While Pei Ze was lost in thought, Gu Lin finished picking her companions and walked over. "Let’s go," she said. "We still have to register now that the team is assembled."

So, the group returned to the adjacent office to register and received their team numbers.

Pei Ze’s number was 32, while Gu Lin’s was 33.

It was worth noting that they were all required to stay within the garrison and were forbidden to leave until the operation began.

During this period, the City Guard Army would arrange for their lodging and food.

Pei Ze didn’t mind this in the slightest. He settled into the garrison, continuing his daily meditation and cultivation of his breathing technique as usual.

After his promotion to Grand Knight, the tempering effect of the Cyan Mist Breathing Technique on his constitution had weakened noticeably.

Pushing himself to cultivate the breathing technique three times a day, the limit of his endurance, yielded less than a 0.1-point increase to his constitution.

Pei Ze estimated that by relying solely on the Cyan Mist Breathing Technique, his chances of advancing to Legendary Knight, while not entirely hopeless, were slim at best.

Perhaps only by cultivating a higher-ranked Extreme-tier Breathing Technique could he ensure a high probability of advancing to Legendary Knight.

However, Pei Ze wasn’t in a hurry. For now, his main focus was on constructing Will Runes and learning Magic. It wouldn’t be too late to upgrade and improve the Cyan Mist Breathing Technique once he had more time on his hands.

On his second day in the garrison, he successfully constructed his 23rd Will Rune. His Spirit attribute instantly shot up by 3.8 points, reaching 95.38.

Furthermore, he deciphered a new spell—Silent Illusion!

This spell could create the illusion of a single object or creature, its appearance freely determined by the Caster’s imagination. Its practical application in combat was very high.

The drawback was that the created illusion had no sound, smell, or body heat, and could only move about freely within a limited range.

At this point, Pei Ze had already mastered five One-Ring Spells.

For a Third-level Wizard Apprentice who had been promoted less than a month ago, this number was undoubtedly astonishing.

An ordinary Third-level Wizard Apprentice, without any external help, would on average take one or two months to master one One-Ring Spell.

Even a genius like Gu Lin, aided by numerous rare artifacts and potions, often needed ten to fifteen days to master a single One-Ring Spell.

Compared to them, Pei Ze’s speed at mastering spells was simply terrifying!

’Weakness Beam and Jumping Skill are all that’s left.’

Pei Ze looked at the two Spell Books in his hands.

Deciphering the two One-Ring Spells would take a little over ten days in total, and he planned to tackle them one after the other.

As for more One-Ring Spells, it wouldn’t be too late to learn them slowly after constructing all the Will Runes.

A saying circulated among Wizard Apprentices: only a Third-level Wizard Apprentice who had mastered at least five One-Ring Spells could be considered a *true* Third-level Wizard Apprentice.

Compared to the more utility-focused Zero-Circle Magic, One-Ring Spells encompassed offense, defense, crowd control, and mobility, all with greater effects and higher power.

Only a Third-level Wizard Apprentice who had mastered enough One-Ring Spells and built their own unique combat style could be considered a truly formidable power.

...

「Another day passed.」

After his daily meditation, Pei Ze left his quarters and went to the public square outside.

He had to admit, the City Guard Army’s arrangements were quite thorough.

In addition to providing food and lodging, they had also set up numerous metal targets in the square beside the living quarters, specifically for the Wizard Apprentices to test their spells and the Knights to practice their combat skills.

At that moment, the spacious square was filled with Wizard Apprentices and Knights in training, and the air echoed with an endless cacophony of whistling and roaring.

Over the past two days, more Wizard Apprentices had continued to arrive.

Pei Ze estimated that the number of Third-level Wizard Apprentices participating in the encirclement operation had likely surpassed one hundred.

The vast majority of these people were third-year students.

There were fewer than ten second-year students.

As for first-year students, there were only him and Gu Lin.

As a result, Pei Ze drew a great deal of attention wherever he went.

Fortunately, he was long used to it.

When he reached the square, he saw Su Ya and Peng Yan practicing their combat skills.

Pei Ze stopped to watch them quietly.

Su Ya was cultivating a High-tier Breathing Technique that focused on agility. Her movements were swift and nimble, and coupled with her delicate features, she looked like a gracefully dancing elf.

But anyone who mistook her for a mere elf would find themselves dead at the hands of her lightning-fast assault.

In Su Ya’s hands, the sharp blade was like a flash of lightning, darting through the air. It occasionally tore through the atmosphere, creating sonic booms that would make an observer’s heart skip a beat.

’This combat technique is a bit like Extreme Flash.’

Pei Ze murmured to himself, then turned to look in the other direction.

Peng Yan was cultivating a Basic Breathing Technique focused on constitution and strength. It emphasized overwhelming opponents with powerful momentum and broad, sweeping attacks, a style that perfectly suited his towering physique.

His weapon was a Two-Handed Heavy Sword as wide as a door panel. As he swung it, it let out a continuous, low whistle, kicking up violent blasts of air. The sight alone was enough to make one’s heart pound.

Not far away, Gu Lin was also practicing her spells.

The young woman extended her palm. As she uttered a few syllables, a scorching flame erupted from it, sweeping forward in a cone to engulf a large area before her.

Burning Hand!

After observing for the past two days, Pei Ze discovered that Gu Lin seemed to have a particular fondness for Fire Magic.

The only two spells she had mastered were, surprisingly, Fireball Technique and Burning Hand. She hadn’t even learned Mage Armor, which certainly set her apart from the average apprentice.

Just then, Pei Ze caught a glimpse of someone approaching out of the corner of his eye. Turning his head, he saw it was Fan He.

"Pei Ze, I knew you’d be here." Fan He said with a chuckle. "You’re here for a spot in the Realm of Truth, aren’t you?"