Chapter 31 - 30: Abundant Martial Virtue

Chapter 31: Chapter 30: Abundant Martial Virtue

Gaode pushed open the dark brown door once again.

"You’re here." Mage Seda sat at his desk as usual, looking at Gaode without a trace of emotion.

"I’m here." Gaode nodded. He glanced at Mage Seda, noticing that the man looked visibly older than he had just ten days ago.

While Gaode studied Mage Seda, the mage was also observing him, seemingly quite satisfied with his docile demeanor. He pushed the potion bottle on the desk forward. "Drink it.

"You have some talent in Magic Potion. If all goes smoothly, I will officially take you in as my apprentice."

Perhaps because he was infinitely close to success and wanted a good omen, Mage Seda had actually set aside his previous threats and taken the initiative to promise Gaode a reward.

Looking at the unknown, fluorescent blue liquid inside the conical potion bottle, Gaode found his mood surprisingly calm. He smiled and spoke to Mage Seda in a very sincere tone, "Thank you, Lord Mage."

Perhaps he had prepared for this day for too long and had been tense for too long. Now that the moment had truly arrived, he had completely calmed down. There were no major emotional fluctuations. In fact, at this very moment, Gaode felt as if he had seen through life and death.

He didn’t belong here to begin with; this life was lived on borrowed time.

If he was the one walking out of here after today, it would be a massive win. If not, he had at least lived an extra month. That wasn’t a loss either.

He reasoned that since he had nothing to lose either way, there was no reason to fear the mage.

Having thought it through completely, Gaode cast all his tension and anxiety aside. With a mere thought, the potion bottle on the desk levitated into the air and landed squarely in his hand.

Mage’s Hand.

Mage Seda was slightly surprised by Gaode’s action, but his attention was entirely focused on whether the Magic Potion would be a success. Thus, he temporarily overlooked Gaode’s seemingly presumptuous behavior.

Gaode uncorked the bottle. Under Mage Seda’s watchful eyes, he raised it to his lips, adopting the posture of being about to drink.

Keeping an eye on Mage Seda with his peripheral vision, Gaode noticed the mage staring obsessively at the bottle in his hand. A hint of mockery flashed in Gaode’s eyes.

The next moment, Gaode struck without warning!

He did not down the potion as Mage Seda expected. Instead, with absolute resolve, he ruthlessly swung his right hand, hurling the bottle away.

The Magic Potion that Mage Seda had spent a fortune on, poured immense mental and physical Energy into, and pinned such high hopes on, sailed through the air in an arc and smashed into the ground right in front of the mage.

CRASH! With a crisp yet heavy impact, shards of glass flew in all directions.

Freed from its shattered container, the fluorescent blue liquid splashed across the cold, hard floor. It formed an irregular, mottled stain that silently declared an irreversible decision.

The pungent smell of the potion immediately filled the air. Everything seemed to freeze in this instant, only to be violently shattered the very next second.

"What are you doing?! I’ll kill you! I’ll kill you!" an incredibly savage roar echoed throughout the room.

The usually aloof Mage Seda erupted like a furious lion. Staring at the puddle of liquid on the floor, he could no longer suppress his emotions.

Gaode watched with cold detachment. Mage Seda’s reaction was exactly what he wanted to see.

To destroy a man, one must first drive him mad.

Gaode knew perfectly well how much Mage Seda valued the Magic Potion in his hands. Therefore, he needed to use it to enrage Mage Seda, making him lose his reasoning to secure just a tiny bit more of a chance at victory.

POOF!

While Mage Seda was still roaring, a handful of flour was suddenly thrown right into his face.

The Elder Mage had never seen such dirty tactics. Caught completely off guard, he was hit, the flour blinding his eyes.

Gaode’s next move was already underway. He stepped back a few paces to widen the distance between them while pulling another potion bottle from his waist. While Mage Seda was blinded and unable to open his eyes, Gaode hurled it straight at him.

It was a throwable, homemade acid bottle that Gaode had prepared in advance.

Throwing dust followed by throwing acid—the classic Sect Master Wei combo.

The martial arts movies Gaode watched in his childhood hadn’t been in vain.

On the other side, although Mage Seda had been careless and fallen for Gaode’s dirty trick, by his very Nature, he was not someone who could be dealt with so easily.

The moment he was hit, Mage Seda reacted promptly.

Without him making any visible movements, a distinct ripple of Magic cascaded through the enclosed room.

The acid bottle Gaode threw came to a dead stop less than a foot away from Mage Seda. It was as if it had smashed into a transparent but rock-hard glass shield.

The glass bottle instantly shattered into pieces, and the liquid inside splashed out, carrying a pungent smell of sulfur.

The acid splashed in all directions, with a large portion of it raining down on Mage Seda. Given the acid’s corrosive power, if it had actually landed on Mage Seda, it might not have defeated him in a single blow, but it would have certainly subjected him to a world of pain.

However, just like the bottle, all the splashing acid was completely blocked. It dripped onto the floor, unable to get anywhere near Mage Seda’s body.

"Is this what you’re relying on?" By now, Mage Seda had finally managed to force his eyes open. He laughed out of sheer fury. "You thought you could turn the tables by using some underhanded tricks and a bottle of acid you got from who knows where?"

Upon smelling the pungent scent of sulfur, Mage Seda had already figured out what the liquid was.

"You dare show off such petty tricks in front of me?" His expression darkened to the extreme. "You will regret this. Today, I will make you kneel right here and beg me to kill you!"

Facing Mage Seda’s blatant threats, and the harsh reality that the mage had effortlessly and seamlessly blocked his preemptive attack, Gaode’s voice remained incredibly cold and eerily calm. "Today, only one of us will walk out of this room alive."

He hadn’t lost his nerve over Mage Seda’s display of power. Instead, for the very first time, he openly bared his fangs in front of the mage.

Mage Seda didn’t take Gaode seriously at all, treating him as if he had simply gone mad. "I have no idea where you got this bottle of acid, but do you really think you can rival me with mere external tools and hooligan tactics?

"The reason a Mage is a Mage is because a Mage is omnipotent.

"Only a Mage can kill a Mage."

"You are a Mage Apprentice, and I am also a Mage Apprentice," Gaode said, looking coldly at Mage Seda.

Mage Seda seemed a little surprised by Gaode’s sheer audacity, yet also found it somewhat amusing. He spoke with contempt:

"It seems I have indeed taught you too little, which is why you harbor such absurd thoughts.

"You should know that there is a vast gap even between Mage Apprentices."

Gaode ignored Mage Seda’s verbal attacks.

Activating a Magic Model took time. This was because Mana needed to flow through the entire Magic Model to be converted into various incredible Magic effects. This was known as Casting Time.

The more powerful the Magic, the larger the Magic Model, and the longer it took for the Mana to complete its circuit.

He conversed with Mage Seda, firstly, to vent the frustration that had been building up in his chest for a month. Secondly, it was to buy himself a brief Casting Time.

At this moment, Gaode abruptly swung his right hand.

A subtle ripple of Energy had already gathered in his hand, solidifying into an acid orb that pulsed with a faint green glow.

The acid orb flew out following the motion of his hand, leaving behind a slightly distorted trail of light. It crossed the short distance between them and shot straight toward Mage Seda’s face.

[Acid Splash+]!