"It's time to leave."
Li Mu gazed at the town and murmured reluctantly.
With his spells already at Level 7, raising them any further would take more than a day or two.
Dumbledore had spent his entire life mastering only one Level 9 spell, the Super Fierce Fire Curse, which he kept as his ultimate trump card. It would take Li Mu at least several years to raise a large number of spells to Level 8 or even Level 9. So far, the only spells he had brought to Level 8 were Apparition and the Illusionary Body Curse, which could make him invisible (￣▽￣)／.
As for the rest of his spells, rather than spend time improving them, he might as well acquire more HuoZhong Source Power and strengthen the Elder Wand by a few more levels.
Besides, more than ten Level 9 spells were already enough to sweep through this world.
Li Mu Apparated on the spot and returned to Borgin and Burkes.
In a corner of the basement, Snape had set up an incredibly lavish Potions laboratory.
It was clear he hadn't slept in days and was relying on Potions to keep going. Nearby, Harry was obediently reading a book, while Lily helped Snape with his work. Maybe it was just his imagination, but Li Mu thought Harry Potter seemed to be looking at Snape with admiration.
In the original story, Snape had hated Harry because he despised Harry's father, so the two of them had never gotten along.
But on second thought, it wasn't so strange. Now that Lily was alive again, Snape would surely go out of his way to please Harry Potter for her sake. Harry had grown up unloved in his aunt's home, so of course he would treasure having someone care for him.
In Harry Potter's heart, he might already have begun to see Snape as a father.
As for his biological father, James Potter, Harry had never even met him. How could James compare with Snape, who was right there by his side?
Especially now, when Snape was working day and night to save Harry Potter.
"Looks like I don't need to do anything. They might become a family all on their own."
Li Mu shook his head and chuckled.
He didn't disturb Snape and went straight into Azkaban.
Azkaban, which had been empty before, now held more than fifty Wizards. Most of them had skirted the edges of dark magic, and some were outright dark Wizards. Without exception, they were all Half-blood Wizards, and none of them were particularly powerful.
Ultimately, it was the Pureblood Wizards who controlled the Wizarding World.
Though few in number, Pureblood Wizards had ancient lineages and relatively high Wizard Bloodline levels. Otherwise, Slytherin, the House dominated by Purebloods, wouldn't have been the strongest of the Four Houses. These factors had put the Wizarding World's various industries in the hands of Pure-blood families.
By contrast, Muggle-born wizards had to make their own way in the Wizarding World.
The exceptionally talented Half-blood Wizards could manage, but those with average talent struggled. International protection laws also prevented them from integrating into Muggle society, so those without enough means to support themselves had no choice but to hover in the grey areas.
"Who are you?"
"Why did you bring us here?"
"Please, let us out..."
Li Mu had only walked around once, but the imprisoned Half-blood Wizards were already pleading with him in every way they could.
Not one of them dared to threaten him. They weren't fools. Capturing dozens of Half-blood Wizards at once took tremendous power. Pleading might give them a chance to survive, but threatening him would mean they were practically begging to die.
Li Mu went to an empty cell. The belongings taken from the captured Wizards had all been stored there.
With a casual point of his wand, dozens of wands floated into the air around him.
Li Mu retraced his steps and returned every wand to its owner.
With their wands back in their hands, the Wizards could open their cell doors with nothing more than an Unlocking Charm.
At last, the first Wizard opened his cell door. The rest followed close behind.
But standing before them was Li Mu, facing them.
"Kill me, and you can leave..."
Li Mu said calmly.
At his words, quite a few Wizards nearly burst out laughing.
But the next moment, they couldn't laugh anymore. The tip of the Elder Wand in Li Mu's hand ignited a Fiendfyre ball the size of a wagon wheel. A moment later, the flames roared into a sea of fire that engulfed the Wizards.
In an instant, all their clothes burned to ash.
Li Mu dispelled the Fiendfyre with the power of All Spells End, then quietly watched the Wizards trembling all over.
One Wizard, whom he had secretly taken control of with the Imperius Curse, set the example by dropping to his knees. The others came to their senses and followed one after another. They all knew that if Li Mu could use Fiendfyre to burn away their clothes, he could just as easily burn them to ash.
And the fact that he had burned only their clothes without harming them made his power all the more terrifying.
Li Mu looked at the last few Wizards still standing and sent several Cruciatus Curses at them from a distance.
Plenty of people weren't afraid to die, but few weren't afraid of pain.
The Cruciatus Curses he had deliberately modified caused far less pain, which also greatly reduced their harm. But that wasn't a good thing. The original curse could kill someone with pain in a dozen seconds; now, it could make them suffer for hours, unable to die even if they begged for it.
Li Mu ignored the Wizards writhing and screaming on the ground and tossed a briefcase into the air.
The briefcase opened, and a million Gold Galleons poured out, piling into a small golden mountain.
"Everyone who volunteers to join Phoenix City will receive a thousand Gold Galleons."
Li Mu said calmly.
"I'm willing to join Phoenix City!"
The Wizard under Li Mu's control from the Imperius Curse was the first to shout.
"Come here."
Li Mu nodded in satisfaction.
The controlled Wizard immediately crawled over. Li Mu lifted his chin with the Elder Wand and lightly touched the tip to the center of his forehead. A magical mark shaped like a Black Phoenix appeared there. He had prepared these marks for ordinary future members of Phoenix City.
They only enabled tracking and communication; they couldn't control anyone.
These ordinary Wizards weren't worth spending his HuoZhong Source Power on.
At any time, once someone took the lead, others would follow blindly.
A few Wizards still lay on the ground, writhing in agony under the Cruciatus Curse, serving as examples. Those who had already submitted offered no further resistance. They obediently accepted the Black Phoenix mark and each took a thousand Gold Galleons, their feelings a mixture of joy and worry.
Quite a few Wizards thought that as long as they weren't used as cannon fodder, joining Phoenix City like this didn't seem so bad.
"For now, stay here and rest."
With that, Li Mu left Azkaban.
In the corner of the basement, Snape was concentrating on brewing a new Potion in the laboratory.
When Li Mu arrived, Lily was about to speak, but she saw him raise a finger to his lips.
Li Mu went to Snape's side and carefully observed his work, drawing on his knowledge of Potions.
After watching for a while, he learned a few things.
Snape was brewing a Dragon Blood Potion. More than half of the ten Potions in the Dragon Blood series strengthened the body, but they didn't work very well on Wizards, since permanently strengthening the body required a Wizard to fuse part of the dragon's blood into their own.
That would clash with their own bloodline, so the Potion's effects had to be greatly weakened to reduce the conflict.
So ordinary people without a Wizard Bloodline were actually best suited to Dragon Blood Potions.
P.S. Thanks to Hongchen Zhong De Lianxin Zhe for the 100-galleon tip.
Before you continue