Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The next morning.

Ian arrived at the Just family elders' residence, but there was no one in front of the gate.

Two stone statues stand on either side of the porch, with pale purple crystals embedded deep in their eye sockets, emitting faint fluctuations of spiritual energy.

A level-two guard stepped forward a few steps and bowed slightly.

"Guest Marcus!"

"Go and inform Elder Darcy that Ian Marcus, a guest elder of the third rank, has come to visit."

A second later, a deep rumbling sound came from the depths of the porch.

The heavy metal door slid open slowly, revealing a deep corridor behind it.

Ian quickly arrived at Daxi's house; the door was already open.

Elder Darcy sat behind a wooden table in the center of the room, his long, gray hair cascading over his shoulders.

He was looking at a scroll when he heard footsteps. He looked up and his gaze fell on Ian, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

"Elder Marcus, what a rare guest! Please come in and have a seat."

Ian sat down in the chair at the table.

The chair was made of hardwood and had no cushions, so it was a bit uncomfortable to sit on.

Darcy put down the scroll and placed his hands, folded, on the table.

"You've come to see me so early, is there something you need?"

Ian nodded and got straight to the point.

"Elder Darcy, I need knowledge about interdimensional teleportation."

As soon as he finished speaking, the air in the room seemed to freeze for a moment.

Elder Darcy's eyes darkened slightly as he stared at Ian for a moment.

"Interdimensional teleportation... You've only recently advanced to level three, getting involved in this now... is too early."

He spoke slowly, his refusal extremely clear.

Ian shook his head. "It's not early. I need to prepare in advance."

Darcy was silent for a moment, then his tone became indifferent.

"Over the years, I have indeed collected some manuscripts on this subject."

"It records the observations of the Morning Star Wizard as he traveled through various realms, including phase nodes, coordinate positioning, and the suppression of the world's will..."

He paused, looking directly into Ian's eyes.

"But this knowledge cannot be given to you for free."

Ian wasn't surprised. "How do we trade?"

Darcy sat down again, his fingertips tapping lightly on the table.

"If it weren't for you stabilizing Titu's contamination, which would have been a great service to the family..."

He slowly shook his head. "I will never make a deal with you."

Ian listened quietly without interrupting.

Darcy pondered for a moment, then took a piece of parchment from a drawer under the table.

The paper is specially made, thick to the touch, and has dark gold anti-counterfeiting patterns on the edges.

He pushed the paper in front of Ian.

"This is the Just family's contract. Take a look at it first."

Ian took it and glanced at the writing on it.

The handwriting was in Tuaag, with neat strokes, but it conveyed a cold sense of order.

[Contract Details: Ian Marcus shall, within the next hundred years, refine fifty Tier 3 Purification Potions and ten Tier 3 Bloodline Potions for the Juster family (materials to be sourced by the Juster family themselves), or equivalent resources.]

[Method of Completion: Each time a portion of the medicine is submitted, the corresponding stage of knowledge access will be granted.]

[The price of breach of contract: a brand on one's soul, eternal servitude to the family]

The last line was written in dark red ink, a glaring scarlet.

Ian stared at the line of text, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.

He looked up at Darcy, "A third-tier bloodline potion... Does the Juster family have the formula?"

Darcy shook his head, his face somewhat somber. "No."

He thought for a moment, then offered a few explanations.

"Third-tier bloodline potions are already extremely rare and precious resources."

"A bloodline potion, combined with a third-tier neutralizing potion of the same level, can create an existence equivalent to a third-level wizard."

"Among the major families and forces in the Eastern Territory, there are no more than five who possess a bloodline formula of this caliber."

Ian shook his head inwardly; it seemed that resources in the Eastern Territory were still somewhat scarce.

He has the [Earth Tyrant Potion], but it's only at the second tier.

Although the effect is close to the second-order peak and can even reach the threshold of the third order, it is ultimately not a true third order.

To his surprise, even the Just family didn't have a recipe for a third-tier bloodline potion.

Ian took a deep breath and suddenly an idea popped into his head.

He put down the contract and looked at Darcy.

"I don't have the recipe for the third-tier bloodline potion, but I can research and improve it."

His eyes showed a thoughtful expression as he carefully considered his words before saying, "Could you first provide the formulas for a few second-tier bloodline potions and neutralizing potions for reference?"

Darcy's eyes flickered slightly as he stared at Ian for a few seconds, a smile gradually spreading across his face.

"I greatly admire your potion-making skills, my guest."

"But is it really feasible for you to research a new bloodline potion on your own?"

"How do you know it won't work if you don't try, Elder Darcy?"

"Haha! That's absolutely right."

He got up and went back to the bookshelf, taking out five rolls of parchment from the middle shelf.

"The family has seven recipes for second-tier bloodline potions. Here are three of them. You can take a look first."

He placed the scroll of paper in front of Ian.

"As a Level 3 Guest Elder, you have the authority to access Level 2 recipes, but you will need something of equal value."

Ian nodded. "How do we trade?"

"Each formula contains two Tier 2 purification potions, or equivalent resources."

Ian didn't hesitate. "Deal."

He took out ten second-tier purification potions from his dimensional ring and placed them on the table.

Darcy picked up a cigarette, uncorked it, and smelled it, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes.

Update released! Book lovers, go read Cola Novels!

"The purity is very high... at least 30% better than what's available on the market."

He put away the potion and pushed the five scrolls of formula to Ian.

"Finally, let's sign this contract first."

Ian picked up the parchment again.

His gaze lingered on "fifty doses of Tier 3 purification potion and ten doses of Tier 3 bloodline potion".

Then, he raised his right hand, and a wisp of golden spiritual energy seeped from his fingertips.

It seeped into the end of the contract, transforming into a complex runic mark.

The moment the mark took shape, Ian felt a very subtle constraint placed deep within his soul.

Like a thin thread, it wraps around the soul, causing no inconvenience, yet its presence can be clearly felt.

Within the mental sea, the panel vibrated silently.

[An abnormal soul has been detected. Clean it up?]

"I knew it. Even the Abyss Contract couldn't bind me, so this rudimentary contract in front of me is even less likely to."

Ian lowered his eyes slightly and secretly clicked the negative option, thinking he could clear it later when he had time.

When Darcy saw that Ian had signed the contract so readily, he also raised his hand and placed it on the contract.

A flash of grayish-white light appeared, and the Just family crest emerged on the surface of the contract.

"The contract is established."

Darcy put away the contract and took out a copy of the manuscript from the ring, handing it to Ian.

"This is the first part, about phase nodes and coordinate positioning."

"We'll give you the second batch after you hand over the first batch of medicine."

"Can."

Ian took the manuscript, put it into his dimensional ring, and prepared to leave.

He stopped at the door. "There's one more thing I need to trouble the elder with."

"I need to trade some shadow-related resources. I wonder if that would be convenient?"

Darcy's eyes flickered slightly. "For your familiar, the Shadow Nightshade?"

Ian nodded. If they could collect it from Darcy, it would save them some time.

"A late-stage second-tier shadow-type magical pet... requires quite a few resources."

Ian took out a bottle of [Earth Tyrant Potion] from his dimensional ring.

The dark golden liquid flowed slowly in the test tube, with faint mountain shadows floating inside.

He placed the test tube on the table.

"This second-tier bloodline potion can be exchanged for an equivalent amount of shadow-type resources."

Darcy's pupils lit up slightly. He picked up the test tube, probed it with his mental energy, and felt the surging energy fluctuations inside.

After a few seconds, he looked up, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"Elder Marcus's potion-making skills... are truly remarkable."

"You flatter me, Elder."

Darcy was silent for a moment, then nodded.

"Sure, I happen to have some on hand."

Ian chuckled inwardly. This old guy had lived for over 1,500 years and held great power, yet he had no resources in his ring.

He saw the other person take a jade box from under the table and push it in front of him.

"There are three second-tier shadow crystals, a bottle of shadow spring water, and a portion of tomb moss in here."

Is that enough?

Ian opened the jade box, examined it, and nodded.

"That's enough for now, but... we'll still need to trouble the elders in the future."

"Very well, you are welcome to come anytime, guest."

Ian put away the jade box, turned and left, his footsteps fading into the distance in the corridor until they disappeared.

Darcy sat there, looking at the [Earth Tyrant Potion] on the table with a complicated expression.

"Second-tier Bloodline Elixir... its effects are close to the threshold of third-tier."

He muttered to himself, "This kid's talent for potions... is truly terrifying."

He had been secretly watching Edel when she took her first second-tier bloodline potion.

After a rough comparison, he concluded that the one in his hand was more effective than the one Adele had taken.

"It's only been a short time, and the progress has been so rapid. Will I have made a mistake by signing that contract?"

No. 7 Wisteria Lane, underground laboratory.

Ian spread out five rolls of parchment on the lab table.

Under the light, the handwriting on each recipe was clear, and the charts were complex, but they weren't too difficult for him.

Molten Lizard Bloodline Potion (Tier 2)

Frost Giant Ape Bloodline Potion (Tier 2)

Storm Harpy Bloodline Potion (Tier 2)

Wyvern Bloodline Potion (Level 2)

Dark Bat Bloodline Potion (Tier 2)

Five formulas, corresponding to five different bloodline pathways.

Ian looked very carefully, his mental energy scanning each line of text like a scanner.

Material proportions, refining steps, temperature profiles, energy blending...

I memorized every detail of each medicine.

After reading it, he closed his eyes and began to deduce the scenario in his mind.

The brain works at lightning speed, extracting, disassembling, and recombining the core ideas of the five formulas.

Combined with my own experience in improving the [Earth Tyrant Potion]...

Gradually, a vague path emerged in my consciousness.

"A third-tier bloodline potion... is indeed a qualitative change... and the thinking is clearer than before."

He murmured to himself, but quickly shook his head. It wasn't possible yet; the sample size was too small.

Insufficient knowledge accumulation and limited practical experience.

"I need more time, more hands-on testing, and the neutralizing agent is also a problem. It's really troublesome..."

Ian opened his eyes, suppressed his distracting thoughts, and carefully put the formula away.

Then, he took out the materials from his dimensional ring to refine the [Earth Tyrant Potion].

There aren't many materials left, only enough to make three.

But as a commodity, it is a real hard currency and is highly sought after.

He lit the alchemy vessel and began the refining process.