"Are you sure they're gone?"
Looking at the skeletal ghost beside him, which was much more transparent than before entering the spatial rift, Pading-Green, shrouded in a black robe, cautiously inquired.
"Hiss—"
After quickly checking the surroundings in the shadows, the skeletal ghost answered his question with a hiss that only Pading-Green could understand.
"It seems that group of White Wizard Apprentices is indeed different from my dear old classmates; they don't have the bad habit of ambushing people... cough cough."
Accompanied by a violent cough, a piece of flesh mixed with black contaminated blood was spat out from Pading-Green's mouth.
"This spatial storm was much stronger than the last one; it even managed to break through your ghost protection... But luckily, the harvest wasn't bad... cough cough cough cough!"
Another series of coughs, this time, a large mouthful of contaminated blood sprayed directly from Pading-Green's mouth, landing on the grass in front and emitting a sizzling corrosive sound.
"I didn't expect the contamination to be this severe... If I don't go back soon, I'm afraid I'll mutate on the spot."
Wiping away the contaminated blood from the corner of his mouth, as a dark ghostly light flashed from the magic staff in Pading-Green's hand, the skeletal ghost beside him immediately opened its gaping maw and swallowed the short figure next to it whole.
"Let's go."
"Hiss—"
The soul shadow flowed like water, merging into the shade of the trees.
In a few leaps, Pading-Green, hidden within the ghost, quietly departed in the opposite direction from Jia Na and the others...
...
"Afu, purify the contamination on them."
"Yes, Master."
After more than an hour of preparation, the group's magic power finally recovered somewhat. And the Celestial Sparrow, which had recovered from its semi-conscious state, was once again summoned by Jia Na from the Spirit World.
"Caw—"
A clear cry sounded from the Celestial Sparrow's mouth, and dense Purification Light burst forth like flowing water from the white jadeite atop its head.
As the light grew stronger, contamination attachments as dense as spider silk continuously seeped out from the few people. Even the black fuzz on Richard-Eva's hand began to fall off in large patches, and in just a few breaths, it returned to normal.
"As Suoluo described, the effect of purifying contamination like this is indeed much better than Purification potions."
Looking at his body that had returned to normal, Richard-Eva couldn't help but sincerely praise.
"This level of contamination already has a tendency to infect the soul. Normally, to completely cure it, it would be absolutely impossible to eradicate it as thoroughly as now without more than three bottles of Purification potions..."
Luo - Yinhu, whose contamination was also removed by the Purification Light, was equally shocked when he realized that the sense of impurity within him had truly been completely eliminated in such a short time.
Although he was not good at speaking and had little interaction with the people around him, he could feel from this cooperation that this teammate, whose strength he had not initially highly recognized, had refreshed his understanding of First-Level Wizard Apprentices.
Or, more precisely, it refreshed his understanding of "wild geniuses" who did not come from Wizard families.
"Back then, you questioned why I wanted to bring a First-Level Wizard Apprentice into the association. How about it, this invitation of mine wasn't wasted, right?"
"Indeed not."
Hearing Suo Luo-Lie Yan point it out, Richard-Eva wasn't embarrassed. After all, when he learned that Suo Luo-Lie Yan was planning to invite a First-Level Wizard Apprentice who wasn't from a family background, he wasn't the only one who was skeptical. But fortunately, the talent wasn't lost, and the opportunity wasn't missed.
"It seems that from now on, we'll have to appropriately lower the entry threshold for the association each year, otherwise, letting go of the next talent like Jia Na wouldn't be good."
Listening to the praises from left and right, Jia Na, whose heart had long been calm in such situations, did not overly humble herself, but merely smiled and stroked the Celestial Sparrow that had flown back onto her shoulder, occasionally responding with a nod so that the other party's words of praise wouldn't fall flat and add to the disappointment.
"Alright, it's getting late, everyone has been on the go for over ten hours since last night and is tired, it's time to go back and rest earlier."
Seeing that everyone had recovered sufficiently, Richard-Eva looked at the sky which was nearing dusk and no longer delayed, reorganizing everyone to return the way they came.
"Luo, when we go back, I'll have to trouble you to continue casting illusions."
"No problem."
Cuckoo—Cuckoo—
Just like when they came, after stepping into the range of the high tower's barrier, the fog in the forest was significantly denser than within the valley. Accompanied by the faint cries of cuckoos, the four people, who had long since formed a tacit understanding, quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest under the cover of the invisibility illusion...
...
"Apprentices, present your proof—"
The sun set in the west, and the mist was thin.
Accompanied by the cold moonlight, after Jia Na and the others passed through the misty illusion array outside the academy, the Human-faced Willow guarding the entrance of White Coral Academy appeared before everyone.
Seeing this, the few people skillfully took out the mist branches carved with their names, and after passing the identity verification, without any hindrance, the group passed through the narrow tree path and finally returned to the academy.
"At this time, the library should also be closed, let's part ways here."
Having said that, a total of forty-four source energy fragments were taken out by Richard-Eva from his interdimensional spatial ring.
"Along the way, everyone has had more or less some consumption, and there aren't many people here, so let's discuss among ourselves and distribute the spoils here."
"No problem."
It was already evening, and even the library was closed at this time, so there were no apprentices on campus.
The four people finally found a relatively quiet corner, and after quickly confirming the distribution plan, Jia Na took her share of the spoils and returned to the dormitory building feeling tired.
"Miss Jia Na, why are you back so late this time? Your most loyal butler has been eagerly awaiting your return day and night..."
"You've worked hard, Door Spirit, you should also rest early."
"Ah, I'm not tired, I'm not tired at all..."
Nodding, she no longer paid attention to the chattering Door Spirit in the door frame, and gently pushed open the door. A feeling of overwhelming fatigue reached its peak the moment Jia Na returned to her dormitory.
"Cleanse Anew—"
Cast cleansing spell, undress, and wash up.
Looking at the mechanical clock on the wall already pointing to nine o'clock at night, Jia Na was so tired that she couldn't even bother to sort out the spoils and simply collapsed onto the mahogany bed.
"This trip really wore me out..."
"Indeed, a qualified Wizard, while enhancing mental power, must also not neglect the strengthening of physical constitution..."
Feeling her eyelids growing heavier, Jia Na finally gritted her teeth and sat cross-legged on the bed again.
"Today's meditation still has to be done..."