Chen Chen was intrigued to hear the Ancient One, a figure of unparalleled power on Earth, express such a rare complaint. He couldn't imagine what could trouble her, beyond himself.
"Something that even you, Ancient One, finds troublesome? That's quite rare."
"It's about your mess, that 'Sorcerer Supreme' position." The Ancient One seemed to regret her rash decision. She gently rubbed her forehead with her right hand, then a golden light flashed in her left, materializing a scroll. She slowly handed it to Chen Chen.
"You should just read it yourself," she said, her voice slightly strained.
Chen Chen took the scroll and unrolled it with a rustle. His eyes darted across the text.
After a moment, he calmly closed the scroll. His dark, elongated eyes showed no emotion. "So, the Three Great Ancient Gods, who represent white magic, want me to compete in an arena tournament to decide the Sorcerer Supreme's position?"
"Not a tournament, but a traditional Sorcerer Supreme magical ritual," Ancient One corrected Chen Chen. She shook her bald, gleaming head and added, "Though in form, it does resemble a tournament with elimination rounds. The final victor will be recognized by the Three Great Ancient Gods and officially become the Sorcerer Supreme."
"The Three Great Ancient Gods," Chen Chen's eyes narrowed.
These three ancient deities were Oshtur, the Goddess of Light Magic, and the first Demon God of Vishanti, the source of light magic.
However, due to Ancient One's hasty and reckless transfer of power to Chen Chen, and Chen Chen's own lack of mastery over the "Power of Vishanti" spells, the Three Great Ancient Gods were not fully aware of Chen Chen's existence. Most sorcerers, unaware of Chen Chen's true background, dismissed him as a well-connected newcomer and resented his inheritance of the "Sorcerer Supreme" title.
Therefore, influenced by these factors, the Three Great Ancient Gods officially announced the revival of the "Traditional Sorcerer Supreme Ritual" to ensure fairness and impartiality.
"Then where will this so-called ritual be held?" Chen Chen asked the Ancient One. At this point, backing down or ignoring it would make him look like a coward who couldn't face challenges. In the future, people might see him as an easy target, attracting even more pests.
This was the exact opposite of Chen Chen's original intention to avoid trouble. The solution was simple: participate in the arena tournament, defeat everyone else, and that would settle it.
"As the current Sorcerer Supreme, the ritual's opening ceremony will naturally take place here at Kamar-Taj. However, the actual combat will not be held here. Instead, three Ancient Demon Gods will open a Dimensional Portal to transfer all the Sorcerers to a special dimension. That's where your battles will take place."
Chen Chen was taken aback. Fighting in another dimension put many Sorcerers at a disadvantage.
After all, few Sorcerers possess the means to traverse dimensions. This was especially true for those practicing Japanese Onmyōdō, like Kagura Kazusa and her group. Their techniques had inherent limitations, emphasizing tradition over innovation, which put them at a significant disadvantage compared to the knowledge and spells taught at Kamar-Taj.
"Of course, many outside Sorcerers will attend the ceremony. You might want to network with them then. After all, your reputation in this community isn't quite established yet, which is why so many opponents are coming out to make noise," the Ancient One said, patting Chen Chen on the shoulder.
Hearing this, Chen Chen didn't bother to retort. After all, it was the Ancient One who had originally requested he become the Sorcerer Supreme. Now that he was on this ship, the old woman was acting as if it was all his fault.
Still, Chen Chen hadn't forgotten the original reason for his visit. He cleared his throat. "Master Ancient One, I've returned to Kamar-Taj because I have some questions for you."
"Hmm, I already guessed as much. You're not the type to come to me without a reason," the Ancient One said, looking unperturbed. "What do you want to ask? Ask away."
Chen Chen's expression brightened. A miniature black hole appeared in his hand. He reached in and pulled out the Cloak of Levitation—a garment as black as ink, shimmering with arcane runes. The cloak immediately clung to its master, then automatically draped itself over Chen Chen's shoulders.
Seemingly resigned to the Cloak of Levitation's pet-like behavior, Chen Chen shrugged and pointed at the cloak with his right hand. "It's about this guy," he said. "I think we both know its capabilities—it's a self-evolving artifact whose full potential remains unknown."
"I'm quite curious about its creator. Master Ancient One, as the Cloak of Levitation's first owner, you must know who created it, right?"
Chen Chen's curiosity about the Cloak of Levitation wasn't new, but he hadn't felt the urgency to investigate until its abilities were further demonstrated during the plane crash rescue. This renewed his interest, and since he also planned to ask Ancient One about Asgard, he decided to kill two birds with one stone.
However, to his dismay, Ancient One's long, willow-like eyebrows furrowed slightly as she replied, "To be honest, Chen Chen..."
"The Cloak of Levitation is a rare artifact I obtained through trade during my travels. I couldn't get any detailed information about it from the trader at the time."
"Then where did you acquire it?"
"The Null Zone," the Ancient One replied, a mysterious glint in her eyes. "The one I traded with was Taneleer Tivan, a renowned collector across the universe and one of the Cosmic Elders—a high-dimensional being. With his immeasurably long lifespan, he enjoys collecting all sorts of peculiar objects. I traded him a spellbook about the Dark Dimension for it."
The Null Zone is an extremely chaotic region, a lawless territory teeming with all manner of wickedness. It serves as a playground for intergalactic villains and criminals, a frequent haunt for dark forces, and home to the most primitive and sinister trades, along with vast, advanced black markets and mission exchange systems.
What's even more astonishing is that the Null Zone itself is essentially the skull of a cosmic being. Given its immense size, Chen Chen personally believes this skull very likely belongs to one of the Cosmic Celestials.