"Perhaps the Hair of the Serpentess found in the secret realm wasn't harvested by Quickflow through capturing ancient serpentesses. Instead, it might have been left behind by one of their members whose own serpentess bloodline was pushed to the very limit — even undergoing bloodline atavism — and the resulting material was..."
The so-called bloodline atavism referred to the process in which a warlock's bloodline grew so dense it reached its absolute limit, then began evolving back toward its bloodline origin.
Once atavism was complete, the warlock would discard their original human appearance and transform entirely into the creature at the source of their bloodline!
At that point, the warlock could no longer be considered human — even others of the same bloodline origin would be unable to tell the difference between them and an atavistic warlock.
In other words, if Leilin underwent bloodline atavism, once it was finished he would become a true Comosian Giant Serpent!
"Ugh… never mind!"
Leilin only needed to picture himself turning into a giant serpent — eating nothing but raw food every day, and when desires arose having to seek out a female snake — before he shuddered all over.
"The Morning Star's shapeshifting technique is more than enough. As for actually becoming a giant serpent, that is not my goal!"
Leilin made his decision.
He pursued power, climbed toward the peak, all ultimately for his own freedom and ease. If obtaining invincible power at the end meant enduring eternal torment, then he'd rather do without invincibility entirely.
Moreover, the closer one drew to the bloodline origin, the deeper the racial suppression would become.
One only had to look at the great war of the Ancient Frost World: with a single thought from the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, countless Comosian Giant Serpents threw themselves to their deaths fighting creatures from other worlds. The message was clear enough. Leilin had no intention of working his way up only to end up controlled by someone else and turned into cannon fodder.
Of course, all of this was still very far from Leilin's current reality.
In fact, he still had to rely on the power of the Hair of the Serpentess to accelerate the maturation of his own bloodline, hoping to reach the Morning Star rank as quickly as possible.
In the Central Continent, while Third-rank Warlocks could also command widespread respect, only Morning Star Wizards were truly part of the upper echelon!
Only after reaching the Morning Star rank could one independently conduct Astral Gate experiments and attempt to traverse various outer planes and worlds — something irreplaceable for Leilin in resolving his bloodline problem.
After thinking it over, a flash of silver light appeared in Leilin's hand, and a dark-gold coin materialized.
"If I go to the secret realm this time, will I be able to obtain what I want and return unscathed?"
With this thought, Leilin tossed the Fate Gold Coin into the air.
Clap!
The Fate Gold Coin landed squarely on the back of Leilin's hand, revealing the image of a lucky bird. At the same time, a hairline crack appeared on its surface.
Seeing this, Leilin tucked the coin away. A flicker of joy crossed his face before being replaced by a grave expression.
"So success is possible, but there will be interference at the Morning Star level?"
The Fate Gold Coin was a wizardry artifact Leilin had painstakingly crafted in the Dark Ultimate Domain — a creation that held the terrifying ability to predict the future. However, it was somewhat powerless against forces at the Morning Star Wizard level or above.
Every time the prediction touched upon power at the Morning Star level, a crack would appear on the coin. As those cracks accumulated, the Fate Gold Coin would eventually be destroyed beyond repair.
Leilin had a premonition that once he lost this Fate Gold Coin, he might not be able to craft another one for a very long time.
"What exactly does fate's omen mean? Is there a Morning Star-level creature sleeping inside the secret realm, or will a Morning Star Wizard discover and interfere from outside?"
Leilin rubbed his brow as numerous possibilities flashed through his mind, giving him a headache.
The Fate Gold Coin was only an inanimate object, and its predictions were quite vague — sometimes leaving him completely in the dark.
Furthermore, fate was elusive. Even the Fate Gold Coin could make erroneous predictions. In the Central Continent, where practically every region had a Morning Star Wizard presiding over it, the interference with fate was all the more pronounced.
A Morning Star-level powerhouse already possessed the ability to subtly alter the River of Fate in their surroundings!
The strong command their own destiny! This was an eternal truth!
Therefore, the Fate Gold Coin's predictions could only serve as a reference here and were not necessarily accurate.
A blue glow flickered through Leilin's eyes as all manner of possibilities swept past him…
After the banquet, more than two months passed before Leilin knew it.
He now stood before his black Wizard Tower, with an array of peculiar metal plates inscribed with runes spread across the ground.
"Enchantment!"
Wisps of spiritual power, like strands of mist, condensed into a hard Runescript Pen and carved precise, intricate patterns onto the metal plates.
All the patterns combined to form dazzling wizardry symbols and sigils.
When the final stroke was completed, a soft, hazy luminescence shrouded every one of the metal plates.