Laura witnessed a burst of rainbow light shimmering above Eddie's head, revealing the ancient rune patterns.
She couldn't see clearly what it was.
It might have been just a rainbow glow or the silhouette of a life-guarding beast.
Just as Laura was about to ask Eddie, she noticed that his eyes were closed, his body gently floating in mid-air, breathing softly, as if in a deep slumber.
She couldn't see his summoning grimoire but saw its protective shield rise, with golden light emerging and forming a column of light reaching towards the center of the giant rune array on the cliff above.
Suddenly, the giant rune array emitted a strange and mystical sound, radiating white light like the aurora, dazzling and multicolored.
When the golden column connected with the center of the rune array, the array seemed energized, the white light bursting tenfold, so bright that both Laura and the Blood Queen couldn't open their eyes.
Accompanied by the sound of magical music, the giant rune array started to rotate.
Laura shielded her eyes from the light and saw countless gold and white runes falling from the sky.
The white runes, originally as large as those on the wall, rapidly shrank, while the gold runes, initially tiny, grew larger upon contact with the golden column.
Numerous unique runes danced in the sky, forming a melody-like rhythm, spiraling and falling before finally entering Eddie's body and vanishing.
Only a very few reached Laura.
They bounced off her body instead of entering as they did with Eddie, mostly deflecting and drifting away.
However, a few runes successfully entered Laura's forehead, heart, and palms.
Laura felt a jolt in her body.
Vast and pure energies burst forth from her forehead, heart, and hands, swiftly connecting within her body, cleansing and energizing her being, almost to the point of bursting, before finally settling in her abdomen.
In her spiritual world, giant runes appeared and kept combining, giving her a sense of enlightenment that was both clear and obscure.
Laura, who had been unable to break through her plateau, suddenly felt a clarity of mind, her knowledge seamlessly integrating like an enlightening epiphany.
Her summoning grimoire automatically floated out, radiating golden light and rapidly raising its shield, absorbing some of the rebounding runes.
Laura felt another shock in her soul and couldn't help but faint.
Her body, too, began to float, though only about a meter high, much less than Eddie's height.
At the moment of her fainting, Laura felt two familiar presences embrace her, one of them uttering a surprised shout. She felt at ease knowing these two were there, allowing her to sleep soundly amidst her exhaustion.
Meanwhile, the Blood Queen raised her hands, holding several golden runes made of pure energy, her expression one of utter astonishment.
Eddie, surrounded by countless runes, suddenly formed a special hand gesture in mid-air. His hands conjured a multicolored rune that flew towards the Blood Queen's forehead.
The Blood Queen let out a piercing scream like never before.
She spread her wings and soared into the sky.
As she descended, her body was engulfed in flames, with golden light moving from her feet to her head and then back down to her wings. Her feathers shattered into millions of light particles.
Millions of golden particles ascended and entered Eddie's body, reforming into a white-gold column of light that surged back into the Blood Queen's head.
The Blood Queen underwent a complete transformation.
Her fiery hair turned white-gold, cascading smoothly down her back, falling past her hips like a waterfall.
New white-gold wings sprouted, appearing stronger, more agile, and more perfect.
Overwhelmed with joy and tears, the Blood Queen knew she had evolved, leaping from the Golden Fifth Level directly to the White-Gold Fifth Level, crossing a chasm nearly insurmountable for all beasts, entering a new realm coveted by all.
This evolution was akin to a rebirth, transcending the golden level to reach the white-gold level, a new world of intelligent life.
Surpassing the kings, she was now a saint among beasts.
The Blood Queen knelt, tears streaming down her face.
All this was a gift from her master... Although he was her master, he never enslaved her like the humans of legend. Even knowing she was a life-guarding beast and could never die, he never willingly put her in harm's way.
As the Blood Queen wept, two golden columns of light rose beside her, taller than Laura's and closer to Eddie's body.
One of them connected directly with Eddie's body.
Numerous runes descended...
The Blood Queen felt a strong sense of suppression even after ascending to the White-Gold Fifth Level. It was as if two even more powerful life-guarding beasts were roaring silently behind her, declaring their might.
Suddenly, heavy shadows leaped down from the sky, shaking the small platform.
It was the shadow of the barbarian bull, 'Aman', who had appeared unnoticed, her forehead adorned with golden runes similar yet distinct from those on the Blood Queen.
Her body was also slowly transforming...
The Blood Queen, about to straighten up, felt an even more powerful pressure that made her almost bend over to resist this invincible force.
It seemed as if gigantic figures, tens of meters tall, were shimmering in the sky for a long time.
After an indeterminate time, a celestial sound rang out from the center of the rune array, followed by a responding call.
This call had no sound but shook the soul.
The Blood Queen quickly knelt and prostrated herself, showing reverence to the supreme presence.
After the two celestial calls faded, the giant rune array on the cliff slowly stopped rotating, the white light gradually disappeared, returning to its original state.
The runes had shifted, rearranging themselves differently from before.
All the runes accelerated, entering Eddie's body, and the column of light vanished.
Eddie, floating ten meters in the air, began to descend gently, light as a feather.
The Blood Queen reached out to catch him, but she found the Snake Demon Loli, his most beloved, already holding him, descending through the air. The most peculiar multicolored rune on her forehead slowly faded...
The Blood Queen hurriedly bowed and caught Laura.
On the other side, 'Aman', the barbarian bull shadow who had reshaped her body for the third time, caught the other two shadows and gently placed them on the ground.
Eddie felt as if he had a very long dream.
There were countless characters and stories in the dream, and he seemed to hear laughter and charming, bell-like laughter.
But when he opened his eyes, he couldn't recall anything from the dream. It felt so close, as if he could grasp it with his hand, yet he couldn't remember, which was very strange.
Turning over, he found Laura sleeping sweetly on top of him.
What a golden opportunity! Eddie prepared to extend his wolfish hand, planning to take advantage of Laura's deep sleep for a grand conquest.
Laura caught sight of the Blood Queen, who seemed fascinated by her own hands, her eyes filled with a certain radiance...
They appeared almost human, full of spirit and intelligence, rather than those of a beast. Her forehead now bore a peculiar golden rune, making her look distinct.
Upon closer examination, Eddie noticed the Blood Queen had undergone a major transformation, her wings now white-gold feathers.
"What's happened?" Eddie was astonished and confused.
"Fusion... Summoning... Rebirth, level up..." the Blood Queen stuttered, trying to explain, but Eddie struggled to understand.
"How can you speak now? Wait, you could always speak, but when did you learn the language of the Dragon-Teng Continent? And what's with your hair and these wings?"
Eddie touched the Blood Queen's white-gold hair and wings, noticing her blushing with a woman's shyness, deepening his confusion.
"I... have... advanced... to... White-Gold... Fifth... Level," the Blood Queen struggled to speak, then shyly lowered her head, avoiding Eddie's gaze.
"You're at the White-Gold Fifth Level now?" Eddie was both shocked and delighted.
"What sort of supplement did you consume to level up so drastically? Even if you advanced a level, from Golden Fifth to White-Gold Fourth, and now to White-Gold Fifth Level, you must have consumed something extraordinary."
Was it something Laura gave her? What exactly did Laura feed her?
Perhaps it was the Enchanting Fragrance Flower from the spatial pavilion?
Opening his silver grimoire, Eddie noticed the Blood Queen's image was gone.
What? Weren't life-guarding beasts supposed to be loyal?
Then it dawned on him: the Blood Queen must have moved to the Divine Grimoire. He was surprised to find the Barbarian Bull Shadow 'Aman' undergoing a body reshaping...
The Thorn Flower Witch also evolved into a Silver Level 'Rune Body Thorn Flower Witch'.
Both 'Aman' and the Thorn Flower Witch couldn't be summoned now, and each beast in the grimoire bore a unique rune.
Even the mysterious metal beast on his wrist had one. Curious, Eddie summoned Little Wenli and found she had no runes on her forehead.
Upon awakening, she yawned adorably, still sleepy.
Letting her rest, Eddie was about to send her back but then noticed something odd – she seemed taller.
Using his third-level insight, he discovered Little Wenli had leveled up. It was mysterious how she leveled up without any reaction or experience gain.
Laura, now awake, looked at Eddie with a smile.
"What happened while I was unconscious?" Eddie was eager to understand the events that had transpired, his curiosity insatiable.
"I've been unconscious longer than you, so how would I know? I don't know anything about your Blood Queen evolving from Golden to White-Gold Level!"
Laura's words nearly made Eddie fall into a deep abyss. Her blatant lies were worse than his own, clearly a deliberate attempt to get back at him.
"You're tough!" Eddie knew he couldn't get any information from Laura, thinking, "Flattery!" Laura seemed to struggle to keep from laughing, her fan fluttering but refusing to smile. "Who were you talking to just now?" Eddie suddenly asked her.