Please accept my apologies. I realize now that the chapter uploaded yesterday was a duplicate. I will upload the correct chapters today to make up for yesterday's loss.

My apologies, my apologies. The New Year celebrations have quite muddled my head.

The young mages quickly retreated, while Sthard frowned deeply, his face etched with disappointment as he watched the four elder mages sigh repeatedly. “Ah! You lot! What can I even say to you? You are all my elders; can’t you use your brains once in a while? What kind of place is Oakland City? A backwater town where bumpkins live. Do you seriously think they could produce something capable of breaking the mental barrier? How many gold coins did you pay for it?” “One.”

The elder mages’ faces flushed crimson as they lowered their heads and mumbled, “One gold coin.”

“One?” Sthard let out a weak laugh. “One gold coin? If a potion costing a single gold coin could help you break the mental barrier, I’ll chop off my head and let you use it as a football.”

Sthard violently shook the sleeves of his magic robe, turned around angrily, and strode toward the higher floors of the magic tower, leaving the four elder mages staring blankly at each other. After a long pause, they each returned to their rooms, swallowed the potion, and began attempting to breach the mental barrier.

One minute later, an elder mage clutched his stomach, bent over, and sprinted toward the latrine. The female mage responsible for reception in the main hall sneered, “Eating random things will certainly upset your stomach.”

Ten minutes later, another elder mage’s door swung open. The female mage looked at the elder mage, who was trembling with excitement and visible fervor. “Did you also get an upset stomach, Elder? Don't be angry because you bought fake medicine; look at how you’re shaking with rage.” “I broke through! I broke through!”

The elder mage suddenly dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his wrinkled face as he shouted loudly, “I broke through! I finally broke through the mental barrier! I am now Level Four in Spiritual Power! Thank the God of Magic!” The female mage’s mouth remained agape; the feather pen she was twirling dropped onto the desk. This old mage, whom everyone had long deemed incapable of advancement, had actually broken through? The doors to the other two elder mages’ rooms opened simultaneously. Tears flowed down their faces in intricate patterns as they too knelt, crying out, “Thank the God of Magic’s favor! I broke through, I broke through! I have Level Four Spiritual Power!” The mages who had been disturbed by the noise emerged from their rooms, staring dumbfounded at the three elder mages who had broken through their mental barriers almost at the same moment, leaving everyone utterly stunned.

This… how could this be possible? If only one elder mage had broken through, they could have attributed it to good luck.

Three out of four breaking through simultaneously could only mean one thing: the potion worked! The younger mages who had mocked the elders immediately abandoned the composed, measured gait expected of mages and sprinted out of the magic tower almost in unison.

The Spiritual Impact Potion! It must be the Spiritual Impact Potion! Excitement flared in the eyes of the young mages. They had never imagined that such an inexpensive Spiritual Impact Potion could truly help break the mental barrier! If the elder mages could do it, so could they. When the young mages reached the small shop rented by the Luo family in Oakland, they were informed that only four bottles of the Spiritual Impact Potion had been prepared this time, and the delivery person had already left.

“When will there be more? I’ll pay two gold coins!” “I’ll pay ten!” “I’ll pay twenty!” “I’ll pay a hundred!” The mages who arrived later shouted excitedly at the Luo family shop assistant, some even slamming a gold bar directly onto the counter.

The mental barrier! It was a nightmare for any mage! Breaking through one level of Spiritual Power could significantly elevate one’s status within the magic tower! “I’m sorry, we are only selling the Spiritual Impact Potion on consignment; it is not our Luo family’s property,” the shop assistant managed to say. “The person only left one message: he will send the mysterious potion for Spiritual Impact to the Eternal Flow Auction House for auction after some time.”

The excited mages immediately turned their suspicious gazes toward the other mages beside them; all of them were now competitors at the upcoming auction.

In just one day, the elder mages who purchased the mysterious Spiritual Impact Potion at the Crystal Magic Tower instantly became the focus of attention for major powers.

“I didn’t take it seriously at first; I just bought it on a whim to try,” one mage admitted.

“Yes, I’ve had this problem with my mental barrier for many years, and I’ve tried countless methods without success. I had already given up completely. Buying such a cheap Spiritual Impact Potion for a single gold coin was merely an attempt,” another added. “Exactly, exactly! But I never expected it to actually work! As soon as I took this mysterious potion, my mental barrier broke!” Hearing this news, the major powers also mobilized. The small shop that the Luo family had recently rented, which barely had any goods displayed, became the most frequently visited location by the major powers in Eternal Flow City.

“That is generally the situation, Miss.” A youth dressed in simple coarse cloth stood respectfully beside Luo Qingqing, whispering softly. “Does the Miss have any further instructions?”

“I understand. You may go attend to your duties.” Luo Qingqing lifted her eyes from the ledger on the table, rubbing her tired eyes with both hands. “It has a much larger market than I anticipated. The Spiritual Impact Potion truly is an excellent product.”

It was a pity, however. Luo Qingqing glanced at the drawer beneath the desk; the thirty bottles of Spiritual Impact Potion inside were all the mysterious potion she had left. Not only in Oakland City but in the two nearby cities, every single Cali’ao ingredient that could be used to brew Level One Spiritual Impact Potion had been bought up, yet she only managed to produce this much. Even more had been wasted.

Out of one hundred bottles of raw materials, a full sixty-six batches had been ruined, leaving only thirty-four Level One Spiritual Impact Potions successfully created.

“I wonder where Brother Qian Jin learned this,” Luo Qingqing murmured, dangling the feather pen in her hand, tilting her head back with a look of serious contemplation. “Brother Qian Jin has locked himself in the basement these past few days; I barely see him except at mealtimes.”

“Player Qian Jin, please note, your allotted game time for today is about to expire. Please prepare to log off.”

The world twisted, turning from brightness back into darkness.

Qian Jin pulled the magic hat covering his face away and lay on the bed, gasping deeply for air.

Tired! A fatigue he had never experienced before! Qian Jin lay on the bed, too exhausted to even move a finger. Even during his time in the Four Seasons Valley, constantly soaking in that strange lake to practice his Gui skills, he hadn’t felt this weary.

He had spent twenty-four hours a day in this Endless World, only pausing for meals and necessary breaks—effectively staying logged in for forty-eight hours straight. Spending nearly ten days immersed like this was equivalent to twenty days of intense training.

The Balrog Blood was not easy to mix. Although preparing Balrog Blood was only considered the creation of one ingredient in mysterious alchemy—not even qualifying as brewing a potion—the actual difficulty in its preparation was even greater than that of the Level One Spiritual Impact Potion.

The Level One Spiritual Impact Potion was merely the most basic, first-grade potion in mysterious alchemy. Wasting sixty-six batches of materials out of one hundred was proof enough. While the Blazing Demon Tiger might yield more blood, the actual difficulty in preparation was higher. Practice was essential! Runes were even more so. Qian Jin hadn't even personally carved a single runic magic tool, but relying on Fabredus to find a runemaster was less reliable than taking the risk himself.

Furthermore, he hadn't truly attempted forging Soul Weapons. Qian Jin felt that twenty-four hours a day had somehow stretched into forty-eight, yet time still felt insufficient.

Most importantly, the material inventories in the blacksmith shop, rune shop, and mysterious alchemy shop were limited. To find more materials for learning and experimentation, only one path remained.

The Western Mountain! He had to go himself, slaying the beasts and magical beasts guarding the metal ore and potion ingredients.

Every single aspect required his personal involvement; it was no longer just a technical task but one demanding both skill and sheer physical strength. In nearly twenty days of frantic combat in the Western Mountain, he had suffered over a hundred wounds of varying sizes across his body. If he weren't in the Endless World, and if not for the recovery potions and mysterious potions provided by Ourala and Adams, he would have perished with three lives already spent.

Dragging his exhausted body, Qian Jin pushed open the door and entered the hall. Seeing that everyone else—including Duan Feng and Bu Er—also showed signs of fatigue, he managed a weak smile and crashed heavily onto his chair.

“That tired?” Duan Feng Bu Er observed Qian Jin’s demeanor. “We’ve also been practicing diligently these past few days, but we didn’t get as exhausted as you.”

Qian Jin wearily lifted his head and opened his eyes. Duan Feng Bu Er’s hair stood on end; startled like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he suddenly leaped high out of his chair. Simultaneously, Chekeflitte and Fen Tu Kuang Ge, who were beside Duan Feng Bu Er, sprang up as well. Fen Tu Kuang Ge even burst forth with the fighting spirit of a Demon Subduing Warrior.

When Fabredus’s gaze met Qian Jin’s, the wine in his goblet trembled slightly, swirling within. He was secretly astonished: he hadn't noticed when the kid entered the room, but looking now, his eyes were startling—the look only a warrior completely lost in the frenzy of battle possesses! Or perhaps more like a bloodthirsty magical beast! A dense aura of killing intent mixed with bloodshed made any warrior who saw those eyes instantly jump back. Duan Feng Bu Er’s reaction was decent, and Fen Tu Kuang Ge’s response wasn't overly exaggerated.

Qian Jin looked at everyone, oblivious. “What’s wrong?” Duan Feng Bu Er settled back into his chair. “What’s wrong? Don’t you feel it yourself? You look like a monster that just crawled out of a pool of blood; your eyes are full of killing intent, murderous aura, and gore. How did you do that?”

“Is that so?” Qian Jin blinked wearily. He had gone mad killing in the Western Mountain these past few days. If he hadn't been ferocious enough, the magical beasts and wild beasts lurking around would have pounced on him and torn him to shreds. To survive in the Western Mountain, one could only be fiercer, crueler, and more insane than the beasts that only knew how to kill. In such an environment, it was difficult not to cultivate a stronger killing intent and bloodlust.

“Sigh… I am undergoing my own unique training method.”

Qian Jin weakly bit into a piece of beef. The fatigue of these past days hadn't been entirely without reward. The frantic life-or-death combat itself was a method of tempering his fighting aura. Various combat skills had also made significant progress. The Iron Body realm of the Wind Cloud Golden Body showed subtle signs of an impending breakthrough, and the Earth Shattering Slash had astonishingly climbed to Level Five, its power more than double that of Level Four. However, advancing to Level Six required an immense amount of proficiency, ten times more than the sum total required for the previous five levels. Other combat skills also showed various improvements, and his fighting aura had increased through constant challenging. Although he was still a distance from the Second Stage of Demon Subjugation, his current fighting aura was far superior to what it was ten days ago when he first entered the First Stage.

Ten days felt as long as ten years to Qian Jin. After hastily finishing his meal, he turned and returned to the basement. Looking at the Endless World device in his hand, Qian Jin felt, for the first time, a reluctance to enter. These ten days had been too exhausting, too tiring—not just physical fatigue, but mental exhaustion.

“I’ll absorb the Fighting Energy from the Fighting Stones and do some less intense practice methods.”

Qian Jin sat cross-legged on the bed and took out another of the three Fighting Crystals stored in his Fighting Realm reserves, grasping it with both hands to absorb the Fighting Energy. The one hundred and eight Fighting Apertures rotated simultaneously, and the Fighting Energy from the crystal poured into his arms like a surging river through his hands.

This is…? Qian Jin was startled by the speed at which he was absorbing the Fighting Energy. The current absorption rate was at least three times faster than before, and the rate at which the absorbed energy converted into fighting aura was even faster—five times faster!

“Perhaps…” Qian Jin pondered secretly, “other warriors at the First Stage of Demon Subjugation couldn’t improve this quickly, right?” He estimated that the rotation of the ten thousand revolutions had formed a powerful attraction, pulling out a greater quantity of Fighting Energy from the crystal, and the higher quality fighting aura was efficiently converting that energy. “No wonder, no wonder the higher a warrior’s rank, the more fighting aura is needed for each breakthrough, yet warriors can still maintain a high pace of advancement. The quantity of fighting aura needed increases, but the speed of absorption also quickens significantly.”

Qian Jin absorbed the Fighting Energy for three hours, and by then, the light emanating from the crystal in his hand had dimmed considerably.

“That’s fine; I’ll go fix Bu Er’s spear first.” Qian Jin stretched his limbs. “Didn’t I collect a lot of metal? I might as well forge suitable Soul Weapons for Kuang Ge and Flit while I’m at it.”

Five days after the Spiritual Impact Potion was sold in Eternal Flow City, the auction house finally received notification regarding the quantity of potions registered for auction—a total of thirty bottles! All the mages in Yongchuan Province fell into a frenzy. Mages, regardless of whether they had already broken through the thick wall of the barrier or not, were frantically gathering information.

Mages have relatives too. Just because one broke through didn't mean relatives did. Sthard’s younger son at the Crystal Magic Tower was stuck at the Level Three mental barrier. Even Sthard, a Great Mage, could not use his own abilities to help his son breakthrough. Now, with the Spiritual Impact Potion available, Sthard, the Vice-Guild Master of the Mage Guild, even entertained the dark thought of killing a mage who had taken the potion, extracting their blood for his son to drink, just to see if the efficacy remained, hoping for an instant breakthrough past that damned mental barrier.

“Did you find out which power registered to participate in the auction?” Sthard asked the mage standing beside him, meticulously wiping his staff with a silk handkerchief, without lifting his head.

“No,” the mage cautiously watched the slight furrow in the Vice-Guild Master’s brow. “The auction house said it would be inconvenient to disclose.”

“Is that so, Muselite?”

Sthard smoothed his golden sword-like eyebrows with the silk cloth, his eyes showing faint dissatisfaction as he looked at the young mage before him, who had blue hair and an unremarkable face. “Did you forget to tell them that I was the one asking? While the auction house has an obligation to protect the confidentiality of the item’s seller, it’s not as if they cannot reveal anything at all.”

“I did tell them,” Muselite carefully backed away, creating space for Sthard to move, and continued with his head lowered. “The auction house stated that this seller gave explicit instructions for strict confidentiality. If the news leaked, he wouldn’t hesitate to move the auction to another city, or even go to the auction house in the Divine Capital Holy City.”

“He’s quite cautious,” Sthard pushed open the window of the magic tower and looked at the sky. “That makes sense. Thirty bottles of Spiritual Impact Potion—this clearly indicates the person has a mature production capability. If their strength isn't enough and others find out, it’s hard to guarantee they won't be kidnapped by some major power. What a pity… this person is so secretive; it seems impossible for me to kidnap him to enhance the overall strength of our Water Flow Magic Tower.”

The young Muselite lowered his head further. This Vice-Guild Master was an ambitious leader; everyone knew he was discontent with merely being the Vice-Guild Master of the Crystal Magic Tower, and discontent that the Crystal Magic Tower ranked only as a Tier Three tower.

“This really is a great opportunity,” Sthard turned to look at the beautiful female mage who was slowly opening the door and entering. “Don’t you agree, my dear Mariel? Vice-Guild Master…”

“Yes, the powerful Vice-Guild Master Sthard.”

Mariel, dressed in a clean, elegant white magic robe, could not conceal the proud curve of her breasts beneath the expansive robe. Her exquisite face showed no trace of being a woman who had already borne two children. “If we could capture this mysterious alchemist, we could not only raise the overall strength of the mages on the lower levels of the magic tower and change the tower's ranking in the General Mage Guild, but this achievement could even help you ascend to the position of Guild Master of the Crystal Magic Tower.”

Muselite secretly glanced up at the beautiful woman entering the room, wondering inwardly how this woman maintained such a fine figure and appearance after two children. He had heard that these two Vice-Guild Masters, for unknown reasons, had divorced under the witness of the Mage Guild, yet they managed to coexist so harmoniously?

“Yes, what a pity,” Sthard sighed repeatedly without any attempt to hide it. “I didn't expect this person to be so careful! I wonder what this person’s relationship with the Luo family is? It seems I need to investigate along that thread. I heard the head of the Luo family is quite a lovely little beauty…”

“What? Vice-Guild Master Sthard, are you interested again?” Mariel’s smile was full of flirtation. “You might not know this yet, but the Luo family is a tough nut to crack. I heard that a family called the Kai family, along with the Fackle family, not only lost their strongest family guardians to the Luo family but also had to concede a significant portion of their commercial channels to them just to resolve the matter.”

“The Kai family?” Sthard raised an eyebrow. “What is that? A small family I haven’t heard of? Fackle? They long since collapsed! I heard their most glorious days were three hundred years ago; at that time, they were one of the eight major powers in Eternal Flow City. Now? Even the Torrent Battle Fortress could crush them easily.”

“The Level Seven Great Mage, Vice-Guild Master Sthard, is naturally incomparably powerful,” Mariel covered her lips slightly, smiling faintly. “I heard that the Luo family has Fabredus backing them this time.”

Sthard’s arrogant expression suddenly darkened; the veins on the back of the hand clutching his staff bulged visibly. “So what? My master is already a top-tier Magus, just one step shy of a Legendary Mage; he is no worse than Fabredus. If I truly wanted to deal with that girl, I only need to frame it as a conflict between factions; he, as a City Guardian, can only stand by and watch.”

“You should put the matter of the girl aside for now,” Mariel moved closer to the window. Sunlight illuminated her delicate face, making her look like a pure young maiden. “First, investigate the connection between the person who made the mysterious potion and the Luo family. I imagine the other powers in Eternal Flow City are already taking action, aren't they?”

“Do I need you to tell me? I already sent people to investigate.” Sthard glanced at his ex-wife’s high-rising chest and swallowed hard. A woman he had slept with for so many years looked truly tempting now that she was no longer his.

“Oh?” Mariel straightened her back even further. “Now you’re interested? You have no chance.”

“Hmph,” Sthard retracted his gaze filled with lust. “And you? Haven't you been looking for strapping young men these past few days?”

“That’s my business.” Mariel turned and walked toward the door. “You should spend your time investigating the maker of that mysterious potion!”

“I truly don’t know the person who made the Spiritual Impact Potion.”

Luo Qingqing stood up, seeing off the fourth group of people who had come from Eternal Flow. She admired Fabredus’s foresight more and more. Regardless of whether these people came with good or ill intentions, if she introduced them all to Brother Qian Jin, he probably wouldn't even have time to temper his fighting aura.

“Qingqing sister… Sister Qingqing…”

Duan Feng Bu Er pressed the muzzle of his worn-out Bu Er Spear against the back of a warrior, escorting him from the rear of the courtyard. “This is the third person today who tried to sneak in by climbing over the wall.”

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