The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Kaze Antuun was certainly not the one presiding over the meeting; in fact, among the listeners, he was seated rather far in the back.

The five empty seats at the head of the table were for the clans that had produced an Official Wizard, a status that elevated them to another level, allowing them to even skip Wizard Clan meetings.

Among them, the number of Official Wizards who owned a Wizard Tower was relatively few.

The Demon Dragon Wizard was one, along with the Rhein Wizard and the Fierce Tiger Wizard.

Of the two remaining Official Wizards, the Blast Flame Wizard had gone to explore the Inner World, and no news had been heard from him in a long time.

The Green Ink Wizard was stationed in the Dark Night Secret Realm, one of the five Middle-tier Secret Realms, to prevent its natives from causing any major disturbances.

Wizards who had not built a Wizard Tower tended to prefer solitude. Their Wizard Clans were also extremely small, and they quietly conducted their research along their own Wizard Paths.

The Divine Eagle Wizard and the Thorn Wizard both had Wizard Towers and had established their own Extraordinary Schools, whose members were mostly from the Wizard Clans.

The former was from a Warlock Clan that relied on Bloodline Promotion. They had significant ties to the Wizard Clans and stood with the Wizard Family Alliance.

The Thorn Wizard was rather unique but also stood with them against the pressure from the School Lineage.

No one knew exactly how many powerful Official Wizards existed in the Dark Land; it was a subject of constant investigation among the various Wizard Influences.

”The purpose of the Dark Cultivation Plan is for the Dark Land to cultivate a group of powerful Wizards over a period of two hundred years.” The speaker was a tall, thin man in a black Wizard Robe with a long, narrow face and a beard. His name was Puni, and he was the patriarch of the Stark Clan.

Among the Ten Great Wizard Clans, the Stark Clan ranked near the top, and they also had the highest number of Extreme Wizard Apprentices.

Wizard Clans like the Antuun, with only one or two Extreme Wizard Apprentices, were ranked much lower.

The vast majority of resources and opportunities were controlled by the Ten Great Wizard Clans, leaving the other clans to fight over the scraps.

Everyone present looked at Puni. He was the one handling both the latest intelligence and the organization of this Wizard Clan meeting.

”What is the purpose of these two hundred years? Everyone here already knows the answer to that, so I won’t elaborate.”

”There are a total of thirty-six slots. As we’ve previously discussed, only three are allocated to Wizard Freshmen. The top three in the Secret Realm competition will earn those spots.”

Puni spoke with a deadpan expression, making it impossible for anyone to know what he was thinking.

’Could there be some unexpected development among the freshmen?’

Everyone present was astonished. In the Upper House competition, they might not be able to beat the School Lineage, but the Lower House was their home turf.

Especially among the freshmen, their own descendants, who had been trained by their clans in advance, were already on par with some of the older Wizard Students by the time they entered the Dark Wizard Academy.

Against those commoner freshmen, it should have been a complete stomp. The top three spots in the Secret Realm competition were supposed to be claimed from within their own Wizard Clans.

Recalling Puni’s earlier words, some of the Wizard Clan leaders began to look alarmed and suspicious.

”That’s right. The one who experienced the Evil God incident is a Wizard Freshman, and he will also be participating in the Secret Realm competition in two and a half years,” Puni revealed the truth.

”Are you kidding me? A freshman who just enrolled in the Lower House survived an Evil God incident and came back safely?”

”Puni, could you be mistaken? This is an Evil God incident we’re talking about—an Evil God! Not some extermination mission against an Extraordinary Creature plaguing a Mortal City and devouring its people...”

”If this is true, how on earth did a Wizard Freshman manage it? Do we have any specific information on his identity?”

The meeting room instantly erupted in a flurry of discussion, threatening to devolve into a noisy argument.

As the leaders of major Wizard Clans, they considered themselves knowledgeable and experienced, but this situation was simply unheard-of. It defied all their understanding.

’Could this Wizard Freshman actually be a powerful Wizard in disguise, with the Power of a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice?’

’And was this Evil God just some complete idiot who didn’t even react when a Wizard showed up in its lair?’

’The descriptions of Evil Gods in the ancient texts—terrifying and tenacious—couldn’t possibly be false.’

’If it was the former, they’d have to consider whether this Wizard Freshman was a mole planted by another Wizard Influence.’

The head of the Mad Clan, one of the Ten Great Wizard Clans, Ocam Mad, spoke up. ”Puni, just tell us what you’re thinking. Don’t make us guess. The Child of the Dark slots are vital. Losing even one would be a huge loss for the Wizard Clans.”

”A Wizard Freshman named Wang Ya Harak. He has some connection to your Direct Lineage descendants, Mengta and Reif. The Evil God incident, you could say, was just a coincidence.”

Puni briefly recounted the relevant information: the assigned mission, the Maya Kingdom, the Ancient Forest Mountain Camp, and the various matters concerning the Bailin Clan.

All of this information could be found with a little investigation.

Puni had not, however, uncovered the things Wang Ya did while disguised as Arthur.

A flash of surprise appeared in Kaze Antuun’s eyes. ’Connected to the Bailin Clan... could it be...?’ His gaze shifted slightly, clearly having thought of something.

Puni continued, ”I have reason to suspect that this is actually a trump card planted among the Wizard Freshmen by the School Lineage. There may even be more than just one. Their goal is to target those three Dark Land slots.”

”It was only exposed by a stroke of luck, due to the assigned mission and the Evil God incident.”

Puni’s words won the approval of the Wizards present. If he was a trump card from the School Lineage, then his Power certainly wouldn’t be weak. It wouldn’t be impossible for him to return safely by using some prepared life-saving measures or hidden aces.

Everything made sense now.

As a trump card, he would naturally be well-hidden, making it impossible for them to have discovered him.

”Then what should we do? We are bound by the rules and cannot use external means to influence the Wizard Students. The Secret Realm competition is watched by Official Wizards, after all.”

One of the clan leaders voiced the question on everyone’s mind.

Puni already had a counter-strategy. He said, ”In the Secret Realm competition, the use of external items is forbidden. Witchcraft Artifacts, Extraordinary Potions, and the like are all prohibited. Contestants can only rely on themselves—their Witchcraft and their wits. However, Cultivation Witchcraft is considered part of one’s own abilities.”

”What we can do is improve the Power of our clan’s descendants as much as possible. Learning a Cultivation Witchcraft isn’t difficult. With an extra Extraordinary Cultivated Creature as support, their chances of winning will be much greater.”

”We’ll be taking advantage of the time we have, letting the Wizards of the School Lineage think we haven’t discovered their plan. We will crush them with absolute Power, secure the Child of the Dark slots, and leave the School Lineage Wizards with nothing to say.”

’So that’s how it is,’ Kaze Antuun thought. ’Forcing the Wizard Clans to ally like this... it’s just a glimpse of how terrifying the School Lineage truly is.’

The meeting ended. In two and a half years, the freshmen from the Wizard Clans would become even more formidable.

Of course, Wang Ya knew nothing of this. He was busy making arrangements for the next phase of the Harak Bloodline Cultivation plan and mastering the Advanced Witchcraft Knowledge from his Inheritance Witch Book.

Most importantly, he was thrilled by the changes to his Eye of Truth after its upgrade...

PS: Kaze is an Extreme Wizard Apprentice (this was corrected in the last chapter).