"Who will go first?"
Ronan's voice was not loud, like a drop of water falling onto a noisy, surging lake, yet it unexpectedly calmed the entire "water surface."
In the momentary silence that enveloped the crowd, Lin Di Si smiled as he gazed at the tall figure at the center of the gathering light, slowly speaking:
"I really like the look in his eyes right now, but I just don't know how long it can last."
Lin Di Si sighed, gently placing his hand on the golden compass in his grasp.
As Lin Di Si moved, a "boom!" echoed from the edge of the distant platform, where two of the seven stone pillars abruptly turned blue, and two figures were drawn by a force, stepping onto the platform one after the other.
The brief silence in the crowd erupted into an incredibly enthusiastic buzz as the two appeared.
Legendary Wizard Herams, once the unique sun hanging in the sky above the Upper Ring Continent! Throughout his life, he had faced countless battles, teetered on the brink of despair innumerable times, and experienced countless rebirths, creating miracles in the impossible and shining brightly from the ashes.
Those who wish to inherit his legacy must first inherit his will.
Like some ancient ritual that transcends the river of time—
The blood battle initiated in the name of Herams officially commenced at this moment!
The mountain-like roar of discussions swirled around the entire duel platform like an invisible hurricane.
The noise seeped in bit by bit, yet it felt as if it were far away from Ronan; his heart was exceptionally calm at this moment.
When the two light pillars lit up, Ronan's gaze shifted slightly.
He had originally thought that the next scene would be everyone rushing towards him, but to his surprise, the situation was much better than he had anticipated, at least giving him a chance to breathe without immediately being overwhelmed by pressure.
Two figures appeared on either side of the platform.
On the left was a handsome young man with red hair, dressed in a golden robe adorned with flame patterns, holding a black and red crystal staff, radiating the mental energy fluctuations of a late-stage third-level wizard.
He was the fire wizard from the "Crimson Flame Oath." When Ronan had seen him in the previous round, he was still at the mid-stage of the third level; perhaps the growth of his soul power had allowed him to break through to the late stage.
This was quite common, as they were all exceptionally gifted individuals who could grow rapidly in battle, a process as easy and natural as eating and drinking for them.
The person on the right was clad in a beast-skin robe, revealing a dark, sturdy chest, with hair tied into short braids, giving off a primitive and wild vibe.
Ancient Spirit Witch Evaque! In the previous round, he had severely injured Andariel with soul secret techniques, easily winning the battle. If the "blood battle" had not begun, in the hearts of some observing wizards, his call for the top position might have been even higher than that of Serena, Adam, and others.
Both were late-stage third-level wizards, and Ronan would not feel at ease facing either of them alone.
Especially Evaque, who had inherited the spirit witch legacy.
Now, he had to face both of them at the same time.
The mental energy fluctuations from both sides surged towards him, two whole small realms above him, crashing against him like waves, and Ronan took a deep breath, feeling the blood flowing within him gradually heat up, while the clear blue in his eyes seemed to be ignited bit by bit.
"The Crimson Flame praises your courage."
The wizard from the Crimson Flame Oath spoke with a tone that seemed to carry sympathy and compassion, but upon closer inspection, one could see only indifference in his eyes.
"May you find the most peaceful rest in the burning flames!"
As the crimson wizard spoke, his powerful mental energy surged, and the tip of his crystal staff burst forth with a bright red light. In an instant, a rolling heat wave swept through the air, and the rocky platform beneath them melted into a searing, blinding magma.
"Boom!"
From the scorching magma, a massive hand of lava quickly rose, enveloped in the terrifying heat that melted the void, swiftly reaching for Ronan.
In that moment, Ronan completely entered the state of the [Lake of Extreme Boiling], clad in Ithium, his arms spread wide like the wings of a great bird, a dense aura of law domain and frost power surged forth, and a massive pure white ice blade rose from the vortex, forcing back the surrounding heat waves as he raised his hand to slash horizontally, targeting Evaque on the other side! Ten Crimson Flame Oath wizards could not compare to Evaque! If he wanted to achieve victory in this round of blood battle, the key was to deal with the troublesome Evaque.
Ronan's figure danced with the pure white ice blade, completely ignoring the lava hand beneath him.
The pure white extreme frost ice blade carved a long trail of frost in the air, slashing diagonally towards the still Evaque.
"Your soul is unique; the spirits will love you as a sacrifice."
Facing Ronan's spell attack, Evaque seemed completely unconcerned, narrowing his eyes as he looked at Ronan and softly spoke.
In the next second, the beast-skin Wizard Robe on Evaque suddenly swelled, and a powerful aura burst forth from him. He let out a low roar, and his entire being transformed into an eagle entwined with electric light, with bright white feathers, erupting like lightning, instantly shattering Ronan's ice blade attack and lunging directly at Ronan's face.
Ronan's expression remained unchanged; the [Ice Blade Technique] derived from the zero-level spell had evolved into the [Extreme Frozen Weapon]. Even though he had entered the realm of the second stage of law domain resonance, it still seemed inadequate in this level of battle.
Within his consciousness space, the [Multiple Mirror Image] seal flickered at high frequency.
His gaze caught the shadow of the white-feathered eagle that Evaque had transformed into, and Ronan flipped his palm, unleashing a massive amount of law domain energy that surged forth like a flood.
In an instant, countless ice blades, ice balls, ice spears, and auroras appeared around him, forming a transformed ice ring. The intensely rich frost power blossomed outward like flowers.
The next moment, the lightning-charged eagle and the lava hand wrapped in flames struck hard against this magnificent "ice ring" one after the other!
"Boom——!"
The spells of three elemental energies erupted, and various powerful law domains collided, creating a rolling, murky wave of energy that rapidly spread above the platform.
But soon, a figure burst forth from the surging sea of energy.
He shot straight up into the high sky, and a beautifully crafted octagonal snowflake appeared out of nowhere, gently falling down.
When that figure extended his arm and touched the edge of the snowflake with his fingertip, a brilliant deep blue burst forth.
In an instant, the platform space ravaged by various elemental energies quickly calmed down.
Frost washed away everything, and large spikes of ice crystal emerged, each spike surrounded by extreme cold flames.
The heat waves of the molten duel platform were quickly suppressed, the crimson lava cooled, and layers of solid ice formed over it, freezing the lava hand that had been born from the magma, its color rapidly cooling.
The red-haired wizard of the Crimson Flame Oath's expression changed slightly, but he quickly regained his composure and began to chant spells, his crystal staff weaving brilliant trails of flames in the air, transmitting marvelous spell fluctuations, and the sound of cracking ice spread from beneath his feet.
The "cooled" lava platform began to flow again, seemingly becoming even hotter, with dark red lava hands gripping the edges of the platform, massive bubbles of magma continuously rising, as if some terrifying entity was about to crawl out from the lava. "Thirty-two spell anchors."
"Frost. Kingdom of Snow!"
Ronan stood at the highest point of the platform, surrounded by countless snowflakes swirling around him, his white hair dancing silently.
As the kingdom of snow descended.
The ultimate cold current spread outward like the most dazzling aurora from the depths of the northern lands, centered around him. The lightning-charged eagle froze, transforming into a massive ice lump, solidifying in the direction it had been lunging towards.
A large amount of cold air descended, and the war of ice and fire erupted at the bottom of the platform.
The red-haired wizard of the Crimson Flame Oath's eyes flashed urgently, the incantations he continuously uttered almost turning into a song of praise, waves of mental energy released like a tide, as the giant in the lava roared, breaking through layers of solid ice, with more than half of its body crawling out from the magma.
It was a monstrous creature with red horns, black holes for eyes and mouth, its body ablaze with flames, dripping with large amounts of lava, resembling a lava giant that had broken free from its seal, bringing with it the terrifying firepower to incinerate everything.
"Alida! Zan!"
The last syllable of the red-haired wizard of the Crimson Flame Oath transformed into a loud shout, raising his crystal staff high, unleashing an unparalleled brilliant red light.
"Boom!"
At that moment, the ice that had frozen the eagle shattered, and a bright yellow mist surged forth, as a massive bear, heavy as the earth, emerged from it, letting out a tremendous roar towards the sky.
All the chaos seemed to have no effect on Ronan; he simply spoke calmly.
"Congeal!"
In an instant, the entire space froze, and everything came to a halt, as if it had turned into a still mirror.
The next second, this mirror was shattered by Ronan's own hand.
"[Shatter.. Winter Mirror]!"
"Crack——"
A continuous series of crisp cracking sounds echoed as smooth, exquisite "mirrors" peeled away, revealing a pitch-black background in the void.
Under the terrifying power of spatial collapse, everything within the space was severed.
The Crimson Flame Oath wizard, seeing his summoned lava giant rapidly collapse under the terrifying power of spatial collapse, displayed shock and astonishment on his face for the first time, instinctively retreating.
A silver hand, five fingers gleaming and entwined with emerald flames, silently appeared before him, effortlessly tearing through his mental energy field and heavy protective barriers. Just as the Crimson Flame Oath wizard's pupils contracted, with nowhere to escape, a massive, heavy shadow suddenly descended from above.
"Roar!"
"Boom! Bang!"
Accompanied by several muffled grunts, a figure was hurled away like a cannonball.
It flew directly out of the platform's range, crashing into a stone pillar with a "boom" before finally coming to a stop.
"Ugh."
The red-haired wizard of the Crimson Flame Oath was deeply embedded in the stone pillar, his hands maintaining a position as if holding a staff, his face pale and devoid of color, revealing extreme horror and shock.
He gazed towards the platform, his mouth slightly open as if wanting to say something, unwillingness surging in his eyes, but ultimately, his head drooped weakly.
At this moment, on the vast platform, remnants of frost and cooled magma remained.
Evaque, now transformed back into human form, stood expressionless and cold.
Where his gaze fell, a figure knelt halfway, one hand propped on the ground.
His white hair spread out in large swathes, presenting a somewhat desolate and heroic beauty.
"Ha—"
Ronan exhaled lightly, slowly rising from the ground.
He stretched his limbs, and the indentation on his chest emitted a series of crisp explosive sounds.
"Crack crack——"
Broken bones and flesh reconnected, Ronan lifted his head, and in his enchanting, fiery eyes, a more intense battle intent surged forth.
Flecks of white lightning leaped from Ronan's skin, flickering and dancing.
His long hair behind him moved without wind, and his tall, upright figure quickly grew to over two meters, with hair cascading like a waterfall, revealing a magnificent and imposing form once again before the world.
Ronan looked at Evaque before him, gently twisting his neck.
His voice was deep and hoarse, yet calm as ever, resonating with the sound of bones clashing together, echoing across the arena.
"Come again."
As the battle on the field erupted, the pace was so fast that it left many unable to react.
The rapidly changing battlefield made it feel as if many had almost forgotten to breathe; even just watching brought a suffocating sense of pressure.
It wasn't until the red-haired wizard of the Crimson Flame Oath was "eliminated" that many finally got a chance to "breathe," coming back to their senses, gasping in shock as expressions of astonishment filled their eyes.
"Crimson Flame Oath's genius Hayden Draymond was defeated so quickly? Damn, this was a one against two battle!"
"Ronan Damien's strength is simply too monstrous; despite being two small realms lower, he managed to swiftly defeat Draymond under the combined assault of two!"
"Perhaps this is why he was chosen by Herams' legacy!"
Many were moved by Ronan's displayed strength and combat talent, finding it incredible, but some calmly pointed out the key factors involved.
"Ronan Damien already possesses the overwhelming strength to crush ordinary late-stage third-level wizards; it's normal for Draymond to be inferior to him.
But the most important thing is that Evaque did not go all out."
"Every genius with the strength to compete for the top has their own pride; it seems Evaque deliberately created this one-on-one situation, as he looks down on teaming up with others.
Otherwise, he could have gone all out while Ronan was defeating Draymond; Ronan shouldn't have only sustained this trivial injury..."
This viewpoint was accepted by many, and Draymond's exit from the Crimson Flame Oath did not significantly impact the outcome of the first round of the blood battle.
Whether Ronan could survive now depended on his upcoming confrontation with a fully powered Evaque.
"Boom!"
The two figures collided fiercely in the high air above the platform, and the shockwaves from their clash made many change color, even through the protection of the Rune Array.
Like an ancient white-haired giant, Ronan bathed in pure white lightning, continuously clashing with Evaque, who switched between the forms of a giant bear and an eagle.
Each clash resulted in both of them being pushed back.
In the complete Giant Demon Transformation form, Ronan's face was fierce, and his mind achieved a subtle balance between extreme boiling and calmness.
It was as if magma rolled over ice; his battle intent burned fiercely like fire, yet his mind remained clear as ice.
Evaque's fighting style was unique; his offensive methods did not adhere to any conventional spell forms. In eagle form, he commanded thunder, while in bear form, he wielded the earth. If it were merely a physical clash, Ronan would not fear him at all.
In fact, he only needed to use the basic power of the [Ancient Power] rune to suppress Evaque's strength in close combat in bear form.
However, Evaque's attacks were strange.
Whether in eagle form or bear form, his attacks on Ronan would exert a mysterious force directly on Ronan's soul.
That feeling of the soul being struck, shaken, and burned was unbearable for Ronan, constantly disrupting his offensive rhythm.
And he had no good way to defend against or counter it, having to choose to endure it time and again.
After one collision, Ronan took a deep breath, his gaze like a scorching red sword piercing through the void.
He let out a low roar, and the surf
ace of his body in Giant Demon Transformation suddenly revealed a dense pattern of snake scales, his pupils quietly slitting, as one percent of the Ancient Frost Hydra bloodline within him was further activated at this moment.