In the flower room, all the plants had become menacing and ferocious. Flowers released deadly toxins, and the vines had grown sharp thorns.
A dozen men, dressed in black with ashen complexions, stood before Bella. They spoke with sinister voices, saying, "We know the Heart of the Ancient God is in your hands. Hand it over, or you will become fertilizer for those plants."
"That's right, the Heart of the Ancient God is not with me. Even if it were, you wouldn't get it. I will not let you resurrect the evil god!" Bella stated righteously.
"Then there's no other way. Life is full of choices, and now it's your turn to make one!"
As the black-clothed man waved his cape, a little girl with golden hair appeared before him. The black-clothed man, using his long fingernails to grasp the girl's throat, said, "If you don't hand over the Heart of the Ancient God, your sister will die."
"Moreover, we will kill someone you care about every day, and their deaths will all be because of you."
Seeing her sister captured, Bella's voice trembled with anger. "You are truly despicable!"
The black-clothed man smiled and replied, "You flatter me. I will only count to three. If I don't see the Heart of the Ancient God by then, it's goodbye to your sister."
"Someone corrupted and killed by dark magic. Let's see if you have the ability to revive her!"
Bella cried out anxiously, "I already told you I don't have the Heart of the Ancient God. What do you want me to give you?"
The black-clothed man ignored her and calmly began counting, "One!"
"Let her go. She is innocent and knows nothing. Come at me if you have any issues!"
"Two!" the black-clothed man continued counting.
"If you dare to harm her, I swear I will hunt you down to the ends of the earth!" Bella roared in fury.
"Three..."
Before the black-clothed man could finish his count, he only managed to let out a hiss. A knock suddenly sounded at the door.
"Professor Bella, I am Zhang Chen from the first year. I have some questions about life magic that I'd like to consult you about. Are you available?"
Zhang Chen gently knocked on the door, and it slowly swung open on its own. It hadn't been locked at all. He then witnessed the scene before him: a dozen men in black, holding a girl hostage, with Bella standing opposite them.
"Looking at her current state, do you think it's convenient?" The black-clothed man gave a look to someone beside him. Two subordinates immediately began walking slowly towards Zhang Chen.
"Quick, go and ring the alarm bell! These people are from the dark magic faction!" Bella shouted to Zhang Chen.
"Dark magic? Perfect. I also have some questions about dark magic that I'd like to inquire about." Zhang Chen nodded and said with a smile.
"Are you an idiot? Haven't you heard of our dark magic reputation?" One of the black-clothed men chanted a string of incantations at Zhang Chen, then pulled out a humanoid doll with his other hand.
"Damn it, it's a control-type spell! Don't just stand there foolishly. If you don't run now, we'll all die here!" Bella was on the verge of tears.
"Interesting. And then?" Zhang Chen activated his Absolute Sight, observing the opponent's casting process, which was essentially the construction of magic. He saw that the opponent was drawing a minuscule amount of energy from Zhang Chen and projecting it onto the doll.
"You're trying to use the principle of energy resonance to control me through the doll, aren't you?" Zhang Chen nodded, as if suddenly enlightened.
"What does it matter if you know? A first-year freshman!" The man smiled slightly and reached out to twist the doll's head. If the head were twisted off, Zhang Chen's head would also be severed.
*Screech!* He twisted with force but found that the cloth doll seemed to have suddenly turned into steel. The head wouldn't budge at all.
"How is this possible?" The man panicked. This spell relied on trickery to win and had never failed once it succeeded. He had defeated countless opponents stronger than himself with this move, to the point where many mages now learned to regulate their energy to prevent it from being stealthily stolen.
"Interesting. It feels like someone has touched my face. Since it's resonance... then what if it's like this..." Zhang Chen suddenly swung a fist into the upper left empty space.
*Boom!*
*Squish!*
The doll immediately swung a fist towards the caster's head, causing it to explode.
"This..." The cursed doll killed the caster? This was absurd! This scene surprised not only Bella but also all the dark magic users present. They were all stunned by such an against-the-odds event, and the black-clothed men almost forgot why they were there.
"Let me try a first-year spell I learned, Fireball!" Zhang Chen began constructing energy, somewhat unskillfully. In reality, he could have unleashed the Fireball directly without going through the casting process. However, to deepen his learning, he deliberately followed the method taught by his teacher to cast the spell.
"Fireball? We're being underestimated!" The leader of the black-clothed men sneered. However, as Zhang Chen's casting gradually completed, the ball of flame in his hand grew larger and larger, shining with an ominous light. Generally, Fireball spells were categorized into several levels. Ordinary fire was golden, more potent was blue, and the last was red. However, the flame in Zhang Chen's hand was white... He had never seen such a Fireball, as if a small sun was held in his palm, illuminating the entire flower room as if it were daytime. The residual glow emanating from the window illuminated the entire courtyard!
"Not good!" The leader of the black-clothed men immediately deployed a dark magic defense.
*Boom!*
Zhang Chen gently pushed the fireball forward. A blinding flash of light illuminated the entire night, and the magic academy was enveloped in a dazzling radiance. The scorching flames instantly incinerated the surrounding plants into ash, and houses and rubble were all turned to dust under this single Fireball...
As the intense light gradually dimmed, Zhang Chen realized that the flower room before him had vanished. A massive void had appeared in the distant mountains. Through the void, he could still see the stars twinkling in the night sky...
"This... I shouldn't get too serious when doing things... Fortunately, there was no moon in this direction, or it would have caused more trouble." Zhang Chen said with a hint of regret.
"But... the 'big scary sister' was also burned to ashes by you, not even a speck left. How are we going to explore life magic?" Ke Ke said from the side with a hint of schadenfreude.
"Uh... that's not a big problem!" Zhang Chen's left index finger moved slightly. Then, a pile of ashes appeared, which then turned into bones, and then charred flesh appeared on the bones. The charring gradually disappeared, turning into fair skin, and the clothes on her body appeared piece by piece, followed by a magic barrier... Zhang Chen had directly reversed time for Bella. He rewound the process from the activation of the barrier to the barrier's shattering, the clothes burning, and the body's destruction. Also returned was Bella's little sister.
"Hiss... I must say, Master, your taste is indeed excellent!" Ke Ke said with a giggle.