Chapter 204: The Millennia-Old Wizard Family

Returning to the original cavern, Sunan turned back just in time to see the dark spatial portal rapidly shrink, finally disappearing into a black dot.

Watching this, a touch of sentiment flickered across Sunan's face.

With the collapse of the Black Forest and the dismantling of the Starlight Tower into materials, two of the legendary three great wizard legacies of the Starlight Continent had vanished forever by his hand.

Now, only the last one, Falling Star City, remained.

"But where is Falling Star City?" Sunan pondered.

He had scoured the entire underground world but found no trace of the Falling Star City.

The clues to this final wizard legacy were likely on the surface world, and probably in the Northwest Region.

After all, he had already thoroughly explored the Southeast Region.

"Once the Starlight Empire conquers the Northwest Region, I'll have Kyi help search for it."

Regaining his focus, Sunan left the cavern.

The body of the Dark Magic Tree was too large to handle in Dragon Forest, so he needed a spacious and secluded place to extract the divine energy from the tree.

However, the task was far more tedious and time-consuming than Sunan had anticipated.

The Dark Magic Tree's body contained less than three hundred standard units of divine energy, but its immense size made extraction slow.

Over two months, Sunan extracted and absorbed the energy, eventually draining the tree body completely.

His mental refinement progress surged by nearly 20%, reaching 60.37%!

With all its essence concentrated into the Thousand Tree Essence and the divine energy drawn out, the Dark Magic Tree's body turned to ordinary wood, imbued with negative energy radiation—useless and harmful. Sunan simply burned it.

Afterward, Sunan divided the Thousand Tree Essence into several pieces, synthesizing them to purify the spider venom before beginning absorption.

Possibly due to being the concentrated essence of the Dark Magic Tree, the Thousand Tree Essence contained more energy than Sunan expected, ultimately boosting his mental refinement progress by over 14%.

With this, Sunan's mental refinement had surpassed the 70% threshold.

[Sunan Ayanes, Human Male]

[Gasification: 74.82%]

"Just about 15% more to break through to the first-level liquefaction."

Sunan was delighted.

He had anticipated needing three to four centuries to reach first-level liquefaction, yet ten years post-ascension had already brought him past 70%.

Much of this accelerated progress was thanks to the Spider Goddess.

Nearly all the divine energy he absorbed over the decade came from her.

Without her relentless "gifts," he wouldn't have reached 70% so quickly.

Reflecting on this, Sunan felt a twinge of regret that the Spider Goddess could no longer interfere with the Starlight Continent.

Perhaps he shouldn't have been so hasty in dealing with the Dark Magic Tree?

"Forget it, that woman was too cunning. Who knows what trouble she'd cause if left unchecked. It's better to have resolved it early."

Sunan decided against it, realizing the risk of leaving the Dark Magic Tree was too great. It wasn't worth keeping a ticking time bomb nearby for some divine energy.

"With only 15% more mental refinement needed, I could reach first-level liquefaction in about eighty years with steady cultivation."

"And there are other methods."

A glint of determination shone in Sunan's eyes.

Back when he sought Thunder Stones in the Lightning Element Plane, he had considered hunting elemental spirits for divine energy extraction.

But he set it aside, doubting his strength at the time.

Now, with his mental refinement nearly doubled, his power had increased significantly—perhaps it was time to try.

If successful, he would have a steady source of divine energy.

But preparation was crucial.

The Lightning Element Plane was home to elemental spirits, and there, only non-elemental spells, non-lightning engraved gems, and Liquid Metal were effective against them.

Other methods were either too weak, restricted by the environment, or ineffective against elemental spirits—none were viable options for Sunan.

"I'll prepare more engraved gems."

"If necessary, I can overwhelm them with sheer numbers."

With his plan in mind, Sunan didn't linger, using Levitation to rise and fly toward the nearest city-state.

He realized he'd been away for nearly three months.

But with the war concluded, the Star Alliance likely required little of his attention.

He'd only need to occasionally review reports and guide major decisions.

Upon returning to the Dragon Skeleton Tower, Carolina and the Red Widow promptly sought him out.

"Master, the marble and metals you requested have been collected, but the jade stone will take more time."

In the study, Carolina handed over a list detailing collected materials, including marble, obsidian, and refined steel.

These were the foundational materials for constructing the wizard tower.

Collection was only the first step.

These basic materials couldn't yet be used for the tower; they needed enchantment processing to enhance hardness and magical conductivity.

The quality of this enchantment processing largely determined the tower's potential.

In short, the vast quantity of foundational materials meant enchantment processing was a time-consuming and labor-intensive task.

Sunan delegated the enchantment processing to the students of Starlight Academy, dividing it into various tasks.

This foundational work could be managed by first-level wizard apprentices with basic enchantment skills.

"Collecting jade stone can be slow, but focus on quality," Sunan instructed.

Jade stone, a fine-grained white marble, was a superior material for construction and carving due to its hardness.

It already possessed slight magical conductivity, which significantly improved post-enchantment, ideal for reinforcing elemental arrays and constructing Elemental Pools and meditation areas.

Additionally, enchanted jade stone could withstand spells below the third ring, making it suitable for building spell training rooms.

Its only drawback was its cost.

"What about other materials?" Sunan asked, setting down the list.

Carolina replied respectfully, "We've gathered the magic steel ingots and high-grade gemstones, but we're still missing three-fifths of the arcane crystals, mystical dust, and astral sand. I've deployed more personnel to search for them."

"Additionally, I'm negotiating with the Starlight Empire to help the Star Alliance purchase surface world silver mines, classifying them as strategic resources under our control to significantly boost mithril production."

Sunan nodded slightly.

The wizard tower required numerous large-scale facilities, including but not limited to Elemental Pools, Elemental Furnaces, maze-lock protective energy fields, floating rings, and long-range strike units.

These facilities demanded vast amounts of rare materials, including mithril.

With the Starlight Continent lacking trade routes with other planes, all resources had to be self-produced, making the collection slow and reliant on gradual accumulation.

Moreover, some materials were nonexistent on the continent, necessitating Sunan's research into alternatives.

Without the synthesis cube, building a wizard tower on the Starlight Continent would be a pipe dream.

Carolina's ability to gather a considerable amount of rare materials in such a short time was already commendable.

Sunan wouldn't be overly demanding.

"Well done."

Receiving her master's praise, Carolina couldn't hide her joy.

The Red Widow observed this and secretly rolled her eyes.

What's there to be so smug about?

Just as she was inwardly criticizing, Sunan suddenly turned to her.

"What's happening on the surface?"

Carolina handled the underground world, while the Red Widow managed the surface affairs.

Hearing Sunan's question, the Red Widow quickly composed herself and replied respectfully:

"Master, a month ago, the Starlight Empire officially launched an offensive in the Northwest Region."

Sunan raised an eyebrow, though not surprised.

Nearly seven years had passed since unifying the Southeast Region, and the Starlight Empire had likely consolidated its gains, stabilizing the region.

Advancing into the Northwest Region wasn't unexpected.

However, Red Widow wouldn't have brought this up just for that, so Sunan gestured for her to continue.

"Five days ago, Emperor Kyi sent a letter requesting high-level reinforcements from us."

Sunan was finally a bit surprised. "Why?"

With the Starlight Empire's current military might, they should be capable of conquering the Northwest Region. Why ask the Star Alliance for help?

The Red Widow, with a peculiar expression, explained, "All the countries in the Northwest Region have united against the Starlight Empire. Additionally, under the mediation of the Russell family, nearly all third-level wizard apprentices in the Northwest Region have also joined forces, assassinating the commanders of various imperial armies. Because of this, the Empire has been struggling, unable to advance, hence the request for our assistance."

"The Russell family?" Sunan was intrigued. "What's the story with this family?"

Third-level wizard apprentices are typically reclusive, independent, or haughty individuals, making gathering them a challenge.

That the Russell family could accomplish this was indeed surprising.

The Red Widow handed Sunan a document, explaining as she did:

"The Russell family is a millennia-old wizard family with deep roots. It's said their ancestors were wizards from a thousand years ago. They hold immense prestige in the Northwest Region. Although not royalty, they are respected by all nations."

"Furthermore, the Russell family is highly regarded in the wizard apprentice community. Many apprentices have interacted with them and received their help, so they often show deference in many matters."

"This time, the third-level wizard apprentices in the Northwest Region set aside their differences and united because the current patriarch, Facado Russell, personally intervened and lobbied extensively."

Sunan examined the document, which detailed intelligence on the Russell family, including its members.

The current patriarch, Facado Russell, was 156 years old and a third-level wizard apprentice, ranking among the top three in the Northwest Region.

Beneath him, the Russell family boasted sixteen wizard apprentices.

These included three third-level apprentices, five second-level apprentices, and eight first-level apprentices.

This alone made them comparable to some wizard apprentice organizations.

Indeed, the Russell family had the clout and power to command respect from both nations and wizard apprentices.

"A millennia-old wizard family, huh."

Sunan mused.

It reminded him of the Kessler family.

The Kessler family's ancestor was also a wizard, with a legacy spanning over a thousand years.

Yet the Kessler family fared far worse than the Russells, lacking even a single wizard apprentice.

Their only third-ring legendary knight was now dead.

The last known family member's whereabouts were unknown, leaving their survival uncertain.

"The Kessler ancestor left them clues to the Starlight Tower. Being another millennia-old wizard family, could the Russell ancestor have also left them a legacy?"

The words "Falling Star City" flashed in Sunan's mind.

Perhaps the clues to the final of the three great wizard legacies lay with the Russell family.

"Send Secret Puppet No. 1 and Secret Puppet No. 2 over," Sunan instructed, closing the document. "Capture the Russell family members alive if possible, especially Facado Russell. I need to interrogate him for information."

"Yes, Master," the Red Widow replied respectfully.

Sunan waved them off, and the two women wisely took their leave.

Outside the study, Carolina suddenly asked, "Are you personally leading the team to the Northwest Region?"

"Of course." The Red Widow glanced at her, smiling sweetly. "Master clearly values capturing the Russell family members, so I must personally oversee it."

Carolina gave her a long, meaningful look. "I hope you won't disappoint Master."

The Red Widow maintained her smile, laughing softly. "With two secret puppets, I don't foresee any difficulties."

The combat power of the secret puppets was no secret to the Star Alliance's higher-ups.

Two puppets, each rivaling a wizard in strength, facing a group of third-level wizard apprentices, wasn't even a case of a strongman bullying children.

It was more like fully armed knights against unarmed toddlers!

The outcome was without suspense!

After a millennium, the Russell family likely had no real understanding of a wizard's might.

Otherwise, they wouldn't attempt the absurd feat of uniting third-level apprentices against a wizard.

Only those who had witnessed a wizard's power understood such actions were futile.

Master didn't even need to appear; the two secret puppets alone would rout those clowns.

Carolina was well aware of this and, pursing her lips, said nothing more, turning to leave.

Watching her depart, the Red Widow's smile slowly faded, her demeanor cooling.

No matter how long they worked together, she could never quite tolerate that pretentious woman.

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