Magi mastered the usage of laws through knowledge and comprehension. Using their spiritual force, they manipulated elemental particles to form all sorts of spells. This was their path to power.
They didn't stop at that, though. Along with comprehending laws, they also integrated other power systems into their own spells. This was what led to the glory of ancient times.
Leylin knew from the Scorpion Man's memories that the creatures of the Icy World were famed for their strength and vitality. Arwen, who stood opposite him, had evidently inherited these traits.
Although Leylin was a bloodline Warlock, he still did not measure up in a contest against an actual ancient creature. Hence, as a true Magus should, he tried to shift the battlefield to one in his favour.
As in the words from his previous life, one had to match one's strengths to their opponent's weaknesses.
After widening the distance between them and using the domain to restrict movement, the efficacy of Arwen's frightening speed and strength, as well as his powerful stinger, had been minimised.
In the meanwhile, Leylin could unleash a barrage of spells, obtaining the greatest result at the lowest cost. This was what 'Knowledge is Power' meant!
"I've experienced the Morning Star creatures of the Icy World. Now, it's your turn to taste the terror that is a bloodline Warlock…"
The enormous phantom of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent emerged behind Leylin. Two starry pupils shot out petrifying rays of light as the huge snake's body coiled up, covering Arwen within.
The earth rumbled as terrifying energy ripples were transmitted across the sky, completely annihilating the Arctic Tribe in an instant. The frightening energy ripple destroyed the entire fortified hill village to a state beyond recognition, and it happened in a flash. It was like the apocalypse had hit the village.
Arctic Tribe members who had previously been sluggish due to the death of the chief were now all shrieking, running out of the fortified hill village in hopes of getting far away from this place.
To put it bluntly, this place was completely destroyed.
Explosions sounded one after another. The competition between the two Morning Stars even affected the void, causing space to splinter away.
"What's going on? How is this Morning Star infiltrator so powerful?" Arwen grew more and more shocked. He had a bloodline's legacy and even the guidance of a mysterious presence, which made him think himself a powerhouse in the Morning Star realm.
But today, the foreign Morning Star that the queen wanted him to capture was much more powerful than he was. Those casting of spells that emerged endlessly and the strange innate skill of the bloodline made it very troublesome for him.
As the void shattered with a bang, Arwen and Leylin both fell into the crack between the worlds.
"I have to seize him! It's an order from Her Highness!" Arwen looked at Leylin who was in front of him with a determined gaze. Streaks of dark green energy suddenly emerged from his body, forming strange patterns that covered it. The skin on his back exploded with a boom and a huge figure rushed out from his back.
This huge mountain-like scorpion's entire body was dark green in colour and there was the extremely distinct face of a woman on its back.
Arwen's previous human body was now like a piece of skin, floating in the void.
"Icy Jade Scorpion!" Leylin cried out involuntarily. Arwen's true form was actually a large Icy Jade Scorpion! With such a figure, it probably surpassed the existence of species like that Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor he'd fought before.
"Chik chik!" The large scorpion yelled. The huge claws in its hands were like falling meteorites as they smashed towards Leylin with a terrifying force.
This frightening strength caused even the void to shudder.
"Hoho… It seems like I share a destiny with you Icy Jade Scorpions. Moreover, the breath of an Icy Jade Scorpion at the Morning Star realm will surely have an unimaginable effect on my bloodline disease. I'll have to modify my plans…" Leylin's pupils sparkled.
Although his battle prowess was comparable to a New Moon, and he had killed a Radiant Moon Magi before, all of that power was only acquired using the imprint of the Sun's Child bloodline.
As for his true power, he could still take down a Five Star Morning Star, but it would require a great fight and there was a chance that he'd let the enemy escape.
Now that his opponent had revealed his true form as an Icy Jade Scorpion. Leylin's desire to capture him alive grew even greater.
If he used the bloodline imprint to cast Sun Scorching Nirvana, Arwen would undoubtedly be burnt to nothingness. But Leylin still hoped to obtain his breath to try and treat the bloodline disease at the Morning Star realm.
"I admit you are very useful, Arwen! I won't kill you that easily as you have things that I want!"
Leylin spoke indifferently. Four scarlet halos lit up behind him. and even fused together to form a terrifying spell.
"Rank 1 bloodline innate spells, Kemoyin's Scales, Eyes of Petrification! Rank 2 innate spell, Toxic Bile. rank 3 innate spell, Intimidating Gaze! Rank 4 innate spell, Bloodline Metamorphosis! Combining to form the Morning Star Arcane Art— Kemoyin Serpent Transformation!"
With Leylin's point mass and bloodline giving him Six Stars of strength, the power of the Kemoyin Serpent Transformation had almost reached the peak that all Kemoyin Warlocks desired.
The earth rumbled as a giant serpent, nearly a hundred thousand metres in length and with blazing stripes on its body as well as starry pupils emerged.
The Icy Jade Scorpion from before was like a tiny toy in front of this behemoth.
Its huge claws slashed across the serpent's scales. They managed to cause some sparks to fly, but could not even push the giant serpent away slightly.
"WHAT? You're not a bloodline creature, why can you carry out atavism?" A voice full of disbelief echoed forth from the Icy Jade Scorpion. Before the terrifying Giant Kemoyin Serpent, almost all of the stubborness and pride inside Arwen disappeared.
This was the technique that only Morning Star Kemoyin Warlocks possessed, the Morning Star Arcane Art— Kemoyin Serpent Transformation! Once again, it displayed its monstrous might in front of this foreign tribe!
Although the ancient Morning Star Magi possessed a large variety of spells, they were nothing much to flaunt in front of the powerful Morning Stars of other worlds. Amongst the many Morning Star tribes, there were plenty of Magi whose abilities surpassed those of Morning Stars.
However, the greatest strength of ancient Magi was that they were good at learning.
By imitating their opponents, ancient Magi obtained all sorts of powerful abilities and even figured out the way to modify and stabilise innate spells through meditation techniques, creating the first of the Morning Star Arcane Arts!
Against the terrifying Morning Star Arcane Arts, the powerhouses of all the other worlds retreated one after another. Even the World of Gods had suffered heavy casualties.
Arwen was someone who'd only been born much later. He hadn't even left this world of ice in his entire life, and thus he naturally couldn't understand such terror. It led to him receiving a great shock.
*Hissss…* Of course, Leylin would not explain anything to Arwen. The enormous Giant Kemoyin Serpent directly crushed the creature down, firmly binding the Icy Jade Scorpion. At the same time, a petrifying light danced about on its body.
The large Icy Jade Scorpion wailed continuously for a short while…
...
With the writhing of the void, a dark passageway opened up. Leylin, dressed in a black robe, walked out with one hand holding the petrified Arwen.
Arwen had already regained his human form, just that his entire body was covered in a layer of stone. He was like a statue.
Only, the fearful expression on this opponent's face had not disappeared. It was as if he had seen something extremely terrifying before he was petrified.
"Too easy, simply too easy!" Leylin sighed, "In fact, Morning Star Magi and strong Morning Stars of the other worlds don't have much of a difference in their nature. Their energies are almost at the same level, but once the Morning Star Arcane Art is used, we can steamroll over the other worlds' powerhouses!"
Take for example this instance. Both he and Arwen were Morning Stars, one at Five Stars and the other at Six Stars. Common sense dictated that, if he were facing another of the Magus World, he could defeat his opponent but without using the Sun's Child imprint, it would be relatively difficult for him to kill them. The opponent could always use his Morning Star Arcane Art and flee.
However, Arwen was different. When confronted with his Morning Star Arcane Art, he seemed to be suppressed without any resistance.
"No wonder the ancient Magi could crush a lot of the other worlds!" Leylin could not help but admire the ancient Magi who attempted high-level meditation techniques and used point mass to activate the innate spell fusions to create a terrifying killer move. Even for him at the present, it would require a lot of time to deduct things from scratch, and it may not even be successful. However, the ancient Magi managed to do it and from this, the strong foundation of the Magus World was established!
"It's not such a bad harvest this time! I can probably use his Morning Star icy breath to curb the emotional instability that comes from the Purgatory World." Leylin analysed Arwen's statue as he stroked his chin.
The bloodline disease of Giant Kemoyin Serpent Warlocks originated from the Purgatory World. Due to their defeat in the Shadow World, the Snake Dowager brought all her clan members with her and migrated to the Purgatory World.
However, descendants of the Snake Dowager that were originally had darkness element attribute were all contaminated by the chaotic World's Will in the Purgatory World, giving rise to berserk characteristics. In order to solve this problem completely, the Snake Dowager thought of the using Icy World, and that was the battle that Leylin had witnessed.
According to the A.I. Chip's deductions, the Icy Jade Scorpion tribe here possessed excellent curbing effects for Leylin's own emotional instability. Last time, he'd managed to use just a peak rank 1 Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's Icy Breath to suppress his emotional instability all the way up to Morning Star.
And now, with an Icy Jade Scorpion at the Morning Star realm, Leylin was confident in eradicating his bloodline disease.
With the A.I. Chip having completed its database on the soul recently, Leylin could now control his influence on the soul much easier, boosting his power even further.
Leylin tilted his head as he pondered. Arwen's statue in hand, he transformed into a black streak that disappeared into the horizon.
Only after that did the frost giants and snow fairies who did not manage to leave in time pop their heads out from various corners, eyes full of consternation as they looked towards the direction that had Leylin departed in.
What had they just seen? The Arctic Queen's chief lackey— mass murderer Arwen, was actually defeated by a foreigner just like that?
Their fear towards Arwen even exceeded that towards the Arctic Queen. After all, although this place was ruled in the name of the Arctic Queen, she basically did not appear in public at all, and all affairs were taken care of by Arwen.
One could imagine the kind of shock that Arwen's defeat brought them.
-x-X-x-
*CHIIII—* The very moment Arwen was taken away, a piercing sound exploded in the icy castle, causing the air to quiver and the ground to tremble.
Large numbers of guards knelt on the ground, shuddering as they begged the Arctic Queen to quell her anger.
However, their prayers were to no avail.
A dazzling blue light swept out, wrapping up the entire castle within. The icy beings in the castle, be they guards, maids, servants, or prisoners, all turned into ice sculptures. Streams of blue light gathered from their bodies, tunnelling into the ground like earthworms.
*Whoosh!* When all the blue lustre disappeared from the ice sculptures, numerous cracks appeared on them as they crumbled apart to form a snow-white powder. The castle sank into a deathly silence.
Meanwhile, in another place deep underground.
The steel-like ice opened up automatically, showing a structure similar to a basement. An Eternal Light spell illuminated the entire area.
Many beakers and tools were placed on a translucent tabletop, seemingly in a mess yet possessing some kind of order. Some of the beakers were full of colourful, even smelly fluids.
Leylin stood at the simplified laboratory table, watching the stone statue that was once Arwen at the centre of the spell formation, a teasing look on his face.
This Five Star Morning Star, someone who was considered the leader of the world of ice, had now been turned into a mere stone statue. Even his soul had been frozen completely, leaving behind a shell that still had life force within.
Based on previous experience, he would get the best results when the breath of the Icy Jade Scorpion was used together with icy radiation.
And in order to preserve the freshness of the material, Arwen was forced to suffer, becoming Leylin's captive. He would definitely not meet a good end.
'When I probed the area during my entry to this place, there was still a more mysterious aura than Arwen's in the icy castle. Was that the Arctic Queen?' Leylin frowned, and threads of blood-red light were emitted by a spell formation with but a thought. They began to spread to the inner parts of the stone sculpture.
"Hand over your memories, little lamb that has lost its way!" Leylin's eyes were serene as he chanted some kind of ancient incantation with a strange pitch. Runes began to disappear into the spell formation.
*Ooooo—* A woman's wail sounded out, and three long-haired female figures appeared within the spell formation.
These three female youths wore blood-red dresses, not looking a day over thirty years of age. They seemed very pretty, but their expressions were varied.
One was beaming, the crescent of her eyes so pronounced that they were practically closed. The other showed distress, while the one in the middle was emotionless, like a block of ice.
"Go!" Leylin pointed towards the statue. The three female figures floated and circled the stone statue, occasionally extending translucent hands into the stone statue's brain.
Afterwards, three red figures entered Arwen's mind, and the stone statue shook continuously. The spell formation had no choice but to strengthen the seal.
"Arghhh—" In that moment, the ghastly wailing increased tenfold in volume, a layer of demonic blood emanating from Arwen's body.
[Reached critical period. Target is about to break down.] The A.I. Chip produced a timely reminder.
"Come back, my darlings!" Leylin's eyes were filled with a strange light as he made a very attractive sound.
As if some invisible force-field had appeared, the three figures were pulled out from within the stone statue.
The three figures' varying expressions had been enhanced further. They shrank to a tenth of their original size, gathering on top of Leylin's palm. Boiling hot, complicated emotions flooded Leylin's mind.
"Chaotic emotions as well as memory fragments…. A.I. Chip!" Leylin immediately commanded.
*Rumble!* The surge of complicated emotions seemed to have hit a tall mountain. Though Morning Star Warlocks had intense emotions, they were merely complicated hormone secretions to be recorded down for the unfeeling A.I. Chip.
Once the emotions were intercepted, the A.I. Chip began to arrange the scattered and fragmented memories.
One after another, scattered images were formed in front of Leylin's eyes. They were very fragmented, and even with the A.I. Chip's reorganisation Leylin could not find any information that was significant.
After the extensive data was transmitted, the three spirits in Leylin's hands exploded, dissipating like a fog. Leylin's expression did not change as he sighed.
"Extracting the memories of a Morning Star is truly troublesome…" The soul force of a Morning Star Magus was extremely powerful, and memories protected by it were akin to the most stable fort. Leylin could destroy it with ease, but he would find it difficult to find the content within, even with the support of the A.I. Chip.
However, with its strengthened abilities and the database on the soul, the A.I. Chip was able to give Leylin a nice surprise.
An image that was not quite as incomplete was projected before Leylin. This was a map of the world of ice, with a red dot of light at the centre. It was extremely dazzling.
As he zoomed in, the red light was magnified, revealing a castle built entirely of ice. Multicolour light formed a splendid view of it.
"Such dense icy radiation?" Leylin sucked in a cold breath. He could now confirm that the bloodline of the female bronze giant was within the palace.
"But where's the Arctic Queen?" Leylin asked with doubt as he skimmed through the other information found by the A.I. Chip. However, there were no records of this Queen, which was rather interesting.
Even if the Arctic Queen rarely showed herself, Arwen who was her number one subordinate should have had opportunities to meet her.
"Memory seals?" Leylin touched his chin. Some Magi could choose to store or seal their important memories, and that was an even easier task for Morning Star Magi.
'It looks like this mysterious Arctic Queen has a lot of secrets…' Leylin shook his head and commanded, "A.I. Chip, begin the second phase. Obtain the Icy Breath and purify the bloodline."
Arwen's memories were merely an appetiser. The full course that Leylin was waiting on was the unique Icy Breath that belonged to the Icy Jade Scorpion. It was very effective for his emotional instability.
On top of that, Leylin had the premonition that for Giant Kemoyin Serpents, rank 4 should not be the limit. However for some reason, be it because of genes restrictions or the influences from the Purgatory World, Giant Kemoyin Serpents had lost the ability to evolve further.
If he could completely treat his emotional imbalance, his grasp of the Kemoyin bloodline would reach unprecedented levels.
Only after reaching this state would he have the confidence to attempt at tackling the Giant Kemoyin Serpent bloodline issue.
With Leylin's command, the A.I. Chip began its precise task. Arwen's statistics in all aspects were recorded, and it formulated the most accurate plan of operation, presenting it before Leylin.
"Record all the information in its entirety!" Leylin took out a silver surgical knife witch complicated patterns on it, eyes emanating a heated radiance.
'Dissecting an ancient bloodline creature completely, especially one at the Morning Star realm, is not an easy opportunity to come by…'
[Mission established. Beginning recording.] The A.I. Chip intoned loyally.
"Begin!" Leylin was now wearing a snow-white gown, the plastic gloves on his hands having gone through rigorous sterilisation. With the power of magic, while it looked primal, the level of this laboratory was rather similar with the one in Leylin's previous world, and in certain ways even surpassed it!
*Thud!* A layer of rocky skin fell, revealing the skin and flesh on Arwen's arm.
Under Leylin's surgical knife, the two were easily separated to reveal translucent blood vessels...
*Swish!* A black ray of light streaked through the horizon, as glorious as a shooting star.
Leylin's eyes were like stars, a hint of glee in his expression.
"I feel better than I've ever felt before!" Feeling the coldness in his mind and no longer having any jittery emotions, Leylin was in a great mood.
The icy breath from the Morning Star ranked Arwen was the best medicine for Leylin's emotional instability. Added to the soul treatment with help from the A.I. Chip, the negative effects that came together with fusing with the Giant Kemoyin Serpent's soul had been completely eliminated.
In other words, the chaotic World Will that had come from the Snake Dowager migrating the entire species to the Purgatory World was now forever gone from his body!
[Beep! Host has removed influence from chaotic World Will. Kemoyin bloodline being purified…] the A.I. Chip called to his attention.
When he looked with his soul force, the purplish-red bloodline in his body now ran deeper, and each time his heart pulsed a purifying force was pumped to all parts of his body. The various parts of his body reacted strangely to this purifying force, resulting in a complete transformation from head to toe.
'Morning Star soul force is supposed to nourish a Magus' body, transforming it qualitatively in order to form the perfect Morning Star body… That is supposed to be equivalent to the standard of a normal Heavenly Astral. Not only does my current body already surpass this so-called standard, it even has a chance of evolving further…'
Leylin felt that after his bloodline's transformation was complete, he would be able to peek at an even more terrifying realm. The natural rank of their bloodline was what prevented Kemoyin Warlocks from ever advancing to rank 5. However, there was currently a high possibility that he would be able to break past that!
-x-X-x-
A black shooting star streaked across the horizon, its magnificence amplified under the translucent icy sky.
Leylin was sending out a thread of soul force every once in a while, scanning the energies of the surrounding beings.
'It seems like Arwen's fall caused some sort of chain reaction.' As far as he could see, the various regions in this world of ice had been disturbed at least on some level. Many of the intellectual icy beings, such as the Arctic Tribe, and even the ice leopards and the frost dragons were beginning to rebel against the Arctic Queen's rule.
'It's understandable though. The other races never could stand being under her rule anyway. Since she's fallen, a frenzied rebellion is only to be expected,' Leylin thought as he touched his pouch. Extracting the Icy Breath to treat his emotional stability was not the only thing he'd done. He hadn't wasted any part of the body, not even his bloodline. It was all currently stored in his pouch.
There were still many survivors who had seen Leylin defeat Arwen, and news had spread quickly. Without the suppression of a Morning Star, the rebellion of these various races was not surprising.
'But the Arctic Queen has been in power for so many years… It doesn't make sense for everything to fall apart so bad so quickly…' Leylin's eyes twinkled with a distinct light. Even with Arwen's death, the Arctic Queen's guards should not have been defeated so quickly. It was like the headquarters had been destroyed with no clear commands given.
At this point, Leylin suddenly had a thought, 'Could there be something wrong at the Arctic Queen's palace?'
That was all he managed to think of. The shooting star that was Leylin whizzed faster into the horizon, only leaving behind after-images in the sky.
Even rank 3 creatures could only crouch on the ground, unable to move after seeing Leylin hurtling past. They were terrified by his speed and prowess…
The castle of ice was located at the heart of this world, and when Leylin came here he found that the vicinity of the place had gone up in smoke.
The many suppressed races had formed an alliance, gathering troops at the centre of the icy plains.
The few remaining guards were led by Arctic Knights as they used the terrain of the great valley at their stronghold to fight back, but it was a losing battle. It looked like this alliance would be able to enter the castle in no time at all.
'Keke… With Arwen's death, the entire castle's defence is rendered useless!' Watching the bustling camp of the allied forces, a smirk rose about Leylin's lips, 'When they breach the walls of the palace and, instead of victory, see the Arctic Queen who's even more terrifying than Arwen, what kind of expression will they have?'
Leylin's eyes did not stop on the battlefield, and instead switched to the castle.
There were a few loyal guards and the like who wanted to stop him, but they were no match for him at all. They were not even able to hold him back for a few seconds.
What Leylin found strange was that the closer he got to the castle, the weaker the resistance grew. The moment he arrived on top of the place, the guards only dared to look at him from afar, not advancing. It was as if there was some kind of terrifying danger within the castle.
'This is the place? There's no life force in here at all, only some kind of absorptive force…' Leylin hovered above the castle of ice and observed its magnificence, though his eyes only held solemness.
The icy radiation had peaked here, and the concentration was hundreds, even thousands of times greater than in the outer world. It was constantly changing and growing, distorting continuously.
"Those below Morning Star probably won't be able to survive here…" The radiation was far too powerful, to the point that no ordinary beings could handle it; it had become a life-threatening poison!
However, what astonished Leylin was not the concentration of the radiation, but the mysterious absorptive force coming from the ground.
The area under this castle of ice was like a terrifying black hole to his senses, continuously absorbing the life force of everything on the ground. On top of that, it was expanding without end.
A thick layer of white, icy powder had formed on the ground, left behind by some unlucky fighters.
Blue light shot out from Leylin's eyes, and he cried out involuntarily. "No! It's not their life force that's being absorbed… It's the frost energy and the icy nature of their bloodlines…"
Suddenly, as if having sensed Leylin's arrival, the entire surface of the castle began to quiver.
That vague scent and aura Leylin had sensed began to awaken, its strength increasing.
"Ugh…" The mumble of a female voice resounded above the icy castle.
Large amounts of winds and snow gathered, forming the statue of a female giant.
The woman had a crown on her head, a dignified pair of freezing eyes under slender eyelashes. She extended her arms towards the distant battle.
*Rumble!* Terrifying blue pillars of light emerged from the ground, and seemed to break through into the heavens, releasing endless ripples of energy.
The eyes of those who had been embroiled in the bloody battle were suddenly filled with confusion and regret.
"All hail the Queen!" "All hail the Queen!" "All hail the Queen!"
A guard was the first to toss away his lance and shield, running towards the danger zone that he'd avoided as if it was a den of scorpions and snakes, looking extremely enthusiastic.
His legs were frozen as a blue light emerged from them and travelled underground. They then cracked off.
The guard did not notice at all. Even when his two legs were torn off, he still tried to get to the castle on his hands, the injury clotted with a layer of frost.
The frost continued to expand, covering the entirety of the guard. Traces of blue light were absorbed by the ground, causing his life force to weaken continuously.
He was zealous unto death, as if the Arctic Queen was his goddess to whom he was willing to sacrifice his everything.
'This is even more terrifying than an illusion. Even his soul isn't his own anymore…' Leylin sighed from high in the sky, watching everything apathetically.
It was not just the guards. Even the opposing allied forces threw their weapons away, showing the same fanaticism after one glance at the female giant. They rushed towards the castle as well.
Countless icy statues formed and then broke down, forming a thick layer of white powder on the ground. Yet, even that did not prevent them from surging forth, wave upon wave.
Blue light was emitted from Leylin's eyes, and great amounts of information were stored in his database. With the A.I. Chip's collection of statistical data, everything was presented before him.
'The attraction of the bloodline? The icy radiation too had affected their behaviour!' Leylin touched his chin. This was not a temporary control from illusory spells, but a terrifying effect that was formed over a long period of time. That was why the effects were so good, such that even rank 3 beings could not escape.
"Looks like this is a blood sacrifice…" Leylin suddenly guessed. Perhaps the Arctic Queen had herded the various races in this world like livestock. Every once in a while, they would be harvested after reaching maturity.
"If that's so, the Arctic Queen is probably…" A flash of determination appeared in Leylin's eyes, Morning Star radiation engulfing the area.
The void itself seemed to tremble, and the world instantly turned black and white.
The scope of the radiation continuously widened, and the few that had yet to enter the range of the castle suddenly showed looks of pain and suffering as they collapsed to the ground, their faces distorting. Even their internal organs swelled and ruptured.
Leylin had already reached the peak of Morning Star. He usually kept his radiation sealed, which was how he brought no harm to his surroundings wherever he went. Now, his suddenly unleashing it was difficult for the rank 3 beings to bear.
The sufferance was enough for these icy beings to regain their senses. They raised their heads, eyes full of terror as they stared hard at the floating Leylin and the female giant. Making some strange sounds, they escaped without turning back.
Even so, they'd come into contact with Leylin's powerful radiation. There were a few rank 2s and 3s at the side who could still use their own strength to rid themselves of the contamination, but those weaker than that would probably die if they were contaminated. It was only a matter of time.
Before their lives were completely burnt through, they would still have to deal with bearing the pain from the contamination.
The disturbance seemed to spread further and further as more of these tribals regained their sanity. No matter what camp they were in, these life-and-death enemies all escaped pitifully, only wanting to get as far away as possible.
The female giant in the air suddenly turned back, her eyes focussing on Leylin. Coldness was laid bare in them, but Leylin met her gaze head on.
He hadn't interfered at first because he needed to collect information and calculate the way the energy was used. Yet, once all was said and done, he wouldn't be so stupid as to let his opponent grow in power.
The giant made of ice snarled, and a large icy tornado was formed at her fist, hurtling towards Leylin.
A gigantic Giant Kemoyin Serpent appeared at Leylin's back. Compared to before, it was now even larger, and its eyes glowed with greater intelligence as it hissed at the giant.
*Boom!* Formless sound waves clashed with the tornado, and snow filled the sky.
-x-X-x-
"A mere clone wants to attack me?" Leylin sneered, the phantom Giant Kemoyin Serpent behind him rapidly shrinking. Its body was now more substantial, and its scales reflected a dazzling luster.
The Giant Kemoyin Serpent snarled, its tremendous tail whipping at the female giant like a mace.
*Boom!* The female giant's body blew up, and snowflakes fluttered in the sky.
The aftershocks were transmitted to the castle below, and large cracks began to appear on the walls.
*Whoosh!* As the wind and snow calmed, the entire area turned strangely silent.
The white powder formed from the life energy and consumption of frost energy of the many icy races covered the ground. There were also the remains of armour and weapons, which made the area seem even more desolate.
Leylin heaved a long sigh, producing a test tube from his spatial pouch that was filled with a purple liquid.
The seal at the mouth of the test tube opened automatically and a liquid dripped down to the ground, spreading quickly.
Large amounts of white powder were dissolved by the potion, creating a gigantic pool of water. There were countless bubbles constantly being produced on the surface, and they instantly turned the surroundings of the castle into a purple swamp.
The purple swamp continued to expand, also showing signs of going deeper.
'I've made calculations with the A.I. Chip and developed this potion from Arwen's blood and flesh using his memories. Let's hope this is effective.' By this point, Leylin had guessed the origin of this Arctic Queen. Hence, he was currently feeling very serious, hoping that his conjecture was wrong.
However, what he had just seen had validated his suspicion.
Large amounts of purple bubbles were constantly produced, and the original castle of ice was beginning to be eaten into, the main body of the building slowly sinking down.
*Buzz!* A pure, powerful spiritual force extended and began to fuse with the surroundings.
Almost instantly, Leylin found himself in another wondrous environment.
The sky was no longer filled with ice, it wasn't the crust of the earth. The moon sparkled in a starry sky, and below was a white continent that spread a vast ocean, as far as the eye could see.
Ice Mountain Wyverns, Chilly Giants and other creatures were roaring out, and most had surpassed the limits of Morning Star.
"This is… the real Icy World!" Leylin muttered to himself. He, who possessed some of the memories of the ancient Scorpion Man, was naturally somewhat familiar with this place.
"Yes. The real Icy World, my homeland! Foreign Magus, can you fulfil my wish of returning to my homeland?" The Arctic Queen spoke with a gentle tone as she appeared by his side. Looking somewhat similar to the giant from before, she had on a crown and platinum imperial robes.
"Arctic Queen?" Leylin's pupils shrank as he scanned the surroundings. "Not a bad illusion!"
"The most beautiful of illusions is still not reality. Even the fake world of ice in reality does not measure up to a smidgen of the splendour of the real Icy World…" The Arctic Queen sighed, her tone so sorrowful Leylin couldn't bear it. He wanted to speak up, helping her solve the issue.
"As long as you're willing to help me, you shall be the sole emperor of the entire Icy World!" As if she had seen Leylin wavering, the Arctic Queen added a bargaining chip.
"Pretty good conditions! It's a pity that I don't see any sincerity in them at all. How can someone who uses illusory magic on potential allies be trusted to abide by their promises?" Leylin shook his head, his words causing the expression on the Arctic Queen's face to change.
Blood-red flames came into being on Leylin's hands. They crackled as they were shot to the Arctic Queen's feet without hesitation, starting to burn her.
"You'll regret this!" The Arctic Queen, who was now covered in flames, showed a wavering energy. Yet, she was like an expressionless paper doll as she spoke.
"If I agree to your conditions, I might regret it even more!" Leylin was still slightly fearful at this time. He'd believed that he had a very powerful resistance to illusory magic, and yet he had easily been pulled into the illusion that his opponent had created, and almost lost his senses.
If not for the A.I. Chip's timely warning, as well as the many secret techniques of Spirit Warlocks he'd learnt from Paul, he might very well have died here.
After all, who would have thought that the ruler of the Icy World was proficient in illusory psychological hints?
"You'll regret this!" "You'll regret this!"
An icy female voice resounded in the illusion, causing his hair to stand.
Paper dolls that resembled the Arctic Queen sprang up one after another, the icy world collapsing with a rumble. Whether it was the stars in the sky, the continent, or the creatures upon it, everything turned into an Arctic Queen, giving Leylin a terrifying glare.
[Beep! Host's brain is suffering from an unknown influence. Determined to be illusory magic,] the A.I. Chip's voice sounded.
"That's obvious damn it, but my connection to the real world hasn't been severed. If I die here, my main body outside will probably die as well…"
Morning Star energy rippled as traces of soul force lingered around the surface of Leylin's body, giving him a few layers of protection.
Such a high-level illusion could render a Magus' spiritual force useless. However, it could not restrict a Morning Star's soul force, which still had a good effect.
However, this was the opponent's home ground. If he used up all of his soul force, he would be in trouble.
"A.I. Chip, scan the structure of the illusion and search for the point of three-dimensional construct and Wors' Space!" Leylin silently sent down the order.
The A.I. Chip did not have a good method of dealing with such a situation before, but now with the database on the soul, its ability at analysis had improved by leaps and bounds.
"You can't escape!" Like the many galaxies in the universe, countless three-dimensional Arctic Queens were formed. These clones that looked like inverted images of the original held weapons in their hands, going on the offensive against him.
*Ting!* Soul force condensed to form a blood-red cross blade in Leylin's hands.
Leylin quickly took a step forward, the cross blade blocking large numbers of icy blades that produced dazzling rays of light.
"Cross Slash!" A cross-shaped light flashed, and tens of paper dolls turned into fragments that filled the skies.
"It's of no use. This is my spiritual world! No number of deaths will cause any exhaustion to me. How long do you think your soul force can last you?" The doll accompanying this icy voice was torn to shreds, but it then reformed into the Arctic Queen once more.
"Stop resisting when it doesn't even matter. Together, we can—"
*Schlick!* Before the Arctic Queen could finish her words, her head was chopped off.
The flat head that was like a piece of paper fell to the ground, and continued to chatter on, "Your only choice is to serve me! Hand over your soul source and become my servant. This way, I might even let you off!"
*Rumble!* Red flames flashed and burnt the paper into ashes.
There was a cold smirk on Leylin's face. "I'd be a fool to listen to your commands!"
"Kill him!" As if the Arctic Queen had been enraged, large numbers of two-dimensional paper clones pounced on him.
"Cross Slash!" Leylin's expression was cool as he launched attack after attack, sending fragmented paper flying into the skies, filling it like butterflies. They even covered Leylin's clothes, his weapon, and his hair.
"I told you, you can't escape!" The paper on Leylin's body became as heavy as lead, a few pieces joining to form the face of the Arctic Queen.
Leylin's body grew sluggish as a blade swiped at his chest. The fine Kemoyin's Scales unexpectedly could not hinder the blade at all, and a wound opened up on his chest, blood spurting out.
"I told you this is my mental world. Even if your defences are extremely powerful in the external world, I am the ruler here!" The paper doll standing in front of Leylin spoke slowly.
"Is that so?" Leylin's face was pale, his body in the external world evidently receiving a real injury.
"If it's true, wouldn't you have killed me long ago? Why would you still be here spouting so much nonsense?"
"Nonsense?" The Arctic Queen's brows lifted and raised her arms. Leylin had no idea which part of his speech had irritated her.
The number of illusory figures increased greatly, and in practically an instant the area was completely filled with paper dolls of various colours.
"Since you wish to die, let me fulfil your wish!" Countless Arctic Queens pounced forth.
At this moment, however, a slight smile appeared about Leylin's lips. "Found it!"
He suddenly moved forward, soul force undulating at his body and gathering on the cross blade, resulting in rays of flaming light that seemed endless.
"Cross Slash!" The gleaming cross blade sliced at a point in the sky.
*Crack! Crack!* It was like a mirror being shattered, and numerous shivering, spotted lights that resembled tadpoles appeared behind it.
"No! Impossible! How did you find out?" The Arctic Queen's voice became high-pitched and piercing.
"Haha…" Leylin laughed maniacally, ignoring the fury of the Arctic Queen behind him and rushed headfirst into the sea of tadpoles.
"A.I. Chip! Begin destruction based on the previous plan…" Countless black threads appeared in Leylin's hands and quickly dispersed. Even more mirrors shattered.
*Bang!* A slight tremor was produced by Leylin's body, and his eyes instantly focused. He glanced at the icy castle and purple swamp as well as the cut on his chest and sighed, "I'm finally out!"
*Chi chi…* At this moment, a furious, high-pitched sound was emitted from under the castle.
"The opponent's illusory spells are too powerful. I need to leave for now!" Just now, Leylin had lucked out. Depending on the A.I. Chip's ability to find the gaps in the illusion, he'd managed to escape. The next time, the situation would be different. Even if he could find the gaps again, successfully breaking through them was still an issue.
Leylin's eyes flashed as he moved a long distance away in an instant.
-x-X-x-
The central region of the icy plains, outside the castle.
Dazzling blue pillars emitted bright light, the most radiant of landmarks.
Groups of icy race clansmen and even beasts were attracted by the blue rays of light. The appeal was so strong that anyone who barred their paths was considered an enemy to be attacked.
Leylin thought the pillars were like terrifying large-scale summoning spell formations. Anyone that possessed a bloodline related to ice and had grown up here could not resist the allure.
Currently in front of him was a strange group. Savage icy beasts mingled with snow fairies and other intelligent beings, the only thing they had in common the desire and fervour in their eyes. They crossed land and water, heading in the direction of the palace as if on a pilgrimage.
Leylin had seen this many times already. After the illusory fight at the icy castle, the Arctic Queen had not moved to chase him, evidently being limited somehow. Instead, the range of her spell formation extended further, encompassing the entire world of ice. Icy beings flooded into the area day after day, nourishing their Queen.
Leylin obviously would not just watch on. Looking apathetic, he pressed down with his right arm.
*Rumble!* A gigantic palmprint appeared on the surface that was formed of solid ice. The snow fairies, ice leopards, and other creatures all turned to powder.
Having taken care of this, Leylin's brows furrowed as he hurried in another direction in which an even larger group had formed.
How populous was the world of ice? Even if Leylin did all he could to intercept them, many still managed to break through, turning into powder at the icy castle.
"Such absolute control… It's a tragedy for the other races." Watching the scene, Leylin sighed a little. It was obvious that the bloodlines of the various races in this world of ice had originated from the Arctic Queen, so when she decided to take them back, they could not resist at all.
The same situation would apply with the Snake Dowager. With her might and bloodline control, Leylin would probably be unable to rebel even if he was ordered to die. This was also what Leylin was trying his utmost to avoid.
'It looks like the Arctic Queen has some sort of restriction on her body, which was why she had to groom Arwen. She also had to groom the many races in this world of ice, and use regular blood sacrifices to obtain strength, life force, and…'
Lights flashed in Leylin's eyes. 'The previous incident obviously enraged her. She actually summoned all the races in this miniature Icy World to their sacrificial deaths! Her aura is strengthening every day…'
At this thought, Leylin produced a few test tubes and flicked them out with his fingers.
Streaks of purple splashed on the backs of a few gigantic rank 3 beasts, forming strange runes that sank in. Noticing Leylin wasn't blocking them anymore, they roared as they pressed forward towards the castle of ice.
Leylin frowned and arrived at a temporary dwelling. He'd been doing such a thing every day, but could not determine the efficacy of such an act.
"A.I. Chip, how's the simulation of the soul defence coming along?"
[Beep! Soul defence spell pattern deduction at 97.6%!] The A.I. Chip loyally intoned. It projected a faint phantom of a spell model that was almost complete.
[Rank 4 spell— Soul Guard! Summing up the bloodline models of the Spirit Warlocks, the information from the database on the soul has been used to deduce a spell to defend against soul invasions. Referenced material: 'Way of the Soul', 'A Primer on Spell Models'...]
There was a detailed introduction under this model, including the referenced materials which made up a long list.
Leylin wanted to deal with the Arctic Queen's invasion into his soul. That she could actually break through his point mass to drag his truesoul into an illusion had horrified him.
The moment a Morning Star Magus' truesoul lost the protection of their point mass, it was extremely fragile. He had been lucky enough to escape the last time, or else with the opponent's ability at connecting her illusions with reality, he would have died in the real world if he died in the illusion. This was why he'd had the A.I. Chip simulate a spell model urgently to protect his soul.
With the opponent not able to move freely, Leylin had a good opportunity. However, with the terrifying summoning currently underway and the vast region within which she could absorb life force, Leylin had no choice but to plan his move quickly.
He had considered using his Morning Star Arcane Art to destroy the castle, but he had no idea where the bloodline and remains of the Scorpion Man were. Furthermore, even the Giant Kemoyin Serpent would be restricted by the opponent's main body, and wouldn't be able to destroy the place in a single move.
An ancient bloodline creature's usage of soul force could not compare to that of a Morning Star Magus, and they were particularly vulnerable to such attacks.
"Based on the current progress, it should be completed by tomorrow!" Leylin's eyes glowed with intelligence.
A normal Morning Star Magus would have to spend decades, even centuries, to deduce a rank 4 spell. This was especially true for one that dealt with the mysteries of the soul, and it would take even more time. With the A.I. Chip, it was merely a matter of how much processing power was allocated to the task. Once the model was done, it could directly be transmitted to Leylin's memory, and even the process of familiarising himself with it could be done away with, saving him much time.
...
A day later, above the castle of ice.
Creatures and other beings with bloodlines related to ice would approach this place with a dazed look in their eyes, turning to powder at the place.
The region of the energy absorption had grown several fold, and even the purple swamp had been weakened.
"It looks like the Arctic Queen's been working hard!" Blue light shone from Leylin's eyes, and an energy beam struck down, opening up a pathway.
Through continued observation and calculations, he'd long since learnt the details of this method of absorption. Finding an energy node based on the distribution was a simple task.
"Rank 4 spell— Soul Guard!" A green lustre appeared in Leylin's eyes, spreading throughout his body.
Fine runic chains formed in his sea of consciousness, yielding an even tighter defensive layer around the point mass.
Footsteps sounded in the pathway that had been created by the explosion. What was formerly only a basement currently had a number of roads and spaces below it.
The surface was full of solid ice, forming intricate patterns and images on the top.
Leylin took in a deep breath and stepped into the basement, "Arctic Queen, I'm here!"
The path was long, and light was sparse, only some feeble jade-green light leaking from the walls on both sides.
The terrifying icy radiation even affected spacetime here, causing Leylin to feel a sense of disorder.
A dense smell of rust spread throughout the channel as a multicolour light spread from the end. It was piercing to the eyes.
"Do not… come…" "Sinner…"
Deformed sounds were intermittently transmitted to Leylin's ears, the contents only faintly discernible. The soul force of the Arctic Queen spread out, attempting to break through Leylin's point mass and pull his truesoul into another illusion.
Prepared as he was, the green rays grew brighter on the surface of Leylin's body, creating an illusory layer that began to tremble vigorously.
Large amounts of soul force were consumed as Leylin persevered under the Arctic Queen's relentless attack on his soul.
[Soul invasion detected. Soul Guard has been engaged to resist. Beginning automatic adjustment of defensive structure.] The A.I. Chip's voice sounded continuously. With its precise calculations, Leylin's soul force consumption was suddenly reduced. The external layer of green light somewhat stabilised.
"You will regret it!" "You will regret it!"
As she noticed that she was unable to break through Leylin's defences, the Arctic Queen's voice became piercing and seemed to hold within a poisonous curse. It then disappeared.
"I will only truly feel regret if I don't get what I want!" Leylin sneered, eyes full of an intense resolution as he stepped onto the unknown path ahead.
*Boom!* Large amounts of solid ice turned into powder, the jade-green runes breaking apart and then revealing the exit.
"You even needed Arwen to help you set up the defensive spell pattern! Seems like your body can't move at all!" Leylin sighed as he walked out. After leaving the pathway, everything suddenly seemed spacious.
Leylin surveyed his surroundings. This seemed to be a natural underground cave. At the top was a tremendous slanting passageway. Deep imprints could be seen in it.
At the heart of the cave was a large depression, rays of jade light flickering within like fine threads that formed an enormous network.
Terrifying radiations were being emitted from within the depression, so dense they were practically tangible.
Leylin advanced grimly, finding a terrifying corpse at the centre of the depression. It was emitting Morning Star ranked energy undulations.
This was the real aura of an ancient bloodline; deep and lofty, bringing with it a sense of history that was filled with grandeur.
Arwen seemed like a mere inferior product in comparison to the giant corpse in front of him, full of flaws.
"We meet again, Scorpion Man!"
Leylin could not help but recall the ancient memory fragments that he had acquired from the Icy Jade Scorpion Emperor's bloodline. Those fragmented pieces of information had originated from the Morning Star creature before him.
Leylin glanced at the depression and then the trail at the top, a scene appearing in his mind. The void had shattered, and Scorpion Man had dropped into the crust of the earth like a meteor, forming a tremendous depression. The radiation from his body had altered the area, forming the world of ice, and the being that succeeded him had built the icy castle above the depression!
-x-X-x-
"This is the source, the source of everything!" Leylin sighed. If not for the Scorpion Man dying here while carrying the bloodline of the female bronze giant, the entire world of ice would not have been formed. Hence, it wasn't too much of a stretch to call him this world's progenitor.
Leylin's body floated up to the place and slowly descended, arriving at the floor of the hollowed-out area. After seeing the Scorpion Man in full view, his pupils suddenly narrowed.
In front of him was reclined the corpse of an enormous creature, half human half scorpion. Streaks of icy blue connected to the Scorpion Man through his skin like a spider web, injecting great amounts of life force and icy energy into him.
And on the back of the Scorpion Man, strange green blood wriggled as if it had a life of its own. It even covered the Scorpion Man's entire back, spreading in all directions.
Green veins bulged all over the Scorpion Man's body, writhing around. They were like lifeless pupils, full of eeriness.
The corrosion of the green blood and blood vessels had slightly transformed the Scorpion Man's appearance.
Compared to the body in Leylin's memory, the Scorpion Man's now seemed thinner. Even its face had become more exquisite, appearing more feminine. Female characteristics were showing on its upper body as well.
"Oh, no no no! This isn't a corpse!" Leylin was astonished. Only after drawing close had he realised that the Scorpion Man had a weak breath, his chest slowly throbbing.
However, the small waves of life force seemed incomparably small when paired with the huge body, so small in fact that Leylin had neglected them at the start.
"This Scorpion Man is actually alive!" Leylin stumbled a few steps back. At the same time, the Scorpion Man suddenly opened his eyes.
"You're here!" A familiar soul force wave began to attack Leylin's defences.
"You're not the Scorpion Man! You're the Arctic Queen… No, you're the guardian of the Icy World, the female bronze giant!" Leylin blurted out. Dense black scales covered his entire body, and a few test tubes containing potions exploded out, forming a huge screen of light. His earring was activated, in standby to attack.
Even as he was currently, Leylin did not dare to take the risk of facing an ancient creature that comprehended laws. Although he had made a rough guess before, the truth coming out still dazed him slightly.
As he saw this scene, all the events flashed across Leylin's mind rapidly, and he managed to establish a picture of what had happened quite quickly. The Snake Dowager had attacked the Icy World, and the female bronze giant had died during the war. A drop of her blood fell on the Scorpion Man's body as he fell into a spatial crack, accompanying him as he arrived here by chance. The Scorpion Man had died on the spot, but the green blood on his back had survived!
The female bronze giant was a terrifying creature that had crossed rank 7! She could even control certain laws and can reborn from a single drop of blood!
Her bloodline inherited a part of her spiritual imprint. On top of that, even if the Scorpion Man's Morning Star strength faded, his body retained its vitality. The drop of such an ancient bloodline could obtain a new life here after separating from the main body.
Yet, it was incomparably difficult to be reborn from a single drop of blood. Hence, it acted like a virus, seeking life to live off of, attempting to infect another party and transform it as required.
And in Twilight Zone, was there any creature more suitable for this than the Scorpion Man? Without considering other factors, the mere problem of distance was enough to make a decision!
Thus, the giant's bloodline began living off the Scorpion Man's corpse, even transforming it. This led to the emergence of female characteristics in his appearance.
Such transformations not only required a large amount of time, but also a terrifying amount of life energy.
Hence, the imprint of the giant formed a miniature Icy World through icy radiation, even producing life in this world of ice!
Soon after, she used a portion of the Scorpion Man's flesh to create a guardian for herself, Arwen. A guardian at the Morning Star realm was enough to suppress anything else in Twilight Zone.
Hence, the giant hid behind the scenes while Arwen took charge of all the matters on the surface, regularly gathering icy creatures as blood sacrifices. This was to strengthen the Scorpion Man's life energy, so as to nourish the giant's blood.
Initially, all of this was close to success. Once the transformation was successful, the giant would be reborn from the Scorpion Man's body and become a new life. That is, it would have if Leylin hadn't appeared.
However, there are no ifs in life. Leylin's appearance, and especially Arwen's death, left the giant with no choice but to come forth personally and hasten the collection of flesh and life energy until this point.
The Scorpion Man stared at Leylin and a calm soul force was transmitted from his body. "No! I am only a part of the giant. The current me is a combination of a synthesised memory imprint and this Scorpion Man's body! Thus, I am indeed the Arctic Queen!"
Upon hearing that, Leylin heaved a deep sigh of relief. Even if the opponent had the blood of a creature that controlled laws, its body was still not done with the transformation. It could not be considered a full resurrection yet, only a bloodline imprint struggling at death's door.
Hence, the current Scorpion Man could not move at all. Even speaking needed to be accomplished through soul force, never mind anything else.
"If it's like that, I still have a chance!" A brilliant glow burst forth from Leylin's eyes.
Even if the Scorpion Man was done with its body's transformation, it would only be a peak rank 4 at most, and by relying on the bloodline's strength be comparable to a rank 5 Radiant Moon Magus. However, Leylin had many cards in his hands and could still put up a fight. The opponent's inability to move even gave him an advantage.
"Scorpion Man? This is the creature's name?" Leylin asked.
"Yes! But I don't like this appearance and need to modify him to draw him closer towards a Scorpion Woman. After all, the Scorpion Woman's illusory ability is well known in the entire Icy World. Coincidentally, this innate skill matches with my bloodline as well. It's just that this process and the reincarnation both require a lot of time…"
The Arctic Queen began answering Leylin like she was obliged to, as if she had suddenly become a different person.
"No wonder…" Leylin nodded but his pupils reflected a mocking look.
With a bang, the ground shook and something that seemed like a blue root emerged. Branches and leaves merged with the blue antennae on the Scorpion Man's body, forming a cage which sealed Leylin in it.
Snow white fog emerged from the Scorpion Man's pores continuously, merging with the blue antennae and even forming a natural frosty rune on the surface.
"But luckily you're here! With a human Morning Star's flesh, by using Wor's Sacrificial Rites to offer your point mass to the Ice Sovereign, I believe I can speed up the transformation process, even take it till completion!"
The Arctic Queen's voice was cold, "Since you've killed Arwen, use your flesh to pay back your debt!"
A blood-red light blade emerged on Leylin's palms, slashing the cage suddenly and causing a piercing boom.
Many snow white runes flickered, even forming a layer of hard blue ice. It froze the blade on the cage, and many more blue arms stretched towards Leylin.
"A 700 degree attack is also ineffective?"
Leylin dodged and retreated, analysing the runes on the cage, "Mere energy loops cannot have such an effect, could it be these runes?"
"Frost confinement runes from the ancient Icy World, with a record of imprisoning even Radiant Moon Magi! If you won't believe that, you can try it for yourself!" The Arctic Queen began laughing hysterically, "Did you think that I won't have the strength to strike back because I cannot move? I've said this before, you'll definitely regret coming in!"
Leylin was not bothered by her piercing laughter, instead minding his own business as he came to the edge of the cage. "A.I. Chip, conduct a scan."
[Beep! Ancient frost confinement runes discovered. Effect: Enhances the firmness of the attached item by 5 levels, and frost resistance by 7. Provides reflective abilities to ice. Estimated strength: 890-1120] the A.I. Chip quickly responded.
"I'm afraid, with such a level, I could only escape from this place by attacking a few times with full strength, using Kemoyin Serpent Transformation," Leylin sighed, "Only, is there a need to?"
He stretched out both his hands, revealing a purple radiance. The moment this purple radiance came into contact with the cage, something bizarre happened. Black spots began spreading across the cage, unstoppable even by the ancient confinement runes.
The entire cage was like an old wooden frame. It began to corrode rapidly, and thousands of holes appeared on it.
Leylin only exerted a slight force with his hands, and a huge hole opened up in the cage. He then walked out.
"Impossible!" The Arctic Queen's piercing laughter immediately stopped.
"Nothing's impossible! You 'analysed' my potion in detail, even removing the poison, but how can a potion I created be so easy to defeat?" Leylin laughed as a purple rune on his fingertip flickered irregularly.
As if this rune triggered some sort of chain reaction, large amounts of purple dots appeared on the Scorpion Man's body, even sealing off the blood on his back.
Through his previous setup at the castle of ice and the trick he'd played on the icy creatures, Leylin had turned the tables in an instant, gaining the power to take the initiative.
"Hmph! Mere poison!" The Arctic Queen hummed coldly.
"I know. A bit of poison won't affect an ancient Morning Star creature, unable to even last a few minutes. However, I only need a few minutes anyway…" Leylin averted his gaze from the Scorpion Man, watching the green blood on his back.
"You still don't know right? I'm actually a Warlock, even a bloodline descendant of the Snake Dowager that caused your death! And for us Warlocks, separating blood and purifying genes are the simplest things ever…"
-x-X-x-
Leylin's voice held no enthusiasm as he mercilessly released thread-like rays of crimson light that pierced into the Scorpion Man's back. The green blood began to squirm as if it had just seen its worst enemy.
Unfortunately, it was not just the blood of the female bronze giant that was affected by the poison. Even the voice of the Arctic Queen was turning sluggish.
Leylin paid no attention to the fervent pleas and offers of the Arctic Queen, instead focussing on refining the bloodline in his hands.
With his manipulations, the green blood from the Scorpion Man's back was slowly extracted, veins showing themselves one after the other.
"Ahhh! The Snake Dowager… The Snake Dowager again." The Arctic Queen's voice calmed. "Even if I'll die right away and be damned for eternity, I won't let the Snake Dowager prevail!"
The green blood began to boil and rumble, bursting into verdant flames.
'Hmm? The toxins were removed ahead of time… As expected, the vitality of an ancient Morning Star creature is more powerful than that of one from the present. The potion's been counteracted…' 'Leylin's brows furrowed, but he did not do anything to indicate he would give up.
It was way too rare to acquire the chance to refine the bloodline of an ancient creature, especially one that could comprehend laws. Such a thing was almost never seen! Obviously, Leylin didn't want to give up just like this.
*Hss!* A large phantom snake appeared, and space immediately froze. Great power burst forth from Leylin's body, locking onto the Scorpion Man and the blood.
"Plan B then," Leylin's voice was cold, his eyes without any emotion.
Great amounts of blood-coloured threads dug into the Scorpion Man's back, forming forbidden runes after mixing with the poison. It caused the Arctic Queen's movements to grow even more sluggish.
"Give up! I know everything already, and have come up with a method specifically to deal with you!" Leylin's voice held no sympathy, he spoke the truth.
After a period of external observation, he'd run over ten thousand simulations with the A.I. Chip, preparing many contingency plans for this trip underground. He'd predicted this situation already, and prepared specific countermeasures against it.
Leylin had stored tens of spell patterns to seal ancient bloodline in the A.I. Chip's database.
The Arctic Queen could not move about freely and had not finished her resurrection. In front of Leylin who had made meticulous preparations, her various attacks were destroyed in practically a single blow.
Her cries had transformed into mournful wails. Even her sorrowful cries grew softer and softer. Her soul was being suppressed and weakened.
"If your main body was around, you'd definitely be able to crush me like an ant, but it's a pity that you're only a droplet of her blood. You haven't even revived yourself completely…" Leylin spoke calmly, eyes flashing with a peculiar light.
There was no reply as the soul force from the other side died down, and then began to weaken at a terrifying rate. Large amounts of green blood withdrew and returned to the back of the Scorpion Man, and the green blood vessels rejoined with the blood.
Green blood mixed together, decreasing in volume yet becoming brighter and more vibrant. It emitted a dark, bronze light.
'What's going on? Has she really given up?' Suspicion flickered in Leylin's mind. He put his guard up, but still retained the same front.
With the Arctic Queen's movements, the green blood that had been spread out gathered to form a single droplet of resplendent bronze blood.
"The original blood of the Icy World's Guardian?" Leylin's eyes grew dazed, his voice full of emotion.
This was the blood of an existence that controlled laws, an existence with rank 7 strength at the very least! It even held the imprint of its original owner, able to revive the being from this single drop.
The effects of Leylin's purification began to show themselves as the blood condensed on the Scorpion Man's body.
"Yield!" Leylin took out a notebook with a slightly yellow cover. He opened it up to reveal a slight lustre from the title page. At the centre of the page was a round sealing spell formation.
"Bloodline Sealing Tome? No!" The Arctic Queen's originally feeble energy undulations suddenly reverberated once more, her voice distorting, becoming androgynous as it turned hoarse.
"The Snake Dowager and her blood, the Icy World shall forever be your enemy!" Her voice became masculine, awakening some sort of ancient memories and sending a malicious curse Leylin's way.
"As the bronze empress, the Guardian of the Icy World, I offer a sacrifice... skmgkl..." Leylin did not recognize who exactly she was making a sacrifice to.
"You may have had the upper hand today, but you could never have thought of laws! That is a strength that surpasses your understanding…"
"I offer up all the laws I possess. Strength of skmgkl, descend!"
The dark green flames crackled as their strength grew tenfold, and even the tremendous Morning Star body of the Scorpion man was eaten into rapidly.
Large amounts of runic chains cracked, and the poison withdrew. Even Leylin's bloodline extraction spell was forcefully interrupted.
"This is… the power of laws? Unthinkable! It's only a single drop of blood…" Leylin's face grew pale, suffering the backlash from a spell being interrupted.
However, he did not have the time to think further. That droplet of blood which contained laws had already been offered. After breaking the seal, it turned into a shooting star as it charged towards Leylin.
The energy defences shattered layer by layer as the blood advanced, unimpeded even by the Kemoyin Scales and the Scarlet Earring.
The blood slammed into Leylin's chest, splattering all across his body. One could hear the hissing as it corroded him away.
White fumes shot up as the Kemoyin Scales on Leylin's chest fell apart visibly, piece by piece. A pool of green liquid had latched onto his chest, burning into it.
The Kemoyin Scales softened and fell off one after another with no end in sight, revealing charred flesh and bones.
[Beep! Host's chest has severe burns. Immediate treatment recommended.]
[Beep! Detected corrosion of host by unknown energy. Expulsion procedures recommended] the A.I. Chip reported immediately.
"I've burned the power of the laws in my body as well as the remains of the Scorpion Man. The result is an explosive force that can kill even Radiant Moons…
"Let us be buried together in the ice and snow, you who contain the bloodline of the Snake Dowager!" The Arctic Queen's voice grew lower and lower as it eventually disappeared.
The terrifying green blood had spread from his torso to his limbs, verdant blood vessels crawling over Leylin's face. It caused him to look sinister and horrifying.
[Beep! Warning! Warning! Life and soul force of host is being consumed at a heavy rate. Immediate action required. Time until collapse of genes: 34s…]
The prompt box that the A.I. Chip ejected had a very dense blood-red colour in the frame, displaying the danger of the situation. If he was not careful, he could lose his life.
"It's finally reached this point…"
Though half of Leylin's body was being corroded by the green blood as he laid on the ground, there was no trace of dismay on his ice-cold face. Instead, it seemed as if a scheme of his had succeeded.
"With 3410 possible scenarios as well as 982 sudden occurrences, the opponent chose the method of mutual destruction. Not like that was a surprise…"
Even with preparations, the corrosion from the bloodline of a creature that comprehended laws caused Leylin to cough violently, large amounts of fresh blood seeping through his fingers.
*Hss…* Behind him, the tremendous figure of a Giant Kemoyin Serpent came into view once more. Now, however, its energy was unstable. Tinted dark green, were burning on the body of the giant serpent.
It was not just the figure behind him. Leylin felt even the Giant Kemoyin bloodline in his body being eaten into; expelled and even destroyed!
"Bloodline Ignition!" Blood-red light surged from Leylin's eyes as the purple blood of the Kemoyin Serpent was enriched several fold which was now filled with insanity and fury.
A large amount of his own blood bubbled up, purple confronting green.
Leylin rolled to his side and got up. Though using Bloodline Ignition to fight was like fixing thirst by drinking poison, he now had control over his own body again, albeit temporarily.
"The A.I. Chip has already simulated this several times, and the rate of success is as high as at 90%!" Leylin clenched his fists tightly. "A 90% chance is enough for me to take the risk!"
A resolute look appeared on Leylin's face. "If I can't climb to the top in this lifetime, I would rather die and rot as sludge!
"Sun's Child imprint!"
He abruptly took off the white glove on his right hand, the golden-red bloodline imprint emitting dazzling light.
[Activating plan 'Thoroughfare'. Support and trajectory activated!] The A.I. Chip intoned.
An enormous blazing light spread in this underground world, as if a sun had risen within.
Everywhere the flaming light, be it soil, rocks, or spells of ice, everything was vapourised immediately, causing the underground cave to expand rapidly.
The beings still in the world of ice could see a tremendous sun rising from the castle, imparting heat and light to this underground world. The ever-unchanging ice began to melt, mountains collapsing as doomsday seemed to have arrived.
Ice melted into flowing water, which quickly evaporated itself. The white vapour spread everywhere, turning into a layer of fog in the surroundings. Quickly, the original dark brown soil was revealed once more.
The range of this heat continued to expand, as if ready to transform the entire world of ice.