The underground laboratory at No. 12 Golden Oak Street was sealed off from all the noise of the outside world.
For seven whole days.
Ian sat cross-legged in the center of the Star Guidance Array, surrounded by the grayish-white remains of thirty-seven Star Crystals.
The last speck of starlight sank into the space between his brows. Deep within his Sea of Spirit, the pale gold Crystal Core trembled slightly.
The intricate Star Orbit patterns on its surface extended and intertwined, faintly outlining the projection of a miniature Star Map.
A vast wave of Spiritual Power swept through the laboratory, revealing the trajectory of every dust mote in the air with perfect clarity.
Spiritual Power Elementalization progress: 20.5%.
He opened his eyes, a glint of starlight flashing in their depths before vanishing.
He raised his right hand, and the air above his palm distorted slightly.
A silver-gray ball of light the size of a walnut coalesced silently, seeming to contain the birth and death of stars within.
A Gravity Collapse Ball.
Its power... was already three times what it had been when he first advanced to a Level Two Wizard.
’Every point of Spiritual Power Elementalization brings a significant boost.’
Ian muttered to himself, his heart soaring with excitement.
His fingertips brushed across the surface of the sphere, sensing the almost primordial Star Gravity within.
He felt as if he were on the verge of touching a deeper mystery.
It wasn’t simply about imbuing his Spiritual Power with an attribute, but about its very essence gradually "becoming" a part of the stars themselves.
Like a droplet of water returning to the ocean.
A warm touch on his shoulder. Gaga tilted its head and nuzzled his cheek.
The shadow patterns flowing across the little creature’s Feathers had grown deeper and darker.
Occasionally, it would unconsciously "slip" into the shadows in the corner, only to pop back out a half-second later in a daze.
It was as if it were practicing its nascent instincts in its sleep.
A flicker of a smile crossed Ian’s eyes. ’Looks like its promotion isn’t far off, either.’
He took out a Crystal Bottle, inside which a viscous liquid of intermingled cyan and black sloshed.
It was a purified mixture of Magical Beast Essence Blood from the Wind and Shadow Elements.
Gaga’s little black-bean eyes lit up instantly. It flapped its wings, landed, and began to drink cautiously.
’Soon now,’ Ian thought, stroking its increasingly tough Feathers.
’All it needs is a catalyst. Either the remains of an Eternal Shadow, or some Tier Two Shadow Essence Blood, or...’
A life-or-death battle of sufficient intensity.
In the front hall of the Workshop upstairs, Old Finn was wiping his ledger, his brow furrowed in a tight frown.
Suddenly, the sound of hurried yet soft footsteps came from the courtyard.
Delia slipped inside. For a Level Two Wizard, her breathing was surprisingly ragged.
She first handed several encrypted letters to Aidele, who was standing nearby.
She lowered her voice and spoke quickly, "My Lady, something’s happened."
Aidele had been looking through a few lists, doing a preliminary screening of family disciples and Honored Guest Elders she could either win over or cultivate.
Hearing this, she looked up, her turquoise eyes instantly sharpening.
"My nephew," Delia said, her throat dry.
"He received transfer orders this morning to go to the border’s Obsidian Mine Area to ’inspect the vein reserves.’ He was to depart immediately."
Aidele, who was flipping through a piece of Parchment, froze.
The border mining area was a cushy post in name only. In reality, it was a Barren Land where the family exiled those who had made mistakes.
A round trip would take at least half a year, and all communications in the mining area were completely controlled by Edmund’s people.
Just like that, one of their important intelligence lines had been cleanly severed.
"And another thing," Delia’s voice grew heavier.
"The three regular channels that supply us with Magical Beast Essence Blood all gave the same reply this morning: they’re doing inventory and are temporarily out of stock."
Old Finn sighed and put down his cleaning cloth.
"It’s not just the Essence Blood. All of our suppliers for Mid-High Tier Magic Potion Auxiliary Materials have received a ’friendly reminder.’"
"If we want to get any stock now, we either have to pay a thirty percent markup on the market price, or..."
He paused. "...go into the dangerous territories and gather it ourselves."
A brief silence fell over the Workshop.
Aidele put down the lists and sighed inwardly.
’The fleeting glory from her great victory in the assessment was being rapidly swallowed by shadows.’
’Her eldest brother was cutting off her eyes and ears, her second brother was choking her supply of raw materials, and her third brother was spreading rumors about ’banned potions’ to tarnish her reputation...’
It was a swift and ruthless combination of attacks.
"Besides the Magic Potions and Essence Blood, what else have they touched?"
The three of them turned their heads.
Ian was standing in the shadows of the staircase, having appeared there at some unknown point.
Old Finn shook his head, repeated the situation, and added at the end,
"It’s a near-total blockade. My Lady is riding a wave of momentum right now, so they don’t dare to suppress her openly. Instead, they’re using these underhanded tactics to slow our pace and exhaust our reserves."
"Is that so... But they’ve made one mistake."
Ian walked to the Constant Temperature cabinet in the center of the laboratory, his tone even.
"A mistake?"
Aidele, Delia, and Old Finn all looked at him at the same time.
Ian reached out, grasped the cold Metal handle of the Constant Temperature cabinet, and gently pulled it open.
A gust of cold air, mixed with the faint, fresh scent of medicinal herbs, wafted out.
Inside, arranged in neat rows like soldiers on parade:
On the left were fifty vials of dark, amber-colored [Rock Bear Potion], shimmering with a heavy luster like the Earth itself.
On the right, two hundred vials of star-sky blue [Starlight Potion] swirled with a dreamlike glimmer under the cabinet’s cold light.
"This is the stock I’ve built up over the past half-month, Refining them whenever I had a spare moment at night."
Ian stepped aside, revealing the fully-stocked "armory" to the three of them.
"This should be enough to support the Workshop’s regular operations and solidify your alliances for a month."
Aidele’s breath caught, her eyes bursting with a brilliant light.
But the light quickly dimmed, overshadowed by a deeper worry.
"But..." she said worriedly, taking a few steps closer.
"Without High Tier Magical Beast Essence Blood, you can’t refine Tier Two Bloodline Potions.
"Without Tier Two Potions, we can’t cultivate a true core team. We can’t manage the situation with just these Tier One Potions and Level One Wizards, let alone..."
...let alone go on the offensive and turn this defensive struggle around.
Ian turned, his gaze sweeping over her anxious face before moving to Delia and Old Finn.
"Have you forgotten something?" he asked, walking toward the reinforced Mithril Storage Cabinet on the other side.
He inserted the key, and Runes flowed across the lock, disengaging it.
The moment the cabinet door opened, an aura of earthly weight and ancient savagery wafted out.
Two Crystal Bottles stood silently on a velvet cushion.
The Potion inside was a deep Dark Gold, as viscous as molten rock marrow.
Deep within the liquid, the faint phantoms of miniature mountains seemed to rise and fall, pulsing slowly to an invisible rhythm. It created a subtle resonance with the distant Earth Vein beneath their feet.
[Earth Tyrant Potion].
Aidele’s breathing grew lighter, Delia’s pupils contracted, and Old Finn subconsciously tightened his grip on the cloth in his hand.
"The Essence Blood supply is cut off because they think that without raw materials, I’ll be at my wit’s end."
Ian took out the two Potions, the Dark Gold liquid casting a cold glint in his palm.
He placed the Potions on the central laboratory table.
"These two Potions are enough to create two core Level Two combatants for you—absolutely loyal, possessing the traits of a Child of the Earth Veins and the Ussa Incarnation ability."
Ian looked at Aidele, his gaze sharp.
"The candidates must be chosen with extreme care. Their character, loyalty, and potential are all indispensable. Once they’re selected, have them complete the transformation as soon as possible."
Aidele took a deep breath, suppressed her wildly beating heart, and nodded firmly.
She understood the weight of these two Potions.
They would be her sword, her shield, her true right and left arms.
"As long as we have a few Level Two Wizards to act as our spearhead, supported by a large number of reliable Level One Wizards to form the middle ranks,"
Ian continued, his voice calm as he laid out their future plans.
"only then will the framework of your team be truly established. And at that point, we’ll finally be qualified to..."
He paused, and the air in the laboratory seemed to freeze along with his words.
"...switch from passive defense to an active offense."
The flame of hope rekindled in Aidele’s eyes, burning brighter and more steadfast than before.
"However," Ian’s tone shifted as he looked at Delia.
"The Neutralizing Potions required to accompany the Bloodline Potions will need to be purchased by someone specifically. It doesn’t matter if the price is a bit high."
Delia immediately responded, "I’ll go. I wouldn’t trust anyone else with it."
"Indeed, it has to be you," Ian said, staring at her intently.
"You’re the only one on our side at the Late Stage of Crystalization, you’re familiar with the channels for Neutralizing Potions, and you’re strong enough to handle most unexpected situations.
"But you still need to be cautious on this trip. It’s highly likely that Edwin and the others already have their eyes on you."
"I will be careful and will not fail the task My Lady has entrusted to me."
Delia placed her right hand on her chest and gave a clean, crisp Wizard’s salute. There was not a trace of fear in her eyes, only quiet determination.
Ian looked at the two hundred and fifty neatly arranged potions.
"We’ll use the inventory to stabilize our foundation and the Potions to forge our spearhead,"
he summarized. "We need one month. During this month, they’ll think we’re struggling, just burning through our supplies."
The corner of his mouth curled up slightly, a chill flashing in his eyes.
"A month from now, once our two Level Twos have stabilized their power and the foundation of our mid-ranks has expanded..."
Ian didn’t finish his sentence.
But everyone in the laboratory understood exactly what he meant.
The group dispersed, and the courtyard fell silent once more.
"GAK!"
Gaga suddenly spread its wings, the shadow patterns on them fluctuating, shredding a stray sunbeam that filtered into the courtyard.
"Ian, I want to get stronger too! I can’t even help you right now!"
It stood on Ian’s shoulder, its tone a little dejected.
"Don’t worry. Just wait two more days. Then, we’ll be able to fight side-by-side again."