In truth, Ian was more anxious than anyone.

He didn’t know how long this War would last, only that once it ended, his performance would attract a great deal of attention.

At that point, the abnormalities about him would put him in an extremely dangerous position.

The Deep Red Royal Court’s overall strength was slightly greater than that of the Shadow Moon Tower, but in a large-scale War like this, you couldn’t determine the victor just by looking at the superficial strength of both sides.

He suppressed his restless thoughts and continued to study the Concentration Potion formula on the table, his brow gradually furrowing.

The complexity of the formula, recorded on special Magic Skin Paper, was somewhat beyond his expectations.

The "Starlight Vine Marrow Crystal" had to be harvested from a Starlight Vine that had grown for a hundred years. Just before it naturally withered on a night when Star Force was at its most concentrated, a small section of its very core had to be extracted.

This core then had to undergo a Crystalization process lasting several days, using a special Secret Technique in conjunction with moonlight. The final product contained highly pure Starlight and properties that helped condense one’s spirit.

"Moon Soul Essence" wasn’t ordinary night dew, either. It was the purest essence of moonlight, collected in a place of tranquil Magic Power on a specific night when the two moons aligned.

After collection, it required a complex Alchemy Ceremony and guidance by Spiritual Power, undergoing repeated purifications to finally condense into a single sliver of silvery liquid essence.

In addition, the Auxiliary Materials included "pollen from Silver Soul Grass, Extract of the Bark of the Ancient Tree of Life, Calm Heart Spring Water..."

Ian studied the process carefully for a long time, adjusted his state of mind, and began his first attempt at Refining.

He had just exchanged for ten standard portions of the materials, which, if broken down, would give him around 100 attempts.

...

Over the next few days, people frequently came and went from Ian’s residence. Some were brought by Hank, while others came of their own accord, seeking Potions after hearing of his reputation.

Ian treated everyone the same. As long as they could trade over 300 Contribution Points on the spot, he would accept their custom Potion order, with the rest of the payment to be made later.

In the short five days since Poison Fang’s return, more than thirty people had obtained the [Rock Bear Potion] from Ian.

The camp’s overall strength underwent an earth-shattering transformation, a change that took everyone by surprise.

No one could have imagined the lengths a Middle Level Apprentice would go to obtain one of Ian’s Bloodline Potions!

A large number of Middle Level Apprentices began frantically accepting missions, scraping together Contribution Points from every possible source—contacting family, friends, senior apprentices...

Missions that usually seemed dangerous but offered high Contribution Points were snatched up the moment they were posted, as if the Apprentices had forgotten the risks involved.

Even the western area frequented by "Blood Bats" and "Shadow Stabs" began to see the figures of Apprentices on missions.

As for the lower-ranking personnel, who were still a long way from being able to afford a [Rock Bear Potion], they began trading their Contribution Points with others to acquire the resources they needed most to increase their strength.

Contribution Points began to flow upward through the ranks, with the final destination being the pockets of Ian and Sterling.

The entire camp was caught in a restless fervor, the gloom of the past long gone.

Once, when Ian went out at night to dispose of waste materials, he was even stopped by two rather attractive female Apprentices...

Some of the wounded who had previously retreated from the front lines to recuperate also began buying Potions from Ian.

Their Contribution Points were incredibly abundant, and they almost never bought on credit, which greatly improved Ian’s impression of them.

Meanwhile, Ian’s own Contribution Points skyrocketed at a terrifying rate, so much so that even he felt his heart pound in trepidation.

’Did I take this too far?’

He had truly underestimated the insanity of these Apprentices. It was just a mediocre Bloodline Potion, was it necessary to be this frightening!

He began to quickly buy out everything he saw on the exchange list.

Yesterday, the supply team from Shadow Moon Tower finally arrived, greatly enriching the camp’s exchange list.

On the new list, Ian saw an extremely precious Dimensional Ring with two cubic meters of space, valued at 5,000 Contribution Points.

He took it without hesitation, then restocked on some materials for the [Concentration Potion] and continued to live his seemingly quiet and peaceful life.

During the day, he practiced Witchcraft on schedule and worked on Refining the Concentration Potion. At night, he would unfailingly enter Meditation for six hours. His strength increased bit by bit; it was slow, but it never stopped.

The two basic Potions he had been Refining in large quantities in the camp, the Secondary Healing Potion and the Basic Antidote Potion, had also quietly undergone Limit-Breaking.

However, the resulting Limit-Breaking Effects were quite ordinary. One was a "Continuous Healing" Potion effect, and the other was a "Strong-Effect Detoxification" effect. It wasn’t that they were useless, but they were merely icing on the cake.

What he cared about more was the condensation of his Spiritual Power that came after Limit-Breaking; each instance was incredibly precious.

The Ian of today was no longer a complete rookie in the Wizard World. After listening to a great number of Alevia’s lessons, he now understood many of the more advanced concepts.

The degree to which one’s Spiritual Power was condensed was the single most critical factor in whether a High Level Apprentice could break through to become an Official Wizard. There was no other!

His Spiritual Power had undergone the condensation from Limit-Breaking eight times now, and it seemed to be approaching a critical juncture.

The days passed just like that, and the camp’s overall strength grew with each one.

There was still no word from Leon’s reconnaissance squad; it was as if they had completely vanished.

Ian’s own forward progress never ceased.

Just a moment ago, another one of his Middle Level Witchcrafts had undergone Limit-Breaking.

Next to his Will Rune, another Rune had appeared—this one shaped like a strange, twisted eyeball, so faint it was almost invisible.

[Eye of Vigilance: Limit-Broken once (0/1600) (Limit-Breaking Effect: 1. Concealment)]

When the eye was released, its maximum altitude reached 40 meters, and its surveillance range extended to two kilometers in the surrounding area.

The "Concealment" effect made it extremely difficult for those of the same level to detect, greatly increasing its practicality. It also became more sensitive to Energy fluctuations.

Ian’s Spiritual Power, having undergone another condensation from Limit-Breaking, was now almost tangible. It felt as if it was about to transform into mist, yet this threshold seemed exceptionally solid.

Thanks to his powerful Spiritual Power, his progress with the Concentration Potion was also advancing by leaps and bounds, though his Contribution Points were shrinking just as rapidly.

After his leave ended, Poison Fang set out once again to scout the west. This time, however, his heart was no longer filled with trepidation.

A day later, Poison Fang returned and reported his reconnaissance findings to Sterling Wizard.

The results were completely unexpected. On the Deep Red Royal Court’s side, their former temporary camp seemed to have been dismantled more than ten days ago. Not a single Deep Red scout could be seen.

Sterling did not let his guard down. He continued to dispatch numerous squads to conduct a detailed sweep of that region.

When Ian heard this news from Hank, he didn’t feel relieved. Instead, he grew even more tense.

He took out the map he had captured earlier and studied it with concentration.

The distance between the "Furnace" logistics camp and the front line was less than a hundred li. The vast area west of the front line was the main battlefield for the two Wizard Organizations: the Falling Star Plain.

Ian’s finger slowly traced the route between the two locations as he assessed the situation.

’This place is less than a hundred li from the ’Furnace’ front line, and what’s more, it’s less than two hundred li from the main battlefield, the ’Falling Star Plain’!’

This distance was rather dangerous. The flight speed of an Official Wizard was very fast, comparable to the high-speed trains of his previous life.

Without special methods, it would be nearly impossible for a High Level Apprentice to shake one off.

’I still need to make some preparations, just in case...’

That very day, Ian used his Secret Magic Mark to have Hank purchase a [Dream Potion] from Sterling.

He didn’t intend to take it now; it was a precaution against the unexpected.