Chapter Sixty-Five: Advancement to Four-Star Fire Technique

Harman's magical notes recorded his most valued insights into dozens of spells, and as one of the foremost fire mages in the Azure Empire, his notes were far more precious and practical than most records found in the library, for they were rooted in countless personal reflections and studies. Because of these notes, Xu Wen once again temporarily abandoned his pursuit of necromancy! He was accustomed to seeking the most effective advancement for himself within the shortest possible time.

Two-star Earth Sovereign spell—“Chain Explosive Flames”; three-star Earth Sovereign spell—“Ring of Blazing Fire”; and the three-star Celestial Profound spell—“Condensed Solar Burst Wave,” enabled him to rise from two-star ninth tier to three-star fourth tier within two months, his true combat power leaping to above four-star intermediate; something unattainable even through necromancy. Moreover, the Azure Empire’s hatred of necromancers made Xu Wen somewhat wary, so he simply followed the path of the notes…

Three months, an entire three months, Xu Wen immersed himself day and night in Harman’s notes, his progress in fire magic could only be described as accelerating. Perhaps even Harman himself never imagined that his magical insights could so quickly mold Xu Wen into a four-star mage! Still less that a fifteen-year-old boy could so easily master Celestial Profound spells that even five-star mages struggled to comprehend.

In less than half a year, he soared from three-star to four-star.

Within this achievement lay Xu Wen’s unwavering dedication as a top-tier gamer, the help of elixirs, but above all, the notes’ meticulous analysis of magical mysteries. Having mastered the complex and intricate Celestial Profound spells with ease, Xu Wen found himself effortlessly grasping other three-star and four-star spells as well.

His magical realm grew at an astonishing pace, breaking through the four-star barrier without suspense; the “spiritual liquid” in his chaotic sea of consciousness quickly filled… nearly at three-star second tier.

Now, when Xu Wen left the training chamber and walked along the campus paths of Azure Academy, he would no longer be stared at with strange looks.

Yet…

Harman’s magical notes had completely captivated Xu Wen; he had no time for idle wandering.

Ever since reaching three-star ninth tier, he had been eagerly awaiting this day!

Upon entering four-star, he immediately began exploring the four-star Earth Sovereign spells recorded in the notes—each star level’s Earth Sovereign spells were quite limited, and he had long coveted the four-star “Divine Flame Shield.”

The Earth Sovereign “Divine Flame Shield” further amplified the tension of fire based on its original principles, blending it with wind magic, actively absorbing wind elements from the air. Before a spell attack arrived, it released three waves of invisible blazing flame, preemptively corroding incoming magic. The stronger the caster’s spirit, the greater the corrosion intensity, and correspondingly, the received attack strength would be proportionately reduced.

This was Xu Wen’s first defensive Earth Sovereign spell, its defensive power capable of easily withstanding attacks at the five-star level.

Due to the increased difficulty, it took him nearly ten days to fully master it, and he tested it…

The “Divine Flame Shield” could withstand the full-force assault of the Celestial Profound “Condensed Solar Burst Wave”!

If the attack strength of “Condensed Solar Burst Wave” was about four-star seventh tier, the shield floating outside his body endured a single impact already corroded down to below four-star third tier.

However, this was also because the “Condensed Solar Burst Wave” covered too wide an area; Celestial Profound spells were still extremely powerful offensively. If focused a bit more, the “Divine Flame Shield” would certainly be broken, unable even to form a complete defensive surface—the shield was ultimately smaller than a wind element barrier.

Yet Xu Wen was not worried about this.

In actual combat, few would use large-scale attack spells.

That day!

As usual, Xu Wen took an invigorating pill, preparing to continue mastering four-star spells.

His thoughts stirred, turning to glance toward the teleportation array.

The small two-way teleportation array emitted a faint glow…

“Harman, Headmaster?”

Xu Wen’s heart leapt.

He had been waiting for Headmaster Harman these days.

After advancing to four-star, the person he most wished to inform was the selfless Harman.

He wanted to tell him about unexpectedly gaining the chaotic sea of consciousness, about his spirit having surpassed four-star, about mastering several spells from the notes.

Xu Wen believed!

Even Headmaster Harman, accustomed to talented students at Azure Academy, would surely be proud, would surely feel honored for his only disciple!

But to his disappointment, the person who teleported in was not the Harman he knew, but a stranger—a middle-aged man bearing the seven-star fire mage insignia.

A magus!

Xu Wen stood up in surprise.

“You are…”

Before he could finish, the newcomer noticed him.

“You’re here, just as expected! Come, we must leave immediately!” The man strode over, ignoring Xu Wen’s astonishment and confusion, grabbed him, and turned to go, urgency written all over his face, leaving Xu Wen bewildered.

“Are you… Teacher Dre or Teacher Mobson? Where’s Headmaster Harman?” Xu Wen asked cautiously. Harman had once told him, apart from the headmaster, only these two teachers knew his situation, and only they would come looking for him here.

Unexpectedly,

Upon hearing Harman’s name, the man’s grip tightened unconsciously, his face darkening, but he quickly resumed normalcy and turned to Xu Wen:

“Call me ‘Dre’. As for Headmaster Harman, there will be time to discuss him later. The situation is urgent; we must evacuate all students at once!”

…

Xu Wen frowned slightly: Evacuate?

As he pondered, the scenery shifted—Teacher Dre had already activated the teleportation array, taking him out of the training chamber.

Fresh air filled his lungs, and Xu Wen’s spirit revived.

Before he could savor a second breath of ground-level air, Teacher Dre hurried him out of the building.

As the door opened!

Night-darkness cloaked the sky, muffled warnings rumbled like thunder from all directions across the academy, reverberating overhead:

“…Warning!”

“All students of the Fire Magic Division, attention! Gather immediately in the plaza!”

…

Xu Wen didn’t listen to the rest, staring blankly at the oppressive sky, his face suddenly changed, eyes full of shock and horror, almost as if in a dream.

After landing, Teacher Dre loudly pointed out the direction of the plaza, repeating several times before Xu Wen’s spirit returned:

“Stay calm!”

Dre assumed Xu Wen was stunned by the scene, grasped his face, stared firmly into his eyes, and said, word by word, “It’s alright! With the teachers here, you will be safe!”

“Go to the plaza! Everyone is there!”

Seeing the resolute look in Teacher Dre’s eyes, Xu Wen finally awakened, nodded vigorously, and under Dre’s gaze, ran toward the plaza where the Fire Magic Division's students and teachers were gathering…

Howl!

Boom! Boom boom!

The air was filled with the roars of dragons and the sounds of impacts.

Countless enormous bone dragons, dragging fierce bone spikes, crashed against the five-colored barrier overhead in savage waves;

In the gaps, high-level undead carrying a dense aura of death flitted ceaselessly, covering the sky, occasionally swooping over Azure Academy like bombers.

Farther away, flames soared in the imperial capital, magic and battle aura lights chaotically weaving everywhere.

The imperial capital was in chaos!

Everything before him seemed as if the apocalypse had suddenly descended!