Chapter 121

The morning of the Black Fog Jungle was always filled with a bit of gloom, sporadic sunlight passing through the thick fog, plating the ancient buildings with a hazy layer of gold.

At dawn, Luo En stood on the workshop terrace, looking out at the morning glow of the Black Fog Jungle.

The morning breeze gently brushed his cheeks; he could clearly feel the huge changes that had occurred in himself.

The powerful strength of a Bloodline Knight flowed within his body, and among Chimera's four consciousness cores, the dragon head representing the Crimson Blood Flying Dragon was continuously pumping scorching blood into his heart.

Three days had passed since he completed the bloodline activation ritual; during this time, he had been adapting to the changes brought by the Chimera bloodline, as well as the Crimson Blood Flying Dragon ability successfully replicated by the first consciousness core.

Now, he could control the generation and retraction of dragon scales as he pleased, and could even form a thin layer of scale armor in the deep layers of his skin without attracting attention, which could provide protection without being noticed by outsiders.

"Time is up." Luo En said to himself, finally tidying up the brand-new dark gray robe on his body.

This was something he had specially prepared for today; compared to the light gray of ordinary low-level apprentices, the color of this robe was deeper, symbolizing the upcoming change in status.

Ailan stood at the door, holding a small wooden box in her hand.

"Master, this is a gift I prepared for you." She carefully handed the wooden box to Luo En.

Luo En took the wooden box and opened it gently; inside was an exquisite brooch, the shape being the outline of a green leaf, with a tiny red gemstone embedded in the center, shimmering with warm light in the morning sun.

"I made it using one of my own leaves and a red crystal left over from the potions you refined."

Ailan's vines swayed gently: "I hope it can bring you good luck."

Luo En was somewhat surprised; he hadn't expected Ailan to prepare such a thoughtful gift for him.

He carefully pinned the brooch to his robe, the position exactly over his heart.

"Thank you, Ailan; this is the best gift." Luo En said sincerely, a warm current surging in his heart.

Leaving the workshop, Luo En walked along the stone path toward the Central Tower.

Today, the Black Fog Jungle was exceptionally quiet, sunlight passing through the gaps between leaves, casting mottled light and shadow on the ground.

Walking on the road, Luo En's thoughts couldn't help but drift to his recent achievements.

【Bloodline Knight】 had been successfully taken as a profession; in fact, through the attribute increase produced by the second breakthrough, he already possessed the basic conditions to take on several other professions.

"【Demon Hunter】 requires Constitution 2.5, now it is 2.7; 【Magic Swordsman】 requires Constitution 2.5 and Spirit 2.0, now both of these have exceeded that."

Luo En calculated in his heart:

"But regarding how to perform magical beast organ suturing and 'Magic Sword Creation,' I am not very familiar; I need to go to the library to find relevant materials."

This advancement to 【Bloodline Knight】 also gave him an important revelation: using the linkage effect between professions to create a positive cycle of attribute growth.

He could first take on branches with relatively simple conditions, then use the attribute increase obtained after taking the profession to take on other branch professions with higher attribute requirements.

This snowball-style development strategy would allow him to make significant progress on all extraordinary paths.

"After advancing to an intermediate apprentice and entering the candidate wizard sequence, I will be able to obtain higher permissions and find more detailed information about these professions."

Luo En muttered in his heart, light of expectation shimmering in his eyes.

Passing through a quiet garden, the Central Tower was right before his eyes.

This ancient building towering into the clouds was the central landmark of the Black Fog Jungle and also the most important administrative center of the school; various important certifications and rituals were held here.

Because he arrived early enough, there were only a few people queuing in front of the duty desk; a duty officer naturally wouldn't just handle apprentice certifications; they also needed to handle various miscellaneous tasks.

Luo En queued at the end of the line, waiting patiently.

An older male apprentice in front was actually also undergoing certification; judging from his nervous expression, this seemed to be another attempt after many previous ones.

When it was Luo En's turn, he walked up calmly and handed over his low-level apprentice badge and various supporting documents to the duty officer.

"What business are you here for?" An intermediate apprentice dressed neatly asked, a polite but distant expression on his face.

"I am here for the official certification of an intermediate apprentice, and by the way, I am applying to enter the candidate wizard sequence; I have already met the requirements for entering the sequence."

Luo En answered calmly, taking out the joint recommendation letter prepared for him after communicating with Eric and Lia, as well as last week's test transcript.

In addition to spiritual power needing to meet regulations, other comprehensive abilities related to spell construction also needed to meet requirements for intermediate apprentices, and these transcripts were the best proof.

The duty officer examined the documents, his eyebrows raising slightly:

"Skipping grades to take third-phase courses directly? And recommended by Master Eric personally?"

"Yes." Luo En maintained a humble posture: "I have had the honor of being appreciated by the two high-level apprentices, Eric and Lia."

Hearing this, the other party used the alchemy items on the table to confirm with their superiors before nodding to Luo En:

"Involving the candidate wizard sequence, my duty permission cannot handle it; please follow me to the dedicated certification room."

The duty officer led Luo En through the hall and into a deep corridor.

Countless statues were placed on both sides of the corridor, each lifelike, as if they could wake up at any moment.

Luo En noticed that these statues included some creatures with bizarre forms, some of which were even difficult to identify as to what race they were.

"These are important figures in wizard history."

Noticing Luo En's gaze, the duty officer explained:

"Not just humans; any race, as long as they have achieved something on the wizard path, can leave their mark here."

Finally, they arrived before a door inlaid with blue gemstones.

The duty officer knocked on the door three times gently, then stepped back: "The certification officer is inside; good luck."

"Thank you." Luo En nodded in thanks, took a deep breath, and pushed open the heavy gemstone door.

The interior of the room was unexpectedly simple, without gorgeous decorations or complex ritual equipment, only an ancient oak table and a few chairs.

Sitting behind the table was a middle-aged man with a serious temperament, his gray-white hair neatly combed back, his face full of the vicissitudes left by time.

Judging from the powerful magic fluctuation hidden within him, it was clear he was an official wizard.

It seemed the school indeed attached great importance to these wizard seeds, actually having a dedicated official wizard responsible for this matter.

"Good morning, young man." The certification officer looked up, a flash of scrutiny in his eyes:

"I am Solon Griffith, one of the certification officers for the school's candidate wizard sequence; are you here for intermediate apprentice certification?"

"Yes, Lord Griffith." Luo En answered respectfully, handing over the documents:

"I am Luo En Ralph, a professional Potion Master."

Solon took the documents and read them carefully, his eyebrows furrowing and smoothing from time to time.

"Interesting." He finally spoke, his gaze fixed on Luo En:

"You have been a low-level apprentice for less than half a year, right? And now you want to become an intermediate apprentice?"

"Yes, sir." Luo En responded calmly.

"Under normal circumstances, it takes at least three to five years to go from a low-level to an intermediate apprentice."

Solon's voice carried obvious suspicion: "Your speed is a bit too fast."

This was exactly the questioning Luo En had anticipated.

He nodded gently, his voice humble yet firm: "I understand your doubts, Lord Griffith. In fact, this is related to my special talent."

Solon raised an eyebrow: "Special talent?"

"Yes, I possess a special talent known as 'Potion-Body Resonance'."

Luo En explained cautiously: "This enables me to absorb potion effects more efficiently, especially those potions used to enhance spiritual power."

Solon's gaze became sharp:

"'Potion-Body Resonance'... it is indeed a second-tier talent recorded in the 'Collection of Special Talents'; how did you discover you possessed this talent?"

"Initially, I just noticed that potions had a stronger effect on me than on my peers; later, I did some comparative experiments with friends around me, and only then did I gradually confirm this matter."

Luo En answered unhurriedly, neither overemphasizing nor being overly humble; the professional Potion Master level he currently demonstrated was the best endorsement.

"Interesting, very interesting." Solon tapped the table gently, seemingly thinking about something:

"This indeed explains why you could achieve such accomplishments in potion studies, but the speed of spiritual power improvement is also so fast; this is still surprising."

Solon pondered for a moment and stood up: "Regardless, we need to conduct a formal test; follow me."

He led Luo En through several corridors to a room shrouded in a magic force field.

In the center of the room was a huge crystal, standing there like a mirror.

"This is the 'Star Mirror,' capable of directly reflecting a person's spiritual power intensity and quality."

Solon explained: "Please stand before the crystal and concentrate your spiritual power."

Luo En nodded and walked to the crystal.

He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, concentrated his attention on his spiritual core, and then slowly released a stream of spiritual power, guiding it to flow toward the Star Mirror.

The crystal immediately lit up with azure light, countless star-like light spots appearing inside; they swam and gathered like living things, eventually forming a bright ball of light.

"3.6-degree spiritual power intensity..." Solon's voice carried undisguised surprise:

"This has already far exceeded the entry standard for intermediate apprentices, and the quality is quite pure, without obvious chaotic fluctuations."

He observed the ball of light in the crystal for a while longer, confirming there were no abnormalities, before signaling Luo En to stop the test.

"Proceed with one more spell construction test." Solon took a special crystal board from a cabinet nearby:

"Please construct a triple-layered spell model on this and maintain it for at least one minute."

Luo En nodded, took the crystal board, and concentrated his spirit again.

This was exactly the content he had repeatedly practiced in Eric's course, and for him, it was already quite proficient.

His spiritual power flowed into the crystal board, beginning to construct a complex three-layered ring structure.

With the blessing of the "Stable State" trait, the spell model he constructed was exceptionally stable; the three energy rings overlapped perfectly, forming a harmonious and unified whole.

"Excellent control." Solon nodded in praise:

"This level of stability is difficult to achieve even for some seasoned intermediate apprentices."

The test ended in praise, and Solon led Luo En back to the initial room, signing his name on the certification document.

"Congratulations, Luo En Ralph; you are now officially an intermediate apprentice of the Black Fog School and also a member of the candidate wizard sequence."

Solon handed a light blue apprentice badge to Luo En: "This is your new badge, representing your status and position."

Luo En carefully took the badge, feeling a faint magic fluctuation coming from it.

This badge was not only a symbol of status but also a simple magic storage device, capable of providing a small amount of extra magic in emergencies.

"Thank you, Lord Griffith." Luo En bowed politely in thanks.

(End of chapter)