First, take down the Sword Demon, then save Runeterra.

Before long, the gloomy sky cleared up again, but as evening approached, all that could be seen was the setting sun about to sink into the western sea.

The anomaly of the Spirit Blossom Festival has been resolved.

Looking at the setting sun, Zhao Xin said somewhat awkwardly, "It seems I'm the one who's holding her back. Without me, she could have resolved the problem much faster."

“You’re not going to hold me back!” A hand landed on his shoulder; Yun Ana had returned without him noticing. “Though your strength is insufficient, the direction your spear points clearly demonstrates your determination!”

“You always say you are a child without a home, but so am I. As the years go by, the place I can call home is getting farther and farther away.”

"But so what? We both want to protect this land that gave us birth. We are all children of Ionia. We don't need to do anything more. We'll just do what we can."

The confusion in Zhao Xin's eyes gradually disappeared, and he nodded solemnly: "I understand, thank you."

Yun Ana hummed in agreement, her smile vanishing as she changed her expression to Ato: "You bastards, it seems you all obey that demonic sword's commands?"

"We've fought a battle with you and resolved the anomaly during the Spirit Blossom Festival. We're quite tired, so let's use that staff to teleport us there."

As soon as he finished speaking, Ato clearly felt several angry emotions emanating from the sword sheath.

Are they really being used as tools?

After a brief reassurance, Ator scoffed, "You think you know a lot? You know that only high-level mages can master teleportation magic. You've sealed away so many Darkin, and you weren't unaffected, were you? At least your speech is just as unpleasant as theirs."

Ator doesn't tolerate anyone who injures Riven, even if they are an ally.

Yun Ana sneered, "That's because you taught them well. I've encountered several bastards who have mastered magic, and each time I almost caught them, but they always managed to teleport away."

"Ahem, stop arguing." The bald mage, who had been silent all along, couldn't help but say, "Master, teleportation magic also has different levels. How far you can teleport depends only on your magic reserves, unless you have a fixed teleportation array that you can use to teleport across oceans."

"This place is three thousand miles away from the Order of Balance. The Darkin Staff can do it, but that would almost deplete its mana reserves. Let me, the teleportation tool, do it."

After being comforted by Ator, Ryze still had a clear understanding of his current situation.

When he needs to unleash his full power, the end of the world may not be far off.

So he was happy to be a tool, the longer the better, until the end of his life.

Yun Ana turned her gaze to Ryze, and the more she looked, the more alarmed she became. She discovered that this bald mage, whom she had overlooked, was just like the Demon Sword—his strength was completely unpredictable.

The bald mage said that teleporting to the Order of the Kinkou would deplete the Darkin staff's mana. Did he say that because his wouldn't run out? Was he more powerful than the Darkin?

Ryze didn't explain further and began constructing the teleportation array.

Before leaving, Ator asked curiously, "Chief Steward Zhao, why aren't you a bodyguard by the King's side? What are you doing in Ionia?"

Zhao Xin was taken aback, and subconsciously replied, "I happened to meet a fellow countryman who also makes a living by fishing by the sea. He told me about the changes in Ionia over the years, which made me a little homesick."

"Because of the black fog, I lived a life like the end of the world. After the black fog dissipated, I wanted to go back to my hometown, that's true, but I can't leave His Majesty's side."

"His Majesty saw through my thoughts and ordered me to take leave. He also arranged for someone to contact Noxus so that I could pass through your country smoothly."

"As for the guards, you don't need to worry about it. Other excellent soldiers will take care of it."

this......

Ator realized something was wrong; he and Swain had not received any news about Zhao Xin's return home.

Who was in contact with Jarvan IV?

It's LeBlanc again...

She blocked all spies, contacted Jarvan IV unilaterally, and deceived everyone, allowing Xin Zhao to cross the ocean to Ionia.

Or, in the worst-case scenario, Jarvan IV has already been secretly influenced by LeBlanc's dark magic, and she may have even replaced him with a clone?

However, Ator quickly ruled out the possibility that during the Silas rebellion and the assassination of the previous king, Jarvan IV calmly stabilized the situation and gradually eased his oppression of the mages.

Otherwise, LeBlanc wouldn't have let this opportunity slip by, giving Demacia a chance to be destroyed from within.

Now that he knew LeBlanc's goal, Ator naturally wouldn't let her succeed and allow that Darkin weapon to be born.

However, it's not advisable to mention the Dark One behind Yun Ana in front of her yet, as there's a lack of trust and it could easily lead to another conflict.

Since he's hidden so well that even he and Aatrox don't know his location, let's put him out of the picture for now.

With that thought in mind, the teleportation array was now complete.

Yun Ana pulled Zhao Xin onto the teleportation array, ready to enter the spiritual realm at any time, worried that they might tamper with it during the teleportation.

But her worries were unfounded. After a bout of dizziness, they found themselves in a place surrounded by mountains, and were now standing at the foot of the mountains.

Before you are stone steps winding upwards along the mountainside, and a temple can be vaguely seen at the top of the mountain.

Yun Ana looked around and frowned, saying, "Where did you bring us? The Balance Temple isn't on this mountain."

If she couldn't still sense the Soul of Ionia, she would have even suspected that she had been transported to a strange continent.

“The entire sect relocated a few years ago during the war,” Atto explained simply.

She believed at most half of what the Darkin said, so she looked at Zhao Xin and asked, "Is it true? Why did they...?"

“The relocation of the Balance Cult is true, but I don’t know the reason,” Zhao Xin answered truthfully. “When the war broke out, I had been loyal to the previous king for more than ten years.”

"Noxus is fighting on multiple fronts. Not only its homeland, but Demacia has also been invaded. My mission is to protect the king, so I don't know much about it."

Atto made a "come ask me, come ask me" expression.

Yun Ana pouted: "I'll just go up and ask the current leader myself."

Ator could only give up the opportunity to gain her further trust, since she wouldn't believe him anyway.

At the same time, he felt sorry for a certain old-fashioned cult leader for a second.

The ancestor from over two thousand years ago has returned to personally inspect the situation. He wants to see how Shen explains how he managed to turn the Balance Sect into what it is today.

Just then, several figures dressed in blue robes rushed down the mountain and stopped about ten meters away from the group.

"Who are you?"

Seeing them, Ana finally felt relieved—although there were slight changes, it was clear that these robes were the traditional style of the Balance Sect.

She held the "Einna" sign around her neck: "Do you remember it?"

The disciples of Balance carefully examined the magical item, exchanged glances, and felt a sense of familiarity among them.