The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

Three days. Only three short days.

This challenge, burning with black flames, from the Gray Tower, was like a death warrant, completely shattering Lowe's relatively relaxed research pace and pushing him into a crazy gamble against time.

He wasted not a single second. The day he received the challenge, he entered a secret chamber and began a near-self-destructive sprint.

Lilith quickly delivered the potion and information he needed. The potion was a small vial of an unstable, iridescent liquid called "Soul-Burning Potion," which could greatly enhance mental activity and reaction speed for a short period, but at the cost of prolonged mental lethargy after the effects wore off, and might even cause minor damage to the soul's essence. The information indicated that the Gray Tower was most likely to send a peak-level high-ranking apprentice named "Shadow Assassin" Loken. This person was proficient in shadow stealth, mental thrusts, and several bizarre curse techniques. He was ruthless, had extremely rich combat experience, and had single-handedly hunted down several troublesome low-level monsters. He was undoubtedly one of the Gray Tower's trump cards among apprentices.

Below the level of a quasi-wizard, he is almost invincible!

Faced with such an opponent, conventional methods offer no chance of victory. Luo Wei's only hope lies in that Void Dust Foundation and the "Mental Resonance Barrier" he is desperately building—a simplified, explosive version.

He abandoned all distractions, placed the "Soul-Burning Potion" within easy reach, and then devoted himself entirely to constructing the field.

This construction is drastically different from the previous "miniature energy convergence field" in terms of stability. He abandoned durability and stability in pursuit of ultimate instantaneous explosive power and counterattack intensity. The core of the design lies in "overload resonance"—instantly capturing, amplifying, and violently rebounding the invading spiritual energy through extremely sensitive and fragile energy circuits in a near-self-destructive manner!

This is like setting up an extremely precise, yet easily detonated, mental bomb on the foundation. Once successfully triggered, its power is enough to severely damage or even destroy the mental consciousness of a high-level apprentice, but the construction process itself is also fraught with the risk of exploding, and could backfire on Lovi himself at any time.

On the first day, aided by the Book of Truth, Luo Wei frantically deduced and optimized the structure of the energy circuits. He had to find that most dangerous balance point—one that guaranteed sufficient counterattack power while maintaining a minimum level of stability before triggering. Countless energy combinations arose and disappeared in his mind, and his mental energy was consumed at an unprecedented rate. He had to take a small dose of the "Soul-Burning Potion" beforehand; the searing pain was exchanged for a brief surge in his thinking speed, barely enough to keep up with the massive calculations.

The next day, he began inscribing on the actual base. His mental energy danced on a knife's edge, each strike requiring millimeter-level precision. The energy nodes, designed to be extremely sensitive and fragile, were like candles flickering in the wind, the slightest misstep triggering a chain reaction of collapse. Soft, uncontrolled bursts of energy and suppressed groans echoed intermittently in the dark room. His face grew increasingly pale, and blood trickled from his nose again—signs of overexertion of his mental energy and nearing the limits of his control. The Moonlit Amulet continued to emit a tranquil light, barely maintaining the stability of his consciousness.

On the third day, the eve of the duel, the construction of the entire field entered its most crucial final stage—the construction of the "overload detonation core," which was about to be triggered. This was the most dangerous part of the entire field, requiring a highly compressed and extremely unstable spiritual force to be carefully embedded into the field's energy circulation hub, like installing a fuse.

Luo Wei's mental energy was nearly exhausted, and his head felt as if it were being pierced by thousands of needles. He looked at the almost completed base plate on the workbench, which was emitting unstable energy fluctuations, and then at the "Soul Burning Potion" bottle next to him, which was only half full.

There is no way out.

A ruthless glint flashed in his eyes as he drank the remaining "Soul-Burning Potion" in one gulp!

boom!

It felt as if magma was flowing through his veins and soul! After the excruciating pain came a clarity that transcended all limits, a clarity that seemed to allow him to see through the structure of all things! Stimulated by the effects of the medicine, his mental power temporarily broke through its own shackles, reaching an unprecedented height!

It's now!

He gathered the borrowed, soul-burning power, and a condensed, silvery light flowed from his fingertips as he precisely probed the most crucial energy node in the center of the base!

Om-! ! !

The base trembled violently, and all the complex light patterns on it instantly shone to their brightest point, then suddenly contracted inward, as if swallowing up all the light! The air in the entire dark room seemed to freeze for a moment!

It worked!

An invisible yet deadly force field quietly formed around the base. It was no longer as gentle as an energy convergence field, but rather like a lurking beast, waiting for its prey to trigger its trap!

Luo Wei collapsed backward, leaning against the cold wall, panting heavily, his robes soaked with sweat. He felt as if his soul had been drained, his mind blank, filled only with endless exhaustion and a throbbing pain. The side effects of the Soul-Burning Potion began to appear: his vision blurred, and his ears rang.

But as he looked at the baseboard on the workbench, now completely dark and seemingly harmless, a forced smile appeared on his lips.

"The Spiritual Resonance Barrier: One-Time Burst Version" is complete!

Although the cost was enormous and his condition was terrible, he finally had a trump card that could threaten Loken and even turn the tide of the battle!

He carefully stored away the base containing the power of a deadly counterattack, keeping it close to his body. This would be his greatest asset when he stepped onto the dueling arena tomorrow.

He struggled to sit cross-legged and began practicing his Optimization Meditation Technique, attempting to recover as much mental energy and condition as possible before the duel. The gentle light of the Moonlit Amulet enveloped him, slowly soothing the wounds and exhaustion caused by the Soul-Burning Potion.

However, at this very moment when his spirit was at its weakest and his defenses were most vulnerable—

The [Shadow Crystal] in his arms, sealed layer upon layer, suddenly emitted an unprecedented, cold, and powerful attraction! A torrent of knowledge, clearer and more complete than ever before, accompanied by seductive whispers, forcefully broke through the suppression of the Moonlight Amulet, attempting to flood into his unsuspecting sea of ​​consciousness!

"...Look...you've touched the edge of 'structure'...but your method...is inefficient...and costly..."

"...Embrace the shadows...Understand 'Etherealization' and 'Reconstruction'...You can easily evade the enemy's sharpest attacks...and strike at their core..."

"...Accept it...this complete inheritance of 'Shadow Travel'...it will make you...invincible...tomorrow..."

A complete model and principle of the "Shadow Traverse" spell, which utilizes shadow energy for short-range attacks, ignoring some physical obstacles and mental locks, was clearly imprinted in his consciousness! This was not the previous fragmented pieces, but a complete, powerful, and extremely practical life-saving and surprise attack technique!

If he nods, if he lowers his guard even slightly and accepts this shadowy power, he will immediately master this spell! In tomorrow's duel, he will be able to attack or defend, greatly increasing his chances of survival!

The immense temptation, like the devil's whisper, struck a fatal blow when his soul was at its most vulnerable.

Is it to hold fast to the precarious position and fight on in the uncertain arena that you have painstakingly built? Or... to accept this readily available and powerful shadow force in exchange for a more secure victory and survival?

Luo Wei's tightly closed eyes trembled violently, veins bulged on his forehead, and his face showed an extremely painful and struggling expression.

His reason cried out, warning him of the danger and uncontrollability of the shadow forces, which, once accepted, could plunge him into eternal damnation.

But the instinct for survival and the desire for victory were tempting him wildly; with just a little compromise, he could gain immense power...

Mental weakness, the side effects of the medication, and this perfectly timed temptation pushed him to the most dangerous crossroads of his life.

His choice will not only determine the outcome of tomorrow's duel, but also the direction of his future path.