Right after savoring his victory and newfound power, Leon suddenly rembered sothing important—the hundreds of luminescent whitish mana cores he had collected when traveling to the middle domain from the Forbidden Mist.
I completely forgot about those. I’ve been carrying them this whole ti.
He was very close to level 20 now, sitting at level 19. Crossing level 20 would an entering the next cultivation rank—the Master’s rank—so he might as well try absorbing them since he was so tantalizingly close to that threshold.
Why not? I have them anyway.
With just a thought, he took all the cores out of his inventory. They materialized in the air around him, floating like ghostly orbs—a little over one hundred in total.
Their size was much, much smaller compared to the Coreborn monster’s massive core. Each one was roughly the size of a baseball, glowing with that characteristic pale luminescence he rembered from the mist creatures.
WHUMMM!
He started the absorption process at once, targeting ten cores simultaneously to speed up the process. The energy flowed into him rapidly, and within seconds, all ten had been completely drained and crumbled to dust.
However, after the absorption was complete—which took re seconds—Leon paused and assessed himself.
Wait...
There was not much difference. Almost imperceptible, really. The energy gain felt like a drop in an ocean compared to what Morpheus’s core had provided.
He understood imdiately, his enhanced intelligence making the calculation trivial.
Even if I absorbed all of these cores, I’m not sure I would even level up once. Maybe not even halfway.
The energy requirent for his next level must have increased dramatically after crossing into the Journeyman rank. These cores, which might have been valuable to him weeks ago, were now practically worthless for his personal advancent.
Without much thought, he stored them all back inside his inventory with a ntal command.
These are better off with Seraphine than with .
He knew that for normal cultivators who didn’t have the sa affinity as the core’s source monster, the absorption process was incredibly inefficient—more than ninety percent of the energy went to waste during conversion.
But he didn’t care about that inefficiency.
These cores probably don’t an much to anymore, but for her...
He rembered she was just one level away from Journeyman rank—still at level 10, on the cusp of level 11. If she could absorb these cores, even with the massive energy waste, she might be able to level up at least once or twice. That would push her into the Journeyman rank alongside him.
I’ll give them all to her when I get out of here.
The thought made him smile slightly. Helping Seraphine grow stronger felt almost as satisfying as his own advancent.
But now there was sothing else demanding his attention—sothing he’d been both eager and nervous to examine.
Now then, it’s ti to see the thing I bought earlier. Ti to see if this investnt was worth it. But I have to be extrely careful.
He vividly rembered what had happened to Morpheus when the monster had rely touched the outer casing of the armor. Those golden-crimson flas had consud its hand in seconds, forcing it to sever its own limb to survive.
If it can do that to a level 49 Coreborn... what will it do to ?
With just a thought from his mind, he commanded his inventory to release the mythical armor.
WHUMMM! SHIMR!
The crystalline case materialized before him, floating at chest height. The crystalsteel casing caught the ambient light of the dinsion, refracting it in dazzling patterns. Inside, the Dragonblood Vanguard Armor glead with that magnificent crimson and gold coloring.
Leon couldn’t help but think about how absurdly expensive this thing had been.
Three hundred ninety-two million Causality. Three hundred ninety-two million.
That massive expenditure ant he no longer had anywhere near the amount needed to buy the Cradle Seed of Elents he’d been hoping to purchase eventually—a divine item that could increase his elental rank over ti.
But if this armor is as powerful as it seems, it’ll be worth every single point.
Leon went on full alert imdiately. He activated all his enhancents—Mana Body Enhancent, Raijin’s Descent, Frostmail Guard. His defensive abilities layered over each other, and he prepared to teleport away and heal himself at any mont if sothing went wrong.
I’m not going to lie—I’m a bit scared after seeing what happened to that monster’s hand.
The image of those flas consuming obsidian flesh was burned into his mory.
But I’m sure in my ability to survive and heal myself back to perfect condition. Otherwise, I would never dare attempt sothing like this.
His regeneration capabilities, combined with his life elent mastery, gave him confidence that even severe burns could be recovered from.
Slowly, deliberately, Leon moved his hand forward toward the crystalline enclosure. His fingers extended, trembling slightly with tension, expecting the violent, fiery attack that had destroyed the monster’s limb.
His fingertips made contact with the glass surface.
TOUCH...
Nothing happened.
No flas. No burning. No pain.
The only thing he noticed was that the strange enclosure was slightly warm to the touch—pleasantly so, like sun-ward stone.
What? That’s it? No attack?
Relief and confusion warred in his mind. Why had the armor’s defenses activated so violently against Morpheus but not against him?
Then suddenly, he heard a voice.
It ca directly into his mind—not through his ears, but transmitted telepathically with perfect clarity. The voice was deep and crisp, ancient beyond asure, oozing authority and pride with every syllable.
Not only that, but Leon felt an unexpected quality to the voice. He could listen to this voice for hours without fatigue. It was really soothing, almost hypnotic in its resonance, like the rumbling of distant thunder mixed with the warmth of a protective guardian.
"Oh! Weak but interesting."
The voice paused, seeming to examine him with invisible senses.
"You will do. You are more than worthy, Young Primordial."
Another pause, this one carrying weight and significance.
"Break the flimsy glass, and this great one’s wisdom and power will be yours to command."
Leon absorbed everything the voice had said, his enhanced mind processing the implications rapidly.
Young Primordial? What is that?
He also knew how to communicate directly into soone’s mind—he had learned the technique by copying it from the Frost Kirin during their confrontation. He could respond the sa way.
Focusing his thoughts, Leon projected his question telepathically.
Who are you? And what do you an by ’Young Primordial’? What is a Primordial?
However, no answer ca.
Only silence greeted his inquiry, heavy and absolute.
He tried asking again, rephrasing his questions.
Are you the armor’s consciousness? Can you tell why you called young primordial?
Still nothing. Just that sa impenetrable silence.
For a couple of minutes, Leon continued attempting to communicate, asking variations of the sa questions from different angles. But the result was always identical—no response whatsoever.
So it spoke once, and now it’s gone silent. Either it can’t respond, or it won’t.
But one thing was abundantly obvious from what the voice had said, and Leon felt quite proud about it.
It said I was worthy. More than worthy, even. And breaking this glittery, thick glass ans the mythical armor will be mine to command.
That much he understood clearly, the intent transmitted along with the words themselves.
Just the thought of how much stronger he would beco after obtaining this armor made his pulse quicken. The defensive capabilities alone would be incredible, but that set bonus—temporary dragon wings for flight—that opened up entirely new tactical possibilities.
Leon unsheathed his trusted epic-ranked sword with a smooth motion. The blade sang as it left the scabbard—
SHING!
—but there was sothing different this ti.
The sword was buzzing in his hands, vibrating with excitent. It had been so long since the epic-ranked weapon had reminded him of its presence, its consciousness stirring from dormancy.
It seems excited, too. Like it knows what’s about to happen.
The blade appeared eager to cut through the weird glass, keeping its Master away from the new mythical armor, as if it understood instinctively that this would elevate both of them.
Leon decided to put everything into this attack. He couldn’t wait to get his majestic mythical armor, and there was practical urgency as well—only half a minute remained before the temporary rank increase from his Elental Surge skill would expire.
Better make this count while I’m at peak power. Or I would have to wait for the cooldown.
All his Auras wrapped around the sword in that familiar chaotic spiral—Space, Lightning, Ice, and Wind combining into a devastating cocktail of destruction. The blade beca almost too bright to look at directly, energy crackling and hissing along its length.
CRACKLE! WHOOOOSH! HUMMM!
His King’s Touch skill activated at full force, amplifying the strike’s power to its absolute maximum potential—level one hundred refinent, making his sword technique transcendent.
He deliberately chose not to use Frost Fang this ti. That technique was designed for soul attacks, and he absolutely didn’t want to accidentally hurt the armor’s consciousness. The last thing he needed was to damage his new equipnt before even wearing it.
Just raw destructive power. Nothing that could harm a soul or consciousness.
Leon raised his sword high above his head, every muscle in his enhanced body coiling like springs. His mystical eyes locked onto the crystalline enclosure with perfect focus. Light crackled faintly along his fingertips, tracing frost patterns up his arm.
And then he struck with full power, unleashing his Skybreaker Draw technique with every ounce of strength he possessed.
The air bent inward, crackling as his blade carved through space itself—then, with a thunderclap of intent, he swung.
SLASH!
The blade descended—
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