Chapter Forty — Advice Through the Chip's scans, Leilin gained some understanding of Jiamen's strength.
Leilin himself was considered quite strong among Second-rank Apprentices — as long as the other party didn't possess any Magical Items, his chances of winning were quite high.
Jiamen did possess a Magical Item, but was still slightly inferior to him, which meant his combat power was a notch lower. He had some battle experience, but not much.
Of course, these were only rough estimates from the Chip. Actual combat in the real world depended on many different factors.
"Long time no see! Jiamen!" Leilin greeted him.
Jiamen had no idea that his strengths and weaknesses had already been nearly completely assessed by Leilin in an instant. He flicked his robe and sat down beside Leilin.
He raised his head, revealing his pale face as he basked in the sunlight.
"Haven't felt the sun in so long! Ever since I started following my mentor, it's been meditation, experiments, studying… over and over again, endlessly!"
Jiamen stretched leisurely with satisfaction.
"I heard you've been doing quite well under Guofate!" Jiamen suddenly asked.
"I can just barely mix some potions and trade for resources!" Leilin said modestly.
"But recently you went on a mission with
Leilin was somewhat speechless. He hadn't expected that the clique rivalries from when they were kids playing around would still be going on now, even as he completely forgot that he himself was only a fourteen-year-old child.
"They're all acquaintances. We ran into each other by chance and went on a mission together — that's all there is to it!" Although Leilin wasn't afraid of Jiamen, he still wanted to avoid trouble whenever possible.
Jiamen stared at Leilin several times — the Chip even warned him of traces of a spell scanning his brainwaves. It seemed Jiamen had actually used a spell to verify the truth.
After an unknown amount of time, a brilliant smile bloomed across Jiamen's face.
"I have high hopes for you! Shrewd! Cautious! Staying with Kreweir and the others will only hold you back. Only by joining a higher circle can you obtain resources, glory, and even your very life!"
Jiamen rose to his feet, and only his faint voice lingered behind: "Here's some advice — leave the Academy, quickly!"
"What? Can you be more specific?" Lein's heart clenched — he felt as though he'd caught hold of something, and hurriedly pressed for details.
But Jiamen merely smiled, and walked off without even looking back.
Only after Jiamen's silhouette had completely vanished did Lein sit back down, at a loss for words.
"Acting mysterious, buddying up to the powerful, recruiting subordinates? Is any of that actually fun? Does he really think he's the protagonist of some novel?"
"Still! Jiamen has fifth-grade talent — he's a core seed with real prospects of advancing to
……
After parting ways with Jiamen, Lein sought out Ni Lan. This woman had made a point of building a good relationship with him from the start, and had since cultivated it into something far more substantial.
After their exchange, Lein leaned back in his chair and let his thoughts drift.
"There's no need to worry about what Nis has going on. Jiamen's warning was sudden, but it has to be taken seriously. It's very likely connected to the disturbances outside the Academy. The next thing I need to do is investigate the whereabouts of the other fifth-grade apprentices."
In any case, the Academy would never give up on seeds that had a strong chance of becoming full Wizards. If the Academy were still safe, those apprentices would stay here. But if they all left under various pretexts, that would mean the Academy was going to be crawling with danger for the foreseeable future!!!
"Heilongsi is out sweeping the area right now because of what happened with Perry. Once he's finished the cleanup, that'll be the best opportunity!" A glint flashed in Lein's eyes.
"Darling, what are you thinking about?"
Ni Lan sidled closer once more.
"Just weighing some things!" Lein smiled. "Lord Heilongsi has been making quite a ruckus outside the Academy lately!"
"You've heard about it too? What happened with Perry?" Ni Lan stood beside Lein, making no other moves.
"Mm! They lost a fifth-grade genius — a future Wizard seed. Anyone would fly into a rage over that for a while!"
Lein smiled faintly and said, "You have your own circles. There are a few things I need you to look into!"
A sweet, saccharine smile spread across Ni Lan's face. "At your service, my Lion King!"
"Don't call me that! It sounds strange! It makes me think of a certain lion!" Lein rolled his eyes.
"Right, enough of that — down to business!" Lein's expression turned serious.
Seeing him like this, Ni Lan dropped her playful expression as well.
She had attached herself to Lein precisely to elevate her status and gain resources — in such matters, she was perfectly clear-headed.
"Go investigate for me — how are Heilongsi's recent war efforts going? Is it safe around the Academy yet? And also, find out where the fifth-grade apprentices in the Academy have gone recently!"
Lein whispered into Ni Lan's ear.
"I know already!" Ni Lan folded her arms. "Is something big about to happen?"
"I hope it's just my guess!"
……
When Lein walked out of Ni Lan's room, it was already the next morning. He felt refreshed and energized all over.
Lein thought for a moment, freshened up a bit, and headed to Mentor Guofate's place.
Guofate was in the middle of preparing a potion. Red beetles crawled back and forth inside a test tube, filling half of it — the sight was rather disgusting.
"You're here! What is it?"
Guofate kept his eyes fixed on the test tube while tossing in a blue petal.
The red beetles swarmed to gnaw on the petal, then melted away one after another, turning into drops of green liquid.
In just over a dozen seconds, half a test tube full of red beetles had completely transformed into a tube of green potion.
"Truly astounding technique!" Lein exclaimed.
"Heh! It's just practice!" Guofate shook his head. "You never come see me unless you need something! Go on!"
"It's like this — I haven't seen Senior Brother
"Merlin?" A mysterious smile appeared on Guofate's face. "He accepted a mission and went out!"
"How long will it take?"
"About a year to a year and a half! Possibly longer!" Guofate's tone grew increasingly serious, yet carried a note of satisfaction.
"One last question — was the mission recommended by the family behind Senior Brother Merlin?"
A family capable of poaching a potionology prodigy from Black Bone Forest Academy would have to be a top-tier power, and one with deep ties to the Academy at that. Their intelligence network might even surpass Guofate's.
"Yes!" Guofate confirmed. "You know how it is — some things, bound by my agreement with the Academy, I can't say outright. But if you figure it out on your own, that's none of my business!"
"Still, there's no need to worry too much. Your talent in Potionology is second only to Merlin's — the Academy needs people like you!" Guofate added in a reassuring tone at the end.
"Yes." Lei Lin smiled bitterly and nodded. It seemed the Academy really did operate on a hierarchy after all. People like Jiamen with fifth-rank aptitude, and top talents like Merlin — they had all made their escape plans well in advance. By the time it reached him, the treatment was considerably worse, with nothing more than subtle hints from his mentor.
Those apprentices even further down the ladder probably wouldn't know what was going on until the day they died.
Though Lei Lin still didn't have the full picture, one thing was certain — the Academy was no longer safe!
Lei Lin's resolve to leave strengthened once more. "Then, could I take an off-site mission?"
"Of course! Head to the counter at the Mission Distribution area and explain what you want. They'll understand. After all, your aptitude is quite respectable, and your talent in Potionology is even more outstanding!"
Guofate nodded.
"Thank you, Mentor!" Lei Lin hurriedly bowed. Being allowed to leave was excellent news — the last place he wanted to be was stuck on a battlefield.
After that, Lei Lin assisted Guofate with several potion experiments and also took the opportunity to ask about Nisi, but unfortunately Guofate had no solution to offer either.
After bidding his mentor farewell, Lei Lin headed outside. "Biji only has a small family behind her, and Kreweir and the others don't have fifth-rank aptitude either — they probably won't have gotten any inside information. I'll need to drop them a subtle hint. Whether they make it out or not will be up to their luck!"
Inside the lavish second-floor restaurant, magnificent crystal chandeliers cast dazzling light while musicians performed nearby. Savoring fine food amid delicate melodies was truly a luxurious experience.
Moreover, the ingredients here were all carefully selected — not only could they enhance one's physique, but they also accelerated meditation. The restaurant had always been popular among both apprentices and Wizards.
But today, the number of patrons was sparse, most wearing gloomy expressions that rather killed one's appetite.
Lei Lin sat in a goose-down reclining chair and slid a steaming cup in front of Ni Lan. "It's hot cocoa, mixed with black pearl powder — it actually helps with meditation a bit. Want to give it a try?"
Across from him, Ni Lan gave a bitter smile. "If this were before, and you brought me here, I'd probably be over the moon. But now..."