Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Chapter 489 Evolution of the Chaos Fire

The projection entered the Black Erosion Realm on the fifth day, at dawn.

Ian opened his eyes, and a panel flickered at the corner of his eye: [Abyss Energy: 97.8/100]

He stood up, stretched his limbs, and his physical condition was many times better than when he was first possessed.

The continuous repair by the immortal soul, coupled with the energy cycle cleansed by the transformation of chaos, has given this body a brand new look.

"Sir, are we going hunting again today?" Nix scrambled up from the corner, rubbing his eyes.

Ian nodded and walked towards the cave entrance.

Prey was not hard to find today; a new lone Bone-Spiked Wolf had appeared in the area he had cleared out a few days ago.

Abyssal creatures have a high reproductive rate; as long as there is sufficient food, their numbers recover quickly.

Ian found two lone Bone Spike Wolves on the rocky beach, and killing them required no skill at all.

With his left hand he gripped the jaw of one of the birds, and with his right hand he pierced the spine of the other, finishing them off in two seconds.

Chaos transforms and is absorbed, causing the panel to fluctuate.

[Abyss Energy +9.1]

Current evolution level: 100/100

The text in the corner of my eye had changed. It was no longer a single message flashing by; a whole panel appeared in my field of vision, with the golden text twice as large as usual.

[The abyss energy has reached the critical value for advancement]

[Evolution process is about to begin, please select your advancement direction]

A tree diagram unfolds at the bottom of the panel, with the trunk being the "juvenile Tanaris" and several directions marked at the branches, each direction corresponding to an evolutionary branch.

[Flomo: 62% compatibility, Berserker Demon: 71% compatibility, Six-Armed Serpent Demon: 78% compatibility, Balo Flame Demon: 96% compatibility]

[Unknown branch: ??? (Insufficient information)]

Ian's gaze lingered on Balrog for a moment, then he picked up Nix from the side, quickly returned to the pit, and sealed the entrance tightly.

The Knicks huddled in a corner in a panic, their eyes filled with terror, barely daring to breathe.

Ian unfolded the panel again and looked at the information on it.

Recommended Evolution Path: Balrog (Fire-type Pinnacle Evolution Path)

[Note: The compatibility between other branches and the host's talents is below 80%. Forcing a choice may result in incomplete evolution or talent conflicts.]

Looking at the analysis on the panel, Ian did not hesitate.

He clicked on the Balrog's branch on the tree diagram; the panel flashed briefly before slowly dissipating.

[Evolutionary path confirmed: Balrog]

[Evolution program initiated]

Something inside the body slowly awakens from the deepest part of this body, and the body begins to tremble violently.

The scales on the skin peeled off one by one, revealing the dark red tender flesh underneath.

The tender meat hardens and softens rapidly in the air, alternating repeatedly, as if being kneaded by something.

His bones cracked and popped inside him, as if countless hands were simultaneously breaking each of his bones apart and putting them back together.

The evolution of demons is never gentle; the abyss itself is the epitome of violence.

In this world, to become stronger, one must endure pain. Those who cannot endure it die, while those who can endure it undergo a transformation.

Ian remained silent, his eyes still calm, his powerful physical control giving him exceptional endurance.

The level six immortal soul is not just for show; the pain of soul tearing is almost non-existent, and the excruciating physical pain is a piece of cake.

Ian keenly sensed that a lot of information was appearing out of nowhere deep within his consciousness.

From the moment of birth, each Tanari carries within it the code to all branches of evolution, but these codes are usually locked deep within its genes and are only unlocked during advancement.

Ian's consciousness sank into that ocean of codes, and all the branches of evolution unfolded before him.

Flomo's path was like a gust of wind, light and swift, but very thin.

The path of the Berserker is like a mountain: heavy and violent, but it leads to the loss of reason.

The six-armed serpent demon's path was like a river—balanced, smooth, but rather mediocre.

The path of Balrog is like a raging fire.

When Ian's consciousness touched that ball of fire, the Chaos Transformation was automatically activated.

Then, a grayish-white flame appeared.

Unlike the flames of other Balrogs, it is a product of the Chaos talent combined with the Balrog's flames.

A grayish-white light flickered deep within my consciousness, like a cooled star.

Suddenly, in an extremely distant world, the simplistic star core of the original body trembled slightly, sensing the changes taking place within the projected body.

A faint resonance arose despite the distance between two worlds and the numerous barriers of dimensional barriers.

But the projection couldn't care less about that; it used chaos as a guide to ignite the abyss energy completely.

A grayish-white light seeped out from beneath the skin, first at the fingertips, then the palms, then the arms, chest, and the whole body—

The temperature in the pit rose sharply, the gravel at the bottom began to glow red, and the air became scorching and dry.

The hot air seeping out of the ventilation cracks was forced back in, making a hissing sound.

The Knicks huddled in the farthest corner of the pit, shivering, staring blankly at the grayish-white flame.

This was a flame it had never seen before, and something within it made its soul tremble.

It didn't know what it was; the Quassma had no memory of it.

The flames in this world are chaotic and violent, and their color is crimson, while the fire on Ian's body is extremely quiet.

Quietness can sometimes be more terrifying than violence.

Knicks' legs went weak, his wings were pressed tightly against his back, and his whole body shrunk into a small ball.

Its instincts told it to run.

But it couldn't move; its body wouldn't obey its commands. This was the natural awe of a lower demon towards a higher demon.

It could only curl up in the corner, tears streaming down its face, watching the grayish-white flame grow brighter and brighter.

Ian had forgotten the cowardly Quassamon; his consciousness was completely absorbed in evolution.

The skin color changed from grayish-white to dark red, and grayish-white lines began to appear, spreading from the chest to the limbs, from the limbs to the fingertips, and finally covering the whole body.

The horns on the top of the head are hardening, and the two soft, limp protrusions that used to be have begun to grow rapidly, bend, and become sharper.

The deep red horns are thick at the base and sharp as two daggers at the tip.

Its body is stretching, transforming from a 1.3-meter-tall, shriveled cub into a slender and imposing figure.

The muscle lines became clearer, each muscle containing immense power. The five fingers lengthened, the finger bones became harder, and the claws at the fingertips could easily tear through the rock armor of the Stoneskin Demon.

The originally scarlet eyeballs became even deeper, and two gray-white sparks ignited in the center of the pupils.

When everything stopped, a grayish-white flame appeared out of thin air and flickered in my palm.

He didn't consciously control it; the flames appeared naturally, as simply as breathing.

He turned his hand over, and the flame spread from his palm to his whole body, then retreated back into his palm, without any feeling of heat leaking out.

But he knew how hot the flame was.

This is not the flame from the Balrog lineage at all, nor is it the same as the flame of any other demon.

It is the fire of chaos.

The flames of the Balrog are crimson red, generated by the burning of abyssal energy within its body.

The Chaos Flame is grayish-white and relies on the Chaos Transformation talent.

Things struck by the Chaos Fire will not leave any scorch marks.

The wound will turn into a grayish-white area. The skin, muscles, bones, and even the abyssal energy itself there will be reduced to their most primitive particles.

The Chaos Fire can destroy not only the physical body, but also the soul, and even the rules themselves.

Of course, with his current strength, he can only ignite the most basic Chaos Flame. He is still far from being able to burn the rules, but it is only a matter of time.

Ian clenched his fist, his strength flowing through his body, more than ten times stronger than before.

At this point, the panel reappeared.

Promotion Completed

[Current Form: Balrog (Juvenile Stage)]

[Core Talents: Chaos Transformation (Enhanced), Chaos Fire (New)]

[Physical fitness assessment: Significantly improved, equivalent to a peak level two wizard in the wizarding world]

Current evolution level: 0/500

Current Abyss Energy: 100/500

Ian looked at the information on the panel without much surprise.

Level 2 peak isn't much in the Wizarding World, but it's enough for the first level of the Abyss.

He might be able to fight a mid-level horned demon of the same level as the Bonebreaker in his current state.

With a slight thought, the flames dissipated, the scorching heat in the air subsided, and everything returned to calm. Only a thin layer of powder remained on the stone wall, as if it had been baked by something.

A rustling sound came from the corner, and the Knicks slowly crawled out of the shadows.

Its body was still trembling, its wings pressed against its back, and its eyes were full of terror. It crawled a few steps and stopped three meters away from Ian, then knelt down with a thud.

"M--Master---" Its voice was high-pitched, and its body trembled.

Seeing Ian look down at him, Knicks didn't dare to look up, fearing that Ian would burn it to death.

It recalled that when it was wandering around the outskirts of the mine, it had once seen a being who had reached the level of a mid-level demon from afar.

It was a horned demon, patrolling its territory. Its aura made it lie on the ground, too afraid to move for a long time.

The atmosphere was heavy and oppressive, like a mountain pressing down on you.

But the aura emanating from Ian just now was even more ferocious than that of the horned demon it had ever seen.

"Get up," Ian waved his hand.

Knicks slowly stood up, his legs still trembling. He secretly glanced at Ian's face, then quickly lowered his head again.

Ian's appearance has changed drastically; he is now tall and has dark red, almost black, curved horns.

What it dared not look directly at were those eyes, with two gray-white flames burning in the center of the pupils.

Knicks felt that if he stared at him for more than three breaths, his soul would be burned through.

"My lord—" Nix swallowed hard, mustered his courage, and asked, "Are you still planning to return to the Bloodslag Mine?"

Ian didn't answer. He pushed all the rocks out of the pit, came outside, and looked up at the dark red sky.

The chaotic vortex spun slowly high up, and everything was no different from five days ago.

He smiled, turned around and called out, "Come on."

Knicks paused for a moment, then asked, "Sir, where are we going?"

"Back to the mine."

Nix stood at the entrance of the hole, mouth agape, stunned for a moment, then his ears twitched, his wings suddenly spread, and he trotted after it.

Footsteps crackled and popped on the rocky beach.

Knicks didn't dare to get too close, staying about five meters behind Ian, stealing glances at the tall, dark red figure in front of him, his mind filled with only one thought.

I've chosen the right person to follow.