The realm of third-level Wizards was divided into many stages.
Leilin's current level was just sufficient to condense his intangible Spiritual Power into a misty form and manifest it in the physical world.
A Crystallized
Fully crystallized Spiritual Power held an almost incomprehensible advantage over mere mist-form Spiritual Power.
Even if Leilin,
But now, Tarnasha's Spiritual Power was nearly depleted—she had exhausted even her own Spiritual Power crystals. She had already used every trump card against the Blood Vulture King before this, even losing one of her clones in the process.
Such a golden opportunity—if Lein let it slip by, he wouldn't be Leilin.
A Crystallized Wizard was not only exceptionally powerful but also held an extremely elevated status in the Central Continent, being considered a reserve candidate for Morning Star Wizard.
Under normal circumstances, Leilin would be nowhere near qualified to subdue a Wizard of this caliber. Only someone like his own master, Duke
But now, everything was within reach.
"You…"
Tarnasha's originally pale face flushed with sudden crimson, and her fingers trembled.
"You—a mere Vaporization Wizard—actually dare speak to me like this?"
"It seems I must make you face reality!"
Faced with her attitude, Leilin sighed with a trace of disappointment. Then, his figure dissolved into a streak of light and materialized in front of Tarnasha in an instant.
Boom! A fist crashed into Tarnasha's face.
Hum! A ring of crimson light erupted outward, forming a defensive membrane—but it appeared incredibly fragile and was easily shattered by Leilin's tremendous force.
Tarnasha was sent flying backward, a massive red mark already blooming across her face.
Before the stunned Tarnasha could speak, Leilin had already pressed the Fallen Sword against her neck.
"Now—submit, or die!"
His tone was nothing like before. This time, Leilin's voice was bone-cold, filled with piercing frost. He had genuinely killed her in his heart—if Tarnasha still refused to surrender, he would cut her down right here without hesitation.
He had no intention of leaving behind a Crystallized enemy.
Seeing Leilin's face like a sheet of ice, Tarnasha wisely chose silence. She had a premonition that if she uttered even one more objection, his sword would sever her head without hesitation.
The taste of death—so familiar. It dredged up long-sealed memories, as if she had been transported back to that time when she had been weak and powerless, and Tarnasha's consciousness slipped into a daze.
"This woman's mental state?" Leilin shook his head. Wizards already tended to suffer from various degrees of mental issues, and Tarnasha had entered the Land of the Forgotten while gravely wounded—she certainly harbored some不堪回首 past. A reaction like this was perfectly normal.
"Hurry! I'm only giving you three seconds!"
Leilin's heart rejoiced, but his hand suddenly tightened. The blade of the Fallen Sword pressed closer.
A Crystallized Wizard from the outside world might cling to dignity or face, but the Land of the Forgotten was different. Every human Wizard who had entered this place was someone who had exhausted all options in the Central Continent, abandoning everything else for the sake of survival—which meant there was always a chance to convince them to submit.
Leilin's icy voice brought Tarnasha back to her senses.
By now, the flush of anger that had colored her face had completely faded, leaving only a deathly pallor.
"I… am willing!" she whispered, her voice so small that even Leilin could barely hear it.
And the moment those words left her lips, Tarnasha collapsed as though her spine had been removed, two lines of tears streaming freely down her cheeks.
But Leilin's sword still did not move.
"Swear an oath! And surrender your Soul Origin!" Leilin's voice was as cold as a slab of ice.
"I… Tarnasha…" Tarnasha's eyes flickered with a final struggle, but ultimately she chose to yield.
A wisp of crystalline Soul Origin emerged from her forehead and dropped into Leilin's hand.
This was a Wizard's lifeline—it could not be given up without genuine consent, and in the Central Continent, it was a strictly forbidden method of control. Though many powerful factions secretly cultivated expendable pawns this way, it could never be brought into the open, or they would face the united opposition of all Wizards.
For Leilin, this was naturally no issue at all. He had no intention of ever letting Tarnasha appear before the public eye.
"Master…"
Tarnasha rose to her feet, her voice hollow—like a doll whose strings had been cut, stripped of its soul.
"I know you were forced into the Land of the Forgotten, and you certainly carry painful memories. But don't worry—I will never compel you to do anything that compromises a Wizard's dignity. Moreover, I can give you hope! The hope of vengeance!"
Leilin's voice carried a bewitching, persuasive timbre, and the moment Tarnasha heard the word "vengeance," a spark of light returned to her eyes, and a trace of life rekindled in her being.
"Yes! Vengeance!" Leilin met Tarnasha's gaze, his voice low. "If you serve me faithfully from now on, I promise that once my strength has grown sufficient to exact your revenge—and to withstand the backlash that follows—I will help you fulfill your heart's desire…"
"Don't think I'm merely stringing you along. I'm not yet a hundred years old, and I'm already a Vaporization Wizard! And my bloodline is the Kemoyin Giant Serpent—there is absolutely no barrier to my ascension to Morning Star!"
Leilin touched his own cheek. He understood all too well that using such methods to bind high-level Wizards would yield, at best, a puppet. One had to give them something to strive toward, something to fight for, in order to activate their initiative and wring out every last drop of their worth.
And revealing his own talents served as proof to Tarnasha that he truly possessed the ability to help her seek revenge—that he was not merely making empty promises.
"A hundred years old! Vaporization!" Tarnasha stared at Leilin, the gleam in her eyes growing ever brighter.
A hundred years was ancient for an ordinary human, but for Wizards—particularly those above the third level—it was barely out of youth.
With that kind of talent, combined with the bloodline of the Kemoyin Giant Serpent, Leilin's standing within the Ring of the Ouroboros must be extraordinary. All of this proved that his chances of eventually reaching Morning Star Wizard were immense!
And a force from which even a third-level Crystallized Wizard had been forced to flee would be as fragile as paper before a fourth-level Morning Star Wizard.
"At your command, Master! As long as you help me achieve my revenge, I, Tarnasha, will be your most loyal servant for all the days to come!"
Tarnasha clenched her teeth and dropped to one knee. This time, there was a great deal more sincerity in the gesture.
Though Leilin had offered only a promise without swearing any oath himself, for a prisoner in her position, what room was there to haggle?
"Ha ha…" Leilin let out a hearty laugh.
Tarnasha's strength was unquestionably above his own at this point. Having secured her allegiance, his own power had grown dramatically.
And this was power concealed in the shadows—something no outsider could possibly know about.
Leilin's longstanding philosophy was to accumulate as many trump cards as possible. The more hidden weapons one held, the more leeway one had when future dangers arrived.
"Take these potions and recover your strength quickly!"
Now that she was one of his own, Leilin was perfectly generous. He produced three test tubes of different colors from his spatial leather pouch and handed them to Tarnasha.
"Advanced Healing Potion!" "Advanced Spiritual Power Restoration Potion!" "Sacred Regeneration Potion!"
Tarnasha recognized all three and a flash of astonishment crossed her face. The exorbitant price of these potions went without saying—many were strategic reserves of major organizations, and even wealth could not guarantee a purchase.
The Sacred Regeneration Potion in particular could instantly regenerate severed limbs and, like the others, produced absolutely no rejection reactions. Even as a third-level Crystallized Wizard, Tarnasha had never managed to acquire one before.
"Thank you, Master!" Tarnasha bowed in gratitude, inwardly letting out a small sigh of relief. At least she had landed a generous master.
"Don't mention it—I concocted all of these myself." Leilin smiled, adding yet another weight to his scales.
Sure enough, upon hearing his words, Tarnasha's pupils contracted sharply.
Reaching third-level Vaporization before the age of hundred was already remarkable, but this man was also simultaneously an Apothecary Grandmaster? That went beyond mere genius—in the entire Central Continent, prodigies of this caliber could be counted on one hand. So long as he did not perish midway, he was bound to achieve glorious heights!
Tarnasha gazed at Leilin's retreating back, and a look of hope flickered in her eyes…
Meanwhile, in a mysterious space…
Roya's face was chalk-white as he stared at the plate before him.
On the white porcelain, one could vaguely make out something resembling a piece of liver—the blood on its surface had not yet dried, and a wraith of white mist rose from it.
"Ngh…" Roya clamped a hand over his mouth, fighting desperately to keep from vomiting.
In his field of vision, the Bear Barbarian Priest's belly had been slashed open, a gory wound leaking copious yellow fat, and within it one could faintly make out pale skeletal ribs.
"Uncle! I can't hold on much longer!" Roya struggled to speak, the words leaking through his fingers.
Robin, meanwhile, did not look much better. His body was covered in massive wounds, great swathes of flesh torn away.
"The Final Supper—it's said that this place is controlled by the
Though Robin was making a final effort, Roya's trembling hands picked up the knife and fork, only to set them down once more.
The food here had all been condensed by the Gluttony Primordial Desire. No巫术—no magic—could have any effect on it. One could only rely on one's own constitution to digest it.
*Ding-a-ling!* A distant bell chimed, but in the ears of these three, it sounded as though it rang from the depths of hell.