For the Greater Good!

The magic system of this world was idealistic.

Every spell cast encompassed the wizard's emotions and intentions at that moment.

So, ultimately, the essence of magic in this world was, to some extent, making things happen through sheer will.

That was why truly powerful wizards often did not need incantations to cast magic.

Of course, when they spoke an incantation aloud, their emotions and intent reached their peak, and the spell's power was enhanced to the fullest extent.

Like Tom in the future, using the Killing Curse as a basic attack...

But for Tom at that time, shouting the Killing Curse's incantation aloud was not only meant to strengthen the spell, but also to intimidate others.

At that moment, Li Weide lay in a reclining chair and entered the same meditative state as before.

But this time, he did not deliberately restrain his chaotic thoughts. Instead, he silently sensed the "energy" known as magic within his body.

I need inner peace, free of distracting thoughts, Li Weide thought.

Then, he felt as if the magic within him had begun to move—and yet, as if it had not.

Just as Li Weide prepared to try again, he suddenly felt his heart grow utterly tranquil. All his distracting thoughts vanished in an instant!

The sensation was strange, like standing in a bustling city when all surrounding sounds suddenly disappeared. Everything became silent, leaving only the sound of his own breathing and heartbeat.

Li Weide felt these changes in amazement, but then he became puzzled.

He was clearly still thinking, so why was his mind free of distracting thoughts? Wasn't that a contradiction? It was like someone testing his breath and finding that he was not breathing at all, even though he could clearly feel himself breathing! Why could no one else detect it? Before long, Li Weide figured out the reason.

His distracting thoughts had not disappeared, nor had his thinking stopped.

They had merely been hidden!

Why had that happened? Because magic could fulfill a wizard's wishes.

So, in order to fulfill Li Weide's wish to be free of distracting thoughts, his magic had no choice but to hide the thoughts he could not possibly eliminate.

Then it created a brain with no memories and no traces of thought, replacing the original brain.

In other words, the memories and thoughts displayed by this false brain were what Li Weide wanted others to see. They were all fake.

His real brain, meanwhile, was locked behind a door.

Only at that moment did Li Weide truly understand how Occlumency worked, successfully reaching its first stage.

That was to completely conceal his memories and true thoughts.

Without wasting any time, Li Weide began attempting the second stage.

He began expanding the size of the new "brain," allowing false thoughts and memories to tightly wrap around his real thoughts and memories.

Next, Li Weide began trying to establish a connection between the false and real "brains."

Then, he covertly transmitted the false thoughts and memories created by the real brain into the fake one...

In that instant, the stiff false thoughts and memories within the fake brain suddenly came alive! They were no different from real memories and thoughts!

In other words, Li Weide could now alter the memories and thoughts in his mind whenever he wished.

Anything others glimpsed would only be what Li Weide wanted them to see.

He did not know how much time had passed, but by the time Li Weide opened his eyes, the sky was completely dark.

After carefully assessing his condition, Li Weide was immensely satisfied. There was no doubt that he had truly learned Occlumency.

That feeling... was a little difficult to describe.

It was like putting on a pair of sunglasses.

If others wanted to see his eyes, all they could see were dark lenses, while his own eyes could still see others normally through them...

Although he had only just begun learning Occlumency, it was more than enough to deal with Queenie's passive Legilimency.

At that thought, Li Weide could not help letting out a sigh of relief.

"You're awake? You really slept for a long time," Tom said, looking at Li Weide suspiciously.

He had nearly thought Li Weide had slept himself to death.

"Oh, I stayed up reading last night, so I was very tired today."

"But didn't you go to bed very early last night?"

"I couldn't sleep, so I read," Li Weide said casually.

By then, Toby had already brought over the dinner specially saved for Li Weide.

"Weide, you'll gradually get used to it. I was the same way before. Whenever I went somewhere new, I couldn't sleep because I wasn't used to it," Professor Hicks said with a smile.

She still believed that Li Weide could not sleep at night because he was unfamiliar with the place.

"Mm, I'll work hard to get used to it." Li Weide nodded with a serious expression.

Li Weide suddenly realized that after mastering Occlumency, his acting seemed to have improved as well.

False expressions paired with perfectly appropriate false emotions were simply flawless...

Occlumency could provide such a tremendous boost to one's acting.

No wonder Professor Snape had been able to serve as a spy right under Tom's nose in the future, never exposing his identity until the day he died.

Li Weide really was hungry after barely eating anything all day.

After wolfing down his dinner, he once again told Professor Hicks that he felt tired and wanted to rest.

Tom looked at Li Weide as though he were looking at a pig.

Who slept that long every day?

This guy had suddenly become so lazy. Wasn't he afraid that Tom would surpass him and take revenge on him?

However, Tom did not know that Li Weide had been pretending when he said he was sleepy last night, but this time, he truly was tired.

To learn Occlumency, he had expended a great deal of energy and genuinely needed a proper rest.

After closing the door again, Li Weide sat on the bed and opened the System Shop.

He had not had time to look at it last night. If he did not check now, it would be a shame if there was something good and it got refreshed at midnight.

Item 1: Felix Felicis, 10 ml (Unlocked) 500 Merit Points

Item 2: One Unicorn Hair (Unlocked) 5 Merit Points

Refresh countdown: 5 hours 21 minutes 55 seconds

Merit Points: 100

Dark Lord Achievement: Not achieved

Li Weide immediately spotted the bottle of Felix Felicis.

This was good stuff!

After drinking it, it could increase one's luck! Moreover, it was extremely difficult to brew.

Even a Potion Master who could guarantee success would need at least around half a year from beginning the process to obtaining the finished product!

Li Weide really wanted to buy the Felix Felicis. Whether he used it himself or sold it, it would be excellent.

But he did not have enough Merit Points right now, so Li Weide could only lock the Felix Felicis first.

As for the other item, the Unicorn Hair, Li Weide did not waste any Merit Points on it.

After closing the System Shop interface, Li Weide gradually felt an overwhelming wave of sleepiness.

The side effects of the Energy Potion, combined with his own excessive exhaustion, became too much for Li Weide to endure. Before long, he fell into a deep sleep.

This sleep was far from peaceful. In his haze, Li Weide seemed to arrive in a very strange place.

That place was a vast expanse of white, as though it were shrouded in thick fog.

Within the fog, a black shadow whose features he could not make out was beckoning to him. Its lips moved as though it were urgently saying something to him.

Unable to hear what the shadow was saying, Li Weide could not help growing anxious. He moved his legs, which had somehow become extremely heavy, and staggered forward.

Suddenly, Li Weide tripped over something. Everything around him began to collapse and vanish, and even the shadow gradually faded away...

Li Weide wanted to ask who it was, but he was shocked to find that he could not open his mouth! Just then, he suddenly heard someone calling his name from behind him.

As he turned around to see who was calling him, everything before his eyes suddenly disappeared.

Toby's terrified expression abruptly appeared before him...

"...Young Master Weide! Wake up! Young Master Weide, we have to leave! Toby has to take Young Master Weide and Young Master Tom away! Someone... someone is attacking us!"

Li Weide jolted awake, and at the same time, the clamor outside reached his ears!

There were crackling sounds of spellcasting, along with all kinds of curses and shouted slogans...

One of them sounded especially familiar to Li Weide—"For the Greater Good!"