"I've fulfilled our agreement—I released you from the Soul-Binding Sphere. What happens next is entirely beyond the terms of the contract!"
Leilin's voice was cold and indifferent.
This was simply a game of words. Wizards were shrewd people who could not be easily deceived.
But Roman was different. He had been dead for a long time, his soul transformed into a wraith, and his intelligence naturally could no longer compare to that of a living person.
Moreover, throughout the long period of experimentation, Leilin had done everything he could to chip away at Roman's wits using every手段 available, making him increasingly confused so as to extract the true intelligence he needed.
Sure enough, although Roman had briefly broken through to a moment of clarity under the pressure of mortal danger today, Leilin had still turned it to his advantage and obtained the crucial Meditation Method data.
"The soul of a Third-rank Apprentice—even for me in my current state, that's not easy to come by. How could I possibly let you go?"
Ignoring Roman's curses, Leilin placed the silver cross at the center of the magical rune array and began the final step of creating the Pendant of the Fallen Star.
The Pendant of the Fallen Star originated from remnant pages of the Luoyan Scripture that Leilin had obtained. After the Chip decrypted them, Leilin cross-referenced the results with goblin alchemy notes recovered from Roman's remains, and only then was he able to deduce the complete fabrication method.
After advancing to Third-rank Apprentice, Leilin had devoted most of his time and energy to crafting this low-grade magical item.
After consuming a vast quantity of Magic Stones and materials, the Pendant of the Fallen Star was finally mostly complete—only the last step remained: Spirit Awakening!!!
Based on Leilin's judgment and the Chip's calculations, the final Spirit Awakening step of the Pendant of the Fallen Star involved the soul directly, which was beyond what he could manage at the time.
But Leilin promptly obtained a large number of living humans from
After years of further study, Leilin could say with certainty that in the field of spirit research, he was absolutely the foremost among all Black Bone Forest apprentices—even surpassing many full-fledged Wizards.
With all that accumulated experience, the Spirit Awakening step no longer posed a challenge for Leilin.
The only thing he remained helpless about was the other of the two ancient potion formulas he had obtained from his mentor Guofate—
Leilin speculated that this formula was very likely a potion used by full-fledged Wizards themselves, not something within an apprentice's reach.
"For the Spirit Awakening step, the spirit used doesn't need to be the strongest possible. According to the Chip's simulated experiments and my own calculations, a spirit at the Third-rank Apprentice level is the most suitable…"
Leilin gazed at the wraith Roman, still writhing and cursing within the glow of the array.
"After all this time, I've deliberately maintained Roman's soul strength at precisely the level matching the Pendant of the Fallen Star's materials. As long as I can complete the Spirit Awakening, what I get will be a truly perfect magical item!"
This was the trump card Leilin had prepared for himself in the Blood Battle.
A low-grade magical item did not cross the threshold of what a full
As long as Leilin possessed this pendant, his safety in the Blood Battle would be thoroughly guaranteed.
"Spare me!!! You promised you'd spare me!!!!"
Roman, trapped within the magical sigils, continued to scream.
At the end, the desperate wraith Roman uttered a deep curse: "Despicable oath-breaker, I curse you…………"
"Enough talk!" Leilin frowned and poured an entire bottle of silvery liquid directly onto the surface of the Pendant of the Fallen Star.
Ssss!!!
A ring of white vapor rose from the silver pendant. The white mist coalesced mid-air into a gaping mouth bristling with fangs, which lunged straight at Roman.
Chomp!!!
Roman was swallowed into the massive mouth. The grotesque maw opened and closed, as though still savoring the taste.
Leilin stared intently at the great mouth. Once Roman had been completely devoured, he began chanting an incantation.
As the words of the spell echoed through the surroundings, the rune array Leilin had drawn on the laboratory bench began to contract, condensing inward toward the center until everything transferred onto the Pendant of the Fallen Star itself.
As the runic symbols continued to converge, the engravings on the silver cross grew finer and more intricate, shimmering with an iridescent luster and radiating an aura of mystery.
"Seal!!!"
Leilin fixed his gaze on the cross. The instant the last of the runes was absorbed by the silver Pendant of the Fallen Star, he pointed a finger at the white maw hovering in mid-air.
Pop!!! The sound was like a soap bubble being pierced.
The white mouth dissipated entirely, wisps of white gas streaming outward with dark black threads woven among them, all of it cascading into the silver cross.
"In my name, Leilin Farell—Pendant of the Fallen Star, ignite!!!"
Leilin's expression was grave. He bit his fingertip and let a single drop of bright crimson blood fall directly into the Pendant of the Fallen Star.
The red gemstone at the center of the cross flashed and absorbed Leilin's blood in an instant.
BOOM!!! From within the Pendant of the Fallen Star, an immense suction force erupted. A vortex formed on the surface of the cross, drawing in every last wisp of black-and-white gas in the room.
Dense mist enveloped the silver cross, which floated in mid-air and transformed into a sphere of intertwined black and white light.
"Excellent! It's entered the ignition phase—everything is going smoothly so far!!!"
Leilin watched the luminous sphere in the air, his eyes blazing with fervor: "Next comes…"
By the following morning, Leilin was staring at the silver-grey cross resting in his palm, joy spreading across his face.
The Pendant of the Fallen Star now bore a silver-grey surface, and the gemstone set in it had grown somewhat dim. By appearance alone, it actually looked worse than the earlier half-finished version. But the Chip's notification sent Leilin into pure elation.
"Ding!!! Low-grade magical item—Pendant of the Fallen Star! Fabrication successful!!!"
"Pendant of the Fallen Star: Low-grade magical item. Primary defense-type materials: Star Alloy, Manfeila Stone, Manxter Bone Marrow…
Physical defense: 13 degrees. Spell defense: 15 degrees. Activates instantaneously upon attack on the wearer!!!"
The data displayed on the Chip clearly threw Leilin into raptures. A magical item with instantaneous activation—even on the open market, it would be a priceless treasure impossible to obtain at any price.
Generally speaking, the offensive output of a Third-rank Apprentice hovered around 10 degrees. Only a formal First-level Wizard could unleash spells exceeding 20 degrees in power.
As long as he had the Pendant of the Fallen Star, its energy unspent, Leilin could disregard the attacks of First- and Second-rank Apprentices entirely. Combined with the Tilfu Dome Shield Potion, even against Third-rank Apprentices, Leilin could endure their bombardment for a very long time.
In truth, with the successful creation of the Pendant of the Fallen Star, Leilin's life was now well and truly secured.
"This magical item is essentially a simplified version of a full Wizard's defensive field!" Leilin suddenly felt a swell of emotion.
His admiration for the Wizard-pioneers who had come before surged uncontrollably in his heart.
Wizardkind's heritage stretched back over a thousand years—and that was only modern history. Before that lay the brilliant and resplendent Ancient Era, and before that, the Remote Era and the Primordial Era. With so many ages of accumulated knowledge, how many geniuses must have emerged? How many mysterious and unfathomable spells must have been invented?
Only by standing on the shoulders of giants could one see the path ahead more clearly and press forward with all one's might!!!
Even with the Chip, Leilin merely enjoyed a more solid foundation than other Wizards. On the road of true Wizardry, he still needed to draw extensively on the experience of those who had walked it before him.
After his reverie, Leilin hung the silver-grey cross around his neck.
The cold pendant pressed directly against the skin of his neck. Leilin then pulled his collar up higher, so that from the outside, it was completely impossible to tell he was wearing any ornament at all.
"Now that I have the Pendant of the Fallen Star, my defensive capabilities are secured. Next I'll use the Chip to assemble several high-power Zero-level Spells to use in the Blood Battle!"
As for Roman's words, Leilin believed them—but he wasn't about to overlook what was already within his grasp.
Obtaining Green Water through the Blood Battle had been his plan from the start, and he had no intention of abandoning it.
After all, he still could not defeat a single First-level Wizard. Under the coercion of his Academy mentors, he had no choice but to enter the Secret Realm Blood Battle.
Knock, knock, knock!!!
While Leilin was deep in thought, a rhythmic knocking sounded at his door.
"Come in!!!" Leilin swiftly cleared the traces from his laboratory bench, straightened his clothes, and then called out.
Creak!!!
The wooden door swung open, and Biji walked in wearing a green dress. A pleasant fragrance drifted toward Leilin's nose.
"Leilin! The mentor sent me to get you for the Academy tournament registration…"
Biji twirled a small white flower in her fingers.
Before the Blood Battle, Black Bone Forest Academy was sparing no effort to cultivate its apprentices. Not only had they slashed the prices of materials and Spell Models dramatically, but they had also organized numerous tournaments in the lead-up to the event.
Simply by participating, one could receive generous rewards—many of which were Magic Stones, various Spell Models, and experimental materials.
The top finishers, moreover, received valuable Spell Scrolls and offensive potions as prizes.
But for Leilin, Magic Stones were something he had no shortage of, offensive potions he could brew himself, and the champion's reward wasn't even a magical item—none of it held any appeal.
Still, appearances had to be maintained. Leilin nodded and walked out of the dormitory with Biji.
Three years had passed, and the girl he once knew had blossomed into a beautiful young woman. Biji walked in silence, leading the way. Leilin opened his mouth but found he had nothing to say.
When they reached the garden district, Biji finally turned to Leilin with a smile and said: "Leilin! Did you know?
As she said this, Leilin noticed with sharp perception that an unusual gleam shone in Biji's eyes.
"Really? Congratulations!"
Leilin had known about Biji's unrequited crush on Feile from his very first day at the Academy. Seeing his good friend finally get her wish, he felt genuinely happy for her.
At the same time, a thread of concern stirred in him. He knew Feile's character to some degree—Feile loved being the center of attention and was somewhat vain. But looking at Biji's radiant smile, Leilin chose to stay silent.