The contest announced by Wizard Noren instantly ignited the flames in the hearts of all eligible wizards.

There were quite a few wizards present who had not yet reached sixth level. Including the juniors brought by the several seventh-level wizards who had arrived with Wizard Noren, the total numbered nearly a hundred.

Though some first- and second-level wizards who knew their own limitations voluntarily withdrew, over sixty still stepped onto the field.

With so many participants—levels ranging from third to fifth, each with vastly different combat styles and research specializations—a traditional arena tournament simply could not fairly reflect their true capabilities.

After a moment’s thought, Wizard Noren made a simple yet brutally fitting decision for wizards: a grand melee!

They were, after all, currently within Grand-Mentor Anton Buchanan’s private plane, with space to spare.

Wizard Noren strolled out of the palace and casually traced a circle with his silver staff toward the distant vast grasslands and hills.

In that instant, an invisible yet clearly perceptible enormous boundary was outlined, forming a massive circular area over a thousand kilometers in diameter.

This was the “stage” for the contest.

The rules were extremely simple: All participants would be randomly scattered into the area, and the melee would begin.

No allies, no restrictions except intentionally killing—and the last one still standing within the area would be the victor, claiming the coveted Substitute Death Doll.

This format was admittedly disadvantageous for position-war wizards who needed time to set up large arrays or construct permanent fortifications.

Yet it undeniably mirrored real plane battlefield conditions most closely—enemies would never give you leisurely preparation time.

Thus, the plan received near-universal approval from the participants.

Wizard Noren said no more, merely tapping his staff lightly on the ground.

Jie Ming felt a violent surge of spatial force around him; the scene before his eyes blurred and twisted instantly.

When his vision cleared again, he found himself in unfamiliar hilly terrain, knee-deep in strangely glowing grass.

“Phase Shift!”

Almost the instant he landed, Jie Ming activated his spatial witchcraft without hesitation.

His figure blurred, slipping silently into the gap between the main plane and phase space like a drop of water merging into the sea, completely “vanishing” from the material world.

After concealing himself, Jie Ming’s mind raced, formulating strategy.

He had a clear understanding of his own strength—it was indeed formidable, but the wizards here were all geniuses among geniuses.

Especially the fifth-level wizard auras he had sensed earlier—there were no fewer than ten!

In this melee gathering dozens of same-level or higher geniuses, Jie Ming knew he was not the one with absolute dominance.

In an encounter battle, with his elite team of black giant priests in his internal world and his own spatial witchcraft, he was confident of defeating any single fifth-level wizard.

Even against a siege by two or three fifth-level wizards, relying on the sudden deployment of his black giant legion and the mobility of spatial witchcraft, defeat was not guaranteed—after all, few “abnormalities” like him could carry an entire army on their person.

Though cannon fodder units were species modified specifically for combat, they still required food, water, waste elimination, and maintenance during non-war periods.

Thus, most wizards’ “cannon fodder” could only be transported en masse during plane wars, lacking such flexible deployment.

But Jie Ming’s weaknesses were equally obvious.

If the battle dragged on too long, giving opponents time to project wizard tower phantoms, set up rune positions, or figure out the black giants’ combat patterns and prepare countermeasures, he would almost certainly lose.

After all, his true level had yet to break through fourth level; in absolute energy reserves and instantaneous witchcraft mobilization, there remained a qualitative gap compared to true fifth-level wizards.

“I must end this quickly! Strike like thunder and prioritize eliminating the most threatening fifth-level wizards!” Jie Ming swiftly settled on his core tactic.

Once the top threats were dealt with, handling the remaining third- and fourth-level wizards would be far easier.

With his plan clear, action followed immediately.

He briefly exited phase space, waving a hand to release tens of thousands of arm-length Prowlers like a disturbed swarm of bees, silently scattering in all directions to carpet-scout the vast contest area.

Then, he vanished back into the spatial gap.

Here, he boldly began layering various buffs upon himself.

He donned acceleration talisman seal artifact bracelets, instantly boosting perception and reaction speed dozens of times—at the cost of accelerated cellular aging and faint stinging deep in his soul.

He downed several vials of potions glowing with different hues, his mental force expanding and condensing like a lake rippled by thrown stones.

Layer after layer of auxiliary witchcraft auras—strengthening physical resilience, elemental resistance, mental defenses—were lavishly applied like overlapping armor.

“Spatial witchcraft truly has unique advantages in concealment and self-protection.” Jie Ming couldn’t help sighing again as he cast.

In the outside world, such frequent and intense energy fluctuations would long have been detected.

But under phase space’s shelter, all were perfectly isolated.

This was one of his advantages—preparing and arming himself fully in advance.

At this moment, within the spatial gap, Jie Ming was encircled by multicolored witchcraft auras, resembling a humanoid neon sign—dazzlingly brilliant.

Yet in the outside world, not a single fluctuation leaked.

Conventional active detection methods failed against someone fully in the spatial gap, but this posed no problem for Jie Ming.

Though other energy fluctuations were masked, pure vision remained unaffected—meaning passive vision-enhancing detection methods were not entirely invalidated.

After applying multiple scouting witchcrafts like “Life Spirit Sight,” “Thermal Perception,” and “Elemental Tracking,” he began moving at high speed through phase space like a ghost, searching for prey.

Soon, through his soul link, he sensed a Prowler signal abruptly vanish to the northwest!

“Found one!”

A sharp glint flashed in Jie Ming’s eyes as he raced toward the signal’s disappearance.

At the same time, with a thought, he directed all nearby Prowlers—like sharks scenting blood—to converge on the same location from every direction.

Traversing phase space, it took only moments for Jie Ming to reach the target area.

Through the spatial barrier, he clearly “saw” the figure standing beside a roaring river of magma.

It was a male wizard clad in dark red runic robes, wreathed in scorching fire elemental auras—evidently a fifth-level wizard specializing in flame laws.

He had just casually fired a magma ray, reducing another overly close approaching Prowler to ashes.

Now, he scanned his surroundings warily, aware he had been exposed.

The corners of Jie Ming’s mouth curved into a cold arc.

Good luck—the first target was a worthy “big fish” to prioritize eliminating.