The next day, Leilin immediately departed the Academy.
He had already finished purifying the ancient bloodline using the Academy's facilities and resources, and had gathered most of the materials for the Tranquility Potion as well. Leilin could think of no reason to remain any longer.
Moreover, as time passed, the chances of the Lilisite Family discovering the truth grew ever higher. Inside the Academy, Leilin would have no way to resist them.
Leilin also had another consideration — what he was about to advance to was a branch of ancient Wizards: a Bloodline Sorcerer!
This was certainly different from an ordinary Official
For the sake of safety, it would be better to advance outside the Academy.
Before departing, Leilin carefully erased every trace from his laboratory. No matter how thoroughly outsiders investigated, they would never discover what he had done inside.
Leilin cast one last look back at the Black Bone Forest Academy.
He had a premonition that once he left this time, it might be a very long while before he could return.
The scenery by then would surely be quite spectacular! With a smile at the corner of his mouth, Leilin urged his horse onward and left the Black Forest.
Grey Stone City was a city relatively close to the Black Bone Forest Academy, with a modest population and no Wizards settled in the area.
Since leaving the Academy, Leilin had traveled nonstop until he reached this city, where he rented a two-story apartment in the city center.
Surrounding the apartment was a greenbelt planted with all manner of vegetation, lending even the heart of the city a peaceful and tranquil atmosphere.
Beside the greenbelt stood a row of small shops, and occasionally one could spot a few mercenaries carrying iron swords or women dressed in revealing clothing passing by.
Leilin glanced around briefly, then closed the window.
This residence was where he had chosen to attempt his advancement to Sorcerer. He had set up defensive magical arrays around it — no ordinary person would be able to get inside.
Furthermore, the surrounding area was densely populated with ordinary folk. As long as he didn't encounter some deranged Dark Wizard, his safety was reasonably well assured.
Leilin didn't expect these people to serve as hostages that would make his enemy simply let him go, but even a slight hesitation — a reluctance to cast large-scale spells in the area — would be more than sufficient for him.
*Whoosh!* Leilin drew the curtains shut.
The thick linen fabric completely blocked out the sunlight from outside, while inside the room, a faint scarlet glow suddenly emerged.
The entire second floor of the residence had been cleared out by Leilin, and the floor was covered with an array of strange runes.
These symbols looked twisted and contorted, as though composed of countless tiny serpents, and they continuously radiated scarlet light.
The rays of light crisscrossed, gradually forming the outline of a magical array.
At the very center of the array stood a pure black stone platform, its surface carved with numerous scratches made by a small blade, forming a peculiar pattern.
"The Bloodline Transformation Array! It's finally complete!"
Leilin pressed lightly against his temple, and a thread of blue luminescence shot out from his eyes. "Chip! Scan my body data! Display my current status!"
*Ding! Main body data collection in progress!* The Chip quickly refreshed Leilin's data: "Leilin Farell — Third-rank Apprentice, Official Knight. Strength: 3.1 Agility: 3.3 Constitution: 3.4 Spirit: 15.5 Mana: 15 (Mana is determined in tandem with Spiritual Power). Status: Komoin's Pupil Meditation Method in progress — Spiritual Power undergoing purification!"
While at the Academy, after using the Chip to fully analyze the Komoin's Pupil Meditation Method, Leilin had begun adjusting his own meditation technique, attempting to practice the advanced Meditation Method.
The Komoin's Pupil Leilin had obtained consisted of three layers in total, and advancing each layer would automatically trigger a Sorcerer's advancement.
However, Leilin had previously possessed no serpent bloodline, so he hadn't even been able to fully cultivate the first layer.
But an advanced Meditation Method truly lived up to its reputation as a treasure that major organizations desperately concealed. After cultivating the first layer to more than halfway and switching his Meditation Method, Leilin clearly noticed his Spiritual Power beginning to purify.
Many of the impurities in his Spiritual Power — accumulated from heavy potion usage — were being systematically eliminated through continuous meditation.
Leilin checked his Spiritual Power stat. The purification had caused his Spiritual Power to drop by 0.6, but it was entirely worth it.
The Apprentice stage was the foundation of the entire Wizard's path. The more solid the foundation, the further one could travel down the road ahead.
Due to his earlier pursuit of rapid progress, Leilin had consumed large quantities of potions, accumulating significant potion residue in his body. Even his Spiritual Power had been affected, becoming somewhat impure.
If this continued, one day his forward progress would be completely blocked.
But under the influence of Komoin's Pupil, his Spiritual Power was being steadily purified, developing in a far better direction.
However, no matter how hard he tried, without an ancient bloodline, he could never successfully cultivate the first layer and advance to an Official First-rank Sorcerer!
"The standard for a Wizard Apprentice's advancement is reaching 15 in Spiritual Power. The requirements for a Sorcerer are roughly the same as for an Official Wizard, with the added requirement of a bloodline!"
Leilin carefully inspected the magical array once more.
"Chip! Scan again! Inspect the Bloodline Transformation Array!"
Immediately, streams of blue luminescence poured from Leilin's eyes, sweeping across the entire array in a thorough scan.
This concerned Leilin's future — no amount of caution was excessive.
After confirming that everything was prepared and no detail had been overlooked, Leilin did not rashly attempt to break through the bottleneck.
He sealed off the entire second floor of the residence, then first stepped out to a nearby restaurant and ordered the most lavish feast available, enjoying a magnificent meal.
Afterward, dressed in ordinary clothing, Leilin strolled through Grey Stone City, watching the common folk as they worked, rested, and played, feeling their joys and their sorrows.
Finally, Leilin returned to his residence, sat cross-legged on the floor, but did not begin meditating.
He recalled his previous life — his transmigration into the Wizard World, life in the caravan, entering the Academy, and all his various adventures. One by one, the faces of George,
After several hours, the distant look faded from Leilin's eyes, replaced by nothing but calm and detachment.
With this inner peace, Leilin, for the first time without meditating, simply fell asleep.
When the sun rose the next day, Leilin rose refreshed, feeling that every cell in his body brimmed with vitality.
After activating all the defensive arrays, Leilin, wearing a loose white robe, ascended to the second floor of the residence.
After one final inspection of the array and the potions, a look of steely determination appeared in Leilin's eyes.
"Let's begin!"
*Snap!* The buttons of his white robe were undone, and the garment slid to the floor.
Leilin stood naked, walked to the center of the scarlet-glowing array, and lay down upon the black stone platform.
The platform was made of obsidian, and a bone-chilling cold seeped continuously into Leilin's skin, raising goosebumps across his entire body.
Then Leilin picked up a black short blade, its sharp edge gleaming with a cold, brilliant light.
With a grim expression, Leilin slashed it across his own body!
*Splat!* A jet of blood erupted from the wound.
Leilin's face remained unchanged, and the hand holding the blade did not tremble in the slightest as the black dagger began tracing strange patterns across his skin.
Each time the blade passed, it left a line of blood, which dripped steadily downward.
By the time he was finished, a peculiar triangular symbol had formed on Leilin's body, stretching from his lower abdomen to his forehead.
Blood welled continuously from beneath the skin, creating a sight that was both eerie and terrifying.
*Drip... drip...* The blood flowing from Leilin's body ran into the grooves on the black stone platform, gathering together before flowing along the channels into the array below.
*BOOM!* Affected by the blood, the scarlet glow of the entire magical array suddenly intensified several dozen times over.
The terrifying radiance, carrying powerful waves of energy, hammered against the surrounding walls.
At that moment, blue magical runes began to emerge from the walls of the residence, absorbing the energy溢出 from the array.
The red light grew ever brighter, until finally it engulfed the entire room...
In a world bathed in blood-red, a plume of thick black smoke suddenly appeared, shifting and morphing endlessly in midair.
"In accordance with the ancient covenant, from this day forth, my power shall become bloodline!!!"
Upon seeing the dark shadow, Leilin opened his lips and chanted in the Ancient Byron Language.
*Hummm!* When Leilin finished the incantation, the black smoke latched entirely onto his body, and a piercing black cold light erupted from the triangular wound.
A chill seized Leilin's body as an extremely cold, eerie sensation relentlessly assailed the nerves of his mind.
After reaching the peak of cold came a scorching heat, as though every cell in his body were igniting simultaneously.
"Warning! Warning! Anomalous energy intrusion detected. Beginning massive consumption of main body's Life Energy. Shall main body's own Mana be deployed to repel it?"
The Chip flashed a string of crimson warning text.
"No!" Leilin refused through gritted teeth.
As his body continued to burn, he could clearly feel his Spiritual Power skyrocketing at a frantic pace.
It was rapidly approaching the legendary threshold of an Official Wizard.
But compared to the rate at which his Life Energy was being consumed, Leilin feared that before he could even touch the Official Wizard's bottleneck, he would first be burned into a withered, desiccated corpse!
"Now!"
Leilin grabbed the sulfur-treated crystal vial containing the Komoin Giant Serpent bloodline and poured all the purple-red blood directly onto his wounds.
*Splash!* The moment the purple-red blood touched Leilin's body, it writhed as though alive, transforming into countless slender serpentine threads that burrowed into his wounds.
"Ahhhhh!" Leilin's eyes bulged, and the muscles of his face twisted in agony.
An excruciating pain tore through his nerves, so intense that his vision began to blur.
At the verge of fainting, with his last shred of awareness, Leilin began following the method recorded in Komoin's Pupil, attempting to break through the Sorcerer's bottleneck.