"Coincidentally, I happen to have a lead on the remains of an official
Upon hearing Leilin's response, the smile on Jiamen's face grew even more pronounced.
"Remains? A lead? You actually dare to go out?"
Leilin was somewhat taken aback. From an outsider's perspective, Jiamen—as the one who had killed the prodigy apprentice Toreseus of a rival faction—had already drawn the enmity of their official Wizards. At a time like this, he still dared to venture out on an expedition?
Hearing Leilin's words, Jiamen's face darkened instantly.
"That old bastard—I'll kill him sooner or later!!! I'll turn his corpse into a specimen and mount it in my laboratory..."
After his curse, Jiamen explained to Leilin: "The Night Watchtower's forces are still quite formidable. Under that lord's mediation, neither the Gothic Sage's Cottage nor the White Woods Castle would dare retaliate now—unless they wished to be destroyed immediately!"
"On the contrary, as time passes—especially since the ceasefire was only signed for a term of twenty years—my situation will only grow more dangerous. That is precisely why I must strike back, to make my own life somewhat more secure!"
"Advance to become an official Wizard?" Leilin raised an eyebrow, guessing at Jiamen's thoughts.
"Exactly! The only one who can deal with a Wizard is another Wizard!" A flash of longing crossed Jiamen's face. "Once I become an official Wizard, why would I need to fear their retaliation?"
Leilin nodded. Jiamen's reasoning was sound.
The protection of the Academy and one's mentor—both could be taken away at any time. Only power that belonged to oneself was truly reliable!
After learning the broad outlines of the situation, Leilin actually grew more composed. He leaned back slowly in his chair.
"Then—two questions. Where are these remains? And why come to me?"
Jiamen took a deep breath. He knew that if he didn't offer up some genuine intelligence, Leilin would never take the bait.
"I can't reveal the exact location, but I can tell you the general area—it's near the Moon Zither Mountain Range..."
When Jiamen uttered those words—Moon Zither Mountain Range—Leilin's pupils contracted ever so slightly, but he quickly suppressed the reaction. The entire shift happened in the blink of an eye, completely unnoticed by Jiamen.
"As for why I'm looking for you?"
A faint bitter smile appeared on Jiamen's face. "The area around the Moon Zither Mountain Range is crawling with deadly poisons and miasma. We absolutely need a Potionology Apprentice by our side to ensure our safety... At Black Bone Forest Academy right now, the only Third-rank Apprentice I know well who is also a Potionology Apprentice is you..."
Leilin blinked, only then recalling the fact that fewer than fifty apprentices remained at the Academy.
In the past, Black Bone Forest Academy had boasted over a thousand apprentices, with no shortage of Potionology Apprentices among them. Jiamen could have taken his pick at leisure.
But after the Blood Battle ended, his pool of choices had shrunk drastically. In fact, only Leilin remained!
"Though I don't know whether the ruins Jiamen speaks of were truly left by the Crimson Archwizard, if Wraith Roman could find clues to a legacy, it's entirely possible that Jiamen has discovered something as well..."
Leilin's mind churned with thoughts, though outwardly he wore an expression of hesitation.
"The war has only just ended. Leaving the Academy now is far too dangerous..."
"According to the intelligence I've gathered, those are the remains of an official Wizard. Inside, there may very well be information and materials on how to advance to that rank. Isn't that exactly what you need? And as long as you agree to come along—the share of the spoils..."
Seeing Leilin's expression, Jiamen grew anxious and began pressing his case, piling on additional incentives.
Leilin put on a show of internal struggle before finally agreeing to think it over for a few days.
Seeing this, Jiamen had no choice but to acquiesce.
After all, from his perspective, Leilin had shown some interest by the end.
Sure enough, the very next day, Leilin sought out Jiamen and informed him of his decision to join.
...
At dawn, Leilin and Jiamen rode two black horses, departing from Black Bone Forest Academy under the morning light.
Before leaving, Leilin gazed from afar at the enormous tomb-like structure looming above Black Bone Forest Academy.
The gray stone surface was still covered in cracks, just as before—but perhaps it was Leilin's imagination, those fissures seemed smaller than last time.
As though this colossal tomb were a living organism, slowly healing itself.
"When I return, everything may be different!"
Leilin took one last look at Black Bone Forest Academy before disappearing into the Dark Night Forest.
...
Five days later. The western outskirts of a small town in the Marsh Duchy.
Beside the main road, three apprentices were waiting.
Clip-clop, clip-clop! Under the watchful eyes of the three, two mounted figures appeared at the far end of the road.
The two riders halted before the group, revealing the faces of Leilin and another unfamiliar apprentice.
"Leilin, let me introduce you. This is Lord Bosain, from the Liliter Family..."
The stranger spoke with Jiamen's voice as he made the introduction. To avoid trouble, Jiamen had adopted an entirely new face.
"And this is Shaya, and this is Ross!"
Jiamen introduced the team members to Leilin. Bosain had a head of brilliant golden hair and wore a silver robe, looking quite distinguished. Had it not been for the apprentice insignia specially embroidered on it, Leilin might have mistaken him for a mentor who had joined Jiamen's party.
However, the honorific "Lord" that Jiamen had specifically emphasized, along with the note about the Liliter Family, still gave Leilin quite a surprise.
"The Liliter Family? You mean one of the three great families of the Academy—the Liliter Family that has produced an official Wizard in every generation?"
"That's right! And one more thing—every Headmaster of Black Bone Forest Academy throughout history has been elected from among the three great families..."
Bosain added, a look of pride on his face.
"If that's the case, he might have access to a high-level Meditation Method. Perhaps I could..." Outwardly, Leilin put on an expression of genuine astonishment and admiration, satisfying Bosain's vanity quite nicely.
But inwardly, he harbored far less innocent intentions.
As for Shaya, she was a female apprentice with fiery red hair, reminding Leilin of Ni Lan. Since returning to the Academy, he had never seen Ni Lan again.
She might have died, might not have received the Academy's notice, or might have defected altogether.
As for her, Leilin merely sighed briefly before putting the matter out of his mind.
The final member of the team, Ross, was a typical Western male—very tall, half a head taller than Leilin, with a simple, honest expression on his face.
But Leilin didn't let his guard down for a moment. Any apprentice who survived the Blood Battle was, by definition, no simple character.
Moreover, all three radiated the energy fluctuations of Third-rank Apprentices. The Chip had even detected traces of Magical Items on both Bosain and Shaya.
"Hello! My name is Leilin. I'm a Potionology Apprentice. I hope we can..."
Leilin introduced himself to the others.
"The Moon Zither Mountain Range is famously eerie and dangerous, but I had heard your name before—the Potionology genius second only to
Bosain wore a warm, amiable smile as he addressed Leilin.
"I'll do my best!" Leilin nodded.
"Good! It's getting late—let's set out as soon as possible!"
Leilin nodded, and the five of them set off on their journey.
But secretly, Leilin felt somewhat displeased. He could not abide Jiamen's habit of adding people to the team without so much as a word of warning.
What's more, Bosain's identity gave Leilin a distinctly troublesome feeling.
As if sensing something, Jiamen privately sought Leilin out to explain.
"Bosain and the others happened to learn about my plan and insisted on joining. They went so far as to sneak out of the Academy, hiding it from both their families and their mentors!" Jiamen said with a wry smile. "You know how it is—I couldn't very well refuse them!"
For the great families within the Academy, the war had only just ended and danger still lurked everywhere. As the heir to his family, Bosain was supposed to remain inside the Academy at all times.
Yet here he was, without so much as a bodyguard, clearly acting covertly—his family didn't even know his destination.
At this, Leilin could do nothing but smile bitterly and resolve to be extra careful.
The Moon Zither Mountain Range lay along the western border of the Marsh Duchy, serving as the boundary marker between Black Bone Forest Academy and the Gothic Sage's Cottage.
These two powers had just concluded a great war, and Jiamen still bore the blood debt of having killed their prodigy apprentice. If their group was discovered by the enemy, the result would be a fight to the death with no possibility of reconciliation.
But whether it was Leilin, Jiamen, or the other Third-rank Apprentices like Bosain, they were all cautious and shrewd individuals who, when the moment demanded it, did not lack the courage to fight with everything they had.
Along the way, the five changed their attire, disguising themselves as noble young lords and ladies out on an excursion, and pressed steadily toward the western border.
It had to be said—knowledge and martial prowess were both firmly in the hands of the nobility. Within Black Bone Forest Academy, the majority of apprentices hailed from noble families in their respective countries and needed no instruction in the art of disguise.
This was precisely why all five of them chose to pose as nobles. Their bearing was simply natural; pretending to be anyone else would immediately invite suspicion.
Leilin also made an effort to get closer to the other three apprentices.
Shaya and Ross were easy enough to talk to. The key factor was that Leilin was now also a Third-rank Apprentice and had made considerable achievements in Potionology, earning their recognition. The group conversed pleasantly.
As for Bosain, he was the very picture of aristocratic Wizard nobility.
Polite yet supremely arrogant, bearing the characteristic cunning of the upper class, his relationships with Leilin and the other apprentices remained decidedly cool.
Leilin felt that the moment he so much as mentioned anything related to high-level Meditation Methods in front of the man, he would immediately be met with suspicion.
But even so, after so many days of traveling together, the approximate capabilities and strength of each apprentice had been quietly catalogued by Leilin...