Although the quota for the Realm of Truth was secured, Pierce did not relax because of it.

  Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking, he went out as usual, punctual in his search for heretics hiding in the shadows.

  It was rare to have such an opportunity to earn a large amount of Merit Points, so naturally, it could not be wasted. In this world where resources were paramount, getting more was always better.

  Sia and Peyton were waiting at the door early, as always.

  Seeing Pierce come out, their eyes lit up immediately. They stepped forward quickly, greeting him respectfully.

  "My Lord."

  Pierce nodded slightly to the two of them, then led them out of the dormitory building.

  The garrison was much livelier than usual today. Along the way, groups of twos and threes could be seen everywhere, gathering together and discussing something with excitement.

  And the moment Pierce and his two companions appeared, they acted like a magnet, instantly attracting everyone's attention.

  "Look, it's Pierce!"

  "Is he going out again today?"

  "No way, he just killed two Legendary Knight-level powerhouses last night. After experiencing a battle of that magnitude, does he still have the energy to go out and search for heretics today?"

  "You don't know, do you? I heard people say that when Pierce came back last night, he didn't have a single scratch on him, and even his clothes weren't messy!"

  "Hiss, really? Doesn't that mean he can crush Legendary Knights?"

  "Unbelievable..."

  Exclamations and discussions rose and fell like waves.

  At the beginning of the operation, when Harlan blatantly targeted Pierce, many people secretly pitied Pierce, thinking he had gotten into big trouble, and some even gloated.

  Who would have thought that only a few days later, the situation would undergo a shocking reversal? Pierce actually turned the tables and killed Harlan, even slaughtering a Madness Drinker in passing!

  This was truly inconceivable and awe-inspiring!

  The crowd did not care about the secrets and games hidden behind this incident, nor did they dare to delve into them.

  They cared more about the terrifying power Pierce revealed in this matter.

  To be able to kill two Legendary Knight-level powerhouses consecutively in frontal combat—such strength, placed among the tens of thousands of Rank 3 Wizard Apprentices in Aurora City, definitely belonged to the topmost, most monstrous small group.

  I'm afraid it won't be long before The Spire Academy produces another legendary student who successfully advances to Official Wizard before graduation.

  In the world of Wizards, the strong are respected.

  Pierce's strength had undoubtedly won the respect of almost everyone.

  Among the many gazes cast upon him at this moment, those of awe and worship occupied the vast majority.

  Even in the gazes directed at Sia and Peyton, there were quite a few looks of envy and jealousy.

  Many Knight students were secretly regretting it. If they had known Pierce was so powerful and generous, they should have been thick-skinned and fought for a spot back then. Perhaps they would be the ones standing behind Pierce now, enjoying the public's attention.

  Sensing the gazes from the people around them, Sia and Peyton subconsciously straightened their backs, a sense of pride surging in their hearts.

  In the following days, Pierce's life became exceptionally regular and fulfilling.

  During the day, he led the team to search for remnant heretics in the ruins of the Northern District, harvesting Merit Points; at night, he returned to the garrison for deep meditation and cultivation of the Breathing Technique, constantly honing his mental power and constitution.

  Unfortunately, this calm and efficient life did not last too long.

  Four days later, with the cleaning of the last area completed, this mighty sweeping operation was declared over.

  With this, the encirclement campaign against the forces of the Hand of Grievance, Apep, officially came to a close.

  After this battle, Apep's believer forces, which had been operating in Aurora City for many years, were basically swept clean and uprooted.

  Perhaps there were still some fish that slipped through the net, lingering in dark corners, but they were no longer worth mentioning and couldn't stir up any waves.

  At least for the next few decades, the Apep forces shouldn't dream of recovering their vitality in Aurora City.

  "Facts have proven that no heresy can defeat the official forces. The key is whether the officials are willing to take heavy-handed measures to rectify it."

  Pierce tossed the last battle report aside, leaned back in his chair, and a thoughtful look appeared on his face.

  Reasonably speaking, with the powerful forces controlled by the Dawn Council, it shouldn't be difficult to completely sweep away the heretical forces in the entire Aurora City.

  But why did they usually allow heretics to operate in secret, even indulging them somewhat?

  If Apep's believers hadn't recklessly provoked The Spire Academy this time, touching the bottom line of the Wizards, they would probably only have suffered some superficial suppression even if they danced happily, rather than being uprooted like now.

  Raising bandits to respect the soldiers? Or some deeper balance?

  After thinking for a moment with no result, Pierce shook his head and decisively gave up thinking.

  Regardless of the schemes and games behind this, those were matters for the big shots above to consider, not something a mere Wizard Apprentice like him should worry about.

  The most important thing right now was to improve his strength as soon as possible and advance to Wizard.

  Pierce stood up and stretched his somewhat stiff body, pushing open the door to the corridor outside.

  The sun was shining brightly, and the breeze was gentle.

  Mist Raven was standing on the corridor railing, basking comfortably in the sun.

  The warm sunlight shone on its pitch-black body, and its feathers reflected a faint metallic luster, giving it a noble and mysterious texture.

  Sia stood aside, holding a plate of exquisite Beast Meat, carefully picking up a small piece with a silver fork and feeding it to Mist Raven's mouth.

  With that respectful demeanor, anyone who didn't know would think she was serving some royal family member on a private visit.

  Peyton stood a bit further away, watching this scene eagerly, his eyes seeming to envy Sia for being able to get so close to Mist Raven.

  Since that earth-shattering battle that night, Sia and Peyton's attitude toward Mist Raven had undergone a drastic change. They no longer treated it as an ordinary pet or familiar but completely regarded it as a powerhouse worthy of respect.

  Not only were they respectful on ordinary days, but when Pierce was busy, the two would also specially go to the canteen to find special beast meatball dishes that were said to be popular among crow familiars for Mist Raven to enjoy.

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  In terms of care for Mist Raven, Pierce, the rightful owner, felt somewhat inferior now.

  Of course, Pierce was happy to see this change.

  Someone taking meticulous care of Mist Raven saved him from trivial matters; naturally, he wouldn't refuse.

  The only one unhappy about this was Little Yi.

  The little fellow was sitting on the edge of a flower pot not far away, arms crossed, glaring angrily at Sia and Peyton, her cheeks puffed up like a hamster.

  Two guys with no eyesight!

  Obviously, we are all partners of the Great Demon King. Why are these two only respectful to that black crow but dismissive of this young lady?

  Just because that black crow is strong? What's so great about just fighting and killing!

  Although this young lady is a bit weaker, she can make precious Thousand Flower Honey and help refine potions. The Great Demon King has praised me for being amazing many times! Why look down on fairies!

  Bullying fairies too much!

  Pierce watched this scene and shook his head secretly with a smile. He didn't plan to intervene in this petty awkwardness between partners. After greeting Sia and the other, he walked straight towards the Redemption Hall.

  With the sweeping operation just ended, the Redemption Hall was crowded with Wizard Apprentices coming to exchange resources.

  Pierce walked into the hall and saw a sea of black heads at a glance, the air filled with the smell of sweat and excitement.

  "It's Pierce!"

  Suddenly, someone sharp-eyed in the crowd shouted.

  The originally noisy hall quieted down for a moment, and then, the people in front turned their heads to look. Seeing that it really was Pierce, they actually consciously retreated to both sides, making way.

  In the blink of an eye, a wide path leading directly to the counter was cleared in the crowded crowd.

  Pierce was not polite either. He nodded slightly to everyone, then walked straight through the crowd to the registration desk and placed the heavy Recording Ring on the table.

  These days, he had successively harvested more than 20 Merit Points.

  In the final settlement, the total Merit Points in his hand reached an astonishing 2023 points.

  The staff member finished the registration quickly, looked up at this number, and said with a tremor in his tone, "A total of 2023 Merit Points. What would you like to exchange for?"

  As the voice fell, a sound of gasping for cold air instantly rang out in the hall.

  2023 Merit Points!

  This amount was more than ten times what most of them had!

  Comparisons really drive people to death!

  "Exchange for one quota for the Realm of Truth, and two Gloom Stones. Exchange the rest for Magic Stones."

  Pierce's tone was calm, but he felt a little pity in his heart.

  After exchanging for the most expensive Realm of Truth quota, the remaining Merit Points were no longer enough to exchange for that precious Phantom Potion.

  He could only settle for the second best and exchange for Gloom Stones to assist in meditation.

  Forget it. At worst, I'll buy the Phantom Potion from Teacher when I get back. I have money anyway.

  Pierce thought to himself.

  The benefit of having a Potioneer teacher was here; as long as there were Magic Stones, there was never a worry about lacking channels to buy high-level potions.

  "Okay, one Realm of Truth quota, two Gloom Stones, three Magic Stones."

  The staff member nimbly took out the items and placed them respectfully in front of Pierce.

  "The Realm of Truth quota has been recorded in your Apprentice Badge. You can report there directly on the open day."

  "The other items are here. Please count them."

  "Thank you."

  Pierce glanced at them, confirmed they were correct, put everything into his dimensional bag, and turned to leave.

  It wasn't until he walked out of the hall that the crowd behind him suddenly erupted into a buzzing discussion.

  "A quota for the Realm of Truth... I'm dying of envy. I want one too."

  "Just think about it. That thing is displayed for show; only a monster like Pierce can get his hands on it. We mortals should just honestly exchange for some potions."

  "Speaking of which, this is the second time Pierce has obtained a Realm of Truth quota, right?"

  "Hiss, now that you mention it, it really is! No one in the academy has ever been able to enter the Realm of Truth twice in a row. Pierce has set a precedent!"

  The discussion in the crowd instantly became louder, full of envy and amazement.

  Just after leaving the Redemption Hall, not far away, Pierce ran into Gwen.

  The girl paused when she saw him, pouted as if reluctant, but then walked over and stuffed a Memory Crystal Ball into his arms.

  "For you. Take it."

  "What is this?" Pierce asked knowingly, a trace of playfulness in his eyes.

  "Hey, don't act innocent after getting a bargain!" Gwen put her hands on her hips, staring at Pierce with her beautiful eyes, puffed up with anger. "So what if you won the wager? You are just... just..."

  Gwen wanted to say that Pierce was just lucky, but the words couldn't come out of her mouth no matter what.

  Asking herself honestly, if she had encountered the Madness Drinker, there was a high probability she would have turned and run; it was impossible to take those 1000 Merit Points.

  Saying Pierce was lucky was really a bit against her conscience.

  Pierce didn't speak, just looked at her with a smile, an expression that said, "Go on."

  Gwen finally couldn't stand his gaze. She raised her hand in self-abandonment and said, "Fine, fine, I know you're amazing, okay? Are you satisfied?"

  Pierce smiled and nodded, saying, "Being a graceful loser is a good quality."

  Seeing Gwen's beautiful eyes widen as if she was about to explode again, Pierce didn't give her a chance and changed the subject. "Speaking of which, we've been away from the academy for more than half a month. Has anything big happened in the academy recently?"

  Although she knew Pierce was changing the subject, Gwen glared at him reproachfully and followed his topic. "There are a few things. One of them is that you killed the Madness Drinker and Harlan..."

  "This matter has spread throughout the entire academy. Now, not only in the first year, but you are also very famous among the senior years. Several people have already asked me about you, and some even want to challenge you."

  "...What else?" Pierce automatically filtered out those boring challenges.

  "The second thing is also related to you." Gwen paused slightly, a look of surprise and envy in her eyes. "Just three days ago, Senior Sister Yuna successfully advanced to Official Wizard."

  Pierce was startled first, then joy filled his heart.

  Senior Sister advanced to Wizard!

  This was undoubtedly great news.

  Not to mention his own good impression of his senior sister, just their relationship as fellow disciples meant that her promotion to Wizard had huge benefits for him. It meant his backing in the academy was even harder.

  "Not long after the news of the promotion came out, the Silver Legion sent an invitation to Senior Sister Yuna . It's said they directly offered the position of Witch Hunt Squad leader." Gwen's tone was full of envy.

  Witch Hunt Squad!

  Pierce's eyes flickered slightly.

  He had heard of this unit.

  It was said that the Witch Hunt Squad was composed entirely of Official Wizards and was the ace unit with the strongest combat power in the Silver Legion. In planar conquests, they were specifically responsible for dealing with the trickiest enemies, commonly known as "decapitation strikes."

  Don't look down on it just because it's a squad leader position; the power of a Witch Hunt Squad leader was immense. Even ordinary City Guard legion commanders had to be respectful when seeing them.

  Pierce sighed with emotion secretly but was not surprised.

  After all, his senior sister advanced to Wizard with a top-grade advanced meditation technique, so her foundation was incredibly deep. With just a few months to stabilize her realm, her strength would already be stronger than most senior Level 1 Wizards.

  Serving as a Witch Hunt Squad leader was no problem for her.

  Composing himself, Pierce then asked, "Is there anything else?"

  "One more thing." Gwen nodded, her expression becoming somewhat serious. "Have you heard about the truce negotiations between our Aurora City and Red Lotus City?"

  Pierce's expression changed. "Is the result of the negotiation out?"

  "Sort of."

  Gwen shrugged, her tone somewhat helpless.

  "After lengthy wrangling, the councils of both sides finally agreed that the distribution ratio of the new plane's development proceeds would be determined through a competition. The winner can exclusively claim 70% of the proceeds, while the loser not only has to contribute half the effort in the plane's development but can only get a pitiful 30% of the proceeds."

  Pierce was surprised to hear this.

  He didn't expect that after the truce between the two major Wizard Cities, they were preparing for another "Battle of the Twin Cities" in a different sense.

  Coming back to his senses, he asked curiously, "What kind of competition is it?"

  "The specific format is not yet clear, but it is said that there are three rounds of competition in total, involving Wizards of different realms."

  Speaking of this, Gwen paused, revealing a strange look, and then continued:

  "It is said that one round of the competition might be fielded by several Rank 3 Wizard Apprentices."

  Wizard Apprentices?

  Pierce was truly shocked this time.

  Using a competition between Wizard Apprentices to determine the distribution ratio of a plane's resources—even if it only determined a part—was a bit too trifling, wasn't it? This was a major event involving huge benefits.

  "What exactly are the people above thinking?" Pierce couldn't understand it at all.

  Gwen spread her hands and said, "Who knows? Maybe they want to compare which city's younger generation is more outstanding to demonstrate potential."

  She suddenly paused and looked deeply at Pierce, a strange light flashing in her eyes.

  "But if the rumors are true, with your current strength, you can completely compete for this quota!"

  Pierce's heart moved, and he remained silent.

  To be honest, he was tempted for a moment.

  If this matter was true, once he got the quota, the Dawn Council would inevitably spare no resources to strengthen their combat power to increase the chances of their participants winning.

  Just this point alone had plenty of attraction.

  Not to mention that if he won on behalf of Aurora City, he would definitely get handsome rewards and huge prestige.

  That being said, Pierce didn't take it too much to heart.

  After all, it was uncertain whether this matter was true or false.

  Even if it were true, there would definitely be no shortage of Wizard Apprentices wanting the quota. It was foreseeable that the competition would be extremely fierce.

  Aurora City was full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. Pierce wouldn't blindly believe that just because he could kill a Legendary Knight, he was invincible in the Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice realm.

  Not to mention anything else, among those veteran Rank 3 Wizard Apprentices who practiced advanced meditation techniques and had stagnated before the Wizard threshold for a long time, there were many with exceedingly strong power.

  In terms of aptitude, they might be lacking, with no hope of becoming Official Wizards in their lifetime.

  But in terms of strength, they had accumulated for many years in the Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice realm, were proficient in a large number of spells, and had accumulated a lot of trump cards and insidious backup plans. If they really fought, probably even two or three Legendary Knights joining forces wouldn't be their match.

  As the last hurdle before becoming a Wizard, the upper and lower limits of power in the Rank 3 Wizard Apprentice realm were even greater than the gap between a Rank 2 Wizard Apprentice and an ordinary person.