Ruthless

No matter how fast Joe Ke was, he could not outrun Saine's instant-cast magic.

Worthy indeed of the work of Master Moxidu, a Formal Black Wizard. It had only been twenty hours since the Strong Acid Scepter was last used, yet it had already fully recovered. Saine did not even need to recharge it himself.

This was one of the most distinctive traits of a High-Level Magic Item.

Under Master Moxidu's alchemical design, the Strong Acid Scepter could complete its own energy cycle and replenishment through the magic inscriptions and elemental crystal core within it.

Though it could only be used once each time, the scepter's cooldown was merely twenty hours.

No wonder Lilianya, an Advanced Magic Apprentice, had coveted Saine's Strong Acid Scepter. A magic item of this caliber was a rare piece of premium equipment even for Advanced Apprentices.

Corrosive acid capable of easily melting the scales of advanced magical beasts was naturally more than enough to deal with Joe Ke.

In the blink of an eye, before the other Black Wizard Apprentices had even seen what happened, Joe Ke's scream rang out.

Joe Ke's physique was indeed strong, but he was absolutely no match for an advanced magical beast.

Saine had aimed the Strong Acid Scepter at Joe Ke's chest. If it struck, even as an Intermediate Apprentice, his bodily tissue would have melted into a puddle of yellow fluid.

But Joe Ke was, after all, an Intermediate Apprentice. His reactions far surpassed those of Yierke, whom Saine had already killed.

Mental Strength greater than that of a low-level apprentice allowed him, at the moment of utmost peril, to twist his muscles with all his might. His powerful physique also saved his life at that moment.

When the Corrosive Acid fired by the Strong Acid Scepter, still carrying its momentum, struck the doorway of a shop on Black Street, white corrosive fumes rose with a hiss. Only then did those involved in this inexplicable melee see Joe Ke's exact condition.

"Hiss!" A low-level Black Wizard Apprentice could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

Before his eyes, Scarface Qiao Ke's entire right arm had been corroded into a puddle of rotten pulp.

The Short Sword that Joe Ke had been holding, which had emitted faint ripples of Fire Element, had long since decayed into molten iron along with his bones and skin.

That Short Sword was merely an ordinary weapon of decent quality, not even magical equipment. How could it possibly withstand Saine's Strong Acid Scepter?

Battles between Magic Apprentices were generally decided in an instant, since their methods were limited and their defenses universally weak.

What was more, this battle had erupted so suddenly. Not only Scarface Qiao Ke's group had been caught off guard—even the passersby on nearby Black Street, and the shopkeepers in those stores, had failed to react.

The explosions of nearly twenty Minor Fireballs sent billowing smoke rising over this stretch of Black Street.

There were no shortage of screams and groans mixed within it.

Aside from Scarface Qiao Ke, the unluckiest ones were undoubtedly those traveling with them—

the weak Low-Level Apprentices and Entry-Level Apprentices in their group.

But this was not the end. As the magic incantation on Lina's lips finally concluded, a black beam of light nearly two meters in diameter suddenly gathered before her bracelet and shot toward the people in front of her.

As an Advanced Apprentice, the magical attack methods and power Lina wielded were as far apart from those of ordinary Intermediate and Low-Level Apprentices as clouds from mud.

And unlike the Corrosive Acid Saine had unleashed, the two high-powered advanced spells Lina released in succession were both area-of-effect attack magic!

That madwoman truly showed no restraint just because they were on Black Street.

Two more shrill screams sounded, each coming from one of the two male Intermediate Apprentices in the area.

Only the female apprentice who wielded Sound Wave Magic, having promptly withdrawn from the center of the battlefield after casting Banshee's Wail, became the sole Intermediate Apprentice among those who had besieged Saine and Lina to remain standing until the end.

Saine and Lina had achieved brilliant results, but neither of them emerged unscathed.

Aside from taking a hit from the Intermediate female apprentice's Banshee's Wail, the two male apprentices whom Lina had knocked down with black light had each released a spell before falling.

"Stone Spear Impact!" "Flame Blade!" The two intermediate spells exploded around Saine and Lina.

Saine was quite lucky. Of the three Stone Spears, only one grazed his arm. The Flame Blade, however, left moderate burns over the left half of his body, scorching away a third of the black Magic Robe issued by the academy.

Lina was not much better off than Saine. This had been a battle where both sides suffered.

Fortunately, those Low-Level Apprentices generally cast their magic slowly, and many apprentices still harbored misgivings about acting on Black Street.

Other than two Minor Fireballs and an Ice Bubble exploding beside Saine and Lina, no further magical attacks descended upon them.

The entire battle had lasted less than two minutes.

Yet the destruction it caused to Black Street, along with the sheer commotion it created, was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

This was the power of magic. This was the radiance of the elements.

Several shops had caught fire, the road had cracked apart, and groans and cries of pain echoed without end.

Since Saine had used the instant-cast magic within the Strong Acid Scepter, he still had strength to spare.

A Minor Fireball appeared in Saine's palm. Compared to the Minor Fireballs cast by the other two Low-Level Apprentices, the one in Saine's hand was clearly larger.

This signified that his Mental Strength and magic power had already come infinitely close to the standard of an Intermediate Apprentice.

Could battle also stimulate Mental Strength and broaden one's magic power?

More precisely, before Saine had gone to the Saltwater Crocodile's territory, neither his Mental Strength nor his magic power had improved so noticeably.

Holding the Minor Fireball, Saine

clearly intended to erase Scarface Qiao Ke on the spot.

Mages were never poor at thinking or judgment. Saine had already realized that Yierke's timely interception of him in White Crow Forest yesterday had most likely come from a tip-off by Scarface Qiao Ke before him.

Mercy toward an enemy was cruelty toward oneself.

At this moment, Saine could no longer spare a thought for what punishment he would face for openly fighting and killing in Black Street. He only wanted to kill the man before him.

This was the viciousness and ruthlessness commonly possessed by creatures who struggled year-round to survive in the Underground World.

At this moment, Joe Ke's pale face was filled with terror and disbelief.

His eyes first glanced at the Strong Acid Scepter in Saine's hand, then looked fearfully at the increasingly scorching Minor Fireball in Saine's other hand.

None of his former arrogance and malice remained. Enduring the immense agony of losing his right arm, he trembled as he said to Saine, "You can't kill me. Fighting is forbidden on Black Street, and besides—"

Before Scarface Qiao Ke could finish speaking, three more furious shouts came from the sky. "Stop!"

Three owls with wingspans exceeding one meter rapidly approached. The impact of this incident on Black Street had been so severe that it had drawn three Academy Supervisors at once.

Scarface Qiao Ke's threat did not make Saine retreat in the slightest. The arrival of the three Academy Supervisors only hardened Saine's resolve, and he sped up his movements.

Leaving Joe Ke alive would bring Saine nothing but harm and no benefit.

Silencing him in time, on the other hand, might still give Saine a chance to find some way to maneuver afterward.

Yet what slightly surprised Saine was that, when his Minor Fireball successfully struck Joe Ke's head and a vivid spray of blood blossomed, two more tremendous sounds erupted around him in succession.

Lina had acted even faster than Saine.

Truly, birds of a feather flocked together.

Two Intermediate Apprentices died one after another at Lina's hands.

When Lina gathered what little magic power she had left to target the third Intermediate female apprentice, the three Academy Supervisors finally arrived in time and forcibly bound Lina with Wind Chains.

Saine's hands were likewise bound by Wind Chains, but before that, an explosion rang out, and Scarface Qiao Ke before him had already become a headless, armless corpse.

This was likely one of the most outrageous and vile incidents Black Street—and even the Black Wizard Academy—had seen in the past two years.

The three Academy Supervisors were clearly furious beyond measure. But before the three owls could punish Saine and Lina, one of them froze.

It was the owl Saine had met just yesterday.

Since the three owls looked extremely alike, Saine had not recognized it. Instead, this owl recognized Saine first.