Boundless darkness descended from the sky!

The terrifying pressure, as if the entire world had turned to darkness and was crashing down on him like a tidal wave, made Gong Xinghe’s face drain of color.

The pride he felt from summoning the horde of Blood-colored Vines vanished in an instant, replaced by intense alarm and fear.

In his terror, he hastily directed the Blood-colored Vines to meet the oppressive flock of crows.

With a deafening roar, the two torrents—one black, one red—collided heavily in midair.

In an instant, countless Fog Crows were whipped to pieces by the Blood-colored Vines, shattering and dissipating into black mist.

At the same time, countless Blood-colored Vines were torn apart and shredded by sharp talons, their severed stems twitching as if electrocuted before retracting back into the ground.

The center of the collision was like a meat grinder; every second, a massive number of Fog Crows and Blood-colored Vines were either obliterated or torn asunder.

However, no matter how numerous the Blood-colored Vines were, there were only a few hundred of them. They were ultimately no match for the massive flock of crows, which numbered in the thousands.

Under the fierce, fearless assault of the crows, the number of Blood-colored Vines dwindled at a speed visible to the naked eye.

To Xiao Xi, Xu Ke, and the others, it looked as though the red was being rapidly consumed by the black. It was clear that it wouldn’t be long before it was devoured completely.

"These familiar derivatives are so powerful!" A look of horror appeared in Yang Xu’s eyes.

Xu Ke also wore an incredibly solemn expression.

Judging from the battle so far, each of the familiar derivatives Pei Ze had summoned possessed strength approaching that of a Grand Knight.

A few dozen of them would have been nothing to worry about.

He could even handle a few hundred with ease.

The problem was that there were four or five thousand of them right now. Even if he went all out, he wasn’t completely confident he could deal with such a number.

Just how did this Wizard Apprentice named Pei Ze manage to cultivate such a formidable familiar?

Even the familiar of an Official Wizard would likely be no better than this.

"Xinghe is going to lose," Yang Xu sighed.

The corner of Xu Ke’s mouth twitched. He wanted to argue that Gong Xinghe was only losing because he’d expended too much energy in the previous two fights, and that he wouldn’t have lost to Pei Ze otherwise. But the words wouldn’t come.

After all, anyone with eyes could see that Pei Ze’s strength completely overwhelmed Gong Xinghe.

He hadn’t even used a Wizard Artifact. Relying solely on Magic and his familiar, he had defeated Gong Xinghe. It was plain to see who was superior.

Xu Ke looked over at Gong Xinghe.

Gong Xinghe, who had been full of vigor after defeating two opponents just a short while ago, was now pale and drenched in sweat.

As the Blood-colored Vines suffered heavy losses, the Wizard Artifact in his hand had likely sustained immense damage as well. It would be unusable for some time without being properly nurtured back to health.

Under these circumstances, he had no other way to contend with Pei Ze.

If he didn’t want to be killed, his only option was to concede.

Gong Xinghe clearly understood this as well. Seeing the flock of crows tear apart the last of the Blood-colored Vines and turn towards him, he didn’t hesitate any longer. He opened his mouth to concede.

But at that exact moment, a figure appeared silently behind him.

A faint light glowed from beneath the clothes on their chest.

A Flash Magic Tattoo!

The expressions on Xu Ke’s and Yang Xu’s faces changed in an instant.

Gong Xinghe also immediately sensed the disturbance behind him, and his face contorted in alarm.

Unfortunately, it was too late. A flash of a sword, as swift as lightning, slashed through the air and struck his neck!

A violent burst of electricity erupted, instantly shattering Gong Xinghe’s Mage Armor and the protection from several other Magic Items, and blasting his head to pieces!

Even the stump of his neck was charred black.

THUD!

The headless body swayed for a moment before crashing to the ground.

Pei Ze stood beside the corpse, Longsword in hand. A layer of azure electricity flowed slowly over the silvery blade.

Silence!

A dead silence fell over the entire clearing.

Friend and foe alike watched the scene unfold in stunned silence.

Yang Xu and Xu Ke’s faces were grim, their eyes filled with a mixture of shock and fury.

The three Wizards from Red Lotus City also wore icy expressions as they squinted at Pei Ze, a dangerous glint in their eyes.

A cold snort suddenly rang out.

Zhuang Li followed the sound and met the gaze of the masked Wizard, whose eyes held a clear warning.

Zhuang Li’s gaze flickered for a moment before he looked away, the earlier smile completely gone from his face.

"So amazing!"

Coming back to her senses, Xiao Xi couldn’t help but stare at Pei Ze with wide eyes, her beautiful face full of awe.

Although she knew Pei Ze would win the moment he suppressed Gong Xinghe with Magic alone, she never expected his victory to be so clean and decisive.

He hadn’t even used Silver Star!

His power was simply terrifying!

Yuan Meng’s eyes filled with admiration, but she couldn’t help but feel a pang of regret.

’That old fool Mo Weng really got lucky, taking in such a promising seedling. What a shame. If this young man were at Violet Academy, his talent, combined with biological modification, would surely forge him into a powerful Wizard.’

The more Yuan Meng looked at Pei Ze, the more she saw him as prime material. If not for Mo Weng’s status as a Tier Five Alchemist, she would have been tempted to poach him herself.

Ai Yuan noticed the change in Yuan Meng’s expression. Knowing his friend’s personality well, he reminded her in a low voice,

"The match isn’t over yet."

Yuan Meng shot him a mild glare and looked away.

Just then, Red Lotus City sent out their second apprentice: Yang Xu.

After landing and steadying himself, Yang Xu immediately stared at Pei Ze as if facing a formidable enemy.

Gong Xinghe’s body lay nearby. No one from Red Lotus City dared to underestimate Pei Ze anymore; on the contrary, they regarded him with unprecedented gravity.

’This guy just used so much Magic; his Spiritual Power must be heavily drained. I don’t need to worry too much about his spells. As long as I can deal with the flock of crows, his only trump card left will be that Wizard Artifact.’