The next morning,
The shock of breaking through to Second-Grade Apprentice had not yet fully settled. Matthew stood in the morning light on the first floor of the inn, feeling the brand-new power flowing endlessly within his sea of consciousness.
His Spirit was like steel that had been tempered a thousand times—solid and sharp.
—This was the demeanor of a Second-Grade Apprentice.
In just a single night, the breadth of his Perception had undergone an earth-shattering transformation.
However, the more clearly he experienced this improvement, the more Matthew's estimation of Sutton's strength wavered.
“My current energy shield probably wouldn't even block a casual strike from Sutton.”
This thought flashed through his mind like cold lightning.
He had once seen the plain yet deep spiritual fluctuations when Sutton flipped through his notes. At the time, he had only felt it was unfathomable. Now, looking back with the Perception of a Second-Grade Apprentice, he was shocked to realize the crushing gap in power hidden beneath that calm surface.
If Sutton had truly harbored ill intent that night and attacked... cold sweat quietly broke out on Matthew's back.
He probably wouldn't even have had time to react before being killed on the spot.
Even if he had reacted in time and used the Oath Ring to raise a barrier, it would have been futile, meaningless, and easily shattered.
Granted, he was now a Second-Grade Apprentice, and his greatly enhanced Spirit would likely improve the effectiveness of the Oath Ring.
But the difference between a Third-Grade Apprentice and a Second-Grade Apprentice was by no means a simple quantitative change; it was another leap in life level and spiritual essence.
Moreover, it remained to be seen whether the Oath Ring could fully convert a Second-Grade Apprentice's Spirit into shield effectiveness.
This was something Matthew still needed to verify himself.
Hidden beneath Sutton's pale green single eye was an ease and power belonging to a higher realm, which Matthew still found difficult to truly glimpse at this moment.
—And above that, there were Official Wizards.
At this thought, while Matthew felt a chill in his heart, an uncontrollable surge of excitement suddenly welled up.
It was a yearning for a higher realm, a shock at the true vastness and nobility of the path of a wizard.
“This path... is further and higher than I imagined!”
The breakthrough of the bottleneck had not only brought an increase in power but had also pushed open a window before his eyes, allowing him to glimpse the trembling yet mesmerizing infinite possibilities of the wizard's path.
The mortal realm and secular power and wealth appeared increasingly as insignificant as dust in his eyes at this moment.
Next, he planned to head to the valley in the outer city as usual to test the specific progress of his spell power after his breakthrough.
After getting dressed and walking down to the first floor, the owner behind the counter spotted him with sharp eyes and quickly put on a smile, nodding in greeting. “Good morning, milord.”
Matthew nodded slightly, but his gaze suddenly locked onto the area outside the inn's main entrance—
On the porch bench slanted with morning light sat a yellow-haired youth.
He sat in a relaxed posture, one hand casually resting on his knee while the other held a roll of yellowed parchment, which he was looking down at intently. His golden hair gave off a soft luster under the sunlight, but the most eye-catching feature was his pale green single eye.
It was indeed Sutton.
Matthew's heart stirred slightly. The other party had clearly not just passed by—this Third-Grade Apprentice was deliberately sitting at the entrance of the inn, his intention to wait for him self-evident.
Sutton harbored no ill will toward him; Matthew was basically certain of this.
Otherwise, he would not have let him leave so easily that night, let alone reveal so much key information during their conversation.
And now that Matthew had just broken through to Second-Grade Apprentice and experienced the surging power within his body, he was filled with a craving for the path ahead, especially how to break through from Second-Grade Apprentice to Third-Grade Apprentice!
Sutton's appearance was nothing short of a timely rain.
With his thoughts spinning, Matthew proactively took a step forward.
A natural smile rose on his face. His pace was neither fast nor slow as he stopped three paces in front of Sutton, his attitude neither servile nor overbearing, yet carrying just the right amount of respect.
“Brother Sutton,” Matthew said in a warm voice, which also carried a hint of pleasant surprise. “I didn't expect to meet you here.”
Sutton raised his head and looked calmly at Matthew, a gentle and knowing smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. “It is no coincidence. I came here specifically to find you.”
His tone was flat, yet it carried an innate composure that seemed to see through everything.
“Last night, I felt an unusual fluctuation of Spirit. Although the distance was quite far, that sharp determination and vibration unique to breaking through—like ‘breaking out of a shell’—was still faintly detectable.”
“This morning, I came over specifically to confirm. Now, seeing that your Spirit feels slightly overflowed... you were the one who made that commotion last night, right?”
He paused slightly, then nodded, his tone carrying a natural sense of approval. “Congratulations. You have officially entered the rank of Second-Grade Apprentice.”
Hearing this, Matthew's heart shook slightly. Though the other party's words were light, the information contained within them secretly astonished him.
He recalled that during his breakthrough last night in his inn room, he had tried his best to rein in his mind and suppress his overflowing Spirit. He had thought he had kept the commotion extremely subtle, yet he hadn't expected Sutton, who was half an inner city away, to still perceive it.
This was completely different from when a Class holder broke through, needing only a quiet room with almost no aura leaking out. A wizard apprentice's promotion, especially a leap on the spiritual level, caused fluctuations that seemed far more significant than a physical breakthrough and were much easier for fellow travelers to catch.
Showing a suitable amount of surprise and realization on his face, he said in a low voice, “I didn't expect... the commotion of a breakthrough would travel so far.”
Sutton was about to speak of the purpose of his trip, but he was interrupted by Matthew.
Matthew pondered for a moment and asked, “Brother Sutton, does breaking through to a Third-Grade Apprentice also require external items or specific methods, just like going from First-Grade Apprentice to Second-Grade Apprentice?”
Hearing this, Sutton was not annoyed. He nodded gently, a trace of understanding flashing in his pale green single eye.
“Correct. From Second-Grade to Third-Grade, it is no longer just the accumulation of Spirit, but a further leap in life level. Relying solely on meditation and bitter cultivation makes it nearly impossible to cross this threshold.”
His tone was calm, yet carried an unquestionable certainty.
“The vast majority of wizard apprentices need to rely on a specific ‘Promotion Potion’ to use its pure energy and catalytic laws to forcibly break through the dual shackles of the spirit and body.”
Matthew's heart stirred. He recalled that when he broke through from First-Grade to Second-Grade, he had not taken any potion but had instead relied on the energy of four magic stones to forcibly break through the barrier. Looking back now, that was actually a risky move.
Had his spiritual foundation not far surpassed those of his level, an ordinary apprentice who rashly forced a breakthrough with magic stones would likely have suffered damage to their sea of consciousness, cutting off their future path.
What Sutton said now conformed more to the common sense of steady promotion in the wizarding world: magic stones assisted in daily cultivation and accelerated accumulation, while the actual breakthrough moment required a specially refined, mild-natured, yet highly specific ‘Promotion Potion’.
“So that's how it is...” Matthew murmured to himself, firmly engraving the words “Promotion Potion” into his mind. However, since he currently had no clues about the formula, let alone the materials needed to refine it, this item could only be left for the future when he entered the academy, to be slowly sought after.
Suppressing his thoughts, he turned to ask, “Did Brother Sutton come here today specifically to guide me?”
Sutton smiled slightly, gently rolling up the parchment in his hand.
“Not quite. Last night, I sensed a rather intense wave of Spirit in the city—solid and newly born—and guessed it might be your breakthrough.”
“Now that I see you with my own eyes, you have indeed stepped into Second-Grade Apprentice. Congratulations.”
Sutton congratulated him once more.
Matthew accepted the congratulations calmly, but then he heard Sutton change the subject: “In addition, I came this time to ask if you would be willing to accompany me to a certain place.”
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