Chapter 115: Ascending Three Levels

Lei En did not immediately destroy the Soul Box, turned and walked out of the basement to inform Luo Jue and Zuo Ertan.

The two arrived at the spot, saw the Bone Altar and the Soul Box, and were both full of disbelief.

Zuo Ertan shouted loudly, "Lei En, how did you do that?"

Luo Jue was also extremely amazed; the various special abilities Lei En displayed made him mutter in his mind, "What secret does this kid have?"

First of all, Lei En's eyesight is terrifyingly strong.

The Iron Beard Fortress had no light source, a pitch‑black darkness, yet it affected Lei En in no way; Luo Jue had previously thought Lei En possessed a "darkvision" Element, but as they progressed, they discovered his vision far exceeds darkvision, allowing him to see great distances.

It should be known that a Demonhunter's first fused Main Soul is "Gosoren Fear Cat", granting the Element "Gosoren's Eye", which is extremely sensitive to monsters and evil energy and also confers night‑vision.

In terms of vision, very few transcendent beings can match a Demonhunter.

As a legendary Demonhunter, Luo Jue has had the Gosoren's Eye enhanced more than once or twice, yet compared with Lei En's super senses, he still feels inferior.

Secondly, Luo Jue also noticed the situation when Lei En faced the "Evil Gaze".

This spell, even Luo Jue would not dare to take lightly; although it wouldn't paralyze the whole body like Zuo Ertan, it certainly wouldn't be as easy as for Lei En—at least it would cause a momentary stiffness, hindering his attacks.

But Lei En seemed directly immune; the spell was completely ineffective!

Then Lei En preemptively determined the Lich's teleportation landing spot and smashed it dead with a hammer.

A youngster who had only become a transcendent for a few months killed a 9th‑rank Lich that was only half a step away from legend; no one would believe it if told.

Now Lei En easily located the Lich's Soul Box, and Luo Jue became instantly extremely curious.

"With so many marvelous sensory abilities, unparalleled swordsmanship, and a steel body—just not long ago he was an ordinary person—what exactly has Lei En gone through?"

Lei En noticed Luo Jue's change of expression.

He knew his display had astonished the legendary Demonhunter, and to dispel the other's doubts, he explained, "I have fused an Element that lets me see the flow of magical energy; by searching nearby, I sensed the underground altar, so I found it."

"Is that so?" Luo Jue laughed, "Then your luck is incredible."

How come he never mentioned this Element before?

Even if one can see magical energy flow, it doesn't explain Lei En's other abilities.

Zuo Ertan, however, didn't think that far; he now only wanted to destroy the Soul Box, yet he didn't act rashly, carefully observing the basement's condition.

Lei En smiled, "I've checked; there are no magical traps here."

Perhaps the Lich thought the place was sufficiently hidden, or perhaps lacked casting materials, so the Lich placed no protection around the Bone Altar.

Zuo Ertan immediately fired a shot at the Soul Box.

Bang, the Soul Box was knocked airborne, landing beneath the altar; the newly coalesced fragment of Lich's body was instantly broken, disintegrating into dust.

The Soul Box remained intact, with a faint gunshot scar on its surface.

Zuo Ertan, sparing no bullets, fired several rounds; the Soul Box was battered about, and aside from a few more marks, it appeared undamaged.

He had always heard Lich Soul Boxes are extremely sturdy; today he finally witnessed it.

Zuo Ertan simply holstered his soul gun, raised a double‑edged battle axe, and began hacking at the Soul Box; with a few "bang" sounds, the sharp heavy axe struck, leaving only a few scratches.

"So solid!"

Zuo Ertan was somewhat incredulous.

He is not a human transcendent, so he has no class level, but as a dwarf rune blacksmith his strength is comparable to a high‑tier iron guard among humans, between level seven and eight.

Dwarves are born with great strength; after years of training they possess at least a second‑level "Strength", yet he couldn't even break a box.

Lei En was also surprised; searching the Soul Box information on his phone, he said, "The Lich's Soul Box is itself a four‑ring spell that locks its own soul inside the box, sealing the metal container with magic; it is extremely sturdy, hard to destroy by brute force, and the best method is to use a 'Dispel' of four rings or higher to lift the seal."

"A box, and it's such a hassle…" Zuo Ertan scratched his head helplessly.

"I'll do it then."

Lei En smiled; being hard to destroy by brute force doesn't mean it's impossible—just that Zuo Ertan's strength isn't sufficient.

A massive dragon silhouette descended, and he re‑infused himself with Dragon Power.

He raised the Crushing Ice War Hammer, his muscles tensing, power flowing to his hands; after three seconds of charging, the hammer fell from high above.

Bang!

A booming crack echoed through the basement, rattling Zuo Ertan's eardrums and forcing him to step back two paces.

The black Soul Box exploded instantly, the massive blow leaving not a fragment, and the stone slab beneath was also pulverized by the hammer.

A huge death force burst forth, coalescing into a twisted face that emitted a silent shriek before vanishing into the air.

Zuo Ertan exhaled, venting his hatred, "That damned thing is finally completely dead!"

He looked at Lei En, "You still have the stronger strength, kid."

Lei En gave a modest smile without a word; his expression seemed calm, but he was actually undergoing intense stimulation.

After the Lich's soul dissipated, it was instantly absorbed by him, unseen to the naked eye.

This is the most powerful soul Lei En has ever absorbed!

The Lich was a 9th‑rank Wizard in life; after death it roamed the underground fortress for centuries. Lacking materials, it couldn't ascend to legend, though it was infinitesimally close—just one ritual away.

The soul entered his phone, and the battery level surged wildly.

Lei En watched the third‑ring battery; within just a dozen breaths, its charge jumped from 15% to 100%, each small cell filling green, catching him off guard.

"Whoa! Massive boost…"

Lei En felt a bit overwhelmed, pressure building in his brain, and let out a muffled hum.

Nearby, Luo Jue gave him a strange look.

Fortunately at that moment, Zuo Ertan led the way out of the basement, saying, "We've been in here half a day; let's rest at the temple and then look for the passage to the sixth level."

"Alright," Lei En replied, and followed.

He trailed Zuo Ertan as if sleepwalking, his attention fixed on the interface in his field of view; the third‑ring battery continued to glow, more soul energy charging, but there was no space to contain it.

Lei En had no desire to waste soul power.

He immediately opened several Element icons, ready to pour soul power into them.

There are currently seven Elements; Metal Touch and Truth Willpower belong to the psychic type and cannot be upgraded.

Among the remaining five Elements, Steel Body is at level two, Strength at level four, Charge at level one, Dragon Power Technique at second ring, and Rainbow Beam at first ring.

Time is urgent; each second a large amount of soul power drains away, and Lei En has no time to consider which Element to upgrade, so he selects all Elements at once and begins upgrading.

The five progress bars flash simultaneously.

The third-tier battery, about to burst, finally finds a release, and the battery begins to drop rapidly.

Lei En feels a bit better, relaxes slightly, and is not as uncomfortable.

Immediately, he discovers that among the five Elements, only four progress bars are rising; the Dragon Power Technique's bar remains motionless, flashing but not advancing.

"What's going on?"

Lei En is first a little puzzled, then he catches on.

He is a Third-level Wizard, able to wield first- and second-ring spells; only after undergoing a Soul Transformation ceremony to become a Fourth-level Wizard can he master third-ring spells.

This is a limitation of the human soul; even with a MutatedPhone increasing ring count, the rule cannot be broken.

Mid-stage Wizards of fourth to sixth level can wield third-ring spells; High-level Wizards can wield fourth-ring spells.

Casters beneath the Legendary tier, whether Wizards or other professions, cannot master spells beyond the fourth ring; only by auxiliary means—such as scrolls, formations, or enchanted gear—can they temporarily exceed the tier.

After ascending to Legendary, one can learn fifth- and sixth-ring spells.

Physical-type Elements, however, have no such restriction.

Lei En halts the upgrade of Dragon Power Technique to avoid wasting soul power.

At this point he also notices the battery dropping too fast—within ten seconds it falls to half, a torrent, and even the Lich's soul power cannot replenish it.

Lei En's eyelids twitch; he doesn't want to deplete the battery, so he quickly pauses.

The battery soon recovers, about to fill again, a feeling like a roller coaster, making one's heart race.

After a few tests, Lei En finally understands what's happening.

The problem lies with Steel Body and Strength; these two Elements consume too much soul power.

A level‑two Steel Body requires four units of battery to raise its progress bar by one step, meaning that upgrading Steel Body to level three consumes enough soul power to advance oneself from Third-level Wizard to Fourth-level, upgrading a total of four times!

Fourth-level Strength is not as extreme, but still needs two hundred units of battery to upgrade to fifth-level Strength.

Even the Lich's soul power, however massive, is insufficient for upgrading these two Elements.

Lei En decisively abandons Steel Body and Strength, investing soul power only into Charge and Rainbow Beam. These two Elements consume less soul power, and the battery continues to rise.

He can only, when the battery is nearly full, put some into Strength, balancing consumption and replenishment without wasting any soul power.

In just a few dozen seconds, Rainbow Beam reaches the second ring.

Then, like Dragon Power Technique, it cannot be upgraded further.

Lei En can only focus on strengthening the Charge Element, occasionally allocating some soul power to the Strength Element.

Charge's progress bar keeps advancing.

From level one to two it consumed just over fifty units of battery, then level two Charge, level three Charge… continuous strengthening, seemingly never stopping.

Until Lei En and his two companions return to the temple, sit on the plaza outside the main gate to rest, and the battery finally stabilizes.

Lei En promptly stops consumption, keeping the battery full.

He looks at the Element icons on the phone screen, and his mouth lifts slightly.

Charge skyrockets three levels in one go, reaching fourth-level Charge! Moreover, when it was enhanced to third level, this ordinary Element upgraded to a Rare Element, thus consuming more soul power.

In addition, the fourth-level Strength progress bar is also more than half!

Under the effect of Truth Willpower, Lei En clearly feels his power shift; this half‑level boost adds at least two thousand pounds to his Strength.

Even without augmenting Dragon Power Technique, it nearly reaches ten‑thousand‑pound strength.

He glances at the resting Zuo Ertan and Luo Jue sitting not far away, feeling a bit regretful that he cannot immediately test the effect of fourth-level Charge.

The second-ring Rainbow Beam—how far its attack range has been extended, unknown?

Lei En silently does a rough calculation; the Lich's soul has supplied him with over five hundred units of battery!

"Indeed worthy of a near‑Legendary ninth-level Lich, soul power abundant, able to support over a dozen Mid-stage souls," Lei En exclaims.

He looks at the icons on the interface, feeling delighted; the Elements he can currently upgrade are almost all at the limit of a Novice Wizard.

After leaving the fortress, he can immediately perform a second Soul Transformation ceremony and ascend to Fourth-level Wizard!

Even if nothing is gained later, this trip was not in vain.

Zuo Ertan and Luo Jue both enter a resting state, breathing slowly, while Lei En feels no drowsiness at all, his spirit extremely exhilarated.

Bored, he opens a Dwarf dictionary on his phone, begins studying Dwarf script, preparing for the upcoming search.

A few hours later, the rest ends.

Zuo Ertan, after tidying his own chest and praying before Ma Ha Er's statue, says, "Either we find the path to the sixth level and continue down, or we can only return to the third level and climb up from that great fissure."

Luo Jue, thinking of the fissure's height—nearly a hundred meters above ground—shakes his head firmly: "Climbing up is too dangerous, and it might collapse; let's find a way first."

Lei En is indifferent, following their decision.

In fact, he harbors no hope of finding a downward passage; the Lich has been here for countless years and surely has thoroughly searched every cavern.

If a way truly existed, the Lich wouldn't be trapped.

Sure enough, Lei En and his two companions almost traversed every cavern of the fifth level, cross‑referencing the crude maps in ancient texts, yet found no passage.

There is no day or night in the underground fortress; Lei En, checking the chronometer, sees he has been inside for four or five days.

On the steps of a stone cavern, Zuo Ertan rummages his chest, sighing, "Our rations are low; we can stay at most three more days, then we must leave."

He feels very unwilling; after years of planning, he never expected to gain nothing.

Luo Jue looks at Lei En, indicating it's time to contact the outside.

Lei En nods lightly, decides to wait two more days; if still impossible, they must retreat, and stands saying, "Continue searching."

He has just walked out a short distance when he suddenly stops.

What sound?

Lei En cocked his ear to listen; the sound of all things was opened to its utmost, and he faintly heard a blurred sound source.

They had searched this cavern several times, finding nothing abnormal, but now Lei En heard a sound coming from the cavern's edge.

The sound was extremely weak and intermittent.

Lei En listened intently for a moment, finally locked onto the sound source, and walked up to a large expanse of ruined walls; this place had originally been a three-story stone building, but collapsed under fallen giant stones, turning into ruins, also covered with a lot of soil.

Standing before the ruins, Lei En immediately noticed that the air flow here was more active than elsewhere.

That sound came from beneath the ruins, like a breeze blowing.

Where there is wind, it means there is space behind.

Lei En's face instantly lit up with joy, and he shouted, "Dig here; there should be a passage below."

Zuo'ertan and Luo Jie had already been wondering at Lei En's actions; hearing his words, they had no doubt whatsoever, were overjoyed, and began digging in the ruins.

Clearing away the dirt, they moved aside heavy chunks of rubble.

The three were not ordinary people; their work efficiency was high, and in half a day they dug a downward passage in the ruins. When Lei En exerted all his strength to shift a stone weighing over ten thousand pounds, a cavity was revealed behind it, from which a damp breeze blew out.

Zuo'ertan sniffed, then excitedly shouted, "Mushrooms! This is the sixth layer's mushroom farm!"

His shout carried far, stirring an echo in the dark space behind the boulder.

Then a sharp, clamorous sound rose in the distance, as if countless creatures were shouting wildly, moving at high speed and drawing ever nearer.

Lei En and Luo Jie's faces changed simultaneously; there were living beings in the sixth layer!

(PS: 2020 is just around the corner, wishing everyone a happy New Year, may all your wishes come true, hehe!!!!)

(End of chapter)