The Eye of Judgment's contract was not without a solution. At the very least, the Filth Bird feather solution that the Thousand Leaves Hand had previously passed to Leilin could unilaterally disrupt its effects.
What unsettled Leilin even more was that this very solution had come from none other than Coben, the Second-rank Wizard standing before him!
While it was unlikely that a second Filth Bird feather could be found anywhere on the South Coast, for Wizards, there were plenty of methods to achieve a similar effect.
After all, behind the Thousand Leaves Hand stood the entire Dark Wizard Alliance! With at least Third-rank Dark Wizard powerhouses holding court!
If Leilin still believed in this contract after all that, he would be a fool!
Xishan standing before him was a perfect example! He was a Wizard of the Four Seasons Garden, deeply trusted, and the contract binding him must have been even more stringent — yet he had betrayed the Four Seasons Garden without the slightest hesitation. He must have used some method to shake off the contract's influence.
Therefore, even though their earlier contract contained clauses prohibiting mutual attacks, Leilin hadn't taken them to heart in the slightest.
Sure enough, this Second-rank Dark Wizard had struck without hesitation the moment he got what he wanted, completely disregarding the contract. It was clear he had already unilaterally dissolved its effects.
Fortunately, Leilin had been on his guard against this Second-rank Wizard from the very beginning, and his own strength had received a tremendous boost after the completion of his heart modification — which was the only reason he was able to weather this wave of attacks.
"You… how can you fight back? How did you shake off the contract's influence?"
Coben's shock at Leilin's strength was pushed aside as he asked this question first.
The Eye of Judgment's contract was no common commodity — otherwise it wouldn't have been so widely employed across the South Coast. Apart from the Filth Bird, its mortal enemy, there were very few other means to erase its binding force.
Even he himself had only managed to counteract the Eye of Judgment's contract and dissolve it unilaterally through the guidance and assistance of a Third-rank Wizard powerhouse behind the Dark Wizard Alliance, at an enormous cost.
So-called unilateral dissolution of the contract meant that the Eye of Judgment's effects had vanished for him, but still remained in full effect upon Leilin.
Specifically, he could attack Leilin, but Leilin could not fight back. The moment Leilin retaliated, it would immediately trigger the Eye of Judgment's punishment!
It was precisely because of this that he had been so confident and brazen in his attempt to eliminate Leilin — this unstable factor — first!
But now, the consistently powerful effects of the Eye of Judgment had somehow disappeared on Leilin. How could he not be astonished?
"Could it be that this Leilin has also cultivated some spell similar to 'Three Spirits as One'?" Coben found himself increasingly unable to see through this young Wizard before him.
His son Xishan had exploited the unique effects of Three Spirits as One to violate the Four Seasons Garden's covenant — dying once first, allowing the Eye of Judgment's effects to fully discharge, and only then reviving, thereby evading the contract's power.
Coben certainly didn't believe that someone as powerful as a third-tier Wizard was standing behind Leilin — it was far more likely that he had cultivated this kind of ancient secret technique!
"Reckless fool!"
Coben swept a cold glance around the area and let out a derisive snort. The massive force of their earlier clash had left them completely exposed before the White Wizards, and a number of them were already heading over to investigate.
The surrounding area had been reduced to barren wasteland. Only the spot where the core consciousness had been sealed was still protected by a layer of pitch-black energy membrane.
Several Wizards clad in the Lightning Legion's attire were already making their way toward them. Leilin recognized the Wizard leading the group — it was the deputy legion commander that Resman had left behind, a powerful existence at the peak of the first tier!
"The Lightning Legion? What an eyesore!"
Coben let out a low growl, seemingly bearing some grudge against this Lightning Legion. He thrust both palms forward:
"Sigh of Withering!"
A ring of silvery-gray air currents materialized between his hands, then surged like a tornado toward the Lightning Legion's position at breakneck speed.
The silvery-gray air seemed to carry an extraordinarily potent corrosive effect, carving several deep gouges into the ground as it swept forward. It reached the Wizards in the blink of an eye.
Ssss!
Strands of the air current lashed through one of the Lightning Legion's Wizards. A strange expression flickered across his face before his entire body began to wither on the spot.
In less than the time it took to blink, this formidable Wizard had been reduced to a desiccated corpse that crumpled to the ground.
"Heh heh heh!" Coben let out a bone-chilling cackle. Under his control, the silvery-gray tornado first tore through the Lightning Legion's Wizards one by one, then finally lunged at the deputy legion commander, whose face was filled with despair.
"Second-tier Wizard — Coben the Deathbringer!! Lightning's Fury!!!"
The deputy legion commander clearly recognized Coben's identity. He bellowed at the top of his lungs, raising an iron fist and hurling it at the tornado raging through the sky!
As he threw his punch, two enormous blue spheres of ball lightning materialized in an instant before his fist.
The colossal lightning fists, trailing bolts of thunder-fire and brimming with boundless fury, whistled through the air as they bore down on the silvery-gray tornado.
To everyone's surprise, the moment the two titanic lightning fists plunged into the tornado, they vanished without a trace — not a single sound escaped.
"Pfft!" The deputy commander's face turned deathly pale, and he instantly spat out a mouthful of dark reddish-black blood, wisps of grayish gas continuously rising from within.
"Heh heh! Did you think I wouldn't study your lightning-system wizardry after the beating I took last time?"
Kopin laughed his eerie laugh without cease, the colossal tornado roaring as it sucked the legion commander in as well.
Wooo...