Chapter 52: Chapter 52: The Best Hidden Wizard Apprentice

Qi Meng’s face flushed beet red under Pei Ze’s mocking gaze.

Just moments ago, he had been boasting about how he would make Pei Ze suffer. Now, in the blink of an eye, Pei Ze had beaten him to this sorry state.

The more confident his words had been before, the more humiliating this was now.

"We give up, too!"

"You win! Let us go!"

At that moment, Qi Meng’s other two companions also cried out.

With Qi Meng defeated, they naturally had no intention of holding out any longer.

Besides, they were already at their limit.

These crows were incredibly troublesome. Not only could each one turn into mist, but their strength was also on par with a Senior Knight.

More importantly, their numbers were staggering.

They had to struggle just to cast a spell and kill a single one, which was a drop in the bucket against a flock of hundreds.

If it weren’t for the Defense Magic Items they carried, they would have been defeated long ago.

Even so, by the time the Fog Crows dispersed, the two of them were a disheveled mess.

"Wh-what do you want?" Qi Meng asked through gritted teeth.

The searing pain from his right arm had him drenched in sweat, and all he wanted was to leave quickly and treat his wound.

For a Wizard, a severed arm wasn’t an incurable injury.

He just had to find a Wizard specializing in biological mutation back home, and reattaching the arm would be a trivial matter.

The other two apprentices also stared anxiously at Pei Ze, terrified that he wouldn’t let them go.

Pei Ze said indifferently, "Hand over all your points."

At his words, the cheeks of Qi Meng’s trio twitched in unison.

However, they were already mentally prepared for this. After only a few seconds of hesitation, they handed over their points with pained expressions.

With the ranking list, Pei Ze wasn’t worried they would hide any points.

All three were Second-level Wizard Apprentices, and each had over a thousand points.

After the transfer, over four thousand points were added to Pei Ze’s Crystal Bracelet.

His total points soared to over sixty-five hundred, allowing him to surpass more than ten people ahead of him and shoot straight to first place.

He now had a lead of more than three thousand points over Gu Lin, Yin Guang, and Pei Shaoqi.

Seeing the change on the ranking list, Qi Meng’s group wanted to cry but had no tears left.

Their scheme had backfired spectacularly.

Not only did they fail to snatch the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy, but they even helped Pei Ze claim the top spot.

Closing the ranking list, Pei Ze’s gaze swept over their Magic Robes and Magic Rings. ’What a pity,’ he thought.

If the trial didn’t prohibit robbing other apprentices of their belongings, he wouldn’t have even left them their underwear.

As for the men themselves... Pei Ze sneered internally.

He suddenly took a few steps forward and, before the three could react, shoved each of them with lightning speed.

"Don’t ever appear before me again."

"Scram!"

Qi Meng and his companions were stunned, finding it hard to believe.

Although they were certain Pei Ze wouldn’t dare break the rules and kill them, they had expected a severe beating at the very least. Who would have thought Pei Ze would let them go so easily?

Snapping back to their senses, the trio was overjoyed. They inwardly cursed Pei Ze for being a fool while scrambling to get away, terrified he would change his mind.

As he watched their figures recede into the distance, a cold glint flashed through Pei Ze’s eyes.

"Hee hee."

A sudden giggle interrupted Pei Ze’s thoughts. The Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy emerged from the brim of his hat, dancing and shouting with triumphant excitement as if celebrating the victory.

Looking at her, anyone who didn’t know better would have thought she had defeated the enemies alongside Pei Ze.

Pei Ze rolled his eyes and flicked her on the head.

’This little one might be small, but she’s got some thick skin.’

"Wuu wuu..."

The Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy clutched her head and puffed out her cheeks angrily, but she didn’t dare challenge the Great Demon King. After muttering a few words under her breath, she flew off to play by herself.

After spending the night together, Pei Ze had already untied the ropes on the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy and no longer restricted her freedom.

He just had Wuyu keep an eye on her, both for protection and surveillance.

Of course, just in case, Pei Ze had also placed a Secret Technique Mark on her.

The mark would last for a full month. This way, even if the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy escaped, Pei Ze could quickly recapture her.

Ignoring the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy, Pei Ze turned to look behind him.

Jiang Weifang was just walking out of the forest, a look of profound shock still lingering on her face.

She hadn’t actually gone far, but had hidden nearby to watch the battle.

She had assumed Pei Ze was likely to lose, or at best, face a bitter fight. Who could have guessed that Qi Meng’s group was no match for him at all and would be crushed so easily?

Judging by the speed and power of Pei Ze’s Magic just now, even if he hadn’t yet advanced to a Third-level Wizard Apprentice, he was probably not far off.

And that Crow Magic Pet!

Just yesterday, Jiang Weifang had thought it was unwise for Pei Ze to form a contract with a Crow Magic Pet, but now it was clear she had misjudged.

This Crow Magic Pet was astonishingly strong!

With its dual abilities of turning to mist and summoning, its combat power was more than enough to face a Third-level Wizard Apprentice head-on!

It seemed now that Pei Ze was the most powerful Wizard Apprentice in the entire first year.

The likes of Pei Shaoqi and Gu Lin were far inferior to him.

If Pei Ze hadn’t been so low-key and hidden his strength so well, would there even be any talk of the "three great geniuses" of the year?

Jiang Weifang gazed at Pei Ze with a complicated expression and sighed. "You really know how to hide your strength. You’ve kept us all in the dark."

Pei Ze smiled faintly and said, "I can’t just show off every time I see you, can I?"

Jiang Weifang was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and nodded. "That’s true."

Compared to someone like Qi Meng, who gets a little bit of power and acts so arrogant his nose is in the air, Pei Ze’s demeanor and mentality were undoubtedly more in line with a Wizard’s code of conduct.

Wizards were domineering and self-centered, but also reserved and steady.

Arrogant, reckless Wizards who looked down on everyone usually didn’t live for very long.

Jiang Weifang didn’t stay long and soon took her leave.

After witnessing Pei Ze’s true strength, she was extremely confident that he could protect the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy.

However, since she had already stated her intention to go her own way, she was in no position to ask to team up with him again.

Watching Jiang Weifang walk away, Pei Ze also left the camp.

’This area will probably become a paradise for vicious beasts soon. I’d better leave quickly.’

「 」

「In the woods.」

Qi Meng sat on the ground with his back against a tree, his face pale as he clenched his jaw.

Beside him, a red-haired apprentice carefully applied hemostatic ointment to the wound on his right shoulder.

As the medicine took effect, the bleeding quickly stopped. Qi Meng let out a long breath and his body went limp, drenched in sweat.

"We don’t have all the necessary materials on hand, so we can only give the wound some basic treatment. You’ll have to wait until we get back to have the arm reattached," the red-haired apprentice said.

Qi Meng caught his breath and shook his head. "It’s fine. Losing a hand won’t affect my ability to cast Magic."

The red-haired apprentice sighed. "All our points are gone. We’ll have to step up our hunt for barbarians from now on."

Qi Meng nodded, his expression dark.

There were still six days left in the trial. With their strength, it wouldn’t be difficult to earn enough points to pass.

But this way, he had completely lost his chance to break into the top thirty.

He had been ambitious, hoping to make a stunning debut by securing a good rank, but that dream had now gone up in smoke.

The thought filled Qi Meng’s heart with immense hatred.

"This isn’t over!" Qi Meng seethed. "Sooner or later, I’ll make Pei Ze pay!"

Just then, the other apprentice looked around in confusion and frowned. "Do you guys hear something?"

"A sound?"

The red-haired apprentice looked up, puzzled. He listened for a moment before saying hesitantly, "It sounds like the roar of a vicious beast."

Qi Meng waved his hand impatiently. "It’s just a few beasts. Get rid of them quickly, they’re annoying."

The red-haired apprentice nodded and got up, about to go kill the beasts.

But in the next second, the roars suddenly grew louder, echoing from all directions, one after another.

BOOM!

A tree snapped in half as if struck by a giant hammer, its top half flying far into the distance.

A three-story-tall ape emerged from behind the trees, its bloodshot eyes glaring at Qi Meng’s group.

"A Mad Ape!"

The red-haired apprentice sucked in a sharp breath. That was a powerful beast at the level of a Peak Knight.

However, before he could fully register his shock, more beasts began to appear from all around.

Frost Claw Leopards, Blood-Eyed Wolves, Scorpion-tailed Beasts, Flaming Armor Wild Boars, Black-Spotted Pythons... Over eighty percent of them were beasts at the Knight level.

He even saw a Steel-Splitting Bear at the Grand Knight level!

Staring at the dense crowd of no fewer than a hundred powerful beasts surrounding them, all three of them turned deathly pale, their legs trembling.

"What is happening?"

Qi Meng shrieked in terror.

For so many beasts to suddenly gather here... even a fool could tell something was wrong.

What’s more, the beasts around them didn’t look right.

But no one answered his question.

The other two apprentices were also looking on with dazed and terrified expressions.

Just then, Qi Meng caught a glimpse of something dark from the corner of his eye. He snapped his head around and saw a crow perched on a branch a dozen meters away, watching him with an ice-cold gaze.

In that instant, Qi Meng understood why Pei Ze had so "kindly" let them go.

Intense fury and terror instantly flooded his chest.

"Pei—"

His cry of grief, indignation, and despair had barely left his lips before it was cut off by ferocious roars.

Before their despairing eyes, countless beasts surged toward them like a tidal wave.