Luo Lin pondered for a moment and came up with a plan.
He had Baha remain above the woods, using its vision to lock onto the Wailing Banshee's approximate location.
He himself slowly approached while fully circulating the Perfect Meditation Method, condensing his spiritual power to the utmost and forming a fine protective layer against the mental assault.
When the shrill screech rang out, Luo Lin felt a sharp pain in his head, but the solid spiritual barrier successfully blocked most of the damage.
Locking onto the direction Baha indicated, he did not use the ineffective acid spell. Instead, he held his hands half-clenched and mobilized his mana and spiritual power, attempting to imitate the simple rune structure recorded in an ancient scroll, one geared toward energy purification and dispelling.
It was not a complete spell, more like a temporary energy manipulation technique.
A gentle yet resolute milky-white radiance bloomed from his palms like a sharp sword piercing the gray mist, shining upon the faintly visible Wailing Banshee.
Hiss!!!
The banshee let out a pained shriek. Her spirit body violently fluctuated beneath the milky-white glow, seeming to melt away like ice and snow, while the surrounding gray mist thinned somewhat as well.
This simulated purifying radiance actually had a noticeable effect on the banshee.
Luo Lin's spirits lifted. He continued pouring out mana and spiritual power to maintain the purifying radiance.
Baha also kept adjusting its position in the air, providing Luo Lin with the most precise guidance.
After a prolonged stalemate, the Wailing Banshee's spirit body finally could not endure any longer. With an unwilling wail, she completely dispersed, leaving behind a small cluster of Pure Resentment Crystals that could be used to refine certain mental-defense items.
As time passed, encounters with other top apprentices became nearly unavoidable.
In a swamp covered in twisted Shadow Vines, Luo Lin ran into Lina head-on.
The two of them almost simultaneously discovered a Shadow Ghostface Mushroom marked as a special collection target.
Lina's figure flickered in and out of the shadows as though she had merged with the environment itself, her presence difficult to detect.
She glanced at Baha on Luo Lin's shoulder, and a trace of wariness flashed through her eyes.
Baha's Dark Silver Eye and Dark Gold Eye posed considerable restraint against both her stealth and her sense of danger.
"Luo Lin?"
Lina's voice came from all directions, carrying a faintly drifting quality.
"That mushroom is very useful to me."
"What a coincidence. I need it for my mission," Luo Lin replied calmly. [Weak Force-Field Armor] silently covered his entire body as his spiritual power focused to the limit.
He knew how terrifying Lina was, especially in an environment suited to her strengths.
After a brief silence, Lina's voice sounded again.
"Looks like a fight over it can't be avoided."
"But it does neither of us any good if we both end up badly hurt."
"By the rules, strength decides. One strike to determine the winner. How about it?"
"The loser leaves on their own."
This was one of the default ways to settle disputes during the selection, avoiding pointless expenditure.
"Fine."
Luo Lin agreed.
He signaled for Baha to fly up and stand watch.
The next moment, Luo Lin felt the light around him dim, as if every shadow had come alive and was winding toward him from all directions, carrying bone-chilling cold and binding force.
At the same time, an almost imperceptible phantom of a dark dagger silently stabbed toward Luo Lin's back.
Lina had gone straight for a killing blow!
The shadow bindings restricted his movements, concealing the true fatal strike within them.
But Luo Lin had long been on guard.
The powerful perception granted by the Perfect Meditation Method allowed him to catch that faint trace of killing intent in advance.
The force-field armor's energy instantly concentrated at his back. At the same time, he suddenly leaned forward and flung his right hand behind him.
It was neither acid nor purifying radiance, but a small pinch of Flashing Dust he had obtained from Mason earlier!
Buzz!
Blinding white light erupted in the dark swamp, instantly dispersing part of the shadows and causing the phantom dark dagger to hesitate for a moment.
In that fleeting pause, mana surged through Luo Lin's body. The [Corrosive Orb] he had prepared was not fired. Instead, he forcibly compressed it in his palm, forming a highly unstable dark-green energy sphere that exuded an aura of destruction.
Rather than attack Lina's difficult-to-lock-on true body, Luo Lin smashed the energy sphere into the Shadow Vine-covered ground beneath his feet.
Boom!!!
The violent explosion sent mud flying everywhere. The corrosive energy instantly ate away all the Shadow Vines within several meters, while the powerful energy shock also severed Lina's shadow bindings.
The chaotic energy flow disrupted the shadow energy in the area, drastically weakening Lina's stealth effect. Her figure stumbled into view some distance away.
She looked at Luo Lin, then at the blasted crater and the fading shadow power, astonishment flashing through her eyes.
She had not expected Luo Lin to break her attack in such an almost environment-destroying manner.
"You win."
Lina was straightforward. Her figure slowly retreated into deeper shadows as her voice drifted over.
"The mushroom is yours. We'll settle things in the secret realm."
Luo Lin let out a slight sigh of relief and dispersed the residual energy in his palm.
That strike had appeared crude, but it had actually required precise control over energy and timing.
Without the extraordinary control granted by the Perfect Meditation Method, compressing the [Corrosive Orb] and controlling the range of its explosion would have been extremely likely to cause backlash against himself.
Luo Lin swiftly harvested the Shadow Ghostface Mushroom and immediately left this troublesome place.
The selection entered its final countdown.
The rankings at the top of the leaderboard kept shifting as the competition reached a fever pitch.
Thanks to his steady performance, versatile abilities, and perfect coordination with Baha, Luo Lin had remained firmly within the top thirty and was steadily climbing higher.
When the final bell echoed through the Shadowwood Realm, all surviving apprentices were teleported back to the academy square.
The final rankings were displayed prominently on the enormous light screen.
Luo Lin's gaze swept over them quickly.
Kyle Silverglow stood in third place, while Lina ranked seventh.
And his own name, Luo Lin, was prominently displayed in twenty-first place.
It was settled!
He had successfully earned the qualification to enter the Afterglow Secret Realm!
As he watched his name on the light screen and felt the gazes around him, some envious and some wary, excitement surged in Luo Lin's heart.
Six years of accumulation and waiting, the life-and-death trials of the Black Forest—at this very moment, they had finally opened the door to a higher level for him!
Luo Lin stroked the feathers on Baha's shoulder and shared this joy through their connection.
Baha affectionately rubbed against his cheek, excitement gleaming in its dark-golden eyes as well.
After Luo Lin successfully obtained the qualification to explore the Afterglow Secret Realm, his name quickly spread through the apprentice circles once again.
Luo Lin had lost count of how many times his name had spread through the apprentice circles. As the person involved, he had no time to care about such empty fame and immediately threw himself into the intense preparations for the secret realm.
The secret realm was set to open in one month, leaving little time.
The first thing Luo Lin needed was a thorough understanding of the Afterglow Secret Realm itself.
Using the authority granted by the selection, he was able to enter Sacred Tower Academy's higher-level internal archives and consult the limited records related to the secret realm.
The Afterglow Secret Realm was said to be one of the fragments formed after the collapse of the demiplane laboratory of the ancient wizard, the Afterglow Grand Wizard, following his death.
Its internal environment was extremely unstable. Its spatial structure was fragile, its rules distorted, and it was filled with bizarre regions formed by experiments or energy leaks.
The records stated that the secret realm's core area had once been the place where the wizard conducted high-energy elemental reactions. There was a high chance of finding pure Elemental Essence there, but it was also the most dangerous region, full of energy currents and ancient construct guards.
Besides Elemental Essence, the secret realm might also contain experimental notes the Afterglow Grand Wizard had not had time to destroy, unusual spell materials, or even some partially completed enchanted items.
Opportunity and danger coexisted.
Luo Lin carefully recorded every key piece of information.
Known types of dangerous regions, possible resource sites, common weaknesses of ancient constructs, and the identifying features of spatially unstable areas.
He compared this information with his own abilities, tentatively planned several possible exploration routes, and marked the areas that needed to be avoided most carefully.
After gathering intelligence came the preparation of supplies.
Luo Lin took stock of his Dimensional Bag.
The various potions, materials, and scrolls he had accumulated over six years in the Black Forest were still plentiful, but in the face of an unknown secret realm, he needed more targeted replenishments.
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