Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 111 Earning a Small Interest

The name instantly reminded him of the days when he was forced to flee and live in anonymity, and of his hometown which he still dares not return to.

These guys, reeking of blood, are almost all bad news.

A murderous intent surged from the depths of his heart like ice spikes.

He immediately had a thought, and the [Eye of Warning] above his head silently dissipated.

All external mental perception was retracted, maintaining only a minimal level of environmental awareness, while simultaneously transmitting a message to Gaga: "Keep a close eye on them, find out what they're doing, and whether any official wizards are with them?"

"Understood! Ga!"

With a flash, a layer of shadow flowed around Gaga as she silently flew past.

Using the rock pillars and shadows as cover, Ian stealthily made his way forward a short distance, hiding behind a large purplish-brown rock and gazing intently into the distance.

About two hundred meters away, in a relatively open depression, five figures were resting.

They all wore the same deep red royal court-style blood-red robes, but the color appeared somewhat dull due to the filth from the ground.

Four people sat around, processing some freshly collected fungi and talking in hushed tones.

Another person stood alone on a slightly higher spot, with their back to Ian, seemingly on guard.

Gaga's reconnaissance information came quickly.

"Gah, it's confirmed there's no official wizard, but that one standing high up—is very strong!"

In particular, the oppressive aura emanating from his body far surpassed that of others, suggesting he was only half a step away from the threshold of the first level, or perhaps he had already touched it.

From the conversation, I learned that his name was "Blood Axe" Barton, and he was recognized as the top genius among this batch of apprentices in the Crimson Court.

He followed the path of body refinement and once tore apart a heavily wounded Tier 1 Lava Scale Beast with his bare hands.

"Bloody Axe Barton".

Judging from their posture and the traces around them, they seem to be carrying out some kind of collection or reconnaissance mission and do not intend to leave immediately.

"Gaga, they won't leave anytime soon. It seems like they're waiting for some materials to mature, or for the miasma to dissipate a bit more," Gaga added.

Ian's eyes flickered, and he quickly made a decision.

Let's finish the mission first, and deal with them later. In this wilderness, killing them is fine.

Even if they bear the traces left by formal wizards, I am confident that I can slowly erase them with my current level of spiritual power, which is completely condensed into mist.

Moreover, there's also Gaga's shadow power that can interfere.

"Continue to monitor them. We'll bypass them and head to the Rift Valley first."

Ian gave the order in his mind, and his figure moved like a gray shadow, silently gliding along the rock wall to the other side.

The mission in the Poison Mist Rift is not complicated.

The valley is filled with colorful poisonous fog that strongly interferes with mental power and perception, and is inhabited by some monsters adapted to the fog, such as "Fog-Hidden Bats" and "Poison Sac Crawlers".

With the strong resistance of his atomized mental power and Gaga's precise positioning in the shadows, Ian completed the area reconnaissance in less than two hours.

I recorded several small monster gathering points, as well as the entrance to a cave that looked like a nest, and I also cleared out more than a dozen monsters blocking my way.

Without pausing, he quickly returned the way he came.

And following the shadow marks left by Gaga, they tracked the five Crimson Court apprentices.

Their direction of travel was not to return to the stronghold, but to venture deeper into another desolate stone forest parallel to the Mossy Cavern.

This suited Ian perfectly.

After tracking for about half an hour, a maze-like area appeared ahead, with countless sharp stalagmites standing chaotically.

The five members of the Crimson Royal Court were taking a short rest in a sheltered depression on the edge of the stone forest.

Barton remained standing on the outside, arms crossed, his crimson eyes scanning the surroundings.

Right now.

He hid behind the shadow of a large stalagmite, his gray robe almost blending into the dim environment.

His left index finger trembled very slightly, and four frost rays compressed to their limit shot out silently.

*Screech! Screech!*

Before the four of them could even understand what was happening, their life-saving shields had already been activated.

The extreme cold spread instantly, and large patches of transparent frost condensed on the surface of the shield, rapidly spreading outwards.

It forms a smooth ice surface on the ground, while emitting a low-temperature field that interferes with energy sensing.

Almost at the same time, he raised his right hand, his five fingers spread.

[Burning Ray] Instantaneous!

Not one, but five thin, white rays of light tore through the air and shot toward the four seated apprentices and Barton, who was standing a little further away!

The attack came without warning.

"Enemy attack!"

Barton reacted the fastest, becoming alert the instant the frost rays struck the rock wall.

He roared, his muscles bulged, and the skin beneath his blood-red robe glowed with a dark red sheen, as if lava was flowing beneath his skin.

He didn't dodge or evade, but instead punched the scorching ray that was shooting at him!

boom!

The fist collided with the beam, exploding into a burst of scorching sparks. The beam was deflected, grazing his shoulder and melting a deep hole in the rock wall behind him.

Barton swayed slightly, leaving a scorch mark on his fist, but he was otherwise unharmed.

But his four companions were not so lucky.

The ice surface made them pause in their ascent, and the energy shield they hastily erected was as fragile as paper in the face of the condensed, scorching rays.

Puff! Puff! Puff! Puff!

Four rays: two pierced the skull, one penetrated the heart, and one tore through the neck.

Blood splattered with a burnt smell, and the four corpses froze almost simultaneously before collapsing to the ground, their eyes filled with shock and bewilderment.

Four people were instantly killed!

"You bastard!"

Patton's eyes widened in horror as he recognized the attacker: an unassuming man in a grey robe with a hood covering his face.

His shock and rage instantly transformed into a frenzied killing intent: "You're courting death!"

He pushed off with his feet, cracking the ground, and shot towards Ian's location like a cannonball.

Its speed was so great that it created a deafening sonic boom.

Dark red blood vapor rose from his pores, leaving a trail of afterimages behind him.

Ian, expressionless, stepped out from behind the stalagmite to face Barton, who was charging towards him.

He raised his right hand again, this time not with a ray, but with his five fingers loosely clenched, and pushed forward.

[Crystal Energy Barrier]!

The intermediate-level sorcery, having broken through its limits a second time, now unleashed terrifying power.

The shield, like a tangible hammer, slammed into Patton's path of charge.

boom! !

A dull, thunderous sound, like the beating of a giant drum, exploded out.

Barton's momentum abruptly halted, as if he had crashed into an invisible wall of steel. His protective aura trembled violently, and he let out a muffled groan, disbelief flashing in his eyes.

"They're all instant-cast spells!"

How could a senior apprentice possess such powerful sorcery to understand the model to this extent?

Before he could change his move, Ian's left hand was already pointing like a sword, and he pointed it in mid-air.

[Deeply Knotted]!

Two deep blue rays shot out.

Click-click——

The ground within a ten-meter radius of Patton was instantly covered by a thick layer of solid ice.

Barton roared, stomped his feet, and unleashed his blood energy, shattering large sections of ice, but his movements were ultimately slowed for a moment.

Ian flashed away.

His gray robe billowed, and the body hidden beneath it emitted a low, rumbling sound like the friction of rock layers.

The enhanced terrifying power erupted completely, and with the [Earth Vein Resonance] characteristic, every step he took was as steady as a mountain and as swift as lightning.

The distance between the two instantly closed.

Barton's eyes flashed with a fierce light. Close combat?

Just what he wanted! He was the body-refining genius "Blood Axe"!

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