Wizard: My Skills Can Infinitely Break Through

He paused, then added, ”Of course, this will be limited to the outer city. We won’t interfere with your activities, nor will we enter your courtyard.”

Ian’s eyes shifted slightly.

’Protection?’

’More like surveillance, I suspect.’

’But it doesn’t matter.’

He needed the Business Alliance’s network and resources right now. Some prices had to be paid.

”Thank Elder Chen for me,” Ian said calmly.

”I certainly will!”

...

Before Ian had even left his room, the sound of synchronized shouts echoed from outside.

Some time ago, he had rented the two adjacent empty courtyards, which was just enough to house the hundred-plus people. It was no longer as crowded as before.

Women squatted by the walls, cooking thin porridge in cracked clay pots. The steam drifted into white plumes in the cold wind.

The men were inspecting their crude tools: a few chipped knives, broken wooden staves, and pieces of rusted iron scavenged from the ruins.

The whoosh of Iron Swords through the air, the boys’ heavy panting, and an infant’s sporadic cries from a corner...

All these sounds mingled, creating a strange sense of life.

Twelve shirtless boys practiced basic slashing techniques under Li Yao’s guidance.

They were mostly fifteen or sixteen, with tanned skin and bodies that bore the faint marks of old scars. But their eyes were all astonishingly bright.

Standing under the eaves, Ian’s gaze swept over each of the boys.

He had screened them three times.

The first time was for physique: whether their bodies were sturdy and their limbs coordinated.

The second was for temperament: how they reacted to the corpse of a Corrupted Beast—whether they recoiled in fear or gritted their teeth and approached.

The third was for aptitude: he taught them the simplest Charging Slash to see who could master the force-application technique the fastest.

These final twelve were the ones he deemed barely worth cultivating.

”Stop,” Ian said.

The boys immediately withdrew their swords. Their chests heaved, their breaths forming fine white mists in the cold wind.

”From this day forward, you will walk the path of Rune Cultivation.”

Ian walked to the center of the courtyard, picked up a withered branch, and began tracing complex patterns onto the packed earth.

”The Extraordinary of the Yalan Continent are not limited to Bloodline Users.”

The withered branch scraped across the ground with a soft, scratching sound.

”Three hundred years ago, before the Great Cataclysm, the Rune System stood alongside the bloodline system. By Visualizing the stars and inscribing Runes upon their own bodies, ordinary people could also channel Elemental Energy and obtain Power.”

He stopped. A complete Basic Body Tempering Rune Array was now drawn on the ground.

The pattern consisted of thirty-six miniature Runes, all interconnected to form a perfect, closed loop.

A faint current of air swirled in the center of the Array, kicking up a few specks of dust.

The boys’ eyes went wide.

”L-Lord Li...” a freckle-faced boy stammered.

”Can... can we also become Extraordinary Beings?”

”Yes.” Ian tossed the branch aside, his voice firm and decisive.

”But this path is much harder than that of the Bloodline Users.”

He pointed to the Rune Array on the ground.

”The first step is to enable your bodies to absorb Elemental Energy. You will need to use Body Tempering Liquid to draw these thirty-six Runes on your skin. With the aid of the Potion’s power, you will guide Elemental Energy into your bodies to temper your muscles, bones, and skin.

This process will take anywhere from a month to half a year. Throughout this time, you must soak in a medicinal bath daily and use a specific breathing technique. The slightest lapse will render all your previous efforts void.”

”The second step is Awakening. Once the thirty-six Runes form a stable circuit within your body, you must use your Will as a guide to ’link the Runes’. When that happens, you will Awaken one or two basic traits.

It could be a Power boost, a burst of speed, or enhanced Perception.”

Ian paused, his eyes sweeping over them.

”Without resources, most people will be stuck in the Nayuan Stage for their entire lives.”

A hush fell over the courtyard.

Only the mournful sound of the wind whistling past the eaves remained.

The freckled boy clenched his fists, his knuckles turning white. ”I... I want to try!”

”I want to try, too!”

”Count me in!”

Of the twelve boys, not one backed down.

”Good.”

A flicker of satisfaction showed in Ian’s eyes. This was the exact spirit he was looking for.

As long as he had a sufficient supply of Body Tempering Liquid, these boys would quickly become a formidable combat force, and their loyalty would be unquestionable.

「Three days later.」

In the darkest hour before dawn, the twelve boys were already kneeling neatly in the center of the courtyard.

In front of each of them was a bowl of milky-white paste and the Talisman Brushes they had acquired a few days ago.

Ian stood before them, his voice as steady as iron.

”Remove your shirts. Backs to me.”

The boys unhesitatingly stripped off their coarse cloth shirts, revealing their lean backs.

The cold wind blew past, their skin breaking out in goosebumps, but no one shivered.

Ian walked up behind the first boy—the freckled one, Ah Ku.

He dipped the Talisman Brush into the paste and brought it down.

The instant the brush tip touched his skin, Ah Ku shuddered.

It wasn’t pain, but a warm, tingling current that seeped in from the brush tip and spread up his spine.

Ian’s wrist was steady, his brushstrokes fluid and masterful.

The first Rune: [Absorption Element].

The pattern, as intricate as the paths of stars, settled between Ah Ku’s shoulder blades.

The Elemental Energy essence within the paste seeped in along the Rune’s pattern, and a faint silver light began to glow beneath the skin.

A second Rune, then a third...

Thirty-six Runes covered Ah Ku’s entire back and both arms, even extending down to his calves.

When the final stroke fell, Ah Ku was completely enveloped in silver light.

He clenched his jaw, veins bulging on his forehead. He could clearly feel a violent Energy rampaging through his body, threatening to tear apart every inch of his flesh and muscle.

”Follow the breathing rhythm I taught you!” Ian barked.

Ah Ku immediately closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling rhythmically.

With each breath, the rampaging Elemental Energy in his body gradually calmed, beginning to flow slowly along the paths sketched out by the Runes.

With every circuit, the Energy grew a little more docile, integrating into his flesh and bone.