Pushed by circumstances, the various departments had no choice but to hold their noses and meet part of Leilin's demands, but his reputation was thoroughly ruined — his name had been added to the list of the least welcome people across every department.
To be honest, when he first received the news, Leilin was somewhat surprised, and then found it amusing.
In the
As long as he kept progressing, the day he advanced to Tier-2 Wizard, those very same people would probably be clinging to him like dogs, terrified that they hadn't been blackmailed enough back then, or that the quality of what they'd been forced to give wasn't good enough.
"Wizard Leilin! You greedy dragon! Lord Leono will see you tomorrow evening at seven o'clock — be prepared…"
Xishan announced this decision in front of Leilin with an expressionless face, then promptly left.
"A bit earlier than I expected. Looks like I've finally managed to offend everyone under the heavens?" Leilin chuckled without a care.
He had long known that the position of Inspector was not an easy one, and given how recklessly he had been acting — drawing the hostility and opposition of every Wizard in the
If he hadn't prepared, this trip would have meant certain death!!!
That much was certain. First of all, Leilin himself was far from clean — he wouldn't survive a proper investigation.
Moreover, the inheritance of the Crimson Grand Wizard on his person would undoubtedly attract the covetous eyes of Tier-2 and above Wizards!
In the Wizard world, there was no shortage of various magical arts for detecting lies and probing souls!
The reason they hadn't been used before was that everyone was a White Wizard and things had to follow proper procedure — but this was wartime! Everything was subject to expedience!!! And Leilin himself had things he couldn't explain away.
Once they put a few spells on him, he probably wouldn't even have room to mount a defense!
In fact, Leilin had long suspected that the Four Seasons Garden had already discovered his secret activities as a Dark Wizard — at least caught some traces, even if they lacked concrete evidence!
Otherwise, an elite Apothecary as young and talented as he was — someone who would draw attention wherever he went — why would they have sent him off to the battlefield to fight and die?
"Well… it's already enough…"
A faint smile crept across Leilin's lips.
He had long since come to terms with the possibility of being discovered. After all, Wizards had far too many bizarre and unknown means — it was simply impossible to guard against all of them.
Having nearly two years to complete his bloodline transformation while accumulating vast knowledge and resources — Leilin was quite satisfied with that outcome.
"It seems the time has come to burn bridges!"
Leilin's expression was calm and detached. When it came down to it, he owed the Four Seasons Garden something of an apology. But for his own sake! For his interests! For the pursuit of his grander dreams! He would not hesitate!
"Perfect — time to use this!" Leilin flipped his palm over, and a well-preserved test tube appeared in the center of his right hand.
Inside the tube swirled a mass of grey solution. The grey was deeply repulsive — merely glancing at it was enough to make one feel dizzy and faint.
"Filth Bird feather solution! All the experiments have been run. After this, I must leave the Four Seasons Garden — perhaps even become their enemy. I have to break the Eye of Judgment's contractual restrictions on me!"
Leilin stared at the test tube in his hand, an unusual gleam flickering in his eyes.
He snapped his fingers. Immediately, the entire room was enveloped in a thin layer of yellow light. Then, Leilin gently uncorked the mouth of the test tube.
Ssss! A cloud of grey gas drifted straight out of the tube's opening. Upon contact with the air, the Filth Bird feather solution inside began producing countless tiny bubbles and underwent violent evaporation.
"Ngh!" Leilin clamped his hand over his nose. "What a horrifying stench!"
He had only taken a brief sniff and nearly passed out from the overwhelming odor — it was far too foul! Even with his current physique exceeding twenty points, he could barely endure it.
The Filth Bird was a condensation of all the world's filth, and its feathers carried a trace of that same corruptive essence.
In truth, this feather solution didn't even use the Filth Bird's actual feathers — it was merely a projection of a sliver of its power onto this plane.
The ancient Filth Bird and the Eye of Judgment had been mortal enemies! Their war had extended far beyond the Wizard World, spilling into several other major planes as well.
In the legends and myths of countless worlds, one could find traces of their conflict.
"Filth… chaos… how exactly does this kind of nature come into being, and how does it function?"
In Leilin's eyes burned an irrepressible curiosity. Whether it was the Filth Bird's chaotic nature or the Eye of Judgment's justice, adjudication, and the like — they were fundamentally different from all manner of Wizard World spells. They seemed closer to some bizarre set of rules, and this stirred in him an intense desire to investigate.
Wizards had always delighted in studying all manner of strange phenomena and powers, attempting to convert them into abilities of their own.
In the pursuit of truth, Wizards bore a striking resemblance to the researchers and scientists of Leilin's previous life.
"What a pity — something like this probably requires at least Morning Star Wizard level to even begin studying!"
Whether it was the Eye of Judgment or the Foul Bird, both were terrifying beings capable of traversing across worlds and dominating vast planes of existence. Their very being had transcended the boundaries of living creatures, entering a realm that Leilin in his current state could neither reach nor comprehend.
To them, present-day Leilin was not even worthy of being called an ant — less significant than a mere speck of dust.
Even if he wanted to summon and call upon them through ritual, all he could obtain was a powerless phantom shadow, let alone conduct any further research.
A trace of regret stirred in Leilin's heart, but it was quickly overwhelmed by a burning fervor.
"Someday! Someday! I will reach the very pinnacle of the entire Wizard World, then turn my gaze toward the myriad planes, pursuing truth and the existence of eternity…"
Sizzle!
When the grey solution inside the test tube had completely evaporated, Leilin found himself engulfed in a thick cloud of grey mist.
The mist reeked with a pungent, nauseating stench that nearly suffocated him.
The grey fog seemed to possess a life of its own, creeping onto Leilin's skin as though attempting to burrow its way into his body.
"Boom!!!"
Leilin's head spun, and his expression changed drastically in an instant.
Snap! Snap! Snap! As if provoked by something, several phantom projections of the Eye of Judgment suddenly materialized from deep within his body.
The smaller ones were merely the size of a thumb, while the largest was nearly as big as a fist. Mysterious threads extended from them, wrapping tightly around Leilin.
"The power of rules?" Leilin extended his right hand, as though wanting to touch these thin filaments.
Unsurprisingly, his hand passed straight through them — as though they were nothing but air.
"These must be the threads of contracts and rules! The smaller Eyes of Judgment represent the contracts I signed with the old witch and the others before. And this largest one — this is the contract witnessed by the Eye of Judgment summoned by the Second-Rank Wizard Leonor!"
Leilin stared at the largest Eye of Judgment. It had the most threads and the thickest ones, all tightly connected to his body.
A hazy premonition told Leilin that if he truly triggered the backlash of these contracts and all the threads activated simultaneously, it would absolutely lead to the outcome he feared most.
Sizzle!
Upon witnessing the phantom projections of the Eye of Judgment, the grey mist surged even more violently. A wisp of mysterious information traveled directly into the depths of Leilin's heart through some unknown channel.
"A single feather solution can only dissolve one contract?" Leilin nodded, then spoke in ancient Byronic: "I choose this one!" He pointed to the largest Eye of Judgment.
Ancient Byronic was not only the standard casting language of Wizards, but also carried a trace of mystical power — any sentient being with a soul could comprehend the information conveyed through the vibrations of the language, which was why it also served as the lingua franca between the Wizard World and other planes.
"Cheep cheep!"
After receiving Leilin's instruction, the grey mist abruptly condensed, and from within it came a series of bird-like calls.
The calls were harsh and grating, like a woman screaming and wailing.
Amid the cries, the grey mist extended two wings and took the form of a large, vaguely shaped bird made of fog.
"Could this be the true form of the ancient Defilement Bird?" Leilin wanted to carefully record the creature's appearance, but unfortunately, the misty veil obscured nearly everything beyond a basic avian silhouette.
"Judgment!" "Judgment!" "Judgment!" "Judgment!"
At that moment, as if provoked by the Defilement Bird, the Eyes of Judgment scattered across Leilin's body all began to tremble faintly.
Small bolts of lightning kept generating around the Eyes of Judgment, the void subtly rippling as sounds resembling sacred hymns rose into the air.
The central Eye of Judgment swelled to several times its original size, powerful waves of energy spilling outward in all directions, attempting to tear through the void and draw upon a sliver of its true body's power from some unknown plane!
"Cheep cheep!!!"
The great mist bird spread its wings wide, and vast quantities of grey-black mist surged forth.
Defilement! Chaos!
Leilin's head went dizzy, and he nearly lost all sense of where he was.
"Sizzle!" The grey-black mist and blue lightning devoured each other relentlessly, ultimately annihilating together.
But the mist clearly outnumbered the blue lightning, and within seconds it had gained the upper hand.
"Cheep cheep!"
Wrapped in the encroaching mist, the Eyes of Judgment all shuddered and flickered, their earlier attempt to commune with their true body completely severed.
At the same time, the grey mist bird soared high into the air, then dove down with the fierce momentum of a raptor striking its prey!
Pow!
Its grey beak pecked once, plucking the largest phantom of the Eyes of Judgment right off
Snap! Snap! Snap! One after another, the thin threads connecting the Eyes of Judgment to Leylin snapped apart.
As those threads broke, Leylin felt a sudden lightness wash over him — even his soul seemed to clear, as though a tremendous burden had been lifted from his shoulders.