Chapter 2116: The Ten-Thousandth Birthday Banquet

Wave after wave of forces from the Immortal Realm Civilization arrived on the Magus Civilization’s battlefield.

But none of that had much to do with Sein.

He had spent most of the past few years working on his experiments in Magus World.

With steady breakthroughs in both Ashen Flame magic and mechanical art, Sein devoted most of what little free time he had left to teaching his apprentice.

There was simply too much for him to work on. He had plenty of top-tier experimental materials at his disposal, along with numerous advanced research topics waiting to be tackled.

As a result, Sein’s schedule was completely packed.

After every experiment, he could clearly feel himself making progress.

That sense of steady improvement was intoxicating.

More importantly, it meant Sein was drawing ever closer to Rank Six.

He truly did not need the overlord’s Omnipotent Soul to reach the next advancement.

***

Another two hundred years passed.

One day, just as Sein stepped out of his mechanical laboratory, he was suddenly greeted by a burst of cheers and well-wishes from his family and friends.

Sein had turned ten thousand years old!

Strictly speaking, however, the celebration was a little late. He had actually turned ten thousand eleven years ago.

The problem was that Sein had kept himself holed up in the laboratory the entire time.

Whenever everyone wanted to celebrate his birthday, the guest of honor himself was nowhere to be found.

It was not until a year ago, when HALL-E informed them that Sein would likely complete his current experiment within another year, that Leena, Marie, Reina, and the others hurriedly began making preparations.

In truth, Sein and his women were quite close in age.

So rather than being a celebration for Sein alone, this ten-thousandth birthday banquet was something they could all celebrate together.

The colorful streamers that suddenly burst across his face caught Sein completely off guard.

Reaching ten thousand years of age was indeed something of a milestone for law-wielding Magus World knights and mages.

Generally speaking, anyone who had lived for more than ten thousand years could already be considered an old-timer.

Some younger Rank One and Rank Two mages even referred to Rank Four and above powerhouses who had risen to fame more than ten thousand years ago as ancients.

Sein stroked his chin. He did not feel old in the slightest.

No friends had been invited to this ten-thousandth birthday banquet. Only those he considered his family were present.

Tourmaline had also returned to Magus World fifty-six years ago, somewhat later than Sein had expected.

According to Tourmaline, it was her uncles, older brothers, and older sister who had refused to let her return to Magus World so soon.

Tourmaline had always been incredibly adorable and innocent, and all of her dragon relatives from the Immortal Realm doted on her endlessly while they were on the Magus Civilization’s battlefield.

There were actually two members of the Dragon Clan in the Immortal Realm Civilization who were even younger than Tourmaline, both of whom were her younger cousins.

However, they were still too young to be brought to the Magus Civilization’s battlefield, making Tourmaline the youngest of her clan present there.

And since these close relatives from the Immortal Realm had traveled such a long way to see her, there was naturally no way they would come empty-handed.

Tourmaline was not the only one showered with gifts either. White Stella and the others had also received quite a few souvenirs from the Immortal Realm.

But of course, Tourmaline still received the most.

For Sein’s birthday, however, Tourmaline did not choose the most precious treasure from her mountain of gifts to give him.

Instead, she gave him something much more special.

Tourmaline cupped Sein’s face in her hands and planted a loud kiss on his cheek.

That gift touched Sein far more than any treasure could have.

Of course, Sein had no inappropriate thoughts toward Tourmaline. Besides, she did not even look like a grown woman.

He simply scooped her up and planted several kisses on her cheek, just like an older brother would.

Initially, not many people had been invited to the birthday celebration. Yet somehow, quite a crowd had gathered at the top-floor residence of the Divine Tower of Ashes.

Jessica from the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame, who had somehow caught wind of the occasion, had even arrived early.

Sein had a few experiences with her in the past. He could only say that Jessica’s emotional fire had burned a little too intensely, causing what had begun as perfectly normal experiments to end up that way.

That unique emotional energy within her law power had also become one of Sein’s many research topics.

He had once considered incorporating this emotional fire into his own Ashen Flame, but there were simply too many variables involved.

Since this type of flame differed fundamentally from elemental fire, Sein had never actually attempted the fusion.

Even so, his research into Jessica’s Lustfire had already reached an extremely thorough level.

In fact, Sein might understand this flame even better than Jessica herself.

After advancing to Rank Four, Jessica had shifted most of her attention toward experimental projects related to dendrology.

Aside from Jessica, there was one other guest at the birthday celebration who was not from the Divine Tower of Ashes.

That guest was Mel. The Rank Four Dragon Warlock had just arrived from the West Coast.

Mel’s presence at the celebration was purely coincidental.

She had come to visit her good friend, Tourmaline, and fulfill the remaining terms of her assistantship under Sein while she was here.

Mel was considerably younger than Sein.

Yet at the birthday celebration, she showed no intention of excusing herself out of politeness. Instead, she remained right where she was, watching everything around her with wide-eyed interest.

Sein was somewhat disappointed that Lorianne had been unable to return.

Since there were only ladies attending this private gathering, Leena and the others had not informed House Grantt.

Though it was called a birthday banquet, it was just a small celebration.

Once it was over, Sein would return to his experiments.

The preparations for crafting the Ashen Scepter were also nearing completion, meaning he could soon begin the actual process of making this world-class secret treasure.

Meanwhile, the six renovated fortresses commissioned from Steel City and the Capiche Business Alliance had been delivered one after another over the years.

Sein had even gone to inspect them at the starport beyond the plane, and they had indeed met his expectations.

Over in Sky City, construction of the most important central fortress was also nearing completion.

The entire process had gone much more smoothly than Sein had anticipated. Judging from the current progress, Master Wharton and his team might even be able to deliver the fortress ahead of schedule.

The cost, however, had risen considerably. Fifty years ago, Sein had increased the project budget by another thirty million magicoins.

If not for his considerable wealth, an ordinary Rank Six mage would hardly have the financial means to undertake a project of this scale.

At this birthday celebration, the two people weighing most heavily on Sein’s mind were Selina and Eileen.

After repeatedly failing to break through to higher realms, their soul flames had grown incredibly weak.

Although Sein had procured many top-tier life potions, the two women were still inching toward the end of their lifespans.

Natalya, on the other hand, was in a somewhat better situation.

Her soul remained dormant, while her body had been frozen through Sein’s law power. For the time being, at least, she did not face the threat of her remaining life force being completely exhausted.

As for Sev, Tourmaline’s return had unexpectedly brought the owl a new serendipitous opportunity.

Sein had no idea what Tourmaline had fed it, but over the past few decades, Sev’s once-dull feathers had gradually regained their luster. Its energy levels had also improved with each passing day.

After conducting several physical examinations on Sev, Sein discovered that the owl’s cellular regeneration and passive evolution were both accelerating at rates far beyond the normal threshold.

If this continued, the owl was well on its way to advancing to Rank Four!

Naturally, Sein asked Tourmaline what she had fed him.

“I think it was called Ginseng Fruit, along with the Peach of Immortality and the Yellow Core Plum... or something like that,” Tourmaline replied.

“Mmm! My uncles, big brothers, and big sister gave me so many delicious things this time,” she added, covering her mouth as though she were still savoring the taste in her memory.

The corner of Sein’s mouth twitched slightly. He had a feeling that the things Tourmaline had casually mentioned were probably not much inferior to the Golden Apples of Titan World.

Of course, Sein had also shared some of these top-tier ingredients from the Immortal Realm with Selina and Eileen.

Unfortunately, their evolutionary paths were different from Sev’s.

The owl relied primarily on passive evolution, whereas Selina and Eileen followed the traditional path of mages, where advancement depended mainly on the accumulation of knowledge.

As a result, these ingredients had only restored some of their life essence. Neither showed any sign of advancing to Rank Four.

Looking at the two women before him, whose bodies had regained their youthful appearances even as their souls continued to weaken, Sein quietly pulled them into his arms.

“Through my research into mechanical arts over the past few years, I’ve managed to find a possible solution,” he said.

“Although I still have no way to extend your lifespans any further, there may be a way to preserve your souls.”

Selina and Eileen stared at him in astonishment.

Sein then lowered his gaze to his right hand.

There, the world-class secret treasure known as the Magic Cube radiated a breathtaking glow.