Ronan hovered in mid-air, beneath him a vast dueling platform formed by countless intertwined rune energy light paths. The cool night breeze brushed against his cheeks, gently fluttering his cloak, as he caught the faint scent of lilacs wafting through the air.
With the start of the second round, the four separate arenas combined into one, naturally drawing all eyes to the single ongoing duel.
The unified arena was exceptionally large; Ronan stood in an area not too close to the edge, about two kilometers away from the spectating wizards from the Crimson Tower.
The voices of the spectating wizards seemed distant, and the space around the arena took on a unique emptiness and silence under the cover of night.
Above, the light cascading down from the six "Suns of Dawn" was like the beams of a spotlight, giving Ronan the feeling of being the protagonist on stage, surrounded by an audience waiting for his performance to begin.
Ronan suddenly felt one of the "spotlights" above flicker unexpectedly.
He instinctively looked up, squinting at the six "Suns of Dawn," but all he could sense was their constant majesty, vastness, expanse, and silence, with no apparent anomalies.
The fluctuation he had just sensed seemed to have been an illusion.
"What are you looking at?"
A calm voice came from directly in front.
Ronan shifted his gaze toward the source of the voice.
A young man of medium height appeared in his view, with short gray-green hair and a baby face, looking presumably just over twenty years old.
The reality was quite the opposite.
Information about his opponent flashed through Ronan’s mind.
The foremost genius of his generation from the Thorny Palace, and nearly from the previous one as well.
Because this young wizard named Damian actually had a soul that was close to a hundred years old—he was probably about thirty to forty years older than the average age of the wizards competing.
In some sense, he was considered a "senior," yet because he had not truly surpassed a hundred years, he was still grouped among the "geniuses."
With greater age came potentially deeper accumulation of knowledge, experience, techniques, spell proficiency, and so on—hidden strengths that could not be inferred from the surface level of spiritual power.
He would certainly be a difficult opponent and was also the first of Level 3 strength that Ronan had encountered so far.
"I’ve heard you possess a powerful ancient bloodline, capable of even suppressing the Ancient Flame Demon Blood of the Sajiers Family from Melt Crystal Lake..."
Damian, with his naturally baby face, smiled harmlessly as if chatting with an old friend. He said to Ronan, "Come on, trigger it so I can take a good look..."
Ronan did not respond, merely touching the Blue Diamond Earrings on his left earlobe with an even expression.
Streams of blue light flew out from the earrings, each one representing a component of the Magic Tool Set.
Shoulder guards, bracers, chestplate, greaves, boots...
In total, twelve pieces of Magical Equipment automatically adorned Ronan’s body, with runes from each piece connecting, solidifying into a thick Ice Crystal Armor, and the Lightfall Cloak draping down.
When the complete "Land of Frost" Magic Tool Set was donned, an exquisitely beautiful Ice Crystal Iris pattern emerged on Ronan’s smooth forehead, faintly visible.
An immense icy cold breath emanated from Ronan, lifting his snowy white hair, swiftly forming a Cold Force Field tens of meters in diameter around him, where countless ice crystals and snowflakes constantly formed and fluttered endlessly.
After advancing to the Intermediate Level 2 Stage, with his spirit power quality far surpassing his peers and the powerful recovery effect of the Clear Sky Realm, Ronan could finally don the entire set.
The fully activated "Land of Frost" Magic Tool Set brought with it an unprecedented tenfold increase in the might of Ice Magic!
In this state, Ronan was even stronger than a typical wizard at the Late Level 2 Peak Stage, significantly narrowing the gap between him and Damian.
Damian, however, only smiled at Ronan’s actions, his fair baby face revealing an indistinct expression.
"It seems... you don’t understand Level 3 very well."
Having said so, Damian, hidden in his green Magic Robe, stretched out both hands, his ten fingers dancing rapidly as if playing an invisible instrument, each fingertip shedding copious amounts of golden powder that was swiftly dispersed by unseen winds.
Ronan inhaled a strikingly intense scent of lilacs, realizing that the smell he had detected earlier had come from Damian.
Ronan, expressionless, raised a hand and pointed.
Endless coldness converged at his fingertips, forming a huge blizzard vortex, seemingly mixed with numerous shards of ice, cutting through the void.
Second-tier Magic, [Small Blizzard]!
Under the boost of the "Land of Frost" set, the massive blizzard vortex, now ten times larger than before, left long trails of frost in the air as it sped toward Damian.
Yet Damian merely tapped his brow, a bud-shaped rune lighting up, followed by countless green Light Points emerging behind him, instantly condensing into a massive swaying blooming flower.
The semi-illusory magical flower petals closed gently, shielding Damian’s body from Ronan’s blizzard vortex and with a slight tremble, the ferocious blizzard vortex immediately burst apart!