Chapter 257: Ascending to Third-Rank Wizard

Chapter 257: Ascending to Third-Rank Wizard

2024-10-27

Darkmoon Plane, City of Eternal Night

The massive city, floating high in the sky, was constructed from black and white materials. The base was a conical mountain of countless pale bones, and the buildings above were uniformly black. Despite the darkness of the night, these buildings did not blend into the shadows. Instead, they emitted a faint, eerie blue glow, distinguishing them from the surrounding darkness and giving the entire city a chilling, ominous atmosphere.

At the city's center stood a black tower, straight and sharp like a spear, piercing the sky and seemingly dividing it in two. It was an eye-catching sight.

Yuxi had just stepped out of the tower when someone called out to him. Turning around, he saw it was Tulaman, one of his few colleagues in the Dark Throne who he could still converse with, having collaborated a few times in the past.

The reason they weren't friends was that the concept of friendship didn't exist in the Dark Throne. Everyone was either a competitor or a collaborator, and most of the time, they were competitors.

"Did I hear correctly that you applied to Lord Wood to take charge of the Starlight Continent?" Tulaman asked.

Yuxi nodded, his expression unchanged. "What of it?"

Tulaman's eyes flickered, and he smiled. "Nothing, just curious. Lord Wood has sent several groups to the Starlight Continent, and all of them have disappeared without a trace, trapped inside. Only recently have we received some intelligence, saying that a wizard faction has emerged on the Starlight Continent, and they're not weak. Why would you want to get involved in this mess?"

Yuxi glanced at him sideways, his voice cool. "Don't compare me to those failures. I won't make the same mistake."

Tulaman, stung by the remark, didn't get angry. Instead, he smiled. "You are indeed better than those failures, but even you will have to pay a heavy price to conquer the Starlight Continent. At the very least, the Wolf Tide Plane under your control will suffer significant losses. What did Lord Wood promise you to make you take on this task, knowing the enormous cost?"

"That's what you really want to know, isn't it?" Yuxi's eyes flashed with a hint of mockery.

"Consider it satisfying my curiosity."

Yuxi was silent for a moment before saying, "It's no secret. Lord Wood promised that if I can conquer the Starlight Continent and present it to him, he will propose my ascension to Robe-Wizard status to the Three Thrones."

"Of course, that's the case."

Tulaman took a deep breath, suppressing the intense jealousy surging within him. Becoming a Robe-Wizard was the goal of almost every low-ranking wizard in the Dark Throne. Once you reached this level, you could escape the role of the exploited and become one of the exploiters. They had endured the exploitation from above for so long, all for the chance to one day join the ranks of the exploiters. He couldn't believe Yuxi had received this opportunity so quickly.

"It seems the Dark Throne's campaigns in the Crescent Moon Plane and the Realm of Truth aren't going well, tying up too many resources. Otherwise, Lord Wood wouldn't have made such an enticing offer to have you conquer the Starlight Continent."

Yuxi inwardly scoffed at Tulaman's jealous undertone but kept his expression neutral. "Because of that, we have a chance, don't we?"

"I advise you to take the opportunity to conquer a plane if it arises. Controlling at least one plane is the minimum requirement to become a Robe-Wizard. If you don't meet the standard, even if the opportunity presents itself, you won't be able to seize it."

Tulaman's face twitched, and his hands clenched in his sleeves. Despite his irritation at Yuxi's subtle taunts, he had to admit that Yuxi was right. In any wizard faction, those who could control a plane had greater status and authority, even in the Dark Throne, where the law of the jungle prevailed. Without controlling a plane, even a Third-Rank Wizard couldn't achieve the status of a Robe-Wizard.

"Be careful. A wizard faction that can develop in the environment of the Starlight Continent isn't to be underestimated!"

"Perhaps, but the Star Alliance only has the advantage of the plane's lockdown. Once that advantage is lost, dealing with them will be easy."

Seeing Tulaman fall silent, Yuxi smirked inwardly but didn't say more. He turned and left. With less than a year until the lockdown on the Starlight Continent was lifted, time was of the essence. He needed to return and prepare. This conquest was crucial for his ascension to Robe-Wizard, and failure was not an option. He would conquer the Starlight Continent!

Time flew by, and soon it was the year 2000 of the Starlight Calendar.

At the top of the Starlight Wizard Tower.

Su Nan sat cross-legged beside the elemental pool, fully focused on his cultivation.

In his mind, the third talent crystal shimmered with a beautiful glow.

As the last thread of mental energy merged into the talent crystal model, filling in the final gap, a brilliant light suddenly burst forth from the surface of the crystal.

The third talent crystal, successfully constructed!

A familiar sensation of soul-deep ascension surged through his body.

Su Nan opened his eyes, a divine light flashing in his gaze.

In an instant, the void behind him darkened, transforming into an infinite starry sky, with dazzling stars streaking by like meteors!

The entire void seemed to tremble, countless tiny cracks appearing in an instant!

After just three or four seconds, the cracks vanished, the illusory starry sky disappeared, and the hall returned to normal.

Feeling the intense energy particle fluctuations lingering in the void, Su Nan's face broke into a genuine, heartwarming smile.

The third talent crystal, [Starfall Rain], was now complete.

This meant that from this moment on, he had advanced to a Tier 3 Wizard!

His very essence had evolved once more!

And it had only been less than six hundred years since he ascended to a Tier 2 Wizard.

To break through from Tier 2 to Tier 3 in just five hundred and seventy years was an incredibly rapid advancement, even when compared to the descendants of the True Spirits!

"All thanks to the Spirit Pearl; otherwise, it would have taken me at least another seven or eight hundred years to achieve this!"

Su Nan was filled with joy.

With his successful ascension to a Tier 3 Wizard, he had a better chance of standing against the Throne of Darkness.

After a long while, Su Nan finally came to his senses from the euphoria of his breakthrough and immediately checked the state of his mind.

The three talent crystals lined up like the most exquisite gems in the world.

Two of them were surrounded by countless crystals, while the third was shrouded in a mist, appearing and disappearing intermittently.

The abundant mental energy in his mind gave Su Nan a sense of intoxication.

"The next step is to continue refining my mental energy."

Tier 3 Wizards also had to go through the stages of vaporization, liquefaction, and crystallization. However, after breaking through to the crystallization stage, they no longer needed to construct talent crystals but instead had to condense their True Spirit and connect with the laws of the multiverse, beginning to harness the power of the laws.

Once successful, they could ascend to a True Spirit Wizard!

That was the realm that countless wizards aspired to achieve!

"True Spirit Wizard, huh."

Su Nan exhaled deeply.

Don't be fooled by the single rank difference between Tier 3 and True Spirit Wizards; this single rank had stopped countless wizards in their tracks.

In the multiverse, a True Spirit Wizard was already considered a top-tier force, a great being capable of slaying gods!

Countless wizards had sacrificed themselves in the pursuit of truth, but only one in ten thousand could become a True Spirit Wizard.

Shaking his head, Su Nan gathered his thoughts.

Before condensing his True Spirit, there were still the major hurdles of liquefaction and crystallization. Following the standard cultivation path, it would take a thousand years to achieve.

The realm of True Spirit Wizard was still far from him; he needed to deal with the immediate crisis first.

"The Starlight Wizard Tower has been fully upgraded, and all the necessary preparations are complete."

Over the past year, besides cultivating, Su Nan had not neglected the upgrades to the Starlight Wizard Tower, quickly completing the final stages of the upgrade.

This included strengthening the Tower Spirit 3, completing the wizard-level puppets, and upgrading the protective energy field of the Mystic Lock.

The Starlight Wizard Tower was now a genuine medium-sized wizard tower, and an enhanced version at that.

The main improvements were the super-large elemental pool and the enhanced protective energy field of the Mystic Lock.

If he could further enhance the long-range firepower and the overall strength of the puppet army, Su Nan believed the Starlight Wizard Tower could hold its own against a large wizard tower.

"After dealing with the Throne of Darkness, I need to get the design blueprints for the plasma cannons and pulse cannons as soon as possible."

Coming to his senses, Su Nan left the control center and entered the study.

Lize was engrossed in reviewing documents. Sensing something, she looked up and saw Su Nan, a smile flashing in her eyes.

Just as she was about to speak, she suddenly felt something and scrutinized Su Nan, her face gradually showing shock.

"You've ascended to a Tier 3 Wizard?"

Su Nan smiled and nodded, "I just ascended."

Lize pressed her lips together, taking a deep breath to suppress the intense shock surging within her.

Even though she had experienced many surprises from Su Nan, this moment still deeply shook her.

Seventeen years ago, Sunan had just broken through to the Second Rank Crystalization. In such a short time, he managed to successfully construct his third talent crystal and advance to the Third Rank Wizard. This speed was simply astonishing!

Even with the assistance of fifty Spirit Pearls, it was still incredibly impressive!

“I sometimes wonder if you’re a descendant of the True Spirits!”

After a long silence, Lizzie finally sighed, almost in awe.

Sunan sat down across from her, smiling. “If I were a descendant of the True Spirits, I wouldn’t be here worrying about the Dark Throne’s attack. I could just lean on my powerful family.”

“You have a point.” Lizzie’s lips curved into a smile, her mood visibly improving.

The impending attack by the Dark Throne was like a heavy mountain pressing on her mind, causing her immense stress. Sunan’s recent breakthrough and advancement had undoubtedly alleviated much of that pressure, lightening her mood considerably.

“You came at the right time. Take a look at these documents.”

Lizzie waved her hand, and the papers on the table rose and drifted to Sunan’s side.

Sunan scanned them with his mental energy and quickly understood their contents. They detailed the expansion of the Star Alliance’s military forces over the past year, mostly achieving the goals he and Lizzie had discussed.

The final document summarized the Star Alliance’s current combat strength. Besides the Golem Corps, Runic Knights, and Air Fleet, it also included wizards, Witch Hunters, the Starlight Academy, the Imperial Army, and Dragon Forest’s drakes and dragons.

As of now, the Star Alliance had eighty-three wizards, including five First Rank Liquidation wizards. However, there were no First Rank Crystalization wizards.

To be honest, this number of wizards was among the lowest in the wizarding factions. It couldn’t be helped; the Star Alliance was too young, and the environment of Starlight Continent imposed numerous debuffs.

The fact that they had produced over eighty wizards was largely thanks to the resources Sunan had provided.

Fortunately, there was the Witch Hunter Corps.

With the Star Alliance’s focused investment, the Witch Hunter Corps had expanded to seven hundred and thirty members, including six hundred and fifty Puppet Masters and eighty Secret Puppets.

Including the Witch Hunter Corps, the Star Alliance’s wizard-level combat strength wouldn’t be at the bottom of the list.

“Should we let the Starlight Academy’s wizard apprentices participate in the battle?” Lizzie asked. “I’m not talking about the first and second rank apprentices, but the third rank apprentices have decent combat capabilities and can contribute to the war.”

Sunan thought for a moment and shook his head. “No, let them handle logistics.”

The Star Alliance had few wizard-level combatants, so the wizards would have to participate in the battle. However, the wizard apprentices were a different story.

He always viewed the wizard apprentices as practical laborers, not combatants. Especially the third rank apprentices, who were the future wizards and essential laborers for the Star Alliance. Sunan wouldn’t waste them as cannon fodder; that would be too wasteful.

Golems could be re-forged, but if too many third rank apprentices were lost, it would shake the foundation of the Star Alliance.

“The Imperial Army can participate in the battle. As for Dragon Forest, we can skip the drakes, but the dragons can join the battlefield.”

The number of drakes in Dragon Forest was small, and even if they were deployed, they wouldn’t significantly boost the Star Alliance’s combat strength. It would also waste a lot of Mental Sigils to control them, which wasn’t worth it.

Moreover, if the drakes suffered heavy casualties, it would hinder the future expansion of the Drake Knight Corps and the breeding of dragons.

Sunan wouldn’t do something that would result in more losses than gains.

“Will there be any issues controlling the dragons?”

“No problem,” Lizzie smiled. “Your improved Mental Sigils work very well. Seventeen Flamestorm Dragons haven’t shown any signs of resistance and are perfect for use as war weapons.”

Sunan nodded in satisfaction.

Dragons were naturally suited for the battlefield. Whether it was their dragon aura or their breath attacks, they could play a significant role in combat. In terms of battlefield destructive power, even two or three wizards of similar strength couldn’t match a single dragon.

“Thank you for your hard work.” Sunan nodded at Lizzie.

Lizzie shook her head, saying nothing.

As long as they could repel the Dark Throne’s next attack, the Star Alliance could join the Codex of Wisdom as an affiliated organization. With the support of the Codex of Wisdom, collecting the materials to Reform her body would be much easier. It wouldn’t be long before she could regain her human form.

Sunan stood up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the walls, looking far into the distant horizon.

All preparations were complete. Now, they just had to wait for the Planar Lockdown to lift. According to his calculations, it should be about time.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end