"This is all your fault, Nashisa! Didn't you say that using world coordinates to set up a trap could completely annihilate the target in the gaps between worlds, with absolutely no leakage?"
The moon rune on Jessya's forehead began to gradually dim, and his eyes narrowed slightly.
"How was I supposed to know that three Morning Star sorcerers working together could rival a fifth-level Radiant Moon?" That mysterious female voice rang out, carrying the petulant tone of a little girl.
"Are you blaming me for being useless?"
Veins were already bulging on Jessya's forehead.
"Hehe… how could I? After all, you are a student I personally trained!" The little girl's voice suddenly matured considerably.
"We're just exchanging benefits!" Jessya gasped for breath and reiterated once more.
"Fine, fine, fine! I understand!
The woman's voice was extremely soft and gentle, drawing one helplessly into its embrace.
Under the woman's soothing words, Jessya quickly calmed his emotions. He made his way to his wizard tower, entering a dark, sealed chamber.
After passing through layer upon layer of defensive wards on the outer perimeter, the chamber inside was completely empty — except for a circular pool at its very center, where massive black air currents churned like crashing waves, and occasionally a few expressionless, pale human faces drifted to the surface.
"Wuuu!"
Faint white air currents rose and condensed into several slender human silhouettes, swirling around Jessya.
"How is it? For this, I've invested all of my treasures, and even…" Jessya's voice gradually trailed off.
"Excellent! The Pool of Sighs has been successfully prepared. Only a few final steps remain…" The woman's voice had taken on a slightly eerie, cold quality.
…
"Ding! Sun's Child bloodline mark energy reserves have increased!"
"Ding! Host's fire elemental resistance has risen!"
The Chip's mechanical notification sounded with perfect timing. Leilin gazed at the sun runes on the backs of both his hands, looking somewhat lost in thought.
"This was something specifically prepared for Jessya, yet he never even showed up!"
He had to admit, the other party's response was somewhat beyond Leilin's expectations. Jessya was inherently a petty, vindictive person — the fact that he had managed to restrain himself and maintain his composure in the face of provocation was rather surprising.
"Perhaps… someone talked him out of it!" Leilin rubbed his chin. "If that's the case, that person holds considerable standing within Thunder of Jupiter. Who could it be?"
"But this works out even better. All the territory has been reclaimed, and neither bloodline mark was consumed…" A bloodline mark equivalent to the strike of a sixth-level powerhouse was absolutely Leilin's greatest trump card at present. Every one used was one fewer he could call upon, so remaining hidden was a blessing in itself.
Moreover, Leilin could feel that the bloodline mark branded into his skin was producing a strange resonance with the mutated Fire Feather Technique within his body. The two complemented each other, each benefiting the other's power.
And as time passed, this phenomenon would only become more pronounced.
"Could it be… that the ancient Sun's Child actually had some connection to the Phoenix?" Leilin found the thought somewhat amusing but didn't pay it any particular mind.
"Teacher! These are all the body-fortification-related materials in our Ouroboros Ring!"
The study door opened, and Slubi walked in carrying a large stack of black books, along with crystal balls and other knowledge-storage devices.
The numerous books piled up into a small mountain on Leilin's desk.
"Mm, you've done well." Leilin gave a slight nod of encouragement to this student he had casually taken in years ago, then promptly sent him away and turned his attention to the desk.
The wizard world's methods for preserving knowledge were wildly varied. Even among items shaped like books, there were many different materials.
Truly paper-made books were still quite rare. Leilin even spotted an entire metal volume with a bronze cover, as well as a Bone Tome cast from actual skeletal remains.
The Ouroboros Ring was, after all, a major power in the Central Continent, and its accumulated resources over the years were substantial. Leilin's first priority was to search through these materials for methods that could enhance his physical constitution.
The aftereffects of his Spiritual Power explosion still hadn't been resolved.
Furthermore, with his current physical attributes, the body-fortification techniques and magical arrays that could still have any effect on him were exceedingly rare.
Leilin casually flipped open a thick, black book shaped like a dictionary.
On the pale yellow title page was a vivid rose, its leaves and petals seeming to tremble ever so slightly.
"Ah… my beloved Trichwick! I praise you, praise your eyes like pearls in a spring, and your…"
After the title page came a jumble of disjointed content that looked like verses left behind by some bored bard — the phrasing was awkward and the meaning barely coherent.
But Leilin leafed through it without the slightest concern, his fingers tracing over the textured paper and the letters upon it.
Hum! Something extraordinary happened. Where Leilin's fingertip passed, a line of fire began to emerge from the page, while the other letters twisted and squirmed, even sprouting tiny black legs of their own accord and rearranging themselves across the page.
"Below is the first section of the Hotro Bugskin Modification. Only formally ranked wizards or above may attempt it…"
A different passage surfaced, and the Chip helpfully relayed its analysis: "Ding! Detected that the target is emitting an inductive radiation source. Operating under this waveform carries a 0.000000001% probability of directly transforming the host's dermal layer."
Leilin closed the book, quite speechless.
This kind of hidden technique and its accompanying inductive spellwork could only have been crafted by a third-level wizard or above. If a genuine first or second-level sorcerer had actually been reading this, they might well have had their physical abilities induced into transformation right on the spot.
But for Leilin, the guiding force this represented was laughably insignificant.
"Hotro Bugskin Modification? Increases constitution by at most 3 points, with a boost to poison resistance." A fluorescent blue light flickered in Leilin's eyes as he rubbed his chin. "But it's far too ugly in appearance, and more importantly, it's useless to me right now."
He shook his head and turned his attention to the next candidate.
With his current standing, every resource within the Ouroboros Ring was at his disposal. Within just a few days, he had gone through every single piece of material related to physical constitution.
For other wizards, merely reading through everything once would never be enough — they would also need to memorize and comprehend it all. But Leilin was different. With the Chip's assistance, he had already committed every detail to memory, permanently and without fail.
"Chip! Search the newly compiled database and find methods compatible with my current state!"
Leilin issued the command.
He had not only reviewed all the body-fortification magical arrays and related materials, but had also organized every secret record, legend, and myth pertaining to constitution enhancement into a dedicated database for the Chip to analyze.
Although he held no great expectations for the Ouroboros Ring's database, finding even a few leads would be more than satisfactory.
"Ding! Database scan complete. Methods matching host's current condition: 3!"
The Chip reported faithfully, projecting a stream of information directly into Leilin's memory center.
"Method One: Undergo the Adolfoke Transformation! Can increase constitution by 40 points in a single instance!"
"Method Two: Obtain the title of Sage of the
"Method Three: Consume the Giant Dragon Potion in conjunction with the
The Chip quickly displayed all three methods.
These were the most suitable options the Chip had identified from across every database, tailored to Leilin's current circumstances.
Of course, some of these were merely extrapolations based on secret records and academic knowledge found in books. Actually completing them would still require Leilin to seek out the necessary resources himself.
But even so, this was leagues ahead of those wizards who, upon encountering a bottleneck, had no recourse but to try every method one by one with no guarantee of success.
"The Adolfoke Transformation? Where would I even find such an ancient constitution-transformation array?"
A wry smile crossed Leilin's face. "Strike that one for now. As for the title of Sage of the Sky City…"
He rubbed his chin, his expression thoughtful. The Sky City fell within the sphere of influence of the Sky Throne, but it was also an open scholarly sanctuary. The so-called title of Sage was an honorary distinction granted there.
Given the rigor of the wizards, anyone who earned such a title was unquestionably a true grandmaster of academic pursuit. And the Mystic Energy Scepter was the reward that came with obtaining the Sage's title — it was said to be able to raise a wizard's physical constitution in a single application, with absolutely no aftereffects.
Of course, with the Chip's assistance, Leilin was confident he could pass whatever examination was required. But this was another Throne's territory after all, and the Sky Throne's attitude toward bloodline sorcerers remained rather ambiguous. He still harbored certain reservations about proceeding.
"The Giant Dragon Potion and the Hades Flesh-and-Blood Ritual would actually be the simplest options! The dragon bloodline required for the Giant Dragon Potion means I just need to capture another batch of kobolds, and as for the magical array runes for the Hades Flesh-and-Blood Ritual, I already have them right here…"
A sharp gleam flickered continuously in Leilin's eyes.
"The increase is a bit modest, but it's still quite good!"
At the same time, he felt more keenly than ever just how difficult advancement was for wizards. He was a sorcerer, already enjoying an inherent constitutional advantage, yet he was still reduced to such straits. The situation for other Morning Star practitioners couldn't possibly be much better.
There were probably many Morning Star cultivators who not only found their Spiritual Power stagnating but also hit constitutional bottlenecks — the very reason they remained perpetually stuck at the threshold of Morning Star.
"I'll start with preparing the Giant Dragon Potion and the like. Once my constitution has been further enhanced, I'll set out for the Sky City!"
Leilin made his decision.