"I'll keep this brief," she said. "Within Blackstone City, devotees of the Blood Flesh Thorns Sect are lurking. They plan to summon the Evil God and destroy the island.
Moreover, the Chiwen Gang and the Poke Gang within the city have also been beguiled by the Blood Flesh Thorns Sect, having thrown themselves into the arms of the Evil God."
"After a thorough investigation, Wizard Lap has pinpointed the location of the Blood Flesh Thorns Sect's ritual altar...
Tonight, Wizard Lap will lead Lord Red Flame and these peak Apprentices to completely eradicate the Blood Flesh Thorns Sect as well as the corrupt Chiwen Gang and Poke Gang!"
With that, she paused for a moment, allowing the Apprentices time to react.
Colin's face betrayed nothing, but his heart was somewhat shocked. Although Regina spoke lightly, he knew the process behind her words had been anything but simple.
He suddenly remembered Flower's reassuring words from three months ago.
...Unexpectedly, in his absence, the School had moved quietly to this extent... just waiting to eradicate them tonight.
"Of course, the front lines are naturally not our concern," Regina continued. "Our mission this time is to guard the junctions we're responsible for and prevent anyone from escaping!"
She paused again, then emphasized, "Unless they're a member of the School, if they try to flee, show no mercy, not one person must be let go!"
Colin's expression hardened; this undoubtedly meant that in the area they surrounded, there would likely be no survivors.
"Next, let me assign the junctions each of you will be responsible for..." Regina went on.
If one were to look down from the sky at this moment, they would see that under the cover of night, surrounding the Thorn Street District at its heart, there were several groups like Regina's, formed by gathering many Wizards.
In the next moment, these groups dispersed, breaking up into many dots that connected to form lines, encircling the entire area.
...
At a certain junction,
Colin let out a slight breath.
Autumn nights were not as warm as those in summer, but carried a hint of chill.
"Cough~ Cough~ Cough!"
The nearby fisherman was still coughing, seemingly tormented by illness and unable to sleep.
Colin, expressionless, was hidden in the shadows.
The junction he had been assigned to was right by the shack he had passed earlier.
A breeze whispered past, stirring his black cloak.
If one were to ignore that bothersome coughing, the night would have been peaceful and still.
It was not biting cold like in winter, nor sweltering like in summer... and even a bit different from spring, it carried a more dense and lingering meaning.
Colin quietly summoned the Golden Paper, calming the faint restlessness in his heart.
Before coming here, he had successfully Advanced.
It took less time than he had thought, just half an hour.
But after the breakthrough, it took him another half-hour to adapt before he could return to normal.
"Spirit Fog... it is both an obstacle and a shelter."
This was a line from the primer.
Only after Advancing did he truly grasp the meaning of these words.
Colin tucked away the Golden Paper and once again surveyed his surroundings.
Distorted...
Distorted—
Looking around, regardless of where, or which corner,
...Everywhere he looked was filled with disordered, grey-black eerie floaters.
Upon closer inspection, one would notice these grey-black floaters writhing like living creatures... and if one looked even closer, they could glimpse countless tiny black dots, like swarms of bugs, through their semi-transparent dim glow!
Under the influence of these grey-black impurities, the otherwise serene night took on a sinister edge.
Colin raised his arm.
Countless black dots were streaming towards him, but they were firmly blocked by a layer of Spiritual Light barely perceptible on his skin.
This was the barrier formed by humanity and knowledge after Advancing to Advanced Apprentice.
Colin looked toward the nearby shack where, at the window facing him, he could see countless impure black dots enveloping a silhouette.
"Cough—cough!" The silhouette coughed violently again.
It seemed already gravely ill.
But those black dots were still repelled by a faint white mist outside the person's skin.
That was Spirit Fog!
To some extent, facing these impure black dots, the Spirit Fog might be even more resilient than the Spiritual Light on his body.
After all, what's unseen remains unharmed.
Colin withdrew his gaze and quietly continued to wait for Wizard Lap's action to commence.
He wasn't concerned about these abnormalities; their duration wouldn't last long. Depending on the individual, but generally speaking, they would fade away gradually after at most half a month.
Afterwards, when advancing to Official Wizard, they would resurface... only by then, he would be able to freely activate or block this state at will.
The moon gradually rose, time stealthily passed, and the fisherman ceased coughing, quietly falling asleep.
Like a statue, Colin stood still, waiting
Until at one moment—
Above him in the sky, there was a sight like a meteor falling!
A blinding light burst forth!
An indescribable orange-yellow orb suddenly descended towards a specific area!