"Silence!"
Watching the somewhat chaotic scene, the hitherto silent Teyen suddenly spoke.
In an instant, a massive wave of spiritual power swept through the hall like a storm.
"This is Four Seasons Garden's assessment. If you don't wish to participate, the door is right there, feel free to leave..."
Teyen pointed to a small side door.
At this, the scene oddly fell silent.
"Good! No one is withdrawing? Then I announce the test begins!" Wade glanced at the wizards below, then nodded. A golden hourglass appeared in the center of the hall, and grains of sand began to fall steadily.
Seeing the time start, the wizards below hurriedly rushed to their workstations and began processing the materials in their hands.
Leilin casually found a secluded corner. There were many workstations in the hall, and no one was competing with him for this spot. He still had the leisure to observe the apprentices' performance.
Since these wizards had all chosen Four Seasons Garden, they naturally possessed some expertise in Potionology. All of them skillfully operated the equipment on their workstations, their movements swift yet orderly.
"It seems I'll need to reveal some of my true strength..."
Leilin smiled slightly and began to work...
"Hmm?"
Teyen, who was scanning from above, let out a sound of surprise.
"What's wrong?" Wade asked his companion in a low voice.
"That wizard! The method he is using to prepare it is extremely... perfect!" It seemed to take Teyen a while to find the right word from his mind.
"Look! While the other wizards are also quite skilled, they all make mistakes eventually. But the opponent's hand and movements don't have even the tiniest error, as steady as a textbook example..."
"Mmm... correct! If you hadn't pointed it out, I almost missed it!"
Wade looked towards the corner where a young man was intently working on a green plant root.
At this moment, the young man's right hand continuously heated something under a beaker, while the fingers on his left hand emitted several strands of yellow flame. These overlapped and turned a vivid red.
"This is the Layered Fire Technique from the Dark Wizard Domain, an advanced skill for apothecaries. To be this proficient..."
Wade also expressed admiration, "It looks like we've found a good candidate. Let me see his name..."
After speaking, Wade began flipping through a stack of parchment sheets. Soon, on the last registration form, he found the young man's name.
"Is it Leilin? Hmph! From the Black Bone Forest Academy in the Marsh Duchy, and he even offended the local Lilisite Family!"
"If that's all, we might be gaining a new colleague in the future!"
Even Teyen, whose face was usually expressionless, forced a slight smile.
For wizards of the White Wizard Domain, they weren't at all afraid that Leilin had offended people from the Dark Wizard Domain, as the two sides were already hostile.
What they feared most was if Leilin had offended a major local wizard power. That would be the most troublesome matter.
Sometimes, in order to maintain surface unity and solidarity, they had no choice but to gently refuse talented wizards even if they were wanted by White Wizard forces.
The two wizards talked as if no one else was around, but the wizards preparing potions nearby seemed not to hear them, remaining completely focused on completing their own potions.
However, at this moment, a wizard wrapped entirely in black robes suddenly gave a cold snort. His hand trembled, and the reagent, which had already turned transparent, instantly became turbid.
"Damn it! You're looking for death!"
The black-robed wizard roared in fury. Countless black lights gathered on his hand and surged towards a female wizard with golden hair on the other side.
"Stop!" Wade suddenly shouted. A bright light emanated from his body, and the runes around the workstation continuously lit up, blocking the wizard inside.
"My Lord, she..." the black-robed wizard protested.
"I didn't see her do anything. I only saw you intending to attack a fellow test-taker!" Wade snorted coldly.
"If there is a next time, you will be directly disqualified!"
The black-robed wizard clenched his fists, looking extremely unwilling. It took him several minutes before he reluctantly dispersed the magical fluctuation around him.
"I will kill you!"
He glared viciously at the golden-haired witch beside him, then began to pick up a fresh set of materials and start preparing again.
"Is this... tacit permission for underhanded attacks?"
Leilin's hands didn't stop, but ripples of thought stirred in his mind.
Just moments ago, the Chip had detected a very subtle and faint wave of spiritual power emitted from the golden-haired witch, disrupting the black-robed wizard's movements.
Potion preparation is a process requiring extremely high precision. Even a minor mistake can lead to complete failure.
Having his spiritual power disrupted at such a critical moment, the black-robed wizard's potion naturally ruined instantly.
Although this spiritual impact was subtle, a half-elemental wizard would definitely be able to sense it.
But these two wizards had stopped the black-robed wizard from retaliating.
"Could it be that the test allows underhanded attacks, but there's a certain energy threshold, and it can't be too obvious?"
Leilin speculated to himself.
If that was the case, the difficulty of the test would skyrocket once more. Leilin couldn't help but be profoundly shocked by the strictness and ruthlessness of the Four Seasons Garden assessment.
"But on the flip side, the stricter the test, the greater the benefits upon passing!"
Now, he felt a few sparks of fervor ignite within him.
Bang! Bang!