Wizard: I Can Refine Everything

"Blood Tax was an extremely important clause in the contract Richard signed with the Fire Lizards.

Richard wasn't raising the Fire Lizards of New World Island for nothing. Under Richard's protection, they could enjoy the resources of the Wizard World, freely hunt around New World Island, and even relocate to the Main Continent to live in small numbers—all of these came with a price.

Apart from providing Richard with a constant stream of craftsmen, the Fire Lizard race also had to supply soldiers, what Richard referred to as the Blood Tax.

The contract stipulated that for every ten Fire Lizards born, one had to be given as Blood Tax.

At birth, these Fire Lizards would undergo a selection process. Once selected, their records would be marked with the label of Blood Tax.

If Richard didn't come to collect, they would live just like any other Fire Lizards. But if Richard decided to enforce the Blood Tax, these Fire Lizards had to serve as his servant army, charging into battle for him.

This was the cost of survival for the Fire Lizards.

Hearing Richard bring up the Blood Tax, Akala and Azuhan's hearts skipped a beat.

Eventually, what was to come would come.

"How many Blood Taxes are you planning to collect this time, my lord?" Azuhan asked with some difficulty.

He knew that those Fire Lizards given as Blood Tax were unlikely to return. But he was even more aware that if they didn't pay the tax, Richard could easily make the Fire Lizards pay tenfold, a hundredfold the price.

"Not sure yet," Richard said indifferently. "I need to review your roster before making a decision."

"Yes."

The register of Blood Taxes was in Azuhan's office. Over the years, the list of Blood Taxes had grown into an entire booklet.

In this booklet, the names of the Blood Taxes who had died were crossed out with a black pen, those who were disabled were circled, and the completely healthy had no mark at all.

In addition to their health status, there were symbols indicating their level next to their names. A First Level Fire Lizard was marked with a single dot, and a Second Level Fire Lizard with two dots.

Richard reviewed the entire register and couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Providing for an entire race sure felt good.

There were one hundred and thirty-two living Second Level Fire Lizards on the roster and an even more impressive one thousand nine hundred and thirty First Level Fire Lizards.

With some armor designed specifically for craftsmen and proper training, each of these Fire Lizards could rival a wizard.

Richard handed the register back to Azuhan.

"Not bad, it seems you haven't tried any tricks."

Azuhan bowed his head and forced a smile, humbly saying, "We wouldn't dare to play any tricks. If something goes wrong, it won't just be these men dying."

"Ah, you can't say it like that." Richard stood up, patted Azuhan on the shoulder, "I am picking a military force, not experiment subjects.

Those selected Fire Lizards will join me in battles across other worlds. If they are lucky enough or strong enough, coming back alive isn't an issue.

And if they return, I will offer them an extra contract. You should know that I am always generous to my own people."

Azuhan replied with a strained smile, "Your kindness..."

Richard chuckled, patted Azuhan's arm again, and then left the room.

He could see that Azuhan was mentally struggling with working for him, the same foe who had nearly wiped out the Fire Lizards. This conflict of belief was subtly affecting his mental state.

In comparison, Akala seemed to be dealing with the situation better.

The Fire Lizard princess was stronger than Richard had anticipated. Falling from the status of an Empire's princess to serving under her enemy, she managed to accept her new reality with composure.

Perhaps she didn't consider it a humiliation to make a living under a World Master.

After the factory relocation was completed, Richard conveyed the news to Jolod at the Black Tower Wizard Academy, instructing him to receive parts in the Red Sun World in the future.

Before relocating the factory, the parts for the Magic Support Vehicles produced by Richard's Alchemy Workshop were transported by airship fleets to Jolod's workshop for secondary assembly and processing.

Having settled the affairs with the Chamber, Richard immediately started contacting the Nine Star Chamber of Commerce and ordered a large batch of alchemy materials.

"Richard, my boy, such a big order; what are you planning to do with all this?"

Bob's puzzled voice came through the Crystal Ball, to which Richard answered dispassionately, "I'm preparing for a war, just getting some things ready."

Aside from ordering materials from Bob, Richard also reached out to Jimmy.

While alchemy materials could be acquired from Bob, resources for physique evolution were better obtained through Jimmy.

As the Deputy Dean of Jialong Academy, he had a vast network of connections for purchasing experimental materials related to physique evolution.

"Oh, you've opted for the Transformation Battle Body?"

Inside the Tower of Truth's Duel Arena, Jimmy, recognizing the materials Richard mentioned, felt all too familiar with them.

"Yes, Master, I plan to undergo training for the Transformation Battle Body soon."

Jimmy glanced at the dueling platform, then refocused on the Crystal Ball.

"The Transformation Battle Body isn't easy to master. If anything goes wrong, you'll have to start from scratch. You've only been studying physique evolution for a few hundred years; I wouldn't recommend you to train this battle body."

"Master, I'm confident I've found a minor shortcut."

"A shortcut?"

Jimmy stroked his shiny bald head, unaware that there was a shortcut for mastering the Transformation Battle Body. But after a moment of thought, he suddenly realized what Richard was referring to.

"You're planning to integrate Dragon Blood, aren't you?"

"The wisdom of the Master is as profound as the ocean."

"Indeed, Dragon Blood can be considered a shortcut, but I would advise against continuing in this direction."

"Oh?"

Listening to Jimmy's advice, Richard was slightly taken aback and then inquired, "Why? Is there a problem with this approach?"

"There's a problem. Giant Dragons are different from other creatures. If you want to study them, you must acquire the fresh blood of high-level Giant Dragons. But in the Wizard World, Third Level Giant Dragons are at the peak. Those with a fourth head are very hard to access for their fresh blood.

And even if you can get it, merging with it is no simple task. Unless you can obtain the fresh blood of Dragon Princes.

Moreover, the inherently invasive nature of Dragon Bloodlines is also a significant issue; you must find a way to suppress this invasion.

"

In any case, without enough knowledge accumulation, Dragon Blood can be used temporarily, but for serious study, it's best to switch to something else."

Dragon Prince heir? Erosion?

A hint of a smile appeared on Richard's face.

"Thank you, Master, for your guidance. I will be mindful of that."

"Alright, as long as you have the concept, that's fine. I will notify you once I have collected all the items, and, if nothing unexpected happens, the remaining time should be enough for you to complete the Transformation Battle Body."

"Remaining time?" Richard asked, puzzled.

From the Crystal Ball came Jimmy's laughing scold: "What are you pretending to be confused about, boy? You know about the expedition, so how could I, the Deputy Dean, not be aware? Hurry up and enhance your strength. I heard from the dean that this war might be a trial for us junior wizards."

Hearing this, Richard immediately replied with respect: "Thank you, Master, for the guidance."

...

After arranging things, Richard immediately began working on the production line for Single Soldier Armor.

Many of the machines used to produce Single Soldier Armor for craftsmen are the same as those used for Mechanic Single Soldier Armor, only the specifications are a bit lower.

Thus, with experience in forging Mechanic Single Soldier Armor, it took Richard and the Fire Lizard Craftsmen only three months to set up a production line.

The timing was just right as the Fire Lizard Workers returned.

Though these workers were called workers, in the former Red Sun World, they could have been considered Fire Lizard Craftsmen.

Compared to the Fire Lizard Craftsmen under Richard, they lacked only in knowledge and experience.

As the older batch of Fire Lizard Craftsmen under Richard died, new craftsmen would emerge from these workers.

With the help of these workers, the production line quickly started up, and alloys were transformed into part after part.

Besides getting them to start, Richard also sent Jolod a list.

The number of Single Soldier Armors was too large; Richard couldn't complete them all by himself, including parts that required Wizard Alchemy.

According to Richard's plan, he intended to create a battle group of five hundred people to serve as his auxiliary army.

Therefore, he needed to prepare at least five hundred sets of Craftsman Type-I Single Soldier Armor, and he also had to modify some of the armor to fit Second Level Fire Lizards.

Two years later, Richard received a notification from Jialong Academy.

The notification not only announced the start time of the war but also included much intelligence on the world to be explored.

Scout wizards used some methods to pass through the world barrier and conducted preliminary investigations inside the world.

The results they got were quite unsettling.

All wizards who entered to investigate the interior of the world died, and the messages they sent back were somewhat baffling.

They said that the world was alive.

Based on this information, the Academy's higher-ups consulted a lot of expedition records from other planes. They eventually speculated that the world to be explored might be a World Tree world, that is, a world dominated by the World Tree.

Following this deduction, the Academy offered some advice.

Wizards participating in this expedition must prepare for prolonged combat, so they had to purchase a sufficient quantity of supplies, with as wide a variety as possible.

This is because the Teleportation Gate for this expedition might be exceedingly difficult to open.

After receiving this advice, Richard immediately made a list and handed it over to Jolod to purchase on his behalf.

He himself then immersed in the cultivation of the Transformation Battle Body.

After more than a hundred years of growth, Hog had gone from a young dragon to a youth, reaching Level Two, and his size was as big as a cow.

With Dragon Language Magic and the naturally superior physique of a giant dragon, Hog was even more powerful than many Second Ring Wizards.

However, for Richard, her combat power was secondary; her bloodline was of utmost importance.

In the lab, Richard extracted a tube of extremely red, fresh blood from Hog's body, who looked at him somewhat fearfully.

Over the years, she had come to understand the changes in the Wizard World.

The throne of the giant dragons had long been overthrown, and her kin had become slaves to the wizards.

This made her sad, but also resigned to her fate.

Her understanding of the glory of the giant dragons was merely those ancient memories passed down.

She had never truly experienced the glory of the dragons.

Therefore, although she disliked being a Magic Pet for a wizard, it was not something she couldn't accept.

Thinking this, Hog took a large handful of tender white mushrooms from the pocket at her waist and stuffed them into her mouth.

The splendor of the giant dragons was a thing of the past; delicious mushrooms were the reality.

Richard carefully injected the Dragon Blood drawn from Hog into the Magic Potion he had prepared.

As the Dragon Blood merged, the color of the Magic Potion shifted from colorless to blood-red and then changed back to colorless.

"It's successful!"

Richard watched the Magic Potion with some excitement. This potion was the essence of the Transformation Battle Body— the Transforming Elixir. Its main function was to neutralize conflicts between bloodlines and promote the fusion of bloodlines.

With this, even if Richard fused tens or hundreds of bloodlines, he would not perish from bloodline conflict.

The cultivation of the Transformation Battle Body was to create a gland that could produce Transforming Elixirs and implant it within the body.

Having confirmed the success of the Transforming Elixir gland, Richard went to the corner of the lab.

In the corner stood a cultivation pod, and inside, a body of Richard lay there.

"The biggest problem with Dragon Blood is erosion, but what if I could contain the erosion? Wouldn't Dragon Blood then be perfect?"

With these words, Richard's body emanated a layer of holy light, and a complex rune slowly emerged in his hands.

Divine Arts: Abyss Suppression