Wizards begin with Occlumency.

Chapter 240 The Rod of God!

outside world.

Inside the opera house-style building, in the spectator rooms.

"Pfft..."

Hehehe...

Sandra laughed out loud; finally, something had happened that made her feel a little better.

It swept away the many gloomy things that had been there before.

She taunted the sullen man who led the Shadow City team, whose face was practically dripping with sweat, "Are you people from Shadow City really that sensible? Surrendering when you can't win, you really... don't follow the usual path."

Upon hearing this, the cold-faced man's expression brightened, showing no anger whatsoever. He chuckled and said, "I quite admire this captain. He's self-aware and knows his strength is inferior to others. Unlike some people who are always looking down on themselves, unable to even discern the true strength of their own subordinates, yet they boast of their exceptional insight."

This statement is pointed and full of sarcasm.

Clearly, the cold-faced man remembered Sandra's shocked expression when Link single-handedly wiped out the entire team from the Flame and Metal Merchant Guild.

They used this point to mock Sandra for being blind to talent, as a form of retaliation.

"snort!"

Sandra's expression remained unpleasant, but she refused to back down, sneering, "I don't believe you won't punish this team that surrendered willingly."

"No, absolutely not!"

Whether out of spite or for some other reason, the cold-blooded man said decisively, "Not only will I not punish her, but I will reward her! Because she has protected a valuable talent for Shadow City."

"I hope you're not just putting on a brave face. We'll see, and then we'll see if you'll contradict yourself."

Sandra flipped her hand, raising a bead the size of a soybean, a smug look on her face. "I recorded everything you just said."

The cold-blooded man felt as if he had swallowed a fly; he was utterly disgusted.

His face grew increasingly gloomy, and what dripped down was no longer just water, but a torrential downpour.

He never expected that in an instant, Sandra would use this as a trap, waiting for him to fall into it.

It would be inconsistent with his character to say that the cold-blooded man had no intention of punishing Christina and her teammates to vent his frustration.

Not to mention giving out rewards.

He was just being teased by Sandra, so he said some polite words.

Now they've been caught in the middle, caught in a dilemma.

Punishing him would make him a despicable person who goes back on his word.

Providing the promised reward will only fuel your anger and resentment.

The cold-hearted man grew angrier the more he thought about it.

That's really... infuriating!

The cold-blooded man gritted his teeth, turned his head away, and refused to look at Sandra, who was grinning slyly.

Sandra laughed even more heartily.

Lanny, who was standing nearby, noticed something was amiss.

The conversation between Link and Christina seemed so natural and smooth, with perfect understanding between them.

But she didn't say a word.

Not only because the current situation was not suitable for telling Sandra about this discovery, but also because she did not want to tell Sandra.

From now on, she will think more about herself!

The team leader from the University of Mesopotamia suddenly made a move that surprised everyone present.

He took out the button that every team leader had, switched to the "surrender" option, and pressed it hard, exercising his authority as a team leader.

University of Mesopotamia, team competition, concede defeat!

The next second, all four University of Mesopotamia teams, who were still trying to search towards the center of the competition area, were teleported out of the desolate world by a white beam of light that fell from the sky.

Within a minute or two, fifty beams of light descended in succession, creating a tremendous commotion.

This immediately attracted attention.

The fact that these beams of light fell in different directions left the remaining team puzzled.

Did something unexpected happen?

Why are so many teams eliminated at the same time all of a sudden?

Are you sick?

The "scholar" from the White Tower Alliance turned to the leader of the University of Mesopotamia team and asked earnestly, "I have medicine, do you want some?"

The leader of the University of Mesopotamia ignored the "scholar's" ramblings and got up to walk up to Sandra.

After a moment of eye contact with Sandra, he said seriously, "Many things are beyond human control; we must adapt to the times. We don't actually want to have a conflict with you. We will not participate in this competition anymore. We'll cut back on 'educational resources' if we want, but we hope you can convey our stance to us."

After saying that, the leader of the University of Mesopotamia team walked out of the spectator room.

His henchmen quickly followed and left together.

Four tour leaders were left behind, astonished by why the University of Mesopotamia's tour leader had suddenly taken such an outrageous action, along with three followers, each with their own agendas.

Even if Link Grand's offensive capabilities are truly outstanding, what about his defense?

Their defensive capabilities haven't been shown yet.

If the defense isn't that insane, with proper planning, it's still possible to kill it.

At worst, we'll just risk a few more lives to test it.

In any case, the first-level wizards participating in the competition are not members of the core families and factions of each organization in the true sense.

Even if there are a few promising talents from small and medium-sized families, they are simply gone if they die.

In the name of the organization, providing subsidies and awards to those small and medium-sized families can completely bridge the gap.

Why surrender and admit defeat, only to lose an opportunity for nothing?

The world of competition.

"What happened?"

Just as the "Freedom to Do Anything" team was about to head back to the center of the competition area, they witnessed the spectacular sight of forty teleportation beams falling simultaneously.

Jasmine walked over to Link and, while tidying up the "motocross bike," asked curiously.

Link scanned the area and, based on the location of the light beams and the two maps he had previously memorized, made a judgment: "The light beams all landed around the location of the Mesopotamian University team, so they must have collectively withdrawn from the team competition."

"A mass withdrawal? Why? How did they manage that?"

Jasmine was increasingly puzzled.

Being in the desolate world mission area is like being in a dark forest; there is absolutely no connection between different teams of the same organization.

That's how the rules for the competition area are set.

Long-distance communication artifacts are rendered ineffective unless there are special means for medium to short distances, such as the one between Link and Christina, to achieve cross-team communication.

"I can't figure out the reason either. As for how they did it?"

As Link spoke, he looked up at the three "suns" stretching across the desolate world. "A competition definitely needs spectators, referees, and judges. It's normal for the leaders of each wizarding organization to have the authority to forfeit the competition."

"Is that so?"

Jasmine seemed lost in thought.

Based on Link's deduction, could it be that the leader of the University of Mesopotamia was worried that Link was too good and that not only would he not get a good ranking, but he would also lose too many of his own potential geniuses?

The team of ten from the Flame and Metal Merchants didn't leave a single survivor.

This behavior was truly brutal.

"Never mind that, let's go."

Link waved his hand, leading "Freedom to Do Anything" to resume their silent trek.

Vehicles always leave traces and make a lot of noise, making them difficult to evade detection by reconnaissance devices.

Hiking is still more suitable for covert marches.

the other side.

Hawke Lucia glared angrily at one of her cousins: "I don't agree to this!"

It was only then that he learned that his family was not only preparing to deal with Link Grand on their own, but had also colluded with a team from Shadow City.

Colluding with outsiders!

Is this because the academy's higher-ups don't have a bad enough impression of the Rukia family?

Is this going to force the academy to take drastic measures to punish or even wipe out the Rukia family?

What are the clan leaders and elders really thinking?

"It's done now, whether you agree or not, you have to do it."

Ignoring Hawke's anger, the cousin directly ordered the other three Rukia to restrain Hawke and take him into a cave.

Two people inside have already been firmly controlled.

It was one of the other five members of this team who disobeyed the orders of the Rukia family.

Considering that the family had not yet made a final decision, and the mindset of the three non-direct descendants, the Rukia members did not go for the kill.

The two people being controlled were quite perceptive; they neither started swearing nor made any threats such as "the academy will not let you off the hook."

Instead, they sat quietly on the ground, letting several Rukia lock onto their mental and magical powers.

They even proactively reached out their hands and feet, cooperating fully in putting on handcuffs and leg irons.

"Stay here and don't shout or scream, and you'll be spared."

His cousin shoved a gag into Hawke's mouth, but didn't bother to gag the other two. "What we're doing is none of your business, understand?"

"Understand."

Both of them expressed their opinions.

After doing all that, the four Rukia and three peripheral members dressed up and left the cave.

Before leaving, his cousin came to Hawke's side, looked at him intently for a long time, then leaned down and whispered in Hawke's ear, "You must remember, without the family, there would be no us. For the sake of the family, all sacrifices are necessary!"

After saying this, the cousin returned to the group.

They pretended to have encountered a powerful enemy and suffered a crushing defeat, and then, following the plan they had agreed upon with the Shadow City team they had bribed, they "fled in panic" towards the center of the mission area.

Inside the cave.

Hawke calmed down, but still couldn't quite understand the meaning of his cousin's words before he left.

He twisted his body, trying to break free of the restraints, and with great effort, he managed to spit out the gag from his mouth.

"Why don't you resist?"

Hawke knew that shouting would be pointless and that it would be difficult to free himself, so he turned to his two teammates who were also tied up, thus starting a conversation.

"Why resist?"

One person asked a counter-question.

"What good would it do to resist?"

The other person then asked a question in return.

"What they are doing is wrong, and we should stop them."

Hawke said seriously, "At this critical juncture, we must not do anything that would harm the interests of the academy."

Upon hearing this, the two of them looked at Hawke as if he were an idiot, remaining silent for a long time.

After a long while, one of them said leisurely, "The Rukia family has finally produced someone who understands, knows that doing this is wrong, but doesn't understand enough."

"Yes, it's not clear enough."

The other person picked up their rice bowl and chimed in, "Didn't you guess that, or are you afraid to guess in that direction?"

Then, the two said in unison, "Isn't it obvious that the Rukia family is preparing to defect?"

Hawke Lucia was struck dumb.

Could it be that the clan leader and elders have become so confused?

Even the two minor, nameless first-level wizards could see through the family's intentions.

Why insist on going down this path to the bitter end?

We will fight against the college's leadership to the very end.

Isn't that just asking for death?

Hawke couldn't figure it out, yet he had a gut feeling that something was wrong.

At this moment, the figures of the four Rukia and three peripheral members who were "fleeing in panic" had already appeared in the reconnaissance footage of several teams.

The seven people were incredibly lifelike in both their expressions and movements.

It seemed as if there really were enemies chasing them.

In fact, there were indeed people chasing them, but not enemies; rather, it was the Shadow City team that had been bribed by the Rukia family.

The direction Rukia and her companions fled from was directly towards the center of the mission area.

No matter which direction you look, you can spot the anomaly here.

"Boss, something's up."

Dalton, who was in charge of reconnaissance, spoke up, "It seems like several Lucias are being chased."

Link walked over to Dalton, glanced at the live feed, and said, "Ignore them, proceed in the designated direction."

"Yes."

Dalton responded and, after some maneuvering, left only one UFO to monitor Lucia and the others, while sending the other UFOs in other directions to strengthen reconnaissance efforts.

"Master, master, something's happened."

To help the master, Flandre expanded her activity range, no longer confined to Link's vicinity, and ran around freely in the mission area.

She actually discovered some valuable information.

"explain."

Link immediately entered Flandre's field of vision and gave instructions.

"Sir, Flandre has spotted that annoying big guy."

Flandre's sweet voice then echoed in Link's mind, "Should we kill him, sir!"

"No rush, let me think about it some more."

Through Flandre's perspective, Link saw the three points that the wizard Vina used to mock him, making him look like a towering brute.

Although the team from the Blazing and Metals Trading Company had not suffered any casualties, many of them were injured and were resting in a valley.

It seems they engaged in a battle with another team, but didn't gain much advantage.

The burly man with the iron tower was completely unharmed and was constantly gnawing on meat to replenish his strength and magic.

This is a typical characteristic of body-refining wizards; they can restore their condition and heal their injuries by eating large amounts of food.

Based on Flandre's movements and the surrounding terrain, Link determined the approximate location of the Flame and Metal Company team.

It should be about 100 miles away from here, at the 10 o'clock position.

After careful consideration, Link made a decision.

"Jasmine, you are now in command of the team."

After giving the order, Link neither offered an explanation nor revealed his whereabouts.

It soared into the air in a flash, flying at supersonic speed.

It's time for the "freedom to do anything" to mature and operate on its own!

In the valley.

The burly man in the iron tower, who was feasting, suddenly stopped what he was doing and assumed a highly vigilant posture.

Body-refining wizards specialize in cultivating the physical body and can develop or transplant many talents on their own.

As is widely known, the talent of a Body Refining Wizard is equivalent to the innate magic of an Elemental Wizard, possessing miraculous effects.

Iron Tower Man is a prodigy in body-refining wizardry. When he was promoted to a first-level wizard, he "awakened" two talents.

One is the "Frenzy" skill, which is suitable for combat and can greatly increase one's attack speed and attack power, resulting in a significant increase in combat strength.

Secondly, there is "danger prediction," which allows one to sense potential crises in their life. The greater the crisis, the faster their heart beats.

Just now, the burly man from the iron tower felt his heart was about to jump out of his throat.

What does this tell us?

This means a catastrophe is about to strike!

The burly man with the iron tower didn't bother to warn the others. He jumped up and activated his full defense, wary of any attack that might come from anywhere!

escape?

The moment the thought crossed the mind of the burly man from the iron tower, his sense of crisis intensified.

Whether to flee or not is the difference between certain death and a slim chance of survival!

"Holy crap! Who did I mess with?"

The burly man behind the iron tower cursed inwardly.

10,000 meters above the ground.

Link stood upright indifferently, amplifying his mental power with the source power of the "Small World," and cast the first-circle spell of the True Spirit Wizard, "Soul Anchoring," firmly locking onto the burly man in the iron tower.

Then, he amplified his magic power with the source power of the "small world" and unleashed his self-created composite magic of metal, fire, water and light elements, "Super Railgun", using its super power to launch a super hard metal rod weighing 10 tons taken from the "small world"!

High-end weapons often only require the simplest attack methods.

The big treasure that's supposed to crush the little brother.

Take this from Old Lin!

Thank you for your generous donation!

(End of this chapter)