The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth

Chapter 284: Chapter 182: Sword Mountain and Fire Sea, the Conspiracy of White Lake Wizard City

The environment around the Divine Blood Tower was fundamentally different from that of the Illusory Dream Tower.

There were few trees, but many high mountains and a great number of steel structures. Railroad-like tracks, reminiscent of those from his past life, stretched deep into underground ore veins. A host of Wizard Mechanical Puppets were ceaselessly excavating raw ore and transporting it to the Divine Blood Tower along these tracks.

CLANG!

Sparks flew from a mountain range that billowed with Earth Fire. On constructed stone platforms, many bare-chested, massively built men with rippling muscles used giant metal hammers to temper Extraordinary Metal.

This seemed to be a method for training their Physiques, and it also refined Extraordinary Metal—killing multiple birds with one stone.

Wang Ya was practically an encyclopedia of the Dark Land by now, so he was aware of these details. These men were all members of the Divine Blood School. Divine Blood Wizards often assigned tasks, and he guessed that smelting Extraordinary Metal and forging corresponding Extraordinary Witchcraft Artifacts served as their assessment missions.

Passing the assessment would naturally come with many rewards.

It was said that once they accumulated enough merits, they could be promoted directly from a member of the Divine Blood School to a Heritage Wizard of the Divine Blood Lineage.

Nearly every man hammering the metal wore a resolute expression, their eyes burning with a craving for muscle, machinery, and passionate fervor.

Wang Ya had never met a Divine Blood Wizard, having only heard a thing or two about them from an Illusory Dream Wizard. An image of what a Divine Blood Wizard must be like was already forming in his mind.

As it turned out, he wasn’t wrong.

From a sparse, distant grove, a burly figure emerged. He wore an extremely ill-fitting Wizard Robe, and his every step on the stone path produced a soft but heavy thud, cracking the flagstones beneath his feet.

He was bald, and his smooth head seemed to reflect the light. His skin was a dark bronze, and the muscles bulging beneath his Wizard Robe were clearly even more massive than those of the School members smelting on the fiery mountain.

In terms of appearance, he looked much the same as the others.

At least, Wang Ya felt a sense of face blindness. It seemed to him that all the members of the Divine Blood School looked more or less the same, as if cast from a single mold.

“You must be Wang Ya Harak. I’ve been waiting a long time for you. I didn’t think you’d take this long to show up.”

The burly, middle-aged man’s booming voice rang out, yet it didn’t travel through the air. Instead, it resounded directly in Wang Ya’s mind, nearly deafening him and making his vision blur for a moment.

A pair of thick, powerful hands gripped Wang Ya’s arm. A cold, heavy sensation shot through him, making him suck in a sharp breath and almost cry out.

Because it genuinely hurt.

Literally.

Those hands felt like they were made of reinforced concrete. The muscles in his arm were already bruised, and the bone even felt slightly dislocated.

‘Even real reinforced concrete is something I could crush with my bare hands.’

‘With my current Physique, I can easily leave fingerprints on ordinary Extraordinary Metals.’

Wang Ya was almost certain of the burly man’s identity.

Wang Ya bowed slightly and said in a low voice, “Honorable Divine Blood Wizard.”

“You’re a bit frail, aren’t you? Just like that old ghost from Illusory Dream. So fragile, a gust of wind could probably knock you lot over.” The Divine Blood Wizard released Wang Ya and rubbed the stubble on his chin with his palm.

He sized Wang Ya up, then nodded. “You’re a bit on the ugly side, too. But your Essence, Qi, and Spirit aren’t half bad. Come with me.”

Wang Ya obediently followed the Divine Blood Wizard, channeling Particle Energy into his arms. He used his Ability to control his metabolism to gradually heal his injuries.

Staring at the Divine Blood Wizard’s incredibly broad back, Wang Ya didn’t know what to say. He opened his mouth to speak several times, but ultimately remained silent.

The Divine Blood Wizard, who clearly knew everything, led Wang Ya inside the Divine Blood Wizard Tower and into the layer of space that belonged to him.

The most conspicuous sight was, of course, a vast mining area. Its surface was pockmarked with pits and craters, and on the tracks, a large number of Wizard Puppets busily loaded raw ore to be sent into a massive building at the very center.

Wang Ya was startled. ‘This building was in no way comparable to the Ancient Castle in my own Three-Layered Space.’

It was square, with giant gears embedded on its four sides. There were other, more complex structures, but Wang Ya couldn’t make sense of them.

His first impression was its size. His second was the heat!

Remnants of Earth Fire, its intensity far from negligible, seeped out from the cobblestone path they walked on. Wang Ya had no choice but to cast a Particle Energy Witchcraft.

The Divine Blood Wizard walked barefoot on the path. The scorching, red-hot cobblestones seemed to serve as a foot massager for him, and they made a strange sizzling sound as he walked.

The Divine Blood Wizard spoke up, and to no one’s surprise, Wang Ya was the target of another jab. “Your body is just too weak. You really need to train more, kiddo. You can’t even handle this little bit of Earth Fire? This is a massaging sensation very few people ever get to enjoy. I highly recommend you try it.”

He felt his boots begin to melt and grow sticky, as if they would soon adhere to the cobblestone path. The Particle Energy Shield he had deployed was designed to defend against the intensity of Energy Flames, and since Earth Fire was a type of Extraordinary Flame, it fell within that defensive category.

Wang Ya was speechless. ‘The Physiques of different people can’t be compared, just as the Abilities of different Wizards are not equal. When it came to the power of one’s physical body, this Divine Blood Wizard must have reached the absolute pinnacle.’

[Target: Divine Blood Wizard]

[Power: Level 1 Wizard]