Chapter 183: Bootleg Version of Oneself

Xikaliusi's height reaches 2.2 meters; even when kneeling on one knee, he is not much shorter than an ordinary person.

Blood-colored runes appear one by one on his skin.

Intangible energy surges into his body, his muscles swelling then condensing, as if explosive power were injected, penetrating the bones and reshaping the body from the inside out.

"Um…"

Xikaliusi hums low.

The process is not painful; the explosive growth of power puts him in a strange euphoria, his whole being rapidly metamorphosing, as if even his soul is soaring.

Lei En observes with his Soul Eye; at the instant the symbiosis is established, the Element rune representing the original-body symbiosis immediately changes its form.

The rune becomes more complex, entering an unstable state, seemingly forming a new structure on its own.

He can sense the altered Element effect.

It cannot grant Xikaliusi its own Elements or techniques; it merely replicates a portion of its own bodily qualities and bestows them upon Xikaliusi, modifying him.

The modification lasts for nearly ten minutes.

When the Element stabilizes, Xikaliusi exhales a long breath.

He stands up, noticing he seems to have slimmed a bit, yet his body is filled with unprecedented power; his skin turns slightly dull, like metal, reflecting a muted matte sheen.

"This kind of power!"

Xikaliusi feels slightly dazzled, murmuring, "My strength has increased by over ten thousand pounds, and my speed…" He steps forward, sprinting a lap around the study; his steps are light and swift, as fast as a whirlwind, yet he bumps into no piece of furniture, moving with the agility of a ranger.

He raises his hand and sees the wound on his palm already healed; with a gentle squeeze, he crushes the air, producing a crisp snap.

He grabs the oath dagger, slashes his hand forcefully, and his muscles instantly become incredibly hard.

Sizzle! The dagger seems to cut into rock, emitting a harsh sound, carving a pale scar on his palm, without any blood spilling.

The three Makurak are all dumbfounded.

They all know that original-body symbiosis cannot grant the full power of the original body, only about one-third to one-quarter; different Makurak receive varying degrees of amplification.

Yet, even this partial boost gives Xikaliusi such formidable defense!

"Boss, this is unbelievable."

Xikaliusi is shocked, unable to imagine how terrifying Lei En's own defense is!

Lei En gives a faint smile.

Original-body symbiosis does not give Xikaliusi a steel body; instead it becomes a brand-new Element, combining his own strength, defense, swiftness, and stamina, essentially a fully weakened version of himself!

Even as a weakened version, its defensive capability is extremely impressive.

This defense is slightly weaker than the genuine steel body, but Xikaliusi already has Tier 3 Toughness; combined, they achieve an effect comparable to a Tier 1 steel body.

Additionally, Xikaliusi's strength is amplified to near Tier 6, and his swiftness is equivalent to Tier 3.

Most importantly, Lei En discovers that within the original-body symbiosis Element lies resistance to mental attacks, derived from the legendary Truth Willpower!

He points to Xikaliusi's head and says, "Feel it carefully."

Xikaliusi is startled, closes his eyes, and an odd sensation surges to his mind; his brain becomes crystal clear, thoughts swift and lucid, as if he can capture every single thought, master every strand of power within him, like the ruler of his own consciousness, and his soul can repel external intrusions.

He becomes intoxicated, tears unknowingly streaming from his eyes.

"This, this feeling…"

Xikaliusi cannot put this wonder into words; he suddenly looks at Lei En, showing a hint of frenzy, and asks, "Boss, what ability is this?"

Lei En shakes his head; the Truth Willpower Xikaliusi received is also a weakened version.

It cannot grant absolute immunity to mental influences, its resistance has a ceiling, and it cannot see through the illusion of things, yet it is already sufficiently powerful.

He doesn't want to reveal too many of his secrets, so he says, "You don't need to know much; just treat it as a constant mental shield."

"Constant mental shield!"

The three Makurak are all overjoyed.

Barbarian warriors know no spells; when facing casters, they dread enchantments, hypnosis, illusion, and mind‑control spells the most. If caught, their strength becomes useless, often leading to a painfully humiliating death.

Now, with the constant mental shield, they no longer have to fear casters so much!

Lei En smiles without replying; this counts as an unexpected gain.

"Lord!"

Ge Long and Ji Te Er stare eagerly at Lei En, a bit impatient.

"Make your oath, together." Lei En has roughly grasped the details of original-body symbiosis; multiple oaths cause no issues, he just needs to accept.

The two Makurak immediately kneel on one knee, slash their palms, and loudly recite the loyalty blood oath.

"Loyalty is my life… I, Ge Long… I, Ji Wa Te, under the witness of Ji Li Man, offer my loyalty to Ryan Augustus… forever loyal, never betray!"

As the synchronized oath rings out, two blood-colored symbols float in the air; Lei En touches each, accepting the symbiosis request.

Ge Long and Ji Wa Te begin the enhancement simultaneously.

Xikaliusi sees the symbiosis proceeding smoothly and stops paying attention, giddy, he fumbles beside himself to gauge his current strength.

Lei En, while waiting, opens his phone interface.

Because of the MutatedPhone's existence, the original-body symbiosis seems somewhat different from Xikaliusi's description; it should be more than just a symbiotic boost.

He tries to open Xikaliusi's avatar.

The next second, an unfamiliar list unfolds in his view.

The list displays a whole row of Element icons, up to fifteen: Strength, Endurance, Toughness, Sharp Sight Eye, Whirlwind Slash…

Lei En instantly understands; these are the Elements possessed in Xikaliusi's soul.

When he focuses his attention on them, most Element icons show an upgrade button, but the original-body symbiosis does not.

"Damn…"

Lei En can't help shouting inside.

Looks like I can consume energy to enhance Xikaliusi's Elements!

When he closed the soul list and looked closely at Xikalius's portrait, the enhancement button also appeared.

At that moment, Gelong's and Ji Wat's portraits also formed.

The three portraits stood side by side; unsurprisingly, each had its own soul list and could be enhanced using energy.

Lei En chose Xikalius and pressed the button.

The energy immediately dropped by one unit, the portrait glittered, and a progress bar appeared beneath it, advancing slowly.

Sitting on the sofa, Xikalius seemed to sense something, raised his head with a puzzled look, and patted himself a few times.

Lei En quickly stopped.

After symbiosis, Xikalius jumped two levels, now a level‑9 barbarian warrior; boosting his energy consumption too much would push him to the legendary promotion threshold, which requires at least two hundred energy units.

He was still waiting to fuse a demon soul and didn't want to waste a single unit of energy.

A few minutes later, Gelong and Ji Wat also completed their symbiotic amplification.

Two new leaves sprouted on Lei En's World Tree.

In his eyes, the two Makurage who originally matched a level‑4 to 5 transcendent now, after amplification, rose three levels, landing between level‑6 and 7.

The original‑body symbiosis boosted them more noticeably than it did Xikalius.

Their strength was far below Xikalius's, their base was weak, but Lei En's gifts fell like divine blessings from the heavens—strength, defense, speed all surged by countless multiples within minutes, reaching realms they had never even dreamed of.

The strength Element alone rose to nearly level‑5!

The two Makurage felt the surging power within them and couldn't help but weep.

The shrunken version of Truth Willpower let them quickly master the sudden power, without any discomfort or loss of control.

"Lord!"

Gelong and Ji Wat lowered their heads and saluted Lei En in unison.

Lei En's mind shifted, and he instantly heard their thoughts of gratitude, swearing to follow him forever, unwavering.

"You both stand up. From now on, just call me the boss like Xikalius does," Lei En said softly.

"Yes, boss!" The two rose, excitement evident on their faces.

Xikalius walked over, about to speak, when Lei En waved his hand, "I know what you're going to say; mental‑voice interference has little effect on me, so you needn't worry."

In fact, he found, as expected, that mental‑voice interference was nullified by Truth Willpower!

The side effects of original‑body symbiosis were almost nonexistent.

If he hadn't deliberately listened, he wouldn't even hear the thoughts of the three Makurage.

Lei En now had only one idea: gather every Makurage in Mo Du under his command—how many there are, he wants them all!

He asked eagerly, "Does Mo Du have other Makurage?"

"Yes, but not many," Xikalius replied. "Our tribe, after reaching adulthood, must undergo the mountain trial, survive a month in the wilderness and slay ten demons to leave home. Most join the Empire; there are thirteen in Mo Du, scattered across several arenas, and a few have entered mercenary bands."

"Thirteen! That's amazing," Lei En exclaimed.

If all thirteen Makurage became his symbionts, forming a tactical squad equipped with a Lambo's Gun each, he could sweep away all the noble armed forces of Mo Du!

"Xikalius, can you persuade them to come to me?" Lei En offered a condition, "Whether they're in the arenas or mercenary bands, I can give better rewards."

"Boss, rest assured."

Xikalius placed his hand on his chest and promised, "They all listen to me; just have you pay the buy‑out money."

"Money isn't a problem." Lei En produced a gold‑shield ticket worth ten thousand, handed it to Xikalius, "I leave this to you. The faster the better; if the money isn't enough, come back and ask me for more."

Xikalius, thrilled, set off to find his tribe, but suddenly halted and looked back at Lei En.

Lei En instantly understood his thoughts.

"Since you think that way, I'll grant it." Lei En flexed his fists and feet, saying lightly, "I'll show you why I am the original body and you are merely a symbiont."

"Come, let's go to the training ground."

Moments later, Xikalius, bruised and battered, ran out of the castle's training ground, his face showing no sign of dejection, only eager anticipation for the future.

(End of chapter)