by Zhuang Bifan
The two forces intertwined in an instant. Everyone clearly saw that the white rays were like a tide, constantly pounding against the black fog that was like a reef in the sea. It was standing firm despite the impact of the tide.
For a while, the silence in the Aurora Square was frightening. Everyone's heart was raised to their throat.
This was a real life-and-death struggle. Either the black fog was completely dispelled, or the young mage was devoured by the Death Energy…
At this time, Lin Li felt as if he had entered another world.
It was pitch-black around him. He could neither see nor hear anything. It was as if he was in an endless void. There was no other form of existence apart from himself. Time and space had lost its meaning in this moment.
"What exactly is happening?" Lin Li was perplexed. He seemed to remember that just a moment ago, the mage with the dead-man-like expression, Garat, seemed to have done something to him, but what happened after that?
Right, black fog…
Lin Li remembered at once. Garat seemed to release the black fog after he'd made a move on him. It contained the purest massive Death Energy. And in the next moment, he lost consciousness…
"Hell…" He'd gradually recalled the whole process, but he was still filled with confusion. He knew what had happened, but he did not know why all this had happened, and what consequences it would entail for himself…
Lin Li felt as if his soul was detached from his body at present. He'd lost all his senses and control of his body. His mind was clear, but his body refused to listen to his commands. He could only watch helplessly as the eerie black fog devoured him. He took in the massive pure Death Energy, but couldn't even call out for help…
An unprecedented sense of powerlessness filled up Lin Li's consciousness instantly. Since he became a mage, he had never been so weak as he was on this day. He knew very well that he was in an extremely dangerous situation, but he just had no way out. In face of that massive Death Energy, Lin Li felt like an ant that was unable to resist or struggle. The only thing he could do was watch it devour himself…
Lin Li even felt that he'd slowly die just like that.
"No, I can't die!"
Finally, his strong will to survive gained the upper hand.
There was a moment when Lin Li almost regained control of his body, but, unfortunately, it was only for a moment. The massive pure Death Energy once again reclaimed its overwhelming advantage.
However, this moment was particularly precious to Lin Li. Because at that moment, Lin Li saw the source of the Death Energy…
"It was from this…" Lin Li never imagined that the massive Death Energy did not actually come from Garat, but from the crystal in his pocket that he'd gotten from the Nightmare Mountains…
At that moment, Lin Li's senses were unusually clear. He clearly saw the crystal devouring his own mental strength like a bottomless black hole. At the same time, it was crazily releasing the Death Energy. This was an extremely bizarre process. The crystal was devouring the mental strength, yet releasing the Death Energy at the same time. It was like a converter—constantly converting the mental strength it devoured into Death Energy, and then using this energy to continue its devouring…
Moreover, with the constant exchange of the two energies, the dark red crystal gradually radiated an eerie light in the black fog. The eerie light became brighter and brighter as time passed. In the end, even the whole world seemed to have turned dark red.
"Drat…" Lin Li quickly recovered his composure. If he were to let his mental strength drain, what would await him was death. Appalled by this realization, Lin Li began to control his mental strength desperately in a bid to guide it back on track. But the force of the red crystal was like a huge vortex. With an irresistible force, it was channeling the mental strength into itself.
Lin Li only felt immeasurably tiny in this instant. It was as if he were a stone in a torrent, unable to slow down the flow at all.
"Bloody hell, what do I do now…?" Lin Li was about to go insane as he watched his mental strength fade bit by bit. The only thing he could do was to increase his control on his mental strength.
This was an immensely painful process. It was like trying to make the blood flow in the opposite direction. Just as Lin Li was desperately trying to control his mental strength, excruciating pain struck him.
Lin Li felt as if his whole body had been torn apart. The endless power was tearing frantically his body, just like continual turbulence. There was no law or order, only rage and uneasiness. They tore crazily at his body and every nerve.
And in the next moment, the insanely surging energy came together at once as if countless tiny nails from all directions were attracted by a huge magnet. It was a feeling more painful than that of tearing. Lin Li felt as if he was squeezed flat in an instant by some force.
The squeezing and tearing went on repeatedly. Under the endless pain and torture, Lin Li even felt like he was already dead…
It was unknown how long time had passed—it could as well only be a mere second for all one knew. Just as Lin Li felt as if he was going to die, he felt a lapse in the ubiquitous energy!
This lapse in power was like a light at the end of the tunnel.
Lin Li made a decisive decision and took this fleeting opportunity to divert a trace of his mental strength. He slowly and stealthily penetrated through the almost invisible gap.
And then he realized that he seemed to have entered another world.
Chapter 260 - The Undead Lord's Puppet
This short period felt like centuries for Lin Li. The continuous whispers reverberated in the ears like the twittering in the night and the soft breathing. The boundless darkness was slowly disappearing, and in its place was rainbow light. It was as if the space in between black and white had suddenly been filled with a myriad of colors, causing the whole world to become alive.
Lin Li's weak strand of mental strength was carefully and prudently moving around in this colorful world.
What he needed now was an exit. Even if it was a small hole, as long as he could insert this trace of mental strength into it, he would have the confidence to leave his own brand and completely control this abnormal crystal just like how he'd obtained control over the Brand Of Dusk.
But the process was harder than what Lin Li had imagined. The whole rainbow world seemed to be protected by some sort of energy. When his mental strength had just gotten closer, it would be immediately reflected. There was not a single opening or suture to be found. It was like a sphere with no openings.
Time was ticking by…
Lin Li's forehead was full of sweat. He knew that he did not have much time left. What was waiting could only be completely losing his mental strength if he were to continue dragging it, and then finally he would die from exhaustion. Lin Li could even feel that the rate of depletion of his mental strength was increasing. It was like surging waters, incessantly flowing into that abnormal crystal…
Towards the end, Lin Li had already given up.
There was no room to struggle. The only thing he could do was to wait for death to come knocking.
"Just which asshole was it that's so immoral. He actually hid a crystal in the Nightmare Mountains to harm others…" The mental strength was running out quickly, which meant Lin Li's mind had been pushed to the limits. His head was feeling heavy. The only thing he could think about was to curse that asshole that had placed the crystal in the cave to harm others.
"F*ck, I'll fight it out with you!" The situation could not get any worse. At this time, looking for an opening was useless. When the last remaining strand of mental strength was about to be lost, Lin Li finally gritted his teeth tightly. He did not care what sort of power was protecting this rainbow world anymore. He also did not care what sort of injuries he would sustain if this last strand of mental strength was lost. He had seemingly made his decision in an instant.
Lin Li completely gave up control of his mental strength. He let it s
urge straight into the crystal. At the same time, he was constantly invoking mana and letting it attack this rainbow world.
This was decision similar to seeking death…
It was either he created an opening, or he would die in the Aurora Square.
When the mental strength and mana had surged out together, Lin Li's face immediately became pale. This feeling was like his blood and flesh had been s.u.c.k.e.d out, leaving behind an empty shell. His whole body felt like jelly, and he could not muster any strength. His mind was empty. He could not feel the existence of anything except for that bit of mental strength that he had released…
After that, he suddenly realized that a gap had appeared within this rainbow world!
"I'm saved!" The appearance of this gap was like a ray of light that had appeared in the pitch-black night for Lin Li. He did not hesitate at all and steered the remaining mental strength towards that gap…
What followed immediately was a "POM!"
While his mind was in a whirl, Lin Li only felt that the world was collapsing. The rainbow lights that were in front had seemingly shattered into countless fragments in an instant. The rainbow-colored fragments were fluttering amidst the dark red light. It was more magnificent than fireworks in a night sky, but Lin Li discovered immediately afterwards that those countless rainbow-colored fragments seemed to be controlled by some sort of power. They scattered at times, and then they amassed together. In the end, they formed a rainbow stream of light and surged into his mind.
At that moment, Lin Li had seemingly seen the back of somebody.
It was an emaciated back of somebody wearing a long black robe. He was quietly standing there in this rainbow light stream, but he was unusually harmonious. What made Lin Li panic-stricken was that the aura permeating from his body was exactly the same as the black fog released by Garat. Just when Lin Li was about to release a strand of mental strength to check things out due to the sudden change, he suddenly heard a sound coming from afar.
"Immortal ruler, you shall use the bones as a scepter and retake the crown!"
After that, everything suddenly disappeared without a trace. All that was left behind was a rainbow light stream which surged into his mind in an instant…
As the countless rainbow-colored fragments had turned into a stream of light, they were buried deep within Lin Li's memory while flowing into his mind. Lin Li realized that this had to be some creature's memories. It was just that these memories seemed to have been tampered with. They were messy and fragmented. It was either a sound, a picture, or just a feeling.
In the instant when they were flowing, Lin Li had tried to interpret some useful information from within, but he quickly realized it was a waste of effort. These fragmented memories were too messy, and were not related to each other. It was more practical to count on Andoine suddenly becoming a master pharmacist than to try and interpret anything useful from this…
Lin Li filtered through these countless memory fragments, and the only thing he got in return was that he found out that there was indeed a powerful existence called "Immortal King" during the Dark Ages more than a thousand years ago.
It was just that there were no leads to be found from memory fragments about the origins of this "Immortal King" and what he had done during the Dark Ages…
In the end, Lin Li had to give up.
When he had finally regained his senses, everything in front of him had already disappeared. Be it that colorful world or that thick black fog, it all completely disappeared without a trace after that sudden change. This time Lin Li had already regained control of his body. He lowered his head and looked at himself. He was still holding the Aether Staff and wearing the Rune Robe. The only thing that was different was that the dark red crystal he was holding tightly in his right hand had an unearthly light seeping out from the cracks…
I guess I'm lucky. I did not throw my life away… Lin Li could not help but become covered in a cold sweat all over his body when thinking back about that hair-raising battle. The situation back then could be said to be as odious as it could be. If he was just a little more unlucky, he would not have been able to escape from exhausting himself to death.
This type of mental strength battles was always the most dangerous. Even though Lin Li had not used magic from the beginning to the end, it was more dangerous than fights with knives and guns. One mistake would cause complete destruction of the body, up until the soul. Even a trace of Soul Branding could not be left behind. This way of dying was the most thorough, and there was no way to be saved.
Lin Li wiped off the cold sweat off his forehead. When he turned his head around, he suddenly realized that the Aurora Square was eerily silent. Everyone's gaze had been set on him simultaneously. It was as if what they saw was not a trial apprentice, but a bipedal magical beast.
"What is going on?" Lin Li was in a daze. His mind was constantly having misgivings. Could it be that when the black fog permeated the area, he had done something shocking again? No, no, since the black fog had permeated the square, they would not have been able to see it even if he had done something, right?
Then…
Lin Li suddenly saw that his opponent, Mage Garat from Far Seeing City, was kneeling down on one knee and both his hands were raised above his head while holding the scepter. His expression was full of devotion and reverence. The current Garat did not look like an opponent that was trying to kill him. It was more like he became his most devoted disciple.
"Great Immortal King, welcome back!"
Garat's voice was still as hoarse and deep as before. In the gigantic Aurora Square, nobody other than Lin Li could hear what he was saying, but that posture of him kneeling down had started a commotion among the audience instantly. The sound of thousands of mages discussing it had instantaneously made the whole Aurora Square chaotic. Everyone was guessing what had happened in that black fog just now, why was the victorious Garat kneeling down, and why hadn't that mage from Jarrosus been swallowed by the black fog?
Question after question appeared, but there was no answer for any of them—what transpired had been too fast, plus there had been black fog covering their bodies suddenly. It looked like it had a life of its own. It had just arisen from Garat's body, and started forming all sorts of shapes. It spread out at times, and gathered together afterwards. In the end, it became a streak of black smoke and flew far away amidst a cackle that was similar to that of a nightbird…
"F*ck, just what is the Immortal King!" Lin Li stood in the Aurora Square and watched that black smoke disappear in a daze. His mind bore an indescribable annoyance because before the black smoke dissipated, Lin Li had heard another voice coming from within his mind. It was hoarse and deep, and it was also baffling. "Great Immortal King, you have finally awakened in the Skeleton Realm…"
"Awake your mother's a*s…" Lin Li swore angrily. This cliffhanging behavior is most hateful. It makes your heart itch, yet it does not tell you what is going on…
Wait a minute…
Lin Li was in a daze again when he stopped scolding midway.
He suddenly remembered the direction the black smoke dissipated in—wasn't it the route to the Shadowglen?
Could it be this was all because of the trials that had taken place a month or so ago?
The more Lin Li thought about it, the more frightened he was. He had experienced that level Death Energy from that black fog before. In a more exaggerated manner, even if it was a person on Andoine's level, he might not do any better than Lin Li. It was not a power that humans could compete with, especially so for the mental strength resistance. It made Lin Li break out in cold sweat just by thinking about it. How could Lin Li not be aware about the condition of his mental strength? Yet, Lin Li felt like an ant trapped in a spider's web when his mental strength was being extracted by that crystal. He had no room to struggle; he could but watch as he closed in on death…
Thinking about what had happened in the black fog, Lin Li suddenly felt that the crystal in his ha
nd started to burning…
"So who won?" Both of the judges stood far away and looked at each other. They could not come to a conclusion after a long while. Based on logic, the victor of this battle should be the Jarrosus mage because he was still standing and his opponent was already down…
But there was a question amidst everything…
There were too many incidents that happened in this battle—nobody could determine who was victorious. Not only had Macklin rushed onto the stage, even Aldwin had taken action at the end. This brazen interference with the competition could disqualify anybody from the competition ten times if they were to follow the rules strictly, thereby kicking those two accomplices out of the Aurora Square…
Of course, this was all just an "if"…
Even if they had a hundred galls, they would not dare to chase those two accomplices out of the Aurora Square.
"Why don't we just consider it a draw?" One of the young judges hesitated for a long while before he finally muttered out his own thinking.
"Draw your mother's a*s!" Macklin was old, but his hearing was still sharp. He was blown away by the black fog, and he was just standing up now, but he heard this guy suggesting it to be a draw. He immediately lost his temper. "F*ck, this can also be a draw. How are you two even judges? Felic is standing, and Garat is on the floor. How can you not understand such an obvious relationship of victory and defeat? You really think that my trial accomplice can be bullied?"
"No, no, no… You're mistaken, Mr Macklin. Let me explain, please…" Everyone in the Guild of Magic was very clear what sort of temperament Macklin had. Other than Aldwin, nobody else dared to provoke him. Even though the two judges had the right to decide the victor, they both shut up simultaneously in front of this master.
"What's there to explain?" The old man glared and shamelessly raised his hand, pointing Garat who was on the floor. "It can be a draw, but there must be a rematch. If you can wake him up, I will admit that this is a draw and let Felic fight him again. But you had better hurry, I am not so patient…"
