Chapter Summaries

After the war, Ian secured resources, arranged an incubation room for his Flame Wyvern egg, and planned how to strengthen his cultivation and standing in the Academy. As Darwin’s new assistant, Ian began learning Intermediate Second Ring alchemy and shocked Darwin by rapidly mastering the second layer of Smelting Grip.

• Ian collected his war-exchange resources and received a complete Intermediate Second Ring alchemist equipment set contributed by the Winston Family.
• Bryce introduced Ian to Joel Kendrick, who let him incubate his Flame Wyvern egg in a high-grade room at the Magic Beast Department.
• Ian reviewed his cultivation needs and decided to pursue the Late Second Ring while improving his Academy projects and alchemy status.
• Ian submitted an application for a new alchemy inheritance, and Darwin approved it and appointed him as an assistant for three days.
• While assisting Darwin with mana-cannon components, Ian studied the new inheritance and began practicing the second layer of Smelting Grip.
• Darwin watched Ian’s flames develop a deep-crimson core and realized that Ian had mastered the second layer of Smelting Grip.

Ian began studying alchemy under Darwin, who made him his student and used his influence to secure him resources and status in the Alchemy Department. After a month of rapid progress and new Wizardry training, Ian entered the dream again, intent on investigating whether its volcanic region was connected to White Stone Territory.

• Darwin was impressed when Ian succeeded at alchemy on his first attempt, taught him personally, and accepted him as his mentor’s student.
• Darwin gave Ian his alchemy notes, promised to support his Resonance Meditation Room project, and approved access to advanced equipment and restricted books.
• Ian borrowed books from the department Library, where Leo recognized his connection to Darwin and invited him to an Alchemy Salon.
• At the salon, Darwin’s other student, Ian, was welcomed by the gathered alchemists and received a well-funded project after they learned of his new status.
• Ian made rapid progress under Darwin, gained introductory mastery of his new Wizardry, and found that the Four Symbols Furnace’s first Wizardry was unusually easy for him to learn.
• After a month of study, Ian entered the dream again, considering whether its volcanic region might have changed from the Crimson Eye in White Stone Territory.

Ian completed the first layer of Metatron’s dream, raising Flame Rhythm to Master Level and uncovering a mystery tied to the Source Vein and White Stone Territory. After a month of training, he entered the second layer, where he was assigned a storm trial and was immediately killed by a Wind Elemental Envoy.

• Ian climbed the volcano in Casa’s dream without using power and completed the first layer, gaining fire insights that raised Flame Rhythm to Master Level and increased his talent from 27,000 to 31,000.
• Ian saw a memory of Metatron in White Stone Territory, where Metatron spoke of a new Source Vein law path that could change the world.
• Ian asked Edith to investigate the Source Vein and learned that Four Rings Wizards claimed branches of the Source Vein through the law-sequence path, though she found no details about Metatron’s alternative path.
• Ian discovered that Master Level Flame Rhythm let him understand the principles behind fire, making his fire attacks nearly twenty percent stronger and improving his Alchemy control.
• A month later, Ian entered the second layer of Metatron’s dream, where Priestess Camilla tasked him with reaching halfway through the Storm Plains’ central region.
• Ian entered the storm and was split in two by a Wind Elemental Envoy, leaving Camilla stunned.

After two years of cultivation and research, Ian had improved his talent, skills, and strength while preparing to compete for a place in the Elemental Child Sequence. The chapter ended when Xia told him that the giant mineral vein in central White Stone Territory had been discovered.

• Ian confirmed that the Hurricane Plains were the diminished remains of the Storm Plains he had encountered in his dreams and considered using them for cultivation.
• Ian advanced his alchemy and other skills, established a wind-attribute resource site, and helped the Academy’s Meditation Room project progress.
• Two years after the Crimson Eye war, Ian reviewed his growth, including Red Scale’s advancement to Mid First Ring and his own progress toward qualifying for the Elemental Child Sequence.
• Ian flew to the alchemy laboratory on Red Scale and found the alchemists anxious.
• Xia told Ian that the giant mineral vein in central White Stone Territory had been discovered.

After learning that a wizard had exposed the White Stone Mountains mineral vein, Ian asked Kieran about the academy’s preparations and the coming conflict. In Gray Tower, Bruno assigned the vein’s development to three branch academies competing for control, and Edith learned the plan from her father.

• Xia told Ian that a third-ring wizard had revealed the mineral vein’s location through a wizard auction, spreading the news across the White Stone Territory.
• Kieran explained that Elemental Mysteries controlled the southern core nodes but that Gray Tower would decide the broader response, and he advised Ian to prepare for war and the Reserve Elemental Child selection.
• Ian learned that the selection would involve battle and privately resolved to aim for the first batch; Derek discussed gathering resources and assessing the situation with him.
• At a Gray Tower council meeting, Bruno prioritized the Guluo Small World and ruled that Radiance, Deep Nest Branch Academy, and Empty Valley Branch Academy would compete to develop the mineral vein.
• Edith asked Bruno about the vein, learned the development arrangement, and left after kissing him, leaving Bruno suspicious.

Ian learned that the Vein War would be decided by control of vein nodes and recruited his senior schoolmates to invest everything in buying and transporting resources ahead of the fighting. The shipment faced a Gray Bone Group ambush, but Ian’s convoy had an escort, and he sensed another threat ahead.

• Ian inspected the Meditation Room experiments, where a faulty rune array caused an explosion, and learned that the laboratory was still working toward a prototype.
• After reading Edith’s warning about the Vein War, Ian gathered Cerys, Derek, Flynn, and Kilian and convinced them to invest in resource trading; together they mobilized roughly three million Magic Stones and the Bayers Chamber of Commerce.
• Elder Winston dismissed the group’s preparations as a foolish venture and sent word to Harry of the Gray Bone Group to cause them trouble.
• Harry’s pirates prepared to attack Ian’s convoy, then spotted its Storm Spear Airship escort and withdrew; Ian thanked Renard for providing the protection.
• Ian noticed black strands spreading through the empty space ahead and warned Renard that something was blocking their path.

Ian helped Storm Spear destroy the Gray Bone Group, then used reliable information about the White Stone Vein to profit as the academies mobilized for war. He remained in the rear to develop his skills, and after four months his talent reached forty thousand as he prepared to advance.

• Ian and Renard defeated the Gray Bone Group, captured Harry, and divided the spoils; Ian found no evidence explaining how the bandits had learned their route.
• Ian learned that the Winston Family was pressuring his associates and brought Vilo, Vivian, Chris, and the others into the Academy; the Academy investigated Winston-affiliated businesses, and Kieran warned Elder Winston to control his people.
• After the Academy announced a war for the White Stone Vein, Ian and Cerys recognized that the news matched Ian's information and profited as resource prices rose.
• Ian sold resources, redeemed several mortgaged resource sites, and stayed in the rear while his senior brothers and sisters went to the front lines.
• Ian raised Hand of Smelting and Forging and Fire Runes to Master Level, bringing his talent to forty thousand and preparing to advance.

Ian advanced his talent from Morning Glow to Blazing, gaining stronger mental power and broad improvements to his abilities. After adjusting to the change, he pushed farther into Metatron’s dream than before, reached the central region of the Storm Plains, and encountered another memory fragment.

• Ian advanced Fire Runes to Master Level and used the prompt to raise his talent from Morning Glow to Blazing.
• Ian tested his newly active mental power and discovered he could leave a strand behind with a simple command, including to trigger his Wizard Inner Armor.
• Ian assessed the advancement’s gains, including stronger meditation, improved talents, three-way multitasking, and a major rise in spell proficiency, while worrying about his limited time and resources.
• Ian entered Metatron’s dream and charged through the outer Storm Plains, easily passing the point where he had stopped before.
• Ian crossed into the central region, traveled a quarter of the way through it, and saw another memory fragment featuring Metatron.

Ian uncovered a memory left by Metatron that led him to a Wind Elemental Lord’s magic power core and an ancient Wind Wings Transcendent Organ. He embedded the organ into his body, completing its connection to his Four Symbols Codex.

• In a dream, Ian witnessed Metatron destroy a powerful Wind Elemental Lord and hide its three cores across the Storm Plains, then realized Metatron had left the memory for him.
• Ian returned to the Academy, checked on Red Scale and the botanical garden, and told Derek to cultivate Iron Thorn toward the Second Ring.
• Ian found Metatron’s hidden wind magic power core beneath the Storm Plains and claimed it as a gentle Three Rings cultivation resource.
• While searching near the core region, Ian discovered an ancient crystal containing Wind Wings, an external Transcendent Organ, and learned its embedding method from the inscription.
• Ian spent a month preparing before embedding Wind Wings with the Four Symbols Codex, and completed the connected cycle one week later.

Ian tested his newly fused Wind Wings, completed the Four Symbols Furnace Chapter, and gained the powerful but dangerous Overclocking skill. As the Vein War kept the academies busy, he balanced cultivation, alchemy, and strengthening White Fang, until a year passed.

• Ian tested his Wind Wings, flew into the Elemental Layer, and found that they let him travel swiftly and absorb wind elements to assist his cultivation.
• Ian completed the Fire Runes, bringing the Four Symbols Furnace to perfect grade and unlocking Overclocking, which raised its output but strained his body.
• Ian tested Overclocking by destroying a distant mountain, then collapsed from exhaustion and realized he needed to strengthen his physique.
• Ian attended the alchemist salon, where Wizards discussed the Vein War, the Eastern Wizard Alliance, and preparations for the coming conflict.
• Ian continued cultivating, working on alchemy, and buying soul-related resources for White Fang, while Red Scale and Derek broke through a month later.
• A year passed as Ian's Wind Rhythm proficiency and other skills continued to improve.

Ian completed a year of training, but shortages caused by the Eastern Wizard Alliance’s growing ties to White Stone Wizard Academy threatened his cultivation. After the other three Wizard Academies declared war on the alliance, Ian joined the campaign to secure resources, especially Earth-Vein Wind Saliva, and arrived with the fleet as the three sides gathered.

• Ian reviewed his gains in Four Symbols Chakra, Body Tempering, Elementalization, alchemy, and Wind Rhythm, while deciding he was not yet ready for the Reserve Elemental Child assessment.
• At the Alchemists' salon, Theodore revealed that the Eastern Wizard Alliance had secretly sided with White Stone Wizard Academy and that the other three Wizard Academies would attack it in three days.
• Renard invited Ian to join the campaign, and Ian accepted, hoping to obtain Riftwind Eagle Feathers and other resources.
• Ian studied Turbine Oscillation and stopped practicing after its backlash made his body tremble, choosing to avoid injury before the war.
• Renard shared a Storm Corps intelligence list with Ian, who identified Earth-Vein Wind Saliva held by the Shaba Family as a valuable target and arranged to work with Renard.
• Ian reached the Eastern Wizard Alliance with the Academy fleet, recognized Simon's student Quentin Sullivan, and saw the other two academies' airships arrive.

The Three Academies broke through the Eastern Wizard Alliance’s defenses, where Ian’s battlefield strength and Alchemy skills earned him growing respect. The Storm Spear force reached the Jacob Family’s estate, where the Riftwind Eagle Feather Ian needed was raised.

• The Grey Furnace, Green Shade, and Elemental Mysteries forces attacked the Eastern Wizard Alliance’s first defensive line, while their Three Rings Wizards fought deep in the territory.
• Ian killed a Mid Second Ring Wizard in one strike, then fought across the battlefield and rescued several members of Renard’s corps.
• The three Academies broke through the first and second defensive lines, while the Alliance abandoned the third and fled.
• Renard’s group began seizing resource sites, and Ian used Darkfire to break a powerful Wizard Array and open a family’s storeroom.
• Ian shared in the captured resources and gained standing among the corps as the group advanced to the Jacob Family’s estate, home to the Riftwind Eagles.

Ian’s team joined Greenfield Wizard Academy in attacking the Jacob Family, then raced to capture the escaping Riftwind Eagle Feathers. Ian gained most of the valuable feathers and taught Wind Rhythm to Drake and other wizards as they continued the invasion toward the Shaba Family’s resource site.

• Drake agreed to split the Jacob Family’s resources evenly with Grant after Aislin Moonshadow approved the deal.
• The combined forces breached the Jacob Family’s nests, and the family’s elderly wizard sacrificed his life to cover the clan’s escape into the Wind Elemental Layer.
• Ian used his Wind Wings and Wind Rhythm to catch and subdue Riftwind Eagle Feathers, impressing Grant and securing most of the Second Ring ones.
• Drake gave Ian his two captured feathers in exchange for Wind Rhythm lessons, and Ian later taught Drake and other wizards during the invasion.
• Ian’s group reached the Shaba Family’s mineral-rich territory and found Verdant’s and Grey Furnace’s Airships and wizards waiting nearby.

Ian helped Drake’s group find and secure the earth-vein wind saliva, then traveled to the mountain formed by a dead Three Rings Wizard’s lingering laws to study Earth Rhythm. After an hour of contemplation, Ian grasped Earth Rhythm and began climbing, shocking Quentin.

• Ian modified monitoring devices, led the group through the mine, and helped locate the pool of earth-vein wind saliva, where the Shaba Family surrendered.
• Drake and the other commanders divided the resource into ten shares, and Ian traded two guidance sessions with Drake for a second share.
• Ian and Drake headed to the site of the dead Three Rings Wizard Arthur Reynolds, where the wizard’s lingering laws had raised a mountain that others could contemplate.
• Ian met Adam and Joshua at the mountain, then began studying Earth Rhythm from its foot while Joshua climbed higher.
• Quentin watched Ian meditate for an hour, then saw him climb the mountain with Earth Rhythm and realized Ian had comprehended it.

Ian comprehended Earth Rhythm during the mountain expedition, then returned to the Academy and spent half a year training and building a Riftwind Eagle Feather breeding operation. After reaching Master Level in Turbine Oscillation, he advanced his physique from top-tier intermediate to advanced and gained the new ability Balance Domain.

• Ian comprehended Earth Rhythm in an hour, stabilizing his Four Symbols Sacred Body and easing its imbalance.
• After the mountain’s rules faded a week later, Ian collected Earth-Vein Wind Saliva and five live Riftwind Eagle Feathers, then returned to the Academy.
• Ian traded for resources, bought land for breeding Riftwind Eagle Feathers, and hired Ul to manage them.
• Over the next half year, Ian trained, refined defensive Witchcraft Artifacts, and improved his Wind Rhythm and Turbine Oscillation.
• Ian raised Turbine Oscillation to Master Level, then used replenishment resources to advance his physique to advanced over half a month.
• Ian tested his new physique, found his spiritual power capacity and combat strength greatly increased, and discovered the ability Balance Domain.

Ian developed his Balance Domain, completed his Four Symbols Chakra, and began pursuing a rare advancement material needed to reach Late Second Ring. He prepared a defensive project to earn major merit and entered the Academy’s bidding competition.

• Ian revealed that his Balance Domain could suppress enemies and balance his own magic power, flesh, and spiritual power, then resolved to pursue Late Second Ring and compete to become a Reserve Elemental Child.
• Over five months, Ian and his team completed the Resonance Rune Array and tested a device designed to disperse the elemental mist covering the mineral veins.
• Ian learned from Kieran that the Academy’s two portions of the top-quality advancement material required major merit, and Kieran decided to help him obtain it.
• Ian visited the Alchemy Department, saw his team’s experiments, and focused on perfecting a defensive project that could earn major merit by clearing mist from the mineral-vein defenses.
• At the Second Ring meeting, Ian announced that he wanted to participate in the bidding for the defensive fortifications project.

Ian proposed and completed the Mist-Dispelling Array, improving it through intensive crafting and receiving an unexpected Storm replenishment, Haste, during a dream dive. At the Academy’s project tests, several alchemists presented their work before Ian stepped forward to demonstrate his array.

• Ian presented Darwin and Augusto with his fifty-percent-complete Mist-Dispelling Array proposal, and they approved it on the condition that he finish before the assessment.
• Ian refined the array for a week, then entered the Storm Plains in a dream dive, where Priestess Camilla gave him a mark that let him master the Haste replenishment.
• Ian returned to crafting with Ulysses and other assistants; over the following weeks, he repeatedly improved the array until it was complete.
• At the testing site, Dante demonstrated his Molten-Core Reactive Armor, while Chandler presented a costly Wind-Element Sensing Device and another alchemist showed rapid fortification equipment.
• Darwin announced Ian’s Mist-Dispelling Array as the next project, and Ian stepped forward to begin its evaluation.

Ian demonstrated that his Mist-Dispelling Array could clear most mineral-vein mist, earning unanimous approval and generous rewards from Dean Aaron. As production began and Ulysses joined Ian’s team, Ian reached the peak of the mid second ring and began his breakthrough.

• Ian demonstrated the Mist-Dispelling Array, and tests showed it could reduce mineral-vein mist to roughly thirty to fifty percent, including in a real mist zone.
• Darwin reported the results, and Dean Aaron awarded Ian major merit, the Deepblue Core, and all the materials he needed to advance.
• Ian gained respect in the Alchemy Department, and Ulysses asked to follow him and learn from him.
• The Academy established a production line for the Mist-Dispelling Device with Ian as its guide.
• After another month, Ian’s spiritual power reached its peak, and he began his breakthrough in the Meditation Room.

Ian advanced to Late Second Ring, gaining the Four Symbols Mirror Eye, greater mental power, and stronger Elementalization. As the Reserve Elemental Child assessment approached, Kieran supported Ian and Cerys with resources, and Ian passed the preliminary review before the on-site review began.

• Ian condensed the Four Symbols Mirror Eye and advanced to Late Second Ring, greatly expanding his perception, mental power, and Elementalization.
• Ian tested his new strength at the Training Ground, where Farn sensed his powerful aura.
• Kieran learned that Ian had already exchanged for the Deepblue Core and asked Anthony to exchange resources for Ian and Cerys.
• Kieran gave Ian a portion of top-tier Second Ring Elemental Water and offered to help him pass the preliminary screening for the Reserve Elemental Child assessment.
• Ian decided he needed the Academy's support to obtain enough resources and kept his advancement quiet while preparing.
• One month later, Ian passed the preliminary review, and three months after that the on-site review began.

Ian presented his magical abilities and extensive academic contributions during the Reserve Elemental Child selection, earning the most votes and securing a place in the next round. The chapter ended with the combat assessment still ahead.

• Ian observed the other candidates and met Monica Walker before the selection presentations began.
• Gabriel, Quentin, and Renard impressed the audience with their physiques, strength, and achievements.
• Ian described his three mastered Rhythms and his research, publications, and contributions to the Academy, drawing widespread applause.
• Ian exchanged contact information with Monica after she presented her own potion research.
• The Wizards voted, and Ian received 170 of 200 votes, ranking first among the ten candidates who advanced.