Age of Adepts

Greem’s eyes gleamed, surprised to find a Molten Fire Crystal in the pile of treasures.

It was a rare Fourth Grade fire material.

If Greem didn’t have the Orb of the Fire God, his second-best choice for a magic amplifier to embed in the fire coral staff would be a Molten Fire Crystal. However, now that he had something better, Greem didn’t need it as much.

The old fire spirit saw Greem silently toying with the Molten Fire Crystal and couldn’t help but speak up, “You have a good eye, sir. I found this Molten Fire Crystal in the depths of the Sea of Ashes. It can amplify all fire damage by 12% and is capable of projecting a Molten Shield with 900 points of power on its own. It’s a very powerful Fourth Grade fire material.”

However, the next second, the fire spirit’s introduction came to a halt as he watched Greem pull out his staff from his storage equipment. The entire staff was forged from a crimson fire coral. Four coral tendrils twisted together at the top of the staff, wrapped around a strange orb glowing with golden flames.

The entire world seemed to tremble and shake when he took the staff out. The winds howled, and the clouds gathered.

The fire clouds hanging low in the skies started to spin around with the staff at their very center. They formed a vortex that funneled down towards the staff as if trying to merge with the orb sitting on top of it.

Even the old fire spirit couldn’t help but turn solemn at the sight. He could feel the fire energy within his body becoming rowdy and unruly as if it wanted to break out of his body and join that orb.

A Fifth Grade artifact was a Fifth Grade artifact, after all. No matter how Greem tried to hide it, the orb’s uniqueness and extraordinariness were still plain to see!

Greem tapped his staff, and an overwhelming wave of fire surged outwards, instantly dispelling the phenomenon gathering around him. The fire clouds rushing in the sky roared out furiously. The sound spread for hundreds of kilometers, causing the land itself to quake in fear.

It wasn’t until Greem put away the staff that the phenomenon gradually vanished. However, the terrifying roar from the world consciousness was still deeply branded in the old fire spirit’s soul.

He let out a long sigh.

“Who would’ve thought you would have a treasure of such a level on your person. It seems like I’ve only embarrassed myself today! I can’t accept the hospitality of a revered guest for nothing, either. Let this Molten Fire Crystal be the payment for my dinner then! My name is Sion. I live in Blazefire, not far from here. If you are ever interested, feel free to head there and be my guest!”

“I will certainly visit if I have the chance to. I still have places to go for the moment, so I won’t be staying any longer!” Greem politely rejected the offer.

Sion nodded without a word and put away all his treasures. He tossed the Molten Fire Crystal to Greem before turning and scattering into loose sparks.

Greem gripped the Molten Fire Crystal in his hand and felt the pure, overwhelming fire energy within. He couldn’t help but nod in approval. He might not need this anymore, but it would be good to use it as the core of a Fourth Grade golem.

Greem already had the powerful Shadow Demon as his bodyguard. Most other magical golems were no longer powerful enough for his needs. However, throwing out a few more golems in combat to cast some Fourth Grade fire spells was still a good choice.

The old fire spirit from earlier was a real veteran Fourth Grade fire creature, yet he had not sensed Shadow Demon at all, even though Shadow Demon had been hiding in Greem’s shadow all along. That was the main reason why Greem dared to roam the Fire Elementium Plane alone.

If any fools dared to find trouble with him, Greem would undoubtedly make them regret their choice. The injury to his soul had healed, the Orb of the Fire God was now in his possession, and Shadow Demon constantly stalked in the darkness.

It was because of the power he had accumulated that Greem wasn’t afraid to show the orb to the fire spirit. If the fire spirit dared to attack him out of greed, Greem could take it as an opportunity to harvest a high-quality fire core!

The Fire Elementium Plane was a dozen times larger than the World of Adepts. Naturally, it was also home to countless fire creatures. Higher creatures that were rarely seen in material planes roamed everywhere here.

Aimless Second and Third Grade fire creatures just walking about without purpose were as numerous as the stars in the sky.

If Greem wanted to start a hunt here, he would certainly make a killing in profits and return with his arms full of fire cores.

Higher creatures like these would never be walking around alone in other planes. Individuals of such power were often leaders of their own organizations or forces. Trying to attack individuals like these would be provoking a hornet’s nest. Just the constant harassment would be displeasing enough to deal with.

However, in the Fire Elementium Plane, there were plenty of individuals who had Second or Third Grade power without the intelligence to match.

Even the local intelligent races would not treat such primal beings as their own kind. They were only seen as walking fire materials and resources. When needed, one could gather their forces and hunt them down. When they were not required, they could be left to roam the lands freely.

Greem had no need for the materials that these Second and Third Grade fire creatures could offer, but his followers still had need of them. In particular, Third Grade fire-crystal cores were incredibly beneficial items for Meryl, with her fire dragon bloodline. Thus, Greem would occasionally attack the Third Grade fire creatures he ran across and collect high-quality fire crystal cores.

Upon arriving in the Fire Elementium Plane, Greem had tried to contact his old friend– Flaming Tiger Cindral. However, judging from the faint response, Cindral was obviously too far away from him.

Even with the Chip’s aid, Greem only had a vague direction of where Cindral was and no chance of establishing direct communications. Greem gave up on the idea of visiting his old friend and focused on hurrying to where he wanted to go.

............

The Sea of Ashes.

One had to admit that the Sea of Ashes was a forbidden land, even in the Fire Elementium Plane where numerous powerful individuals roamed the lands.

Much like the vast seas that isolated the continents of the materials planes, the Sea of Ashes was a barrier that kept each continent in the Fire Elementium Plane separate. It made it difficult for the continents to interact with each other, thereby giving rise to various civilizations.

The Sea of Ashes was also composed of fire, but its energy level was much higher than the average flame. Ordinary fire creatures would have their fire cores melted if they stayed in the sea for too long, burning their consciousness away.

Only high-grade fire creatures could protect themselves using the fire laws to prevent themselves from becoming fuel for the Sea of Ashes. Most other fire creatures kept a safe and healthy distance away from it.

In fact, many Fire Lords and Fire Kings would build their palaces someplace in the Sea of Ashes. It allowed them to be free from disturbances of the outside world, while also putting them closer to the Sea of Ashes.

The Fire King that Greem wanted to visit was one such strange fellow.

The constant Fire Teleportation and marching had made Greem tired, even with his Physique.

Finally, three months after entering the Fire Elementium Plane, Greem arrived at the edge of the Sea of Ashes, the entrance to Fire King Groms’ palace.

Just as Greem set foot on an unusual altar on the edge of the Sea of Ashes, five Guardians of Flame shrouded in green and white flames stepped out of the smoke and moved in his way.

“Stop there! Adept from another world, you have trespassed into Fire King Groms’ territory. We will attack you if you do not step back! Please leave immediately.”

These Guardians of Flame were only Third Grade, but they showed no fear in front of Greem’s spiritual pressure. Instead, their threatening words made it seem like they were willing to fight at the drop of a hat.

Just as the five Guardians surrounded Greem, space started to shimmer in several hidden locations nearby. Flames blazed as several armies of fire creatures appeared, projecting their chaotic and explosive aura towards this location.

Greem would have certainly run away with a pale face if he were still Second or Third Grade. However, now that he had advanced to Fourth Grade, such an ‘insignificant’ situation could no longer intimidate him.

“Don’t be so rash, little fellow! I came here on the invitation of your King. I believe it’s best for you to contact your superiors before you decide whether to start a fight!”

“The King’s invitation?” The Guardians looked at each other, unsure of what to do. However, one of the Guardians had an explosive temper. He shouted out loud, “Inviting an adept? That’s not possible. Our master hates humans with a passion. There is no way he invited a mere Fourth Grade like yourself. He must be lying! Let’s work together and take him down!”

Provoked by his words, the other Guardians became eager to fight as well.

Greem’s face darkened.

Groms was a Fifth Grade Fire King at best. He might be one grade higher than Greem was, but they were not bound in any subordinate or superior relationship. He had only come by invitation because he was interested in his ‘suggestion,’ not because he was here to pay his respects.

The behavior of the Guardians made Greem furious.

With Shadow Demon and the Orb of the Fire God protecting him, Greem had absolute confidence in escaping from the Fire Elementium Plane. As such, he could no longer suppress his fury. Fire surged through his heart as the Heart of Principles began to beat wildly.

“Stop!”

Just then, a deep and low voice rang out from afar.

The fires parted, and a colossal Molten Giant stepped out from the Sea of Ashes with earthshaking steps.

“So glad to see you, Sir Greem. On behalf of the great King Roms, I welcome you to our palace!”