The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

The chilling killing intent, like a tangible needle, sent a shiver down Luo Wei's spine! The sword energy hidden in the shadows was faster than sight could perceive, and it reached him almost the instant he sensed the danger!

There was no way to avoid it! Even blocking wasn't enough!

On the brink of life and death, Lowe reacted almost instinctively. He didn't try to turn around or defend himself—that would be too slow. Instead, he shoved his left hand, which was supporting Barton, towards a rocky depression to his side, while simultaneously unleashing a surge of condensed starlight from his right palm onto the ground!

"Astral Projection - Lateral Shift!"

Whoosh! His body blurred for a split second at the last moment, shifting half a foot to the right! It was this insignificant half foot that allowed the deadly sword energy to graz his left rib, leaving a trail of blood and blasting a deep crater into the ground where he had been standing!

A sharp pain shot through his left ribs, but a chill ran down Luo Wei's spine. Not because of the injury, but because of the force and angle of the sword strike! The attacker was definitely a full-fledged wizard-level assassin! And a master of assassination techniques; if it weren't for the powerful spatial teleportation enhancement granted by his newly acquired astral projection, he would have been completely unable to dodge it!

"Huh?" A slight surprised voice came from the shadows, seemingly not expecting that Luo Wei could dodge this fatal blow.

Using the momentum, Luo Wei rolled away, instantly creating distance between himself and Barton to avoid being targeted simultaneously. His Star Domain Perception locked onto the direction of the sword energy's origin, and his hands already sketched the initial form of a "Starlight Shield" rune. He shouted sharply, "Who?!"

There was no answer. Only a faster, ghostly black shadow flashed out from behind the rocks, a dull, lifeless short sword tracing an eerie arc as it aimed straight for Luo Wei's throat! The speed was even greater than before! The energy clinging to the blade was chilling and corrosive, far from ordinary shadow energy, but rather some kind of highly condensed death-attribute battle aura!

This guy isn't from the Discipline Tower! The Discipline Tower's enforcers mostly use the power of law, and their style is upright and honorable (even when used for killing), definitely not this kind of sinister and treacherous approach! Is he from another faction? Or... a hired assassin?

His mind raced, but Luo Wei didn't stop moving. He knew that a direct confrontation was futile; his only chance of survival lay in delaying and creating chaos!

"Starlight Shield!" A pale silver shield instantly formed, blocking his path. At the same time, his footwork shifted, and he once again used "Faint Light Concealment," making his figure elusive.

With a hiss, the Death Short Sword easily tore through the hastily formed Starlight Shield, but Rowe had already used the force to retreat. At the same time, he flicked his right hand, and a "Starlight Ray" was not shot at the assassin, but at a huge boulder suspended above and to the side of the assassin!

The assassin was clearly taken aback by Rowe's attack on the environment instead of him, and his movements faltered slightly. In that instant, the boulder crashed down, smashing towards the assassin's head. While it couldn't injure him, it successfully blocked his vision and pursuit route.

"Explosive Flame, activate!" Without hesitation, Rowe activated the amulet given to him by Barton! This was his strongest attack at the moment!

boom!!!!

A massive fireball exploded in the narrow valley, sending scorching flames and shockwaves sweeping in all directions! The instant Rowe activated the amulet, he once again used Astral Projection, flashing to Barton's side and erecting the strongest starlight shield to protect the two of them.

As the flames subsided, the valley was a scene of devastation. The assassin appeared a dozen meters away, his clothes charred and torn, looking somewhat disheveled, but clearly not seriously injured; he had only been momentarily slowed by the sudden, powerful attack. His gaze towards Luo Wei was filled with icy killing intent and a hint of seriousness. Clearly, Luo Wei's unpredictable and unpredictable methods and decisive responses had made him abandon his initial contempt.

"You must die." The assassin spoke for the first time, his voice hoarse and dry, like the friction of metal.

Luo Wei's heart sank to the bottom. His Exploding Flame Amulet was his greatest trump card, yet it had only lightly injured his opponent. His star power was greatly depleted, his opponent's strength far surpassed his own, and Barton was severely injured and unable to move. The situation was extremely critical!

Just as the assassin was about to launch another thunderous attack—

"In the name of nature, let us entwine!"

A clear and urgent female voice suddenly rang out from above the valley! Immediately afterward, countless thick, thorny, dark green vines burst forth from the ground, wrapping around the assassin's legs as if they were alive! The vines shimmered with a faint natural light, and were exceptionally resilient!

At the same time, several points of cold light shot towards the assassin's face and vital points from another direction, with extremely fast speed and tricky angles!

There are reinforcements?! Luo Wei was stunned, but his star field perception instantly detected that familiar energy fluctuation—it was Lina! And… that precise and strange attack method was Lilith's specially made alchemical crossbow bolts!

The assassin clearly hadn't expected an ambush. Caught off guard, he was temporarily trapped by the vines and used his short sword to parry the crossbow bolts, producing a series of clanging sounds.

opportunity!

Although Luo Wei didn't know why Lilith and Lina were there, the opportunity was fleeting! He mustered his last bit of star power, his eyes flashing with starlight, and clasped his hands together in front of his chest. Instantly, a complex and ancient star rune—the "Imprisonment" rune—condensed! This was the rune he could currently use, the one that consumed the most energy but also the one he had the most control over!

"Starlight: Seal of Imprisonment!"

A beam of silver light shot out from the center of the rune, not as an attack, but as a massive cubic cage made of starlight, instantly enveloping the assassin who was struggling to break free of the vines! The cage shimmered with light, radiating a powerful spatial confinement force!

The assassin roared, unleashing his deathly aura. He slashed wildly with his short sword, causing the starlight cage to tremble violently, cracks appearing on its surface, on the verge of shattering! This confinement wouldn't hold him for long!

But that's enough time!

"Love! Over here!" Lina's voice came from above. Love saw Lina waving anxiously at him from the cliff on one side of the valley. Standing next to her was Lilith, who was holding a strange crossbow and had a pale face! Lilith was also holding several strangely colored potion bottles in her other hand.

Without hesitation, Lowe squeezed out the last bit of star power, picked up the heavily injured Barton, and used his last astral projection to transform into a stream of light and rush towards the cliff!

The moment he left his spot, the Starlight Cage shattered! The assassin broke free, his murderous aura soaring to the heavens! But Luo Wei and his two companions had already disappeared into a hidden cave entrance on the cliff.

"Chase!" the assassin coldly ordered (he was clearly not alone), his figure shooting towards the cliff like lightning.

However, as they rushed to the cave entrance, a soft yet incredibly resilient emerald-green light barrier blocked their path. It was a natural barrier set up by Lina! At the same time, several smoke bombs emitting a strong, pungent odor exploded at the cave entrance, obscuring their vision and even interfering with their senses.

"Damn nature wizards and alchemists!" the assassin cursed under his breath, slashing with his short sword. The barrier fluctuated violently, but it was difficult to break through in a short time.

……

Inside the narrow cave behind the cliff, Rowe gently laid Barton down, then collapsed to the ground, panting heavily. Blood gushed from the wound on his left rib, his star power completely depleted. Lilith immediately stepped forward, expertly examining their injuries and applying a special hemostatic ointment to Rowe.

"Lina, maintain the barrier! They can't get in for now!" Lilith spoke rapidly, her hands moving non-stop.

"How did you two get here?" Luo Wei looked at the two people who suddenly appeared, surprised and delighted, but mostly puzzled.

While maintaining the barrier, Lina quickly explained, "It's Annie! The librarian Annie! She risked her life to spread the word that the Discipline Tower was in chaos, and a mysterious 'Scavenger' squad had been sent to hunt down you failures or destabilizing elements of the 'Tracing the Source Project'! We were worried about you, so we followed the direction Barton might have fled and the vague clues Annie provided, and came all the way here! Fortunately, Lina's plants can sense faint natural auras and residual energy, which is how we found this valley, just in time to witness your attack!"

The Cleaners Squad! A failed manhunt! A chill ran down Luo Wei's spine. The Discipline Tower was indeed determined to wipe them out! And they sent out these professional assassins!

"How is the academy doing now?" Luo Wei asked the question he was most concerned about.

After treating her wounds, Lilith solemnly took out a small crystal and handed it to Luo Wei: "These are some fragments that Lina and I secretly recorded with a recording crystal before we escaped... Take a look."

Luo Wei took the crystal and infused it with his spiritual power. A series of chilling images flashed before his eyes:

The once solemn Darkmoon Academy is now half-ruined. The massive Tower of Slumber has completely collapsed, leaving only a bottomless crater emanating dense black mist. Within the crater, a colossal, writhing dark shadow can be vaguely seen—a fragment of the Abyssal Demon! Above the academy, golden light and dark energy collide violently. Elder Anderson and several powerful members of the Discipline Tower are engaged in a fierce battle with the demon, but are clearly at a disadvantage. Chaos reigns throughout the academy; students scatter and flee, shadow creatures rage, and small groups of Discipline Tower enforcers are "maintaining order," but in reality, they are eliminating dissidents or capturing specific targets…

At the end of the scene, in a secluded corner, Lilith and Lina reunite with several other panicked apprentices, then blow up a passage and escape the academy in the chaos.

"The academy... is finished." Lilith's voice was low, tinged with a sob. "Master Walter, to cover our escape, was... was swept away by the tentacles of that demonic figure... his fate is unknown. When we escaped, most of the academy was already under the control of the Shadow and the Discipline Tower. Annie said that Elder Anderson might not hold out much longer either..."

Despite having anticipated it, witnessing the academy's devastation still filled Lowe with a suffocating grief and rage. Master Walter, his familiar mentors, and countless innocent students…

"We have to get out of here. 'The Cleaners' won't give up." Lowe forced himself to calm down. "Do you know where it's safe?"

Lilith shook her head: "There's chaos everywhere outside. The power of the Discipline Tower, the minions of the Abyss, and the fallen and monsters taking advantage of the chaos... There's no place that's absolutely safe." She looked at Rowe, "But Annie also slipped this to me when she delivered the message." She took out an extremely tiny metal tube sealed with a special potion.

Lowe took the paper, carefully opened it, and inside was a thin, translucent strip of paper with several lines of small writing on it in a complex code. Lowe recognized this code from Carlson's notes! He immediately focused his attention on deciphering it.

A moment later, he looked up, his eyes filled with shock and disbelief!

The information on the note is:

"The Cleaners were assigned by the remnants of Kasper's party. Their objective is to eliminate all those who know about the 'Origin Project' and any potential threats."

"The Anderson faction has been defeated, and the elders are imprisoned in the 'Lawful Words Prison'."

"The Shadow is a projection of the 'Eye of the Abyss,' whose power is corrupting the present world, seeking the complete opening of the 'Gate.'"

"The Key to Stars is the key, and it is also the hope."

"To break the deadlock, seek the 'Stargazer's Relics,' where the truth of the 'Door' lies hidden."

"Be careful... Elena... she might... not be dead..."

The amount of information is enormous! It not only explains the reason for the pursuit and points out the origin and purpose of the Abyss Demon, but also gives a clear next step: the "Stargazer's Ruins"! And the final hint that Master Elena may not be dead is even more chilling!

The source of this information... How could Annie, a trainee administrator, possibly know such core secrets? Who exactly is she?

"Is Annie... alright?" Lowe suppressed the turmoil in his heart and asked.

Lilith's expression darkened: "I don't know... After she gave me the things, she told us to leave quickly because she had to go back... saying she had things to do. After that... I haven't heard from her since."

Lowe remained silent. Anne's identity was definitely not simple; she risked her life to deliver this information, and her kindness was immense.

Just then, a violent tremor came from the barrier at the cave entrance, and cracks spread! The assassins outside were attacking with all their might!

"The barrier won't last much longer!" Lina exclaimed anxiously.

Rowe looked at the heavily injured Barton, then at the exhausted Lilith and Lina, and finally at the Star Key in his palm. Pursuers were closing in, there was no way back, the academy had fallen, the world was collapsing… but they were still alive, they still had each other, and they still possessed the Star Key and the clues to the “Stargazer’s Relics.”

Even in dire straits, hope remains.

He took a deep breath, his eyes regaining their sharpness and determination.

"Let's go to the 'Stargazers' Site'!"