Chapter 556: Advancing to Legendary Mage!

Chapter 556: Ascending to Legendary Mage!

The naga's legendary ocean hunter emerged from nowhere, striking at Levi from all directions.

Thousands of layers of shielding had dwindled to fewer than a hundred.

One more hit from the ocean hunter would shatter the sturdy shell encasing Levi.

The enemy seemed well aware of this fact.

At the final moment, he ceased his relentless pursuit.

Levi sensed no reprieve.

Instead, a vague yet ominous danger began to brew.

A ball of light appeared in Levi’s hand.

"Light Burst."

The illumination spell, transformed through elemental fission, became an instant super flare.

Blinding radiance engulfed the entire battlefield.

Unaccustomed to such intense light, the ocean hunter instinctively recoiled.

In that split second—

Levi broke free.

[Elemental Fission (Epic) (Path to Legend)] 10000/10000

An epic-level supernatural trait evolved into a legendary one.

[Elemental Fusion (Legendary)] Basic Elemental Fusion Law (0/10000)

Seizing the momentum, Levi grasped the basic law of elemental fusion.

His body of sacred flame surged violently,

as if undergoing actual nuclear fusion.

Levi’s magical power rapidly ascended, his mental strength intensifying.

The force within him resembled a fusion reactor—constantly releasing energy, continuously amplifying.

[Solar Meditation Technique (7th Tier)] 0/10000

He had broken through—he was now a legendary mage.

Levi’s total mana capacity increased tenfold.

His mental perception extended to ten thousand meters—

far surpassing the typical gains upon reaching legend rank.

Normally, mages who ascended to legend saw their mana reserves double or triple,

and their mental strength increase by only about a factor of two.

Yet Levi’s mental range reached ten thousand meters—an almost fifteen-fold enhancement.

The magnitude of growth during legend breakthrough depended largely on the mage’s prior cultivation.

The deeper the foundation, the greater the potential;

the richer the inner reserves, the higher the peak attainable.

Now elevated to legendary status,

Levi swept his consciousness outward and locked onto the naga’s ocean hunter.

The hunter hesitated for a moment—he felt an invisible pressure bearing down.

To be targeted so completely felt like having a gun pressed against his forehead.

A chill of life-and-death peril coursed through him.

Confusion and disbelief flooded his mind.

How could this human have suddenly grown so powerful?

Despite his shock, the ocean hunter reacted swiftly, unleashing his strongest technique in hopes of ending the human once and for all.

As he crossed into legend, the understanding of elemental fusion had already been engraved into Levi’s mind.

Levi smiled faintly.

“So this is the rule of elemental fusion?”

Gazing toward the ocean hunter fixed in his spiritual vision, Levi raised his right hand.

He grasped the sea itself—as though holding the hunter in his palm.

“Water Element Detonation!”

Fusion reactions erupted among the water elements surrounding the ocean hunter.

Initially, individual water elements underwent fusion, releasing barely perceptible magical ripples.

Only when the hunter relied on instinctive affinity with water did he sense these disturbances.

But he paid them no heed.

These fluctuations were too weak.

They couldn’t possibly harm him.

Yet chain reactions accelerated exponentially.

By the time he noticed the magic waves, tiny bubbles had begun forming around him.

At first, no one gave thought to those minuscule bubbles.

Then, the surrounding seawater started to boil.

Thanks to his legendary trait—Ocean Predator—the hunter was immune to most aquatic spells while gaining enhanced strength beneath the waves.

Even boiling seas posed no threat.

Until the whole ocean began to boil.

The entire sea turned into a colossal reactor, its waters endlessly pouring forth energy.

The ocean hunter realized his skin was drying out.

Then came unbearable heat—his entire body searing hot.

Deep underwater, he experienced what it meant to be roasted alive.

Boom!

Once the scale of water element fusion reached a critical mass,

and touched the limits of Levi’s control,

it exploded.

The fusion reactor of the water element exploded, creating a massive vacuum bubble in the deep sea.

During the existence of the vacuum bubble, it acted like an invisible black hole, voraciously devouring the surrounding seawater.

It disrupted the ocean currents of the deep-sea world.

The rhythm of attacks by the legendary Naga practitioner who had been continuously manipulating the sea to assault Saint Xi was thrown into chaos.

Saint Xi seized the opportunity to break through the encirclement and rushed toward the enemy.

"Sacred Dragon's Breath!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The dragon's breath formed from sacred power ignored all defenses, burning the enemy's body and soul, purifying everything.

Levi used his Sacred Flame Domain to stabilize the area around himself,

avoiding being sucked into the vacuum bubble.

He turned his head to look—the six-armed female Naga let out anguished wails within Saint Xi’s Sacred Dragon’s Breath.

Behind her head hung thick braids resembling tentacles.

In Levi’s mind surfaced the corresponding data about her.

Naga Sea Soul Priestess.

Also a legendary-class practitioner, the Sea Soul Priestess resembled a human mage in profession.

She wielded the power of the ocean in combat.

Her strength in the sea far surpassed that of mages of the same level.

However, her weaknesses were also evident.

Besides suffering a drastic decline in power once removed from the sea, she would be easily overpowered by other legendary practitioners.

And above all—she was too fragile.

Once a high-level legendary Sacred Dragon closed in on her, she had almost no means of resistance.

Rip!

Saint Xi tore apart the Sea Soul Priestess, grievously wounded by the Sacred Dragon’s Breath.

Green blood diffused through the seawater.

The corpse of the Sea Soul Priestess trembled slightly, emitting a blue glow.

Moments later, the blue light shattered, and the body vanished without a trace.

Saint Xi stared at the lingering green blood in the sea, eyes filled with confusion.

Why did the corpse disappear into thin air?

Levi approached Saint Xi and explained, “That’s one of the escape methods of the Sea Soul Priestess.”

“In addition to transforming into a water spirit and merging with the sea to evade enemies, the Sea Soul Priestess can feign death to escape.”

“The Sea Soul Priestess possesses a supernatural trait—they can leave behind a divine statue at a certain location. After faking death, they revive at the statue.”

“But it can only be used once within a short period. The next time we encounter her, we’ll be able to eliminate her for good.”

The revival method of the Sea Soul Priestess couldn’t even be compared to Levi’s Nirvana Rebirth.

After reviving via the divine statue, the Sea Soul Priestess’ revival ability would remain unusable for at least half a year.

How long exactly, Levi didn’t know.

It was a core secret of the Sea Soul Priestess profession.

There was no way the Naga Sea Soul Priestess would reveal such information to humans.

Knowing he would venture deep into the Endless Sea, Levi had specially used his "Torresta" avatar to thoroughly research the Nagas.

That was how he came to understand the two high-tier professions: Ocean Hunter and Sea Soul Priestess.

Besides these two common advanced professions among the Nagas,

there was another frequently seen high-tier profession:

Sea Beast Priestess—differing by just one character from Sea Soul Priestess.

Their combat styles were completely different.

The Sea Beast Priestess was similar to summoners among humans, capable of summoning various powerful beasts for battle.

But the Sea Beast Priestess was even more formidable.

They could tame sea monsters and ride them into combat. Even the weakest sea monster could reach the seventh tier.

Ocean beasts surpassing the eighth tier were not uncommon.

Most of a Sea Beast Priestess’ strength came from the sea monsters they tamed.

Thus, there was a significant gap in power between the Sea Beast Priestess and the Sea Soul Priestess.

Having dealt with the two legendary Naga practitioners,

Levi and Saint Xi looked toward the underwater city.

“Is that the territory of the Nagas?”

Levi murmured.

He wasn’t entirely sure.

So far, humans only knew that the Nagas lived in the Abyssal Depths.

But how exactly they survived within those depths remained unclear.

As for underwater cities, there was no information whatsoever.

The Abyssal Depths were already perilous beyond measure—it was the main stronghold of the Nagas.

Hardly any human had ever ventured deep into the Abyss.

After pondering for a moment, Levi still found no answers.

Mainly because this place probably wasn’t the Abyss itself.

Yet, given that powerful Nagas appeared here, it must be close to the Abyss.

The range of the Abyss was vast.

In the narrow sense, the Abyss referred specifically to the region where the Naga stronghold lay—

the area guarded by the Spatial Tower.

That was the zone where the Nagas first emerged into the main world.

In the broader sense, any part of the ocean deeper than a certain depth could be called the Abyss.

Even calling this place part of the Abyss wouldn’t be strange.

Levi said, “Let’s go down and take a look. Be careful.”

Saint Xi nodded. “Mm.”

The two descended toward the underwater city.

Saint Xi could sense that the third fragment of the Divine Core was drawing ever closer.

She perceived clearly that the fragment lay within the city below.

As they drew near, Levi saw that the underwater city was encased in a massive crystal wall.

The semicircular crystal barrier made the city resemble a pearl lost upon the ocean floor.

The crystal was transparent.

Levi could see clearly into the city’s interior.

Upon glimpsing what lay beneath, Levi's expression shifted to one of surprise.

Good news—the city was not ruled by the Naga.

The inhabitants were not Nagas at all.

They were merfolk.

Though the Nagas and merfolk shared similar features,

the Nagas resembled monsters, while the merfolk bore a closer likeness to humans.

Legend held that long ago, the Nagas and merfolk had been of the same race.

After certain events transpired, some among the merfolk transformed into the wicked and hideous Nagas.

This involved ancient secrets best left undisturbed—

even Levi did not know the full truth.

That the city belonged to the merfolk, not the Nagas, was good news indeed—for both Levi and Saint Xi.

Though relations between merfolk and humans were hardly warm, they were far better than those with the Nagas.

The Nagas were nothing but madmen who attacked on sight.

They stood on opposite sides of an unbridgeable divide.

Levi and Saint Xi searched outside the crystal dome for a way inside.

Their presence soon attracted the attention of merfolk guards.

A guard wielding a golden trident swam forward.

Through the crystal barrier, he called out, “Why do you approach Abyssal City?”

Levi replied, “We seek something within. Will you let us enter?”

The guard refused. “Abyssal City welcomes no outsiders. Leave at once.”

Then a female mermaid glided over, clad in a gossamer skirt.

“No need for alarm,” she said gently. “They just helped drive off a band of roaming Nagas outside the city.”

Hearing her voice, the guard turned and bowed quickly. “Your Highness, Princess—why have you come?”

Levi looked up at the mermaid princess upon hearing this.

Her skin was pale and flawless; her form elegant and elongated, curves accentuated, her tail shimmering with iridescent hues.

She stood over five meters tall.

To the merfolk, such height was merely average for adult females.

Merfolk society was matriarchal.

Compared to their larger female kin, male merfolk tended to be smaller.

Even the handsome guard beside them—who towered among males—was barely over four meters.

Standing next to the princess, he seemed almost diminutive.

“I saw fighting beyond the walls earlier,” the princess explained. “So I came to see what happened.”

“Let them in,” she added.

“It has been ages since any human last visited Abyssal City.”

As she spoke, her gaze drifted subtly toward Saint Xi, a flicker of curiosity crossing her eyes.

She remarked on how rare it was for humans to appear—

yet paid no heed to the unmistakably divine dragon presence before her.

“As you command,” the guard responded with a chest bow.

He raised his golden trident slightly.

Before Levi, the crystal barrier dissolved into a thin veil of light.

Seeing this, the princess smiled. “Welcome, honored guests. Enter freely, and be welcome to Abyssal City.”

At her words, Levi stepped through first.

What had moments before blocked all passage now offered no resistance.

He passed through effortlessly.

Saint Xi followed closely behind, having taken human shape and shrunk down to fit.

Once both were inside, the guard waved his trident again, and the crystal shield reformed.

His watchful eye remained fixed on them, ever vigilant in protecting the princess.

Levi smiled warmly. “Greetings, Your Highness. I am Levi.”

“And this is Saint Xi.”

The princess replied, “Well met, legendary spellcaster. I am Princess Anne of the Merfolk.”

“This is our guardian, Jenet.”

Jenet regarded Levi and Saint Xi with stern silence, suspicion still evident in his demeanor.

He appeared quite young.

But Levi knew better than to judge a merfolk by appearance alone.

Their lifespans far exceeded those of men.

While not as long-lived as elves, merfolk could live five or six centuries.

For Jenet to hold the title of guardian meant he was far older—and more experienced—than he seemed.

Levi sensed great power emanating from him.

Yet he could not discern Jenet’s true level of strength.

This was sufficient to illustrate the issue.

Only when the opponent's strength surpassed Li Wei's own could he fail to perceive their true power.

After exchanging introductions, the mermaid princess spoke: "Two distinguished guests, please follow me."

"It is rare for esteemed visitors to arrive at Haiyuan City; I shall treat you both hospitably."

Li Wei quickly replied: "Your Highness, there is no need for hospitality—we have come seeking... the Sacred Dragon King."

Considering the mermaid princess's previous reaction upon seeing the sacred dragon,

Li Wei deliberated and decided to state his purpose directly.

Straightforward and blunt.

He suspected the mermaid princess had likely encountered the Sacred Dragon King.

Hearing this, the mermaid princess showed no surprise. She said: "Respected spellcaster, pray do not rush—I shall take you to meet Lord Sacred Dragon King."

"But first, please accept the merfolk's ceremonial welcome."

Having reached this point, Li Wei could only suppress his impatience.

"Mm, thank you."

(End of Chapter)