Leon frowned as he watched Maxwell, a phantom image of a wheel appearing in his eyes. The wheel spun slowly, and after a few seconds, Leon shook his head in disappointment.
"Still too weak. Only a five percent fusion rate? You merged the Crystal Fiend bloodline and survived, which is already a stroke of luck. Breaking through to Sky Rank Level Five only proves one thing: your luck is exceptional. That Crystal Fiend bloodline contained a very advanced strain, and your compatibility with it is barely acceptable.
Normally, this would be your limit. You couldn't possibly grow stronger. But your luck isn't all bad—if you find a Level Forty Earth Bear and use its heart blood to purify and fuse, at twice the quantity of your Crystal Fiend bloodline, your potential might increase a bit more.
Ideally, it should be an Earth Bear that has mastered Earth Breath..."
Leon's words struck Maxwell like a bolt of lightning, shaking his very soul. In that instant, Maxwell suddenly understood far more than before.
Who said you could only transplant the bloodline of one creature?
If the compatibility with one creature's bloodline is too low—and that can't be changed—then use another method to alter it. Combine the bloodlines of two different exotic creatures, fuse them in varying proportions and tiers, and transplant them. The resulting power might not be as strong as before,
but it will definitely be more stable, and the potential much greater. The main problem with transplanting exotic bloodlines isn't lack of combat power—it's instability, and having little or no potential at all...
It's being forever stuck at Sky Rank Level Five, unable to grow even a little stronger, unable to fight at full strength. So, is it better to lower your combat power a bit, but gain the hope of becoming stronger, maybe even breaking through?
Anyone with half a brain knows which choice to make. Besides, once the bloodline stabilizes, even if it looks like you've lost a bit of combat power, in a real fight you'll end up stronger than before.
Maxwell was so excited his body trembled. After a moment's thought, he understood—this path seemed simple, but figuring out how to match bloodlines, how to transplant them, which level and traits are best, that's an extremely complex field of research.
Even with the direction pointed out, without centuries of research and hundreds of risky experiments, there's no way to find the optimal combination.
Leon smiled, suddenly feeling that someone like Maxwell was both pitiful and admirable. On the road of magic, people keep falling—some pave the way forward with blood and corpses, some point out the wrong direction for future generations with their own lives.
The advancement of mage civilization in Northend World is built on countless failures and a single success. That one success is what sets the right course, while all those failures are people whose names may never be remembered.
Thorned Crown is just a slightly more unique pioneer. Without those madmen willing to pay any price for power, Thorned Crown's reputation in history would be completely different.
After all, during the explosive era of mage civilization in Northend World, every wild idea was tested with untold blood and lives.
Maxwell's very soul trembled with excitement, but in just two minutes he managed to suppress it, then bowed deeply to Leon.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, I don't know how to thank you. Even a thousand years of gratitude couldn't express what I feel right now..."
Leon waved his hand, cutting off whatever Maxwell was about to say.
"Enough, you don't need to thank me. You've all been through chaos lately, suffered heavy losses, and still helped the Gilded Rose so much. Consider this potion my thanks to you."
As for following me, let's talk about that another time."
Hearing this, Maxwell panicked. With just a casual remark, Leon had given the Thorned Crown, who were at a dead end, a new direction for research—a breakthrough that could push Thorned Crown forward by one step, or even ten!
With a random bottle of unknown potion, Leon had enabled Maxwell's transplanted Crystal Fiend bloodline to truly merge with his own—a feat he never would have dreamed possible before.
The reason transplanted exotic bloodlines are unstable and prone to backlash is that these bloodlines are essentially borrowed power, more like a special magical artifact than the mage's own strength.
But now, if the bloodline truly fuses with your own, it becomes the mage's own power—and that power can be passed on to the next generation!
Only the mage's own talent and power can be inherited. With transplanted exotic bloodlines, no matter how strong, the next generation might just be an ordinary mage, with no special abilities at all.
The significance here is worlds apart—it's like the difference between two planes of existence!
With all these benefits, and the more Thorned Crown learns about Leon, they've made up their minds—how could they possibly give up?
"Archmage Leon Merlin..."
Maxwell broke out in a sweat, just moments ago he thought everything was settled, but now it had truly changed.
Leon waved his hand.
"We'll talk about that later. Right now, I need you to investigate something. There was once a god-demon who reincarnated in Northend World. According to clues I found at Astral Academy, all I know is that the reincarnation took place somewhere in Central Odin. That's all the Academy records could confirm.
I want you to follow up on this clue. If the god-demon has already reincarnated, I want to know who they became, what race. If they haven't yet emerged, I want to know where they are.
Here's all the information I've gathered, along with some distinctive traits that could serve as clues..."
Maxwell accepted the information, delighted. This would be extremely difficult to track down, especially with a god-demon involved. No one even knows exactly when the reincarnation happened—just a rough era spanning a thousand years...
After glancing over the information, Maxwell had a general sense of how difficult this investigation would be. But the more he understood, the happier he felt—even if he wasn't confident about succeeding yet.
He wasn't worried about Leon giving them trouble—being asked for help was actually best. The more complicated, the better. What he really feared was Leon not needing them at all; that would be the worst.
After calming his excitement, Maxwell pondered the information he'd just seen.
"Archmage Leon Merlin, this happened in a very distant era. If it went unnoticed back then, it will be extremely hard to track now. If that god-demon's soul successfully reincarnated as another race, it will be even harder to find.
I can't make any promises at the moment. Only after I find more clues can I draw any conclusions. If I discover anything, I'll report to you immediately."
Maxwell's caution pleased Leon. If Maxwell had boasted that it was no problem at all, Leon would have found him unreliable.
Thorned Crown's intelligence and relationship networks in the Odin Kingdom are vast, with hidden tentacles everywhere. Now that the search area is narrowed to Central Odin, if even Thorned Crown can't dig up anything useful, Leon can only let the matter rest for now and pursue it slowly.
After all, they've been searching for so long and still have no solid leads. The Gilded Rose's expansion in Odin Kingdom is closely related to this matter.
With the task of tracking the location and reincarnated form of the Seventy-Third god-demon handed off to Maxwell, Leon stopped worrying about it. Only an organization like Thorned Crown, always hidden in the shadows and with far-reaching influence in Odin Kingdom, could possibly access enough clues and improve the efficiency of the search.
But with this needle-in-a-haystack approach, there won't be results any time soon. The most time-consuming, troublesome part is left to Thorned Crown, while Leon turns his attention to easier tasks.
Tracking down Cave Goblins and Red-Skin Mana Leeches is much simpler. The entrance to the underground world was already discovered before—though it's been destroyed, the general location hasn't changed much. The real challenge is figuring out how to get inside.
The underground world of Northend is nothing like the underground of the Monster Plane. After countless years of development, it's practically a sub-plane attached to Northend's depths, home to many subterranean races—chaotic and lawless, completely different from surface dwellers.
But according to the original records, there weren't any Cave Goblins or Red-Skin Mana Leeches in the underground world. No one knows when they migrated there, but by the time Northend's mages began large-scale expeditions underground, waging endless wars, those two races had vanished. After all, neither was ever particularly strong.
The easiest way to open a passage to the underground world again is to use the blood of a certain dark magical beast—creatures that have never seen sunlight from birth. They're low-level, live in groups, and hunting them can be left to the Gilded Rose; Leon just needs to wait for results.
Studying Truth Runes, comprehending laws, conducting alchemical experiments, crafting major components for the Sanctuary Tower—suddenly Leon had too much to do, wishing he could split his soul in two.
Research into Truth Runes could continue after leveling up, but there's no time now. Some key components for the Sanctuary Tower can wait. The Redpush Core is nearly finished; what Leon lacks most are the innate runes from Sky Rank alchemical golems in the Puppet Plane.
The innate runes of alchemical golems aren't something you can get in a day or two—they require slow hunting. If too many Sky Rank golems die at once, it could attract the attention of a golem king, making future hunts much harder.
Leon handed off the main direction and foundational theories of golem research to his team of alchemists, so he could leave that aside for now. But comprehending laws was something he had to tackle first.
The dark laws in the natural demi-plane have already finished developing, but the laws of light are still evolving. Even though Leon has grasped some aspects of darkness, it's only enough to establish a basic foundation. Using the power of dark laws is still difficult.
After the Wheel of All Magic evolved into a transcendent magical artifact, it was left in the natural demi-plane to develop alongside its laws. With a massive infusion of mana, the Wheel's power grew rapidly.
Sitting atop Sky Pillar Mountain, Leon quietly contemplated the dark laws emerging in the natural demi-plane. Right now, only the main branch of these laws has formed, but for most Sky Rank dark mages, that's already impressive. The sub-branches of dark laws began evolving once the main branch was established.
Next, Leon needed to search the underground world for Cave Goblins and Red-Skin Mana Leeches. Down there, a human dark mage wouldn't stand out much—just a little disguise and he'd be hard to spot as an outsider, which was crucial.
You have to understand, in the underground world, even if the native races are endlessly fighting among themselves, the moment an outsider joins, everything changes.
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No matter how fierce the internal strife within Northend World, it remains a matter for its own races. If any foreign race—be it demons or devils—were to appear, even sworn enemies would have to unite and eliminate the invaders first.
Comprehending the laws of darkness went smoothly. Now, the natural demi-plane was completely under Lin Yun’s control—almost an extension of himself. Any law evolving within the demi-plane was laid bare before him, and he could even immerse himself directly into the fabric of those laws to gain insight. The efficiency of this method was astonishing, hundreds or even thousands of times greater than in Northend World, even compared to prodigious talents.
This is the greatest advantage of a natural demi-plane. As long as it develops well enough, once it advances to the Heavenly Rank, this terrifying edge will persist all the way to the peak of that rank.
An ordinary Heavenly Rank mage’s demi-plane merely serves as a vessel for the laws they have comprehended. A mage must first grasp certain laws before those aspects can be manifested within their demi-plane.
But the benefit of a natural demi-plane is that its laws evolve independently. Even if a mage hasn’t comprehended those laws, the demi-plane itself can still generate them, allowing the mage to later gain insight. The difference here is simply incalculable.
Throughout history, every strong individual who acquired a natural demi-plane and advanced to the Heavenly Rank progressed rapidly. The slowest among them reached the eighth level of the Heavenly Rank in just over 180 years—and the only reason he stopped there was because he was killed by a powerful monster king during an expedition…
For a whole month, Lin Yun remained in the natural demi-plane, comprehending the laws of darkness. As the foundation of those laws was solidified, the Prologue chapter of the Book of Death could finally be utilized. From now on, whenever he cast a dark spell, the Prologue would enhance its power—not only reducing casting time and mana consumption, but also greatly increasing its might.
Unlike before, when he could only unleash the Prologue’s innate ability, Dark Curtain, now he could cast it again with more than five times the power.
With the comprehension of the laws of darkness reaching a milestone, his research into the Rune of Truth resumed…
Meanwhile, outside, the Gilded Rose’s development surged explosively after the release of the Azure Mana Elixir. This time, it wasn’t just about opening more branches—only six new ones were added, in fact. The real growth lay in the influx of purple gold coins, which could now be spent like running water.
For mages, purple gold coins are indeed crucial, as they represent access to all necessary resources. But there’s a limit—even the most precious resources can’t always be bought with money.
Now, with the Azure Mana Elixir—an instant mana recovery potion that every faction desperately needs—they have no choice but to offer the rare resources the Gilded Rose demands in exchange.
The Odin Kingdom has been established for so many years, yet the number of powerful mage factions remains the same. In a thousand years, barely one new faction rises, and none have joined the ranks of the strongest—at best, they rank outside the top ten.
One of the main reasons is resources. The most precious ones are always monopolized by the top powers. When they need something, they exchange their unique resources with each other, rarely letting them reach weaker factions. If any appear on the open market, it’s only ever a tiny amount—enough for a single mage, perhaps, but for an entire faction, such scraps make little difference.
By taking this step, the Gilded Rose now surpasses many seemingly powerful families. Even factions with more strong individuals and manpower than the Gilded Rose can’t obtain such quantities of rare resources.
With the Azure Mana Elixir on sale, a flood of resources was exchanged—but it was clear that envy was brewing.
Apart from the top mage factions, no one could trade for resources everyone needed. So, from the start, many factions refused to accept the Gilded Rose’s terms.
Not only is the Gilded Rose a rising power, it also hails from the Andalusia Kingdom—not native to the Odin Kingdom. That’s an important distinction…