"Would you like something to drink?"

Pei Ze asked with a smile as he welcomed Yin Xue into the living room and had her sit down.

"No, thank you."

Yin Xue shook her head. She glanced at Xiaoyi, who was curiously sizing her up from the side. She took out a Mica Silver Flower, plucked out the pistil, and handed it to Xiaoyi.

The little one’s eyes instantly lit up. It flew over, beaming with joy, and hugged the pistil. After chirping at Yin Xue twice, it flew to the side to happily enjoy its treat.

Yin Xue smiled faintly, then turned and placed a book on the coffee table.

"Teacher asked me to give this to you."

The book was about two fingers thick and jet-black all over. Silver thread formed the title on its leather cover—Wizard’s Handbook!

"This book contains all the basic knowledge and information about Wizards. Once you advance to the rank of Wizard, make sure you familiarize yourself with its contents."

Pei Ze’s eyes brightened. He picked up the book and tried to open it, but even after applying force, the pages wouldn’t budge.

Even with his strength as a Legendary Knight, he couldn’t open the book.

"Only a Wizard can open this book," Yin Xue explained, stopping Pei Ze’s efforts.

Hearing this, Pei Ze had no choice but to put the book away for now. He then asked, "Senior, you didn’t make a special trip just to deliver a book, did you?"

"Of course not."

Yin Xue smiled, pursing her lips. She extended a fair hand, opening her palm to reveal two longan-sized Crystal Balls. 𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

The two Crystal Balls were sparkling and translucent, like the finest Gemstones. Suspended within the transparent crystals were two faint gray, semi-transparent figures curled up like babies hugging their knees.

Upon closer inspection, the facial features of the two figures bore a slight resemblance to Pei Ze.

A thought struck Pei Ze, and he blurted out, "Substitute Spirits!"

"That’s right," Yin Xue said with a smile. "Teacher knew you were in urgent need of Substitute Spirits, so as soon as the competition ended, he immediately applied to the Dawn Council to have them made for you."

"Teacher is so thoughtful." Pei Ze joyfully accepted the two Crystal Balls.

With these two Substitute Spirits, the last problem he had with forming his Spirit Crystal was solved. He could now attempt his breakthrough at any time.

"As for the rest of your reward, Teacher suggests you wait until after you’ve advanced to Wizard before applying to the Dawn Council based on your needs."

Pei Ze didn’t hesitate and immediately agreed.

He had already planned to do this, so Mo Weng’s suggestion was perfectly in line with his own thoughts.

Yin Xue then took out a notebook and said, "This is the information Teacher collected about forming a Spirit Crystal. It also contains my own insights and experiences from when I made my breakthrough. It might be of some help to you."

She pressed the notebook into Pei Ze’s hand and smiled. "I’ll be leaving for the Turin Plane in a few days, so I probably won’t get to see you advance to Wizard. We can have a proper get-together after I return from the Turin Plane."

"So soon?"

Pei Ze was slightly taken aback, then he smiled.

"Perhaps I’ll be heading to the Turin Plane soon myself. I’ll see you on the Plane Battlefield then."

Yin Xue smiled, pursing her lips, and nodded. "I’ll be waiting for you, then."

Yin Xue didn’t stay long and left soon after.

After closing the door and returning to his apartment, Pei Ze looked at the Substitute Spirits and Li Xin Water in his dimensional bag and silently recited in his mind:

’Eye of Omniscience, use five standard portions of Li Xin Water and two Substitute Spirits as support. Calculate my success rate for forming a Spirit Crystal.’

[91.45%]

’Over ninety percent? Not bad.’

Pei Ze nodded in satisfaction.

It was impossible to have a 100% success rate when forming a Spirit Crystal. Achieving over ninety percent was already quite remarkable.

Even for someone like Yin Xue, her success rate when forming her Spirit Crystal couldn’t have been as high as his. Seventy or eighty percent would have been the absolute limit.

Besides, even if the formation failed, with the protection of the Li Xin Water and Substitute Spirits, he wouldn’t have to worry about serious injuries. At worst, he would just need some time to recover.

Furthermore, he still had some of his reward from the Dawn Council left. If he truly failed, he could get another batch of advancement resources from the Council.

With a safety net in place, Pei Ze’s mental pressure immediately lessened.

Considering the process of forming a Spirit Crystal could take anywhere from over ten days to as long as a month, he thought for a moment, then took out a large amount of nectar and placed it in the living room as food for Xiaoyi. He also gave the little one a few instructions.

Xiaoyi quickly understood that Pei Ze was about to do something important and would be in seclusion for a long time. It immediately showed an uneasy expression.

It took some effort for Pei Ze to calm the little one down.

Afterward, he packed his things and left for High Tower Academy.

In the entire Outer City, apart from the City Guard Army’s garrison, the four major Wizard Academies were the safest places.

And within High Tower Academy, the Magic Laboratories in the Experimental District were the most secure of all.

Once the door was shut, no one could get in unless the reserved time ran out or the user inside opened it willingly.

Therefore, Pei Ze decided to complete his advancement in a Magic Laboratory.

His apartment was just too insecure.

Arriving at the Magic Experiment Building, Pei Ze paid for three full months of usage time in one go, which startled the staff member at the registration desk. Only after confirming the request multiple times did the staffer, with a puzzled expression, register a room for Pei Ze.

Taking the key card, Pei Ze went straight to the third floor.

The staff member stared at his back in confusion and muttered to himself, "What kind of Magic experiment takes three months?"

Suddenly, a thought occurred to him, and his expression became quite a sight to behold.

"Could it be... he’s advancing?!"

Pei Ze was unaware of the staff member’s speculation, nor did he care.

After closing the door, he summoned Wuyu to stand guard, then took out the notebook Yin Xue had given him and began to quickly browse through it.

In less than a minute, the entire contents of the notebook were recorded by the Eye of Omniscience and integrated into his mind.

Pei Ze closed his eyes and took a moment to carefully absorb it all. After ensuring he hadn’t missed anything, he finally took out the Li Xin Water and the Substitute Spirits.