"Kefa has already undergone plant life transformation. As long as this True Seed still exists, revival is possible at any time — but accumulating enough life force to match what was lost will take a very long time..."
Nonofu sighed, gazing once more at the green seed in his hand.
The seed was about the size of an adult's fist, covered in intricate plant-like patterns. One could even faintly sense a familiar wave of spiritual power emanating from within, as if a gravely wounded life lay dormant inside.
"It seems they deliberately let us go, pulling back at the last moment. Otherwise... I doubt any of us would have survived..."
Nonofu asked with a bitter smile, "What do you think?"
"We still have our ultimate secret weapon! If pushed to the brink, we could definitely deal them serious damage — huh?"
Magilene said through gritted teeth, then suddenly her expression changed dramatically.
The sound of something shattering came from Nonofu — more precisely, from inside his coat, where the ultimate secret weapon was stored.
"What happened? Could it be..." A bone-chilling cold surged up from the depths of Magilene's heart.
Nonofu reached into his coat with an expressionless face and pulled out several shards of broken metal. These fragments still radiated intense magical energy and bore complex, precise engravings — clearly components of a high-grade magical artifact.
"The Blade of the Greedy! What happened? It's a high-grade magical artifact — how could it just shatter like that?!" Magilene screamed, her voice so piercing it seemed to scatter the clouds overhead.
This high-grade magical artifact was the White Wizards' ultimate trump card — capable of self-recharging and unleashing devastating attacks powerful enough to destroy a peak Third-level
Gegewu had been severely wounded by this very weapon.
But now... Nonofu stared at the blade fragments in his hands, feeling as though the glory and greatness of the White Wizards — which he had always striven to uphold — was crumbling around him with a thunderous crash.
"To breach my defenses so effortlessly, destroy the Blade of the Greedy without my even noticing, and suppress the magical fluctuations to the point of causing no explosive damage at all... the opponent's strength..."
Nonofu felt as though every bone in his body had been pulled out, and he nearly collapsed to the ground.
He took a deep breath before forcing out his conjecture: "Their strength... has likely surpassed the limits of the Third level, entering the Morning Star realm — a plane we cannot even fathom!"
"A f-fourth-level Morning Star Wizard!" the old woman shrieked. "You can't be serious! In our South Coast, a Wizard of that caliber... a Wizard of that caliber..."
She kept repeating the words, her voice growing fainter and fainter.
Because she was beginning to believe the conclusion. Perhaps only a Fourth-level Wizard in the Morning Star realm could have shattered their siege so effortlessly — leaving them powerless to the point of despair.
"Then... what do we do now? How should we approach that... lord?"
After a long silence, Magilene finally voiced this very practical question.
"I don't know!" Nonofu replied with a bitter laugh. "All I know is that the entire South Coast is about to face massive upheaval! And there's only one thing we can do — never, ever provoke the Farell Family again!"
By the end, Nonofu's expression had grown extremely grave...
Flaming trails cut across the sky. After the carriage door opened, Krubo was immediately startled by the terrifying speed.
"If we'd been traveling at this speed from the start, those White Wizards wouldn't have had any time to react, right? So why..."
"Why deliberately slow down and let them catch up? Am I right?"
Leilin leaned back against the sofa in the carriage, his eyes slightly narrowed. His face, half-concealed by a mask, betrayed no expression.
"P-Perhaps Lord Leilin wanted to demonstrate his power to them! You can tell from the fact that Lord Leilin showed mercy at the end!"
Darunlei, clutching the hem of her skirt, stammered out her words from the side.
"Well said!" Leilin nodded approvingly. Darunlei was indeed a clever person, with both excellent talent and good character.
Moreover, bound by her Soul Oath, she could never defy the will of the Farell Family from now on, and would become a capable aide to Krubo.
"These Wizards are nothing to Lord Leilin, of course. But is my lord thinking ahead for us? Ensuring that after you leave one day, the deterrence you've established will keep the Farell Family untouchable?"
Darunlei ventured in a guessing tone.
"Ancestor! Are you leaving?!" Krubo exclaimed, his face turning pale with shock.
"Hmm! The South Coast is simply too small! For me, this place is far too barren and there's little of note. If it weren't for the Farell Family still being here and some old debts left to settle, I wouldn't have returned at all!"
Leilin nodded, then looked at the somewhat disappointed Krubo.
"After I leave, reviving the Farell Family will be up to you! The reputation I leave behind means little — the only thing truly worth relying on is your own strength. So during this time, I will properly train both you and Darunlei..."
……
The news of Leilin's reappearance caused little stir among the majority of lower-ranking Wizards on the South Coast.
What struck them most was simply the sudden change of guard in Trilligones City, along with the mysterious destruction of the Third-level Wizard Aivek together with his family and apprentice friends.
For the apprentices and First-level Wizards, the world above was far too distant — even the flow of information was severely restricted. As such, many believed that Aivek had simply been struck by the curse of some unknown entity.
In the Wizard world, cases of curses from failed experiments or botched summonings wiping out entire bloodlines were not unheard of — though the scale of devastation this time was truly terrifying.
Though their guesses were close to the truth, none had ever imagined that the one responsible for Aivek's downfall was a Wizard who had once been wanted — the Venom King, Leilin!
To them, that name was nothing more than a symbol in a history textbook.
But among the true Wizard elite — regardless of faction — the shock ran deep, and rather than subsiding, the tremors only grew more intense.
Aivek's fall and the destruction of his family was like a massive stone hurled into a lake, sending enormous ripples across the entire South Coast.
As a Third-level Wizard, Aivek ranked among the top five even within the White Wizard Alliance. That he was killed just like that — his family and apprentices shown no mercy either — left both White and Dark Wizards trembling with fear at the perpetrator's overwhelming power and ruthless methods.
What none of these Wizards had anticipated was that Aivek's death was merely a prelude. News that the White Wizard leadership had cornered the culprit and engaged them in battle — though the White Wizard elders tried every means to suppress it — still leaked out.
But those Wizards who heard the specific details fell into an eerie silence.
The news was simply too shocking — so shocking they thought it had to be false. Three top-tier Crystallized Wizards had been directly and severely wounded. They had lost several precious treasures including the Golden Staff and the Deep Sea Devil Algae, and even the Blade of the Greedy had been reduced to fragments!
This terrifying feat left the entire upper echelon of the South Coast's Wizard community collectively speechless.
At the same time, stories about Leilin spread like wildfire. A great number of Wizard historians opened thick tomes, searching through historical records for every trace of him.
And the absolute order to never provoke Leilin or the Farell Family became the most stringent command — not just among White Wizards, but strictly enforced across all Dark Wizard factions as well.
And amidst all this, a carriage drawn by a flame-skeleton horse slowly crossed into the borders of the Great Black Bone Swamp.
"Caw... caw..."
A few red-eyed Crows flew across the sky, a look of wistful remembrance rising in Leilin's eyes.
With his aura suppressed, he appeared no different from an ordinary person — and yet, an occasional flicker of noble bearing escaped from within, making it clear at a glance that he was no commoner.
The Great Black Bone Swamp was the territory of Black Bone Forest Academy — one of Leilin's destinations on this trip.
As the place that had first led him into the halls of Wizardry, Leilin still held a certain fondness for his alma mater.
And...
"Guofate, Biji, Ni Lan, Jiamen,
After passing through the dark forest, the enormous mausoleum structure appeared before Leilin's eyes.
Beside the towering central tomb, several massive stone gorilla statues suddenly came to life: "Intruders!"
A piercing alarm blared as white skull after white skull rose from the soil, followed by torsos and full bodies. Skeletal figures radiating dense death energy, clutching corroded metal weapons, slowly surrounded Leilin and his companions.
"Rrrgh... rrrgh..." Several two-headed hounds growled low, circling Leilin and his group, thick pus dripping from between their teeth.
"You dare offend the majesty of Black Bone Forest Academy! You shall learn the price of blood!"
The largest stone gorilla roared as the entire undead army prepared to attack.
"Wait!" A commanding voice rang out, accompanied by a burst of green flames. Numerous figures began rising from underground, each radiating at least the energy fluctuations of a full Wizard.
"Headmaster!"
The creatures immediately bowed to the one who had spoken. But to Leilin's surprise, the one standing before the professors was — of all people — a female Wizard.
"Wasn't Sly the Headmaster of Black Bone Forest Academy? So it's changed hands?"
A trace of surprise gathered in the depths of Leilin's eyes as he studied the figure before him with curiosity.