Chapter 55: Chapter 55: Are You Done Discussing?

Pei Ze’s eyes lit up as he looked at Wuyu’s dramatically changed appearance.

He could clearly sense that the moment Wuyu’s body expanded, the number of Fog Crows within it had instantly dropped by over a hundred.

Apparently, this new evolution of its Summoning Fog Crow ability allowed it to strengthen itself by merging with the Fog Crows.

CAW!

Wuyu threw its head back and cawed. It flapped its wings, flying out of the cave. Its hook-like talons flashed like lightning and grabbed a nearby rock that was about a meter high. With a slight squeeze, a CRACK was heard as the rock instantly shattered into pieces.

The hard rock was as fragile as tofu in its talons.

Pei Ze nodded in satisfaction.

Now that it was enormous, Wuyu’s combat prowess had also seen a terrifying boost.

’The power of a hundred crows in a single claw... who could possibly withstand that?’

’And this was just from merging with a hundred Fog Crows. If it merged with all two thousand inside its body, how immense would its power become?’

Pei Ze grew thrilled just thinking about it.

Wuyu, too, was quite pleased with its transformation, lowering its head to admire its talons.

Only the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy looked unhappy.

’It’s over. The crow has gotten stronger, just like the Great Demon King. How am I ever going to get my revenge now?’

Getting up and stretching, Pei Ze walked out of the cave. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Wuyu reverted to its original size and flew back to his shoulder. Its black and white eyes, stark and clear, gazed coldly at the forest ahead.

A black butterfly flew out from the woods, hovering in the air about twenty meters from the cave.

"A Tracking Butterfly," Pei Ze identified the creature.

He had read about this kind of magical pet before.

It was a magical pet that had completely sacrificed combat ability in favor of extreme specialization in tracking.

It was useless in a fight, but it possessed an unparalleled advantage when it came to finding people or objects. Its ability was even comparable to some forms of Prophetic Magic.

Not long after the Tracking Butterfly appeared, five apprentices emerged from the woods.

Leading them was none other than Pei Shaoqi.

At the same time, two more people emerged from either side of the forest.

To the left was a girl with lovely features and a spirited air—it was Gu Lin.

To the right was a figure with short, snow-white hair and androgynous features. It was Yin Guang.

The three publicly acknowledged top geniuses of the first-year class had now gathered before the cave.

The air fell silent for a moment as the three parties sized each other up, their expressions guarded.

After a long moment, Pei Shaoqi finally broke the silence.

"I’m taking the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy."

Gu Lin was unfazed. She smiled sweetly and said, "That’s not for you to decide."

Yin Guang said coolly, "Unfortunately for you, I want the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy as well."

Pei Shaoqi’s face darkened. "So, you’re both dead set on fighting me for it?"

A Gemstone appeared in Gu Lin’s palm. Tossing it up and down, she said with a grin, "Isn’t it obvious? You didn’t really think a single sentence from you would make me back down, did you? Sorry, but your name doesn’t carry that much weight."

Yin Guang said icily, "Enough talk. Since we all want it, let’s settle this with strength. The winner takes the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy."

Cornered by the two of them, Pei Shaoqi’s face turned completely sullen. He let out a heavy snort.

WHOOSH!

A sound like surging water suddenly erupted. Pei Shaoqi’s sleeve billowed, and a mass of crimson liquid dropped out. It hovered a meter above the ground, writhing rapidly until it formed a vague, humanoid shape.

"Wooooo..."

The blood-red figure slowly opened its mouth, letting out a ghastly wail like that of a banshee in the dead of night.

A sinister, cold aura immediately filled the air, which seemed to drop several degrees in an instant.

"A Blood Demon!"

Gu Lin and Yin Guang’s expressions changed in unison. They instinctively fell into a defensive stance, all their previous composure gone.

Gu Lin stared intently at the blood-red figure, the corner of her mouth twitching. "Your family was actually willing to give you a Blood Demon as a magical pet. It seems they have very high expectations for you to take first place."

Like the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy, the Blood Demon is a type of fairy from the Ring Forest Plane, and it is no less rare.

But where the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy is sought after for its Ten Thousand Flowers Honey, the Blood Demon’s fame—or rather, infamy—is derived entirely from its terrifying combat prowess.

The Blood Demon can control blood. Any creature possessing blood that it touches will have every last drop drained from its body in an instant, leaving behind a desiccated corpse.

Even if one wears armor to avoid direct contact, the Blood Demon can easily agitate the blood within a target’s body, causing it to surge until it ruptures from their flesh.

Only defensive Magic like Protective Force Field and Mage Armor can offer some resistance.

To a Wizard Apprentice, a Blood Demon was, without a doubt, an exceptionally dangerous creature.

Pei Shaoqi’s magical pet had always been a mystery among their class, the subject of many rumors.

But Gu Lin had never imagined that Pei Shaoqi’s magical pet would be a Blood Demon.

As far as she knew, while Pei Shaoqi’s father held a decent position in the Pei Family, he was far from the inner circle. Logically, Pei Shaoqi should never have been allocated a resource as precious as a Blood Demon.

His father had most likely paid a tremendous price to obtain this Blood Demon, all so that Pei Shaoqi could take first place in the trial.

In a first-year trial, a Blood Demon was undoubtedly an outlier, far beyond the expected level of power.

Gu Lin grit her teeth, wanting desperately to shout, "Cheater!"

But magical pets were part of a Wizard’s strength. Pei Shaoqi hadn’t broken any rules, so there was nothing she could do.

Pei Shaoqi ignored Gu Lin’s sarcasm. In fact, he seemed to be enjoying the alarm on her and Yin Guang’s faces. He sneered, "Do you still have the nerve to compete with me now?"

Both Gu Lin and Yin Guang frowned, remaining silent.

After a moment, Gu Lin said grimly, "Pei Shaoqi, you can’t take all the spoils for yourself. You can have the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy, but I want half of the points."

Before Pei Shaoqi could respond, she added quickly, "And don’t think you can act so high and mighty just because you have a Blood Demon. If it comes to it, Yin Guang and I will team up. I refuse to believe we can’t beat you together!"

Yin Guang immediately understood Gu Lin’s intention and added grimly, "That’s right!"

Pei Shaoqi frowned. He knew in his heart that Gu Lin was right.

One-on-one, he was confident he could defeat either of them. But if they teamed up, he wasn’t so sure he could win.

As for the four with Pei Shaoqi—Cheng Li, Wei Ming, and the others—none of them, not Pei Shaoqi, Gu Lin, nor Yin Guang, factored them into the equation of combat strength.

They were all Second-level Wizard Apprentices, but there were clear distinctions in power.

Pei Shaoqi, Gu Lin, and Yin Guang were among the absolute elite of the Second-level Wizard Apprentices, their strength far surpassing that of their ordinary peers.

The likes of Cheng Li and Wei Ming probably wouldn’t last a minute against any of them.

And the four were self-aware enough to know it. They shrank back quietly the entire time, not making a sound, content to be part of the scenery.

After a moment of indecision, his eyes flickering, Pei Shaoqi finally conceded.

"Fine. I’ll take the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy. You two can split the points."

Gu Lin and Yin Guang exchanged a look and nodded.

The greatest value of the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy was the creature itself; the 5,000 points it was worth were a distant second.

But things being as they were, they knew they couldn’t get the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy. Securing the points was an acceptable compromise.

Having settled the matter of the Ten Thousand Flowers Fairy and its points, the three of them finally turned to look at Pei Ze, who had remained silent off to the side the entire time.

Seeing their gazes fall on him, Pei Ze gave a long stretch and asked lazily,

"Are you all done negotiating?"