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In his eyes, Morey's method of using space in a standardized way was cult-like and did not deserve the word "magic".

Magic should be like a lightning bolt—fast and powerful!

As the mirror space shattered, Morey had already reached Xerath, raising his twin axes and bringing them down with tremendous force, the blades crackling with mana and lightning.

Impact the ball!

Xerath raised his right hand and released a high-speed magic orb, which blasted Morey into an arc shape, embedding him in the wall and leaving only an empty hole before he vanished without a trace.

"Indeed, the allure of magic belongs only to me."

Xerath arrogantly broke through the sand above his head and flew upwards. The surging Ascended energy outside attracted Xerath closer. As long as he absorbed a little bit nearby, he could move to a safe place, and after fully recovering, he could come out again to fight for power and profit.

The reason he was able to realize the truth so quickly was because the fluctuations below were becoming clearer and clearer. Xerath was very familiar with those fluctuations; they were the fluctuations of his greatest enemies, Nasus and Renekton.

Although Xerath had been influencing Renekton's mental state and stirring up his feelings for Nasus during the many years he was sealed away, the outcome was hard to predict. Moreover, the Holy Flame on Ethan's body was best at purification, so even if the instigation succeeded, it might be purified before it could have any effect.

Hiss~ Morey gasped in the sand, touching his chest and stomach. This incident taught him a lesson: don't use past experience to judge the people who have appeared recently.

These guys who have appeared recently are all more outrageous than the last, so weak that they are visibly frail, and he can't even withstand a single attack.

Morey touched his stomach; the heat from the impact of the orb hadn't dissipated, and the armor on his abdomen had already begun to melt.

He was really able to survive this time thanks to the armor provided by New York. The spiritual power of the Five Elemental Orbs on his body and the battle formation of the Knights of the Round Table were easily broken by Xerath's large amount of energy output at close range. In the end, it was the solid equipment that was reliable.

Chapter 106 Sorry, we don't need gods.

As Zelas ascended, Ethan and Jackie Chan's descent slowed further, and a tangible emotion filled the air around them—anger.

To prevent himself from being affected by these emotions, Ethan kept burning the sacred fire within his body, sweeping away every trace of distracting thoughts.

Compared to Ethan, whose life was filled with misfortune, Jackie Chan, who often complains about being unlucky, is actually a lucky man. The emotions around him do not resonate with him quickly. On the contrary, the self-cultivation that Jackie Chan has accumulated over the years makes him very disgusted with this kind of unwarranted and undirected anger.

So although their progress was slow, it was still quite steady.

“I think I’ve arrived, Jackie Chan.” Ethan suddenly stopped, feeling the sacred fire within him constantly shifting in one direction. “Please wait here for me, I’ll be right back.”

Jackie Chan nodded. The time he tested the solar disk taught him a lesson: sometimes it's better to listen to the instructions of professionals, even if they are only relatively professional.

As Ethan walked along the passage, his eyes were drawn to the patterns carved on both sides of the passage. These murals, when connected, seemed to tell a story.

It's a very simple story, based on the murals, that a respected old man was suffering from an incurable disease, and his merits seemed to have made the people there believe he was qualified to perform a ceremony.

In the murals depicting the ceremony, Ethan saw the sun disk that Kaecilius had been longing for. The murals were inscribed with Shurima script, and although Ethan had never studied a similar script, he knew that the words should be pronounced as "Ascension Ritual."

The elderly man, suffering from an incurable disease, struggled to climb the steps, his steps faltering as he made his way toward the altar of ascension. His frail body made this ordinary journey incredibly difficult.

Just as the old man collapsed in front of the altar, an equally aged but incredibly robust old man pushed aside the soldiers blocking his way, and amidst the clamor, ran up the altar steps in a few strides, picked up the fallen old man, and then walked forward step by step with a determined look in his eyes.

After climbing the last set of steps, the old man seemed to have fulfilled his final wish. He placed the old man in his arms into the altar, then closed his eyes and awaited divine punishment. Only one person was allowed to enter the ascension ceremony at a time.

But perhaps because they were brothers, or for some other reason, the old man was not destroyed. Instead, he and his brother ascended to heaven together under the dazzling light of the sun disk.

After ascending to heaven, the brothers acquired beast-like appearances. The elder brother became tall and thin with a dog's head and a human body, while the younger brother became a huge crocodile.

“This is my story with my brother, and I don’t think it should fade with time. How is my skill in carving murals?”

As Ethan saw the last mural, a voice came from behind him.

Ethan quickly turned around and saw a dog-headed, human-bodied ascendant standing behind him; clearly, this was the one from the mural.

After Nasus appeared, the sacred fire within Ethan began to flicker, which made Ethan realize that he had found the right person.

But Nasus suddenly interrupted Ethan's ritual, "No need for rituals. Apart from the fact that I am an Ascended and you are not, we are actually no different. As for its reference, it's just because I once studied the gods of Zoroastrianism."

Ethan suddenly choked. He understood what Nasus meant. It turned out that the sacred fire in his body came from the sect he once believed in - Zoroastrianism. And Nasus was not an important figure in the sect. He just studied the Zoroastrian books thoroughly, so thoroughly that even the sacred fire misjudged.

While Ethan remained silent, Nasus kept observing him. Seeing that he was merely silent and that the Holy Fire within him was completely unaffected, Nasus was in a good mood. He had seen many people who denied or collapsed after learning the truth. After all, Shurima was an empire that was gradually built up after Odin completely eradicated the Zoroastrianism. It could be said that they inherited the legacy of the Zoroastrianism.

Therefore, many people studied ancient texts and found that their sect and the gods they worshipped no longer existed, which they refused to accept, causing countless troubles for Shurima at that time.

In terms of temperament, Ethan has surpassed more than 90 percent of the mortals Nasus knows.

"What's wrong? It seems my words have ruined a lot of your plans?" Nasus said to Ethan.

“It wouldn’t be considered sabotage, really. Those plans were never going to work anyway.” Ethan shook his head. “I originally came to thank you and then resign as priest.”

Ethan looked up at Nasus as he spoke, seemingly asking if he could be stripped of his priesthood.

"Why would you want to do this?" Nasus found it hard to understand. He could see that Ethan was just an ordinary person before he became a priest, and an ordinary person with a short lifespan. The sacred fire and the priesthood brought him power and longevity. Wasn't that a good thing?

“I’m sorry, but I’ve already decided to dedicate my life to the liberation of this land. I can’t do this as a priest of a god. I don’t want them to think that I’ve just replaced the person above their heads with a god.”

Ethan said very seriously that he was very grateful to the Zoroastrian Church for giving him a second life, but he was sorry, he could not accept the idea of ​​him becoming a priest or a missionary.

"Hahaha!" Nasus suddenly burst into laughter. He saw the shadows of many people in Ethan: Renekton, who vowed from childhood to guard the frontiers of Shurima; Azir, the unfavored prince who aspired to lead mortals to prosperity; and Xerath, the slave who dedicated his life to eliminating the slave class in Shurima...

Some of these people eventually succeeded in their ambitions, while others failed for various reasons. Some went astray in the process of pursuing their ideals. He was really curious whether Ethan would succeed in the end.

“You don’t need to worry about this. What you’re worshipping now isn’t any god, it’s just yourself!” Nasus said loudly to Ethan. “Zoroastrianism has long since disappeared with history. The sacred fire you have now is just a flame that belongs to you because of your faith, your perseverance, and your spirit. Try to accept it; it’s just a part of you.”

Under Nasus's explanation, Ethan experienced the sacred flame more deeply for the first time. Before that, he always thought that the sacred flame belonged to someone else and that it would always have to be returned.

Watching Ethan get into the zone in an instant, Nasus sighed with admiration. If Shurima were still around, Ethan would definitely be on his shortlist of candidates for the ascension ceremony.

Chapter 107 The Madman Renekton

Ethan's moment of enlightenment was not long. When he awoke, a flame pattern appeared between his eyebrows, and from this pattern spread out a dazzling array of designs all over his body, connecting together like a map of a modern highway.

The residual energy of the Zoroastrian divine kingdom that remained in the ancient tomb suddenly became active after Ethan accepted the sacred fire. It was like a wanderer who had been away for a long time finally finding his home, and it all rushed into his body.

As energy surged in, Ethan's strength rapidly increased. Apprentice level, formal professional level, low-level professional level, intermediate professional level, high-level professional level—each threshold was easily broken through as if made of paper.

Before long, Ethan went from an ordinary person to a rare high-level professional. The legendary level above that cannot be broken through simply by accumulating energy; it requires a profound understanding and mastery of a certain rule or set of rules.

“Congratulations, from today onwards, you’ve taken another step closer to your dream,” Nasus said to Ethan.

Ethan slowly opened his eyes. The markings on his body flashed for a moment and then gradually faded away, disappearing into his body.

Feeling an unprecedented surge of power within his body, Ethan was overjoyed. He no longer needed to worry about being assassinated. With assassination no longer a means of attack, he was confident that he could end the current war-torn situation.

"Thank you for your guidance." Ethan bowed slightly to Nasus. If he hadn't met Nasus, he didn't know how long it would have taken him to figure things out.

Moreover, after his strength increased, Ethan could feel the power of the kobold in front of him even more. The energy channels in the surrounding air were deliberately left out by this person.

“No need, I only have a request.” Nasus was not pretentious at all. Yes, he was the most amiable of the Shurima Ascended, but he wouldn’t be so patient with every mortal.

Upon sensing the aura of the Holy Fire within Ethan, Nasus immediately thought of something, but this required Ethan's willingness to do it.

“Please tell me, I will do my best as long as it is within my power.” Ethan left room for maneuver in his words, lest Nasus make any requests that would cross his bottom line.

For example, he couldn't ask Azir to rebuild Shurima; he wasn't born to help the ancient emperor reclaim his throne.

Nasus clearly knew this too; he simply looked up at the outside of the tomb chamber and said, "I hope you can help purify my brother."

"Purification?!" Ethan said in disbelief. In many religions, purification is just a polite way of saying "annihilation," but the meaning is similar.

“You’ve misunderstood,” Nasus continued. “Xerath did something in that coffin that affected my brother’s mind, causing him to see me as an enemy. For the past few hundred years, I’ve tried various methods to solve this problem, but in the end, I’ve only been able to delay it.”

“I understand, so what should I do?” Ethan asked.

His current professional level is quite high, but asking someone with absolutely no experience to do such a dangerous thing is something no sane person would think of. If Ethan accidentally sent Renekton flying, Nasus would probably be heartbroken.

"Just follow me."

With a snap, as soon as Nasus finished speaking, countless cracks appeared on the sculpture deep inside the tomb.

Crack, crack, pieces of material were smashed off the surface of the sculpture, and then a hand reached out from the middle, pulled it apart, and the sculpture split in two.

Nasus's true form stepped out, appearing more reserved now that he had a physical body, but in Ethan's perception, he was also more dangerous.

"You weren't sealed?!" Ethan was so surprised he didn't know what to say.

"Who do you think built this tomb?" Nasus replied with a smile.

"Then why didn't you just come out..."

Ethan's question did not receive a reply from Nasus because someone else replied to him.

"Nasus! Prepare for catastrophe!"

Renekton's voice came from outside, and just by the volume, you could tell how angry the guy who made the sound was.

Nasus glanced at Ethan and raised an eyebrow.

See? Now you know why I sealed myself away.

Ethan nodded. He understood, quite clearly, because Renekton was now frantically pounding on the side tomb door with his greatsword.

Bang! Bang! Bang! The entire side tomb was knocked so hard it was on the verge of collapse, and dust kept falling from the door that had automatically closed after Ethan entered.

Suddenly, Ethan remembered something: Jackie Chan was still outside!

(Jackie Chan: Thank you! You didn't forget me!)

"What should we do?! My friend is still outside! Is he in any danger?!" Ethan asked anxiously.

Nasus shook his head. "If I hadn't shown up, he might have been in some danger. But now that I'm here, Renekton won't have a place for anyone else."

“Next, I will go out and take charge of controlling him. After that, you can come over and use the Holy Fire to burn the surface of his body. The purifying power will break open the mental cage that Xerath is holding in him. I believe that as long as his own will emerges, everything will be fine.”

Ethan nodded, indicating that he understood.

Immediately afterwards, Nasus let out a roar, and death descended!

A massive amount of energy erupted from Nasus's body, forming a corrupting and soul-stealing array around him, while Nasus's size reached directly to the ceiling of the tomb.

Then, Ethan watched as Nasus gripped the scepter tightly and charged straight out of the tomb.

……

Wasn't he a librarian before? These days, do librarians become melee masters after they ascend to higher levels?!

Ethan carefully walked out, thinking to himself.

The tomb gate, inscribed with array patterns, opened automatically after Nasus launched his charge. Nasus, with Renekton on his back, pushed forward underground, carving out a deep passage.

As Ethan emerged from the side tomb, his eyes scanned the area ahead, searching for Jackie Chan's figure.

He soon discovered that in one corner, the mound of sand that had fallen had slight undulations.

Ethan quickly ran over, cleared the mound of dirt to the side with both hands, and then dragged Jackie Chan out of the mound.

Jackie Chan looked completely bewildered, still seemingly recovering from the sudden incident. He coughed twice, and dust sprayed out of his nostrils.