"That's right! The Marsh Duchy has the same custom!" Bosain's eyes lit up.
"Let's try again!"
He walked straight up to a prisoner — a blue-haired boy who looked barely grown: "Be honored, kid! To make a contribution for the great Wizards!"
Bosain sneered and sliced through the ropes binding the boy.
"Put this on — best worn about thirteen centimeters below the collar!" Leilin plucked a Besta daisy on the spot and tucked it under the boy's collar.
"Everything's ready! Ross, Xiaoya, keep your eyes open!" Jiamen shouted into the communicator.
"Three, two, one — release!"
Bosain grabbed the boy by his hair with one arm, carried him to the edge of the cliff, looked at the squirming child, and let a faint smile play across his lips before letting go!!!
Aaah!!!
The boy spat out what was in his mouth in midair and let out a piercing scream!
His hands flailed wildly, like a drowning man grasping at the last straw.
"Hope it works this time!" At the cliff's edge, Leilin and the other two stood watching the boy shrink to a black dot amid his screams, murmuring to himself.
Suddenly, all three of Leilin's group felt a ripple of energy.
"This feeling! There's no mistaking it! The fluctuation when a secret realm opens — the same as during the Blood Duel last time!" A smile tugged at the corner of Leilin's mouth.
"Crackle…" the communicator crackled to life.
"He vanished! I saw that person get swallowed by a flash of light in midair — completely disappeared!" Xiaoya's voice came through, carrying a hint of excitement.
"We're heading up right now!" Ross's voice came through the communicator as well.
Moments later, the five reassembled on the clifftop, all marveling at the ancient Wizards' handiwork.
"Courage and reverence! Who could have imagined it!"
Xiaoya exclaimed in awe: "No magical protection of any kind, just leaping straight off a cliff — and below are giant swords enchanted with Eternal Sharpness. Even a full Wizard wouldn't dare try…"
"And you have to carry a Besta daisy, or the entrance to the secret realm won't open…"
Jiamen grinned. "Leilin, well done!"
Even Bosain wore an approving smile, and Xiaoya was clapping from the side.
"Oh, it was everyone's tips that made it possible!" Leilin gave a slight nod, a modest smile with a touch of pride on his face.
"The secret realm has been found — what are we waiting for?" Ross plucked a Besta daisy and pinned it to himself.
"And them!" Bosain pointed at the remaining prisoners, whose faces were drained of color.
"I'll handle it!" Jiamen extended both hands, and green vines began spreading outward.
"Wait!" Leilin spoke suddenly, stopping Jiamen.
"What, are you going to plead for them?" Bosain looked at Leilin with an amused smile.
"No! I just think the secret realm is bound to have all sorts of traps and mechanisms. There might be places where they could still be useful!"
Leilin gave a perfectly reasonable justification.
"Besides!" He reached a hand toward the prisoners. "Rock Bind!"
Grayish-white granite erupted from the ground and formed into shackle-like restraints, binding the prisoners all over again.
"Ordinary people can't break through magical bindings — this way, there's no worry about them escaping!"
"Good! If we spend too much time inside the secret realm, they'll starve to death. Leilin, you really are a Wizard!"
Bosain smiled broadly and grabbed a fistful of Besta daisies. "Let's go! What are we waiting for?"
"Jump!" Each of the five apprentices took a Besta daisy and leaped off the cliff!!!
Boom!!!
In the rapid descent, the fierce air pressure pressed Leilin's skin inward.
His eyes reddened slightly; he felt as though all the blood in his body wanted to come flying out.
"Is jumping off a building like this too?" Even now, Leilin's mind wandered.
When the five had fallen halfway down, a ring of bright light suddenly blazed across the cliff face.
The light formed a circle, the air within it warping to reveal the landscape of another space beyond.
"The secret realm entrance!" Bosain shouted.
Immediately, the five were bathed in blinding light, and a powerful sensation of weightlessness struck them.
After a dizzying spin, Leilin and the other four found themselves inside a dim cavern.
"A place this big must be underground — the question is where exactly. Anyway, the area below the cliff has been scanned by divination spells countless times; it can't be there!"
Leilin slowly got to his feet.
"Where's the boy?" Xiaoya tidied her disheveled hair and suddenly spoke up: "The first boy — he's gone!"
"More than that!" Ross bent down and swept a finger across the ground, revealing a smear of blood and the boy's shredded clothes.
"As expected — the secret realm holds a legacy, but it comes with danger too!"