Wizard: My skills can be upgraded indefinitely.

Ian didn't run away immediately; he first carefully sensed his surroundings to make sure there was nothing unusual.

He began to move at a slow but steady pace, continuing his journey away from the camp and the place where Mitchell had died.

He no longer pursued speed, but instead prioritized eliminating traces and concealing his movements.

Every step is taken in places where it is not easy to leave a mark, and occasionally some misleading traces are deliberately created to lead astray.

And so, under the cover of darkness and silence, he moved, like the most experienced stealth stalker, little by little, away from the center of danger.

As the eastern sky began to lighten, Ian estimated that he was at least a hundred miles away from the stone forest. He could no longer sense any trace of his pursuers, and all around him was eternal silence.

Only then did he truly breathe a sigh of relief, his tense nerves relaxed slightly, and a strong sense of fatigue surged up like a tide.

But he had no intention of stopping. He glanced back at the direction of the "Furnace" and the "Gray Rock Fortress," his eyes calm.

"Graystone Fortress... and even the tower, are no longer safe to visit!"

He never expected that killing that young man would attract such a terrifying enemy.

The route to "Gray Rock Fortress" is clear, and the other side is very likely to intercept them along the way or send out teams to search for escapees along the route.

The secrets and anomalies about himself, as revealed by Leon, have likely already attracted the other party's attention.

Meanwhile, Shadowmoon's main battlefield was in complete disarray. Recalling Sterling's inexplicable gaze earlier, a chill ran through him.

Ian looked around blankly, feeling that the road back was bleak.

He took out a map to check. To the south was the crimson territory, to the east was a large area of ​​another dark wizarding organization, the Wither Council, and behind him was the Shadowmoon Tower, but the way was blocked. To the west was the main station line, which he needed to avoid.

Finally, he slid his finger to the far northeast, to the outline of a continuous gray-white mountain range marked as an unknown area.

There were only simple markings and lots of blank spaces, full of unknowns.

But at this moment, the unknown also means potential safety.

All he knew was that beyond an unknown distance lay the territory of another large wizarding power.

There, lies the Silver Ring, the most powerful white wizarding organization in the Angra Ring Mountains!

Marlena once said that the other three major wizarding powers combined in the entire Angra Mountains region were far inferior to the "Silver Ring".

The area is rich in resources, isolated, and has very little contact with the outside world.

The Shadowmoon Tower has a safe route to the Silver Ring, but the entrance is guarded year-round, and entry and exit are extremely strict. As a junior apprentice, he was not qualified to pass through.

After a moment's consideration, Ian decisively stood up, channeling his remaining mental energy into his legs, unleashing his formidable physique once more.

His figure moved like a wisp of smoke, speeding towards the deep mountains and dense forests in the northeast.

……

Three days later, Ian, proceeding cautiously, was approaching the edge of that unknown gray-white mountain range.

He took a short rest in a secluded cave, replenishing his strength with the dry food and water he carried in his dimensional ring.

The continuous high-intensity escape and hiding had taken a huge toll on his mental and physical strength.

But he did not stop cultivating; a sense of crisis lashed at him constantly.

He sat cross-legged, took a recovery potion, and began to try practicing the "Burning Ray".

The proficiency of this witchcraft is already close to breaking through its limits, and now that it is about to step into a more dangerous and unknown area, it must increase its strength.

He raised his hand, quickly made hand gestures, and rapidly chanted a spell.

"lgnis!"

A blazing orange-red ray shot out silently, striking a bare rock in the distance and leaving a charred mark.

Ian didn't stop, casting spells tirelessly again and again, while repeatedly simulating in his mind, trying to optimize the energy structure, condensation method, and flight trajectory of the rays.

With his current level of mastery and understanding of the "Burning Ray" model, he has reached an extremely profound level.

As time goes by, a line or two of writing occasionally pops up in the corner of my eye.

[Burning Ray Proficiency +1]

……

【Burning Ray: Mastery (799/800)】

"Just a little bit more!"

Ian took a deep breath, suppressed his distracting thoughts, and focused all his attention on the sorcery model.

He recalled the entire process of casting the spell, perceiving it carefully frame by frame, as if in slow motion.

Mental energy began to highly concentrate, and the mist, almost solidified, trembled slightly in the sea of ​​consciousness.

The refinement achieved through nine skill breakthroughs has far surpassed the scope of an advanced apprentice and even touched the threshold of a formal wizard.

The transformation from nothing to something, from ethereal spiritual power to tangible "mist," is the most crucial and difficult step for a formal wizard.

Ian, by constantly breaking through the limits of his panel, actually completed this step ahead of schedule!

At this moment, the mist-like spiritual energy is being poured into the model of "Burning Rays".

The spell has been cast once again.

Boom! A familiar, violent tremor resounded in his mind, even more intense and surging than when he broke through the limits of the Crystal Energy Barrier!

Countless insights about the convergence of light energy, the conversion of heat energy, and the focus and penetration of energy flowed into my consciousness like a flood breaking through a dam.

He "saw" the essential model of "Burning Rays" being reorganized and sublimated.

In his mind, a vague, indeterminate rudimentary rune representing light and heat rapidly became clear and complete at the edge of the rune of will, and finally took full shape.

A brand new rune, radiating a dazzling light like a miniature sun, has been born!

It hovered quietly beside the runes, radiating a scorching and pure aura.

At the same time, Ian felt as if his mental energy had been thrown into a furnace and undergone another condensation.

In the sea of ​​consciousness, what was originally just a faint mist has now become clearer and denser.

Right in the center, a small patch of wispy spiritual energy mist was gradually forming!

【Burning Ray: Break Limit Once (0/1600) (Break Limit Effect: 1. Focus)】

"Focus!"

Ian instantly understood the meaning of the special effect.

With a thought, the scorching rune in his mind flickered slightly.

A ray of light appeared out of thin air and shot out.

No longer orange-red, but a dazzling bright white!

Like sunlight compressed to its extreme, the air around the light is distorted due to the high temperature.

The ray silently traversed a distance of 100 meters, precisely hitting a rock in front of it.

There was no loud explosion, only a slight "hiss" sound. The rock was hit and a finger-thick, smooth-edged, bottomless hole appeared instantly at the center.

The rocks surrounding the hole have a glassy appearance, as if they had melted and then solidified. The high temperature even caused the ground in this small area to turn slightly red.

With the range increased to 100 meters, the energy loss during flight is minimal, preserving almost all of its power.

Most importantly, the significant increase in energy concentration and temperature brought about by "focusing" makes the penetrating power reach a terrifying level.

Its destructive power against energy shields far exceeds that of the past; it is a pure, point-penetrating attack.

It is also Ian's strongest offensive method among all his instant-cast sorcery spells.

Feeling the lingering heat of the ray and the newly formed scorching runes in his mind, Ian's eyes gleamed.

The road ahead was unknown, and he was surrounded by powerful enemies, but the newfound power gave him more confidence.

He gazed at the majestic mountain range to the northeast, its outline obscured by a gray, misty haze.

"The Silver Ring... perhaps, that will be a brand new beginning!"