CHAPTER 36: CHAPTER 36: ASHES TURNED TO RAIN

Once again casting the Floating Technique on himself, Lor didn’t slow down, but instead ran even faster.

The target was directly pointing to the burial site of the Divine Power Crystal, which was emitting strong fluctuations.

Opportunities to obtain a Divine Power Crystal so easily are rare; it must be cherished.

He didn’t even bother with those that required detours to reach the burial sites of weakly fluctuating Divine Power Crystals.

Only those along the way would he pick up.

With no more obstacles ahead, Lor arrived at the site where he first sensed the fluctuations of the Divine Power Crystal in just two minutes.

The place was now in shambles, with trees burned to ash.

Fire sparks, ice shards, and earth spikes littered the ground, with chaotic pits scattered all around.

In the center of this area lay two one-centimeter diameter black Divine Power Crystals.

These were standard Divine Power Crystal blocks, each weighing ten grams.

"Ten minutes into the Secret Realm and I’ve collected 23 grams of Divine Power Crystals, almost half of the mentor’s debt, not bad."

Lor walked to the center and picked up the Divine Power Crystals, initially quite pleased.

But when he saw three sunken pits beside the crystals, where it seemed some potions had been placed before, his mood soured.

"Alright, alright, you dare not take the Divine Power Crystals, but dare to take the Talent Enhancement Potions, huh?"

The most helpless thing was that he realized he really couldn’t track down who took the potions.

"Forget it, the potions are secondary; first, gather more Divine Power Crystals, that’s the valuable stuff."

Lor shook his head slightly, "With enough Divine Power Crystals, I can completely go out and exchange them for potions, boldly upgrading my talent to level eight."

No longer delaying, he immediately rushed towards the next place emitting strong Divine Power Crystal vibes.

...

Over a hundred kilometers away in the forest.

Randolph ignored the surrounding strong Divine Power Crystal fluctuations, his nose twitching slightly, quickly heading towards Lor’s location.

Snatching Divine Power Crystals is troublesome and very time-consuming; it’s better to kill that guy first and then plan.

Each time during his journey when he encountered large-scale witchcraft release areas, he would detour and reposition Lor’s location.

About half an hour later.

"Soon, soon, I’ll find you soon, little mouse."

As he sensed getting closer to Lor, a sinister smile appeared on Randolph’s lips.

As long as he kills Lor, he remains the most talented Wizard Apprentice of the Earth and Fire Faction.

After leaving, he would advance to a one-ring Wizard, becoming the most talented and youngest one-ring Wizard of the Earth and Fire Faction.

...

After collecting the last site within thirty miles emitting strong Divine Power Crystal fluctuations, the area where Lor was located again became slightly lively.

This group of apprentices was not the same batch as the previous ones but drifted over from elsewhere.

Lor carried 126 grams of Divine Power Crystals, shining like a beacon in the perception of these apprentices.

However, only a few dared to covet him, and Lor sent them away with a few reduced-power Small Lava Eruption Techniques.

Most of them ran far away as soon as they sensed his approach.

Those who could become third-class Wizard Apprentices might not be very clever, but they definitely weren’t stupid.

Someone who can carry so many Divine Power Crystals and remain unscathed isn’t someone ordinary people have the nerve to provoke.

Their targets were those Divine Power Crystal fragments that Lor didn’t want.

Naturally, Lor also wasn’t interested in wasting time on these guys, so he reached into his Sea of Consciousness to take a look.

"There are still eighty percent Earth and Fire Elements left in the Elemental Domain; I should keep fifty percent for emergencies, allowing me to scour two more areas."

After sensing the fluctuations of Divine Power from other places for a while, he chose the direction with the most intense fluctuations and quickly headed there.

"Boom—Crack—"

Two minutes later, the familiar sounds of witchcraft collisions and screams returned, far more lively than the area he had just been in.

Lor didn’t rush to deploy the Small Lava Eruption Technique and continued to rush forward.

This area wasn’t far from the region he had previously scoured, prematurely deploying it would waste Elemental Energy unnecessarily.

Encountering some who released area witchcraft during the journey, he chose to evade.

About ten minutes later, he finally arrived at a place emitting intense Divine Power fluctuations and briefly scanned the central battlefield.

"Creak—Boom—Buzz—Whoosh—"

All the Elemental Mages had set up shields or barriers, standing at the edge of the battlefield, exchanging blows from hundreds of meters away.

Several kinds of witchcraft—gold, wood, water, fire, earth—flew back and forth in the battlefield; outside, various forms of Bloodline Wizards roamed around, occasionally swiftly approaching to attack Elemental Mages.

There were also Elemental Mages releasing witchcraft outward, bombing those Bloodline Wizards.

Scattered across the ground were severed limbs, without a single intact human form.

In short, chaos is the word!

Lor’s arrival instantly alarmed the warring mages.

They stopped the clashing, watching Lor with wary eyes.

There was no choice; Lor’s Divine Power fluctuations were simply too conspicuous.

From afar, because the battle was too intense, they hadn’t really noticed.

But now that Lor was already in front of them, how could they possibly fail to notice?

"You’re not welcome here; please leave."

In the center of the battlefield, a blond apprentice was the first to speak, warning, "If you don’t leave, we’ll band together to kill you first."

"Yes, leave here, stranger apprentice."

"Please leave."

"This belongs to us."

"You already have..."

...

With someone leading, other Wizard Apprentices followed suit and spoke up.

Listening to their words, for some reason, Lor suddenly wanted to laugh.

Is it true that the apprentices of this era don’t even dare to threaten people forcefully?

Using the word ’please,’ indeed left one speechless.

In the past, he naturally wouldn’t have wasted any words, directly opting for a Small Lava Eruption Technique to clear the field.

But after understanding the personality of the apprentices in this era, he suddenly had a new idea.

If he could make them leave directly, he’d also save Elemental Energy and scour more areas.

Lor said in an indifferent tone, "Leave, or die."

Participating in the Divine Kingdom Trial by itself meant a willingness to gamble lives for resources.

Lor himself likewise, naturally possessed no unnecessary compassion.

If he wasn’t aiming to save some Elemental Energy, he would have dispersed these people long ago.

...

"Leave, or die."

On the other side of the battlefield, Randolph arrived almost simultaneously with Lor, just in time to hear Lor’s words.

At the same time, he sensed the dense and lingering Divine Power Crystal fluctuations emanating from Lor.

More importantly, his sense of smell told him that the mysterious apprentice whose face was unclear seemed, perhaps, maybe it was Lor?

"My sense of smell must be wrong, right?" Randolph muttered under his breath.

He figured he must still be asleep in the lab, the Divine Kingdom Trial was yet to start.

"Hoo—"

In the center of the battlefield, the blond apprentice who spoke initially couldn’t endure the near-insulting ignoring any longer.

He raised his hand, releasing a fireball about a meter in diameter, flying straight towards Lor.

"You made a wrong choice."

Randolph only had time to hear Lor say this sentence, and then, without feeling a shred of pain, he was engulfed by the lava erupting from beneath his feet.

Turning into a handful of black ash, carried by the lava towards the sky, and becoming a small black pit on the ground amidst the lava rain.