Chapter 368: Strange Black Energy

Lulansi opened his eyes, and his originally murky pupils regained some luster.

However, his expression was somewhat puzzled and grave.

"Although my flesh, meridians, and bones are free of the strange energy of the Soul Devouring Surge, there is still a mass of black energy in my Qi Sea."

He frowned: "I can sense the existence of this energy, but it is very difficult for me to manipulate it."

Could such a thing really happen?

Luoning looked at Aierlong with worry, "Could there be any aftereffects?"

Aierlong shook his head.

The power within Lulansi should be considered a relatively high-level Witch Soul Power, yet even so, he had more than one memory of successfully dispelling it.

This current situation had never occurred before.

"I will try again."

Aierlong immediately cast Evil Purification once more, and the brilliant pillar of light concentrated entirely on the position of Lulansi's abdominal Qi Sea.

But no matter how Aierlong tried and exerted effort, that mass of dark energy in the Qi Sea remained, showing no signs of dissipating at all.

Lulansi hesitated for a moment, then could not help but use his own Battle Qi to touch this energy.

In the past, if he had done this, he would have felt heart-wrenching pain, so he felt a bit wary at this moment.

Hum—

As the black energy came into contact with the Battle Qi, it flared up violently, as if a burning candle had been suddenly thrust into an oxygen tank.

The black energy suddenly grew a circle larger, as if it had swallowed and absorbed the Battle Qi it had just touched in one gulp.

The familiar feeling of pain did not appear; the black energy, now a circle larger, quietly nestled in the Qi Sea.

And at this moment, Lulansi discovered with astonishment that he was actually able to mobilize this energy.

"Please stop, Archmage."

Lulansi stopped Aierlong's intention to attempt a third time.

"This dark energy should be impossible to clear, but it seems it no longer harms me, and it can even be controlled by me."

The old man steeled his heart and fed the other party a large mouthful of Battle Qi, letting the black energy grow by another circle.

Following his manipulation, this energy surfaced on his palm, forming a sharp palm blade.

"This is equivalent to gaining an extra attribute?"

Luoning was surprised.

Lulansi's attributes were Fire and Thunder; what was this now, an extra Dark attribute?

But a person's attributes cannot change.

"This kind of energy..."

Aierlong stepped forward to examine it, "It seems somewhat similar to Witch Soul Power, but it doesn't seem as heavy, and it doesn't possess corrosiveness."

"In other words, the move used on Earl Aosen cannot be replicated?"

That day, Lulansi had relied on Witch Soul Power to directly cripple Aosen.

Now, if the old man could use this energy at will, and if he could still do as he did in the past, wouldn't he be able to cripple whoever he wanted?

The three of them tested it and found that this was indeed the case.

If the Witch Soul Power in Lulansi's body before was a mad dog, then the modified Witch Soul Power in his body now was equivalent to a docile sheep.

"Just consider it a gift from the Seven Gods for me having lived with it for so long."

Lulansi comforted himself, no longer worrying about the extra power in his body, treating it as having gained an extra attribute.

He rolled off the bed.

Although the weakness from long-term erosion had not yet dissipated, his entire body and mind felt very relaxed.

As he mobilized his Battle Qi, surging Thunder and flames intertwined, covering his body and condensing into nearly materialized armor.

A powerful aura and pressure rushed toward him, making Luoning feel startled.

The old man was likely no ordinary Meteor Knight; at the very least, this aura was far stronger than his own.

"Ha!"

Feeling the pleasure of being able to mobilize his Battle Qi as he pleased, Lulansi could not help but laugh out loud.

After all these years of silence, he had finally tasted the sweetness after the bitterness.

Luoning could not help but ask: "Grandfather, what level has your strength reached now?"

In his view, having suffered for so many years, his strength should have regressed.

"Before I was harmed, I had already entered the Meteor level for many years, and my strength was probably at the peak level."

Lulansi felt a bit emotional; the term "strength level" had hardly appeared in his mind all these years.

"Although I was suppressed by the Witch Soul Power you mentioned all these years, it and I were in a state of constant struggle. Although I had no chance to break through the 'Body Wheel' at my heart, my Qi Sea and meridians were strengthened through repeated destruction and reconstruction."

If Battle Qi were compared to rainwater, then Lulansi's body now was like parched earth.

He could now hold a lot of rainwater.

Once more rainwater accumulated, the Qi Sea and meridians would surely become stronger after recovering.

He clenched his fist abruptly, the Battle Qi armor on his body dissipated, and a wind rose in the room.

"If I wait for my bodily functions to fully recover, my strength should advance further."

The old man's gaze of looking down on the world was gradually returning: "By then, advancing to a Silver Moon Knight should not be a difficult task for me."

Luoning's face showed joy.

With a Silver Moon Knight in Wushan Territory, plus Meilongnika at the Meteor level, even without counting the people of Wubei Territory, it was enough weight.

If Luoning, Ruidar, and Aierlong were included, the entire Wushan Territory would have five powerhouses at the Breaking Wheels and Breaking Limits stage.

Such a Wushan Territory would probably make the people around it unable to sleep, right?

"Child, that I could come back to life is all thanks to you!"

Lulansi turned around, his words filled with gratitude and doting, "Having such an outstanding descendant is the honor of the Wushan Family!"

Luoning laughed, "This is not my credit; it was Aierlong who helped you escape your predicament."

Aierlong bowed slightly; he had originally wanted to say that all of this was a gift from Luoning, but upon thinking that saying this might expose the secret of Luoning being able to enhance their strength, he had no choice but to keep his mouth shut.

Lulansi laughed; he could actually see that the root of all this was Luoning.

He had inquired about it back then; from Aierlong's initial Intermediate Mage status to his later Advanced status, and now to Archmage, he certainly did not believe it was hidden strength.

Lulansi guessed that the other party being able to improve their strength so quickly must be related to Luoning.

"You are the lord of Wubei Territory, and they are your followers, so the credit naturally goes to you."

That is how military merit works.

A Great Lord rewards a Lesser Lord with land and money according to military merit, and the Lesser Lord rewards his followers according to his own situation.

"Speak, Luoning, my child, what should I give you to express my gratitude?"

Luoning, however, shook his head slightly upon hearing this.

The reason he helped Lulansi was to repay the kindness the other party had shown him previously, and he had not thought about asking for anything else.

"We are all family; being able to see you recover your health is the thing that makes me happiest."

Lulansi was very gratified and went up to pat Luoning on the shoulder.

"Good child!"

He pondered for a moment: "I heard that your Wubei Territory is building a port, which must require a large amount of labor and money, so I will give you those."

"It is only a pity that the position of Marquis is not something I can give to whoever I want; otherwise, I would have given it to you directly."

Having experienced the great ups and downs of life, he viewed titles more lightly.

Giving this thing to an outstanding descendant is not a bad thing.

But the Kingdom's laws stipulate that as long as the person holding the title is not dead, the title cannot be passed on to descendants.

Luoning narrowed his eyes and smiled, "Grandfather, how many people and how much money are you prepared to give me?"

"Haha, didn't you just say you didn't need it?"

Luoning spread his hands, "I never said that."

People and money are strategic resources; since the old man mentioned it, he would not stand on ceremony.

"As for people, I will have someone make a plan. As for money, how much do you want?"

Luoning asked tentatively: "How about giving me one hundred thousand gold coins?"

The figure of one hundred thousand gold coins is the requirement for the 【Wealthy】 achievement.

If Lulansi could take out this much money to help him complete this achievement, he would be able to obtain 8,000 Energy Essence in one go.

At that time, not only could he promote Maiken to the Meteor level, but even Ruidar could directly reach Silver Moon.

A Marquis Territory with two Silver Moon Knights—this is truly the rhythm of rising to power.

Lulansi heard this, his beard twitched, and he laughed and scolded: "You brat, you knew I had one hundred thousand gold coins on hand, didn't you?" (End of chapter)