Chapter 1135: The Demonic Soul of Ten Soul Transformations

Lei En used the Wish Spell to simulate the Ao Wo Soul‑Break Spell.

This necromancy spell can separate a living target's soul from its body, leaving only an empty husk; it was not his first use, having employed it before to control the Giant Phagocyte Worm.

A shaft of grayish‑white light shot from Lei En's hand and instantly entered the Sunbird's forehead.

Having just been erased once by Mind Annihilation and still with a weakened soul, Boge Yaan was utterly unable to resist the Ao Wo Soul‑Break Spell; the spell took effect instantly, and death's force, like an invisible hand, sliced the soul from the flesh and forcibly pulled it out.

Lei En used a Soul Stone to capture its demonic soul.

The Soul Stone settled in his hand, and Lei En glanced at it; a flame‑bird‑shaped demonic soul manifested inside, resonating with numerous Elements.

One Phoenix Nirvana; three Flame Demon crowns!

There were also two Flame Furnaces and over a hundred fire spells, ranging from the common Fireball, Flame Torrent, and Wall of Fire to advanced Lava Beam, Chain Flame Explosion, and Blazing Storm, as well as rarer Solar Flare, Meteor Burst, Volcanic Art, and so on—essentially a whole fire‑spell compendium.

Even the Ten‑ring Spells each appeared twice.

One was Eternal Blazing Sun; the other, never before seen, surprised Lei En, who after verification identified it as "Doomsday Flame Rain"!

"No wonder Boge Yaan didn't manage to use it."

Lei En's mind cleared.

Doomsday Flame Rain is a channeled spell, requiring focused guidance just like his Heavenly Punishment Thunder Prison Spell; any movement or distraction will interrupt it.

Doomsday Flame Rain is an advanced form of the Nine‑ring Technique "Meteor Fire Rain"; its bombardment area is larger, volcanic eruptions occur on the ground, and its lethality is greater—meteors and fireballs falling from the sky are denser, a random blaze equates to a Level 6 spell, and at its peak it reaches the power of a Nine‑ring Meteor Burst.

When released, as its name suggests, heaven and earth shatter as if Doomsday has arrived.

Lei En let out a sigh of admiration.

Besides the two Ten‑ring Spells, a legendary Element caught his eye: the "Flame Shadow Clone".

It is one of the Sunbird's unique innate abilities.

It can create clones two ranks below the original; the number of clones depends on three factors: the number of Soul Transformations, mana, and Flame Affinity!

Boge Yaan underwent ten Soul Transformations; the Ancient Sacred Altar granted it near‑infinite mana, and its Flame Affinity was exceedingly rare, allowing it to create thirty Flame Shadow Clones—far more than the Nine‑ring Mirror Image Technique could produce.

However, the clones' duration is shorter than that of Mirror Image, also affected by Flame Affinity, lasting at most about ten minutes.

Recasting Flame Shadow Clone requires a half‑hour wait.

Another major limitation: the clones can only cast fire spells, which is irrelevant for the Sunbird, as it only uses fire spells.

But for other casters this poses trouble, except for those specialized in fire Elements.

Nonetheless, Flame Shadow Clone truly lives up to being a legendary Element!

It belongs to the Psychic Element, meaning it can remain constant on Reslin just like Affinity Elements. Reslin already excels at clone spells; combining Mirror Image, Flame Shadow Clone, and the True Mirror Image of the Endless Storm Staff, a full‑power burst can instantly generate hundreds of magical clones!

The Nine‑ring Mirror Image Technique at seventy percent strength, plus Flame Shadow Clone two ranks lower but at Level 20, together equate to a hundred‑strong Grand Mage cohort.

Moreover, Reslin possesses multi‑core crystals, allowing perfect control over any number of clones.

You think the enemy is a single foe, but it's actually a whole swarm!

All of them are Grand Mages!

"This is absurd!"

Lei En imagined the scenario and couldn't help shaking his head; in terms of spell power burst, who on the mortal plane could match Reslin?

But that's a headache for the enemy.

Reslin is his own magical clone; the stronger, the better.

Boge Yaan also possessed many Physical Elements—its strength and resilience reached legendary levels—but since its demonic soul was to be broken down and the Arcane Elements extracted as constant material, the Physical Elements became meaningless and wasted.

Lei En put away the Soul Stone and looked at the Sunbird's body.

The Ao Wo Soul‑Break Spell merely forced out the demonic soul; it did not die instantly, becoming a living husk.

Having undergone ten Soul Transformations and once being a demigod, the Sunbird obviously couldn't be slain outright for alchemical material—it would be like killing a hen to get its eggs.

Lei En contemplated activating king‑rook castling, switched to Reslin, and immediately began casting "True Spirit Possession Technique".

Just like the Giant Phagocyte Worm, he fashioned it into a mental clone.

True Spirit Possession Technique consumes the mana of one Nine‑ring Spell, but for Reslin, whose mana cap is reduced by the cost of two Nine‑ring Spells, there is no loss of strength; a Level 34 Grand Mage has enough mana to cast a hundred Nine‑ring Spells, with energy replenishing at any time.

A moment later.

The Sunbird opened its eyes again, but it was no longer Boge Yaan.

"Whoosh!"

Flames roared across its body as it surged into the sky, unfurling massive wings a hundred meters wide, trailing elegant fiery tail feathers, and sped toward Kursen.

Loa returned to Kursen.

Yet the Flame Feather Tribe's flame warriors and priests were met not with a turning‑the‑tide victory but with thunder‑clap news.

The Loa they worshipped, the mighty flame god Boge Yaan, had submitted to the enemy.

Kelsaro seized control of Kursen in just half a day, annexing the troll army that once pledged fealty to Boge Yaan; next, his aim is to conquer "Azutina" and place Boge Yaan's lands under his rule.

There will be no resistance; it can be finished in a few days.

Nuosiruier.

Lei En rose on the bridge of the Augustus and opened a portal back to his imperial palace, but made no stop; he alone slipped through to Weizelan Fu Kong Cheng, entering the top‑floor hall of Weizelan's high tower.

Just as in years past, the teacher sat behind a desk, buried in magical research, his expression intensely focused.

"Teacher."

Anxiwodasi looked up, initially displeased at being interrupted, but upon seeing Lei En his face instantly broke into a smile.

"Lei En, how did you find time to come to Weizelan?"

Mid‑sentence, he rose, walked around the desk, summoned a sofa and coffee table in the hall's center, and invited Lei En to sit. He was rather surprised; Lei En had been on the throne for over half a year, and this was his first visit to Weizelan to see him.

"I wanted to, so I came," Lei En replied with a smile.

"You're looking more and more like an emperor now." Anxiwodasi shook his head. "But indeed, there's hardly any place in this world you cannot go, yet you are swamped with imperial affairs, countless matters await your decision, countless eyes watch you; you probably wouldn't come to Weizelan without a reason, right?"

Lei En did not answer immediately, but asked, "Teacher, what have you been busy with lately?"

"We should still study the Advancement Array," Anxiwodasi sighed suddenly, his face showing difficulty, "It's a pity there's little progress."

The so‑called "little progress" is a pleasant phrase; in reality it's no effect at all.

In the Floating Pearl Imperial Palace's Advancement Sanctuary, four Advancement Arrays have already been erected; several Legendary Peaks of the Empire have successfully broken through using the arrays, becoming Saint Rank elites.

Among them is the Empire Elder, Heistav City Lord, the ruler of Thus: Thus: Shengangcheng.

However, before Heistav became a Holy Soul Wizard, he had already handed over the rulership of the Tuerde Trade City-State, and nine cities were fully annexed into the Empire.

One successful example after another proves the greatness of the Advancement Array.

Anxiwodasi's reputation has reached its peak.

Transcendent beings and commoners throughout the Empire now regard him as one of the greatest Wizards in history, on par with Augulevi Master.

But Anxiwodasi is not satisfied with that, and feels a bit insecure; only he knows that most of the Advancement Array's credit belongs to Lei En. To prove himself, and to explore farther on the magical path, he decides to keep studying the Advancement Array and tap its potential.

His next goal is to let Saint Rank elites also use the Advancement Array, making it effective for the eighth, ninth, and even the tenth Soul Transformations.

He is a Thirty‑four level Elementalist and has been stuck at this bottleneck for several years.

The next breakthrough requires the tenth Soul Transformation.

If the Advancement Array can yield better results, it will also help him break through to Thirty‑five level.

However, after half a year of research, Anxiwodasi found it far too difficult—hundreds of times harder than any magical subject he's ever studied—leaving only vague clues and no clear starting point; whichever direction he pursues, obstacles appear quickly.

At times like this, he especially misses Lei En's assistant sent to his side, the magical duplicate called Brees.

If Brees were still around, it would certainly be easier.

At least it could solve one or two problems.

But Anxiwodasi feels embarrassed to ask; his sole purpose in studying the Advancement Array is to prove himself, and he would rather spend more time than steal Lei En's wisdom again.

Lei En smiled inwardly, seeing the teacher's predicament.

"Teacher, there's no need to rush; the current Advancement Array is already sufficient, capable of greatly boosting the power of the Empire's transcendent beings," he comforted.

"Indeed," Anxiwodasi nodded.

He says that aloud, but in his mind he mutters that with his current pace, even a hundred or two hundred years might bring little progress.

Lei En says no more about it.

He won't help the teacher solve this problem for now; after Tim*Kenan was expelled, the Empire's three former giants left only the teacher, whose status is special—now the Empire's Chief Elder—so from fame, influence, or strength, the teacher is the only person in the Empire who can threaten him.

Even though the teacher wouldn't think that way, the Emperor must take precautionary measures.

Thus, he must keep the teacher's attention on other matters, occupying his time and energy, lest he has nothing to do but idle thoughts.

Studying the Advancement Array is perfect.

Ideally, let the teacher study for centuries, gradually producing results.

Those thoughts flashed through Lei En's mind, and he finally got to business: "Teacher, I'm here today to ask you to help me dissect a magic soul and forge its Arcane Element into a Law Seal."

He said this while pulling out a Soul Stone.

"What magic soul do you want me to strip the element from…" Anxiwodasi was surprised; given Lei En's current standing, a casual remark from him can enlist countless people, and the Empire's Elder Holy Soul Wizards each seem eager to linger before the Emperor all day.

Before he could finish, he saw the magic soul inside the Soul Stone and stopped dead.

"This magic soul must be stripped by the teacher; otherwise I'm uneasy," Lei En said with a smile.

Only Law Seal school Wizards can strip elements and forge them into Law Seals; he himself is a combat Wizard, and his duplicates are all Grand Mages, lacking that ability.

The higher a magic soul's rank, the harder it is to strip.

Boge Yaan is a demigod, with ten Soul Transformations; at least a Thirty‑level Law Seal Wizard is required to guarantee successful element stripping. Currently, the Empire has only two Law Seal Wizards above Thirty levels—a teacher and KangJieladeGreatSage.

Naturally, the teacher is more trustworthy.

"Sunbird!"

Anxiwodasi let out a startled scream, his eyes bulging, his snow‑white beard standing on end, looking rather disheveled.

He recognized the Sunbird and had personally slain one before, but that Sunbird was only a Mid‑stage Legendary, with five Soul Transformations.

Yet the Sunbird in this Soul Stone has ten Soul Transformations; converting that to Wizard level makes it above Thirty‑five, higher than himself!

Lei En had often asked him to strip magic soul elements before, but never one of such high rank.

Anxiwodasi focused on examining the Soul Stone.

After seeing the element clearly, he was even more shocked and couldn't help but look up and ask, "Lei En, where did you obtain this Sunbird magic soul?"

The Sunbird is the progenitor of all fire‑type birds, rarer than the phoenix.

A Sunbird with ten Soul Transformations could hardly remain unknown; even in other planes its fame would reach the Prime Material Plane.

What surprised Anxiwodasi even more was that Lei En actually killed it.

That Sunbird must have been immensely powerful in life; even if its spellcraft was inferior to his, its strength would not be far behind, and the phoenix's rebirth made it nearly unkillable.

Yet it still became a magic soul.

Lei En replied, "I can't tell you its origin for now, but soon enough you'll find out."

"Very well."

Anxiwodasi has grown accustomed to Lei En's mysterious ways; before he would have pressed further, but now Lei En is the Emperor, not merely his student.

"Such a powerful magic soul, just stripping it away is a pity," he sighed regretfully, but no transcendent in the world can fuse a ten‑Soul‑Transformation magic soul; even Oluoin's rank isn't high enough, "Don't you plan to keep it for later fusion?"

"No need, it doesn't suit me," Lei En answered.

He thought for a moment and added, "When the teacher strips its element, I'll give you the Phoenix Rebirth and Apocalypse Flame Rain Law Seals as a reward."

Even though Anxiwodasi has lived over a thousand years, weathered countless storms, hearing this still made his breath catch, nearly leaping from the sofa.

(End of Chapter)