Chapter 171: 171. Ascension.
Currently, the moon was at its peak and everyone in the elf kingdom had fallen asleep.
Not a single soul could be seen walking on the streets of the capital city, and the same went for the royal castle as well.
Aside from a few guards carrying out their duties, there were no maids or butlers walking around the castle.
Meanwhile, in a secret location within the elven kingdom, there was a glade in a forest that happened to be specifically reserved for the elven royal family.
This particular spot had a high amount of mana and spiritual energy flowing in the air, and this was what made it one of the best meditation spots in the kingdom.
Tall, towering trees surrounded the glade and the sweet scent of flowers filled the air. The forest was dark, but the glade was far brighter than any other spot in the forest, and this happened to be where Elena was meditating.
She could be seen, sitting cross-legged and floating above a glowing magic circle. Several other magic circles shimmered around her as well, but the purpose of these circles was to amplify the spiritual energy flowing into the glade.
Elena's body was currently glowing and a bright golden energy could be seen swirling around her.
It continued to surround her before blending seamlessly with her body as it tried to reach an equilibrium.
The moment the golden energy reached a critical point, a massive explosion occurred and a colossal burst of golden light shot towards the sky, illuminating the surrounding trees, but this also served as a signal to every other Apex Mage and Knight in the mortal realm.
The explosive sound could have easily alerted anyone nearby, but no one aside from Elena had heard the sound because some of the magic circles floating in the air prevented others from hearing the explosion and any other sound that occurred in the glade.
It wasn't weird for explosions like this to occur when a mage or knight tried to ascend to a higher rank.
The golden energy that exploded towards the sky was astral energy, and it could have easily alerted anyone nearby, but Elena immediately absorbed it so that no one would see it, and it would simply look like the golden light was never there, to begin with.
Astral energies were a lot more powerful and dangerous than spiritual energy, mana, and Aura, altogether.
Mortals and transcendent beings could never absorb or manipulate this particular type of energy, and they could easily explode if they were to come in contact with it.
This was why Elena absorbed it all right after it exploded and she made sure that there was no astral energy in the air left. Then, she slowly began to levitate downwards as she descended to the ground.
It had been more than two months since Elena began meditating, so she was completely exhausted after being unable to eat anything for so long.
Elena could have easily given herself a few breaks to eat, drink, rest, and sleep while meditating, but she didn't do any of that because she wanted to make sure she would ascend before the tournament began.
As a rank twenty-six knight, Elena could easily do without food and rest for months, but she still felt exhausted from not giving her body the nourishment and rest it needed.
Elena swiftly dispelled the magic circles and then tried to return back to the castle, but the moment she tried to move, she stumbled a bit and was about to fall when Evelyn suddenly appeared and wrapped her arms around her waist. "Well done, Elena, and congratulations on becoming an Apex Knight."
"Thanks, but was I able to ascend in time?" Elena asked with a worried look on her face.
Elena was asking because she wanted to know if the tournament had begun during her meditation.
She really wanted to watch Orion participate in the tournament and the thought of missing the tournament had been tormenting her mind for the past few weeks.
However, Elena was able to chase those negative thoughts away by completely focusing on her meditation. Even though she had suppressed her worries ever since then, the beautiful princess couldn't suppress it anymore which is why she asked her sister, and Evelyn chuckled a bit before replying with a nod and a smile on her face. "Yes, you were able to ascend in time."
"The tournament begins tomorrow, so you have plenty of time to eat and rest," Evelyn added, and Elena smiled with relief before returning back to the castle to get some rest.
However, while Elena and Evelyn returned to the castle, every other Apex Mage and knight sensed the astral energy that exploded the moment Elena successfully ascended.
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In a kingdom, not too far from the elf kingdom, the dragon King lounged in his spacious bedroom.
He had mountains of gold and treasures in his room, and his bedroom shimmered with several dazzling jewels and precious artifacts.
Currently, he was seated at the top of a treasure mountain while cradling a special gemstone in his hands.
The gemstone was unlike any other gemstone in the world, meaning that it was extremely rare, and this was why the dragon King kept cradling the treasure as though it was a fragile baby.
"Who does Daddy love the most?" He whispered to the gemstone, his voice filled with affection towards it. "That's you, yes I do. Yes, I do."
The Dragon King continued to gently rub the gem against his cheek with a smile on his face.
The gem also glowed a bit as though it was responding to the King's affection and gentle touches, but while the Dragon king was completely lost in his own little world, his expression suddenly changed and his eyes snapped open.
He lifted his head and turned towards the east, which happened to be where the elf kingdom was.
He sensed the presence of a high amount of astral energy from the elf kingdom and his lips slowly widened into a smile.
"Finally," He whispered to himself as he released the gem, allowing it to drop down to the mountain of treasure he was standing on. The dragon King continued to stare in the direction of the elf kingdom, before murmuring to himself. "A new Apex Mage from the elf kingdom, huh? How intriguing."
Although the energy he felt disappeared right after he had sensed it, it still wasn't enough to fool him and he was certain that someone had become an Apex Mage or Knight.
"I'm sure it has to be Evelyn's little sister."
"Who would have thought a new Apex Knight would be coming from the elf kingdom so soon,"
"Interesting, very interesting."
"Oh, that's true. I almost forgot that I've been selected as a judge for a tournament that's starting tomorrow."
"I guess it is time for these old bones to leave this kingdom for the first time in decades."
The Dragon King teleported to the bottom of his treasure mountain and flicked his wrist to summon a nearby servant.
The servant was a butler, and he had dragon horns and wings, just like the dragon King.
He immediately bowed before his king after noticing that his king summoned him. "Your Majesty, how many I serve you?"
"I'll be heading over to the Fallen Angels kingdom very soon, I need you to make sure everything I need is ready before I'm done with my bath."
"Understood, your Majesty, but your fourth wife requested your presence a few minutes ago."
"Oh, is that so? Then I guess I better head over to my wife before having my bath," The Dragon King walked out of the room, and the butler trailed behind him.
He couldn't wait to see Elena and to congratulate her as well, but he was also interested in seeing what this academy's tournament was all about.
However, before doing any of this, the dragon King decided to visit his wife.
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In the human kingdom, the sultry moaning of a beautiful woman echoed loudly within the King's chamber.
This was the room where King Edward and Isabella were currently having an intense, intimate moment.
Isabella continued to moan aloud while the sound of the bed creaking also echoed within the room.
But while Edward was focused on moving his hips, he suddenly sensed something coming from the elf kingdom's direction.
"Someone has ascended in the elf kingdom," King Edward whispered. Then he turned his head towards the elf kingdom.
Isabella's hand caressed Edward's face as she guided him back to her. "My love, how many times do I need to remind you not to think of anyone else while we're busy?" She leaned towards his ear and whispered while breathing heavily with a smile on her face. "I need you to only focus on me."
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King Edward turned towards Isabella and apologized. "Forgive me, my queen. It won't happen again."
"Good, now kiss me, and let's take it up from where we stopped."
Edward smiled and kissed her on the lips.
Isabella giggled before kissing him back passionately as well.
She had also felt what Edward sensed, but she was only focused on what they were doing at the moment and she wanted Edward to feel the same way as well.
The intimate sound of flesh hitting flesh echoed throughout the room, but it was instantly suppressed by Isabella's sultry moans once again.
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A/N:- I apologize once again for the wrong chapter I uploaded yesterday.