Chapter 1409
Back in the Natural Semi-Plane, Leon took out the seventy-two King's Pillars he had previously found in the ruins of the Seventy-Third God-Demon. Each King's Pillar possessed a unique power, and when combined, these powers could evolve into many extraordinary abilities.
Legend has it that if one possesses all seventy-two King's Pillars and fully comprehends their power, it is equivalent to owning every magical artifact. The abilities formed by combining these King's Pillars can encompass nearly all artifact powers—this is the true strength of transcendent magical artifacts!
However, no one has ever obtained all seventy-two King's Pillars, nor has anyone truly understood them. Only scattered records of their abilities exist.
There are, however, clear records that a Sky Rank mage who owns a Natural Semi-Plane can fuse King's Pillars into it, greatly benefiting the plane's development.
Once, a powerful mage with a Natural Semi-Plane fused the King's Pillars he obtained into his plane. The rules of fire and earth within his semi-plane began to evolve rapidly, eventually completing the evolution of both elemental laws. Not only did the rules of fire and earth become fully formed, but even their ultimate evolutions appeared.
Such phenomena only occur in the highest Fire Elemental Plane and Earth Elemental Plane—this is one of the hallmarks of a Supreme Plane.
Among all those who have ever possessed a Natural Semi-Plane, this mage was the most famous after Agalon. In fact, his strength surpassed even Agalon's. He was a legendary powerhouse who ignited divine fire at the peak of Northend's world. Yet, after Northend's magical energy was depleted, he vanished completely into the endless void.
Now that Leon has acquired all seventy-two King's Pillars, he has no idea what will happen next. Still, he is certain of one thing: the Natural Semi-Plane is about to undergo a monumental transformation...
The moment the seventy-two King's Pillars appeared in the semi-plane, before Leon could even act, they simultaneously radiated beams of light in different colors. Then, all seventy-two pillars soared into the sky, forming an enormous magic array. Even after its formation, the array continued to shift—every second, it transformed into a completely different formation.
It might seem that this brings hidden dangers, but in truth, it's a sign the Natural Semi-Plane is developing more fully. Now, it's even stronger than before.
More importantly, Lin Yun couldn't quite grasp what exactly had changed within the Natural Semi-Plane. It looked as though it had progressed, but to him, the greatest benefit was simply that the plane had come alive. This feeling made Lin Yun instinctively believe that this transformation was the most precious thing of all. For the Natural Semi-Plane to truly grow, this was likely the hardest step.
Unable to understand, Lin Yun could only put the matter aside for now. It felt as though a layer of mist shrouded everything, making it impossible to see clearly. He could only wait until his strength grew before probing deeper.
With the Natural Semi-Plane suddenly expanding more than fivefold, the mana vine forest in the northwest corner began another frenzy of growth. The plane's mana density plummeted several times over in an instant, and the waters of the Mana Lake nearly dried up. This lack of mana was the perfect opportunity for the mana vine forest to reproduce.
Originally spanning twenty to thirty kilometers, the mana vine forest expanded again—within less than half an hour, it had grown by half, and the expansion showed no sign of stopping. Countless streams of mana were torn from the void by the vines, converging into a river that poured into Mana Lake. The lake water kept evaporating, the consumed mana fueling the development needs of the Natural Semi-Plane.
Other than the expansion of the Natural Semi-Plane, there didn't seem to be any other major changes. Lin Yun was puzzled, but the feeling was unmistakable—especially now that he had completely merged with the plane. He could only be certain that this transformation was unprecedentedly good.
After spending a few days inside the Natural Semi-Plane and confirming that nothing was amiss, Lin Yun left once more.
As soon as he returned to the world of Northend, Faro brought him a message: three days ago, Gandalf, the headmaster of Starry Sky Academy, had summoned him to visit the academy today—the master of Starry Sky Academy had returned.
Hearing this, Lin Yun could no longer sit still. He ignored the matters of the Gilded Rose and hurried off to Starry Sky Academy.
During the time Agalon was missing, Lin Yun knew that, according to prophecy, Agalon could not perish before the ten years were up. Still, he couldn't help but worry—there were simply too many unforeseen dangers in the endless void.
And in fact, Agalon's prophesied history didn't always come to pass. Some supposedly unchangeable events had already been altered several times. Who could say if, in the endless void, he wouldn't encounter a powerful star beast capable of twisting time and history, and killing Agalon...
No one could be sure about these things. Now, finally hearing news of Agalon's return, Lin Yun couldn't help but let out a long sigh of relief, then immediately flew toward Starry Sky Academy.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask Agalon, so many mysteries to unravel.
What exactly had Agalon encountered in the endless void? What had happened to him?
Had he seen any new prophetic visions? Were there any new clues in his search for the truth...
And what about the changes in the Natural Semi-Plane—were they good or bad? Was its development heading in the wrong direction...?
Unconsciously, it seemed that many things had changed, and even his emotions were slowly becoming different.
Lin Yun sped toward Starry Sky Academy. The Sky Knights patrolling the academy pretended not to see him—Lin Yun had good relations with all three headmasters, especially Gandalf, who had personally escorted him several times.
Anyone with a working brain knew that the academy's anti-flight array and flight ban had no effect on Lin Yun.
He flew deep into Starry Sky Academy and found Gandalf's cottage, just in time to see Gandalf stepping out.
"Lord Merlin, you arrived just in time. I heard you weren't in Neverwinter City, and I was worried you wouldn't make it..."
Gandalf hurried out and, upon seeing Lin Yun, prepared to open a portal and leave with him immediately.
Lin Yun quickly grabbed Gandalf.
"Headmaster Gandalf, has Lord Agalon returned? And where are we going now?"
Gandalf paused, seemingly puzzled by Lin Yun's question.
"Headmaster Gandalf, I've been away from Northend these past days. I don't know what's happened, and I haven't seen Lord Agalon..."
Gandalf shook his head.
"Lord Agalon has indeed returned, and he's unharmed. Everything is fine, though he did stumble upon something unexpected.
We're heading to a meeting now, and among the attendees are several top-tier powerhouses—three of them are on par with Lord Agalon.
This time, it was Lord Agalon himself who instructed you to attend. Enough questions for now—you'll find out soon enough. We need to go immediately."
With that, Gandalf gave Lin Yun no chance to ask more. He opened a portal and pulled Lin Yun away from Starry Sky Academy.
Stepping out of the portal, Lin Yun found himself on a vast prairie. There were no ordinary magical beasts or wild animals in sight; the air was thick with oppressive pressure. As soon as he emerged, Lin Yun's fusion shield automatically activated to ward off the outside force.
Even Gandalf was enveloped in a faint layer of light, as if the pressure outside was too much for even him to ignore.
Lin Yun felt as though even his soul was being suppressed, and it seemed this was only from the residual aura...
He glanced around and saw scattered groups of people on the prairie. Most, like Lin Yun, had activated fusion shields for protection—dozens in total. Further ahead stood another twenty or thirty powerful figures.
Deeper in, only ten remained. At the very center sat a massive circular crystal table, thirty meters across. Four people sat at the cardinal points, and the terrifying pressure that stilled the air and space emanated from them.
Of those four, one was Agalon. Opposite him sat a man in black robes, with white hair and a face covered in strange tattoos. The deadly, dangerous aura in the air came partly from him, and partly from Agalon.
The other two: one wore purple-gold armor, had a square jaw, and was nearly two meters tall sitting—three meters when standing. He had golden hair and gripped a massive golden sword inlaid with a skull pommel.
Lin Yun recognized him—the famed Lionheart King of the Odin royal family, a terrifying existence who had lived for thousands of years. His prime was millennia ago, when he was a prince, second only to the king in power.
Even in his youth, Lionheart King displayed terrifying talent as a swordsman, becoming a Sword Saint before thirty and earning the title Lionheart Sword Saint.
By his seventies, he broke through to the Heavenly tier, undergoing a supernatural transformation to become a Heavenly Sword Saint. From then on, nothing could stop his rise. In the kingdom's most chaotic era, Lionheart King intervened with a single sentence—after that, neither southern nor northern Odin dared make another move.
All factions obeyed Lionheart King, and a narrow buffer zone formed in central Odin. The south and north still looked down on each other, but no one dared wage war over it.
Everyone from Lionheart King's era had long since died, reaching the end of their lives. For thousands of years, he had been the most powerful figure in the Odin royal family. Though he cared little for authority—even when his brother, the king, fell into eternal slumber—Lionheart King never claimed the throne.
Yet his prestige in the royal family was unmatched.
Such a renowned figure, sitting alongside Agalon, was unmistakable.
The last was an elf, with pointed ears, pale skin tinged with green, a crown of grass atop his head, and flowing white hair like silver threads—a handsome face that didn't lack for masculine strength.
It was clear: this was the Forest Elf King from the endless woods south of Odin, ruler of all non-human races there.
Odin's southern region was a world of mountains and forests, nearly as vast as the kingdom itself—a place where most of Northend's non-human races lived.
The largest and most powerful group were the forest elves. Only the Forest Elf King could sit at the crystal table—a true child of nature.
Four Heavenly tier level nine powerhouses, and not ordinary ones at that, suddenly gathered together—it was clear this wasn't just a tea party.
From the crystal table at the center, more than a hundred strong individuals radiated outward; none had the right to sit. The tattooed man was currently locked in a contest of aura with Agalon. By the positions of those standing, one could roughly gauge their strength.
The stronger one was, the closer they stood. Lin Yun found himself at the very edge, among those who were all at least Heavenly tier level five—none lower.
Further in stood only those above Heavenly tier level five. A quick scan revealed dozens stronger than Lin Yun—twenty or thirty at level seven, and ten at level eight!
So many powerhouses gathered here—Lin Yun was shocked. He hadn't expected Northend to have so many strong individuals.
The man challenging Agalon's aura was nearly at the peak of the Heavenly tier.
Others might not know, but Lin Yun was well aware that Agalon was holding back. Most Heavenly tier mages couldn't alter the rules, but Agalon could—he possessed abilities that only come after igniting the divine fire.
If Agalon changed the rules even slightly, the tattooed brute would instantly kneel. That's the essential difference—like the gap between Heavenly tier and titled Archmage, but even greater.
Sensing Agalon's restraint, Lin Yun's eyes flickered. In that instant, he understood: Agalon's ability to alter rules, kept hidden until the destruction ten years hence, was a massive trump card.
Lin Yun waited quietly after arriving. On the prairie, more and more portals appeared, each bringing Heavenly tier mages, Sword Saints, and some with strange auras.
Almost every time a portal opened, more than one person emerged—not just Heavenly tier mages, but Sword Saints and others with unusual auras.
More and more powerhouses appeared, but not a single one below Heavenly tier level five. That was the threshold for entering this place.
As the portals grew fewer, over an hour passed and no new arrivals appeared. Yet more than three hundred powerhouses had gathered on the prairie!
Each was at least Heavenly tier level five. The numbers of mages and Sword Saints were almost equal, but the higher the strength, the fewer Sword Saints—only Lionheart King sat at the crystal table.
"Alright, everyone should be here. Let's get down to business!"
Lionheart King spoke in a deep voice, his words echoing softly. It was as if every person heard him as though they were face-to-face, yet no one found the volume overwhelming.
As Lionheart King spoke, the oppressive aura in the air instantly faded. Both the tattooed man and Agalon withdrew their power in unison.