Wizards pursue the truth

boom!

The blinding light filled every corner of the room, pots, pans and other clutter melted instantly, and cracks appeared in the walls and ceiling with a cracking sound. The expansion and impact of the high temperature evaporating water vapor became the last straw that broke the camel's back.

The azure particle energy shield withstood everything. The wizard standing in the corner of the room cursed under his breath, cast a flight spell, and transformed into a streak of light, rushing out.

The sky was filled with the smoke of battle, the light from the witchcraft was cast, and the chaotic energy left the ancient city in ruins.

Before the wizard, shrouded in a water-colored shield, could react, he was met with an invisible gust of wind.

The high-concentration, high-frequency air compression blades are powerful enough to cut a house into dust in an instant.

Even his particle energy shield would be absolutely unable to withstand it.

"Damn it, damn it, you bunch of mad dogs, why are you going to keep biting me?"

He cursed, saying that with the participation of his spiritual power, the particle energy in his body materialized the wizard runes in his mind and formed concrete physical phenomena.

The energy of inert particles that are everywhere in the air is drawn in, forming a thick earthen wall that surrounds the surrounding area.

The shaken-off dirt and dust provided a slight visual concealment, and then a light blue sphere began to expand, carrying dirt and dust, making everything sticky and damp, thus delaying and pulling.

The black-robed wizard, who had cast the air compression blade spell, had a black and white giant tree emblem on his robes. His young face and fanatical eyes licked his lips as he said, "A traitor like you can only die under my magic. I will take your soul and head to complete the siege mission for the library."

Do you know how much your head and soul are worth?

The young wizard, eager for conquest, exclaimed excitedly, "That's a whopping ten thousand magic stones, a thousand contribution points, and the chance to enter the Land of Inheritance to choose three intermediate or one superior knowledge."

As soon as he finished speaking, blinding flames burst forth from the young wizard's body, surging and spreading to a range of fifty meters, forming a high-temperature fire domain that was difficult for the physical body to withstand. The flames, blooming like lotus flowers, floated and hovered in the air, and the color of the core was an unsettling black.

The sticky soil that spread out from the water-colored sphere dried and hardened under the pressure of the fiery domain, falling into the ruins of the city below.

This was once a grand and glorious city, but now, ravaged by war, not a trace of its former prosperity remains. Only the spread of radiation has brought desolate, lifeless silence and despair.

"I also want to live, I'm willing to surrender." The pale-handed wizard, whose target was locked by the young wizard, had a glimmer of hope on his face.

A fanaticism shone in the young wizard's eyes. "That great and noble Nightmare Wizard has already given you a chance, but you failed to seize it and continued to resist stubbornly."

"There will be no second chance. Once a choice is made, one must bear the consequences." The young wizard exuded killing intent. "The Wizard of Autumn and Winter said that when faced with the rebellion of the Pale Hand, there is only one choice: to kill without mercy. No reason, no external force, no matter one's own fault, it doesn't matter. The traces of the Pale Hand must be completely erased."

"There is only one voice and one name in this sky, and that is the heart of conquest."

The young wizard's face was filled with greed as he licked his dry lips. "You're very valuable, and you should understand your ultimate fate."

Chi Chi!

The high temperature evaporated a large number of water molecules, and the resulting water vapor spread to a range of 100 meters. A light blue figure quickly rushed out and disappeared into the distance.

The figure that flew out with the fire element particle energy shield stared in the direction it had gone, and laughed angrily, "Run away, run away with all your might, but you will eventually understand that no matter how you run, you can't escape this sky that belongs to the heart of conquest."

"You will gradually sink into despair and then accept your foolish and miserable fate."

The young wizard cast a flight spell and gave chase.

Scenes like this have occurred quite frequently in the city of Pale Fortress, and it's not just one place, but rather a corner of the chaos in the entire Pale Hand realm.

Conspirators, traitors, greedy individuals, oppressors, and defectors—young and old wizards alike play their respective roles on this stage, enacting a captivating drama. Who will fall from grace, and who will continue the performance, depends on whether they can grasp the fate of their assigned role.

Opportunity comes with danger; the carcass of a whale fall may explode.

The remnants of the Pale Hand's rebellion, knowing their predetermined fate, will launch a frenzied and unbridled counterattack.

High-level wizards may not be affected, but mid- to low-level wizards will be clearly aware of the potential dangers.

Equivalent exchange is the essence of wizards. Wizards in the rear who do not participate in the front lines are also obligated to pay the price if they want to share the spoils.

The Nightmare Wizard wouldn't concern himself with such trivial matters; having relinquished power and responsibility, he now possessed greater freedom.

High above the Pale Hand, the black wizard's robes billowed in the gale, the sleeves and hem clapping. The Nightmare Wizard's gaze was high and distant, seemingly piercing through the endless clouds, the vast chill, and the interference of wind and snow, seeing everything on the Pale Hand's land.

"It will take time. In twenty years, some of these annoying eyes will have to stop watching."

The Nightmare Wizard muttered to himself, or perhaps he was referring to something. His expression held a hint of mockery, and a white light appeared behind him—a mirror, its surface smooth and metallic, with dense, unique wizarding runes inscribed along its edges.

Under the control of the Nightmare Dream Wizard, the Nightmare Annihilation Mirror displays boundless dream light, piercing through and manifesting numerous dream tunnels, which connect to the nodes of the corresponding virtual-real replacement magic array.

The original spell circuit has been modified, and when triggered, it connects to the energy tides deep in the earth. After being transformed into illusory reality energy by the Black King's power in the bubble world, it becomes pure dream power, providing energy support for the spell array itself.

Chi Chi!

Everything in the border region, reality itself, became dreamlike. The gap between dreams had arrived, and a large amount of distorted colors surged out like a river, creating a strange and bizarre environment. The distorted pollution of thousands of colors, the writhing pigments, stained reality and reshaped it.

"The alternation between reality and illusion should be like this. As long as I am in this world, my power is connected to the massive energy of the earth's veins. Even if I cannot transform it into pure dream power, the second-grade basic dream power can still create the environment of the dream world, allowing the gaps in the dream to exist for a long time."

"The only price to pay is that I cannot leave this world and must maintain the operation of the illusion-replacement magic array at all times. At the same time, the bubble world must also use a portion of its power to supply the magic array."

The interconnected nodes of the witch array, including the central hub, are all centered around the Nightmare Ancient Tree.

The Rainbow Trout Sword is of extremely high quality, and the pure dream power it contains is the accumulation of the Pale Hand over the years. The amount of it is enormous, but it still needs the Nightmare Annihilation Dream Power required by the Black King's core to transform and purify into the Bubble World.

Twenty years is the time required for transformation, and also the time it takes for Wang Ya to break through to the flowering stage and manifest the first petal.

Faintly, Wang Ya seemed to hear one or two muffled groans, as if they had been stimulated or severely injured.

His smile deepened, and his dark eyes glanced in a direction in the void, seemingly meeting the gaze of some being across an extremely distant distance.

Wang Ya withdrew his gaze, flicked his robe, and ripped away the massive amount of wind and snow spirits that had surged forth upon him by sensing the extraordinary fluctuations in energy. The cold clouds within a kilometer radius also shattered, and chunks of ice and a large amount of ice shards fell to the mortal land below.

Under the influence of the spatial ripples, the body gradually faded and disappeared.

*

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*

boom!

Several mountains, each a thousand meters high, turned to dust and vanished into the air. All life within them was devoured by the absolute destructive power. A rough, large hand pulled back from the shattered space, but the powerful suction could not stop the hand's owner from moving.

The black storm in the shattered space, with its continuous rotation and cutting, did not cause much damage to the giant hand; it only caused scratches on the skin and completely removed the hair.

Wearing a golden wizard's robe, his long golden hair flew wildly in the raging wind. He lifted his legs, which were stuck in the deep pit, and shook off the mud and sand. His black eyes were like abysses, devouring everything, but at this moment they were filled with suppressed anger.

"Good, very good. So, you have the heart to conquer. To be able to defeat the Pale Hand so easily, you are indeed powerful enough. I, the Holy King, acknowledge you."

"Nightmare Wizard, we will have a battle sooner or later. We'll settle today's matter then."

The Holy King Wizard exhaled a heavy breath, its color a strange black, which corroded the earth within a kilometer radius, forming a large crater.

He glanced down at his arm, whose robes had been torn to shreds, squeezed it, feeling the force within, and then gave a cold laugh.

"Absolute power can do everything; if I want to see it, there is nothing I cannot see."

"If you won't let me see it, then I'll give you face and not see it for now. I hope you won't be as weak as that old man Shenmeng, who only knows how to play some underhanded dream tricks."

The Holy King Wizard kicked forward, unleashing an endless whirlwind. The sheer force shattered everything within a ten-thousand-meter radius, even causing cracks to appear in the air itself.

The Holy King Wizard took a deep look at the location of the Heart of Conquest before stepping into the shattered spatial layer.

*

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*

A towering mountain range, hundreds of thousands of meters high and seemingly endless in width, is surrounded by buildings that resemble relics of a bygone era. These buildings are situated on the undulating terrain of the mountain range, which are far apart from each other. Each building contains statues of wizards of various sizes, and many wizards also appear as streaks of light, flying around.

The witch array draws on the natural tidal energy of the earth's veins, supplying everything on the mountain range in its entirety. This has allowed the mountain range, which was not originally so tall and wide, to grow to its current terrifying size, and it is still growing!

At the very center, on the highest mountain, stands a wizard statue almost entirely constructed from the mountain itself. Its aged face and open eyes gaze straight ahead, holding an ancient wizard's staff that appears to be made from tree roots.

Boom!

A tremendous tremor reverberated from the depths of the mountains, the vibrations were incredibly intense, and the ecosystem on which they depended, all kinds of creatures and plants, and the environment underwent drastic changes, with living beings trying to escape in terror.

Meanwhile, the wizards in the various buildings flew out in a panic, all converging on the airspace directly opposite the old wizard statue.

The area was shrouded in mist and extremely humid, but the energy radiation and the gathering of power created by the flying magical shields of the wizards caused the thick clouds and mist around them to dissipate.

The extraordinary fluctuations were too intense, attracting more spirits of wind and snow to gather. The void began to freeze, and the cold clouds that had been dispersed surged back in, showing signs of becoming even thicker and more powerful.

Chi Chi!

An incomprehensible force erupted, emptying the environment around the mountain wizard statue. A massive amount of wind and snow spirits were pulled tens of thousands of meters away by a reverse suction force.

As the rocks and debris fell, the eyes of the mountain wizard statue trembled, displaying human-like characteristics, as if the mountain wizard statue itself were alive.

Its eyes revealed a complex meaning, and more consciously moved around, conveying some message.

"The Pale Hand can be confirmed as a replacement for the Heart of Conquest. The master of that force is very powerful, and his strength is difficult to determine. Try not to provoke him."

"If you're foolish enough to mess with them, then you can deal with it yourselves. I won't interfere."

The middle-aged wizard standing at the forefront of the many wizards, dressed in a blue wizard's robe, is known as the "Ancient Heart Wizard" and is the decision-maker of the Ancient Heart in the present day.

His expression was one of surprise and uncertainty. He glanced at the mountain wizard statue in front of him out of the corner of his eye, and then looked in a certain direction in the void, where the pale hand had originally been.

"The Ancient One is at the headquarters of the Ancient Heart, where he can unleash power at the level of the Radiant Moon. Even he..." The Ancient Heart Wizard frowned, and immediately made a decision. He stopped observing the Ancient One, who had closed his eyes and returned to the state of a statue, and turned to the many True Spirit Wizards and Star Wizards of the Ancient Heart, saying, "Let's ignore the Heart of Conquest forces for now, observe how things develop, and then make contact when the time is right."

The Ancient Heart Wizard pondered, 'The Ancient One's cautious attitude suggests that the other party also possesses power at the Radiant Moon level.'

"Regardless of the circumstances, the Nightmare Wizard who orchestrated the destruction of the Pale Hand is incredibly terrifying, both in terms of strength and cunning; he should never be provoked."

"However, some people are actually spreading rumors that the Nightmare Wizard is less than a thousand years old, incredibly young, and possesses even greater ambitions than the Holy King Wizard." Ancient Heart Wizard scoffed, not believing it, and thought to himself, "How could someone with only a thousand years of life experience achieve such accomplishments? It's probably several times more than that."

As for ambition?

A look of sadness crossed the Ancient Heart Wizard's eyes. Under this frosty sky, all ambitions were in vain.

*

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*

They inexplicably disappeared and entered the dream world, which was originally the witchcraft testing square.

Rex and his students exhausted themselves before they finally managed to safely enter the Pale Branch Fortress City.

However, no other wizards were seen inside.

Some of the original important buildings and facilities are no longer operational.

"This is a dead city. We are trapped here and may face death."

With a heavy heart, Rick told the group of wizard students the harsh reality.

Without a real-world anchor, they cannot return. Even if they manage to survive in the city without being attacked or killed by native creatures of the dream world, they still face the threat of being corrupted by the dream world.

Over time, they will become the native inhabitants of the dream world.

Perhaps it's possible to survive in the dream world without dying.

However, as real beings with limited power, transforming into dream natives would not only subject them to various dangers, but also risk causing them to lose their self-awareness.

Seeing the terrified looks in everyone's eyes, a bitter smile appeared on Rick's lips. His power was too weak. In the current situation, perhaps only the ultimate wizard apprentices and true spirit wizard masters could deal with it.

"Death is terrible, but that's the kind of terrible we perceive and understand. If it weren't terrible at all, it would be quite lovely."

Rick was powerless and had no other choice but to try to find humor in his misery, uttering words that even he himself couldn't understand.

At least it can reduce some of the fear in the eyes of these children.

"It's so frustrating. I haven't even reached the more prosperous Pale Fortress and obtained the richer rewards yet." Rex suddenly stopped, staring blankly at the white light that appeared not far away, supported by a black door frame.

It appeared suddenly, without Rex noticing; the white light was deep, seemingly leading to an unknown path.

Is this the way out?

No, it doesn't matter anymore, or rather, they have no other choice.

What lies behind all of this? It seems the answer and conclusion should be forthcoming soon.

Rick couldn't help but get excited, his face filled with hope.

Let's go then!

Rex led the group of new wizards through the portal.

*

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"Thank goodness I don't have to die." McCree, shirtless and covered in blood, with many wounds reaching his internal organs and numerous broken bones, lay on the filthy ground, staring at the black and white portal that had inexplicably appeared. A ferocious smile appeared on his lips as he practically crawled and bit his way into the portal.

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Deep within the dense jungle mountains, Asuna, who had slain the bear-like dream creatures and was barely surviving in a cave, thought she was hallucinating. But when she blinked, she indeed saw a black and white portal appear not far away.

Despite the matted hair and filthy face, a joyful smile appeared.

Hope shone in her eyes, and just as she was about to step inside, a figure appeared behind her and gently knocked her unconscious.

Zetian held Asuna in his arms, staring at the black and white light gate, his expression somewhat uncertain.

"What's going on? My mission should have been completed by now. Why didn't the Supreme Emperor Wizard take me away? Instead, this gate of light appeared out of nowhere, and there's no trace of the Supreme Emperor Wizard on it."

"This shouldn't be the case. Could it be that something happened to the Venerable Wizard?"

To be honest, if he continues to persist, he can still achieve it; he still has many trump cards up his sleeve.

However, the appearance of the black and white light gate proves that the person behind it all wants them to leave.

If they don't leave, it would seem somewhat deliberate, and they would only expose themselves.

Ze Tian's lips were a little dry, and he still couldn't figure out what kind of accident would happen to the Venerable Emperor Wizard. He was a terrifying being who had reached the end of the Radiant Moon.

One of the three pillars of Scarlet Society.

"Fine, let's go then. There shouldn't be any problems. If it were going to kill us, we would have died long ago, instead of a black and white light gate appearing."

Ze Tian made up his mind and carried Asuna into the black and white light gate.

Inside the rectangular building belonging to the Crimson Society, which is the residence of the Grand Wizard of the Emperor, lies the Grand Wizard of the Emperor ...

He was still reminiscing about the joy of finding the Nightmare Wizard, and also looking forward to defeating the Wizard Ashe.

Suddenly, he sneezed, and his body trembled. Given his physical strength, it was almost impossible for him to fall ill.

The Grand Wizard's expression turned strange. "I feel like I've forgotten something."

"It's probably just some trivial stuff. Go back to sleep and enjoy yourself."

At this moment, in all the illusory and real dream nodes, the surviving Pale Hand Wizard Apprentices all have a black and white light gate appearing in front of them.

It may lead to hope, or it may lead to death.

The wizards, already tormented, in pain, and on the verge of collapse, accepted it calmly and stepped into it without the slightest hesitation.