Looked Down On

After Green replenished his body's magic once more, he simply stopped paying attention to those secret realms. Instead, he walked casually in one direction while keeping in contact through his crystal ball at all times, hoping to sense information from the other members of his squad.

Although he had restrained the fluctuation of his own mark, even the intensity of the ten-point mark value he gave off still made Green seem like a torch in the dark night, causing the other wizard apprentices who detected him to avoid him from afar.

Half a day later.

Boom!

After the wave of fire passed, Green's mark fluctuations could no longer be hidden, bursting fiercely in all directions.

As for the black-spotted leopard that had ambushed Green, it seemed to realize that Green was not easy to provoke. After its agile body nimbly dodged the flames, it fled in panic.

However, at this moment, Green suddenly sneered toward an empty patch of ground in the distance, then sat down cross-legged on the spot and began replenishing his magic.

Through Hunting Nose, Green could clearly sense that in that direction, a wizard apprentice who had used a spell similar to invisibility had been trailing behind him the entire time, and had already been doing so for one hourglass's time.

However, this wizard apprentice was also very cautious. He had never come within fifty meters of Green, preventing Green from confirming his position through the Pale Mask's ultrasonic positioning spell. Green could only sense his general direction.

Green's sneer clearly had an effect. In Green's keen olfactory perception through Hunting Nose, that fellow's scent disappeared.

"Another powerhouse has come to test me. I wonder which academy he's from."

Without paying too much attention to it, Green focused wholeheartedly on absorbing the intermediate magic stone in his hand.

After being absorbed by Green many times, this magic stone's luster had already dimmed greatly.

One hourglass's time later.

As Green was searching for his teammates in a patch of woods, his crystal ball suddenly sensed some information. Delighted, Green could not help quickening his pace and walking toward the direction where he had sensed the information.

Vaguely, Green confirmed that it should be Yorklianna.

A field of mushrooms—this was very normal terrain in Thorned Bramble Forest. However, the instant Green stepped into the mushroom field, the mushrooms beneath his feet actually exploded with a "puff," spraying pollen all over the sky.

At the same time, a wave of dizziness struck Green, and the images around him actually began to distort, sway, and turn unreal.

"This is a scent-triggered illusion attack? Damn it. Not only can this type of illusion avoid the Eternal Earring's illusion resistance, but through Hunting Nose, this illusion will be magnified severalfold and applied to me!"

In an instant, Green knew in his heart that he had once again entered one of Thorned Bramble Forest's natural traps.

It had to be said that although, during his third year as a newcomer, Green had relied on a large amount of magic stones to purchase many precious items, and had also received personal knowledge explanations from a wizard, raising his strength, because he had never come to Thorned Bramble Forest to explore like other wizard apprentices, this danger-filled environment hindered Green far more than it did other wizard apprentices.

Green continuously stimulated the symbiotic insects inside his body with magic. Numerous Gadfly Snails let out a burst of buzzing inside Green's body, yet the cry that was normally too faint to hear now sounded in Green's ears like a violent explosion. Green instantly woke up.

"Whew... that was close."

Although the dizziness had only lasted an instant, it had left Green with almost no defenses at all, and he had not even been able to activate his mask.

Fortunately, though, the instant Green stimulated his magic, a powerful fluctuation erupted from his mark, which could effectively deter any possible ambushers.

Green hurriedly retreated backward, carefully walking out of this mushroom field.

At the same time, Green felt that just now, when these Gadfly Snails had been stimulated by him, aside from the symbiotic insects' inherent illusion resistance taking effect, there seemed to have been some other individual effect as well.

Although he did not know exactly what the effect was, Green instinctively felt that it should be something beneficial to his body. At the same time, it was accompanied by a wave of hunger.

"Could that subtle change just now be the Gadfly Snail's special ability?"

Delighted, Green casually took two pieces of reserved dried meat from his pocket and chewed them in his mouth. Then he carefully collected several intact explosive mushrooms and preserved them.

If he could discover the Gadfly Snail's true special ability, perhaps it could lead to a major breakthrough in research on the Life Code Forbidden Zone!

Just as Green was delightedly putting away the explosive mushroom specimens and preparing to leave, his expression suddenly changed. He slowly turned his head and looked toward the depths of the forest behind him.

A surge of mark fluctuations in no way inferior to Green's was spreading out with grand, thunderous force. It resonated with Green's mark fluctuations, forming a strange fluctuation space.

"A powerhouse from another academy? You're the first wizard apprentice I've seen in the trial grounds whose mark fluctuations exceed thirty."

Slowly, a lonely figure walked out from the depths of the forest, his face frighteningly pale.

Although this person was speaking to Green, after his eyes swept over him once, he paid Green no more attention. Instead, he began fiddling with the little white mouse on his shoulder.

Seeing the white mouse on this person's shoulder, Green's pupils shrank beneath the Pale Mask, and he asked tentatively, "Yun Li?"

Green's tentative question indeed had an effect. That person raised his head and frowned. "From Black Isotta Wizard Academy? But... these three years, aside from my teacher, Bibilionna, Solam, and a few senior brothers and sisters, I haven't met anyone else. Who are you?"

Green was wearing the Pale Mask, which covered the mark on his forehead, so Yun Li naturally could not tell which wizard academy Green belonged to.

Green was just about to say something, but Yun Li cut him off and said in a low voice, "Forget it. Don't say anything. My mentor said I can't kill wizard apprentices from my own academy. If you really are from Black Isotta Wizard Academy, that would be no fun."

"With such enormous mark fluctuations, I imagine you won't just die the moment I say die, right? It's fine that you're wearing a mask now. Let's play..."

In this short span of time, Yun Li had said more than Green had heard from him in an entire month on the ocean liner.

When Green heard the other party say they would play, his body instinctively trembled!

Screech!

Suddenly, the defensive barrier in front of Green twisted, as if it had been viciously drilled by an invisible awl, forming a spiraling distortion.

Puff...

It came quickly and left quickly as well. After Green's magic dropped by a large chunk, the defensive barrier once again returned to the shape of an eggshell. However, Green broke out in a cold sweat, finding it hard to believe.

"Such a sudden attack actually had a full 80 to 90 degrees of energy intensity!"

This attack intensity far surpassed Green's highest attack intensity.

"Huh... this magic tool's defensive barrier is pretty good. Then let's see whether it can still defend against this form!"

Yun Li seemed to take an interest. After silently reciting a few lines of incantation, he pointed at Green again.

Green had no time to react at all. He had not even sensed anything unusual when he felt his defensive barrier slam as if rammed by a rhinoceros with monstrous strength. As Green's magic power suddenly drained away in great torrents, his body was instantly knocked flying by a huge impact. He stumbled back seven or eight steps before barely managing to steady himself, his internal organs churning like rivers and seas overturned.

"This... it actually exceeded a 100-degree energy attack!"

Green stared at Yun Li in disbelief, his face deathly pale.

If two more attacks like that came, even with the magic ring he had obtained earlier supporting him, Green would only end up dying with his magic power exhausted.

At the same time, Yun Li also looked at Green in some disbelief. "Such a powerful sorcerer artifact. It should be the very top level among sorcerer-apprentice artifacts, right? What a turtle shell."

Green gritted his teeth, and a fireball ignited at his fingertip. With a point of his finger, the fireball turned into a firebird, spread its wings, and pounced toward Yun Li.

Yun Li did not care in the slightest. He likewise pointed at the firebird, and after space twisted for a moment, the firebird actually vanished into thin air, then exploded a hundred meters away from the two of them.

Green thought back to the strange way Yun Li had killed those sea monsters on the ocean liner, and immediately had a guess. His expression could not help changing.

"No wonder he's called a genius seen once in a hundred years at Lilith's Cottage Academy. His innate materialization talent is actually the power to twist space. For a sorcerer apprentice, this power is truly far too strong."

On the other side, Yun Li said in a low voice, "Neither of my two strongest sorceries could break the defensive barrier. It seems this mask really is an extraordinary sorcerer artifact. But could your mentor not know that giving a disciple such a powerful sorcerer artifact to participate in the trial violates the regulations of the Seven-Ring Holy Tower?"

Yun Li took it for granted that Green's Pale Mask sorcerer artifact had been bestowed by all the mentors behind Green. He had never considered that Green might have bought it or refined it himself, because for an ordinary sorcerer apprentice, that was simply impossible!

"I'll try physical attacks too. If that still doesn't work, then forget it. In this kind of newcomer examination trial, facing the very top level of sorcerer-apprentice artifacts is still too much of a stretch."

As he said this, Yun Li actually took out a very ordinary-looking metal dagger from behind him. Amid a twist of space around his body, he appeared directly in front of Green, and the dagger stabbed down.

Ding!

With a light ring, the defensive barrier held the dagger firmly back. At the same time, Yun Li's body flashed again and vanished, making Green's vine spell hit empty air.

Thirty meters away, Yun Li slowly put away the dagger and shook his head, saying with boredom, "It seems your strength all relies on this mask sorcerer artifact. Without this mask sorcerer artifact, your level is only average. Not worth caring about."

After a pause, Yun Li added, "Also, I will tell my mentor about this situation. Your mentor actually bestowed such a powerful sorcerer artifact upon you. This has already violated the trial rules. Prepare to accept punishment."

Ignoring Green entirely, Yun Li walked away and said, "A sorcerer artifact is merely an auxiliary lever method for a sorcerer. The most important thing is still one's own strength. With strength like yours, relying on this sorcerer artifact, when you fight for a Holy Tower advanced-study slot seventeen years from now, I'm afraid you won't even have the qualifications. The teacher behind you is truly foolish."

Space twisted, and Yun Li's mark fluctuation vanished into thin air. It seemed he had used spatial power to teleport to a place over a hundred meters away.

Green did not care about the other party's contempt. He only noticed one piece of information the other had mentioned.

Seventeen years from now, the Holy Tower Qualification Battle advanced-study slots!