178: Level 2 wizard?

Outside the Ancient Elf Secret Realm, many wizards waited quietly.

After 24 hours of the Secret Realm Competition, all but the three lucky ones who obtained three treasure chest keys were teleported out.

Each Academy also learned which Academies had won and which had lost.

The Plant Heart Academy, for example, was filled with joy and laughter, and even Lord Joyce displayed a long-unseen smile, as if a great burden had been lifted.

Many Formal Wizards from friendly Academies came to congratulate them.

The Radiant Fire Wizard Academy did not participate in this Secret Realm competition, so Wizard Malthus simply came to congratulate Lord Joyce and catch up.

"Brother Joyce, congratulations, truly wonderful news!"

"Your Plant Heart Academy now has successors, so you can finally rest easy, my friend."

"Thank you for your blessings, Malthus. This indeed cures a worry of mine. I never expected it to be so difficult to cultivate a Formal Wizard here in the Mist Coast."

"Haha, my friend, it's not that cultivating a Formal Wizard is difficult, but rather cultivating a successor for your Botany School is difficult, isn't it?"

Wizard Malthus chuckled, teasing:

"The foundational wizardry of your school is extraordinary. The innate wizardry itself is very difficult to comprehend and learn, especially for Wizard Apprentices."

"However, your school's innate wizardry is also composite, combining plant-type and field-type, two completely different types of fusion wizardry. The learning difficulty is at least twice that of a single type."

"Our Radiant Fire Academy also has such composite wizardry, but throughout history, those who could establish their foundation with composite wizardry would only appear once every two or three hundred years at least."

"Therefore, most Formal Wizards learn ordinary, single-type innate wizardry."

"You know, Malthus, I am indeed selecting a successor. My time is running out. After Gelin successfully breaks through to a Formal Wizard this time, I estimate I can stay for at most ten years before I must leave."

"Joyce, my friend, so soon?"

"With your lifespan, wouldn't it be no problem to persevere for another thirty to fifty years? Or have you been injured, damaging your vitality? If so, I still have a few Purple Essence Fruits in my Academy that restore vitality. Would you like them?"

"Haha, Malthus, that won't be necessary."

"I'm not nearing the end of my lifespan; it's just that I need to reclaim what belongs to me. Back then, I was forced to flee from the Middle-earth Continent, bearing a deep blood feud. Now, it's time to go back and collect some interest."

Lord Joyce, old as he was, revealed an astonishing glint in his eyes that did not belong to his age, and a powerful aura flashed across him...

"This..."

"My friend, you... Lord Joyce, you... you've advanced?"

Wizard Malthus's face was filled with shock. His perception just now could not have been wrong.

That was a power far stronger than a peak Tier 1 Formal Wizard, and this aura was full of vitality and vigor, completely devoid of the weariness and despondency of an aging wizard.

There was only one explanation—

Lord Joyce had advanced to become a Tier 2 Wizard!

This was a groundbreaking event, at least for the Mist Coast Wizarding World. In the past few millennia, not a single Tier 2 Wizard had appeared in the entire Mist Coast.

Since three thousand years ago, thanks to the large-scale excavation of Ancient Secret Realms and ancient ruins, Formal Wizards began to emerge in large numbers, gradually increasing. The lineage of Formal Wizards has been unbroken through generations, and now the total number of Formal Wizards in the entire Mist Coast probably exceeds three digits.

However, a Tier 2 Wizard had truly never been born.

As Wizard Malthus understood, historically, the Mist Coast had no shortage of exceptionally talented geniuses. These chosen ones rose rapidly like comets, such as the most renowned genius of the Radiant Fire Academy in recent years, who became a Formal Wizard after only a little over ten years of cultivation.

However, the environment limited their development. This small Mist Coast, in the context of the entire Scales of Truth World, was like a remote countryside, with extremely limited resources, especially the resources needed by Formal Wizards and above, which were even harder to cultivate.

Therefore, whenever these Formal Wizards grew to a certain level, any wizard who harbored expectations for the future and tomorrow would leave their homeland, traveling together across the Endless Sea of Fog to the east or the Endless Desert to the west, heading to more prosperous Wizard Worlds, pursuing the path of wizardry...

"Yes, Malthus."

Lord Joyce smiled and nodded slightly, completely unreserved.

"I plan to cross the Sea of Fog ten years from now. You can spread the word that anyone who wants to go together can find me. We can be companions on the journey, and it will be safer."

"Good, good, good, Lord Joyce. If those old fellows hear this news, they'll surely be overjoyed."

"As far as I know, the Tier 1 large sea-crossing ship jointly built by the Seven Towers Alliance was completed more than ten years ago, but it has been delayed because they haven't gathered enough Formal Wizards."

"I believe that with your participation, Lord Joyce, the safety of the voyage will be greatly increased, and it will certainly attract more old undying ones to join. In ten years, gathering a ship of 20 Formal Wizards will definitely not be a problem."

"No, I estimate that the number of those who want to board your great ship will be significant, certainly far exceeding 20."

"If my path ahead wasn't already cut off, and I only had about thirty years of lifespan left, I would even want to go with you, Lord Joyce, to try my luck in the Middle-earth Continent."

"Wizard Malthus, the Middle-earth Continent has its advantages, and the Mist Coast also has its advantages. At least it's very quiet here, with fewer conflicts, and it's very suitable for research. I have benefited greatly from over a hundred years of dedicated research here," Lord Joyce said with a comforting smile...

"Haha..."

"You are right."

"This Mist Coast, it's like a beautiful little garden in the countryside, very peaceful and tranquil, very suitable for retirement."

"But I think those vibrant young people might yearn more for bustling metropolises. If I were a hundred years younger, I wouldn't miss the opportunity to go to the Middle-earth Continent either."

Wizard Malthus's ancient wrinkles were filled with the vicissitudes of life.

To have a wizard from the Middle-earth Continent leading them, and a Tier 2 Wizard at that, this was a once-in-a-lifetime great opportunity for the wizards of the Mist Coast.

It should be known that, according to the experience of predecessors, after crossing the Sea of Fog, the closest Wizarding World is the Azure Domain Wizarding World, which is closer to the center of the Wizard World than the Mist Coast, with a single-digit number of Tier 2 Wizards presiding. Historically, many senior Formal Wizards from the Mist Coast went to the Azure Domain to settle down.

But this time, it was actually possible to have a Tier 2 Wizard accompany them to the center of the entire Wizard World, the Middle-earth Continent Wizard World, which was a wizard holy land where one could come into contact with Tier 2, Tier 3, and even higher-level wizards.

Although it would require traversing several wizard regions, who could refuse the prosperity of the big cities?

Wizard Malthus thought:

"Once this news gets out, the middle-aged and elderly wizards of the entire Mist Coast will go crazy. This time, at least half of the Formal Wizards will probably leave."

"Alas, the Academy's few promising talents, it seems they won't be able to stay either. What a headache..."