Seeing that the enemy had lost combat capability, Jie Ming did not hesitate. His Dharma Aspect surged forward, ready to decisively end the battle. But just as Jie Ming was about to land the finishing blow, a spine-chilling sense of crisis abruptly welled up from the depths of his back!
Jie Ming's expression changed drastically. "Who?!"
There was no time to turn around. A gray-black beam of light silently shot over from deep within the Endless Chaotic Void, its speed so extreme that even the True Illusion Void-Breaking Eye could barely capture a mere afterimage.
Bang!
The beam slammed heavily into the Dharma Aspect's back. It was only as thick as an ordinary person's finger, yet it produced an extraordinarily exaggerated effect.
The 250,000-kilometer Dharma Aspect trembled violently—and then collapsed with a thunderous crash!
Countless fragments scattered through the air, dissolving into dark-gold specks of light. Jie Ming himself was brutally blasted millions of kilometers away by the terrifying impact.
Even more terrifying, the beam's momentum was not spent after destroying the Dharma Aspect. It blasted a huge gaping hole directly through the puppet's chest. The skeleton, made of superalloy, was exposed, and flesh scattered across the ground.
Jie Ming barely stabilized himself and looked into the distance.
He saw a figure in a black robe slowly approaching from the Endless Chaotic Void.
This person had likely been hiding in the spatial storm, which allowed him to completely conceal his aura.
But as he actively revealed himself, Jie Ming's expression involuntarily turned grim.
Because this person's aura was far more steady and weighty than Hogg's, the fluctuations of his Law-Crystallization Domain as vast as an ocean.
He had clearly stepped into the seventh-level realm many years ago, not something a newly promoted rookie like Hogg could compare to.
The newcomer showed no intention of concealing his imposing presence, but his face remained shrouded in a layer of hazy mist, making it impossible to discern his features.
He first glanced at Hogg, whose body was rapidly recovering in the distance, then turned his gaze back to Jie Ming and gently clapped.
Pa, pa, pa...
The applause was not loud, yet it sounded especially distinct in the Endless Chaotic Void.
"Magnificent! Truly magnificent! I've seen plenty of sixth-level wizards challenge seventh-level ones, but this is the first time I've seen someone almost outright crush a seventh-level wizard like you did."
"Hogg may have just advanced to the seventh level, but his strength isn't lacking. I never imagined you could fight him to this extent. You're a monster." There was not much killing intent in his tone—more a nearly appreciative admiration, as if examining a work of art. "Jie Ming, come with me. You have no chance of escaping right now."
Jie Ming slowly swept his gaze over the two, then merely let out a soft sigh.
"Sigh... I thought you might be backed by someone important. But it turns out you're just after resources? If you want resources, can't you earn them yourselves?"
Hogg's face darkened at these words.
The veteran seventh-level let out a soft laugh. "Resources? What we want is not merely that."
Jie Ming instinctively held his breath.
The seventh-level wizard slowly spread his arms, his tone filled with undisguised greed.
"The reparations from the Mobius family are certainly tempting, but in my eyes, you yourself are worth far more than those resources! We'll let you continue your research, publish your findings, and earn military merit. We only need to collect the results. Although we can't extract your knowledge, as long as we can control your will, we'll have a real money tree!"
Jie Ming, who had been holding his breath and tense, instead let out a long, relieved sigh upon hearing this. A smile appeared on his face that could not quite be described as disappointment or ease.
"Ah... I see. After all is said and done, you're just bandits."
The two seventh-level wizards were stunned simultaneous. Sensing something wrong with Jie Ming's attitude, their expressions changed at once.
"No good! Run!"
The veteran seventh-level whirled around, trying to cast some spell to escape.
However, they had realized it far too late.
Just as the seventh-level wizard attempted to perform a spatial jump, he found no response from space.
Not only that, the mental energy flowing within his body was frozen to an extreme, and even his Law-Crystallization Domain had become useless. On the other side, Hogg was even more miserable.
His enormous flesh giant began shrinking rapidly. All his flesh-modification arts failed one by one, and his massive body quickly reverted to a mere humanoid shape a few hundred meters tall.
His legs then gave out, and he collapsed directly to the ground, unable to stand.
Sensing the changes in their bodies, both of them felt their pupils contract sharply.
This is... law stabilization!
Just as they were struck with horror, a ripple gently spread through the void beside Jie Ming.
Two figures slowly emerged from the ripple.
One was wearing a standard alchemy robe from the Noren Workshop, bearing an elegant and composed demeanor.
The other retained the appearance of a child, with his hands clasped behind his back and a languid expression.
They were Wizard Noren and Senior Anton Buchanan—the only two eighth-level wizards in the Noren Workshop.
Seeing the two appear out of thin air, Hogg froze entirely, while the veteran seventh-level turned ashen.
Eighth-level...
And two of them at that!
Anton yawned lazily. "Looks like these two really were just here to rob. They probably thought the area was chaotic lately and wanted to fish in troubled waters."
Wizard Noren also smiled and nodded. "Mm, at least for now, there are no other fish."
In reality, Jie Ming had never let his guard down since obtaining the Reflection Prism.
Before arriving at the Academic Symposium, he had already reported the matter of the Reflection Prism in detail to his mentor Clark.
After hearing this, Clark immediately realized the severity of the situation and unhesitatingly contacted his own mentor—Senior Anton Buchanan. Afterwards, Wizard Noren was also dragged along by Senior Anton.
By the time the Academic Symposium ended, the two had already arrived. Thus, on the way back, the two eighth-level wizards had been secretly escorting Jie Ming, precisely to prevent anyone from truly setting their sights on the Reflection Prism.
The fight just now had been merely a test. If someone behind the scenes were truly after the Reflection Prism, they would never have deployed only two seventh-level wizards.
That was why Senior Anton dared to draw such a conclusion.
Of course, the other side might have other hidden forces, such as the accomplice who had passed information to these two and was hiding within the Academic Symposium. But it didn't matter. Since they were just a group of people trying to fish in troubled waters, there was no need to hold back.
Wizard Noren slowly raised his hand with a casual, effortless motion.
Jie Ming could clearly sense a familiar power being released—alchemy!
Hogg and the veteran seventh-level watched in horror as their bodies began to dissolve into the most basic particles.
Under the effect of alchemy, everything in their bodies rapidly reverted to its most primitive constituent units.
"No!!!"
The two struggled desperately, but in front of an eighth-level wizard, a seventh-level was fundamentally no different from an ant.
In the blink of an eye, their figures had completely vanished, as if they had never existed.
But at the moment of their deaths, two extremely subtle fluctuations shot silently toward the depths of the void.
Anton merely extended a single finger and flicked it lightly.
With a soft 'pop,' the two fluctuations burst like soap bubbles and dissipated into the void.
"Robbery is one thing, but they still tried to send a message?" Anton scoffed, his tone filled with disdain.
"Youngsters these days really have no manners."
After resolving everything, Wizard Noren turned to Jie Ming, looked him over, and showed undisguised appreciation in his eyes. "Not bad! Defeating a seventh-level as a sixth-level in a head-on fight. It seems our lineage has a worthy successor!"
Anton beside him could not help but laugh heartily. "As expected of my grand-disciple. Well done!"
Jie Ming restored his puppet body using the Embers of Nihility - Reversal Palm, then rose and bowed to the two.
"Thank you both for your assistance, Seniors."
Anton waved his hand, his childlike face casual. "A trivial matter. We came here to protect you in the first place. But since we've confirmed these two weren't after the Reflection Prism, we should be going."
Wizard Noren also nodded. "Indeed. This is no place to linger. We need to get back within the borders of the Star Ring Federation to be safe." He lightly flicked his sleeve, and then the figures of the three, along with all traces left at the battlefield, vanished into the void.