Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 2297: Chapter 2298: Heaven-Given Authority

After Angel emerged from the passage, he immediately sensed the terrifying pressure assaulting him once more.

Fortunately, he had been prepared in advance, so he could barely withstand it.

He glanced back and saw that the passage to the world in the painting had begun to dissipate. As the passage disappeared, the painting placed inside the treasure chest, as if it had completed all its missions, also started transforming into glowing particles, finally vanishing into nothingness.

After confirming that both the painting and the passage had vanished, Angel began to focus on the surrounding situation.

The circular stone platform suspended in the void remained the same, with the luminescent algae above still resembling suspended stars.

Nothing had changed, but Angel kept feeling as if the surrounding pressure had intensified?

As Angel pondered, his shoulder unconsciously sank a bit... Was the influence of the pressure on the Material Realm starting to increase?

Why was this happening?

According to what Feng had said earlier, as long as the Initial Ceremony of Taiand was maintained, the pressure on the stone platform should remain in a relatively constant state, right?

Feeling the increasingly potent pressure, a suspicion rose in Angel’s heart: Could it be that there was a problem with the Initial Ceremony?

Angel hesitated and turned his head to look at the Path of Light he came from.

He then noticed that at the end of the Path of Light, the condition maintaining the ceremony—the void luminescent algae—had started to dim in places.

It was as if street lamps were being extinguished.

Moreover, it wasn’t just one or two street lamps; a large number of street lamps had been extinguished starting from the end of the Path of Light, and the extinction showed no signs of stopping, spreading rapidly toward him.

With each lamp extinguished, the pressure on Angel increased dramatically.

"Sure enough, there is a problem with the Initial Ceremony." Angel immediately realized in his heart; from the previous situation, the increase in pressure started when the oil painting disappeared.

It was very likely that the oil painting in the treasure chest was also a part of the Initial Ceremony.

Moreover, the disappearance of the oil painting caused problems in the entire Initial Ceremony, indicating that the oil painting was not merely a non-essential element; it was very likely an important sacrifice in this ceremony.

As the Initial Ceremony began to collapse, the originally stable pressure within a certain range naturally started to increase. In the end, even with Angel’s physical body, he could not survive under the pressure.

Originally, Angel had many choices, but under such circumstances, he was left with only two choices.

Either leave quickly.

Or, touch a wisp of will of the Tidal World, and once granted heavenly authority, naturally no longer be threatened by the pressure.

Angel chose the second option without hesitation; since a better path was already in front of him, he had no need to choose the worse one.

After making his decision, Angel’s gaze shifted to the giant light sphere hidden behind numerous void luminescent algae above the stone platform.

This light sphere was the projection of a wisp of will of the Tidal World summoned by the Initial Ceremony.

Originally, this light sphere was still in a stable state, but due to the rapid collapse of the Initial Ceremony, it became somewhat distorted, looking as if it could disperse at any moment.

Angel understood he couldn’t delay any longer. Without time to think, he extended his spirit tentacles as Feng had previously instructed, directly charging toward the light sphere high above.

Compared to the physical body, spirit tentacles felt the pressure more intensely. The further up they went, the more terrifying the pressure became.

Finally, Angel even saw signs of the spirit tentacles dissipating.

Angel quickly activated the green pattern on his right eye, transmitting the leaping green pattern representing "Domain Field" through the spirit tentacles, directly assisting in the ascent.

Protected by the Domain Field, the pressure began to diminish, allowing the spirit tentacles to ascend once more.

As the spirit tentacles were about to reach the light sphere, the effect of the Domain Field began to weaken, but they were already very close to the endpoint.

Angel thought for a moment and then reinforced the spirit tentacles with a surge of energy. With the input of this energy, the spirit tentacles were directly shot out of the Domain Field, exposed to the terrifying pressure.

The pressure transmitted through the spirit tentacles into Angel’s Spirit Sea, and Angel immediately felt dizzy.

Even so, Angel did not break the connection to the spirit tentacles; instead, using the momentum of the ejection, he charged toward the light sphere in one go.

Just as the spirit tentacles were about to reach their limit, they finally entered the light sphere.

Simultaneously, Angel felt a tumult in his Spirit Sea—a dramatic change in the Spirit Sea caused Angel to feel dizzy, ultimately collapsing to the ground.

In the boundless darkness, Angel had a dream.

He seemed to turn into a drop of rain, falling into the ocean, and under the surge of the mighty water force, transformed into a giant sea whale. The moment the sea whale leaped from the sea surface, its body rapidly shrank, becoming a flying fish formed of azure wind, leaping directly onto the white clouds, flying all the way toward the continent...

Water System life, Wind System life, Thunder life... In this dream journey of "Evolution," he became Elemental Life of different attributes, from various perspectives, appreciating the magnificent sceneries of the Tidal World. Finally, he arrived in an unknown land, where apart from extensive clouds and mist, there was only a long and winding Rainbow River.

The radiantly colorful river water was filled with different elements.

They seemed to follow a certain pattern, sometimes slow, sometimes gentle, sometimes still.

If it were in the outside world, Angel wouldn’t give much thought to the flow of the river. But here, the more Angel looked, the more magical it seemed as if it wasn’t the river water flowing but a magical force imparting special rhythm to the river.

This rhythm represented a mysterious, profound inner content.

Angel observed the rhythm; he didn’t know how much time had passed. Suddenly, at a certain moment, a ripple occurred.

Somewhere midstream in the Rainbow River, a huge vortex appeared, drawing in a large amount of river water. Looking down from above, Angel discovered that through the vortex, he could see the largest landmass in the Tidal World.

At this moment, the land, inhabited by countless elemental bodies, was undergoing a baptism of elements due to the backflow of the Rainbow River.

This was... the Elemental Tide?

Angel stared blankly at the vortex; the more he looked, the more familiar it seemed. The subjectively unconscious Angel in the dream couldn’t help but move closer to take a look.

As he approached, the vortex, impartial, sucked Angel in as well, leaving his vision in darkness once again.

"Angel?"

A familiar voice sounded in his ear.

Angel slowly opened his eyes, and then he saw a verdant shadow appear before him.

Angel was dazed for quite a while, regaining some semblance of thought: "Lord Nami Midori?"

Nami Midori: "It seems you’ve woken up? Can you tell me what happened here?"

Listening to Nami Midori’s questions, Angel pondered for a moment, suddenly realizing something. He sat up abruptly, his head looking around.

He found himself still on the stone platform, but the Path of Light in the distance had disappeared, and above him was a pitch black void, with neither the glow algae nor the projection of the Tidal World Will remaining.

"What’s going on?" Angel muttered in a daze.

Nami Midori, with a puzzled expression, said, "I was going to ask you the same thing. The Spatial Tempest outside suddenly vanished, and after waiting for a long time without it reappearing, I flew over."

When Nami Midori arrived, she saw Angel lying on the stone platform like a corpse.

She thought something had happened to Angel and hurried over to check the situation, only to find out later that Angel seemed to be just asleep.

"When you came, there was nothing around already?" Angel asked, confused.

Nami Midori nodded her snake head and her vertical pupils looked at the treasure chest behind Angel: "If you mean the contents of the chest, it was already gone when I arrived. Were you attacked and then robbed of the treasures in the chest?"

Angel realized Nami Midori misunderstood him: "I wasn’t referring to the treasure. I meant the oppressive force around, and those orbs of light above."

"Oppressive force? Orbs of light?" Nami Midori glanced upwards, seeing only an endless pitch-black void above, with no orbs of light at all. "When I came, there was no oppressive force and not a glimmer of light."

Hearing this, Angel generally understood that when Nami Midori arrived, everything had already ended.

Recalling the previous situation, he passed out after his spirit tentacle entered the orb of light, then had a bizarre dream, and that led to the current moment.

It seems that the initial ceremony should have completely collapsed, even the projection of the Tidal World Will had vanished.

Because of the disappearance of the Tidal World Will, the oppressive force naturally vanished too, and the Spatial Tempest outside, which lasted more than four hundred years, also stopped.

However, what puzzled Angel was... what was the result of the heavenly authority?

Did he receive the heavenly authority?

He should have, right? Otherwise, according to the calculations, before the Tidal World Will left, his body should have been crushed by the oppressive force until it collapsed.

But why didn’t he feel anything? He perceived his internal body, everything was intact, neither injured nor strengthened.

The Mind Space showed no change, and as for the Spirit Sea, it was just the same as before.

Angel thought about it, according to Feng, the heavenly authority is not a power that affects the Material Realm, but rather an operation akin to "making the World Will recognize you."

So isn’t the current situation normal?

But just because everything is without a trace, Angel was not entirely sure if he had indeed received the heavenly authority. After all, he passed out at the last moment.

How could he prove the possession of the heavenly authority?

Angel sought an answer from Earl Mi, but Earl Mi also knew nothing, only aware that Angel had been asleep for about four or five hours, and then Nami Midori arrived, knowing nothing else.

For now, there’s no way to verify if he obtained the heavenly authority.

Angel sighed silently in his heart, deciding to deal with this matter later. Currently, the situation was still fair; the Elemental Creatures of the Tidal World had only contacted humans through him. Even without the heavenly authority, he believed with the foundation of the Barbarian Cave, they could still secure an absolute position in the future situation.

With this thought, Angel also opened his mind, overall gaining much this time, and the heavenly authority was just an added bonus.

If he got it, great; if not, it’s still fine.

"What are you thinking about?" Nami Midori’s voice came again.

"Nothing, just pondering what might have happened after I fell asleep." Angel stood up and glanced at the now-empty treasure chest beside him: "The things in the chest weren’t stolen by anyone; I already got what you might call the treasure."

Nami Midori breathed a slight sigh of relief after hearing this. Though Feng didn’t expressly say for Nami Midori to guard the treasure, she had been watching over it here for more than six hundred years, having positioned herself as a Guardian. If the treasure were lost in the end, she would feel very guilty.

"Since you got the treasure, why did you pass out here?" Nami Midori didn’t ask about the treasure’s details. Since Feng didn’t tell her back then, she didn’t need to ask now.

Angel smiled wryly: "Encountered a little unexpected circumstance, but now that the Spatial Tempest has disappeared, it indicates everything has returned to its proper course."

Angel wasn’t sure whether to mention the heavenly authority, as Nami Midori was after all an Indigenous Person of the Tidal World, and regardless of whether he obtained the heavenly authority, making Nami Midori aware that an outsider coveted it might put her on edge.

Therefore, Angel decided to keep it under wraps for now.

Seeing Nami Midori’s face still filled with confusion, Angel pondered, then retrieved a seed emitting a faint green glow from his bracelet space.

When Nami Midori saw this seed, her expression immediately changed: "Is this..."

Angel was a bit surprised, realizing from Nami Midori’s reaction that she seemed familiar with the seed? But thinking about it, it made sense, given Nami Midori and Feng had lived together for so many years.

"This is given to me by Mr. Feng, with a message for You, Nami Midori." Angel said: "I have never opened it, so I don’t know what Mr. Feng said."

Angel handed the seed to Nami Midori, who was still in a daze.

Nami Midori took a while before looking up: "You... did you see Mr. Feng this time?"

Regarding this, Angel didn’t hide anything.

"Kind of." Angel pointed to the empty treasure chest: "This chest originally contained a painting, and I encountered Mr. Feng inside the painting. However, it was just a consciousness of Mr. Feng within the painting, which disappeared along with the Spatial Tempest."

"I see, just a consciousness within the painting?" Nami Midori’s expression was slightly disappointed; she had hoped Mr. Feng had returned here.

"Aren’t you going to see what’s in the seed?" Angel asked as he saw Nami Midori holding the seed but not opening it.

Nami Midori softly said: "I’ll look once we leave the void."

Angel nodded; after all, it was meant for Nami Midori, and she could decide when to view it.

"Shall we leave here first?" Although there was no oppressive force anymore, thinking about the Spatial Tempest that once appeared around still made Angel uneasy, so it was better to return to the Tidal World first.

Nami Midori did not refuse; she had explored the surroundings before Angel woke up and found nothing but emptiness, making staying here quite meaningless.

Before leaving, Angel suddenly thought of something.

"By the way, where are those Void Travelers?"

Nami Midori glanced towards a direction: "Over there."

Angel looked towards the sound, seeing through the energy spectrum a large group of transparent mucus creatures gathered together, peeking in their direction, albeit timidly, not one dared to get close.

Actually, that’s not quite right; there was one somewhat nearer, just outside the stone platform.

Angel took a glance and recognized the aura of this particular Void Traveler; it was the one Wang Wang intended to leave for him as a "communication tool."

Apparently, Wang Wang had trained it beforehand, and its courage was evidently greater than that of the other Void Travelers.

Angel didn’t interact with this Void Traveler directly but instead released Wang Wang from his bracelet space first.