Upon returning to Red Maple City, Sophia and Payne let out quiet sighs of relief.

  Being constantly chased by Turins and feeling their hearts in their throats wasn't a pleasant experience at all.

  Pierce, however, wasn't worried in the slightest. After boarding the three Giant Eagles at a shop near the city gates that specialized in avian mounts, he took his two followers straight to the Mission Hall.

  The Mission Hall was as packed with people as ever.

  Pierce told Sophia and Payne to wait by the entrance while he navigated through the crowd toward an open counter.

  In a corner, a few Wizards were discussing something. One of them caught sight of Pierce from the corner of his eye and let out a low gasp of surprise.

  "Pierce is back!"

  His companions turned their heads. Seeing that it really was Pierce, expressions of astonishment appeared on their faces.

  "Why is this guy back already?"

  The one speaking was a Wizard with dark red eyes—the very same man who had mocked Pierce for overestimating himself that morning.

  "He didn't actually complete the mission and come back, did he?"

  "How is that possible? Putting aside whether he could actually take down Fortification No. 89, even if he had the strength, it's only been half a day. How could he possibly finish it so quickly?"

  "Exactly. Do you think he's a Rank 2 Wizard?"

  The group chimed in, laughing.

  The red-eyed Wizard nodded in deep agreement.

  Even he, a Wizard who had reached the Rank 1 Crystalline Phase, wouldn't dare claim he could single-handedly take down a Turin fortification. On what grounds could Pierce possibly achieve it?

  However, what happened next left the red-eyed Wizard and his group dumbfounded.

  They saw Pierce take out his Memory Ring and hand it over the counter. After the staff member reviewed the contents, he actually bowed deeply to Pierce, walked out from behind the counter, and escorted him into a private VIP room.

  Having stayed in Red Maple City for nearly half a year, the red-eyed Wizard and the others naturally knew that this was a privilege reserved only for Wizards who had completed major, high-tier missions.

  Did Pierce really conquer Fortification No. 89?

  The group stared at each other, speechless for a moment.

  Suddenly, as if remembering something, the red-eyed Wizard spun around to look at the three-dimensional map on the wall, his eyes locking dead onto the location of Fortification No. 89.

  The others caught on and immediately followed his gaze.

  About ten minutes later, the light dot representing Fortification No. 89 violently flashed, then dimmed completely. The word 'Destroyed' materialized next to it.

  Watching this, a look of sheer disbelief crept over the red-eyed Wizard's face.

  The rest of the group was equally gobsmacked, their faces painted with shock.

  Judging by this, Pierce really had taken down Fortification No. 89!

  They wanted to suspect it was just a coincidence, but according to Red Maple City's rules, once someone accepted a mission to assault a Turin fortification, no one else could accept the same mission within a certain time limit.

  Violators wouldn't receive any mission rewards, even if they conquered the fortification.

  As for the possibility that another Wizard happened to conquer Fortification No. 89 right when Pierce was turning in his mission, and also happened to bring the combat footage to the Mission Hall for verification at the exact same time...

  Honestly, that possibility was even lower than Pierce actually completing the mission himself.

  After a moment of silence, one Wizard hesitantly suggested, "Could it be that Pierce joined another Wizard squad and completed the mission together with them?"

  The red-eyed Wizard's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "That must be it!"

  The other Wizards exchanged glances and secretly shook their heads.

  There weren't many Wizard squads in Red Maple City capable of taking down a Turin fortification. The members of such squads had forged perfect synergy through numerous missions. They wouldn't lightly recruit new members, lest it negatively impact their combat effectiveness.

  —Unless a member had died in battle, creating a vacancy.

  But even then, they generally wouldn't recruit a newly advanced Wizard to fill it.

  Furthermore, even if Pierce had joined a Wizard squad, logically, a newcomer like him wouldn't be the one handling the mission acceptance and handover procedures.

  This possibility was equally extremely low.

  In fact, deep down, the red-eyed Wizard knew this too, but he was deceiving himself, unwilling to admit the truth.

  Pierce was completely unaware that people were discussing him behind his back.

  After handing over the mission, he smoothly received his 1,000 Merit Points.

  It was worth mentioning that Merit Points were recorded on a crystalline card, which also served as the payment tool for Wizards to exchange for resources at the Exchange.

  Putting away the crystalline card, Pierce walked out of the room under the awe-struck gaze of the staff and left the Mission Hall.

  Stepping outside, Pierce signaled for Sophia and Payne to take out their crystalline cards—everyone in Red Maple City had one—and then transferred 30 Merit Points to each of them.

  "My Lord!"

  Looking at the number displayed on the card, Sophia and Payne were instantly shocked.

  Thirty Merit Points was enough to exchange for a bottle of Resonance Potion. They naturally knew how precious these points were.

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  To be honest, they had played almost no role in this operation. They truly didn't deserve a reward of 30 Merit Points.

  Pierce waved his hand, his tone leaving no room for argument. "I will be meditating and cultivating for the next period of time and won't be going out for a while. Don't slack off either. Take these Merit Points to the Exchange, get some cultivation resources for Legendary Knights, and use this time to improve your strength."

  "Remember, the stronger you are, the more help you will be to me."

  Seeing his resolve, Sophia and Payne hesitated for a moment, but ultimately accepted the points with immense gratitude.

  Pierce didn't say anything more and headed straight for the Exchange not far away.

  Upon arriving at the Exchange, he first converted all the magic-infused metal ingots and Holy Water into Merit Points, netting a total of 684 Merit Points.

  As for the divine statue and the Eye of Winter emblems, Pierce thought carefully and decided to hold onto them for now.

  "Red Maple City is able to extract Faith Crystals from divine statues and holy artifacts. Perhaps I can use the Omniscient Eye to deduce the corresponding technique."

  "If I succeed, the amount of Faith Crystals I can obtain will definitely increase massively!"

  Without a middleman taking a cut, his harvest would definitely exceed simply exchanging them for Faith Crystals at the Exchange.

  But that was a matter for later. His main task right now was still to increase his mental energy.

  "A total of 1,624 Merit Points."

  Pierce thought for a moment and exchanged for 10 bottles of Unicorn Blood Essence in one go.

  "The effect of Unicorn Blood Essence weakens as the user's mental energy level increases, so the earlier I use it, the greater the benefit."

  "Once the Unicorn Blood Essence loses its effectiveness, I'll switch to using Sprouts of the Holy Spirit."

  Storing the Unicorn Blood Essence, Pierce briskly left the Exchange.

  He couldn't wait to test the effects of the Unicorn Blood Essence.

  Returning to the stone house, Pierce first let Eve out of the Sprite's Sanctum for some fresh air, had Mist Raven stand guard in the living room, and then entered the bedroom. He sat cross-legged on the floor, took out a bottle of Unicorn Blood Essence, and examined it carefully in his hand.

  As far as Pierce knew, unicorn blood was silver-white.

  However, likely due to the refining and concentration process, the liquid in the bottle was a brilliant silver. It sparkled with a dreamlike, beautiful luster under the light, as if whispering tales of the unicorn's past nobility and beauty.

  Pierce removed the stopper and downed the blood essence in one gulp.

  As the blood essence began to take effect, a familiar sensation of sublimation slowly arose.

  To Pierce's relief, the process of the Unicorn Blood Essence taking effect wasn't as violent as other potions and wondrous items.

  His past experience with the Vile Illusion Potion was still fresh in his memory.

  About ten minutes later, the sensation of sublimation slowly faded.

  Pierce opened his eyes and immediately summoned the Omniscient Eye.

  [Mental Energy: 14.39]

  [Physique: 9.70]

  "An increase of 0.72 Energy Levels."

  A smile appeared on Pierce's face.

  The effect was quite good, roughly equivalent to consuming four or five bottles of Resonance Potion.

  "I still have nine bottles of Unicorn Blood Essence left. I wonder if it will be enough to push me to 20 Energy Levels?"

  Pierce thought for a moment and decided against consuming a second bottle immediately.

  To ensure the maximum efficacy of the potion, he planned to consume it at a rate of one bottle per day.

  Gathering his thoughts, he closed his eyes and began to meditate.

  Red Maple City, Entrance Teleportation Plaza.

  The teleportation array flashed with light. Victor's figure slowly materialized, and he walked out with a gloomy expression.

  It wasn't until he saw the person waiting outside that he forced a slight smile onto his face.

  "Zachary, why are you here?"

  "An old friend I haven't seen for many years has arrived. Naturally, I had to come and welcome you."

  Zachary smiled faintly. Looking at Victor's aging face and graying temples, he sighed secretly in his heart.

  Looking back, the memories of the two of them graduating from The Spire Academy together, successfully advancing to Wizards one after another, and going on adventures in alien planes together were still vivid in his mind, as if it were just yesterday. Unfortunately, times had changed, and people had changed.

  "Counting the time, it's been over ten years since we last met." A look of nostalgia flashed across Zachary's face.

  "Yes." Victor glanced at his old friend, his expression somewhat complex.

  Over ten years had passed. Zachary was already a Rank 2 Wizard, while he was still stuck at the Rank 1 Liquid Phase, and it was highly likely he would never break through to the Crystalline Phase in his lifetime.

  Perhaps twenty years ago, they had been close friends striving together.

  But now, an insurmountable gap existed between them, both in terms of strength and status within House Prescott.

  Facing Zachary again, Victor could no longer find that feeling from the past. He couldn't even suppress a trace of constraint rising from the depths of his heart when facing a superior powerhouse.

  Zachary acutely noticed this and sighed inwardly. Changing the subject, he said, "The Patriarch has already told me your purpose for coming here, but to be honest, you might be disappointed."

  Victor's expression tightened. "What do you mean?"

  Zachary glanced around, gestured for Victor to follow, and walked toward a stone house not far away.

  Entering the stone house, Zachary casually set up a soundproofing array before speaking in a deep voice, "Just three days ago, Pierce single-handedly destroyed a Turin fortification. It's said he even killed one Rank 2 Priest and three Rank 1 Priests. You should understand what that means, right?"

  Victor froze in place, a look of utter disbelief in his eyes.

  Of course he understood what it meant.

  Having fought the Turins on the Planar Battlefield for half a year, he couldn't be more familiar with the enemy's strength.

  A fortification garrisoned by a Rank 2 Priest and multiple Rank 1 Priests would require at least a Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizard to even have a chance of taking it down.

  And it would have to be a veteran Crystalline Phase Wizard who had accumulated a massive amount of trump cards and contingencies.

  In other words, Pierce's true combat strength had already surpassed the vast majority of Rank 1 Crystalline Phase Wizards, reaching a level incredibly close to a Rank 2 Wizard!

  But how was that possible?

  That brat had clearly advanced to Wizard less than two months ago!

  Even a Wizard from a primeval Bloodline Family couldn't possibly experience such a massive surge in power in such a short time!

  Victor found it completely inconceivable.

  He knew Pierce's talent was outstanding, but he never expected the kid to be this monstrous!

  After a long silence, Victor asked in a hoarse voice, "Is the intelligence reliable?"

  Zachary replied, "The Mission Hall has the record of Pierce completing the mission. The news has already spread throughout all of Red Maple City. Even Councilor Gideon was alarmed and personally inquired about it."

  Victor's expression grew even darker.

  Seeing this, Zachary sighed and said, "Pierce's current strength is no longer something you can deal with alone. I advise you to drop the idea of going after him."

  Upon hearing this, Victor's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, his facial features contorting slightly.

  "Impossible!" he gritted his teeth and spat. "I will absolutely never let that damn little beast off!"

  His ruined future, coupled with the blood feud of his murdered son... his hatred for Pierce gnawed at his heart every single second.

  Especially after hearing that Pierce's strength had skyrocketed again, the jealous hatred in his heart flared even hotter.

  Victor violently raised his head, staring at Zachary with bloodshot eyes, and enunciated every word clearly, "Zachary, for the sake of our years of friendship, help me!"

  Zachary remained silent for a few seconds before shaking his head. "You know that the Family doesn't want to start a war with the Elemental Faction right now. If I actually help you deal with Pierce, the consequences will be extremely severe."

  "No, that's not what I mean." Victor stared intently at Zachary. "You are currently conducting research on Aberrations, right? Just give me one Aberration!"

  Zachary's face drastically changed. His gaze instantly became extraordinarily sharp, and his tone turned icy. "How do you know about that?"

  Victor sneered, forcing out a smile that was hard to tell if it was bitter or mocking. In a low voice, he said, "I'm not blind. How could I not notice your movements? That kind of thing can only be kept secret from outsiders at best."

  "Don't worry, I know you are doing it to find a new path to breakthrough. I have no intention of interfering with the Family's decisions. However, as an exchange, you must give me an Aberration. You happen to need experimental combat data anyway. This is mutually beneficial for both of us, isn't it?"

  Zachary's expression flickered continuously. After a long while, he said in a deep voice, "You should know the consequences of using an Aberration to enhance your power, right?"

  Victor nodded expressionlessly.

  Seeing this, Zachary knew that his old friend had already plunged into the madness of hatred and obsession. With a complicated sigh, he stopped trying to dissuade him. He took out a crystal ball and handed it over.

  The crystal ball was only the size of a fist. It was a deep, translucent blue. Inside, countless blurry, distorted souls could vaguely be seen writhing together.

  Merely looking at them, one could almost hear countless bizarre, hate-filled whispers echoing in their ears.

  Victor carefully took the crystal ball. Looking at the Malicious Spirit Entity trapped inside, a complex mix of wariness, fear, ecstasy, and anticipation surfaced on his face, eventually morphing entirely into a cold, murderous intent.