From Wizard Apprentice to Conqueror of Myriad Worlds

She also didn’t take off her clothes, simply climbing inside.

Reina closed her eyes and quietly activated a Secret Technique to aid sleep. Before long, she fell into a groggy, half-awake state.

In this drowsy state, the Dazed Girl vaguely glimpsed a slender figure walk up to her, lean down, and observe her carefully.

A few seconds later, she sensed Miss Anya straighten up and tiptoe over to Mr. Mo Ning.

Miss Anya knelt beside Mr. Mo Ning, seeming to gaze intently at his face. She held this position for nearly a minute.

Just as her consciousness was about to plunge into bottomless darkness, she faintly saw Miss Anya seem to lean down, her pretty face slowly approaching Mr. Mo Ning’s.

A certain action was completed in that instant.

A thought subconsciously flashed through the Dazed Girl’s mind: ’Is Miss Anya secretly kissing Mr. Mo Ning? Oh my! This is some explosive news.’

Before the thought could fully form, she could no longer resist the overwhelming drowsiness and was dragged into the land of dreams by an unseen hand.

*****

「Black Tower Academy.」

Inside the Observation Room.

The second general assessment was the most important one to date, so today, three Apprentices were stationed in this secret location.

They were all powerful Third Level Apprentices who had struggled and clawed their way through the academy for decades.

One of them, naturally, was Nasha.

The other two came from the other two major councils—the Dawn Council and the Bell Tower Council.

Floating in mid-air were no longer spheres of light, but several Light Curtains.

The largest Light Curtain, over ten meters wide, displayed the scene at the edge of the forest.

The Battle Group demonstrated impressive organizational skills.

Sitt, Phoebe, Potter, and the others had organized everyone into a formation, holding a tense standoff with the troop of monkeys at the forest’s edge.

The mist had already risen several meters high. The newcomers didn’t dare go anywhere; they could only stay put and defend their position.

Half of the newcomers were on guard, staring intently at the eerie green lights in the treetops.

The other half were felling trees by various means, attempting to build a crude Sanctuary with the damp branches and trunks.

Another, slightly smaller Light Curtain showed the scene inside the Sanctuary.

When the girl leaned down to secretly kiss the boy, a ripple of soft laughter filled the Observation Room.

A Female Apprentice named Mansha, who carried herself with a sultry grace, had her beautiful hair tied up in a high bun. A small, sparkling golden arrow was stuck in her hair, a wisp of golden light slowly flowing along its shaft—a rather eye-catching feature.

Mansha glanced at the tranquil Sanctuary, then at the tense atmosphere in the forest, and couldn’t help but shake her head. "The difference is just too great."

Everyone at the edge of the forest was exhausted, while those in the Sanctuary were sleeping soundly in warm sleeping bags. How could one not be struck by the contrast?

The other male Apprentice, Velen, had striking brass-colored skin, as if covered by a thin metallic film.

Velen spoke in a booming voice, "This batch of newcomers doesn’t have much talent. The only talented one was snatched up by your Rose Council. You got lucky."

Mansha readily agreed. "This newcomer named Mo Ning... his Divination Foundation is truly impressive. It’s been many years since we’ve seen a newcomer like him. The Rose Council really hit the jackpot."

Nasha corrected her, "It wasn’t luck, it was a good eye."

Velen just snorted, in no mood to argue with Nasha.

Relations between the three major councils weren’t tense. They cooperated more than they competed, so the three Apprentices weren’t at each other’s throats.

Nasha’s smile didn’t waver, but she thought to herself, ’If you knew Mo Ning was "The River Flows Eastward," that his paper made the cover of *Shine*, you’d probably be even more jealous.’

But she didn’t say this out loud.

Mansha slowly stood up and stretched, her movements possessing a feline grace.

She gave the Light Curtain one last, disinterested glance and said, "A sorry lot, nothing worth watching. I’m leaving."

She touched her Casting Belt, and Instant Shadow Powder drifted from her fingertips. With a POOF, it ignited into a pale flame in mid-air, consuming her figure.

Mansha belonged to the Dawn Council.

As it happened, the newcomers assigned to the Dawn Council were the worst-performing group. It was a loss of face for her, so she simply left.

Velen sat where he was, like a bronze statue.

Sitt, Princess Phoebe, Potter, and the other slightly better-performing newcomers happened to belong to the Bell Tower Council, so Velen had some interest in staying.

A few more seconds passed.

Nasha glanced at her colleague and broke the silence. "Velen, do you think the group in the forest can hold out?"

She paused, her gaze falling on the churning fog. "The mist isn’t at its thickest yet, and the three Tree Bark Monkey lords haven’t appeared. The real test is still to come."

Velen answered evasively, "Perhaps they can hold out."

It was the only way he could answer. Otherwise, wouldn’t he lose standing in front of his colleague?

His gaze swept over Sitt and Princess Phoebe as he secretly prayed for the two of them to stabilize the situation.

The corners of Nasha’s mouth lifted slightly.

She gazed at Mo Ning, who was sleeping soundly on the Light Curtain, and for the first time, she found the kid particularly pleasing to the eye.

This kid had single-handedly put the people from the other two councils in their place. It brought her a great deal of credit.

Velen shot back a pointed question, "This kid, Mo Ning... he’s not planning to just turtle in the Sanctuary until the assessment is over, is he?"

He shrugged, slyly treating his assumption as established fact before commenting, "Perhaps Mo Ning is a smart person, but he seems far too timid.

"The kid is holding a great hand, but he doesn’t dare play his cards. He doesn’t know how to seize opportunities to get a better assessment score."

Nasha’s pretty face still wore a smile, but her emerald eyes turned a shade colder.

She didn’t spare Velen a glance, simply saying coolly, "Just you wait and see."

The Female Apprentice knew the inside story of the battle in the Steel Bamboo Forest. Back then, after hearing her niece’s account, even she was astonished by Mo Ning’s decisiveness.

The moment the Blood Vine inside Kanda was about to burst out, the command this kid gave wasn’t "Run," but "Kill him."

Tsk, tsk! So ruthless!

That’s why she didn’t believe for a second that Mo Ning would be content to stay in the Sanctuary until the assessment ended.

Nasha thought to herself, ’You pull back a fist to punch harder, and Mo Ning is clearly gathering strength for his next punch.’