Chapter 171 Rank 1 Wizard

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Lin Wei directed his gaze toward the spot where the outer piece rested.

"The outer piece is located in the southwest corner of the chessboard..." A contemplative look flashed across Lin Wei's eyes. Seemingly remembering something, he shifted his gaze to the location of the misplay, his pupils contracting. "So that's how it is..."

"I once thought I was merely a chess piece, but it seems I was wrong..." Lin Wei suddenly let out a soft sigh. "I myself am a result, or perhaps a catalyst... The position of the misplay is precisely the center of the twelve wizard academies, while the position of the outer piece corresponds to the Lovas Mountains..."

"These crisscrossing white-lit grids are not a chessboard at all, but rather a predictive model..." Lin Wei muttered to himself. "The true chessboard is... the entire Xintong Continent!"

Lin Wei's gaze pierced into the depths of the endlessly shifting and infinite black-and-white space. "Only one person could set up a grand game of this scale... and that is..."

"Archmage Vengaless!"

Rumble!

The moment Lin Wei uttered the name of Archmage Vengaless, the chessboard beneath him shattered abruptly, transforming into endless stardust that dissolved into the intertwining black-and-white space.

"Archmage Vengaless is searching for a riddle... perhaps a person... perhaps an object... perhaps a location..."

Lin Wei felt no panic at the surrounding changes; even as the space around him grew unstable, his expression remained unchanged.

"The previous mysterious space tested one's mindset and rationality..."

The space around Lin Wei gradually stabilized once more. Above his head, a ray of golden light slowly grew brighter and shone down.

"Yet none of these are the most important things for a wizard..." Lin Wei whispered to himself. "The most crucial thing is... wisdom..."

Lin Wei knew that if he had failed to comprehend the intentions of Archmage Vengaless just moments ago, he might already have been reduced to a pile of dead ashes.

At that moment, the golden light above Lin Wei's head blazed brilliantly, completely bathing him in its radiance.

In an instant, Lin Wei felt as though his body had been entirely emptied; while his mind remained clear, his consciousness began to drift and scatter.

Unconsciously, Lin Wei fell into a peculiar state, almost identical to the sensation he experienced when closing his five senses during wizard meditation.

The wizard rune fragments of Lin Wei's meditation had long since condensed into seventy-two pieces, continuously recombining for optimal simulation. Only two fragments had remained unmerged until now. Once they fused into a complete rune, Lin Wei would advance to an official wizard.

Originally, Lin Wei had believed he could not achieve advancement in the short term, but ever since the golden light sank into his body, his perspective began to shift.

Those two remaining rune fragments began to drift toward the other seventy fragments that had already condensed.

Crack! Snap!

Without the slightest resistance, all seventy-two rune fragments suddenly locked together.

"Has it succeeded?"

Lin Wei's consciousness began to return.

The rune fragments within his body had transformed into a complete rune, and a vast, surging power began to radiate outward from it.

Lin Wei could feel his life energy undergoing a leap in evolution; the flesh and blood within him grew denser and more resilient, while the quality and quantity of his mental power skyrocketed.

"Host's physical data is increasing rapidly!"

The voice of the intelligent orb core echoed in Lin Wei's ear.

Boom, boom, boom!

Suddenly, Lin Wei felt his vision completely vanish.

Before his eyes, a gigantic vertical pupil stared directly back at him.

That vertical pupil was so immense that, in a daze, Lin Wei felt as though it filled the entire heaven and earth.

Lin Wei had never felt so minuscule before; whether in terms of physical size or internal energy, he was like a grain of sand cast into a vast desert when compared to that vertical pupil.

Suddenly!

From the center of the vertical pupil, a beam of black light shot directly into the center of Lin Wei's brow.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The demonic flames that Lin Wei had awakened in the Lovas Mountains instantly began to boil!

His physical form was once again enveloped by those demonic flames.

Only this time, compared to before, the destructive aura of the demonic flames had been elevated by an entire tier.

As the demonic flames burned continuously within his body, Lin Wei felt his newly enhanced physical attributes and even his mental power rise to yet another level.

The demonic flames burned quietly.

Time ticked away second by second, and finally, the demonic flames receded from Lin Wei's skin.

Swish!

Lin Wei's eyes snapped open in an instant.

A powerful, oppressive aura rippled and vibrated from his body!

"Is this... an official wizard?"

Lin Wei clenched his fists tightly.

He could clearly feel that this world harbored an inexplicable joy regarding his advancement.

"Orb core, pull up my physical data!"

Lin Wei commanded the intelligent orb core.

[Lin Wei Nolan Mountain; Strength: 21.5; Agility: 22.6; Physique: 22.7; Mental Power: 21.5; Skills: Swordsmanship, Hammer Strike; Wizard Meditation Method: Shadow of Holy Light; Spells: Stellar Dark Quicksand, Spiritual World, Mist Hidden Shadow, Shadow Concealment; Innate Talents: Demonic Flames, Undying Body (10%)]

"It has been a long time since my physical data increased by this much all at once... Both my base attributes and my mental power attributes have improved drastically..."

A long-absent joy appeared in Lin Wei's eyes, but soon, a trace of confusion emerged.

"Orb core, what is the 'Undying Body'?"

Lin Wei suddenly noticed that a new entry called "Undying Body" had appeared under his innate talents.

Lin Wei knew what innate talents were—they were exclusive abilities bestowed upon him by the Deep Blue Flesh. Ever since he returned from the Lovas Mountains, he had known that the demonic flames he awakened were one such ability.

However, now that he had advanced to an official wizard, an extra entry of "Undying Body (10%)" had appeared in his innate talents, which puzzled Lin Wei. Although his physical attributes had increased significantly, he had not sensed any tangible change corresponding to this ability.

"Upon detection, dramatic changes have occurred within the host's body, causing the Deep Blue Flesh to undergo further mutation."

"Through data model analysis, when the damage to the host's physical tissue is less than ten percent, perfect regeneration can be achieved."

Upon hearing the intelligent orb core's explanation, an expression of sheer incredulity burst into Lin Wei's eyes.

"Damage of less than ten percent allows for perfect regeneration!?"

It was impossible for Lin Wei not to be shocked.

Although wizards could repair severed limbs through potions or stimulate regrowth via biological mutation experiments, those methods were only applicable to non-core body parts.

Once a wizard's brain was pierced or their heart ruptured, instant death was still inevitable.

Yet this suddenly appeared innate talent, the Undying Body, seemed capable of shattering that ultimate boundary.

Thinking of this, Lin Wei drew in a sharp breath.