The creation of a brand-new magic system sent the three women into a surge of excitement. Their affectionate gazes practically wanted to pounce on Uchiha Soren on the spot, pin him down, and celebrate right there.
Unfortunately, Soren's true body was still back in Konoha, keeping his wife company.
After a brief sparring session with the black-furred Persian catwoman, Ediss, the avatar could only leave under the disappointed gazes of the three women. He returned briskly to the palace and began—organizing and refining—the magic framework he had only just sketched out.
The concept of the three-colored magic spheres originated from a game he had played in his previous life—Dota. There was a powerful mage hero in that game who used different elemental orbs to cast different spells.
A Fire Orb.
A Lightning Orb.
A Wind Orb.
At present, combining any two of them allowed him to cast Tier IV fusion magic.
Once his level surpassed 30, all three elements could be fused together, enabling Tier V magic—and at the same time unlocking an entirely new elemental mage profession.
Most likely Earth, or possibly Water.
As Uchiha Soren pondered this, his consciousness leapt upward, following an unseen pull. What appeared before him was a vast, boundless sea of black magical power, flowing with iridescent, multicolored hues.
Two utterly opposing colorations—yet they felt perfectly natural to him.
As his maximum spell tier increased, the mark he had branded upon the Sea of Magic grew deeper and deeper, allowing him to receive increasingly complex and profound magical knowledge.
It carried a faint resonance of
Man follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Dao, and the Dao follows Nature.
Countless magic formulas, each carrying a tangible weight, flooded into Soren's mind. Under his Six Paths–level mental strength, they were methodically classified and stored within the palace of memories in his consciousness.
Ordinary magic casters could never manage such a feat.
They either learned spells left behind by predecessors, or—like Fluder—relied on long years of accumulation. Absorbing too much knowledge at once would cause their minds to collapse outright.
Just as the avatar was immersed in the joy of cultivation…
Far away, within the Supreme Headquarters of the Ninja World, Soren's true body was watching an epic live battlefield broadcast.
Konoha – Military Affairs Division
Inside a massive hall large enough to seat a hundred people without feeling cramped, one entire wall was covered by an enormous screen—thirty meters long and ten meters high.
On it played footage of Amegakure's elite forces launching a surprise assault on the granaries near the Baharuth Empire's garrison.
Without the aid of magic, the high-speed combat ninja units still ran far faster than the Empire's warhorses.
Whoosh—!
Though the screen transmitted no sound, the audience felt as if they could hear the roar of flames and the desperate screams of enemies consumed by the inferno.
Seated at the center, Uchiha Soren manipulated the crystal ball before him. The image zoomed in and out in real time, eventually locking onto the commander of the ninja forces—
Hanzo of the Salamander.
"Summoning Jutsu · Salamander · Ibuse!"
A colossal salamander appeared on the battlefield. Its body was covered in fleshy nodules, with short limbs—four fingers on the forelimbs, five toes on the hind limbs—and a short, flattened tail. Its skin was bare, devoid of scales.
The surrounding combat ninjas retreated in an orderly fashion according to plan. Before long, the battlefield formed a chilling tableau—
One man and one beast, facing an army alone.
Hanzo gazed indifferently at the converging defenders, then at the granary city in the distance. He patted the salamander beneath his feet, cruelty flickering in his eyes.
"Poison Mist Spray."
Ibuse opened its mouth, spewing a dense sea of deep-purple poison mist. Heated by the raging flames below, the mist evaporated upward, merging into the clouds.
In moments, the sky was dyed a pale violet.
Against the inferno below, it looked as if hell itself had descended.
"Water Release · Rain of a Thousand Needles!"
Hanzo formed seals.
From the violet clouds fell rain as fine as hair—yet it brought not life, but deadly poison.
Anyone touched by the rain collapsed instantly, dying in droves without the slightest resistance.
The few who struggled were like fish hooked from the water—thrashing once before being dragged into death's grasp.
Flames roared skyward, painting the heavens crimson. Purple rain pattered down. Agonized screams echoed in all directions.
The surviving imperial knights scattered in panic.
Hidden nearby was the Empire's final trump card—the Fourth Imperial Knight, the traitor Renner… no—Renass.
Her golden hair was filthy and matted. From beneath it, the right side of her face was revealed, constantly secreting a pus-like yellow fluid.
This was a wound left by a dying special-class monster's curse—one that unexpectedly granted her the high-tier profession of Cursed Knight, giving her the most terrifying offensive power among the Four Knights.
Yet that same curse destroyed her life.
Disfigured, she was cast out by her prideful family. Her engagement was annulled. A noble daughter who had once earned countless honors became a wanderer overnight—twisting her heart completely.
The woman who once took pride in purging monsters from her family's lands became someone willing to do anything to lift the curse, ruthless and merciless.
After ascending to the Four Knights, with the backing of the Bloody Emperor, Jircniv, she personally annihilated her own family and former fiancé.
Her loyalty to the Empire was beyond question.
"Run… keep running!"
Thanks to the curse flowing through her body, Renass possessed strong resistance to the poisonous rain. Combined with her dual professions as Knight and Cleric, her stamina and constant self-healing allowed her to barely escape the poison's range.
However—
The once flawless left side of her face—perfect features, full lips, pearl-like teeth—now bloomed with twisting purple patterns, as ugly as spider trails crawling across skin.
At the same time, a new power began to surge within her body.
Her strength grew.
Her speed increased.
Unknowingly, she had already stepped half a foot across the chasm separating ordinary beings from the Hero realm.
"So… the Empire is about to give birth to a Shadow-level powerhouse."
Hanzo of the Salamander narrowed his eyes as he watched the fleeing knight—one of the Four Knights whose file lay upon his desk, known as 'Heavy Impact', full name Renass Lockbullis.
A chilling killing intent seeped from his gaze.
Even across tens of thousands of kilometers, everyone watching felt it.
Within the Military Affairs Division, ninjas below Shadow level broke out in goosebumps, fear rising unbidden in their hearts.
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