Chapter 61: Chapter 59: Drawing Silk from a Cocoon
Ninety seconds later.
The battle came to a close.
Dealing with the Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes wasn’t actually difficult. The key was spotting them in advance and retreating to open ground in time.
As long as you did that, even a large swarm of the mosquitoes was just a trivial matter that could be dealt with by a wave of the hand.
Perhaps wanting to show off a little, Reina volunteered to be the main attacker.
As the swarm of mosquitoes buzzed toward them, the Dazed Girl calmly raised her right hand and cast a Sub-zero Level Trick—[Oil Mist].
A cloud of pitch-black oil mist instantly erupted from the girl’s palm, shooting out a straight ten meters.
The mist was as thick as ink. Under her control, it spread rapidly into a complete ring, enveloping the vast majority of the mosquitoes.
Tiny droplets of oil clung to the mosquitoes’ bodies, weighing down their thin wings and causing their flight speed to plummet.
At the same time, Reina had already pulled out a piece of Flint with her left hand.
She had activated the stone with her Magic Power beforehand, and it was now glowing with a faint red light.
She swung her arm and gently tossed the stone into the cloud of Oil Mist. It flashed in mid-air.
WHOOSH—
Fierce flames erupted, and a sea of fire instantly exploded in the air.
The Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes within the cloud of Oil Mist didn’t even have a chance to struggle before they were instantly reduced to ash.
The few stragglers that managed to escape the inferno had their wings scorched by the heat radiation and spiraled to the ground.
In the span of a single breath, the Magic Power-created Oil Mist completely dissipated, and the flames died down with it.
The Giant Poisonous Mosquitoes were utterly annihilated.
SNAP—
Reina gave a crisp snap of her fingers and broke into a smile. "All done."
Mo Ning had been shielded by Anya the entire time. Or rather, he never had a chance to move—the Noble Lady stood firmly in front of him, quietly observing the whole battle.
The Dazed Girl asked with a grin, "How were my Casting Techniques?"
Anya didn’t rise to the bait, instead asking a more practical question. "How many Tricks have you mastered?"
Reina’s voice held an unconcealable note of pride. "Twelve!"
She paused, then added, "I’m quite talented when it comes to learning Witchcraft. I’ve got a good grasp of every Trick."
In this day and age, so-called "Witchcraft Talent" referred to talent for Secret Divination and Divination.
Anya nodded lightly, giving a positive evaluation for the first time. "That is indeed impressive."
Most newcomers mastered between five and ten Tricks, so twelve was certainly outstanding.
The two girls’ conversation was like an exchange of secret codes, each sentence a veiled probe.
Anya was keen on pulling her into the team, and Reina couldn’t be more eager to get on board.
But Mo Ning said nothing.
In his Spiritual World, he had twenty-one permanent models for Sub-zero Level Tricks solidified, plus another eleven temporary models.
The skills the Dazed Girl had displayed gave him no impulse to think, ’It’s necessary to bring her into the team.’
"Let’s go," he said calmly.
The light in Reina’s eyes dimmed for a moment.
But she was a true optimist and quickly perked up again. "I’ll take the lead!"
She continued chattering as she walked with a light step, "Miss Anya, this random assessment is a ’Silver Assessment,’ right?"
Anya grunted in affirmation. "It should be. We’re on one quest line, and there’s another over on the Secluded Path. I’m guessing whoever kills the strongest monster will claim the other laurel crown."
The so-called "Silver Assessment" awarded multiple "laurel crowns" at its conclusion, with each one granted to an individual or a team.
In contrast was the "Black Iron Assessment," which awarded only a single laurel crown for the entire event. The last assessment to open the secret door was of this type.
Of course, "Silver" and "Black Iron" were just nicknames the Apprentices came up with; the academy only ever called it a "random assessment."
Reina gave a silly laugh. "I can’t believe I might actually have a chance to win a laurel crown in a random assessment."
In the minds of most newcomers, the assessment’s laurel crown was a prize reserved for the Strong.
She had never imagined that a "laggard" like her, with serial number 190, would ever have a shot at a laurel crown.
She wanted to join this team precisely because she could see how incredibly strong they were.
Before long, the three-person team reached the end of the stream.
A verdant green hill several meters high came into view.
It rested there quietly, like a young beast curled up in sleep, its surface covered in a dense tangle of vines.
These vines had triangular leaves, each one a lush, vibrant green. The tips of the leaves curled up slightly, making them look just like tiny, miniature boats.
Trickles of water seeped from the cracks in the hill, converging into a meandering stream that babbled back in the direction they had come from.
Reina turned to Mo Ning, her distinctive cowlick bobbing as she did. "Mr. Mo Ning, do we have to climb over it?"
Mo Ning shook his head. "No, this is the end point. It’s also the way out of the Secluded Forest."
The Dazed Girl blinked blankly, her gaze sweeping back and forth across the hill several times.
She really couldn’t see any kind of exit in this place that was nothing but vines and rocks.
But Anya’s beautiful eyes suddenly lit up. "I know—the Biluo Formula!"
The corner of Mo Ning’s mouth curved up slightly.
Reina grew even more confused. "What Biluo Formula?"
Anya’s eyes sparkled like a child who had discovered Treasure. "Gao Lei’s Third Spiritual Flow Formula is also known as the Biluo Formula."
She pointed to the dense vines on the hill, her tone full of excitement. "And this is ’Biluo.’"
The Noble Lady began to speak eloquently. "It’s said that Lord Gao Lei’s residence was perennially covered in Biluo. Nourished by Magic Power, they haven’t withered in hundreds of years.
"Back then, his Lordship happened to be standing next to the Biluo when he created the Third Spiritual Flow Formula, which is why he named it the ’Biluo Formula.’"
A few days ago, after Meditation Class, Anya had specifically asked Mo Ning a few questions, and he had given her several pages of handwritten notes.
She happened to have seen the unfamiliar name "Biluo Formula" in those notes. Out of curiosity, she had looked up more information and learned the full story.
Anya spoke faster and faster as her thoughts became clearer. "That stream was related to Lord Gao Lei’s famous quote, and now the Biluo from the Biluo Formula has appeared here—I don’t think this is a coincidence."
Reina finally understood. "You mean the method to open the passage out of here is related to Gao Lei’s Third Spiritual Flow Formula?"
Anya nodded emphatically. "Yes!"
Reina suddenly felt a little insecure, and also a bit envious. "Miss Anya, your knowledge is so profound."
Anya said nothing, only sneaking a glance at Mo Ning’s profile.
She knew better than anyone the source of that knowledge, those notes, all the things she could now speak about so eloquently.
The Dazed Girl pressed, "So what do we do next?"
Anya was stumped.
The Noble Lady could guess that the clue was related to the Biluo Formula, but how to actually use the formula—that wasn’t her specialty.
She bit her alluring red lip, her gaze falling on the dense tangle of vines, but her mind was a complete blank.
The two girls looked at each other, neither speaking.
One knew the direction of the answer but not the solution, while the other hadn’t even found the direction. The air grew so quiet that only the sound of the stream remained.
Mo Ning suddenly spoke up. "The Biluo Formula is called the Biluo Formula not just because Lord Gao Lei grew Biluo at his residence."
"It’s also because the Biluo Formula can undergo a ’rheological transformation’ using the ’diagrammatic method,’ which produces a very interesting result."
These words were a bit "beyond the curriculum."
Both girls listened with looks of utter confusion.
’What’s the diagrammatic method?’
’And what’s a rheological transformation?’
Reina had just been boasting about being "very talented," but now she realized that at her level, it seemed she was only fit to "sit at the kids’ table."
Mo Ning sighed softly, giving up on the idea of trying to have a chicken talk to a duck.
He cut straight to the conclusion. "After the transformation, the formula on a diagram takes the exact shape of a Biluo Leaf."
Reina snuck a glance at him, and her stubborn cowlick seemed to stand up even straighter.
Only then did she realize who the true "Divination expert" was on this team.
It wasn’t the eloquent Anya, but this boy who had been standing to the side, hardly saying a word.
Mo Ning continued, "The tip of this Divination Biluo Leaf is the ’activation point’ of the Biluo Formula."
He paused, his gaze sweeping over the two of them. "Now do you understand?"
He had explained it so clearly that only an idiot would fail to understand.
Anya let out an "Oh!" and her eyes lit up again. "I get it—the activation point is the location that opens the passage."
Reina also had a look of sudden realization and asked excitedly, "So as long as we find the activation point among these Biluo, we’ll complete the assessment?"
Mo Ning nodded. "Yes."
He raised his hand and gave it a wave, quietly activating a Witchcraft Model in his Spiritual World and releasing a Sub-zero Level Trick—[Wind Roll].
WHOOSH—
A Gale burst from his sleeve and rushed toward the hill.
The Biluo Leaves shook violently in the wind, rubbing against each other and making a RUSTLING sound.
A strange sight appeared.
A section of the Biluo Leaves swayed significantly less than the others.
This difference created a clear visual effect—the shape of a single Biluo Leaf emerged on the surface of the hill.
The "leaf’s" outline was distinct and its veins were clear, as if someone had lightly sketched a drawing on the vines with an invisible pen.
Mo Ning only needed a single glance before walking straight to the hill and pressing his right hand on a precise spot—the "tip" of that Biluo Leaf.
’This was a job only he could do. He couldn’t count on these two girls with their looks of pure ignorance.’
He applied slight pressure with his fingers and felt the stone beneath them give way a little.
This undoubtedly proved his series of deductions—the activation point was right here.
But activating it wasn’t a matter of pushing.
Divination Formulas corresponded to Demon Seed Groups in the Spiritual World; only Spiritual Power could activate them.
Mo Ning channeled a wisp of Spiritual Power into it.
An even greater change occurred.
HUMMM—
The hill began to vibrate faintly. The Vibration wasn’t intense, but it had a penetrating quality, as if something was slowly awakening deep within the stone.
The Biluo vines seemed to come alive, rapidly contracting toward the top of the hill.
The verdant leaves folded over one another, layer by layer, receding upward like an ebbing tide.
Soon, this side of the hill was a bare stone cliff.
A mottled stone door burst into everyone’s view.
The door was carved with ancient patterns, its edges overgrown with moss, as if it had been slumbering here for a very, very long time.
Both girls stared, stunned.
The path to the solution had been so winding, and the answer itself so ingenious, that they were truly shaken.
What shook them even more was the young man beside them.
He had unraveled clues buried so deep as easily as peeling silk from a cocoon.
A moment later, a cool sensation began to emanate from the Guiding Ring on Mo Ning’s hand.
The corners of his mouth curved up.
’The assessment is complete!!’
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