Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

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On the way back from the underground palace, Ian didn't rush to the airship.

He found a secluded mountain hollow, changed into clean clothes, and carefully cleaned away the scabs and scorch marks on his body before taking Gaga and stealthily returning to the Shadowmoon Tower.

The tower gate remained unchanged, with vines climbing the dusty stone walls, and several apprentices huddled at the entrance, yawning.

As Ian approached, the apprentices looked up and stared in disbelief, as if they had seen a ghost.

"I...Ian the Wizard?" an apprentice stammered.

"Hmm." Ian nodded, without stopping.

The apprentices watched him walk through the gate before daring to whisper among themselves.

"Why did he come back first...?"

"I don't know, maybe something happened..."

"Shh! Keep your voice down!"

Ian ignored them and went straight to his residence in the tower.

The building was still the same as when he left; the crooked tree at the entrance hadn't grown many leaves.

He affixed his identity token to the door, the runes lit up, and the door clicked open.

A thin layer of dust had accumulated inside the room, and a faint musty smell lingered in the air.

Ian frowned, then waved his right hand, sending a gentle breeze sweeping by, swirling the dust into a ball and sending it flying out the window.

Gaga jumped off his shoulder, circled the room, and finally landed on the sofa armrest, where it lay down comfortably.

"It's so much more comfortable at home, Ian! Quick, give me two pieces of blood essence to calm my nerves!"

Ian tossed a few pieces of blood essence to Gaga, but didn't sit down immediately.

He took the two jade boxes from his bosom and gently placed them on the table.

The larger one contains the small silver tree and the core of the dark soil.

The smaller one, with five fruits huddled together, was fast asleep.

"Let's find you a home first."

Ian walked around the house and finally chose the empty room next to the bedroom.

The room wasn't large, about twenty square meters, with gray stone bricks on the walls and constant-temperature runes covering all four sides; it was fairly clean.

He walked to the corner, squatted down, and gently traced his fingers on the floor.

Mental energy seeped from his fingertips, carving intricate runes on the floor like a carving knife.

This wasn't just drawn randomly.

These runes, derived from fragments of records on a stone tablet from the Soul Weaver civilization, are an array specifically designed to stabilize and activate the energy supply of magical plants.

Ian stopped carving halfway through.

The array requires two core materials: high-purity blood essence and flawless magic stone.

He has blood essence, and during this period he has refined a large number of bloodline potions, accumulating enough to last for a while.

But Ian frowned at the flawless magic stone.

That thing is called a "magic crystal" in the wizarding world, and one crystal is worth a hundred high-grade magic stones.

But almost no one is willing to exchange flawless magic stones for them, so they are available but not in demand.

"Use high-grade magic stones to hold out for now."

He took out dozens of high-grade magic stones from his dimensional ring, all of which were previous spoils of war and accumulated over time.

It is about the size of an egg, with a smooth surface and a dark gray aura of energy flowing inside.

Ian embedded the magic stones one by one into the floor according to the positions of the array nodes.

For each bead, the angle was carefully adjusted with mental focus to ensure smooth energy flow.

Finally, he carefully placed a first-tier blood essence the size of an egg in the center of the array.

"Buzz..."

A pale blue light emanated from the magic stone, spreading along the rune lines like a spider web.

The surface of the blood essence glowed with a dark red light, and the two energies converged and merged in the array.

Finally, it stabilized, forming a thin layer of silvery-gray energy mist that hovered half a foot above the array.

Ian then opened the large jade box.

The silver sapling was still curled up, its branches and leaves trembling slightly, and you could feel that it was very nervous.

"We're home," Ian said softly.

He carefully removed the sapling along with the core of the dark soil and placed it in the center of the array.

As soon as the sapling's roots came into contact with the silvery-gray mist, they immediately unfurled, like a thirsty person seeing water and frantically absorbing it.

The core of the dark soil began to merge with the array, the cracks on the surface slowly healed, and the silvery-gray mud regained its luster.

The sapling gradually straightened its branches, growing from the size of a palm to about a meter in height, its leaves spreading out with a soft silver sheen.

"Mommy!" Lucy called out from inside the little jade box.

The other four fruits also woke up, chattering and crowding to the opening of the box, "looking" at the sapling.

The sapling swayed gently, conveying a sense of comfort.

Ian placed the small jade box next to the array and opened the lid.

Five fruits popped out with a "poof poof poof" sound and circled around Mom.

"Mom, are you alright?" "You scared me to death!" "I'm hungry..."

The sapling stretched out a few silvery strands and gently touched each child, as if checking if they were injured.

Ian looked for a few seconds, then turned and left the room, gently closing the door behind him.

"Let them gather together first."

He walked back to the living room, sat down on the sofa, and let out a long sigh.

This trip was really tiring.

He took out his dimensional ring from his pocket, probed it with his mental energy, and began to take stock of his spoils.

Twenty-eight Void Anchor Stones, piled heavily in the corner, their silver patterns flowing slowly.

The crystallized essence and information in the sea of ​​consciousness, and that fragment of the stone slab...

Ian took out the items one by one, placed them on the table, opened them one by one, and poured out their contents.

The magic stones were piled up like a small mountain, mostly of intermediate grade, with dozens of high-grade ones as well.

More materials: bones, hides, and blood of various magical beasts, as well as some rare ores and herbs.

There were also quite a few potions, including deep red blood-based potions and withering death potions, all of decent quality.

But he didn't think much of it; he could sell it to a potion shop later.

There were also a few pieces of witchcraft equipment: a bone scythe, a string of skulls, and several pieces of inner armor.

Ian picked up the bone scythe and weighed it in his hand. It felt heavy, and there was still a faint trace of death energy on the blade.

"This thing... I'll take it apart later and see what materials we can use."

Time flowed quietly, and from the next room, the sounds of Gaga and Lucy bickering could be heard from time to time.

In the evening, there was a knock on the door.

"Ian? Are you there?"

It was Malena's voice.

Ian got up and went to open the door.

There were two people standing outside the door.

Malena and Alivia.

Malena still looked as capable as ever, with her long hair tied in a ponytail and wearing a dark blue wizard's robe, but her expression was somewhat complicated.

Alyvia stood beside her, her long golden hair flowing over her shoulders, her deep eyes looking at Ian.

His eyes held a look of inquiry, and a hint of... disbelief.

"Come in." Ian stepped aside.

The two entered the house,

Malena glanced around the living room, her gaze landing on the pile of spoils on the table, her pupils contracting slightly.

Alyssa saw it too, but she didn't say anything; she just found a chair and sat down.

"Sit down." Ian gestured to the sofa and sat back down in his original spot.

Marlena didn't sit down; she stood there and looked at Ian for a while before speaking, though her voice was a little dry.

"We've heard about the Hidden Palace..."

Ian nodded without saying anything.

"Blood Butcher...did you really kill him?" Malena asked.

"Um."

"And Samael? Theodore?"

"Um."

The living room was quiet for a few seconds.

Marlena took a deep breath and then slowly exhaled.

She walked to the window, turned her back to Ian, and looked out.

Outside the window was the wide street of Shadow Moon Tower, where several apprentices were hurrying by carrying books.

"I remember..." Malena suddenly spoke, her voice very soft, "The first time I saw you was at the Star Leaf Potions Shop."

"Back then, you were just an intermediate apprentice. You came to buy materials first, with a calm expression and not saying much."

"Later, you applied for a potion-making apprenticeship and worked under me. You made potions quickly and made few mistakes, but you didn't talk much."

She turned around and looked at Ian.

"Later, the war broke out in the Crimson Court, you were promoted to senior apprentice, and then you disappeared without a trace."

Until the Demon Hunter war, when your fame spread... I thought that was your limit.

"But how long has it been?"

Malena gave a bitter smile.

"Six months? A year? You'll kill Crimson Blood Butcher, Withered Samael, and Theodore... all of them."

"I heard from Hogan that you also directly injured that thing deep inside the dungeon."

She shook her head, as if she didn't know what to say.

Alyvia sat in the chair, her fingers gently stroking the armrest.

"Ian." Her voice was soft, and she tried her best to appear calm, but Ian could hear the turmoil within it.

"What level have you reached in terms of strength?" This was actually a very presumptuous question.

But Alyvia seemed to overlook this point; the information she was hearing was far too exaggerated.

Ian lowered his eyelids and thought for a while.

"Facing a few level one wizards shouldn't be a problem."

Alyvia: "..."

Malena: "..."

His tone was calm, but the powerful confidence he exuded was palpable to both of them.

No problem? That's a Level 1 Wizard! Not a Level 1 Apprentice!

The two looked at each other and saw the same emotion in each other's eyes.

Shocked, and a little... powerless.

They witnessed firsthand the young man's rapid growth from apprentice to wizard.

They thought it was already exaggerated enough, but now it seems they greatly underestimated his potential.

Not only them, everyone underestimated him.

"Over at the tower..." Alyvia changed the subject, "The tower master already knows about your situation."

"Hmm." Ian's expression remained calm.

"Your privileges will be elevated to the level of a core elder."

Alyvia said solemnly, "The Star Treasury will be open to you, and resources will be allocated to you."

Ian raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised.

He knew about the Star Vault; it was the core resource repository of the Shadowmoon Tower, containing truly valuable items.

He had only heard of it before, but had never been inside.

"I don't think I've signed a contract with the tower," Ian reminded me.

"I know," Alyvia nodded, "but the Tower is willing to gamble."

What are we betting on?

It's a gamble on Ian's future.

What will the future hold for a prodigy who can kill a peak-level liquefaction cultivator after only advancing one level and can also injure a level two cultivator head-on?

The Shadowmoon Tower is willing to place its bet.

"And..." Malena hesitated for a moment, "Crimson and Wither have already put up bounties underground."

"A bounty on me?"

"Hmm." Alyvia took a piece of parchment from her bosom and handed it to Ian.

Ian took it and glanced at it.

It was written in dark red letters above:

[Bounty: Ian Marcus]

[Bounty: 5,000 high-grade magic stones, or materials and knowledge of equivalent value]

[Posted by: Bloodhand]

There's another one below, which is obviously from the Wither Council, with a similar bounty.

Although neither side explicitly identified themselves, Ian knew it was them.

"Quite a generous gesture." Ian chuckled and tossed the parchment back onto the table.

"Aren't you worried?" Malena frowned.

"What's the use of worrying?" Ian retorted.

Marlena paused.

"They won't dare make a move within Shadowmoon's territory," Alyvia said. "But if you leave..."

"Then let's wait for them to arrive," Ian said calmly.

"Oh, one more thing, neither Douglas nor Barr have returned. Hogan said Barr might be a traitor."

Ian paused, stunned. "Douglas is dead?"

That's fine, it saves him the trouble of doing it himself, but Baal...

The three fell silent again, as if they had nothing to talk about.

After a while, Malena sighed; Ian had changed a lot.

His rapid rise in power and status, however, brought about a certain sense of alienation.

She felt a pang of sadness, experiencing the subtle shift in her emotions.

She walked to the table, looked at the spoils, and finally her gaze fell on the string of skulls.

"This is... something withered?"

"Hmm, I don't remember whose it was, but I took it from them anyway."

Ian weighed the skull in his hand. "The material looks good. I'll take it apart and see what happens."

Malena: "..."

She shook her head and said no more.

"We're leaving now. You just got back, so get some rest." Alyvia stood up.

Malena nodded, and the two walked towards the door together.

As she reached the door, Malena suddenly stopped and glanced back at Ian.

"Ian."

"Um?"

"It's good that you came back alive."

After she finished speaking, she opened the door and went out with Alyvia.

Ian was left alone in the living room again.

He leaned back on the sofa and closed his eyes.

Images from the underground palace flashed through my mind: Blood Butcher's sinister grin, Samael's bone scythe, and that thick main tentacle...

Then, there's what Malena just said.

Ian's lips twitched slightly.

"Yes, it's good that we came back alive."

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