When the soulful wails echoed from the deep abyss of the dark and chaotic Land of the Soul, Angel knew that the Soul Land Storm was upon them.
It was like a river of stars flowing from the dark universe, which, in a very short period of time, went from a faint twinkle to a magnificent radiance, reaching the resting place of souls from the boundless realm far away.
When this “river of stars,” forged by the force of souls, made the Land of the Soul appear dreamlike and illusory, it was the moment that the true ferocity of the Soul Land Storm emerged. With its sparkling fragments scattering, the river of stars whipped up a colossal storm that charged toward the tranquil Land of the Soul.
This scene signified that a new war had begun.
At first, souls could remain calm amidst the storm. But as wave after wave of increasingly violent storms hit, the souls were blown high into the air and began to dance with the storm.
They rose and fell, ascended and descended.
Only by enduring these successive waves of the storm could the souls undergo a qualitative transformation.
If a soul were to be pushed into the dark depths by the storm, failure to break through would be the least of worries; it would be a path that leads only to death.
Of course, during this process, one could use external aids like soul-stabilizing stones, Soul-Stabilizing Potion, Calyrian Peaceful Soul Soup, and others.
But then the soul would be unable to feel the scouring power of the Soul Force at close quarters, making transformation difficult. Even if one were to survive the Soul Land Storm and advance to become an Official Wizard, the potential unlocked would be extremely low, forever preventing entry into the next tier.
For this reason, the moment the Soul Land Storm began, Angel evacuated the nearby cyansilk velvets and faced the surging waves directly with his soul.
Although his soul danced with the storm, Angel didn’t find it too uncomfortable; instead, he felt a sense of exhilaration.
“Perhaps the initial phase of the Soul Land Storm isn’t too fierce and can even purge impurities from the soul body?” Angel speculated, but he dared not relax. His nerves remained tight, bracing for a stronger storm to come.
…
While Angel was contending with the Soul Land Storm, a subtle change occurred in the outside world.
Suddenly, a buzzing sound came from beyond the dome.
Sanders looked up to see a ghostly light suddenly shine in the depth of Nightfall, coming up against the vast lone moon – a floating Ghost Ship was slowly approaching.
With the appearance of the Ghost Ship, the Magical Core Giants that had been crouching atop the dome and peering in suddenly seemed to sense something, and they quickly took to their heels and ran.
Sanders raised an eyebrow and muttered its name softly, “Sky Ghost Ship.”
This Sky Ghost Ship, now parked in the air above the dome, allowed Sanders to clearly see a woman with white hair and icy eyes standing at the forefront of the deck, locking gazes with Sanders through the protective barrier.
This person was none other than the Twilight King, Isabel.
Sanders had not expected Isabel to actually bring a Sky Ghost Ship to drive away the Magical Core Giant.
The Sky Ghost Ship is a means of transportation in the middleworld and a public asset of the Wizards’ Alliance in Fairy Tale Town; it possesses formidable deterrence and combat capabilities, as well as swift maneuverability.
It could even be called a Sky Battleship.
Initially, Shadow discovered the location of the Garden of Living Souls because he saw it while patrolling the middleworld aboard a Sky Ghost Ship.
Typically, the Sky Ghost Ship is co-managed by a few witcher organizations under the auspices of the Wizards’ Alliance in Fairy Tale Town, but Sanders remembers that Black Castle had long given up its management rights over the Ghost Ship.
Sanders wondered how Isabel managed to get hold of the Sky Ghost Ship at this time, and he was curious about the means she used.
While Sanders pondered, atop the Ghost Ship outside the dome, Kimberly looked down, smiling at the Ghost Ship captain who had been intimidated by Isabella amidst a magical forest canopy.
The captain was an old wizard from Silent Hill, his face boiling with anger. Yet faced with Isabella’s unreasonable demands, he was too infuriated to speak.
Isabella said, “We gave up the management rights to the Sky Ghost Ship almost six hundred years ago; it’s about time we took the helm again.”
The old wizard was inwardly fuming. He was aware of the Twilight King’s return to the Southern Domain and could guess that Black Castle would want to regain control over the Ghost Ship, but why come to him with this now? Why not speak with the core members of the witcher organizations instead?
By threatening him and intercepting the ship mid-journey, were they planning to start a war with Silent Hill?
Watching the old wizard’s beard bristle in rage, his eyes bloodshot, yet holding back his words, Kimberly stepped forward with a light smile and explained, “We just need to borrow the ship for a bit; this is not a hijack.”
“But we are patrolling the middleworld with apprentices on board!” the old wizard pointed towards a corner of the deck.
Kimberly turned to look; a group of apprentices huddled together, trembling and not daring to speak.
From their attire, it was clear that they were apprentices from Silent Hill.
“Don’t worry, we’re only staying here for a while; it won’t be long,” reassured Kimberly with a smile. “Moreover, there’s no harm in it for them. After all, they can witness the birth of an Official Wizard, which is a valuable experience in itself.”
Witness the birth of an Official Wizard? The old wizard paused, “Does Black Castle have an apprentice preparing to become a Wizard?”
“I wish it were an apprentice from Black Castle, but it’s not,” Kimberly said with a tinge of regret.
The old wizard gave it some thought, then went to the railing and looked down. Through the dome, the first thing he saw was a handsome man with a cold gaze.
Illusion, Illusion Master?!
The old Wizard’s heart trembled, never expecting that this god of slaughter would be here. He was stunned for a moment, then suddenly thought of something. If the Illusion Master was here, then who was being promoted to an Official Wizard? Could it be someone from the Illusion Demon Island?
He turned his head and saw, not far from Sanders, a blonde young man sitting with his eyes closed, a faint aura of energy shimmering around him.
“Is that Angel?!” the old Wizard exclaimed in surprise. He turned his head to look at Kimberly with a shocked expression, “Is he the one being promoted to an Official Wizard?”
“Who else could it be,” replied Kimberly noncommittally. Her response left the old Wizard looking lost.
The old Wizard was well aware of how glorious Angel’s reputation was now.
He could even list off all the events Angel had been involved in since entering the Wizards’ Realm, big and small. The magazines were just too powerful, deeply digging into every story.
Because he knew so much about Angel, the old Wizard was even more shocked. A person who had been in the Wizards’ Realm for less than six years was already about to become an Official Wizard?
The pace was just too fast!
If he really managed to break through, then he would definitely surpass the fastest recorded time in the Southern Domain in nearly a thousand years!