The Wizard: From Zero-Ring Wizard to Almighty Lord.

Chapter 412 Peak Level 4, Clear Path Ahead!

Time flies, and years pass silently.

On the surface, the Western Maple Domain remained calm and peaceful, as if nothing had happened. But beneath that calm, undercurrents were already surging.

The three regulations issued by Lynn, the newly appointed lord, were like pebbles falling into the deep sea, causing no ripples or even a slight echo.

Those long-established nobles chose the most direct and arrogant attitude: to ignore them as if these three rules had never existed.

Lynn, too, did not take any action.

After emerging from seclusion, he did not immediately return to the Western Maple Domain, nor did he confront those nobles head-on. Instead, he stepped into the heart of the ancient tree and entered the Morning Star Palace to understand the legacy accumulated over countless years.

Thus, the situation fell into a strange stagnation, with one side resisting silently and the other remaining motionless, like a storm about to erupt, but which was suppressed just before it was about to explode.

For a whole month, Lynn neither appeared, nor returned to his domain, nor even stepped out of the heart of that ancient tree. Meanwhile, the nobles of the Western Maple Domain became increasingly unruly in this situation of "no one responding."

....................................

The heart of an ancient tree, inside the Morning Star Hall.

Lynn stood quietly before the phantom of the World Tree, towering majestically with its branches reaching the sky and its roots forming a net. Each leaf, some golden, some silver, exuded an indescribable aura in silence, like a rule, or perhaps... a projection of some higher level.

Lynn's gaze was calm, without anxiety or confusion, as if the "silence" of the past month was not a stagnation, but a period of settling down.

Spiritual practice is never something that can be accomplished overnight; it's more like building a house, brick by brick, layer by layer, with the foundation at the very bottom determining the final height one can reach.

After reviewing numerous traditions, Lynn had a very clear understanding of this point.

He began to truly contemplate his "future." The Morning Star Wizard has three realms, corresponding to three rules of power. However, these three rules are never "randomly pieced together." They must fit together and support each other, ultimately forming a stable "triangular structure."

This is the foundation, the threshold, but it's only the first level. What truly determines the upper limit is what lies above this.

When a wizard attempts to step into the Radiant Moon, what is needed is not just the accumulation of power, but fusion, integrating everything about himself, his cognition, experiences, emotions, obsessions, and even his deepest "true self" into those three rules.

This is how one condenses their own "soul constant," which is the true foundation of the Moonlit Wizard and the core that distinguishes everything.

Thinking of this, Lynn's gaze sharpened slightly, and his thoughts no longer lingered on the "present" but turned directly to the future.

"If one day I were to attempt to reach the Radiant Moon realm, then what... is it that I truly desire?"

This question may seem grand and even somewhat abstract, but it is actually incredibly simple in essence.

The soul constant is not just some mysterious structure; at its core, it is actually a very straightforward question.

What exactly are you pursuing?

Some people yearn to unravel all the mysteries of the world and bring the unknown under their control;

Some people are obsessed with immortality, eternal life, and transcending time;

Some people only care about power, pure and extreme strength;

Some people are driven by love, by obsession, or by something they cannot let go of.

……

All these pursuits, though vastly different, originate from the same place: the deepest, most authentic, and most unmaskable "self" within our hearts.

Lynn slowly closed her eyes.

At this moment, he did not look at the inheritances of those at the Radiant Moon level, nor did he try to deduce the combination of rules. Instead, he turned inward and asked himself questions.

"Then... what about me?"

The sound was silent, yet it resonated clearly in my heart.

Looking back on the path he had traveled, Lynn's consciousness slowly sank, as if passing through layers of mist and returning to the very beginning.

When he was first born into this world, he lived a precarious life, his fate as uncertain as a floating duckweed, and he could perish at any moment in an accident.

With no background, no support, all they had was a primal, direct desire to survive.

Therefore, he craved power, not for anything else but to protect himself.

He was trying to get rid of the troubles and crises that could devour him at any moment, and it was in that state of mind that he did so.

He made his initial choice: Ifgrid, that extraordinary plant symbolizing "guardianship".

He chose it, not because of its strength, but because it could protect him and help him survive in this world.

Later, as time passed, its power grew and its strength increased. The original "guardian" continued to transform, gradually growing into the World Tree we know today.

Lynn, from that weak being who could die at any moment, has risen to where he is today: the Morning Star Wizard and the lord of the Natural God Dynasty.

Looking back now, the crises that once weighed on him seem insignificant.

At least in terms of "survival," he has gained a foothold and no longer needs to live in constant fear or pay any price for a sliver of hope.

So his "pursuit" quietly changed. He still craved power, but that craving no longer stemmed from fear, but from striving upwards.

He wanted to become stronger, to perfect the power of rules, to refine his spiritual power, and to accelerate his cultivation.

He wanted to climb higher step by step, but this time, what he was pursuing was no longer "living," but "standing higher" to overlook the world and truly see this colorful world.

While the pursuit of power may seem similar, their essence is already quite different.

He used to be defensive and passive, but now he is aggressive and proactive.

However, as he has come to this point, new problems have also arisen.

Upon arriving at the Natural God Dynasty, everything was unfamiliar. He ascended to the position of lord with the rank of a fourth-level Morning Star. It sounded like an honor, but in reality, it was a hindrance.

His decrees rarely leave the lord's mansion, and the current state of the Western Maple Domain is the most direct reflection of this. The disregard of those nobles is not an accident, but an inevitability.

His position is too high, but his foundation is not yet stable, and this is only "now".

The challenges a century from now, and the new struggle for lordship, will follow one after another. How will he deal with it then?

Thinking of this, Lynn paused slightly.

"Of course I need power, but..."

"Gains and losses over the next hundred years. Do they really... account for the future?"

This question slowly unfolded in his mind.

If the future is only a hundred years, then it is far too short.

The true future should be the one thing he wants to do throughout his life.

That one direction, that one "road" that runs through the whole thing.

Admittedly, he wants to become stronger, to reach a higher level, and to have greater power, but this is merely a "means," not the "answer."

The question is, "Why should I become stronger?" and "Why should I keep striving to improve?"

This problem is more fundamental than any combination of rules.

Lynn's thoughts unfolded one by one, and he began to try to provide an answer.

"To understand this world?"

He asked himself softly, "This world, so magnificent and vast, with its interwoven rules and diverse civilizations, is indeed worth exploring."

But the next moment, he shook his head.

"No. I can't do it." Like those arcane masters, abandoning everything and devoting all his energy to the ultimate exploration of the unknown is not his path; he doesn't have that kind of "purity."

"Then... immortality? Immortality? Eternal existence?"

He thought about it again.

This answer had once touched him; the limitation of lifespan had made him feel oppressed and anxious.

But things are different now. At his current level, lifespan is no longer an urgent issue.

A long period of time had already unfolded before his eyes; immortality was no longer the goal, but rather a byproduct.

"Then... go back?"

His thoughts paused slightly, returning to that original world, to the place he called "hometown" before he "traveled."

This thought had once existed, but when he actually tried to grasp it now, he found that the emotion had become blurred.

Over the years, everything he has experienced, grown, struggled, and fought for has happened in this world.

That distant past, ironically, has become... no longer real.

"Which side... is home?"

There is no answer to this question, or rather, the answer has already quietly changed.

Lynn slowly opened her eyes, and her gaze was no longer filled with confusion.

Through repeated self-examination and rejection, Lynn peeled away the seemingly grand but ultimately unreliable answers from her heart.

Although he still hasn't gotten a complete and clear "ultimate answer," in the process of elimination, he gradually sees what he truly "cares about."

It is not an empty grand ambition, nor a distant other shore, but a "reality" that is within reach.

First, there is everything he now possesses: the lord's position, the Temple of Life, and all those he has come into contact with: Astrid, Evelyn, Beverly, and so on...

These names emerged in his mind one by one, no longer just "relationships," but bonds.

And then there's him himself, everything he's experienced, every step he's taken—these are not things that can be easily discarded.

Thus, an extremely simple yet unwavering thought gradually took shape: to protect, to protect everything he possessed, to protect what should be protected.

This is the most basic thing, and it's his true nature that he can't avoid.

But then another thought emerged: he still wanted to become stronger, and he still wanted to keep moving upwards to reach higher levels.

This has never changed.

But now, "power" is no longer an isolated goal; it has acquired "meaning."

Power is for protection, and protection, in turn, allows him to understand himself more clearly.

The two are no longer in opposition, but rather support and complement each other.

With this in mind, Lynn slowly raised his hand, opened his palm, and gently placed it on the majestic World Tree.

The rough, ancient tree trunk seemed to respond slightly to his touch.

The next moment, streams of power of rules quietly flowed across the World Tree.

The clearest of these is creation.

Creating rules is the beginning of all things, the starting point of everything. It not only means "birth" but also means possibility.

Whether it's about neutralizing and counterbalancing rules in the future, or about governing similar forces, creation can serve as the foundation, as the initial point.

Lynn's gaze grew increasingly resolute.

"The first rule... is you."

He had already confirmed it in his heart, and then the outline of the second rule quickly took shape in his consciousness.

Protection is the foundation, but protection alone is not enough; that is merely passive and simply enduring.

Even immortals need methods to protect their path and the power to fight back; otherwise, so-called protection is nothing more than prolonging the time it takes to be crushed.

Thinking of this, Lynn's eyes suddenly changed.

No longer gentle, but sharp and aggressive!

"If we're going to defend... then we need the power to overturn everything!"

His thoughts exploded like thunder!

Behind the act of protection should not only be gentleness and tolerance, but also wildness, strength, and absolute suppression!

"Creation is the root. And above it should be war!"

At that moment, his choice was made without hesitation.

"Combat Rules"

This is his second power of rules.

The reasons are equally clear.

Firstly, after he sorted out his true feelings, the rules of battle were completely in line with his will, and his heart of protection needed sharpness to support it.

Secondly, he did not start from scratch; his accumulated knowledge already contained a profound understanding of the "rules of combat."

This means that he can truly master it in a very short time.

Once the thought was made, there was no more hesitation.

In the next instant, all his insights about "battle" surged into his body like a raging torrent!

The power of the rules began to spread, rapidly merging with his own spirit and will!

The Realm of Morning Stars is divided into three major realms, each of which is further divided into four stages: early stage, middle stage, late stage, and peak stage.

There is no fundamental difference in combat power between the later stages and the peak.

The only dividing line lies in whether or not the "next rule" has been found.

Finding it is the peak; not finding it means forever remaining in the later stages.

At this moment, Lynn had already taken this step. The rules of battle unfolded completely within him, echoing the rules of creation and forming a preliminary structure.

It was at this moment that his aura subtly changed, and his realm, which had been stuck at the late stage of the fourth level, suddenly leaped up as if water had naturally flowed into a channel!

Reaching the pinnacle of Level 4 Morning Star Wizard!

"The trip to the Morning Star Palace was truly worthwhile! It taught me a lot!"

Lynn murmured softly. Although his current level was only at the peak of level four, he was actually only one step away from becoming a level five wizard.

The power of rules is not the problem at this moment; what he needs is strong mental strength to support his breakthrough; he needs to push the World Tree further and step into the next realm...

"As for mental strength, I have the invitation to the Soul Forging Tower, so that's essentially solved!"

"As for the World Tree... I have those Myriad Spirit Flowers, which can raise the World Tree's level in a short time..."

Taking a deep breath, Lynn's eyes revealed a sharp edge, making him a near-level 5 Morning Star Wizard!

"This time I'm leaving seclusion, partly to try and break through to the fifth level, and partly to have a word with my subordinates!"

The rules of combat flowed through Lynn, like a long-sheathed sword suddenly drawn, its sharpness revealed in an instant! (End of Chapter)