Sovereign of the Ashes

It was not until the seventh year after Elisa's breakthrough that Azelia finally broke through to Rank One.

The fox maiden clearly pursued the path of a Beastmen World's shaman priestess, evolving from a humble Wind Whisperer to a Rank One Soul Priest.

Beyond her personal growth, the fox maiden had also mastered numerous War Song Haloes, all self-taught—a probable reason for her delayed breakthrough compared to the mermaid.

Shaman priests in beastmen tribes emphasized tradition. Hence, many ancient war songs and haloes were passed down orally.

Previously, without a senior priest to guide her, the fox maiden relied solely on the bronze codex, a gift from Sein procured through the Magus Alliance.

Upon her promotion to Rank One, the strength of her Thunder Beast also improved.

Before attaining this rank, the Thunder Beast transferred portions of its life and thunder energy to the fox maiden due to their soul contract.

However, after reaching Rank One, the fox maiden began using her enhanced soul power to support her Thunder Beast, now a contracted familiar.

This type of evolution was unique to the Beastmen World.

One should never underestimate any world in the Astral Realm.

The Beastmen Plane, despite its challenges, had managed to evolve into a major world, with a civilization evidently more advanced than many others.

The fact that the soul priority of their contracted familiars was more significant than the soul magic mastered by Sein proved that the Beastmen World was indeed a world with substantial heritage.

The flourishing trade of enslaved creatures, however, remained a controversial yet "defining aspect" of the Beastmen World.

***

The fox maiden's promotion to Rank One occurred more than a decade after Sein's return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

From the moment of his return, Sein seldom allowed himself any respite.

He only occasionally relaxed to improve his focus for subsequent studies and research.

By the seventeenth year since his return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein's mana, focus, and constitution had significantly increased.

Focus: 3,531 points.

Mana: 3,678 points.

Constitution: 4,725 points.

These significant improvements reflected the outcomes of Sein's diligent research and efforts over the years.

Besides, the data and insights Sein gathered from his experimental research actually extended beyond these three statistical values, involving his affinity of pyro elemental particles, cellular saturation of elemental energy, as well as the physical and elemental stress limits that his body could endure.

His focus, mana, and constitution levels represented only a fraction of the dozens, if not hundreds, of experiments Sein had conducted.

Growth did not occur passively in mages; Sein's intellect and perseverance played a big role in his rapid advancement.

Sein and Natalya's wedding also took place this year in Franca Empire, her homeland.

Franca Empire was chosen as the venue because it was home to the Order of the Steel Fist, and its prosperity and development far surpassed those of the Lysian Alliance.

Moreover, the knights cared about marriages more than mages, who prized knowledge above all else.

After considering all factors, Sein agreed to marry Natalya in Franca Empire.

In line with the traditions of the Magus World, Natalya officially adopted her husband's surname after their wedding, becoming Natalya Grantt.

After the wedding, Natalya would live with Sein most of the time, making the Lysian Alliance and the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring her new home.

This meant she would rarely return to House Ernst and seldom see her parents. Hence, both Natalya and Sein's in-laws were visibly emotional during the ceremony.

In contrast, Sein remained calm the entire time—not sure whether due to his mage's temperament or because he was not the one marrying off a daughter.

Since Sein and Natalya's grand wedding took place seventeen years after the Verdant Leaf World War ended, many knights from the Order of the Steel Fist and friends from the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring were able to attend.

The union between the Rank Two knight and Rank Two mage was celebrated lavishly since it was a significant event that involved the Order of the Steel Fist and the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

From the Order of the Steel Fist, four demigod-level knights and Grand Master Steel Fist came to offer their congratulations.

Sein's mentor, Lorianne, arrived slightly late, mainly because Sein never informed her about his wedding.

She sent her clone to attend the ceremony, and upon her arrival, she slightly reprimanded Sein through mental focus before offering her blessings and presenting her gifts.

For Natalya, she had prepared a precious Viridescent Potion—the most potent passive evolutionary potion she could concoct for knights, infused with numerous rare plant essences from her world laboratory.

For Sein, she presented a Viridescent Seed.

Many knights from the Order of Steel Fist recognized the value of the Viridescent Potions Natalya received, yet few could discern the significance of the milky-white seed.

However, those knights who had participated in the Verdant Leaf World War immediately recognized it and quietly informed the others that it was a magic item capable of growing into a demigod-level creature.

This revelation immediately caused many knights to look at Sein enviously.

Sein ignored the envious stares and was amused by the familiar milky-white Viridescent Seed.

It made him wonder if his mentor was actually preparing him for the upcoming challenges in the Verdant Wilderness World War that would happen in several decades.

It seemed like his mentor had demonstrated her foresight in choosing such a gift.

However, watching Lorianne smiling naturally in her verdant dress, Sein wondered whether he might have misunderstood her intention.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me about something this important and I had to find out for myself," Lorianne complained to Sein via mental focus as she blessed the newlyweds.

To an onlooker, Lorianne was probably telling her apprentice to take care of Natalya or something along the same lines.

With all the guests around, Sein could not not respond to Lorianne. Besides, he simply felt that it was unnecessary to bother Lorianne about something like this.

"I'll be back next year," Lorianne said to him by transmitting her voice.

It appeared that she had concluded her business in the Verdant Leaf World.

Sein could not help but wonder about the initial gains she had made from her conquest of that microplane.

According to their plans, Sein was set to accompany Lorianne to the Capiche Business Alliance to purchase a space fortress in about a decade.