Li Wei had tried the crude advancement ritual he’d figured out on his own.

The results were slow.

He could only place his hope in the "Fire Spirit Ceremony," the advancement ritual he had obtained from the Set Clan.

’I hope I can Awaken faster.’

However, he was still missing some materials needed to perform the Fire Spirit Ceremony.

One of the most crucial materials was a Tier Two Fire Elemental Crystal Core.

A thought struck him.

Savis, Russell, and Xiong Er had killed a Tier Two Fire Elemental Elf.

They must have gotten a Tier Two Fire Elemental Crystal Core from it.

’Can I find a way to get my hands on it?’

’Or I could just buy one at the trade fair. With so many Mages here, finding a Fire Elemental Crystal Core shouldn’t be too hard, right?’

Besides the Fire Lotus and the Fire Elemental Crystal Core, the other materials needed for the advancement ritual were relatively easy to find.

The Fire Lotus had substitutes; any Fire Element Treasure of the same grade would do.

But the Fire Elemental Crystal Core was essential.

Without it, the advancement ritual couldn’t be performed.

Li Wei rushed to the trade fair that very night.

"Do you have any Tier Two Fire Elemental Crystal Cores?"

"Yes."

"How much?"

"One hundred and twenty Gold Coins each."

"Damn, that’s expensive!"

Li Wei sucked in a sharp breath when he heard the price of the Fire Elemental Crystal Core.

A normal Tier Two Demon Core only cost fifty to sixty Gold Coins, but the Fire Elemental Crystal Core was double the price.

The key thing was, Fire Elemental Crystal Cores weren’t even as rare as the Demon Cores from Rock Demon Beasts.

Such a high price could only mean one thing: Fire Elemental Crystal Cores were in high demand everywhere.

Supply couldn’t keep up with demand.

Li Wei scoured the trade fair and spent three hundred and sixty Gold Coins to purchase three Tier Two Fire Elemental Crystal Cores.

The Fire Elemental Crystal Core that Savis’s group had obtained was taken by Russell.

Russell was a Fire Element Mage, so he needed Fire Elemental Crystal Cores too.

Fire Elemental Crystal Cores were excellent materials for both Cultivation and Casting.

Fortunately, however, there were still people selling Fire Elemental Crystal Cores at the trade fair.

Afterwards, Li Wei spent another thirty Gold Coins to purchase three sets of the other materials required for the advancement ritual.

The blood of a Fire Element Magical Beast, Firefly Grass, a High-purity Hexagonal Crystal, and a Ritual Cloth.

After leaving the Magic Hall, Li Wei only had 78 Gold Coins left.

He still had some unsold items from the Secret Realm in his Spatial Ring. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

To be safe, Li Wei wasn’t in a hurry to sell them.

After all, selling them now would be too conspicuous and could easily expose him as the Armored Man.

He returned to the inn.

Li Wei worried that his lack of experience would cause him to fail the advancement ritual on his first try, wasting the materials.

He slipped into the Dream World to practice the advancement ritual in a dream.

All the materials required for the ritual were replicated in the Dream World.

Following the ritual’s steps, Li Wei arranged the materials one by one on the Ritual Cloth.

He sat in the center of the drawn ritual diagram with the Crystal in his mouth.

He held the Tier Two Fire Elemental Crystal Core in his left hand and the Fire Lotus in his right.

As the ritual began, the Firefly Grass burst into flames with a WHOOSH.

Li Wei had been expecting this, so he wasn’t startled.

The flames from the burning Firefly Grass ignited the blood of the Fire Element Magical Beast on the Ritual Cloth.

The ritual patterns drawn with the blood gradually began to burn as well.

Once the entire ritual pattern was alight, Li Wei felt a strange reaction from the Fire Elemental Crystal Core and the Fire Lotus in his hands.

The Crystal in his mouth grew warm.

As the ritual required, Li Wei cleared his mind and immersed himself completely in the process.

He felt as if he were submerged in a warm ocean.

Warm currents surged into his body, one after another.

After successfully completing the ritual in the dream, Li Wei performed the Fire Spirit Ceremony in reality.

Early the next morning, the ritual concluded.

The Fire Elemental Crystal Core, depleted of its energy, shattered.

The Fire Lotus withered.

Li Wei spat out the Hexagonal Crystal.

The Crystal’s interior was now filled with red cracks.

They were the traces left behind by the passing Fire Element.

The Crystal had helped Li Wei filter out the more violent aspects of the Fire Element, preventing them from harming his body.

He opened his eyes and checked his status.

[Crystal Meditation Method (Tier One Awakening)] 3421/10000

His eyes lit up with pleasant surprise.

"So powerful!"

’As expected of a proper advancement ritual.’

’It’s so much better than the crude method I figured out on my own.’

However, the cost of performing the advancement ritual was also high.

A single ritual cost at least two hundred Gold Coins.

Although Li Wei’s own method required patient, time-consuming effort, it didn’t cost any money.

But often, what’s "free" is actually the most expensive. The cost in time was far greater than the cost in coin.

Spending over six hundred Gold Coins to quickly awaken his Extraordinary Traits offered an infinitely greater advantage than dawdling for a year to Awaken and advance.

One step ahead meant every step ahead!

After performing the Fire Spirit Ceremony once, Li Wei more or less understood the principle behind the ritual.

It was actually based on the same principle as the "feeding" method he had figured out on his own.

The Fire Spirit Ceremony was simply more advanced.

The so-called "Fire Spirit" was actually a Fire Elemental Spirit.

Through a special rite, the Fire Spirit Ceremony extracted the Fire Elemental Spirit from a Tier Two Fire Elemental Crystal Core and fused it into the body of the practitioner.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!

Gu Ze knocked on the door. "Li Wei, are you in the middle of your Cultivation?"

Li Wei opened the door. "I just finished. What is it, Teacher?"

Gu Ze said, "Rota and I are planning to head back tomorrow. What about you?"

Li Wei thought for a moment before replying, "I’m going to stay for another two days."

He planned to break through to Tier Two before returning to Maple City.

That way, if he encountered any danger on the road, he would be strong enough to handle it.

’Better to be fully prepared before setting off.’

Gu Ze nodded. "All right. We’ll head out first, then. You be careful on your own."

"Rota and I have business to attend to back home, so we can’t wait for you."

"You be careful too, Teacher. Have a safe journey."

After seeing Gu Ze off, Li Wei felt a renewed sense of urgency.

There were three days until the end of the Mage conference.

Li Wei wasted no time, performing the second advancement ritual that very afternoon.

Late that night, the second advancement ritual concluded. Another two hundred-plus Gold Coins’ worth of materials were consumed.

[Crystal Meditation Method (Tier One Awakening)] 6879/10000

’Just one more advancement ritual, and I’ll awaken my Tier Two Extraordinary Traits and become a Tier Two Mage.’

Li Wei’s heart pounded with excitement.

But he also felt mentally drained.

He rested for a night.

Early the next morning, he began the third advancement ritual.

Fortunately, the Fire Spirit Ceremony had no cooldown period.

Otherwise, Li Wei wouldn’t have been able to perform them back-to-back.

By evening, the setting sun burned like fire, painting the horizon in crimson clouds.

Gu Ze and Rota had already left.

Li Wei had been too busy with his Cultivation to see them off.

The third advancement ritual was also complete.

Li Wei had awakened his Tier Two Extraordinary Traits.

[Fire Elemental Body (Middle Level)] (Elemental Awakening, Fire Element Magic Spell Level +1, Quick Casting for Fire Element Magic, Fire Element Magic Mana consumption halved)

[Mana Control (Middle Level)] (Spiritual Awakening, Mana Power Control Level +1, Casting Level +1)

After some experimentation, Li Wei gradually came to understand the function of each attribute of his new Extraordinary Traits.

The "Fire Element Magic Spell Level +1" attribute increased the power of his Fire Element Magic by one Tier.

His Tier Zero Small Fireball Technique now had the power of a Tier One Fireball Skill.

His Tier One Fireball Skill now had the power of a Tier Two Bursting Fireball Technique.

This was an even greater boost than his previous trait that had merely doubled his Fire Element Magic’s power.

The difference of a single Tier in a spell could mean a several-fold, or even a ten-fold, increase in power.

Most importantly, the spell’s power increased, but its Mana cost remained the same.

That was the most insane, most powerful part of it all!

Any Mage could cast a Tier One Fireball Skill, but who could unleash a hundred Fireballs in a row?

Now, Li Wei could.