***Dark Forest. Inside the Valley of the Place of Extreme Fire, where the Emperor of Flames once resided.
This valley, which had once suffered a volcanic eruption, had an unchanging reddish-brown colour. The coolness of the Dark Forest could not be felt in the centre of the valley. No green and lush plants covered the ground, only barren red earth and an abnormally high temperature.
A few traces of the great battle that had once taken place here remained. The cracked walls and torn ravines seemed to tell the story of what had once happened here.
On this day, the valley was no longer silent. Rumbling came from the depths of its earth, as if some ancient beast was about to emerge. Long cracks were being torn wider and wider by seemingly disembodied hands. Even the fire yuan beneath this place of extreme fire seemed to have been ignited as the temperature in the valley rose rapidly.
A blurred streak of a human figure moved rapidly inside the valley. Brilliant rays were constantly erupting from this figure, pulverising steel-hard rocks and leaving imprints upon imprints on the ground.
The shadow trail was like an artist painting his masterpiece. As he moved quickly, the valley had unwittingly undergone a bizarre transformation. If anyone were to look down from the air, they would see that the channels, holes and rocks within the valley had been joined together to form an astonishing, gigantic painting of a soaring dragon!
As electrical sparks shot out, some unknown substances became part of the gigantic artwork, turning into pigments for the painting.
The ground was still rumbling at that moment. After a series of manoeuvres, the blurry figure that had been darting around the valley finally stomped on a boulder in the centre with great force.
A rumble echoed through the valley as if a volcano had erupted.
Accompanied by the deafening rumble, the skeleton of an enormous dragon, as white as snow, slowly emerged from the cracks in the valley floor. The dragon's head, body and tail all fitted perfectly into the drawing of a dragon. As the dragon's skeleton floated up, an even louder rumbling came from deep underground. The place of extreme fire that had existed for who knows how long and nurtured the treasure of the fire attribute boiled over in an instant. Searing magma overflowed, submerging the dragon skeleton.
Suddenly, that human figure standing proudly in the air began to pour an endless stream of various substances into the magma. Among them were some colourful bright rocks, pungent viscous fluids, and many more rays of light containing exotic energies.
The magma emanating from the place of extreme fire was incomparably hot. It melted all sorts of substances and dissolved them into the skeleton. The huge dragon skeleton at the centre of the valley actually began to shine with a dazzling brilliance, as if the bones of varying thickness possessed the toughness of diamonds.
Buckets and buckets of fresh blood were then poured down from the mysterious figure. As the stinking blood fell on the dragon, there was an immediate hissing sound, accompanied by thick smoke.
The next moment, a bizarre scene unfolded. The buckets of blood began to wiggle and wrap around the dragon's skeleton, as if they had taken on a life of their own. Blood vessels seemed to reconstruct themselves.
After pouring down numerous buckets of fresh blood, the figure suddenly flew over to the dragon's head and injected a lump of bizarre misty gas into the dragon's skull.
A bloody light enveloped the originally lifeless skeleton, and it slowly began to wriggle!
However, after a short time, the dragon skeleton stopped writhing and the writhing bloody lines stopped growing. A huge bloody cocoon completely enveloped the skeleton as it awaited rebirth.
It was at this moment that the figure who had been busy all this time heaved a long sigh of relief. He shot a stream of blood from his finger at the bloody cocoon.
The stream of blood that fell on the bloody cocoon was like water droplets falling into the sea, but it did not cause the slightest ripple. At the same time, the life force of the dragon wrapped in the bloody cocoon grew stronger and stronger. Bit by bit, it began to sink deeper into the ground to silently undergo metamorphosis.
Even after completing all the necessary procedures, Han Shuo did not relax in the slightest. He calmly watched the transformation of Gilbert's body while trying to communicate with Gilbert's soul using his consciousness and the connection between the two.
"Gilbert, are you awake?" Han Shuo transmitted with the energy of his consciousness firmly attached to the soul inside the skeleton.
Han Shuo waited and waited for some sort of acknowledgment until suddenly a faint response came from the soul with some surprise in it, "Master, is that you?"
A smile appeared on Han Shuo's face. When he received the answer from Gilbert's soul, he was truly relieved. As long as the soul could respond, everything would be under Han Shuo's control. This also meant that Gilbert's soul had established a connection with the new body, which was still incomplete. This would make the next steps much easier.
"It's me! Fortunately, fortunately, my hard work has not been in vain. It seems like there's no problem at all," Han Shuo was satisfied in his heart, but his consciousness simply couldn't relax.
"Wahaha... I'm alive... I'm alive again... This is brilliant!" although the message was still weak, Gilbert's excitement was translated very clearly. "Master, what should I do next?"
Make the most of your time. Use this time to quickly adapt and familiarise your soul with the feeling and senses of your new body. Before the cocoon shatters, you must understand the energy contained in each of your bones, according to the memories I have left for you. Most importantly, you must use all your intelligence to attempt to dissipate the divine energy within the fragments of divine essence of darkness scattered throughout your skeleton. If you can do this, your body will contain the Divine Energy of Darkness. Not much, but if you understand it carefully, you will come to understand its presence and how to obtain it. This will lay a solid foundation for you to become a god of darkness!" Han Shuo commanded calmly.
"Understood, Master. In order to become stronger, I, Gilbert, will certainly take advantage of this opportunity!"
"Very good. I've done a lot of research before coming up with this clever idea of forcing small amounts of the Divine Essence of Darkness into your body. I hope you will live up to my expectations. As long as you grasp this opportunity and understand the presence and methods of using the divine energy, your path to becoming a god will surely not be too far away!
"I will try it right away," Gilbert said, obviously understanding how great and special this opportunity was. After finishing these words, Gilbert took the initiative to break off communication with Han Shuo. As his body slowly sank deeper into the ground, he focused all his attention on his new body.
Han Shuo was pleased to see Gilbert being so diligent. Gilbert must have realised the importance of strength. Back then, in order to save his grandfather and the race of dark dragons, Gilbert and Han Shuo had to rush to this place of extreme fire to obtain the scorching energy it contained. However, Gilbert did not have enough strength, so he burned his life force in exchange for an increase in flying speed beyond what his body could withstand. In the end, he lost his life in this very valley of flames.
Over the past few years, with only his soul left, Gilbert had truly tasted the bitterness of loneliness. He had remained inside the ever-dark Soul Ring all this time, constantly tempering his soul with the method Han Shuo had taught him. Through his tenacious willpower, he had cultivated his soul to the point where he could possess another body.
It was because of this that he understood what greater strength would mean for him. He had abandoned his vainglorious attitude and pushed forward in the pursuit of greater strength! As this was the most critical moment for Gilbert, Han Shuo dared not be far from him. He found a boulder nearby and sat cross-legged on it, silently protecting Gilbert as he rested to replenish his depleted Demonic Yuan.
By this time, his avatar had arrived in Ossen City of the Lancelot Empire via the transportation matrix from Brettel City.
The landscapes of Ossen City haven't changed much from five years ago. The only difference was in the crowds that came and went. Whether commoners or soldiers, they seemed to lack the usual cheerfulness and gaiety. In fact, their faces were dark, solemn and heavy.
The Lancelot Empire was not in an encouraging situation. It was facing the ruthless attack of the Orcs' Kingdom on its southern border, while the Kasi Empire, backed by the Ice Shrine, was pushing in from the west. There had been countless battles, large and small, over the past few years. The people of the Lancelot Empire had come to realise the cruelty of war. In addition to the fact that the Lancelot Empire had not emerged victorious from these battles, it was only natural that the populace would feel terrified and afraid.
After five years, Han Shuo's three women had become the most prominent women in the entire Lancelot Empire due to their unusual backgrounds and their position on the right side during the civil war.
Emily became a high-ranking leader of the Dark Mantle, controlling the covert forces of the Lancelot Empire. She was the youngest Dark Sacred Magus in the Lancelot Empire.
Phoebe had also become the youngest Sacred Swordmaster in the Empire. As the owner of the Boozt Merchant Guild, she was the richest person in the Empire.
Fanny, the Dean of Necromancy at the Babylon Academy of Magic and Strength, was herself a Grand Magus of necromancy. She had a fearsome father behind her back.
These three women had always been in the limelight throughout the Lancelot Empire. In the five years since Han Shuo had disappeared, countless young, handsome, talented men had tried to pursue them. They didn't care at all about the obvious fact that the three already belonged to Han Shuo. They even used various means to torment the three of them under the pretext that Han Shuo had died.
But in reality, it was all because of the ladies' current positions and power, not to mention their unusually close friendship with Lawrence, the king of the Lancelot Empire!
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