Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1354: Section 1355: The Admiration of a Middle School Second Year

Angel also saw Qi Li, her appearance and attire unchanged from their first meeting years ago, the only difference being the aura around her, which had grown stronger and more aggressive.

From this, it could be seen that in these past years, Qi Li must have made significant advancements in her strength.

This made Angel look forward to Qi Li’s performance in the upcoming competition.

With some time still left before the official start of the contest, Qi Li had no intention of engaging with anyone. After ascending the arena, she remained seated on her floating broom, eyes closed, waiting for the match to begin.

While waiting for the competition to start, Angel turned his head towards Glenn, “What do you plan to do by following me?”

Angel’s gaze was calm, but as Glenn looked into those pale gold eyes, he inexplicably felt as though he was facing a giant with an abyss-like presence.

Faced with such a vast disparity, Glenn felt a bit dazed and unwittingly spoke his mind, “No, I didn’t plan to do anything.”

Angel paused, for before asking the question, he had subtly used the Power of Nightmare Illusion to influence Glenn’s emotions. He could sense that Glenn was indeed affected, so could his words be true?

Glenn also snapped back to reality, his face flashing with confusion as he wondered why he had blurted out his inner thoughts so inexplicably.

“You don’t have any other purpose?”

Glenn: “These past few days, the magazines have been abuzz with your news. I’m just a bit curious, that’s all, no other motives.”

Angel didn’t know whether to believe Glenn’s words or not, because the surprise application of Nightmare Illusion to bewilder Glenn’s emotions worked only momentarily. Now that Glenn was aware of it, further deception would require force.

What Glenn said seemed somewhat reasonable, but Angel still found it a bit strange.

However, as strange as it was, Angel did not pay it much mind.

Regardless of Glenn’s intentions, now that he had admitted to “not planning to do anything,” that was probably the truth.

“Someone must have told you how to find me, right? Who was it?”

Glenn hesitated briefly, before responding, “Melisa.”

Hearing that familiar name once again, Angel’s mind flashed with an image of Melisa’s capable demeanor from back in the days when she was in charge of Sky Tower, deep within Barbarian Cave.

Angel knew that Melisa’s father was none other than the City Lord of the Outercity of Sky Mechanical City—the ‘Mechanical Beast Emperor’ Rosen.

Therefore, it made sense that Melisa would know his identity.

However, the fact that Glenn had connections with Melisa suggested that he also had ties within the core circles of Sky Mechanical City?

Before Angel could ask, Glenn offered an explanation, “My mentor is Baroque, and he’s on good terms with Lady Melisa.”

“Also, the news about you was something I happened to hear from Lady Melisa by chance; it has nothing to do with her. I’m truly just… curious,” Glenn’s face showed a flicker of hesitation.

Glenn had indeed learned of Angel’s whereabouts through Melisa, but his reason for seeking out Angel was not out of curiosity, but rather an indescribable emotion.

Admiration.

The admiration of a teenager going through a phase of rebellion.

As a teen in such a phase, Glenn was easily swayed by emotions, much like how a brief visit to Barbarian Cave led him to become a fan of the King of Beasts, moved by the King’s unwavering sense of self.

After learning of some of Angel’s exploits, Glenn’s initial reaction was hostility and disbelief, but as more of Angel’s deeds came to light, Glenn’s emotions began to shift, his hostility not entirely erased but joined by a rising sense of admiration.

With these mixed feelings, Glenn made his way to Barbarian Cave, seeking out his mentor Baroque, and also hoping to meet Angel.

Unfortunately, though he did see Angel at the King of Beasts’ competition, he was unaware of Angel’s identity at the time.

After eventually confirming Angel’s identity, he just happened to miss meeting with him.

And later, upon hearing of Angel’s deeds in the Abyss, the small remnants of hostility disappeared completely, replaced by greater admiration.

Having learned of Angel’s whereabouts through Melisa, Glenn did not hesitate to seek him out.

He truly had no plans in mind, driven purely by the desire of a fan to meet his idol.

However, as a rebellious teen unafraid of anything, Glenn found it difficult to voice such feelings, resorting to “curiosity” as an excuse.

What offered Glenn some comfort was that Angel seemed not to pursue the matter further.

…

Angel was actually somewhat surprised to learn that Glenn’s mentor was Baroque. Although he didn’t like Baroque, he did not extend that dislike to Glenn.

At least for the moment, he felt no malice from Glenn.

Without delving into the matter of Melisa or questioning whether Glenn’s curiosity was genuine, Angel posed another question.

“You should be familiar with David, the Alchemy Apprentice who is known as ‘Observer of the Hidden Secrets’ and who competed against the King of Beasts. Has he arrived at Sky Mechanical City?”

As an official from Sky Mechanical City, Glenn’s information had proven to be quite reliable given his previous incessant updates. Perhaps he could use Glenn’s connections to find out some news about his friends.

That was the reason why he had been tolerating Glenn’s presence all along.

Glenn also remembered that Angel had mentioned he had matters to inquire about through him. Could this be what he was referring to?

“Gazing into the Abyss… I haven’t seen him in Sky Mechanical City, but with the current abundance of competitors in Sky Tower, I haven’t been able to keep track of everyone. It’s possible he’s already here and I simply haven’t noticed,” Glenn paused for a moment before adding, “Alright, I’ll have someone check on that later.”

When it came to inquiries made by an idol, how could he afford to be equivocal?

Angel noticed that Glenn’s expression was filled with excitement, and his eyes were sparkling… He had no idea what Glenn was thinking.

Nevertheless, since Glenn was willing to help, Angel was very grateful.

“If you could also help me check whether there’s a competitor named ‘King of Blackberry,’ that would be even better,” Angel added.

Glenn nodded without hesitation: “Can do.”

After Glenn had agreed, he seemed to belatedly realize that his behavior might have been inappropriate and hesitated for a moment before hastily offering, “Consider this my apology for following you around before.”

What Glenn was thinking, Angel did not know, but the outcome was favorable, so the process didn’t matter to him anymore.

As their conversation paused, the countdown on the screen reached the final ten seconds.

Ten, nine, eight… four, three…

When the final second ticked away, Qi Li finally opened her eyes.

Energy ripples began to emanate from Iron Will, and layers of glossy metallic protective covers materialized out of thin air, encasing his entire body tightly.

“Iron Will has been able to stay in the position of top ranker in the seventh layer for a long time, thanks mainly to the highly difficult-to-master Trump Card of the Steel Shield,” the popular science teen came back online, “The Steel Shield is a top-tier Second-Level Trick with a defense that isn’t much inferior to Third-Level Tricks. With the current difficulty of practicing Third-Level Tricks, Iron Will’s strength is like an insurmountable wall on the seventh layer.”

“However, he is facing the Cat Lamp Witch and relying solely on the Steel Shield is likely not enough to maintain his position,” he said.

No sooner had the voice fallen than Qi Li casually tapped her lantern with a finger, and a pale yellow flame rose from her fingertip.

The flame floated leisurely toward Iron Will.

The flame seemed harmless, merely a bud yet to bloom into full force. But, upon contact with the Steel Shield, it erupted into a screeching explosion.

Everyone’s vision was momentarily engulfed in whiteness.

The flame, touching the Steel Shield, had generated an intense heat, burning a hole through the shield!

Iron Will was taken aback. This was the first time someone had breached his Steel Shield so effortlessly. Grinding his teeth, the veins on his body bulged, his muscles pulsated, his skin turned red, and a profusion of steamy sweat began to emanate from his body.

In an instant, Iron Will had grown several times his size!

He had already been quite imposing, but now he was as tall as a three-story building. Compared to Iron Will, Qi Li looked utterly diminutive.

Yet, combat strength is not determined by size.

As Qi Li once again summoned a flame, Iron Will instantly dashed, his movement almost exceeding the limit of the naked eye, appearing behind Qi Li in the blink of an eye.

Iron Will raised his enormous fist, with countless white streams of air swirling around it, and a gust of wind swept across the audience stands.

“There it is, the Hurricane Iron Fist exclusive to Iron Will!”

“Unstoppable!”

The fans of Iron Will shone with excitement, shouting loudly in support of him.

However, in the heat of the competition, just as Iron Will swung his fist, he saw Qi Li, whose expression remained unchanged, calmly bringing up another wall of flame in front of her.

Elemental Defense Spells, when up against pure physical attacks, aren’t usually very strong.

But Iron Will, observing this wall of flames, realized it was constructed from the same pale yellow flames that Qi Li had released before.

The corner of Iron Will’s eye twitched, an ominous feeling rising within him.

His initial plan was to launch a direct attack on Qi Li, but with a shift of thought, he instead roared and struck the floor.

The powerful Iron Fist shattered the floor, kicking up scores of stones, forcing Qi Li to take to the air.

While the audience was unsure why Iron Will would attack the platform, they assumed it was part of his strategy and awaited his next move.

However, to everyone’s surprise, after retracting his fist, Iron Will turned without hesitation and uttered quietly towards the judge’s position, “I forfeit.”

Having said that, Iron Will didn’t wait for Qi Li to descend from the air and leapt straight out of the arena, vanishing in just a few moments.