’s face grew even wider.

Everyone here was a trusted member of the Crimson Clan. Naturally, there was no need to conceal anything.

Greem stared at the distant battlefield as he said in a soft voice, “That next step isn’t such an easy one to take. I have only found my direction. Actually taking that next step will require at least a hundred years or more.”

Even though Greem replied very leisurely, the Crimson Clan members were instantly able to pick up on the implications behind what he said.

If time was the only factor left, didn’t that mean that the clan leader was already prepared in terms of resources, knowledge, and all the other factors? A smooth path forward. The clan leader’s approach to Fifth Grade Great Adept was but a smooth way going forward!

Overwhelming joy and excitement flashed over the faces of the Crimson higher-ups. However, the status they held within the Crimson Clan now forced them to digest this information calmly.

Everyone fell silent for a moment and started to fantasize about the future.

The clan leader’s meaning was obvious now. He would probably devote all his time and effort in the next hundred years to the accumulation and training for taking the next step. Given that to be the case, the Central Lands would be left in their hands to maintain and expand.

Everyone present here was someone that the clan leader could trust and rely on. They would all likely have to take on tremendous responsibilities in the future. Authority and status were good things to have, but it was no different from sitting on top of a volcano without the corresponding power to back it up.

When all that backed up force came erupting in a single blast……

Fortunately, the Crimson Clan didn’t just have a single Fourth Grade at the moment. Apart from Greem, there was also Mary and Arms. Arms was a pureblood dragon, after all. He was a decent fighting force as an honorary elder of the clan. However, Fourth Grade Bloody Queen Mary was the only person who could sustain the Crimson Clan and keep the tens of thousands of Central adepts under her control!

Of course, if anyone present here could show more outstanding results, they would also have the chance to rise and become the leader of the Central Lands.

That position, status, and the authority of it- merely thinking of it all had everyone’s hearts beating faster. They could barely contain their excitement.

Rising to Fifth Grade, forging a legend, becoming an entity akin to a god for the World of Adepts. They had had such daydreams in their lives countless times. However, they knew their limits. Such fantasies would only remain daydreams. They seemed to be within reach, but they were incredibly far away. These dreams were not for them. Not with their current power and potential.

That was why Fourth Grade was regarded with such glory and reverence within the World of Adepts. After all, Fourth Grade was the absolute apex of power and achievement for most people.

It might just be a fantasy for other adepts. However, for these core adepts of the Crimson Clan, success was right before them. All they had to do was to put in that ‘tiny bit’ of effort!

Everyone’s breathing turned hot and heavy.

Greem did not turn to look.

He knew that these trusted subordinates of his needed some time to digest such a bombshell of news.

Mary was his most intimate partner. Naturally, he hoped that she would continue walking down the path of an adept instead of falling into the pointless politics and power games in the Central Lands.

Finding and raising a Fourth Grade successor within the Crimson Clan was the ideal course of action. This new Fourth Grade candidate had to be chosen from among these few individuals. That was why Greem revealed his personal plans ahead of time to provoke their ambition and will to strive.

Ambition wasn’t such a bad thing!

As long as you had the power to match your ambition, it would be a source of strength that continued to push you forward. However, if you didn’t have sufficient power, then ambition would be a seed of disaster. It would drive a person insane and push them toward their death.

However, the Crimson Clan would be protected by Greem and Mary for the next few hundred years. This next generation of the clan had plenty of time to grow and strengthen themselves.

If one of them could successfully advance to Fourth Grade, the Crimson Clan’s fame and the legendary fire adept would instantly propel them into a position of power and authority in the Central Lands. It was an incredible temptation to the Third Grade Crimson adepts, causing them to become somewhat restless.

While their minds were thoroughly distracted, blood and flesh had covered the entire battlefield.

After a bloody battle, the adepts had severely injured three of the six demons. They were the quasit, the flame fiend, and the marilith.

However, this battle still ended in the adepts’ defeat!

The reason for their defeat was because no one could stop the pit fiend’s reckless rampage.

Even with Mornashen, Mary, and Andrew’s combined power, they were not a match for the pit fiend. The pit fiend relied on his teleportation abilities to travel all over the battlefield, sending the adepts scurrying in every direction.

The terrifying combination of his teleportation and his fearsome Butcher Knife……

Every time the pit fiend struck, it was a trial of life and death for a Fourth Grade adept.

The Fourth Grade adepts had to simultaneously deal with their own opponents while being wary of sneak attacks from the pit fiend. In all honesty, fighting a battle like this was an excruciating task!

Mary was perhaps the only one among them who could catch up with the pit fiend, on account of her exceptional Agility. However, she couldn’t support the entire battle on her shoulders alone. When she was unable to lure an enemy into the Nightmare Castle, she was no more than an intermediate Fourth Grade.

That much power was insufficient to stop the pit fiend’s rampage.

The only one with the might to match the pit fiend was Mornashen Gaia. However, his hundred-meter height made his every action slow. It was nearly impossible to catch up with the pit fiend.

If he focused too much on the pursuit, the pit fiend could suddenly turn around and strike him. When that happened, even Mornashen couldn’t guarantee he would come out unscathed against that strange Butcher Knife.

Thus, a somewhat comedic game of cat and mouse began on the battlefield!

Mary flickered around the pit fiend like a dragonfly but was simply unable to pierce his defenses. Meanwhile, the tall and ferocious Gold Titan chased right behind, hurling bolts of lightning at the pit fiend.

The pit fiend simply ignored the lightning bolts. It rampaged across the battlefield with its large and heavy body, recklessly chasing after the human adepts. Occasionally, it would activate Pinpoint Teleportation and appear beside a Fourth Grade adept, smiling as he swung his blade.

The massive executor’s blade burning with abyssal fire would always achieve something when swung!

Individually powerful human adepts might be able to endure the power of the blade with their resilient soul. The weaker ones could only avoid the fate of a shattered soul by using means like voodoo dolls and replacement puppets.

In all honesty, the pit fiend alone was enough to send the adepts packing.

Every time he disappeared from view, the adepts would become fearful for their own lives!

It couldn’t be helped. The pit fiend’s attacks were too fearsome. Death was the only result if they couldn’t stop the blade. It was no wonder everyone was worried and scared.

No casualties had occurred yet amongst the Fourth Grade adepts at this point in the battle. However, at the rate things were going, it was only a matter of time until one or two Fourth Grades died!

The disadvantage of the human adepts was becoming increasingly obvious, and their defeat increasingly certain.

It was because they knew this that the morale of the adepts was only slipping further and further.