Wizard: My career panel has no upper limit

Chapter 199 Devastated!

But the moment he took off his hood, everyone involuntarily gasped.

The boy's eyes—no, they could no longer be called eyes.

Two flowing crimson-gold flames burned in his eye sockets, illuminating his softly shaped face, yet making him look eerie and terrifying, like a demon emerging from the abyss.

Those eyes were filled with a chilling, eerie quality.

It was as if some being, not belonging to this world, was watching everyone through those eyes.

The clone Ron's aura contrasted sharply with his handsome appearance; it was a kind of tangible pressure that made the surrounding air feel heavy.

It gives the impression of a ferocious beast on the hunt, poised to pounce on its prey at any moment.

"Everyone be careful!" Elliott growled. "This isn't an ordinary clone!"

"Hmph, it's just a clone of a potion master. I'll see just how strong it is!"

Upon hearing this, Kessar ignored Elliott's warning, his right arm swelled up again, covered with an even thicker layer of red scales, and charged straight at the clone Ron.

“Kaiser, stop!” Elliott shouted, but it was too late.

Kaiser's fist, carrying a ferocious momentum, suddenly attacked the clone Ron's head from the side.

If this strike lands, it would be enough to shatter the skull of an ordinary opponent.

However, the clone Ron didn't even turn around to look at him. He simply turned slightly to the side and casually raised his left hand.

"Ding!"

A crisp metallic clang.

Caesar's fist was blocked by a flowing metal barrier, a fluid shield as thin as a cicada's wing, its surface gleaming with a faint silver light.

This protective barrier appears precisely in the path of the fist, perfectly dispersing all the impact force.

Time seems to stand still at this moment.

Kaiser's fist hovered in mid-air, his smug smile freezing on his face, turning into incredulous astonishment.

The clone Ron traced a strange rune on his chest with his right hand, then gently pushed it toward Caesar.

—Sonic oscillation erosion state

Invisible ripples spread from the palm, carrying a chilling whisper that struck the target directly.

Kaiser had no time to dodge and was struck as if by lightning.

Countless black spots instantly appeared on the surface of the body, as if being corroded by some invisible force.

"what--!"

He let out a scream, his body flying backward uncontrollably for more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground, convulsing and spitting out black foam.

"Kaiser!" Norn exclaimed, sending out threads to try and pull his companion back to safety.

"Don't go any further!" Elliott shouted sharply.

"That power wasn't an ordinary magical attack; it possessed a strange, corrosive quality!"

Just then, the clone Ron casually raised his hand again.

The palm was not aimed at any of the apprentices of the crystal spire.

Instead, they directly targeted Lina, who was in the defensive perimeter—the core of the Crystal Spire squad's mental link.

Invisible ripples spread from his palm, carrying a chilling whisper that struck Lina directly.

Those faintly audible words seemed to come from the depths of some distant starry sky, each syllable seemingly capable of tearing the soul apart.

Compared to Elliott's "Whisperer of the Stars," this directly cast murmur is clearly far more powerful, like the difference between a candle and the sun.

It was an undiminished, primal force, originating directly from the deepest darkness of the universe.

Before Lina could react, her entire body was as if it had been plunged into sulfuric acid, with countless black spots instantly appearing on its surface, and black liquid oozing from its eyes, ears, mouth, and nose.

Her mouth opened, as if she wanted to scream, but she could only let out a weak whimper, a sound filled with pain and fear.

Even more terrifying, through the mental link, this corrosive effect instantly spread to all of Lina's teammates.

Caesar, Jacqueline, Norren, and the others all collapsed to the ground, writhing in agony, their bodies marked with black spots similar to Lena's.

Their bodies convulsed uncontrollably, black tears streamed from their eyes, and foam of the same color overflowed from the corners of their mouths.

The most terrifying one was Caesar, who, suffering from the double corruption, dissolved completely like black water.

With his soul and body completely corroded, even Valen's personal presence couldn't save him...

In an instant, the entire platform was filled with painful screams and groans.

The elite squad of the Crystal Spire was almost completely wiped out by a single attack from the clone Ron.

Those geniuses who were just moments ago full of fighting power now lay on the ground like broken dolls, utterly powerless to resist.

Only Elliott, who had severed his mental link beforehand, survived, but seeing the tragic state of his companions, a deep sense of despair rose within him.

He couldn't believe that a single spell had caused such a situation.

The blond youth wanted to step forward to help Lina, but his legs instinctively retreated.

The oppressive feeling was like a mountain pressing down on his chest, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

It was a fear that originated from the depths of his soul; it was the most primal survival instinct that warned him to stay away from that terrifying presence.

The clone of Ron didn't even glance at the Crystal Spire apprentices lying on the ground, as if they were nothing more than ants on the roadside.

His gaze was fixed on the clones that had been affected but had not yet completely lost their fighting ability.

What happened next terrified Elliott.

The clone of Ron moved across the battlefield like a ghost, each step precise and each strike without any unnecessary movement.

His face was expressionless, as if he were simply carrying out a routine task rather than reaping lives.

He approached Holt's clone, who was attempting to control the earth elemental colossus for defense.

The colossus had just raised its fist, and before it could even swing, Ron had already flashed in front of Holt's clone.

A clean and swift chop to the neck.

Holt's clone's neck was severed in the middle, its head tilted to one side at an unnatural angle, and the light in its eyes quickly went out.

The once imposing earth elemental colossus instantly crumbled into countless fragments, scattering across the ground.

The clone of Ron didn't even stop; it had already turned towards Trish's clone.

The latter exerted all her strength to activate the surrounding vines to form a defense. Dozens of thick vines, as thick as a child's arm, intertwined to form an impenetrable green wall, completely enveloping her.

The vines glowed with a purple light, clearly infused with abyssal energy, making them even more resilient and dangerous than the ones Caesar had encountered before.

However, these vines, which were almost indestructible in front of Caesar, were as fragile as paper in front of the clone Ron.

His palm pierced through the layers of vines as if they didn't exist, and then pressed heavily onto the chest of the Trish clone.

There were no fancy spells, no complicated movements, just the simplest and most direct palm strike.

"puff!"

With a muffled thud, the Trish clone spat out a mouthful of blood.

The person flew backward several meters, crashed into the wall, and slowly slid down, whereupon there was no more life.

Her eyes were wide open, her expression frozen in extreme terror, as if she had seen some incomprehensible horror before she died.

The clone continued its movement without pause, moving on to the next target.

Every strike is a deadly, precise blow; there are no fancy moves, only the most efficient way to take a life.

In just a few dozen seconds, all the clones collapsed, turning into specks of light and dissipating into the air.

All of these points of light were completely devoured by Ron.

Elliott stood at a distance, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

Despite Ron's lightning-fast movements, his sensitive ears still caught some unsettling details:

When the clone Ron devours the energy of other clones, his body trembles slightly, as if undergoing some kind of painful baptism;

Even stranger, Elliott caught a glimpse of fear in those crimson-gold flame-like eyes.

Yes, it was fear, a fear that went deep into your bones.

This terrifying being, who could crush all opponents with overwhelming force, was actually afraid of something.

As Elliott listened closely, he detected a rapid rhythm in the clone Ron's breathing.

After each time the other party absorbed the energy of the clone, its eyes would unconsciously scan the platform entrance, as if it were wary of something about to be encountered.

"He's afraid. Afraid of what?"

Eliot was filled with doubt, and then a terrible thought surfaced in his mind:

"Is he afraid of the real Ron?"

The thought sent a chill down his spine. If even such a terrifying being feared his true form, then what kind of monster was the real Ron?

After absorbing all the clones' energy, the clone slowly turned around, its crimson-gold eyes sweeping across the battlefield before finally landing on Elliott.

"Wind Listener." The clone Ron's voice was unexpectedly gentle, yet carried an indescribable air of authority:

"Your ears truly live up to their reputation."

Elliott was tense all over.

This clone not only knew his nickname, but even seemed to understand the essence of his talent, which was completely beyond the understanding that a normal clone should have.

He suppressed the turmoil of emotions churning within him and calmly observed the clone, Ron.

Although the opponent displayed strength approaching that of a formal wizard, Elliott keenly observed it.

The magical fluctuations around the clone Ron exhibited an unstable characteristic, suggesting that his power was not entirely his own, but rather borrowed through some means.

"What the hell are you?"

Elliott finally spoke, his voice trembling but still retaining a sliver of rationality.

The clone chuckled: "What I am is not important. What is important is that I will soon have a 'guest'."

His gaze shifted to a certain direction on the platform, as if anticipating something.

That feeling of fear and extreme tension surged through him again, even more intensely than before.

………………

Meanwhile, in an open area outside the Bloodline Altar, two figures were facing off.

One of them was Valen, dressed in the iconic robes of the Crystal Spire. The oppressive aura of a Dark Sun Wizard silently spread out, making the surrounding air heavy.

The other was a woman so beautiful she seemed unreal, with pink hair cascading down to her waist and determined gleaming in her emerald eyes.

She looked to be in her early twenties, radiating a vibrant energy that made it hard to believe she was the same Mrs. Allen who usually appeared old and frail.

"How many years has it been since we last met, Allen? Eighty years? A hundred years?"

Valen's voice was calm, but his eyes held a complex emotion:

"The last time I saw you like this was during the final promotion competition at the Crystal Spire."

"One hundred and seventeen years and four months."

Mrs. Allen replied coldly, "Ever since you stole my rightful promotion to Dark Sun."

Warren shook his head: "You know that wasn't robbery, it was the result of fair competition."

"Fair?" Mrs. Allen sneered.
"If I were like you, willing to sign that soul contract and bind my entire life to the chariot of the Crystal Spire, do you think I would lose to you?"

The magical fluctuations in the air grew even more tense, and the atmosphere between the two was like a volcano about to erupt.

“That’s a responsibility that every promoted person must bear, Allen.”

Valen sighed, “After all these years, you’re still so stubborn. The Crystal Spire nurtured us, provided us with resources and knowledge, and we should naturally repay it.”

"A reward?" A hint of sarcasm flashed in Mrs. Allen's eyes:
"Or will they become puppets? You and I both know that the old guys behind those families are making increasingly outrageous demands on newcomers. It's not just about soul contracts, but also forced marriages, bloodline propagation obligations, and even memory imprinting! This is no longer a reward, it's enslavement!"

Valen remained silent for a moment, clearly unable to refute this point.

"No matter what, you shouldn't have left the herbal medicine shop without permission."

He finally spoke: "You know the rules. Without permission from above, you are not allowed to leave the designated area."

"I'm just fulfilling my duty as a teacher to help my students," Mrs. Allen retorted without backing down.

"Stop playing dumb, Allen." Valen frowned. "You're not planning to sneak away during the chaos of the Bloodline Altar opening, are you?"

Mrs. Allen was taken aback, seemingly not expecting that Warren thought she was trying to take the opportunity to escape.

Then, his eyes darted around, and he countered with a question:
"If you were imprisoned for over a hundred years, don't you think you would do everything you could to escape?"

"This isn't imprisonment; it's for your own good," Valen said helplessly.
"Do you know how serious your injuries were back then? If the president of the Potions Masters Association hadn't personally intervened, you might already be..."

"Already what? Dead?" Mrs. Allen sneered.
"Rather than living like this, trapped in this corner of the black mist jungle, being treated like a harmless old woman, I would rather have died quickly back then!"

Her emotions became visibly agitated, and the surrounding air temperature suddenly rose.

A powerful surge of magical energy erupted from her body, causing the ground around her to tremble slightly.

"Calm down, Allen."

Valen took a step back warily, his right hand already resting on an alchemical device at his waist:

"I don't want to fight you."

“Of course you don’t want to,” Mrs. Allen said fiercely.
"Because you know, even a Dark Sun-level wizard cannot guarantee a 100% victory over a Moon-level wizard who has been pushed to the brink, especially since this Moon-level wizard is also a potions professor."

As she spoke, she took out an exquisite crystal bottle from inside her robe, which contained a liquid that shimmered with rainbow colors.

Valen's pupils suddenly contracted: "No, that's the 'Seven-Colored Star Dew' on the forbidden list? How do you have this?"

"One hundred and seventeen years of imprisonment gave me enough time to study and prepare."

A resolute glint flashed in Mrs. Allen's eyes: "I will no longer be controlled by anyone, not even the Grand Wizard of the Crystal Spire!"

As she spoke, she drank the liquid in the bottle in one gulp.

In an instant, he was enveloped in a rainbow-colored light, and his aura rose steadily.

In the blink of an eye, he reached the pinnacle of Moon-level wizards, and even showed faint signs of breaking through.

Valen's expression changed, and he immediately released all his power to form a defense, while taking out several pieces of alchemical equipment from his spatial bag.

"Allen, you know the side effects of 'Seven-Colored Star Dew'! Using it will accelerate your mental pollution several times over, and you may even reach the point of collapse within a few days!"

Contrary to what Warren had expected, Mrs. Allen could feel the spiritual pollution rising within her being rapidly wiped away by the vast amount of blessings stored within her.

"Of course I know."

A triumphant smile began to bloom on Mrs. Allen's lips, and the rainbow light around her intensified.
"But it's a worthwhile price to pay for freedom."

Two terrifying forces confronted each other in the open space. The air was distorted and deformed due to the excessive concentration of energy, and the surrounding trees could not bear the weight and collapsed or burned.

"The Crystal Spire is no longer the cradle that nurtured countless geniuses it once was, Valen."

Mrs. Allen's voice carried a hint of empathetic sorrow:

"It has been hollowed out by those so-called wizard clans, who only care about how to maintain their privileges, how to monopolize knowledge and resources, and how to bring every emerging wild genius under their control."

Valen remained silent, clearly aware of this.

"They even started forcing geniuses to marry into their families to 'purify' their bloodlines, as if we were livestock."

Mrs. Allen continued, her voice filled with a calm anger:

"This approach completely violates the original concept of the 'ancestor'—that everyone is equal before knowledge and that those with natural talent have the right to develop freely."

Warren finally spoke: "I can't deny what you said, but this is the inevitable trend, Allen. It's not something I can change alone."

"Yes, because you're a beneficiary now too," Mrs. Allen continued sarcastically.

"You married your mentor's grandniece, which completely tied you to that family's chariot. You're taking the benefits they gave you, so of course you don't want to change anything."

Valen's expression grew increasingly complicated: "Allen, things aren't that simple."

"It's that simple."

Mrs. Allen interrupted him, continuing her verbal provocations while simultaneously using the opportunity to quickly adapt to her newly ascended powerful magic at the Dark Sun level:

"If I hadn't refused to sign that indentured servitude contract, how could the promotion qualification have fallen to you? In what ways are you better than me? Talent, strength, research achievements—in which aspect can you compare to me?"

Valen was speechless, because what Allen said was true.

Allen was a recognized genius back then, a prodigy that the Crystal Spire had only seen once in hundreds of years.

As for Warren, as the second-ranked student, among the many apprentices in the Crystal Spire, he could at best be considered averagely excellent, with a precipitous gap between him and Allen, the top student in the sequence.

If Allen hadn't refused to sign the soul contract, resulting in his disqualification from promotion, Valen would never have had the chance.

Just as the two were about to draw their swords and were about to fight to the death.

Valen suddenly frowned and took out a small leather-bound booklet from his spatial bag.

The booklet cover is engraved with the Crystal Spire's logo, and each page features a small flame pattern, representing the life force of a Crystal Spire apprentice.

At this moment, three of the flames had gone out and turned gray.

The remaining flames flickered precariously, seemingly on the verge of going out at any moment.

Only the flame representing Elliott remained relatively stable, though it was dimmer than before.

“Something’s happened…” Valen’s expression turned serious: “Damn it, in previous years there were at most two casualties. I have to go and see.”

"It looks like your precious apprentices are in trouble."

Mrs. Allen said coldly, but a hint of concern flashed in her eyes: "What's going on?"

“I don’t know.” Valen frowned, staring at the Book of Life.
"Logically speaking, while the Bloodline Altar is inherently dangerous, people shouldn't be dying so quickly, and so many others should be on the verge of death at the same time. Unless..."

(End of this chapter)