Forging Guild, outside a top-tier forging room.

Yasuo’s figure quietly appeared.

The heavy stone door slowly opened, and a wave of scorching heat mixed with the faint scent of metal rushed out.

Ouyezi didn't waste words; he directly placed all the crafted equipment into a spatial ring.

Then he handed the ring to Yasuo.

Yasuo turned and left, his figure quickly disappearing at the end of the corridor.

The two hadn't exchanged a single word from beginning to end.

This scene left Lin Wei, who was standing nearby, bewildered.

She cautiously asked Ouyezi, “Great Master Ou, who was that just now?”

Ouyezi’s answer was still concise: “A friend.”

“The Materials fee for this time can be deducted directly from my money. Thank you for your hard work; please send me back.”

He wasn't actually going to rest.

Instead, under Zhou Huai’s arrangement, he was quietly using the skills 【Divine Craftsman’s Enlightenment】 and 【Touch of Spiritual Refinement】 in the apartment.

He was improving his proficiency.

Especially the skill 【Divine Craftsman’s Enlightenment】, although currently it could only enhance items to rare quality.

For Ouyezi, it was somewhat of a wasted skill.

But in the future, it might be able to enlighten legendary-grade equipment.

At that time, this skill would be a truly divine skill.

...

Donghai City, North City Gate.

Yasuo, dressed in a dark trench coat, leaned quietly against the city wall.

A moment later, a tall and straight figure approached from a distance.

It was Zhou Huai’s third Clone, the SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage Gandalf.

The two met up, preparing to leave the city.

The guards at the city gate conducted routine checks. When one of them saw Yasuo’s identity information, a look of surprise appeared on his face.

“You’re also called Yasuo?”

The guard looked him up and down, marveling.

“Your name is truly... quite famous.”

“You actually share the same name as that wanted criminal with a million bounty.”

The guard said jokingly, “If I hadn’t heard that Yasuo was already blasted to smithereens by a certain big shot, I would have almost thought you were him.”

Zhou Huai, controlling Yasuo, let out a dry laugh.

“Yes, these past two days I’ve also been on edge, afraid of being mistakenly arrested on the street for the reward.”

The guard burst into laughter and patted his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, brother, looking at your build, you don’t seem like the kind of fierce person who could ambush and kill dozens of people from the Radiant Alliance.”

After a few simple jokes, the guard waved them through cheerfully.

Yasuo, with Gandalf, successfully walked out of the city gate and re-entered the wilderness outside the city. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

Next, it was time for leveling.

Their target was the dungeon Lin Wei had mentioned earlier—the 【Shadow Swamp Demon Cave】.

The dungeon was located twenty kilometers north of the city.

With Yasuo’s current Rank of fourteen, clearing the way to it, reaching Rank fifteen upon arrival shouldn't be a problem.

By then, he would be able to equip the 【wild set】 meticulously crafted by Ouyezi.

Challenging the Calamity difficulty 【Shadow Swamp Demon Cave】 at that point would also give them a greater chance of success.

Not long after leaving the city, the figures of Strange Beast began to appear in the jungle ahead.

Zhou Huai didn't hesitate; he immediately transferred the primary control of his consciousness from Yasuo to Gandalf's body.

He was truly too curious.

How terrifying was the destructive power of an SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage, a profession that only existed in legends?

He quickly equipped Gandalf with the Rank one transitional gear Ouyezi had prepared.

A clean white robe, a hood that covered half his face, and a plain wooden staff in his hand.

Zhou Huai, controlling Gandalf, looked up at the shadowy jungle in the distance.

He slowly raised the staff in his hand.

A low, ancient chant spilled from his lips.

【Forbidden Spell - Meteor Shower】!

Buzz—!

A colossal magical power surged from within Gandalf, and a significant portion of his long Mana bar was instantly drained.

The sky, at ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ this moment, darkened.

The wind stopped.

Birds and beasts fell silent.

An indescribable sense of oppression enveloped an area of several miles.

Immediately after, three massive fireballs, trailing long fiery tails, tore through the dim sky like divine punishment falling from Nine Heavens!

Their target was precisely that jungle, home to countless Strange Beast !

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Three earth-shattering explosions erupted almost simultaneously!

A scorching shockwave, carrying destructive power, swept wildly in all directions!

Within a hundred-meter radius, it instantly transformed into a churning sea of fire!

The desperate screams of countless Strange Beast lasted for less than a second before being completely drowned out by the even more violent explosions.

The earth trembled.

Flames roared.

Before Zhou Huai’s eyes, a dense string of System notifications cascaded like a waterfall!

【Killed Jungle Dire Wolf LV12, gained 150 experience points!】

【Killed Mutated Wild Boar LV11, gained 120 experience points!】

【Killed...】

【...】

The white light of leveling soared twice in a row from Gandalf!

In a mere instant, his Rank had skyrocketed from LV1 to LV3!

Zhou Huai was stunned.

He controlled Gandalf, gazing at the sea of fire that had turned into scorched earth, speechless for a long time.

Oh my goodness.

This was the power of an SS-Rank Forbidden Spell Mage?

This was... too damn exaggerated!

And this was only the skill effect at Rank one.

If his Rank were higher, wouldn't a single Forbidden Spell level an entire city?

Just as his heart was stirring, a familiar prompt sounded in his mind.

【Ding! Detected host's Clone 'Gandalf' displaying extraordinary potential, unique hidden profession challenge quest triggered!】

【Quest Name: Name of the Champion!】

【Quest Content: Please control the host's Clone 'Gandalf' to achieve the title of national champion in the Great Xia Country Professional Unified Examination held four days later!】

【Quest Reward: Profession Orb Draw Chance X1!】

Zhou Huai’s eyes instantly lit up.

Another challenge quest triggered!

Originally, he wasn't interested in participating in the national examination.

He hadn't planned on joining any professional academy before.

But now, with a quest reward, the situation was completely different.

This champion title, he had to fight for it!

However, the prerequisite was that Gandalf’s Rank needed to reach fifteen.

For others, this might be quite difficult, almost impossible.

But for Gandalf, the Forbidden Spell Mage, it was incredibly easy.

“Woo—! Woo—! Woo—!”

Just then, a piercingly sharp alarm suddenly blared from the direction of Donghai City’s city gate in the distance!

Clearly, Gandalf’s earlier 【Meteor Fire Rain】 had caused too much of a commotion.

That world-destroying power had led the City Guard on the city wall to mistakenly believe a powerful BOSS was preparing to attack the city.

Such incidents happened annually in Donghai City.

Each BOSS attack meant a brutal bloodbath.

Thus, the City Guard was always highly sensitive to this.

Zhou Huai dared not delay; he quickly controlled Yasuo and Gandalf, swiftly leaving the area and retreating deeper into the jungle.

No sooner had they left.

Immediately after, a fully armed team of City Guard rushed to the scene.

When they saw the scorched earth before them, still emitting black smoke and looking as if it had been plowed, everyone gasped.

Shock and horror were etched on every face.

“This... who did this?” a young team member’s voice trembled.

The captain walked to the edge of the scorched earth, knelt down, and picked up a handful of hot ashes, his expression extremely grim.

“There are still powerful fire element fluctuations in the air, but... there are no traces of BOSS-Rank Strange Beast in the vicinity.”

To be able to unleash a skill with such terrifying range, its strength was absolutely extraordinary.

“Captain,” another team member reported, “Strange Beast activity has been increasingly frequent recently; several adventurer Guilds have encountered small beast tides in the wild.”

The captain stood up, his gaze sweeping over the shocking scorched earth, then looking towards the deep jungle.

“Pass on my order!”

“Starting today, strengthen patrols in all areas outside the city! Double the frequency!”

His voice was filled with a murderous aura.

“I suspect those beasts are planning something big recently!”

“Yes!”

The team members responded in unison, their voices loud.