Wizard: Starting from Escape from the Thorn Garden

Kate carefully put the jade box containing the Void Vine Seeds and Void Crystal Fragments into her dimensional bag, feeling the fatigue in her mental sea caused by continuous battles and maintaining a high level of spatial perception, as well as the heart-palpitating spatial fluctuations emanating from the three azure seeds.

He quickly scanned the battlefield, confirming that no Sky-Splitters or other threats had been missed. He immediately activated Thorn Swiftness, his figure transforming into a pale silver streak, and swiftly retreated from the edge of this dangerous vortex along the path he had come from.

However, just as he was about to leave the core area of ​​Sector C and re-enter the relatively "safe" edge of the Star Remains Graveyard, three familiar figures appeared like ghosts on a huge fragment of star remains in front of him, blocking his way.

It was Elan, Victor, and Marina!

Elan's face was gloomy, and his dark blue robe was stained with stardust and traces of energy burns, indicating that he had also experienced battles during his exploration of areas A and B.

The star chart compass in Victor's hand shone brightly, locking onto Kate.

Marina formed a hand seal, and a faint but resilient spatial barrier appeared in front of her.

"Junior Kate," Elan's voice carried a suppressed chill, his gaze sharp as a knife as he swept over Kate.

"Looks like you've made quite a haul in Area C. The spatial fluctuations are so intense... Did you find the Void Vine?"

The atmosphere instantly plummeted to freezing point!

Kate stopped in her tracks, the essence of moonlight flowing silently within her body. Thorn armor instantly covered her entire body, and the Bloodthirsty Vine on her right arm stirred slightly within the Cage of Order.

Eleven thorny shadows silently emerged from the shadows, forming a semi-circular formation behind him, with paralyzing poison mist and purifying bombs poised to be unleashed at their core.

"Senior Elan," Kate said calmly, her voice devoid of any emotion.

"Sector C was extremely dangerous; we gained nothing, but luckily escaped. Is there anything I can do for you, senior?"

"Of course!" Elan's lips curled into a cold smile.

"We painstakingly drew star maps and shared routes, yet you ventured into dangerous territory alone, and it seems you've gained quite a bit. Shouldn't your junior do something about it?"

A blatant threat!

Victor and Marina also stepped forward. Victor's star chart compass shone brighter, seemingly interfering with the surrounding space and restricting Kate's jumping ability; Marina's spatial barrier became more solid.

Kate's eyes turned slightly cold as the Seed of Origin operated at high speed, coldly analyzing the opponent's positioning, energy fluctuations, and possible attack patterns.

[Target: Elan (Level 4 Peak), Energy Core Stable, Star Staff Charging, Threat Level: High.]

Victor (Late Stage 4), Star Chart Compass Interference Space, Threat Level: Medium.

Marina (Tier 4, Late Game), Spatial Barrier Defense, Spatial Disruption Rune Charge, Threat Level: Medium.

[Tactical Deduction: Prioritize breaking through spatial interference, use the Shadow of Thorns to create chaos, launch a Shadow Leap attack on Marina, use Void Refraction to evade Eran's main attack, and seize the opportunity to counterattack or break through. Success Rate: 45%]

Just as Kate was about to strike first, and the atmosphere was tense and ready to explode!

The star map compass in Victor's hand suddenly began to vibrate violently!

Om-!

The star-blue crystal at the center of the compass burst forth with an unprecedentedly dazzling light. The light was not offensive, but rather condensed into a rotating miniature star map projection composed of countless fine star trails!

In the projection, the spot of light representing Kate's position suddenly lit up, emitting a strong, silvery-blue glow that rippled with spatial regularity.

This moment of brilliance resonated strangely with the star trails on the compass itself.

hum!

A grand, vast, and seemingly ancient will swept across the four people present through the compass projection.

Elan, Victor, and Marina were all jolted!

Victor, in particular, as the main operator of the Star Chart Compass, felt it most clearly!

His face turned pale instantly, his eyes filled with disbelief, shock, and... a hint of awe!

"This...this is..." Victor's voice trembled, "Astral revelation! Resonance of rules! He...he's been marked by the rules of the astral plane?!"

Elan and Marina also felt that irresistible will, and their expressions changed drastically.

The apprentices of the Star Tower have an almost instinctive reverence for celestial prophecies and revelations of rules.

This kind of revelation, which is directly revealed through the star chart compass and resonates with the rules of the astral plane, is nothing short of divine oracle in their eyes.

In the projection, several extremely fine, chain-like dark red lines appeared around Kate's light spot, seemingly representing some kind of "greed" or "covetousness" causal lines that were trying to wrap around Kate, but were suppressed and repelled by the intense silver-blue rule radiance.

At the same time, a cold thought, seemingly emanating from the stars themselves, resounded in their minds:

Those who covet the favor of the rules will trigger a backlash from the astral plane, severing their path!

Elan abruptly took a step back, his eyes filled with surprise, uncertainty, and deep apprehension as he looked at Kate.

Favored by the Rules? Astral Backlash? A Dead End?

The meaning of this revelation is all too clear—Kate has gained the approval of some kind of astral rule. If you attack him now, you will not only fail, but you will also be marked by the astral rule, making it difficult to move forward on the path of stars and space in the future, and you may even attract a more terrible backlash.

For the apprentices of the Star Tower, this was a curse more terrible than death.

"Senior Elan..." Marina's voice was tinged with fear as she looked at Elan.

Elan's expression shifted, but in the end, he took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the greed and resentment in his eyes, and slowly put away the Starshine Staff. The hostility around him receded like a tide.

He gave Kate a deep look, his gaze incredibly complex, containing apprehension, confusion, and a hint of...envy.

"Junior Kate..." Elan's voice was a little hoarse, with a hint of barely perceptible reverence, "It seems... you've received the favor of the Astral Plane. Congratulations. Before... we were just joking."

He bowed slightly, performing a gesture of respect reminiscent of a starry tower.

Victor and Marina quickly suppressed their hostility and followed suit, with Victor holding the compass, which was still emitting a faint starlight, with great care, as if it were a sacred object.

Kate was also in a state of turmoil!

He hadn't expected that acquiring the Void Vine seed would resonate with the rules of the astral plane and reveal such a strong revelation through the star map compass of the Starry Sky Tower. It seemed that the Void Vine held even more secrets.

This undoubtedly helped him avert an imminent crisis.

"Senior Elan, you flatter me." Kate nodded slightly, remaining calm.

"I was just lucky to find some spatial crystals. Since the seniors still have missions to complete, I won't disturb them."

He remained vigilant, slowly retreating, with the shadow of thorns still guarding his side.

Elan and the other two did not stop him, but simply watched as Kate's figure disappeared into the star-like mist.

"A follower of the rules..." Elan murmured softly, a hint of lingering fear and determination flashing in his eyes.

"It seems we need to rethink our objectives... Victor, record this revelation immediately. Information about Kate might be quite valuable!"

Kate walked briskly without stopping at all.

The Seed of Origin continued scanning, confirming that Elan and the other two were not following behind. Only then did he breathe a slight sigh of relief, but he still dared not be careless. It wasn't until he had completely left the area of ​​the Starfall Rift and stepped back onto the land of the Emerald City-State, feeling the gentle life energy, that his tense nerves finally relaxed.

Back in the familiar living treehouse at the Forest Language Inn, after activating the isolation array, Kate truly felt a wave of exhaustion wash over her.

The journey to the Starfall Rift was extremely dangerous, but yielded tremendous gains, though it also consumed a great deal of resources.

He sat down cross-legged, regulated his breathing for a moment, and recovered some of his mental and physical strength.

Then, he solemnly took out the specially made jade box.

Upon opening the box, three azure starlight seeds and several crystal-clear fragments of void essence lay quietly inside, emanating a chilling spatial fluctuation.

"The seeds of the Vine of the Sky..." Kate's eyes gleamed with a burning light.

This is a more advanced spatial magical plant than the Shadow Leap Vine.

It is the core foundation for building his future path as a spatial wizard!

"The Seed of Origin, deducing the optimal fusion scheme: Target - Vine of the Sky (active) Seeds x3".

A cold, analytical stream flooded into my consciousness:

[Target: Seeds of *Fragaria lobata* (active)]

[Characteristics: A highly concentrated aggregate of spatial energy, containing fragments of spatial rules and faint imprints of those rules.]

[Core Conflicts: High Spatial Energy Level, Impact of Fragments of Rules vs. Spiritual Sea Capacity, Instinctive Interference of the Bloodthirsty Vine]

[Key Harmony Elements: Void Serenity Lotus (Spatial Stabilization Anchor Point), Moon Shadow Essence (Spatial Affinity Buffer), Seed of Origin (Absolute Suppression and Guidance), Soul-Devouring Heart-Guarding Ointment (Soul Protection)]

[Estimated benefits of fusion:]

A leap forward in spatial affinity: The range, accuracy, and depth of spatial perception have been greatly improved (estimated to be 200% higher).

Unlock new talent: Spatial Blink (Mid-range): Consumes mental energy (approximately 15-20 points), allows for a spatial jump of up to 500 meters, and reduces cooldown time (estimated 10 seconds).

Insights into Spatial Rules: Anchoring and traversing fragments of subtle spatial rules to assist in constructing spatial spell models.

Mental Sea Enhancement: Spatial energy refines mental particles, increasing the purity and capacity of mental power (estimated increase of 5-8 points).

[Integration Risk: High! The impact of fragmented spatial rules may cause turbulence in the mental sea, requiring phased integration and gradual adaptation.]

[Recommendation: In a safe environment, integrate the technology in three phases, with each phase spaced at least 12 hours apart, to allow for sufficient digestion and adaptation.]

"Integrate in stages, proceed steadily and surely," Kate decided.

He first took a highly concentrated mental recovery potion and soul nourishing potion, and then applied Soul-Devouring and Heart-Guarding Ointment to his temples to stabilize his soul core.

Then, he took out the first seed of the Vine of Emptiness.

The seed feels slightly cool to the touch, as if you are holding a piece of solidified starry sky, with dark blue stardust slowly flowing inside.

Kate took a deep breath and focused her mind.

The golden roots of the Seed of Origin spread out, and the silver-blue phantom of the Lotus of Tranquility in the Void slowly rotated, emitting stable spatial fluctuations.

The essence of moonlight flows throughout the body, forming a soft silver halo on the skin.

"start!"

Kate guided a wisp of pure spiritual energy, enveloped the first seed, and gently pressed it towards her brow.

Om-!

The moment the seed touched my forehead, it felt like ice water being poured into boiling oil.

A powerful, pure surge of spatial energy, imbued with profound information about spatial rules, rushed wildly into the mental sea from between the eyebrows.

This energy is far more powerful and pure than that of the Shadow Leap Vine seed, and it also contains faint fragments of spatial rules.

A monstrous wave instantly surged in his mind.

Countless fragments of spatial rules flashed through my consciousness like shooting stars, bringing a violent sense of dizziness and tearing.

The Seed of Origin shone with golden light!

Operating at full capacity, it acts like the most precise sieve, filtering, analyzing, and guiding this raging torrent of energy.

The illusory light of the Void Lotus of Tranquility surged, and the vortex at the lotus's heart spun faster, emitting a powerful suction force that guided and anchored most of the spatial energy and fragments of rules to the core area of ​​the spiritual sea.

Moon Shadow Essence acts like a lubricant and a buffer, neutralizing the sharp edges of energy impacts and transforming them into a relatively gentle stream.

The Soul-Devouring Heart-Guarding Ointment protects the core of the soul, resisting the mental impact brought by the fragments of rules.

The ferocious instincts of the Bloodthirsty Vine on the right arm were firmly suppressed by the Cage of Order, and under the powerful restraint of the Seed of Origin, it could not be disturbed in the slightest.

Even so, Kate still felt as if her brain was being pierced and pulled by countless spatial threads, causing excruciating pain.

He gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and sweat instantly soaked through his clothes.

"Guide, anchor, refine."

He roared inwardly, doing everything he could to maintain the stability of his mental sea.

The surging spatial energy was continuously absorbed and transformed by the Void Tranquility Lotus. Part of it merged into the lotus body, making its illusory image more solid and its silver-blue light more profound; the other part, like the most precise carving knife, tempered the stardust particles in the spiritual sea, making them more refined and brilliant, emitting a faint spatial luster.

The boundaries of the spiritual sea were slowly expanded and reinforced amidst the excruciating pain.

Time passes little by little.

The intense pain gradually subsided, replaced by a strange, expansive sense of clarity.

The torrent of energy that had surged in began to subside.

The fusion of the first seed is nearing completion.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, beside the illusory image of the Lotus of Tranquility in the Void, an extremely tiny mark, shimmering with a ghostly blue starlight, appeared, revolving around the lotus like a satellite.

[Phase 1 integration complete!]

[Mental Strength Increase: 73.6 → 75.1]

[Spatial perception range increased to 200 meters, accuracy improved by 150%]

[The fragments of the weak spatial rules anchoring the rules have been initially integrated.]

[Slight improvement in mental stability]

Kate let out a long sigh of relief, then collapsed to the ground as if completely exhausted, panting heavily.

Although he was exhausted, the more stable spatial anchor in his mental sea and the enhanced perception made him feel more fulfilled than ever before.

He immediately sat cross-legged to regulate his breathing, took the medicine, and recovered from his exhaustion.

Twelve hours later, he returned to his peak condition.

Without hesitation, Kate began fusing the second seed!

Having learned from the first experience, the process went relatively smoothly, but the pain was still intense.

The spatial energy and fragments of rules contained in the second seed surged in again, and the spiritual sea underwent a new round of impact and tempering.

The illusory image of the Lotus of Tranquility in the Void became more solid, and the stardust on the lotus petals shone even more brilliantly.

The deep blue star-like markings surrounding the lotus flower also became clearer and brighter.

The spiritual sea has been further expanded and refined!

[Phase Two Integration Complete!]

[Mental Strength Increase: 75.1 → 76.8]

[Spatial perception range increased to 300 meters, accuracy improved by 200%]

[Spatial rule anchoring rule fragment integration deepens]

[New Talent Unlocked: Spatial Blink (Prototype): Allows for spatial jumps up to 300 meters (consumes approximately 15 points of Spirit Power), 15-second cooldown.]

Kate felt exhilarated as she experienced the even more powerful spatial force within her mental sea and the newly unlocked prototype of "Spatial Blink".

He adjusted his breathing to recover.

Another twelve hours have passed.

Kate was in peak condition, her mind was clear and stable, and she was filled with a desire for new power.

He took out the third and final seed of the Void Vine.

"The last one, complete fusion!"

Kate's eyes were firm as she pressed the seed to her brow.

boom--!

This time, the torrent of energy was even more turbulent.

The spatial energy and rule fragments of the three seeds converge and resonate in the spiritual sea.

The phantom of the Void Serenity Lotus burst forth with an unprecedented silver-blue light, and the lotus heart vortex spun wildly, devouring spatial energy like a black hole.

The lotus body became more solid, almost turning into a tangible substance.

The stardust flowing on the lotus petals shone as brightly as a galaxy.

The three deep blue star-shaped markings surrounding the lotus flower suddenly lit up under the infusion of powerful energy, connecting with each other to form a small, stable triangular star array that emitted strong spatial fluctuations.

hum!

The mental sea trembled violently, and its boundaries were forcibly stretched open!

Under the extreme tempering of spatial energy, the spiritual particles emitted a clear sound like the collision of glass!

[Phase 3 integration complete!]

[Mental Strength Increase: 76.8 → 78.5 (Level 4 Peak Threshold!)]

[Spatial sensing range increased to 500 meters, accuracy improved by 300%! Capable of fuzzy sensing of weak points in space, micro-cracks, and short-distance spatial coordinates!]

[The spatial rule anchoring rule fragments have been completely integrated.]

[New Talent: Spatial Blink (Mid-Range) Enhanced, maximum jump distance increased to 500 meters. Cooldown reduced to 10 seconds, jump trajectory more concealed, spatial fluctuations reduced.]

[Mental Sea Transformation: Spatial affinity is greatly enhanced, and the density and purity of mental particles reach new heights, laying the most solid foundation for constructing the "Wizard's Heart."]

The fusion is complete.

Kate suddenly opened her eyes.

Deep within his pupils, a fleeting, deep blue nebula-like vortex seemed to appear before returning to its profound depths.

He felt that the whole world had changed.

Without any deliberate effort, the spatial structure, energy flow, and even the subtle spatial folds within a 500-meter radius were clearly presented to his perception, as if he were looking at the lines on his palm.

A thought subtly arose!

hum!

His figure vanished instantly from his spot, and the next moment, he appeared in another corner of the room, silently, with spatial fluctuations so faint as to be almost imperceptible.

Within 50 meters, it's like teleportation!

"It's done!" Kate clenched her fist, feeling the unprecedentedly powerful spatial energy surging within her body, her heart filled with indescribable excitement and confidence.

The fusion with the Void Vine brought about a qualitative leap in his spatial abilities.

His mental strength also broke through 78.5 points in one fell swoop. He was only 1.5 points away from becoming a level 4 peak wizard apprentice and qualified to challenge for a formal wizardship.

He looked out the window, where the Emerald City exuded a tranquil vitality under the soft light.

"Next... it's time to pay a visit to the leader of the 'Emerald Guardians'."

Kate's gaze fell upon the area in the heart of the city, surrounded by a vast, living forest, radiating a hazy green light.

The root of immortality, the crystallization of the rules of life, another core piece of the puzzle for building the "Wizard's Heart" awaits him!