Ancient Wizards: A Little Progress Every Day

Bernal looked at Dago calmly, a hint of reminiscence on his face.

He was also someone who had taken "Solomon's Soothing," and he knew very well just how unbearable the pain this medicine could cause.

When he was suffering, he desperately wished countless times that someone would kill him immediately and grant him release.

He didn't know how he survived. If he hadn't possessed a will that even death couldn't shake, he probably would have died from the pain.

Just then, Bernal frowned and saw that Dago's bloodshot eyes were already covered with a fine layer of blood beads, and he was about to shed tears of blood.

Clearly, the pain was nearing his limit. Bernal glanced at the time, pondered for a moment, and felt that the effects of the drug were almost fully taking effect. So he turned and walked toward his potion experiment table.

On the cluttered potion lab table stood a bottle of jewel-like orange potion, which was quite conspicuous. It was the pain-blocking potion that he had specially concocted.

However, just as Bernal picked up the medicine and turned around, he was shocked to find that Dago, who had been lying on the ground writhing in pain, had somehow stood up straight, his back ramrod straight, like a sharp sword deeply embedded in the soil.

Dago was looking at Bernal, his black hair, completely soaked with sweat, sticking messily to his cheeks. His eyes had regained their clarity, and the blood flowing under his bloodshot eyes formed a line of blood, proving that the pain he had experienced was not fake.

He let out a soft breath, smiled at Benigno, and said slowly, "I told you I'm good at dealing with all kinds of pain and have a wealth of combat experience. Old Benigno, please continue to help me prepare the potions. My will will lead me out of this predicament!"

"Well!"

Bernal stared blankly at Dago, lost in thought, before his expression returned to calm after a moment.

He gently placed the orange medicine he was holding back on the lab table and nodded in agreement, "Okay."

The gaze shifts to a tower within the Painful Thorns faction, its shape resembling a twisted, spiraling tree, surrounded by a floating island enveloped in the light of numerous runic arrays.

One of them is located on a floating island that is neither too high nor too low to the spiral tower. The bright sunlight seems to be blocked by the rune light membrane. Despite the clear weather, the floating island has a dark and oppressive feeling.

In the dim light, on the gray grass in front of the huge black house, a pale-skinned young man with black diamond studs in each ear was carefully examining a recording crystal.

This is a runic crystal stone specifically used to record information, and the young man is reading its contents.

Several wizards stood a few meters away from him, quietly waiting with a respectful expression.

After an unknown amount of time, the young man withdrew his mental energy from the recording crystal, then took out a communication crystal and said in a low voice, "Thank you, Chaplin. This information is quite useful to me. I will express my gratitude to you once I settle in the Ten Floating Islands."

A hoarse, somewhat cold voice came from the communication crystal: "Don't blame me for not warning you, Jareden. With your current strength, even if you know the strengths and weaknesses of these guys, you're still a bit short of defeating any one of them and securing a spot in the top ten."

"I'll cripple that kid who bet on Bernal, and I'll help you take down a few powerful wizards to get you into the top ten floating islands."

"I promise you, I will personally cripple him."

Jareden remained calm, a strange light flickering in his eyes. After speaking, he slowly put down the communication crystal in his hand.

He looked up at the sky, peering through the magic array outside the floating island at the majestic and imposing spiral tower that was so close at hand. Ten huge floating islands surrounded the top of the tower. A faint, eerie light kept passing through his eyes, and the shadow around him kept expanding.

For him, those ten floating islands were not just about identity and status, but also about the steps he took to reach higher levels.

Now, he is about to take the first step, a step he will not allow anyone to sabotage.

"Dren".

Jareden suddenly spoke to the several wizards behind him who had their heads bowed. Upon hearing this, a young wizard strode forward.

"Lord Jareden, what are your instructions?"

"Get me in touch with Archibald."

Jareden said softly, "Tell him that no matter what, I'm going to face that Dago in the first round, the first match. He can name his price. Tell him I just want to cripple the kid, not kill him on the spot."

"Yes."

Drenchi responded respectfully, and it seemed that he had also remembered someone or something. His eyes became somewhat gloomy and ruthless. He remembered that when he led the attack on the Kroger family castle, he was thrown out of the castle like a dog.

That was a humiliation he would never forget, and he even had the wizard's name, Dago, tattooed on his arm, cursing him every day.

...........

.....

Two months passed like flowing water, ceaselessly, day and night.

Inside Bernal's base, in the lush potion garden, a young boy was squatting on the ground, seemingly fiddling with something.

Upon closer inspection, it was a small sapling planted in moist, blood-red soil, barely taller than a hand's width. At the top of its slender stem, two tender blood-red leaves sprouted like open palms. The leaves had bright red veins and were so translucent and exquisite that they looked as if they were carefully carved from rubies.

The boy stretched out a finger and gently touched the leaves of the sapling, which seemed to be responding to him, its slender body swaying slightly.

At that moment, Bernal's deep voice suddenly rang out from outside the potion garden, "Stop messing with it. The Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God is probably not even as strong as an ordinary potion right now."

"I know what I'm doing. I'm just talking to it, and it understands what I'm saying."

Dargo retorted defiantly, his voice the complete opposite of Bernal's earlier warning. Dargo's voice was clear and bright, as melodious and crisp as the gentle clinking of gems.

Although he said that, he still stood up in front of the sapling.

Once Dago had fully straightened up, people realized that he was actually quite tall and his figure was not as thin and frail as his crouching back looked.

Instead, there is a sense of well-proportioned, muscular sculpting. Even with the robes covering it, one can still clearly feel the strength and harmonious beauty of the body beneath.

Dago turned around, revealing a delicate and exquisitely crafted fair face. There was almost no blemish on his face, and his skin was so smooth that it seemed to glow in real time. What was most attractive were his eyes.

It's even bluer than the cleanest sky.

Dago walked through the vast fields of moonflowers in the Potions Garden, his head of fine, shimmering black hair swaying along with the pale silver blossoms.

He walked outside the potions garden and stood in the soft light, as if he had merged with the light and become one with it.

"When will the Blood Tree of the Imprisoned God grow to a point where it can unleash its true power?"

Dago asked Bernal, who was pacing back and forth in front of him.

Bernal shook his head. "I don't know, but even if the Blood Tree of the Imprisoning God grows, you won't be able to directly use it to purify your bloodline's power."

He continued calmly, "Because the bloodline of wizards is too mixed, the people living on this continent now have countless strange and ancient bloodlines mixed in their bodies, some noble and some base, some powerful and some weak. The Blood Tree of the Imprisoning God cannot distinguish what kind of beings exist in the bloodline of wizards. If you are not careful, you may be easily purified into a 'monster'."

"oh."

Dago nodded, indicating that he understood. He ended his conversation with Bernal and began walking towards the potion-making station in the base space.

Just as he was about to reach the lab table, Bernal's voice suddenly stopped him.

"Dago!"

Upon hearing this, Dago turned around and looked at Bernal, who was standing there staring at him, with a complex expression on his face that was hard to describe.

"Are you really feeling okay?"

Bernal paused for a moment, then said with a complicated expression, "I have never seen anyone who could take five bottles of 'Solomon's Blessing' in a row and not die."

Upon hearing this, a smile slowly spread across Dago's handsome face, a smile as bright and radiant as the midday sun.

"I'm fine, I've never felt so good."

Dago laughed and replied, "Now I finally understand why you, Bernal, were once a magical genius, and at the same time so knowledgeable and versatile. You're a man with cheat codes."

He added in his mind, "Of course, I'm also a man who's cheated."