Chapter 85 Secrets "The secrets of a true
Leilin smiled. "Don't tell me you know the Spell Model for a first-level Wizard spell, or the whereabouts of the Green Water or something like that..."
"You actually know about that too..." A look of surprise crossed Roman's face, which quickly turned into a cold sneer.
"That's right! Your mentor must have told you that to become a first-rank Wizard, you need the Spell Model for a first-rank defensive Wizard spell, along with the Green Water and whatnot, correct?"
"Is there something missing from all of this?" A sudden wave of unease surged in Leilin's heart.
"Hahaha..." Roman suddenly burst into wild laughter. "You've been deceived by your mentor — or perhaps even your mentor doesn't know..."
"Do you know how true Wizards are ranked?" After his fit of laughter, Roman suddenly calmed down and asked Leilin.
"I believe they're divided into ranks one through nine, with rank one being the lowest and rank nine the highest, marked by the ability to cast spells of that level without harm!"
This was something Leilin had heard from a certain professor, but he'd always treated it as legend, because within the entirety of Black Bone Forest Academy, all the mentors were only first-rank Wizards, and only the Dean had reached the realm of a second-rank Wizard.
As for third-rank Wizards — that was the cultivation level of leaders in powerful organizations like the Night Lighthouse.
Leilin simply couldn't imagine what kind of power a ninth-rank Grand Wizard would possess.
"It seems you've been trying hard to collect knowledge about true Wizards..."
Seeing that he'd successfully captured Leilin's attention, Roman lazily leaned against the crystal ball's inner wall and said to Leilin: "The power of true Wizards lies in the fact that they successfully inscribe a first-rank defensive Wizard spell into their Sea of Consciousness, making it an innate Wizard spell! This grants them the effect of instant casting or permanent sustain, and the consumption is extremely low..."
Leilin nodded. The innate Wizard spells of true Wizards could even be maintained on their surface at all times, forming a protective barrier — and that was precisely why the Chip was always blocked by true Wizards' protective Fields, unable to obtain relevant data.
"After becoming a first-rank Wizard, an innate Wizard spell forms within the Wizard's Sea of Consciousness. If this Wizard advances further and becomes a second-rank Wizard, they need to inscribe upon the original innate Wizard spell, beginning to construct a new second-rank innate Wizard spell. In other words, a second-rank Wizard possesses two innate Wizard spells, while a third-rank Wizard has three. And if it's a legendary ninth-rank Wizard, they would have nine innate Wizard spells on them, with the last one being a ninth-rank spell!!!"
In order to survive, Roman began spilling a string of secrets.
"So that means if someone is a ninth-rank Wizard, they can instantly cast spells from ranks one through nine at any time!!!"
Leilin was dazed. Even a first-rank Wizard spell was something beyond his current ability to resist, let alone a Grand Wizard who could cast ninth-rank spells instantly.
Once a Wizard can cast spells instinctively — especially high-rank spells — the combat power they'd wield would be no exaggeration even if you said it could raze mountains and fill seas.
"What does that have to do with the scam you mentioned earlier?"
Leilin asked abruptly.
"Heh heh heh!!! An innate spell is the very foundation of a Wizard's Spiritual Power. Once it's set, it can never be changed. And every subsequent innate spell is built upon the first one. So what happens if you pick the wrong first innate spell? Two innate spells conflicting in your sea of consciousness — spell drain would be the *best-case* scenario. Most likely, your brain would go off like an alchemical bomb — *bang* — blown to pieces!!!"
Roman mimed an explosion with his hands, snickering.
"That's... actually very likely!!!" Leilin's expression darkened.
"So where's the scam?"
"They hid it. They hid the existence of high-grade Meditation Methods!" Roman squatted down with his arms crossed.
"High-grade Meditation Methods?" Something stirred in Leilin's mind. He had vaguely heard rumors about such things, but even his mentor Guofate had never laid eyes on such premium goods.
"Yes, high-grade Meditation Methods — Meditation Methods perfectly suited for a Wizard's Spiritual Power cultivation! Not only does the speed of Spiritual Power growth far surpass that of ordinary
"Automatically generated innate spells? You mean..." Leilin blurted out.
"That's right. As long as the high-grade Meditation Method advances in tier, it directly raises the Wizard's rank — no Greene's Water needed, no Spell Models!"
Roman let out a cold snort. "And the innate spells formed through the Meditation Method are perfectly complementary, flawlessly synchronized. Not only is there absolutely no worry about innate spell conflicts, but they even create an amplifying effect!"
"Just think about it. If you break through using Greene's Water, the most basic innate spell gets locked in, and you'll find that advancing your rank becomes incredibly difficult from then on. Every promotion requires stronger potions and resources than Greene's Water, and you'd have to scour the entire world for Spell Models that don't conflict with your innate spells — which is pure luck, with almost no chance of success!"
"And decades or centuries later, Wizards who cultivate high-grade Meditation Methods will have advanced smoothly and effortlessly, leaving you far behind. You'd be stuck clinging to life at the very bottom of the Wizard world, until you finally die in some forgotten corner where nobody even notices..."
The cold sweat on Leilin's forehead kept growing.
His extensive experience, combined with the Chip's computational simulations, told him that what Roman was describing had a truth probability of over 98%.
"The Wizard world really is riddled with traps. You can't afford a single misstep!"
"So you want to trade a high-grade Meditation Method for your life?" After taking several deep breaths, Leilin asked Roman.
"That's right. As long as you swear an oath under the Eye of Judgment, I'll tell you the location of a high-grade Meditation Method!"
Roman screamed frantically: "If you don't let me go, you'll never get your hands on that Meditation Method!"
"That high-grade Meditation Method—is it connected to the Crimson Great Wizard?" Leilin fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked.
"You know about it? Not bad! You've been to that laboratory too, so I suppose you've picked up some intelligence!" Roman started with surprise, but quickly shifted to an air of complete nonchalance.
"Well? A high-grade Meditation Method is more than enough to buy back my life!"
"Fine!!!" After a long silence, Leilin finally agreed.
Immediately, he began chanting a mysterious incantation.
The spell was incredibly tongue-twisting, filled with numerous pauses and breaks, demanding a tremendous expenditure of magical energy just to sustain it through to completion.
Only after his promotion to Third-Rank Apprentice had Leilin been able to chant this spell.
As the final syllable left his lips, the void suddenly rippled, the surrounding light dimmed ever so slightly, and above the laboratory table, a mysterious vertical eye had materialized seemingly out of nowhere.
The eye was entirely black, its pupil a vivid crimson red. Under its gaze, Leilin felt a chill wash over his entire body—as though he were standing naked, every last secret laid bare for all to see.
"Chip! Scan!"
Leilin issued the command in his mind, only to receive a notification that there was nothing before him.
It seemed that with the Chip's current capabilities, it still could not interface with something as bizarre as the Eye of Judgment—even though what Leilin had summoned was merely an avatar, possessing less than a hundred-millionth of the true body's power.
"Under the witness of the Eye of Judgment, I, Leilin Farell, swear that once Roman reveals everything he knows about the high-grade Meditation Method to me, I will immediately release him from the Soul-Binding Sphere!"
Leilin spoke slowly in the Ancient Byron Language.
The instant Leilin finished his oath, the Eye of Judgment transformed into a streak of black light and plunged separately into the foreheads of both Leilin and Roman.
"There! I've done as you asked. Now tell me where that high-grade Meditation Method is!"
An impatient expression crossed Leilin's face.
"Fine! As for the high-grade Meditation Method, I honestly don't know all that much either. All I know is that each one has different requirements for the practitioner's elemental affinity and soul aptitude."
"As for me, I merely came across clues about the Crimson Great Wizard's laboratory from a torn page of a Wizard's notes—and learned that he left behind a Meditation Method inheritance in one of his laboratories!"
Under the constraint of the Judgment Eye, Roman began to reveal everything he knew.
"If it has requirements for the practitioner, what are the requirements for that Meditation Method?" Leilin asked.
"I don't know! With my strength as only a third-tier apprentice, getting a lead on a Meditation Method was already a stroke of incredible luck. How could I dare ask for more? I hurriedly started the exploration in the end, and died there!"
Roman gave a bitter smile.
"Then tell me the location of that Meditation Method!" Leilin's face was expressionless, his voice low.
"On that torn page, I only obtained a few locations. The last laboratory wasn't it, so that only leaves the final place—Dylan Garden, located within the Moon Zither Mountain Range!"
"Moon Zither Mountain Range, Dylan Garden?"
Leilin suddenly recalled a place name he had obtained during the last laboratory exploration. "So Dylan Garden is within the Moon Zither Mountain Range?"
"That is all I know. Let me out quickly!!!" Roman shouted.
"Alright! I'll release you right now. I naturally wouldn't dare offend the constraint of the Judgment Eye!"
A hint of a smile appeared on Leilin's face, and he snapped his fingers.
Bang!!
The entire Soul-Binding Sphere completely shattered, revealing a transparent spirit form within.
At the same moment, two streaks of light flew out from Leilin's and Roman's bodies. This indicated the Judgment Eye had vanished, proving Leilin had fulfilled the contract.
"Haha! I'm free! I'm free!"
Roman shouted.
"Yes! I kept my promise and released you from the Soul-Binding Sphere. Now, we are even!"
Leilin suddenly waved his hand, activating the magic circle on the laboratory table.
Boom!!!
In an instant, every magical symbol on the laboratory table lit up, enveloping Roman within.
"What's going on? You! How could you break free from the oath's binding!!!"
Roman's face was blank with shock.