On the dark wasteland, a carriage was slowly making its way.
Two horned horses pulled it. Since there was no rush on the return journey, the creatures were quite relaxed, occasionally snorting and tearing at the roadside plants with their mouths.
Around the carriage, a ring of dim white light illuminated the surrounding ground.
This was the effect of a wizard's permanent Light spell, cast upon the carriage itself.
"Leilin, you had Ober and Ilya deliberately slow the carriage, and you had me prepare this—is there some purpose behind it?"
Inside the carriage, Xiling was fiddling with a crystal ball that emanated pulses of runic energy. She suddenly looked up and asked.
"Of course. We're waiting for someone." Leilin was half-reclined on the cushioned seat, his eyes slightly narrowed.
"Is it... Shigeli of the Eight-legged Spider?"
Xiling was an intelligent woman, and the colour immediately drained from her face.
"More than that. There could also be wizards from the Mist Forest. After all, I am here, aren't I?"
Leilin smiled lightly and suddenly stepped outside the carriage.
"P-Professor, look!"
The carriage halted. Ober, the driver, stammered slightly, and before him a massive wall of fog blocked their path.
Although the Dark Pole Region also had dense fog, for it to appear here—and this thick—was quite abnormal. The magical power within it was plainly exposed on the surface. Clearly, the enemy had resolved to annihilate them all here!
"The Mist Barrier! The Mist Forest's signature wizardry. It really is them!"
From behind Leilin came Xiling's sigh. "What do we do?"
It had to be said that after everything that had happened, Leilin had completely taken the dominant position in Xiling's mind. Whenever something came up, she turned to him for guidance.
"Stick to the original plan! You don't need to get involved—just focus on protecting yourselves!"
Leilin jumped down from the carriage and approached the fog wall.
Under the glow of the light, the greyish fog had congealed like paste, with small vortexes rippling continuously across its surface.
"No matter how many rules and institutions are supposed to keep them in check, wizards are still wizards in the end! For profit, what's a little risk?"
Leilin smiled faintly.
In a situation like this, as long as he wiped them all out here and kept his hands clean enough, any lingering consequences could be weathered without trouble.
But he wasn't surprised—quite the opposite, he was somewhat pleased.
"Coming to me all at once really saves me a lot of trouble!" Leilin pressed both hands against the fog wall.
Crack! Crack!
A layer of white ice mist spread along the wall, freezing every grey fog vortex on its surface.
In an instant, the vast fog-labyrinth wall seemed to transform into crystal—translucent and gleaming, with faint reflections of the surrounding scenery appearing within.
This was the residual energy from Leilin's continuous modifications to adapt himself to Frost Radiation, now released all at once.
"Not bad!" Leilin gazed at his own hands.
His hands now appeared even whiter, like jade, and one could faintly see their translucent quality shining through.
"The Frost Radiation resistance modification is completely finished. Once I return, I can use the Ice Bloodline Mark!"
Leilin smiled and lightly tapped the ice wall with one finger.
Crack! Crack! Crack! Crack!
A web of fine cracks appeared at his fingertip and spread outward continuously.
Within seconds, countless cracks had covered the entire ice wall. Shards of ice flew in every direction, transforming into glittering motes that drifted down.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the entire fog wall shattered apart like a pile of toy blocks, scattering across the ground.
As the fog dissipated, the carriage's light immediately illuminated several figures.
"Shigeli! It really is you! And Ciss!"
Xiling gritted her teeth.
Blocking their path was indeed Shigeli's group, but besides the two of them, several old men now stood alongside. Each one emanated a semi-elementalised aura, with wisps of grey mist still flowing from between their fingers.
The old men's faces were etched with shock—they clearly hadn't expected Leilin to break through the Mist Barrier so easily.
"Truly a peak First-rank Wizard!"
Among the group, the androgynous Ciss was apparently the leader. He gave a slight bow.
"This is a matter between us and the Nature Alliance School. Might Lord Leilin withdraw for the time being? Once this matter is settled, no matter what terms the other side offered, we can double them!"
As his words fell, as though some seal had been released, a violent aura erupted from Ciss's body. Xiling's face turned white, and Ober and Ilya nearly collapsed on the spot.
"Peak First-rank! He's also peak First-rank!"