"Yeah, but it’s not looking too hopeful," Pei Ze said with a shrug, glancing behind Fan He. "Didn’t Yin Xue come?"

At the mention of Yin Xue, a look of awe and envy crossed Fan He’s face. "Yin Xue is in seclusion, attempting to break through to the Wizard realm," he said. "If nothing goes wrong, by the time we get back, she should have already advanced to an Official Wizard." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Pei Ze froze for a moment, then sighed to himself in admiration.

’She was already just a step away from becoming an Official Wizard, so it was only to be expected that she would try to break through now.’

’If she succeeds, she’ll be able to graduate as a Wizard. Her future will be limitless.’

Historically, among Chenxi City’s four great Wizard Academies, anyone who became a Wizard using an Advanced Meditation Technique before graduation—as long as they didn’t meet an untimely end—eventually became an influential figure in the city!

The least accomplished among them was still a Level 3 Wizard!

Especially since Yin Xue cultivated a pinnacle Advanced Meditation Technique with a full 24 Will Runes.

Her future potential was even more boundless.

"Gu Lin is here too." Fan He looked over Pei Ze’s shoulder toward Gu Lin, who was practicing her Magic. "Fireball Technique and Burning Hand... Tsk, tsk. I heard she was promoted less than half a month ago, and she’s already mastered two One-Ring Spells. As expected, the Gu Family learns Magic far faster than anyone else."

Pei Ze raised an eyebrow, curious. "How so?"

Fan He smiled. "Have you heard of the Gu Family’s Gem Magic?"

Pei Ze shook his head. He didn’t know much about the Wizard Clans.

Fan He didn’t seem to mind and began to explain patiently. "You should know that gemstones aren’t just luxury items. In the hands of a Wizard, different gemstones can produce a variety of unique effects."

Pei Ze nodded.

He’d read about this in books before.

Many Wizards who specialize in enchanting love to inlay their Magic Staffs with gemstones. This isn’t just to make the staff more beautiful; it’s to enhance its power.

After being specially treated, many gemstones can be transformed into valuable enchanting materials.

For example, Red Zircon—also called Hyacinth Stone or Flame Stone—can greatly enhance the power of Fire Magic when inlaid on a Magic Staff imbued with it.

Another example is the sapphire. When inlaid on a Magic Staff imbued with Summoning Magic, it can greatly enhance its effects.

There are also opals, diamonds, Moon Pattern Stones, Cyan Green Stones, Aura Stones, and so on, each with its own impressive effect.

After thousands upon thousands of years of research and development, Wizards have already built a complete and well-developed system for Gem Enchantment.

As a result, the value of many gemstones in this world far exceeded their value in Pei Ze’s previous life.

Seeing Pei Ze nod, Fan He continued, "Gemstones are normally used as enchanting materials. But an ancestor of the Gu Family forged a new path. They developed a system that uses gemstones as a casting medium to drastically increase Magic Power and reduce the energy needed for casting. It even allows one to cast spells of a higher ring than their level would normally allow. This is the renowned Gem Magic of the Gu Family."

’Casting spells beyond one’s level!’

Pei Ze was astonished.

’Due to the limitations of Spiritual Power, Third-level Wizard Apprentices can only cast One-Ring Spells at most.’

’But if Gem Magic is as incredible as Fan He claims, doesn’t that mean Gu Lin could use a gemstone to cast a Two-Ring Spell?’

’That would be a true trump card!’

Pei Ze couldn’t help but marvel inwardly.

’Thinking back, during that final battle in the trial, Gu Lin probably wasn’t actually afraid of me.’

’It was probably just as she’d said. With first place already decided, the points didn’t matter to her anymore. That’s why she handed them all over without a second thought.’

Pei Ze gave Gu Lin, who was standing not far away, a deep look.

Just then, Gu Lin finished her practice and noticed Pei Ze and Fan He.

She seemed to recognize Fan He. She walked over and gave a casual greeting, which he returned with a smile.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out not far away.

The three turned to look, just in time to see a group of soldiers escorting a battered, slumped-over man.

A soldier bringing up the rear was carrying a pile of various items.

Pei Ze’s gaze landed on an insignia at the top of the pile.

Thanks to his excellent vision, he could clearly see the design on the insignia’s surface: countless arms of varying lengths and thicknesses, scrambling to claw their way out of a black well. The image carried a strange, sinister aura.

"A heretic from the Hand of Deep Resentment," Fan He whispered.

Pei Ze’s eyes flickered slightly.

Over the past few days, he had learned a fair amount about the Hand of Deep Resentment from Gu Lin, so he already had a rough understanding of the cult.

Every cult has its own object of worship.

Divine Spirits, demons, devils, legendary creatures... The object of their faith might differ, but there is usually only one.

The Hand of Deep Resentment, however, was unique. They had multiple objects of worship.

Legend had it that on the 73rd layer of the Bottomless Abyss, there were dozens, even hundreds, of pools known as the Wells of Darkness.

In every Well of Darkness, a Great Demon, Demon Lord, or Evil God is imprisoned and sealed.

During their long eons of imprisonment, these beings schemed to escape the Wells of Darkness. They eventually reached a consensus and joined forces, extending their tendrils into numerous material planes. Using the temptation of power, each being cultivated a large number of followers. These followers gathered together to form the unique cult known as the Hand of Deep Resentment.

The Hand of Deep Resentment is further divided into numerous factions, each dedicated to a specific object of worship.

The target of this joint operation between the City Guard Army and the High Tower Academy was one such faction—the one that worshiped the Great Demon, Ah Beipu.

Ah Beipu was rumored to be a giant, six-armed Black Tortoise Stone Demon.