"Lei Lin, do you also seek the gift of the Wisdom Ancient Tree?"
Slay gazed at what was perhaps the most outstanding student in the entire history of Black Bone Forest Academy, his expression a tangle of complex emotions.
On one hand, Lei Lin's talent as a Wizard was beyond question. To advance to Second Rank Wizard at such an age — even across the entire recent history of the South Coast's wizarding world, such speed was exceedingly rare.
Slay firmly believed that if Lei Lin could maintain this pace of progress, he would absolutely become a Third Rank Wizard before reaching the age of one hundred, ascending to the highest tier of martial power across the entire South Coast! And had he remained at Black Bone Forest Academy, the whole institution would surely have entered a golden age of development.
But on the other hand, Lei Lin had already defected from the Academy. What was worse, his fierce counterattack had resulted in the death of Marbu, the Grand Elder of the Lillitell family — one of the three great families of Black Bone Forest Academy — along with a large number of First Rank Wizards, dealing a devastating blow to the Lillitell family's strength and nearly erasing them from the wizarding world entirely!
For this reason, Slay's feelings toward Lei Lin were profoundly conflicted.
"Yes, Headmaster!"
Now that the Mimicry Spell had been dispelled, Lei Lin saw no further need to conceal himself.
"The Wisdom Ancient Tree and the secret treasure that Erist obtained are things I must have. I would ask that you do not interfere." Lei Lin offered a slight bow.
In all fairness, aside from the Lillitell family, Black Bone Forest Academy had treated him reasonably well — at the very least, it had adhered to the basic principle of equivalent exchange, granting Lei Lin his Awakening as a Wizard and setting him upon the path to power.
For that reason, short of some extraordinary circumstance, he genuinely had no desire to exchange blows with Slay.
"Insolent! A mere newly-advanced Second Rank dares to speak in such a manner—"
Before Slay could even react, the Dark Wizard accompanying him was already seething with fury, his hair bristling with rage.
In his view, no matter how talented Lei Lin might be, he was still nothing more than a freshly-advanced Second Rank. Even if he carried the terrifying record of killing two Second Rank Wizards, who was to say he hadn't merely seized the advantage of two opponents who had already wounded each other?
For this reason, he simply could not stomach Lei Lin's attitude.
"Boy! Let this elder teach you how to conduct yourself among Second Rank Wizards—"
Two orbs of black light coalesced from the Dark Wizard's hands, gradually forming the shape of a skull.
"Pointless lecturing! How incredibly… annoying!"
Lei Lin murmured with his head lowered, the crimson in his eyes growing ever deeper, while on his wrist the transparent crystal began to emit a faint red glow.
"What did you say?" The Second Rank Wizard who had just spoken froze.
"I said, this lecturing habit of yours needs to change. Otherwise, you won't be seeing tomorrow morning's sun."
Lei Lin suddenly raised his head, breaking into a brilliant smile.
Sizzle!
Thick plumes of white smoke began pouring from the massive skeleton warrior behind him. Then, without warning, the foremost skeleton warrior suddenly collapsed entirely, crumbling into a pile of shattered bones that tumbled to the ground. The broken fragments then weathered and corroded further, dissolving into a mound of black powder.
And on the ground, a ring of withered yellow and scorched black began spreading outward from Lei Lin in all directions. The grass corroded in an instant, transforming into a mushy, sludge-like substance.
Countless insects dropped to the ground one after another. A mole burrowed up through the soil layer, only to go stiff and drop dead on the spot, its body immediately beginning to rot.
As if the Grim Reaper himself had descended, the surrounding area plunged into deathly silence.
Thud! Thud!
The massive skeleton warriors toppled one after another, shattering into bone powder in an instant.
"You used a wide-range poison attack!" Aelist, who had already been gravely wounded, saw the rotting begin spreading from his right arm first under the full-scale assault of Lei Lin's Gall of Vile Poison.
Aelist's face twisted with anguish. Gritting his teeth, he produced a potion vial and poured its contents over the wound on his right arm.
Boom! A ball of flames instantly engulfed everything below his right shoulder, and the stench of burning flesh wafted into the air.
Aelist's features contorted for a brief moment, but once the flames subsided, the severed edge of his shoulder had completely stopped bleeding, and the rotting from before had vanished without a trace.
"You go first! I'm going to stay and teach him a proper lesson!"
The Dark Wizard who had spoken earlier let his voice turn cold, carrying a trace of killing intent.
"Alright! Be careful of the White Wizards — I suspect they've already reached some kind of agreement with the Iron Crown..."
Aelist answered quickly. A dazzling flying carpet materialized from beneath his robes, hovering in midair as he moved to mount it.
Suddenly, his vision went blurry, and he collapsed to the ground, unconscious!
Thud! Aelist's body slammed into the earth. On his face, eerie black qi could still be seen forming the pattern of small serpents, writhing and coiling ceaselessly.
Even the flame potion from before had been unable to counteract this toxin!
"Such a potent neurotoxin — it was lying dormant before fully activating! This is bad!!!"
The Dark Wizard who had taken an immediate dislike to Lei Lin saw his expression change drastically.