Before heading off to learn the technique of the Calamity Thunder Tyrants body… Damn, it feels less like Im in a world of magic and more like Ive dropped into a xianxia novel. Anyway, I made three more trips to rob the parallel city of Bo.
After that, I bought a spatial ring and stuffed it to the brim with lightning-attribute resources: processed lightning stones, raw ores, various magical herbs, and monster bones. I took everything I could get my hands on, so long as it was tied to lightning. Theyd serve as a gift for my future master or as materials to practice the technique.
Also, since I was traveling to ancient times, I decided to dress the part. In a vintage clothing shop, I picked out an outfit resembling Raiden from Mortal Kombat as I remembered him-minus the iconic hat and leaving the neck open.
Fully prepared, I shifted to the parallel world using the coordinates I knew. In the distance rose the Kunlun Mountains, the sanctuary of a Quasi-Emperor level entity.
A creature like that could single-handedly wipe out all of humanity if it felt like it. It was a good thing humans didn't interest it. The Kunlun Mountains were also fascinating because all Chinese Totems were born there. It was terrifying to imagine just how many Emperors dwelt within that range.
Trying to brush off thoughts of the giant, unbeatable boogeyman, I surveyed my surroundings. Not far from me, nestled within a forest, stood a dilapidated complex of buildings in the ancient Chinese style.
If my spiritual magic hadn't picked up a powerful, unmistakably human soul, I would have assumed I had arrived too late and that the sect had already ceased to exist.
As I advanced toward the complex, I felt the soul slowly moving out to meet me. They had clearly sensed my approach.
A minute later, we came into each other's line of sight. While the other party was sizing me up, I took the opportunity to examine him.
Standing before me was a slightly stooped, thin old man with long thin moustaches and gray hair styled so rigidly with lacquered stiffness that it stuck straight up like grass. He wore a traditional martial artists uniform dominated by shades of purple, his hands tucked neatly into his sleeves.
His aura, however… He was clearly a Super-tier mage, perhaps at the peak, or even at the Half-Forbidden level. At this point in time, that was the absolute ceiling for a human, seeing as the method to break through to the Forbidden level hadn't been invented yet.
Whats more, his physical frame radiated pressure like that of a monster! The only other time I had felt something similar was from the demonized Mo Fan in Xi'an, and that was the level of a Commander, even if a weak one. The old man was formidable.
«Greetings, Elder,» I said, folding my hands and giving a respectful bow from a junior to a senior. «Is this where the body-refining technique is taught?»
The old man stroked his smooth chin.
«It used to be,» he replied in a melancholy tone, falling silent as he stared at me.
«And now?» I asked, playing along since he was clearly fishing for the question.
«Now it is not.» He cast his eyes over the dilapidated buildings and offered the same doleful response.
«Perhaps you would consider taking one last disciple?» I drew the gathered resources from my spatial ring, placed them down, and stepped back slightly with another bow. «I have brought suitable offerings.»
The old man looked at my gifts with genuine surprise. No wonder-altogether, they were worth over 400 million Yuan, equivalent to an average Soul Seed. Even a Super-tier mage wouldn't turn down such a gesture; if he didn't use the materials himself, he could sell or trade them.
«Why do you want this?» the old man asked, his voice coming alive. «I see you are familiar with magical item crafting,» he added, nodding toward my spatial ring. «Why bring me such riches in exchange for a technique that will most likely kill you? Why not simply buy a good set of armor?»
«I possess an innate magic that allows me to increase my physical speed.» I applied a two-fold time acceleration to myself and sprinted across the courtyard in a quick burst. «I reasoned that if my body were stronger, I could better capitalize on this advantage. Besides, at higher levels, sourcing suitable armor artifacts becomes exceedingly difficult.» It was almost the complete truth.
«Hmm, a unique magic…» The old man rubbed his chin again. «The technique would indeed suit you well and complement your combat style. And these resources would certainly come in handy; I could leave a fine inheritance for my grandson. Very well, follow me. But mark my words: if you die from using the technique, do not come haunting me as a vengeful spirit. I will disperse your soul without a chance at an afterlife.»
He turned on his heel and walked toward the most intact building on the grounds.
«Master!» I caught up with him. «Tell me… with this technique, will I be able to… well… permanently enlarge a specific part of my body? A hand, for instance?»
Judging by the twitch in his eye, his resolve to teach me suffered a noticeable blow.
***
Sitting on the wooden floor inside one of the small houses, I digested the essence of the body-refinement technique. As Master Mo Shu explained, it was essentially a method of stimulating one's lineage, analogous to the evolution of monsters.
The soul of a mage at the Novice level, for instance, corresponds to the Servant class, but their physical body does not. Through this lightning-tempering method, a human can unlock the latent potential of their bloodline. However, a human's innate potential is quite limited.
With maximum refinement at the Novice level, one could at best reach the strength of a minor Servant. At the Intermediate level, a minor Warrior. At the Advanced level, a sub-Commander. And at the Super level, a sub-Monarch. Humanity in this era was not yet aware of the Forbidden tier, but I conjectured that it might be possible to reach the physical strength of a pseudo-Emperor.
Naturally, this came with the caveat that evolving monsters grow significantly in physical size, giving their blows extra impact due to sheer mass. Yet, in terms of agility at least, a human would hold the advantage thanks to a smaller frame.
Master Mo Shu also spoke about the techniques limitations and the reason for its alarmingly high mortality rate.
First, the limitation-there was only one: you could not be a Lightning mage. Paradoxically, the body of a Lightning element user, especially one who had absorbed an elemental seed, was extraordinarily resistant to its own element.
Just look at Mo Fan in the original timeline, who bathed in lava and survived. Granted, his demonization element had reinforced his body as insurance, but he only had a Spiritual Seed back then. Mages who absorbed a Soul-grade Fire Seed could comfortably swim in lava.
It followed that a Lightning mage's body could not be tempered by the Calamity Thunder Tyrant technique; it would simply build up an immunity to the element, preventing any lineage stimulation from taking place.
Now, regarding the mortality rate: for a non-Lightning mage, allowing lightning energy into one's body was pure suicide. Even with a technique refined and improved over nearly two hundred years, the mortality rate had only dropped to eighty-five percent. That was still absurdly high, driving away almost everyone who sought to learn it.
The core issue was that a non-Lightning mage couldn't manipulate the elemental lightning energy drawn into their body from the resources, meaning they couldn't guide it along the path prescribed by the technique.
Even having Lightning mages assist in mastering the technique yielded little success, as they couldn't precisely feel the internal state of the person into whom they were pouring aggressive magic. Consequently, only the absolute luckiest survived, and even then, not without severe side effects.
During the initial stages of mastery and during breakthroughs between tiers, the magical lightning energy would tear through the user's body, leaving the survivors with horrific scars. Master Mo Shu demonstrated this by displaying his arms, which had been hidden inside his sleeves-a ghastly sight.
It was obvious why the technique had been gradually abandoned given such death rates and bodily harm.
After imparting all the information regarding the technique, Master Mo Shu even offered to return half of the resources I had given him, but I declined. I already had an idea of how to eliminate the side effects, and I shared it with him.
After considering it and scratching the back of his head, the master admitted that my method might work, though he considered it hardly feasible.
What had I proposed? Recalling how Mo Fans Flame Belle could possess human bodies and grant them control over the fire element, I suggested forming a contract with an elemental lightning creature.
Elemental beings possess exquisite mastery over their element. If one were made a contracted beast, possessing the user's body would allow the creature to guide the practice smoothly, eliminating the side effects-except for the pain, of course. Pain was unavoidable, given that we were forcefully expanding the bodys bloodline potential.
The reason the method was barely feasible was that elemental creatures were rare beasts, and lightning-element ones were rarer still. Finding one was a monumental task in itself, let alone coaxing it into a contract.
With that, Master Mo Shu and I parted ways. I told him that my second element was Summoning and that I would embark on a journey to find a lightning elemental creature. He wished me luck, visibly relieved that I wasn't planning to commit suicide in front of him during my practice.
And so I returned to my world, though not before sharing a legend with the old man about how to break through to the tier beyond Super.
Or rather, I passed off the knowledge of how to reach the Forbidden level as a legend. If he managed it, consider it my expression of gratitude. Such a powerful technique was well worth the information. Besides, I already knew exactly how to acquire a lightning elemental creature.