Chapter 195 - 442 - 450

The Trade

Leylin led Kesha and Freya around his Magus Tower.

Kesha oohed and aahed at everything, while Freya was much quieter, as though there was something on her mind.

"Whew… Junior Leylin, I take back what I said earlier. You're not only much richer than me, you're a lot richer than even Senior Lucian!" Kesha said, pleased. She was half-lying on the sofa in the living room without the slightest care about her wardrobe malfunction.

"In my opinion, even Lucian's Magus Tower might not be as luxurious as yours, Leylin! I'm afraid that only a handful in the entire central continent would be as fancy!"

"Senior! Don't say such things!" Leylin laughed wryly as he raised his arms in defeat, "Why are you here today?"

Seeing his mentor conversing with guests, Snoopy served refreshments and quickly retreated, behaving like a waiter that had been groomed with utmost care.

"We are here to thank you, junior, for your care in the pocket dimension. We'd initially planned to compensate you with resources, but by the looks of it, you aren't short on them, so we'll have to make it up to you through other means…" Kesha licked her lips, "How about letting me keep you company for few nights? Any position works…"

"Hmm! Let's talk about this another time…" Leylin laughed and changed the topic.

"Hmph! You're still as boring as ever!" Kesha shook her head regretfully, "On Freya's end, she's here to ask a favour of you, hoping to make a trade with you!"

"A trade?" Leylin had his doubts, and instantly recalled the previous incident at the trading hall.

"Not that kind of trade! Of course, if Lord Leylin is willing to sell his seed, I will offer a high price!" Freya giggled with her hand over her mouth.

"I don't have any plans in this area just yet!" Leylin said with a straight face, realising that speaking to these women was indeed very tiring.

As though afraid to anger Leylin and cause the trade to fall through later, Freya was very obedient and didn't dare tease him.

"Actually, I'm offering a high price for a certain material that you possess."

"Which material?" Leylin put his guard up in a split second.

"Bloodline crystals!" Freya took a deep breath and looked at Leylin expectantly.

"Oh, that!" A look of understanding flashed in Leylin's eyes. Bloodline crystals had the potential to strengthen bloodlines, and even had the powerful effect of purifying them. Although they did not have much effect on Leylin, a Warlock whose bloodline was already purified to its limit, it was a priceless treasure to Freya whose family's bloodline was showing signs of degradation.

"But… how did you know about them?" Although the question was posed to Freya, Leylin's eyes were fixated on Kesha.

Under Leylin's gaze, Kesha couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, before sitting up and saying arrogantly, "That's right! I told her. You still have leftover bloodline crystals from the time when you performed the exchange with Mentor, right? You don't have any family, so you don't need them urgently. On the other hand, Freya is a good friend of mine, and the price she's willing to pay will definitely satisfy you!"

Leylin stroked his chin. What he handed out on the Black Scale previously was only a portion of his possessions. He still had a secret stash of a few pieces in his spatial ring.

Of course, this was done on purpose for Gilbert to see. Otherwise, even a regular human would be suspicious of such a generous student.

There was no way sly old Duke Gilbert would believe him to be without a trace of selfishness, especially as a Magus.

Thankfully, everything went as Leylin had expected. Although Gilbert knew that Leylin had a stash in his spatial ring, he didn't pursue the matter, and instead was more assured.

Leylin's secret stash was not tempting enough for Gilbert.

From the looks of it, Gilbert didn't care about it, but that didn't mean that other high-rank Warlocks didn't. He must have been spreading the news, or else Kesha would not have known either.

"Bloodline crystals… I still have one remaining piece, but you should be very clear of its value. How much can you pay for it?" Leylin muttered, tapping his finger on the table rhythmically, as though struggling with the thought.

In actual fact, he had already decided to sell off all the materials he had shown, or else many people would have their eye on these items.

This time, it was Kesha and Freya, who were close to him. In the future, however, if crazier people like Miranda or Senior Lucian came over, what should he do?

Freya and Kesha exchanged looks of joy.

As long as they were willing to offer a price, everything would be settled. Their families had profound backgrounds and possessed much that was enticing to Leylin. Since Freya had made special preparations before coming, the items must be even more tempting.

"A set of the Hydro and Crystal Phase spell formations that have been passed down the generations in our family. They can increase the success rate when compressing your spiritual force by 10%!" Freya's first sentence made Leylin's eyes light up.

The compression spell formations inherited by such high-ranked Warlocks could not be compared to the normal goods exchanged in the Trading Hall of the Ouroboros Clan.

Furthermore, the other party was also a Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock, so the spell formations developed would be even more appropriate for bloodline Warlocks.

"That's not enough!" Leylin kept a straight face.

"And this!" Freya pushed a red box before Leylin.

The box was small and had a grainy wooden texture, likely made from some bark. A loop of fiery red energy particles surfaced on the box, forming multiple seal patterns.

"What?!" Leylin furrowed his brows and blew lightly on the box.

*Whoosh!* Powerful yet fine black darkness elemental energy particles whizzed by, and the seal on the box started to disintegrate, tearing apart inch by inch.

"As strong as a Crystal Phase Magus!" Kesha gasped in awe, "The amplification from your Magus Tower is really terrifying!"

Freya was also shocked. She had purposely left the seal on the box as it was, with the intention of testing the waters, but it looked like Leylin's abilities in his Magus Tower were far beyond her expectations.

As a matter of fact, within the amplification boundaries of the Magus Tower, Leylin could not only display strength comparable to a Crystal Phase Magus, but could even manipulate the energy particles in the positive and negative energy reactive pools to replenish what had been depleted. His magic power was endless.

If any average Crystal Phase Magus were to enter, they would waste all their spiritual force against him.

It could be said that within the range of his own Magus Tower, the only ones that struck fear in Leylin were Morning Star Magi.

In response to the exclamations made by the two women, Leylin's expression did not change, as he opened the box.

At the bottom of the box was a thick layer of soft, pure white velvet.

And right in the centre of the velvet cloth was a red octagonal gemstone. A few intricate gold runes were swirling around in the jewel, much like tadpoles.

[Hall's Jewel. Rarity: One of the three ancient wondrous items. Has the ability to greatly boost the compression of a bloodline Warlock's spiritual force, and can increase the success rate of advancement to the Hydro Phase by 50%.]

The A.I. Chip swiftly transmitted the corresponding information to Leylin's brain.

'It's actually Hall's Jewel!' Leylin was unable to mask his excitement. 'Haven't these materials been lost since ancient times?'

With this gemstone, coupled with the Hydro Phase spell formation, his spiritual force would naturally enter the Hydro Phase without a bottleneck once he had sufficient spiritual force.

It was obvious how important this object would be to him.

Leylin took a glance at his condition that was presented in his consciousness.

[Leylin Farlier. Rank 3 Warlock (Vapour Phase). Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent. Strength: 23.6, Agility: 20.1, Vitality: 39.1, Spiritual force, 251.7; Magic power: 251(Magic Power synchronized with spiritual force)]

'The minimum spiritual force required to enter the Hydro Phase is estimated to be around 300!' Leylin recalled the statistics he had obtained from many simulated experiments through the A.I. Chip.

'And with the Lamia fingerbone, if I artificially strengthen my bloodline, the rate of increase of my spiritual force wouldn't be too slow either, and I may attain it in a few decades!'

The two obstacles in a Magus' progress would be accumulating spiritual force and breaking through the bottleneck.

Now that the problem of a bottleneck had already been solved by Freya, what's left was to slowly accumulate spiritual force. How could this not be a cause for joy?

Although Leylin tried to keep a straight face, Freya managed to catch a glimpse of happiness flicker across his face.

"It seems that Sir Leylin has taken a great liking to this item!" she smiled sweetly.

"Yes, the Hall's Jewel is enough to make any Vapour Phase Magus go crazy!" Leylin nodded.

"If it's appropriate to ask, may I know where you found it? The Hall's Jewel should have been wiped out with the extinction of the Sea of Gemstones!" Leylin stated his doubts.

"The Sea of Gemstones did vanish a long time ago, but it still existed in ancient times!" Freya smiled in response, "As long as you find more ruins from ancient times, it is still possible to find these gemstones."

'So this was the aim of their previous expedition…' Thinking about how they returned full of severe injuries previously, and how even the Second Elder was forced to take action, Leylin felt his scalp go numb, and the gemstone even heated up.

"I initially wanted to give it to you without any conditions, but…" Freya expressed her regret, but Leylin was secretly afraid.

Thankfully, he owned something that she wanted, or else he would have a hard time deciding if he should accept the Hall's Jewel should she have really sent it over as a present.

Once he took the bait, the other party would tempt him with more benefits in the future, landing him in a trap until he willingly married into her family.

Sadly, in the history of Magi, many with shockingly excellent inherent skills but yet without a background or much status were enticed into marrying into other families in this manner.

Although both parties would be satisfied in the end, Leylin was different from them.

Living in Seclusion

Compared to those warlocks who were talented but had no background, Leylin was much more extravagant.

With the A.I. Chip in his hands, his learning and operating abilities were far better than other common Magi.

These in turn resulted in increased productivity, allowing him to earn sufficient resources for his practice and research.

Hence, he did not need to look for support from a large clan like other Magi did in order to obtain the required supplies, academic knowledge and so on. However, due to the many secrets he had, he had no choice but to stay alone as much as possible and conceal his secrets in the darkness.

As such, until now, he had never once thought of finding a partner. Those times when he slept with women were only to have fun, or to satiate his needs. If Freya used the Hall's jewel to seduce him, that would be a headache for him.

Luckily, he now had in his hands something that she needed urgently, and things would not get so complicated.

Moreover, although the bloodline crystal could not eradicate the issue of the other clan's bloodline weakening, there was still hope to delay it for a period of time. This would give Leylin some time.

"How is it? Are you satisfied with the exchange?" Kesha curled her lips out of what seemed to be injustice and said, "If this is still not enough, then count the two of us in. In order to obtain the bloodline crystal, Freya is ready to put everything at stake anyway...."

"That's enough!" Leylin nodded, pretending that he had not heard the other part of Kesha's words.

"The two of you, please wait a moment!" He rose and turned into another corridor.

After Leylin left, the two female Magi relaxed at once. They knew that the entire Magus Tower and especially the interior, was all under Leylin's control. However, it felt different when he wasn't around.

The two women even seemed to have a faint hope that their words would reach Leylin through the tower genie.

"How is it? Are you reassured now?" Kesha fell lazily onto the soft couch, the slit in the lower part of her gown vaguely exposing her snow-white thighs.

"Yes!" Freya heaved a sigh of relief, but it seemed as if she was disappointed.

"Actually, the bloodline crystal can only relieve the deterioration of the bloodline for at most a century. When the time comes, what is to happen is inevitable. Moreover, using the bloodline crystal repeatedly will cause its effects to weaken sharply, ultimately making it completely ineffective!"

It seemed as if Kesha was bewitching Freya, "Hence, the safest method is still to absorb fresh blood! With the degree of pureness of Leylin's bloodline, your clan will not have to worry about this for the next few centuries!"

"Then why aren't you doing that?" Freya blushed slightly as she threw a question back at Kesha without backing down.

"Of course I want to, but it's not like you haven't seen it. This method doesn't work on him. What else can I do?" Kesha sighed, took a few steps forward and raised Freya's chin with her finger, "Such a beautiful and pure female Magus, and that guy isn't even tempted. Is he really made of stone?"

"Sister Kesha isn't lacking either..." An indistinct smile flashed across Freya's eyes as she clasped both hands around Kesha's waist.

"It seems that I've got to teach you a lesson this time..." Kesha grinned and gave Freya a kiss on the lips.

"..."

Leylin, who saw the scene through the tower genie, could not help but be a little dumbstruck. These women were indeed wild and playful, and were even completely unscrupulous in trying to tempt him.

Unfortunately, Leylin could see but could not touch them. He had to control his bloodline, which made him feel slightly depressed.

"However..." Leylin smirked slyly.

Previously, he did not dare to sleep with women because he was afraid that they would use techniques and spells to steal his bloodline. However, ever since he'd obtained the research data regarding the composition of bloodlines from Quicksand Castle, his knowledge of bloodlines had deepened.

If he was given a little more time, he could definitely develop a technique that would not leak out his seed and keep the source of his bloodline. If it were to be combined with the A.I. Chip, even if those women coveted his bloodline, they would not have a chance of getting anything out of him.

When that time came, the expressions of those women who had suffered a loss in order to obtain the bloodline, would surely be very interesting.

As for now?

Watching the sexy scene on the screen made a faint anger rise in Leylin. It seemed that he would have to order Kubler to buy some beautiful female slaves to extinguish the fire within him.

Leylin was always unwilling to make things unfair for himself. Everything he had must be the best, regardless of the aspect.

After all, what's the point in having eternal life if he could not enjoy the pleasures of the world?

Although he wanted to join in, Leylin still waited in a gentlemanly manner for more than ten minutes before entering the living room.

The living room had already been tidied and cleaned, and the clothes on the two women were extremely neat without a speck of dust. Their expressions were very calm, as if they had done nothing but wait for him during this entire time.

Leylin smiled as his nose twitched slightly. He noticed a very special scent in the air, which carried a slight aroma and an even more unique flavour he was familiar with.

While watching his movements, Kesha and Freya could not help but blush.

It was only when Leylin saw Kesha almost jumping in anger that he laughed, putting an end to his silent provocation. He then placed a silver tray on the round table.

"This bloodline crystal is the last in my inventory. If I had a family, I would never have brought it out to exchange…"

As he spoke, the two women's gazes were attracted to the rich, scarlet radiance that was emitted from the bloodline crystal.

"We are very grateful for your generosity! Hopefully, our friendship will be able to continue on forever!" When it came to business, Freya's face no longer had the shyness from before. What replaced it was an extremely solemn expression.

"Yes, yes!" Kesha nodded in agreement beside her, along with a hopeful gaze towards Leylin, "I heard from Mentor Gilbert that you were very dishonest that time and even hid some of the precious remains of ancient creatures. Come on, share them with us too…"

As Leylin watched this senior of his whose eyes were almost sparkling with radiance, he could not help but shake his head and laugh wryly.

...

"Leylin, Mentor told me to inform you to be more cautious these days. If there's nothing going on, do not exit the Ouroboros Clan's boundaries." At the time of parting, Kesha whispered into Leylin's ear.

"What?!" Leylin was startled, but he swiftly gathered his thoughts and asked, "Is it because of Demon Hunter Cyril?"

"That's right. He's a Morning Star Magus after all, and just by revealing his intentions of attacking, many Magi wanting to get into his good books would do all the work on his behalf without him even lifting a finger. This is especially so for Magi of Nefas. They are rather insane…"

A wry smile emerged on the corner of Kesha's lips, "It's not just you. Robin and I were also given the same order by Mentor!"

After a long silence, Leylin nodded with a smile. "I understand. It just so happens that I've been wanting to take a break for a while now. The Magus Tower has also just been built, and I have yet to begin any experiments as of yet… For the next few decades, I can't leave this place!"

"That's good then!" What Kesha was most afraid of was that this junior of hers, with his youthful vigour, would get himself in trouble outside. However, it seemed like Leylin was acting very rationally. She could not help but feel gratified.

She hugged Leylin before leaving with Freya.

As he watched the silhouette of the two women disappear before his eyes, Leylin's smile slowly faded into a dark, gloomy expression.

"Morning Star Magus, Cyril..." He was already an adult before he crossed over to his world, and his experiences were far richer than any other Magus. Naturally, he would not venture out and land himself in danger due to momentary rage. That was something only a fool would do.

When it was time to withdraw, Leylin did not mind hiding in a tortoise shell.

As for his reputation, honour and such? With his life in jeopardy, none of those mattered.

However, Leylin was still unhappy about the Morning Star Magus' pettiness and grudge-holding attitude, especially when he recalled the time when the other party attacked without considering his reputation. If he had not prepared in advance and gotten Mentor Gilbert's reinforcements, Leylin would have died there.

"The Great Morning Star Magus is just like a star in the sky, bright and radiant, as if everlasting…" Leylin glance in the direction of Nefas as a sneer emerged on his face.

"However, even if it is a star, it's bound to be extinguished one day, what more Demon Hunter Cyril. I look forward to the moment you fall from the sky…" In his heart, Leylin had already decided that when his skills surpassed the other party, he would definitely fulfil Cyril's destiny of death.

...

Of course, on the surface, Leylin had not exposed his intentions at all. After Kesha's warning, Leylin had been keeping a low-profile and hid in his Magus Tower. He even avoided going to the headquarters as much as possible.

On one hand, there were a lot of experiments and tasks to work on. But a larger reason was that he actually had problems with the materials.

The Magi who coveted what he had numbered far more than just Freya.

Fortunately, he was now a Vapour Phase Magus and was considered a high-level Magus in the organisation. Furthermore, after building the Magus Tower, he was comparable to a Crystal Phase Magus in his territory and could not be trifled with.

In addition, many Magi would reconsider and wonder if it was worth it to offend a promising young man like him just for material items of lesser significance than Leylin's potential.

As such, his days went by relatively peacefully.

Of course, this was all possible since the fact that he had secretly ordered Tanasha to carry the resources had not been divulged. If not, there was no need to think about the effects this would have on the Magi's relationship would Leylin. Even Morning Star Magi would get involved!

He obviously hoped to sell those items as soon as possible to avoid others having their eye on them. After all, this bit of his harvest was only a drop in the ocean for him. However, if he sold them too easily, it would very likely attract suspicion. This was why the whole process had been delayed.

After a year of waiting, Leylin finally had the opportunity to sell off the rest of the remains of high-energy creatures in his possession at a high price, by commissioning the Ouroboros Clan to auction it. These items were ultimately bought by Lucian.

Century

After settling the troublesome matters, Leylin's life sank into complete serenity.

Everyday, other than meditating at fixed times and using the Lamia fingerbone's radiation to mature his own bloodline, he was cooped up in the laboratory. He had already completely recovered the information on bloodline combinations. Besides that, he would patrol his territory and mentor Snoopy on occasion.

Such peaceful days were hard to come by. With the passage of time, his strength was slowly increasing, and was something worthy of rejoicing over.

Before anyone knew it, Leylin's authority had been firmly set in place in his territory. The gigantic Onyx Castle towered on this piece of land, becoming the nucleus of power in this world. With the years rolling by, it left its mark on history.

Apart from being indestructible, the castle now had some history to it, which was something only the castles of true nobility could accumulate.

The only constant was the huge Magus Tower nearby, its everlasting glow seemingly eternal.

Inside the tower, Leylin lay on a huge experimental desk half-naked, his firm muscles visible. A few robotic arms were holding a translucent crystal ball above him, releasing blood-red rays that swept across his body. His eyes were closed, as if trying to sense something.

If one looked through the surface of the crystal ball, they could faintly see a milky-white fingerbone suspended at the center of the crystal ball, emanating a mysterious light.

The entire process lasted for a total of two hours before the robotic arms retreated back into their valves. Leylin then opened his eyes.

However, his pupils had now turned amber, still containing an ominous glint.

The moment he opened his eyes, the tools in front of him all became ash-grey, turning into stone. The alarms from various apparatus began to ring unceasingly.

Leylin lowered his head, deep in thought, 'The bloodline is too rich… that can be a problem as well.'

When he raised his head once more, the amber in his eyes had faded, instead replaced by a pair of bottomless black pupils.Yellow skin rustled as he tore a layer of his body and threw it aside.

The skin still had fluids and traces left behind by the scales.

Leylin continued to tear off his dead skin, as though he was a molting like a snake.

"This is already the third time I'm undergoing molting!" Leylin looked at the molted skin as helplessness flashed across his face.

Warlocks' advancement was done through meditation and transforming the body, progressing towards becoming ancient creatures.

It could be said that the higher-ranked the Warlock was, the less human they would be. The same held true for Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan.

Since Leylin's bloodline was that of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent, he naturally would undergo molting periods in his growth. However, under the radiation of the Lamia fingerbone, the molting process had been greatly expedited.

"Tower genie, prepare warm water for my bath." The tower genie acted quickly under Leylin's order. Before he'd even reached the designated bathroom, steaming hot water had been prepared.

Water elemental particles had been condensed into a pure liquid, and had been made extremely suitable for the bodies and skin of Warlocks through specialised proportions.

Leylin lay contentedly in the bathing pool made of black marble. As he looked at his fair and smooth skin, his eyes faintly phased out.

Every single time he molted, his strength would see a rapid increase. The rate of his advancements recently had been truly terrifying.

Leylin looked at his palm. Who would have thought that these ordinary slender hands could hide such extraordinary power?

'How time flies. This leisurely life of mine has gone on for a century now?' Leylin sank into deep thought.

Indeed, nearly a hundred years had passed since his foray into the Forgotten Land.

Such a long period of time was enough for commoner families to have passed between four to five generations, yet all this did for Leylin was make him look more mature. Given his life expectancy as a high-ranked Warlock, he could be said to still be in his teens.

In this last century, Leylin had maintained a low-profile lifestyle, immersing himself in research and drawing links between his own knowledge base and that of the central continent. He had even reached the boundary in multiple areas.

The A.I. Chip's data had also been updated several times.

[Leylin Farlier: Rank 3 (Hydro Phase) Warlock. Bloodline: Giant Kemoyin Serpent; Strength: 30, Agility: 30, Vitality: 45.5, Spiritual force: 315.6, Magic Power: 315 (Magic power in synchronization with spiritual force)]

Through the Lamia fingerbone's maturation of his bloodline, even without the consumption of spiritual force potions, Leylin's spiritual force increased day by day, up to the point where he fulfilled the requirements to advance to the Hydro Phase.

20 years ago, Leylin had used the Hall's Jewel and Hydro Phase spell formation to finally condense his spiritual force, breaking out of Hydro Phase.

There were, even more, merits to the maturation of his bloodline. His strength and agility, which had stagnated for a long time, experienced an exponential growth, while his vitality steadily increased as well.

Once both strength and agility reached 30, Leylin knew that even the Kemoyin Giant Serpent bloodline could not lead to an indefinite increase in these areas. This was probably his current limit.

Similarly, the increase in vitality from every consecutive molting was diminishing. It seemed like it, too, would slow to a crawl.

Leylin clenched his fists, feeling the surge of strength within. 'Just the radiation from the Lamia fingerbone could bring about so many benefits,' he muttered to himself as he felt the increase in power from the molting, his blood bursting with vitality.

Outside the bathroom, two pleasant voices similar to that of an oriole sounded, "Master, it's time for lunch!"

Leylin smiled and exited the bathroom.

Two teenage girls in maid costumes were kneeling on the two sides of the bathroom. They showed not a tinge of bashfulness when he walked out stark naked, using a large white towel to dry him and dressing him in a loose robe.

It was clear that these two emitted energy waves unique to rank 1 Magi, and they possessed a special charm.

They were actually Warlocks! Even though they were only rank 1 and did not have a pure bloodline, they were still hard to come by.

They were Warlocks under Leylin's guidance. The two were actually sisters who came from the same family tribe of Giant Mankestre Snake Warlocks. Due to the restrictions of their bloodlines, their position in the Ouroboros Clan was very low. Once Leylin had released news that he was hiring, the family had immediately sent these two sisters to serve him in his tower.

The Magus Tower was extremely dangerous. Even its living quarters had large amounts of radiation, and commoners would not be able to live on the premises. Only Magi were suited to stay within.

Leylin's Magus Tower was naturally only open to a few of his acolytes and subordinates. Even though they were only given access to the living areas and a few laboratories, it was more than enough for them to be moved to tears.

"Mentor!"

In the dining hall, Leylin saw Snoopy. That kid had already advanced to become a rank 2 Warlock. For his Black Horrall Snake bloodline and meager natural aptitude, it was considered a great feat.

"Mmm!" Leylin nodded his head lightly and sat at the head of the table. The two twin sisters immediately served delicious food.

"How's the cleanup of the library going?" Leylin asked Snoopy while eating.

During the organisation and influx of books into the library, Leylin had noticed Snoopy's passion for them and decided to just hand the entire place over for him to manage.

"It's going well! Only area B-3 has experienced some mild oxidation, but I've already asked the tower genie to isolate the region and deal with it." he humbly answered.

"Also, the captives locked up in the experimental areas have become more irritable, and the rate of energy consumption of the binding rooms has risen by 1.9%…" This next bit caught Leylin's attention.

After lunch, he went to the basement of the Magus Tower.

*Boom! Pow!* The intermittent noises he heard after entering the area caused him to frown.

He came to the area outside the binding room. Through the reinforced glass, he could see a large red-eyed Kobold. Large amounts of drool were dripping from his mouth as he rammed his head into the walls repeatedly.

Every time he did that, a thick blue electric current would shoot at the Kobold's body, burning its reddish-beige scaly exterior to a charred black.

Leylin frowned and ordered, "Retrieve its information!"

The tower genie projected a screen in front of Leylin's eyes. The densely-packed words and figures of the surgical journal and surveillance footage were laid out in front of him.

'After the initial bloodline strengthening experiment, symptoms of hysteria appeared on the eighth day?' Leylin stroked his chin.

"This Kobold has no more observational value. Get rid of it and send its carcass to the dissection room!"

"Authority verified! Getting rid of the Kobold!" The tower genie answered without emotion. After all, it had been programmed to put Leylin's orders as the first priority.

*Swish!* A black light streaked across the sky, and the hysterical Kobold that was confined immediately fell to the ground.

In the blink of an eye, this terrifying Kobold, who had been so close to reaching rank 3, completely perished, without being able to put up a fight at all.

The prison gates then opened, and a few adamantine puppets carried the lifeless Kobold carcass out on a stretcher.

Precipitation And Strength

After seeing what happened, the Kobolds bound in the center huddled up together, fearful of the demonic Leylin.

Looking at the fear in their eyes, Leylin nodded his head, "The rest of the experiments look alright!"

The fear represented sanity, which meant they were still worth keeping alive. These Kobolds being here was naturally Tanasha's handiwork.

After receiving Leylin's order, not only had she collected a large amount of high-grade Kobold blood, she had even captured a group of captives and sent them to Leylin.

In the midst of working on Quicksand's bloodline experiments, Leylin gladly accepted these gifts with pleasure and used them in his research.

Right now, the results were rather positive.

Leylin looked at the rest who were bound in the center. Their general was well-built at over two metres of solid muscle covered with a dense layer of scales. The horn on his head was also thick and bulky.

"I did not expect the rumors about the Kobolds possessing the giant dragon bloodline to be true after all…" Leylin took out a tube of golden blood from his pouch.

The tube of blood carried a powerful aura. Even the cowering Kobolds who were covering their heads in the corner raised their head unanimously and looked at the tube in his hands, their eyes filled with desire.

"The quintessential bloodline of the Ancient Red Dragon!" Leylin gasped. As long as he was willing to give up this ancient bloodline, with the high-grade meditation technique of Dragon King's Mystic Might that he'd obtained in the subterranean world, he could have turned any of the Kobolds into a terrifying first generation Dragon bloodline Warlock in a flash.

But before he'd conducted more research on methods of restriction, such a thing would be equivalent to Leylin creating unnecessary trouble for himself, which he didn't want.

Even though his bloodline was already finalized, the experiments of the ancient Quicksand Organisation did inspire him tremendously.

For instance, one of the fields he was interested in was the ignition of another bloodline to strengthen himself. He had constantly paid attention to that area of research.

Upon confirming that all the hubbub was raised by that one crazed Kobold, Leylin soon left the place and reached the experimental area for spells.

After molting, he urgently needed to train his control of his powers.

The Magus Tower's spell experimental area was built with the strongest alloy, and had specialized registers and targets for testing. The strength and durability was high enough to withstand any spell at rank 3 or below.

"Beginning with rank 1 innate spell, Kemoyin's Scales…" Leylin's entire body was soon covered with exquisite black scales, this time slightly differing from before. Multiple decorative designs extended across them to form a symbol. The outer layer had another bright membrane on top, forming a second layer of defense.

This was the advantage of an innate spell. When a Magus attained enough power, their innate spell would improve with them and become stronger, displaying the power and effects of higher-grade spells.

The same went for the bloodline inherited spells of Warlocks. The stronger the bloodline, the greater the amplification of the innate spell's power.

"Initiation of test!" The tower genie hovered next to Leylin

Ever since he had the tower genie, Leylin had allocated most of the A.I Chip's tasks to the tower genie instead. The freed-up processing power of the A.I Chip were then accumulated and used by Leylin to be spent on deducing more important tasks.

The elemental rays dazzled. Numerous elemental particles appeared and coagulated, ready for attack.

It started with the commonly seen earth, fire, and water elemental attacks. After which, there were attacks by special light and darkness elemental particles, followed by various fused spells.

Lightning, hail, blades of wind, and balls of fire all burst onto Leylin's body, their power unceasingly rising.

*Buzz buzz!* A black radiance emitted from the Kemoyin scales and formed a layer of defence around Leylin's body, which had repelled those frightening attacks.

The violent energy particles had a sustained attack of ten minutes or so. After which, the tower genie's voice intonated once again, "Spell resistance test completed. Physical defense test initiated."

The moment the words were spoken, the attacking spells vanished and the ground crackled as it split apart to reveal an entry valve. Adamantine puppets appeared from within, wielding huge steel swords, hatchets, heavy hammers, and other large weapons. They started attacking Leylin.

For the next half hour, an unceasing rumbling could be heard.

The tower genie flapped its invisible wings as it flew towards Leylin and reported, "Kemoyin's Scales defense test completed!"

A numerical report was then clearly projected forth.

[Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlock rank 1 innate spell — Kemoyin's Scales (Augmented: Rank 3) Spell Resistance: 160 degrees. Physical Resistance: 175 degrees.]

"With this sort of resistance, I'm basically immune to the common rank 2 spells," Leylin nodded with extreme pleasure.

Next was the testing for the Eye of Petrification and Toxic Bile. After comparison, the degree of power of the Eye of Petrification had reached the apex of rank 2, although there wasn't any other strengthening of the foundation.

On the other hand, Toxic Bile's terrifying poison attack had quietly crept passed its boundary and reached the rank 3 realm.

"This bloodline strengthening has benefitted me so much!" Witnessing his own innate spells getting more powerful, Leylin couldn't help but sigh in pleasure.

For an average Warlock, they depended on their own bloodline to spur on their advancements to the next level, whereas for him, he had advanced too soon in the past and his Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline couldn't keep pace with his strength. This had resulted in a lack of advancements in his rank 1 and 2 spells.

And now? He had finally caught up with the other Warlocks who had progressed over many years, enabling his innate spells to match, if not exceed, theirs!

After testing several of his own innate spells, Leylin asked in silence, "A.I. Chip, how did the simulation go?"

[Rank 3 spell derivation progress currently at 98.9%!]

The A.I. Chip's response was swift and got Leylin smiling, "It's almost done! At the current rate of progress, it'll only take a short while to completely derive the spell!"

Although rank 3 spell models were very valuable, Leylin had gotten his hands on quite a few. As he recalled his previous battles, he realised the same problem recurring.

Although he had many tricks up his sleeve, the majority of his battles had him dependent on a combination of potions, spells and the Meteor Sword to successfully defeat his opponent.

It may have seemed straightforward, but in reality, if the other party had surpassed him in any one of those factors, he would've found it difficult to succeed.

To put it simply, he lacked a sure-fire killing move.

Such a strategy could arise from a huge demonic weapon, an earth-shatteringly powerful spell or a deadly potion. However, Leylin realised, he had no such thing on hand.

Manufacturing a huge demonic weapon would be way too troublesome. The same went for a deadly potion. There were material costs and they had limitations to them. As such, after much deliberation, he decided to bring forward the A.I. Chip's derivation of a powerful spell, which was tailored for him.

In order to see this matter to completion, Leylin gave his full attention and had stopped himself from many other missions. He even had the tower genie share the burden of the A.I. Chip. He wanted to maximize the use of the the A.I. Chip's processing power.

As such, everything had progressed smoothly.

"According to the latest estimates, this new spell will have at least 300 degrees of power. Common Crystal Phase Magi will not dare underestimate me, and it'll be useful enough below the Morning Star realm…" At this juncture, the light faded from Leylin's eyes and was replaced by a hint of gloom.

In his previous expedition to the Forgotten Land, they had offended the Morning Star Magus, Demon Hunter Cyril. Although Cyril didn't declare any intentions to seek revenge, there were many rank 3 Magi who wanted to get in his good books, and quite a few of them were at the Hydro and even Crystal Phases.

Therefore, under such tremendous pressure, Leylin had withdrawn and holed himself in his territory for a long time, coming out only when necessary.

Every once in while, there would be a few ignorant trespassers who would gallantly cross the border. They were almost always discovered immediately and brought to Leylin. Under the amplification of his strength by the Magi Tower, Leylin had powers parallel to that of rank 3 Magi. As a result, he managed to defeat the few trespassing Magi easily, the deaths of those Magi affording him some bit of reputation.

Over time, fewer and fewer Magi tried to trespass.

Additionally, with the ability to deduce spells, Leylin's confidence soared. Relying on those trump cards, he could fight on par with Crystal Phase Magi without relying on the tower. He felt that the time was right.

Truth be told, it was frustrating for Leylin to be cooped up for close to a hundred years in a single territory.

'Before this, I'm afraid I would still have to make a trip to the Ouroboros Clan to see if there's anything profitable for me. Phew, astral stone…' Leylin plotted in his mind, and could not help but sigh again.

Normally, once one had their own Magus Tower and had been promoted to Hydro phase, they would have the ability to conduct early-stage experiments on the astral gates independently. Unfortunately, Leylin had not taken any actions for a long time to come. The only reason behind that was because he lacked the key ingredient, the astral stone.

It was the base material for the construction of an astral gate, and at the same time a core battling resource held by Morning Star Magi. They were rarely circulated in public, and required a trade with other rare or valuable items.

At the moment, Leylin did not have the connections to carry out such exchanges. In fact, Leylin could not even make up his mind even for the trading of mundane objects.

It was not due to the fact that he did not have enough enticing treasures to put forth, but that many of the objects he possessed were better off not being exposed to others. For instance, the essence of the ancient red dragon bloodline and the yield from the Blood Vulture's Nest.

He could have easily exchanged any of these objects for astral stones. However, he could also have attracted unnecessary attention from other Morning Star Magi. Leylin had enough trouble from provoking the Demon Hunter, he certainly did not want any more eyes on him.

On the other hand, Kesha had secretly been in touch with Leylin and had informed him on an arrangement for astral stones. He looked forward to it eagerly.

Azure Mountain Auction

"Sister Kesha, you've grown prettier again!"

Within Phosphorescence Swamp, the headquarters of the Ouroboros Clan was bustling as usual, with many bloodline Warlocks shuttling to and fro.

Below the Giant Kemoyin Snake statue, Leylin had recognised Kesha instantly.

He walked up to her with a big smile and hugged her tightly as both his hands groped Kesha's body impolitely.

"Alright! Alright! We're still on the way, let's talk when we get back!" Kesha's breathing became heavy but she had a depressed look on her face.

"You got me there!"

"Haha..." Seeing the sister who made him concede defeat repeatedly become like that, Leylin could not help but laugh out loud. His face carried an unconcealable smugness.

After going through the restoration of Quicksand's bloodline experiment, Leylin's knowledge in this area had advanced greatly, reaching the peak of the central continent.

Under his control and with the help of the A.I. Chip, the spell to protect his own bloodline had already been developed a long time ago.

After numerous "real-life combat tests" with Kesha, this female Magus had no choice but to admit that even if the female Warlocks from the Ouroboros Clan were to come forth all at once, exposing all of their secret techniques, they would not obtain Leylin's seed.

Leylin, who had now let go of this matter, enjoyed himself without any apprehension. However, Kesha and the others were growing a little intolerant of him.

...

The pink cotton quilt was covered in traces of their lovemaking, as a strong fragrance wrapped the entire room.

Leylin flexed his upper body, exposing his firm but sleek muscles. He was half reclined on the couch, listening attentively to Kesha's accounts.

Kesha looked more miserable, with her body full of scars from the havoc, but she had a look of satisfaction. The cotton clothes could not conceal her delicate body at all, it even exposed more than what others could bargain for.

Despite her miserable look, this was actually nothing but child's play for female Magi. It could only be considered as a more intense game as they would be able to recover within minutes.

For instance, the current Kesha's breathing did not have the slightest heaviness from before; it even seemed calm.

"Leylin, the speed at which you're improving, you're one of the best talents in the Ouroboros Clan. Only Robin can surpass you!"

With serious matters being brought up, Leylin no longer had the cavalier attitude from before and was now listening optimistically.

"Brother Robin's success is due to him being well prepared, how can I compare to him?" Opposed to Kesha's flattery, Leylin shook his head with a faint smile instead.

He had advanced to the Hydro Phase very quickly, and it was supposed to create a big fuss in the Ouroboros Clan. After all, only an extreme talent could perform so well.

But Robin had stolen his thunder. Just around when Leylin had advanced to the Hydro Phase, news had spread that Robin had actually become a Crystal Phase Magus.

Hydro Phase Magi were not very rare in the central continent, but it was a different scenario with Crystal Phase Magi. Be it their individual strengths or the difficulty of the breakthrough, the two levels were not on the same platform.

Naturally, Leylin's limelight was stolen by Robin.

Deep in his heart, Leylin was a little glad that Robin attracted a lot of attention to himself. He had always enjoyed reaping his rewards in the dark and did not want to show off like that.

At the same time, he remembered the trace of the black mark on Robin's forehead.

It seems that the other party's breakthrough was deeply connected to his encounter in the Quicksand pocket dimension.

Duke Gilbert seemed to know some of this information but of course, he would not tell Leylin about it. Leylin could only guess.

"Both of you are perverts!" Kesha's expression was a little gloomy and she seemed to be full of indignance. Leylin and Robin had obviously benefitted a lot from the previous expedition, and only she ended up empty-handed. She even lost many of the powerful members of her clan.

What was worse was that when they were hunted down as fugitives, the responsibility was on all three of them.

Chivalrously, Leylin wrapped his arm around Kesha's slim waist and began to comfort her in a soft voice, "Alright alright! It's already been over a hundred years, those people must have already lost their patience…"

After a while of tenderness, Leylin finally asked the question regarding his main purpose of this journey. "By the way, you'd mentioned an astral stone previously. What's that about?"

He had always drawn a clear line between work and pleasure.

Of course, Kesha knew that her relationship with this talented brother was just an insignificant link, and only the entanglement of benefits would allow her to bind him into her clan's war chariot, making him at least a part of their camp. Hence she quickly gave an account of the whole story.

"Auction?" Leylin's eyebrows knitted when he heard the news.

"Yes!" Kesha did not brush away Leylin's unconsciously playful hands, she only glared. "An auction hosted by a Morning Star Magus in Azure Mountain City!" As if she knew that Leylin had not understood her, Kesha began explaining to Leylin again in detail.

It turned out that after Magi entered the Morning Star realm, ordinary materials and resources were already far from sufficient to satisfy them. What Morning Star Magi needed had always been items that were highly cherished in ancient times, and even those that had long since been lost. These treasures were evidently not purchasable by magic crystals. Thus, organising some exchanges in private and barter trade became mainstream.

The founder of Azure Mountain City, the Azure Mountain King, was a neutral Morning Star Magus. His clan controlled of almost half of the auctions that took place in the region.

Every ten or so years, a grand auction would be held in the headquarters of Azure Mountain City. When that time came, many rare treasures would appear, attracting numerous Magi who intended to pursue them.

And behind the auction, the distinguished Azure Mountain King would also organise a small-scaled private exchange meeting.

This secret meeting had a very high bar for attendance. Ordinary rank 3 Magi could not enter, and even Morning Star Magi of all sides snuck in to see if they could get things they needed.

"The next Azure Mountain auction is commencing soon, I have received information that there is someone there who wishes to sell an astral stone the size of a fist…" Kesha explained the matter thoroughly.

"Also, Leylin, even if you come back from the auction empty-handed, you can still try your luck at the exchange meeting later on. With so many highly ranked Magi there, surely there will be those who have astral stones on hand. Of course, the prerequisite will be for you to have an item that is attractive enough for the other party..."

"What time does the exchange meeting start? How do I obtain the authority to enter? What restrictions are there?" Evidently, Leylin's interest in the exchange meeting was piqued.

And he had indeed accumulated a large quantity of items, which he had intended to sell in exchange for magic crystals or other raw materials.

"The exchange meeting will commence after the auction ends. As long as you are located within the borders of Azure Mountain City, highly ranked Magi who have fulfilled the requirements will be invited. Besides, rest assured that the entire exchange meeting will be conducted in anonymity. The distinguished Azure Mountain King is willing to vouch that there will be no trouble in the future!"

A neutral Morning Star Magus' word had a definite reputation in the entire central continent, putting Leylin at ease.

It seemed that the issue of materials that was perplexing him had a very high chance of being resolved in Azure Mountain City.

Moreover, after being low-profile and living in seclusion for such a long time, it was about time he went out to roam around.

Leylin, who was in high spirits, pulled Kesha into a new round of war once again.

"Marquis Leylin…"

"Good afternoon, Marquis Leylin!"

On the way to the headquarters, a smile hung on the corner of Leylin's lips as he greeted the surrounding royal warlocks who passed by from time to time. Occasionally, he nodded in response, which got the low-ranked warlocks overwhelmed.

As of now, he was considered slightly famous in the Ouroboros Clan. On the contrary, being Gilbert's disciple and having the talent to break through to becoming a Hydro Phase Magus was secondary. The primary reason he became famous was still the technique of protecting his seed.

Ever since the test with Kesha and warlock Miranda, the crazy women in the Ouroboros Clan rarely bothered Leylin anymore.

If they solely wanted pleasure, there were many boy-toys in their clans. There were all sorts of males—rough ones, weak ones, and also uniquely delicate boys. They did not have to bother Leylin.

Furthermore, there were also many male warlocks who came to Leylin with attractive conditions, in hope of acquiring the results of his research.

Undoubtedly, these were all rejected by Leylin.

The mere consequence of offending the warlocks in the Ouroboros Clan made Leylin somewhat eager to avoid it, not to mention the possibility of his bloodline research results being spied on through those techniques.

He could use it for himself but once he spread it, he would be provoking all the women in the Ouroboros Clan. Leylin was not such a fool.

From afar, Leylin spotted someone familiar and he immediately went up to greet her, "Good day, Miss Miranda!"

"It's Sir Leylin! Haha… Today's weather is great… Oh! I just remembered that I still have an experiment to conduct, please excuse me!"

Miranda laughed casually and left quickly with an excuse.

Watching her enticing back, Leylin rubbed his fingers as if he remembered the alluring scent she had while in bed. He could not help but let out a smirk.

Previously, he had left her in an extremely miserable state. Now, it seems, Miranda had developed a slight fear of him.

Leylin came before Gilbert's villa along his stroll.

He was about to knock when the door suddenly swung opened and a figure walked out of the villa, almost bumping into Leylin.

"Brother Robin!"

Leylin scrutinized the current Robin carefully. The Crystal Phase energy waves on his body were very obvious. It seemed that he had completely stabilised at that level. In addition, the veins on Robin's forehead seemed thicker and more distinct, and the black mark flashed with a strange luster.

"Leylin!" Robin smiled. His facial muscles seemed rather stiff, as if he had not smiled for a long time.

"I still have some matters, I'll be leaving first! Mentor is inside!"

Robin exchanged a few words with Leylin and left in a hurry.

As he watched Robin leave, Leylin's entered a moment of deep thought.

Arm of Vengeance

In the past Robin, being one of Gilbert's students, was very popular. He was very patient, meticulous and was capable of making people feel comfortable with his presence alone. Hence, he was able to hold a high position, somewhat alike to a supervisor, in the clan.

He had changed ever since he entered the Crystal Phase, though. His temper went foul and he lost his position and did nothing but idle all day long. Upon recalling this matter, Leylin couldn't help but feel saddened at the thought.

Leylin entered the villa, and met Duke Gilbert in the study.

Gilbert's face did not change at all, not a strange of facial hair nor visible pores which made him look as smart as ever. With all these combined with his shiny and smooth head, he did look a little sly and terrifying.

Yet to Leylin, Gilbert was a good mentor who strived his hardest to teach him. Hence, he bowed to the man respectfully and told him the reason for his arrival.

"It'll be nice to take a trip outside!" Gilbert leaned against the couch, beverage in hand. Leylin could occasionally spot little mermaid-like creatures appearing in the drink.

"With the passing of a century, I'm sure Cyril has forgotten all about you. Even those fugitives aren't that patient. You really ought to travel outside."

"But…" Gilbert paused for a while.

"If mentor needs anything, feel free to ask!" Leylin felt excited as he knew that Gilbert might have some tasks for him to carry out.

"Since you're leaving, why not just take up this task!" Gilbert flung out a scroll, "The Warlocks of the Ouroboros Clan have to periodically finish tasks for the organisation as a form of contribution. Even though you are my disciple, you can't keep idling around. While you're traveling, you should just finish this task."

"Yes, Mentor!" Leylin bowed as he obediently agreed and left.

He unfurled the scroll in his hand after he walked out of the villa.

[Spiritual force data interface detected, accept?] A prompt immediately popped up from the A.I. Chip.

"Yes!" Following Leylin's order, a string of messages immediately entered his brain, and were imprinted directly into his memory so that he wouldn't forget them easily.

"This is actually an extermination task?" Phosphorescent green flames lit up in Leylin's hand, burning the scroll to ashes. Yet, he was expressionless.

The task was actually very simple. He had to go and exterminate a base of people rebelling against the Ouroboros Clan.

Even though they reigned supreme in this area, they had eliminated many influential clans and even commoners when they first set foot here.

The surviving members of those clans held the desire to conquer. Additionally, as with all regimes, there were also clashes with the interests of the indigenous population, creating friction. All these led to the rise of opposition parties.

Even though such organisations were weak, having not a single Morning Star Magus, they often concealed themselves well and it was difficult to identify their locations.

Yet, once they were found, they couldn't escape their destiny of extermination.

Gilbert's task for Leylin was simply to eliminate the most recently found base.

'This is basically a dirt job!' Leylin sighed but he knew that this was inevitable. Having joined the Ouroboros Clan, he knew that it was necessary for him to do some of the things he did in order for him to gain trust from the organisation. Furthermore, through applying such pressure, they would be able to keep the new Warlocks involved in the war.

In reality, one of the advantages of being Gilbert's student was that he was given such a simple task. Leylin was considered to have been given preferential treatment to have been assigned tasks of just moderate difficulty level.

'The location of the mission is Doroy Forest, en route to Azure Mountain City. Just as well. I'll take care of them en route, then head to the auction!' Leylin decided.

...

There limestone pavement was dotted with litter, creating a messy and chaotic environment. From time to time, one would be able to see, on the streets, traces of the domesticated livestock such as cows and horses that had been moving about on the pavement.

A strong odour emanated from the overflowing groundwater which had formed water puddles on the roads.

This was a quite normal scene in a city of commoners.

The advancements of the Magus world did not spill over into the world of mortals. The only improvements on that front were that one could now earn enough food to feed their whole family.

Leylin was strolling along. As soon as he'd accepted the task, he left the general headquarters without hesitation and headed to his current location.

If the directions weren't wrong, this was where the Ouroboros Clan had set up a secret division, and also where their agent had found the rebels.

After using a Transfiguration Spell, Leylin's aura was equivalent to that of a rank 1 or 2 Magus.

Despite Gilbert mentioning that Cyril would not care about him, Leylin still wanted to be as cautious as he could.

After all, Cyril's subordinates were Crystal Phase Magi who may be keeping an eye on them. Leylin had to make some preparations to butter him up.

According to the house number, Leylin came to a house that looked like a normal bar and knocked on the door.

*Knock! Knock!*

After ten minutes or so, an impatient voice called out.

"Who is it? We don't open in the day!"

"I'm looking for Tamansi." Leylin's voice was deep and low.

"You're looking for our boss? What's the matter?" A golden-haired brawny man opened the door as he stared at Leylin with caution.

Yet, Leylin could only feel a weak wave of energy going through the man, marking him an acolyte.

"Look at this!" Leylin let out a small smile as he took out a badge.

The ancient symbol of a black serpent eating its own tail contrasted greatly with the golden background. To others, this symbol made of runes, might appear to form a mere odd circle at the base of the badge.

However, since this man was an acolyte of theirs, he would definitely recognise the symbol of the Ouroboros Clan.

As expected, the man's eyes widened. He relaxed, lowering his precaution towards Leylin.

"I'll go and ask…" This time, the man's reaction became quicker and within a minute he brought out a light brown-haired man of a smaller build.

It was obvious to Leylin that this man was a mere Rank 2 Magus.

These were the lowest level of Warlocks found in the Ouroboros Clan. Due to the fact that their skills were low and their families were in decline, they could only do miscellaneous jobs and silently accumulate credit, hoping that one day a bloodline genius would be born into their family or even a chance for them return to the general headquarters.

"My Lord!" With just one look, Tamansi recognised Leylin. As far as Warlocks were concerned, the aura of bloodlines that couldn't be faked. The intimate and dreadful feeling it exuded was etched deeply in Tamansi's memory.

'This concentration of the bloodline seems to be that of a particular bloodline regal…' The dwarf thought as he respectfully bowed. "My name is Tamansi, my Lord."

"I see," Leylin nodded as he made his way into the bar.

As he walked past the counter, he came to a room located underground that was even more concealed and complex.

"Tell me everything that you have found out, and don't withhold any information from me…" Leylin took off his cloak, inadvertently emitting an imposing aura in his every move, which had caused Tamansi to regard him with more revere.

Upon seeing the documents that Leylin produced, Tamansi did not dare to hide the truth, and immediately reported to Leylin, "That was three days ago. At that time, I was here…"

Numerous days later in the gloomy dark forest.

The chirps of the cicada drowned out the hushed conversation between the two Magi.

That was Doroy Forest, a large prehistoric forest where Tamansi had found the enemy base.

"Are you sure it's here?" Leylin wore a black Magus cloak with golden rims. Ironically, his appropriate dressing, together with his slender build, as well as his pure bloodline temperament, made it seem like he wasn't here to kill but instead to travel.

"Yes, my Lord!" At this point, Tamansi felt nothing but respect for Leylin.

As a royal Warlock of the organisation, Leylin held a high position and was in control of the life and death of the expatriates.

"After a few months of investigation, we finally found out that the Arm of Vengeance has been hiding here!"

"According to the traces nearby, there are indeed hidden spell formations set up around here as well as trails of Warlocks in this area." Leylin nodded his head.

"These rascals sure can hide! Rest assured My Lord, my subordinates have already rounded them up. Once My Lord gives his command, we will definitely be able to break through their spells, along with the men you brought along." The dwarfish Magus slapped his chest and guaranteed.

To Tamansi, it seemed that Leylin, who was dispatched by headquarters, only had the weak aura of a rank 1 or 2 Magus, and seemed especially amicable. Thus, he probably wasn't particularly powerful. However, since he was already out on a mission, there would definitely be numerous people to make up for his evident weakness.

For such royal bloodlines, wouldn't his family have dispatched a huge number of people to protect him whenever he was out?

"Whoever said that I brought manpower?" Leylin turned back to look at Tamansi.

"No… No one?" Tamansi wanted to laugh, but he couldn't, "My Lord, please don't make such a joke. Inside this camp is Toram from the Arm of Vengeance. Apart from their leader, she is the strongest in their organisation, having reached the Hydro Phase two centuries ago…"

"Oh! So Toram is the most capable member here? That's a rather good chance!" Leylin clapped his hands as he looked through the prompts given by the A.I. Chip.

[Rank 3 spell complete. Number of simulation runs: 42912. Number of errors: 0]

"Looks like I can test this spell on site," Leylin muttered to himself.

One of Leylin's plan to create commonly used formidable rank 3 spells had came from heavy utilisation of the A.I. Chip's operational capabilities. It had customised a rank 3 spell for Leylin, and had just finished its simulation.

Moreover, this new enemy was perfect for Leylin to test his new spell.

Toram

"Master! You may have overestimated my ability. Even with all of my men added up, we wouldn't be a match for Toram…" Tamansi forced a smile.

He believed it necessary to clear things up with Leylin. Even if he was a royal and a special agent from the clan, he couldn't just sacrifice himself for him.

"Your men?" Leylin was rendered speechless. With such weak Magi and acolytes, they wouldn't even be able to break through the spell formation.

It was of no consequence, though. Tamansi was in charge of intelligence, he did not have high hopes regarding their fighting strength.

"Just look after your men, I'll take care of the rest!" he replied coldly before floating up.

Suddenly, a powerful and chilling surge of mountainous energy filled the entire place.

"Th- Th- This!" Tamansi stared hard at Leylin, eyes bulging. The energy he'd felt from Leylin before was similar to his own, but he had suddenly burst forth like a ferocious creature.

The terrifying undulations of Leylin's energy rose endlessly. In the blink of an eye, it broke through rank 3 and skyrocketed to an unpredictable level.

"My Lord, it seems like you're not one of those royals who only fool around, but instead a person with influence." Tamansi's eyes lit up. If he were to be affiliated to Leylin, he'd have an unimaginable future and could even fulfil his dream of revitalizing his family.

"Marquis! My Lord, you must be a Marquis that holds authority in the clan!" Tamansi balled up his fists, his face flushed.

The moment Leylin stopped repressing his aura, he'd actually felt a desire to kneel.

Tamansi had never felt such a sense of majesty from other Marquis similar to Leylin.

Leylin, on the other hand, did not care about how others felt about him.

Because he had given up suppressing his aura, he had been discovered by Tamansi. Presently, he was suddenly engulfed by a sudden fog that had appeared in the forest which evidently, was the work of Tamansi.

"Which Magus is out there? We are a secret guild that rejects all visitors and transactions!" A large quantity of light was emitted, forming a giant defence shield covered in flickering runes. By the looks of it, the Magus isn't someone to be trifled with. Additionally, with the decisive tone of the Magus, most people would have backed off if they had stumbled upon this Magus by accident.

Still, Leylin was not like most people. Besides, his mission here was to exterminate them.

"Is it the Arm of Vengeance?" Leylin towered over the spell formation, his voice piercing through. He had wanted to make a final confirmation in order to prevent any unwanted mishaps.

"A Warlock from the Ouroboros Clan?!" A probing light shone down, and the tone turned menacing. The pure hatred dripping in that voice had even Leylin shuddering.

Nevertheless, it gave Leylin the confirmation he needed. Things would now be a lot easier.

Leylin's pupils reflected his indifference. To him, the war for resources and benefits was never a question of right or wrong. It was the mere determination of a winner and a loser.

Meanwhile, at the top of a group of buildings inside the spell formation.

The face of the female Magus who had spoken earlier was distorted as she stared at a crimson crystal in her hand.

A female Magus who looked to be in her teens, cheeks still chubby, arrived at the side of her Mentor and asked, "Mentor, what's wrong?"

"It's the Ouroboros Clan. Those damned Warlocks have managed to track us here!" The woman appeared to be in her thirties, with a voluptuous body. She would be a stunning beauty were it not for the huge cross-shaped scar across her face.

"Ouroboros Clan?" The youth inhaled sharply. That name brought about images of demons, of a monster dens and other terrifying creatures. To her, Warlocks from the Ouroboros Clan were menacing demons that could swallow someone whole in a matter of seconds.

"I'm afraid the situation is borderline threatening now that they've managed to track this place down. When the inevitable arrives, you have to run off while I try my best to delay their path," the scar-faced Magus turned and ordered with a wistful expression.

"You want me to run? What about Hulk and Fanny, what about the rest?" The teen Magus was startled upon hearing those words from her mentor.

"This is a life or death situation, we can't afford to care about them!" The scar-faced Magus smiled bitterly as she watched the chaotic situation of the crowd below.

"I can't believe they're here!" A white-headed elder male Magus exclaimed as he floated up along with a few other Magi.

"We'll go all out then! There's nothing to be afraid of!" a muscular middle aged Magus said. He had an eye missing and his head was adorned with a tiger skull.

*Boom!* The spell formation trembled and the defensive shield started vibrated vigorously.

It was a sight akin to that of the heaven and earth cracking apart. It swept across the small encampment almost immediately, causing the faces of many Magi to darken.

...

Outside the shield, Leylin was looking at the powerful defensive spell formation from a vantage point. 'The spiritual force of a Magus could also represent the limitations of their abilities…'

With a spell formation like this, given his previous level of strength, he would've taken some time to completely demolish it.

'If it's less than 20 degrees it would be at an acolyte's level. Rank 1 Magi if it's between 20 to 80 degrees, rank 2 if it's between 80 to 200 degrees and rank 3 if it's more than 200…'

'But once the spell surpasses 300 degrees, even Crystal Phase Magi will have to be careful.'

Leylin mumbled to himself and played around with the complicated spell model that was sent to his sea of consciousness by the A.I. Chip.

The many individual runes came together perfectly in this model and gave off an exquisite feel.

Leylin had practised the manipulation of this spell very well through his A.I. Chip previously. The way he was using it now was as if he's tried it umpteen times, and it was beyond just proficient.

*Boom!* Numerous elemental tides were formed, and due to the impressive strength of this spell, the darkness and fire elemental particles of this region were instantaneously sucked away, as if encountering an elemental black hole.

The energy exhaustion of a rank 3 spell was, of course, not something rank 1 or rank 2 spells could compared to. But the current situation was one that even Leylin felt uncomfortable in.

The terrifying energy did not in the least dissipate but instead agglomerated in Leylin's palm, forming black rays.

The space caved in and was seemingly absorbed by the black rays.

"Fatality's Tip!" Leylin flicked his finger, and a black ray met the defensive spell formation with a loud bang.

[Fatality's Tip: Rank 3 Spell. Elements: Darkness and Fire. Concentrates all energy into one piercing point. Side effects: Corrosion and Burns. Power: 330 – 360 degrees!]

Leylin had named this spell himself. By giving up on area of effect and condensing all of his power into one finger, it could grant death to any creature below the Morning Star realm, hence the name.

Of course, there was a tinge of self-mockery at the fragility of his previous life.

*Pop!* Just like a soap bubble that was pricked, the powerful defence shield fell short in the face of the deadly attack, and lost all of its strength before instantly shattering apart.

The fog faded, revealing the buildings behind and the Magi whose faces were drained of colour.

"Toram?!" Leylin's looked at his target. The scar on her face left an exceptional impression.

Her scar was left behind during the massacre, and as a woman she could obviously remove the scar for vanity's sake. But for the memory of her hatred, she had kept it on her face as a reminder.

More often than not, people like these were extremely heartless and were people whom Leylin had to pay more attention to.

"Only one? A rank 3 Hydro Phase Kemoyin Warlock? " Seeing Leylin coming to them alone, Toram's expression differed from those of her happy peers. She turned even more gloomy, and gave off a sense of hopelessness.

In the Magus world, someone who dared to move alone was a lot stronger than a collective.

And if Leylin dared to arrive singlehandedly, he must have had the utmost confidence in killing them all right here

"This is life or death, we don't have to hold back any longer. Ensuring the escape of our seeds is the highest priority!" Toram commanded.

"Of course, I've been wanting to take the lives of Kemoyin Warlocks since long ago. I'll skin him alive and use him as a carpet!" The tiger-skull Magus remarked with hate, shooting a dirty glance at Leylin.

'Other than Toram who is a Hydro Phase, there are still two other rank 3 Magi?' Leylin's eyes glistened as the A.I. Chip began collecting the data on his enemies and predicting the possible outcomes.

As for those acolytes? They were like specks of dust to him.

"Since you're a Kemoyin Warlock, if you lose your life here, I'm sure those higher-ups would mourn this loss!" Toram's eyes turned bloodshot, and she covered herself in a liquid-like armour.

"Similarly, after all of you perish, the Arm of Vengeance won't be any trouble for a period of time!" Leylin retorted.

"But before I finish you, I should do some clean-up!"

"Clean-up? Oh no! He is planning to—" Toram's expression fell instantly but it was too late.

A horrifying projection of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent emerged behind Leylin, "Toxic Bile!"

With the maturation of his bloodline, this innate spell of his had also grown exponentially, and it had even exceeded 200 degrees of power, reaching the strength of a rank 3 spell. Even with preventive measures, it would be difficult for the rank 1 and rank 2 Magi to survive it.

On top of that, the effect of the spell would be even more amplified now that the defensive shield was down.

A Test

An incorporeal 'death-god' had solemnly descended on the rebel camp.

On the ground, innumerable rank 1 and 2 Magi started collapsing with their acolytes in tow, dying despite multiple layers of protection, potions, magic artifacts and other defenses.

Even the surrounding buildings were not spared. They creaked and swayed as they crumbled down like sand faced with water.

Formless toxic ripples took aim at the three rank 3 Magi in the air and started attacking them, leaving them helpless as they watched their apprentices and the other members of their organisations fall.

With a single attack, except for a handful of Magi who managed to escape using their secret treasures, the rest had been turned into corpses that decayed rapidly.

"YOU!" Toram roared as she rushed ahead.

The terrifying power of a Kemoyin Warlock's toxic attacks was common knowledge. However, Leylin's ability had reached a level that allowed him to exterminate nearly everything on the ground, which was abnormal.

This attack of his was sudden and unexpected, which resulted in huge losses. Witnessing the deaths of their own apprentices, friends, and even families at Leylin's hands, the two other rank 3 Magi hardened their gazes and dashed forward with tearful eyes.

"Phantom Hologram!" Multiple phantoms of gigantic creatures started appearing from behind an old rank 3 Magus. They surrounded Leylin and opened their huge, ferocious, and menacing mouths to trap him in their midst.

"Crimson Throne!" An illusory image of a bloody red throne appeared behind Toram, emanating a strong stench of blood.

The throne was simple and unadorned dull gold with marks on it from various swords and hatchets. It seemed as if it had gone through a lot of trials and tribulations, giving it an almost lifelike appearance of cruelty.

Under the illusory throne, the three of them donned a red armour, their auras having been raised to a level.

"Hmm! Aura amplification and removal of suppression… so such spell models exist!" Leylin's blue eyes sparkled with excitement. He diligently recorded the opposite party's domain into the A.I. Chip, intending to research it further.

This was the characteristic of the incomplete domain of a rank 3 Magus. Once Toram completely comprehended the strength of this domain, she would step into the Morning Star realm.

Of course, the current Crimson Throne only provided a limited amplification to Toram and the rest. It could not compare to Leylin's own Intimidating Gaze.

However, under the brilliant glow of the throne, the eyes of the huge phantoms became bloodshot, and they dashed towards Leylin with full force, not an ounce of hesitation in them.

"Such a weak retaliation! Toram, I'll be utterly disappointed if this is all you have…" Leylin sighed. The terrifying energy undulations from his body overflowed as the terrifying innate spell of a rank 3 Kemoyin Warlock, Intimidating Gaze, enveloped the region.

*Hiss Hiss!* It seemed as though an ancient Giant Kemoyin Serpent had been reborn in all its savagery. A tyrannical surge of dark energy descended on the ground, bringing with it a rather unusual and wild aura.

The force field immediately took over the territory previously under the Crimson Throne, almost instantly countering its effects.

Even though Leylin had suppressed the energy on his body, his abilities had been exposed to the huge phantoms and they went absolutely crazy, as if they had seen something horrifyingly bizarre. They roared in confusion, brutally attacking one another and even sprinting towards their original owner.

"Oh! A nice chance to witness the effects of the confusion!" Watching the opposing Magi fumbling about, Leylin smiled indifferently.

His innate domain had been steadily strengthened by the Lamia fingerbone, something that extended to the regions of energy amplification and suppression. If not for the fact that he'd experienced the bending of rules by a true Morning Star Magus' domain, he would've thought that his had already been formed.

Still, even if it was a mere force field, its effects were already unimaginable.

The phantom image of the Crimson Throne started to retreat in defeat, as if stripped of its previous glory. And before the two other rank 3 Magi could retaliate, their force fields had been suppressed and defeated.

Toram was the only one who qualified to match Leylin in a collision of force fields.

As for those lower-level force fields used by the others, they could certainly not match those of these Hydro Phase Magi.

Due to the differing depth of understanding of a domain at different levels, there was a vast difference in their strengths. Thus, the force fields of Magi below the Hydro Phase were considered effectively useless.

The Magus with the tiger skull wore a look of defeat. He understood and admitted the huge disparity between Leylin and himself.

Yet, he roared ferociously, the muscles in his body tensing and swelling up as his gorgeous fur shone with a colourful radiance.

The joints on his bones popped loudly and soon his body swelled and expanded from a normal figure to a hulking three meters.

"You punk! I'm going to kill you! I will break your bones one by one, inch by inch without mercy!" He roared thunderously and delivered a high intensity punch, as strong gusts of wind hit him right in his face. The surrounding air seemed to have been so compressed by this punch that it became a substantial crystal body which surged towards Leylin like a projectile.

"A human Magus with a reinforced body, what a rare sight!"

Leylin became serious, growing cautious of the man. Magi with reinforced bodies were known to belong to the barbarian beast clan. As for other types of Magi, they would generally be glad to use spells for the destructions of enemies.

As such, seeing how the tiger skull Magus transformed himself into such a powerful creature, he was sure there were some in the central continent that could do it, although it would be rare.

Generally speaking, Magi did not place much emphasis on strength and agility. Instead valuing the quality of the physical form more, as the corporeal body was the part that bore the foundations of any magic power.

Also, different Warlocks inherited different abilities from their elders, hence it highly depended on which area each ancestor placed their emphasis on. Leylin understood this and strived to polish all factors of strength and agility in himself to the maximum.

"Heh!" In a rush of excitement, Leylin drew his Meteor Sword and skillfully exhibited his cross blade techniques.

"Cross-blade Slash!" A big black cross shone and sliced through the sky, carrying with it terrifying Kemoyin toxins. The projectile shattered to tiny bits in the air, even as the aftermath traveled towards the enraged tiger skull Magus.

"Awooooo!" The tiger skull Magus covered his head with both hands and dashed forward.

*Crackle !* The sound of breaking glass could be heard as the gorgeous colourful shine from the tiger skull Magus burst forth in a flash and collided head on with the black cruciform, smashing it into a million pieces.

*Zzzz!* A slight tear appeared on his arm, and from it one could hear faint sounds of something decaying as white smoke arose.

Without hesitation, the tiger skull Magus dashed towards Leylin in a moment.

"Very high vitality indeed!" To be able to withstand the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's poison, other than possessing excellent spell resistance, one's vitality needed to be at least a hundred points and above.

In addition, the opposite side's strength and agility had exceeded his own value of 30 by leaps and bounds. Seeing how he was able to use simple techniques to deal deadly blows, Leylin's eyes brightened.

"Die now!" The right arm of the tiger skull Magus had morphed into a huge tiger claw, striking down on Leylin.

The huge tiger claw looked like a small millstone. The shiny sharp claw was glossy and menacing, with spell runes visible in the brilliant light it emitted.

*Bang!* The tiger claw was stopped abruptly mid-air by a palm.

Although Leylin's build was tall and lanky, when compared to the tiger-headed creature, he was rather petite and his palm was equivalent to that of a baby.

Yet, it was this insignificant palm which had managed to tame the sharp tiger claw, disabling his ability to advance forward.

"How can that be?" The old man yelped in surprise. He had just defeated his phantoms a distance away.

He was absolutely certain of his friend's strength.

The tiger skull Magus had mercilessly killed a rank 3 creature in this beastly state.

Even when he recalled it now, it had been shocking. Yet, a full attack from his friend had been blocked by a single palm, something that made no sense. What's more, looking at the opposite party, it seemed to be effortless.

"Even for a Warlock, it is not possible to possess such terrifying power, unless you are a also a Magus who practices body reinforcement techniques?" The old man scrutinized Leylin, trying to analyze but unable to read him.

"How… How is that possible ?" Other than the shocked old man, the tiger skull Magus was speechless himself.

He had been extremely confident in his ability. Even in the face of several magic alloys put up by other Magi, he only needed to use his claw and they would have cracked and crumbled like soft sand. But now…

"There is nothing that is not possible!" Leylin tightened his grip, and cracking sounds rang out as the tiger skull Magus' arm twisted abruptly into an odd, distorted curve.

"The difference between humans and animals lies in the usage of your strengths, be it for exploitation or as a tool. If you do not even know this, regardless of how strong you are, you are just a fool!" Leylin looked at the whimpering tiger skull Magus and he felt a tinge of pity.

Behind him, the black shadows of two arms appeared, attaching to his right hand and injecting a steady flow of energy into it.

Although Leylin's strength was only thirty degrees of power, he could use his spells to break through that limit and massively increase his strength for a short period of time.

After all, his innate character was that of a Magus, not a competitive knight.

"Those who cannot keep up with the times, you will be abandoned like trash!" Leylin heaved a sigh, grabbed the tiger skull Magus' arms, and raised him up.

"This is bad! We have to save Borgin!" The clash had happened too quickly. After all, both Leylin and the tiger skull Magus were agile, with at least 30 degrees of ability in that respect. From the initial assault, to Leylin drawing his sword, to the retaliation and counter-attack, everything had happened in a matter of seconds.

Even Toram did not have the chance to react, nor would she have expected Leylin to so easily defeat a rank 3 Magus.

"Shadowflame Plague!" Leylin was not going to show any mercy. He was completely ready to take everyone out.

A scarlet-black wall of fire appeared and, in a flash, the two rank 3 Magi that had charged forward were drowned in its blaze.

Seal of the Dark Corrosion

The corrosive black flames were like a chasm which separated Toram from the rest.

As for the other rank 3 Magus? The flames had inflicted him with heavy injuries, and he had escaped to the side while letting out blood-curdling screams.

"What… What are you trying to do?" At that moment, the tiger skull Magus was truly terrified. He felt the increasingly horrifying strength emitting from both of Leylin's hands, and the savage spiritual force which had sealed his sea of consciousness. For the first time, he felt terror from the bottom of his heart.

He began to regret not escaping immediately upon Leylin's arrival. Because of that, he had landed himself in his current circumstances.

"What I'm trying to do?" Leylin's lips curled up. Shadow arms emerged from his back in rapid succession. Enormous muscles emerged indistinctively, and fused onto both of Leylin's hands.

*Creak! Creak!* First, the skin ruptured, then the muscles, then the bones.

The tiger skull Magus had a twisted expression, and was in so much pain that he could not even make a sound. His entire being seemed to have been stretched apart by Leylin.

"Let him go! Wait! NOOOOO…." Amidst Toram's blood-curdling screams, the tiger skull Magus was ripped into two. Large amounts of bloodshed could be seen everywhere.

"Don't you think it's too late to say these things only now?" Leylin expertly avoided the blood, a skill he'd acquired from experience. His body had not even been tainted by a smidgen of it.

As if tossing out the garbage, he threw away the two segments of the corpse before turning towards Toram, his face emotionless. "You should have come to your senses before you decided to rebel against the Ouroboros Clan!"

"You'll perish here today! This is my promise to Borgin!" Toram's face instantly calmed down. Still, Leylin could very distinctively see the desire for vengeance in her eyes.

This was not a hot-blooded vengeance that arose merely from this one incident. It was rather a collective response to the extended period during which they were hunted down like prey. Many of Toram's friends and family presumably died amidst the massacres conducted by the Ouroboros Clan, and Leylin's actions earlier had fully evoked her wrath.

"Even now, you refuse to learn!" Leylin shook his head.

"Currently, you don't seem to be fit to be my opponent. Let me give you a hand!" Just as he finished these words, a Magus dressed in a black robe, who looked identical to Leylin, suddenly emerged before the rank 3 Magus who had been seriously injured by the Arm of Vengeance.

A few multi-coloured potions were thrown out by "Leylin", as he kept a straight face. They collided in mid-air and emitted terrifying energy ripples.

"Rank 3 potion combination spell— Divine Prairie Flames!"

The endless flames instantly swallowed the rank 3 Magus, even spreading so far as to include the "Leylin" in the area of effect.

"Leylin" who was surrounded by the many flames suddenly laughed hysterically, and morphed into many shadow chains that confined the rank 3 Magus in the flames.

"Master Toram! Save me!" The rank 3 Magus' face was full of dejection. He did all he could to seek help, and him looking to Toram for help was his last hope.

But Leylin had blocked Toram's path, and mercilessly dashed that last hope.

"You must be the only high-ranked Magus left in the stronghold now?" Leylin looked to Toram after the rank 3 Magus' life aura had completely dissipated in the sea of fire.

"If you don't use your remaining time to make me happy during our battle, I'm afraid I'll continue to hunt down and kill all the other Magi below!"

"That female Magus must be your apprentice? The two of you might even be related by blood. Don't even think about lying to me. Both the bloodline ripples on your bodies and the spiritual force frequency have revealed your relationship…" Leylin shot a glance at one of the corpses lying around, and what he said caused Toram's facial expression to change.

Just when Leylin's gaze shot across the area, the female Magus with a childlike face who had been lying behind the remains felt as if she was stared at by a fierce ancient creature. Her limbs began to shake uncontrollably.

"It's… It's too terrifying!" Upon realising that she had been discovered, the female Magus tried to escape.

A light green wind dissipated from her body and carried her to the depths of Doray Forest.

"Other than Nina, even Master Borgin has…." As she started to sprint, tears streamed down her face.

At the instant when Leylin had released his deadly attack, the low-ranked Magi were all exterminated. Other than the three rank 3 Magi, almost everyone else had instantly perished.

No antidotes or defensive runes had any effect on the attack. Before the terrifying toxins of the Giant Kemoyin Serpent, everyone else was feeble and weak.

Toram's innate defensive spells had not in the least bit affected Leylin's attack. If not for the protective charm she'd obtained from her mentor, she would have perished as well.

The female Magus that was lucky enough to survive had hidden herself behind a wall, witnessing Leylin's cruelty and terror. The two powerful rank 3 Magi had perished at his hands one by one, and from the looks of it, Leylin had not even unleashed his full power. Now, he was even using her life to threaten her mentor!

After hearing her mentor's hurried whisper, the female Magus could not take it anymore, and started sobbing out loud.

Even so, the energy particles below her feet had not once stopped shining, as if escaping from that area was instinctive.

In the depths of her subconscious, she did not want to return to face the horrifying monster anymore.

"That's not too bad of a suggestion! Looks like you care for her a lot!" Leylin watched as the rank 1 Magus escaped, with no intentions of giving chase.

On the contrary, he turned to Toram who was ahead of him, and a taunting expression flashed across his face. "However, I'm afraid you'll have to try to buy time. If not, she won't be able to make much headway…"

"Lunatic! Monster!" Toram cursed. A majority of Warlocks had anger management issues, something that was only exacerbated by battle.

Compared to Magi, Warlocks prefered to ruin their opponents or even vent their desires upon them.

Toram had previously witnessed similar scenarios. It was painful to see dead Magi, and many female Magi subjected to horrible violations.

And now, she thought of Leylin in the same light as those crazy Warlocks.

"Even if I have to put everything on the line, I will stop you at all costs!" Toram announced as she ripped the silver necklace off her neck with eyes full of determination.

"Haha! Excellent! That's the mindset!" At that instant, Leylin felt like the big villain from the movies of his previous life.

"Seal of Dark Corrosion! Release!" Toram performed some gestures and, in that instant, the silver necklace exploded.

In a flash, the energy waves on her body strengthened significantly. Drops of blood even started seeping out of her pores.

The detailed black runes instantly crawled all over her body. Coupled with the scar on her face, she looked even more terrifying.

Leylin could sense that she'd already reached the peak of the Hydro Phase. In fact, some of her spiritual force had already formed traces of crystals from repeated attempts at compression.

Once completely solidified, Toram would reach the Crystal Phase.

Of course, her rash actions put her in grave danger. However, right before her body completely fell apart, she'd stepped one foot into the Crystal Phase realm!

This was definitely her trump card, some sort of mysterious spell that would put everything at stake.

Strangely, Leylin did not try to stop Toram's actions, instead allowing the aura on her body to rise slowly as he let out a hearty laugh, "Haha… Good! Indeed, with this sort of mysterious spell, you won't disappoint me!"

From the very beginning, the entire reason why Leylin had adopted such abusive methods was to force Toram to use a spell that would exhaust her vitality and allow her to temporarily increase her strength.

Although he'd accepted it as a task from the organisation, he also intended to experiment with his newly developed rank 3 spell— Fatality's Tip.

Even though its ability to break through the defensive spell formation spoke volumes of its formidability, he ultimately lacked the physical data to affirm its full capability. Especially with regards to its ability to clash with Crystal Phase Magi, something that engendered his resentment.

He had discovered that with his strength, he was the best of the best among Hydro Phase Magi, and even a peak Hydro Phase Magus like Toram could do nothing to him. Only a Crystal Phase opponent would cause him trouble.

And the A.I. Chip lacked data specifically regarding Crystal Phase Magi. Given the fact that Leylin would have to deal with Magi of that rank, he desperately needed a standard to measure his own capabilities.

And now, Toram had become such a standard.

When he'd probed her during the previous battle, the A.I. Chip had detected that not only had her strength become feeble, she had even seemed to be injured, something that resulted in her not performing to her fullest potential.

And so Leylin took such drastic measures to compel his opponent, to incite her her will to live on so as to battle him.

And from the looks of it, he'd achieved his goal.

Originally a peak Hydro Phase Magus, Toram indeed possessed the formidable ability to partially crystallise her spiritual force using this mysterious spell, even if she'd pay for it with her life.

It was rare to experience a fight against a Crystal Phase Magus. After all, the Crystal Phase Magi he'd previously come across were mostly his seniors, and he could not fight them.

Magi like Toram, who had a probability of losing control when they forcefully entered the Crystal Phase, were even more scarce.

Leylin immediately ordered: "A.I Chip, record this battle in detail!"

[Orders received! Scan scheduled!] The A.I Chip intoned.

A pale blue screen was projected ahead of Leylin's eyes, and Toram who was in the screen was engulfed by strong radiation.

The mysteries of Crystal Phase spiritual force were also slowly being uncovered by the A.I. Chip and presented to Leylin.

"The madmen of the Ouroboros Clan should not even exist in this world!" Having advanced to the Crystal Phase, Toram's strength now was a far cry from what it was before.

Just the suppression of the aura in the atmosphere caused Leylin to feel discomfort.