Li Wei returned to his room to find a plainly dressed, middle-aged man inside.

He subconsciously scanned the man with his Spiritual Power.

He found the man to be unfathomably powerful.

Li Wei closed the door and asked tentatively, "Teacher?"

The middle-aged man set down the purple rose in his hand and said, "Your Cultivation of the Illusion Technique is progressing quickly."

Torresta turned to look at Li Wei.

Even though the voice was different, Li Wei recognized from his response that the man before him was Torresta.

He had changed his appearance again.

Knowing the true nature of the Illusion Technique, Li Wei understood that Torresta could look however he wanted.

Li Wei said, "It’s all thanks to your excellent teaching, Teacher."

Torresta smiled. "You don’t have to be so modest. I haven’t taught you much; this is all your own understanding."

"I was originally wondering how to help you hide your identity, but it seems my help is no longer needed."

Li Wei’s expression flickered. "You have a way, Teacher?"

Torresta said, "With your current mastery of the Illusion Technique, you can already try to cultivate an Illusory Body."

"Cultivate an Illusory Body?" Li Wei looked puzzled.

Torresta explained, "Just like the Illusion Objects you create, an Illusory Body is actually a type of Illusion Object, just one that can move."

"Creating an Illusory Body with combat capabilities is still a bit difficult for you given your current strength, but you are already capable of creating an ordinary one."

"By splitting off a wisp of your Spiritual Power and infusing it into the Illusory Body, you can control it."

Torresta flipped his hand over, producing a book of cultivation notes, and handed it to Li Wei.

Li Wei took the notes, his expression shifting slightly.

"This is an Illusion Object?" he asked, utterly amazed.

The Illusion Object Torresta created was just like a real object.

If not for the Mana fluctuations on it, he wouldn’t have been able to tell.

A moment later, even the Mana fluctuations subsided, making it even harder to distinguish.

Torresta nodded and said, "When your Cultivation of the Illusion Technique reaches my level, you’ll be able to do this too."

"Thank you, Teacher," Li Wei said sincerely.

"Cultivate diligently and strive to inherit my legacy as soon as possible."

The voice faded into the distance as Torresta vanished.

Li Wei blinked, not having seen how he disappeared.

’Appearing and disappearing without a trace, as elusive as a phantom.’

’What a show-off!’

Torresta really knew how to put on a show.

Though Li Wei complained, he was actually envious.

If he could, he would absolutely love to show off like that too. How cool would that be!

Li Wei opened the Illusory Body cultivation notes that Torresta had given him.

After reading for a while, he put them down. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶

He would cultivate the Illusory Body at night.

[Crystal Meditation Method (Tier One)]5860/10000

For now, it was time to cultivate his Mana with the Crystal Meditation Method.

That afternoon, Li Wei stayed in his room cultivating Mana.

At night, Li Wei cultivated the Illusory Body section of the Illusion Technique in his dreams.

[Illusion Technique (Tier One)]687/10000

After a night of hard work, Li Wei created his own Illusory Body.

The Illusory Body was modeled after himself, with an appearance identical to Li Wei’s.

The key was the segment of Spiritual Power residing within it.

This allowed Li Wei to remotely control the Illusory Body’s reactions.

The Illusory Body was incredibly weak and had no Power.

It was nothing like Torresta’s, which could exert great Power.

As the Level of his Illusion Technique increased, the Illusory Body would also gradually grow stronger.

For now, being able to fool Gu Ze and Rota was enough.

It wasn’t like the Illusory Body needed to fight.

’I should avoid physical contact with Teacher Gu Ze as much as possible, or I’ll be easily exposed,’ Li Wei thought as he looked at the Illusory Body.

That shouldn’t be too hard.

After all, it wasn’t like he and Gu Ze were gay.

Li Wei programmed some simple reactions for the Illusory Body.

This way, it would react automatically when it encountered certain situations.

Li Wei wouldn’t have to constantly keep an eye on it.

The reactions were rather robotic, but they were sufficient for most general situations.

Li Wei thought that as long as he could get through tomorrow, he could then find an excuse to go into seclusion, which would reduce contact with others and minimize the risk of exposure.

’Okay, that should do it.’

’I’ll have it go out and say hello to Teacher Gu Ze first, just to see if the ruse works.’

Li Wei controlled the Illusory Body and had it walk out the door.

"Teacher Gu Ze, good morning."

Gu Ze glanced at Li Wei and replied, "Good morning."

He didn’t notice any issues.

Back in the room, the corners of Li Wei’s mouth curved up in a smug smile.

’Great, the plan is working.’

Li Wei had the Illusory Body return to the room, and then his real self went out.

After following Gu Ze and Rota into the Magic Hall, he used the excuse of going to the bathroom to switch places with the Illusory Body.

Li Wei, now in his guise as Armor, entered the competition venue.

Everything went smoothly.

Until he ran into Wicks.

Wicks blocked Li Wei’s path and said, "Name your price. Sell me the Magic Model. I’ll pay whatever it costs."

Li Wei looked at him and frowned.

’Why is this guy still so fixated on my Object Control Skill?’

"Ten thousand Gold Coins," Li Wei said offhandedly.

Wicks’s expression changed. "You’re not being sincere."

"That’s right. Can’t you tell I don’t want to sell it?" Li Wei said.

Wicks’s eyes narrowed. "I’ll give you one more chance. Otherwise, don’t blame me for not holding back during the competition."

"Bring it on."

Li Wei didn’t back down in the slightest.

’Are you kidding? I’m already using an alias, what’s there to be afraid of?’

’I can go all out on him, no problem.’

’Who’s afraid of whom?’

It was like he had put on a mask, but in reality, he had taken one off.

This perfectly described Li Wei’s current state of mind.

Since he wasn’t afraid of exposing his true strength, he naturally didn’t have to swallow his anger and take it lying down.

He had seen Wicks’s strength before.

He was strong, a Tier One High Level Wind Mage at the very least.

But compared to Li Wei, he still wasn’t much to look at.

Seeing that others were gathering to watch the spectacle, Wicks didn’t say anything more.

"Hmph, just you wait! You’ll regret this."

Wicks turned and left.

Li Wei just chuckled.

Xiong Er walked over and clapped Li Wei on the shoulder with a laugh.

"Haha, nice one!"

He had a preference for straightforward people.

Li Wei glanced back at him but didn’t say anything.

"The competition is about to begin. All participants, please prepare to enter the Secret Realm."

Everyone quickly lined up, waiting to enter the Teleportation Gate.

In the stands, the audience members all wore expressions of eager anticipation.

At that moment, the mist that had shrouded the island dissipated, revealing the scene within the island’s forest to everyone.

The figures of the participants appeared one after another in the forest.

The audience could only look down on the island from above, and it was difficult to see clearly what was happening in the densely wooded areas.

If a battle broke out, the referees would appropriately magnify the view of certain areas to make it easier for the crowd to watch.

Li Wei appeared in the forest. He glanced around, summoned his Shadow Attendant, and headed deeper into the woods.

The Magic Equipment he had chosen was the Invisibility Cloak.

An Invisibility Cloak was most useful in a complex environment like a forest.

The Shadow Attendant scouted ahead while Li Wei followed behind, using his Invisibility.

The ten-percent cost reduction Enchantment played a crucial role at a time like this.

Now, he had to survive in the forest for seven days.

The first priority was naturally to find food, water, and a safe place to make camp.

Li Wei had just begun to move when he heard an explosion in the distance, and a thick plume of smoke shot into the sky.

He looked up. ’What happened?’