Thalion appeared in a grand chamber with a magic circle etched into the ground, resembling the previous one with the three pearls. Before arriving, he had transferred Rylak’s soul into the amulet, leaving it behind on the bed to retrieve later. Five muscular men stood near the circle, awaiting him.

“When you are ready, step into the circle,” one of the men said in a calm tone, his eyes fixed on Thalion.

Thalion walked forward confidently and stood in the center of the circle. He was certain the ritual would succeed. He had spent countless hours refining his soul, leaving no room for doubt—he was ready for the final ritual and this magic circle would hopefully confirm it.

The five men teleported to evenly spaced positions around the circle, their movements precise and synchronized. They raised their hands in unison, and an overwhelming surge of power flooded the circle. The runes glowed so brightly that Thalion raised his arms to shield his eyes from the intense light.

He stood still for several minutes until the brightness subsided.

“Have I passed?” Thalion wondered, feeling a twinge of doubt, as nothing seemed to have happened.

“Yes, you are now eligible to participate in the union ritual,” one of the men said as he stepped forward, his voice steady and firm.

Relief and excitement washed over Thalion. Now he had time to prepare further, with one pressing matter at hand. Rylak had been urging him to explore body-tempering with the mountain, something they had discussed but never fully pursued.

Thalion summoned his personal servant to teleport him to the mountain after returning Rylak’s soul to his body. The process was simple, which was fortunate as Thalion was no master of soul magic. He broke one of the runes on the amulet, pressed it close to his chest, and the soul, having no other escape route, returned to Rylak’s body.

“Man, that was eerie—felt like I was locked in a cold cell. Can we do the body-tempering now?” Rylak’s voice echoed in Thalion’s mind, slightly strained.

If the mountain could strengthen his body, it was worth the effort. Rylak had no other way to enhance his physical form due to the unique nature of his blood magic, which was not available to him. He probably had to do a lot of classes and hope that they didn’t test his soul again.

“Yeah, we can do it now. But after that, I want some time in the library,” Thalion replied after some thought. He was intrigued by the evolution of plants and thought of gardening as a potential side pursuit. He imagined himself tending to a vast, shadowed garden—an ideal environment for nurturing a rare darkness elemental.

Though rare, darkness and light elementals were among the most potent, albeit difficult to create. He wondered what the umbral predator would be able to do after having a rare elemental in his body. Mabye fly, long range attack, maybe even some powerful domain skills.

Their servant teleported them to the golden mountain, maybe identical to the one where Thalion had previously been stuck. Almost immediately, a trainer appeared. The man resembled a dwarf with a bodybuilder’s physique.

“Do you require assistance?” the dwarf asked, bowing politely.

“Yes… but why are we doing this?” Thalion blurted out, curiosity overcoming his composure.

“The great mountain will mold your body and soul under immense pressure. Your bones will harden, your muscles will grow, and your skin will toughen significantly,” the dwarf explained, beaming with pride.

“We need to make this a daily practice,” Rylak’s voice insisted.

“I’m a blood mage. What happens when I heal myself? Won’t it just restore the original structure?” Thalion asked, his mind racing. Back on Earth, muscle growth occurred through micro-tears that were repaired stronger than before. But with the system, instant healing might bypass that natural strengthening process.

“Active healing is not recommended—it diminishes the effect,” the dwarf explained patiently. “Instead, use the formations at the mountain’s base. They enhance passive healing without compromising your gains.”

“What are you waiting for? Get back on that mountain! This time, don’t pass out before the fourth stage,” Rylak demanded, his tone urgent.

The next few hours were grueling. Thalion endured intense pain as he climbed the mountain, his body trembling under the strain. However, it was worth it. Each time he exited one of the recovery circles, he felt rejuvenated—stronger than before. It was like a power nap after an exhausting day, only far more rewarding.

After enduring grueling walks up the mountain and resisting its immense pressure, Thalion made his way to the library—or rather, he was teleported there. Over the next few days, he immersed himself in studying gardening and plants. He discovered that many plants could evolve into forms as powerful as true dragons.

Learning more and more about beasts and plants seems like every beast has some race that could stand up to a true dragon. The only difference was how often it happened. This inspired him to focus on ways to upgrade the sanguine thorn. The solution was deceptively simple. Rare natural treasures or unique environments held the key.

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Rylak, however, was growing increasingly frustrated. Thalion had buried himself in the library, reading obsessively about cultivating powerful plants instead of cultivating on the mountain.

“Are you finished now?” Rylak asked, his voice tinged with annoyance after days of waiting.

Thalion, deep in meditation, paused to sense an impending shift. Something was happening and he felt that time was running out. It was hard to guess how much time he had left, but at least multiple weeks.

“Yes, I’m done. Let’s focus on combat training,” Thalion said with determination. This would benefit him and Rylak the most.

The moment of truth was drawing near. His upcoming fight against Garrick, Michael, and their followers. He had considered fleeing using mistform as a last resort, but that wasn’t what he wanted now. Thalion was determined to win. If he succeeded, the people under his rule would provide the materials he needed to elevate his abilities to unprecedented levels and all the knowledge he had gathered in this place would help him greatly to become a true powerhouse.

He had also read extensively about wyverns. He believed that with the right effort, eagly could evolve into not just a wyvern but a powerful variant of one.

The following week was spent switching between relentless combat and blood magic training. His blood magic instructor taught him new spells and techniques, including methods to inflict devastating damage on his enemies.

One of the most significant lessons was the creation of a blood domain. By releasing a mist of blood, Thalion could weaponize it, forming blades or draining the life force of anyone who made contact.

The most difficult aspect of the training was controlling a large amount of blood at the same time. At the start he could only control one river of blood, but now he was at three, and if pushed, maybe five, but then the control wouldn’t be perfect and the movement of the blood became slower and less coordinated. The most important thing he had learned was how to fight other blood cultivators.

Taking control of the enemies blood was almost impossible, but redirecting the attacks was a big thing. The best way to fight another bloodcultivator was at close range since hitting range attacks was almost impossible. The further you were away from your enchanted blood, the harder it was to control. This would allow the other bloodmage to easily dodge your attacks or even take control of your blood.

In sword training, Thalion learned several new forms and combinations, enhancing his combat repertoire. The training became more intense by the day, but it was all worth it. On the final days, he trained in hand-to-hand combat with the dwarf trainer.

While Thalion’s footwork had improved through swordplay, the dwarf pushed him to a new level. The bulky dwarf, who eschewed weapons in favor of raw physical combat, beat Thalion mercilessly over several days. Good thing he was not in his real body.

Getting beat by someone half his size would be a hard hit to his ego. Despite the bruises, the dwarf shared one of his special techniques. A method to harden the skin further by striking it repeatedly with a hammer.

The dwarf insisted that the swing technique was critical for the hammering to yield results, though Thalion thought running into a wall might be just as effective. Still, he appreciated the dwarf’s generosity in sharing the method.

As the time for the union ritual approached, Thalion swapped places with Rylak frequently, allowing him to gain valuable combat experience. The pure soul would face severe consequences when the union’s failure became evident.

Well, it wouldn’t be too bad, but it should be best if he got some experience in fighting. Just in case he got downgraded after the big ritual. He could feel the shift now more and more something bad was going to happen. It was time for the big ritual.

Before the final ritual, Thalion instructed the servant who had been teleporting him, expressing his intention to undergo the union ritual the next day.

In his final hours, Thalion prepared both mentally and physically for the ordeal ahead. Normally, absorbing the outsider would mark the beginning of a new phase of training in the golden palace, where one would learn to control the outsider.

But Thalion didn’t plan to stay that long. Instead, he would construct a temporary soul array around his soul core. It was made out multiple runes overlapping in different formations. The soul of the outsider would pass through these layers while most aspects of his soul would be annihilated. He would still need a strong will, but it was as safe as it could get.

The problem with outsiders was that to use the effect they bring, you need to accept their soul. Those outsiders, or spirits, as the people here called them, were beings of power and life. They existed in reality with different rules and should have no mouth or any organs. They lived through a deep connection to something no one could explain, but simplified it should be a connection to another plane of existence that overlayed every reality at the same time.

Those outsiders were only bound to some aspects of it, but it should be like a tunnel that provided them with an unending stream of energy. In the golden palace, the training was to control the soul of the outsider and with time to widen the tunnel to get more power at the same time. It was not like a pressure tank conected to you that just filled you with power if you liked it or not.

The effect would increase with the more drained your soul and your body would become. It was almost like it was filling a vacum of power in your body or soul. On that part, he was not sure about how exactly it worked. The memory crystal meant that it was first the soul and from there would empower the body, but what does he know?

The most important thing for him was that those spirits were stronger than the one in the madman he had defeated. If the soul array would work as planned, he shouldn’t have much trouble fusing with the outsider.

How could Thalion achieve something even the palace rulers could not? It was all thanks to the information stored in the memory crystal. Some of the memories were ordered like a skill, and reliving some of them almost constructed the sharder automatically.

This method likely existed for enabling weaker descendants to absorb outsiders without permanently modifying their souls. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be possible for him to do so. This was what Thalion was doing at the moment and he constructed the array while reliving the memories of how to build it. It felt so weird, but it worked very well.

The sad part was that the array would destroy itself if it functioned right, and even without being activated, it wouldn’t last more than a day.

Finally, the time came. Thalion stood ready and was teleported to the massive ritual site. The circle was vast, spanning multiple cities.

It wasn’t just inscribed on the ground but also suspended in the air. Golden rocks hovered above, etched with glowing runes, interconnected by radiant streams of light.

After a final question, Thalion was teleported to the circle’s center. It would have taken hours to reach on foot.

“So, this is it,” Rylak said, his voice laced with anticipation.

“Yep. Good luck, buddy,” Thalion responded, a confident smile on his face.

“What will happen in your world when you return?” Rylak asked, curious.

“Some people will break into the room where my body sits and try to kill me,” Thalion explained. “But if this works, I should survive.”

“Alright… good luck to you too,” Rylak replied after a moment of silence.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep