Sovereign of the Ashes

After spending a few more moments with Lorianne, Sein excused himself and departed.

Although he could return directly to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring via the fortress, Lorianne had to remain behind for the time being.

Accompanying Sein back to the Magus World was only Tourmaline.

Meanwhile, Natalya and the other knights wished to continue honing their skills in the impending battle to purge the remaining forces.

Selina, along with others, were experiencing their first interplanar war.

Verdant Leaf World, with its laws vastly different from those of Magus World, held great allure for these young Rank One mages fresh from Magus World.

In fact, aside from Sein, very few chose to return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring at this stage.

Most of the mages at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring lacked extensive experience in interplanar warfare.

The recently conquered Verdant Leaf World would serve as a valuable asset for the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring for many years to come, offering a unique opportunity to explore the truths and wonders of a foreign plane.

Currently, Verdant Leaf World remained freely accessible.

However, once the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring fully withdrew its forces in the future, other mages wishing to explore this plane would need to pay a teleportation fee.

Of course, mages from other divine towers would face higher fees than those registered with the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

***

Upon returning to Magus World, Sein immediately immersed himself in his experiments.

It went without saying that the Inextinguishable Meteorite that Tourmaline had recovered from the depths of the ocean was the next focus of his research.

Meanwhile, Tourmaline returned to Jewel Sea, likely to take a well-deserved nap in her nest.

This was the epitome of a blissful existence—living a carefree life with the freedom to sleep whenever she pleased.

The three Sea Kings also settled down in the Jewel Sea as planned.

To meet the dietary and habitat needs of these colossal creatures, various lesser aquatic species that had participated in the Verdant Leaf World War herded schools of ocean fish through the Verdant Wave Canal into Jewel Sea.

Following orders from Tower Master Lorianne, the mages stationed at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring were tasked with further expanding and deepening the Jewel Sea.

Some of the knowledgeable mages from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring even installed several ice-making magic devices in the northern part of the Jewel Sea since the three Sea Kings were accustomed to living in the deep sea, where sea pressure was high and temperatures were low.

The issue of sea pressure remained beyond the current capabilities of the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, so the Sea Kings would have to excavate and construct their own nests.

The temperature problem, however, was something within their power to address.

Fortunately, the Sea Kings, generally of low intelligence and robust constitution, were not particularly sensitive to their environments.

Judging by the situation, they appeared to have settled into the Jewel Sea.

Occasionally, they would even emerge from the depths to display their massive forms.

Not only had they inspired numerous legends along the coast of the Jewel Sea, but they also offered significant research and educational value to the initiates and full-fledged mages at the divine tower academy.

***

Everburning Violet Flame was the most complex research on pyro elemental energy Sein had undertaken since his promotion to Rank Two.

Returning to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring allowed him access to its advanced experimental equipment and high-precision instruments.

These were essential for his detailed study of the giant meteorite he had acquired in Verdant Leaf World.

As the experiment progressed, Sein unveiled more mysteries surrounding the Everburning Violet Flame.

Initially, his research in Verdant Leaf World was focused on the fusion of Verdant Flame with Everburning Violet Flame.

Now back at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, some of Sein's hypotheses had been validated, yet he faced subtle discrepancies and challenges that would demand significant time and energy to resolve.

This meticulous investigation formed the routine of many mages in the Magus World.

In his third year since returning to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein was forced to leave his laboratory.

For three years, he had remained secluded in his residence, engaging in experiments and research daily, with only the company of the female servants who managed his domestic needs.

His research was abruptly interrupted when Sein received a summon from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy.

The new academy term had begun some time ago.

Due to the Verdant Leaf World War, the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had seamlessly absorbed all hedge mages and mage councils in Viridescent Land.

The influx of initiates this year was substantially larger than in previous years.

With most of the seasoned mages still deployed in Verdant Leaf World, the academy faced a critical shortage of lecturers.

Sein had promised Lorianne that he would teach at the academy, and now, someone had been sent to remind him of his duty.

When Sein had first been promoted to Rank One, he had briefly taught at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring Academy, delivering primarily introductory content.

Some of the initiates also discovered that Sein was not only a well-regarded Rank Two mage at the divine tower but also the tower master's apprentice.

Courses offered by a mage of his stature, whether public or private, were bound to attract a high demand.

Sein chose to teach the subjects of "Advanced Lesson On Pyro Elemental Energy", "Basic Utilization of Spatial Magic" and "Alchemy Technique 101".

The first two were public courses, open to several hundred magic initiates.

The latter was a private course, capped at twenty initiates.

Sein's selection of topics was thoughtful.

Only senior initiates or higher could attend these classes.

The "Advanced Lesson On Pyro Elemental Energy" course involved techniques accessible to only full-fledged mages, making the lecture potentially baffling for lower-ranked initiates.

Spatial magic had always been known as complex and rare knowledge within the Magus World.

Previously, only a few academy mages at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring had taught this subject.

As expected, the launch of these public courses sparked a frenzy at the divine tower academy.

The two hundred seats in the public classrooms were quickly occupied, and eager initiates spilled into the aisles, crowded the back rows, and even gathered outside the doors to listen.

However, Sein estimated that no more than two percent of the attendees fully grasped the content of his lectures. This was particularly true for the junior initiates dressed in lavish magic robes, who occupied the first few rows of seats in the classroom.

No one dared to challenge them for their seats. Their superior demeanor and the elemental fluctuations emanating from their magic items showed that social hierarchies and class distinctions still prevailed even within the divine tower academy—a sanctuary for spellcasters dedicated to uncovering truths.

Regrettably, only a few had the courage to challenge these higher-ranked initiates with influential backgrounds, as Sein had once done.