Physical mage, challenge me to a solo duel!

William Sturker, carrying his new black suitcase, ran down the stairs of the emergency exit, whispering into his earphones as he spoke:

"Let me make it clear beforehand, my task is simply to bring the magic box in and then take it out; that doesn't include killing anyone."

Now that the floating bridge has been successfully opened, the area around the Blue Top Plaza Building is definitely the most watched place in the entire Lanling City.

Even if this incident is later judged to be a normal accident during the opening of the pontoon bridge passage, given the way the Chinese government operates, all the nearby surveillance footage will definitely be reviewed several times.

His identity might be revealed then.

Next, he would need to consider how to deal with the relevant authorities afterward, especially the possible checks by the Night Watch.

After all, he had changed his identity and entered the country under a false pretense.

These things alone are already a problem.

Fortunately, these things were relatively easy for him to fudge, after all, he had a prominent status and had not done anything illegal or criminal in China. He was just traveling incognito, which was plausible.

The appearance of the floating bridge passage had nothing to do with him; he just happened to be there and was unlucky enough to encounter it, just like everyone else in the Blue Dome Square.

Moreover, this is beyond doubt, since there is currently no technology in the world that can control the appearance of floating bridge channels.

Based on his public status, William would at most be politely escorted out of the country.

Therefore, murder is absolutely impossible.

Even if William could kill Yun Xian in the blink of an eye, according to Locard's law of exchange of matter, as long as he takes action, there is a probability of discovery.

If the Chinese authorities obtain conclusive evidence, given the restrictions and controls placed on mages here, they might sentence him to death without considering his identity.

Even if the Norse Magic Association and Great Britain wanted to apply for his extradition, the Chinese government would certainly not agree.

William was unwilling to trade one life for one with this little guy on the Book of Life and Death; his life was far more precious than anyone else's.

"Killing is the judge's main task; there's no need to use you." Bian Cheng didn't care, as he was already one of the lower-ranking people on the Book of Life and Death. "Besides, in China, killing also requires assassins to carry it out, and your loyalty to the underworld isn't enough."

Upon hearing Bian Cheng's words, William cried out in protest, "How could that be? I am absolutely loyal to the Underworld! It's just that there are priorities. I need to take the Magic Box out of China right now. That's the more important task. It's not worth it to expose the Underworld's plan for the sake of a minor character."

Bian Cheng scoffed, too lazy to refute.

William joined the underworld solely to gain power.

He completed the task assigned by the underworld, and the underworld granted him the magic he desired.

It's all about exchanging benefits; there's no loyalty to speak of.

Although that's the truth, and everyone knows it, William can't just admit it outright.

Even if you join some kind of dark and evil organization that is against humanity, the organization's structure is still made up of humans.

Since that's the case, human relationships and social interactions are inevitable.

William knew that if he couldn't even be bothered with appearances, he wouldn't be able to climb the ranks in any organization.

Those who fail to climb to the top become cannon fodder who can be discarded at will, and are utterly detached from core interests.

Whoosh!

A silver-white heavy gun shattered the thick bulletproof glass window, carrying warm blood as it shot directly into the blue-roofed building, embedding itself deeply into the wall of the emergency exit.

A few drops of blood were flung off by the twisted, trembling gun barrel, splattering onto the walls and the ground.

William raised his hand to wipe away a drop of blood that had been splashed on his face, breaking out in a cold sweat.

If the heavy spear had been at a slightly higher angle, it might have pierced right through his body.

He was completely unprepared.

"Coincidence? Or intentional?"

William's face instantly darkened. He strode to the broken window and looked out through the shattered pane.

Suddenly, a second wave of magical beasts appeared, and they were none other than the troublesome flying magical beast, the Snow Goose.

That winged mid-level mage, whose name seems to be Wang Yi, is currently traversing the air at lightning speed, flashing and chasing after a flock of magical snow geese, slaughtering them.

He was covered in a blue protective shield that crisscrossed in a cross shape. Then, with a loud roar, he took advantage of Xueyan's slight stiffness and swung his halberd to cleave Xueyan's body in two.

Furthermore, he would occasionally retrieve heavy spears from the void, swing his arm and throw them, piercing the heads of the distant demonic beasts, the Snow Geese.

Because of its immense power, the heavy spear continued its momentum even after piercing Xueyan's body. The spear, after passing through Xueyan, shattered the glass of the Blue Dome Building and finally landed beside William.

"It seems to be an accident." William glanced at Wang Yi in the sky and made his judgment.

Xueyan's corpse kept falling, like a rain of magical beasts.

William's gaze followed Xueyan's body as it fell, and then fell upon Yunxian, whose name was listed in the Book of Life and Death in the square.

His body was surrounded by a vortex shield, and he was constantly releasing fire tornadoes out of the spatial rift to suppress the endless stream of snow geese trying to break out, so as to buy time for Wang Yi to kill all the snow geese that had already broken out and prevent them from flying too far away and causing casualties.

"Divine Grade Golden Body, Azure Ring, Azure Feather Wind Wings, Sharpness, Void Realm, Space Exchange, Roar of Power..." William listed the magic on Wang Yi's body one by one.

Even in his opinion, these divine-grade magics were far too precious.

"Where did this kid get so much precious magic? Could his father be some kind of extraordinary being?"

"There's also the vortex shield on Yun Xian's body, and the Life's Cry she used before."

"A genius who can master three magic systems—medical, support, and spatial—how come I've never heard of such a genius before?"

"Are those guys in the British Intelligence Service all raised on shit?!"

William couldn't help but curse the incompetent officials of the National Intelligence Service a few times, then asked Bian Cheng with some doubt:

"How come such an outrageous guy's name is nowhere to be found in the Book of Life and Death?"

"Who told you that the names on the Book of Life and Death are for recording so-called genius mages?" Bian Cheng couldn't help but chuckle. "Your vision is only this limited."

"No?" William thought about it carefully.

Among the six top magic universities in China, it seems that very few of the famous magic geniuses in each graduating class have ever been listed in the Book of Life and Death.

Those ranked near the top of the Book of Life and Death are mostly elderly people in their fifties and sixties, as well as middle-aged people in their thirties and forties.

Behind them were some teenagers who were not very old, and even some children who had not reached the age of awakening.

William had assumed these people were all powerful, hidden extraordinary mages and promising magical geniuses, but now, judging from Bian Cheng's words, it was clear that strength and talent were not the criteria for being on the list.

"What exactly are the criteria for being listed in the Book of Life and Death?" William couldn't help but ask curiously.

After all, the underworld isn't some kind of assassin organization. The names on the Book of Life and Death can't possibly be a bounty list, right?

"You've asked a lot of questions today. Remember, the Void Realm isn't so easy to take. Quickly bring the Magic Box back. If you lose the Magic Box and the data, your fate will be a thousand times worse than you imagine." Bian Cheng sneered, then abruptly ended the communication.

"Fuck." After hearing Bian Cheng's threat and the call being disconnected, William couldn't help but curse.

Sure enough, spending too much time in the sewers will cause mental problems; people become unpredictable and moody.

William glanced at Wang Yi one last time, then decisively turned and left quickly.

After returning home, I'll have those useless idiots in the intelligence department thoroughly investigate this person's background.