Chapter 871: Cooperation
Chairman Heron was full of emotion, a trace of genuine regret on his face. He even joked, saying he wished he could poach Leon for the Black Tower...
Heron's regret was more than just a passing feeling—he was so remorseful it was as if his guts had turned green. Back then, Leon was just a young mage selling meditation laws, but now he's already become a Title Archmage...
What's more, his aura was calm and restrained, like an ancient, unchanging mountain. No one could sense his precise rank, but in the fleeting magical fluctuations, it was clear his power was terrifying—definitely comparable to a Ninth-Rank Title Archmage...
Even scarier, his rank was definitely not just Ninth-Rank Title Archmage!
That was the truly terrifying part. You see, at the Title Archmage stage, Fifth-Rank is a major threshold. Once you cross it, the gap between each subsequent rank only grows wider.
The difference between each rank could be greater than the gap between entire previous tiers.
There's a saying about the Title Archmage stage: it's a six-step stairway. From First-Rank to Fifth-Rank Title Archmage is the first step.
Sixth-Rank is the second step; reaching Ninth-Rank is the fifth step. Taking half a step further, you reach the sixth step, and once you fully ascend the six steps, you rise to the heavens, becoming a transcendent being, completely beyond the realm of mortals.
During the climb up the Stairway to Heaven, everyone on each step held comparable fighting strength; the difference was rarely dramatic. At most, a handful of top-tier powerhouses could claim invincibility among their peers, but it was exceedingly rare to see someone who could leap across ranks entirely.
And right now, there was one standing before him. Chairman Heron was certain: this newly ascended Archmage was one of those rare individuals who could defy the limits of his rank.
Damn it, if only we’d recruited him into the Black Tower sooner, we’d have become the strongest force in the Andalusia Kingdom. Hell, maybe we’d keep growing stronger for the next thousand years...
When a faction’s strength reaches a certain point, it’s the top powerhouses who decide its fate.
Even if a Sky Rank powerhouse did absolutely nothing, their looming presence alone could cast a shadow over all, driving their faction’s rise at breakneck speed.
And someone destined to become Sky Rank—someone whose strength already far outstripped his peers—just landed in the lap of the Merlin Family for free...
The Merlin Family really hit the jackpot this time...
Leon heard Chairman Heron’s joking remark and just smiled politely, declining to take the bait.
“Chairman Heron, you flatter me...”
Joey, standing to the side, grinned and mercilessly twisted the knife even deeper.