Chapter 314: Advancement

"Much of this knowledge is outdated," Muria lamented, setting down the metal book he held in the expansive library. "Still, it serves as a reference and holds great research value."

"Muria..." Talin, appearing as a middle-aged mage next to Muria, began but hesitated. Although Muria had (forcefully) persuaded him to submit and surrender the control of the half-plane, calling Muria his master was still uncomfortable for Talin.

"Just address me as my followers do," Muria glanced at Talin, who seemed almost more human than humans themselves, "No need to call me master."

"Prince Muria, it's been such a long time. It's normal for some of the knowledge my former master held to be outdated and phased out," Talin said, unfazed by Muria's remarks. Knowledge, unlike bloodline, does not improve with age. Without a break in the transmission, knowledge should only advance, not regress.

"The complete manufacturing technology for Sky Cities! From the most basic steel golems to the highest level of legendary golems. And research on optimizing various spells..." Muria's eyes gleamed as he surveyed the neatly arranged bookshelves, his face unguarded with a smile, "This is the most valuable treasure of this half-plane."

"You've done well," Muria praised without stinginess, observing the bookshelves crammed with books. Talin had preserved every book collected by the legendary mage Hainar, a feat that required considerable effort over the many years most metal golems had decayed to dust.

"This is my duty, Prince Muria. Protecting these books is my top priority."

"Good. That command stays unchanged forever," Muria nodded and then turned to Talin, "This mage tower is severely damaged. Do you have any suggestions for repairs?"

"Uh, Prince Muria, since I had prepared for its destruction long ago, I didn't expend energy to protect many things," Talin somewhat embarrassingly admitted.

"So, you have no solutions for its repair?"

"If there were enough golems, the mage tower could be repaired," Talin said, spreading his hands helplessly, "But now, there isn't a single operational golem left in the mage tower. There were a dozen or so combat golems, but they were all destroyed by you, my lord..."

"Alright, I get it," Muria said, massaging his temples in resignation, "Does the mage tower still have the capability to produce golems? There should be a complete production line for golems, right?"

"My lord, the mage tower originally had twenty golem production lines capable of manufacturing golems from bronze to gold grade for combat, production, maintenance, etc. However, all these production facilities are now damaged.

Moreover, even if they weren't damaged, without a sufficient number of magitech artisans to operate them, we couldn't produce even the lowest grade golem."

"No personnel, no equipment, and not enough resources," Muria grimaced.

If Talin hadn't been so kind to transport the cloud giants and many humans who served the legendary mage Hainar out of the half-plane,

He might have gained a sizable cloud giant tribe and humans spread across the entire half-plane by now.

But Muria couldn't blame Talin for his actions; his intentions were not wrong. Living in a half-plane with incomplete rules offers no future.

"Forget it," Muria temporarily abandoned the idea of repairing the mage tower, an impossibility in the short term. Instead, he decided to deal with his gains from the elemental pools.

"Ino, where is the highest-grade laboratory in the mage tower? I need to process the hearts of three elemental lords."

...

Surrounded by a hurricane, the cyan heart of wind element; filled with thunder, the purple heart of thunder element; and blazing like a small sun, the crimson heart of fire element.

Wearing the Holy Royal Abyss, Muria looked solemnly at the three legendary-grade elemental hearts in front of him.

"Prince Muria, what do you plan to do?" Talin's figure materialized next to Muria.

"Swallow them to quickly increase my power," Muria answered calmly.

"My lord, I must remind you, these three elemental hearts contain energy that has reached the level of legendary tier seven. If you swallow them, even with your noble bloodline, you might be overwhelmed by their energy."

"That's why I need to process them first," Muria surveyed the laboratory he was in, filled with various auxiliary experimental formations, instruments, and special specimens.

Most were either damaged or decayed. However, the laboratory's defensive formation was still intact. Being of legendary grade, it used top-quality materials and withstood the test of time. Furthermore, the defensive measures of this legendary formation were designed to protect the interior, not the exterior.

...After eight days and nights without rest, Muria did not step out of the laboratory, finally achieving the desired outcome.

"Finally processed," Muria, now wearing a faceguard as part of the Holy Royal Abyss, looked satisfied at the three elemental hearts.

He had been concerned about accidentally igniting any of the high-energy crystalline bodies due to a mistake, but fortunately, no such major error occurred. Or perhaps, the stability of the elemental hearts was far beyond his expectations.

He activated the internal elemental energy and inscribed three layers of seals on their shells. More accurately, he set up three layers of valves to control the outward flow of energy, restricting it within his tolerable range. This allowed him to perfectly absorb the three elemental hearts that matched his attributes.

After processing the elemental hearts, Muria did not immediately devour them. Instead, he summoned the white tiger Troy and the many chromatic dragons he had subdued and tamed. He had instructions to give.

"Troy, if I lose control and fall into slumber, then I entrust you with my protection."

Muria looked solemnly at the pure white giant cat in front of him. Dragons usually ascend in power through slumber, even for unnatural power gains like Muria's through devouring similar forces. It might even require longer to assimilate.

But Muria didn't want to waste time in slumber; he wasn't a purebred dragon, he also possessed Titan blood. So, he wanted to attempt to digest the elemental hearts and complete his power advancement while remaining conscious.

"Of course," Under Troy's gaze, Muria in his Titan form swallowed the three elemental hearts.

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