The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

The appearance of the Shadow Priest almost solidified the already oppressive space. He slammed his bone staff on the ground, and a circle of viscous dark ripples spread out, resonating with the contaminated field throughout the stronghold, causing the elemental shield that Walter had set up to fluctuate violently.

"Protect Rowe and Lilith! Edgar, flank them!" Wizard Walter's voice was calm and composed, showing no sign of panic. He stepped forward, his magical power surging like a volcano about to erupt. Facing a near-wizard level enemy, he had to give it his all.

Barton immediately shielded Rowe and Lilith with his shield, while two other apprentice guards flanked them. Edgar's figure once again disappeared into the shadows, waiting for his chance to strike.

"The light of an ant dares to rival the brilliance of the dark sun?" The Shadow Priest let out a hoarse laugh, waving his bone staff as three condensed black arrows shot towards Walter with a piercing shriek.

Walter neither dodged nor evaded, and three diamond-shaped shields burning with pale flames instantly materialized in front of him.

puff!puff!puff!

The black arrows struck the fiery shield with a corrosive sound before annihilating. But the Shadow Priest's attack did not cease. He chanted incantations, causing the fungal carpet on the ground to surge violently. Several tentacles made of shadow energy and covered in suckers suddenly shot out, wrapping around Walter's legs!

At the same time, his empty eye sockets turned towards Luo Wei, and a more hidden, yet more vicious mental piercing attack silently struck Luo Wei, whose spirit had been weakened by building the "Barrier of Tranquility"!

"Beware of mental attacks!" Lilith exclaimed. She sensed the subtle fluctuation, but it was too late to take effective precautions.

Luo Wei felt a cold, sharp needle pierce his consciousness, a sea of ​​pain shooting through him, and his vision went black for a moment. At this critical moment, the dormant Book of Truth suddenly turned its pages automatically, emitting a warm light that neutralized and absorbed most of the power of the mental piercing. Simultaneously, a fragment of information, previously recorded due to the increased synchronization rate but not yet fully understood by Luo Wei, flashed by:

"...The eye of discernment does not discern form, but rather observes the flow of its 'field,' the nodes of its energy..."

The eye to see through illusion? To observe the flow of events?

At the critical moment of life and death, Luo Weifu had a sudden inspiration. Almost instinctively, following the guidance of this fragment of information, he forcibly activated his remaining mental energy and combined it with [Low-level Energy Vision]. He no longer looked at the Shadow Priest's physical form, but instead focused all his attention on sensing the violent and chaotic energy field around him!

In his "vision," the Shadow Priest was no longer a concrete humanoid figure, but had become an energy aggregate composed of countless twisted, boiling lines of dark energy! Most of these energy lines converged towards the bone staff in his hand and his chest, but at certain junctions of his energy field, there were several extremely subtle "blockage points" and "energy turbulences" that were out of sync with the overall smooth operation! These were flaws left by the imperfection of his power operation, or rather, by interference from something!

"The energy field behind his left shoulder is not properly connected! There's turbulence in the energy return flow at his right knee!" Luo Wei shouted hoarsely, his voice clear yet reaching everyone's ears. "The energy node at the tip of the bone staff is a false core; the true power hub is in his chest!"

Just as Walter was preparing to withstand the tentacles' entanglement and unleash powerful magic, a glint flashed in his eyes! He changed his original attack strategy without hesitation!

Faced with the approaching shadow tentacles, he no longer tried to dodge or defend, but instead poured most of his magic into the staff in his right hand, and the gem embedded at the top of the staff burst out with dazzling lightning!

"Thunderous explosion!"

Boom!

A bolt of lightning as thick as a child's arm did not strike the Shadow Priest himself, but rather precisely struck the area behind his left shoulder where the energy field was blocked, as indicated by Rowe!

At the same time, Edgar, who had been lurking nearby, appeared like a ghost. His poisoned dagger glowed faintly, and instead of aiming for a vital spot, he precisely slashed at the energy turbulence in the right knee that Rowe had pointed out!

The Shadow Priest clearly hadn't expected that a mere **mid-level apprentice** would see through the flaw in his energy manipulation so easily! It was too late for him to change his defense!

The lightning struck the energy blockage point with pinpoint accuracy!

The dagger also sliced ​​through the energy turbulence!

"Ugh—!"

The Shadow Priest let out a howl of pain and rage. The dark energy field behind his left shoulder collapsed instantly, and his entire left arm and shoulder became illusory and unstable, like a poorly receiving image! The energy flow at his right knee was disrupted, causing him to stagger and almost fall to his knees! The originally solid and powerful energy field around him showed obvious disorder and weakening!

"Now!" How could Walter miss such a golden opportunity? He pointed his staff again, this time aiming directly at the Shadow Priest's chest—the true nexus of power that Rowe had pointed out!

"Spear of the Blazing Sun!"

A spear, composed entirely of highly compressed pale flames and radiating terrifying heat and a purifying aura, instantly materialized. With a piercing shriek that tore through the air, it shot fiercely toward the Shadow Priest's chest at a speed beyond visual perception!

The Shadow Priest hastily raised his bone staff to block, but with his energy field in disarray, he was unable to unleash his full power!

boom--!!!

The Spear of the Sun clashed violently with the Bone Staff, unleashing a blinding light like a miniature sun! The pseudo-core at the tip of the Bone Staff shattered instantly! The powerful shockwave sent the surrounding fungal carpet flying!

The Shadow Priest let out a bloodcurdling scream as a charred hole exploded in his chest, gushing out thick, oil-like black blood. The dark energy field around him crumbled like shattered glass, and his aura rapidly weakened.

"No... impossible... Dark Sun..." he roared in disbelief, his body flickering like a candle in the wind, and finally, with a mournful howl filled with resentment, he completely disintegrated, turning into a cloud of scattered black ash.

A shadow priest of near-wizard rank has fallen!

The battle ended unexpectedly quickly. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, their eyes filled with mixed emotions as they looked at Rowe, who was being supported by Barton, his face pale but his eyes bright.

That incredibly precise "weakness detection" was undoubtedly the key to turning the tide of the battle!

"Love..." Wizard Walter walked up to him, his eyes filled with scrutiny and amazement, "Your ability to see through the flow of energy just now..."

"A...trick of mental perception, which is quite sensitive to energy structures," Luo Wei explained weakly, still using vague language, but at this moment no one dared to underestimate this so-called "trick."

Walter gave him a deep look, then stopped asking questions and turned to look at the "Shadow Faith Core," which was still pulsating but whose frequency was clearly disordered.

"Destroy this core first, then completely purify this place!"

Under Walter's powerful elemental magic bombardment, the core of faith, now devoid of its priestly support, was quickly destroyed, exploding into a pool of evaporating, foul-smelling black sludge. Rowe, barely holding on, used his modified purifying flames to completely eradicate the remnants.

As the core was destroyed, the shadow energy permeating the stronghold began to slowly dissipate, and the suffocating pressure also eased.

"Search around and see if there's anything of value or any clues," Walter ordered.

The group dispersed and searched the stronghold carefully. Barton and the guards found a remnant black ring with a chilling aura and half a broken bone staff at the site of the priest's collapse, and handed them to Walter.

Lilith discovered a small, hidden compartment covered in creep beneath the original location of the core of faith. Opening the compartment, she found several ice crystal-like stones emitting a soft white light, as well as a few carefully preserved small flowers with silvery-white leaves that exuded a tranquil aura.

"Purifying Crystal! Tranquilizing Flower!" Lilith exclaimed in surprise, carefully taking them out.

Luo Wei's spirits lifted; he had finally found the key material for making the Soul Amulet!

The mission was successfully completed. The team, laden with spoils and exhausted, began their retreat. The return journey was much easier; the remaining shadow servants, having lost their core support, became sluggish and weak, and were quickly wiped out.

When they emerged from the Rift Canyon and breathed in the relatively fresh air again, they all felt as if they had seen the light of day again.

Back at the academy, Wizard Walter personally reported the mission to the elder deacon, highlighting Lowe's outstanding contributions—especially his crucial "Insightful Eye" ability and the feat of temporarily constructing a mental protective field.

For the first time, Luo Wei's name truly entered the vision of the highest levels of the academy.

As a reward, in addition to a large number of contribution points (which can be exchanged for knowledge and resources in the academy's warehouse), Rowe was allowed to keep the few pieces of Pure Light Crystal and Tranquilizing Flower for crafting Soul Amulets.

Upon returning to his room, Luo Wei didn't even bother to rest; he immediately began crafting the Soul Amulet. With his previous practice experience and optimized plans, along with the perfectly intact Purifying Crystal and Tranquilizing Flower, this crafting process, though still challenging, was completed smoothly.

As the last trace of Tranquilizing Flower essence blended into the mithril base and perfectly fused with the Radiant Crystal Powder, the entire amulet suddenly shone with a gentle and stable milky-white light! A field of immense tranquility steadily spread out from its center; although the range was not large, its effect far surpassed that of the practice version!

**[Item: Soul Amulet (Optimized Version)]**

**[Effect: Passively increases the wearer's mental resistance and slightly accelerates mental energy recovery. Can be actively activated to form a temporary 'powerful tranquility barrier' to resist mental shocks and contamination.]**

**[Quality: Excellent]**

It was a success! And the quality was excellent!

Luo Wei carefully put the hard-won amulet close to his body, and immediately felt a cool and peaceful aura envelop his mind, relieving much of the fatigue and mental pain he had been experiencing for days.

He let out a long sigh of relief, collapsed onto the bed, and fell into a deep sleep. This mission, though dangerous, was incredibly rewarding. Not only did he obtain valuable materials and talismans, and test and improve his abilities, but more importantly, he left a profound mark on the minds of the academy's higher-ups.

However, while he slept, the soul amulet in his arms seemed to resonate with an extremely faint, almost imperceptible energy with the Book of Truth in his sea of ​​consciousness and the gray stone tablet...