Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Three months have passed quietly.

The morning mist had not yet dissipated when Ian was already in the library of the Crimson Cloud Merchant Alliance.

He had visited this room, located on the east side of the top of the tower, many times before.

The walls were lined with ebony bookshelves that reached the ceiling, neatly stacked with thousands of parchment scrolls, thread-bound ancient books, and a small number of metal plates sealed with a special alloy.

The air was filled with the musty smell of old paper, mixed with a faint herbal fragrance.

"Core guest members can borrow three volumes per month."

The librarian was an old woman with completely white hair.

She sat in a wicker chair by the window, holding a yellowed booklet in her hands, and spoke in a hoarse voice without looking up.

"Borrowing period is one month. The book must not be damaged or copied."

Ian nodded slightly, his gaze already sweeping over the nearest bookshelf.

[The Three Hundred Years of Cataclysm History: Eastern Volume - Compiled by: Chixia Merchant Alliance Historical Records Office - Revised in Cataclysm Calendar 298]

[A Fragmentary Version of "A Brief Account of the Geography of the Mainland" - Author Unknown - Speculated to be a relic from before the catastrophe]

[The Hypothesis of the Connection Between Astrology and Bloodline - Author: The Stargazer - Included in Cataclysmic Year 187]

His fingertips slowly traced the spine of the book, the rough texture of the sheepskin penetrating his fingertips.

In the end, he drew out three scrolls.

The book includes "A Brief Account of the Geography of the Mainland (Fragmentary Version)," "The Hypothesis on the Relationship between Astrology and Bloodline," and a heavy scroll with no title on the cover, bound only with dark red silk thread.

The old woman raised her cloudy eyes, glanced at the three volumes he had chosen, and traced a line on the booklet with her withered fingers.

"Registration is complete." She paused, lowering her voice even further.

"That red thread... is the latest version of the 'Distribution of Corruption Cracks and List of Protected City-States' compiled internally by the Merchant Alliance. Forget it after you've read it, don't spread it around."

Ian's eyes flickered slightly, he nodded, picked up the three heavy volumes, and turned to leave the library.

Instead of returning to the outer city, he found a quiet reception room on the fourth floor of the stone tower, closed the door, and laid out the scrolls one by one on the large mahogany table.

Outside the window, the morning light from the inner city streamed through the stained glass windows, casting dappled shadows on the tabletop.

Ian first opened the scroll of "A Brief Account of the Geography of the Continent - Fragment".

The parchment was extremely brittle, with its edges turning a scorched yellow.

The writing above was done with some kind of dark blue ink, neat yet exuding an ancient feel.

[...The vastness of Arameans is beyond the measure of ordinary people; its land borders comprise about forty percent, while its sea borders are even larger, accounting for more than sixty percent...]

Ian's pupils contracted slightly. According to the book, the area was probably more than four times the size of Earth in his previous life.

He continued reading.

The fragmentary text records that before the cataclysm, the continent of Alan was as prosperous as the technological world of the previous era, possessing flying machines, long-distance communication, and even preliminary exploration of nearby celestial bodies.

But the cataclysmic event that tore apart the stars three hundred years ago changed everything.

[...A rift in the abyss tore open the 'Eternal Silent Ice Plains' in the North, and filth swept in like an inky tide. Within three months, all seven kingdoms of the North fell, and billions of lives were transformed into mutated, rotting matter...]

[...At that time, the thirteen 'True Form' Supreme Beings joined forces, borrowing the power of the world's will and sacrificing their own flesh and souls to forcibly close the main rift, but the filth had already seeped into the earth's veins...]

The survivors retreated to the remaining areas of the 'Star Vein Highlands' and the 'Ancient Barrier,' building sheltered city-states to eke out a living...

Ian's finger paused for a moment on the word "star veins" before he opened the second volume, "The Hypothesis of the Connection between Astrology and Bloodline".

The author of this volume, "The Stargazer," seems to be a scholar obsessed with the connection between the starry sky and blood ties.

[…Stars are not inanimate objects, but living, colossal spirits whose power permeates the endless void, seeping into the very fabric of the world and nourishing all things…]

[...I have observed the ancient relic, the 'Celestial Inscription,' which records that at the beginning of the world, 'tears of stars' fell to earth, transforming into 'star veins.' Those who are favored by the tears of stars have the trajectory of stars imprinted in their blood, thus becoming 'star blood'...]

[...The 'Star Drawer' lineage is suspected to be a special branch among the 'Starblooders,' capable of not only sensing starlight but also drawing upon stars...]

Upon reading this, Ian paused slightly.

Star Tears...Star Blood...

He closed his eyes, his consciousness sinking into the depths of his blood.

The completed miniature galaxy imprint is slowly rotating in the void of the soul, and the orbits of the three planets, pulled by gravity, present a subtle yet exquisite arc.

"really……"

Ian opened his eyes, a silver glint in them.

The bloodline of this body may very well touch upon one of the fundamental rules of this world.

He suppressed the turmoil in his heart and opened the last volume, the heavy scroll bound with dark red silk thread.

The moment the silk thread was untied, a pungent smell of fresh ink mixed with sheepskin wafted out.

This is the latest intelligence compiled within the Crimson Cloud Merchant Alliance. The handwriting is neat and dense, and it is accompanied by a brief map.

Ian quickly browsed through the information.

The first half of the dossier details the location, scale, and periodic emergence of aberrations of all known "corruption cracks" within a 300-mile radius of Blue Hole Mountain.

Several large cracks were even highlighted with vermilion pen, and marked in small print: "[Suspected to be under the command of an intelligent entity, danger level: extremely high]".

The latter half is a list of the known "protected city-states" across the entire continent of Aran.

There are currently over a hundred large protected city-states (population over 100,000), distributed throughout the core areas of the "Pure Lands" across the continent. There are approximately three hundred medium-sized city-states (population between 10,000 and 100,000), and countless small settlements (population less than 10,000), but their survival is precarious, and they may be destroyed within half a year...

[...The strongest known protected city on the Eastern Continent: 'Rising Sun City' (population approximately 500,000), possessing the 'Rising Sun Great Star Vein', and guarded by a True Form Supreme Being...]

[...In the center of the continent, the ruins of 'Holy Mountain' are suspected to be the core of a civilization before the cataclysm. Now it is a severely corrupted area, inhabited by the 'Corruption Cult'. Danger level: Desolate Zone...]

Lines of text and simple diagrams unfolded before Ian's eyes a grand, cruel, yet hopeful world.

With continents four times the size of Earth and oceans covering sixty percent of the land, human civilization, eroded by the abyss, is like a candle flame in a storm, with only a hundred or so large city-states struggling to survive.

Blue Hole Mountain is just one of the medium-to-high-level outposts.

And the star veins... the ancient astronomical civilization... the source of the star-drawing bloodline...

These clues intertwine, pointing to a deeper, more ancient secret.

"This is bad..."

Ian muttered to himself, "Humanity can only barely maintain its current state; it's far from being able to purify the pollution."

The sunlight outside the window gradually rose, lengthening his shadow and casting it onto the bookshelves that covered the wall behind him.

In the face of a global catastrophe of this scale, how insignificant are ordinary people?

That is why every strong person who grows up can become a pillar supporting a pure land.

"Star Pulse Node..."

Ian's gaze fell on a marker on the map, northwest of Blue Hole Mountain.

It was an abandoned ancient mine, marked in small print.

[Suspected residual fluctuations from a small stellar vein, with weak energy and low development value, therefore not included in the jurisdiction of the Business Alliance].

Weak energy?

A very faint smile appeared on Ian's lips.

For others, it might be a useless thing.

But for him, who possessed the bloodline of a star-drawer and desperately needed the power of the stars to temper himself...

Even a tiny remnant of a star vein is worth exploring.

Moreover, the file mentions that "star vein crystals" occasionally condense deep within star vein nodes.

That is highly concentrated pure stellar energy, which is priceless to those who have awakened their star blood.

"It's time to go and see for ourselves."

Ian carefully rolled up the three volumes and tied them up again.

As I pushed open the door, a steady set of footsteps echoed from the end of the corridor.

Chen Jingshan slowly strolled over, and when he saw the scroll in Ian's hand, a knowing look flashed in the old man's eyes.

"Finished watching?"

"I've finished watching it," Ian nodded.

"What are your thoughts?"

"The world is vast." Ian paused, then added, "There are many enemies, and hope... too."

Chen Jingshan smiled, his wrinkles smoothing out like cracks appearing in parched earth.

"If you have this understanding, then it's not in vain that I opened the library to you."

He walked to the window, gazing at the orderly street scene of the inner city below the tower, his voice lowering.

"Three hundred years ago, our ancestors believed that technology could conquer everything. But when the abyss came, those steel creations rusted faster than rotten wood under the corrosive influence of filth."

"In the end, what we can rely on is the power in our bloodline, the resilience in our soul, and..."

The old man turned his head and looked at Ian.

"There are also young people like you who can see the road ahead clearly and are also capable of wielding swords."

Ian paused for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Do you think... humanity can still win?"

This question seemed to have taken Chen Jingshan by surprise.

He pointed his withered finger at the end of the cane, and after a long while, he slowly spoke.

"Win? Perhaps we can never win. The essence of the abyss is the annihilation of order, the end of all things returning to nothingness."

"but……"

A sharp, knife-like glint flashed in Chen Jingshan's eyes.

"As long as there is one city-state with its lights on, one person standing on the wall with a weapon in hand, and one mother holding her child in her arms... we have not lost."

"To live is to resist."

These words, spoken calmly, struck Ian like a heavy hammer blow.

He suddenly remembered the people in the outer city courtyard who were still struggling to survive in despair, and the burning flames in the eyes of Li Yao and the thirteen boys.

Yes.

To live is to resist.

"I understand." Ian bowed. "Thank you for your guidance."

Chen Jingshan waved his hand, turned and walked towards the stairs, his back resembling an old pine tree weathered by time.

"Go, do what you're supposed to do. The monthly quota of three volumes for the library is reserved for you."

The footsteps faded into the distance.

Ian stood in the corridor, holding three thick volumes of books in his arms. He could feel the rough texture of the sheepskin with his fingertips, and the scent of aged ink lingered in his nose.

Let's leave a spark for this world.

The road may be long, but at least the direction is clear.

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