Age of Adepts

There were a total of fifteen Fourth Grade adepts in the Central Lands. However, only ten of them were present here.

That meant five of the Fourth Grade adepts had not come here to join the battle.

Greem looked at everyone present and asked solemnly, “Mirva, Mila, Ariza, Roderick, and Ashton. Why aren’t they here?”

His tone was light, but it was clear there was a hint of blame behind his words.

Alfred stepped forward and explained in a soft voice, “I contacted Mirva about the situation before I came here. However, it seems like something’s cropped up over at Annemdor Academy. They are currently engaged in battle with the Underground World. That is why he couldn’t come in person!”

“The Underground World……” Greem fell silent for a moment.

The Underground World referred to the creatures of darkness that resided in the endless caverns that existed beneath the Continent of Adepts. Though their resources, supplies, and population were extremely limited, they maintained a complete ecology that wasn’t affected by the outside world.

For the humans and adepts that lived on the surface, these creatures that lived underground were little, small monsters. There was no reasoning with them. Every so often, when the Underground World had accumulated sufficient power, they would impatiently rush out of the darkness to raid the surface world.

It seemed like the magic surge had provoked these underground creatures. They must have believed that the surface adepts were too occupied with the magic surge to deal with them and had emerged to cause trouble.

Annemdor Academy had often been involved with the Underground World in the past. It wasn’t surprising that they would be engulfed in the underground riot this time.

Greem nodded and said, “And the others?”

It was Molten Fire City Lord Alfred who replied. He shook his head dejectedly and said, “A while ago, a large swarm of magical creatures started gathering in the Black Forest near Ariza’s Mansour Clan. It’s said that there are as many as ten million magical creatures, including several Fourth Grade magical creature rulers. Mila and Roderick have hurried over to help!”

Ten million magical creatures; that was at the level of a major stampede!

It was no wonder the leaders of those clans would be so busy as to be unable to deal with the issue at the mega-rift.

“And Ashton?”

“I might know a bit about this!” Kerala stepped forward with a bitter smile. “A lesser plane under Ashton’s control seems to have been invaded by an otherworldly species. They are currently fighting for dominion over there.”

Truly, the interpersonal relationships of the Fourth Grade adepts in the Central Lands were incredibly complicated. They were all allied and hostile against each other in complex ways. If Greem did not have the power to keep them in line, mediating the various conflicts between them alone would have troubled him greatly.

The World of Adepts was scarred by war at the moment. Plumes of smoke could be seen everywhere. There wasn’t a single piece of sacred land to be found across the continent.

Greem’s sharp eyebrows rose, and his black eyes filled with a crimson light.

Finally, he lifted his head and let out a furious shout, “I, Greem, solemnly swear to slay any who dare to invade the Central Lands again during this magic surge!”

“Leave!!!!!”

This final word was almost as thunder cracking throughout the heavens. The word ‘leave’ rumbled across the clear skies, causing the clouds to shake and roll away.

The overwhelming power contained within his words rippled outward, shredding all clouds in sight. The sky suddenly turned unnaturally clear, revealing the deep blue sky above.

Greem had exclaimed his statement with all the power and fury he could muster.

In particular, that last word had borrowed the might of the fire principles. By way of weak yet distinct vibrations throughout the world principles, that one word had spread across every corner of the Central Lands.

It was Greem’s first plane announcement and his first furious shout toward the world. Of course, this message could only be received by powerful individuals who had managed to come into contact with the planar laws.

The ordinary mortals of the World of Adepts did not even have the qualifications to hear Greem’s battlecry!

…………

The skies of the World of Adepts rumbled over and over.

However, even if you shut your eyes and listened intently, you couldn’t hear anything at all.

Inkdeep Valley.

An unprecedented battle was raging at the entrance of the valley.

Hordes of magical creatures herded by the disaster creatures charged out of the mists, fearlessly assaulting the Association adepts stationed there.

The sky was purple and black.

The ground was pock-marked and covered in the corpses of magical creatures.

There were no weaklings among those who could break into the World of Adepts. The intruders were either giant creatures with tough skin and tremendous strength or agile individuals with unique racial abilities. These intruders were all extremely dangerous for the Association adepts.

At this point, the Adept’s Association had already lost over twenty mid and high-grade adepts, as well as over a hundred low-grade adepts to keep the magical creatures behind Inkdeep Valley.

Even so, they were still unable to repel the invasion of the Scourge Lords.

As the battle’s scale escalated, the number of magical creatures and disaster creatures swarming out of Inkdeep Valley increased exponentially. Fearsome Third and Fourth Grade creatures charged forward and destroyed the war towers daily before rushing at the adept towers behind them.

The war towers that sat at the edge of the valley had been razed and rebuilt, rebuilt and razed, over a dozen times.

If it weren’t for the incredible might and wealth of the Adept’s Association, they would already have gone mad from the constant losses incurred!

To prevent the Scourge Lords from destroying the adept towers, the Adept’s Association had summoned three of their five ultra-powerhouses back to the World of Adepts. They took turns watching over the frontlines to prevent the defensive line from collapsing.

It was Gloria’s turn to guard Inkdeep Valley today!

Black smoke shrouded the chaotic battlefield. Shouts could be heard everywhere. Gloria had just crushed the skull of an armored tyrant bear and was standing over its collapsed corpse. All of a sudden, she lifted her head and stared at the dim skies in shock.

Thunder rumbled there as an intimidating roar filled the skies.

Every magical creature, disaster creature, and high-grade adept on the battlefield stopped what they were doing and turned to look toward the southwest.

Most of the magical creatures and low-grade adepts were confused. They could sense that something unusual had happened in that direction, but they were completely clueless about the nature of that change. Only high-grade disaster creatures and adepts could delve into the planar laws and decipher the message contained within.

Leave!

A simple word, but it contained a wild, searing willpower.

Gloria examined the announcement carefully and found it vaguely familiar.

It was him…the male adept in the Central Lands!

He…he can move the world principles now!?

That damned bastard! The last time they had fought, he had only been able to reach the level of the planar laws. How long had it been since they last saw each other? To think he could already embed his will into the principles and used their powers as his microphone.

That…was simply unbelievable!

Gloria thought to herself.

At that moment, a berserk dragon beast, clearly lacking a sense of danger, stormed over with thundering steps.

Gloria’s thoughts were interrupted, and she flew into a rage. Anger flickered over her face, though it was hidden behind the purple light. Her silhouette flashed and circled the dragon beast as a purple light.

The next second, the Third Grade dragon beast keeled over in a fountain of blood. All three of its dragon heads had been snapped off. They howled as its body collapsed limply to the ground.

Soon, a small lake of blood had pooled beneath its body. Its life force was cast to the wind.

A five-meter-tall giant with numerous arms stood on another corner of the battlefield. He turned around and received the mysterious message from the distance.

The instruction to ‘leave’ was an affront to him, but the giant’s face couldn’t help but turn grim when it sensed the means by which the message had been relayed.

The aura of principles. How could it be the principles? Could there still be individuals beyond Fourth Grade that remained within the World of Adepts? If this conjecture were to be trusted, then the plan for the Scourge Lords to invade the World of Adepts would become a very risky one.

They all had the might of Fifth or Sixth Grade, but all of them had been suppressed to peak Fourth Grade after entering the World of Adepts. They might have an advantage in combat prowess against the local ultra-powerhouses due to their resilient bodies and advanced combat techniques. However, they would be in mortal danger if they were to run into a creature with Fifth Grade powers.

Fortunately, it seemed like that individual resided in the Central Lands. That was a long way from the eastern side of the continent they were invading. The odds of running into this individual was much smaller this way.

Still, it seemed like there was a need to gather ‘them’ for a discussion. If an ultra-grade individual protected the Central Lands, it would be best not to try anything funny there.

Having come to this conclusion, the many-armed giant waved his hand, ordering the disaster creatures around him to continue their assault. He turned and went back into the depths of the valley.

The bloody battle raged on across the battlefield!

…………

Silver Union, Diviner’s Tower.

The tower master, dressed in cloth robes, stood upon a narrow and dangerous balcony.

He opened his arms wide in silence as he listened to the voice resonating throughout the principles. He mumbled in a seemingly dream-like state.

“A principle user…to think another principle user has appeared in the World of Adepts! Judging from his current powers, he will become a new Great Adept in another hundred years. Great Adept. A Great Adept! A powerful individual who has broken free of the limits of the plane! One who can travel fearlessly throughout the multiverse!”

“Listen, everyone! Listen! This is the first cry let out by this principle user toward the world. How elegant! How absolutely entrancing. This is the limit of what planar creatures can achieve.”

Archivists all over the Diviner’s Tower put down their quills and raised their tired faces toward the horizon, listening quietly to this voice rumbling from a distance.

Another truly powerful individual had been born in the World of Adepts!