This was Leo's biggest concern: over two thousand Wizard Apprentice —what a fortune that was! Even some Official Wizard would be envious.
"You're overthinking it. Returning these wizard rings is one of the conditions for the other five families to acknowledge your achievements."
Leo bowed and left immediately. As for trying to argue with Dean Alexander about the wealth, that would be something only a fool would do.
The nuclear explosion has transcended the purpose of the tournament; it's perfectly normal for them not to acknowledge the kill.
Upon stepping outside, he saw that it was indeed the Purple Flame Academy. After many years away, the Purple Flame Academy remained unchanged. Even the loss of 10,000 apprentices did not seem to have changed anything. New apprentices filled the academy, and the environment was still filled with joy.
On Earth, a school losing 10,000 students would be a huge event, but Leo, immersed in the Wizard World, knew that losing even a million students wouldn't matter, let alone 10,000.
This number of people can be replenished at any time.
The population base is too large!
Since Leo had no place of her own within the Purple Flame Academy, she had no choice but to return to Gru's courtyard and continue living with Gru.
In the past, every time Leo came back, he would see Gru sunbathing in the yard, but this time when he opened the door, he saw nothing at all.
Leo suddenly realized that he had already completed his apprenticeship, Gru no longer needed to stay in the courtyard to teach him every day; Gru had his own things to do.
Judging by the time, Gru should be out teaching his new apprentices.
Returning to my room, the furnishings were still simple, with no fancy furniture, and a thick layer of dust covered them.
Leo then remembered that the last time he left was thirty years ago.
By the time Leo finished tidying up the room, Gru's loud laughter could be heard from outside the courtyard.
"I knew you were back! How was the competition? What place did you get?"
Leo subconsciously touched his nose. Gru was clearly unaware of what had happened during the tournament; the academy hadn't told him about the nuclear explosion.
"I hid as soon as the competition started, so I didn't get a place," Leo said honestly.
Gru's expectant gaze vanished instantly, replaced by a disdainful look as he sized Leo up and down, clicking his tongue as he said, "You actually hid? What a disgrace to us Body Refinement Wizard! Back in the day, when I participated in the Bloody Competition, which was a hundred times more brutal than your tournament, I still dared to dominate and ultimately achieved a respectable ninth place."
"That's really impressive." Leo gave Gru a thumbs-up with a polite smile.
If being ninth is something to brag about, then what about someone who led the academy from last place to first? Would they have to stand on a rooftop and brag about it?!
"Alright, hiding will at least ensure you come back alive. Once you're back, study how to advance one level and try to do so within fifty years." Gru didn't say much more.
"Okay, Mr. Gru."
It was the next day by the time Leo finished packing and set up the portable miniature laboratory.
"We still have ten kilograms of uranium-235 left. We need to order some from Skye and Gru's Hut in Toronto. I don't know if they can find any other scattered nuclear bombs."
"The atomic bomb's explosion is enough to prove that my modifications are flawless. The multi- Gravity Rune Array suppresses space, which is sufficient to compress the density of nuclear materials, reducing the minimum detonation mass by at least 35%."
"While energy crystallization is more expensive than high explosives, it increases explosive power by approximately 200%, which can further enhance the fission potential of uranium-235. The exact energy increase still requires experimental calculation."
After the nuclear explosion, Leo was immediately taken to a small, dark room, which gave him time to organize the data related to the explosion.
A nuclear explosion! No wonder it's the most brilliant jewel of Earth's civilization; its power is something even the Wizard World cannot ignore!
After Leo finished recording all the nuclear explosion data, he had the Shadow Space spit out the extra reward box that Alexander had given him.
The small box was placed on the ground, and the ground, unable to bear its terrifying weight, shattered.
Leo squatted on the ground and watched helplessly as the small box pressed a large crater into the ground!
"The dean is something else; he gave it to me without even telling me what it was."
Leo extended his senses, but the moment his senses touched the small box, it was as if he had touched a black hole; his senses were instantly sucked into the box.
"Snort"
Leo let out a muffled groan, almost collapsing to the ground.
Perception is essentially the outward projection of mental energy. The small box swallowed this small amount of perception, and Leo's mental energy instantly dropped by 0.1, requiring several days of rest to recover.
It felt like someone had hit me hard on the back of the head with a stick; my whole head is spinning.
Such a bizarre thing, it can actually capture mental energy.
Leo couldn't wait any longer, so he unleashed his magic power, instantly breaking the seal on the small box.
The moment Leo opened the small box, he saw a small, dark stone, no bigger than a sesame seed, lying quietly inside, with ripples of varying sizes emanating from its surface.
"This tiny stone is a treasure that even Level Three Great Wizard would covet?" Leo was surprised. He thought it was some kind of treasure, but it turned out to be just a small pebble.
Leo didn't recognize what it was, but the next second, the shadow beneath Leo's feet twisted and rolled wildly, lunging uncontrollably towards the small box.
As the shadow's true form, Leo sensed an unprecedented desire, or rather, hunger, emanating from it.
The shadow wanted to swallow the tiny pebble, no bigger than a sesame seed; the urge to devour it had become uncontrollable.
Leo paused, instantly suppressing the shadow that was about to go berserk, but the shadow's most fundamental, frantic emotions actually spread from Leo Leo's feet into his heart.
The shadow actually merged with Leo on its own initiative without Leo command!
Leo's eyes instantly lit up with a green light as he stared intently at the pebbles in the box, as if he had suddenly seen the Baotu Spring after ten years of arduous travel in the desert.
His entire body was desperately screaming hunger at Leo!
This is the most fundamental desire of life, the most primal impulse when life encounters a treasure that can accelerate its evolution!
Leo's throat was constantly churning, and saliva was constantly secreting from her mouth. Leo didn't dare to open her mouth, for fear that if she did, the saliva would gush out like a waterfall.
His hands reached uncontrollably towards the pebbles, but just as they were about to touch them, Leo suppressed the terrible hunger urge in his heart, slammed the lid shut, and immediately activated the seal on the box with his eyes closed, completely blocking out any odor.
I couldn't see the pebbles anymore. Although the feeling of hunger was still there, and my shadow had broken free from my body and was still twisting and turning like a child, the sensation was no longer so intense and was completely bearable.
Leo strode out of the room, taking deep breaths to suppress the longing in his heart, but the image of the pebble seemed to be imprinted in his mind. Even when Leo tried to think about other things, he couldn't help but keep recalling every moment of the pebble.
Leo felt like he was going crazy. It was just a tiny pebble, but in his mind, that tiny pebble was magnified thousands of times, and he could see every detail on the surface of the stone clearly.
But I clearly didn't see any patterns just now!
This situation made Leo suspect that his senses had been controlled, and that his eyes were secretly recording information about the pebbles without his knowledge.
"What is that?"
Leo's hands were still trembling, and his whole body wanted to rush back into the house and swallow the pebble along with the box.
It even begins to struggle against reason for control of its body, trying to rely on instinct to devour it!
"If I'm not mistaken, that's the Planetary Core, what our world calls the Heart of the Earth, the most central thing in a world." Benji's dejected voice echoed in Leo's mind.
" The Planetary Core? The Heart of the Earth?"
The name sounded familiar. Leo quickly flipped through his memories and soon recalled seeing a few brief sentences about the Planetary Core in the library of Samatchi in Tiyama City.
The Planetary Core's core, the heart of a planet, is the foundation upon which the world is built.
The Planetary Core of a planet may be only the size of a watermelon, but its weight is indescribable.
This is a treasure accessible only to wizards of the Stigmata level or higher, and it is also one of the most important strategic resources in the Wizard World.
After learning what it was, Leo's surprise was no less than before.
No wonder even the dean, Level Three Great Wizard, is envious. No matter how small the Planetary Core, it is still a treasure for the Stigmata Wizard.
Such a treasure is not a reward from the academy; Purple Flame Academy does not possess such a treasure.
It should have been rewarded by Alice's teacher, the ruler of the Purple Flame Academy, the great Purple Flame Stigmata Wizard.
But why would he reward himself with such a treasure?
As a mere Wizard Apprentice, he couldn't even lift it, and he only learned about it through reminders and explanations from Benji.
It's like giving an illiterate person a high-tech company to run; they can't even see the documents, how can they run it?
"I can roughly guess the purpose of rewarding you with the Planetary Core," Benji's deep voice rang out.
Tell me about it.
Benji is, after all, Demigod- level powerhouse, a world-renowned figure in his own world, whose knowledge far surpasses that of Leo.
" The Planetary Core is the foundation upon which a world rests, and your Shadow Talent is the most primal power of that world."
"So what?"
Leo's eyes were burning; after what Benji said, he suddenly had a guess.
"So your Shadow Talent likely desperately needs the Planetary Core. You can tell from the change in your Planetary Core. You're craving it, your shadow is craving it, your instincts are craving it." Benji's mood was low, as if he had thought of something.
"You mean my first-level promotion is very likely due to the Planetary Core, right?"
Leo also realized that the great Stigmata Wizard was waiting for him to advance in rank. Therefore, the only possible reason for sending him Planetary Core that could only be used by Stigmata- level wizards was for his advancement.
"That's truly terrifying."
A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Leo's mouth.
He knew that his life and cultivation were all planned out. He thought he could achieve advancement on his own and break free from this pre-planned life, but in the end, he was still within someone else's plan.
"But it's good too, I definitely couldn't get such a treasure on my own."
"Since you want me to use the Planetary Core for advancement, then so be it."
Leo looked up at the sky, as if he could see something through it.