Chapter 28: Sanders

“Perhaps because the Nightmare Stones on the ship below have developed a sympathetic resonance, their spatial micro-particle frequencies are similar, accidentally connecting to the Nightmare Realm?” Sanders thought to himself.

Such extremely low-probability coincidences had occurred in history. The overlapping of planes, if not caused by the pioneering efforts of great magic, could only be attributed to coincidence.

Sanders' initial excitement slowly subsided. If a fixed entrance to the Nightmare Realm could truly be found, there would be no need to specifically search for Graia... Having lived for centuries, Sanders smoothed his emotions and quickly brushed aside this sudden aura of the Nightmare Realm.

Seeing that Sanders did not reply or press for details, Flora remained silent. As his longest-serving student, Flora naturally understood him well. If there was something he was unwilling to say, no amount of questioning would yield an answer.

At that moment, a black-feathered owl suddenly flew in from outside the tent, circled twice, and perched on Flora's shoulder. A visible ripple emanated from the owl's beak; as Flora analyzed the information within the ripples, a smile suddenly appeared at the corners of her mouth.

"Teacher, Aisha tells me that the blood duel in the fourth compartment has ended. The winner is Baruba." Aisha was this black-feathered owl, and also Flora's beloved alchemical pet.

"Oh?" Sanders cast a casual glance toward the southwest, his eyes shimmering with mysterious magical fluctuations. In his vision, the distant scene appeared as if it were right before his eyes—

The fourth compartment was a massive, enclosed, quadrilateral stone chamber.

At this moment, a bald youth with a bare upper body and deep brown, nearly black skin stood atop a mountain of human corpses. A red light flashed in his eyes, and ancient, fluorescent blue totems slowly spread across his lean, muscular body...

Like other wizard organizations, Sanders' own organization—the Savage Cave—would naturally recruit talented apprentices from various locations when the seas thawed. However, their recruitment process was not as gentle as that of the *Bauhinia*.

All talents were distributed by proportion into various compartments for blood duels; only those who survived were the elite among the elite. Only those who had endured such bloody battles could become new apprentices of the Savage Cave.

The bald youth in the fourth compartment was the sole survivor of that chamber.

Sanders gave a gentle, elegant smile, his eyes filled with profound meaning. "Heh, I didn't expect the ultimate winner to be a half-breed of an otherworldly barbarian and a human."

"Hee hee, a pity he isn't a true human of this world after all. Without corresponding strength, the World Will will eventually exclude him, unless he is exiled to another plane." Flora also employed eye-type witchcraft, watching the man who was still panting amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood. "Teacher, do you have plans for this person?"

"The Way of the Wizard is to seek truth and peer into the ultimate mysteries of the universe, using one's own knowledge to pry open the fundamental forces of the cosmos. Such great art cannot be compared to those highly situational abilities from other worlds. It is precisely because the Way of the Wizard is universal across all realms that alien lifeforms have long coveted it." Sanders pondered for a moment. "Although this half-barbarian's background is clearly laid bare, we cannot rule out the possibility that an otherworldly powerhouse is acting through his bloodline. The chance of him being a spy is low, but it cannot be ignored."

"Once we return, we shall observe him for a while. If there is any suspicious movement, we kill him. If he is harmless..." The corners of Sanders' mouth curled slightly. "Let him cultivate the bloodline path. Once he has fused his bloodline, we can refine him into a substitute puppet."

Regardless of whether he had the potential to be a spy, his fate was already sealed; who could blame him for having half his bloodline from an otherworldly lifeform?

In the eyes of wizards, an otherworldly lifeform that intruded into the wizarding world through unofficial channels would either become a slave, become experimental material, or turn into white bones to merge with the soil. The first two were the methods of wizards; the last was the great power of the World Will.

"The winners of the other eight compartments have also appeared. If we exclude the one from compartment four, we only have eight talents recruited by our 'Savage Cave' this year..." Flora gave a mock sigh. "Sigh, we haven't even reached double digits. Once we get back, those dissenters will surely nag us again, perhaps even proposing to abolish the 'Death Compartment' recruitment rule."

Sanders smiled faintly, completely indifferent. "Do not mind their thoughts. They know deep down that if we used the wide-net recruitment methods of those three organizations on the *Bauhinia*, the name of the Savage Cave would not rank in the top ten of the Southern Region. Only by experiencing the blood duel can one understand the true rules of the wizarding world."

Flora grimaced. "Sigh, forget it, let's not talk about this. Teacher, once we find the Barbie Restaurant, why don't we just kidnap Graia directly? Otherwise, coming to her every time we need to locate coordinates is exhausting!"

Sanders shook his head, letting out a soft laugh. Although Graia's combat strength was not high, she had created various bizarre witchcraft. If he acted, he might achieve victory, but kidnapping her alive would be absolutely impossible.

"Sigh, if I hadn't been so greedy for cultivation realms in my early years and sealed off half of my channels, I wouldn't be in this state..." Sanders lamented silently in his heart.

...

It was another gloomy night. Outside, the gale raged, and the torrential rain fell like a continuous curtain of water, showing no sign of stopping. The sea danced wildly in the wind, and the massive waves made the *Bauhinia* sway violently back and forth like an out-of-control baby cradle.

Angell did not sleep at all throughout the night, occupied solely with maintaining his physical balance. It wasn't until the next day, when the sea calmed and the sun shone brightly, that Angell used his exhausted limbs to force himself back to bed. Accompanied by a weightless brain, he fell into a deep sleep.

He slept straight through until the moon was high in the sky.

When Angell woke up, he felt a slight tug from the pendant hanging around his neck. Pulling it out from under his clothes, he saw a transparent, oval crystal nestled within a metal mesh setting.

"Eye of the Outer Heavens..." Angell looked at it silently, suddenly thinking of his home thousands of miles away, his brother, and his mentor, Jon.

By his count, it had been nearly five months since he left home. He had not yet reached the continent where the wizards resided, and he did not know if he could make it home in time five years from now.

Sighing, Angell stopped dwelling on troubling thoughts. He hung the pendant back inside his clothes, close to his chest. This glass bead had accompanied Mentor Jon to this realm; perhaps it held some mystery, and Angell naturally had to keep it safe.

After getting up, Angell continued his routine: eating, solving problems, and sleeping.

A life of three points and a line.

Another week passed. As Angell passed by the dining hall one day, he inadvertently glanced at the mercury mirror hanging by the door.

In the mirror, Angell's appearance had changed drastically. The once handsome and elegant young nobleman had become somewhat dark and gloomy. His eyelids drooped, his dark circles were heavy, his lips were gray and cracked, and his complexion was pale and dull.

In a short period, fatigue and pressure had driven him to this state.

He had forgotten when the last time he had laughed was.

Angell cleaned his face at the basin, burying his face in the water, hoping the cool liquid would quiet his thoughts. The five-year deadline pressed upon him so heavily that he had almost forgotten his original intention; even the etiquette etched into his bones had been crushed into dust.

His current way of thinking was quite pathological, yet he was unwilling to change his current state. At least... before solving the puzzle left by his mentor, he did not intend to relax his taut nerves.

Besides, on the *Bauhinia*, which lacked entertainment facilities, other talents could practice meditation. Aside from solving problems, what else could he do?