By the banks of the frigid Han River.

"Hehehe~~ Hahaha~~~~~"

Celeus let out a chilling laugh, and with it, explosions continuously erupted amidst the snowdrifts on the river's surface, spewing out shocking grayish-white flames.

'Crack~ Whoosh~'

The ice upon the Han River melted with astounding speed, dissolving over a hundred meters in length and dozens in width, exposing the inky black, bone-chilling waters below.

The surging river blocked Xiaobole's path.

At the same time, the undead on the riverbanks slowly converged behind Xiaobole in a semicircle formation.

Celeus leisurely retreated to the opposite bank, his voice laced with disdain carried over the waters, reaching Xiaobole's ears.

"You warriors are all the same, thinking anger alone can change the facts."

"When in truth, anger's sole purpose is to stir your own passions. What truly alters the world is the disciplined application of reason and wisdom."

The ashen flames scorched the ice as snowflakes swirled through the skies. Celeus's voice seemed imbued with the magnificence of heaven and earth, exuding an oppressive aura that stole one's breath away.

Though furious, even Xiaobole had to halt his steps.

Celeus had claimed every advantage - time, terrain, and near-flawless preparation. The trap he laid was perfect. After Xiaobole's all-out assault, he had barely thirty percent of his strength left.

Charging ahead now would not kill his foe, only lead to his own demise.

The undead behind him crept ever closer. The slightest hesitation would see him surrounded again.

Watching Celeus retreat further and further, Xiaobole's fiery blood cooled, though his heart still simmered with resentment.

"Celeus, just you wait! I will kill you! I swear I will kill you!"

As he spoke, he bent down and grabbed a rock from the ground, hurling it with all his might at Celeus.

Untrained in throwing, his aim was mediocre. With undead guards protecting his foe, he held no hopes of injuring Celeus. This was merely an act of catharsis.

'Thud!'

As expected, one of the undead shuffled forward, shielding Celeus with its body as the rock struck it squarely.

Even so, the casual throw from a top warrior held immense strength. The undead staggered from the impact, nearly losing its footing altogether.

Celeus gave a low, rumbling chuckle.

"Do you know, Xiaobole? Right now you look just like a defeated rooster... Oh wait, you're not Xiaobole anymore are you? What should I call you then?"

"Worthless? Or just a loser?"

After laying such an elaborate trap and claiming total victory even under the protection of a top warrior, forcing said warrior to dance along the banks in impotent fury, even resorting to throwing rocks to vent his frustration - this degree of domination was beyond even Celeus's wildest dreams before.

Giddy delight suffused his being. He could not help but laugh, soft at first, then louder and louder, until it became an open, cackling guffaw.

"Hahaha~~ Starting today, I, Celeus Gagoriel, shall no longer wander namelessly as an obscure hedge wizard!"

"None shall mock or look down on me again!"

"From this moment forth, I will be the mighty Pyromancer, the Harbinger of Death and Fire, the Avatar of Destruction!"

'Bang!'

Celeus's body jerked violently as a piercing pain bloomed in his chest, stabbing into his mind like a blade.

The agony paralyzed him completely, freezing even his thoughts. It was as if he had been encased in ice.

"What's...happening?"

Celeus strained every fiber of his being to lower his head. To his shock, he saw that his chest had caved inwards, a walnut-sized glass marble embedded deeply within.

The violent collision with his ribs had crazed the surface of the marble with fissures. It teetered on the brink of shattering altogether.

"A glass marble?"

"How can there be a glass marble?!"

Racked by pain, Celeus's sluggish thoughts could not comprehend the relevance of such a random object to his current plight.

Suddenly, a slightly childish voice drifted to him upon the winds: "Master, thank you for your final lesson."

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"Rosen?! You're not dead?"

That agonized scream - how could he have misheard?

Celeus rolled his eyes towards the riverbank and saw Rosen standing barefoot in the snow. His clothes had been burnt away by the ashen flames, yet his body remained unscathed.

"Impossible...how could he withstand the Firebird's flames?"

Even diminished by his Absorption, the residual power of the Ashfire should have retained immense lethality.

No top warrior would treat it lightly. How could a mere apprentice like Rosen have defended against it?

"Master, had I not cried out, you would have finished me off for certain, no?"

As he spoke, air currents intensified around them. Another glass marble rocketed forth with blinding speed, striking Celeus directly in the eye with a loud 'Thud!'.

The tremendous impact ruptured Celeus's eyeball instantly. The marble then smashed savagely into the back of his eye socket, shattering into tiny shards that slashed wildly around the inside of his orbital cavity.

Celeus felt his head reverberate deafeningly as his vision went black. His body slipped from his control as he toppled backwards into the snow.

Blood poured ceaselessly from his chest and face, pooling beneath him in a steadily blooming crimson flower.

Not far away, Lillith was still beset by undead, desperately evading their clutches.

Abruptly, the undead froze in place, then toppled stiffly like felled trees.

Lillith looked about in surprise - first at Celeus's prone form, then Xiaobole's shocked expression.

Finally her gaze settled upon Rosen's barefoot visage.

"Rosen's alive?"

"And how did Celeus die?"

Two enormous questions bubbled forth in her mind.

On the other side, Xiaobole finally shook off his stupor.

Deeply afraid Celeus still clung to life, he swiftly circled the thawed river and reached Celeus, holding his sword to the mage's neck.

Incredibly, Celeus still clung to a sliver of consciousness.

Xiaobole spoke coldly, "Any last words, vile thief?"

"Hehehe..."

A low, wretched chuckle escaped the mage's throat as he murmured to himself.

"Rosen... My Rosen..."

"What a remarkable apprentice you are... Hehehe..."

'Squelch!'

With a single stroke, Xiaobole lopped off his head.

Still unsatisfied, he proceeded to hack the head into a meaty pulp.

Afterwards, Xiaobole gave the headless corpse several vicious kicks, punting both it and the undead into the river, which eagerly bore them away.

Calm returned, with only the wind's howl remaining.

Xiaobole stood dumbly upon the ice, still struggling to believe the events that had just unfolded. It was like living in a dream.

A voice drifted towards him on the wind: "Mister, could you find me some clothes? I'm nearly frozen stiff."

It was Rosen.

Xiaobole hurriedly crossed back to the riverbank. Seeing how pale and blue Rosen's skin had become, he took off his outer robe and draped it over him.

He couldn't resist asking, "So what exactly happened here?"

Shivering violently, Rosen forced a smile. "Didn't I say I can pelt people with a mage's magic? That's all I did."

"Pelting with magic...that was way too fierce!"

He practically smashed Celeus's brains out.

Rosen shook his head repeatedly. "No no, the damage was still too low. I wanted to punch straight through his body in one hit. But I could only grievously wound him."

Xiaobole was struck speechless as he stared wordlessly at Rosen. After half a minute, another question popped into his mind.

"Why didn't the Ashfire burn you to death?"

Rosen put on a confused look. "I dunno. After I caught fire, I just rolled around in the snow until the flames went out. But my clothes were still burnt away."

In truth, it had been an extremely near shave. Successfully blocking the Firebird's shot with his barrier was largely luck.

Firstly, there had only been a single shot.

Secondly, the thick snowdrifts all around had soaked his leather attire. The resulting meltwater greatly dampened the Ashfire's potency.

Naturally, Xiaobole didn't believe a word.

Lillith walked over. She found it even harder to comprehend. "That was Ashfire! Ordinary folk would be reduced to cinders just from a touch!"

Rosen feigned ignorance. "Is it really so dangerous?"

Of course he knew the truth. But admitting so served no purpose, so playing the fool it was.

Unexpectedly, Xiaobole provided the rationalization himself. Slapping his forehead, he said, "I think I understand why now."

"Why?" Lillith and Rosen asked in unison.

Xiaobole explained, "It must be because Rosen has been diligently cultivating the Sun's Gaze meditation with remarkable results. As the purest, most primordial fire, the Sun's flames directly counter the Ashfire's power."

"Oh, so that's why!" Rosen played along with sudden realization.

But Lillith remained incredulous.

"Just twenty days of meditation could withstand the Ashfire's might? His aptitude must be simply godly!"

By this point, Xiaobole had already decided on Rosen as his wife's successor. Naturally, he was disinclined to scrutinize the boy's talents too closely.

Grinning, he said, "Why fret over details? However it happened, it's fortunate in the end."

"Oh right, I'm taking Rosen back to Silvermoon Castle. Consider the debt your Nightingales owe me cleared as compensation."

Lillith's mind blanked momentarily. "Sir Xiaobole, we can repay your debt slowly over time. How can you just take away Rosen like this?"

Even a thousand gold crowns, Rosen could easily earn back in a few years through his artistry.

Yet now this rogue warrior sought to take away the goose laying the golden eggs, acting as if he was the one doing them a favor!

Xiaobole's expression chilled. "No slowly repaying. Either you hand over a thousand right now, or pipe down with the blabbering."

"Er..."

Xiaobole's face grew even colder. "Listen girl, I don't usually kill beauties, but there are exceptions. Don't make me break precedent for you!"

Lillith was rendered speechless, only able to nod reluctantly.

"Fine then. But we just survived a harrowing battle. Shouldn't we recuperate at the inn first?"

Xiaobole guffawed loudly. "No need for that. Time is scarce, so I'll be taking Rosen directly."

Seeing Lillith about to protest further, he grinned broadly, chuckling slyly.

"Girl, don't get any funny ideas. I know all about you Nightingales' usual tricks. Act nice to keep me around, then backstab me when I least expect it - that's your plan isn't it?"

Lillith hurriedly denied, "No no, you're an esteemed guest. How could we ever backstab you?"

"Or you want time to scrounge up the coins to shut me up with a thousand gold bribe."

"Humph! Let me make this clear. Even if you hand over a thousand, I'm still taking Rosen! So stop wasting your time. Farewell!"

He walked over to Rosen's side and hoisted the boy onto his back. "C'mon kid, we're going to Silvermoon Castle. My wife will be overjoyed to meet you."

Naturally, Rosen made no objections.

He turned back and waved at Lillith. "Goodbye Miss Lillith. Thank you for everything these past days."

Looking at Rosen's expression, devoid of its previous simple-mindedness, Lillith felt like she was gazing at a different person altogether.

Puzzled, she started recollecting the events of the past half month.

A frightening realization suddenly flashed through her mind.

'Could it be...Celeus and I were both manipulated by this brat?!'

'No no, he's so young. How could he be so cunning?!'

But the more she recalled, the deeper her shock grew. She decided to directly ask Rosen for confirmation.

"Hey boy, you knew about the deal between Celeus and I from the start, didn't you?"

"No, that's not right. You orchestrated the whole thing yourself, didn't you?!"

Rosen did not reply, merely giving a slight smile.

Hearing this, Xiaobole guffawed loudly.

"Girl, at least you're not a complete blockhead. This little devil is beyond your control. If I left him, you'd be lucky to survive the year."