Despite his initial amazement at the protracted duration, Pierce was actually quite satisfied.

  After all, a larger Spirit Crystal volume equated to greater inherent potential.

  Furthermore, a massive Spirit Crystal only increased the difficulty of breaking through to the subsequent phase; in terms of raw combat strength, his mental power Energy Level would be no weaker than that of any other Wizard.

  Based on the universal progression rule—where each stage's mental power Energy Level is equivalent to the number of crystal faces—the upper limit of his Rank 1 Gaseous Phase would almost rival the upper limit of a standard, generic Wizard's Rank 1 Crystalline Phase.

  "The Spirit Crystal is the absolute core of a Wizard's power."

  "Therefore, the number of crystal faces largely dictates a Wizard's overarching strength and future growth potential."

  Having formally advanced to Wizard, Pierce could acutely feel that numerous aspects of his being had undergone earth-shattering changes.

  First was his affinity for energy particles, which had skyrocketed exponentially.

  The sheer quantity of energy particles he could mobilize per unit of time had more than tripled, and his manipulation precision had achieved microscopic exactitude.

  Pure energy particle manipulation—without channeling through any spell models—already matched the destructive power of the Elemental Runes from his apprentice days.

  This foundational improvement would naturally drive a staggering increase in the potency of his spells, Elemental Runes, and Magic Tattoos.

  Pierce tested a few simple Cantrips.

  Even though they were basic zero-circle spells, their raw output was visibly stronger than the First Circle spells he had cast during his peak apprentice stage.

  Secondly, following the qualitative sublimation of his mental power, he could now project it externally to shroud his physical body, forming a perpetual Mental Force Field.

  This force field generally wouldn't affect his daily interactions, but it would spontaneously react and block damage when attacked, effectively granting him a 24-hour, passive protective shell.

  This intrinsic defense was the primary reason why it was notoriously difficult to assassinate a Formal Wizard via sneak attack.

  Additionally, the Mental Force Field acted as a formidable screen against detection. The vast majority of scrying and detection spells could not penetrate it without alerting him.

  "I wonder if the Eye of Omniscience's detection can penetrate another Wizard's Mental Force Field?"

  The thought flashed through Pierce's mind, and he resolved to find a discreet opportunity to test it later.

  The final point, and perhaps the most critical tactical advantage, was the Spell Imprint.

  Each geometric face of a Wizard's Spirit Crystal could be permanently imprinted with a single spell model.

  When a Wizard cast an imprinted spell, not only was the power significantly amplified, but the mental consumption and casting time were also drastically reduced.

  Precisely because of this mechanic, a Wizard's combat endurance far exceeded that of an apprentice, earning them the terrifying battlefield moniker of "Humanoid Self-Propelled Magic Cannons."

  This was also the fundamental reason why possessing more Will Runes during the meditation phase translated to higher potential.

  A high upper limit for mental Energy Levels was one benefit; the other was the structural geometry of the Spirit Crystal. More faces meant more available slots for imprinted spells.

  In Pierce's case, he possessed a staggering thirty-two crystal faces. Not only did his energy capacity dwarf that of ordinary Wizards, but the sheer number of spells he could imprint was more than double the norm.

  Currently, thirty crystal faces remained vacant.

  Looking at the empty slots in his mind's eye, Pierce knew he would have to dedicate significant time and resources to learning new spells to fully stock his arsenal.

  "Compared to Wizard Apprentices, Formal Wizards truly operate on a completely different dimension of power."

  "There is simply no comparison."

  Pierce finally understood why Formal Wizards viewed elite apprentices as little more than ants.

  A Wizard, even a newly advanced one, could crush a pinnacle apprentice like Gareth as easily as pinching a bug. They were organisms occupying fundamentally different life tiers.

  After a moment of quiet reflection, Pierce began to strategize his next steps.

  The advancement of a Wizard was, in essence, a relentless cycle of continuously increasing and refining mental power.

  For example, in the Gaseous Phase, one had to expand their mental power until it saturated the crystal's capacity and could grow no further. Then, the arduous process of refining and compressing began until the gaseous energy liquefied.

  The exact same logic applied transitioning from the Liquid Phase to the Crystalline Phase.

  When the Spirit Crystal was fully solidified, one could begin constructing a second Spirit Crystal, repeating the cycle anew.

  "The core problem is how to efficiently increase and refine mental power."

  A thoughtful, calculating look crossed Pierce's eyes.

  According to The Wizard's Codex, once one advanced to Wizard, the efficiency of standard meditation plummeted to an abysmal rate.

  Without external aids, relying purely on dry meditation, a Wizard would need at least fifteen to twenty years just to bridge the gap to the Rank 1 Liquid Phase.

  Therefore, wondrous items, rare resources, or alchemical potions capable of stimulating mental growth were an absolute necessity for any Wizard seeking advancement.

  Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  "No wonder Wizards flock to the meat-grinder of the Planar Battlefield at the drop of a hat."

  Pierce sighed softly.

  Without sufficient resources, the path of advancement was agonizingly, despairingly slow.

  Of course, not all Wizards faced this crippling bottleneck.

  Wizards who inherited the bloodlines of ancient, powerful creatures were the exception.

  They possessed exclusive Bloodline Activation Techniques. By stimulating their heritage through specific rituals, they could rapidly boost their strength. Until their bloodline's innate potential was fully tapped, their growth speed would be exponential.

  This was exactly why, among Crystal Wizards, scions from Bloodline Families often vastly outpaced ordinary Wizards in the early stages.

  "However, while the advantage is obvious, the flaw is equally glaring."

  "Once the bloodline is fully activated and its potential exhausted, their growth stagnates violently. Breaking through that genetic ceiling becomes far harder for them than for ordinary Wizards. A trade-off dictated by the heavens."

  Pierce didn't envy them.

  If his goal were merely to become a Rank 1 or Rank 2 Wizard and dominate a small city, he might have coveted a powerful bloodline. But his ambition lay far beyond the horizon; even a Crystal Wizard was just a stepping stone on his path to ultimate truth.

  Moreover, with the Eye of Omniscience, his growth rate wouldn't necessarily lose to those favored bloodline scions.

  "If only I could calculate a secret technique that rapidly increases and refines mental power..."

  Pierce's eyes flickered with a cold light. He issued a command in his mind:

  "Eye of Omniscience, calculate a secret technique for rapid mental power accumulation and refinement."

  [Task Created. Beginning calculation. Estimated time: 24,391 days.]

  "That long?!"

  Pierce inhaled sharply.

  Over sixty years. That was completely unfeasible.

  "Eye of Omniscience, switch metric. Use Energy Levels to quantify task progress."

  The display shifted instantly.

  [Estimated Cost: 585.5 Energy Levels.]

  "Over five hundred Energy Levels... If I accelerate with full power, continuously draining myself, it would take about one hundred and ten days."

  Pierce frowned.

  Honestly, three months wasn't a long time in the grand scheme of a Wizard's lifespan. And as his own Energy Level naturally rose, that estimated time would decrease.

  But he couldn't spend the next hundred days draining his mental reserves dry every single day. That would completely paralyze his ability to learn spells, brew potions, or engage in combat. It would drastically drag down his overall progress.

  "I need to shorten the base calculation time."

  "I can look up references in the great library, but the effect will be minimal. The best way is to have a similar, existing technique as a base reference model."

  Suddenly, inspiration struck like a lightning bolt.

  Bloodline Activation Techniques.

  If he could obtain one of those closely guarded secret techniques, he could feed it to the Eye of Omniscience as a reference model to derive a universal, non-bloodline-dependent method.

  "It is definitely worth a try."

  "But the core problem is acquisition."

  Bloodline Activation Techniques were the absolute core secrets of Bloodline Families. They were strictly guarded, completely forbidden from outsiders. Not because outsiders could use them—without the specific bloodline, the technique was utterly useless—but because a clever, malicious enemy could reverse-engineer the technique to create curses or spells that specifically targeted and eradicated that bloodline.

  History in the Astral Coalition had recorded entire prominent families being exterminated precisely this way.

  Since then, Bloodline Families guarded these secrets with paranoid, lethal fervor. Anyone caught coveting them would be hunted to the ends of the earth.

  Even if Pierce wasn't afraid of being hunted, obtaining one would be exceedingly difficult.

  "Peaceful trading is impossible. I can only take it by force."

  "First, I need to find a suitable target. A Formal Wizard with a bloodline."

  A name instantly flashed through Pierce's mind, clear and sharp.

  Peyton!

  This was undoubtedly an excellent target.

  Pierce had absolutely zero psychological burden regarding targeting him.

  "Speaking of which, it is high time I dealt with that guy."

  A cold, dangerous glint flashed in Pierce's eyes.

  When he was weak, he had to endure and lay low. Now that he was a Wizard, it was time for some 'reciprocity'.

  With a preliminary plan forming, Pierce considered his immediate, practical schedule.

  Priority one: Secure resources for mental growth. This was explicitly mentioned in the Codex, and he could finally apply to the Dawn Council for his promised rewards.

  Priority two: Learn new spells. With his enhanced mental capacity, he could now access Second Circle spells. He needed to carefully select appropriate ones to imprint onto his Spirit Crystal.

  "Thirty-two faces... filling them all will be a massive undertaking."

  It was a luxurious problem to have.

  "Also, the Argent Star can evolve. Just one more standard measure of metal, and it ascends to a Tier 2 Arcane Artifact."

  "My Magic Tattoos also require urgent upgrading."

  Pierce looked down at his own body.

  His advancement had triggered a massive, secondary surge in his constitution. Converted to the old metric, his physical stats had likely doubled.

  A strong physique would naturally feedback into his breathing technique. Pierce estimated the cultivation efficiency of the Omniscient Breathing Technique would skyrocket, allowing him to break through to the Tier 2 Legendary level very soon.

  By then, his body could easily support three or more Medium-Grade Magic Tattoos.

  Then there were potions. He could now safely attempt to brew Tier 2 Potions, many of which had significant, highly sought-after effects on Formal Wizards.

  After listing it all out, Pierce realized he was going to be incredibly busy.

  "Work, work, work."

  Pierce smiled faintly. He waved to the Mist Raven, which dissolved into a wisp of dark smoke and wrapped obediently around his wrist.

  He opened the heavy, enchanted door and stepped out of the spell laboratory for the first time in over two and a half months.

  Diagonally across the hall, a Wizard Apprentice was in the process of swiping his key card. Hearing the heavy door unseal, he glanced over casually, then turned away.

  A second later, he whipped his head back, his eyes bulging as he stared fixedly at Pierce.

  "P-Pierce!"

  Pierce looked at the man, slightly confused.

  Even if he was famous from the planar competition, looking at him as if he were a prehistoric beast seemed a bit excessive.

  Realizing his gaffe, the apprentice hurriedly fixed his expression into an ingratiating, fawning smile.

  Pierce gave him a strange look, ignored him, and walked away down the corridor.

  It wasn't until Pierce disappeared at the end of the hall that the apprentice let out a long breath, absolute shock plastered across his face.

  "I can't feel any mental fluctuations from him at all... No mistake. The rumors must be true. Pierce must have advanced to Wizard!"

  "This... this is heaven-shaking news!"

  Muttering to himself in a daze, the apprentice completely abandoned his plans to test spells and rushed downstairs to spread the word.

  Second Floor Public Hall.

  Dozens of apprentices were busy experimenting. Explosions, freezing blasts, and flashes of light filled the air; it was a lively, chaotic scene.

  Near the stairs, a group of apprentices—too poor to rent private labs—were chatting idly while waiting for open communal spots.

  "Excuse me."

  A calm, even voice came from behind them.

  The group stopped chatting, subconsciously stepping aside as they looked back to see who was passing.

  They froze.

  Pierce walked through the parted group without a second glance, his footsteps silent.

  Only after he was far away, disappearing down the stairs, did one of them finally find his voice.

  "That... that was Pierce, right?"

  "Has to be. Unless we're all sharing a mass hallucination."

  "He came out of the third-floor private labs... Did he succeed?"

  "He must have. When he walked past me just now, my body tensed up involuntarily, like a prey animal sensing a predator. I've only ever felt that kind of pressure from Formal Wizards!"

  "He actually did it. He was in there for so long I was sure he had failed the condensation and died of backlash."

  "A genius is a genius. They don't fail like we do."

  Within minutes, the news that Pierce had successfully advanced to Formal Wizard set the entire hall, and soon the building, abuzz.

  On the stone-paved path to Garden No. 8, Pierce keenly sensed the shift in atmosphere.

  In the past, he attracted attention and whispers. Now, it was pure reverence.

  Apprentices stopped dead in their tracks as he approached, standing respectfully by the roadside and bowing slightly until he passed, averting their eyes.

  This was the strict etiquette reserved exclusively for Formal Wizards.

  Pierce understood immediately: the news of his advancement had already leaked.

  Lost in thought, he saw a familiar figure approaching from the opposite direction.

  It was Vance, whom he hadn't seen since their second, highly profitable expedition into the Realm of Truth.

  Seeing Pierce, Vance’s face went through a rapid kaleidoscope of emotions—surprise, admiration, deep envy—before finally settling on profound, absolute respect.

  He stopped, bowed formally, and spoke with sincere deference.

  "Lord Pierce, congratulations on your advancement to Wizard!"