A voice appeared. “All right, Gandulf, we were just playing around.”
Gandulf didn’t speak a word. It was just for show. He wouldn’t leave because this year, he brought Lin Ming with him.
“It is dangerous inside. Mages die every year. So you must be careful,” a Sage Tier Mage said.
“Yes.” Several mages nodded.
“Open!” All Sage Tier Mages cast the spell at once. In an instant, a black hole appeared.
Gandulf looked at Lin Ming. “Go, now.”
“Okay,” Lin Ming nodded and entered the Juncture. The others followed. Lin Ming managed to sweep a glance at the other disciples. As expected, all of them were at the peak of Tier 7. Lin Ming, who was only a Tier 6 mage, naturally caught everyone’s attention.
Especially the Sage Tier Mages—they were slyboots. Though they knew Gandulf lacked interest, he’d never brought a Tier 6 mage before. Now that he did, it just proved how there was more than it met the eye. Plus, with Stupa acknowledging a new master, their imagination ran wild.
As the last of the disciples entered, the Sage Tier Mages cast their spells again. A few displays with each disciple hovered midair. Everyone fell into silence.
Inside the Juncture—
Lin Ming studied the surrounding pitch-black environment, a sense of oppression settling in. He discovered something—he could not absorb magic elements in this dimension. In other words, he could only use the magic available in his body. This place was a mage’s nightmare.
Lin Ming took out a bottle of recovery potion from his ring and tried to replenish his magic power. But it was no use either. He frowned and muttered, “A warning would’ve been nice, Master.”
Gandulf, who was outside the Juncture, face-palmed himself—he had forgotten. Though he was confident with Lin Ming, relying only on the magic in his body wasn’t the best choice for any battle.
Something clicked in Lin Ming. “Bai Han!” The Spirit Pool in Stupa. He could absorb the magic in the pool and be rid of his concern.
“Master!”
“Transfer the magic elements in the Spirit Pool into my body,” Lin Ming ordered.
Bai Han did not show himself because someone might be supervising Lin Ming. “Yes!” Following that, Lin Ming felt the magic elements in his body rapidly replenishing—his body was already full of magical elements, but taking precautions was better.
“Phew!” Lin Ming let out a sigh of relief and strode forward. As long as he had sufficient magic power, it wouldn’t be an issue.
Whoosh!
A flame appeared in Lin Ming’s hand, illuminating the darkness.
“Why does this place seem familiar?” Lin Ming looked around. There was a sense of déjà vu. Noticing a remote path, he stepped forward. Many withered bones were lying on the ground, signifying the number of mages who’d sacrificed here—this path was dangerous. Lin Ming revved up his alertness.
Hiss!
Sure enough, just as Lin Ming advanced another step, a giant python appeared. Its head was big enough to swallow Lin Ming in whole. It was when he finally realized the source of the dried bones.
“It’s of the dark element!” Dark element creatures were rare, and Lin Ming had a few encounters with them. He did not expect to meet a dark element magical beast in the Juncture. They had stronger physical and magic attacks than any same level beasts, their strikes poisoning and corrosive—they were a handful.
But this was only a reminder for Lin Ming to be extra careful. As for the Dark Python in front of him, it posed no threat to him at all.
“Dazzling Dragon Spell!” Lin Ming summoned—it should be enough. The spell emitted a blazing flame, engulfing the Dark Python. After it died down, not even its bone was left.
Outside the Juncture—
“Gandulf, your Tier 6 Mage is pretty good.” A Sage Tier Mage next to Gandulf spoke. He was a distant relative of the principal of the empire’s academy. He was informed in detail of everything that had happened during the competition in the secret realm. He could infer that the Tier 6 Mage was something or at least Stupa, the Summit of the Great Four, had fallen in the mage’s hands. In addition, Lin Ming’s attacks were swift and full of power. A Tier 6 Mage annihilating a Tier 8 Dark Python—he knew Lin Ming was a dark horse.
“Save it. We could have done it when we were Tier 6 now, couldn’t we?” Gandulf waved his hand. Tall trees catch much wind—he didn’t want his disciple caught in the middle of a storm. But there was only so much he could hide from the others. Of course, with Gandulf around, the other mages would not dare to act rashly.
Inside the Juncture—
Lin Ming continued to move forward. There were a few spiritual weapons on the ground, but they were already damaged. He brushed across them. Mages killed by the Dark Python wouldn’t have owned good weapons anyway.
He arrived at a cave. The water from the ceiling was dripping, giving off a creepy vibe. He gazed around and instantly understood his familiar feeling—he was in a tomb!
“The so-called Juncture was a tomb?” Lin Ming frowned and scanned his surrounding. “But it’s too small for a tomb.” It must be a part of the Juncture, similar to the first-floor secret realm of Stupa.
Screech!
A sudden attack hurled at Lin Ming. He activated the Fiery Curtain to block the attack.
