Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

"Ian, he... he's really dead?"

It quacked back onto my shoulder, its little eyes fixed on the corpse, its feathers still ruffled slightly.

"He's dead."

Ian stood up and wiped the dark green bloodstains from his fingertips.

His gaze swept around.

The Starry Sea Illusion remains dazzling, and on the shattered platform in the distance, the flames of battle rise and fall.

But I can sense...

The closer you get to the center, the stronger the Shadow Binders, Echoing Mirages, and even the more bizarre creations of the rules become.

The shadow mutant that Silas just encountered was already approaching the peak of level one.

"The trials are accelerating the elimination process."

Ian muttered to himself, looking up at the deepest part of the starry sea.

There, suspended in the air, is a dark blue "island" ten times larger than the other platforms.

On the island's surface, a pure, almost blinding starlight flowed.

Like a star remnant that has been forcibly frozen in time.

"core……"

He took a deep breath, and the wound on his chest had mostly healed under the shimmering light of the jade.

But the weariness in my mind remains heavy.

After continuous high-intensity battles, even with the Soul Devouring ability to absorb some negative emotions, the energy expenditure is nearing its limit.

"Walk."

Ian didn't linger. He fine-tuned the gravitational field and shot his body like an arrow towards the next platform.

The silver ground receded rapidly beneath their feet, while the shattered platform was swept away by the gravitational field and flung behind them.

Within the sea of ​​consciousness, the pale golden light spots that had been forcibly compressed back into a liquefied form continued to rotate slowly and steadily.

With each rotation, the resonance with that call from the depths of the starry sea grows stronger.

"Ian, there's an energy fluctuation at the three o'clock position to the left..."

It perched on my shoulder, its feathers ruffled slightly, and a deep, eerie light shimmered in its heterochromatic eyes.

"They are three mutated Shadow Binders, their aura... is close to the peak of level one."

Ian didn't stop walking; his right index finger pointed to the left front.

laugh!

A thin, pale purple beam of light tore through the sea of ​​stars, instantly traversing a distance of five hundred meters.

It precisely pierced the "core" of the first Shadowbinder.

Ice and fire energies exploded inside the shadow aggregate, with extreme cold and scorching heat clashing and completely annihilating it at the molecular level.

The second and third attacked at the same time.

Ian spread his five fingers on his left hand, palm facing the void, and gently clenched his fist.

hum!

Two tiny black dots, like grains of rice, shot out silently, tracing arcs in the air before attaching themselves to the "heads" of the two Shadow Binders.

then……

Collapse inward.

Pop, pop.

Two soft, crisp sounds.

The two mutated Shadowbinders were swallowed by the gravitational singularity, leaving not even a trace.

The whole process took less than three seconds.

Ian withdrew his hand and continued forward.

From the starry sea behind them, screams and magical explosions echoed one after another.

The sounds grew farther and farther away, becoming increasingly sparse.

"The casualties are escalating..."

He muttered to himself, his dark eyes scanning ahead.

Within a range of at least ten kilometers, dozens of platforms of varying sizes are suspended.

At this moment, most platforms are completely empty.

There are fewer signs of combat on the platform.

Only in a few scattered places can the magical light still flicker, those are the survivors who are still struggling.

The closer you get to the core of the starry sea, the more dazzling the starlight becomes, and the greater the "pressure" in the air becomes.

It's not physical pressure, but a deeper, more vast "weight of civilization."

It's as if countless eyes are watching from the shadows, waiting... to select.

"Gah..."

Gaa shrank its neck, and its feathers unconsciously bristled even more.

"I feel...so heavy."

Even though the Protoss have perished, their collective consciousness remains immense.

Ian explained calmly, but his pace didn't slow down at all.

"The closer we get to the core, the more we step into their 'memory'."

"Ian, there's a corpse on that platform to the right."

Gaga whispered, staring at a broken platform seven hundred meters away.

On the platform lay three corpses dressed in the blue robes of the Tide Society.

The wound was not caused by a sharp weapon, but was completely carbonized by some kind of "rule erosion", and the surface was covered with dark blue crystalline patterns.

"The Protoss's remaining defensive mechanisms..."

Ian's eyes narrowed slightly.

He could sense that the spatial structure around the platform was extremely unstable.

Dark blue energy turbulence slithered through the void like a venomous snake, and would erupt instantly upon touching any living thing.

"Go around it."

He shifted his stance, subtly adjusted the gravitational field, and traced an arc with his body to avoid the death zone.

Three hundred kilometers away.

Bazar crushed the head of a Shadowbinder, his dark red blood blade embedded in the center of the platform, and gasped for breath.

The wound on his left shoulder had scabbed over, but the twisted scar under his ribs, torn open by the gravitational singularity, still ached faintly.

"Just how many trump cards does that little beast have up his sleeve...?"

He gritted his teeth, his blood-red eyes fixed on the core direction.

"We can't let him get to the core first."

Bazar drew his sword, pushed off with his foot, and spiderweb-like cracks exploded on the surface of the platform.

His body shot towards the next platform like a cannonball.

But it had only flown less than 100 meters.

hum!

The shadows at the edge of the platform suddenly surged, and three more distorted shadow mutants slowly rose up.

A dark blue, viscous liquid seeped from the cracks in their heads.

The spikes at the ends of the six tentacles gleamed with a regular, polluted, eerie light.

The aura... is entirely at the peak of level one!

"Damn it..."

Bazar's face darkened.

These things are getting more and more troublesome.

Deep in the sea of ​​stars.

Ian landed on a relatively wide platform.

Three figures stood in the center of the platform.

He wore a silver robe and had a silver ring on his chest.

It was Liam and his two companions; the crystallized old man was not there.

At this moment, none of the three were in good condition.

Liam's left arm twisted unnaturally, and the light runes on the surface of his silver staff dimmed considerably.

The young witch clutched her chest with her right hand, dark red blood seeping from between her fingers.

A burly, strong man stood at the very front. A third of the runes on his arm were shattered, and his face was deathly pale.

Before them lay the remains of five shadow mutants.

Dark blue liquid flowed across the ground, exuding a putrid, star-like aura.

"Someone's coming!"

The young witch looked up alertly, and the silver thread between her fingers tightened instantly.

But when she saw that it was Ian, her pupils contracted sharply and her fingers trembled slightly.

"It's you..."

Liam gritted his teeth and stood up straight, his silver staff held horizontally in front of his chest.

His eyes were full of vigilance, even... a hint of tension.

Ian didn't even glance at them, his steps unwavering as he sped towards the other side of the platform. (Chapter 247, "Accelerated Elimination," contains a surprise; click to unlock.)

"etc!"

Liam suddenly spoke, his voice hoarse.

"We can't go any further ahead."

Ian stopped and turned to look at him.

There was no emotion in his black eyes.

Why?

"Further ahead, the density of shadow mutants will increase threefold, and... 'Starbone Guardians' have appeared."

Liam took a deep breath and pointed to his broken left arm.

"We just encountered one, and we almost got wiped out after taking only three hits from it."

He paused, then lowered his voice.

"That thing... its strength definitely exceeds that of the peak of level one, and it may even retain some of the characteristics of level two."

Ian was silent for two seconds.

Thanks.

He turned and continued forward.

"You're still going?" the young witch couldn't help but ask. "That's something we can't handle at all..."

"I have my own things to do."

Without turning his head, Ian leaped off the platform and disappeared into the turbulent sea of ​​stars.

The three of them looked at each other, watching his departing figure.

"Madman..." the burly man said in a low voice.

"No."

Liam shook his head, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

"He's just... way better than us."

Another twenty kilometers passed.

Ian encountered the Shadowmoon Tower team on a platform.

Herman stood at the front, his gray robe tattered, with a deep claw mark on his chest that revealed the bone.

Two other people were still alive behind him, both wounded.

"Ian..."

Hermann's eyes flashed with surprise the moment he saw him, but it quickly disappeared.

You can't go any further.

He walked over quickly, lowering his voice.

"I sense... there is someone with the 'Undying Heart' ahead."

"Ganna?"

Ian remembered that three-meter-tall, burly man.

Before the giant gate, he once looked down on everyone with the gaze one would give an ant.

"right."

Hermann nodded, his expression grave.

"After that person was suppressed by the rules, his strength didn't change much, but his physical body was ridiculously strong. We just saw him from afar, and he smashed a Starbucks Guardian with a single punch..."

Ian looked at the claw marks on Herman's chest.

The jade's luster is slowly repairing the wound, but the progress is very slow; it is damage caused by the contamination of the rules.

"You should retreat to the outer perimeter."

Ian said calmly.

"The trials get more dangerous as they go on; there's no need to throw your life away."

Herman opened his mouth, then finally nodded with a wry smile.

"You...be careful."

Ian didn't reply and turned to leave.

Herman had anticipated this situation, which is why he didn't intervene to stop Bazar and Silas.

Fifty kilometers later.

Before my eyes, there is only endless, dazzling starlight, and deep within the starlight, the faintly visible "core".

But the further you go, the greater the pressure becomes.

The dark blue turbulent currents surged in like a tangible tide, each wave causing a slight tremor in the mind's sea.

Even Gaga had to shrink into the shadows, only revealing a pair of small eyes as she warily scanned her surroundings.

"Ian... there's something ahead..."

It suddenly whispered, its heterochromatic eyes fixed on the left front.

There, three broken platforms float in a triangular formation.

Between the platforms, dark blue energy turbulence cascaded down like a waterfall, forming a natural "barrier".

And behind the barrier...

The silhouettes of more than a dozen pale giant statues could be vaguely seen.

They stood silently in the void, their dark red star cores pulsating slowly, emanating a chillingly violent aura.

The Living Corpse Guardian Legion.

Moreover, it is a complete and undiminished creation of war.

"There's no way around it."

Ian made his judgment in a low voice.

The turbulent waterfall between the three platforms covers an area of ​​at least five kilometers.

To avoid it, you have to take a longer route, at least 20 kilometers more.

and……

He looked behind the barrier.

The "positioning" of those living skeletons guarding the position subtly reveals a certain formation pattern.

It's like they're guarding something.

"Just charge in."

Ian made his decision, and a pale purple energy began to gather at the tip of his right index finger.

But at that moment...

A deafening explosion suddenly erupted from the starry sea on the right!

boom!!!

A dark red energy storm exploded, completely tearing a small platform apart.

Amidst the rubble and turbulent energy currents, a burly, bear-like figure burst forth, crashing heavily onto a platform three hundred meters in front of Ian.

"Damn it...this godforsaken place!"

He was three meters tall, with muscles as bulging as granite, and his skin was covered with dark red runes.

At this moment, the runes were radiating a scorching aura, forcibly pushing aside the surrounding turbulent flow of rules.

"Ganna, a level two wizard of the [Undying Heart]."

Ian stopped in his tracks.

The mimicry effect remains unchanged.

But Gunnar seemed to have sensed something.

He turned his head sharply, his blood-red eyes scanning the edge of the platform like searchlights.

"Who's there?"

His voice was filled with undisguised irritability.

Ian slowly revealed himself.

The gray wizard's robes fluttered slightly in the starlight.

Beneath the skin, the dark gold, flowing, rock-like texture subtly shimmered under the starlight.

"The small insects from before?"

Gunnar squinted, looked Ian up and down, and grinned disdainfully.

"To be able to sneak this far... you've got some skill."

He stood up, his three-meter-tall frame casting a large shadow.

"But now, get out."

"I've got my eye on this platform."

Ian looked at him calmly.

"I'll go first."

"Want to go first?"

Gunnar laughed as if he had heard a joke, throwing his head back.

The laughter made the crystals on the platform surface tremble slightly.

"A piece of trash who isn't even at level two dares to say that?"

He took a step forward, and the ground cracked open with a spiderweb pattern.

"Listen up, you bug."

"Now, I'll give you three seconds."

Gunnar held up three fingers, each as thick as a carrot.

Turn around and get out of my sight.

"otherwise……"

He clenched his right fist, and the dark red scars on his muscular arm suddenly lit up.

I'll crush you into mincemeat.

Ian was silent for two seconds, his eyes gradually turning dangerous.

That disdainful look made Gunnar's pupils shrink slightly.

"Are you done talking?"

Ian raised his right hand, fingers spread, palm facing Gunnar.

"Then it's my turn."