Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

"How about we rest until sunset?"

Bernal sat on the moss-covered stone steps and turned to Serena beside him, speaking softly.

Before him lay a desolate and dilapidated courtyard, a dried-up and collapsed pond, gray walls covered with withered vines, traces of magical bombardment, and a sun that had already set halfway in the west.

"The wound to my soul is weakening me every day. When I meditate, my mental energy seems to be waving goodbye to me. I'm worried! I won't be able to hold on until the day my family's glory is restored."

Bernal muttered to himself, then turned to Serena beside him and whispered, "I have to put you through rigorous training. Will you blame me, Serena?"

Serena held the thorn wand with a resolute gaze, silently preparing to get up and continue training, while Bernal seemed to have already received the response he wanted.

Suddenly, unhurried footsteps and hostile mental energy fluctuations came from outside the gate.

"Serena, you go back to the castle first. I have some guests to entertain."

A hint of ferocity flashed across Bernal's handsome face as he drew his wand from his storage bag, causing his robes to billow slightly.

Serena gritted her teeth and had no choice but to obediently go inside, but she didn't close the door.

Bernal bent down and began to run slowly toward the direction from which the footsteps came. His steps were very light, like the most nimble cat stepping on a soft carpet, without making a sound, and his whole aura was completely concealed.

Dense tree roots emerged on Bernal's exposed skin, coalescing into a vine helmet and green leaf patterns on his face.

Bernal's pace quickened, and the ferocity and coldness in his eyes intensified.

Finally, he approached the location from which the footsteps were coming, and was almost only a wall away from it.

Bernal silently raised one hand towards the sky in the direction opposite the gray wall. As he made this gesture, all the tree roots on his body came to life, flowing out from his skin and quickly condensing into a huge and ferocious club in his hand.

As the staff slammed down in sync with Bernal's right hand, mysterious energy surged forth from the entire staff, intertwining and swirling around it.

At the point of impact, the air was violently compressed and collapsed, distorting the light.

"Bang!"

The stick slammed down, the air exploded with a deafening roar, and the gray brick wall at the point of impact silently turned into pure dust. Someone outside the wall seemed to groan, something was violently pierced, and then it was thrown away without a sound.

Several incredibly powerful mental energy fluctuations erupted outside the brick wall in an instant. Some people cried out in shock and anger, while others quickly launched a counterattack with spells!

"Boom!"

The next second, a terrifying energy particle storm erupted, and the entire outer wall of the huge courtyard collapsed, billowing smoke and dust, with intense light bursting forth from the dust.

Bernal's eyes remained cold. The staff had somehow transformed back into a vine helmet and was attached to his body. He was about to raise his hand to release the staff into the light and dust again when the tree roots flowed into his palm and gathered into a pillar.

Suddenly, his face turned pale, and he coughed violently as if aggravating some injury.

The massive pillar instantly crumbled into countless tree roots that merged back into his body, and the aura emanating from him also rapidly weakened and declined.

Bernal retreated quickly, simultaneously flinging out dozens of densely packed green seeds forward like splashing ink.

The energy contained within the seed fluctuated violently, and after being swallowed by the smoke and dust, it suddenly surged, growing into a large number of thorny vines that spread out, forming a place where vines intertwined and almost leveled the surrounding soil and vegetation.

Bernal retreated to the stone steps in front of the castle gate. As the seed grew rapidly, he pushed off with both feet and quickly rushed to the other side of the courtyard.

He attempted to attack several figures faintly visible in the smoke and dust, forming a near-right angle of ninety degrees.

However, just as Bernal was about to raise his wand, a powerful wave of wind elemental energy rose up in the courtyard, interrupting him.

A powerful magical tornado erupted from the vast expanse of vines, swirling and shredding the thorny vines into countless fragments.

The tornado's powerful suction caused Bernal to involuntarily take two steps forward. He frowned, enduring the injury to his soul as he prepared to cast a spell again, but was enveloped by an invisible wall of air.

Numerous streams of runic light descended from his head, each twisting stream resembling countless colorful tadpoles, swaying their tails as they cascaded down like a waterfall.

In just a short time, the originally invisible air wall had already taken on a crystal-like structure.

Bernal was completely encased in an inverted bowl-shaped crystal wall, airtight and unable to see the outside world. The surface of the crystal wall was faintly covered with densely packed luminous rune patterns.

"Da~ Da~"

The sound of approaching footsteps came from ahead of Bernal.

Amidst the scattered debris, the outlines of several figures slowly emerged.

They wore matching dark green robes, had luminous protective energy shields, and had equally young yet cold faces inside the shields.

"Lord Jareden originally intended to have a proper talk with you first, as long as you cooperated and handed over your family's inherited magic seal."

He lowered his right hand, which he had been using to cover his mouth and nose, and with a look of disgust, he blew away non-existent debris in front of him. His cold eyes fell on Bernal, and he spoke in a chilling voice.

He was the leader among them. He had long, slender fingers, a well-proportioned figure, and wore a thorn headband, exuding an air of aristocratic arrogance and haughtiness.

"You have broken your pact with the Thorns of Pain. You are not allowed to set foot in the Thorns Circle. The only reason I spared your life was out of respect for the Lord of the Silver Circle."

"But now, I feel there's no need for that anymore. Look at your current strength, you can even kick me, a late-stage first-ring cultivator, a few times. I'm sure the Silver Ring Master wouldn't mind if I killed you."

As he spoke, he chuckled sinisterly and released his own mental energy field, which was so powerful that it almost distorted and vaporized the surrounding air.

This is a sign that a true late-stage first-ring wizard is about to step into a second-ring wizard, and that their spiritual power is about to condense and transform.

The people behind the young man were far weaker than him, all at the mid-stage of the first ring. One of them was a wizard being supported by his companion. The young man, pale-faced, was frantically gulping down healing potions, clearly having been seriously injured by Bernal's sneak attack.

Bernal squinted at the arrogant "rising stars," took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly, saying, "I'm just injured, not dead."

The next second, the leaf patterns on his face transformed into dozens of leaf-shaped throwing knives that flew out like birds, cutting through the air barrier and instantly reaching the group.

"Sizzle~"

The leading wizard had already raised his hand and made a swiping motion in front of him the instant the flying leaf blade was shot out. His fingertips sliced ​​through the air, making a sound like steel being torn apart, and a surging wall of wind appeared out of thin air.

The strength of this wind wall far exceeded that of ordinary spells, as if it were generated by the compression of a gale.

Dozens of flying leaf blades clanged and clattered against the wind wall, completely blocked by it. The raging wind generated by the wind wall even rebounded back, like a twisted monster, spewing violent breath as it rushed straight down towards Bernal.

"Boom!"

The surging waves crashed against an oak shield that was two meters high and one and a half meters wide, producing a violent roar.

The shield's surface is covered with natural textures and inlaid with several glowing green leaf energy patterns.

The lead wizard, unwilling to give up, with a grim expression, ordered the other wizards to bombard the oak shield together. Fireballs, water balls, and wind blades all struck it.

Before long, amidst the swirling dust and the surging energy impact, the green leaf energy patterns on the shield gradually faded until the shield shattered completely.

The afterglow of the setting sun fell on Bernal's cheeks. His calm expression made him seem like a wounded and aging lion king, yet he still stood upright, and one could still glimpse the majestic and awe-inspiring demeanor of his former self.