Chapter 302: Demigod and Source Crystal

Entering the palace, Lei En had never seen a building with such a vast interior space.

The hall's floor was smooth as a mirror, spotless, and the surrounding hundred‑meter‑high walls seemed cast of gold, engraved with magnificent murals depicting a deity with a mountain‑like towering body, wielding a long spear and sturdy shield, slaying a giant dragon, battling demons in bloodshed, and contending with other deities.

Visually, this deity was clearly the Giant God Annam.

It did not fight alone; a legion of giants flanked it.

These giants came from various branches, diverse in form, but the most prominent were dozens of Titan Giants that commanded thunder and lightning.

Among them, several Titans performed on a level comparable to deities.

In the center of the hall lay a perfectly transparent circular floor, like glass, through which the space below could be seen directly.

There a massive furnace was operating, extending countless energy conduits, with surging currents of electricity flowing in all directions.

Lei En glanced at his phone interface; the thunder element density had reached 70, truly shocking.

The furnace's glow illuminated the hall above, enveloping the entire palace interior in a sacred aura, where antiquity and grandeur merged, occasional lightning burst forth, thunder roared, as if standing within a deity's divine realm.

Yet all this was less captivating to Lei En than the figure seated opposite across the hall.

It was a Titan Giant.

He sat on a massive metal‑crafted high‑back chair, and merely by sitting there he already towered above the Titan Giants seen earlier.

If he stood, he would surely exceed twenty meters!

Giants and dragons share a trait: the larger the size, the stronger the power; Titan Giants over twenty meters tall are rarely recorded in epics.

At first glance, Lei En felt an immense pressure, nearly suffocating.

He felt like an ant standing before an elephant.

Tiny and fragile.

The giant's skin displayed an odd metallic sheen, bronze‑like; unlike ordinary storm giants, he wore no armor, but a loose white robe, draped casually as if a curtain were wrapped around his body two or three times and cinched with a belt.

He wore no shoes, his bare feet planted on the ground.

The Titan Giant's visage resembled a middle‑aged man, not old yet bearing a hint of world‑weariness; his golden hair and beard tips were tinged with gray, as if he had endured countless years.

His eyes were filled with wisdom, like those of a sagacious scholar.

The Titan Elder sat relaxed, his back lightly leaning against the chair, one hand on the armrest, the other propping his cheek, studying the entering Lei En with interest in his eyes.

Lei En had long since closed his Soul Eye.

Even without the Soul Eye, he could sense the Titan Elder's terrifying aura, stronger than his own teacher's, a level above the Holy Soul Wizard; he had once had close contact with Longhaired Lady's possession, making him highly sensitive to the unique aura of deities, and the Titan Elder also bore a similar aura—divinity.

Although the divinity was extremely faint, it was enough to indicate that the Titan Elder was already at demigod level!

The presence of a demigod would make even legends tremble.

Truth's Willpower kept Lei En's expression unchanged, wholly unaffected.

He followed Bulaimit in a chest‑patting salute to the Titan Giant, respectfully saying, "Ryan Augustus has met Elder Suolim."

At the same time he thought, among the twelve Titan demigods of the Second Era there was no Suolim, and he did not know when Suolim had appeared.

"Lei En, your Giant language is quite good; your level of knowledge exceeds your age."

Suolim's voice echoed in the hall, yet he spoke in a very standard Empire language, that is, Aurelien Language, as if he had grown up among humans in the Empire.

"Elder, you flatter me."

Lei En bowed slightly, noticing a detail.

Suolim's Empire language was overly precise; it contained a term that existed only at the Empire's founding, and his accent differed from the modern one, making it sound odd.

From this, it could be judged that the Titan Elder had learned the Empire language at least two thousand years ago!

"Youthful excessive humility is not a good thing."

Suolim rose, his massive body like a small mountain, casting a vast shadow, and said, "I have witnessed the rise and fall of many nations, and the birth and extinction of countless species. For ten thousand years, the mortal race's character has never changed; they always like to conceal their true thoughts, which, in the face of absolute power, is utterly unnecessary."

He took a step forward as he spoke, causing the hall to tremble slightly.

With each step forward, the Titan Elder's size shrank a notch; when he said "utterly unnecessary," his stature had reduced to that of a normal human, becoming a robust middle‑aged man just over two meters tall, only half a head taller than Lei En.

After shrinking, Suolim appeared somewhat younger.

Bronze‑colored skin, a sturdy build, a faint smile on his face, gentle eyes, and an aura of irresistible charm radiated from him.

He walked to Lei En, a thoughtful look in his eyes, nodded, and smiled, "So it is Truth's Willpower; no wonder I could not read your mind. Just now, what did you think of?"

Lei En replied calmly, "I was guessing the Elder's age."

"Oh?" Suolim was not angry, but intrigued, "How old do you think I am? If your answer is within three hundred years, I will give you a reward."

The difficulty was not small.

From a mortal's perspective, a demigod's lifespan is almost eternal; barring accidents, they can even live for tens of thousands of years!

Beside them, Bulaimit shook his head gloomily, "Suolim, why didn't you let me guess when we first met?"

"Ha ha…" Suolim laughed heartily, "That question is too easy for an archaeologist; I don't want to give you a gift for free."

Lei En turned his head aside, a face full of contemplation.

His gaze swept across the palace hall, carefully observing every detail, then gradually fixed on Suolim, as if seeking any clue to infer the Titan Elder's age.

Suolim and Bulaimit were both unconvinced, clearly not believing Lei En could guess correctly.

In fact, Lei En truly could not guess.

He could only judge that Suolim was over two thousand years old, but whether three thousand, three thousand five hundred, or five thousand, he could not discern.

If he were a true archaeologist or scholar, spending some time might uncover the answer.

But Lei En could not yet do so.

However, he possessed the Soul Eye. Though he could not directly observe Suolim's soul, he could sense it bit by bit with his peripheral vision.

In his sight, Suolim radiated a blaze of ten thousand feet of light!

Lei En dared not look directly; even a peripheral glance made his soul tremble. He forced himself to endure the discomfort, outwardly calm, and after a few seconds of careful feeling, promptly closed the Soul Eye.

All this time, Lei En had used the Soul Eye countless times and had long mastered it.

Even with only the lingering power of the target's soul, he can make an accurate judgment.

It's as clear as a tree's growth rings; by looking at just the outer few rings, one can estimate roughly how many rings the tree has without seeing the whole.

"Three thousand nine hundred fifty years," Lei En quickly gave the answer.

Suo Lim was stunned instantly.

Bulaimit's eyes were filled with disbelief; even if he were to guess, he could not be more accurate than Lei En.

Suo Lim was born at the end of the previous era, fully witnessing the Abyss Demon invasion of Ai Lun E Si, which shattered the power balance among the three major races—elves, dwarves, and orcs—he escaped to the Storm Plane to survive, remained there until the advanced Titan Giant returned, endured the Dark Millennium, and saw humanity's rise and the Empire's founding.

Even today, in a few decades Suo Lim will reach four thousand years of age!

"What are you basing your calculation on?" Bulaimit asked curiously.

Lei En spread his hands, "I just guessed."

The dwarf and Titan elders were skeptical, while Suo Lim nodded half in amazement, half in approval, and a badge about half a palm in size appeared on his hand.

The badge's material resembled stone, with obscure runes carved in the center, shaped like a twisted lightning bolt.

"This is a Thunder Rune Stone, a unique creation of our Storm Giant clan; wearing it can boost the casting speed and power of lightning spells,"

Suo Lim gave a brief introduction in two sentences and handed the item over.

When Lei En touched the rune stone, he instantly discerned its effect: casting speed and power increased by about ten percent, making it a top‑grade gear worth at least tens of thousands of Gold Shields!

Truly a demigod, so generous with his hand.

Lei En quickly put it away, his face sincere as he said, "Thank you for the elder's gift."

"I just made it casually; as long as you like it," Suo Lim said nonchalantly, glancing at Lei En again, "I heard from Bulaimit that you are a Holy Soul Wizard's student?"

"Yes," Lei En replied, knowing the serious matter was about to begin.

"I've also heard of Anxiwodasi's name; his casting philosophy is rather unique and has given me much inspiration," Suo Lim commented in a flat tone, then continued, "You are his student and also a count; I suppose your standing in the Oriense Empire is not low, and you have many friends?"

Lei En didn't understand why a demigod was asking these, but could only nod in acknowledgment:

"It's okay, I guess."

The Titan elder seemed somewhat dissatisfied with the answer, yet did not press further, "You needn't be nervous; I just want to make a trade with you."

"Trade?" Lei En felt a stir in his heart.

Suo Lim produced a crystal‑like silver ore and asked, "Have you ever seen this mineral? In Giant Language we call it 'Source Crystal'; if you can gather Source Crystals, you can trade them with me—no matter how many, I will accept them all."

Lei En took the ore; it felt extremely heavy in his hand.

The metallic feel instantly took effect, giving him a clear understanding of the mineral's structural properties; its density was very high, between refined iron and meteoric iron, yet it was not especially hard.

Its conductivity for energy was also average, which meant it could not be used to forge magical equipment.

However, Lei En noticed something.

This mineral called Source Crystal constantly radiates energy outward; if placed in darkness, it inevitably emits a faint glow, and within the tiny stone lies an unimaginably massive amount of energy, much like the radioactive ores of ancient times.

Is Source Crystal a kind of nuclear fuel?

Lei En had never seen such metal in Ai Lun E Si, nor heard of its existence, yet that did not prevent him from speculating.

His gaze fell to the massive furnace beneath the transparent floor.

Suo Lim noticed Lei En's movement, his expression flickered, and he sighed, "Lei En, you are wiser than I imagined."

Speaking, he raised his hand and waved; a bronze plate fell into Lei En's hand.

Lei En saw the bronze plate covered with lightning‑etched characters written in Aurelien Language; it was a trade list detailing what could be exchanged for Source Crystals and the corresponding amounts.

He skimmed it roughly, and his heart instantly ignited with excitement.

(End of Chapter)