Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 102 Criticism and Lessons Learned

the other side.

After seeing off the distinguished guests who had been invited to attend the ceremony and lend their support, Peter Lionel and Soren Lucia also took notice of the public opinion storm on the "Rivoss Forum".

The two men, though well-informed, were still shocked by the debate that had split them into opposing sides.

"Is it possible to think about things this way?"

Peter Lionel looked at Soren Lucia and asked in confusion.

"Well……"

Since the age of 12, Soren Lucia, who had devoted herself to studying, practicing, researching, and fighting, could not answer.

He really doesn't understand women at all.

Even when satisfying physical desires, it's usually through a fierce battle with those witches who are also playful and have taken a liking to each other at first glance.

I've never truly understood a woman's inner world, and I have no idea what a woman's nature or aesthetic sense is.

At that moment, Soren Lucia noticed Sophie Lucia slumped in the corner, looking dejected and like a quail.

Her ranking within the family dropped another two places.

This is the second time she has lost a rating this year, and both times it's related to that despicable country bumpkin.

If this happens twice more, she'll be dropped from the family's training list.

"Sophie, come here."

Soren Lucia waved.

"Cousin, Wizard Peter, is there something you need me to do?"

Sophie Lucia mustered her spirits, walked over, and asked.

What's your opinion on this?

Soren Lucia handed the AI ​​to Sophie Lucia and asked a question.

After taking the AI ​​and browsing through the heated debate on the forum, Sophie Lucia understood what question her cousin had asked.

After a moment's hesitation, she mustered her courage and spoke her mind: "Cousin, Peter the Wizard, I also think it's quite difficult to find something on the market that really catches my eye and that I really like."

After a pause, Sophie Lucia gave an example, "Take my 'Defender 3202' suit, for instance. It has a built-in appearance-changing function, but no matter how I adjust it, it always looks drab and ordinary. Since it has an appearance-changing function, why can't it change to look prettier? I wouldn't wear this suit if it weren't for safety. It's awful!"

"So you women really do have this kind of mentality."

Peter Lionel sighed, then asked, "Why didn't anyone voice their opinions? It's only now that this has caused such a huge uproar. If you had spoken up for yourselves earlier, you wouldn't have had so few choices now."

Sophie Lucia said somewhat indignantly, "Why is no one giving feedback? Every year, many people do. It's just that nobody listens. Even many famous witch apothecaries and alchemists don't seem to have the awareness to design products from a woman's perspective."

"Why is that?"

Soren Lucia asked, puzzled.

Sophie Lucia hesitated for a moment, unable to answer the question.

Yes, why is that?

Sophie Lucia was completely baffled and couldn't figure out the answer to the question no matter how hard she tried.

"What's going on between you and Link Grand?"

Soren Lucia abruptly changed the subject and asked a question, catching Sophie Lucia completely off guard.

"No...nothing much, just a minor disagreement."

Sophie Lucia stammered her answer, feeling a little uneasy.

"A minor conflict? What conflict? Tell me in detail."

Soren Lucia adopted a questioning stance, her tone serious, and her expressionless face was quite intimidating.

"At once……"

Sophie Lucia had always held her cousin, who was considered the most outstanding member of the Lucia family in the last fifty years, in awe. Her voice trembled as she briefly recounted the two "papers".

After saying that, she felt indignant again, gritting her teeth and saying, "That country bumpkin is so petty! I just published that 'paper' about the impact of improved seed rates, and he immediately came up with a paper on hybrid breeding, which caused my 'paper' to drop in grade!"

A hint of disappointment flashed in Soren Lucia's eyes.

Surprisingly, even at this point, Sophie Lucia was still concerned about the rating of that "paper".

They really can't tell what's important.

"I'm very disappointed!"

He said indifferently, "You still haven't realized the importance of this issue!"

"what?"

Sophie Lucia sensed something was off about her cousin's tone, cautiously glanced up at him, then quickly lowered her head again. "Please instruct me, cousin."

"Even a lion knows to fight with all its might when hunting a rabbit."

Soren Lucia, somewhat exasperated, suppressed her disappointment and offered some pointers.

"Since you're bound to offend people when you do things, you need to consider the consequences and how to handle them."

If you can resolve a grudge, do your best to do so; if not, be wary of retaliation and even consider how to kill the other party.

Pointing to Sophie Lucia's eyes, Soren Lucia continued to offer guidance.

"Your vision is too short-sighted! Your attitude is too arrogant!"

If you don't adopt an arrogant attitude at the beginning and offer a reasonable price, none of the subsequent troubles will occur, and you will be able to monopolize any new germination method you fancy.

After that, since you've already started to snatch it from someone else, you should go all the way and even kill them to prevent future troubles!

Look at what you've done!

what?

He abused his power, left himself vulnerable, was reported, and lost his job.

At this point, you're actually thinking of taking another lead from Link Grand, but doing the experiment before it even yielded any results, and publishing the 'paper' first.

Do you only care about 'papers'?

The country bumpkin you're talking about, a freshman at Storm Sea, a first-year student, who was not even halfway through the semester, already knew how to do research, conduct experiments, publish "papers," and even knew how to report others!

What does this mean? What does this represent? Don't you know?

If you had just asked your fellow clansmen more questions, and instead of treating your brothers and sisters as competitors, and considered their opinions more, you wouldn't be so clueless!

This kind of person is a genius, a top student!

As long as you don't die, you'll be a top performer no matter where you are!

Don't you know how to deal with people like this?

If we can't reconcile or win him over, then we must kill him!

The sooner we kill them, the better!

Sophie Lucia's head was spinning.

Has the situation become that serious?

Soren Lucia has excellent eyesight and immediately noticed Sophie Lucia's condition.

Considering that the other person is only 13 years old, spoiled since childhood, living in a pampered environment, has never experienced hardship, and lacks awareness in this regard, it's useless to say anything more now.

He sighed deeply.

Since I owe her parents two lives, I can only make up for her mistakes myself.

Soren Lucia turned to her good brother Peter Lionel and asked, "Will having someone kill Link Grande affect your plans?"

Peter Lionel considered it carefully, then shook his head regretfully and said, "I'm afraid that won't work."

The bet has been made, and Link Grand is now a confirmed participant. If we kill him before the inter-district competition, Paro will definitely use that opportunity to cause trouble.

You know, those old men at the academy are keeping a close eye on me and Paro right now, afraid we'll fight.

If Paro causes a scene, we'll be in the wrong first, and those old men at the academy will probably take our side.

"Is that so?"

Soren Lucia pondered upon hearing this.

This possibility certainly exists, and it's not insignificant.

It would be a real shame if, over a trivial matter, the Philosopher's Diamond was awarded to Paro by those old men at the academy.

Those old men in the academy are incredibly cunning. They love to support new blood without any foundation and suppress the development of local powerful families. They are absolutely capable of doing such a thing.

After thinking for a moment, Soren Lucia said, "Sophie, from now on, you must not do anything against Link Grand again, not even what you did in the arena last time."

"oh."

Sophie Lucia replied listlessly, her head drooping.

"Lift your head up!"

Soren Lucia snapped, "Looking so dejected! What kind of appearance is that! Go back and reflect on your actions. Don't waste your time on trivial matters. Focus on your studies and cultivation, and become a full-fledged wizard as soon as possible—that's what's important!"

"Okay, cousin."

Sophie Lucia took a deep breath, responded loudly, and then left.

She knew her cousin was doing it for her own good, which was why he was being so sharp in his criticism and correction.

If it were any other person of the same age in the clan, they would have much more to ask for a scolding from their cousin.

"Ugh!"

Watching Sophie Lucia's figure disappear around the corner, Soren Lucia, who rarely showed any emotion, sighed deeply again.

"You've worried enough about this cousin of yours."

Seeing this, Peter Lionel offered some words of advice, saying, "She's still young and doesn't understand things, let alone the wickedness of people. She'll learn from her experiences and grow stronger."

Instead of responding directly, Soren Lucia retrieved a report from her AI.

This was a file he retrieved from the family's intelligence agency during a rare moment of free time when Peter Lionel was escorting the wizard Henry Percyville alone.

The document details most of Link Grand's activities during his six months at Rivoss Academy.

Peter Lionel quickly glanced through the list and exclaimed, "Another Sigma Paro?"

He finally understood why Paro valued Link Grand: he saw a reflection of himself in him.

"more than!"

Soren Lucia then retrieved three more case files, the deceased being Enrique Bernalis, Harold Andrews, and Rivers Francis.

The name "Link Grand" appeared in all three case files, but none of them identified him as the murderer.

"They really went all out."

Peter Lionel sighed, "In that respect, he's quite like Cody—ruthless and decisive. This guy can't be allowed to live; have him killed during the inter-district competition!"

This is the promise that Soren Lucia wants.

However, before that, he would arrange some rather crude methods.

Test the waters.

What if?

(End of this chapter)