The major
Under the power of the covenant, all Wizard organizations strictly adhered to the pact, controlling the advancement of Wizard Apprentices. Even when academies and families recruited new blood, they would absolutely make the other party swear an unbreakable oath of secrecy.
But there was one exception — the records found within ancient ruins!!!
Across the vast lands of the South Coast, scattered remnants of Wizard ruins were distributed here and there.
All ruins were located in extremely dangerous regions. Even official Wizards would only have a chance to find one if they risked nine deaths out of ten.
Moreover, even among ruins, what lay inside was completely uncertain.
Just like last time, when Leilin spent a great deal of materials and effort only to come away with nothing — that was an entirely common occurrence.
But once a Wizard discovered an ancient ruin and obtained the inheritance or rare resources within, it often marked the beginning of another legend!
So, despite the countless unpredictable dangers of exploring ruins, they still attracted Wizards in droves.
The covenant restricting official Wizards had been signed by all South Coast Wizard organizations in relatively recent times. Therefore, ruins from before that era could very well contain academic content related to official Wizard promotion.
This was also the origin of some wandering official Wizards!!!
And according to the intelligence Leilin had gathered,
Although the documents were over 60% incomplete and utterly impossible to use for advancing to Wizard — they were still extremely valuable materials!
Furthermore, Leilin was merely a Third-rank Apprentice. Before advancing to official Wizard, there was no point expecting Duolote to think highly of him, let alone agree to a trade of valuable goods.
To obtain these materials, he could only go through Mentor Guofate.
"Fine! But you should understand how precious a set of official Wizard academic materials is. What do you plan to offer in exchange?"
"Although these materials are precious, knowledge is different from other one-time resources — it can be recorded repeatedly. I believe this will satisfy Mentor Duolote!"
Leilin handed Guofate a heavy bag.
"And after obtaining the materials, Mentor, you can also keep a copy for yourself!"
At Leilin's suggestion, Guofate merely raised an eyebrow slightly, saying nothing more.
But when he opened the bag, he couldn't help but sigh: "Old Duolote won't be able to refuse you!"
Leilin smiled.
Inside the bag he had given his mentor, there was not only a large quantity of Magic Stones and rare materials, but also a Reproductive Flower.
This material was an extremely scarce resource for Wizards performing limb regeneration procedures.
The growth conditions for the Reproductive Flower required a place saturated with necromantic aura, irrigated daily with the blood of those who had died unjustly.
Even within Black Bone Forest Academy, there wasn't much of this material.
After all, in the field of artificial spirit cultivation, Black Bone Forest Academy's research was far less convenient than Leilin's Chip-assisted cultivation.
Last time, if it hadn't been for the interruption from the academy's news, Leilin would have completed his artificial spirit cultivation experiment.
And this Reproductive Flower was a byproduct of that experiment.
For Duolote, who was currently scouring everywhere for materials to regenerate Jiamen's arm, it was a temptation he simply could not refuse!
Even so, Leilin felt some hesitation about parting with such a precious material.
After all, last time he had discovered the Void Flower, and now producing another rare material like the Reproductive Flower would inevitably arouse suspicion.
But to move Duolote, there was simply no other way without this Reproductive Flower.
Besides, luck was always an unpredictable thing.
In the world of Wizards, there were countless stories of apprentices who had been destitute and wretched one moment, only to suddenly discover the ruins of an ancient Wizard and emerge as official Wizards, dominating entire regions.
Compared to them, Leilin's luck was entirely mediocre.
…
Three days later, in the laboratory, Leilin got his hands on the materials he had wished for.
"Branded Swordsman? What is that?" Leilin frowned — weren't these supposed to be materials on Wizard advancement?
"Heh heh… When I first received them, I was a bit puzzled too, but Duolote explained it quickly!" Guofate said.
"Leilin! Wizards are those who possess mystical power! In the ancient era, any powerful being with strength was reverentially called a Wizard! And Branded Swordsmen — through alchemical runes, they inscribed magical arrays directly onto their bodies, gaining tremendous power. They were a minor branch of ancient Wizards!"
Guofate began teaching Leilin: "I see you're already an official Knight. For you, perhaps the Branded Swordsman path is even more suitable!"
"I understand!"
Leilin flipped through the incomplete materials again and again. "Branded Swordsmen place greater emphasis on physical conditioning. They constantly practice and inscribe runes, storing the power of nature on the surface of their bodies, then releasing it explosively at critical moments…"
"Why does this look a bit like… a Knight!!!" Leilin's eyes lit up.
"Exactly! You've noticed too! A portion of the ancient Branded Swordsman inheritance was widely circulated, modified to be more suitable for ordinary people, and from that the Knight and Great Knight professions were formed!"
Guofate nodded.
"So Branded Swordsmen are the advanced versions of Knights and Great Knights!" Leilin was beginning to understand.
"But sadly, the missing portion of these materials exceeds 60%. Especially the sections about the magical arrays inscribed on the body — nearly all of it has been lost. Recklessly inscribing magical arrays on oneself would only cause the mana within a Wizard's body to destabilize…"
A flash of regret crossed Guofate's face.
"In the ancient era, the combination of Branded Swordsmen and Wizards was a nightmare for enemies across many worlds…"
"Even so, I'm very grateful, Mentor!" Leilin bowed once more.
After leaving the laboratory, Leilin tucked the scroll recording the Branded Swordsman content into his robe.
"Although the damage is severe, I have the Chip — perhaps I can extrapolate the missing content…"
Leilin comforted himself, and his mood suddenly improved considerably.
He had always preferred having multiple fallback plans.
The advanced Meditation Method in the Moon Lute Mountains was merely a legend, something Roman had glimpsed from a few torn pages — completely lacking in credibility. If Leilin himself hadn't seen the same content in Manxter Giant Snake's laboratory back then, he probably wouldn't have believed it at all.
Furthermore, even if Dylan's Garden existed, did it truly contain the inheritance of the Crimson Great Wizard? Even if it did, whether that advanced Meditation Method was suitable for Leilin himself was entirely unknown.
Leilin absolutely dared not gamble on his own luck being high enough to stumble upon an advanced Meditation Method the moment he stepped outside, one that was perfectly suited to his constitution.
Therefore, preparing other fallback routes had become an absolutely necessary thing.
He had the格林之水 in hand, and the Chip had been continuously computing the model for a First-level Defensive Wizard Spell. Now he had also obtained fragmentary advanced materials on Branded Swordsmen. These things could absolutely be pieced together into a complete advancement reference.
Leilin decided that if the Moon Lute Mountains yielded nothing, he would apply for graduation, then travel across the South Coast, exploring ruins and searching for clues to an advanced Meditation Method.
And if, before the age of fifty, he still hadn't found an advanced Meditation Method suitable for himself, he would use the materials in his possession to force his advancement to official Wizard.
Although this would make future progress difficult, if by fifty he still saw no hope, Leilin felt that strengthening his own power first and then continuing the search would be the better choice.
Walking back to his dormitory, even Biji had rarely come to visit him lately. On the entire spacious first floor, only Leilin the apprentice lived.
Leilin looked at the lifeless, utterly silent dormitory doors on either side and sighed: "Although the seclusion is much better and there's no worry about being suddenly disturbed, living in a place like this long-term is honestly a bit eerie…"
Only when he opened his own dormitory door and the lamp emitted its bright glow did Leilin finally feel much better.
Entering the simple laboratory to one side, Leilin silently called out in his mind: "Chip! What's the progress on the First-level Spell Model computation? And the task from last time to deduce the components of the格林之水 potion — how is that going?"
"First-level Defensive Spell computation progress: 14.3%. Estimated completion time: seven hundred and sixty-five days!"
For the computation of a First-level Spell, the Chip gave an expectedly lengthy timeline, but Leilin was already very satisfied.
Previously, the Chip had been completely unable to estimate a success timeline, but after Leilin had recorded a large number of the library's hidden books, the Chip had finally given him a glimmer of hope for completing a First-level Spell!
"As long as it can be completed, I can wait! Two years is nothing!"
After two years, Leilin would only be nineteen — still well within the golden age for Third-rank Apprentices. That was the benefit of youth: you never had to worry about running out of time.
"格林之水 formula deduction progress: 5.32%. Speculated ingredients: Thousand-Eye Tree fruit, Tide Serpent blood…"
"Speculated effect: greatly depletes an apprentice's life force, stimulating a breakthrough at the spiritual bottleneck!!!"
"So that's it!" Looking at the Chip's analysis, Leilin finally understood why the academy considered apprentices who reached Third-rank before the age of twenty to be Wizard seeds.
The effect of the格林之水 was to consume a Wizard's lifespan to stimulate breakthrough.
The younger the apprentice, the more lifespan could be burned, and naturally the greater the chance of breakthrough.
Once an apprentice's body had grown old and decrepit, even the格林之水 couldn't help them break through, because there was no vitality left to burn.
"It looks like I'll need to revise my previous plans!"
Leilin stroked his chin. "Searching for an advanced Meditation Method needs to be moved up immediately. And I can't wait until fifty — thirty! If I haven't found any leads on an advanced Meditation Method by thirty, I absolutely must attempt the breakthrough!"
Having made his decision, Leilin tidied up the workbench and took out an ancient potion scroll.