Chapter 255: Another Primal Wizard

Lei Lei Nuozi took a light sip of the seaweed wine, a specialty of the Glass Archipelago.

The purple-black liquid swirled in the goblet, refracting the light of the crystal lamp, like a trapped starry sky.

He swirled the goblet, his gaze deep, as if deciding where to start answering Luo En's doubts.

"The situation in the Central Lands is far more complex than what is recorded in books."

"On the surface, it is governed by an alliance of schools, but in reality, undercurrents are surging, and the struggle for power has never stopped; they have just changed into more sophisticated masks."

Luo En nodded slightly, though he didn't believe it entirely, silently evaluating the truthfulness of what the other party said.

The subtle fluctuation in Lei Lei Nuozi's tone was not intentional concealment, but a compression of complex facts.

Clearly, he was trying to simplify an intricate system.

"First, you need to understand the Truth Court."

The man's voice was a bit strained, as if worried about being heard by some invisible ears:

"It transcends all systems, like an invisible overseer perched at the top of the wizarding world."

He glanced around to confirm no one was paying attention before continuing:

"The Truth Court is composed of the most powerful Great Wizards and those few Great Ones, possessing final decision-making power, but they rarely appear.

Unless a major crisis affecting the survival of the entire wizarding world occurs, they are as distant and indifferent as those existences perched high in the clouds in ancient myths."

"Like an experimenter observing the ecology of microorganisms in a petri dish?"

Luo En proposed an analogy he felt was quite appropriate.

"Your analogy is surprisingly accurate."

Lei Lei Nuozi was a bit surprised, then smiled:

"So, let's talk specifically about what's below the Truth Court; it's mainly an alliance composed of several large schools. Among them, the status of the Crystal Spire is almost at a gap-level."

Speaking of this, he pressed the "automatic serving" button and silently set up an isolation array.

"Is the gap really as wide as the rumors say?"

Luo En raised an eyebrow, reviewing the scattered information he had collected in his mind.

"Even more than the rumors." Lei Lei Nuozi said in a deep voice, his tone revealing a subtle awe:

"Other large schools have at most one or two Great Wizards, while the Crystal Spire has four Great Wizards publicly known, not to mention those reclusive ones who are in seclusion and do not ask about world affairs."

He picked up his wine glass and swirled it gently, the purple-black liquid leaving sticky traces on the glass wall:

"It sounds like a simple numerical difference, but in the wizarding world, this means an insurmountable chasm.

You should have learned about the ecological chain of abyss creatures, right?

There is often an insurmountable strength gap between the top predators and the predators at the next level—the gap between Great Wizards is even greater."

Luo En nodded thoughtfully, which coincided with his preliminary judgment on the distribution of power in the wizarding world.

The "Consciousness Library" in his mind automatically integrated the new information, constructing a clearer power structure map.

In this map, the Crystal Spire undoubtedly occupied the most prominent position, like the brightest star in the night sky.

"The Crystal Spire's status today is inseparable from its core force—the Wang Guan Clan."

Lei Lei Nuozi continued, awe and subtle dissatisfaction intertwined in his eyes:

"Especially the current person in charge—Great Wizard Cassandra. She is a Great Wizard who was newly promoted within the Wang Guan Clan in the last hundred years and is also the current Tower Master of the Crystal Spire.

Under her rule, the power of the Crystal Spire has reached its peak in nearly a thousand years."

"Cassandra..."

Luo En repeated the name softly, searching for relevant information in the Consciousness Library.

He remembered a brief mention in the footnotes, but the content was sparse.

A subtle light flashed in Lei Lei Nuozi's eyes, reminding him:

"She is also a Primal Wizard who was promoted through the True Path."

Luo En looked up instantly, his eyes as sharp as a sword.

Wizards promoted through the Primal Path were already rare, and those who could successfully be promoted to Great Wizards without dying halfway were even rarer.

"Thank you, Wizard Lei Lei Nuozi, for telling me such key news."

Lei Lei Nuozi waved his hand dismissively:

"In the wizarding circle of the Central Lands, this is not a secret. Tower Master Cassandra herself never avoids talking about this point, and is even quite proud of it."

He took a sip of wine and continued:

"Although Tower Master Cassandra has not been promoted to Great Wizard for a particularly long time, her strength is surprisingly powerful, and she can even rank among the best in the same tier, which is the fundamental reason why she can become the Tower Master of this generation."

The two fell into a brief silence, and the tentacles of the automatic serving system delivered a new dish at this time—"Grasp of the Deep Sea."

It was a piece of deep-sea fish meat treated with special spells, shaped like a grasping palm, covered with a crystal-clear blue sauce, emitting an enticing aroma.

Luo En poked the fish meat lightly with a silver fork, surprised to find that it immediately reacted like a biological organism, contracting slightly, like real muscle tissue.

This reminded him of those semi-active alchemical materials, which also maintained some biological characteristics but had been stripped of their autonomous consciousness.

"Try it."

Lei Lei Nuozi suggested casually:

"Consuming it can temporarily enhance tactile sensitivity, which is helpful for spellcasting precision. This can also be considered one of the specialties of the Glass Archipelago; the fish is specially treated immediately after being caught alive, retaining the most primitive ocean energy."

Luo En cut off a small piece and put it in his mouth; the fish meat melted on the tip of his tongue, releasing layers of delicious taste.

At the same time, a subtle numbness spread from his mouth to his whole body, as if every nerve ending had been awakened, becoming abnormally sensitive.

He could clearly feel every tiny magic fluctuation in the air, and even the molecular structure of the wine in his glass.

"Quite exquisite cooking technique; it should have used some extraordinary means."

Luo En commented, while analyzing the principle of this sensory enhancement effect in his heart:

"It retains part of the activity of the fish's nervous system while re-weaving it into a sensory enhancement network serving the consumer; the technique is quite exquisite."

"Back to our topic."

Lei Lei Nuozi waited for Luo En to adapt to the new sensory state and nodded, continuing:

"How much do you know about the difference between school wizards and free wizards?"

Luo En pondered slightly, quickly sorting out his relevant knowledge:

"In the Black Fog School, 'freedom' seems to be a concept that is taken for granted but rarely discussed by anyone.

We are taught that after becoming an official wizard, everyone has the right to choose their own path.

But considering the principle of resource allocation in the extraordinary world, I guess there should be some invisible constraints in reality?"

"You are indeed a keen observer." A glimmer of appreciation flashed in Lei Lei Nuozi's eyes:

"In fact, almost all schools will induce apprentices to sign various contracts, but the means and the harshness of the restrictions vary."

His voice became deeper, carrying a warning tone of someone who had been through it:

"In most cases, these contracts require serving the school for decades after becoming an official wizard, the length of which depends on the school's investment in your training and your potential assessment.

This type of contract is relatively fair; after all, the school did provide resources and guidance."

A glimmer of sharpness flashed in Lei Lei Nuozi's eyes, and his voice lowered:

"But if the school particularly values an apprentice's potential, or conversely, thinks it is difficult for him to break through to the Moon-Sun level, it may use various means to trick him into signing a lifetime mandatory contract.

The former is to permanently bind rare talent, while the latter is to obtain long-term cheap labor. The fate of these two types of people is often not very good."

Luo En nodded slightly; this system design was completely logical.

The essence of the wizarding world is an extremely elite society with power as the core, and the allocation of resources must follow the principle of maximizing efficiency.

Under this system, contract constraints are both a means to protect the school's return on investment and a necessary measure to control the flow of power.

"What about your own experience, Wizard Lei Lei Nuozi?"

Luo En asked directly; such questions were not offensive among wizards.

After all, the contract period was an unavoidable part of every wizard's career.

"After being promoted to Morning Star level, I served my school, 'Elemental Garden', for thirty-three years."

Lei Lei Nuozi replied, his tone carrying a hint of subtle complex emotion, as if nostalgic and relieved:

"Mainly responsible for the research and teaching of elemental fusion theory, as well as regular surveys in some abyss edge areas. It wasn't particularly arduous, but it couldn't be called easy."

His eyes became bright:

"Only in recent years did I gain liberation, become a free man, and start my abyss exploration that I am truly interested in.

Since then, every exploration has yielded fruitful results, and now I am not far from reaching the peak of the Morning Star level, which is considered quite fast progress among wizards of the same period."

"It sounds like contracts cannot be terminated in advance?"

Luo En keenly grasped the key point, while calculating possible options in his heart.

If he eventually chose to join a school, understanding the flexibility of contracts was obviously crucial.

"Of course there are exceptions."

Lei Lei Nuozi nodded, his fingers sliding unconsciously along the rim of the glass, making a faint humming sound:

"Major meritorious service, special contributions, or having a sufficiently powerful person to guarantee for you, all may gain the opportunity to terminate the contract in advance.

There is another way, which is to pay a sufficient price to buy out the contract directly.

This is theoretically applicable to contracts of any level, but in actual operation, the ransom for high-level contracts is often shockingly high, and almost no one can afford it."

While they were talking, a dish called "Star Sea Platter" was served on the table.

On the plate were seven deep-sea creatures with strange shapes, like a miniature ecosystem carefully arranged.

Some would emit faint fluorescence intermittently, and some could change color according to the observation angle.

Others seemed to maintain some simple autonomous movement, looking like both food and a living work of art.

"You seem to know a lot about abyss creatures."

Lei Lei Nuozi changed the subject as if unintentionally, his voice carrying a hint of probing:

"The method you mentioned earlier for dealing with multiple bloodline rejection was not even detailed in the 'Abyss Mutation Atlas' I have consulted."

Luo En's heart moved, understanding that the other party was indirectly mentioning the transaction in the Silent Market.

This was both a probe and a paving for the subsequent conversation.

"I have always had a special interest in biology and bloodline theory."

He responded calmly, neither overemphasizing his expertise nor deliberately avoiding it:

"During my time at the Black Fog School, I was fortunate enough to come into contact with some physical samples and conducted some research on their physiological structure and adaptation mechanisms."

Lei Lei Nuozi coughed lightly, and his words became more direct:

"To be honest, Wizard Ralph, the reason I am so polite and courteous to you is because I value your potential and hope to establish friendship and some cooperative relations with you."

Luo En did not show surprise, just waiting for the other party to continue.

Although Lei Lei Nuozi's candor surprised him a little, this direct attitude was in line with the interaction norms among official wizards.

No unnecessary concealment, only necessary reservation.

"A Primal Wizard promoted through the True Path has magic fluctuations completely different from the conventional path."

Lei Lei Nuozi's gaze fell on the wizard emblem on Luo En's chest, where a circle of almost imperceptible golden light surrounded the small violin pattern that shimmered with eerie black light:

"The golden rim on your magic emblem is one of the signs; this feature is difficult to forge and cannot be concealed."

Luo En looked down at his emblem and indeed noticed the faint golden halo.

When he was at the Black Fog School, acquaintances like Hayek and Solon never wore emblems, making him lack a comparison reference and never noticed this detail.

"As you can see, some of my peculiarities indeed cannot be completely hidden."

Lei Lei Nuozi shook his head:

"In the Central Lands, hiding strength is the most stupid behavior.

There is no habit of hiding one's light here; only by showing true strength can one gain the respect and equal treatment of other wizards.

There is an essential gap between official wizards and apprentices, and ordinary extraordinary people.

And as a seed for a Great Wizard, a Primal Wizard will naturally receive special courtesy—this is the most basic rule in a world where strength is king."

His explanation made Luo En's heart move slightly.

"Speaking of Primal Wizards..."

Lei Lei Nuozi took a sip of wine, his tone suddenly becoming distant:

"Before you burst onto the scene, the one the entire wizarding world most hoped could successfully be promoted through the True Path was actually the only daughter modulated by Great Wizard Cassandra through special means."

"Only daughter?" He was slightly surprised.

Based on his understanding of wizard physiology, existences at the Great Wizard level had almost completely transcended the scope of conventional living organisms and it was difficult to reproduce offspring through normal means.

A glimmer of curiosity flashed in Luo En's eyes; he put down his tableware and listened intently.

This kind of internal information about the Great Wizard level was extremely precious, far exceeding the content recorded in general classics.

"The gestation of that girl's embryo took Great Wizard Cassandra a full fifty years."

Lei Lei Nuozi's tone carried an awe that could not be concealed:

"It is said that she invested hundreds of rare materials and countless energy, and even contributed part of her own Void Skeleton structure, just to create the perfect successor—an existence congenitally compatible with the True Path."

Luo En's heartbeat accelerated involuntarily.

This kind of transformation of the essence of life far exceeded the scope of conventional bloodline modulation and had already touched the deep mystery of life creation, which was exactly one of the core areas he had been researching.

"What was the result?" He controlled his voice to make it sound like ordinary curiosity.

Lei Lei Nuozi sighed and shook his head:

"The result was a heartbreaking paradox. Her talent was indeed beyond imagination—it is said that she possessed high-intensity magic close to an intermediate apprentice at birth, and had amazing understanding of various extraordinary knowledge.

But it was precisely this overly powerful talent, coupled with the magic-rich environment of the Central Lands, that led to a very rare 'Magic Devouring' symptom."

"Magic Devouring..." Luo En repeated in a low voice, his brow furrowed.

He had seen this term in some residual pages, but the records were extremely fragmented and mostly of a warning nature, lacking specific descriptions.

"Simply put, the growth rate of magic in the body far exceeds the limit that the body and spirit can bear."

Lei Lei Nuozi explained, his voice full of regret:

"It's like a bottle with limited capacity being poured with liquid that never stops, eventually inevitably overflowing and destroying the container itself.

Magic begins to uncontrollably erode the body and spirit, leading to various unpredictable mutations."

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 256 =====