Chapter 98. Finding the Culprit A layer of fluorescent light erupted directly from the badge on Lei Lin's chest.
His entire body was enveloped in a layer of luminous glow, floating in midair, and he began involuntarily rising toward the sky.
Through the light wrapping around him, Lei Lin could still see other apprentices not far away, also floating within their own spheres of light, ascending like stars.
"What a beautiful sight!"
Lei Lin couldn't help but marvel. He reached out and pulled out a handful of badges. "Without the guidance force, it looks like only living apprentices are drawn by the badges! If that's the case—"
With a flick of his hand, Lei Lin tossed two badges — the ones representing third-tier apprentices — out of the sphere of light.
These two badges had belonged to the Silver Claw Sorin and that golden-haired female apprentice. Since Lei Lin had already collected enough badges, there was no reason to keep them.
"And this one too!" Lei Lin tossed out another item — a half-length iron chain crackling with sparks.
After the Chip's repeated analysis, this damaged Magical Item still carried a hidden spiritual fluctuation that appeared to have tracking properties. If Lei Lin dared to carry it outside, the instructors from the rival academy would immediately know he was the one who had killed Torexas.
As for the half-dagger and the incomplete hand he'd taken from the other two apprentices, those posed no problem and were safely stowed away in his pack.
"The final step!"
Lei Lin smiled faintly and released the effects of the Mimicry Spell.
The muscles on his face rippled and shifted, his body steadily growing taller, and within moments, Lei Lin had reverted from his ordinary appearance back to his original features.
"I operated under that false face the entire time inside the secret realm — never let anyone see my true appearance!"
"Once we're out, the rival academies are probably going to go mad searching for that apprentice who doesn't actually exist." Lei Lin imagined the scene that would unfold, and a faint smile crept across his face.
"And now — I am Lei Lin Farrell, a completely ordinary Apothecary apprentice!"
Gazing at the secret realm's entrance flickering with seven-colored radiance, the smile on Lei Lin's face deepened…
A dizzying sensation washed over him. Lei Lin fought to suppress it, barely managing to keep from vomiting on the spot.
"The feeling of passing through a secret realm is really not pleasant!"
"Move along quickly, stop blocking the way!" A cold snort rang directly in Lei Lin's ears.
Lei Lin quickly bowed his head and hurried away from the area.
Only then did he have the presence of mind to glance around.
Outside the entrance to the secret realm, nothing had changed from before. The instructors from the three academies had divided into three areas facing off against each other, with the Gothic Sage's Cottage and White Tree Forest Castle positioned closer together, united in their hostility toward the instructors from Black Bone Forest Academy.
One by one, apprentices filed out of the secret realm's entrance and returned to stand behind their respective instructors.
"Who is that person?"
Lei Lin noticed that in front of the three academy heads stood a figure in a black robe. A flicker of curiosity arose in his mind.
Whoosh! At that very moment, the black-robed figure he was gazing at seemed to sense Lei Lin's stare and turned their head around directly.
The next instant, Lei Lin found himself staring into a pair of emerald-green eyes.
The world around him seemed to freeze in that moment, everything drowning in a sea of green.
The instructors and apprentices around Lei Lin had all transformed into jade-green statues, showing not a trace of life.
Lei Lin struggled to open his mouth, only to discover that no sound could escape his throat.
"Lei Lin!" "Lei Lin!" "Lei Lin!"
The jade-green statues around him suddenly began to speak, calling out his name.
"What on earth is going on?" Lei Lin screamed in his mind, but not a single word would come out.
Crack, crack!!! The jade-green statues began to move. Green powder cascaded from their bodies, while their eyes turned red, as though studded with rubies.
Countless green statues surged directly toward Lei Lin, engulfing him…
"Ahhh!" Lei Lin suddenly jolted awake, gasping loudly for breath.
"What… what just happened?" The apprentices around him were all perfectly fine, but Lei Lin no longer dared to glance in the direction of the academy heads.
"Relax, child!" A pair of hands carrying the scent of medicinal herbs settled directly on top of Lei Lin's head, radiating a soft, diffused white light.
"Guofate, sir!" Lei Lin bowed deeply. Under the coverage of the white light, he felt much better.
"Was it you who saved me?"
"Not 'saved' — I just gave you a little nudge!" Guofate smiled, guiding Lei Lin back to his own academy's area.
"Formal Wizards are always surrounded by a layer of defensive Field, and most of them are either permanent or instantaneous. And the more advanced Wizards have a powerful Field perpetually lingering around their bodies. Ordinary apprentices can't even get close to them!"
Guofate explained to Lei Lin.
"Just now, that lord from the Black Night Lighthouse didn't mean anything by it — he merely glanced this way. Many apprentices fell straight into an illusion. If I hadn't been here, there probably would have been a pile of corpses…"
Guofate's expression gradually turned serious. "Lei Lin, before you become a formal
"I'll remember!" Lei Lin's face was solemn, and he nodded quickly.
Just a single glance had nearly cost him his life. The thought filled him with lingering dread, and it strengthened his resolve to climb to greater heights in the future.
"I refuse to die from a soul collapse just because some big shot happened to pass by and look at me — what a pathetic way to go!"
Although advanced Wizards could rein in their Fields, doing so would be a show of weakness. Lei Lin couldn't imagine anyone ever doing that for his sake.
"Good! Welcome back, my child!"
After Guofate had finished treating Lei Lin, a sincere smile appeared on his face.
"It's so good to see you again!" Lei Lin returned the smile and embraced his mentor.
Only then did he have the chance to survey the casualties in his own academy.
Since their opponents had been two academies joining forces, and Black Bone Forest had already lost quite a few apprentices in the prior wars, it now looked as though Black Bone Forest had also suffered devastating losses in this secret realm blood duel.
Behind each of their respective mentors stood only a scattering of apprentices, most of them wounded, their faces grim.
"Lei Lin!" A voice cried out in delighted surprise from nearby.
"Biji!" Lei Lin broke into a smile and hugged Biji, who had grown even more mature and striking than before.
"Thank goodness. I thought you were..." Tears welled up in Biji's eyes.
It seemed she had been worried about Lei Lin the whole time, but had no idea that he was the mysterious person who had saved her back then.
Lei Lin looked Biji over again. He was surprised to find that she hadn't sustained any real injuries — she just looked a bit unwell in spirit. For a Black Bone Forest apprentice, even a third-tier one, it was quite remarkable that she had survived against the enemy's army without a scratch.
Biji seemed to notice Lei Lin's confusion and explained on her own initiative: "I ran into Molly as soon as I entered, and then we encountered a very powerful apprentice from the other side. Fortunately, a stranger saved me. After that, I met
Biji pointed toward an apprentice standing behind one of the mentors.
Lei Lin looked over and indeed recognized Feile from before. Three years had passed, and he looked considerably more mature and charismatic now.
With a third-tier apprentice watching over her, plus a bit of luck, it made sense that she had survived. Lei Lin nodded and didn't press further.
After exchanging a few more casual words with Biji, he noticed that the ones emerging from the secret realm's exit were mostly hostile apprentices. Very few Black Bone Forest students were coming out. Lei Lin sighed inwardly: "It looks like Black Bone Forest has suffered devastating losses this time. I wouldn't be surprised if, for a while, the academy has more mentors than students..."
Thump!! At that moment, another apprentice stumbled out of the entrance.
He wore the tattered grey apprentice robe of Black Bone Forest, torn in numerous places, covered in wounds and streaked with blood. One of his arms was entirely missing.
"That's Jiamen!!!" Lei Lin's eyes lit up slightly.
For Wizards, disability was hardly an issue — there were all manner of arcane arts capable of reattaching severed limbs.
Jiamen forced himself forward a few steps. When he spotted the Black Bone Forest mentors, a faint smile crossed his face before he collapsed unconscious.
Whoosh!!! A white shadow materialized before Jiamen and caught him.
Once the white figure dissipated, Lei Lin finally saw the true form of the Wizard within — nothing but a skeleton of white bones, with ghostly flames burning inside the skull!
" Mentor
It had been the one who brought Lei Lin into Black Bone Forest Academy in the first place. It was also Jiamen's mentor, and had bestowed Magical Items upon him — clearly favoring the young apprentice quite deeply.
"Enough! My scan reveals that no living apprentices remain within the secret realm. Close the entrance!"
The black-robed figure standing before the three headmasters spoke.
The moment the words left his mouth, a heavy silence fell over both academies, followed by the soft sounds of weeping and sighing rising one after another.
"No!!! Where is Toressas? He must still be in there!"
"What about Silver Claw Soren? Hurry up and come out! He's a genius apprentice — how could Black Bone Forest possibly keep him?"
……
"Morphys? Where is Morphys?"
Exclamations continued to pour out from the opposing academy.
As for Black Bone Forest, they had likely already anticipated the outcome. Although many genius apprentices had also perished, the reactions of the instructors were milder than Linley had expected.
Even
"Toressas! Toressas! I placed a spiritual coordinate on him — he must be in there!!!"
A blue-bearded old man across the way screamed several times before beginning to chant an incantation.
Boom!!!
A brilliant blue light drifted upward from the unconscious Jiamen's body, faintly encasing an apprentice badge within it.
"Oh! No! Toressas! I'll kill you!!!"
The blue-bearded old man's face twisted with rage as a massive bolt of lightning materialized in midair.
"That kind of power — compared to Toressas, he's absolutely nothing!" Linley swallowed hard, suddenly feeling extremely fortunate.