Chapter 35
"McGonagall, you take over!"
Nicolas Flamel looked toward Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor, one of Hogwarts' Four Houses.
Professor McGonagall nodded and stood. Her stern face was filled with grief and anger.
"Just yesterday..."
Professor McGonagall spoke, holding back her anger. "All the Centaurs living in the Forbidden Forest behind Hogwarts were deprived of their lives. Phoenix City Lord has now destroyed seven entire races. I can hardly imagine what it would be like to have such a brutal being rule the Wizarding World.
"The Ministry of Magic is powerless to resist. Those of us here are the only ones who can stand against Phoenix City Lord.
"I believe justice will ultimately triumph over evil. Just as Grindelwald, the First Generation Dark Lord, and Voldemort, the Second Dark Lord, fell, so too will Phoenix City Lord, the Third Generation Dark Lord, fall before justice. There will be sacrifices along the way..."
Clap! Clap! Clap! Clap!
A sudden burst of crisp applause interrupted Professor McGonagall's speech.
Professor McGonagall frowned and looked over. Somehow, a young man had appeared in an empty seat in the Great Hall. He wore a black wizard's robe, and a familiar wand floated beside him. The applause had come from him.
"Phoenix City Lord!"
Professor McGonagall stared at the Elder Wand beside Li Mu and spoke in grief.
"I quite agree with you. Justice will surely triumph over evil."
Li Mu nodded in wholehearted agreement.
"Even Voldemort wasn't as arrogant as you."
Professor McGonagall scolded him, holding back her grief.
"This isn't arrogance. It's confidence."
Li Mu spoke earnestly.
Just before he had entered using the Illusionary Body Curse, he had checked his attributes.
After these past few days of settling in, the physical and mental growth brought by his Wizard Bloodline had reached its peak.
His powerful strength was what gave him the confidence to appear here.
[Li Mu: Human] [Mind: 11.2] [Physique: 6.5] [Free Attribute Points: 1] [Transcendence Level: LV2 (36/200)] [First Origin HuoZhong: Earth Grade] [Seed Talent: Disguise — can freely disguise his own HuoZhong fluctuations] [Second Origin HuoZhong: Heaven Grade] [Seed Talent: Nirvana] [Acquired HuoZhong: Mind Wizard (Profound Grade) — Wizard Bloodline LV9 (15/1000)] [Seedship: Phoenix Seed Destroyer LV1] [Spark Equipment: Elder Wand, Resurrection Ring, Elf Wizard Robe, Azkaban] [HuoZhong Source Power: 961 cal (recently destroyed several Alien Races, including trolls)]
Thanks to the increase in Mental Power granted by the Resurrection Ring, his mental attribute had already reached 11.2. Since every five points of Mental Power increased energy control by 1.5 times, his fine control over Magic Power was tripled. Combined with the Elder Wand, this was enough to raise the destructive power of his spells by several orders of magnitude.
Compared with his Mental Power, his physique had grown less.
But there was nothing he could do about that. After all, he was currently a magic-type professional.
He had only one Free Attribute Point. HuoZhong Professionals seemed to have very few Free Attribute Points, but their greatest use wasn't to improve Mental Power or physique. It was to raise a HuoZhong Professional's talent level.
Of course, those without talents also used them when they could no longer increase their Mental Power or physique through external means.
Since every three talent levels came with a threshold, he hadn't yet used his Free Attribute Point to strengthen his talent.
With his current strength, he wouldn't lose against the wizards present, even if he couldn't sweep them all aside.
The only one among them who could make him take things seriously was Nicolas Flamel, who had lived for hundreds of years and whose depths were unknown.
In terms of a wizard's combat strength alone, Nicolas Flamel wasn't stronger than Dumbledore.
After all, his body was even more decrepit than Dumbledore's. But Nicolas Flamel was renowned for centuries as the greatest alchemist, and nobody knew how many magical artifacts he carried. Taken together, even Dumbledore might not be his match.
But in the face of overwhelming strength, Li Mu was confident he could break through any number of Nicolas Flamel's magical artifacts, one by one.
They were all famous old wizards who had seen countless battles. They knew all too well the advantage of striking first.
Almost simultaneously, the light from dozens of Killing Curses swallowed the spot where Li Mu stood.
The table exploded into splinters, and dozens of craters, each more than a meter deep, appeared in the floor.
When a Killing Curse hit a living target, it left no trace. The fact that it had produced physical damage meant that the Killing Curse had missed.
The next moment, the entire Hogwarts Great Hall was engulfed in clouds created by the Cloud Mist Curse.
All the old wizards sprang up nimbly. Once they had gathered together, the wizards in the inner ring prepared to dispel the clouds, while those in the outer ring formed a defensive system with the Super Iron Skin Charm, generating a Magic Barrier that could not be broken through from the outside.
Their extensive combat experience had taught them that defense made it easier to survive than attack.
At the same time, several Hogwarts professors gathered around Nicolas Flamel.
Numerous eyeballs appeared in front of Nicolas Flamel. Some were made of flesh and blood, others of metal, and still others of energy. Some could see through invisibility, some could pierce the mist, and some could detect Magic Power.
With all kinds of Alchemy Eyes working together, no wizard could hide from Nicolas Flamel.
Next, Nicolas Flamel took out several vials of specially made Dragonblood Potion.
When he was young, Dragonblood Knights had been active. He had even taken part in wiping out the last of them. He knew every Dragonblood Potion formula, and had even specially refined one to create a potion for wizards that could greatly enhance their physique for a short time.
Since it didn't permanently strengthen the body, it wouldn't cause much conflict with a Wizard Bloodline.
After downing several vials, Nicolas Flamel transformed from a decrepit old man who could barely walk into a muscular, middle-aged wizard. Only in this state was he truly at his peak: the great wizard who had kept the entire Wizarding World under his thumb for centuries, with nobody daring to seize the Philosopher's Stone.
If he could obtain enough Spark Energy, perhaps he could maintain this state forever.
"Found you..."
A white beam shot from the tip of Nicolas Flamel's wand, piercing through the clouds.
Li Mu, hidden in a corner, sent a tiny knight statuette flying straight out of his sleeve. Once enlarged, it stood taller than a man. It swung its sword at the white beam, but the instant the blade touched the light, the statuette was instantly reduced to dust.
At the same time, the spell Li Mu had been preparing for a long while was ready.
The Heating Curse, a spell developed by a wizard to keep warm in frigid regions, had reached LV9.
It had originally been a spell with little destructive power. But with its temperature-raising effect doubled by the Elder Wand's increased Magic Power limit, and his own Mental Power tripling his control over Magic Power, the Heating Curse could now raise the temperature from twenty or thirty degrees to over a hundred degrees Celsius in an instant.
The clouds heated by the Heating Curse instantly became scalding steam, over a hundred degrees Celsius.
Several old wizards caught in the clouds produced by the Cloud Mist Curse, who hadn't had time to dispel them, immediately screamed as the hot steam scalded them. Magic protected their bodies from being burned to death, but the pain still left them convulsing and unable to keep hold of their wands.
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