Age of Adepts

Grim's successful return caused a considerable earthquake throughout the entire region of Scattered Tallinn.

Those spirits who swore that Grim would fall in this mission instantly disappeared without a trace, replaced by rumors that Grim would become the number one sorcerer in the middle of the continent.

To be honest, of the few 4th level Sorcerers who came to greet Grim, the guys who had deep conflicts with Grim made up half of them. However, at their level, the probability of a direct, frontal conflict was so small that it could be ignored, and instead, there were more private battles of various kinds of power or sides.

Grim stepped out lightly from the teleportation array, covering his mouth and coughing a few times before squeezing out a smile to greet the welcoming crowd.

The first one to shine was of course that President Freed.

This old fox narrowed his eyes and examined Grim, and couldn't help but have a hint of shock on his face.

"Elder Grim, good work!"

Grim gagged and coughed violently a few more times, and only after a long time did he steady his breath and laughed bitterly, "I was accidentally plotted against, and my soul suffered a bit of damage, so it looks like I need to find a place to recuperate for a hundred years..."

Words were followed by a violent coughing fit.

President Freed turned around and exchanged glances with the remaining elders, smiling once again, "Elder Grim has made some sacrifices for the entire association this time, and the association will naturally not treat you badly. This is some compensation that we have discussed and jointly made to you, and I hope that Elder Grim can forget about those unpleasant past events and truly become a part of the association..."

Grim swept his eyes around, received a storage ring from President Freed, and greeted everyone one by one, before using the teleportation array behind him to return straight to the Throne of Flame.

Only after Grim's slightly emaciated and frail figure disappeared from within the teleportation array did the several witches put away their smiles and put on a dignified and serious look.

"How about it, is it true that he's injured?" The one who asked the question was President Freed .

"The news back from the Esoda camp has confirmed that on their way back, Grim suffered a self-destructing attack from that 4th rank wizard of the Sorcerer's Association, and the scene was very dangerous at one point..." it was the Milva vice-president who answered.

"The Sorcerer's Association? I'm afraid this is a bit of a problem..." the Clara Witch couldn't help but murmur.

The Witch's Association was one of the three major witch powers in the witch world, and their people had died on the way home for no reason. Although it was its initiative to self-destruct and die, the other party obviously wouldn't think so. An investigation was bound to be conducted, and it was likely that it would also spill over into the 'harmonious' relationship between the Scattered Earth Tallinn and the Witchcraft Association.

The matter was particularly tricky to deal with when it involved a 4th rank wizard!

"There's more trouble than that!" Vice President Milva sighed once again, "I heard that the dark witch from their team also died in the Otherworld, and may also have some sort of involvement with this Grim. I'm worried that the Northland Witch's side will soon be in an uproar as well..."

The Witch of the North....

Hearing this harsh name, all the witches present couldn't help but frown and laugh bitterly.

I thought that bringing this legendary fire witch into the association was a way to relieve everyone of their troubles, but now, it seemed as if the crowd would have to carry all the trouble and storms for him as well!

How did this troublesome fire witch not die in the Otherworld? How pleasant and relaxing it would be if he died in a different world, with all the trouble and storms gone!

Everyone was silently obsessing, frowning or sighing, all of them troubled.

"Okay, okay, did you guys not hear the question I just asked?" President Freed's brow furrowed deeply, "What I'm asking is, is he really hurt?"

"It should be really injured..." the Clara Witch gazed and jawed, "I can perceive that his spirit is indeed traumatized. The only thing I don't know is whether or not it injured his soul... If it injured his soul, the rest of his advancement would be..."

The second half of Clara's witch's words were not spoken, but the crowd in the arena understood them.

What was most important to a witch?

Soul, soul, soul....

The flesh* body can be transformed, shifted, and even completely energized. There were pros and cons to such changes, yet they still couldn't stop witches from progressing.

And the only thing that was untouchable by the shamans was the soul origin!

Any changes to it would have a huge, unpredictable and irreversible impact on the sorcerer.

And once a sorcerer's battle injured the soul source, it meant that the foundation for continued advancement was loosened. Without trying to mend these wounds, one's own strength would not be able to move forward.

"He's already wounded his soul origin!" This time the one who spoke was that Gold Family's Monash Gaia elder. His 3-meter tall body shape was particularly eye-catching, and a strong energy atmosphere flowed over his pale golden skin: "I can sense the weakness of his soul, and it's not a disguise. Based on his injuries, a hundred years of seclusion and rest is still less to say! If you ask me, without two or three hundred years, he won't be able to mend this wound. And within these two or three hundred years, he... I'm afraid he'll have some difficulty even maintaining his 4th rank beginner's strength..."

Naturally, the rest of the sorcerers would not have any objections to Monash Gaia's views.

After all, when it came down to it, one of the most powerful of the 4th ranked witches in the entire middle of the continent would have to be this Monash Gaia. Their family possessed a trace of the powerful bloodline of the Ancient Titan, and the Golden Titan that they had transformed into had an incomparably terrifying power.

In terms of battle ability alone, Monash Gaia was ranked number one among all the Association Shamans!

At this point, not even that cunning President Freed could compare to him.

So the judgment he made, the rest of the people naturally believed in it.

"It's good to be injured... It's good to be injured..." a smile finally appeared on Elder Nicholas' face, "So that we can still Scatterland Tallinn Loosen the pan for a few years. Otherwise, this Legendary Fire Witch, holding the strength of returning from a great victory, would have to stir up the middle of the continent!"

Nicholas and Matthew, the two elders looked at each other and became a little more relaxed.

It couldn't be helped, before the rise of this Legendary Fire Witch, the two elders hadn't been stirring up trouble in it. Whether it was the siege of the five big families earlier, or the declaration of war by the Fabres family later, their two figures could be seen looming behind them.

To be honest, before, they really didn't take the Legendary Fire Witch and that Crimson Family into consideration. But now, with Grim leaping up step by step, even the two of them were feeling the heavy pressure that was coming down on them.

Once Grim wanted to rise strongly in the central part of the country, it was easy to imagine that where his artillery was directed, he would definitely prioritize those guys who had a 'grudge' or 'friction' with him. As a result, the two of them old guys would most likely be forced to step to the front lines and clash head-on and directly with the Legendary Fire Witch.

And that, was something the two of them absolutely did not want to see!

They had asked around very clearly, this time, the witch camp had sent out a total of sixteen 4th rank wizards, and only ten, no, nine were able to return alive. Close to half the mortality rate, so the rest of these witches must be at the very top of the 4th rank, strong and astonishingly powerful.

They really didn't have the confidence to defeat such a powerful fire witch who had been tested by blood and fire, life and death!

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

Grim's return had instantly activated the entire Crimson Family.

During the time that Grim had been away, the entire Crimson Family had also chosen to hibernate and wait.

After all, the Crimson Family's rise to prominence was still too short, so short that it had yet to establish a proven sorcerer cultivation system. The new generation cultivated by the family is still mostly limited to the 1st level, and only a few are able to cross the 2nd level threshold to become a high level sorcerer.

The only ones who could hold up the face of the entire Crimson Family were the older core generation of sorcerers who had grown up with Grim.

When the news of Grim's return spread throughout the family, no matter where they were, no matter how important the matter at hand was, all of the core sorcerers dropped everything and returned to the family residence, waiting for the Lord of the House to receive them.

Song Tower City.

With the strong rise of the Crimson Family, the former town of Pine Tower had undergone a series of expansions and renovations, and its population and trade were already large enough to rival those large cities.

While the family has relocated most of its inner core to the Crimson Wing, the original Throne of Flame and the surrounding ten-mile area have been designated as Grim's personal residence and retreat. Normally, anyone who trespassed into this area without being summoned by Grim would be attacked by terrifying flame creatures as well as powerful magic weapons.

For a time, as the Flame Throne, which had been closed for twenty years, reopened, the rushing pillars of fire stood pinned in the depths of the forest that had gradually morphed into an ordinary primeval forest, displaying their majesty to the world.

And the number of Crimson executives gathered in Song Tower City was also increasing, among them were

The Grand Steward Gargamel Witch of the Family Scattered Grounds Tallinn Headquarters (Level 2 Advanced)....

The head of the family's Northland branch, Meryl Witch (peak level 2)....

The knight head of the family's vampire branch, Solus (3rd Degree Junior)....

Issa, head of the blood elf branch of the family vampire branch (2nd level high)....

Family Lance Plane Eternal Capital Administrator Split Brain Sock (2nd level High)....

Family Gnome Business Federation President Cappy (2nd Degree Junior)....

Doucilla Lazare, leader of the Clan Riot Bloods (2nd Intermediate)....

Family Demonized Goblin Leader and Head of the Goblin Academy of Science, Gunga (2nd Degree Junior)....

Head of the Family Assassination Division, Worm Witch Billis (2nd Level Advanced)....

Family Goblin Position Resident Wizard Wind Witch Desera (1st level peak)....

In addition to that, there were several other core family members: the Dragonman Zacha (Tier 2 Advanced), the Goblin Tearer Tigure (Tier 2 Advanced), the Medusa Dana (Tier 1 Peak), the Scorpion Lion Caron (Tier 1 Advanced)....

And it was only when these members arrived one after another that the Flame Throne side was truly open to them!