After noon, the temperature in the secret realm began to slowly drop.
The apprentices were each busy with their own tasks, not disturbing each other.
An hour later, Ivan noticed that the dense network of runes underground had quietly vanished, as if it had never appeared before, and he could imagine the network quietly resurfacing the next day.
In his spare time, he tested his Combat Energy.
The penetrating characteristic of Combat Energy was related to some sort of wave, like a human-enhanced version of bat sonar, allowing his Combat Energy to penetrate some objects to “strike the cow beyond the mountain.”
After numerous attempts, he inadvertently discovered that he could attach his Combat Energy to the surface of a rapid wood silkworm’s body. The Combat Energy would resonate wonderfully with the Spring Bud inside the silkworm, allowing the Combat Energy to exist briefly even after the silkworm flew far away.
In fact, once the Great Knight’s Combat Energy left the body, it would decay over time and distance, which is why the Combat Energy Slash was most effective within a four to five-meter range.
Due to the resonance with the Spring Bud, the decay rate of the Combat Energy attached to the surface of the rapid wood silkworm slowed significantly.
“Buzz-buzz—”
The Silkworm Queen seemed dull, but it was actually the most intelligent of its clan. Sensing Ivan’s intentions, it issued rhythmic insect noises, striving to delay the decay of the Combat Energy.
Insect noises, Combat Energy, Spring Bud.
The three formed a special resonance that made Ivan’s eyes widen when he saw it.
This was indeed the key element he had been searching for, the key to allowing insects to possess the Breathing Method.
The Silkworm Queen had quietly brought him a surprise.
Eventually, the Combat Energy dissipated, and the Silkworm Queen, displeased, shook its tail and transformed back into a wood silkworm, settling in his palm.
“Well done.”
Ivan did not skimp on his praise and even rewarded the Silkworm Queen with some Green Mulberry Water.
“Buzz-buzz.”
The creature was happy.
This made the Silkworm Queen, oblivious to the broader implications, feel delightful.
Getting started was the hardest part, but having found the key element, Ivan believed he would soon be able to develop the Insect Breathing Method. He anticipated that the rapid wood silkworms would be able to grow strong through cultivation, enhancing his power.
It’s worth mentioning that as the Silkworm Queen’s strength increased, its ability to split and reproduce also significantly improved.
With the Silkworm Queen’s efforts, the number of rapid wood silkworms continued to grow. Excluding those that died unexpectedly, the entire clan had now exceeded four hundred.
Time passed, and the next day arrived in a flash.
Noon approached.
“What’s going on?”
Like the others, Ivan looked somewhat unwell and puzzled.
The temperature in the secret realm had not risen quickly to a suitable level as they had guessed, barely reaching the same level as the previous day.
Soon, water scalding bubble fruits began to emerge from the ground.
Without sparing a thought for the reason, Ivan started his effort to capture the water scalding bubble fruits.
Like the previous day, the newly emerged water scalding bubble fruits were still bright and hot, lovable yet infuriating, and Ivan collected them one by one into glass jars.
Half an hour later, the underground returned to silence, and the rune network concealed itself.
“As expected, the duration is shorter than yesterday, and the fruit density isn’t high either.”
He was prepared for this, but still felt somewhat let down, ending up with only nine portions today and a total of fourteen when combined with yesterday’s.
This was quite short of their targeted goal.
If the conditions remained the same for the remaining three days, many people might start harboring ulterior motives, as not all participants could go home empty-handed. At least one person would have to gather fifty portions to exchange for a vial of Aqua Alva.
With this in mind, Ivan glanced at his neighbor unintentionally.
Coincidentally, Jefferson also looked back at him. Their eyes met, sharing similar but slightly differing thoughts.
What the apprentices inside the secret realm didn’t know was that the sea surface was already undergoing dramatic changes.
The steeple at sea.
The ships around had already left, not returning for several days to pick up the people.
In the lowest level of the steeple, Sorcerer Pense spoke regretfully, “It’s such a pity, who could have predicted the sudden downpour? That the secret realm is still operational to this extent is already the result of our best efforts to maintain it.”
“It’s normal. Maritime weather is always unpredictable; there’s no certainty to it,” another wizard responded.
“We can only say that their luck isn’t very good. Hopefully, the weather will improve in the coming three days; otherwise, some chaos might arise inside, and at that point, let’s hope no one gets hurt,” Pense added.
“That’s how it should be.”
Outside, rain pattered against the steeple, creating a cacophony of sounds, while the sea roiled turbulently. As the rain continued to fall, the nearby sea level rose several meters continuously.
Inside the tower, several wizards were quite relaxed. They weren’t particularly concerned about the potential minor disputes that might occur within the secret realm; as long as no one died, everything else was considered a minor issue.
Pense added, “Sorcerer Bernardson, I heard that your academy sent a 5th Class talented apprentice this time. Does someone of his caliber really need to compete for the Aqua Alva?”
At that moment, next to the central column of the tower floated a particle light screen composed of energy particles. With a wave of his hand, the contents of the light screen changed, and Wayne’s image clearly emerged on it.
Bernardson remarked offhandedly, “Who knows what he’s thinking, I certainly don’t have a 5th Class talent.”
Wizard Hubick from the Black Reef Sanctuary said with a laugh, “Hahahaha, the thoughts of a genius are always bizarre, baffling to the mind, but experiencing it more can never be a bad thing.”
“That’s true,” Bernardson agreed.
Pense nodded slightly.
In their eyes, an apprentice with a 5th Class talent was almost guaranteed a position as a sorcerer, so naturally, they were treated differently.
Under Pense’s manipulation, the scenery within the particle light screen changed again, subtly revealing the entire interior of the secret realm.
It was a new day, with the sun shining brightly and the sea calm, a rare good weather day.
Within the secret realm, Ivan could feel the change in temperature, which kept rising as time passed, much hotter than the previous days; this was the correct way to activate it.
As noon approached, the temperature and humidity increased even further.
He was ready to spring into action, prepared for a big harvest.
‘Tick tock tick tock.’
Suddenly, sparse raindrops trickled down from above, with a suspicious hint of red within them.
It was rain mixed with human blood.
Ivan couldn’t help but look up, his pupils contracting. He saw something blood-red spreading rapidly across the runes array membrane above, and objects falling down. If he wasn’t mistaken, those were dismembered limbs and torsos.
“Damn it, making trouble at this time!” he cursed.
Just when the situation was favorable, another problem arose, and he was at a loss for words.
As Ivan felt discomfort, people above were experiencing a life or death crisis.
Time rewound to a few minutes earlier. Under Percy’s manipulation, a small vessel that had been lurking nearby took the opportunity to dash into an ocean current pillar, the collision nearly resulting in the vessel’s destruction and the crew’s death.
The pressure of the ocean currents inflicted unprecedented heavy blows on the narrow body of the vessel, causing it to compress inward continuously.
Especially in the middle and rear sections of the body, sudden indentations occurred in several places. Some people couldn’t dodge in time and were killed instantly.
Just as the entire vessel was about to be compressed into a tin sheet, Percy activated several backup measures at a crucial moment, causing the vessel’s body to plump up again. An extra layer of defensive membrane was added inside the cabin, and the small vessel successfully crashed into the ocean current.
However, after this compression and expansion, a breach appeared on one side of the vessel. The defensive membrane was slowly recovering, continuously letting in seawater and also expelling it, along with the people who had been crushed earlier.
The interior of the vessel was a complete mess.
“Flash Vortex Barrier, here I come,” Percy declared, standing at the front of the vessel, which had the strongest defenses. As for everything happening behind him, he chose to ignore it.
Hank felt miserable beside him, but he didn’t complain about anything. The risks had been made clear, and no one was to blame if someone died.
As the vessel followed the ocean current toward the secret realm, drawing ever closer, in mere seconds they would reach the area that bred the water scalding bubble fruits, items listed as forbidden by the official academies, now for their taking.
…
Inside the steeple,
The moment the disturbance occurred, the faces of the sorcerers could no longer maintain their composure.
They quickly understood the truth–someone was brazenly targeting the Flash Vortex Secret Realm. The enemy was riding the ocean currents, getting closer to the secret realm by the second. With the steeple a considerable distance from the secret realm, they could no longer intervene in time.
Pense coldly stated to the four others, “The Flash Vortex Secret Realm continually moves. Even we can’t precisely pin down its location. This situation indicates only one thing–an apprentice amongst us has acted as an insider, utilizing some method inside to connect with the outside.”
At that moment, there were five sorcerers present in the basement.
Hearing his analysis, the other sorcerers nodded slightly in agreement.
Bernardson cautioned, “Gentlemen, now is not the time to pursue this matter. Let’s think about how to handle it first.”
His words held truth; the incident had occurred, and the most pressing issue was to quell the disturbance, then slowly search for the mole afterward.
“Such a madman, just kill him outright.”
“Leave it to the apprentices. I trust in our academy’s students,” another suggested.
“Right, they are all potential sorcerer seeds. They shouldn’t find this matter challenging to handle. We should focus on ferreting out the insider. The academy can absolutely not allow such a person to exist.”
—-
The others spoke in turn, their words not lacking the coldness of winter’s bite. After a brief discussion, the sorcerers agreed on a plan of action.
In the center of the steeple, within the energy particles light screen, the scene changed rapidly, and soon, the screen showed the enemy entering the secret realm. Before even touching the ground, they had taken measures, throwing out an energy storage crystal.
The energy storage crystal collided first with the steeple they were approaching, ricocheting to the ground, emitting a thick, sinister smoke that enveloped the surrounding area.
Subsequently, one after another, individuals broke through the ocean current pillar, falling into the area shrouded in smoke.
Living creature puppets drank a special potion, beginning to undergo transformations—clearly the intruders’ preemptive measures.
Meanwhile, the apprentices, in whom the sorcerers had placed high hopes, stood in groups of twos and threes, all on guard and blocking the way of those causing the disturbance. Not far behind them was the center and heart of the secret realm. They did not act rashly but quietly awaited instructions.
“Give the command to the students,” someone suggested.
Seeing the students remain calm amidst chaos, the sorcerers were pleased. Urged on by Pense, the sorcerers from various academies issued new orders.