No. 12 Golden Oak Street. In the underground laboratory, only a single crystal wall lamp was lit.
The light enveloped a corner of the laboratory table, like a small, isolated island in the deep sea.
When Aidele pushed the door open and came in, she instantly felt a sense of relief wash over her.
She took off her deep purple wizard robe and casually draped it over the back of a chair, her movements weary.
"The Elder Council’s mediation... has stabilized things for now."
She walked over to the opposite side of the lab table and sat down, her fingers unconsciously tracing patterns on its surface.
Ian opened his eyes, emerging from his meditation. Gaga, perched on his shoulder, tilted its head, its silver-gray pupils shimmering faintly in the shadows.
"You have two years. What’s your plan?"
’This concerns my future cultivation plans. It would be best if it doesn’t take up too much of my time.’
Aidele took a deep breath, retrieved a scroll of parchment from her dimension ring, and spread it out on the table.
Dozens of names were densely packed onto the paper, each followed by notes on their power, position, and... the resources they could mobilize.
"I need more power, so... I’ll continue to expand."
Her fingertip tapped on a few names. The touch was light, yet carried a certain decisive force.
"My current manpower isn’t enough to handle the situation. I need more eyes, more ears, more... people who can step up at critical moments."
Ian glanced at the list, his gaze falling on the labels for "Level One Wizard" and "High Level Apprentice."
"So, you’re planning to..."
"I need your help to continue refining Tier One Potions."
Aidele looked up, her deep cyan eyes filled with hope, reflecting a faint dark gold glimmer in the lamplight.
"Starlight Potions, Rock Bear Potions... and that Dream Potion you mentioned before."
She paused. "These three types of Tier One Potions are enough to make High Level Apprentices, and even Level One Wizards, go crazy for them.
We can use them to win over small and medium-sized clans and cultivate our own followers."
Ian was silent for a moment before walking to the constant-temperature cabinet in the corner of the laboratory and pulling the door open.
A cool air mixed with the fresh scent of medicinal herbs spilled out. Inside, on the left, were fifty neatly arranged, starlit-blue Starlight Potions.
On the right were twenty dark amber Rock Bear Potions.
A row in the middle was empty.
"This is all I have left. But I can’t spend all my time refining potions."
’It would consume too much time, and I have many other things to do.’
He closed the cabinet door and turned to face Aidele.
"You have to understand... Tier One Potions can only cultivate the lower ranks. What can truly change the tide of battle is Tier Two combat power."
Aidele pressed her lips together. Of course, she knew that.
The terrifying power that Carl and Coraline displayed in last night’s battle had made everything clear.
No matter how many Level One Wizards there were, they were just cannon fodder in front of a Level Two Body Refining Wizard.
"The Earth Tyrant Potion..."
Her voice trailed off, tinged with a hint of imperceptible disappointment.
"What do you need to refine the potion?"
"The auxiliary materials are easy to deal with. The main thing is the essence blood of a Tier Two Extraordinary Magical Beast. The more, the better."
Ian walked back to the lab table, his fingertips tapping lightly on the surface.
The rhythm was steady, as if he were counting something.
"And most importantly... I don’t have the formula for the neutralizer for a Tier Two Bloodline Potion."
He looked up, his gaze calm.
"Without a Tier Two neutralizer, forcefully taking the potion is suicide. Even a Level Two Wizard can’t withstand the backlash from a bloodline conflict."
’Actually, if the Dream Potion were to break its limits and advance a tier, its effect would definitely be better than the Tier Two Neutralizing Potions on the market.’
’But he couldn’t tell Aidele that. The Dream Potion was still far from limit-breaking; it was only at the Beginner Level right now.’
’Still, I could use the resources here to grind its Skill Level.’
Aidele clenched her fists, her nails digging into her palms, a faint, sharp pain stinging her.
"It seems I was too naive before."
’She had originally thought she could add more than ten Level Two Wizards within a year.’
’The previous three Tier Two Neutralizing Potions were all sourced through channels Delia found; she didn’t know the details.’
She remembered that before her father fell into a coma, he had mentioned that the clan’s secret vault held a collection of several ancient potion formulas.
’Perhaps one of them was what Ian needed, but those formulas...’
"The keys to the secret vault are all controlled by the Elder Council."
she said in a low voice, a sense of powerlessness in her tone. "I... can’t get them right now."
A brief silence fell over the laboratory.
There was only the soft hum of the crystal wall lamp and the occasional RUSTLE of Gaga preening its feathers.
After a long while, Ian suddenly spoke up. "You could work with Ashia."
Aidele’s head shot up. "That’s right... Fifth Sister Ashia!"
Her eyes lit up. How could she have forgotten about that ally?
"She has channels for medicinal ingredients and a wide network of contacts."
Ian walked to the window and looked out at the pitch-black night sky.
In the distance, the crystal ball atop the Time Trace Tower glowed with a faint golden light in the darkness.
"And... she seems to genuinely want to help you."
Aidele’s eyes flickered as she recalled the image of Ashia sitting alone in the observer’s gallery of the council hall.
She remembered the look of relief and pride in her Fifth Sister’s eyes during the earlier assessment.
"...I’ll talk to her in detail."
She nodded emphatically, her heart once again filled with hope.
"If Fifth Sister is willing to help, the channels for the neutralizer... should solve part of the problem."
Ian turned around. Moonlight spilled in from the window, drawing a sharp line between light and shadow on the side of his face.
"As for the Tier Two Magical Beast Essence Blood..."
He paused. "The Central Continent has abundant magical beast resources. As long as you have Magic Stones, you can always buy it."
"The price might just be very high."
Aidele took a deep breath and stood up from her chair.
Her deep purple wizard robe swayed gently with the movement, the hem brushing against the edge of the lab table.
"As for the Magic Stones, I’ll figure something out."
Ever since she severely injured Edwin and his brother, all of her previous business partners had come knocking.
And every single one of them was deferential, even offering prices ten to twenty percent lower than before.
Many other merchant guilds and families she wasn’t familiar with had also come calling.
In a single day, Delia had received numerous visit requests on her behalf.
’All of this... was inextricably linked to the man standing before her.’
Aidele walked to the center of the laboratory and looked up at the ceiling.
Simple star map patterns were etched there, traces left behind from when Ian usually practiced his Star Witchcraft.
"Two years..." she murmured, as if speaking to herself.
"That’s enough time for us to do a lot."
...
「Three days later, at dusk.」
Ian walked alone through the streets of East City’s West District.
The setting sun stretched his shadow long, dragging a slanted gray mark across the stone slab road.
He wore a plain gray robe with the hood pulled low, revealing only the lower half of his face.
Gaga was curled up on his shoulder, its feathers having changed to a color nearly identical to the gray robe.
Without looking closely, one would never notice the bird perched there.
’I need to contact the Projection World again...’
Ian calculated inwardly. The flow of time in the Projection World was different.
The last time he broke the connection was five months ago; a decade should have passed over there.
Ten years ago, Li Xing was at the Peak of Manifestation. The next step... is the True Form Realm!
That’s equivalent to a Level Three Great Witch in the Wizard World, the true apex of power on the Yalan Continent.
But taking that step is extremely difficult.
’The True Form Realm... it’s somewhat similar to the Elemental True Form of a Level Three Wizard!’
He needed to know how things were progressing there, and he also needed to obtain more knowledge about stars and shadows.
But to contact Yalan, he needed to build an Abyssal Altar.
’But the Central Continent’s fear of the Abyss is practically ingrained in their bones.’
That great war in ancient times had cost both civilizations a heavy price.
To this day, any trace related to the Abyss World will trigger the most stringent investigations and purges.
’I have to find an absolutely secret place...’
During his daily meditation now, he didn’t dare to openly draw from the Abyss World, afraid of causing a stir. He was even skimming much less off the top.
After advancing to Level Two, he no longer cared much for the bit of Spiritual Power Origin he gained from the panel’s purification each time.
His main goal was to accumulate knowledge about the Abyss World.
Suddenly, he stopped in his tracks.
Not far ahead was a sprawling manor.
High, dark cyan stone walls were overgrown with thorny vines, and between the leaves, one could faintly see shimmering warning runes.
The manor gates were shut tight, branded with the Time Trace Badge of the Justice Clan.
’I remember this place... it’s Edmund’s private manor, isn’t it?’
Ian narrowed his eyes, studying it cautiously.
He had originally just been passing by, intending to check out the abandoned mine outside the city.
The terrain there was complex, suitable for building an altar.
But just now, the moment he came within fifty meters of the manor wall...
Deep within his mind, the panel suddenly vibrated!
The vibration was slight, yet it carried a tremor that struck straight to his soul.
At the edge of his vision, a line of dark red text appeared.
[Abyssal Aura Pollution Source detected. Contamination Level: Three. Current status: Active.]
Ian’s breath hitched. "Level Three Contamination!"
He didn’t break his stride, continuing to walk forward, but his expression under the hood darkened instantly.
This aura... was identical to the one he had sensed inside the Clan Leader, Titus Justice.
They came from the exact same source.
Someone else might not have been able to tell, but he had been in contact with the Abyss for too long.
When it came to some of the more obscure knowledge about the Abyss, it was likely that even some Level Four Wizards couldn’t compare to him.
Not even the slightest unusual aura could escape his Spiritual Power’s perception.
His heart began to beat a little faster, and he readied a witchcraft at his fingertips.
But his face remained expressionless, and he didn’t even change the rhythm of his breathing.
He only quickened his pace slightly, soon passing the area by the manor wall.
Not until he had turned onto the next street and confirmed that no one around had noticed him did he slowly let out a breath.
"Edmund..."
He muttered the name, his voice laced with an icy chill.
’So that’s how it is. The Abyssal seed inside the Clan Leader came from here?’
’It seems someone... planted it deliberately.’
’And that person is very likely this seemingly amiable "big brother" of theirs.’
Ian leaned against the shadows of an alley and closed his eyes.
His Spiritual Power extended from between his brows like the finest thread, sweeping over a hundred-meter radius around him.
After confirming it was safe, he opened his eyes again, a silver glint flashing in their depths before vanishing.
"Gaga," he called softly.
The little creature on his shoulder lifted its head, its silver-gray pupils glowing faintly in the shadows.
"Ian? What do you need me to do?"
Gaga looked excited. It hadn’t shown off its abilities since breaking through to Tier Two Extraordinary.
It had been terribly cooped up all this time.
"Help me take a look inside that manor."
Ian transmitted the fluctuations of the aura he had just sensed through their Soul Link.
"Pay special attention... to anything related to the Abyss."
Gaga tilted its head, its small claws tightening on his collar.
"The Abyss... Got it. I hate that kind of aura."
"It might be dangerous."
Ian stroked its head. The feathers felt cool and smooth to the touch.
"If you sense anything wrong, come back immediately. Don’t force your way in."
Gaga nodded emphatically and gave a light flap of its wings.
Its body began to fade, like a drop of ink in water, melting bit by bit into the shadows of the corner.
A second later, it had vanished completely.
Ian found a hidden spot, closed his eyes, and sank his Spiritual Power into their Soul Link.
On the other end of the link, Gaga’s vision began to stream in...