Chapter 150: Dispute

“A sacrifice?” Jartins’s face darkened instantly, and he paused before asking, “What kind of sacrifice?”

“A sacrifice with pure shadow aptitude,” Norrenxiu replied in a calm voice.

The room fell into a heavy silence.

“If he is the sacrifice, then it’s the old man’s bad luck,” Jartins said slowly after a moment’s pause.

“His talent in experimental operations is the strongest I have ever seen, and he has profound knowledge in biological mutation studies,” Norrenxiu began to express his opinion. “If he were not treated as a sacrifice but cultivated as a seed for the Academy, then there would surely be a place for him in the future of the Starlink Continent.”

“Impossible!” Jartins immediately rejected Norrenxiu’s suggestion. “If it were any other sacrifice, I might support your idea, but someone with pure shadow aptitude like him is absolutely forbidden! The Sacred Pearl hasn’t devoured a sacrifice with pure aptitude for a long time.”

“We can still find such a talent in the mortal realms and use them as a new sacrifice!” Norrenxiu argued passionately.

“Norrenxiu!” Jartins’s expression suddenly grew grim and severe, his eyes filled with terrifying resolve. “Do you realize what you’re saying?”

“I…” Norrenxiu was momentarily stunned, about to explain, but Jartins interrupted him.

Jartins sighed deeply. “Don’t say such things again. Only I can get away with this; if anyone else said it, it would cause a huge problem.”

Norrenxiu fell silent.

“Do you remember the ninth-generation dean of the Six-Light Nest?” Jartins’s eyes flickered with reverence. “He was the greatest leader of the Wizard Academy Alliance after all the founding deans…”

“But what was his fate?” Jartins’s tone shifted. “He recklessly tried to break the wizard monopoly, attempting against the tide to let all mortals on the Starlink Continent receive wizard education. The entire Wizard Academy Alliance’s power ruthlessly erased him…”

“Having ideals is commendable, but don’t be foolish!” Jartins whispered harshly. “Why does the Wizard Academy Alliance abandon so many mortal talents? Why do we only send out so many wizard tokens? Don’t you understand?”

Norrenxiu nodded, sighed, and without a word walked to the door and opened it.

Just as he was about to leave, his steps halted. He turned back to Jartins: “You’re right.”

Bang!

The door slammed shut.

Jartins leaned back in his seat, murmuring softly, “A genius in biological mutation? He must be thinking of Dilimartin… That was his greatest regret in life…”

...

“Sir, you said Lord Norrenxiu is one of the Academy’s founding elders?”

Lin Wei and Noritz had arrived at Norrenxiu’s office door.

“Yes, and he has a close relationship with the dean; they were friends from the same era,” Noritz explained.

Noritz and Lin Wei stood respectfully at the entrance.

Noritz had already knocked earlier, but there was no response.

Soon after, Norrenxiu descended from the upper floor and approached the door.

“Sir.”

Noritz and Lin Wei quickly stepped forward, bowing respectfully to Norrenxiu.

Norrenxiu glanced at them and nodded.

“Come in.” Norrenxiu pushed the door open, and Lin Wei and Noritz followed.

Norrenxiu did not sit at his desk but leaned against a rattan chair.

Lin Wei and Noritz remained where they were, awaiting his instructions.

“Lin Wei,” Norrenxiu began.

“Sir,” Lin Wei stepped forward and bowed respectfully.

Norrenxiu looked at Lin Wei, a hint of nostalgia flickering in his eyes. “Your experimental operation talent is remarkable, and I’ve heard your research into biological mutation is profound.”

“You flatter me, sir,” Lin Wei replied humbly.

Norrenxiu waved his hand. “You…”

He hesitated, unable to continue.

Noritz, standing to the side, sensed something amiss. “Could it be, sir, that you failed to persuade the dean?”

Norrenxiu seemed lost in some memory, silent.

Lin Wei and Noritz stood quietly, not daring to move.

“When I was a first-level wizard, I had a grandson named Dilimartin. Like you, he was a genius in biological mutation.”

Norrenxiu spoke slowly, as if to himself despite addressing them.

“Unfortunately… he died later.”

His tone was tinged with sorrow.

“So it was because of Dilimartin…” Understanding dawned on Norrenxiu’s heart.

Since becoming an elder of the Shadow Forest, Norrenxiu had also become the head of his family. He had many descendants, dozens of grandchildren, but Dilimartin was the one he cherished most. Yet Dilimartin had died unexpectedly during a trial, becoming Norrenxiu’s greatest regret.

“If Lin Wei can thus gain Lord Norrenxiu’s favor, perhaps I should do something…” Noritz pondered inwardly. “Even if Lin Wei is sacrificed in two years, Lord Norrenxiu should see my sincerity. Among the next elders, I must be there!”

After a moment, determination flashed across Norrenxiu’s face.

“Lin Wei, cherish your talent.”

Norrenxiu’s tone was stern.

“Yes, sir.”

Lin Wei was puzzled by Norrenxiu’s attitude: “I am the Sacred Pearl’s sacrifice. He must know that, yet… by making his stance clear, does he intend to save me?”

“If that’s truly the case, the Fangtooth Bloodshadow plan will be halted, and my own plans will change…”

While Lin Wei disliked facing direct life-and-death crises, he was even more vexed by such uncertainties.

“It looks like I need to report this to Lorna…”

Lin Wei thought silently.

Noritz, witnessing Norrenxiu’s attitude, understood his stance even more clearly.

“You may leave.”

Norrenxiu began dismissing them.

Noritz and Lin Wei exchanged a glance and slowly stepped out.

“Sacred Pearl... Sacred Pearl!”

Suddenly, an ominous aura enveloped Norrenxiu, and the air around him thickened.

“Dilimartin… everyone thought he died by accident… even I believed it at the time…”

Norrenxiu’s face twisted with anguish.

“But the truth is… he was also a sacrifice to the Sacred Pearl!”

“How can a bunch of creatures reliant on devouring living beings ever defeat the Fangtooth Bloodshadow!?”

Norrenxiu clenched his fists tightly, his knuckles whitening.

“Perhaps…”

Bloodshot eyes gleaming with resolve, Norrenxiu murmured, “Gleis’s suggestion… might truly be acceptable…”

With a flick of his hand, a blood-red prism appeared.

Infusing it with wizard power.

Whoosh!

A phantom materialized before Norrenxiu.

“Lord Norrenxiu, it seems you have come to your senses…”

The copper-masked knight of Fangtooth Bloodshadow, Gleis!