"Could this egg be the legendary Phoenix egg?"
Lei Lin guessed in a daze.
Only the vast life force of such an ancient creature could have pushed Crimson Eyes' Fire Feather Technique to the unprecedented thirteenth level — and given birth to a spiritual marvel like the Fire Source Stone!
The reason for this judgment was that the moment Lei Lin saw the crimson egg of light emerge, the Fire Feather Technique within his body suddenly accelerated its circulation. Behind him, an enormous and eerie phantom of a black fire phoenix materialized, and an intense feeling of longing surged to the forefront of his mind.
"Caw!" The black fire phoenix let out a long cry and spread its wings wide, the energy from the crimson egg of light continuously devoured by the black flames.
"Ding! Host's Fire Feather Technique has undergone a mutation! Energy surging rapidly — currently at the peak of the tenth level!"
"Ding! Host's Fire Feather Technique has undergone a qualitative transformation! Entering the eleventh level!"
"Ding! Host has absorbed unknown essence substance. Atomic spectrum matches the Fire Source Stone. Soul origin enhanced!"
"Ding! Host's mass point density increased. Fire element particle affinity enhanced!"
The Chip's notifications rang out one after another, leaving Lei Lin momentarily stunned.
Using the mutated Fire Feather Technique — now imbued with devouring capability — as a foundation, supplemented by the massive energy provided by what appeared to be a Fire Phoenix egg, and processed through the Chip's simulated calculations — his mutated Fire Feather Technique had actually broken through directly to the eleventh level!
The eighth and ninth levels of the Fire Feather Technique corresponded to the third-tier
Crimson Eyes had wielded the thirteenth level of the Fire Feather Technique, making him a peak fifth-tier Moonlight powerhouse!
And now, the eleventh level of the Fire Feather Technique had directly pushed Lei Lin to the peak of the Morning Star rank!
"This is definitely a Fire Phoenix egg! What other marvel could accelerate the progress of the Fire Feather Technique while also enhancing the soul? Nothing but a true Phoenix!"
Lei Lin's excitement surged in an instant: "This is only from absorbing a fraction of its energy. If I could utilize it all..."
He glanced at his status: "Lei Lin Farrell. Warlock, Fourth Tier. Bloodline: Komodo Giant Serpent (Complete Form). Strength: 50. Agility: 45. Constitution: 65. Spirit: 956.8. Mana: 956 (Mana synchronized with Spiritual Power). Soul Force: ???"
"Terrifying soul enhancement! Even though I don't know the exact magnitude yet — just what's manifested through my Spiritual Power alone is already somewhat frightening!"
Lei Lin murmured to himself, glancing once more at his elemental affinity ratings.
The red bar representing Fire affinity, sitting in second place, had surged significantly. Though it still couldn't compare to his Dark affinity, it was remarkably high — leaving the third-ranked affinity far behind.
"This is actually fine. Having Dark affinity too high isn't necessarily a good thing — it makes it too easy to walk the path of the Komodo Giant Serpent completely, falling deeper under the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' control. Now that I've incorporated a massive amount of Fire affinity, I can even try to walk an entirely new path..."
A sharp gleam flickered through Lei Lin's eyes.
The benefits he had gained from the Fire Phoenix egg this time were truly enormous.
"This Fire Phoenix egg is absolutely the sole origin of the Fire Source Stone! Take it, and let's go!"
With their experience, they could certainly recognize it as the egg of some ancient creature — and one of the most powerful varieties at that!
Living specimens of such powerful ancient creatures had vanished from the entire Wizard World for close to ten thousand years. If the Ring of the Ouroboros could hatch it...
Both Gilbert and Emma couldn't help but become lost in beautiful reverie.
"However..." Through his connection with the black flames, Lei Lin could clearly sense the rapid decline of energy within the luminous egg. "What a pity..."
A look of unmistakable regret crossed his eyes.
"After Red Pupil's repeated extractions of life force, and then my own devouring just now, the life fluctuations within this egg have already weakened to a critical limit. It's essentially impossible to hatch — it can only be brought out as an extraordinarily precious Fire-type treasure!"
Lei Lin sighed and was about to claim the Fire Phoenix egg into his hands.
"You dare..."
BOOM! A furious roar erupted, accompanied by the cataclysmic sound of mountains collapsing and the earth splitting apart, along with a piercing phoenix cry. A thick layer of earth was torn open, and even the soil and rock were incinerated into nothingness by flames.
Rare light filtered down. Lei Lin, Gilbert, and the others looked up to see a vast section of the underground strata ripped apart. Red Pupil himself descended like a blazing sun wreathed in fire.
"He got here this fast! Jesaya and that Fire Elemental Sovereign are both useless!"
Lei Lin shook his head without pausing his movements. "Retreat immediately! I'll hold him off for a while!"
Using a Morning Star's body to block a furious Fifth Tier powerhouse — under normal circumstances, Gilbert and Emma would have thought Lei Lin was out of his mind. But after witnessing his series of incredible feats and breakthroughs beforehand, they actually found it entirely plausible. They even instinctively began following Lei Lin's orders, pulling out a necklace that radiated starlight and starting to set up defensive formations.
"Give it back!" A massive claw of flame descended, clashing against the black flames as both vied for the crimson phoenix egg at the center.
"Chief Red Pupil! It's been so long!"
The black flame force surged violently, even beginning to devour the opponent's Thirteenth Layer Fire Feather Technique energy, erupting with tremendous power.
Lei Lin rose into midair with a smile, the sinister black flames spreading across half the sky, actually seeming to rival Red Pupil on equal footing.
"You're... Lei!!!" Red Pupil's pupils constricted sharply. "Damn otherworldly Wizard! How dare you deceive me!"
Whoosh! Lei Lin made a grasping motion with his palm, and Shi Ke's unconscious body drifted automatically into his hand.
"Chief Red Pupil! Why don't we make a deal? You let us go, and I guarantee your son's safety!" Lei Lin began leveraging Shi Ke to threaten Red Pupil without the slightest psychological burden.
"Boom!" Massive flames raged wildly, and Red Pupil's face flushed crimson — clearly Lei Lin's words had struck a nerve.
"Fine!" After a long moment, Red Pupil finally forced the two words out as though squeezing them through clenched teeth. "But the Phoenix Egg must stay!"
"Hmm? The opponent seems to be injured?" Through the Chip's detection and the other party's behavior, Lei Lin immediately formed a suspicion, and soon confirmed it.
This filled him with delight. Although with the restraining ability gained from the improved Fire Feather Technique, plus reaching the Eleventh Layer, he hadn't been very confident about holding the opponent off — but now?
"No way!" The moment Lei Lin spoke, he and Red Pupil transformed into two enormous fire phoenixes — one red, one black — and lunged toward the Crimson Egg's location.
The fire phoenix Red Pupil became was immense and imposing, radiating a heavy sense of majesty, while Lei Lin's black phoenix, though slightly smaller, was wreathed in black flames that seemed to devour all things, exuding a sinister aura.
"Kraa~~" "Chirp~~"
The two different phoenixes cried out loudly, then slammed into each other with full force.
Black flames and crimson-gold flames swirled around the Phoenix Egg, locked in a bloody contest.
"Red Pupil! Don't you care about your child's life anymore?" Even in the heat of battle, Lei Lin kept talking, disrupting the opponent's focus. Even the slightest hesitation on Red Pupil's part would be enough.
"Even Shi Ke cannot make me give up! And you think I'd fall for your threats?"
Red Pupil's expression turned cold. Scorching flame force incinerated the void, even forming a massive phantom world of fire that sealed Lei Lin firmly in place.
He was a ruthless schemer — even though he doted on Shi Ke enormously, he would never allow himself to be threatened by Lei Lin on his account! But the fact that he showed even a trace of restraint was more than sufficient for Lei Lin!
"Damn it! This is the Fire Feather Technique? Why are there black flames like these? They even make me feel a flicker of fear in my heart!"
Red Pupil's expression was gloomy. The wizard across from him was surprisingly also using the Fire Feather clan's Fire Feather Technique, and had even advanced it to the eleventh layer. What shocked him even more was that this mutated black flame seemed to actively restrain his own flames — if his cultivation level hadn't been higher, he would have long since been eroded or even completely devoured.
"This wizard! He absolutely cannot be allowed to live! This technique must be eradicated entirely!"
A cold, ruthless look flickered through Red Pupil's eyes as scarlet-golden flames enveloped his entire Phoenix True Body.
"Flaming Phoenix!!!"
The devastating technique that had previously grievously wounded two fifth-level Wizards manifested once more. The savage flames burned the clouds in the sky to nothing.
The colossal flaming phoenix stretched across the heavens, bringing all other battles to a standstill. Countless Fire Feather clansmen gazed upon it as if beholding their divine god, dropping to their knees in worship before the immortal bird.
"If you were at your peak, I'd have no choice but to retreat against this move. But unfortunately..."
Lei Lin laughed wildly as black flames devoured everything around him, his entire being transforming into a terrifying black-flamed phoenix.
"Mutated Fire Feather Technique Ultimate Art — Evil Phoenix Takes Flight!!!"
The Fire Feather clansmen in Transas, the capital of the Federation, witnessed a wondrous spectacle that day.
A sinister black-flamed phoenix clashed savagely against their own Federation President. Even a single stray spark from the shockwaves of their clash was enough to fill countless Star-level powerhouses with dread.
The entire presidential residence was reduced to ashes in the blaze. Aside from a handful of Star-level powerhouses who vomited blood and retreated, every other living being perished in the flames.
"Haha... President Red Pupil of the Atlantic Federation, is this all you've got!"
An arrogant, uproarious laugh rang out as a figure wreathed in black flames pulled back, his face full of wild, unrestrained mirth.
"Could it be... the President has lost?" After flying a considerable distance away, the Northern Duke — who had once crossed paths with Lei Lin — muttered uncertainly to himself.