Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1355: Section 1356: Meeting

This dramatic scene left everyone stupefied.

The audience was still looking forward to the progression of the fight, yet it ended in an anti-climactic surrender? Even if the Cat Lamp Witch was indeed very powerful, she hadn’t even made a real offensive move thus far—what did this early surrender signify?

Some people were bewildered, others dissatisfied, and many more cursed loudly; the venue was filled with an uproar for a time.

However, a group of competitors who had specifically come down from the higher tiers to watch the match had realization in their eyes.

“Such an iron will, and indeed decisive,” a woman surrounded by a petal illusion lazily leaned on the shoulder of an armor-clad, spirited woman in a corner of the audience seats.

“Knowing he couldn’t beat Qi Li, he decisively gave up, and even showed off his strength before quitting—it’s truly the best way to save face under the circumstances,” the spirited woman paused, then glanced to her side, “Sinistra, do you lack bones?”

Although chided by Kavoline, Sinistra didn’t move, continuing to lean on her and responded matter-of-factly, “To my left is Allen, to my right is you; surely I can’t lean on Allen, can I?”

Kavoline took in a deep breath and didn’t argue with Sinistra, saying instead, “Since the match is over, we should leave as well.”

Sinistra: “Last time at the Purification Garden, I remember Angel was with Qi Li; do you think he’s still in contact with her now?”

Kavoline hesitated for a moment: “We’ve followed Qi Li through several matches; have you seen her interact with anyone else?”

“True.” Sinistra nodded, looking at the chubby kid on her other side, “Speaking of which, Qi Li and Angel’s relationship should be an extension of the relationship between the House of Lilith and Illusion Demon Island. But Allen, your relationship with Angel is rumored to be quite special, isn’t it?”

The chubby kid was indeed Allen, a Talented One who had left the Old Earth Continent with Angel, and was also a descendant of Moro.

Allen originally secluded himself in the Candy House in the Fairy Tale World. Although he knew about the New Star Competition, his strength was not yet sufficient to participate in such an event, so he did not pay much attention to it. However, not long ago, Moro had sent someone with a message that his sister, Irene, had also joined the New Star Competition, which made Allen, who had not seen Irene for a long time, start to feel itchy.

Still, traversing the vast distance alone to reach the Sky Mechanical City was too difficult for him. That was until he encountered Sinistra and Kavoline at Whisky Mountain.

In exchange for cooking along the way and keeping their visit to Whisky Mountain a secret, Allen followed them to the Sky Mechanical City.

“I’ve told you all I know,” Allen answered, looking somewhat downcast. He had been at the Sky Tower for quite a while now, yet hadn’t found any news about Irene. Furthermore, as an apprentice chef coveted by others, Allen had to continue following these two little witches, which made him utterly miserable.

Seeing Allen’s dejected expression, Sinistra’s mouth curved up slightly, deciding not to tease him any further.

“Let’s go, we should prepare for our own match later… Oh, by the way, Allen, are you really not planning to enter the match?”

They stood up and headed for the exit.

As they left, Angel’s gaze happened to sweep over the exit: “Those three people… their silhouettes seem vaguely familiar.”

Angel’s thought lingered only for a moment before he dismissed it from his mind.

Now that the match had come to a farcical conclusion, although the audience was still noisy and disgruntled, the competitors had all left, and the spectators had no choice but to accept it and disperse.

Angel also prepared to leave; he planned to meet with Qi Li.

As they moved with the crowd toward the exit, Glenn said to Angel, “If David has really come to the Machinery City, then he probably cleared the Sky Tower and went straight to the Infinite Battle Tower. I’m going to look for the registrar of the Infinite Battle Tower now and check if he’s come this way.”

After arranging to meet later at the Infinite Battle Tower, Glenn left on his own.

Watching Glenn leave with his lofty gait, Lyon shook his head, “Why does he look a bit excited? That guy is really odd…”

By the time they left the arena, they could still hear people cursing the match. Listening to others’ conversations, Lyon also felt a curious sense of contemplation, “Speaking of which, even though Iron Will looked stronger, who would have thought they would just surrender straight away? Could there be some objective reason?”

“I’m not sure about any objective reason, but his surrender was the most rational choice under the circumstances,” Angel replied.

Qi Li merely used a flame to break through the Iron Shield. It was obvious that Iron Will knew he could not defeat Qi Li.

What was most important was that Iron Will understood Qi Li’s goal was not to fight over the top position. Once Qi Li had secured it, she would likely advance to the eighth level; after she reached the eighth level, the top position would be his again.

Facing an opponent who could crush him, not only was he able to save face, but in the end, he wasn’t at a loss.

So, Iron Will’s surrender, at most, incurred some discontent from the audience and the loss of some points.

Thinking it through, it was the most rational choice at the time.

Angel also agreed with Iron Will’s sensible perspective on competition, knowing that in a fight destined for loss, conceding early meant avoiding injury.

Upon hearing this, Lyon had an epiphany. The match may not have been much practical help to him in terms of combat, but it taught him some principles, which would profoundly influence every fight he had thereafter.

Near the teleportation array leading to the eighth floor, Angel took Lyon through several turns until they finally arrived at a secluded, deserted corridor.

Every dozen meters or so along the corridor, there would be a candle burning, which meant the elongated hallway was filled with large, dark shadows.

“Why have we come here?” Lyon asked, puzzled.

While Lyon waited for Angel’s response, sudden footsteps emerged from the shadows in the corridor. Turning his head, Lyon saw a pair of bright red dancing shoes stepping out of the darkness first.

When the visitor came to a stop, surprise flickered in Lyon’s eyes.

The worn blue-black wizard’s robe, the bright red dance shoes, the prominent red bow, and the broom floating beside her… all of it made clear the identity of the newcomer.

It was none other than the contestant from the earlier competition, the Inferno Witch Qi Li!

While Lyon was still in surprise, the black cat at Qi Li’s feet walked up to Angel, sniffed around, and seemed to sense something. After meowing once, it sat down next to Angel.

Lyon looked at the cat and then at Angel, belatedly realizing Angel had come here to meet the Inferno Witch?

Angel squatted down, trying to pet the cat, but it seemed rather annoyed, wriggling its bottom and returning to Qi Li’s side.

“Luna doesn’t seem to recognize me?” Angel mused, remembering that Luna used to be quite affectionate towards him.

Qi Li’s gaze became somewhat complicated as she looked at Angel. Finally leaning on the wall, she stroked the black cat: “You’ve deliberately released your pheromones, so how could Luna not recognize you? However, it says it doesn’t like this face of yours, not as handsome as the one you had before.”

Angel touched his face, admittedly not expecting such a… well, superficial reason.

“I’ve been entangled in some matters recently, hence the need to use this face,” Angel explained.

Qi Li said, “I’m aware, I’ve read the coverage in Glowing City Night Talk. Your deeds in the Abyss took me by surprise.”

Qi Li’s expression and tone were calm, but the complex look in her eyes revealed that the reports in Glowing City Night Talk had not left her entirely unmoved.

“I finished a contest, and then you sent a message asking me to come here, so what’s the matter?” Speaking of the message, Qi Li was also surprised. She was just about to attend to some matters regarding her promotion to the eighth floor when she had received Angel’s message.

She found it surprising that Angel would appear at such a time and was curious about what he wanted.

“Your previous match was quite spectacular,” Angel said, genuinely not making small talk. The light yellow flame Qi Li used was completely different from her usual inferno and even had opposing properties. It was probably something Qi Li had only recently developed. The spectacular part he referred to was because of this flame.

“I think so too. It would be better if all my opponents in the matches were as wise as he was,” Qi Li responded noncommittally, “Did you seek me out just to praise that match? I think if you were to compete, it would be even more wonderful.”

“I won’t be participating in the New Star Competition,” Angel declared.

This statement made a hint of disappointment flicker in Qi Li’s eyes.

Although Glowing City Night Talk mentioned Angel’s adventures in the Abyss, it did not detail his strength — only suggesting from various hints that with Angel being marked by the Thief of Time, his power should not be underestimated.

Kanter had also implied that Angel’s strength was formidable.

But exactly how formidable remained unknown. Qi Li thought to herself that if Angel had joined the New Star Competition, maybe she could have gauged his true abilities against her own.

Unfortunately, Angel had no intention of taking part in the competition.

This left Qi Li feeling somewhat regretful.

“Although I won’t be participating, Lyon here is planning to join the New Star Competition,” Angel said, referring to the bewildered Lyon beside him, and briefly explained their relationship.

From Angel’s explanation, Qi Li grasped the purpose of his visit — presumably to expand his brother’s network within the Wizards’ Realm.

“All I know is that House of Lilith is associated with Illusion Demon Island.”

“If there’s nothing else, then I will take my leave,” Qi Li stated decisively, turning to leave without hesitation, “I still have another match to prepare for.”

Qi Li’s figure disappeared along the corridor.

Lyon was left somewhat confused even after Qi Li had gone.

Angel, however, picked up on the underlying message in Qi Li’s words. House of Lilith had ties to Illusion Demon Island, but if Lyon was not from there, what did she have to do with him?

Angel also expected that Qi Li might not be persuaded since that was just her nature. He hadn’t had much hope to begin with, so he wasn’t disappointed.