At the same time, at the Teleportation Array Plaza of the Nolun Academy.
A huge light screen in the sky was displaying events happening inside the Gray Rock Realm.
The light screen was divided into many split screens, broadcasting the actions of the apprentices in real-time.
The more attention a split screen received, the larger its portion on the light screen seemed to grow.
Around the plaza, a group of dejected wizard apprentices stood there.
They looked exceptionally miserable, with many still bearing traces of blood, and some showing signs of severed necks or missing limbs.
Yet, despite their disheveled appearance, their physical bodies were now completely intact.
These were the unlucky ones who had been "killed" by the ambush of the indigenous people earlier.
The Teleportation Ring had a hidden power besides its apparent ability to leave the plane through spiritual power: it could forcibly teleport the user out of the plane when they were about to die, leaving behind a pile of broken artificial bodies as a decoy.
This was the true manifestation of the high-level wizard's power, with an escape ability of exceptionally high level, far beyond the rudimentary spatial imprisonment performed by Oswaldo in the Gray Rock Realm.
The apparent escape ability was merely another test for the wizard apprentices.
If they chose to escape proactively in danger, they could retain their scores; however, if their arrogance led them into a desperate situation, forcing the activation of the emergency escape ability, it signified their actual elimination as a wizard apprentice.
Wizards do not despise failure, as the learning process for every wizard is a journey of continuous failure.
For a wizard, failure is not terrifying as long as they learn something new from it, and even admitting failure can be seen as a form of far-sightedness.
What they truly despise are those who lack self-awareness or cannot clearly see the situation.
The former may experience some setbacks, but ultimately they can rise after learning their lesson, while the latter not only lead to significant losses but may also harm the interests of others.
Occasionally, a beam of light would radiate from the center of the plaza, as a new unlucky individual appeared out of nowhere.
Upon their appearance, they often seemed excited, even filled with hostility and vigilance towards their surroundings, but soon, as they took in the surroundings—the towering plaza buildings, the forlorn faces of other failures, and the light screen above their heads—they realized the situation.
Then, these new "survivors" would blush and quietly join the crowd of other failures.
They knew they had lost the trial qualification.
Buzz...
With a tremor in the air, the silhouette of a newly forcefully expelled unlucky one appeared in the plaza.
He quickly grasped the situation, dejectedly joining the group of failures, panting heavily with lingering fear.
After calming his emotions, he finally looked up at the light screen above.
To this unlucky one's surprise, there were two largest split screens on the light screen.
One, without a doubt, was the bloody "war" between the wizard apprentices and the Indigenous Alliance Army in the Bloody Valley.
The scene was fiercely brutal, with the light of witchcraft and streams of arrows intertwining, and the wizard apprentices retreating step by step.
But the other largest split screen displayed a completely different scene.
There it showed a scorched, desolate land, with no intense battles, just a seemingly ordinary lone apprentice walking slowly along the ground.
"What's going on with this person? Why is his split screen so large? Could he be the son of a high-level wizard, getting a special broadcast?" the unlucky one couldn't help but ask a nearby "senior" who seemed to have been there for a long time.
The senior's previously dejected face revealed a strange expression.
It was a look full of frustration but mixed with a slight expectation of watching a hillbilly show.
"Just keep watching," the senior's voice had a hoarse, meaningful tone.
The senior's gaze left the unlucky one feeling peculiar, but he still focused on the lone apprentice's split screen.
In no time, a large number of shadows suddenly swarmed onto the barren land where the lone apprentice walked.
It was a well-equipped Indigenous military force numbering in the hundreds, originally heading towards the valley and seemingly a subsequent reinforcement.
Seeing the lone apprentice, they all appeared somewhat surprised but quickly moved to surround the apprentice.
The unlucky one's heart tightened, secretly sweating for the lone apprentice.
An ambush of such scale would even warrant Augusta or Horn-like geniuses to go all out to cope, right?
He anticipated the scene of the apprentice fleeing in panic or fighting desperately, eventually being forcefully teleported out.
However, the subsequent scene completely stunned him.
On the screen, the seemingly ordinary young apprentice didn't even pause.
He casually waved his hand, and then... death descended.
Raging flames instantly engulfed the entire army; there were no clashing blades, no intelligent battles, just the sheer overwhelming power pouring forth!
Hundreds of elite indigenous people with extraordinary powers were reduced to ashes without withstanding a moment in the flames.
The entire land turned to scorched earth, flames roared like a divine punishment descending.
It wasn't a battle; it was... a massacre!
A one-sided massacre with utmost ease!
The unlucky one stared at the screen slack-jawed, mouth slightly open but unable to utter a sound.
He hadn't even seen how the apprentice achieved it, as if the space around that figure collapsed, spewing hellish flames.
Only then did he regain his senses, looking at the senior with a faintly amused expression.
He finally understood why the senior had that look of spectating, the experienced helplessness, and the joy of finding someone similar.
"The gap between people is really vast, isn't it?"
The senior patted his shoulder, speaking with a tone of profound insight, serene and like a dried salted fish.
The unlucky one wanted to say something, wanted to ask who that apprentice was, why he could be so powerful, why the indigenous people seemed like ants before him...
But he didn't know what to say, the overwhelming impact pressed on his chest, almost suffocating him.
Just then, the plaza lightly glowed again, as another bedraggled unlucky one was ejected from the Gray Rock Realm.
The newcomer had a bewildered look, mixed with the fear and confusion of having just faced death, mirroring the earlier reaction of the unlucky one.
Watching the newcomer's identical reaction upon emergence, and the slight confusion as they looked towards the light screen.
The apprentice slightly smiled, wordlessly shifting his steps beside the newcomer, gently patting their shoulder in the manner he was treated earlier.
"Just keep watching," he softly said, sensing the newcomer's wary yet questioning glance.
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