Chapter 481

Chapter 481: Test of Wisdom

“What? The path of wisdom?” The other three were stunned by Midi’s words.

Even a child could see the path of power was the smarter choice.

Though Midi excelled in alchemy—even crafting Level 7 potions with ease—alchemy wasn’t just potion making.

The wisdom path’s trials might focus on a field entirely unrelated to potions, leaving them no chance of success. Yet Midi had casually picked the path everyone else avoided.

“Relax. I’m not just a potion master—I’m also a Master of Mechanics,” Midi said, noticing their concern.

“A Master of *Mechanics*?” Risen’s eyes widened. “So that’s why you were promoted to core disciple…”

Zaknavan and Mason exchanged glances, their frowns deepening.

“Midi, alchemy has more than two fields,” Mason muttered. “Even you can’t master them all.”

“You can still leave,” Midi replied, raising an eyebrow.

Teams chose between the paths together. Those who walked away from the Dragon Head now could wait for another chance. But Mason shook his head immediately.

Though puzzled, none of them wavered. They’d sworn to follow Midi—through blades or the Fire Sea. But who’d *want* to walk such a path?

“No one has chosen the wisdom path in many years. Are you certain?” the Dragon Head rumbled.

“Yes.” Midi’s answer came without pause.

“Then select your trial level.”

“The Tenth Level.”

“*What?*” The three men nearly choked. Choosing the hardest level of the riskiest path? Was he mad?

“Path of wisdom. Tenth Level trial.” The Dragon Head dipped in acknowledgment.

The dim altar beneath it flared to life, its glow revealing a draconic symbol for “Tenth Level.” Without a word, Midi and his team stepped onto it.

A flash of teleportation later, Midi stood in a sealed room—no windows, doors, or cracks. Only a small pedestal holding an hourglass broke the emptiness.

“Interesting.” Blue light flickered in Midi’s eyes.

Half-Sight Perception.

Enhanced by Dragon Flames, his psychic energy sharpened the scan. Magic currents, shifting auras, every crevice in the walls—all flooded his mind with crystalline clarity.

This room was not an illusion, but a real one.

The materials used to build it were special, preventing psychic energy from penetrating completely and even causing interference.

"The Tenth Level’s alchemy trial isn’t just a simple mechanism room," Midi murmured.

A mechanism room meant the entire space itself functioned as one complex device.

The teleportation altar had brought them here, meaning their only escape lay in solving the room’s hidden mechanism.

The hourglass on the pedestal clearly marked their time limit – they had to escape before the sand ran out.

Though Zaknavan and the others knew little about alchemy, the trapped situation made the rules obvious.

Without waiting for Midi’s instructions, they began searching the room.

They checked magic auras with held breaths, ran hands over every inch of walls and floor, yet found nothing.

The seamless room resembled assembly-line molded metal, without cracks or joints.

Even Risen the Black Dragonkin’s strongest blood flame attack left no mark.

"We’re trapped," Mason said, face pale. Realizing your life hangs by a thread would unsettle anyone.

"How do we escape? This room’s impossible!" Risen grumbled after his failed attack.

"Time’s slipping…" Zaknavan remained calmest, though tension showed as he eyed the hourglass draining its third portion.

Midi stayed composed. The room’s perfection confirmed his theory.

True alchemy trials didn’t involve such mysteries – normally, trial participants faced obvious mechanisms to solve, like locksmiths given locks. Death Scorpion’s library had shown him such rooms filled with visible devices.

But this? A seamless stone with no keyhole.

The "path of wisdom" tested something beyond alchemy skill.

"If there’s any flaw…" Midi’s eyes locked on the hourglass.

He grabbed it and smashed it against the floor.

Glass shattered. Glowing sand spilled across tiles.

Light engulfed the four, teleporting them through dizzying darkness until…

They stood in a black stone maze of endless corridors.

The underground Dragon Tower’s Tenth Level.

"We passed?" The trio stared. Their escape defied reason – Risen’s attacks failed, yet breaking an hourglass worked? Where was the alchemy test?

"There was alchemy," Midi explained. "Basic material science. The hourglass held elemental sand. Parts of the floor contained crystal components. Their collision triggers magic stimulation, activating the hidden teleportation array."

Simple material reaction, foundational to all alchemy fields like potion making or mechanics. Too basic for the Tenth Level’s "path of wisdom"?

Exactly. This trial never tested alchemy mastery.

That dragon head’s lengthy explanation? Misdirection from the start.

"Let me explain properly now we’re here," Midi smiled at his confused companions, and began unraveling the truth.