"But there's good news too!"
Leilin calculated how things would unfold afterward, his expression gradually relaxing.
"Possine and the other two joined halfway through, and according to Jiamen, they even managed to keep it hidden from their family and the academy. That means the Lilisite family at most knows Possine is dead, but not where he ultimately went or who he met! That's the best-case scenario!"
As for Jiamen's disappearance?
Leilin wasn't too concerned. First, he didn't kill Jiamen, so even with truth-detection magic, he had nothing to fear. Second, Jiamen only had Duolote as a mentor behind him, a background far smaller than the three great families. Leilin's own mentor, Guofate, could handle any pressure from that side.
Leilin took one last look at the cliff, then turned and left without looking back.
Meanwhile, inside a solemn and eerie ancient castle.
From one of the rooms, a sudden roar erupted: "Possine is dead!!! The death-spiriting silkworm on him wasn't even activated!!!"
The voice's owner radiated absolute fury, sound waves rippling outward in circles through the castle.
Even the air visibly distorted with ripples, a powerful and terrifying aura continuously seeping from the room.
Many attendants and maids in the corridors fell to their knees, trembling violently.
"Call Kreweir here! If he can't get to the bottom of this, I'll send him to the Flame Mine for a hundred years!!!"
...
The sky suddenly turned overcast, cold wind howled, and soon fine rain began to fall, bringing moisture and chill to the earth.
But Leilin was in very good spirits.
At the moment, he was inside a cave, warming himself by a cozy campfire, his eyes closed as he browsed the contents of an advanced Meditation Method.
He took this Meditation Method very seriously. After all, his future path was largely decided by it.
Furthermore, advanced Meditation Methods had certain prerequisites for apprentices; one had to meet specific conditions to practice them successfully.
Leilin didn't want to fight tooth and nail only to end up with something completely useless.
The quick glance he'd taken earlier left him somewhat puzzled: "Warlock? Like the Imprint Swordsman, is it some ancient branch of Wizards?"
Leilin leaned against the dry rock wall, his mind sorting through the Meditation Method data that had been transmitted to him today.
"Pupil of the Comor" — that was the name of the advanced Meditation Method Leilin had obtained, passed down from the Crimson Archmage.
And before the Meditation Method itself, there was information introducing a special post-apprentice existence from ancient times — the Warlock!!!
So-called Warlocks were a group of special Wizards who gained the bloodlines of powerful magical beasts or even beings from other worlds through consumption, mating, or other means, constantly uncovering the power within.
Like the Imprint Swordsman, the Warlock was a minor subcategory of ancient Wizards.
According to the introduction written by the Crimson Archmage, he himself had been a powerful fourth-rank Warlock! He had even unified the South Coast, leaving behind many immortal legends.
Furthermore, it was said Warlocks possessed even greater talent for spellcasting. Generally speaking, at the same rank, a Warlock completely surpassed a regular Wizard.
But if Warlocks were that powerful, the South Coast would have long been unified under their rule, and there wouldn't be so many Wizard organizations.
Firstly, Warlocks relied primarily on bloodlines, and as time passed and generations were born, their descendants often experienced a thinning of the blood. In recent times, as various ancient creatures gradually perished, the loss of bloodline sources made the number of Warlocks increasingly scarce.
Moreover, most Warlocks suffered from an extremely troublesome occupational hazard — emotional volatility!!! Wizards were the embodiment of absolute rationality, but Warlocks, influenced by the bloodlines within them, often had particularly volatile personalities prone to extremes.
Obviously, such a temperament made it difficult to get far in the ruthless world of Wizards.
Fortunately, the Crimson Archmage had provided a method to suppress this condition — the Tranquility Potion!
As long as a Warlock consumed the Tranquility Potion, they could soothe their inner emotions and regain their rational Wizard side.
Furthermore, strong willpower also helped counteract the emotional influence of the bloodline.
In the preface of the advanced Meditation Method, several methods for acquiring bloodlines were provided, more than enough for Leilin to choose from.
Seeing this, Leilin had already decided to advance as a Warlock and walk the path of bloodlines.
But a subsequent discovery made Leilin frown.
"Three layers! The entire advanced Meditation Method only has three layers? And there's obvious damage later on!"
According to the intelligence Leilin had gathered, advanced Meditation Methods could drive a Wizard's advancement.
This meant that as long as a Wizard completed one layer of the Meditation Method, their rank would automatically advance, requiring no massive amount of materials to push through, nor any need to solidify spell models.
Because the advanced Meditation Method would automatically generate innate spells perfectly suited to the Wizard, continuously inscribing them into the Wizard's sea of consciousness through meditation.