With only one day left, the competition was drawing to a close.
Ning Busan was meditating when the air around his cave gradually grew thick and heavy.
He snapped awake as his senses screamed a frantic warning.
An overwhelming threat, like an invisible net, was closing in on the area.
Ning Busan frowned. “Something is wrong.”
His fingers unconsciously brushed against his wand, sensing the fluctuations of the surrounding magic elements.
Suddenly, his pupils constricted.
At least thirty distinct magic fluctuations, carrying clear hostility, had formed a magic network that blanketed the entire underground cave.
These magic fluctuations came from the mages he had previously beaten up.
“It must be that woman Isabella who released them!” Ning Busan was speechless. “Are they really such sore losers? How can they resort to a gang beatdown and a sneak attack?”
Now, all his paths of retreat were blocked. Dozens of Advanced Mages teaming up to take him down was no joke!
“I can't just sit here and wait for death,” Ning Busan muttered. “I have to find a way out.”
The entire cave was surrounded. At least a dozen people were lingering outside, and more footsteps could be heard approaching, suggesting that even more were gathering here.
Ning Busan held his breath as dark elements coalesced at his fingertips, forming a tiny black hole that could temporarily distort space.
He wanted to use this to disrupt the magic network surrounding the cave and slip away unnoticed.
However, the moment he used dark magic, Isabella detected him.
Isabella shouted, “Ning Busan is over there!”
Dozens of spells struck simultaneously. Fireballs, ice spikes, wind blades, earth spikes... elemental magic of all kinds rained down mercilessly on Ning Busan.
Ning Busan conjured a magic shield in front of himself. Under the relentless barrage of the mages, the shield shuddered violently, looking as if it would shatter at any moment.
Ning Busan cursed under his breath. His body instantly dissolved into a mass of dark shadows, passing straight through the stone walls of the cave.
This was an advanced application of dark magic, allowing him to travel endlessly through shadows.
But the moment he emerged from the cave, he found himself caught in an even larger encirclement.
“Did you really think you could escape?” Isabella stood with her arms crossed, looking utterly smug. “We set up an inescapable net long ago!”
Dozens of mages were stationed all around, the wands in their hands glowing with light.
“With solar flares as a cage, we imprison your mind in the blazing abyss.”
“With the holy covenant as a blade, we expose your lies beneath the radiant crown.”
“With the astral orbit as a scale, we weigh your sins across eternity.”
...
Along with the sound of their chanting, frost began to creep up from Ning Busan's ankles, and dense runes of holy forbidden spells materialized within the ice.
This was an advanced magic array called the Cage of Ashes, which was highly effective against dark magic and had once been used to combat demons.
However, Ning Busan merely snapped his fingers. Suddenly, a vertical pupil that pierced through reality and Hell ripped open before him.
Chains of nothingness extended from beneath the feet of all his attackers, and the other end of those chains was gripped firmly in Ning Busan's right hand.
They stared in disbelief at the black-haired, black-eyed youth standing at the center of the magic array, hearing him speak in a low, quiet voice:
“Your casting time is too long. If you're this bad, you need to practice more!”
The purplish-black vortex from Hell collided with the holy light flames of the Cage of Ashes, erupting into a blinding glare.
The surrounding trees collapsed one after another under the impact of this power, and countless fissures ripped open across the ground.
The mages were caught in the backlash as well. Curses and magical explosions erupted one after another, throwing the entire scene into absolute chaos.
By the time they realized what had happened, Ning Busan had already vanished.
Isabella had been the central pillar of the Cage of Ashes. With the array shattered, she suffered a rather severe injury.
She wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth. There was no trace of discouragement from defeat in her deep blue eyes; instead, they shone with an eager, excited light.
It seemed she wouldn't be bored for a while. She had finally met a worthy opponent.
Elvin supported Isabella and immediately took her out of the Shadow Forest.
Compared to the competition, he was far more concerned about Isabella's safety.
Having lost their core leader, Isabella, the other mages also scattered and left.
The outcome of the competition was already set in stone.
Having studied magic for only five years, Ning Busan had not only defeated Isabella, who was already an Archmage, but had also held his ground against the onslaught of dozens of mages.
After this battle, Ning Busan's name became completely famous.
The mages he had beaten up in the Shadow Forest wanted to cause him trouble, while those who had no grudges against him wanted to make his acquaintance.
However, once the competition ended, Ning Busan quietly returned to Roman Lane, not stepping foot outside for several days.
It wasn't that he didn't want to go out, but rather that his current condition was terrible.
Ning Busan lay in bed, his face as pale as paper.
He had overused the power of Hell, and his human body could not withstand the corrosion of Hell, resulting in a severe backlash.
His right hand was covered in dark purple veins, swelling into a web-like pattern across his knuckles.
Those veins would pump out bubbling, dark green fluid that dripped onto the floor, etching charred marks into the ground.
Kaelan came in with iodine and bandages, treating the wound on his hand with a face full of worry.
“If this goes on, you'll only grow weaker. Maybe you should go to Lord Saige and ask if he has a solution.”
Ning Busan shook his head. “Telling Teacher will only cause him unnecessary worry.”
“The power of Hell is corroding my body. Only the holy water of Heaven can cleanse this negative effect.”
“I can use light healing magic to temporarily suppress this corrosion, though it will leave me a bit weak.”
Kaelan said, “Although an archangel hasn't descended upon the human world in a thousand years, they did bestow holy water in the past. The palace should still have some left in reserve.”
At this point, Kaelan's eyes lit up. “You won the Nameplate Snatching Battle, so you can make a request of His Majesty the King. If you ask for the holy water, His Majesty will surely give it to you.”
Ning Busan's eyes flickered slightly.
That wouldn't do.
He had already decided long ago what request he would make to the King.
Fighting so hard for first place was precisely for that purpose.
Since he knew there might be holy water in the palace, couldn't he just find a way to steal it?
Ning Busan asked, “Is there any news from the King's side?”
Kaelan said, “In two days, the King will host a banquet at the palace, inviting many nobles and mages. It's likely meant to wrap up the Mage Exchange Conference.”
Ning Busan nodded. “I see.”
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