Above the mage

Chapter 728 First Place on the Battle Power Ranking

The man's sudden intrusion immediately drew the attention of everyone in the room.

Dunley is holding a private meeting.

And anyone could see that he was extremely angry, but he was forcibly suppressing it.

At a time like this, how dare you be so tactless as to barge in and "courte your life"?

If we rule out the possibility of a fool, then it must be some extremely important news, so important that it cannot be delayed in the slightest and must be reported to Deng Lai immediately.

Deng Lai understood this principle, so he stared intently at the man who had broken in.

His anger subsided for the moment, and he did not immediately retaliate, waiting for him to speak.

The same is true.

The man rushed into the room, not even having time to bow, and hurriedly said, "Elder, there's news of Gao De!"

Deng Lai's eyes flashed, and her voice suddenly rose slightly: "What specific news? Have you found him?"

"No, it's a message—or rather, a clue—sent from Mithril City by Cohen!"

"Cohen?" Deng Lai frowned, thought carefully for a moment, and then asked in a deep voice, "Wasn't he with the mage team to Mithril City to participate in the Unrivaled Mage Tournament? How could he send back news of Goddard, and he was never involved in the search for Goddard?"

The man dared not keep them in suspense and hurriedly explained, "Elder, although Cohen is not in charge of searching for God, he has always known that you care about and value this matter very much, so he has also been paying attention to it."

"When you issued the portrait of Gaode three years ago, he glanced at it by chance, and it left a slight impression on his mind."

"Today is the first day of the Unparalleled Magic Fighting Tournament. As the accompanying mage, he watched the entire competition and helped the team collect information on the mages from other teams to prepare for the subsequent events."

"During this process, Cohen discovered that there was a young mage named God in the Plantagenet Dynasty's mage team who was performing exceptionally well, but he didn't think much of it at first..."

'

Because there are so many people with the same name on this continent, a name doesn't really mean anything.

"However, after the morning competition ended and he had some free time, he recalled the image of Gaode and felt that it looked very familiar. After thinking about it repeatedly, he finally matched it with the Gaode you were looking for."

"Although the Gaode image has changed considerably in the past three years compared to the one in the portrait."

"But the outline of his eyebrows and eyes is exactly the same as Gao De in the portrait back then, and the age also matches perfectly."

"But..." The man's voice trailed off, a hint of hesitation in his tone.

He glanced up slightly at Deng Lai's expression, and seeing that his face was becoming increasingly solemn, he continued in a low voice, "There is something that Cohen also finds puzzling, and he dares not make a hasty conclusion."

"If this Gao De is truly that Gao De, you must know that three years ago in Saint Sein City, he was merely a prisoner, a first-ring mage who had just successfully ascended to the ring and whose mentor had died. He only managed to escape from prison thanks to the Holy Empire's amnesty..."

'

"Cohen simply can't understand how a first-ring mage who was a prisoner three years ago, with no background and no resources, could transform himself in just three years into an elite player representing the Golden Flower Dynasty mage team, stepping onto the stage of the Unparalleled Mage Tournament to compete against genius mages from various countries?"

As the man spoke, he took out a glowing communication crystal from his pocket.

This is an alchemical artifact made by the Oakenley family.

He held it with both hands and handed it to Deng Lai, adding, "Cohen knows you value this matter highly, so even though there are many doubts, he didn't dare to delay and sent a message back immediately after discovering a clue."

"Cohen specifically emphasized that this is just a clue. Whether it is the Gao De you are looking for needs to be verified by sending someone to Mithril City."

Deng Lai took the communication crystal and slowly infused it with magic from his fingertips.

The crystal lit up instantly.

The soft light illuminated his somber face.

It not only contained detailed messages from Cohen, but also showed a portrait of a young man.

It was Gao De on the field who looked remarkably similar to the portrait from back then.

However, despite clutching the communication crystal, Deng Lai felt little joy.

There are definitely many people in this world who look alike.

A single portrait or a name cannot explain anything.

Moreover, as Cohen said, how could a first-ring mage who left Saint Sein City in a sorry state three years ago have turned into a mid-third-ring elite mage in just three years?

That's not very realistic.

The initial surge of joy quickly faded after learning the details.

But at least it's a clue.

Moreover... it's really unlikely that a grassroots mage could advance two levels in three years.

But what if he possessed knowledge sufficient to overturn the landscape of runic literature, and used that knowledge to exchange for corresponding mage resources with the Golden Flower Dynasty?

This completely explains this incredible event.

Having been without any progress, Deng Lai finally had a concrete direction. Adhering to the principle of "better to investigate wrongly than to let go of anything," he suddenly raised his hand and threw the communication crystal to a family mage standing below with his head bowed. "Investigate! Find out about this person's background and situation as soon as possible. Don't miss a single detail!" Deng Lai's voice suddenly rose.

The family mage who received the crystal immediately bowed and accepted the order: "Yes, sir!"

This is just one clue; the investigation into other leads must continue.

Then, Deng Lai turned his gaze to another family mage: "You go and re-examine the Province of Xinen."

The focus should be on thoroughly investigating the area surrounding Saint Sein City, the primeval forest, and all major hunter teams. All previously overlooked villages should be re-examined to ensure no area is missed!

"A first-ring mage with no background but outstanding talent will most likely join a hunter mage team to hunt leyline creatures in the mountains in exchange for resources."

These hunters often spend up to half a year or more in the mountains, and it's easy to miss something during their investigations, requiring them to search repeatedly.

"Furthermore, intensify investigations in the vicinity of the Sword Sea Islands..."

'

'

""

In the Iron City, in a hidden hall shrouded in eternal darkness, not a single ray of light escaped.

Instead of a floating 3D map, a 3D portrait of a person about half a person's height was placed on the black stone table.

The portrait glowed with a faint, ethereal blue light, slightly dispelling the surrounding darkness.

If Deng Lai, who is thousands of miles away, were to see this scene, he would be extremely surprised.

Because the image of this person is exactly the same as the portrait of God that Cohen sent back.

The figure on the ruby-black stone chair quietly gazes at the three-dimensional portrait of Gaode before him, his dark purple eyes gleaming with an eerie light.

"A third-ring mage...there's no reason for him to have the ability to help that little girl escape the prison I set for her."

"But there's no other possibility but him."

She was thinking.

She orchestrated the plan against Liu Ying, and even personally sent Liu Ying into the Desolate Soul Domain.

While casting the spell, Gao De, who was near Liu Ying at the time, was also dragged into it.

Mei Qiang naturally didn't take it seriously at the time.

To her, the death of another innocent person is no different than stepping on an ant.

She went to great lengths to extinguish the golden light emanating from the broom flower.

First, they allied with Linhai City to persuade the Golden Flower Dynasty to jointly host the first Unparalleled Magic Competition in Mithril City, and only then were they able to send their "puppet" into Mithril City.

Such painstaking planning and waiting for the right opportunity are all for the sake of striking decisively.

Everything started and progressed smoothly, only the outcome was unexpected.

She never expected that such a meticulously planned scheme would ultimately end in complete failure.

The light of the broom flower did not go out; in an extremely strange turn of events, the broom flower and the purple magnolia of the North appeared to be connected.

Furthermore, her failure also brought retaliation from the Wang Mian family to the empire.

The empire had to bleed heavily to appease the Goldenrod's anger.

Not only did they pay out huge sums of magic crystals and alchemical resources, but they also ceded the city of Nashlame on the continent of Terra to temporarily put the matter behind them.

Mei Qiang didn't really care about these substantial losses.

The Holy Empire possessed a profound history and a vast territory.

A mere indemnity and a city are hardly enough to cripple an empire.

For her, it was even less worth mentioning.

However, the loss of face caused by this incident, and the criticism from Mordred, were things that Mei Qiang cared about.

Thinking this, a hint of ferocity appeared in her dark purple eyes.

"If it really is you, then you must pay the most terrible price for the good deed you've done." Mei Qiang's voice echoed in the dark hall.

As she finished speaking, she slightly raised her head and softly called out to the vast, dark hall, "The person in the mirror."

From the darkness on the left side of the hall, a blurry figure quietly emerged.

The figure was composed entirely of shadows, thin and frail, with an indistinct face, emanating a cold, deathly aura, like a soulless puppet.

He bowed slightly, his voice hoarse and hollow, filled with absolute submission: "Pale Lady, what are your orders?"

Mei Qiang pointed her finger at Gao De's portrait on the table again, her tone cold and resolute, without the slightest hesitation: "Send one of the embers to kill this person."

Mei Qiang has no intention of investigating whether the failure of the Extinction Plan was related to Gao De.

Her principle of handling matters has always been simple and ruthless: better to kill the innocent than to let the guilty go free.

Anyway, he's just a third-ring mage, killing him won't cost much.

So, regardless of whether Gao De actually ruined her plan, kill him first.

At most, it would just be killing an insignificant mage by mistake.

For her, who held the power of life and death, the life of a young mage was insignificant.

Without the slightest hesitation, the person in the mirror bowed again, his voice still hollow: "Your subordinate obeys."

Mithril City.

As the host city of the first Unparalleled Magic Fighting Tournament, it was undoubtedly the most bustling city on the entire plane in the year 9660 of the Nolan calendar.

Gaode stood at the window of the room and looked out at the endless stream of people outside.

He thought the crowds on the first day of the year were already overwhelming, but little did he know that it wasn't the peak, but just the beginning.

The hotel he chose because he valued its seclusion is now far from being secluded at all.

In fact, there are very few places left in Mithril City that can be considered secluded.

The group stage is in full swing.

More and more people are coming from all over the world and gathering here.

Although this world is not like his previous life, with media connecting the whole world to broadcast the battle in real time and watch the replay afterwards.

However, as the most core and revered group in the entire plane, the magical duels between mages attract far more attention than any secular event.

The mere word-of-mouth from spectators was enough to make this magical duel a sensation across the entire continent, becoming the focus of discussion for all nations and all mages.

Not just Mithril City.

During this period, people and monks in almost every country were discussing the battle situation of this magical duel competition that was thousands of miles away.

Which country has the most powerful mages? Which mage's spell combos are the most exquisite? Which mage's fighting style is the most cunning? Every topic can spark heated discussions.

Tris Igor is leading his team to the foot of the Thousand-Layer Cloud Ladder in the Dragonspine Arena.

Today is the third day of the group stage of the Unparalleled Mage Tournament, and also the first day of competition for their Linhai City Mage Team.

Just like the Golden Flower Dynasty Mage Team and the Holy Empire Mage Team, they only plan to send out substitute players in the group stage, but all players still need to be in place.

However, as soon as he reached the entrance of the cloud ladder, Tris stopped in his tracks.

At the entrance, there were many uniformed staff members distributing parchment-like items in an orderly manner.

Each person was surrounded by a crowd of eager people, including monks and ordinary citizens.

Many people had already received the parchment and were holding it, looking down at it intently, occasionally letting out a gasp of surprise or making a fuss; the atmosphere was very lively.

What is that?

Tris raised an eyebrow.

Not only him, but several team members also became curious.

One of the monks accompanying him was very perceptive and, seeing this, had already squeezed into the crowd.

A moment later, the accompanying mage squeezed out of the crowd, holding a stack of parchment in his hand, and quickly walked to Tris's side, distributing the parchment to each team member.

Triss took the parchment, lowered his head, and a line of striking large characters clearly came into view:

[The First World Unparalleled Fighting Tournament Player Power Ranking (Updated in real time, as of the second day of the group stage)]

The following line of smaller print details the criteria used to judge the list:

This ranking is based on the combat data of the contestants recorded by the rune array monitoring across the entire domain. The data is integrated and analyzed, and the contestants are judged in combination with their battle results. A combat power score is given to each contestant, and they are ranked accordingly.

The monitoring scope covers dimensions such as spell power and casting speed, striving for fairness and impartiality.

Just reading those first two sentences is enough to pique everyone's interest.

A thought struck Cui Si.

Although he is a battle mage, he was born into the Igor family and had been exposed to the field since childhood, so he had some knowledge of it.

He immediately realized that this power ranking was essentially a marketing tactic.

It's not exactly a groundbreaking idea, but it's clever enough.

It satisfies the public's and mages' curiosity about the contestants' abilities, further boosts the popularity of the magic fighting competition, and can even generate profits by selling the rankings, achieving multiple benefits in one fell swoop.

Tris nodded to himself.

It must be admitted that Mithril City, as the organizer, did a very good job in "marketing". They were not arrogant, but rather knew how to connect with people's hearts, pushing the popularity of the event to a new level.

"How much does this combat power ranking cost?" Si didn't immediately continue looking at the list. Instead, he looked up at the accompanying mage who had bought the ranking and asked in a calm tone, "Two silver dragon coins per set." The accompanying mage replied.

Huge profits... Triss did the math, sighed to himself, then pulled himself out of his thoughts, lowered his head, and continued scrolling down the list.

The rankings are naturally arranged from highest to lowest.

At the very top, the name of the current number one on the combat power ranking is prominently displayed.

The lettering was bold and had a faint golden sheen, making it particularly eye-catching.

【Golden Plantagenet Dynasty, Gaode】.

[Combat Power: 897 (Spell Power: 330, Casting Speed: 200, Spell Mastery: 367)]

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