[You have defeated the Serpent's Embrace, Cassiopeia (Hero). You have leveled up by 1, gained 200 Blue Essences, 20 Orange Essences, and 2 skill points.]
[Congratulations! Your level has increased to 19, and you have gained 1 skill point.]
[Remaining skill points: 18]
[Wealth: 1400 Blue Essences, 170 Orange Essences]
...
Huh? How come the level-up and rewards for defeating Cassiopeia are so few this time? Li Lin, noticing the system prompt, felt perplexed.
Last time, killing Twitch got me a whopping 4 levels, 1000 Blue Essences, 100 Orange Essences, and 5 skill points.
Could it be because Cassiopeia hasn't reached the power level of the Ascended yet, so the rewards are reduced? Or perhaps, the rewards are based on the peak strength of the "heroes," regardless of their current power?
Quite likely.
But this needs further confirmation in the future...
Just as Li Lin pondered, Kassadin's soft call brought him back to reality: "Li Lin..."
His voice carried a hint of hesitation, as if he was debating whether to speak up.
"If you have any questions, feel free to ask. I believe there's nothing between us that needs to be concealed," Li Lin switched the storm mode, saying.
After some thought, Kassadin couldn't resist asking, "Earlier, you mentioned that the Noxian woman suffered a curse from an Ascended warrior..."
"Oh, you mean that? In the records of Shurima, during the Darkin War, there was a snake-headed God-warrior that wreaked havoc. Naganeka from the Zuretta, transformed into a serpent form, adept in using arcane poisons."
"That's her." Li Lin pointed to where Cassiopeia had been, "You should have seen she was poisoned; her legs were twisting into a long, tail-like shape."
Kassadin was stunned; he had been fully alert to the five Noxian soldiers and hadn't noticed Cassiopeia's transformation.
But Li Lin had no reason to deceive himself in this matter; he believed the words.
Then he raised a new question, "But what does the celestial magic refer to?"
"Magic actually has many types. For example, the 'sun' power injected into Ascended warriors by the sun disk is considered celestial magic..."
Li Lin briefly introduced the types of Runeterra magic he knew to Kassadin.
Of course, some of this information he learned from background knowledge, while more came from the books in Kiramman's collection.
As they continued towards the depths of the tomb, deliberately slowing their pace, Kassadin asked another question, "So, will that celestial magic awaken Azir's dormant soul?"
Li Lin wouldn't help save Sivir; that task would be left to Azir. He needed to place her in the Fountain of Life, capable of reviving only one person. This selfless act would reactivate Azir's ascension ritual, reshaping him into the form of an Ascended.
But all of this was conditional on opening the last enormous tomb door leading to the ancient tomb...
While Li Lin and Kassadin continued to stealthily navigate the narrowing passage, the entire tomb gradually shook.
Yellow sand poured down, and fragments of gravel hit the storm and their powered armor, producing crisp sounds.
"Damn it! What did those Noxians do?!" Kassadin's heart sank as he grabbed Li Lin, who was still trying to move forward, shouting, "The tomb is about to collapse. Let's escape quickly while we still can!"
"Don't panic..." Li Lin tried to remain calm, unaffected by Kassadin's urgency.
At this stage, the tomb door should be opening...
This thought had just crossed his mind when a distant and furious roar, obviously inhuman, echoed from the depths of the tomb.
Following that, a series of excited mad laughter, "Hahaha... Three thousand years, three thousand years! Renekton, Nasus, you can't contain me!"
Li Lin and Kassadin simultaneously felt a sour taste rising in their mouths, a normal physiological reaction when someone was casting magic.
Along with the last intense tremor and roar of the tomb, it seemed like huge rocks were falling in front of them.
The deep laughter gradually faded, and the inhuman roars also moved away.
Li Lin and Kassadin, still in shock, felt the sourness in their mouths dissipate, indicating that the two horrifying individuals escaping from the tomb had left.
Coming to his senses, Kassadin immediately guessed the owners of the two voices, "That was... the Ascended warrior Renekton and the traitor Xerath?! What you said was actually true..."
"Now that they've escaped, and the tomb is no longer shaking, the last door should be fully open," Li Lin glanced at Kassadin beside him, "There's probably no more danger ahead. Let's get going."
...
...
Endless flames, colossal celestial magic, instantly incinerated the physical body.
Pain, then complete silence.
Unable to sense space, not even the meaning of time existed.
But a mysterious, blood-connected disturbance awakened a man's soul, dormant for thousands of years, from the depths of the ancient tomb.
"What... happened?" his weak voice echoed in the endless darkness, "Am I... dead?"
He seemed bewildered by his current state.
Pain...
An attempt to recall what happened on the day of the ascension ceremony would make the man feel a tearing pain in his soul.
"I am... Azir... why... did the ascension ritual fail... this is impossible..."
As a semi-transparent figure gradually took shape, Azir began to restore his original form before death.
However, he was not complete now, just a visible soul connected by a tangible dust, sustained by his only remaining indomitable will.
Azir stumbled in his steps, aimlessly wandering in the ruins of the ancient tomb.
"My empire... Shurima... has collapsed..."
He could feel the deep sorrow in the depths of his soul, yet his eyes couldn't shed a single tear.
"No... there is still a chance..."
Suddenly, Azir's gaze turned to a direction, where the once Dawn Oasis was located.
He could sense that, after his revival, the collapsed sun disk responded to his will, once again releasing the last drop of the water of life.
Although meager, it was enough for him to reshape his body and return to the mortal world.
As long as he could fully resurrect, rebuilding the Shuriman Empire was not a difficult task!
A glimmer of hope flashed in Azir's eyes, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace towards the Dawn Oasis.
Under the flow of magical energy from the ancient tomb, the yellow sand on the ground gathered, as if re-crowning the fallen emperor, gradually forming the temporary structure of his body.
However, as Azir just stepped out of the tomb's main gate, a girl lying in a pool of blood not far away suddenly caught his attention.
A feeling of blood connection...
But quickly, his gaze turned to a narrow passage leading to the great hall.
Two individuals in strange, intricate metal armor ran out, followed by two peculiar floating objects.
Azir's brows, formed by flowing sand, slightly furrowed, and in a hoarse and low voice, he asked, "Who are you?"
(End of this chapter)
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