Wizard: My Skills Can Infinitely Break Through

That was enough for him to push his comprehension of the Gravity and Thermal Energy Rules past 70%, perhaps even toward 80%.

"Don’t they have any Legends in their countries?"

"They do, but very few." Wei Song walked to the table and picked up a file.

"Siam to the south has only one Legend at the Initial Stage, who can barely manage to defend their capital."

"The Indian subcontinent to the west has three, but they’re divided by internal factions and constantly hamstring each other."

"Russia to the north also has three Legends. Two are guarding Rifts in the Arctic Circle, and one is retired in Moscow."

"The worst off is East Japan. They don’t have a single Legend in the entire country, and there’s a Level Four Rift right next to their capital. Who knows how many people have died in the last two hundred years."

He put down the file and looked at Ian. "The terms they’re offering are much more generous than Great Yan’s."

"After all... when your life is on the line, what good are Source Crystals?"

Ian was silent for a moment. "What’s Li Yan’s stance on this?"

"What stance could he have?" Wei Song laughed.

"Great Yan is just the ’matchmaker,’ not the ’commander.’ We’re Legends. He can’t control where we choose to go."

"He just reminded us to be careful not to be used as someone’s pawn."

"Use me as a pawn?" Ian laughed too.

"I hear a few of those countries have a bad reputation. I’m actually looking forward to it!"

He turned and walked to the center of the room. On the table lay a huge map, with the locations of all known Rifts within Great Yan’s borders marked in red ink.

The red dots for Level Three and Level Four had all been crossed out.

Only twelve Level Five red dots remained, like twelve malignant tumors pinned to the map.

"Let’s deal with the domestic ones first. The Level Five Rifts are a significant threat to the populace."

Ian tapped his finger on the map. "We’ll ignore the unexplored ones for now. There are twelve Level Five Rifts, so that’s six for each of us."

"Whoever finishes first can go help the other. As for the invitations from those smaller countries, we can think about them after we’ve cleaned up our own backyard."

"We need to earn Source Crystals, but we can’t put the cart before the horse."

’The people of Great Yan also had black hair and black eyes, so much like the memories deep in his mind, though he knew they weren’t the same.’

𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

Wei Song nodded. "I was thinking the same thing, but..."

He looked at Ian, his eyes filled with a trace of worry.

"Some of the higher-ups in Great Yan probably won’t let us proceed so smoothly."

"A month ago, they secretly gathered five Legends to try and take down the Kunlun Rift."

"In the end, after a solid month of fighting, three Grandmasters were killed and one Legend was seriously injured, but the Rift is still there."

Wei Song sneered.

"The truth is, they know how dangerous a Level Five Rift is. They just saw how easily we handled things and thought the Rifts had weakened."

"Now they’re afraid we’ll hog it all for ourselves, so the situation is a bit awkward."

"A bunch of useless trash." That was Ian’s only comment.

He looked at the twelve red dots on the map, his expression calm.

"They can’t stop me."

「Three days later, on a militarized island in the East Sea.」

The island was originally a tourist destination with turquoise seas, blue skies, white sand, and coconut groves, but now the entire island was under martial law.

High walls, electric fences, watchtowers, and heavy artillery... they surrounded the island, sealing it off completely.

In the center of the island, a pitch-black rift cut through the earth like a hideous scar.

A dark purple mist billowed from the edges of the Rift, corroding the surrounding vegetation into twisted, blackened branches.

This was a Level Five Rift—the East Sea Rift.

Ian hovered three thousand meters above the island, his dark blue uniform unmoving in the gale-force winds.

On his shoulder, Gaga was perched, its small eyes staring at the Rift below.

"The Energy fluctuations are much stronger than a Level Four’s," the little one transmitted telepathically.

"There are at least six Level Five Mutants inside, and an even bigger one."

"Mm, it’s a big one, all right. Its aura is ancient, like it’s been asleep for a long time and has only just woken up."

Ian nodded, his gaze shifting to the military base on the edge of the island.

From the base, a powerful aura was rapidly approaching—a Legendary Initial Stage Peak, almost at the Middle Stage.

Three seconds later, a figure shot into the sky, stopping a hundred meters in front of Ian.

It was a middle-aged man in a military uniform. Two gold stars adorned his epaulets. He had thick eyebrows, a square jaw, and eyes as sharp as a hawk’s.

"Advisor Yin." The man spoke first, his voice booming with a soldier’s brusqueness.

"I am the Guardian Envoy of the East Sea Rift, Wu Zhenshan."

"General Wu." Ian gave a slight nod in acknowledgment.

"Advisor Yin, for what purpose have you come here?"

Wu Zhenshan was asking a question to which he already knew the answer. His tone was polite on the surface, but his eyes were scrutinizing.

"What a stupid question. To purify the Rift, of course."

Ian had no intention of humoring him and shot back directly.

A flash of anger crossed Wu Zhenshan’s face, but he managed to suppress it.

"Advisor Yin may not be aware, but the East Sea Rift is a Level Five. The situation inside is complex and cannot be compared to a Level Three or Four."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Advisor Yin should also be aware that headquarters has issued an order. The Purification of a Level Five Rift requires coordinated planning. One cannot act without authorization."

"I don’t know, and I don’t want to know."

Ian looked at him, his expression calm.

"Li Yan only told me to deal with the Rifts. He never said I had to wait for someone’s arrangements."

Wu Zhenshan’s face darkened. "Advisor Yin, Great Yan has its rules."

"Level Five Rifts concern national security and must be handled under the unified command of headquarters. If you go in now and trigger a Rift rampage, who will be responsible for the consequences?"

"Rampage? Consequences?" Ian laughed outright. "I’m not like some of those incompetents who are all talk and no action."

Wu Zhenshan’s expression turned completely cold. "Advisor Yin, please watch your words."

"I have guarded the East Sea Rift for sixty years. I have repelled seven large-scale Mutant tides and have personally slain two Level Five Mutants. Here, I make the rules."

"Oh? Is that so impressive?" Ian raised an eyebrow.

"Then tell me, in those sixty years, how many Rifts have you purified? You repelled Mutant tides and killed Mutants. And then what?"