Chapter 277 - 166: Arrival of the Elemental Mage, Advancing to Tier 4 Legend

Chapter 277: Chapter 166: Arrival of the Elemental Mage, Advancing to Tier 4 Legend

Only when Pei Ze drew near did the crowd snap back to their senses as if waking from a dream.

Yin Xue hurried forward and instinctively grabbed Pei Ze’s arm, her eyes scanning him up and down.

"You’re not hurt, are you?"

"I’m fine." Pei Ze gave a faint smile.

Seeing that Pei Ze didn’t look injured, Yin Xue let out a sigh of relief. But then, just like everyone else, her expression turned to one of confusion.

"What about Pei Lingjie?"

"I killed him."

"...What?!"

Including Yin Xue, everyone stared wide-eyed, wearing identical expressions of disbelief as if they’d heard the impossible.

’Pei Lingjie... killed by Pei Ze?’

’How is that possible?!’

’That was a powerful enemy even Ji Sheng was no match for!’

’Pei Ze was strong, sure, but killing Pei Lingjie... that was just unbelievable.’

’But it didn’t seem like Pei Ze would lie about it.’

’It was the sort of thing that could be easily verified, so lying was pointless. Besides, Pei Ze had no reason to make something like this up.’

"I can sense the aura of a Sealing Array on you. It seems you’ve indeed dealt with the malevolent entity," Wu Ping suddenly said, his gaze toward Pei Ze filled with admiration.

Yin Xue took the opportunity to introduce him. "This is Lord Wu Ping, Deputy Commander of the Silver Light Legion’s Third Division."

’Deputy Commander of the Silver Light Legion’s Third Division?’

’That means he’s at least a Level 4 Wizard!’

Pei Ze’s expression immediately turned serious. He placed a hand over his chest and bowed to Wu Ping.

"My lord."

Wu Ping waved a hand dismissively and said with a smile, "I’ve heard your name many times. Now, it seems you are far more outstanding than the rumors suggest. I have even higher hopes for your future growth."

As soon as he said this, the way the others looked at Pei Ze instantly changed.

If even Wu Ping said so, then the fact that Pei Ze had killed Pei Lingjie was undeniable.

Instantly, Pei Ze’s image in their minds grew even more profound and unfathomable.

He had killed a Level 3 Wizard who had grown immensely powerful after merging with a malevolent entity. Just what level had Pei Ze’s true strength reached?

Even Ji Sheng was now filled with nothing but awe and admiration for Pei Ze.

And beyond their shock, a hint of envy stirred deep within their hearts.

After all, not just anyone could earn the high regard of an Elemental Mage.

Wu Ping held a pivotal position in Chenxi City; he was undeniably a person of great importance.

If his words got back to Chenxi City, they would surely cause quite a stir.

"You are too kind, my lord," Pei Ze said calmly.

This wasn’t false modesty; he knew that luck had played a significant part in his ability to kill Pei Lingjie.

Pei Lingjie had been severely wounded while defeating Ji Sheng, greatly diminishing his combat strength.

Even so, he had barely managed to defeat him.

If anything had gone even slightly wrong, he would have had no choice but to flee.

However, Wu Ping simply took it as modesty. Seeing him remain composed in the face of praise, his admiration only grew.

"I will personally report this matter to Councillor Ji Zhang. You’ve done the Witch Hunting Team a huge favor, and you will certainly be well-rewarded for your contribution."

Wu Ping smiled and nodded, then glanced back in the direction he had come from.

"You all head back to Red Maple City. I still have a small matter to attend to."

After all, since it involved a malevolent entity, he needed to inspect the site himself, even knowing that Pei Ze had dealt with it. He wouldn’t be able to rest easy otherwise.

Everyone agreed and watched as Wu Ping transformed into a pillar of fire, soaring into the sky and quickly vanishing over the horizon.

After Wu Ping had departed, Ji Sheng walked up to Pei Ze and said with heartfelt sincerity, "Pei Ze, thank you. If it hadn’t been for you, the consequences would have been unimaginable."

The Female Witch and the others nodded in profound agreement.

At that moment, they were incredibly grateful that Ji Sheng had invited Pei Ze to join them.

Without Pei Ze, they would have likely become nothing more than fodder for the malevolent entity, with not even their souls escaping.

Pei Ze waved a dismissive hand. "This was all part of the mission’s scope."

Ji Sheng and the others weren’t the type for empty formalities, so they simply smiled, nodded, and committed the favor to heart.

Considering Ji Sheng’s severe injuries, the group didn’t linger. After finding where they had left the giant eagles, they began their journey back to Red Maple City.

...

Even at the critical juncture of conquering the Winter Frost Sect Country, the purge of the Pei Family caused a considerable commotion.

The Pei Family was, after all, one of the five great Wizard Clans of Chenxi City. Many of its members held important posts, and even the Silver Light Legion had a significant number of Wizards from the Pei Family or aligned with them.

As a result of the purge, Red Maple City’s advance on the Winter Frost Sect Country slowed considerably.

Fortunately, the Winter Frost Sect Country was already on its last legs. A brief respite would do little more than delay its inevitable demise.

Even if Red Lotus City was displeased, the most they could do was complain.

「Star Realm Calendar, Year 14525, July 10th.」

The purge of the Pei Family came to an end, but the lockdown on Red Maple City remained in effect.

Pei Ze learned from Yin Xue that the purge in Chenxi City was still ongoing.

To prevent members of the Pei Family from fleeing to the Turin Plane, all planar passages leading to it had been sealed, prohibiting travel both in and out.

Thus, Pei Ze decided to simply remain in Red Maple City and devote himself to his training.

「More than a month passed in the blink of an eye, bringing them to mid-August.」

Thanks to Pei Ze’s persistent training, his All-Knowing Breathing Technique finally broke through to the seventh level.

He also successfully broke through to become a Tier Four Legendary Knight.

"All-Knowing, scan my current status."

[Spirit 143.48]

[Physique 109.64]

A satisfied smile spread across Pei Ze’s face as he looked at the data before him.

"Not bad, my physique increased by 10 energy levels!"

The Tier Four Legendary Realm didn’t grant any new types of Elemental Power, but after his breakthrough, the Power of Thunder Element and Power of Fire Element within Pei Ze’s body were both significantly enhanced.

The boost was comparable to the enhancement his Power of Thunder Element received when he broke through to Tier Three Legend.

As for his physique, that went without saying. A Tier Four Legendary Knight could go head-to-head with a Level 1 Liquidation Wizard, which spoke volumes about how astonishingly durable they were.

’With my current physique, I should be able to perform the first enhancement on my Alchemy Body.’

Pei Ze’s spirits lifted with excitement.

His battle with Pei Lingjie had shown him the immense power of burning Alchemy Engravings.

It was, without a doubt, his strongest trump card.

Naturally, the more he had, the better.

And to increase the number of Alchemy Engravings, strengthening his Alchemy Body was a necessity.

’It’s just that the enhancement materials are a bit expensive. All told, they cost around twenty-eight thousand merit points.’

That was far more than the cost of converting to an Alchemy Body in the first place.

Fortunately, the reward for assisting the Witch Hunting Team had already been issued, so Pei Ze could afford it.

He wasn’t sure if Wu Ping had pulled some strings, but the Witch Hunting Team had been incredibly generous, directly awarding him thirty thousand merit points—nearly two-thirds of his entire earnings from the last war.

But on second thought, it made some sense. During the war, the kill reward for a Fourth-Class Priest—equivalent to a Second-level Liquidation Wizard—was 1,000 merit points. Pei Lingjie, who had merged with a malevolent entity, was three or four tiers stronger than a Fourth-Class Priest, and his threat level and significance were far greater. A 30,000-point reward didn’t seem so outrageous in that light.

’After I enhance my Alchemy Body, I can pool my remaining merit points and Magic Stone Coins to buy the materials for inscribing the Silver Body. I’ll have to wait until I’ve earned enough money to inscribe a new Alchemy Engraving.’

Despite having just received a huge sum of merit points, Pei Ze still felt poor.

Beyond the Alchemy Engraving, he still needed to buy the metal alloy for Silverstar’s evolution, books on Four-Circle Spell models, and the materials to create the Silver Frost Disaster Wolf Bloodline Mark. All of these cost money.

’Looks like I’ll have to go back to my old business.’

Pei Ze sighed. He decided to brew a batch of resonance potions to first earn enough money for the spell model books and the Bloodline Mark materials.

Over the past month, the task of calculating the formula for the Silver Frost Disaster Wolf Bloodline Mark had been completed. Now, all he needed were the materials to begin refining the Silver Frost Disaster Wolf Blood and attempt to create the mark.

He estimated that the materials alone would cost at least ten thousand Magic Stone Coins.

’I also need to start preparing the Faith Crystals.’

Pei Ze calculated that it would take nearly five more months for his Spiritual Power to reach the 192 energy levels required for liquidation.

And that was with a sufficient supply of Purified Soul Crystals.

On the other hand, this meant he had ample time to prepare the Faith Crystals he would need for the liquidation process.