"Speaking of, Great Witch Selena..."
Ron replied thoughtfully:
"I have come across this name in some ancient texts. It’s said that she was a powerful entity who ascended in the early Third Era through the Path of Truth, a pioneer in the study of bloodline mutations and organ transplants."
"Correct." Uther nodded approvingly:
"Selena was Aiden’s... ninth ancestor? No, it should be the tenth ancestor. In any case, it’s quite a distant blood relation.
At her death, according to the traditions of that era, she chose to leave her spiritual and physical remnants within the family.
The intention was to protect descendants and perhaps offer guidance at crucial moments, but it ended up bringing great disaster to her kin..."
Ron’s expression became more focused, realizing the importance of this information in understanding the essence of the remnants:
"So, the King of Blood isn’t really a Witch King in the true sense, but rather a... malformed and incomplete existence?"
"A very accurate judgment." Uther nodded in appreciation:
"In a way, Aiden is more like an extension of Selena rather than a true successor.
This is also why other Witch Kings disdain him greatly, never seeing him as an equal presence."
Ron showed a thoughtful look:
"Is this also the reason you’re brave enough to share these secrets with us? Because he can no longer interfere with the affairs of the Main World?"
"Smart." Uther’s white eyebrows slightly raised:
"The opportunistic method of ascension keeps the ’King of Blood’ from ever reaching the true heights of a Witch King.
Now he is trapped within his own realm, extremely limited in his means to influence the Main World.
Moreover, the ’Chaotic Blood World’ itself is a rare IV-type plane.
Even after the efforts of both Selena and the ’King of Blood’, it has yet to be fully conquered."
The old man’s expression became lively, as though reminiscing about an intriguing past:
"However, his current weakness and disgrace are mainly due to an event in the early Fourth Era, about four thousand two hundred years ago.
At that time, I was a newly ascended Morning Star Mage.
And ’Elder’ Calix had already reached the level of Great Wizard, and he challenged that ’King of Blood’ and won handsomely."
Uther chuckled. He was one of the witnesses of the event.
"Calix?" Ron recognized the name:
"The legendary figure who mastered Causality Severance and Result Preview?"
"Legendary?" Uther laughed heartily:
"Dead people are always readily beautified. If that old coot knew he would be recorded as a ’legend’, who knows how thrilled he would be."
He stroked his white beard and continued reminiscing:
"Calix’s hatred towards the ’King of Blood’ had deep reasons.
Great Witch Selena once patronized many young gifted wizards, and Calix was one of them."
Curiously, Eve asked: "So, Calix was a beneficiary of Great Witch Selena’s favor?"
"More than that." Uther’s eyes were full of reminiscence, as if he himself had experienced it:
"Great Witch Selena saved Calix’s life.
At that time, during an Abyss exploration, Calix encountered an accident, was severely injured, with multiple organs failing.
Acting as the head of the School Alliance, Great Witch Selena personally performed an organ replacement surgery for this fellow practitioner on the Path of Truth.
Not only saved his life but also transplanted some special bloodlines into him, which directly influenced his future talent development."
"So when Calix found out what Aiden had done..." Ron mused.
"He was absolutely furious." Uther’s voice grew colder:
"I still remember that day, Calix came to me, his eyes blazing with a fury I had never seen.
Cursing Aiden as a ’betrayer of bloodlines’, ’desecrator’, ’false king’.
He told me that he would make Aiden pay, not for so-called justice, but to avenge Great Witch Selena."
Uther paused, then continued:
"But Calix was a clever man. He knew directly challenging would be extremely foolish because Aiden was only one step away from becoming a Witch King.
So he devised a revenge plan that I still admire to this day..."
Uther deliberately paused, his eyes showing cunning:
"You know, Wizards never do anything purely. In the world of Wizards, interest is always paramount.
Even in repaying kindness, they find ways to maximize self-benefit.
Calix’s revenge plan conveniently coincided with one of his own... key rituals."
"What ritual?" Eve asked eagerly.
Uther waved his hand:
"It involves some very secret knowledge, even I only know fragments.
But judging from later results, Calix clearly did not fully succeed."
His expression grew serious:
"At that time, Aiden, as a semi-Witch King, was in his prime, yet he was in turmoil during the conquest of the ’Chaotic Blood World’.
Calix took advantage of this, lying dormant, continually gathering intelligence about Aiden, analyzing his weaknesses and behavioral patterns, even... contacting his teacher ’Eye of Observation’."
The silver light in the air grew brighter, and Uther’s shadow became more substantial:
"They chose to launch a surprise attack during Aiden’s critical period of ascending to Witch King, when his ’Transcendent Stance’ was not yet stable."
Eve held her breath: