SUPREME ARCH-MAGUS

Kent fell into a dilemma after hearing Mia's question. He definitely understood the intention in Mia's eyes. But his gaze moved onto Lucy, who had been waiting for him since a long time.

"Mia, can we meet tonight? I'm a bit busy now." Kent replied with a struggling gaze, cursing himself for the situation.

"Where did you live?" Mia asked with a serious look.

"Hanging Pearl Palace. I don't have any plans tonight, and I live alone." Kent replied hurriedly, hinting at the obvious reason.

Mia blushed after hearing his stuttering response. "Okay, I will meet you there. Also, I just want to talk with you. Don't think nonsense." Mia said with a shy smile and flew away without waiting for his response.

Controlling his wild thoughts, Kent hurriedly walked towards Lucy.

_

7th Realm: Heavenly Abode ...

In the remote expanse of the Northern Rocky Mountains, far from the reaches of ordinary life, an intense battle unfolded with earth-shattering explosions that echoed through the rugged terrain.

"BOOM…BOOM…"

These explosive sounds, akin to the earth's very core being bombed, reverberated relentlessly, shattering age-old rocks like fragile glass.

Two figures, enveloped in shimmering beams of formidable mana, danced upon the mountain top. These dots of power were none other than two sovereign Magus-rank human cultivators locked in a fierce fight.

Following a rapid exchange of blows, the two cultivators temporarily disengaged, putting distance between them in order to gather the mana needed for their next onslaught.

An elderly man, garbed in flowing white robes with a long white beard, hovered gracefully in mid-air. His hands weaved intricate seals, conjuring a potent and ominous black sphere of energy before him.

On the other side, a middle-aged man, his long hair elegantly bound with glistening golden threads, ascended into the heavens. Around him, a tranquil, milky-white energy radiated like a gentle halo, circling him as his golden robes fluttered in the energy's ethereal embrace.

In the midst of this suspended battlefield, the two cultivators locked eyes, each waiting for the other to make the first move. Between them, a towering mountain stood as a silent witness to the impending clash.

"Kali Andhakara Udgar" [Kali's Darkness Unleashed] The old man whispered the spell with a ferocious look.

"Surya Tejomaya Prahar" [Sun's Radian Fury] The middle-aged man also added his voice.

After a prolonged buildup, both cultivators unleashed their attacks in unison.

Shhh... Shhh...

The energy beams streaked across the firmament at the speed of light, closing in on each other with unstoppable force. The air itself seemed to tremble in anticipation.

"Boommmmm"

A resounding explosion, so deafening that it seemed to defy the heavens, ensued as the energy spirits within the beams collided head-on. A battle of titanic proportions unfolded in the form of these radiant and devastating beams.

The black energy surged relentlessly, voraciously devouring the pristine white energy released by the cultivator, adorned in golden robes. It was a mesmerizing spectacle of light and darkness locked in a relentless struggle.

After a protracted exchange that seemed to span an eternity, the middle-aged man, clad in golden robes, could no longer withstand the relentless consumption of his radiant mana. With a triumphant smile, the old man with a flowing white beard redirected his black energy beam towards the mountain below.

"Boommmm"

A thunderous explosion followed, leaving a large crater on the mountain top that stood in the middle of both Maga's.

The scene resembled a volcanic crater, a testament to the overwhelming power that had come crashing down.

After exchanging a deep look, both Supreme Maga's got down from the air and landed in the middle of the crater.

_

"Hahaha… Ryon, you have improved a lot over the last two years. I never thought you would improve Sun radiant fury in such a short duration. I'm really proud that you became my son." The old man, Drona Lion-heart, the old patriarch of the Quinn family, said with a hearty laugh as he sat on the rock platform of the crater.

[Lionheart is a title given to the patriarchal lineage in the Quinn family.]

"Thank you, Father. It's all because of your guidance. But still, I'm a long distance away from you." The middle-aged man in golden robes, Ryan Lionheart, the current patriarch, said in a respectful tone while taking out the delicious spiritual food items from his storage ring.

"Don't worry. You will surpass me one day. I'm just an old man who lost all his vigor. In my life, I won't be able to reach the Supreme Sovereign Magus title. But you have a chance. So, cultivate hard."

"One day you should prove to these 7 realms about the existence of the forgotten Supreme Sovereign Realm." The old man said it encouragingly. But there is a bit of sadness in his eyes, and his face is dispirited when he speaks about the Supreme Sovereign realm.

"Father, I'm also thinking about the same. With the burden of a patriarch, I couldn't fully concentrate on my mana practice. Soon, I want to leave the house and seclude myself from mana cultivation. What do you think about it?" Ryon Lionheart, the current patriarch of the Quinn family, asked with a questioning look.

The white-bearded old man fell into deep thought after hearing his son's question. The old man, Drona Lionheart, stared into the horizon, thinking about something.

"Father… father…" Ryon called out loud as he handed over the freshly cooked spirit lion meat on radiant Mana flames.

"What happened, father? Is something bothering your mind?" Ryon asked while staring at his father's sad face.

"Nothing. I'm just thinking about the family's future. For the last five hundred years, our Quinn family has stood at the top of this seventh realm. But I'm worrying about the next successor who will lead this family." The old man said it in a worried tone.

"Father, you don't need to worry about that. My older son, Max, has already reached the end of the Mortal Sovereign Magus stage. In the next 10 years, he will definitely become a sovereign magus. With our clan's resources and cultivation techniques, it is not a big thing for him to stay on top of his peers." Ryon replied in an anticipated tone.

"Hmm, of course, your son has all the rights to become the next patriarch of this family, and he well deserves the title of Lionheart. But you should also consider the feelings of your younger son. He is not that bad when compared to Max. Putting in some competition will only help them grow." The old man said this while enjoying the spirit lion's meat.

"Hahaha, that's actually a good idea, father. I better encourage my younger son by giving him some resources." Ryon said it with a burst of amusing laughter.

A brief silence hung for a moment as the old man became silent all of a sudden.

"Father, is there still something you want to tell me?" Ryon asked in an enquiring tone.

"I'm thinking about yours's first wife's son." Drona replied while staring at his son, who became serious after hearing the unexpected thing.

"Father, can you please don't bring up that topic? My wife Soya already cursed his aura channels before being kicked out of the family, and his fate is already doomed. So, there is no use in discussing him." Ryon said it in a serious tone.

"Ryon, I know that you only followed family rules. But your first wife is truly a powerful Maga, and her progeny won't be a weak one. If that kid stayed in our family, he could have become a sovereign magus by now.

But sadly, that fellow was born to a mortal lady. Otherwise, he could have become the patriarch of Quinn's family." The old man said it in a sad tone. An image of a beautiful lady walking away with her new-born baby flickered in an old man's vision.

"Father, stop. I already gave her a chance to stay in this family and promised valuable resources for her child's growth. But that proud Clark girl rejected my offer. It's all her fate. For the sake of saving future troubles, my wife Soya cursed that child's aura channels.

It is the fate her mother chose for him." Ryon said with an angry face as he thought of the situation where his own wife had gone against him.

"Hmmhh… That Clark lady is really proud. I still remember that she rejected all my gifts while leaving this house." The old man said as he finished the last bite of the spirit meal.

"Not all, father. My mother left the family for the sake of that Clark lady. I still remember every detail of that day. She even owed to take revenge for what we did to her son." Ryon said before taking the food utensil from his aged father.

The old man sighed, remembering his old wife, who left the house to accompany the Clark woman. [Grandmother who raised Thea and Kent.]

"I really feel relieved when I have a chat with you, Father. Thanks for your insights today." Ryon bowed before his father. By the time he got up, his father had already left for mana cultivation.

After sending away his father, Ryon took out a gold colored jade slip from his ring and murmured something to it. In the next second, the golden slip turned into ash and mixed up in the air.

The message read, "Send someone to find my abandoned son. Start the search from Blue Planet."

_

Note: There will be another chapter in the evening. Leave some gifts for poor author.