Leilin Farell possessed extensive data on methods of increasing elemental affinity — he had even attempted several experiments on himself.
On the Central Continent, there were also certain ancient texts on the subject, all of which the Chip had thoroughly collected and utilized.
However, when it came to soul talent, even the Central Continent wizard world — which proclaimed itself to be reviving the glory of antiquity — had no satisfactory solutions.
Leilin had finally laid eyes on an ancient descendant's physique that might prove helpful in this regard, only for the person to self-destruct in the blink of an eye. It was a tremendous regret.
Yet through this recent epiphany, Leilin discovered that the power of rules could also improve soul talent. How could he not be ecstatic?
"The power of rules is vast and boundless — it can even alter a wizard's innate soul talent!"
Leilin's eyes lit up. Though he was a bloodline warlock, he was equally concerned with his own soul talent.
"However…"
Thinking of the fragments he had just comprehended, a trace of hesitation crossed Leilin's face.
The Flame Throne had never mastered the complete authority of the flame rules, or she would have long since advanced to the seventh-rank Rule
Moreover, given the Chip's current incompleteness in research and data at the rules level, using its computational power to patch the flame laws into a whole was wildly unrealistic.
"Sigh… there's simply nothing to be done about this." Leilin sighed. "Successfully snatching fire from the Flame Throne this time was already incredible luck. Am I supposed to ambush another Rule Wizard and steal their comprehension of the rules next?"
Once someone had thoroughly mastered a particular rule and seized its complete authority, the terrifying power it generated was something the current Leilin had absolutely no desire to face.
In the world of the gods, there was even a special title for such existences above the seventh rank — True
Once one fully comprehended the power of rules, one crossed the threshold from mortal into the domain of the divine!
The gap that represented was likely greater than the combined difference between every wizard rank from first to sixth.
For that reason, Leilin dared to scheme alongside
He wanted to live a very long time — even to glimpse the secret of eternity and achieve transcendence. Why would he court death?
"All of that can wait. What I need to do now is break through the shackles of my bloodline and ascend to the Dawn Sun rank as quickly as possible. After all, only when my soul power reaches its peak will I have the foundation to comprehend the power of rules…"
Recalling the experience of his recent insight, Leilin's expression darkened somewhat.
With his current level of soul power, analyzing and comprehending the power of rules was still far too difficult. Even though he had collected those insights, he had only briefly sensed the aura of the flame rules — his actual comprehension hadn't even reached a hundredth of a percent.
Comprehending rules was something only sixth-rank Dawn Sun Thrones were supposed to undertake.
That Leilin could do so at all was thanks to the Chip's maximal assistance and his own extraordinary talent.
"Regardless, I must master the power of rules as soon as possible. After all, the method for breaking the bloodline shackles lies within it…"
Remembering his previous encounter with the Wisdom Ancient Tree and its gift, a flash of burning desire appeared in Leilin's eyes as he plunged even more deeply into his cultivation of the flame rules.
…
At the bottom of a dim tree hollow, a crimson glow rippled ceaselessly across Leilin's body.
His eyes were shut tight, as though he had touched a more mysterious and profound world. Streams of crimson light surged around him, and endless strands of information formed cryptic codes that drifted past before his eyes.
He wanted to reach out and grasp those fiery glyphs, but found the effort futile.
As this process continued, Leilin sensed what seemed to be fiery glyphs burrowing into his body like tadpoles, making him shudder involuntarily.
The comprehension of the power of rules began now!
*Bzzzz!* Just as Leilin's entry-level grasp of the flame rules had barely taken hold, a massive burst of blood-red light erupted, shattering his communion.
"No! What's going on?!"
Leilin nearly roared. That state of mind had been an exceptionally rare opportunity, and to have it interrupted so abruptly drove him close to madness, filling him with a bloodthirsty craving.
"Waaah! Waaah!"
At the same time, a vision appeared before his eyes — transmitted through the inscrutable bond of bloodline resonance and the Camoin Snake Emperor's dominion天赋.
A dim underground chamber! An opulent bedroom. Bloodstained sheets. A drenched, trembling woman clutched a wrinkled newborn to her chest.
"Heh heh…" The infant had pupils of pure black. Amniotic fluid still clung to his body, and the umbilical cord had only just been severed. He had been crying, but seemed to sense Leilin's surveillance and actually flashed a smile, much to the new mother's astonishment.
"My blood! My blood has been born in the Dark Extreme Domain!"
Leilin's eyes snapped open.
Wizards possessed wondrous sensitivity to their own bloodlines, and as the sovereign of the Camoin clan, Leilin's Camoin Snake Emperor bloodline amplified this perception even further.
"The child I left with Xiling has been born?"
Leilin's gaze seemed to pierce through the earth and arrive in the Dark Extreme Domain. In order to propagate his bloodline, he had allowed the process to proceed naturally during his time with Xiling, without having the Chip intervene — and so he had left behind his offspring.
Calculating the time, it was about right.
Furthermore, because his warlock bloodline differed from ordinary people in many respects, his descendants would carry all manner of innate talents, potentially causing elemental outbursts or energy radiation. Had Xiling not been a wizard herself with proper protective measures, an ordinary woman would have long since perished.
A descendant carrying Leilin's fifth-rank Snake Emperor bloodline would grow at a terrifying speed.
What changes would this child, raised under Xiling's influence, bring to the entire Dark Extreme Domain?
Leilin's eyes grew deep and contemplative.
He was still that wizard devoted to transcendence. After catching sight of the flame rules, their pull had kept him here for an unknown length of time.
After a brief moment of reflection, Leilin turned his attention back to himself.
The Chip's notification panel popped up at that moment.
[Ding! Host has begun to grasp an unidentified force. Identified as flame rule power! Fire elemental affinity increased by 50%!]
[Host soul talent enhanced. Re-scanning… Classification upgraded to Fourth-tier talent!]
"Just entering the threshold of rules comprehension improved elemental affinity and soul talent this much?"
Leilin was somewhat shocked. From wizard apprentice to his current level, he had only managed to elevate his soul talent from third-tier to the peak of third-tier. Yet once he touched the rules, his soul talent leapt directly to fourth-tier — the difficulty and magnitude of that leap were staggering.
However, this level of rules comprehension was already the absolute limit of his current soul.
After all, he was only a fifth-rank Radiant Moon Wizard, and his true spirit was still at the Half-Moon stage, not yet at Full-Moon peak. It could no longer support further research into the power of rules.
In other words, Leilin's own hardware wasn't powerful enough to run a more advanced program.
To break through, he needed to upgrade himself — that meant ascending to the sixth-rank Dawn Sun.
This realization left Leilin feeling somewhat somber.
The flame rules he had stolen from the Flame Throne comprised roughly ten percent of the original, but he had only comprehended about one percent of that. The rest would have to remain indefinitely shelved due to his current limitations.
"My injuries have all healed, and I've more or less digested the gains from this trip.
Leilin sighed, and his entire figure dissolved into black flame before vanishing without a trace.
…
The Astral River, countless light-years from the Wizard World.
In the Purgatory World, a sphere of snakes — blazing like a star — dispersed to reveal the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents.
Each strand of her hair had transformed into a different species of serpent, drifting and undulating with distinct fluctuations.
Her features were exquisite beyond measure, and within her eyes, infinite worlds were born and extinguished.
Every inch of the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' body seemed to be an expression of the dark rules — imbued with a sense of perfect harmony.
At this moment, a rare gravity surfaced in her gaze.
"The Camoin Emperor bloodline… has begun to touch the power of rules?"
"And its bloodline descendants have begun to multiply…"
All that transpired in the distant Wizard World, across the galaxy, seemed to unfold before the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, plunging her into contemplation.
Though the Camoin Giant Serpent was only a minor branch of her bloodline, it still represented a portion of her power and authority!
And the appearance of an Emperor bloodline put her on alert — such uncontrolled factors could ultimately develop into a force capable of tearing apart her divine throne.
"Across the clouds and the stars, beyond the far shore — my blood shall one day return to my embrace…"
The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' voice was ethereally distant and infinitely gentle, drawing one in almost against their will.
As she uttered these words — so much like a prophecy — a vast, illusory world unfurled slowly behind her, seeming to bridge the gulf of time and space, extending all the way into the Wizard World.