"The Black Bone Forest Academy really does have some twisted taste — setting up the academy in a cemetery!"
Leilin shook his head, but soon felt a pleasant sensation wash over him, as if every pore on his body was opening wide, breathing in the local air.
"Chip! What's going on?"
"Ding! Task initiated. Environmental sample collection, analysis in progress!"
"The concentration of one type of negative energy particle in the surrounding environment has noticeably increased, producing a slight resonance with the host's spiritual power. Hypothesis: Shadow-system negative energy particles!" the Chip's voice reported.
"So that's it! The increase of negative energy in the environment clearly benefits Shadow-system wizards. It's just like the cultivation novels from my previous world — the sects always staked out places rich in spiritual energy!"
Leilin was beginning to understand the academy's choice.
"Password!"
By now, Duolote had led the group to the very center of the cemetery cluster. Here stood the largest tomb, block after block of black marble piled up to form something resembling a towering black castle.
On either side of the tomb entrance stood two enormous stone statues.
The one on the left was a giant two-headed hound, its body covered in barbs.
The one on the right was a massive winged lizard, its sharp teeth on full display, exuding an aura of savage ferocity.
Both statues were remarkably lifelike, their eyes set with black gemstones that made them appear almost alive.
As Duolote approached the statues, the lizard on the right spoke up, its voice raspy. With each movement of its mouth, flakes of stone dust trickled down.
"All right, Jiumoluo! Don't you recognize me?"
Duolote looked thoroughly annoyed.
The moment his words fell, both the lizard and the hound burst into booming laughter, the force of it whipping up a gust of wind that flipped the collars of the apprentices behind them.
"Duolote! We may know you well, but rules are rules!"
Both statues now seemed completely alive. The hound licked its front paw as a woman's voice rang out.
"Or… would you like to play with us?" The lizard extended one claw and beckoned with a human-like gesture. "Come on — I just happen to feel a bit itchy!"
"Fine, fine! Let me think!" Duolote rolled his eyes.
"Ugh, damn it! I really should have taken the heads off those pigs who designed the defensive magical array and stuffed them up their own arses!"
Duolote suddenly let out a roar.
"Spit it out! What's the password?" the hound barked, sparks already beginning to fly from its mouth.
"The secret password is — I hate stinking bones!" Duolote muttered under his breath.
Leilin's mouth twitch. He had to summon every ounce of willpower to suppress his laughter. Even though Duolote was nothing more than a skeleton, Leilin could tell his mood was far from pleasant.
"Haha! Password correct!" The lizard and the hound roared with laughter and stepped aside to clear the path.
"I bet the observers inside the academy are laughing themselves sick over their crystal balls!" the hound snickered, retreating to its stone pedestal and resuming its original statue pose.
"Pfft!" One of the apprentices finally couldn't hold it in.
"Humph!" The green flames in Duolote's eye sockets suddenly surged outward. "It seems I need to teach our new apprentices what it means to respect their mentors!"
Snap! Duolote snapped his fingers.
"Aaaah!!! What is that — stay away, stay away!!!" The apprentice who had made the sound stumbled back several steps, fell to the ground, and let out a piercing scream.
"Luoxi! What's wrong?" Another apprentice rushed forward.
"Don't — don't come near me!" Luoxi shrieked, his face beginning to twist in a distorted grimace.
Seeing this scene, a chill crept up from the depths of every nearby apprentice's heart.
"Wizards are equals — they can joke with one another and such. But apprentices must remain humble!"
Leilin suddenly understood the survival rules of the wizard world: only equal strength serves as a prerequisite for real dialogue.
Jiamen and Kreweir, standing off to the side, wore equally contemplative expressions.
"Lift him up. We're going inside!" Duolote pointed at the still-screaming Luoxi.
Two attendants stepped forward, each grabbing Luoxi under an arm and hauling him upright.
"They're both at least Great Knights!" Leilin's eyes gleamed as he watched the two attendants subdue Luoxi with ease.
Once the tomb doors swung open, a spiral stone staircase descending into the ground appeared before the group. It wound downward in a helix, gradually vanishing into an unfathomable darkness.