But all of this was already too late.
Aelister wore a savage grin as his entire body suddenly transformed.
Muscles bulged one after another, hard wolf fur covered his entire body, fangs sprouted from his jaws, a ring of downy fur spread across his face, and even his ears shifted into wolf ears!
In the instant of his leap, he had already become a werewolf!
Crack! The razor-sharp wolf claws, wreathed in whistling wind, caved in the second-rank Wizard's skull like a melon — red and white brain matter splattered across the floor.
The enormous werewolf figure did not stop. From the corpse it extracted a lump of green liquid, and with wild elation burning in its eyes, it prepared to leap away.
"Aelister!!!"
At that moment, the auctioneer — who had been backing toward the edge — stepped forward.
Wrapped in a cocoon of white light, the auctioneer's entire form underwent a violent transformation.
His face stretched thin and long, a mass of white beard trailing all the way to the floor.
A vast, overwhelming, and utterly unmatched wave of spiritual power descended upon the arena.
"Giant Tree!" the old man murmured, and a colossal plant surged up from the center of the dais. Thick vines spread outward, crushing solid rock to dust beneath their grip.
The enormous tree blocked the upper exit, completely severing the werewolf's escape route.
"Roooarrr…" Aelister, now fully transformed, snarled at the old man ceaselessly.
"Rank Three White Wizard!" In the VIP room, Leilin's pupils contracted to pinpoints — this was the first time he had ever witnessed a top-tier White Wizard appear in person!
A rank three Wizard was the absolute pinnacle of the entire South Coast — the beings who held supreme authority over both Black and White Wizards alike.
And when this White Wizard elder struck, the dazzling, radiant Life Wizardry blazed across the entire auction hall in an instant.
Countless wooden tables and chairs seemed to gain lives of their own, sprouting fine spores from their surfaces, spores that rapidly grew into vines and full-grown plants.
In the blink of an eye, the entire auction house had become a verdant world of greenery, and at its center, the towering ancient tree stood proud and regal like an emperor upon his throne.
"Plant-system Wizardry at this level has already begun to touch upon the realm of 'domains'…" With the Book of the Great Serpent as his guide, Leilin's insight far surpassed that of any second-rank Wizard present, and he recognized just how extraordinary this rank three Wizard truly was.
"But… plant system? Why does it feel so familiar!"
A burst of dark energy particles erupted from Leilin's hand, and every trace of green plant matter inside the VIP room was instantly reduced to ash.
This third-rank Wizard's magic immediately reminded Leilin of Leonot — that second-rank Wizard from the Four Seasons Garden. The two were far too similar, whether in the nature of their Wizardry or in their bearing.
"Could it be that this rank three Wizard is Leonot's mentor, or perhaps a relative?"
The thought extinguished any remaining impulse Leilin had to intervene.
Throughout the entire auction hall, Wizards who — like him — had chosen to simply stand by and watch at this point were exceedingly rare.
Only about two or three VIP rooms' worth of Wizards had so far maintained their composure without rashly making a move.
Still, the sheer audacity of Aelister — using a flesh puppet to tie up every White Wizard in the room, then risking everything to steal the Wisdom Ancient Tree essence on his own — nearly succeeding at that — forced Leilin to genuinely admire his decisiveness and patience.
But unfortunately, under the overwhelming suppression of a rank three Wizard, no scheme or trickery could remain hidden.
No matter how formidable Aelister might be among second-rank Wizards, he stood absolutely no chance against a rank three.
Crack! Crack!
Inside the green plant barrier, the black viscous net was swiftly shredded apart by countless vines. The freed second-rank Wizards quickly regrouped behind the rank three Wizard, fanning out to surround Aelister — now trapped in the center in his half-werewolf form.
The half-beast at the center, wrapped in coarse wolf fur, flickered with cunning light in his eyes as he continued to snarl at the encircling Wizards.
"Something's wrong!"
Leilin suddenly realized the problem — Aelister, surrounded on all sides, appeared far too calm.
"Seize him!" Below, the rank three Wizard — the white-bearded old man — had clearly noticed something as well. His brows furrowed deeply, and he barked an order to the Wizards behind him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
Several semi-transparent Wizardry arrows sliced through the air with piercing shrieks, blowing apart the skulls of several Wizards.
Thud! Thud! A number of White Wizards immediately crumpled to the ground.
"What's happening?" The surrounding White Wizards recoiled in alarm, each one manifesting various innate defensive Wizardries across their bodies.