Chinese professors at the Wizarding Academy

Gu Chen's gentle smile remained unchanged, but his eyes were now filled with frost. He gently ruffled Jim's hair.

"Jim, close your eyes and count to thirty."

"No matter what you hear, don't open your eyes or move. This is the teacher's test."

"Teacher, you, me, your body...!"

Gu Chen spoke gently, and Jim felt a sense of warmth, but at the same time, he also felt a sense of tension as if a storm was brewing.

The teacher's body is still bleeding... What does the teacher want to do?

Is he going out?

It's dangerous outside!

"Shh..."

Gu Chen squatted down, raised his finger to silence, narrowed his eyes, and revealed a faint smile.

"It's okay, just wait patiently."

Jim was terrified; his hands were trembling, and he felt like a sapling being battered by a storm. He wanted to ask why, and he vaguely guessed what Teacher Gu Chen was planning to do…

But his trust in the teacher outweighed everything else; since the teacher told him to close his eyes, he would just have to do as he was told.

The teacher has never harmed him; the teacher is very reliable.

So Jim trembled and forced his eyes shut. He began to count softly, his voice faint, but clearly audible in the quiet morning:

"one two three……"

The moment Jim closed his eyes, Gu Chen moved.

"You all deserve to die..."

Although he wore a smile, he could hardly contain his anger.

Some people become as ferocious as wild beasts when they are angry, while others become so cowardly that they dare not face anything when they are angry.

Gu Chen is different. He has experienced many complicated things. Sometimes his anger must be hidden, but that doesn’t mean he should suffer in vain.

Instead, it's about not letting anger cloud your clear thinking; otherwise, anger won't provide strength, but rather make you foolish...

Gu Chen took a light step out of the private room, then closed the door. Dark golden magical light began to emanate from his right arm, the "Grip of Life and Death".

The forces of life and death are intertwined there. Although he has not yet developed a spell that can be used for the Grip of Life and Death, simply attaching the Soul-Eating Death Aura to his magical link, even just a touch, is enough to give anyone who gets on it a hard time.

"...Wizards are not allowed to fight in the cafeteria, Instructor Gu Chen."

"I know."

Seemingly sensing the change in the magic, the waiter slid out.

The voice reached Gu Chen's heart directly. The slippery tentacles moved on the ground without any magical fluctuations, but the ability to project one's thoughts directly into one's heart was already a very straightforward threat to a mind-based magical beast.

Although the words used to inform you were polite, the translation is:

"Go outside and fight."

Gu Chen smiled, took out four magic stone fragments, and threw them to the waiter.

"A glass of Black Forest Yesterday's Kiss, a piece of Shadowmoon Grey Wolf hind leg, a glass of Blood Craft Beer, and a piece of Redhoof Deer Steak."

"Okay, Lecturer Gu Chen, but you'll have to wait a while. It's too early now; I need to prepare the dishes."

The waiter asked politely, but the voice that reached Gu Chen's mind seemed to carry a hint of confusion.

"It's okay, you do yours, I'll eat later."

What does this lecturer want to do?

Want to replenish your energy before the battle?

Although both Blood Brew and Redhoofed Deer Steak can significantly enhance a Blood Wizard's combat abilities, both dishes are essentially made from the essence of magical beasts, which can increase a Blood Wizard's mana regeneration speed, enhance blood circulation speed, conversion speed, and so on...

But why eat it later?

Shouldn't we finish eating first?

"Keep cooking the vegetables, it's fine."

"It will be packed up in a bit."

Gu Chen left a message and continued walking towards the cafeteria door.

Just as Gu Chen was about to step out the door, he suddenly stopped and raised his bleeding left hand. The bloodstains, which seemed to have been casually scattered on the inside of the cafeteria door, now seemed to come alive, faintly glowing red.

Outside the door, two discreet gazes were fixed on the curtain of the private room, waiting for Gu Chen to bring Jim out and step into their pre-arranged encirclement.

As soon as they come out, they will take action and kill the two mission targets!

But they will never live to see that moment.

Gu Chen took a step forward, and the instant he stepped out of the cafeteria, he suddenly clenched his left hand, palm up!

"Blood extraction!"

As he silently chanted in his heart, the inconspicuous pool of blood outside the door suddenly boiled!

The magic link has been quietly in action for a while now. Although fighting is not allowed in the cafeteria, that doesn't mean we can't put the magic link up beforehand, right?

In an instant, the two people lying in ambush outside the door transformed into countless evil flowers blooming in hell!

Their blood gushed from the ground and from the shadows of the door frame!

"Pfft! Pfft—!"

All of this happened so fast, so fast that it was impossible to react!

"Ugh!"

"Wh...what is that?!"

Two short, piercing screams rang out almost simultaneously, then abruptly stopped!

The two enemies responsible for keeping watch had no time to make any effective defense or evasion.

After being enhanced by the Stargazing Technique, Gu Chen's magical connection could completely bypass the mental probing of a typical first-ring wizard. After all, mental power doesn't scan the surrounding environment every moment, and there will always be omissions.

Just as the two outside the door relaxed their guard, the magical connection, like a venomous snake in the shadows, had already quietly crept up to their feet and backs.

Their protective magic was full of flaws in Gu Chen's eyes, as fragile as a piece of paper against the blood magic optimized by the analysis points!

Both of their eyes were wide open, filled with terror and disbelief. They had bled to death and turned into two dried-up corpses.

Chin, chest cavity, abdomen... not even a single drop of blood remained.

Their mouths were open, but no sound came out. At first, a few drops of blood foam came out, but now there was none left. Their bodies twitched a few times and then fell silent.

The entire process, from casting to completion, takes no more than three seconds.

Gu Chen felt the new blood surging through his body. Just as he had discovered, these two were nothing more than ordinary mid-stage first-level cultivators.

"For a family, the consecutive deaths of four mid-level first-ring wizards, while not a major loss, are still a very serious blow."

"From the initial trip to the Black Forest to this ambush and pursuit... Joebeck has shown absolutely no intention of letting me live."

It was quiet at the entrance of the cafeteria; it was too early, and no one had come yet.

Gu Chen's expression was indifferent.

Not a drop of blood was left at the entrance of the cafeteria, as if nothing had happened, except for the two dried corpses that appeared for some reason.

As for what to do with this dried corpse?

No need to do anything. As long as they aren't caught red-handed by the school's skinning puppets, they can be killed without consequence.

After doing all this, Gu Chen walked lightly back to the cafeteria, then found the private room where Jim was staying and gently pushed it open.

"...!"

Although Jim didn't say a word, judging from the extent of his trembling, he realized someone had entered and was terrified.

Gu Chen said softly:

"Alright, Jim, you can open your eyes now."

Jim cautiously opened his eyes a crack, as if nothing had happened.

For some reason, there was still a faint smell of blood in the air.

"Teacher... what was that sound just now?"

Jim asked timidly, having just clearly heard two screams.

"It's nothing."

Gu Chen's tone returned to calm.

"Two annoying flies have gotten stuck in the spider web and are now quiet."

Then he took Jim's hand.

"Let's go, let's leave here first. We can't go back to the cabin for now, we need a new place to stay."

"Hey, Instructor Gu Chen, your food!"

As the waiter saw Gu Chen about to leave, although he was shaped like a giant octopus, the voice that reached Gu Chen's mind clearly carried surprise!

Two mid-level first-ring wizards, who had been lying in ambush for a long time, were killed as easily as chickens by a low-level first-ring wizard!

"You did it so fast..."

Gu Chen actually wanted to wait a little longer, because cooking takes time, but in the end, it only took a few seconds. Not only was he killed by the assassin, but the cook had also finished cooking.

He turned to look at the giant octopus, which raised its dozen or so tentacles as if to signal something.

"Bon Voyage."

"Your cooking skills are quite good."

After saying goodbye, Gu Chen took Jim's hand in one hand and carried the takeout box in the other, and left the cafeteria.

Gu Chen did not return to the cabin. The reason was simple: the other side had far too many spies and had planted traps and people everywhere. It was clear that they intended to kill him.

Going back to the cabin now, who knows, if you open the door, you might get hit in the face with some kind of magical bomb.

So he took Jim and headed straight for the more chaotic and mixed "Abandoned Experiment Zone" on the outskirts of the academy, where there were many unused old warehouses and half-collapsed buildings, making it an ideal hiding place.

After a short journey, they arrived at the abandoned testing area.

Gu Chen stopped in front of a relatively intact old warehouse with a wide view. He used his mental power to scan it repeatedly to confirm that it was safe before leading Jim inside.

The warehouse was filled with discarded experimental equipment and broken furniture, covered in dust. Gu Chen found a relatively clean corner and let Jim sit down to rest.

Only then did he gently exhale a breath of stale air.

"It's time to take a break..."

Magic will recover over time, but the mind needs rest.

So much has happened in the last two days that his brain has been under constant pressure.

Gu Chen activated the Star Gazing Technique, using meditation to clear his mind of unnecessary thoughts. At the same time, the dark golden arm on his right shoulder was also glowing faintly, radiating gentle life energy and slowly repairing his body's fatigue.

"Teacher, your arm..."

Jim looked at his teacher's right arm, which he had never seen before, bleeding profusely but then automatically stopping and healing, and couldn't help but ask.

Gu Chen looked at his right hand and casually moved his fingers.

Jim was somewhat relieved that the joints were very flexible.

"This is the teacher's new power, called 'The Grip of Life and Death.' It can make the teacher stronger, but it also gives the teacher a very important task."

He looked at Jim, his expression serious.

"Jim, the next few days will be dangerous and tough. Are you scared?"

Jim looked into the teacher's earnest eyes and shook his head vigorously: "I'm not afraid! With the teacher here, I'm not afraid!"

Gu Chen felt a warmth in his heart, but also a greater sense of heaviness.

"Sigh... What a good kid, why did he have to go to the Gray Tower, why did he have to get involved in politics, and why is he so lacking in talent..."

"Why is it that I, a weak little blood wizard, am the only one they can rely on?"

"Am I truly worthy of being called 'teacher' all these times?"

Gu Chen took a barely perceptible breath.

"As a teacher, I must protect my students."

"very good."

Gu Chen banished his thoughts and nodded.

"Remember this feeling, Jim: fear is unavoidable, but don't let it control you."

"Now we need to take a break and conserve our energy."

These words were spoken not only to Jim, but also, in a sense, to Gu Chen himself.

He leaned against the wall, vigilantly monitoring his surroundings with his stargazing technique while quickly considering his next move.

A small portion of Joe Baker's henchmen have been removed, but this is definitely just the beginning.

The other side will soon discover that the assassin sent to keep watch has gone missing, and then they will find that the Black Forest assassin has also gone missing.

Considering that Jim is probably 90% to 100% involved in the politics of the Kingdom of Lorian, and Antinoya is even more powerful, killing a few ordinary wizards is probably not very useful. The next ones will only be more difficult to deal with.

Sunk costs are hard to bear, but when the sunk costs, no matter how high, can no longer exceed the cost of failure, things become extremely troublesome.

The other side will definitely go all out to kill Jim and Gu Chen, who is involved in the incident.

"That's not all... I owe people favors and I still have work to do in order to survive in the Black Forest."

Yes, aside from the imminent meeting with Jobeck and the hunting party, he only has ten days to complete Ysera's mission.

Time is passing by, second by second.

I must take immediate action.

"Hey, it's time to use you, bald guy."

If Gu Chen wants to solve the problem at hand, he undoubtedly needs a reliable helper, an eye that can provide vision and warning in the dark.

He thought of Ken.

That high-ranking mind wizard with the talent of "freedom and betrayal" and a mental strength of 500.

They were connected by a master-disciple contract, though it was weak, but Gu Chen could roughly sense Ken's location and condition.

Ken seems to have had no position change lately. Could he really be tanking?

Gu Chen attempted to send a brief, peaceful thought to Ken through the connection of the contract: "Return."

Almost simultaneously, on the other side of the college, Ken, who was lying in his dormitory enjoying his hearty breakfast of fried eggs and sausages, stiffened slightly.

He felt that familiar, slightly forceful call.