Days passed one after another.
The instructors and apprentices of Black Bone Forest Academy gradually recovered from their grief and adapted to life as it now was.
The academy at this time had almost completely become a graveyard.
Within the vast campus, one could walk for half a day without seeing a single soul.
Empty classrooms, perpetually deserted trading squares — even the academy's mission board, where rows upon rows of tasks hung on the walls, yet barely any apprentices came to take them.
The entirety of Black Bone Forest Academy remained steeped in deathly silence for most of the time.
Under these circumstances, any ordinary person left here for even a few days would likely be scared to death!
Fortunately, whether it was Leilin and the other apprentices who had survived the Blood Battle, or the remaining instructors, they were all people of extremely firm willpower — the only reason the academy could still maintain its basic operations under such conditions.
However, this situation would not last much longer.
By Leilin's estimation, the time was approaching for every academy on the South Coast to begin recruiting again.
This time, Black Bone Forest Academy would certainly lower its requirements considerably. Once that happened, a large wave of apprentices would come to replenish the school's ranks, and the academy would quickly restore its former appearance on the surface.
But cultivating any single talented apprentice required enormous amounts of time and energy, let alone the fact that fifth-level talents were not so easy to find.
The gap that had appeared in Black Bone Forest Academy's lineage during Leilin's generation would likely take more than a decade of remedying before it could be fully restored.
But none of this had much to do with Leilin.
He had returned to his previous monotonous routine, visiting his instructor each day to assist with experiments and learn from his experience.
At the same time, he made full use of his third-level apprentice privileges to purchase large quantities of spell resources and stockpile knowledge of advanced disciplines.
Leilin's aptitude was considered middling in the world of Wizards — neither high nor low — but it was still quite decent.
Moreover, he had successfully advanced to third-level apprentice before the age of twenty, which meant he still had plenty of time to push toward the realm of a full
On that account, both instructors and apprentices regarded Leilin with a degree of respect above the rest.
Now, when Leilin walked along the path, upon encountering a formal Wizard, after he offered a bow, the other party would even nod in acknowledgment first. And quite a few apprentices would directly bow from afar upon seeing Leilin.
As for Nisse and the others, they basically didn't dare appear before Leilin.
Thinking of Nisse, Leilin couldn't help but feel fortunate for her. In a bloodbath with such a high mortality rate, for her to still retain her life and even gain some Contribution Points was an extremely rare thing.
He had heard that she used the Contribution Points she possessed to exchange for a potion that could increase Spiritual Power. Currently, she was wholeheartedly preparing to charge toward the third-level apprentice realm.
"Hope she succeeds! To heal the damage on her body, one must at least reach the realm of a formal Wizard!"
Thinking of Nisse's injuries, Leilin couldn't help but feel a bit somber. Right now, within the entire Black Bone Forest Academy, only he, Nisse, and Jiamen were left as apprentices from the Keli Archipelago.
These thoughts merely flickered briefly through Leilin's mind, and immediately after, he focused all his energy back on the book before him.
The book in his hands was very thick, equivalent to the thickness of two bricks stacked together, yet the paper area was very narrow and small. This was the style of books from the ancient era.
"The Mother Earth lay upon the ground and gave birth to seven children. They are:
The book Leilin held was obviously one related to mythological stories.
"Ancient humans described matters in an extremely obscure manner. Within this, much information regarding Wizards is also hidden..."
Leilin's gaze flickered rapidly as he commanded: "Chip! Record!"
Ever since Leilin had registered with the academic affairs office, as a Wizard Seed, he had automatically gained many privileges within the Black Bone Forest.
Among these was the right to read the hidden books in the library!
Of course, within these books, descriptions of formal Wizards were also extensively deleted. At most, they were slightly mentioned during the narrative, expressed very obscurely, and an ordinary person would completely overlook them.
But even so, with the Chip, Leilin had obtained a great deal of useful information from the hidden library.
First of all, the Chip had already recorded most of the academic knowledge below the level of a formal Wizard. Leilin now dared to guarantee with confidence, if it came to questions regarding apprentice-level matters, most of the instructors in the Black Bone Forest Academy were not his match.
This was of great help to Leilin in solidifying his foundation as an apprentice.
At the very least, he now knew about some small mistakes he had made during his previous attempt to charge into the third-level apprentice realm, and he had begun to make every effort to rectify them.
Do not underestimate these things. If they were not repaired in time, even after Leilin became a formal Wizard, his Spiritual Power would stagnate after a while, completely remaining at the current realm, and he would never be able to break through.
Additionally, Leilin had found some content describing advanced Meditation Methods.
Based on these scattered fragments, along with the intelligence from Roman, Leilin could now confirm that the Head of Black Bone Forest Academy, as well as the leaders of the major powers on the South Coast, were all Wizards who had broken through the boundary of Wizardry by using advanced Meditation Methods.
That was why they had been able to reach their current levels within their lifetimes.
Yet the vast majority of Wizards on the South Coast — even many academy instructors — had no idea that advanced Meditation Methods even existed. They recklessly used Green Lin Water to break through, only to remain at the first-level Wizard realm for the rest of their lives!
After reading all of this, Leilin had completely abandoned any thought of using Green Lin Water to break through.
"It seems that traveling to the Moon Zither Mountain Range to obtain the advanced Meditation Method left behind by the Crimson Great Wizard is a plan I must carry out in the future!"
Leilin slowly closed the book in his hands and left the library.
He had already had the Chip record nearly all of the books in the hidden library. From now on, no matter where he was, he could pull up and consult those books from the Chip at any time — it was practically equivalent to carrying a large intelligent library with him everywhere.
"Master!"
Leilin arrived at Master Guofate's laboratory and gave a slight bow to Guofate, who was in the middle of conducting an experiment.
Guofate appeared the same as before on the surface, but Leilin keenly noticed that his eyes had grown slightly dimmer. It seemed that
"Leilin! My child!" Upon seeing Leilin, a smile appeared on Guofate's face, and his spirits seemed to lift a little.
"Have you reached an answer regarding my proposal from last time?" Guofate asked.
"Yes! Master!" Leilin bowed again. "I appreciate the generosity of the Rayleigh family, but I would still like to try going it alone!"
Upon hearing Leilin's response, Guofate's expression darkened slightly. However, Leilin's talent in Potionology was something Guofate deeply admired, and after Merlin's death, Leilin had become his foremost apprentice. He could not help but try to persuade him once more: "The Rayleigh family is a prominent family, renowned for their potion-making. There, your talents would surely be given full rein. Moreover, the Rayleigh family is quite sincere — their contract is considerably more lenient than the academy's…"
Leilin put on an expression of attentive listening, but inwardly he had already rejected Master Guofate's proposal without a moment's hesitation.
After the Blood Battle concluded, Leilin's standing in Master Guofate's eyes had risen several more notches.
During one of their conversations, Guofate had extended an olive branch to Leilin on behalf of the Rayleigh family behind him.
The Rayleigh family was one of the large Wizard families within Black Bone Forest Academy, backed by several Wizards.
Guofate was one of them.
As a Wizard family with a long heritage and close ties to Black Bone Forest Academy, the Rayleigh family also possessed a share of first-tier spell models and Green Spirit Water.
The conditions Guofate proposed were identical to the Academy contract — Leilin would swear an oath of loyalty to the Rayleigh family for eighty years, and in return, the Rayleigh family would provide the resources Leilin needed to attempt the breakthrough to official Wizard.
Compared to the Academy contract, a family contract was undoubtedly more lenient, but this clearly did not serve Leilin's interests.
No matter how formidable the Rayleigh family was, could they provide him with a high-tier Meditation Method?
Just looking at the fact that even Guofate himself didn't have a high-tier Meditation Method in hand told Leilin the answer.
With the hope of obtaining the Crimson Great Wizard's legacy, there was absolutely no way Leilin would join another Wizard family and tie himself down for nothing!
Moreover, Leilin was by nature someone who valued absolute freedom. Unless he was backed into a corner with nowhere else to turn, he would never consider signing away his life with a servitude contract.
"I know all of this, Master! But…"
Leilin raised his head, his eyes burning with an unprecedented resolve and determination.
"I still want to try on my own first! If I fail, Master, I give you my word — when the time comes to choose, I will absolutely give the Rayleigh family my first consideration!!"
"You…"
A flurry of emotions flickered across Guofate's face as he looked at his most outstanding student, suddenly feeling a sense of powerlessness. "Fine! You're only seventeen! Youth is precious — it allows you to make mistakes!"
Looking at Leilin now, Guofate was reminded of his younger self, and a trace of nostalgic sentiment crept into his eyes.
"Thank you, Master!" Leilin was genuinely moved. Guofate, though somewhat cold and impersonal, had never betrayed any of his students — and in Black Bone Forest Academy, that was something rare and valuable.
"Then! How exactly do you plan to cross the chasm to becoming an official Wizard?" Guofate asked.
"Well…" Leilin scratched his head with a hint of feigned shyness, an embarrassed expression on his face.
"I heard that Master
"Haha…" A smile spread across Guofate's face. "So that's what you've been scheming about!"
On the South Coast, information on advancing to official Wizard was completely controlled by the major organizations — but there was one exception!!!