Chapter 448: Well of the Stars
Before obtaining the Elemental Chapter, Barris was just a newly minted Title Archmage in his seventies. His magical talent could only be described as average, and even his breakthrough to Title Archmage involved a measure of luck. But after a journey through the planes, Barris acquired the Elemental Chapter, and his fate began to change...
After twenty years of silence, he reappeared in the Northend World, shocking countless people. By then, Barris had already reached the peak of Ninth Rank Title Archmage!
At that time, many were nearly driven mad. No one understood better than them just how arduous the path of a Title Archmage truly was—every step demanded immense time. To rise from First Rank to Ninth Rank peak in just twenty years was nearly impossible.
But Barris actually did it.
Not only had he reached the peak of Ninth Rank Title Archmage, he also mastered profoundly advanced elemental laws—the most crucial being the four elements: earth, water, wind, and fire! And his comprehension of these laws was at the master level...
What does it mean to be a master of all four elements...
That’s something only a Heavenly Mage can achieve. And even newly advanced Heavenly Mages aren’t capable of it—becoming a master of all four elements requires immense accumulation of time, easily several centuries, and by then, one would already be a high-rank Heavenly Mage.
Of course, Barris’s status as a master of all four elements remained a secret. No one knew but him, until one day, Barris seized an opportunity with overwhelming strength and killed an Ivory Tower Expedition Team. That team had been sent by the Ivory Tower to explore the ruins of a Heavenly Mage, a site rumored to hold vast treasures and that mage’s secrets.
That expedition team was nothing short of extravagant—four peak Ninth Rank Title Archmages, individuals who had nearly touched transcendent power, plus more than ten high-ranking Title Archmages.
These were the pillars of the Ivory Tower, rarely seen in public, but for the sake of that priceless Heavenly Mage’s ruins, they dispatched this team.
Such a powerful team, exploring a Heavenly Mage’s ruins—surely that should have been more than enough, right?
But in the end, the result was unexpected. Not a single one of them made it back alive...
Through scattered clues, the powerful Ivory Tower managed to deduce that the one who killed them was Barris, the peak Ninth Rank Title Archmage.
Just Barris alone wiped out the entire Ivory Tower expedition team. When the news broke, many refused to believe it. No matter how strong Barris was, the team had four of his peers and more than a dozen high-ranking Title Archmages. How could one person destroy them all?
Only a Heavenly Mage could possibly manage such a feat, but Barris was just a peak Ninth Rank Title Archmage...
Most of the Ivory Tower’s upper echelons couldn’t believe Barris was responsible, but they still sent a host of powerful mages to retaliate. Unexpectedly, Barris vanished...
It wasn’t until ten years later that Barris resurfaced in the Northend World. By then, he had used the secrets of the Heavenly Mage’s ruins to become a newly advanced Heavenly Mage!
Barris’s life could only be described as glorious—thirty years from a newly minted Title Archmage to a newly advanced Heavenly Mage.
Ultimately, the Ivory Tower decided to send Bain, a Heavenly Mage who wielded the Death Tome, to deal with Barris. At that time, Bain was also a newly advanced Heavenly Mage, just entering the Ivory Tower’s upper ranks.
That battle was nothing short of earth-shattering—even Bain, the Heavenly Mage, returned to the Ivory Tower gravely wounded. Only then did he reveal Barris’s secret: Barris possessed the key component of the Death Tome, the Elemental Chapter, and with it had become a master of all four elements, wielding overwhelming power. That’s how he wiped out the expedition team ten years prior.
At that time, the Elemental Chapter also fell into Bain’s hands. As a newly advanced Heavenly Mage, his Death Tome was still at the True Spirit pinnacle artifact tier, but with the addition of the Elemental Chapter, it immediately evolved into a transcendent artifact, propelling Bain to the pinnacle of his era...
Now that Leon had obtained the Elemental Chapter, he couldn’t possibly push the Death Tome to the transcendent artifact tier—after all, when Bain got the Elemental Chapter, his Death Tome already had nearly ten components, while Leon’s only had two, including the Elemental Chapter. Still, he was certain that adding the Elemental Chapter would trigger a transformation in the Death Tome.
After putting away the Elemental Chapter, Leon tidied up the scattered drafts on his desk and returned the four books to their original places. By chance, he glanced over and saw William Merlin standing nearby, holding a staff with barely any magical fluctuation, utterly motionless and looking somewhat pale.
"William, cousin, what's wrong...?" Leon walked over.
"Ah, it's you, Marfa..."
Before Leon arrived, William Merlin seemed lost in thought. Leon startled him, and when William realized it was Leon, he laughed a few times, then resumed frowning at the staff in his hand.
In fact, William Merlin had discovered this staff right here in the study...
Curious, William Merlin had picked up the staff to examine it.
There was nothing special about the staff. The tip wasn’t set with a mana crystal, but with a piece of crystal, and its magical fluctuations were so faint that unless you got close, you’d hardly notice it at all.
Crystal...
Seeing the crystal at the tip of the staff, William Merlin’s eyes immediately lit up. In the Northend World, crystals are used by mages to record important information—what could be hidden inside this one?
Thinking this, William Merlin’s heart began to race. He instinctively channeled a surge of magic into the crystal, and sure enough, a stream of information flooded his mind.
But... what was that thing...?
What entered his mind was a sequence of obscure, indecipherable runes. He simply couldn’t figure out what they were.
So he racked his brain for hours.
It wasn’t until William Merlin saw Leon appear that his eyes lit up again.
That’s right, he could ask Marfa for help. After all, Marfa could even deduce those advanced meditation laws with dozens of formulas—his insight surely exceeded William’s imagination...
"Marfa, can you take a look at this for me...?" William Merlin smiled, recounted what had happened, and then carefully recited the runes that had appeared in his mind. Only after finishing did he look anxiously at Leon.
At that moment, he noticed that his cousin was actually frowning.
This didn’t seem quite right...
"Cousin, what’s wrong?"
"It’s nothing, William. Try channeling your magic into the crystal again. Just those runes you recited—I can’t tell what they are..." Leon’s brows were tightly knit.
"Alright..."
William Merlin nodded, poured another surge of magic into the crystal, and instantly another set of runes entered his mind. He recited it for Leon as well.
But Leon was still frowning...
William Merlin, undeterred, channeled magic into the crystal once more and received a third set of runes. After reciting them, he suddenly noticed his cousin’s expression had grown strange. He couldn’t help but ask, "Cousin, what’s wrong?"
Leon merely shook his head, saying nothing. Judging from those three sets of runes, they seemed to be a type of magical rune—an extremely advanced kind, at that.
Even with all his experience, Leon was shocked by these runes. Mages who could master such runes were able to harness the power of the stars...
Well of the Stars...
The only magical rune Leon could associate with was the Well of the Stars. In the history of the Northend World, the only rune that could harness the power of the stars was the Well of the Stars.
But the Well of the Stars had long been lost to history.
Could this set of magical runes actually be the Well of the Stars?
Leon’s expression turned strange. The Well of the Stars was a set of magical runes that surpassed even the most elite runes, second only to magical array equipment.
The last time the Well of the Stars appeared in the Northend World was at the end of the Neather Dynasty. Back then, there was a dragon-slaying battle—hundreds of dragons hovered in the sky, launching attacks on the human champions below. Among those humans, one wielded the Well of the Stars rune. The outcome? That person used the unique power of the Well of the Stars to summon countless meteors. In that moment, starlight streaked across the heavens, claiming the lives of hundreds of dragons...
The Well of the Stars was also known as the Dragons’ Dirge.
The one who possessed the Well of the Stars was none other than the Gravedigger of the Silver Age, the Azure Sage who achieved sainthood through puppet alchemy!
"William, cousin, this is a magical rune called the Well of the Stars. A mage who learns it can draw on the power of the stars—it's even stronger than most elite runes. You could use the Well of the Stars as your rune..." Leon briefly introduced the Well of the Stars to William Merlin.
"Drawing on the power of the stars..."
William Merlin was so startled that he nearly dropped his staff. "Leon, that set of 'Heart of Lava' you gave me—give me another month and I’ll almost have it figured out. Then the original rune will be destroyed, and I’ll use this Well of the Stars as my new magical rune. What do you think?"
Leon nodded. Even in his eyes, the Well of the Stars was the strongest magical rune aside from magical array equipment. "William, cousin, check if that Well of the Stars set is complete first."
"Alright..."
William Merlin kept channeling mana into the crystal. After a few minutes, his expression grew odd. He looked at Leon and said, "Leon, the Well of the Stars is complete, but... but it’s a bit strange. It’s somewhat similar to the soul inheritance I received from our Merlin ancestors."