187-200

Chapter 187 Nova Generation

Leonel's breathing quickened slightly. He was absolutely certain. If he managed to form a Ninth and Tenth Node, one for each of his kidneys, the compatibility with his body would reach 100%. Not only that, but the benefits would be immeasurable.

If he formed Force Nodes in his brain, spine, heart, lungs and kidneys, his control over his body would reach an unprecedented degree. Not only that, but if he controlled the purification process of his blood through his Force, wouldn't his ability to comprehend his Lineage Factors become that much more potent?

After a while, Leonel calmed himself.

The difficulty of forming a Tenth Node was an unknown entity to Leonel. He still knew too little. He didn't even know if such a thing was possible.

All he did know was that there was a limit to the number of Force Nodes a body could contain. Nine was the theoretical limit.

At the same time, though, was this really an infallible rule? Wasn't the limit of Force Nodes decided due to how much Force one could handle? But didn't some people have larger Force Nodes in comparison to others? In that case, were all Force Nodes really created equal?

Leonel's Force Nodes were constructed with 100 cells. Most people could only form Force Nodes with one or a couple cells at most. In that case, didn't Leonel form their equivalent of dozens of Force Nodes?

In the end, Leonel shook his head. Even though this seemed like sound logic on the surface, he wouldn't act on it just yet. He would definitely hound the dictionary with more questions, but now wasn't the time.

It would take time to research whether his plan was feasible. But unlocking his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor… could be done now!

WENG!

Leonel's aura suddenly became incomparably heavy. Even the chair beneath him snapped and crumbled, causing him to fall heavily to the ground. But, he was so focused in his state of meditation that he didn't even notice.

His dirty blond hair began to whip about wildly, flashing with a bright bronze color before dimming once more, only to shimmer with it once again.

Leonel could see it clearly. The opening of his Metal Synergy Bloodline, compared to his Snowy Star Owl and Spear Domain Lineage Factors, was much more involved.

He could see

it before him now. Within his blood, there were five massive gates. However, compared to the first, the next four were too far away. Leonel could tell that no matter how hard he tried, he would never be able to reach those gates, at least not with his current strength.

Realizing this, he focused completely on the gate right before him. It was a massive bronze door, covered in shackles that wrapped around it endlessly.

This singular door was built with several levels. Like a nesting doll, the smallest door was surrounded by larger and larger doors. There were nine in total, with the largest door amongst them looming so tall that even when Leonel craned his neck vertically, he couldn't see its peak.

Leonel took a step forward. He felt that with every step he took , a greater and greater pressure weighed on him. It was as though this door was doing everything in its power to force him to his knees.

Leonel smiled lightly. If it was just a few days ago, his spirit would have directly been blasted out of this place. By then, he would have no choice but to wait for his Lineage Factor to be awakened naturally. But now, this pressure was still within his ability to withstand.

Soon, Leonel's palms were pressed against the doors. Due to his stature compared to the massive doors, he could only touch the smallest.

When he pushed, he felt that he could easily open the first, even with its chains on. But, he found that the second nested door hardly budged. It was only after he put in some effort that even the third nested door showed signs of movement.

'So the harder I push, the more likely it is for the larger doors to budge, huh…?'

Leonel had no idea that in the outside world, the colors he was radiating were wildly changing.

When he barely opened the first door, his hair radiated a dull bronze color that almost looked like dirty copper.

When he pushed hard enough for a reaction to occur in the second door, this muddied bronze became clearer.

By the time he elicited a response in the third door, his hair shone like polished brass. It almost felt as though the fine filaments of his hair were no different than refined metal.

'Interesting…' Leonel thought, looking up toward the highest ninth door. 'Well since I'm here, I might as well try my best, right…?'

At that moment, a mighty aura radiated out from Leonel body. Even the Segmented Cube began to vibrate wildly. Compared to the past, this aura of his seemed several times more indomitable. It seemed that tempering his character had had other effects as well.

A mighty roar left Leonel's lips as he pushed.

What Leonel didn't know was that while he was straining with his utmost, in a world countless light years across the universe, violent changes were taking place as well.

This was the family home of the Morales family. In fact, it was more accurate to call it a family planet as the entire stretch of space was owned by them and them alone.

At that moment, changes were occurring in their Ceremonial Room.

This sacred place was incomparably vast. In fact, if one had the mind to pay attention, though this place was located within the main estate of the Mortal family, it was somehow larger than even the planet they called home!

In the distance, sticks of incense stood taller than even mountains, wafting out a refreshing scent that filled the land with a thin veil of fog. At the base of where these mountainous stick of incense stood, there was an alter that carried several sacred tablets.

Those who knew the teachings of the Morales family were aware that each of these tablets carried the names of a generation of Morales family descendants. And, at that time, the tablet of the current generation, known as the Nova Generation by the family elders, suddenly radiated out a blinding light.

At that moment, the several family higher ups who treated this place as a cultivation holy land suddenly snapped awake.

What was going on? A Lineage Factor awakening? But everyone of the Nova Generation had already awoken…

Chapter 188 Crown

The elders of the Morales family were left speechless. But, they all suddenly thought of a possiblity.

Their gazes met across hundreds of miles. It seemed that even though each was kneeling on a prayer mat all to their own, without a single sign of life even tens of miles around them, it was as though they were right next to each other.

A double awakening!

Their Morales family was split into two factions. But, the history between these two halves of the family was long and tumultuous.

In the past, the Morales family also had two halves. However, back then, what divided them was the awakening of the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor. The awakening of this bloodline split the family into elites and commoners. Those who awakened it could enter the main branch, while those who failed could only lead the sub branches of the family.

However, this status quo didn't remain like this. Many generations ago, a second Lineage Factor was birthed within their bloodline. This created not one main branch, but two main branches of the family!

Back then, this had been completely astonishing. The rarity of a Dual Lineage Factor Clan was unimaginable. And, it was precisely this awakening that allowed the Morales Clan to surge up from the middle ranges of the Seventh Dimension to the absolute peak.

Still, though the Morales family faced the world as one, there were inevitably disputes between the two factions. The complexities and intricacies of these disputes didn't need to be touched upon for now, but what was important to understand was the difficulty in awakening these two bloodlines.

The Spear Domain Lineage Factor was the weakest upon awakening. Though it had great potential for growth, it could also very easily remain weak to the point where even some Sixth and even Fifth Dimensional Lineage Factors could suppress it.

As a result of this, there were comparatively more who touched upon the Spear Domain Lineage Factor and their starting points were all the same. There was no distinguishing these bloodlines until they were given adequate time to grow, only then would it be possible to understand whose was stronger.

But, the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor was different. Not

only was it far more difficult to awaken, it had a far more robust hierarchy system attached to it.

One can imagine how this might cause problems. On the one hand, the Spear Domain Lineage Factor had amazing growth potential and a high population of evolvers within the Morales Clan. On the other, the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor was much rarer and comparatively more powerful at the outset.

Those who initially grasped the Spear Domain Lineage Factor were branch family members who were disatisfied with their position beneath the main branch. While many of the Metal Synergy branch were purists of the family. After all, much of the accomplishments of the Morales family was in thanks to this Lineage Factor!

With a family suffering such inner strife, the best way to continue to maintain the balance was to have many young leaders who carried both Lineage Factors. Only that way could animosities of the past be slowly ebbed away and the family could be forged into a solid steel plate.

Knowing this, it was no wonder the elders were so excited. They would have another double awakened youth from the Nova Generation! They had already far surpassed the number from the last generation, but who knew they would still receive another?!

To put this into perspective, the last generation, the Nebula Generation, only had three such characters. But, if this newly awakened youth was added, the Nova Generation would have eight!

One had to know that the greatest power of the Spear Domain Lineage Factor was its ability to aggregate the abilities of its host to form the greatest spear heritage. This meant that anyone who awakened both within the Morales Clan was already predestined to be an elite amongst elites! The Metal Synergy Lineage Factor was that powerful!

The elders excitedly made their way to the altar one after another. But, despite their excitement, they didn't lose their sense of propriety. This was a sacred land, they had to maintain due composure and respect.

One after another, they performed their bows and kowtows, reverently praising their Ancestors before closing in on the altar one by one.

"Our Morales Clan is truly blessed." A crooked-toothed elder grinned wildly, hardly able to hold back his happiness. "What do you old fogies think, you think this one will open the ninth door as well?"

The elders stroked their beards in happiness, not even minding the crooked-toothed elder's comments. If they were old fogies, wasn't he doubly and even triply so? Just look at that ugly yellow grin. He really lost face for all Seventh Dimensional entities.

"It really does seem that all the stars are aligning. In the Nebula Generation, only one opened the ninth door on their first try. The others could only open it on a second attempt before moving on to the Fifth Dimension. Yet we have seven such youngsters already."

The elders laughed heartily. Their expressions were filled with familial warmth. Though the tablet was burning too brightly to see which name it was that was causing the change, to them, it didn't matter who it was. Weren't they all part of their Morales family?

"Hoho, those are the clear bronze lights of the third door already. Let's see how far this brat goes…"

…

At this moment, Leonel had no idea that his actions were being watched. Though it wasn't exactly like that and they could only be said to be able to see which door he was attacking, he could never imagine that someone else could monitor what he was doing from countless light years away. The means of the Seventh Dimension were far beyond his comprehension…

However, even if he did know, he wasn't in a state to mind. His heart was as still as a lake, his mind as focused as the pierce of a spear.

"HA!"

He roared in his mind as the fourth door began to move.

Flickering bronze patterns began to squirm across his forehead. If one looked closely, it would almost look like Leonel had tattooed a resplendent brass crown onto his head…

Chapter 189 The Seventh

"The fourth door."

The elders smiled brilliantly. This speed and momentum was excellent.

There was a reason the longer one remained awake, the greater potential their Lineage Factor would have. However, this wasn't a universal truth. At least for more complex bloodlines like this one, there were qualitative changes to look for.

Who cared if Leonel spent several days in this state if he only opened up to the second door? Likewise, who cared if he only needed several minutes if he could open the ninth?

It could be said that the higher the grade of the Lineage Factor, the more unique quirks it would have and the less likely it would be to conform to the norm. The Metal Synergy Lineage Factor was exactly like this!

The lights radiating from the Nova Generation's stone tablet began to wiggle with complex runes. Soon, these runes formed a crown not much unlike the crown etched onto Leonel's forehead. It radiated a gorgeous and pure bronze color, the kind that could only be gained after polishing a metal again and again and again.

…

WENG!

Leonel's body quaked as even the floor of the Lab Setting cracked beneath his might. Phase One was simply too fragile. Just the aura of his Lineage Factor alone was enough to cause it to tremble.

Luckily, its self healing properties kicked in. With such a large store of Force around it thanks to the Force Crystal Mine, how could it not repair itself quickly?

Bronze runes began to spread down Leonel's back. They were boxy and straight forward in nature, being carved of straight lines and sharp corners. If one looked closely, it was possible to notice that they followed the pattern of Leonel's Force Nodes, only appearing where they appeared as though drawing a map of his inner body on his skin.

…

The elders were astonished.

"This little brat only formed Six Nodes? Which elder is guiding him?" A ferocious elder's beard whipped about beneath his fierce breath. One could almost mistake him for a bull. "Who allowed such a talent to ruin himself like this?!"

Many of the other elders frowned as well. They didn't reprimand the bullish elder for reacting like this at all despite this being a sacred land.

Which of them didn't know that it

was best to awaken one's Metal Synergy Lineage Factor after perfecting one's Fourth Dimensional Foundation? All of the other seven youths had formed Nine Nodes, suppressing the talent of their Lineage Factor until they could explode forth with all their momentum. Doing so with less would put much more pressure on oneself.

Now, all of them could clearly see the patterns stretching down from the crown. With their insight, how could they not tell that Leonel only had Six Nodes?

"At least the foundation of those Six Nodes is at the peak. With the size of those patterns, this brat definitely used at least 80 cells to form his Nodes…"

The other elders nodded, but this only made them feel that it was even more of a pity. If they found the elder that was leading this brat, they'd definitely beat the former until he cried blood. Who would take responsibility for ruining such a genius?

"The sixth!"

The crooked-toothed elder called out.

…

The sharp patterns bloomed across Leonel's body. This time, it no longer remained on his back and instead spread out across his limbs and chest, covering his body in a resplendent bronze that was almost difficult to look directly at.

Even sitting, he looked like a Roman God carved of the most exquisite brass. The energy he wafted alone seemed to make the air around him countless times heavier.

Leonel breathed heavily, his breath coming out so hot that it left billowing white steam in the air. It was just the sixth door, but it was already so difficult. It also had to be said that he had only opened it a sliver, who knew how much strength it would take to open it all the way.

Every time a pattern was drawn onto his body, it felt as though he was lifting a heavier and heavier weight. With each passing moment, his muscles would snap under the tension. If it wasn't for the resplendent light shrouding his body, it would be possible to see ghastly bruises spreading beneath his skin.

Leonel's 'hands' were still pressed against the first door, but his strength had influenced the sixth. The seventh and beyond were still looming over him as though taunting him without restraint.

A deep rooted resolution caused Leonel's heart to quake. He roared with all his might, taking a step forward.

BANG!

The seventh door shuddered, its shackles rattling wildly. The sound of its chains banging about resounded in Leonel's mind, making him feel as though a piercing headache would tear his soul apart.

WENG! WENG! WENG!

Leonel's body finally couldn't bear the pressure. His skin splintered and cracked, raining down a torrent of blood that seemed to fuse with the bronze light around his body. The eerie crimson gave him a devilish air, especially as his hair whipped about wildly.

At that point, even the Abode Setting wasn't left unscathed. Roaring Black Lion, Flowing Wind and Thunderous Clap could only look at one another with apprehension in their eyes. Could it be that this abode treasure couldn't withstand the Force Crystal Core any longer?

Within his Bloodline World, Leonel stood leaning against the first doors, his head hung low. His hair covered his features completely, giving him the disheveled appearance of someone at the end of their rope.

His breathing came out ragged and unharmonious. It seemed that he really might not be able to take a single step more.

…

The expressions of the elder's dimmed. They all felt that it was a pity in their hearts as they watched the patterned lights surrounding the tablet wavering. Had this brat of the Nova Generation been just a bit more patient, it wouldn't have been a problem to open all nine doors on the first try.

Their Lineage Factor was special. The difficulty of entering their Bloodline World would become progressively more difficult with each entry. Likewise, the opening of their Lineage Factor Shackles would also increase in difficulty. This was why it was so important to open as many as one could on the first try.

But, some bastard had ruined the future of this prodigy, how could they not lament it in their hearts?

Chapter 190 Deviation

Leonel breathed heavily, his hands still firmly placed on the first door.

Was this his limit?

The truth was he didn't know the significance of his accomplishment. Something like opening seven doors on the first attempt was already extremely rare in the Morales family.

To put this matter into perspective, there were about a billion youths of this current Nova Generation. This was how insanely large the Morales family was.

Of these billion youths, half would not even awaken a Lineage factor at all. Of the remaining half, about 70% would awaken the Spear Lineage Factor and just about 30% would awaken the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor.

This meant that there were 150 million youths with the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor awakened. Regardless of whether these youths were children born from Morales family women who had been married off to other families or not, they would all be considered as part of the Morales family main branch.

Of this 150 million, 90% would only open the first door on their first attempt. Such people would only be able to open a maximum of the second or third door before they were forced to move onto the Fifth Dimensional barrier.

This left 15 million. Of this amount, another 90% would only be able to open the second door on their first attempt. For these people, no matter what they tried, it would be impossible to touch the fourth door as the fourth represented a qualitative leap. This was because the fourth door was the first marker of the Metal Synergy Runes!

This left just one and a half million. Of this amount, less than 100 000 would ever touch the fourth door. Not even 10 000 would managed to open the fifth. And, not even 1 000 would manage to touch the sixth!

Finally, there was yet another qualitative leap. In some weaker generations of the Morales Clan, there might not be a single person who managed to open the seventh door on the first try! And, even in stronger ones, the number would most definitely not exceed 10 by a large margin!

So, one can imagine how talented the Nova Generation was. Not only was there one who had opened the ninth door on

the first try, but there were an entire seven. Someone like Leonel who could open seven with just SIx Nodes was completely unheard of, however his talent was completely overshadowed due to the negligence of his 'senior'.

The truth was that what Leonel was aware of was the fact his attempts would only get more and more difficult with each attempt. He wouldn't naively jump into making mistakes like he had in the past. It was just that he had no choice. In this dangeous situation, if he didn't quickly grow stronger, he would only die here.

This was the price for his previous mistakes.

But, Leonel was unwilling. Even though he didn't know the significance of these doors, he simply didn't like having to stop at seven. He didn't even know others were watching him, nor did he know the true significance of the amount of doors he opened, but he just didn't want to stop here.

Leonel slowly clenched his fists. His nails scraped along the surface of the first doors. With how sturdy it was, he could only leave a bloody trail.

His head tilted up, a resolute gaze flickering as he gazed toward the small opening in the door before him.

Then, as though he had been grasped by a tinge of madness, he roared.

…

The elders sighed as a collective, many of them turning away. At this point, they didn't even want to know the name of this youth, they could all only feel that it was a pity. If they knew the name of this youth, they might just feel that it was even more unfortunate. It was easier to avoid heartache if one didn't have a face to attach to it.

Sometimes it was easier to ignore tragedies with a large number of casualties as long as you were distant enough from the people it affected.

"I'm going to kill that damn bastard who led this kid astray." The billowing beard of the bullish elder was still frolicking about. His eyes were practically red as he watched Leonel's wavering runic patterns.

WENG!

It was at that moment that those very runes suddenly turned red.

The elders looked over in astonishment.

"This kid is trying to get himself killed!" The crooked-toothed elder's carefree grin had long since disappeared. Now he just looked forward in horror.

Those red runes, they had seen them many times before. Youths who weren't satisfied with their results would sometimes have will power that surpassed their means. As a result, they would try to push ahead, but this would only end up damaging themselves. No small number of youths had killed themselves in this way.

They all recognized these signs very well. Bloodline Deviation.

Even if Leonel failed to open all nine doors on the first try, it was still fine. He might have a chance at a comeback in the future if he worked diligently. After all, this was just the start of his path. But, if he died now, it was all for naught.

The elders became flustered.

"Dammit! Which planet is this kid from?! Contact all of them now and find out which prodigy is breaking through! Immediately stop him!"

The bullish elder roared out orders to seemingly empty air, but the whole of the planet heard him. His rage caused a mad and immediate scramble that turned the entire Seventh Dimension into a frenzy.

But, no matter how they looked, they could have never imagined that Leonel was countless light years away on a small planet called Earth…

…

Within his Bloodline World, Leonel's eyes had turned completely red. He seemed to have lost himself in a trance. All he had eyes for was the expanse of darkness beyond the crack in the doors.

His main body in the Lab Setting had become a rain of blood. The flickering crimson seemed to finally fuse perfectly into the beautiful, resplendent bronze. Instead of tainting it, it felt as though the light had gotten even brighter, creating a new red bronze color that shimmered like both gold and ruby.

However, he had no idea that this only brought him a step closer to death.

Chapter 191 Pain

Leonel could feel his blood seething. It was an exhilarating feeling that made him feel as though he was treading on clouds. He could never think that such ecstasy would cause panic countless galaxies away.

'How wonderful would it be if I could feel this way for all of eternity…'

It was a simple thought — innocent, even. But it was this very thought that led to the deaths of so many Morales family youths in the past.

This feeling, it was like a drug. It was the kind of euphoria one could hardly find in life, yet it was also the very kind of euphoria that could rend the soul and send one to an early death.

The elders of the family could only watch on helplessly as the red lights grew fiercer and fiercer. Even when they saw the signs of the eighth door opening, they no longer felt the same happiness. All they saw was the tragedy of another fallen genius.

It could be said that though these elders were aloof and hardly made their presences known, they were filled with familial affection. Even that ungrateful bastard who stole their two family heirlooms was still spoken of fondly by the majority of them. After all, he was that singular genius of the Nebula Generation they spoke about who managed to open the ninth door on his first attempt.

Even though they had seven more geniuses of this caliber, how could they not feel heartache? They only blamed themselves for not finding this prodigy earlier.

…

Within the Lab Setting, the changes happening to Leonel shouldn't have been obvious. If it wasn't for the fact his own blood was pooling around his body as though seeking to form its own pool of liquid, it would be hard to tell that anything was happening at all.

But, at this moment, the instant Leonel touched upon the eighth door, the very same runes that had been etching them onto his skin made their way onto his bones. If his body was sliced open and his skeleton was revealed, it would be possible to see runes of red bronze being carved into them.

The sound was especially grating on the ears. It sounded as though a fork was being raked across a steel pot, grinding into it again and again.

However, Leonel felt none of this pain. In fact, the longer it went on, the better he felt. It was almost like a

release, a spike of dopamine he couldn't get enough of.

Many would see pain as an annoyance. But in many ways, pain was the reason one could stay alive. The absence of pain could very easily lead to death. It was a necessary part of life.

But Leonel didn't even notice this. Even as his body was falling apart, there was a bloody smile hanging on his face. It would have been quite a sweet smile, the very smile he practiced to show to Aina, yet now, it just seemed… sad.

Within the Bloodline World, Leonel's figure looked no different. He had practically become a man of blood, dripping from head to toe as his fists pushed flush against the first door.

His eyes continued to gaze through the crack as though the expanse of darkness held his most fervent desire.

It was no longer a matter of will power. Could this even be considered will power? He loved this feeling. Could doing something that felt so good even require will power? -

…

The crimson light within the Morales family sacred land had grown overwhelming. It pierced into the skies, growing to a height that almost matched the mountainous stick of incense.

The pillar was intertwined with runes of bronze, radiating a beautiful and majestic color. But, to the elders, it looked no different from the send off of a genius. A prodigy, dead just like this, even without letting the world see his brightness.

More and more elders shook their heads to leave. They weren't willing to dampen their moods any longer. Someone else would investigate this matter thoroughly and find all those responsible. This was definitely a capital crime. Whoever was responsible deserved to be executed.

…

Leonel's ragged breaths sounded out. By now, he sounded more like a beast in heat rather than a man near the end of his life.

He felt like he was so close. If pushing open the eighth door felt so good, how good would the ninth door feel? Wouldn't the pleasure drown him?

However, at that moment, Leonel suddenly frowned.

Why did he feel a nagging itch in his heart? What was this annoying feeling.

'I have to go to Aina…'

Yes, he already knew this. Wasn't that why he had to get out of this place? He would have a greater chance at saving Aina if he opened the ninth door. With how powerful this Lineage Factor was, wouldn't he be able to sweep through Terrain with ease?

Yes, yes. That was right. All he needed to do was open the ninth door.

'Respect and Persistence in all things…'

Yes, he already understood this. Why was this running through his mind now? Wasn't he persisting right now? He was trying very hard. It was just that his reward for his persistence felt too good. Was that his fault?

'Do you really understand what these two words mean…?'

His father's smiling visage appeared in his mind.

That old man was being annoying as usual, wearing that smug smile as he pushed his glasses up with a finger.

Of course he already understood what those two words meant.

'Do you really…?'

Leonel faltered.

'Nothing easily gained is worth attaining…'

Leonel trembled.

He thought he had understood this fact as well. Wasn't that why he had been so stubborn previously? It was even to the point he ignored his own talent and tried to comprehend his Lineage Factors on his own.

Wasn't that what his father had met by Persistence?

But why did he feel like that understanding was so shallow… It was shallow to the point even he had abandoned those thoughts, realizing that it was his own haughtiness that brought him to this point.

The voice in his mind didn't speak again, but Leonel found that the doors he was pushing up against suddenly forced him to slide back. It was as though they were trying to remind him to push back… as though they wanted to remind him just how important opening the ninth door had been to him just a moment ago…

'Nothing easily gained is worth attaining…'

Leonel's dull eyes suddenly gained a sharpness. At that moment, a pain the likes of which he had never felt in his life suddenly assaulted him.

He raised his head and roared in pain, his cry shaking even the Force Crystal Mine.

Chapter 192 Decisions

The pain, it was unbearable.

Leonel felt as though countless tiny knives were ripping through his skin and bone. He had never experienced such a thing in his life.

It could be said that the worst injury he had ever suffered was a few fractures to his ribcage. Even the flesh wound his hands had suffered had been mildly less painful than that. But, compared to this, those injuries were akin to an irritating paper cut.

At that moment, Leonel had every intention of letting go. It was too painful. If he just let these doors close, everything would be alright. Then, he could take a rest, and try again later. That would be fine, right?

Leonel hadn't been one to lie to himself. He knew that he wasn't the hardest worker. He also knew that he didn't have the most resolute will.

These weren't things one was born with. The reason his father tried to ingrain those two values into him time and time again was to remind him the value of growth.

He was an 18 year old boy. He had hardly faced any hardships in his life. Though he lived on a Paradise Island, he had never truly felt restricted by it. And, even though he had lived in such a place, it wasn't as though they were slums. Each Paradise Island was well tended to and provided for.

Expecting him to have the will to trample the heavens and sunder the earth like some anime character was absolutely ridiculous. Let alone having such will, he wasn't even sure what he wanted to do with his life just yet. He was a kid. Though he had some talent, he was ultimately just that. A kid.

For a kid like him, such pain was absolutely unbearable. But somehow, whenever he thought of letting go and allowing these doors to slam shut, tears uncontrollably fell from his eyes.

Such a thing surprised even himself. He wasn't an emotional person. Though he had been worried about his father when the Paradise Islands fell, he didn't break down back then. When Simeon and the Junior Governor Duke decided to fire into the homes of innocents, he hadn't burst into tears. Even when his father mentioned that his mother was still alive… his emotions hardly fluctuated.

But, there were also many times he did inexplicable things outside the bounds of his calm and cold logic, things even he couldn't explain. He put his life on the line to save the lives of English and Frenchmen he didn't know. He wanted to be with Aina for reasons even he found difficult to put into words. And right now… he

really, really, really didn't want to let go.

These were tears of frustration, pain, and conflict.

He could feel the doors making him buckle under their weight. It was as though they were enraged he had suddenly regained his senses and now wanted to make him pay the greatest price. They wanted nothing more than to shatter him to a pile of bone and flesh.

If he took a step back, they might still give him a chance at survival. But, if he dared to take another step forward…

They would go all out to kill him!

Sometimes in life, the different paths people follow can be decided in an instant.

That was what people who were pretending to be profound said, anyway. In reality, things weren't so simple. A single decision couldn't change anything. It was a continuous stream of decisions that would decide the path you would follow.

It might take ten or even a hundred correct decisions to take a single step on the path you wanted. Maybe along the way, you might make many incorrect decisions as well. But only by persisting would you eventually become the person you wanted to be.

Leonel was just a kid. A boy of barely 18 years old. Up to now, he had already made several incorrect decisions. However recently, he finally made his first correct one. That was to quell his arrogance and admit that he was wrong. And now… he would make his second.

It was quite the pitiful sight. When the world spoke of his exploits in the future, they would never know that an overlord who could overturn the universe with a single palm was once a young boy who had a face filled with tears and snot during his first attempt to release the shackles of his bloodline…

"AGH!"

Leonel took a step forward. He heard the sound of his legs cracking, but the adrenaline rush flowed throughout his body, masking the pain for but a moment.

He screamed his throat hoarse. Even he didn't know why he kept going. All he knew was that these damn tears wouldn't stop if he took a step back.

That was right. He wasn't crying because of the pain. That was his story, and he was sticking to it.

BANG! WENG! WENG! WENG!

…

Within the sacred land of the Morales family, the elders suddenly snapped their heads back in the direction of the red pillar of light, only to find that the red color was receding to be replaced by a resplendent purple light. It was the kind of beautiful violet that would enchant any woman, yet carried an air of nobility that made one want to prostrate themselves. Even these elders of who knows how many years felt the urge to bow down.

"Purple light? What's going on?"

The elders were stunned. They didn't know what this purple light meant.

The flagship color of their Lineage Factor had always been a shimmering bronze. The only exception was during Bloodline Deviation when it would become red, but that was basically a death sentence. The number of clan members who had survived Bloodline Deviation in their long history could be counted on one's hands…

But violet? This had never happened before. Even the nine doors of the Fifth, Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Dimensional shackles of their Lineage Factor didn't carry such a color. They would always be bronze, the only difference was the brightness of their light and their strength.

Of course… the fact their bloodline shackles had five sets of doors and not four like the masses thought was a deeply held secret. Leonel hadn't thought much of it when he saw five sets of doors, having no idea how tightly held such a thing was.

"The ninth door!"

Suddenly, one of the elders called out in shock. They had been so caught up in the shocking color that they hadn't noticed that the signature of the ninth door had appeared.

The first three doors was a progressive purification of their bronze color… the fourth door formed the Runic Crown… the fifth form was the Force Node Runes… the sixth form the Force Skin Runes… the seventh form the Force Vessel Runes… the eighth form the Force Bone Runes… and the ninth form… Was the Force Halo Runes.

A grand violet bronze halo appeared above Leonel's head, causing the ground beneath him to shatter. In fact, it was to the point that a hole was blasted through the Segmented Cube entirely, causing him to almost fall through and directly onto the Force Crystal Core below. Luckily, a barrier was quickly formed, protecting him from such a tragedy.

At that moment, within his Bloodline World, Leonel pushed with his last bit of strength, causing the nine doors to blast apart of their own accord.

He hardly noticed the lights of bronze and violet that descended onto him before he fainted.

Chapter 193 Violet Winds

The elders stood completely stunned. They had no ability to understand what was happening.

It wasn't like there had never been anyone who survived Bloodline Deviation before. However, their number was extremely small. In addition, those who survived would all lose the right to enter their Bloodline World again in addition to losing access to their Lineage Factor. They would essentially be crippled in that respect.

But, this was obviously not what was happening here. Everything pointed toward a successful awakening. If it wasn't for the fact there was a royal violet color infused with the usual bronze, these elders would think that Leonel had somehow reversed everything at the final moment.

Just… what was happening?

Those elders who had turned to leave charged back, each of them jostling for position. If before they wanted to know nothing about this youth, they now wanted to know everything. How could they miss out on learning this youth's name?

The lights slowly faded and the hidden tablet began to gradually come into view.

The tablet seemed to swallow all the violet bronze lights in the air, converging on a single name at the very bottom of the stone tablet.

'The bottom? This brat is so young?'

The rankings on the Nova Generation Tablet, or any ancestral tablet for that matter, wasn't based on standing or rank or anything of the sort. It was purely based on the time you were born.

The eldest of the generation would be ranked first while the youngest would be ranked last. It was only after a certain coming of age event that the order would be reshuffled. By then, age would no longer be the deciding facter of rank.

But, one could imagine how large a tablet that could hold a billion names would be. Yet, ironically, ranking last was just as conspicuous as ranking first, especially since Leonel's name stood out so much!

Upon awakening the Spear Domain Lineage Factor, a name would gain a sharp edge to it that radiated a kingly might. In the universe, there were many weapons factions, but the struggle between the spear and the sword had always been the most violent. Both of them were seen as

the king of weapons by their respective wielders, so there would always be clashes between the two.

Upon awakening the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor, a name would gain a heavy aura and also a bronze sheen to it, standing out from the other stone carved names.

Obviously, upon awakening both, one would gain a fusion of the two.

It was already outstanding enough that Leonel's name had both characteristics. After all, there were only seven others like this. However, even compared to them, his stood out just that level more because in addition to a bronze sheen, his name was also surrounded by a violet aura.

"Leonel Morales…" The crooked toothed elder muttered. "… Have any of you heard of this brat?"

The elders looked at one another for confirmation, but all they found were numerous shaking heads. There were a billion youths, how could they know all of them?

In truth, with their strength, memorizing the names and faces of a billion people wasn't an issue. The issue was whether or not they found such a thing to be worthy of their time.

"He's this generation's little brother, though. If I remember correctly, the last time a name appeared on the Nova Generation Tablet was 18 years ago…"

The elders sucked in a cold breath. Awakening both Lineage Factors before 20?

"Let's look at the Nebula Generation Tablet."

Hearing this suggestion, the elders all nodded.

The timelines in the universe were never linear. The future could influence the past in the same way the past could influence the future. If their son awakened in this fashion, it was possible for the father to gain some benefits as well. In this way, it might be possible to learn who Leonel was through who his father or mother was.

However, the elders found no changes on the Nebula Generation Tablet.

They all looked toward one another with a solemn expression.

The only way such an awakening wouldn't influence the previous generation is if the previous generation was already too powerful to cause such a change. But, the number strong enough to fall into this category would definitely not number more than a thousand.

The issue was if any of these thousand had such an outstanding descendant, how could it be possible that they'd be unaware?

As such, there were only two explanations.

One possibility was that this person of the Nebula Generation purposely withheld this offspring of theirs… If this was the case, the elders couldn't help but shudder. How could there ever be a good reason for doing such a thing?

The second possibility was…

Thinking of this, all the elders had gazes that shone like bright torches. There was only —

Just when the elders were thinking this, several powerful auras suddenly converged and a mighty voice sounded out from the skies.

"… The violet winds rise north…"

A soft sigh rang through the sacred lands.

"… Forget the matters of today and don't investigate any longer. The child is not within our lands." A sigh rang out once again. "… Just as much of a troublemaker as his father…"

The elders below didn't dare to say much. Even after all the auras disappeared, they only looked at each other once and left silently. Inwardly, they all knew that their second speculation must be correct.

Within the Segmented Cube, Leonel gasped awake just in time to find a last thread of violet bronze light seeping into his body.

He smile bitterly as he looked around. The Lab Setting was a complete mess. He was shocked to find that there was even a hole beneath where he lay. If it wasn't for some sort of odd energy barrier, he would have fallen right through.

However, just when he was feeling depressed, a strong surge of Force suddenly swept through the Segmented Cube.

Leonel's eyes lit up. He immediately understood what was happening.

The Segmented Cube had absorbed enough Force to enter Phase Two!

Chapter 194 Soon

Leonel smiled.

The evolution didn't take very long at all. In fact, it could be considered to have happened in the blink of an eye.

The Lab Setting doubled in size. But, surprisingly, the outside view of the Segmented Cube actually shrunk by a size down to a five meter radius. In addition, it seemed that it's exterior was a level sturdier. At the very least, the Force Eruption no longer seemed to affect it as much anymore.

Leonel didn't have time to slowly figure out what changes occurred, so this time, he directly asked the dictionary.

[ *Ping* ]

[ Replying to Seed, Phase One of Segmented Cube provides Suspended Animation and the Black Grade Soothing Water. Phase Two provides the Bronze Grade Soothing Waters and Evolution Nurturing. ]

Leonel raised an eyebrow. "What is Evolution Nurturing?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ Natural Treasures within the means of Phase Two can be nurtured for growth. ]

"What is within the means of Phase Two?"

[ *Ping* ]

[ At and below the Fourth Dimensional Grade. ]

After a few more questions, Leonel came to understand everything.

It turned out that he was right to store the ores and herbs he gained within the snowglobes. In there, they could be nurtured to slowly grow and produce more of their kind. Though it would still take a long time, it was better than nothing.

In addition, according to the dictionary, it he found more Cores of the same kind, he could place them within the same environment and they would be able to mutually work together to expedite growth.

After knowing this, Leonel immediately separated the snowglobes into groups and put like minerals and herbs together. He didn't even have to stand to do this. After entering Phase Two, especially with his powerful spirit, he was able to control most of the matters of the Segmented Cube with his mind.

These ores would become especially important to him in the future. Not because of Force Crafting, but rather because of a special ability of his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor. Unfortunately, he didn't have the time to explore this right now.

Leonel finally tried to push himself up. But, what he could ahve never expected was that he would fall flat on his face an instant later.

'What the hell…? Why am I so heavy?'

Leonel's expression changed as he swept his spirit over his own body. The change to his stats left him speechless.

[Leonel Morales]

[Strength: 4.57; Speed: 0.87; Agility: 0.63; Coordination: 0.91; Stamina: 1.13 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 2.03; Spirit: 5.98; Force: 0.60]

First, he was stunned that his strength actually more than doubled. But,

in return, his speed and agility had actually fallen by more than half, not to mention his stamina. On top of that, his coordination, which had once been among his highest stats alongside his spirit had actually plummeted as well.

He immediately understood. His Metal Synergy Lineage Factor had actually increased his weight by so much. Now, he wasn't much different from the metal A-grade Invalid he had met all those months ago, having great strength, but even greater limitations to his ability to use it.

Leonel didn't panic after realizing this. He didn't believe that such a powerful Lineage Factor would have such a great weakness. If he was no different from a mere A-grade Invalid, the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor wouldn't be worth all the praise and adulation the dictionary gave it.

After taking a breath, Leonel used his overwhelming spirit to sweep through the changes in his body. Soon, he found the problem.

Though the Runes on his skin had already disappeared, that was just a superficial measure. The Runes that ran through his blood vessels, and even more importantly his bones, had yet to recede.

After a moment, Leonel felt he could control them and slowly forced them into retreat.

Soon, the heaviness of his body vanished. He realized that his strength was still great, being above 3.00, but the reduction to his speed was much less exaggerated. In fact, compared to before, his speed and agility had also increased.

[Leonel Morales]

[Strength: 3.27; Speed: 2.17; Agility: 2.64; Coordination: 2.01; Stamina: 4.98 (+0.05 - nullified); Reactions: 2.03; Spirit: 5.98; Force: 0.60]

'My Lineage Factor is stil in its infant stages. If I was with the Morales family, the moment I completed my awakening, I would immediately start absorbing all sorts of precious ores. But, I don't have the luxury to do so right now.'

There were two main abilities of the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor that allowed it to reign supreme. The first was its Divine Metal Absorption ability and the second was its Divine Armor Deity ability.

Leonel believed that the weaknesses in his Lineage Factor would all be solved by the time he began to practice these two abilities.

Leonel was beginning to feel that his stat system was too limited. When he finally had time to relax, he had to think of something better…

With that thought, Leonel stood and entered the Abode Setting. He had to speak to the other three youths. However, he didn't expect the three of them to look at him as though they were seeing some kind of monster. If it wasn't for their masks, their expressions might have been even more exaggerated.

Flowing Wind stepped forward, looking Leonel up and down.

"Handsome… How'd you get more handsome?"

Flowing Wind looked up at Leonel with a serious expression.

The changes in Leonel were simply too exaggerated.

Now, he stood just over two meters tall, crossing the 6'6 mark. His skin was just as tanned as it had always been, but it seemed smoother and more flawless, even to the point of radiating an incredibly faint bronze light.

As though this wasn't enough, his dirty blond hair had become a bright copper color. It was like his hair had been formed by individual, flexible filaments of the metal, sweeping across his shoulders with an inhuman sheen to it.

But the greatest change was to his aura. They all gravitated toward him uncontrollably. As unreserved as Flowing Wind usually was, even she felt somewhat stifled at this moment.

At this point, he really did look like some Roman God.

"Huh?"

Leonel tilted his head in confusion. He hadn't observed himself in the mirror. Even when he used his spirit to observe his body, it was only the inside of his body. So, he had no idea why their reactions were so exaggerated.

That said, he didn't have the time to mind it.

"I'm confident in bringing us all away now and have a way to mature the Force Crystal Mine Core. Stay put here, I will take us out soon."

With the Segmented Cube gaining such a Phase Two ability, Leonel really could mature the Core now.

Everything should have been made simple but… The only issue was that the situation outside had changed, leaving Leonel a bit helpless. Thanks to the evolution of the Segmented Cube, Leonel could even access the situation outside its walls now.

First, the little mink had woken up and was even curiously observing the Force Eruption.

If that was all, things would still be fine. But, with the increase in his spirit, Leonel could finally see the edges of this vast kilometer long space clearly. Thanks to that, he noticed several tunnels he hadn't in the past. And… one of those tunnels led to a valley a group of people were currently exploring…

It wouldn't be long before they found this place.

Chapter 195 Little Mink

Leonel dropped down from the Segmented Cube, a hint of caution in his pale green eyes. But, after a moment, he realized that he was indeed correct.

Even without activating his Runes, the Force Eruption only put a minor amount of pressure on him. It was enough for him to feel uncomfortable, as though he was suffering from a stomach ache. However, it was no longer enough to threaten his life. And this was without his using a Force Skin!

Leonel knew that if he activated his Force Runes now, even if it was only the crown of the fourth door, this discomfort would vanish completely. However, there was no need to do this, at least not for now. He still wanted to observe the situation.

"How long will it take to mature the Crystal Core if the Segmented Cube used its Evolution Nurturing ability?"

[ *Ping*]

[ 12:23:04 ]

Leonel was pleasantly surprised. Just half a day?

But after some thought, he felt that this made sense. The Segmented Cube was a treasure from a higher Dimensional world. In addition, its goal was to evolve the Crystal Mine into the Fourth Dimension, not the Fifth. As such, how could it not do so with ease?

Despite learning this, Leonel didn't have the Segmented Cube begin so quickly. In fact, it might very well be the Force Eruption that helped Leonel make it through this.

Leonel's spine tingled, causing him to subconsciously turn in a certain direction.

'This damned little mink…'

Leonel realized then that his thinking might have been a bit naive. He had almost forgotten that there was another being who could ignore the Force Eruption as well.

At that moment, the little mink was still gliding around the walls of the Force geyser. After Leonel's spirit had crossed into the Fifth Dimension, not only had the range of his Internal Sight increased explosively, even to the point of being capable of crossing tens of kilometers, but Force of the Fourth Dimension was no longer able to hinder his senses.

So, whereas in the past he could hardly see the situation around him in this place. Now, everything was as clear as day.

In fact, it should be said that Fifth Dimensional Internal Sight should be capable of far more than just this. After all, a Fifth Dimensional entity acting upon even the Fourth Dimension was akin to stomping ants, let alone a Pseudo Fourth Dimensional world like this one. But unfortunately, Leonel was still limited by the weakness of the rest of his body.

Still, in this sort of situation, it was more than enough.

'I don't think it knows I'm here… But should I battle it now, or…?'

The little mink might have only been 10 meters from him, but it had no ability to see or sense Leonel. After all, not everyone had spirit as monstrous as him.

At that moment, Leonel's senses latched on to a hearty laughter. If he was only relying on his ears, this laughter would have never reached him. After all, there was too much Force in the air, making this large space — that should have been a great echo chamber — become insulated from noise.

Leonel's lip curled. It seemed that they had finally found this place.

'Why not make my two enemies fight one another?'

…

Outside the Force Mine, Simeon couldn't hold back his laughter. He was usually a reserved individual who thought of nothing else but his own struggle for power. But at this moment, he was genuinely too happy.

Leonel and the other youths had only made it to this place

barely a month ago, but he had already been here for much longer, looking for a path to the Force Crystal Mine.

He had always known it was here, but it wasn't as though he could ask the Slayer Legion for their map. Unfortunately, he had really met too many struggles. What should have been a quick and easy mission to infuriate the Slayer Legion had become a test of his own mental fortitude.

But now, it was perfect. Everything was worth it now. In fact, the Force Eruption was also a great help to him. With it, it would be unlikely that the Slayer Legion would send their promising youths here. It was too much of a risk. In addition, they couldn't send anyone of the elder generation, or else his own backers wouldn't sit idly by.

'I can steal all your wealth and you can't say anything about it… How satisfying!'

After regaining his calm, Simeon's expression once more settled back to his usual haughty air.

"Seven, take the vanguard. You must last 10 minutes, or of what use are you to me?"

"Yes, Young Lord!"

Simeon named all his subordinates by numbers even though they had their own names. Even the wererat Leonel had killed before was known as rat 006, one of his more precious test subjects.

However, those who could be called by numbers without prefixes were most definitely the most powerful of his men.

After taking the vanguard, Seven's Force surged. But, he wasn't the only one.

Eight men and women stood around Simeon in a protective circle. However, around them, in an even larger encirclement, there were at least 30 other warriors. It was these 30 that also surged with Force along with Seven.

The Force coalesced, winding together almost like a living breathing beast.

To the naked eye, it seemed as though nothing at all was happening. However, if one had awakened Internal Sight, it would truly be something worth witnessing.

The Force rose up. At first, there was only a vague cube-like manifestation. But soon, this cube began to break into peaks and valleys.

The start of the process was slow. But akin to a ball rolling down a hill, it became faster and faster. Then, it seemed like in the blink of an eye, it all solidified, forming a grandiose palace. No, it was more accurate to say that this was a small replica of a palace, only capable of housing 100 or so people if they all stood as close as possible to one another.

At this point, the Palace had become corporeal. Like this, even those without Internal Sight could make out its vague outline. And, to those with Internal Sight, it felt like an air of majesty was crashing down upon them, wanting them to kneel in submission.

Simeon and his men huddled together. After their Young Lord was satisfied, they walked through the path they had found, stepping into the boundless underground world of the Force Crystal Mine.

Simeon felt like he was walking on a cloud. If he knew that Leonel hardly reacted to this world of crystals, he would have shamed him as a country bumpkin. This place was filled with billions of Force Crystals! Just how many elites could be raised by this kind of mine?

However, Simeon knew that it would be foolish to try and take it all away. This was still the Slayer Legion's territory. His plan wasn't to seek out these little benefits. What he wanted was the Force Crystal Core. Even though the Force Eruption was outside his expectations, he? still had methods to deal with it.

In addition, he was also excited about the natural treasures that could be birthed in this environment. Force Crystal Mines were always accompanied by such treasures.

'I'll retrieve the Core first. Then, I can seek out other benefits after it's secured.'

The group continued to walk forward. Their destination was very easy to spot. After all, a geyser of white that could even be seen with the naked eye was right before them.

Leonel watched all of this happen from within the Force geyser, feeling quite helpless. There were such techniques to protect against Force Eruptions as well? It truly made his own methods seem poor by comparison.

In the future, when he gained enough skill to upgrade the dictionary, he would most definitely change this straight forward habit of its…

'Go on little mink, help me vent some of my frustration…'

The moment Leonel had this thought, the little mink had already pounced, causing him no small bit of pleasure.

However, his smile slowly faded, giving way to a cold intent. The monocle wearing bastard definitely needed to die today.

…

The little mink was feeling quite pleased with itself.

It had been the first to find this place thanks to its small size and unique abilities. Walls? How could they possibly stop it. It could pass through them with ease.

Unexpectedly, its ability was actually triggered to another level upon reaching this place. Now it was even more formidable than it had been in the past. The only detestable thing was that someone had actually attacked it in its sleep. How despicable.

Didn't that person see how adorable it was? How could it stand to attack it?

Luckily, it had great abilities and that despicable person hadn't been able to touch a hair on its noble head, or else how would the world live on without it?

The little mink didn't think much about these things. It only knew that if it had gained so many benefits just from being so far away from the Force Eruption, how many more benefits would it gain by approaching the center? Something was telling it that there was something very good over there, but there was also something else telling it that it was very dangerous as well.

So, it ran around the outside, sometimes on the ground, sometimes gliding through the air, trying to see if it could get a greater sense of what was hidden inside.

It could only sigh to itself as it continued to circle the Force geyser. It had found such a good playmate, it was a shame that its playmate had disappeared. It couldn't sense its playmate as easily as it had before.

Hm?

The little mink looked up and beared its adorable little teeth.

"Yip! Yip!"

Someone actually dared come here to snatch its things? Were these the despicable people that attacked it?

It was definitely going to teach them a lesson.

Chapter 196 Yip Yip

The members of the Brazinger family were caught completely off guard.

In one instant, they were happily thinking about all of the rewards they would reap on this journey, and in the next, a flash of black light appeared before their palace of Force, crashing into it with a loud BANG!

The little mink rebounded off the shield, confusion coloring its adorable features.

It was clear that it hadn't been hurt by the rebound. In fact, this was a benefit of its Shadow World ability. Its body was perpetually existing on two planes, so any attacks it suffered would only be half effective. It could only be said that the little guy had a truly broken ability and who knows how it had evolved now?

Still, that didn't stop the little mink from being shocked. The only thing it had ever been unable to go directly through was the light attacks of its playmate. It didn't think that this illusory palace could also stop it like this.

If the Brazinger family people knew what the little mink was thinking, they'd likely be coughing up blood in rage.

Though the little mink hadn't managed to cross through their defenses, its actions had caused Seven to directly spit up several mouthfuls of blood. The backlash was so severe that the palace nearly collapsed. If it wasn't for the fact Seven feared what his Young Lord would do to him if he really let the palace fall, the technique would have collapsed in the first instant.

"Young Lord! This little beast has comprehended a Force Strengthening Deviation! The Four Corner Palace Formation won't last long!"

Simeon's expression darkened. This little beast actually dared to ruin its plans like this?

Unfortunately, Simeon's ability wasn't beast taming. Beast taming was just a product of him putting his genetic manipulation ability into affect. In order to do this, he needed his victim to be completely restrained and he also needed time to perform several complex calculations. It was completely impossible for him to take control of this little mink with ease.

However, after a few moments of thought, his frown gave way to a smile.

A beast that had comprehended a Force Strengthening Deviation?

How valuable was that? Though he had other beasts of this caliber, it was clear that this little mink's Force Strengthening Deviation wasn't normal. It was very likely of an exceptionally high grade.

Leonel watched all of this from a distance, his expression growing solemn.

'The little bastard actually didn't manage to break it in a single hit…'

By Leonel's estimations, that charge attack of the little mink carried with it over 3.00 points of strength. With it concentrated into such a fine point, its power per square inch was a few levels above even the explosions Leonel's Quasi Bronze energy shield suffered all those months ago. Yet, his chain necklace almost shattered completely back then.

What did this mean? It meant that this technique, a Formation Technique as that man referred to it as, was at least on par with his chain necklace.

"Four, Three, Two — Go deal with that little mink. Don't let it near the Palace Formation again."

"Yes, Young Lord!"

Two women and a man dashed out from the Formation. The two women were Four and Two respectively, while the man was Three. Four carried a bow and a quiver of arrows, Three carried a two-handed sword, and Two brandished a whip that had a length of over ten meters.

Leonel quickly matched these three with the information he had gotten from his interrogation.

Simeon's abilities were still limited. For now, he could only provide boosts to physical attributes. Though rat 006 had had a mental ability, he had awakened with it even before he was genetically modified.

Thanks to Simeon, the stats of all three of these warriors hovered around 3.00. However, if they undid the genetic locks Simeon placed on them, they would gain a 20% boost to their abilities.

After matching the descriptions and weapons together, Leonel understood who they were. Four had an A-grade telekinesis ability, allowing her to control her arrows within a range of 50 meters. Three had an A-grade energy type ability which sharpened his Force, essentially giving him the equivalent of a Force Strengthening Deviation. Finally, Two had an S-grade metal manipulation ability. The links of her whip had small metal veins embedded into it, not only making it far sturdier than a normal whip, but also allowing her deft control over it.

'That is definitely not the limit of Two's abilities… I need to be careful of her.'

As an extra measure of caution, Leonel used the dictionary to double check the information those two captives had given him. After confirming their abilities, he nodded.

At this moment, the little mink and the three had already clashed. Or rather… they had tried to clash, but all the attacks they levied went right through the little mink.

The three warriors turned serious.

Three took a strong step forward. His internally cultivated Force was entirely focused on maintaining the Force Skin around him. However, his ability had shot into overdrive, causing the air to whistle around his great sword as he swung toward the little mink.

The little mink dodged to the side by a hair's breath, leaping toward the spine of the sword to run up it. However, in the next instant it cried out and jumped backward, its little paws having been injured.

"It's weak to Force Strengthening Deviations!" Three said confidently.

With his ability, he could rip out Force from the air and sharpen it to magnify his attack. Though the Force was too volatile in this place for him to have great control, in some ways, this was also a benefit. If not for this, how could the spine of his blade also be sharp?

Hearing his words, the eyes of the two women lit up.

WENG! WENG!

Sharp winds kicked up around Two while a fiery blaze lit the tips of Four's arrows.

Without pause, they launched their next attacks.

"Yip! Yip!"

The little mink's back arched as its hair stood on end. It bared its little teeth. This time, it was truly enraged.

Chapter 197 Three

The little mink knew that all this wasn't normal. There were beasts on this island that had Force Strengthening Deviations as well, but they had still never been able to hurt it. The only explanation was that this place, while restricting the control these three had, was also amplifying their strength as well.

It wasn't as though the little mink's thoughts were so intricate. It mostly worked on instinct, having the intelligence of a three year old child at best.

But, what it did know was that if the abilities of its enemies were amplified… so were its.

The little mink brandished its small claw, swiping at the air.

A scythe of black manifested, tearing through the fearsome momentum. In the blink of an eye, it was already several times larger than the little mink that had cast it out. However, it's power had also been spread out just as well.

Despite this, the expressions of the three warriors still changed.

Three took the vanguard, roaring as he slashed downward. Four rapidly retreated and Two brandished her whip like a cyclone, creating a barrier of sharp winds and clanging metal.

The three were forced into a furious retreat.

Looking toward the enraged little mink, apprehension colored their expressions. That attack had been greatly diluted, yet it still took the three of them working together to dispel it. Just what was going on with this little mink?

Beasts this powerful shouldn't be on this island. According to the ranking system set out by the Slayer Legion, such a beast could only appear on an A Sector Project Hunt Island. Why would it appear on a B Sector island?

One had to know that these regulations were tightly controlled. Project Hunt provided a great opportunity, but it could also pose a great threat to Earth as well. They were essentially raising powerful enemies for themselves. So, how could these islands not be tightly monitored?

The only explanation for this was either that this little mink had only recently evolved to have this level of strength or that it was simply too good at escaping… It might very well be both…

Realizing this, the three grew serious. Though each of them was confident in taking on this little mink alone, they were on a time line. The Young Lord had already said he wanted Seven to last for 10 minutes. With how demanding the Young Lord was, one could deduce that lasting for this period of time was definitely difficult.

Now that the Formation had actually been damaged, it was likely that he would last for even less time. If that was the case, Seven would have to be swapped out.

But, Seven's abilities were the most suited to being the core of the Formation!

In that case, they had to end it as quickly as possible.

Four was the first to react. Her body began to morph, her long, slender legs growing in size as large pink wings appeared to her back. Her nose grew in size as well, becoming slightly more hooked in nature as she shot into the skies, brandishing her bow and arrows time and time again as though she couldn't tire.

Three reacted swiftly as well. His body grew half a meter in size, his back becoming somewhat hunched over. Muscles bulged along his arms and a patch of dense hair burst out from his chest.

Two was the last and experienced the least changes. However, if one looked more closely, it was possible to see that her nails had gained a metallic hue and grown about an inch. In addition to this, her pupils grew just a slight bit more narrowed as though she was a feline prepared to pounce.

From Four to Two, each seemed more human than the last. But it became very clear, very quickly, that this only made them more powerful.

Three's speed was completely unlike what it had been before. With Four raining down flaming arrows from all sides, the paths of retreat the little mink had were completely limited.

The little mink dodged time and time again, trying to find an opening to lash out, but its intelligence was still too lacking.

It wanted to get rid of the annoying man in front of it, but it would fall into a rage whenever Four shot an arrow at it. Like this, it kept bouncing back and forth between wanting to attack Four and Three, causing it to end up threatening neither of them.

Two didn't attack at all. It was clear that she was content to observe the situation, stalking her prey.

The 'yips' of the little mink filled the space. Even with the noise nullifying effects of the space, its enraged calls traveled far.

It jumped about wildly, sometimes using the ground and even sometimes using the air as a platform. But, it seemed to be getting nowhere.

In the distance, Leonel couldn't help but sigh. 'This little bastard is so useless. You gave me all this trouble yet you can't take down even one of them?'

Though Leonel was shaking his head, he knew it wasn't because the little guy was weak, but because it didn't know how to use its strength. Usually beasts could make up for their lack of intelligence with strong physiques and large bodies, but the little guy had neither.

Leonel suspected that the little guy's ability was great, but it was also highly dependent on how it was used. In Leonel's hands, he would likely be undefeatable of Earth with it. Unfortunately, it wasn't his ability, nor did he have the means to control beasts.

The little mink finally couldn't take it anymore.

It charged ahead recklessly, its deep black eyes holding a hint of red.

Two's gaze narrowed as her forearm flexed. This was exactly what she had been waiting for. Even Simeon's lip curled into a sneer.

"Don't kill it, it will have its uses."

Two nodded in acknowledgment, but her whip had already pierced forward. It shot out like an arrow, leaving a streak of black and silver in the air.

However, the little mink's burst of speed was out of all of their expectations.

It appeared before Three, baring its teeth. Its hair stood on end as though trying to make itself seem far bigger than it was.

Three, though caught off guard, was still a veteran of many battles.

He sunk into a practiced stance, using this momentum to slide a small distance away. Knowing that his sword was too large to be used at such a close distance, his left hand dropped from the hilt and pulled a knife from his hip, slashing out toward the little mink.

However, what he couldn't have expected was for the little mink to completely vanish.

Seeing such a scene, Leonel finally grinned. He was wondering why this little guy hadn't used this ability yet. It used it all the time against him. He almost felt like the little mink was playing favorites.

The knife slash completely missed.

Three's eyes widened in horror, but it was already too late. The little mink's claws tore his Force Skin to pieces, tearing out a piece of his neck.

Unfortunately for the little mink, Two's whip also arrived at that time. With her metal control, she could adjust her strike even while it was in the air. How could she not react appropriately?

BANG!

The little mink was sent flying, its torso completely ripped through, leaking out a black, foggy aura along with dripping crimson blood.

Chapter 198 Same

Leonel sighed.

Though he 'hated' the little mink for annoying him for so long, he still couldn't feel happy seeing it end like this. The truth was that the little mink wasn't just 'annoying' him, the little guy had almost driven him to his death many times.

'Whatever, it's best it dies like this. It's too great of a variable.'

"Go and collect it." Simeon's voice rang out. "We're running out of time."

When Leonel heard this, his expression changed. It wasn't because Simeon was so uncaring about the death of Three, but rather because he had forgotten to consider what would happen if Simeon took control of the little mink like he had done all the other king beasts currently protecting the hive.

Leonel had no doubt that the outside world was currenty in chaos right now. The beasts from the ocean had most definitely long since charged onto the island. Maybe the only reason they had yet to cause changes in the hive even after so long was precisely because of the beast kings under Simeon's control.

Simeon was already so powerful. If he gained a subordinate like the little mink, it would really be over.

'If I had known it was so weak to Force Strengthening Deviations, I could have killed it a long time ago. Dammit…'

The recklessness of his past was really coming back to bite him. Back then, he had used harpoons to target the little mink and not Light Elemental Force. Had he used the latter, he probably wouldn't even have to worry about it.

Leonel knew about Simeon's ability, but he didn't know anything about exactly how it worked. He didn't know how long it would take for Simeon to take control of the little mink. If it was instant, or even if it was just a few minutes, Leonel would be in trouble.

Five — one of Simeon's subordinates — had an A-grade healing ability. It was quite possible that if Simeon could take control of the little mink, Leonel would be in a world of trouble.

'Even after all this, you're still giving me problems.'

Without another choice, Leonel grit his teeth and rushed out of the Force geyser. At the very least, he had to kill the little mink before it could be of any use to Simeon. Or, he just had to defeat them before Simeon had the chance to get his hands on the little guy.

It could be said that the very last thing the Brazinger family members could have ever expected was for another person to suddenly come rushing out of the Force Eruption.

Simeon was especially shocked. He didn't immediately recognize Leonel because the changes in him were too striking. Plus, the last time he had seen Leonel was only for a brief moment in the Governor Duke's residence. And, back then, Leonel had had a tired and disheveled appearance, nothing like the valiant aura he

was giving off now.

The true reason Simeon was shocked wasn't because he recognized Leonel, but rather because he knew more about Force Eruptions than Leonel had just a few days ago. Charging out of a Force Eruption like that should ahve been impossible, unless…

"Retreat! He's very powerful!"

Simeon immediately took command. He knew he couldn't be laid back any longer. At this moment, his true disposition took the lead, causing Leonel to raise an eyebrow.

It seemed he had underestimated Simeon a bit. However, that was all. He knew that Simeon was on a time crunch. But, unlike Simeon, he didn't have to worry about the Force Eruption at all.

A spear appeared in Leonel's hand as he leapt into the air.

He didn't want to make it obvious that his target was the little mink. After all, the three warriors were much closer to the little beast than he was. If he made his target obvious, they might first retreat with the little mink. However… If he targeted Four first, it was a different matter entirely.

The expression of Four changed. 'So fast…'

Not only had Leonel awakened the Wisdom Branch of his Snowy Star Owl Lineage Factor, but this had caused an indirect boost to his control over the Light Element. Though he should still be at the first stage, there was still a 10% boost over his previous speed.

By the time Four realized that she just might die, Leonel had already appeared before her. She couldn't help but shudder when she looked into Leonel's eyes. There was a cold, calculating glint within them as though he didn't care about how many lives he reaped.

In reality, this wasn't the case. Leonel was inherently a person who didn't like to kill. However, he no longer let it rule his mind. As a result, he could focus on the battle entirely.

This 'cold' look in his eyes wasn't indifference, but rather was the state he entered when he activated his ability.

His thoughts whirred past at impossible speeds. The world became a series of numbers, angles and probabilities. The entire battlefield was reflected in his mind, becoming no different from his chess board.

Leonel's treasure shoes glowed green as he shot forward, reaching an even higher level of speed. His spear pierced through the air, appearing before Four's throat.

How could Four even defend? She was an archer. Even though her close combat skills were also not bad… What could she do to Leonel?

PCHUU

Four's eyes widened in horror, looking toward the spear piercing through her throat and spine as though she still couldn't believe it. Even as her eyes dulled… she still couldn't.

'Why didn't I fly away…'

These were the last thoughts she had. Her shock hadn't come from Leonel's speed or his power, but rather the fact she really hadn't thought of something so simple. How laughable, a veteran of battle like her… dying in such a way.

By this point, Two had also reacted. She completely forgot about the little mink, what did it matter if there was another enemy right before her? But, what happened next shocked her even more.

Instead of dodging her whip, Leonel actually reached out a hand to snatch it.

Two thought he had lost his mind, but also inwardly sneered. Was her whip really so simple to catch? Even a normal horse whip could lacerate a human's skin. In addition, she had already assumed that the light beneath Leonel's feet was related to his ability, so he couldn't also have a defensive ability, right?

But, reality was cruel.

Beautiful bronze Runes covered Leonel's hands and forearms as he snatched the whip out of the air. A stinging pain assaulted his senses, yet, other than reddening a bit, his skin wasn't affected in the least.

With a single pull Two was sent flying toward him. She really hadn't believed that such a thing would ever happen. However, she didn't panic like Four had.

The whip around Leonel's arm snaked forward, trying to wrap around him entirely. After all, Two's ability was metal control. Wasn't Leonel looking down on her too much trying to do this?

Two snorted as she allowed Leonel to pull her through the air. She could almost see the sight of Leonel being strangled to death by her whip.

But, once again… reality was cruel.

Trying to control metals in the presence of a Morales family heir? That was a bit too naive.

Two felt that the loving connection she had always had with metal suddenly disappear, as though it had been cut off by some cruel and callous person.

By the time she realized the situation wasn't good, Leonel had already pulled her to within three meters. In fact, his spear was surging toward her forehead without the slightest bit of mercy.

It wasn't fair. She had too many other abilities. She still had the needles she always kept around her hips and the armor that always protected her torso. Yet, it all seemed useless. A moment of overconfidence ended her life. Plus… even if she had time, could she control her needles in Leonel's presence? And what use was an armor if his target was her head?

PCHUU.

Two's eyes dulled, staring at Leonel's spear in the same shocked manner Four had.

Chapter 199 Retreat

Leonel landed heavily on the ground, a long breath leaving his lips.

His body felt… good. He couldn't explain it with any other words. He just felt free and much better than he had ever before.

He sent a glance toward the little mink who would currently lying in a pool of its own blood.

'Forget it, it can't do anything to me in that state anyway. Consider this payback for all that hell you put me through. Whether you live or die is up to yourself.'

Leonel shook his head. It seemed he was still a bit too soft. But, he excused himself of this folly by remembering that Simeon was standing right before him. This was a much greater enemy.

Leonel's gaze turned cold as his eyes met Simeon's through the cracking palace Formation. A hardly concealed animosity flickered within him.

Simeon frowned. Why did that gaze seem so familiar?

Suddenly, a tremble coursed through his body. He had seen that cold gaze before. It was a gaze that pissed him off whenever he thought about it.

"It's you!"

If it was anyone else, Simeon's words wouldn't have reached him through the volatile Force. But, Leonel heard him just fine. Still… He didn't bother to respond, opting for shooting forward instead.

Simeon's expression flickered. "Retreat. Retreat!"

One was an exceptionally tall man. He stood beyond normal human limits, reaching two and a half meters. Yet, instead of seeming slow and lumbering, he had a sharpness to him that made it seem he was the one of normal height whereas everyone else was too short.

He always considered himself to be invincible. At the very least, there shouldn't be more than a handful of people on Earth who could match him in strength while those families were still forced to stay in hiding.

So, when he heard his Young Lord so decisively order a retreat, he felt dissatisfied. It was like the deaths of Four and Two had little to no impact on him. In his eyes, he could kill the two of them just as easily, if not more so.

"Young Lord, let me handle him." One said confidently.

Simeon looked toward One. However, his eyes didn't carry the pleasant surprise One was expecting. Instead, it held a hostile light that made his heart tremble.

"This Young Lord ordered you to retreat. So retreat!"

One was stunned. Was the situation truly so bad?

Simeon couldn't be bothered to care about One's feelings in this moment. One had to remember that the dictionary had broken down Simeon's abilities into two lanes. Genetic Manipulation and.., Reinforced Mind: Mental capacity several times that of normal a individual. Special emphasis on eyesight.

Similarly to Leonel, he was able to estimate a person's 'stats' by looking at them. He could immediately grasp that in his current

state, there was a high chance that Leonel could suppress and kill One. Though it would take a while, the one commodity he didn't have now was time.

In addition, he had noticed the Light Elemental Force that boosted Leonel's speed and the odd Runes that coated his hand when he caught Two's whip. Both were anomalies he had no way to account for.

All of this didn't even account for the most important matter… Leonel was standing in this environment without the slightest hint of a Force Skin!

Everything led to just one conclusion. They were greatly disadvantaged in this place.

Simeon's heart couldn't help but clench when he thought of a possibility. What if Leonel waited until they approached the Force Eruption to act? Would they even have a chance?

'Could it be he's an impulsive fool? Or is there another reason he would make such a clear mistake?'

If Leonel was just a fool, this was still fine. Such an enemy wasn't one Simeon had to worry about. However, if not…

Suddenly, Simeon trembled again. He suddenly remembered the disappearance of his two lackies. If Leonel caught them and interrogated them…!

Simeon turned his gaze toward the little mink corpse and immediately understood everything. However, instead of being relieved that Leonel didn't know how his ability worked, he was instead several levels more apprehensive.

This opponent… He had to be killed!

Both Simeon and Leonel wanted the death of the other. However, neither had an easy path toward this.

Not only was Simeon's evaluation of Leonel now several levels higher, but so was Leonel's evaluation of the former. He had never thought that Simeon would be able to so decisively choose to retreat in the face of so many benefits.

Leonel hadn't missed the subtle look Simeon sent toward the little mink. He immediately guessed that there was a better than 80% probability that Simeon had realized the reason he stepped out so quickly when it would have benefited him more to wait.

However, Leonel had no intention of letting them leave so easily. He wanted Simeon's life even more than the latter wanted his!

Leonel's body flickered forward, appearing before the cracking palace Formation.

Seven had only just managed to stabilize the Formation when the Young Lord ordered a retreat. In truth, he had been sighing a breath of relief. He knew he definitely wouldn't make it to the ten minute mark Simeon expected of him.

But, at this moment, all his hopes were completely shattered.

BANG!

A sharp light pierced through the protective film.

The palace Formation crumbled like shattering glass, revealing Seven's figure.

Seven violently coughed up several mouthfuls of blood. Let alone defend against Leonel's coming attack, he could hardly stand on his own two feet.

However, Simeon had also been prepared. His eight lensed monocle spun around his left eye, complex calculations sweeping by at blinding speeds.

Leonel's path was immediately blocked by several of the lesser guards Simeon had brought. He had already lost three numbered warriors, he couldn't afford to lose Seven as well.

Simeon had brought over 30 people with him, each of whom were Force wielders. Though alone they weren't enough to take a single one of Leonel's strikes, together they were enough to obstruct him for several moment.

Leonel frowned. Should he take it out now?

Not even an instant later, he shook his head furiously. He couldn't risk using it against humans or else his ending would be no better than Joan's.

'Dammit… That little mink really screwed me over this time…'

Leonel's flashing Spear Force reaped three lives in the blink of an eye, but one group had already picked up Seven and rushed one. To make matters worse, Simeon's retreat had been even faster.

Simeon stood with his hands clasped behind his back. He seemed to be standing on nothing, shuttling through the air like a flying god as he retreated. But, Leonel knew that this was just Six's air solidification ability.

Leonel's eyes narrowed, but he didn't continue to chase. He knew what kind of support Simeon had outside.

At this point, he could only blame the fact Simeon was far more intelligent and cautious than he had given him credit for. Leonel didn't know if even he could retreat so decisively. Simeon had already called for retreat the instant Leonel charged out from the Force geyser.

The importance Leonel placed on Simeon rose several levels higher.

However, Leonel didn't feel down. He didn't believe that Simeon would leave this island so easily. He would most definitely surround the hive in a death trap.

Leonel's lip curled into a sneer. 'While you wait patiently for me, I'll be reaping all of these rewards.'

While Leonel was thinking this, Simeon's line of thinking wasn't much different.

Simeon's red hair fluttered in the wind, his red eyes piercing through the skies.

'Why not let you gather up all the benefits for me? I'll just take them off your corpse.'

Chapter 200 Evolution Ore

'He won't be an easy opponent…'

Leonel flipped his palm, causing a pistol to appear in his hand. As Simeon disappeared through the path toward the valley, he fired off several shots. However, these shots weren't for Simeon at all. Rather, they mowed down several of his subordinates. By the time they disappeared completely, the more than 30 number Simeon had come with had shrunk to barely half of that.

Though he could see Simeon's furious gaze, Leonel didn't bat an eye. After they truly disappeared, he turned back, entering the Force geyser once again. This time, he didn't hold the Segmented Cube back any longer and directly allowed it to begin speeding up the growth of the Force Crystal Core.

After he came out once again, his first instinct was to begin exploring the other tunnels connected to this mine. The tunnel Simeon went through only led to the valley outside, but the others had a high likelihood of having precious natural treasures.

However, he stopped when he crossed over the bleeding figure of the little mink once more. At this point, he was left speechless.

Wasn't this little guy supposed to be terribly wounded? Why was it that it seemed like it was just taking a nap?

Leonel shook his head. He couldn't allow anymore variables to occur. So, he coated his hands with Light Elemental Force, scooped up the little mink, and tossed it into one of the Segmented Cube's snowglobes.

He really didn't know what to do with that little mink. Maybe in the future when he grew powerful enough to be confident in easily subduing it, he could let it go free.

After dealing with these matters, Leonel's smile returned.

There were 12 hours until the Segmented Cube accomplished its task. And, this wasn't necessarily a deadline for him either.

Leonel grinned. 'Consider this as a bit of payback, old man. Who asked you to bully me for so long?'

Leonel wouldn't feel the slightest bit bad about robbing the Slayer Legion blind. Old Hutch could only blame himself.

Leoenl dashed toward the closest tunnel, having stored numerous snowglobes within the spatial bracelet.

He followed the tunnel's winding paths, relying on the dictionary to detect precious ores. It wasn't very long before he gained rewards for his efforts.

'Evolution Ore!'

Urbe Ore was an important foundational ore and provided the basic network of strength most Force Crafts needed. Evolution Ore worked similarly in that it strengthened ores, but its use was more miraculous.

Depending on the Ore kind, it could serve all sorts of functions. It could fuse two separate ores to create a new ore sharing both characteristics, it could be applied to a single ore and boost its effects compared to others of its ore family, and it could even be used as a catalyst to speed up ore growth.

Much like Urbe Ore, Evolution Ore was one of a kind. There was only one kind of it, but it was separated into many different stages. The Evolution Ore Leonel found was Black Evolution Ore. So, it could provide such effects on any Black Grade Ore and below.

In translation, this meant any ore within the Fourth Dimension and below!

Leonel was happy with this harvest. This vein of Evolution Ore had enough Essence for seven pieces.

'Essence' was a unique concept that only applied to certain rare natural treasures. It was a method of calculation. Essentially, for an Evolution Ore to achieve its basic effects, it had to have a certain amount of this Essence.

The reason why this was important was because of the fourth ability of Evolution Ore. If ten pieces of Black Evolution Ore were fused together, they could form Bronze Evolution Ore! If a hundred pieces of Bronze Evolution Ore were fused together, they could form Silver Evolution Ore!? In order for a piece of ore to count as 'one', it had to have enough Essence.

There were very few things that could combine things of lesser quality to form treasures of higher quality, but Evolution Ore was one of them.

'If I could find more Evolution Ore, just enough Essence for three more, I would be able to use a Fifth Dimension Ore as the foundation for my Divine Armor…'

Leonel's eyes lit as though they had caught on fire.

The two core abilities of his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor were Divine Metal Absorption and Divine Armor Deity. The second was the very reason why the Morales family had evolved to become such good Force Crafters as well as warriors.

Divine Metal Absorption allowed one who had awakened their Lineage Factor to absorb metals to strengthen themselves. This wasn't a foreign concept. After all, Leonel had been looking for the special Vein Ore [Dimensional Cleanse] mentioned. That Vein Ore would have allowed him to strengthen his Force Pathways.

However, whereas a normal person would only be able to absorb these very special and niche ores, the Morales family wasn't limited by this at all!

The special Vein Ore, known as Force Vein Ore, and specifically Black Force Vein Ore for Leonel's current needs, could only be considered normal in strength. The only reason it was so sought after was because its special properties allowed normal Force cultivators to absorb some of its Essence.

However, Leonel could absorb much stronger ores and strengthen his Force Pathways with metals others couldn't even imagine using!

This ability was already enough to explain why the Morales family could stand so tall. If someone's body was as strong as metal, was it even possible to harm them? This was completely unlike the A-grade Invalid Leonel had met before because this would also encompass Leonel's inner organs!

However, what was most shocking was that this wasn't the Morales family's only earth shattering ability. It could even be argued that Divine Armor Deity was more exaggerated.

As long as one opened the fourth door of the Metal Synergy Lineage Factor, it would be possible to absorb metals to strengthen one's self. However, one needed to open the seventh to gain the right to build one's own Divine Armor.

This ability could be considered the fusion of a Force Crafter and a warrior's dream. It allowed one to forge one's own Divine Armor and make it a part of one's body. This meant that even without a spatial treasure, one could summon their Divine Armor to protect their body as they pleased.

What made this even more exaggerated than the metal absorption ability was that Divine Armors allowed a Morales family member who had opened the seventh door the power to share abilities with the ores they formed their Divine Armor with.

If they absorbed a Wind Elemental Vessel Ore, depending on the quality, they would just as easily gain Wind Elemental Force Strengthening Deviations. The more exaggerated the abilities of the ore, the more powerful the Divine Armor would become!

Of course, one had to be exceptionally careful with what they chose to make their Divine Armor out of. After all, it was impossible to be a master of all. If one made their Divine Armor a hodgepodge of ores with no clear direction, you'll only end up being a jack of all trades without any sort of real power.

The reason Leonel was so excited was because opening the ninth door gave him the right to attempt to absorb and use Quasi Fifth Dimensional metals into his Divine Armor. But, his father had left him behind a note that made his thoughts run wild.

If he used Evolution Ore as the core of his Divine Armor, it might be possible for him to form a Fifth Dimensional Divine Armor while his body was still in the Third Dimension. After all, one mustn't forget that Leonel was still currently forming his foundations to enter the Fourth Dimension.

Leonel's heartbeat quickened.

Though Divine Armor could easily be discarded and reformed. It was best to pour one's heart and soul into one for each major tier of power. If Leonel managed to have such a good starting position, it wouldn't be necessary for him to discard his Divine Armor until he entered the Fifth Dimension.

However, he was getting ahead of himself. He still needed to design his armor and he still hadn't decided what ores he would use either. Plus, just because he found seven Evolution Ores here, didn't mean he would definitely find another three. Who knew how long it would take?

There was one last problem as well. According to his father, this was all just a theory, even he hadn't tried it out yet. He hadn't had the computational abilities to think of it when he was young, and by the time he realized it was feasible, the Evolution Ores he needed for his tier of power were simply too rare.

Who was to say his old man wasn't screwing him over again?

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