The next battle was quickly arranged by the organizers. Min, representing the faction of Divilight, slowly stepped onto the arena. The girl closed her eyes in quiet anticipation. Her pure white priest robe fluttered gently in the wind, and in her hands the Book of Commandments shimmered with a soft radiant glow. Her appearance was solemn and noble, and even the crude mockers in the stands fell silent.

  Divilight was not merely the name of a family. It was also the name of a god who had once saved countless lives during the age of chaos.

  In contrast, Valena appeared on the opposite side in a striking and seductive manner. Her tight black dress was boldly cut, revealing her pale flawless skin. With delicate makeup highlighting her sharp features and her plump crimson lips, Valena became the perfect embodiment of temptation. The crowd erupted with fascinated cheers.

  “The same old trick again.”

  Melin shook his head in resignation. The common people were far too easily controlled. Their eyes were filled with desire and dark thoughts, as if they were ready to do anything the manipulator wished. This ability seemed rather sinister and not something an ordinary mage could possess. If he had been able to contact Zeroth right now, Melin might have been tempted to arrest this woman immediately and bring her to the Moving Prison. He had more than enough reason to suspect she was closely connected to the massacre of Babi.

  “Hopefully that priest can force something out of her.”

  The Divilight family were born light mages. Their power did not lie solely in healing but also in purification. Min calmly opened a page of the Book of Commandments and softly recited complex incantations. The light element warped into numerous floating spheres. A basic spell.

  "Light Orb"

  The spheres shot toward Valena, yet every single one was halted by her Will. Valena was in truth an ancient Lich with countless years of experience. Her mastery over Will was extraordinary. Even with the same intensity, she could control her energy consumption far more efficiently than ordinary mages.

  The halted spheres trembled violently before finally exploding, sending shockwaves across the arena. The light released from the explosions quickly illuminated Valena’s body.

  At that moment every representative from Greaton watched closely.

  After a while Valena still stood there unmoved. The corner of her lips curled upward in a victorious smile. Lady Lust had not disappointed her. This body had been preserved so perfectly that even Holy Light could not detect anything abnormal.

  Diva nodded and quietly closed her eyes. The mission of Divilight had always been simple, and now it was complete. Valena appeared to be entirely human. Her body showed no signs of control or influence from dark magic.

  “Could it be that I was overthinking everything?”

  Melin stroked his silver beard in confusion. The Ladies did not fall under the authority of the Alliance. They were private mages belonging to SpellSpeaker. Their existence served a certain purpose that even he, as vice chairman of the Mage Association, could not fully grasp.

  “Now it is my turn.”

  Valena covered her mouth and laughed softly, her eyes flickering with a faint mysterious light. A surge of force radiated from her body and quickly invaded Min’s mind. Psychic mages were not always the strongest in direct combat, but when it came to manipulation and control they were among the most dangerous beings imaginable.

  The moment Valena’s control spell was completed, the battle on the arena ceased to be a normal fight. Both of them stood completely still. Now the one who could break free from the mental realm first would become the victor.

  Valena floated within Min’s mental space. The scenery felt strangely familiar. She was not unfamiliar with this kind of image. An endless dark universe. At its center, a radiant star shone brilliantly.

  “Your faith is truly stubborn. After all these years you still believe that light is salvation.”

  Valena shook her head. Compared to Madenes at the height of his power, Divilight was merely a weak false god. Destroying followers like them was simple.

  All she needed to do was break their faith.

  Valena drifted closer to the shining star. Inside it Min was curled up, clutching the Book of Commandments tightly in her arms. Valena smiled as nightmare energy slowly seeped from her body and began to infiltrate the star.

  “Let us see what your weakness is this time.”

  …

  Outside in the stands, every spectator held their breath. This included all the great factions of Greaton. They had witnessed countless strange abilities before and understood that a battle within the mind was the most terrifying kind.

  Failure in the mind did not merely expose one’s weakness. For priests like those of Divilight it could permanently shatter their faith.

  “Should we intervene and interrupt this match?”

  Melin turned to Diva for her opinion. His objective had already been achieved, and he did not wish to see Divilight lose a talented priest because of this.

  His words passed Diva like a passing breeze. She simply shook her head and replied with a confident smile.

  “That will not be necessary.”

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  Min might not be an overwhelmingly powerful mage, but her mind was extraordinarily resolute. Her position within the church was far more important than it appeared on the surface.

  Compared to the Holy Maiden Merian, Min’s role was even more crucial.

  

  After a long while, Valena frowned. She could not find a single weakness within Min’s mind. The girl possessed an absolutely terrifying faith, like an immovable wall of steel. With the knowledge of a Lich who had lived for several hundred years, Valena seemed to have guessed the girl’s true identity.

  If this continued, Valena would certainly lose. The space here was gradually rejecting her energy. As the intruder, she would soon be expelled from this mental realm. Valena was unwilling to accept that. Her eyes stared fixedly at the radiant star before her. In the future, this girl might become a threat to Exitus. A bold plan slowly formed within her mind.

  Valena gathered all her energy and condensed it into a pitch black seed. The moment the seed was formed, her figure began to blur and gradually disappeared from Min’s mental space.

  Outside, both opponents opened their eyes once again. Min stood there calmly, while Valena collapsed to her knees from exhaustion. Her face was pale, her breathing heavy and lifeless. Valena had lost. Now even a basic spell would be enough to defeat her.

  “Impossible.”

  Aster was startled. He could not believe the scene before his eyes. If that was the case, would their entire plan not collapse into nothing?

  Aster suspected that Valena might simply be pretending, but the referee’s announcement confirmed everything.

  “Is that all?”

  Diva frowned for a moment before quickly returning to her usual calm expression. Perhaps she had overestimated Valena’s abilities. Still, it made sense. Min was almost a perfect counter to psychic mages. It seemed the original plan could now be carried out.

  The next battle held little uncertainty. Victory easily belonged to Stromblade. Syvana truly deserved her reputation as the genius mage of Great Will. She was not only powerful but also wielded a magical staff personally crafted by the grandmaster Drumbas. With a single strike, the Snake Woman representing Eversand was blasted off the arena and quickly fell unconscious.

  “A staff capable of amplifying the destructive power of fire magic several times. Truly worthy of being Drumrak’s successor.”

  “He is still far from reaching Drumrak’s level. In fact, he might never reach it in his entire life. The legendary staff Nox'Cadit is the clearest proof of that.”

  Melin nodded slowly. The status of Nox'cadit in the hearts of all mages was that of an eternal monument. Even among the Ten Great Weapons, its power could still be ranked within the top three. Its whereabouts were currently unknown. After that great war, rumors spread that its owner was still alive and that the staff might still remain in her hands.

  The next battle took place between Spellspeaker and Break Island, ending with an overwhelming victory for Rena. As for Divilight and Stromblade, Divilight voluntarily forfeited the match. The final match was decided, and it was exactly what most people had predicted.

  Rena Spellspeaker against Syvana Stormblade.

  One possessed an enormous amount of natural mana, while the other was a genius mage armed with a powerful staff. It would be a battle that was far from balanced.

  Melin was extremely confident in his granddaughter. More importantly, water magic fundamentally countered Syvana’s fire magic. The outcome hardly seemed worth debating. Before long, Hesmor would fall under the influence of the Mage Association.

  With the support of this nation, Melin could even begin to dream of taking Zeroth’s position.

  ...

  Returning to the competition in Seabloom, under the overwhelmingly powerful strength of Thane and the other representatives of Ossa, all the remaining contestants were eliminated one after another with a single strike. Even Mira and Voga were no exception. The competition quickly turned into an internal battle, where the representatives of Ossa fought for the position of team leader.

  Those who came to Seabloom in response to Ramos’s call included four representatives, namely Viper, Thomas, Ray, and Luci.

  Representing VenomSerphen was none other than Viper. She was the youngest among them and also the current clan leader after Heria vanished. Viper was extremely confident in her abilities. With the dagger passed down by Heria, she could even poison a monster at the level of a Battle King.

  Thomas did not care much about the position of leader. He was the next clan head after Hush, yet he was nothing like the previous leader. Thomas was calm, cold, and extremely quiet.

  Ray represented the younger generation of DragonScale. Although he could not compare with Drake, the bloodline within him was exceptionally strong. Naturally, Ray still possessed the arrogance typical of his tribe. He firmly believed that only he was qualified to become the leader.

  Luci sat quietly in a small corner. Her entire body was wrapped in a thick black cloak, her face covered by a thin veil, revealing only a pair of beautiful eyes as calm as a silent lake.

  “It seems SilverFang has truly declined. No representative came here,” Ray said thoughtfully.

  Thane was automatically assumed to be representing BloodClaw, especially since Hati was the clearest proof of that. Just as they were about to discuss their competition strategy, a figure slowly walked in through the door.

  It was a girl with a ponytail and a body covered in numerous scars of different sizes.

  “Greetings everyone. My name is Rin. Representative of SilverFang.”

  Rin smiled politely before quickly sitting down beside Thane. She kept blinking and signaling to him, but Thane pretended not to notice.

  “Tsk. This girl.” Thane shook his head. Ever since leaving Silver Town, Rin had become far more lively and open. Perhaps this was her true personality. No one doubted her identity. Everyone present here was a warrior of Ossa, and their instincts told them that everything she said was true.

  “Alright. Since everyone has gathered, we will draw lots to determine the order of matches.”

  Ray proposed the idea. There were six people, which felt somewhat awkward, so he thought perhaps one person should directly advance to the next round.

  “That will not be necessary.” Thane suddenly spoke, surprising everyone present.

  The boy stood up, his gaze slowly sweeping across everyone in the room. A scorching aura radiated from his body, astonishingly intense. The corner of his lips lifted slightly, his face filled with confidence and dominance.

  “All of you can come at once. I alone will take you all.”

  Thane’s words struck the ears of every representative like a thunderclap. Each of them here was either a clan leader or a top tier prodigy of their tribe. Yet now Thane wanted to face all of them alone.

  “How foolish. Do you really think you are Reddan?”

  Viper mocked him. They respected Reddan as a legend, but that did not mean they would allow such a thing to happen again.

  The atmosphere in the room suddenly became terrifyingly heavy. Even the usually silent and calm individuals like Thomas and Luci began releasing powerful killing intent. They felt that Thane was insulting them.

  Thane remained silent. Explaining with words would never convince them.

  A powerful surge of Will burst from his body, merging with the aura he had already released and pressing heavily upon everyone present. Ray was the first to realize that something was wrong. He quickly braced himself to resist the pressure of that Will.

  “This is Will. You… you are a Champion.”

  The Will was not overwhelmingly strong, but it was enough to make everyone look at Thane differently.

  Among them, Viper was the one who felt the most fear. Will was the natural nemesis of her ability. A cunning glint flashed through her sharp eyes.

  “Very well. If that is what you want, we will agree to your request.”

  No one voiced any objection.

  Champion was a title that carried immense weight. It represented the absolute peak of mortal strength, those who possessed the power to even kill gods.