Chapter Forty-Six: The Eternal Blazing Sun

So powerful! This man is so powerful! Casillas, who had retreated a bit further back, kept marveling inwardly. Even though he was already some distance away from Blaise, he still felt as if he were about to be roasted alive, his body fluids seemingly boiling.

Standing opposite Blaise, the Ancient One showed no emotional disturbance. Blaise was indeed remarkable, but compared to the might of Dormammu, he was still far inferior.

The Ancient One assumed a starting stance, golden energy blossoming between her hands. Blaise wasted no words, launching straight into the most direct and brutal spell—Blazing Explosion. Large fireballs surged forth one after another from his hands.

The Ancient One did not dodge; she drew a circle with her hands, conjuring a shield that absorbed every fireball without retreating a single step.

Blaise knew he was unlikely to defeat the Ancient One, but he couldn’t afford to appear weak. This time, he represented the Clock Tower, and he couldn’t allow himself to be looked down upon.

Burning Hands! Flames surged violently!

Blaise unleashed fire from both sides, and the flames began to spread throughout the mirrored realm, transforming it into a sea of fire in an instant.

The Ancient One strolled leisurely through the inferno, even taking the time to cast protective wards for the spectators behind her. Everywhere she walked, the flames were directly absorbed, only to await fresh fire to fill the void.

Summon Fire Elemental!

Blaise struck his staff, and clusters of fire elementals emerged from the blazing sea, launching attacks at the Ancient One.

Seeing these artificial fire elementals, the Ancient One grew interested. She darted forward, faced the wrathful elementals, and with a touch of her empowered hand, disrupted their very essence, scattering them into the air without even giving them the chance to self-destruct.

Witnessing this, Blaise was at a loss as to his next move. He had exhausted nearly all his single-target spells; the effects of Scorching Ray and Chain Explosion were similar to Blazing Explosion, unable to threaten the Ancient One. Group spells were even less effective—Meteor Shower, for instance, excelled at widespread, sustained damage but was not particularly potent against a single opponent.

While Blaise pondered, the Ancient One calmly dismantled every fire elemental, their regeneration rate unable to keep pace with their annihilation.

Meanwhile, the Ancient One evaluated Blaise in her mind: a straightforward and upright mage, destructive power unparalleled. In this regard, none in Kamar-Taj, save herself, could best him. However, should someone employ more esoteric spells, victory could be snatched from him. After all, the magic and abilities of Kamar-Taj derive from powerful entities across worlds and dimensions; without knowledge of the relevant information and countermeasures, one could easily suffer a bitter defeat.

"Master Ancient One, you are truly formidable. I can’t breach your defenses, but I have one more spell I’d like you to try," Blaise said, gazing at her. The spell he referred to was the experimental magic that had destroyed his own mage tower.

Though his previous experiment had failed, Blaise had gleaned valuable experience and could now barely wield the spell, though its success rate remained low.

"Then I look forward to your magic," the Ancient One replied, pausing. She was just warming up herself; if Blaise’s spell could force her to use the Eye of Agamotto, it would exceed her expectations.

Blaise nodded, took a deep breath, and a highly complex magic circle appeared before him. As it began to operate, the surrounding temperature rose dramatically.

A successful cast? Blaise felt a hint of joy. Once he was sure the magic circle had passed its most unstable phase, he channeled all the mana marks generated by his Mana Ascension spell into it.

A minute later, the magic circle reached its climax.

"Master Ancient One, this is my strongest attack—prepare yourself!" Blaise shouted, "Eternal Blaze!"

Boom!

A wave of scorching heat erupted before the Ancient One, as if the sun itself descended from the heavens. For the first time, the terrifying temperature shattered the Ancient One’s defensive shield. The observers behind her kept retreating, as their barriers failed to block the overwhelming heat. Everyone resorted to their own defenses, most commonly the golden magic shield conjured by the Ancient One’s hands.

Facing the raging storm of energy, the Ancient One’s smile grew even brighter.

The mirrored space around them began to melt and was on the verge of bursting under the mushroom cloud of the blast. Suddenly, the unstable mirrored realm stabilized, and the mushroom cloud slowly receded back to its original state.

Blaise was dumbfounded. So the Supreme Sorcerer, like Master Kieran, possessed mastery over time. His repeated warnings now seemed embarrassingly presumptuous.

When all was calm, the glow from the Eye of Agamotto hanging around the Ancient One's neck faded, returning the precious gem to its usual dullness.

Blaise shook his head and landed back on the ground. This Eternal Blaze was a spell he had devised based on nuclear detonation principles. Compared to nuclear weapons in the surface world, its area of effect was very narrow, but the energy released in an instant was no less formidable, resulting in extraordinary instantaneous damage.

Moreover, Blaise’s Eternal Blaze had one advantage—it left no lingering radiation, making it an "eco-friendly" nuclear bomb.

At the edge of the mirrored realm, the spectators were utterly speechless.

The power Blaise had displayed had thoroughly intimidated them. Though they were reluctant to admit it, reality forced them to realize that, aside from the Ancient One, all of Kamar-Taj had been bested.

Whether friendly or not, anyone seeking trouble should first consider this spell and whether they could survive the Eternal Blaze.

This was why the Ancient One chose to perform a time reversal within a small space. She sensed a restless mood among many of her disciples; they seemed to believe their magic made them invincible on Earth, that they had transcended ordinary humanity.

This was the perfect opportunity for Blaise to teach them a lesson, while also deepening the influence of Blaise and his so-called Clock Tower, which benefited Yang Qiu’s plans.

Clap, clap, clap.

The Ancient One took the lead in applauding, followed by the others.

Feeling a bit awkward, Blaise’s mood improved greatly. His efforts had not been in vain; his performance had indeed made an impact.