Edited by Aelryinth

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“Strange, why do I find this place a little familiar?” Mo Fan looked down from the sky and felt that he had seen this terrain before.

“We’ll reach the Tyrant Titans’ territory soon. We won’t be able to fly any further,” Kris told them.

“The Tyrant Titans’ territory?” Mo Fan fell into deep thought.

They flew for a few more kilometers. More folded mountains with different shapes showed up, forming the canyons, cliffs, creeks, and basins… the terrain was rather complicated!

The Steel Griffin descended to the ground. It was obvious that they might provoke the creatures ahead if they flew across their territory. Who knew if a Tyrant Titan would suddenly show up from behind a mountain and attack the Steel Griffin? It might even grab the Steel Griffin and the others on it down from the sky, like it was going for a rebounding basketball!

“Why are they so far away from the safe zone?” Mu Ningxue was confused.

“Perhaps they are here for some kind of Ritual. Isn’t that what Asha’ruiya told us?” Mo Fan said.

“They must have been preparing the Ritual for a long time,” Mu Ningxue said.

Bartholomew’s men had been collecting children’s hearts since the World College Tournament. They still had no idea how many Tyrant Titan’s hearts they had collected!

They traveled across the mountains, their altitude rising. The sky was no longer clear, like it was previously along the coastline. Thick clouds were constantly looming over them, and there was not much sunlight around. Due to the open view, they would occasionally catch a glimpse of an entire lightning strike piercing through the sky.

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Mo Fan’s feeling that the place looked familiar to him grew stronger the further he went. He finally recalled where it was when he saw some enormous mountains soaring into the clouds.

A strong wind started blowing, and they were having trouble keeping their eyes open. Mo Fan was about to tell Mu Ningxue where they were when he noticed an uninvited guest nearby. The person had remarkable cultivation. They did not see where he had appeared from!

“Come with me if you’re interested in the Ritual. Don’t do anything drastic, it’s not like you can cause any trouble in front of me. If you don’t want to watch the Ritual, you may leave now… oh, your friends are waiting for you,” a middle-aged man floating ten meters above the ground informed them.

The man was wearing a hat pulled down low, but Mo Fan immediately recognized him. He was the guy that had saved Bartholomew in the woods!

The guy was strong just as he thought!

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue’s hearts sank. It seemed like they had noticed Brianca and the others tailing them.

They could not just abandon the others. They did not have a choice.

“Let’s check out the situation first,” Mu Ningxue whispered.

“Mm, is your Ice Crystal Bow strong enough to take him out?” Mo Fan asked.

“Yes,” Mu Ningxue said.

The man did not seal off their minds. He simply escrted them along.

They approached the huge mountains. The man summoned a wind and lifted them into the sky, as if he felt like they were moving too slowly…

They rode the wind further up the mountain. The folded mountains were soon below their feet, shrinking gradually until they became a tiny wrinkles on the ground.

“Isn’t it dangerous to be flying in this area?” Kris asked.

“Don’t worry, the most dangerous existence here is powerless to even defend itself now,” the man smiled. “You guys are pretty stubborn to chase us all the way here. There are things that you can’t settle by being hot-headed. I already asked the Priest to stop you, but you didn’t accept my act of kindness,” the man said.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue did not speak. Brianca was a Super Mage, yet she had fallen into their hands. It clearly showed how formidable these people were!

——

They soon reached the highest mountain. Its peak was rugged with jagged rocks, resembling the spine of a dragon. On the other side of the mountain was a slope leading to a cliff above the clouds, like a lofty path leading to Heaven.

Mo Fan glanced at the slope and the cliff. Wasn’t that the cliff where he saw the ancient dragon? He clearly remembered the fear and the sense of being so small the enormous creature had left him with!

Mo Fan had sworn he would never come back here again, yet now he was standing on top of the mountain. He was less than two kilometers from the cliff!

“Come, time to meet your friends,” the man said.

They drew closer to the cliff. For some reason, Mo Fan’s legs were already trembling. Perhaps he had yet to get over the fear that the Black Dragon Emperor had left him with.

There were many people gathered at the cliff. Mo Fan only realized that they were wearing the robes of the Magic Associations as he went closer. He could also tell from the runes embroidered on them that these people were relatively high-ranked in the Magic Associations!

“The Magic Associations!” Mu Ningxue was stunned.

“Who did you assume we were?” the man smiled.

Mo Fan and Mu Ningxue were thunderstruck when they noticed the people did not even bother to hide their identities. They even saw some people they normally only saw on the news!

Mo Fan had always thought the Guild of the Wicked was responsible for the Ritual, and these people must be its members, too. He was not too worried before, since Mu Ningxue’s Ice Crystal Bow could deliver a deadly blow to them.

However, they were all mistaken!

The Ritual was not being conducted by the Guild of the Wicked, nor was it a collusion between some authority figure and the Guild of the Wicked. It was a gathering of the Magic Associations!

They saw Brianca, Zhao Manyan, Heidi, and Mu Bai were there ahead of them, perfectly safe. They were not even restrained. The foursome quickly came up to them.

“We looked just like you when we arrived,” Brianca admitted, scanning their faces.

“What…what exactly is going on here!?” Mo Fan surveyed his surroundings in disbelief.