Wizard: My Skills Can Infinitely Break Through

Jiangzhou City Superpower Management Bureau Headquarters, Resource Allocation Department.

On the counter, ten golden Source Crystals, each the size of a goose egg, rested quietly on a velvet cloth.

”Advisor Yin, this is your payment for purifying the Rift. Please take it.”

The staff member behind the counter was respectful, their eyes filled with admiration.

After the events at the Black Dragon Mountain Range, and with much embellishment from Zhou Zhen and the other personnel, Advisor Yin’s reputation had not only spread rapidly throughout Jiangzhou Province, but even the Beijing Headquarters had sent another congratulatory message to commend his magnificent feat.

Single-handedly wiping out the Longevity Cult, which had been entrenched for two hundred years, and purifying an entire Rift in under three minutes.

Such a feat earned the admiration of even the Legends, and their estimation of Ian’s power was revised upward once again.

Ian nodded and tucked the Source Crystals away.

Ten Source Crystals. Enough to raise his Gravity and Thermal Energy Rules by a few percentage points.

He didn’t absorb them right away. He wanted to save up enough to push his Gravity and Thermal Energy to over 60% in one go.

At that point, the power of his Order Divine Body’s ”Blazing Star Core” would undergo another qualitative transformation.

”Where’s General Wei?” Ian asked.

”General Wei left for the Red Sand Rift in the northwest this morning.”

The staff member pulled up a map and marked a red dot on the screen.

”The situation there is urgent. It’s suspected that a large number of Mutants have appeared and are attacking the Rift’s exit.”

Ian glanced at the map. The Red Sand Rift was six thousand kilometers from Jiangzhou City, deep in the Northwest Desert of Great Yan.

The Rift was rated at Level Four Peak, nearing Level Five.

”Understood.” He casually dismissed the map and turned to leave.

Back at his temporary residence, Ian placed the small case on the table.

Then, he took another case out of his Dimension Ring.

Opening it revealed over sixty Source Crystal Fragments of varying sizes—spoils collected from the Cultists.

Ian calculated silently. ’To push my Gravity and Thermal Energy to 60%, I’ll need the Energy of at least one hundred complete Source Crystals.’

He only had a little over ten now, still far from his goal.

’Well then... time to get back to work. I’ll start with the Rifts below Level Five.’

He took out the Advisor Token Li Yan had given him and extended his Spiritual Power into it. Inside the Token were the coordinates and ratings of all recorded Rifts within Great Yan.

There were one hundred sixty-seven Level Three and Level Four Rifts, twelve Level Five Rifts, and a few more suspected to be Level Five but unconfirmed.

”Gaga,” he called out softly.

A black figure emerged from the shadows. The little creature landed on his shoulder, its feathers shimmering with a dark luster.

”We’re heading out again?”

”Mhm.” Ian looked to the northwest. ”We’ll leave the Red Sand Rift to Wei Song. We’ll handle the other Level Fours.”

”Let’s start with the closest one, the Gorge Rift.”

「One day later, at the Gorge Rift on the southeastern border of Great Yan.」

This had once been a primeval forest, but now the trees were withered and the ground was cracked. A dark purple mist billowed out from fissures in the earth, squirming as if it were alive.

Deep within the mist, the ruins of former buildings and wandering Mutants could be faintly seen.

Somewhere along the inner edge of the Rift, a team from the local Management Bureau was cautiously investigating.

The captain, a Level Three Grandmaster, wore a grim expression.

”The Energy fluctuations have intensified again. A new Level Four Mutant may have appeared. Everyone, be careful.”

”Captain, should we call headquarters for backup?”

”The request for reinforcements was sent three days ago, but the higher-ups are all busy...”

The second-in-command didn’t finish his sentence. He suddenly froze and looked up at the sky.

The captain and the rest of the team looked up as well, their pupils contracting in unison.

The sky... had split open.

It was as if an invisible giant hand had torn a fissure in the air. The light around the opening was blurry and distorted.

A figure slowly descended from within the distorted light.

He wore the dark blue uniform of an Advisor, had black hair and black eyes, and a black bird was perched on his shoulder, looking around curiously.

”Is that... Advisor Yin, the one whose fame has skyrocketed recently?!”

The captain’s face lit up with elation. Although he had only seen a photo in an internal memo, that aura... was unmistakable.

’I heard that no Rift, whether it’s Level Three, Four, or even Five, can withstand a single blow from his ”Red-Bladed Spear”!’

’Now that Advisor Yin is here, this Rift will be purified in no time.’

Ever since Ian had annihilated the Legendary Pope of the Longevity Cult, everyone’s estimation of his power had been revised upward again.

He was at least in the Middle Stage of Legend, or perhaps even the Late Stage of Legend—the very pinnacle of power in the current era!

Ian landed slowly, his Spiritual Power spreading out like mercury, instantly perceiving the situation inside.

The Rift was quite large, at least a hundred kilometers across, and teeming with tens of thousands of Mutants. Among them were no fewer than thirty or forty Level Four ones.

’With so many Level Four Mutants, if I hadn’t come, this Rift would have likely broken through its exit eventually.’

”All of you, get out. Guard the exit,” he instructed them softly, his expression calm.

”Yes, Advisor Yin!”

As if granted a pardon, the captain and his team scrambled toward the exit, terrified that if they were too slow, they would be purified along with everything else.

Once the team was out of the Rift, Ian made a grasping motion with his hand, and the air around him abruptly solidified.

The Gravity Field expanded, enveloping the entire Rift. The dark purple mist began to twist and contract, as if being squeezed by an invisible hand.

All the Mutants looked up at the same time, terror flashing in their crimson eyes.

They wanted to flee, but their bodies were already immobilized.

With a thought from Ian, the crimson Light Core deep in his chest began to spin.

The temperature began to skyrocket. Ten thousand degrees, one hundred thousand, five hundred thousand...

In his palm, a Long Spear formed from the purest, most extreme concentration of light and heat slowly materialized.

He tossed it lightly. ”Go, Red-Pointed Spear.”

The Red-Pointed Spear flew from his hand, ionizing the air and piercing through space itself as it traveled.

The ground began to melt. Rock, soil, withered trees... all matter touched by its light dissolved in an instant.

HUMMM!!!

The Long Spear landed in the center of the Rift. There was no sound, only light... an endless, overwhelming light.

Crimson light erupted from the spear’s shaft, gushing like lava, but purer and far more terrifying.

A pillar of light, over a hundred meters in diameter, shot into the sky.

The shockwave radiated outward, instantly vaporizing the dark purple mist, atomizing the Mutants, and erasing the ruined buildings.

Even the Rift’s core, deep underground, disintegrated and collapsed within the light.

Three breaths later, the light faded, leaving only a massive crater, a kilometer in diameter.

The bottom of the crater was as smooth as a mirror, covered in a layer of glistening, glass-like material.

The corruption in the entire space... was gone. Not a single trace of its aura remained. It had been completely purified.

Ian landed slowly at the edge of the massive crater. In the periphery of his vision, a panel silently appeared.

[Corrupted World Origin Fragment (Level Four) detected.]

[Corruption Level: 91%. Purify?]

”Yes.”

At his command, a wisp of black-purple Energy was drawn out from the depths of the crater by an invisible force.

It twisted and struggled in the air before transforming into a pure golden thread of light that sank between Ian’s eyebrows.

[Purification complete. Commencing absorption of World Origin...]

The panel’s notification flashed.

Ian felt the Gravity Orbit and Thermal Energy Orbit deep within his Sea of Spirit solidify a little more.

’This feeling of growing stronger with every Rift I purify is just wonderful!’

”Next one.”

He turned and looked to the southeast, where several more Level Four Rifts awaited.

”Gaga, let’s go.” His figure shot into the sky and vanished in an instant.

Left behind were the dumbfounded captain and his team, and the vanished Rift.

「One month later.」

Across Great Yan, the number of Level Four Rifts had dropped from fifty-seven to twenty-nine.

After another month, the number fell to fifteen. It became commonplace for several Level Three Rifts to disappear in a single day.

A month after that, only two Level Four Rifts remained.

Ian’s figure appeared frequently in the urgent bulletins of Management Bureaus all over the country.

”The Maple Forest Rift has been purified. Advisor Yin acted. Time elapsed: three minutes.”

”The Black Water Rift has been purified. Advisor Yin acted. Time elapsed: two minutes and forty-seven seconds.”

”The Red Rock Rift has been purified. Advisor Yin acted. Time elapsed: two minutes and twelve seconds.”

...

Every bulletin was accompanied by photos from the scene: a massive crater, a smooth, vitrified ground, and the completely eradicated aura of corruption.

And... the imposing figure standing at the crater’s edge.

Gradually, a title began to circulate and spread rapidly.

The Red-Bladed Spear.

This was because Ian’s most common method was that crimson Long Spear.

One strike to pierce the Earth and purify all.

Meanwhile, Wei Song’s record was just as dazzling.

”The Yellow Sand Rift has been purified. General Wei acted. Time elapsed: five minutes.”

”The Ash Rift has been purified. General Wei acted. Time elapsed: four minutes and thirty seconds.”

”The Magma Rift has been purified. General Wei acted. Time elapsed: three minutes and fifty seconds.”

His title was... the Ashbringer, because after his Thermonuclear Explosions, everything was reduced to Ashes.

The master and disciple duo—one with a long spear, the other with a nuclear explosion—swept through all of Great Yan’s Rifts.

The common people were thrown into a frenzy of celebration. Newspapers, television, the internet—everywhere was filled with cheers and praise.

”The Red-Bladed Spear! The Ashbringer!”

”Great Yan is saved! Profound Yellow is saved!”

”At this rate, all the Rifts will be purified in another six months!”

”We can finally get a good night’s sleep!”

On every street corner, people discussed the news, wearing long-absent smiles of relief.

Children scrawled graffiti on the walls of streets and alleys, drawing crimson spears and exploding suns.

The elderly gathered in teahouses, sipping their tea and marveling at how times had changed.

”Back in the day, it would take years to deal with a single Rift, and so many people would die.”

”And now? Three minutes, and it’s done.”

”This is a true legend among Legends...”

But amidst the cheers, discordant voices began to emerge.

At first, they were small, like the buzzing of flies, but they gradually began to spread.

”Have you noticed? The Rifts that Advisor Yin and General Wei purify... they don’t produce any Source Crystal Veins.”

”Purifying Rifts used to be hard, but at least they left behind Source Crystal Ore.”

”But now? They’re wiped clean, not even a scrap is left. Are they... pocketing the Source Crystals for themselves?”

”No way, right? Why would a Legend...”

”Why not? Have you ever seen a Source Crystal the size of a chicken egg? A single one can help a Level Three Grandmaster break through.”

”They’ve purified so many Rifts. How many Source Crystals must that be? I’m afraid Great Yan’s entire Source Crystal reserve... is about to be drained.”

The whispers were quiet, but they spread like a virus, from teahouses to taverns, from one street corner to the next.

Great Yan Capital City, Management Bureau Headquarters.

Li Yan sat in his office, staring at a report on his desk. The title was glaring.

_Preliminary Investigation into the Absence of Source Crystal Veins Following Rift Purifications by Legends Yin and Wei_.

Below it was a long list of data.

Over the past three-plus months, Ian and Wei Song had purified a total of one hundred thirty-two Rifts.

According to historical data, the purification of so many Rifts should have yielded at least a thousand of the highest-grade Source Crystals.

But now... there wasn’t a single one. No veins had formed, and not even Fragments were left behind.

”Mr. Li, there are some unsavory rumors circulating,” his secretary said, standing before his desk and speaking in a low voice.

”They’re saying that Advisor Yin and General Wei... used some secret methods to intercept the Source Crystals at their source.”

Li Yan just stared at the report without speaking, but his eyes gradually grew cold.

”Have you traced the origin of the rumors?”

”It’s been too long, so it’s difficult. My subordinates are still investigating, but... it is true that no veins have formed.”

The secretary snuck a glance at Li Yan from the corner of their eye before quickly looking down again.

”Furthermore, after every purification, Advisor Yin stays behind for a few minutes, as if he’s collecting something.”

Li Yan looked up, gazing out the window, and remained silent for a long time.

The sun was setting, staining the sky the color of blood.

”I understand. You may leave,” he said with a wave of his hand.

The secretary retreated silently, leaving Li Yan alone in the office.

He picked up the report, read it one more time, then tore it to shreds and threw it in the trash.

”Pocketing Source Crystals?” he muttered to himself, a cold smirk touching his lips.

’If they were just pocketing them, that would be for the best. What I’m afraid of... is that they aren’t.’

He recalled Ian’s eyes—calm and profound, as if they held an entire starry sky.

’Someone that powerful, and his goal is really Source Crystals? What a joke!’

Li Yan didn’t believe a word of it, but he also knew that once a rumor starts, it’s difficult to quell.

Especially when that rumor... touches upon the core interests of certain people.

’It seems some people are getting restless. Once the Rifts are completely pacified...’

He stood up and walked to the window. The lights of the Capital City were brilliant.

But in the shadows untouched by the light, who knew how many demons and monsters were lurking.

”Mr. Yin, Wei Song...”

Li Yan murmured the two names.

’You two must... be careful.’