Irene was just as startled as Adrian when she saw Haroon. On the surface, Haroon seemed to have nothing to do with last night’s incident. She muttered, “Who else could’ve done it if not Haroon?”Tyron smiled slightly and said, “Lady Irene, are you still worried about that? The truth will come out sooner or later. There’s no point worrying now.”“You mean...” Irene looked at Tyron with a puzzled expression.Tyron continued, “We should focus on proper preparations instead of wasting time with baseless speculations.”Orson then appeared. “Well said.”Irene was excited to see him. “Orson, did you find anything?”“I made some progress. It seems hard work pays off. So, it’s up to us now,” Orson said, his eyes glinting.Meanwhile, the battle between Adrian and Haroon continued.“Perfect timing!”Adrian remained perfectly still as he faced Haroon’s attack. The former’s eyes darkened as he observed Haroon. Suddenly, Adrian realized how seamlessly Haroon executed his attacks. The latter
However, to everyone’s surprise, Adrian suddenly vanished into thin air. Haroon’s seemingly powerful attack hit nothing but air.How was this possible?Haroon’s strike was clearly an all-encompassing assault, with no possible escape for his opponent. Yet, the current scene was utterly shocking.Not only was Haroon stunned, but the surrounding audience was also dumbfounded by this turn of events. They were all baffled as to how Adrian, a living person, could disappear without a trace.It seemed Adrian had more tricks up his sleeve! Where could this kid have gone?Haroon immediately retracted his illusions and stood still, looking around in an attempt to locate Adrian. However, Adrian had seemingly evaporated into thin air, completely vanishing without a trace.After searching for a long time without any sign of Adrian, Haroon finally shouted in frustration, “Come out! What kind of skill is it to hide like this?”No one responded.“Damn it...”Feeling deeply insulted, Haroon cou
The countless sword-shaped shadows only had one purpose—to shatter Haroon’s defenses and obliterate him. He was shocked to face such a terrifying attack.Previously, Adrian did not seem particularly threatening. Hence, Haroon wondered how Adrian’s strength appeared to increase tenfold. The former gritted his teeth from the pressure he felt. As time passed, he sensed an overwhelming force threatening to crush him.At that moment, Adrian’s mocking voice echoed, “I suggest you surrender now, Haroon. Otherwise, my sword won’t stop.”Haroon could vaguely see Adrian’s figure amidst the countless sword-shaped shadows. Adrian’s presence seemed utterly unreachable to Haroon, like a towering figure he could never hope to touch.“Damn it! If this continues, I’m bound to lose!” Haroon knew he had to devise a countermeasure.“Wait!” Suddenly, an idea flashed through Haroon’s mind. He still had one last trump card. With a swift motion, he extended his hand and released a burst of black gas. Thi
Haroon responded to Kayne's question in a mocking tone, “Conspiracy? What conspiracy?”The crowd erupted in disbelief. No one expected that, even after falling to such a low point, Haroon would remain stubborn. It seemed like he no longer valued his life.However, with Kayne present, the crowd refrained from saying much. No matter how despicable Haroon was, Kayne would ultimately be the one to punish him. With Edwin Wells, the higher elder, temporarily absent, Kayne was in charge of giving out punishment within the faction.Kayne extended his hand, and a wisp of black gas appeared in his palm. However, a force contained the black gas, preventing it from harming those present. He questioned sternly, “No conspiracy? Then what do you call this poison gas?”Haroon merely let out a cold snort and replied, “That was all me. I knew I couldn’t beat him, so I resorted to underhanded tactics to win. Is that not allowed?”“In that case, you will pay the price for your actions.” As Kayne’s wo
Irene said, "There's nothing strange about it, Adrian. It's probably just your imagination. In any case, don’t worry too much right now."“Wait, I think I’ve realized something.” Despite what everyone was saying, Adrian's gaze suddenly sharpened.Startled, the group immediately turned their attention to him.Adrian said, “Didn’t you guys notice anything unusual about Mr. Kayne?”Since Adrian and Tyron were new, their understanding of Kayne was limited. However, Irene and Orson had been with the faction for a long time. The two exchanged a glance, momentarily unsure of what Adrian was implying.Adrian then voiced his suspicion, “Why did Mr. Kayne kill Haroon so hastily? Was he trying to hide something?”This question made Irene and Orson relax. “So that’s what you were thinking. We thought you were worried about something else.”Orson explained, “Mr. Kayne has always been impulsive; that’s just how he is. But luckily, all the remnants of the daemonic god have been captured, so we
Upon hearing Kayne's words, Darcie's eyes lit up. "So, you've already set your sights on this young man?"Kayne didn’t deny it. "That's right. I’ve had my eye on him for a while. He has great strength and boundless potential, so I’m willing to take him under my wing."Seeing Kayne speak so decisively, Darcie didn’t argue. "The techniques I practice aren’t suitable for him anyway. Since you’re so determined, I’ll reluctantly concede and let you have him."While the elders were discussing how to bring Adrian in as an apprentice, Adrian himself was completely unaware. In the following days, everything remained calm. For the outer apprentices, their most important task was preparing for the upcoming inner apprentice trial.This trial occurred once every five years. Aside from the requirement that participants must be outer apprentices of Purecastle, there were no other restrictions. Anyone was eligible to participate in the trial, even if they had only joined Purecastle the previous da
After hearing their explanation, Adrian felt relieved. "I thought it was something more complicated, but it turns out it’s just this. In that case, I’ll agree to it," he said.He was then told about the rules of the trial. Although it was called a trial, it was more of a competition with specific guidelines. All outer apprentices could form teams of their own liking. Ten teams had been formed so far, each with around a hundred members. These ten teams would enter Hidden Dragon Hill to eliminate the remnants of the daemonic god."This approach isn’t bad; it also gives the apprentices a chance to compete with each other," Adrian commented.With the rules set by the faction, Adrian and the others prepared themselves and finally embarked on their daemon-elimination journey.…Meanwhile, in a secluded corner deep within Purecastle, a shadowy figure stood tall, facing a terrifying daemon. The daemon appeared illusory, caught between reality and illusion, emitting an eerie vibe."I’m st
Even though Hidden Dragon Hill was fraught with danger, this formation could hold out for a while."Let’s continue forward then," Adrian commanded.The team quickened their pace toward Hidden Dragon Hill. The closer they got, the more they could sense the growing concentration of daemonic essence in the air.Tyron said, "It seems the information from the faction’s higher-ups was accurate. There are indeed a lot of daemonic creatures in Hidden Dragon Hill.""We shouldn’t be too sure," Adrian cautioned. "From the surface, it only seems like there is abundant daemonic essence here. Whether there are actual daemonic creatures present hasn’t been confirmed yet."Though places with abundant daemonic essence typically had many daemonic creatures, Adrian’s caution was justified. Fortunately, their formation protected them from toxic gasses, and their progress went smoothly thanks to the formation’s defense.Adrian’s team, composed of powerful individuals from various realms, moved effici