Chapter 261: Jealousy

Relying on the terrifying firepower of the “Great Light Halo,” Jie Ming stabilized the precarious situation, earning a moment to breathe.

He split part of his focus, swiftly scanning the battlefield.

His gaze first turned to the sky.

There, a battle that should have been a one-sided crush was locked in a bizarre stalemate.

The gravely injured Level 4 wizard and Level 3 wizard Levin Mills clashed with surging energy, their shockwaves twisting the surrounding space, as if the heavens might collapse under their struggle.

But after observing for a few seconds, Jie Ming’s brow furrowed.

“…So weak.”

This was his most direct and objective assessment.

Not arrogance, but fact.

The Level 4 wizard in the sky was a hollow shell of power!

His combat proficiency and mastery of his rules were shockingly poor.

Compared to a typical Level 4 wizard, he was likely outclassed by many veteran Level 3 wizards.

Jie Ming saw clearly: the wizard wielded spatial rules, but his application was crude and brutish, lacking finesse.

He relied purely on the instinctive dominance of his energy tier.

Jie Ming even felt that the mutated spider-snake he’d once captured had better control over spatial abilities.

In contrast, Levin Mills, wielding an unclear branch of “life” rules, wasn’t particularly refined either.

But his seasoned experience and endless techniques allowed him to dominate the hollow Level 4 wizard, holding the upper hand throughout.

If not for the Level 4’s strong base attributes, Jie Ming had no doubt this seemingly grand battle would have ended long ago.

As Jie Ming analyzed, Jack seized a moment created by his comrades’ sacrifices!

Transformed into a humanoid construct, he completed a brief charge, unleashing a mixed spell beam of terrifying energy, like a roaring dragon tearing through the air toward Jie Ming.

This strike rivaled a Level 3 wizard’s full power!

Yet…

Jie Ming didn’t even consider dodging.

With a thought, the massive “Great Light Halo” behind him flared.

Countless energy barrages poured out, not in chaos but under Jie Ming’s precise control, converging in a specific area before him, colliding!

The energy bullets, meant for attack, formed a dynamic barrier of constant violent reactions.

Boom!!!

Jack’s full-power strike crashed into this chaotic energy zone, vanishing like a pebble in the sea.

The beam, brimming with power, hit the “reactive armor” of energy bullets, disintegrating in a chain of micro-explosions, unable to budge Jie Ming.

This effortless defense, paired with Jie Ming’s relaxed expression, utterly enraged Jack’s group.

Their attacks grew frenzied, yet they couldn’t breach the destructive barrage.

Amid the intense battle, Jie Ming’s attention was drawn to another question.

While maintaining the halo’s terrifying output, he casually asked Jack, as if chatting: “Senior Jack, I’m curious. Back at the square, why did you specifically invite me?”

Though Jie Ming still didn’t know their exact goal, it was clear Jack’s group sought wizards as prey.

So… it came back to cost-efficiency.

Level 1 wizards were easier to handle than Level 2s.

Jack’s later recruits confirmed this.

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So Jie Ming was puzzled.

But in asking, he overlooked something.

His relaxed demeanor clashed with the life-or-death battlefield, as if he were merely making casual inquiries.

This was a profound insult.

Jack’s group’s faces twisted with rage, their attacks growing more ferocious, yet yielding little.

After a pause, perhaps seeking a flaw in Jie Ming’s focus, Jack rasped, countering with a question: “Do you remember the question you asked me a few days ago?”

Jie Ming paused, then nodded slightly.

He remembered.

Seeing the shocking change in the once-corpulent, now-emaciated wizard, he’d asked Jack why he used such near-self-destructive techniques.

Jack hadn’t answered then.

Now, with a roar laced with pent-up resentment, he did: “Because he could never learn better techniques!”

“Jie Ming! Not everyone is a prodigy like you! Not everyone can effortlessly master advanced knowledge like you!”

“Have you, a genius, never wondered why you never heard my name under Mentor Clark?!”

“Because, despite my parents’ guidance to choose the promising ‘logistics’ path, I lacked the intellect and talent! I wasn’t even worthy to call myself Clark’s disciple! I’m just an ordinary apprentice!”

His words didn’t fully answer, but Jie Ming understood the core of his earlier question.

—Jealousy.

Jack’s rage stemmed from his own mediocrity, coupled with burning envy of Jie Ming’s talent.

Thus, when selecting “prey,” his subconscious drove him to target the dazzling Jie Ming in the square.

“I see…”

Understanding the crux, Jie Ming gave a soft chuckle, a vague unease in his heart quietly dissipating.

The laugh pierced Jack’s group’s fragile nerves.

“You look down on me?!”

They roared, their assault intensifying, yet Jie Ming’s “Great Light Halo” held them back, making them look even more pathetic.

Jie Ming’s laughter wasn’t disdain but relief.

The wizard world often felt cold and overly rational, where betrayal and killing for profit carried no burden, leaving Jie Ming with a sense of alienation.

But Jack’s emotional, irrational outburst made him realize that even in this world, “rationality” was often a veneer.

He recalled Amy and Victor; though their emotions differed, the core was the same.

Beneath the rational shell lay vibrant souls that cried, laughed, envied, and raged.

This clarity sharpened his control over the “Great Light Halo.”

As they faltered, Jack’s group was pushed back, barely holding on with Level 4 artifacts, their defeat imminent.

The final blow came from the flank—the remaining black giants and injured Level 1 wizards, at the cost of another death, eliminated the last two enemy Level 2 wizards!

The scales tipped decisively.

Soon, amid desperate roars, Jack’s group was eradicated by Jie Ming and the surviving wizards.

Some tried to flee, only to crash into warped spatial turbulence, their bodies and souls torn apart.

The ground battle paused, but Jie Ming didn’t relax, his brow furrowed as he looked skyward.

The aerial battle had also concluded.

The outcome… a crushing defeat for the Level 4 wizard!

His figure plummeted like a meteor, crashing into the ground, kicking up clouds of dust.

He struggled briefly but, too wounded to rise, could only glare furiously at Levin Mills, descending slowly from the sky.

Levin Mills had no time for his defeated foe.

Though his wounds healed rapidly under his rule’s power, his tattered robe, blood-soaked gashes, and fluctuating soul aura revealed the heavy price paid to defeat this “hollow” Level 4.

His gaze crossed the ruins, meeting Jie Ming’s from afar.

Silence spread amid the dust, broken only by the crackle of residual energy.

Jie Ming grinned coldly, breaking the quiet: “How about we both back off?”

Levin Mills paused, his icy gaze sweeping over the still-rotating “Great Light Halo” behind Jie Ming, radiating chilling energy, and slowly shook his head:

“…No!”