Chapter 56: Seeking Refuge

We've come this far.

Lin Ke naturally wasn't in a hurry to leave.

He rested briefly, then began a second practical drill.

It was still the combat environment set up before, only the attack pattern was reset.

This time Lin Ke didn't stay rooted in one spot; he moved around.

This undoubtedly increased the difficulty of casting, demanding extremely high spatial imagination, grasp of coordinate systems, and mental arithmetic from Lin Ke.

Even with the aid of the Brain Seal Technique and Fei Li Wu Si. Fu Li Wei's magical talent, Lin Ke still made two small mistakes.

Before the fifth wave of attacks ended, the water shield broke its seamless rhythm.

This forced Lin Ke to activate the levitation and acceleration functions of his rune boots, rather embarrassingly dodging the final arrow.

Having just dodged, the sixth wave of attacks arrived.

Lin Ke simply changed his tactic, keeping a water shield for defense and then meeting attack with attack, using Leaf Arrow Technique to intercept the incoming arrows mid-flight.

The result was self-evident.

Leaf Arrow Technique, not yet mastered, takes too long to cast—at least two seconds—and offers poor control, making it hard to adjust aim.

The interception naturally failed.

Fortunately, Lin Ke hadn't fully relied on the half-baked Leaf Arrow Technique.

The water shield met the arrow in time, and he suddenly surged forward, leaping far away.

The sixth wave of attacks was thus neutralized.

After two consecutive practical drills, Lin Ke had cast no fewer than ten spells, exhausting his mental and magical energy to a similar extent.

Thus it was clear his weakness lay in insufficient spell endurance.

But Lin Ke wasn't panicked.

As a First Grade Wizard Apprentice, Lin Ke's mental energy ranged from 17 to 30, allowing four to ten casts;

as a Second Grade Wizard Apprentice, his mental energy ranged from 31 to 75, allowing ten to twenty-five casts.

He had only just been promoted to Second Grade Wizard Apprentice not long ago; as his mental energy grows, his spell endurance will naturally improve.

Lin Ke cleared the training area.

After a period of rest, observation, and reflection, Mo Li prepared for another round of drills.

This time, Mo Li activated her rune boots as soon as she entered the field.

She still employed the strategy of evading when possible, and defending in place when evasion wasn't possible.

Compared to last time, Mo Li's performance improved greatly.

The first wave of attacks was completely dodged.

Only at the end of the second wave did Mo Li have to trigger the enchanted wristguard's qi shield.

As for the rune necklace around her snow-white neck, it was activated midway through the third wave.

The light shield's defense was strong, holding firm until the end of the fourth wave.

However, Lin Ke also spotted a fatal flaw.

While the light shield was active, Mo Li could not move.

If she moved, the shield would dissipate.

This sacrificed evasion ability to boost defense!

Although the practical drill ended early once again regrettably, Mo Li's mood was clearly better than before.

Having made progress, it meant she could still improve further.

"Lin Ke, we should come here often from now on!"

Walking to the spectator platform, Mo Li spoke enthusiastically, resembling a warmonger.

Mo Li hadn't forgotten her original intention upon enrolling in the Ruwo Si Si Biological and Medical College.

She still wanted to become a logistics and medical staffer, avoiding as much as possible intense frontline combat.

But En Li Ke's surprise attack made Mo Li deeply realize that many misfortunes are self-invited.

So, one may avoid being belligerent, but cannot lack the ability to fight.

These days, out in the world, even if one practices medicine to save lives, without some martial skill, how can one protect oneself?

Lin Ke replied nonchalantly: "Come two or three times a week, after finishing lab work."

"Sure, let's settle on that!"

Mo Li shouted loudly, raising her right hand and reaching out to Lin Ke, striking a pose for a high-five agreement.

"Childish."

Lin Ke had no interest in playing such childish games, and coldly refused.

However, Mo Li kept her right hand raised high, her left hand gripping the corner of Lin Ke's clothes, not letting him go.

Tugging and pulling, it was unseemly.

Lin Ke tugged at the corner of his clothing.

Mo Li refused to let go, staring fixedly at Lin Ke, her eyes watery, not pleading with tears, just gazing calmly.

Helpless, Lin Ke could only raise his right hand and lightly slap the right hand Mo Li kept raised.

Just going through the motions.

"Hmph."

Mo Li immediately lifted her chin, like a victorious general, marching ahead of Lin Ke with vigor and leaving the room.

Library, reading room.

Mo Li shed the excitement from the practical drill and plunged into a sea of materials.

Lin Ke sat on a chair, lowered his head and closed his eyes, spent some time doing light meditation to restore the mental and magical power he had consumed, then began reading the documents.

His recent extracurricular study task, aside from continuing to research false innate witchcraft, was to design a cross‑breeding experiment plan for the silver star flower seeds.

This required him to constantly use the Brain Seal Technique and the Hall of Memory to recall his past life's biological knowledge, then combine it with the wizard world's《Botany》and related documents, merging the strengths of both worlds' learning, discarding the dross, retaining the essence, taking the strengths and making up for weaknesses.

Anyway, no rush, take it slow.

The night grew darker.

The two left the library; Lin Ke first walked Mo Li home on his way, then returned to his own dormitory.

Lin Ke had just turned the corner of the stairwell when he discovered five figures blocking the door to his dormitory.

What's going on?

Lin Ke instantly entered a combat alert state, with Water Shield Technique and Thorn Entanglement at the ready, and his Law‑breaking Sleeve also aimed forward.

The five outside heard the footsteps and all turned around.

Lin Ke then realized they were the five brothers of Five Grade Aptitude.

However, the five brothers were in a miserable state—each with a bruised nose and swollen face, having been beaten into looking like pig heads.

"What happened to you?"

Lin Ke remained wary and asked.

"Boss, we've been bullied!"

The five brothers cried out in unison, "Please, boss, vindicate us!"

???

A row of question marks flew over Lin Ke's head.

There's no subordinate relationship between us, right?

"Speak clearly."

Lin Ke raised his right hand, stopping the five brothers who were about to rush forward.

"Boss, the president of the Newblood Mutual Aid Society is no good; hearing that we were close to you, they dragged us in and repeatedly interrogated us about matters concerning you. After questioning, they even took out their anger on us, giving us a severe beating."

The brothers' spokesperson, who had been beaten the worst, spoke with wind leaking from the corners of his mouth.

"Tell the truth!"

Lin Ke didn't believe this obvious nonsense at all, and immediately shouted in a cold voice.

The brothers exchanged glances several times, hesitating repeatedly.

Finally, the spokesperson, who didn't even merit a name, stammered: "The president found out that we had framed Vice President Lifusi for the Magic Stone."

Having said that, the spokesperson shouted: "Boss, although someone secretly advised us to come seek refuge with you, please believe our sincerity in seeking refuge with you!"

"Sorry, I don't take on lackeys, and I don't have the ability to do so."

Lin Ke coldly refused.

He went around the brothers, headed straight to his dormitory, and with a bang, shut the door.

The brothers were turned away at the door.

Thanks for the tip from reader Eouning, thank you!

(End of chapter)