Chapter 148: Hands-On

Linwei walked with subdued steps toward the skin-covered skeleton encased in the transparent glass cover.

As Linwei approached, more than a dozen official wizards glanced at him. Their movements were extremely slight, as if they were afraid of being discovered by the white-haired old man.

"Their gazes seem somewhat unfriendly..."

The moment Linwei walked over, he noticed the hostile stares of the dozen or so individuals.

"As a level-three wizard apprentice, I haven't offended anyone, and it's impossible for me to provoke their hostility for no reason. The only explanation is..." Linwei thought for a moment, "This hostility has been transferred to me from Tutor Seles..."

However, Linwei remained unfazed and approached with a blank expression.

"Hmm?"

Only then did Linwei notice the actions of the dozen official wizards.

In the left hand of every wizard was a strange fruit, and in the right hand was a bizarrely shaped knife.

The fruits were entirely orange in color, though the shades varied from deep to pale. The fruits were oval-shaped, with upturned barbs at both ends emitting a faint fluorescent glow. The surface of each fruit bore at least a dozen scratches, clearly carved by the strangely shaped knife.

The knife was very short, with a curved blade and a spoon-like structure at the tip.

At this moment, however, the dozen official wizards merely held the fruits and knives quietly, making no extra movements. After glancing at Linwei, they shifted their attention back to the skin-covered skeleton—or more accurately, to the tubes connected to it.

Time ticked away second by second.

"The flow rate of the liquid potion inside that tube has slowed down..."

Linwei keenly noticed this detail.

At that moment, a wizard who seemed to be the leader suddenly spoke: "Begin."

As soon as the words fell, the dozen wizards suddenly moved.

They gently drew the blade across the surface of the fruit, causing a few drops of juice to slide along the edge toward the tip, flowing into the spoon-like depression at the end of the knife.

A faint ripple of wizard power emanated from the blade.

Wisps of vapor began to emerge from the surface of the juice pooled in the depression.

"This is..."

Linwei understood in an instant.

Although the experimental method was different, this was precisely Noritz's experiment for igniting life energy!

"The components of that orange fruit's juice are vital substances that assist in the ignition of life energy, capable of largely maintaining and even promoting the excitation and preservation time of life energy..."

Linwei used the intelligent core sphere to probe the utility of the orange fruit.

"What kind of fruit is this?" Linwei's brows furrowed slightly. Even with the extensive knowledge reserves of the intelligent core sphere, he could not identify the origin or efficacy of this fruit.

"Could it be a new plant cultivated by the Shadow Forest through biological mutation science?"

Linwei guessed silently.

Before long, however, he refocused his attention on the actions of the dozen official wizards.

The lead wizard's movements were visibly more proficient than the others. After the juice slid into the depression, his wizard power flowed according to a specific pattern, passing from his fingers through the blade body and extending into the fluid-storage depression.

Swoosh!

The orange liquid ignited instantly, turning into an orange-red flame.

The lead wizard's wrist flicked slightly, and the orange-red flame flew from the tip of the knife, descending toward the liquid potion connected by the tube in front of him.

Hiss~

After falling into the potion vial, the orange-red flame did not extinguish immediately; instead, it continued to sink slowly, disappearing only when it was about to reach the bottom of the vial.

"The ignition amplitude of the life energy in the liquid potion inside the vial has increased..." Linwei figured everything out through the surveillance of the intelligent core sphere.

Having finished this, the lead wizard once again sliced open the surface of the fruit with his blade and repeated the previous steps.

"Hmm?"

Linwei inadvertently cast his gaze upon the other dozen wizards and realized that not everyone had successfully executed the lead wizard's steps.

Some wizards' orange-red flames extinguished the moment they were ignited, while others vanished the instant the flame touched the surface of the liquid potion. Among the thirteen official wizards in total, apart from the leader, only three successfully completed this step.

What struck Linwei as strange, however, was that none of the official wizards reacted with surprise, as if they were entirely accustomed to it.

"From the looks of it, the success rate of this step is so low that even official wizards find it difficult to complete..." Observing the scene, Linwei mentally commanded the intelligent core sphere, "Core sphere, record the lead wizard's movements."

Linwei only had the intelligent core sphere record the flow pathways of the official wizard's wizard power along the blade. As for the data within the official wizard's body, the current capabilities of the intelligent core sphere could not yet detect it.

As the thirteen wizards repeatedly sank orange-red flames into the liquid potion, some gradually began to halt their movements.

"Ten times... Once each person succeeds ten times, they stop."

Linwei observed their actions: "Aside from the lead wizard, whose success rate is around seventy percent, the success rate of the rest does not exceed fifty percent at most..."

"Did you see clearly?" The lead wizard suddenly looked up at Linwei with an indifferent expression.

"I saw clearly," Linwei paused to reply.

The lead wizard remained expressionless. He pointed at an official wizard standing next to Linwei: "Take his place. You'll do it in a moment."

A faint, mocking smile appeared on the face of the designated official wizard as he handed the orange fruit and the strange knife to Linwei. "Figure out the transmission method of wizard power along the blade yourself, and the blade will automatically ignite the fruit's juice."

"Yes, My Lord," Linwei accepted them, maintaining a humble expression.

"Can he really replace Seles?" Watching Linwei take over, the white-haired old man grew suspicious and asked Noritz beside him, "That old fellow's life is extremely precious. If he dies due to an accident, none of us elders will look good."

"Rest assured, My Lord, there will be no problem."

Noritz's tone was exceptionally firm.

When Noritz had personally tested Linwei that day, Linwei's talent had already won his affirmation.

"Oh?" The white-haired old man seemed quite surprised, saying with a half-smile, "Noritz, someone as proud and arrogant as you would actually evaluate someone this way?"

Hearing this, Noritz smiled humbly: "My Lord, Linwei's talent in biological mutation science truly exceeds ordinary expectations, far beyond what average geniuses can compare to. Now that he is starting, you may observe for yourself."

"Hmm..."

The white-haired old man and Noritz simultaneously cast their gazes toward Linwei.

"A genius... a sacrifice..." The white-haired old man muttered under his breath, so softly that even Noritz could not hear it clearly.