Paeia's cheeks twitched. His gloomy expression turned to anger.
"You can only say that to me after you become a Heaven Mage," Paeia snorted.
"..."
Lawrend didn't reply and flew farther ahead to the side of the old man.
The old man noticed him and rubbed his long red beard. He didn't say anything, and neither did Lawrend.
Soon, they were about to reach the lava lake in the distance.
"Third Ancestor?"
The old man turned his head to him swiftly. A look of shock on his face.
"I guessed right, huh."
Lawrend faintly smiled after seeing his reaction. He was just randomly guessing. He didn't expect the old man to react so strongly to it.
"*Cough* I knew it. You're quite good, huh? My decision wasn't wrong. Hahaha!" the old man, or rather, the Third Ancestor laughed.
"How do you hide your level?" Lawrend asked.
"Oh, you can actually tell?" the Third Ancestor asked in surprise and raised an eyebrow.
"My eyes are special."
"The universe can keep a secret."
"I see."
Lawrend nodded his head in understanding. In simpler terms, the Third Ancestor used his Heaven Mage power to hide his level. Lawrend wondered why the Pillar Heaven Mage didn't do it when they met.
Well, considering that Lawrend was just a Grand Mage during that time, it was understandable that the Pillar Heaven Mage didn't see a reason to hide his level, and he wasn't trying to hide that he was a Heaven Mage to Lawrend.
They reached the side of the lava lake.
The Third Ancestor turned around and faced everyone.
"This lava lake is the most precious wealth of the Ignis Clan. It is similar to the Ancestral Blood Pool outside, but this is known as the True Ancestral Blood Pool to us. It can boost your understanding of fire magic and increase the bloodline purity," the Third Ancestor explained.
The faces of the kids widened in amazement. Lawrend's children were shocked since they had just entered the Ancestral Blood Pool outside a few weeks ago.
"Why is it called the True Ancestral Blood Pool if there is no blood?" Eina cutely asked.
Her innocent face genuinely wanted an answer to her question. Anyone looking at her would feel that she was adorable.
"A good question. At the highest level, the Ignis Bloodline becomes magma, such as our First Ancestor."
Almost everyone's eyes widened in disbelief. Many didn't know about that fact. They became even more curious as to what the identity of this old man was.
Lawrend turned his head to the lava pool. He couldn't feel that it was made out of blood. He could only sense that it was lava.
"Interesting."
Lawrend's interest was piqued. The Ignis Clan had so many new things he had never seen. It was worth it to come here to attend the Younger Generation Competition.
"The final round will be conducted as follows: The one who will reach the deepest will be the first place winner, and the others will be ranked according to who reached deeper than others."
Inferno, Veronica, and the others gripped their fists tightly. They mentally prepared themselves to give it their all.
"Be careful if you go too deep, we might not be able to save you."
Those that planned to go deep immediately became worried. Winning the competition might be important, but life was still more important. The danger of death added another layer of complexity.
"Little Brother, I will take this one," Veronica said with a smirk.
"I'm confident in myself," Inferno replied.
Lawrend's other children challenged each other. Seeing the spirit of competition between them made Lawrend proud. He was curious about who would win.
He was more inclined to believe that Inferno would win, but it was still possible for Veronica to unleash a greater potential than him. After all, Veronica's soul was basically made up of Lawrend's.
It could be said that Inferno was competing with Lawrend if he was Veronica's age.
"Everyone, line up! …And… …GO!"
With everyone lined up at the shore, the Third Ancestor started the final round.
Inferno and the others turned into blurs and shot to the bottom of the lava lake. The heat of the lava attempted to sear and cook their flesh, but because of their powerful magic, their physical body easily resisted the heat.
10 meters deep.
20…
30…
40…
60…
80…
100 meters.
Lawrend's children didn't show any signs of stopping. The deeper they went, the hotter the lava and the higher the pressure around them.
110 meters.
The pressure became too high, and they activated their phoenix bloodlines. They took on their phoenix forms, and their speed increased dramatically.
130 meters.
160 meters.
200 meters.
Inferno was in the lead. Veronica was slightly behind him. The two sensed each other because of the ripples they caused as they dived deeper into the magma.
250 meters.
The pressure was starting to compress Inferno's body. He gritted his teeth as it started becoming painful for him. As for the others, they started slowing down. They couldn't go deeper unless they waited till their bodies acclimated to the heat and immense pressure.
300 meters.
320 meters.
340 meters.
Inferno used his fire magic to create a constant outward pressure to combat the pressure around him. It was enough to alleviate some of the pain, but it quickly became useless the deeper he reached.
400…
450…
Veronica imitated Inferno after realizing what he was trying to do. This technique allowed the two of them to reach even deeper.
But pretty soon, Veronica felt like she should slow down.
500 meters.
Veronica activated her darkness magic, and the fire covering her body turned dark. She was able to continue deeper at the same rate.
Inferno endured the pressure, unlike Veronica. The flames covering his body grew more powerful as he recklessly released his fire mana without caring about the possibility of losing all of his mana.
550 meters.
They didn't travel much deeper, but the pressure increased exponentially. They were not only deep but there were also 550 meters of heavy magma above their heads.
What they were doing couldn't be compared to deep diving underwater.
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