Chapter 336 Conflict and Complete Break

"To be able to hunt down an eighth-order being?" The fighters in the sky all halted their battles, utterly unable to comprehend how a seventh-tier mage could achieve such a feat. Yet, as they stared at the golden orb floating in the air, they reluctantly acknowledged that another eighth-order being had fallen, this time at the hands of a seventh-tier mage.

Shaoke paid no heed to the eighth-order being who had spoken to him. He walked straight over to the fallen eighth-tier mage, drew the silver dagger from his belt, and began severing the mage's head. This act infuriated the remaining three eighth-order beings who had come to trouble him, but their fury was futile. The blue-robed mage and the flail warrior were closely engaging them, leaving no opportunity for them to attack Shaoke.

The eighth-tier mage's head was soon severed by Shaoke, and only then did he become aware of the external environment. As he looked at the head in his hands, he let out a low laugh. He had so easily hunted an eighth-order being under such circumstances. He knew that without the spell Death Gaze, he could not have harmed that eighth-tier mage in the slightest.

Shaoke casually tossed the head into his magic bag, then rose to his feet to resume observing the battle in the sky. He planned to unleash Death Gaze again to immobilize anyone who floated above him, thereby allowing him to hunt them. Of course, at this moment, he had forgotten about the drain that casting the spell had just caused.

Fortunately, thanks to the integration of the golden horn, even without meditation for recovery, his natural regeneration was quite rapid. Sometimes he even wondered if the natural recovery within his meditation space was much the same as the restorative effects of meditation for other mages of the same rank.

Just as Shaoke was seeking an opportunity to hunt other eighth-order beings, a rift suddenly appeared in the sky. A young mage emerged from it, scanned the scene, and then called out to halt the battle between the blue-robed mage and the others.

"Who authorized you to fight here?" This young mage was the same one who had visited Shaoke's mage tower a few years prior. The image of him waving his hand to dispel so many seventh-level spells was still vivid in Shaoke's mind. "All of you, leave this place," the young mage said, surveying the surroundings. It was only then that Shaoke noticed dozens of mental or magical forces swirling around the young mage; these forces only became detectable when the young mage looked at him.

"They killed two of our companions," said an eighth-tier warrior, pointing at the blue-robed mage and the flail warrior, briefly explaining the situation. He then attempted to rally his companions to continue the attack, as the disgrace of losing two comrades could not be erased by a few simple words from one person.

"Isn't it just the death of two incompetents?" The young mage waved his staff in the void, causing hundreds of magical runes to fly out. These runes quickly formed a massive eight-pointed star magic array. After the array emitted a peculiar fluctuation, Shaoke felt the powerful mental and magical forces that had been clinging to his body vanish entirely, presumably due to the young mage's intervention.

"Can you bring the dead back to life?" The young mage slowly walked a few steps through the air after that. "Besides, do you truly not know who resides in this manor? You are defying the military's counsel, relying on your family's power to bully us mages." With that, the young mage glared fiercely at the other three intruders and added, "Leave now, or do not expect to leave at all. Let me tell you, this is not the capital of the Blue Feather Empire; this is the Oblivion Capital, the capital of wandering eighth-order practitioners." With a wave of his hand, he indicated for them to leave. Yet the three eighth-order practitioners remained hovering in the air, refusing to depart.

"Hand over the mage Xueye. He also killed a mage of the Orpheus Family," said a warrior, pointing first at Shaoke and then at the eighth-tier warrior wielding a flail, voicing his intent without reservation. He was unwilling to leave after suffering such a heavy loss, as returning to his family without an explanation was unthinkable.

"I have already said: leave or die." The young mage slowly twirled his staff, and a spellbook flew out from his forehead, rapidly expanding in size. "This is not the capital. This is just the Oblivion Capital. No matter how much power your families wield within the empire, here you must curl up like infants, forever." The youthful-looking mage uttered these words using a special magical technique, and then began his attack.

While the young mage was speaking, the blue-robed mage and the flail-wielding warrior also launched their attacks.

This time, the three eighth-order beings belonging to families or organizations who refused to leave were all slaughtered. The main reason for this outcome was the extremely overpowered flail in the warrior's hands. Clusters of golden light flew through the air, making any teleportation impossible. Coupled with the formidable power of the later-arriving young mage, the battle ended quickly.

After the battle, the five golden orbs floating in the sky were collected by the three eighth-order beings. The blue-robed mage's spellbook absorbed one golden orb, the golden orb above her head (presumably her own) absorbed another, the flail-wielding warrior's flail absorbed one, and the young mage absorbed the last one with his spellbook, which quickly enveloped it, then shrank and fused into his forehead in a peculiar manner.

After a brief conversation in the air, the three eighth-order practitioners who had just experienced the slaughter dispersed. The blue-robed mage floated down slowly and landed beside Shaoke.

"Is Death Gaze really that powerful? Cast it on me once, so I can feel the power of that spell," the blue-robed mage said to Shaoke as her first words. Though surprised, Shaoke, seeing her earnest expression, instantly released the spell.

Two gray beams landed on the blue-robed mage, and she stood still for several dozen breaths before letting out a long sigh. Her pale face was now covered in large beads of sweat, and the attempt had instilled a deep fear in her for the first time.

The blue-robed mage had never imagined that this special seventh-rank spell would not only successfully immobilize her but also extend the duration so significantly. Thinking about it, she felt a wave of fear. "No wonder this spell is nearly impossible to successfully cast," the blue-robed mage murmured inexplicably. Then she gave Shaoke some further instructions and returned to her room to rest.

Shaoke stood quietly in the courtyard, then went to the street to check the large chunks of flesh. Ultimately, he released arcane fire to reduce them to ashes. Afterward, he returned to his room alone to record the strange fluctuations he had noticed from the golden orb.

The recording was completed quickly, as he found it impossible to describe these fluctuations in textual form. He then entered his meditation space to recall those fluctuations.

This recollection left him astonished. After some reflection, Shaoke suddenly realized that the fluctuations emanated by the golden orb were similar to those from the altar in his meditation space. The only difference was that the golden orb's fluctuations were dozens of times more powerful and far more complex. He meticulously recorded this discovery, along with the fact that those eighth-order beings had used spellbooks or magic items to collect the golden orbs. He believed that if he ever advanced to an eighth-tier mage, he too would do the same.

In the following days, the entire Oblivion Capital became much more chaotic. Numerous practitioners flooded in alongside merchants, and many eighth-order beings soared through the sky. According to the blue-robed mage, these eighth-order beings were wandering practitioners of the Blue Feather Empire or those who had left the military. They intended to stay here permanently because only in this place could the powerful families within the empire not exert their full influence, and they could freely unite to engage in raids and other activities.

Despite the influx of many eighth-order beings, none disturbed the death mages busy constructing the colossal mage towers. These death mages were too fearsome, with over three hundred eighth-tier death mages stationed here. This number of eighth-tier practitioners far exceeded the combined total of all wandering eighth-order beings, more than double the count. Neither the Orpheus Family nor the Mage Guild sent anyone to trouble Shaoke again. However, Shaoke received news today that was extremely unfavorable to him.

It turned out that shortly after finishing his meditation, someone from the Death Mage Corps sent him a message via the crystal ball. The message stated that their previous agreement was entirely voided. Once Shaoke advanced to an eighth-tier mage, they would have no further connection. Of course, during his seventh-tier period, if unforeseen circumstances arose, the Death Mage Corps would still help him. This news greatly displeased Shaoke, as the Death Mage Corps had not intervened when the Orpheus Family attacked him earlier. He did not want to be killed first and then have the Death Mage Corps avenge his death.

First release.