Upon a vast and boundless land, atop a mountain peak.

"To comprehend the Visualization Method and wield the Mighty Power of the Deities is to be a Witch."

"And what is a Witch?"

High on the sacrificial altar, the elder Lizard-man who was speaking abruptly raised his Scepter and pointed it toward the sky.

Suddenly, under the nervous gazes of the several hundred people below, the sky ignited.

A sea of fire appeared in the sky.

The sea of fire was only about a hundred meters in diameter.

It burned from the empty air, never touching the ground, hovering less than fifty meters above the crowd.

Bathed in the intense firelight, the searing heat made the hundreds of onlookers feel a mix of terror, fear, intense anticipation, and zeal.

"This is a Witch. A Witch seizes the fortune of heaven and earth, receives the protection of Divine Power, and is reborn."

"At the same time, a Witch is also the sole bridge of communication between the Deities and mortals."

"Only by becoming a powerful Witch can mortals come to know all the truths of the world and truly possess the Power to control their own destiny."

At this, the Lizard-man elder's gaze turned solemn. He looked down at the lucky members of the new generation below and continued:

"You must understand that we, the Flame Race, have worshiped only one Deity since ancient times—our one and only 'Blazing.'"

"And only the great 'Blazing' is the one true Deity of our people."

"As the most qualified members of our race's youngest generation in the Western Border, you must, during your first Meditation using the Visualization Method, maintain the most devout faith in the 'Blazing God.' You absolutely must not have any distracting thoughts."

"Otherwise..."

The Lizard-man elder said no more.

The consequences of failing the Meditation were naturally dire.

After all, the Contemplation Method was a method for contemplating the image of a Deity.

If one failed to become a Witch while contemplating a Deity, the outcome would be tragic.

After all, the ritual to become a Witch wasn't a dinner party.

People could die!

And the death rate wasn't low, either.

Take the humans of the Flame Race, for example.

Here on the mountain of the Witch God Hall, among the tribelike Flame Race, the entire Western Border struggled to gather even five hundred candidates qualified to become a Witch every decade.

The Flame Race was a major tribe in the Western Border, with a population numbering in the tens of millions.

Yet, every ten years, they couldn't even find five hundred people with the aptitude to become a Witch.

One can only imagine the difficulty.

And in the elder's view, if two hundred of these five hundred candidates managed to become Witches, it would be considered incredibly lucky.

No matter how many candidates there were each time, the success rate for the first Witch conversion ritual never surpassed fifty percent.

And this was despite the Flame Race having a strict screening process.

Every candidate they selected from the new generation was born with a Spiritual aptitude one, two, or even three times higher than that of an ordinary person.

They even had these new-generation candidates undergo preliminary training to temper their willpower before the ritual.

But even so, the failure rate for the Witch conversion remained stubbornly high.

Thus, one could imagine just how high the status of a Witch was in this world, in this era.

"Alright!"

"Next, those whose names are called will proceed in order to begin their Meditation."

"You will go in groups of ten. The Witch Guards will do their best to monitor your condition. If they are quick enough, you juniors might just survive even if you fail."

After speaking, the elder said no more.

Below the altar, ten Witch Guards holding various instruments stepped forward.

At the same time, to one side of the high platform, another middle-aged Lizard-man began to call out names.

The young humans whose names were called began to walk toward the front of the stage.

Their expressions were filled with apprehension, nervousness, fear, and even anticipation.

In short, their emotions were a complex mix.

But without a doubt, even knowing they risked death, they had to try.

After all, this was a chance to become a Witch!

How many of their kin wished for this opportunity but were denied it?

"Begin worshiping the Deity!!!"

"The rites are complete!"

"Sit cross-legged. Now, begin contemplating the image of our 'Blazing' God!"

As a scroll depicting a winged Lizard was abruptly unfurled high on the altar, the ten candidates who had been called forward immediately began to study it intently.

As time passed, one by one, the ten of them closed their eyes and officially began their Meditation.

They hoped to truly connect with the Deity in the heavens through this process.

By doing so, they could earn the Deity's favor, become a Witch, and complete their own life's transformation.

Watching the young humans on the high platform, who had closed their eyes and begun their Meditation, three Lizard-men at the very peak of the mountain were chatting idly.

"Tu, how many of these descendants do you think will successfully complete the Witch conversion ritual this time?"

"I'll start us off. I'd say about one hundred and fifty!"

"One hundred and fifty?" Before the Lizard-man called 'Tu' could speak, a female Lizard-man to the side couldn't help but smile.

"Our Western Border's selection process has grown stricter and stricter over the years. If only one hundred and fifty succeed, that would mean our Western Border Race is just too pathetic."

"I'm guessing around three hundred. It's about time we surpassed the halfway mark for once."

"Surpassed the halfway mark?"

The Great Witch named Tu sighed helplessly at this.

"Don't you think I wish for our Flame Race in the Western Border to produce more Witches?"

"But alas, the Blazing God's condition hasn't been very good in recent years."

"If two hundred of these little ones complete the ritual this time, I think we should consider it a good outcome."

When 'Witch Slaughter' said this, the other two beside him fell silent.

After a moment, one of them sighed.

"The war between Deities thirty years ago truly put our race on the back foot."

"Who knows how much longer it will take for the Blazing God to recover his Divine Power."

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