Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

In an unnamed valley.

The moment the will of the world descended felt like an eternity to Gaga.

When the invisible pressure finally dissipated, Ian let out a long breath.

He retracted his [Divine Body of Order], and the hundred-foot-tall phantom retreated into his body like a tide, transforming back into the young wizard dressed in a dark gray robe.

Then he remembered something and suddenly turned his head.

Gaga remained in the same position, wings half-open and mouth slightly parted.

Its silvery-gray pupils widened, and the entire bird seemed to be frozen in mid-air as if under a spell.

"Gah?" Ian called out tentatively, but there was no response.

He called out again, but there was still no response.

Ian chuckled, walked over, and gently poked Gaga's little head.

The feathers felt soft to the touch, but the little guy didn't move.

"Just now, the will of the world descended, and the flow of time was suppressed..."

Ian suddenly realized, "Gaga is only a second-tier transcendent; he can't withstand this kind of rank suppression."

He reached out and held Gaga in his palm, his gentle spiritual energy spreading out to touch its sea of ​​consciousness.

Three seconds later.

"Caw!!!" Caw caw suddenly jolted, its wings flapping wildly.

It bounced off Ian's palm, spun several times in the air before regaining its balance.

"Ian! What happened?! Why can't I move?!"

The little guy's voice trembled, and his silver eyes were filled with terror.

Ian couldn't help but chuckle, reached out and scooped it back onto his shoulder, then rubbed its little head.

"When the world's will descended, you were too close to me, and this time it lasted longer than the last two times. He... has acknowledged me."

"Accept...accept?" Ga Ga stammered, "But He almost scared me to death!"

"It wasn't aimed at you," Ian chuckled. "You just got caught in the crossfire."

"Not even if it affects you!" The feathers bristled, and it angrily pecked Ian's ear.

"Next time you break through, I'll stay far away! I'll hide outside the valley!"

"Okay, okay, I'll make sure you stay far away next time."

Ian coaxed it, his tone unusually relaxed.

It squeaked softly, rubbed its little head against his cheek, and muttered something under its breath.

"But...you just transformed into that big guy...you looked really amazing, you even got bigger than me."

Ian smiled but didn't say anything.

The man and the bird stood in the middle of the valley, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the clouds, casting a pale golden halo over them.

As Gaga gradually recovered from her fright, she began chattering away, asking all sorts of questions.

"Can you shrink to be as small as me?"

"Can you conjure wings? Then I can ride you and fly!"

"Should we tell Edelweiss...?"

Ian dealt with each one smoothly, feeling better than ever before.

Breaking through the third level and condensing the [Divine Body of Order], he stepped into the ranks of true powerhouses.

Although there is still a long way to go to reach the morning star, at least it is no longer that "little bug" that may be targeted at any time.

Suddenly, Ian's expression shifted slightly, and his gaze turned to the northeast.

"What's wrong?" Gaga noticed his strange behavior and turned her little head in that direction.

Ian didn't speak, but his mental energy had already spread silently.

A thousand miles away, a level-three energy fluctuation was rapidly flying in this direction.

Its aura was solid and its speed was extremely fast, clearly indicating that it was not passing by, but heading straight here.

"The breakthrough was so impressive that it has indeed caused trouble."

Ian muttered to himself, but there was no trace of panic in his voice.

Gaga tensed up: "A bad guy is coming?"

"I don't know," Ian shook his head.

"Whoever it is, since they're here... there's no harm in meeting them."

He stood there with his hands behind his back, neither dodging nor concealing anything.

Soon, a black dot appeared on the horizon.

The black dot rapidly enlarged, and after three breaths, its features became clear.

The newcomer was a middle-aged man, dressed in a dark blue robe, with a dignified face and surrounded by faint lightning.

He stopped at the edge of the valley, not daring to venture into the level-three shielding array set up by Ian.

"This is..." The middle-aged man's gaze swept across the valley, his pupils shrinking slightly.

It wasn't the rare magical potion he thought had been created, nor was it the opening of some secret realm.

"A third-level wizard's advancement... and he chose to break through in the wilderness."

His gaze fell on Ian, scrutinizing him closely.

A face that was too young, a calm and composed demeanor, and a solid aura emanating from him.

He had indeed just broken through recently; his aura was perfectly steady, showing no sign of weakness.

"And who are you?" Ian asked first, his voice calm.

The middle-aged man remained silent for a moment, then nodded slightly.

"Lucian, Lord of Stormwind City in the Eastern Realm, sensed energy fluctuations here and came to investigate. May I ask who you are...?"

"Ian, guest of the Just family."

Once you reach level three, there's no need to hide this information anymore.

Lucian raised an eyebrow and searched his memory for the name, but couldn't recall it.

This is normal, though. The Eastern Territory is so vast that many level-three wizards don't even know each other.

"So it's Lord Ian."

Lucian nodded. "I have no other intention in coming here today."

Ian waved his hand: "It's alright. It's only natural that the breakthrough made a lot of noise and attracted the city lord's attention."

Lucian smiled and glanced at him.

"Your aura is so composed after your breakthrough, it seems you don't need a stabilization period. Congratulations."

Ian's heart stirred slightly; this man had good judgment.

"You flatter me, City Lord," he replied casually.

"Why would the city lord be in this vicinity? This place is remote; it must be tens of thousands of miles away from Stormwind City, right?"

Lucian looked eastward, towards the Burning Canyon.

"Two weeks ago, a massive abyssal energy eruption occurred in Burning Gorge, alarming the entire Eastern Territory. I was in Stormwind at the time and rushed over immediately after sensing the fluctuations."

"By the time we arrived, the contamination had already been sealed away by a Morning Star."

He looked away. "After the matter was over, I didn't go back immediately, but instead went to visit an old friend."

He lives nearby. I was just about to leave today when I suddenly sensed a strong fluctuation in this area, so I came to check it out.

Ian understood.

He knew the truth about the eruption of Burning Canyon better than anyone else.

That was not an ordinary pollution outbreak, but a Level 5 mother body attempting to break through the seal.

Edel had already told him about the Morning Star descending to reinforce the seal.

"I see." Ian nodded.

The two found a flat blue stone in the valley and sat down facing each other.

Gaga perched on Ian's shoulder, its silver eyes curiously observing Lucian.

Lucian glanced at it, his eyes lighting up slightly.

"A Shadow Nightshade mutated from a raven, and it's already at Tier 2? That's quite rare."

"Its name is Gaga," Ian said, ruffling the little guy's head. "It's been with me for many years."

Lucian nodded, then suddenly chuckled softly.

"What a coincidence, Cola Novels - dedicated to providing the most comfortable reading experience. I happen to have some things that your familiar needs."

A palm-sized cloth bag appeared in his hand, its opening slightly ajar, revealing several dark purple crystals inside.

It is a second-tier Shadow Crystal, which is a great tonic for Shadow-type magical pets.

"I hunted a few shadow-type magical beasts a few years ago and collected these."

Lucian laughed, "It's been pretty useless until today, but I've finally met the right person for it."

Gaga's eyes lit up, and she grabbed Ian's collar with her little paws.

"Ian! Ian! I want that!"

Ian chuckled, patted its little head, and then looked at Lucian.

"Thank you, City Lord. This item is quite valuable. What would you like to exchange it for?"

Lucian waved his hand: "It's not about exchanging. It's just a rare opportunity, consider this a small token of my gratitude for your unsolicited visit."

Ian wasn't serious either, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Before breaking through, I happened to have several second-tier purification potions on me, so I exchanged them.

He took out five crystal bottles, which contained a pale silver liquid.

"The second-tier purification agent is highly effective against abyssal contamination below level three."

Lucian took the bottle, uncorked it, and smelled it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

"This is... such concentrated purifying power, did you refine it?"

Ian nodded, without denying it.

Lucian exclaimed in admiration, "Your potion-making skills are truly impressive!"

He didn't say anything more, put away the five potions, and then handed over the Shadow Crystal.

"Five for five, fair trade."

Ian took the bag, and Gaga eagerly poked his head in, picked out a crystal, and licked it with relish.

The two smiled at each other, and the atmosphere became much more harmonious.

"You haven't been in the Eastern Territory for long, have you?" Lucian asked.

Choosing to break through to level three in the wilderness clearly shows a lack of support from the Just family; perhaps they could be won over...

Ian nodded: "Less than a year."

"Then you probably don't know much about the Eastern Territory."

Lucian said, "Now that we've broken through to level three, we'll be dealing with even higher levels in the future, so it's better to know some things in advance."

He began to describe the layout of the seventeen cities in the East.

"The seventeen cities in the Eastern Territory are nominally managed by seventeen city lords, but in reality, they are all controlled by powerful families."

"For example, in the city of Ister where you are, the official lord is Titus Just.

However, the entire city of East and the three surrounding cities were actually the Just family's territory.

"Silver Sail City is located in a strategic location and is in a special situation. It is the shared territory of several major families. They control more than half of the important trade routes on the outskirts of the eastern border and have abundant wealth."

"My Storm City is backed by the Lucian family. Although they are not as old and powerful as the Justicar family, they are not weak either."

He listed them one by one, and Ian listened attentively.

"The seventeen cities in the Eastern Territory are merely the outer perimeter of the Central Continent."

Lucian then changed the subject, "Go inland, and there are even more powerful forces there."

For example, the Silvermoon Council in Silvermoon Highlands is presided over by the Radiant Moon Wizard, and in Silverpine Forest, a Radiant Sun Wizard is said to live in seclusion.

"And at the very heart of the Central Continent..." He paused, his tone becoming solemn.

"It is said that... there are several level seven True Spirit Wizards who have lived from ancient times to the present day and have been sleeping ever since."

They are the pillars of the wizarding world, and they don't awaken easily.

Ian's pupils contracted slightly.

A seventh-level True Spirit Wizard—that was a realm he couldn't even imagine at the moment.

"These things are too far removed from our lives," Lucian smiled.

"What we need to do now is to slowly comprehend the rules. I have been at Level 3 for 500 years, but when it comes to the rules... it's still like looking at flowers through a fog."

After Lucian finished speaking, he let out a long sigh.

After level three, each step forward requires time and opportunity.

Ian nodded and silently noted down the information.

The two chatted for a while, with Ian listening most of the time.

He stretched out his hand, and a blue lightning bolt appeared in his palm, with intricate runes faintly visible within it.

"This is my arcane mark. If you ever come to Stormwind, you can use this to find me."

"If there's anything I can help with, as long as it's within my capabilities, I'll do my best."

Ian pondered for a moment, and a silver-gray light appeared in his palm.

That was a simplified projection of the [Divine Body of Order], not revealing its true power, but merely serving as an identity marker.

Lucian caught the silver-gray light, sensed it carefully for a moment, and a strange light flashed in his eyes.

"Your energy... is very special, with an indescribable sense of order, like... specifically restraining something."

Ian smiled but offered no explanation.

Lucian didn't press the matter; every level three wizard has their own secrets.

He carefully put away the mark and stood up.

"It's getting late, I should go now. You're welcome to visit Stormwind City again sometime."

"Definitely." Ian also stood up.

Lucian was about to leave when he seemed to remember something.

"Hmm... You just broke through, what are your plans for the future?"

Ian thought for a moment: "I'll go back and take care of some trivial matters first, then take some time to adjust and solidify my understanding of the rules."

Lucian nodded: "Then I won't bother you any longer. Let's keep in touch."

As soon as he finished speaking, lightning crackled around him, and he transformed into a streak of light that shot into the sky and quickly disappeared into the clouds.

After Lucian left, Ian also removed the level three shielding array and quietly left with Gaga.

Along the way, he activated his invisibility spell to avoid all possible passersby.

After breaking through to level three, his invisibility technique became even more refined.

It can not only conceal its physical form, but also perfectly cover up its aura and energy fluctuations.

He covered the 8,000-mile journey in half an hour.

As night fell, the outline of Ister came into view.

Ian arrived at Bauhinia Lane, pushed open the door, and was greeted by the familiar aroma of herbs.

He stood in the center of the living room, looking at the night view outside the window, feeling a peace he had never felt before.

"Level 3 wizard... I did it."

The quack flew down from his shoulder, landed on the coat rack, and yawned.

"Finally back... I'm exhausted..."

Ian chuckled and went over to rub its little head.

"You've worked hard. Get some rest tonight."

Gaga squinted its eyes and made a satisfied snoring sound.

Ian immediately connected with Edel's arcane mark and left a message.

Then he turned and walked towards the underground laboratory, silently planning his next move.

The first thing to do, of course, is to talk to Idel so that I can get better treatment.

Then, he treated Titu and... considered the choice of the second projected world.

The road to Morning Star is still long, but at least he has taken the most crucial step.

And then there's Collins, let's see how things go. He's now a Level 3 Archmage...

"If you had any sense at all, you wouldn't mess with me again."

"Since you dare to provoke me... I'll give you a little 'gift' after I've finished dealing with what I'm doing."

Don't miss out: Chapter 322, "Visitors to the Valley: An Overview of the Eastern Territory," is now available in its entirety. Click here.