Although the host had already warned that the final round could be dangerous,
not a single
The world of Wizards had never been a kind place. Those who had survived to the present day were hardly innocent of bloodshed — they had long since made peace with such realities.
Moreover, the enormous prize pool accumulated by the generous contributions of several major schools, along with the faint promise of a third-rank Wizard's legacy at the end, was more than enough for them to risk their lives.
"Very well! Since no one is withdrawing, then I declare — the final round begins!!!"
The host swept his hand downward.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Three enormous fireworks of every color streaked across the sky like comets, while the surrounding band immediately struck up a rousing melody.
Bzzzz!
Threads of purple energy began circulating across the Wizard Array. The power of space condensed steadily, eventually forming a massive rift.
One contestant Wizard after another, having received their amulets and escape sigils, stepped into the Wizard Array. A flash of light — and their figures vanished instantly.
Once the last Wizard had entered the secret realm, a colossal screen of light suddenly rose from all four sides of the arena.
Figures flickered across the luminous display, which had been divided into dozens of large grids, each one showing a different Wizard's silhouette.
They had actually set up surveillance covering every location within the secret realm, drawing astonished exclamations from the Wizards in attendance.
"Truly ingenious monitoring technology — and they were willing to spend the money for it…"
Lei Lin sighed inwardly in admiration.
This kind of light-and-image technology for monitoring an entire secret realm wasn't something he couldn't develop himself, but the cost was far too extravagant.
Only with the Central Regional Council taking the lead and every major school bleeding their coffers could such an effect be achieved — and even then, only for a single day. Any longer and they'd go bankrupt.
Still, when money was no object, the results spoke for themselves. Virtually every Wizard's figure could be found on the screen.
……
"Very bad feeling!" Willin swung the Cross Sword in his hand.
An arc of light shot out, cleaving a massive leech on the opposite side in two. But even split in half, the leech didn't die immediately — it thrashed ceaselessly across the swamp, splashing huge sprays of water in every direction.
The moment Willin was teleported in, his eyes fell upon an expanse of swampland. He'd also been attacked by that enormous leech the instant he arrived, filling him with a distinctly ominous premonition.
"Master, be careful — I'm detecting a powerful surveillance force in here!"
At that moment, the armor on his body suddenly cracked open, revealing an eye. The Bio-Form Armor was communicating directly with its master.
"This is Oakel's Grand Observation Art of the Plant family — it uses the roots and vines of plants as data-transmission channels. If you wish to move covertly, Master, you'd best avoid areas with dense vegetation!"
The Bio-Form Armor continuously relayed information to its master through spiritual communication.
As a Bio-Form Warrior, Willin had not only inherited a predecessor's Bio-Form Armor, dramatically boosting his strength, but also gained a vast wealth of knowledge and experience — practically the equivalent of having a seasoned elder at his side at all times.
"No wonder I felt uncomfortable — I was being watched!" Willin nodded in sudden realization and swiftly left the swamp.
"Who's there? Show yourself!"
At the very edge of the swamp, Willin's ears twitched, and he leveled his Cross Sword toward a nearby thicket.
"Don't attack — we mean no harm!" Two Wizards who looked remarkably similar emerged from the bushes.
"Lord Willin, we were simply teleported here by chance."
"We were even planning to head over and help any Wizards who might have fallen into the swamp!"
"Besides, we have the deepest respect for Lord Willin's strength — why would we ever dare oppose you?"
"Exactly! Exactly!" The two Wizards, who looked like twin brothers, fired off one sentence each in rapid succession without the slightest pause between them, leaving Willin no opportunity to interject.
In truth, his appearance — gripping a Cross Sword, clad in living-matter armor — had already been seared into the memories of every competing Wizard, each one keenly aware of Willin's formidable power.
Being treated with deference by full-fledged Wizards whom he had once feared himself filled Willin with a heady, buoyant feeling.
"If only Lord Lelin could see this — maybe he'd feel proud too! Come to think of it, Lord Lelin seems to be sitting on the judging panel the whole time… I should find a chance to go and introduce myself at some point…"
Willin's adoration for Lord Lelin was utterly genuine. As for the traitor among the Wizard hierarchy that Venas had spoken of, he had never for a moment suspected Lelin.
In fact, had Venas, Elin, and
"Heh heh… heh heh…" Willin rubbed the back of his head with some embarrassment, wearing a dopey grin.
The twin brothers exchanged a glance upon seeing this scene, and a peculiar light flickered in both their eyes.
"Lord Willin!" one of them said, closing a few more steps.
"It's so dangerous here—how about we stick together?"
Bang! The instant his words fell, several green thorn vines tore through the soil and latched onto Willin's feet, binding them firmly in place.
"Strike!" the Wizard who had launched the vine attack roared.
"Owei Sphere!" The younger brother standing behind immediately crushed a rune crystal, and matching it with sharp syllables, unleashed a powerful sorcerous attack.
A purple orb, constantly bubbling with tiny white froths of corrosion, shot directly toward Willin's head.
Having gathered intelligence beforehand, the brothers naturally knew the armor on Willin's body offered formidable defense, so they had specifically aimed for his unprotected head.
The coordination between the two brothers was seamless, and the final lethal attack carried the terrifying force of sixty to seventy degrees of power.
At that level, even a mountain of solid rock would be corroded into a honeycomb of countless craters.
"Haha! Fool! So what if you're stronger than us? It's a competition after all—are we not allowed to take a gamble?"
The elder brother sneered, a hint of satisfaction gleaming in his eyes as he looked at Willin.
He had long been annoyed by the other's reputation as a prodigy, and now that he had the chance to strike back, he was naturally delighted.
"Master!"
Just one second before the corrosive sphere reached its target, from every section of the armor on Willin's body, countless tiny eyes materialized.
Though small in size, these eyes radiated an aura of intelligence, and at this moment, they were filled with fury.
Bang! A layer of fleshy membrane surfaced over Willin's head, forming a helmet-like defense.
The Owei Sphere crashed into it with a deafening explosion, sending Willin's body hurtling backward. But strangely, not a single drop of blood was shed.
But in midair, Willin's armor underwent a tremendous transformation.
Various fleshy membranes hardened, forming the shape of actual plate armor. Numerous eyes merged together until only the thirteen largest remained, embedded in the armor's surface. The sight was utterly terrifying, and this form was the Strongest State of the Soldier Armor!
Sizzle sizzle! Faint traces of purple corrosive energy still worked upon Willin's body, but these only caused a minor nuisance to the armor, not even corroding a single dent into its surface.
This scene immediately left the opposing Wizard brothers dumbfounded.
"Run!" They exchanged a glance and made their decision instantly.
A Wizard who could withstand their combined attack head-on was a powerhouse of unfathomable depth. They certainly didn't want to be eliminated right here and now.
"You...!" Willin's face flushed crimson with anger. He launched himself into a jump with explosive force.
Crack! Two deep craters caved into the ground below as Willin instantly appeared before the two Wizards.
"Die!" Willin raised the Cross Sword in his hand.
Now truly unleashed, Willin's power had reached the peak of a First-Tier Wizard, even touching the bottleneck of the Second-Tier. The twin brother Wizards, on the other hand, only possessed strength around the semi-elemental transformation stage.
Once Willin had truly made up his mind, killing them would be effortless.
Hiss! The Cross Sword traced across one Wizard's neck. Immediately after, the Wizard's body lit up.
A column of milky-white light enveloped him, and he vanished from the Secret Realm in an instant.
"You can go too!" This time, Willin showed no further mercy. He drove his blade straight into the heart of the other Wizard.
Boom! This Wizard also disappeared amidst flickering points of white light.
After eliminating the two, Willin's expression shifted slightly. He reached into the pouch at his waist and withdrew a milky-white amulet.
Whoosh! A flash of light passed over it. The number on the amulet had now changed from one to three.
Willin stared blankly at it for a moment, then let out a bitter, helpless smile...
Outside the Secret Realm, in the center of the finals arena.
A beam of light shot forth, and within it, the faint silhouette of a person could be seen.
"Quick! Medical team, get ready!" the announcer ordered with practiced experience.
Several Wizards wearing milky white robes, with snake and cross symbols on their backs, immediately gathered around.
Once the pillar of light dissipated, it revealed the face of the Wizard who had been eliminated first. But now, his face was deathly pale, and there was a bleeding wound on his neck.
"I'll stop the bleeding first—prepare the Life Magic!" These medical team members were all Healing Wizards, among whom quite a few were Official Wizards, their auras faintly approaching the peak of the first rank. Healing such superficial wounds was child's play to them.
After a burst of milky white light, the injured Wizard had been fully healed—even the wound on his neck had vanished without a trace.
Moments later, his brother was teleported out as well, leading to the same tedious fuss all over again.
Up on the elevated platform, Lei Lin had witnessed everything, and felt an overwhelming urge to cover his eyes.
"His reaction speed isn't bad! But he's a bit of an idiot! Looks like all those years of wandering and adventuring didn't teach him much. Thank goodness I never told anyone I was his teacher! Otherwise, this would be truly humiliating…"
"Look! Hei Long and Ge Er have clashed!"
"Both of them are rising stars—this is going to be good!" Several Wizards immediately wore expressions of schadenfreude.