"Ian, I’m leaving. I’m going to the High Tower to continue my cultivation."

Malena looked at Ian. "You’ve been eyeing the Witchcraft Practice Room for a long time. You can have it after I’m gone. Harvey’s recovering from his injuries anyway."

Ian was taken aback, and the joy that had just begun to swell in him subsided.

"Malena, are you preparing for a breakthrough?"

"Yes. I’ll leave as soon as I’ve taken care of everything here."

"That’s great news! I wish you success! In the future, I’ll have a Wizard friend to back me up."

Malena stared at the tea leaves floating in her cup, her gaze unfocused.

"Friends... that’s nice."

Winter was approaching, and the sunlight spilling into the courtyard carried a trace of warmth.

The two of them drank their honey tea comfortably. After chatting for a while, they went their separate ways to get back to their work.

Ian returned to the Magic Potion Room and began preparing to go all out on breaking through with the Awakening Potion.

He walked over to his workbench and skillfully retrieved Moonlight Grass, Menthol Crystals, Magic Catalyst Powder, and other ingredients from the Constant Temperature Box.

Just as he had done thousands of times before, he began refining the Awakening Potion.

Grinding, extracting, stirring, adding the Magic Catalyst Powder...

Each step was as natural and fluid as breathing. The solution in the Crucible gradually clarified under the influence of the Magic Power catalysis...

[Awakening Potion Skill Level +1]

[Awakening Potion Skill Level +1]

...

As each Potion was perfectly created, the Skill Level in his mind increased bit by bit.

At this high a level, it took refining over a dozen Potions to increase the Skill Level of Awakening Potion by a single point.

When the tabletop was almost half-covered with Potions, Ian checked the numbers on his panel.

[Awakening Potion: Mastery (399/400)]

’This is such a grind!’

Ian didn’t pause for a second. With continued Concentration in his eyes, he picked up another set of ingredients, his movements as smooth as flowing water.

The Menthol Crystals Extract and Moonlight Grass solution were mixed one after the other. Under his precise Magic Power control, the solution began to stabilize and clarify...

Suddenly, a flash of Spiritual Light once again sparked in his mind. Following his Spiritual guidance, Ian increased the amount of Magic Catalyst Powder and blended it evenly into the solution...

When the catalysis process ended, the moment Ian retracted his Spiritual Power, a familiar but much deeper blue light arose.

BUZZ!

The instant the Potion was complete, a deafening tremor shook Ian’s mind.

It was somewhat similar to when his Secondary Frost Freeze Beam had achieved Limit-Breaking, but it was also very different.

A massive amount of insight and information flooded his mind, not just a deeper understanding of refining techniques and ingredient ratios.

There was also a brush with the essence of "Concentration" and "Spiritual Soothing"!

He even received faint insights into other Potions.

The only regret was that no Rune was born in his mind!

Ian lowered his head in thought, faintly grasping the conditions for a Rune’s generation.

The panel blurred for a moment before gradually coming into focus.

[Awakening Potion: Limit-Breaking 1 (0/800) (Effect: 1. Strong Effect)]

Once the panel finished updating, Ian had also finished processing the stream of information and understood the meaning of "Strong Effect."

This Limit-Breaking Awakening Potion’s effects of maintaining mental Concentration and assisting Meditation were a full twice as strong as the regular version!

He picked up the newly refined Limit-Breaking Potion and observed it carefully.

The Potion’s color was deeper and purer than the regular version, with faint, tiny points of starlight swirling within it.

Just holding it in his hand, he could almost feel a cool current flowing from it, emitting an aura that calmed the mind and focused the spirit.

Ian suppressed the urge to use it immediately and first focused on the changes in his mind.

The refinement of his Spiritual Power had increased by about ten percent due to this Limit-Breaking, and his control over his Magic Power was also more effortless.

This feeling was exactly the same as when his Witchcraft skill had achieved Limit-Breaking last time.

He was now completely certain that every time a Skill achieved Limit-Breaking, it would refine his Spiritual Power.

Ian was thrilled. This increase was by no means small.

This way, even spending time leveling up Low Level Skills would be well worth it.

He would have more and more skills in the future. At worst, he’d just have to spend more time grinding them up.

Looking at the two words "Strong Effect" on the panel, his heart filled with anticipation.

’The effect of assisting Meditation is doubled!’

This meant that for the same amount of Meditation time, the efficiency of his Spiritual Power tempering would be greatly enhanced, and the growth rate of his Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method’s Skill Level would also accelerate.

’Let’s begin!’

Without hesitation, Ian downed the Potion in one gulp.

The moment the Potion slid into his mouth, a familiar, cool sensation shot straight to his mind.

But immediately after, an unprecedented sense of "clarity" and "Concentration" enveloped him.

All the chaotic thoughts in his mind were swept away, and his Meditation Method operated with incredible smoothness.

His Perception of the details of the Will Runes became sharper, and outlining them became much easier.

Ian immediately entered a state of Meditation and began the Visualization of the Will Runes.

In his mind, nine large Will Runes interlocked with each other, slowly rotating in the Void, displaying a wonderfully complex and exquisite structure.

One of the large Will Runes had already "grown" two complete, crescent-shaped smaller Runes.

A large Will Rune next to it had also "grown" one small Rune, with another half-formed, illusory small Rune beside it.

As for the other seven large Runes, they were completely bare.

Ian was in a half-asleep, half-awake state. Each time he circulated his Meditation Method, the illusory small Rune would condense bit by bit until it finally took shape.

At the same time, the scattered Spiritual Power in the Void was tempered, strand by strand, during the Rune’s formation stage...

[Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method Skill Level +1]

[Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method Skill Level +1]

...

Time passed. Ian felt his Meditation Method gradually becoming sluggish and knew the Potion’s effects had worn off.

He opened his eyes and checked his progress on the panel.

[Realm: Middle Level Wizard Apprentice (15%)]

[Skill: Star Moon Low Level Meditation Method: Skilled (284/400)]

That one Meditation session had increased his Skill Level by a full 3 points!

His Realm had also increased by 1%. This was due to his previous accumulation, so the increase was a natural result.

’This feels amazing!’

Ian was exhilarated. This enhanced version of the Awakening Potion completely solved his previous tolerance issue. It was like taking a brand new Meditation Potion.

’Heh heh, this Limit-Breaking Effect is just unreasonably powerful!’

Now his cultivation would enter the fast lane again, bringing rapid growth to his Realm along with it.

He checked the time. This Meditation session had lasted less than two hours. He could meditate at full capacity for six hours in one night.

At this rate, it wouldn’t even take half a month for his Meditation Method to reach the Mastery stage, and its efficiency would increase even further then.

A sharp glint flashed in Ian’s eyes. If he continued cultivating at this pace, he probably wouldn’t even need half a year to break through to the next level beyond Middle Level Apprentice!

"Huh?" Ian suddenly noticed that the Skill Level for his Rock Bear Potion seemed to have increased on the panel as well.

[Rock Bear Potion: Beginner (27/400)]

It turned out that part of the information that had flowed into his mind earlier was insights into refining the Rock Bear Potion.

It seemed that when one Potion achieved Limit-Breaking, it would touch upon the refining techniques of some other Potions.

He recalled that when he had refined the Rock Bear Potion before, flashes of Spiritual Light would occasionally appear in his mind, significantly boosting his refining Skill Level.

After all, Potion refining wasn’t a single, isolated Skill; it was inevitable that it would provide insights into the Domain of other Potions.

Ian thought this was very reasonable.