Chapter 464: Communication
Chapter 464: Communication (Please Subscribe, Favorite, and Vote)
China's Inspectors are similar to Britain's Aurors, both being the elite of the elite. An Inspector who earns a Third-Class Merit within their first year of service can be compared to a British Auror who receives a Third-Class Order of Merlin in their first year. While luck plays a part, without substantial skill, one might not even be able to escape a confrontation unscathed.
As soon as the fight began, Liam could clearly sense the difference between experienced combatants and novices: they immediately found places to hide and then advanced towards Liam, covering each other. When faced with Liam's spells, they often made minimal movements to avoid them, only resorting to defensive magic when absolutely necessary, using spells of similar power to shield themselves.
Upon realizing that their spells were not hindering the duo, Liam and his team quickly changed their tactics: Hermione began manipulating shadows to spread across the ground, while Liam cast runes in the air, setting up traps on the ground.
The Wang Brothers immediately halted their advance, then simultaneously extended their palms, launching two small, transparent spheres.
"Qi Bullets!" Liam thought to himself, but he didn't let his guard down for a moment. He swiftly waved his wand, releasing a chain of runes that flew towards the Wang Brothers. Hermione, using Liam's cover, created a barrier of black mist from the shadows.
Seeing the chain entangling them, the Wang Brothers immediately fired their magic. Liam felt the powerful pressure from the magic and, under his command, the rune chain transformed into thin threads that wrapped around the two transparent spheres.
With a flick of his wand, Liam sent the runes and the spheres skyward. At a height of over 20 meters, the spheres exploded, sending a powerful shockwave down to the ground.
This magic was a complex and powerful spell, but it came with a high cost. Taking advantage of the gap while the Wang Brothers prepared their next spell, Liam and Hermione launched a counterattack.
Hermione moved first, manipulating the shadows to bind the feet of the two men. As they struggled to free their feet from the black, mud-like mist, Liam seized the opportunity to attack.
With a flick of his wand, Liam cast a Stunning Spell. Unlike a typical British wizard, the onlookers saw dozens of red beams raining down on the Wang Brothers in quick succession. Despite their evasive maneuvers, they were eventually hit. Strangely, only one of the Wang Brothers took a step back.
"Fake?" The Wang Brothers suddenly realized, but it was too late. A current of electricity, disguised as a vine, had hidden in the black mist Hermione had released earlier. Before they could react, it delivered a powerful electric shock.
"It seems the medals have gone to your heads. You could have used Whirlwind Blast with one of you providing cover, but instead, you both used it simultaneously, creating a gap that your opponent exploited", a senior wizard with a noticeable burn scar on his cheek announced as he stepped forward. The Wang Brothers immediately stood up and bowed their heads before the older wizard. "But it's a good thing you lost this sparring match. It will help you recognize your limitations and prevent you from losing your lives in real combat."
"He reminds me of Mad-Eye Moody", Hermione whispered to Liam. "He looks like he's been through a hundred battles."
Her guess was spot on. When Liam and Hermione came down from the arena, their uncle informed them that the older wizard who had criticized the Wang Brothers was named Liu Qingzhi, the head instructor of the Northwest Branch of the China Inspectorate. He was once one of China's top Inspectors and, after retiring at 60, returned to his hometown to become a regional Inspectorate instructor and supervisor.
“Uncle Liang, your grand-nephew and his wife are really impressive!” After giving the Weasley Twins a stern lecture, Coach Liu walked over and patted Uncle Liang’s shoulder, then looked at Liam and his wife. Liam felt that his eyes were as sharp as an eagle’s.
“Would you two young ones be interested in coming here for further training? I can write you a recommendation letter.”
Coach Liu extended a warm invitation to Liam and his wife. According to Uncle Liang’s introduction, Coach Liu was one of the most renowned professors in the house, and he was always willing to share his years of combat experience. Many new Inspectors had successfully taken up their posts thanks to his help.
“Further training? Of course, we’re interested. But we still have two more years before we graduate—”
“No problem. I’m sure I’ll still be here in two years. Just have your uncle write me a letter then. Even if you can’t come in person, we can do correspondence courses.” Coach Liu waved his arm emphatically.
“Thank you very much.” Liam thanked him sincerely, then watched as the coach led the Weasley Twins, who were hanging their heads in dejection, out of the crowd.
After dinner, Liam found Uncle Liang alone and asked, “Can you tell me why this place is so friendly to me? It can’t just be because I’m of Chinese descent, right?”
“Of course not.” Uncle Liang was very straightforward on this topic. “On one hand, the Magic Plants you provided are extremely valuable, and fair exchange is our principle. We wouldn’t break this principle just because you’re not a native. On the other hand, due to the Secrecy Act, we are not formal members of the International Wizarding Federation. So we hope to establish more convenient external contacts through certain channels.”
“Secrecy Act? What’s that?” Liam asked, puzzled. In his History of Magic class, they had only vaguely mentioned that, apart from Japan, there was a unique and independent Magic society in East Asia that operated outside the Secrecy Act system, but no further details were provided.
“When the West passed the Secrecy Act, we were always opposed to it. Unlike the Western insistence on Pureblood and internal marriages among wizards, our long history of intermarriage with ordinary people means we are fundamentally inseparable from their world. Can you imagine that to comply with a broken Secrecy Act, at least half of the wizards would have to be separated from their lovers, wives, children, and even parents?”
“In the West, because there were fewer wizards who married ordinary people, those who refused to accept the Secrecy Act were quickly suppressed. But when it came to us, the entire Oriental region except Japan, the International Federation had no choice but to turn a blind eye.”
At this point, Uncle Liang seemed somewhat proud. “However, we still hope to learn some lessons from the Western Magical Worlds. Unfortunately, the British Magical World, which was once the leader of the Western Wizarding World, has been like stagnant water for the past half-century, completely losing the reform spirit that was willing to use even Muggle things if they were useful.”
“Indeed, that is a problem.” Liam nodded.
“But from you and your wife, I can see that they have made significant progress in recent years,” Uncle Liang added. “So they hope to learn about the latest advancements in the Western Magical World through their interactions with you.”
Liam felt they might have a slight misunderstanding, but since this misunderstanding wouldn’t harm anyone and could benefit both sides, he was happy to let it be: “If that’s the case, we will do our best to share and learn with everyone.”
“That’s good.” Uncle Liang nodded. “Our clan may not be the most powerful here, but we’re certainly not weak. As long as what you bring is substantial, I can make those top-notch guys share their best tricks.”
(End of Chapter)
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