Dark Wizard: Rise! My undead army!

Lynn stared at the boy without saying a word, thinking that there must be something wrong with the little boy's mind.

Any mortal with a modicum of sense would dare to belittle a wizard like that.

Moreover, they attempted to occupy the moral high ground to criticize him and use morality to blackmail him.

Unfortunately... he lacks morals and doesn't like being kidnapped...

Seeing that he remained silent, the little boy assumed he had been persuaded and turned to shout at the onlookers:

"Everyone, be the judge! What's wrong with him, such a powerful wizard, taking me as his apprentice? I'm in such a miserable state, and he doesn't care at all. Doesn't he have any compassion?!"

The onlookers seemed to sense the change in atmosphere and silently took a few steps back, afraid of getting into trouble later.

Even the aunt who had just spoken up for him remained silent, her eyes filled with pity as she looked at the little boy.

Someone muttered quietly, "Is this kid stupid...?"

The people next to him quickly pulled him away: "Don't talk, let's go, let's go."

The little boy called out to everyone, but found that no one echoed him.

Those watching either lowered their heads, pretended not to hear, or simply turned and left.

He stood there, stunned, his expression shifting from self-righteousness to embarrassment, and then from embarrassment to guilt.

Things shouldn't have turned out this way. Shouldn't they have joined me in condemning the heartless wizard?

They're so timid. If they had half my courage, this would have been a success.

They even said they would repay them when they became wizards, but it seems they are a bunch of good-for-nothings.

Seeing that no one was responding and that his performance was going to be canceled, the little boy decided to give up.

"Well... since you're unwilling to accept me as your disciple, fine, I won't become your apprentice, okay?"

He got up from the ground, brushed the dirt off his knees, and turned to leave.

"stop."

Lynn's voice wasn't loud, but the little boy seemed frozen in place.

A sudden surge of hope welled up in his heart.

Have they changed their minds?

It must be my words that moved him!

These important people care about their image. They might say no, but deep down they're already moved!

The little boy thought he had seen through Lynn's thoughts. He quickly turned around, his face full of smiles, and knelt down again with a thud, bowing his head in worship.

"Master! Master, please accept my bow!"

He slammed his head against the ground with a loud thud.

Lynn looked down at him, a slight smile playing on her lips.

The smile sent a chill down the little boy's spine, but he didn't have time to think—he felt a hand press down on his head.

This made the little boy even more excited. He suddenly remembered the story the storyteller had told him when he was begging at the teahouse entrance.

Seeing that the protagonist possessed the qualities of an emperor, a reclusive master eagerly transferred all his life's skills to him, just to hear him say "Master!"

Hmm... what was that saying again?

"An immortal touched my head, granting me eternal life!"

Come on! I'm ready!

Send me everything you have!

Master!!!

The thought had barely crossed his mind when he suddenly felt something was wrong.

The hand didn't convey the warmth I had imagined; instead, it was icy cold.

An invisible force drilled in from the top of my head, like countless needles piercing my brain.

"ah--!"

He opened his mouth as if to call out, but no sound came out.

He struggled desperately, kicking his arms and legs wildly, but his body wouldn't obey him.

He wanted to run, but his knees felt like they were nailed to the ground and he couldn't move an inch.

"What's going on?!"

"What is he doing?!"

"Let me go! Let me go!"

He screamed inwardly, but the person holding his head down didn't react at all.

His consciousness began to fade.

The scene before me was like a faded painting, gradually turning gray and white.

He tried to turn his head to see the person's face, but his neck wouldn't turn.

He wanted to cry, but no tears came out.

In the end, all he saw was his own shadow on the ground.

The shadow is slowly fading.

His own body had been reduced to charred remains...

As the little boy was instantly incinerated by countless bolts of lightning, the people around him screamed in terror.

"Murder!"

"Run!"

"Help! The wizard has killed someone!"

The crowd dispersed in a flurry.

Vegetable vendors dropped their loads, and stall owners, forgetting to pack up, pushed and shouted as they ran in all directions.

A fat man tripped and scrambled forward, losing one of his shoes in the process, but he didn't dare turn back to pick it up.

The apprentice guarding the entrance to the teleportation hall, who had been watching the commotion, was so frightened by Lynn's soul-snatching and corpse-whipping that he covered his mouth tightly and dared not utter a sound.

He was simply curious; it was quite unusual to see a fully-fledged wizard being pestered by a child on the street.

If the little boy successfully becomes an apprentice, that would be quite an achievement.

He even thought that he could brag to the other brothers on duty later that he had personally witnessed a formal wizard being stopped by a passerby to become his disciple.

Then he saw that hand...

Lynn placed her hand on the little boy's head.

The moment that hand was raised, a hazy, gray shadow was forcibly pulled out of the little boy's body.

The apprentice's pupils suddenly contracted.

That is the soul.

His soul was actually extracted!

The blurry figure retained the shape of a little boy, its limbs flailing wildly in the air, its mouth wide open, but unable to utter a sound.

Its face was contorted with terror and confusion, clearly not understanding what had happened.

Then... he saw a dark flame ignite at Lynn's fingertips, and that flame spread along his soul, quickly enveloping it completely.

His soul trembled violently, twisting and struggling wildly in an attempt to escape the black flames.

But he failed...

The soul let out a silent scream, a painful wail.

The apprentices could "hear" the wailing at the level of the soul, sharp and piercing, stabbing straight into their brains.

Finally, its soul became increasingly transparent under the scorching flames, and its spirit shrank smaller and smaller until it completely disappeared without a trace...

Lynn withdrew his hand, and the wisp of soul had completely dissipated, leaving not even a trace.

The little boy's charred, fragrant body fell to the ground, shattered into pieces.

With Lynn's help, he was reunited with his parents.

Another good deed done...

Lynn glanced down.

He turned and walked towards the teleportation hall.

When the apprentice saw him coming, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

"S-Sir..."

Lynn didn't look at him, walked right past him, and stepped onto the teleportation array.

The apprentice finally scrambled to the control panel, his hands trembling so badly he could barely press the right rune.

He kept his head down, not daring to look at Lynn, only glancing at the boots out of the corner of his eye.

"Sir, may I ask for your destination...?"

"The North, the city closest to the permafrost."

The apprentice was taken aback.

Why would this gentleman go to such a harsh and cold place instead of those bustling big cities?

But having learned from past mistakes, he didn't dare ask too many questions. He quickly found the coordinates and frantically made adjustments.

The teleportation array lit up, and a white light engulfed Lynn's figure.

After the light faded, only the apprentice lying paralyzed on the ground remained in the teleportation hall, and the small, gradually crumbling corpse outside the hall.

The apprentice was panting heavily, his whole body drenched in sweat as if he had been pulled out of the water.

He took a while to recover before shakily getting up and glancing outside the hall.

The streets remained deserted.

The stalls were still there, with vegetables scattered all over the ground.

The body lay face down in the middle of the road, and there wasn't a single person around to approach it.

The city's law enforcement officers must have received the news, but they didn't dare utter a sound, leaving the little boy's body to rot in the wilderness, let alone holding the wizard accountable.

It wasn't until much later that an old man cleaning up the trash shakily stepped forward, loaded the charcoal onto a cart, and pulled it towards the mass grave outside the city.