"Let's begin."
At Li Wei's command, Qiao Weili solemnly waved his wand, placing a wooden stake as thick as an adult's arm into the depression at the center.
"Pestis Incendium."
Li Wei softly recited the incantation, and a heart-stopping crimson flame burst from the tip of his wand.
"Go."
With a light flick of his wand, Li Wei sent the crimson flame shooting from its tip—but this projected method clearly had severe limitations. The Fiendfyre traveled less than a meter before losing momentum and stopping.
The flames then clung to the stake, rapidly igniting and swelling.
Ferocious faces surfaced one after another from the flames—the faces of every living creature that had perished in Fiendfyre. As though branded by red-hot irons, they churned within the blaze before vanishing.
In barely half a second, the wooden stake had been completely consumed.
In its place was a sea of fire ten times larger.
Qiao Weili and Jiamer stood behind Li Wei, continuously testing it with various spells.
Freezing Charm, Flame Shield, Frost Curse, Finite Incantatem.
Any conventional spell, even Dark Arts, failed before these flames.
Not only were they ineffective, they became fuel for its blazing growth, making the layered rings of fire surge outward once more.
In the end, only ultimate magic like Obliviate All Spells could impose some degree of restraint on it.
To deal with Fiendfyre, one could only use its counterspell to restrain it—even then, the flames could not be fully extinguished, merely suppressed for a time.
For Fiendfyre to stop, one had to wait until it had devoured everything it could consume and burned itself out.
"Truly terrifying magic. I can feel that it's alive."
Qiao Weili watched the flames greedily incinerate everything in sight, terror flickering in his eyes.
Though this magic was not as evil as the Three Unforgivable Curses, it was no less dangerous.
One careless mistake, and it would backlash upon its caster.
Unlike Qiao Weili's caution, Jiamer was dissatisfied with the power Fiendfyre had displayed.
"As things stand, this spell has no practical value. If a wizard dared use this magic in front of me, I would only need a Hurricane Charm to make him burn himself with his own fire."
"That's only because you haven't discovered its true power yet."
Li Wei shook his head.
To erase Jiamer's contempt, he cast Fiendfyre again.
Only this time, he increased his magical output.
"Hiss—"
A snake's hissing suddenly echoed through the great hall from nowhere, sending chills down the listeners' spines.
Within the sunken pit, the crimson flames transformed into a giant serpent and raised its head.
"Hiss—"
After only a few twists, the fiery serpent's body expanded dramatically in the wind, greedily devouring the magic Li Wei fed into it.
Only two seconds had passed since Li Wei cast the spell.
Qiao Weili secretly glanced at his teacher, inwardly shocked—once a master of magic like the professor turned to the Dark Arts, both his learning speed and power were truly astonishing.
No wonder Dumbledore had come looking for him back then. His teacher had earned that treatment.
"Jiamer, give it a try. Use every spell you can think of to affect it."
Li Wei calmly restrained the flaming serpent before him with the counterspell as he gave his assistant the order.
Jiamer pressed her lips together and solemnly raised her wand.
"Tempestas!"
With flawless casting, a massive tornado large enough to cover half the "cavern" formed within five seconds.
Sweat beaded on Jiamer's forehead as she struggled to control the tornado. Qiao Weili tried to help from the side, but she stopped him with a glance.
The next moment, the enormous tornado wrapped around the savage fire serpent, attempting to push it to the other side.
The result was utterly futile.
Before long, the tornado was instead engulfed by the fire serpent's ever-expanding body and devoured whole!
The situation immediately began spiraling out of control.
The giant serpent flicked out its tongue nimbly, its slit-like eyes already fixed on the three people in the chamber.
"Qiao Weili, Jiamer, Three Talents Formation."
"Yes, Professor."
The two took their positions behind Li Wei, one to his left and one to his right, pressing their wand tips against either side of his back.
The next moment, their magical circuits linked together. Li Wei waved his wand and, combining their magic and will with his own, recited the counterspell.
Invisible ripples formed in the air.
The flaming serpent was pushed, squeezed, and compressed into a coil by some unseen force.
Li Wei waved his wand again, and the two behind him shouted at the same time as he did:
"Obliviate All Spells!"
Beneath the surging tide of magic, the giant serpent, already deprived of anything to burn, finally dissipated.
Li Wei dismissed the formation and looked calmly at the two of them.
"I trust you have both now gained a deep understanding of this spell's danger and potential for development."
The contempt in Jiamer's eyes vanished completely, while Qiao Weili nodded gravely.
"Next, we'll begin verifying the Emotion Catalysis Hypothesis. Qiao Weili, you will monitor it. Jiamer, record the data."
"Yes."
Li Wei waved his wand, about to cast the spell, when his brow suddenly furrowed.
He turned to look beyond the door, his gaze passing through the underground palace like an iron fortress.
"Someone's here. We'll stop for today."
It was Saturday, which should have been a day for Li Wei to devote himself to research.
Though being interrupted would not affect his mood too much, his attitude could not possibly be pleasant.
When he opened the door, Hermione Granger and two underachievers stood outside.
Seeing Li Wei open the door, Hermione awkwardly lowered the wand in her hand.
It seemed that she had just undone the silencing formation Li Wei had placed on the door.
After all, this was a school. Excessive isolation was unwise, so Li Wei had not cast anything too powerful.
Even so, this was not a counterspell a student should have been capable of performing.
"Did you undo the spell I put on the door?"
"Professor, I'm sorry—I really had something very important to tell you."
Hermione looked anxious, afraid that she had angered Li Wei.
"It's fine."
A faint glow flashed in Li Wei's eyes. He swiftly examined the residual magical traces on the door, then nodded.
"Your method was a little clumsy, but according to my expectations, even upper-year students might not have been able to undo this spell. It was no small feat that you managed it."
He stepped aside and looked at the three uneasy students, a thoughtful look in his eyes. So quickly, I've become involved with the protagonist group?
Was this some invisible guidance, or was it an unavoidable tide of fate for those burdened with ability?
"Come in."
"Thank you, Professor!"
As though pardoned, Hermione eagerly followed behind Li Wei.
Harry uneasily glanced at Ron and found him making faces, silently mouthing, "Thank you, Professor." He was clearly dissatisfied with Hermione's excessively ingratiating manner.
Harry forced a smile and hurried after them.
They had just been driven out of Hagrid's hut.
He had denied having any connection to the Basilisk, shouting, "How could Hogwarts possibly have such a terrifying creature as a Basilisk?" before roughly chasing them away.
Hagrid's attitude made them understand one thing—the professors would not believe the seemingly absurd claim that there was a Basilisk within Hogwarts Castle.
Except Professor Li Wei.
Before you continue