All-Class Anti-Mage - - - - -

“Just yesterday, my children brought disgrace upon us, shaming our guild! Even across the entire continent, this is an act that deserves universal condemnation. As the president of the guild, I will certainly give everyone an explanation!” Steve turned and shouted, “Bring it out!”

A fourth-tier slayer from the Sword Cultivators Guild walked up to the president, carrying a silver plate. Steve pulled the red cloth off the plate with one swift motion! Upon seeing what lay on the plate, everyone’s faces changed dramatically, and gasps filled the air. A timid maid fainted amidst the screams…

A tiger may be fierce, but it does not harm its own young. Yet, in his quest for power and position, Steve ruthlessly executed his own son!

On the silver plate was Kerry’s severed head, his eyes wide open in death. The confusion remaining in his gaze hinted at the last moments of disbelief, as if he could not fathom that his own father would turn against him! However, behind the confusion, there was a tinge of regret, as though he was repenting for the wrongs he had done to his sister. Among all his emotions, only fear was absent, indicating he had long since accepted his fate!

“He has paid the ultimate price for his actions. Do you still harbor resentment toward him?” Roland murmured as she looked at Yang Zhen’s calm face from a distance. Few knew that if a person dies with their eyes open, the emotions reflected in their gaze capture the essence of their final state of mind.

As a genius capable of sensing the nine elements, Roland’s ancient elf bloodline allowed her to perceive Kerry’s true thoughts before his death. Most people understood that light magic was meant to aid the departed, yet they did not realize it involved the slaughter of spirits. Only the purest nature magic could heal the wounded souls of the deceased.

“The Sword Cultivators Guild has always adhered to principles of fairness and justice. Even if my son has erred, he must face the consequences! According to the guild’s charter, Article 220, anyone who severely damages the guild’s reputation and causes unpredictable losses shall be sentenced to death!”

The madness in Steve’s eyes intensified as he shouted hysterically. To most, he certainly appeared to be a qualified president!

The morale of the members of the Sword Cultivators Guild, previously low, surged as they witnessed their president’s unyielding commitment to the guild’s overall welfare. With such a fair and strict leader, how could the guild not rise? Under his leadership, they saw a broader space for development. Moreover, in a fair and just environment, everyone had the chance to showcase their talents!

“Defeat the Mage Guild!”

“The Sword Cultivators Guild will never fall!”

“Fairness and justice! Sword Cultivators Guild!”

Following a few unexpected shouts, all the members of the Sword Cultivators Guild began to chant slogans together. The shadow cast by the scandal evaporated completely, and Steve’s stature in their eyes grew even higher!

Witnessing this scene, the bigwigs on the viewing stand felt a chill run down their spines. A person could be so ruthless, even capable of killing their own child! What else might such a person not dare to do?

“Congratulations, you have a fine subordinate and a head of the guild,” Karl said with his usual affable demeanor, softly congratulating Lauren beside him. The Vice President of the headquarters gave an awkward smile; the sarcasm in Karl’s words was thick, obvious to anyone but a fool. But what could Lauren say in response?

Even though Steve was a sword saint, Lauren wouldn’t dare employ such a guild leader any longer. It appeared that by making an example of his own son, he had rallied the people to his cause, yet he also revealed the sinister machinations deep within his heart. As people suspected, if he could kill his own son, what wouldn’t he dare do? The fear was that, should he gain more power, even the headquarters would not be able to control him!

Steve was truly mad, allowing no person or thing to threaten his power. It must be said, he played his hand perfectly. The duel hadn’t even started, and the Mage Guild was already losing in terms of morale. People looked at Yang Zhen with concern. Young men are known for their vigor, and those who cared for Yang Zhen feared he might lose his composure at this crucial moment.

Yet, Yang Zhen stood still, his calm expression and gaze hiding his true thoughts. To some, he seemed to have been frightened into stupidity by Steve’s tactics, being too young after all. Thus, with some people stirring the pot, the chants from the Sword Cultivators Guild grew even louder!

Yang Zhen’s calm eyes were fixed on Kerry’s head, as if he heard none of the commotion around him. Roland bit her red lips and clenched her fists tightly, watching him, her mind constantly repeating: Come on… everyone is watching you…

Finally, Yang Zhen moved!

Amidst the loud chants and under everyone’s gaze, Yang Zhen passed by Steve without a glance at the so-called fair guild leader. He walked straight to the fourth-tier slayer holding the plate. In a blur to the onlookers, the plate holding Kerry’s head was now in the young man’s hands.

Yang Zhen turned and walked towards the viewing stand. The slayer, having lost the plate, immediately drew a dagger and plunged it into the young man’s back amidst the gasps of the crowd! Yet, Yang Zhen merely looked back calmly, his gaze mocking and disdainful. That one look was enough to frighten the slayer into retreating in panic, letting go of the dagger he hadn’t even managed to pull out!

The chants abruptly stopped!

The young man continued to hold the head calmly, even his steps remained steady. The exposed part of the dagger handle sticking out of his back was glaringly conspicuous! Yang Zhen made no sound, instantly halting the rising momentum of the Sword Cultivators Guild!

Is he even human?

Amidst the shocked cries of the crowd, Yang Zhen, holding the plate, stepped onto the viewing stand. He walked up to Roland and placed Kerry’s head on the table in front of the girl. No one but she could understand the meaning behind his action. Roland gazed deeply at Yang Zhen. This was the boy she deeply loved, a boy who clearly distinguished between love and hate, yet harbored a forgiving heart.

Amid the crowd’s worries about Yang Zhen’s injury, Roland understood that this was a form of cultivation for the young man. Although it pained her a bit, she could not intervene. She had a task to complete, and Yang Zhen had brought Kerry’s head to her precisely to enable her to do this!

Under the hesitant gaze of everyone, Roland took out a staff intricately carved with runes. There was no crystal core of a magical beast embedded in it, yet all the mages present could sense the staff’s elemental absorption capacity. This was a pure rune staff, and it was even more powerful than the typical staffs inlaid with beast cores!

What surprised everyone even more was that the girl began to chant a magic incantation. Wasn’t she a fourth-tier sword master? When did she become a fourth-tier sage? The fourth-level water mutation magic froze the space around her, and as Roland completed the final syllable of her chant, a ring of ice walls formed beneath the sunshade, further chilling the already cold atmosphere.

People were utterly baffled by her actions; even Karl could not comprehend what was happening. Mr. Vice President understood that when a human dies with their eyes open, it means their soul has not yet dissipated, and Roland’s current actions were meant to create a suitable environment for Kerry’s soul to manifest.

But who would summon Kerry’s soul? It seemed that there were no nature or dark element mages present. Soon enough, Karl discovered the answer!

The girl raised her staff once again and began to chant. No one in the crowd could understand her obscure syllables. Even Karl, the eleventh-tier fire mage saint, sensed that this would be a significant spell. When the breeze carrying the life-giving, grass-green aura of the nature element wafted from the tip of Roland’s staff, everyone was left in stunned silence!

It was nature magic again! How could this girl wield two types of magic? The most critical issue was that she was originally a fourth-tier sword master!

Roban nodded with a sense of relief, knowing that his daughter had inherited Yang Zhen’s profound understanding of magic principles and had set her sights on becoming a mage. Karl’s eyes widened in astonishment; the elemental simulation theory was something most mages would study, but it was a secret that nearly no one knew about. How could the girl also grasp the elemental simulation theory?

Looking at Yang Zhen’s calm expression, Karl felt a sense of resolution. How simple could the people following him be? Let’s not forget that there was a “Sean” team behind him. Soon, everyone remembered the Sean team; they had even published works on the Theory of Rune Consciousness, so one person playing with two types of magic elements was hardly a stretch!

Unnoticed, the morale cultivated by the Sword Cultivators Guild had begun to slowly decline. But now, no one seemed to care about that; they were all eager to see what Roland would do with her two-element magic.

Roland performed the ancient elf’s innate magic, which allowed the deceased’s soul to leave its bonds without any harm. A surging life force penetrated Kerry’s skull, nurturing his lingering soul. People often think of life and death as opposites, not realizing that the soul is another form of life. Only light and darkness are true opposites, as the undead are of the dark attribute.

As the incantation was chanted to completion, the restless skull finally closed its eyes, and a soul emerged, floating under the parasol. Those with stronger psychic energy could see it – it was Kerry’s soul!

Steve’s face turned pale as he pointed at his son’s soul and staggered back in terror. The first glance of Kerry’s soul was directed at him! Strangely, there was no resentment in Kerry’s eyes, only disappointment – a look that Steve found unbearable.

“Thank you all for helping me find release,” Kerry communicated. “My regret is not about what I did to Katie, but that I should never have thought to use such a method against you. Yang Zhen, I finally understand what it means to reap what one sows. It was my greed and pursuit of fame that led me to this end.”

Kerry was relatively calm; he had come to terms with his fate the moment he faced his father’s blade. A genius praised from a young age, he still met a violent end. After all that had happened, Kerry saw things more clearly than anyone.

Roland, pale and slightly weary, looped her arm through Yang Zhen’s, smiling faintly as she listened to Kerry’s words. Yang Zhen remained silent, choosing instead to listen further.

Kerry’s psychic consciousness was directed at Yang Zhen and Roland, so others witnessed this eerie scene: two living people facing a gently floating soul, silent as if spellbound. In fact, they were spellbound by their own revelations.

“I know I have no right to ask anything of you,” Kerry continued. “But I still want to say… Yang Zhen, please forgive Katie. She was just spoiled from childhood, and we have already been punished. Our hatred started in the Magical Beast Forest, and I know you still harbor resentment for the ghost.”

Yang Zhen nodded; that was indeed the source of his inability to fully let go. Thinking of Hale, who had wandered alone for over a century, Yang Zhen couldn’t simply discard this grudge. Such is the nature of an obsessive; bringing Kerry’s skull to Roland was the greatest leniency he could muster.

“I will atone in my own way, as long as you can forgive Katie.” After transmitting this thought to Yang Zhen, Kerry then broadcasted his psychic consciousness to all present: “Katie and I schemed against Yang Zhen, but in the end, we only harmed ourselves. What disappoints me the most is that our father abandoned us when we were most vulnerable. Is power really that important…”

After transmitting this thought, Kerry’s soul suddenly converged into a brilliant light orb that shot into Yang Zhen’s brain. He ended his life in the same manner as Hale had done on that day, forsaking the rights to the legendary reincarnation!