Age of Adepts

Wuuuuuuu!

The whole sky was filled with blazing meteors hurtling toward the ground.

This attack was even more ferocious and violent than the previous one.

Yet, for some reason, Gloria couldn't help but let out a breath of relief. Her wildly beating heart slowly calmed down.

Fortunately…fortunately, it seemed like that tiny trace of fire principle was all the fire adept could muster. If Greem could imbue a fire spell with such radius and power with a trace of that Undying principle, then Gloria would turn and flee without a second thought.

She did not want to embarrass herself by getting singed and burned all over.

She might be incredibly prideful, but she wasn't so arrogant as to dare to fight against principle powers!

As the meteors rained down, Gloria weaved about rapidly, punching with her fists over and over to shatter the meteors with equally violent force.

As for the splatter of lava and fire? All of it was kept at bay by the purple light around her. It could not touch her at all.

Compared to Mary's extraordinary Agility, Gloria had obviously raised her Physique and Strength to the limits. Every one of her actions contained devastating power.

If Greem had Undying as the core of his fire principles, then the core of Gloria's strength was Unstoppable! Moreover, she had imbued this will of hers into every one of her techniques. Every punch and kick contained the same barbaric will to crush every defense and decimate every object.

Though she was indeed powerful, she had yet to reach the level where her willpower and technique were one and the same. She was only borrowing slightly from the realm of willpower to empower her skills further.

However, this imbuing of her will had allowed her to surpass Cerveris and become the second-ranked ultra-powerhouse in the Adept's Association.

Meanwhile, even though Greem's understanding and mastery over the principle powers were slightly superior to Gloria, he had far less accumulated experience compared to her.

Gloria was able to take full advantage of this fact. She quickly unleashed her assault, weaving through Greem's ferocious fire spells. She would then close in on the molten giant and let loose a barrage of punches the moment the opportunity presented itself.

Whenever that happened, Greem had no choice but to scramble and flee in a hurry!

It couldn't be helped. Greem might have become more powerful after transforming into a molten giant, but his defenses were insufficient against this opponent.

Who would've thought that those seemingly tiny fists could possess such fearsome power?

If it weren't for Greem's elementiumized body being able to scatter into energy and avoid most of those punches, then even a steel giant would have been turned into scrap.

Comparatively, Greem was exceptionally courageous even in the face of this incredibly mighty ultra-powerhouse. Fireball after fireball, cloud after cloud of flames, wave after wave of fire. It was almost as if the apocalypse had descended upon them. Greem was turning the whole battlefield into a world of fire and lava.

Greem also occasionally drew on that fearsome principle fire, mixing it in between the rain of fire spells he was unleashing at the enemy. If Gloria were as ignorant as the average Fourth Grade adept and was struck by these 'Undying Flames,' she would end up scorched inside and out.

Every once in a while, Greem's Undying Flames would clash with Gloria's Unstoppable strikes. When these two ultimate powers of different attributes clashed on the principle level, it would cause the planar laws themselves to tremble and ripple.

These law shockwaves law would travel in every direction through the World of Adept's principle system, almost instantly spreading to every corner of the world.

Every blade of grass and every lifeform in the World of Adepts could faintly feel the world's unrest. However, they were limited by their level of consciousness and intelligence. They panicked and cowered in fear, but none of them had any idea where this feeling came from.

Only strong individuals who had come into contact with the laws and principles could clearly feel every fold and ripple being transmitted through the world's principle system. No matter where they were or what they were doing, they cast aside their work and turned around, gazing into the distance where the principle shockwaves emanated from. They silently awaited the conclusion to this conflict between some of the most powerful individuals in this world!

…………

Adept's Association, the Tower of Observation.

Domhnall held his staff in his hand as he hurried to the highest floor of the tower. He was furiously venting his anger at Maztan.

"This is the power of principles! The power of principles! You fool…I had you monitor Greem. What exactly have you been doing? Why…why does he have mastery over principle powers all of a sudden? Why did you not figure out such important information?"

Domhnall lifted Maztan, who was wrapped under multiple blankets on his couch like a riceball, and shook him around angrily. Domhnall's crooked nose practically prodded Maztan in his face, and his spit had covered Maztan all over.

While Domhnall was fuming, Maztan was confused and shocked. He immediately shouted back in a voice just as loud.

"How can you blame me for this? It's not like you don't know who's standing behind that fire adept- the Witches of Fate. He has a whole clan of Fate Witches behind him, along with Fate's daughter herself. Do you know how hard my work has been dealing with those witches every day? I lost another thirty years of my life. Thirty years…thirty whole years! Can you make up for my losses?"

Domhnall finally regained a trace of his rationality after hearing Maztan shout. He let go of his collar. There was still anger on his face, but his tone was much gentler.

"Even so, failing to uncover the fact that the fire adept has mastered the principle powers is still your responsibility! There's no need to explain yourself. The Association will help you recover the lifespan you lost through a magic ceremony as soon as possible. However……"

Having said that, Domhnall paused for a moment and took out a dry cloth to wipe his glasses. The dark circles around his eyes were incredibly obvious. "I want you to keep a constant eye on Greem from now on. I want you to figure out everything he's doing on a daily basis, with no exceptions. The Association will provide you with any resources and materials you require. However, if you dare say it's an impossible task again……"

Domhnall didn't finish his threat, but his sinister gaze and cold expression said everything.

Maztan shivered in fright. Finally, he lost all courage to argue and simply acknowledged the orders, "Very well! I need spacestones, Queen Lazear's Cube, demonic dragon blood, and thirty girls between ages five and seven."

Upon seeing Domhnall's gaze still fixed firmly on him, Maztan explained with a hoarse voice, "I'm not trying to do anything debaucherous with the girls. It's simply the minimum requirement for a blood ritual. It's impossible to break through Alice's Fate restrictions without the power of blood rituals."

Domhnall tilted his head and thought for a moment. He then nodded. However, before he left, he warned once again, "Maztan, restrain yourself a little! I know you have given up a lot doing divinations for the Association. However, understand where you stand. Given your innate potential, you would have been nothing without the Association's sponsorship. You would be dirt, incapable of climbing to the heights where you now stand.

"Since you've enjoyed the offerings of the Association, you must make necessary sacrifices at key moments. Otherwise, this position of the top diviner of the Association will have to change hands. Don't forget; I have plenty of other diviners under me who have their sights set on your current position.

"They are all hoping to contribute their powers and lives to the Association!"

After leaving behind these words, Domhnall turned and left the stunned and pale Maztan behind in the room.

…………

Silver Union, the Silver Hall.

Senate Head Salvinin abruptly stopped working on the documents at hand. He raised his head and sensed the ripples and shockwaves from the principles.

As he frowned, a knocking came from the doors as Vice-Senate Head Melone came busting into the room.

"Sir Senate Head, you've sensed it as well, haven't you? Principle power…that is principle power!" Melone was clearly restless. He paced around furiously and waved his arms incessantly.

"Alright, shush! I know already," Salvini then lowered his head and continued working on the documents.

"Oh, sir, that's principle power! The conflict in the Central Lands has already reached the level of principles! What should we do? We need a plan."

"A plan? A plan for what purpose?"

"Express our stance, of course! Since the legendary fire adept Greem has come into contact with the principle powers, it means that his path to Fifth Grade is now without obstruction. Given his youth and ability, advancing to Fifth Grade will be no problem at all. We of the Silver Union have to think of something in dealing with a future Great Adept like him! If we have no concrete plan, we have to at least show our attitude. To fight or to negotiate- how should we deal with him in the future?"

"You are thinking too much! He's no more than a Central adept that happened to come into contact with the principle powers through unknown means. There's no need to make such a fuss. In my opinion, there's no need to actively build a relationship with him. He will come to us!"

Melone's eyes gleamed when he heard this. He agreed readily, "Indeed, indeed…the Association is at odds with him. They are sure to be enemies from now on. If that's the case, the fire adept will naturally have to make allies out of us if he wants to establish himself in the Central Lands. But what if he chooses to side with the Northern Lands?"

"Hmph! I see your brain's all burnt out from all the engine oil fumes you've been breathing in. The Northern Lands…you think the Northern Lands have the courage and tolerance to accept a powerful adept that has touched the fire principles as an intermediate Fourth Grade? A male adept?"

Even the Senate Head couldn't help but start chuckling coldly at the thought of that.

The Vice-Senate Head clearly understood immediately as well, as he started smiling.

Principle power. Who would've thought that another person had managed to master the principle powers! Cough!