"To think he depleted his entire spiritual power in one shot, forming a corrosive attack that covers the entire arena!"
The old wizard beside Leilin stroked his beard in surprise. "It looks like Gel has improved quite a bit! But unfortunately, this method costs far too much spiritual power — he's doomed to fail the next round of selections!"
"Not necessarily!" Leilin smiled and pointed in a certain direction. "Look!"
"Oh?" The second-rank
Over in one corner of the venue, Longbatun's hand trembled so badly he nearly dropped the potion bottle.
"Not again! Not again!" His face darkened.
Leilin chuckled inwardly. His gaze had reached a level that even Longbatun couldn't detect, so he kept drawing the nearby second-rank Wizard's attention toward Longbatun, piling pressure on the man.
Once he'd had enough fun, Leilin steered the second-rank Wizard's attention away before things backfired. "By the way, would you be interested in visiting my laboratory after the competition ends? The specialty fish meat from the Alliance of Nature has quite an effect on second-rank Wizards, you know…"
Meanwhile, Longbatun let out an internal sigh of relief. "Right! Green-robed Gel was originally weaker than the Fire Scorpion. I thought I'd hidden it well, but it still attracted attention. I need to be more careful from now on…"
"Excuse me, coming through!"
At that moment, a wizard pushed his way through the crowd, appearing to be in a great hurry.
"What do you think you're doing?" Longbatun shoved the person back, and then both of them froze.
Despite the disguise, Longbatun instantly recognized Weilin, and Weilin in turn recognized his former companion.
The two stared at each other, but since both had reasons they couldn't speak aloud, they tacitly swallowed their words and made no move to expose the other's identity.
"Number 188! Number 188!" On the adjacent arena, the referee was growing impatient.
Weilin's body jolted, and he rushed over at once. "I'll stop you!"
As he passed Longbatun, Weilin said quietly.
"Then I'll be waiting!" He immediately heard the reply.
As match after match played out, some of the original wizard prodigies made names for themselves, drawing gasps from the crowd.
Leilin had already mentally identified a handful of them.
"Lilina from the Southern Domain, Heilong from the Witchcraft Swamp. Together with Weilin and Longbatun, plus their subordinates and associates, that should be the final ranking for this Wizard Genius Tournament."
With the insight of a second-rank Warlock, he had easily picked out the so-called "geniuses."
Under normal circumstances, these prodigies would have been the "protagonists" of their time and place — the kind who could stir up storms. But here, they simply weren't enough.
"The final champion will be one of two people — Weilin or Longbatun!" Leilin concluded with certainty.
"As expected of the convergence point for the power of fate in the Dark Polar Domain. Their strength has skyrocketed — I'd say both of them have touched the threshold of the second rank!"
Leilin marveled inwardly. This rate of progress left not only Lilina and Heilong, but even Ailin and the other "false" prodigies whom Leilin had given manufactured advantages far behind.
The initial rounds passed quickly.
By nightfall, nearly half of all registered contestants had been eliminated. Some of the most memorable battles became well known among the Wizards, and some were even recorded as images for the various schools to review and collect.
Weilin, Longbatun, and the other seed candidates Leilin had his eye on all made it through the preliminaries as expected, even beginning to build a reputation.
They had become moderately well known among the Wizards at the venue.
Names like "Heilong," "Lilina," and "Gel" finally reached the ears of second-rank Wizards.
…
"The power of fate has condensed even further!"
During the evening rest period, Leilin walked to the window of the lavish room that had been prepared especially for him, gazing up at the sky.
How many undercurrents were surging during this brief interlude?
Inside one contestant's room, several black-robed wizards were threatening Heilong from the Witchcraft Swamp: "Tomorrow, if you encounter our young master, you must forfeit! Otherwise…"
"Get lost!" Heilong raised an eyebrow.
"What did you say?" Several of the wizards flew into a rage.
"I said get lost! Didn't you hear me clearly?" Heilong shot to his feet, his eyes turning blood-red.
A dark crimson magical aura erupted violently from his body.
"There are Wizards from major schools overseeing this venue — how dare you…"
The other wizards clearly hadn't expected him to be this stubborn or this volatile, attacking without a moment's hesitation.
Boom!
Several bolts of magical light exploded inside the room, their shockwaves rolling outward and reducing the surrounding walls to rubble.
"What's going on?" A patrol team of wizards in official uniforms arrived on the scene. They represented the organizers' authority, backed by numerous second-rank Wizards — with powerful patrons behind them, they naturally stood tall.
The black-roamed wizards exchanged glances, each reading helplessness in the other's eyes. "This is bad!"
At the same time, their hatred for this socially clueless fool who had ruined their plans burned to the bone.
The young man, however, seemed oblivious. As he gazed into the distance, a trace of sorrow appeared on his face for the first time.
"Winning the tournament championship was my mentor's dying wish. Anyone who stands in my way — must die!"
…
Under the dim lamplight, Lilina stared at a blue pearl in her hand, her expression wavering.
The pale blue pearl was smooth and lustrous, dotted with tiny golden flecks that formed the shape of a palm at its center.
This was the family's last treasure, but it carried terrifying side effects, which was why Lilina hesitated.
Then she thought of her family's sacrifices, and their desperate circumstances.
Though they were a wizard family, resources in the Wizard world were not easily obtained.
And with the weight of their hopes for revival already pressing on her shoulders, the burden had grown far too heavy.
"I must win the championship! I will lead my family back to prosperity!"
Lilina's expression turned resolute in the lamplight, and she pressed the blue pearl to her forehead.
Ssss! The entire pearl melted into her forehead in an instant.
A deep blue glow began to flicker and pulse across Lilina's body.
…
"My lord!" Longbatun dropped his disguise, knelt, and bowed respectfully before a figure shrouded in black mist.
"Mm. Young Longbatun, though you have begun to clearly define your path and have touched the essence of the second rank, the accumulation built over a long period of time is not so easily crossed…"
From within the black mist came a pleasant woman's voice.
"Now, I will condense the life-force essence of our bloodline onto your body, helping your Life Siphon Meditation Method make a true breakthrough to the second rank…"
"Thank you, my lord!" Longbatun's face lit up with elation.
In his mind, an image flashed like lightning — the figure seated upon the presiding platform.
"I've finally, finally caught up to you! I can't wait to see the look on your face then… Leilin!"
…
"What are you thinking about?"
Ailin looked at Weilin, who was still standing off to the side.
"No… it's nothing. I saw Longbatun today. He's changed so much…" Weilin sighed, a trace of worry crossing his face.
"Listen to me, Weilin! Longbatun has now fully defected to the Dark Elves and is about to bring massive casualties to humanity. Your mission is to stop him — don't you forget that!!"
Ailin's expression was deadly serious.
"Yes! I will stop him!" Weilin repeated, reinforcing his own resolve.
Several days later.
The Eternal Light Spell, combined with the power of the Sun Stone Magical Array, bathed the entire venue in brilliant light.
A wizard dressed as master of ceremonies first bowed to the presiding platform, then announced the day's schedule.
"You are all elites who have passed through rigorous selection! Today, the final victor will be decided among you — and the top thirty contestants in the tournament will have the opportunity to freely choose which school to join! Including any of the major schools…"
The moment the announcer spoke, a wave of excitement rippled through the venue.
The hundred-plus seed-candidate wizards below all displayed complicated expressions — burning desire, deep contemplation, and sheer excitement among them.
"Ahem!" The announcer cleared his throat, bringing the center of the venue to silence.
"And today's competition ground will be — there!" He pointed toward the central arena.
Upon the arena, a massive magical formation had already been laid out, with blood-red symbols scattered around its perimeter, emanating an eerie glow that sent chills down the spine.
"The final round will take place inside a Secret Realm. You will be scattered across random corners of it. There is only one condition for victory — defeat as many opponents as possible and accumulate points from the talismans!"
The announcer held up a milky-white talisman, no larger than a fingertip, with a simple number inscribed upon it.
"Inside the Secret Realm, there are no rules. Ganging up is permitted, and so is the use of external tools!"
"Although we will place a spell construct on each of you that will immediately teleport you out the moment your vital signs approach death, nothing is without exception. It is entirely possible to truly die within the Secret Realm — so consider your decision carefully!"
The announcer spoke in a detached tone, and a wave of bloody scent washed over the crowd.
Weilin's heart lurched. This unrestricted format made it easy for things to go wrong — even with emergency rescue, saving a life would be difficult.
After all, the arcane nature of magic was beyond ordinary speculation. It was entirely possible that some method existed to forcibly bypass the organizers' life-preservation techniques, causing heavy Wizard casualties.