Age of Adepts

Haistoc’s outdated knowledge had ultimately been his downfall!

There were plenty of Great Adepts who could cast Fifth Grade spells among those he had met in the past. It wasn’t unusual at all. However, very few of them could instant-cast a Fifth Grade spell.

The only ones who could accomplish such a feat were powerful individuals among the Fifth Grades. The young fire adept before him did not look like such an individual.

Of course, it was possible that these Fifth Grade spells weren’t cast personally but activated through some powerful magical equipment. Still, for a rookie that had just advanced to Fifth Grade to possess two high-grade items capable of unleashing Fifth Grade spells was unimaginable!

It was due to this understanding and his lack of sensitivity for elementium or principles that Haistoc suffered such a terrible blow. If he had managed to sense that the blob of poison was actually a Fifth Grade spell, he would never have been dumb enough to detonate it himself.

Now, he was in a dire situation!

The explosion of acid instantly engulfed the entire area. The pungent and viscous liquid rapidly sizzled when it landed on Haistoc’s divine body. Horrifying smoke started to rise, leaving behind small holes all over his divine form.

A god’s body might be immune to all worldly poison, but it wasn’t immune to those containing poison principles.

Haistoc roared. He channeled a vast surge of divine power from his god kingdom. It rinsed his ravaged body and purified the cruel principle that was eroding his form.

Antuso and Bibi took this opportunity to rush forward and surround the smoking God of Tyranny.

Greem slipped away into the distance during the chaos. He took several large gulps of lifestock solution and high-grade healing potions. It was only then that his body had enough regenerative power to mend the massive gash on his back slowly.

Lifestock solution was an essence extracted from the elvish Tree of Life. It was considered a miraculous panacea on that plane, capable of even saving a person on the brink of death. Unfortunately for someone like Greem, the effects of the lifestock solution were much more limited. His body had already been refined to its limit, and almost all of his physical potential had been excavated.

All the lifestock solution could do was stimulate his body and allow his regeneration to accelerate slightly!

It was the same for the high-grade healing potions. Greem had to drink several tons worth of potions to get the slightest effect out of them. Otherwise, the body of principles formed after his advancement would be able to block the impact of these outside substances.

The battle between Fifth Grades was so horrifying that every combatant below Fifth Grade could only stay as far away as possible. They didn’t dare approach the battlefield in the slightest.

Even the Fourth Grade orcs were not qualified to participate in this fight.

Inside a planar world, Fourth Grades might be able to match Fifth Grades to some extent due to planar suppression weakening Fifth Grades. Outside of a planar world, Fifth Grade entities could unleash their might to the greatest extent in this boundless galaxy.

Everything below Fifth Grade was mortal. Only after advancing to Fifth Grade could one become a transcendent existence that could freely traverse the multiverse!

All the combatants here were undoubtedly such transcendent beings.

The moment they clashed, their battlefield engulfed a massive area of over fifty kilometers.

A single flash teleport would be a kilometer of distance. A proper teleport would cross several kilometers. A single punch or kick would send shockwaves throughout the area, enough to pulverize anything within range. If this were within a planar world, the fight of these seven transcendent beings would be enough to destroy a small world.

Even a mid-sized planar world would be utterly ravaged after the havoc they had unleashed!

It couldn’t be helped. The power they possessed and the might contained within them was already far beyond the limits of planar creatures. They were at the level where they could split a mountain with a punch and create an abyss with a stomp. A single spell would wipe out everything within a hundred kilometers.

Moreover, the destruction they wreaked while they fought was not limited to actual material substances. Even the intangible planar laws were caught up in the destruction as well.

Even the planar laws had to make way for them.

Where their powers spread, the planar laws were rewritten, overwritten, and modified. The principle systems of a planar world would be stirred into absolute chaos. It didn’t matter how powerful the planar consciousness was. It would not be able to extinguish these foreign laws and principles that contained such powerful individuality and willpower. The planar consciousness would have to compromise and step back, thereby losing the only leverage it had over these individuals.

Fortunately, this was space. Apart from the undulating, ferocious magical tides, there was no planar consciousness in their way. The Fifth Grades were allowed to unleash the full extent of their might, fighting with all their might in the depths of space.

The orc warriors caught up in this battle were shredded into paste before they could utter a cry for help. It was the adepts who managed to avoid the shockwaves by hiding inside the stone fortress.

However, most of the fortress’s outermost buildings had also been destroyed, resulting in numerous casualties of low-grade adepts and voodoo beasts.

This battle lasted three days and nights. It wasn’t until both sides were at their limits that the two orc gods finally retreated reluctantly.

It couldn’t be helped. Both parties were almost equally strong. Either of them would have to pay a colossal price to kill their opponents. It was obvious that neither party was willing to make this sacrifice. As such, they could only accept this inevitable conclusion!

The two Great Adepts stationed here had wanted to keep Greem and his two companions in the fortress for a little longer to recover. However, they rejected the offer. Instead, they dragged their broken bodies into the fortress’s teleportation array and immediately returned to headquarters.

They might not have obtained great results in this battle, but they still succeeded in repelling the two orc gods’ attack. Consequently, they were able to receive the doubled mission rewards they were promised. The three of them also received the privilege of being able to rest for half a year. It was then that they nodded at each other and returned to their rooms.

After this shared experience of fighting together, Greem, Antuso, and Bibi instantly went from strangers to acquaintances. They exchanged contact information and became actual ‘companions!’

After Greem became a Fifth Grade Great Adept, he could no longer lead the same life as he had before, as an island of an individual. Being acquainted with more Great Adepts and establishing a vast network of contacts was also a means of quickly improving his status and influence.

After all, Greem had many enemies out there as well.

The Great Witch Maysa was an important Seventh Grade individual. She almost certainly had considerable influence within the Adept Faction. If Greem remained without allies as he currently was, he would be vulnerable to being isolated and pushed around by the enemy.

That was why Greem had so passionately participated in the excursions of the adept civilization. He was protecting himself against any possible schemes by making himself part of a bigger group. Moreover, he constantly observed and evaluated the division of factions within the adept civilization to decide whose sides would stand in the future.

He wasn’t cursing or speaking ill of the adept civilization. This division within the adepts was a veritable fact he had seen and heard with his own eyes and ears. The adept civilization had never been a single unified force from the very beginning. They were divided into numerous factions with different values and directions.

For instance, the faction he currently belonged to was led by Eighth Grade Adept Barbara. They were a group that focused on invasions against the orcs. The entire battle had begun due to Witch Barbara’s decision alone; she was the mastermind of all this conflict. Greem was, at best, only a commander who had only recently shaken off his status as a mere pawn!

Greem had conducted investigations on this issue. Adept Barbara had no connections to the Northern Witches at all. Otherwise, he would never have come here even if he was threatened with death itself.

Through his investigations, Greem knew it appeared as if the Northern Witches had formed their own faction and kept to themselves. They didn’t like associating with adepts of other factions. It also caused other factions to significantly exclude the Northern Witches as well. They didn’t have the most amicable relations.

Right now, Greem was only hoping that Witch Barbara was powerful and stern enough to keep Maysa’s influence at bay. It was the only way he could continue growing stronger and stronger without the risk of dying.

…………

Greem unexpectedly ran into an old acquaintance just as he stepped out of the hall.

Sanazar!

She seemed to have been waiting here for a long time. She stopped Greem upon seeing him appear, a somewhat awkward expression on her face.

“Lord Sarubo wishes to see you!”

Sarubo.

Greem brooded in silence. He didn’t think there was much of a problem with that, so he readily agreed.

He followed after Sanazar–shrouded in purple mist as usual–as they wove through the winding corridors of the fortress. They stopped before the door of a room on the higher levels.

Sanazar bowed and stepped aside when they reached this place. She didn’t say anything else either. It seemed like she did not intend to go in along with Greem.

Greem turned around and looked at her briefly as he walked past her. He could see that Sanazar’s heart was pounding wildly. Humiliation and anger were written all over her face, though she tried her best not to say anything.

“If you have nothing else to do tomorrow, pay me a visit in my room. I will compensate you appropriately,” Greem left behind these words and ignored Sanazar’s surprised expression. He pushed open the door and walked in.

A somewhat familiar middle-aged adept was sitting silently in the room, waiting for him. Upon hearing Greem arrive, the man’s gaze immediately fell upon him.

[Beep. Detecting unusual principle fluctuations. Analysis suggests that target creature is an amalgamation of high-grade principles. Target will possess absolute suppression power within a hundred meters of himself. Please remain alert.]

Greem smiled bitterly in his mind, but his expression remained unchanged. He bowed deeply and respectfully to the middle-aged adept.

“I am overjoyed to be able to see you once again, esteemed Great Adept Sarubo!”