Chapter 186 133: Life-and-Death Battlefield, Dual-System Synchronous Balance

"Little one, I look forward to seeing what kind of surprise you'll bring me."

With that, the Illusory Dream Wizard's figure vanished from where he stood.

.....

Having reappeared at Heart Dream Lake, Wang Ya used his Spiritual Power to check on the contents of the red metal ring. Fortunately, everything was still there.

The next step was to try wrapping the items with Dream Power to see if they could be preserved after leaving Heart Dream Lake and the Maple Forest.

It seemed the Illusory Dream Wizard was not in Heart Dream Lake or the Maple Forest.

The moment he took a single step outside the Maple Forest, Wang Ya's expression changed instantly. His Dream Power was being rapidly consumed, and his Spiritual Power began to be drained along with it.

In ten minutes, at most, his Dream Power would be completely depleted.

The result proved that Dream Power could indeed preserve the items from the Dream World, but Wang Ya couldn't afford the cost.

'An anchor point. I need to leave an anchor point in the Dream World first. Only then can I borrow the Dream World's own Dream Power to make its items manifest within the anchor's range of influence.'

A hint of hesitation flickered across Wang Ya's face, but he ultimately decided to leave the items in the Maple Forest for now.

He couldn't bear to part with those few pounds of Golden Ant Rice, not to mention the other items from the Dream Realm.

Things like the budding, formless genome from the Dream Realm, and the combustible material formed from the cuts made by the Single-Log Bridge, could all be incredibly useful.

"Looks like I'll have to trouble my master again," he sighed. He used his Dream Power to shape the soil beneath his feet into a square hollow and tossed the red metal ring straight in.

'With my Consciousness Brand on it, it's almost impossible to lose. I can always lock onto its exact location.'

Unless someone erased the Consciousness Brand from his Wizard's Ring, which was even more unlikely.

After taking care of everything, Wang Ya finally noticed the sensation from his Wizard Mark. Entering the Dream World had cut him off from reality; not even the Wizard Mark had been able to reach him.

His Dark Wizard Mark was emitting a faint blue glow.

It was a message, one that had been sent a long time ago, from Kaze Antuun.

There were several more messages after that, all from him.

Mixed in were messages from Gray, Mas, and Mona, all related to the ones from Kaze Antuun.

Wang Ya's eyes flickered. 'A challenge, huh?' He would wager the Black Sun Badge. The Antuun Clan, in turn, would put up twenty thousand Magic Stones, two thousand Dark Points, a shop on the headquarters' Commercial Street, the nearby Hundred Herbs Wizard City, and an Inner City Wizard's Residence. He was to fight Hades Antuun. Winner takes all; loser loses everything.

All things considered, it wasn't a bad deal for Wang Ya.

In fact, the value of the items the Antuun Clan offered was even greater than that of the Black Sun Badge. The latter, after all, was just a clue. Who knew how much time and effort it would take to find the actual Black Sun Inheritance.

Even if he found them, there was no guarantee the Black Sun Ruins contained anything of value.

Besides, Wizard Ruins were generally fraught with danger.

Wang Ya couldn't help but sigh. 'That Kaze Antuun really lives up to his reputation as a wily old fox. What a brilliant scheme, achieving his goal by taking an indirect route.'

Right now, the lower and middle-ranking Wizards in the entire Dark Land Headquarters were probably watching, waiting for his response.

If he refused, the reputation of the Illusory Dream lineage would suffer. Even if the Illusory Dream Wizard himself didn't care, or simply ignored it, the Illusory Dream School, with its twenty-odd Wizard members, still existed below him.

The Wizards of the Illusory Dream lineage also indirectly influenced the Illusory Dream School.

The School's members looked to the Heritage Wizard as their standard. If the Heritage Wizard proved incompetent, or even feared battle, their prestige would truly plummet.

As the disciple of the Illusory Dream Wizard, Wang Ya could not, under any circumstances, allow the Extraordinary Faction his master had created to suffer such a fate.

But if he accepted, he'd be playing right into that old fox's hands, giving him a chance to reclaim the Black Sun Badge.

Either way, Wang Ya was in a passive position.

This was, in a way, a microcosm of the rivalry between the Wizard Family Alliance and the School Lineage.

A cold smirk touched Wang Ya's lips. 'But that old fox has forgotten one crucial thing.'

'To fight on the Battlefield, you have to actually win to get anything.'

At this point, even he couldn't accurately judge the true level of his own Power.

If he were to return to the Secret Realm competition and face those few genius Wizards again, he felt it would be bullying them.

Never mind that Hades Antuun was still a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice; even if he had advanced to a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice, Wang Ya now had the confidence to contend with him.

No one could have imagined that his Power would undergo another complete, fundamental transformation in just three or four short months.

Dual-system Wizards were not unheard of in the history of the Dark Land, but to achieve synchronized power and balanced progress between both systems in just three months... The corner of Wang Ya's mouth curved higher. His slender fingers rested on either side of the bridge of his nose, his bangs weaving through them to reveal a pair of frigid eyes.

'If they want a fight, then a fight they shall have!'

Wang Ya accepted the challenge!!

The news instantly spread throughout the entire Dark Land Headquarters.

Wang Ya's acceptance came with only about a week left before the scheduled duel on the Battlefield.

When Kaze Antuun learned of the news, he finally set aside his unease, his face breaking into a smile of unprecedented delight.

It was a smile that not even Hades had ever seen.

Inside the Wizard's Residence, Hades said with a smile, "Father, rest assured. While I may not be a genius like Zack, my foundation is second to none among Wizards. The gap between a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice and a Level 2 Wizard Apprentice is an absolute chasm. Wang Ya Harak has no chance of winning."

Kaze Antuun looked at his eldest son with satisfaction, especially as the powerful aura the young man gradually released confirmed he had genuinely reached the level of a Level 3 Wizard Apprentice.

Although his recent breakthrough in Power had caused some fluctuations in his Particle Energy aura and his Spiritual Power was still unstable—making small objects float around him—it was a minor issue.

"Let Wang Ya Harak have the right to choose the arena on the Battlefield. Also, set a time limit. If the fight goes over half an hour, it's a draw," Kaze Antuun said to Hades after a moment's thought.

After all, he was the one who had orchestrated this scheme, taking advantage of the timing.

Wang Ya Harak was, after all, the Inheritor Disciple of the Illusory Dream Wizard. They couldn't win in too ugly a fashion; they had to give him an honorable way out.

Kaze Antuun had considered every angle.

All that remained was to wait for the day of the duel on the Battlefield.

'The Black Sun Badge will finally return to the hands of the Antuun Clan...'

....

「Six days later.」

At the entrance to the Battlefield, many Wizards had already arrived. Members of both the Wizard Family Alliance and the School Lineage were present...