The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

The enormous Stone Gate was spattered with bloodstains and bore the marks of countless blades and axes. An ancient aura permeated the air, lending a solemn feel to the scene.

Many figures were present. After all, this battle was a clash between the Wizard Family Alliance and the School Lineage.

Compared to the last battle involving Wizard Yi Si, this one was undoubtedly much smaller in scale.

Most of the Wizards who came to watch were Lower House Wizards. The most powerful among them were only Level 3 Wizard Apprentices.

Lando Wizard had dragged Wind Wizard along to watch the excitement.

Almost no Extreme Wizard Apprentices were present.

A duel between two Level 2 Wizard Apprentices was not worth the time of an Extreme Wizard Apprentice. There was little for them to gain by watching.

No amount of trickery could overcome an absolute gap in Power.

Mona, Gray, and Mas were present, accompanied by a few commoner Wizard Freshmen. Standing in a corner, they stared uncomfortably at the dozen or so figures ahead of them.

Beneath variously colored Wizard Robes were figures of all shapes and sizes. Their auras and presence were far more powerful than those of the commoner apprentices.

They were all Wizards from the Wizard Family Alliance, gathered around a few central figures: Dante, Riley, and other genius Wizards who had distinguished themselves in the Secret Realm competition.

Zack Antuun wore an unpleasant expression, as many of the Wizards present kept casting glances his way.

The whole affair had supposedly started because he, Zack, had been defeated by Wang Ya and lost all his fighting spirit. Hades had challenged Wang Ya Harak to this duel to help him recover.

But only he knew the truth. ’Lost my fighting spirit? As if! It’s burning brighter than ever.’

’I wish Hades would step down from this Battlefield. I’d jump at the chance to fight Wang Ya Harak myself.’

But there was no place for him in Kaze Antuun’s plan.

Thinking of his father’s stern face, Zack Antuun felt a wave of powerlessness wash over him.

”They’re here!”

A small commotion rippled through the crowd as the gazes of many Wizards converged, their voices dropping to a whisper.

Kaze Antuun, an Extreme Wizard Apprentice, walked in from the path’s entrance to take his place at the front. Following him was a tall, burly figure in a black Wizard Robe: Hades.

The two walked through the path the crowd of Wizards had cleared, stopping before the great doors of the Battlefield.

Kaze Antuun’s expression was placid, giving him an air of calm confidence, as if he had everything under control.

Wind Wizard and Lando Wizard exchanged a look, uncertainty flickering in their eyes. They carefully scrutinized Hades, who stood behind Kaze Antuun.

But Kaze’s aura, that of an Extreme Wizard Apprentice, was radiating outwards. Neither of them dared risk offending him by committing the disrespectful act of probing Hades with their Spiritual Power.

”Something feels off,” Lando Wizard began. ”Hades Antuun’s aura isn’t normal. It’s a bit...”

Listening to Lando Wizard, Wind Wizard’s gaze grew heavy. ”He certainly doesn’t feel like a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice. He’s actually putting pressure on me.”

There was only one possibility: Hades Antuun had advanced.

’What a scheme!’

The two of them instantly understood the whole ploy.

They had exploited the time difference. Hades had advanced to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice before coming to fight Wang Ya Harak.

Hades Antuun was a veteran Level 2 Wizard Apprentice. Once he found an opportunity to break through, three months was more than enough time to succeed.

Wang Ya Harak, on the other hand, had just reached the rank of a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice. What could he possibly accomplish in three months? He was probably still laying the groundwork, just starting to build his foundation with Advanced Extraordinary Knowledge.

’This is trouble.’

Their hearts sank. A Level 3 Wizard Apprentice versus a Level 2—they knew from personal experience just how vast that gap was.

With Wizards, the further one progressed, the greater the gap in Power between levels became.

A Level 1 Wizard Apprentice might still stand a chance against a Level 2, with a sliver of hope to win through clever use of Witchcraft and tactics.

But a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice’s Particle Energy and Spiritual Power had undergone a further transformation. They could control large objects with their Spiritual Power, or even lift their own bodies to achieve short bursts of flight.

The quality of their Particle Energy completely overwhelmed that of a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice. When casting the same Witchcraft, the power of a Level 3 was several times greater.

In this battle, Wang Ya Harak was almost certain to lose.

It wasn’t just the two of them who came to this conclusion. The other Wizards present who noticed the strangeness of Hades’s aura were all shocked as well.

Recalling Kaze Antuun’s actions over the past three months, they too understood what had happened.

The Wizards on the side of the Wizard Family Alliance broke into knowing smiles.

The Lower House Wizards, of course, were unaware of the situation. Even Dante Qiuji, Jim Novy, and their group had only come to see how Wang Ya Harak’s Power had changed.

Four or five months had passed, and they had all reflected on the reasons for their past defeat at Wang Ya Harak’s hands.

Now, with their own Power having improved, they believed they might not lose to him again.

”Mas, look! Wang Ya’s here,” Gray said, his usual cheerful self. His slovenly appearance from his time on the Wizard Ship was gone. Now, he wore a Blue Wizard Robe, his hair was tied back, and his face was covered in freckles.

”Damn it, his skin got even fairer! He’s gotten so much more handsome.”

Mona and Mas both looked over. Two figures were approaching from down the path.

One person wore a gray Wizard Robe and had gray hair. Their features were androgynous, and their eyes were as deep and tranquil as a secluded pool. It was Kelan Wizard.

The person walking beside them wore a black Wizard Robe. They had fair skin, accentuated by a beauty mark under their eye, and were incomparably handsome. An ethereal, dreamlike aura surrounded them, lending them an unreal quality.