Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

The top floor of the Shadow Moon Tower, the Stargazing Platform.

"Ian, let's go!" Gagga's voice was filled with excitement.

Ian nodded, hoping to find what the little guy needed this time.

With a gentle swipe of his hand across the void in front of him, the space was torn apart like a piece of cloth with a ripping sound.

Behind the crack lies a familiar, shadowy world, a hazy gray expanse.

Gaga's pupils suddenly brightened; this place of pure shadow rules and energy was its home ground.

"Let's go." Ian took a step and stepped into the crevice, then flapped his wings and followed closely behind.

The spatial rift closed silently behind them, and the scene before them instantly changed.

Ian stood still, taking in his surroundings.

The rules of the Shadow World are completely different from those of the Wizarding World; gravity, heat, and even the rules of time are distorted to varying degrees.

The rules of shadow, nothingness, concealment, and devouring are the mainstream here.

As soon as he entered, he sensed that the whole world was rejecting him and instinctively wanted to expel him from this world.

This repulsion is strong for beings below level four, but for Ian...

Within his spiritual sea, the blazing star core trembled slightly, and a crimson halo spread from its surface, covering his entire body.

Thermal energy, as a fundamental rule of the world, overwhelmingly dominates lower-level rules.

That pervasive sense of rejection vanished instantly.

"Ha!" A glint of crimson gold flashed in Ian's eyes. "As expected, as long as the rules are strong enough, you can stand firm anywhere."

He turned to look at Gaga, and the little guy's demeanor had completely changed.

The black feathers blended completely into the environment, making the creature invisible; only a pair of silver-gray pupils were faintly visible in the gray mist.

"Gah!" Gah gah chirped softly, its eyes filled with surprise. "Ian," This is my home!

It glided lightly through the gray fog, its wings leaving a faint black trail in its wake.

Ian nodded secretly; the Shadow Nighthawk was originally an ancient shadow creature.

With a slight thought, the domain of rules slowly expanded.

The silver-gray gravity, the crimson heat energy, and the pale gold purification—these three rules intertwine to form a net, spreading outwards from him in all directions.

Wherever the domain passed, the gray fog was pushed aside, the earth became hard, the air began to flow, and eventually it stabilized within a range of five thousand miles.

This was the result of Ian's deliberate control; only three rules were displayed, which was neither too conspicuous nor too insignificant, but sufficient to announce their existence.

But this commotion was still too big.

As the domain expanded, countless consciousnesses deep within the gray fog instantly froze, as if their souls were being gripped by an invisible giant hand, their very breaths stopping.

Those shadowy creatures hidden in the gray fog, from level one to level three, whether they were hunting, sleeping, or evolving, were all frozen in place at this moment.

Some of the weaker ones lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to lift their heads, while some of the stronger ones tried to resist, but to no avail.

The order within the realm is to these chaotic, ethereal shadow creatures what sunlight shining into darkness or ice meeting fire—a true nemesis.

"Woo..." Countless low moans rose and fell in the depths of the gray fog.

Just then, from the depths of the gray fog in the far distance, an equally vast aura erupted.

Like a dormant volcano awakening, the once solidified fog surged into a raging torrent.

The gray fog surged wildly, coalescing into a deep, dark domain, spanning approximately three thousand miles, much smaller than Ian's domain, but equally pure.

This is the rule of pure shadow, the ultimate darkness and nothingness.

"Finally, a big guy has arrived." A glint of crimson gold flashed in Ian's eyes.

He was waiting for the Dawn Star existence of the Shadow World; the two realms collided silently in the gray fog.

There was no loud explosion, only the regular clash.

Ian's domain of order was as solid as steel, while the opponent's domain of shadow was as dense as a surging tide.

The moment the two came into contact, a sizzling sound erupted in the gray mist.

The opponent's shadow domain began to collapse. Wherever the rules of order passed, chaos was sorted out, nothingness was filled, and shadows were dispelled.

"How could that be?! This is my home turf!"

A horrified thought emanated from the depths of the gray fog, filled with disbelief.

Ian did not respond, but increased his output. With a hum, the range of his domain suddenly expanded to ten thousand miles!

That solid, scorching, and constant pressure of the rules pressed down hard on the opponent.

"Pfft!" A muffled groan came from the depths of the gray fog, followed by the appearance of a figure.

It was a shadowy creature with the head of a minotaur and the body of a human, about a hundred meters tall, entirely black, with bulging muscles, two curved bull horns on its head, and its surface covered with twisted runes.

Its pupils, originally a pure dark silver, were now covered in cracks, like glass struck by a heavy hammer, ready to shatter at any moment.

"I wonder... which esteemed figure from the wizarding world has descended upon this place?"

The Minotaur Shadow Demon King spoke, his voice hoarse and trembling, "And what brings you here this time?"

Ian's gaze fell on it; the bull's aura was around the mid-level of level four.

He has surpassed "Endless Holy Light" and others, and his strength is indeed not weak, but he is still not enough.

"I need some shadow-related resources," Ian said, his voice calm but carrying an unyielding tone.

"At least late-stage Tier 3. If you have it, bring it out for trade. If not, tell me where I can find it."

A flash of anger crossed the Minotaur Shadow Demon King's face, but it quickly subsided.

It stared intently at Ian, a glint of greed flashing deep within its dark silver eyes, but that greed was quickly replaced by fear.

Deep within Ian's eyes, a golden starlight shone, reflecting a swirling nebula, where stars rise and fall, and circulate in a regular pattern.

The Minotaur's soul was frantically warning him that if he dared to refuse, he would die in the next second.

"I have...I have it!" It pulled out several black crystals from its chest, each containing a writhing mass of shadow energy.

"This is a Shadow Essence, a rare and valuable item even in the Shadow World, and this too..."

It took out several more items: Shadow Crystal, Shadow Grass, Dark Dust... each of which exuded a strong aura of shadow.

Ian glanced at it and shook his head. "It's far from enough. Are there any higher-level resources around here, such as level four shadow crystals?"

Not wanting to waste time, he directly took out a level four soul gem from his dimensional ring.

"In exchange for all your resources and intelligence. Remember, my patience is limited."

The moment the gem appeared, the Minotaur Shadow Demon King's breath caught in his throat. "This is... Level Four..."

The Minotaur Shadow King's throat bobbed as he stared intently at the gem, finally gritting his teeth and nodding.

"Yes! There is a 'Shadow Swamp' 30,000 miles to the west, where there is a 'Mother Tree of Eternal Night' that is not yet fully grown. It is over a million years old and produces 'Shadow Fruits', which are fourth-tier resources."

It glanced at Ian and added, "But that belongs to the 'Shadow King' of this region, whose strength is similar to that of the Moonlit Wizard in your world."

"It usually lies dormant, but any creature that approaches the ancient tree will surely die."

Ian's heart skipped a beat; there was actually the Mother Tree of Eternal Night here!

This is a being priced similarly to the World Tree, though slightly inferior, and it is also the best void energy core in the Wizard Tower.

He obtained news of such a treasure so easily, but a level five Radiant Moon is not something he can contend with right now.

After level four, there are huge differences in strength between each minor realm, let alone crossing a major realm.

It seems this dead bull wasn't up to any good either, and it definitely doesn't get along with the King of Shadows.

"Understood." He casually put away the Soul Gem, took all the resources that the Minotaur Shadow Demon King had taken out, and then turned around.

"Do not let anyone know about my visit today, otherwise..."

He glanced back at the Minotaur Shadow Demon King, and the golden starlight suddenly surged.

"Ah!" The Minotaur Shadow Demon King felt as if his soul had been scalded by a hot, pure, and irresistible rule.

"Human wizard...you're being unreasonable!"

"It's just a small 'mark'," Ian replied casually.

"If you dare to reveal my existence, I will find you directly next time, and you know the consequences."

Then he raised his hand and gently tore open the void, creating a crack in space.

Ian took a step and disappeared into the crack, with Gaga following closely behind.

The crack closed, the gray mist returned to calm, leaving only the Minotaur Shadow Demon King standing there, his eyes filled with resentment.

It looked down at its chest, where a faint reddish-gold mark had appeared, like a miniature star slowly rotating beneath its skin.

"Damn human wizard, I curse you..." it cursed incessantly, fear flashing in its eyes.

"This human is too dangerous. No, I need to find the King of Shadows to help me erase this mark."

With intense resentment on its face, it turned and transformed into a black shadow, disappearing into the depths of the gray mist.

The Wizarding World, Shadowmoon Tower.

Ian emerged from the crack and landed on the observatory.

Gaga landed beside him, looking puzzled. "Ian, why didn't you just kill that cow?"

"Although I could kill it, I can't do that for now." Ian rubbed its head.

The Shadow World is different from other worlds; it is an extremely special existence. Randomly killing monsters of level four or above will attract the attention of unimaginable beings.

This is the experience summarized by many Morning Star wizards: there are indeed no powerful monsters in this Shadow World, but what about other places?

The Shadow World is the shadow side of the entire universe, and it is the largest of all worlds.

Other top-tier worlds, such as the Wizarding World and the Abyss World, cover at most a dozen or so large world clusters, but the shadow is everywhere.

Perhaps because it is too vast, the shadow worlds of each world cluster are relatively independent, and it is difficult to cross them.

Ian glanced at the shadow resources in his hand, a slight smile playing on his lips.

"This is enough for you to advance to the late stage of the third tier. Once we reach the Central Continent and find better resources, we can then try to reach the fourth tier."

Gaga nodded vigorously, her little eyes full of trust, "I can definitely do it!"

One day later, in the secret chamber on the top floor of the Shadowmoon Tower.

Ian sat on a stone chair, facing Endorth, Louis, and Tessa.

"Here's what you wanted." Endorth raised his hand, and three pale gold crystals floated toward Ian.

"Two fourth-order sorcery models, and three incomplete fourth-order meditation techniques."

"And mine too." Louis retrieved several enormous corpses from the dimensional space.

It was entirely black, with dark purple patterns covering its surface, exuding a twisted and chaotic abyssal aura.

"A fourth-tier abyssal monster, which I brought back from the front lines. It cost me a lot of favors."

Louis looked curious. "What do you need these for? The abyssal contamination on these corpses is very difficult to remove."

"Just a personal interest," Ian replied casually.

He took the crystals from the two of them and scanned them with his spiritual power.

The witchcraft model was complete, and although the meditation method was incomplete, it greatly helped him deduce the subsequent path.

As for the corpses of those abyssal monsters, he casually put them into his personal space.

"Transaction complete." Ian put away the crystals, and each person paid with one soul crystal.

"Lord Marcus, until we meet again." The three were extremely satisfied and quickly disappeared from the secret chamber.

After the others left, Ian took out the corpse again and reached out to grab it from afar.

Hiss! Strands of pitch-black demonic energy were forcibly extracted from the corpse.

The demonic energy struggled and twisted in the air, emitting a piercing shriek, and Ian's fingers clenched slightly.

With a soft "poof," the demonic energy was compressed into a black bead the size of a grain of rice, which fell into the jade bottle in his hand.

The corpse, stripped of its demonic energy, collapsed with a crash, turning into a clump of grayish-white dust.

The demonic energy emanating from these corpses saved him several months of collection time.

In the void, Endorth and the other two gathered together again, exchanged glances, and saw the solemnity in each other's eyes.

"Why is this Marcus so enthusiastic about the corpses in the abyss? Judging from his appearance, he doesn't seem to be afraid of demonic pollution."

"This guy... is not simple," Louis said in a low voice.

"It's more than just complicated." Tessa shook her head. "He dares to collect and study these things, so he must have his own unique methods. It's definitely not just some kind of fire rule that he appears to have on the surface."

Endos was silent for a moment, then slowly said, "He's going to the Central Continent. We'll just have to watch him."

Above Silver Sail Port in the eastern part of the Central Continent.

A crack silently appeared in the space, and Ian stepped out from it.

He hovered high in the sky, looking down at the vast port city below. After several years, he returned here again, feeling a mix of emotions.

The seven crystal towers still stand, their tops flowing with silver runic light. Countless ships are moored in the harbor, which is bustling with people and filled with noise.

Ian sensed the silent spread of the aura; deep within the harbor, there were at least five distinct Level 4 Morning Star auras.

He took a deep breath, a golden glint flashing in his eyes, which he no longer concealed.

A fiery aura emanated naturally from him, sweeping across the sky above Silver Sail Harbor.

Inside the port, all the fourth-order morning stars simultaneously rose into the sky.

A vast array of wills emanated from the depths of the seven giant towers, carrying scrutiny, curiosity, and vigilance.

"It's that Morning Star who passed by earlier."

"This rule is intense and constant; is it a special fire element?"

"No, it's not just fire, there's something else... Where is this unfamiliar aura coming from?"

Thoughts traveled swiftly among the morning stars, but no one dared to test them lightly.

Ian, feeling the gazes directed his way, remained calm and slowly landed at the edge of the harbor.

The surrounding crowd automatically parted, and people of all social classes instinctively made way for each other.

The Morning Star Wizard's aura, even if it is only naturally emitted, is enough to make lower-level life forms awe.

Ian ignored the stares and led Gaga slowly toward the depths of the harbor.

His gaze swept across a silver-blue castle in the distance, the Hawkwood family's residence. He remembered that the guy named Collins from back then was a member of the Hawkwood family.

Now that he is a Morning Star, he has entrusted these trivial matters to Adele and no longer takes them to heart.

Ian paused, as a friendly thought had just reached him, inviting him to a party—a party exclusively for Morning Star wizards.

"Let's go take a look; we might find something unexpected."

He took a step and disappeared into the crowd at the port, reappearing beside the Crystal Tower.