[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-solflare-the-painter-s-secret":3,"chapter-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-261":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Solflare: The Painter's Secret",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1322817,1757,"Chapter 261: Syncing the Soul","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-261",261,"\u003Cp>The air tasted of ancient copper, stinging as it flowed through Leon’s red-gold cloth while black blood clung to his war suit like a second skin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blade of the Hi-no-Kami glowed when the blood on it slipped and splashed on the jagged stone mountains as Leon swung it once.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Behind him lay a sea of corpses that had been dismantled beyond recognition. The more he moved forward, the more he passed snakelike patterns that had left the earth burning.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is not good for us to take this route, Leon.\" Gia’s voice rose and faltered when the translucent panel shimmered to life before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Presence Detected.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Scanning...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Name: Serakel\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Rank: B\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Type: Infant\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hostility: Critical\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Domain Influence: Spiritual Suffocation\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unique Ability: Venom Fang Scripture\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Why are you always late?’ Leon frowned when he saw countless Serakels with gleaming golden scales from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Should I change the route and navigate you in another direction instead of passing through the creatures ahead?\" Gia’s voice echoed, but Leon didn’t answer. He simply drew out the second Hi-no-Kami and grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am navigating us to a different route if you don’t talk, Leon!\" Gia’s voice echoed from both Leon’s war suit and the drift shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"KEEP QUIET AND WATCH, GIA!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s brow furrowed but transformed into a smile when he neared the first Serakel. \"We meet again.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The Serakel with a wounded waist snarled and dashed toward Leon, breathing out the impenetrable guard wall they had formed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When the creature’s tail sliced through the air and moved toward Leon’s waist, he turned and chopped it off using the rolling blades of the drift shield, then laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You had me at first, but not this time!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Green blood seeped out of the chopped tail and burned the ground the moment it splashed down.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon gritted his teeth and rolled around the creature like light. When he dashed away, lines glowed across the creature’s entire body like cracks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment it tried to chase after Leon, the body slipped apart piece by piece as if it were a dismantled puzzle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’This is what you get for hurting me earlier.’ Leon shifted his gaze and dashed through the silver Serakels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Arms and horned heads flew into the air like rocket stones while the blade of the Hi-no-Kami danced on the skins of the creatures.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gia, deactivate the shield from its drift mode.\" Leon shifted his gaze from the jagged ten-foot stones ahead when the last B-rank Serakel slammed into the ground, sending dust into the air.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The magnitude of the magnetic field would crush you down when you walk on foot, Leon.\" Gia’s voice rose while a thin red light slowly appeared and disappeared at the core of the shield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Just do it, Gia.\" Leon’s heart rate spiked, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. \"I can’t fully synchronize myself to the suit if I don’t push myself to attain it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Air gassed out of the drift shield while the blue waves around it hummed like a dying breath.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fast-rolling mountains became clear when the drift slowly came to a stop at the front of a giant cave.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I now feel grounded and like a normal human.\" Leon screamed in joy while his toes tugged inside his boots, craving the tactile warmth the earth offered his face and neck.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Hmph! Is this cave occupied?’ Leon peeked at the massive cave mouth, but all he could see was darkness that promised to send him to his grave the moment he moved a step forward. \"I will have to come here once I’m done with the Syrs.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He shifted his gaze from the cave and crossed his hands at the back of his neck while a sweet whistling sound echoed from him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Crunching stone sounds echoed when Leon slammed his boots on a five-inch gold ant, squashing it completely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gia, see.\" He pointed at the dead creature, then grinned. \"I wouldn’t have known there were creatures like this here.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon shook his head and turned toward the stone path ahead. \"So won’t you deactivate the shield from its drift mode, Gia?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The blue waves hummed at the center of the shield and then reddened. \"The mortality rate is high on foot. I can’t risk that, Leon.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fine, then at least I will have something to catch me when I fall.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Dust exploded as golden beings with lower bodies materialized everywhere Leon moved past.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When Leon caught one materializing, he smiled. He continued whistling and walking as if he hadn’t noticed them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment he moved past a freshly chopped seven-foot jagged stone with golden marks, Leon inhaled deeply and stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gia.\" Leon shifted his gaze to the blue waves moving on the blade of the shield. \"Apart from flying and throwing it in a war disc mode, is there a way for me to command it so it moves without me touching it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yes. You already have that ability synced to the suit.\" Gia’s voice rose while more fast-moving golden objects flew around the mountain walls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The suit has a special built-in system that can make you command the shield to move at any angle that you want.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The shield rose up when the blue waves flowing in it like a caged snake welled up at the center.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Move it at any direction I want? That is nice.’ Leon thought while squinting at the glowing golden light sparking inside a cave at the far front of him. \"Gia, show me how to activate that mode.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon crossed his arms on his chest and moved a step back while the blades of the shield began to transform into its rolling disc mode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You have to start by activating it in the war disc mode for two seconds.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Air whirled around the sharp edges of the shield as it hovered and fanned in front of Leon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gia, do you want to pull out all the air from my lungs? Move it a bit forward before it kills me.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon’s reddened face calmed when the rolling disc moved seven feet away from him. \"I said move it a bit forward, but not in a way I won’t see how to do it myself.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sorry, I will make it come closer to you now.\" Gia’s voice rose while the disc closed in to two feet before Leon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Where do you want me to direct it to go now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leon glanced at the golden Serakel that had materialized at a far distance, then smiled. \"Can I do it without you controlling it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You have absolute control over it, more than me. I am just helping you understand its mechanics.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The moment Gia’s voice faded, the blue wave in the shield thinned while a bone-crackling sound echoed around Leon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>’Let’s see how fast you can go!’ Leon thought, then closed his eyes.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>When he raised his right arm and opened his fingers, the rolling war disc dashed forward like light and came back drenched in blood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As soon as it stopped in front of Leon, a loud howling sound tore through the caves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huge stones began raining on the ground while the mountain itself convulsed as if something hidden inside had awakened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Golden stormy dust sprawled from a distance and blasted Leon backward. Sparks flew in the air as Leon’s boots screeched on the ground, but he caught himself the moment he came face to face with a sharp, pointed stone that glittered close to his right eye.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Whew! That was close.\"\u003C\u002Fp>",1254,"2026-06-05T19:15:29.583Z",1,"novelbin.me","c07483d540aeb1a9e7f5e04997eea7bba7bb38942e80579134283597e55f75de","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-262","solflare-the-painter-s-secret-chapter-260",272,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsolflare-the-painter-s-secret-cover.jpg"]