The Wizard's Pursuit of Truth
Chapter 16: Killing Intent and the Formation of the Second Wizard Rune

Chapter 16: Chapter 16: Killing Intent and the Formation of the Second Wizard Rune

"Who... Who’s there?" Arthur’s face instantly twisted with shock and anger. His voice was agitated, and his eyes were full of malice.

With that, he started walking toward Wang Ya.

Someone might have overheard his entire conversation with Anna. That was absolutely unacceptable.

Once a fragile ego is provoked, it tends to lash out in an unrestrained torrent of extreme emotion.

This was precisely Arthur’s state of mind at this moment; a sense of panic and resentment was about to burst from his heart.

’Just who was eavesdropping?!’

Anna’s expression was just as grim. Her fair skin was flushed scarlet with shame and anger.

"It’s you, Wang Ya." Anna’s brow furrowed. "What are you doing here? Have you been listening to us this whole time?"

Watching the figure slowly emerge from the darkness, her eyes flickered as if she was contemplating something.

Then, her gaze lowered, and she suddenly said to Arthur, "Alright, I’m heading back. Arthur, I’ve always thought of you as a friend. You should get some rest tonight."

After speaking, she walked straight into the ship’s cabin.

For her, Wang Ya’s appearance was an opportunity. It would allow word of their conversation to get out, letting her publicly distance herself from Arthur.

Wang Ya was rendered speechless at being dragged into this kind of situation. It was a meaningless complication.

In his hand, he carried a bucket, the Red-Scaled Giant Fish occasionally bumping against its walls. Harak flapped its wings, perched on his shoulder, its blood-red pupils reflecting Arthur’s furious, resentful face.

"It was you, you piece of trash! You actually dared to eavesdrop on my conversation with Anna! You bastard, damn you!"

Arthur’s right hand clenched into a tight fist, veins bulging. He was so enraged he wanted nothing more than to charge forward and beat Wang Ya to a pulp.

Suddenly, he thought of something more. This piece of trash knew about their conversation. There was no guarantee he wouldn’t spread it around... At the thought of strange gazes focusing on him, Arthur’s eyes instantly turned red. Along with his resentment, a hysterical madness took hold.

’Why is this happening? Everyone is against me.’

’I have top-tier aptitude, a Wizard’s legacy, the highest status... so why do those low-tier new students get to survive without a scratch?’

The emptiness where his left arm used to be, the disfigurement on his face—it all seemed to devour his very soul, leaving him hollow inside.

Wang Ya’s brow furrowed. He gave Arthur an indifferent glance, said nothing, and walked past him.

The matter itself was meaningless. Dwelling on it would just be a waste of time.

He usually didn’t concern himself with meaningless things.

Suddenly, his pace slowed for a moment before returning to normal as he entered the ship’s cabin.

Under the dim, warm light, he lifted his head slightly. His eyes had turned incomparably cold, radiating pure killing intent.

Back on the deck, he had sensed killing intent from Arthur. It was almost completely undisguised, as if Arthur might have attacked at any second.

At that moment, Wang Ya had used his Consciousness Brand to put Harak on standby, ready to strike.

The other man wasn’t a complete fool; he hadn’t attacked, instead suppressing his urgent impulse.

The presence of the Tuta Wizard maintained order throughout the Wizard Ship.

As long as one didn’t break the rules, they could do almost anything without issue.

But once those rules were broken, the punishment could sometimes be more terrifying than death itself.

He closed the door to his room and set the bucket aside.

Wang Ya washed up in the lavatory.

In the mirror, his handsome face was cold and impassive, his pupils slightly narrowed. He was thinking about why Arthur had developed killing intent toward him.

’Just because of this meaningless incident?’

’Considering his recent changes and the severe injuries he sustained, it could probably be attributed to an abnormal mental state.’

But Wang Ya didn’t care. How Arthur ended up was none of his business. The one thing he did care about was that Arthur now wanted him dead.

This was a problem and a threat!

It had to be eliminated.

Wang Ya’s eyes were cold. He had made his decision.

He was certain the other man probably had the same idea, though likely stemming from that ridiculous sense of inferiority.

Fighting was definitely out of the question on the Wizard Ship, not with the Tuta Wizard maintaining order.

The daily Sea Beast hunt, which involved leaving the Wizard Ship for the Endless Sea, would be an opportunity.

’If I can think of it, he probably can too.’

’Then it’s just a matter of who is more skilled.’

Wang Ya walked out of the lavatory, his gaze falling on Harak, who was perched on a coat rack, and then on a petri dish on his desk.

It was the Extraordinary Poison - Red Scale Poison.

.....

One night wasn’t much time, but there was a lot Wang Ya could do.

There were twelve Red-Scaled Giant Fish in the bucket. He set aside two for Harak’s midnight snack. For the rest, Wang Ya picked up a Dissection Knife and began removing their poison sacs. The one extra fish was a backup, a remedy in case of failure.

He extracted all of the Extraordinary Poison and placed it into the petri dish.

The Particle Energy underwent a qualitative transformation.

All that remained was to concentrate the toxins, forming the true Extraordinary Poison - ’Red Scale Poison’.

Around one in the morning, Wang Ya began his daily practice of the Vast Sea Meditation Method.

Seven days had already passed since he began analyzing it with the Eye of Truth.

All the knowledge related to the second Vast Sea Rune had been transmitted deep into his mind, and he had absorbed it completely.

With a mere thought, he appeared in the world within his Sea of Spirit.

The ink-black environment did indeed resemble the Endless Sea. In the sky, only a single star from the myriad twinkled, casting a faint glow that barely illuminated the surroundings.

Wang Ya had heard a legend: when the Sea of Spirit was fully illuminated, it meant one’s Wizard Path was complete, granting them the power to incinerate mountains and boil seas.

With a wave of their hand, they could reduce a towering mountain to its most fundamental dust—pulverizing it completely.

A ceaseless stream of Spiritual Power, following the sound of the rising and falling tides in his Sea of Spirit, began to sketch out the second Vast Sea Rune near the first.

It was similar, yet fundamentally different on a deeper level—far more complex and difficult to create.

The seven days of analysis had paid off. At first, Wang Ya was a bit clumsy, but soon it was as if another hand was guiding his own as he wrote, making the once-difficult characters simple and smooth.

The moment before his Spiritual Power was completely depleted, a new Vast Sea Rune appeared next to the first one. Their glows attracted each other, creating a resonance like a magnetic field.

WHOOSH!

It was as if he could hear the majestic surge of the great sea, and yet also the gentle trickle of a clear spring.

His nearly depleted Spiritual Power, nourished by some unknown force, began to recover, returning to its peak in an instant.

The strength of his Spiritual Power had also increased significantly.

In the real world, Wang Ya opened his eyes. Flecks of blue light glittered within his black pupils.