Inside another carriage.

"Headmaster, what exactly do you think the enemy's plan is?" The Second Elder asked, his expression turned serious.

The Headmaster of Golden Avarice Academy, who was sitting opposite to him inside the carriage shook his head, "I'm guessing they wouldn't try to attack in a straightforward manner. They would most likely use the divide and conquer technique. And they certainly wouldn't want the conflict to turn into a big deal, as they're trying to build up a good reputation for the new ruler."

"What do you think about the Third Elder?" The Second Elder glanced out of the carriage for a second asking his question, making sure that his voice wasn't being heard. 

"I do not trust him one bit, but I do not think he's the sort of person who'll dirty his hands willingly," the Headmaster responded with a bitter smile. "He's someone who'll most probably ignore the issue and let someone else deal with it instead of doing it himself. He's simply a poster child. Nothing more."

"I thought so as well. Knowing him, he'll most likely assign someone else to deal with his problems," the Second Elder said with a disgusting expression. "But regardless of what we feel, we should still keep an eye on his behaviour. Perhaps we may be able to-"

"Stop the carriage!" Before the Second Elder could finish his words, he was interrupted by the Headmaster who yelled out all of a sudden, and the carriage immediately came to a halt.

The Second Elder looked surprised for a second before his expression turned serious. It looked like he had realized what was going on as well.

They slowly got out of the carriage and looked around. The area surrounding the carriage was completely covered in a dense white fog.

"The coachman…" the Second Elder looked at the coachman on the carriage, who looked like a thousand year old corpse. "He's dead…"

It seemed like his life had been s.u.c.k.e.d away by something. What remained was just a shell of his body. 

"An Energy Replenishment technique?" The Headmaster and the Second Elder looked at each other, but couldn't find any answers. This was a technique that was completely unfamiliar to the two of them.

They were dealing with an unpredictable enemy. This was serious. The fog began creeping closer as the eerie silence created a disturbing atmosphere, making the two experts frown in disp.l.e.a.s.u.r.e.

"The Mystic Arts Technique.." the Headmaster murmured softly and the Second Elder nodded his head. "Are we dealing with a Middle Eastern Magician?"

"Highly unlikely," the Headmaster responded as he began scanning the white fog, attempting to find the person responsible for the creation of the fog. He murmured, "But not entirely impossible.."

"How on earth were we unable to detect this?" The Second Elder stared at his surroundings, scratching his head, wondering as to how they were completely oblivious to this trap.

"They were able to completely isolate us from the rest of the carriages.." the Headmaster replied. "The person who is responsible for this trap must be someone who's quite proficient in the mystic arts.. perhaps someone who might be as strong as the two of us…"

"I don't remember the Royal Army having anyone who was able to cultivate the mystic arts and can also rival us in terms of cultivation.." The countenance of the Second Elder was sharp. "Perhaps our enemy is someone from outside the country?"

"Most likely…" the Headmaster coldly spoke. "More importantly, the students… They might be in danger!"

"Oh my, worrying about your students even at a time like this… That's very noble of you, Headmaster of Golden Avarice Academy!" 

At that moment, a voice rang out suddenly, echoing through the fog, and the Second Elder immediately shot forward into the mist, his hands glowing red.

Whoosh!

The Second Elder was so fast that even a cultivation expert would have had a hard time keeping up with his movement.

The Second Elder stretched his arm and stabbed outwards, after which a fearsome torrent of destructive energy gushed forward and into the fog.

BAM!

The torrent of destructive energy collided with something in the fog and immediately permeated the entire area, manifesting a hurricane that ravaged this space.

Everything happened in a millisecond, but such was the ability of a cultivation master. He was simply too powerful!

"Dammit! I knew he was powerful, but isn't this a bit too much?" As the result of the explosion, a figure was flung back, who cursed out loudly in response.

The person who was flung back glared at the Second Elder and exclaimed, "You'll regret th-"

Swoosh!

Before he could finish his words, the Second Elder had already disappeared from his spot, and at that exact moment, the person immediately moved backwards, his eyes filled with terror.

"Pathetic little insect!" The voice of the Second Elder was heard echoing within the fog, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Boom!

Right at that moment, a terrifying surge of destructive energy manifested in the form of a whirlpool right on top of the unknown figure, startling him. The energy was so powerful that it blackened the sky, causing it to shudder before erupting downwards with blinding speed.

"I have to retreat!" The unknown figure, who felt his heart trembling, roared loudly before soaring into the air, trying to escape the attack.

But unfortunately for him, his speed was slightly slower and was ensnared by the whirlpool of destruction, and as the destructive energy rushed into his body unceasingly, he let out a loud scream before disintegrating into ashes. He had died.

The Second Elder's figure appeared once more, standing next to the Headmaster as he looked at the remains of the unknown figure with loftiness in his eyes.

"He wasn't the person responsible for the mystic arts…" the Second Elder frowned. Even though he had killed the unknown figure, the fog surrounding him hadn't disappeared, which meant that the person who cast the mystic arts spell was still alive.

"Even if you have the ability to catch us off guard, do you really intend to hide from us forever? Show yourself!" The Headmaster yelled out, frustration evident in his words. He wasn't enjoying this; not one bit.

"BOOM!" As soon as the sound of the Second Elder's voice faded, a giant blade light shot out from the fog, heading towards the Headmaster.

"You think I'm an easy target? Think again!" The Headmaster coldly shouted and he positioned himself in a battle stance.

ZAP!

In an instant, a gigantic long spear appeared in the Headmaster's hands and he lunged straight towards the blade light.

Zoom!

A loud noise resounded through the skies as spiritual energy concentrated on the tip of the Headmaster's spear, as he stabbed out with a crushing might.

"BANG!" 

That terrifying long spear pierced out, directly colliding into the blade light and creating a gigantic explosion as a result. The blade light disintegrated into nothing. However, the Headmaster's countenance turned ashen as he witnessed hundreds of the same blade light shooting out from all directions, moving at lightning speed towards the two of them.

"Baron!" The Headmaster yelled out as he moved backwards, and the Second Elder nodded his head as he did the same.

"Still not showing yourself? Pathetic trash!" The Second Elder glanced at the incoming blade lights and shouted loudly, the killing intent in his eyes apparent. 

"Focus on the attacks, Baron! He's just a coward!" The Headmaster spoke coldly.

Zoom!

The long spear in his hands began vibrating fiercely, and boundless flames gathered around the spear as he spun it around, creating a wheel of flames!

At the same time, the Second Elder raised his hands, and two long swords appeared in his palms, spiritual energy radiating from them, as thunderous noises echoed.

BOOM!

"Attack!" The Headmaster yelled out, and a gigantic wheel of flames shot out from the spinning spear, growing larger and large in size, madly smashing against the countless blade lights that were coming their way. 

At the same time, the Second Elder stepped forth and raised his swords high up in the air, as thunderous sounds echoed out, momentarily illuminating the skies before a incomparably gigantic sword made out of pure energy burst out through the clouds and shot downwards, aiming towards the ground.

BOOM!

The countless blade lights that were moving towards them disintegrated when meeting the terrifying gigantic sword that seemed impervious to damage. As the giant sword struck the earth, the blade lights evaporated into the air, and the ground shook from the impact. Even if a mountain stood in itt way, the mountain would simply be smashed apart by the power of the sword.

"Is it over?" The Second Elder's heart pounded violently as he looked at the destroyed surroundings. The attack was simply too powerful, and even a highly trained expert wouldn't have been in a critical condition after that attack.

Clap! Clap!

"Well, wasn't that something?" As he was thinking that, a clapping sound echoed out, followed by a calm voice, which made the two of them cautious and on high alert.

From the fog emerged a young man, clad in black. His gaze flashed with a faint coldness, and with a sinister smile on his face, he spoke. "But I'm afraid playtime's over. Time to get serious!"