Experimental District, Magic Laboratory.

Pei Ze stood in the center of the room, feeling the surging power coursing through his body.

The next moment, a tyrannical, ferocious aura erupted from him. An invisible wave of energy spread out from his position, kicking up a fierce wind.

Upon closer inspection, one could see that his body was now covered in a faint, barely-there halo of light.

’So this is what it’s like to project battle qi.’

A smile touched Pei Ze’s lips.

After consuming two vials of Top-Grade Dragon Blood Potion and ten days of arduous training, he had finally broken through to the seventh level of the Cyan Mist Breathing Technique.

He had also successfully broken through to become a Grand Knight, mastering the two techniques of projecting battle qi and launching it from his body.

Pei Ze slowly raised his Longsword, then swung it forward in a sudden slash. A piercing sound of displaced air followed as an invisible wave of Sword Qi shot out, striking a nearby Crystal Target like a sharp arrow.

CRACK!

A deep gash instantly appeared on the target, and stone dust trickled down from it.

’Category: Battle Qi’

’Power: 7.3 Degrees’

"Not bad. That’s already at the level of a Middle Grand Knight."

Pei Ze nodded in satisfaction.

The increase in his Spirit had led to an improvement in his physique. Combined with the enhancement from the Dragon Blood Potion and the boost from breaking through to Grand Knight, his physique attribute had long since surpassed the 40-point mark, reaching the level of a Middle Grand Knight.

In addition, he had also mastered two combat techniques: Gale Slash and Flash Step.

Pei Ze’s figure suddenly flickered. In an instant, he shot forward like a stream of light, his Longsword transformed into a bolt of lightning, striking the target’s surface in the blink of an eye.

CRACK!

The sharp tip of the blade sank deep into the target, leaving an incredibly smooth incision with not even a hint of a crack along the edges.

’Category: Battle Qi, Physical’

’Power: 13.8 Degrees’

Pei Ze’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected the power to nearly double when using a combat technique.

After all, the Acid Splash he cast with his current Spiritual Power only had a power of 15 degrees.

’Combat techniques truly are a Knight’s trump card.’

Pei Ze then tested the power of Gale Slash.

Gale Slash’s power was relatively low, only 10.5 degrees.

However, considering it was an area-of-effect attack, this was still quite impressive.

Pei Ze was very satisfied with the test results.

"Omniscience, check status."

[Spirit: 72.23]

[Physique: 40.24]

[Task 1: Analyze Will Rune No. 18. Estimated time: 42 days.]

[Task 2: Analyze silent casting technique. Estimated time: 102 days.]

[Task 3: Analyze the Magic Missile spell model. Estimated time: 9 days.]

Over the past few days, Pei Ze had successively constructed Will Runes No. 14 through No. 17.

Thanks to this, his Spirit attribute had soared to 72.23.

Furthermore, his modified Mage Armor was also complete.

Pei Ze had tested it; the defensive effect of the modified Mage Armor was about twenty percent stronger than the original version.

To be honest, that wasn’t a huge increase.

However, the casting cost had been drastically reduced from 2 points of Spiritual Power to just 0.8, a decrease of more than half.

Stacking twenty layers of Mage Armor would only cost 16 points of Spiritual Power.

And the Defense Power of twenty layers of Mage Armor was so sturdy that Wuyu couldn’t break through it even after attacking for more than ten minutes.

Keep in mind that as Pei Ze’s Spirit had skyrocketed, the power of one of Wuyu’s casual strikes was now comparable to that of a Junior Grand Knight.

’If I stack fifty layers of Mage Armor, I could probably just stand here and let a Second-level Wizard Apprentice attack me until their Spiritual Power runs out, and they still wouldn’t be able to break my defense.’

A smile appeared on Pei Ze’s face. He called for Xiaoyi to return to the brim of his hat, then left the Magic Laboratory.

Today was the day the Realm of Truth opened, and he had to report to the General Affairs Department.

He couldn’t wait to see this strange, hidden realm that countless Wizard Apprentices yearned for.

The General Affairs Department was located five hundred meters from the laboratory building, another high-rise of more than ten stories.

The first floor was a bright and spacious circular hall. Inside, seven or eight offices were arranged in a wide arc facing the entrance.

Pei Ze walked up to one of the offices and asked, "Excuse me, does the Realm of Truth open today?"

The young man sitting behind the desk looked up, startled for a moment when he saw Pei Ze, but he quickly recognized him and smiled. "Yes, that’s right. It’s today."

Without waiting for Pei Ze’s reply, he stood up.

"Let me take you there."

Pei Ze was slightly taken aback by his enthusiasm. His gaze shifted downward, landing on the Apprentice Badge the young man wore on his chest, which had been hidden until he stood up.

A third-year student!

"How should I address you, senior?"

"’Senior’ is too formal. You can just call me Fan He," the young man said with a smile and a wave of his hand.

In the world of Wizards, the strong are respected, and High Tower Academy was no exception.

Pei Ze was rumored to already be a Third-level Wizard Apprentice. In terms of strength, he was no less capable than a third-year like him—and might even be stronger. Naturally, Fan He didn’t dare act pretentiously in front of him.

Pei Ze smiled but said nothing.

He had just used his Eye of Omniscience to scan him. Analyzing Fan He’s information required 1.5 points of Spiritual Power, which meant the latter’s Spirit attribute wasn’t much different from his own.

Despite also being a third-year student, Fan He’s strength was far inferior to Yin Xue’s.

Pei Ze had secretly scanned Yin Xue’s strength before.

Her Spirit attribute had reached a staggering 116 points!

Pei Ze estimated that Yin Xue must also be practicing the Moon Ring Meditation Technique, which consisted of 24 Will Runes.

Among all the third-year students Pei Ze had met so far, she was, without a doubt, the absolute strongest.

"This way."

Fan He led Pei Ze through a door deep inside the hall. Behind it was a long, spiral corridor. Ash Stone Lamps hung on the walls every three or four meters, and the floor sloped gently downward, leading underground.

"When I ran into Yin Xue a few days ago, she mentioned she had a new junior apprentice brother. I didn’t expect it to be this year’s top initiate," Fan He said with a laugh.

Pei Ze then realized why Fan He was being so friendly.

"Are you and Senior Sister Yin Xue in the same society?" Pei Ze asked casually.

"No." Fan He gave Pei Ze a surprised look, as if wondering why he would ask such a question. "You don’t know that Yin Xue is a member of the Rose Society?"

Pei Ze was taken aback.

There were three particularly famous societies at High Tower Academy.

They were the Shadow Snake Society, the Wisdom Society, and the Rose Society.

Without exception, all members of the Shadow Snake Society were disciples from Wizard Clans, and they adhered to a philosophy of cultivating a small, elite circle.

Pei Shaoqi, who had died during the trials, was a member of the Shadow Snake Society.

The Wisdom Society was comparatively more inclusive, with no requirements regarding a member’s background.

The Rose Society, however, was the most unique.

This society only recruited female Wizard Apprentices.

"Yin Xue and I were in the same class before, so we still chat from time to time," Fan He said with a smile.

As they talked, the two of them passed through the corridor and arrived in a spacious underground hall.

The hall was circular, at least the size of a standard soccer field. Besides the stone doorway they had just emerged from, there were three other stone doorways. To the right of each entrance stood a stone stele, each engraved with large, bold script.

Pei Ze’s gaze swept over them, reading the names in order: ’Realm of Truth’, ’Shadow Realm’, and ’Dark Well’.