Chapter 506: Source Crystal Exchange

Lei En's mind became alert, and he stopped and looked behind.

A massive bolt of lightning surged from several hundred meters away toward him, landing before him and instantly revealing the figure of a giant—Asina.

Standing close, he deeply felt the towering height of the Titan Giant; her legs were like two pillars, and he had to tiptoe to touch her knee. Looking up, the bottom of her metal battle skirt came into view, revealing a place he shouldn't have seen.

Shifting his gaze upward, he saw only a pair of soaring peaks and the giant's chin.

He could not see her expression at all.

"Human, uh…" Asina began, immediately realizing she was too close, putting Lei En in an awkward position.

She was used to interacting with her kin; even a Storm Giant child stands over three meters, and a few years older exceeds four meters, while Lei En is under two meters, and even when she crouches she is taller than him.

Lei En, being considerate, stepped back and flashed, creating a distance of several dozen meters.

Just as he was about to bow, the Titan Giant's stature shrank dramatically, dropping from eight meters tall to under two meters in an instant. Her battle armor also reduced, still fitting perfectly, but her one‑handed sword and round shield vanished, presumably stored in a dimensional pocket on her left gauntlet.

His Soul Eye sensed the flicker of her Element, indicating the ability of "Titan Divine Power."

Titan Divine Power, a legendary Element, is not merely about possessing overwhelming strength—its terrifying might is its most famed trait, yet its defense and magical resistance are also extremely strong, and it can control body size. Enlarging the form amplifies power but slows speed and agility; shrinking the form enhances agility and defense, though strength wanes.

One second later, Asina's form stabilized.

At this moment, she stood about 1.8 meters tall, with a strong, well‑proportioned build, long limbs, wheat‑colored healthy skin, and most strikingly a pair of solid, long legs of golden‑ratio perfection. She radiated youthful vigor, and her appearance was beautiful with a hint of heroism, unforgettable at first sight.

"Human, what is your name? Where do you come from?"

Asina stepped forward and asked in a not‑very fluent Imperial language. Her voice had a pleasing clarity that felt refreshing.

"Lady Asina, you may call me Lei En," Lei En replied in Giant language: "I come from the Prime Material Plane, and I am of the Oriense Empire."

"You can speak Giant language," Asina's eyes lit up.

A hint of admiration appeared on her face; Lei En's Giant speech felt familiar, and she said with some yearning: "The Oriense Empire—I have heard the elders speak of that nation; it is said to be one of the strongest realms in the Prime Material Plane today, possessing twelve powerful Holy Soul Wizards."

"Indeed," Lei En nodded slightly.

He saw it—this young Titan Giant likely had never left the Storm Plane, like a girl who never left her hometown, full of curiosity about the outside world.

Ai Lun E Si's world contains countless planes, but the Prime Material Plane is the most alluring to intelligent races—it is the largest in area, most populous, richest in species, and most flourishing in civilization, the center of this world. Storm Giants once ruled half of the Prime Material Plane, naturally yearning for the glorious world created by their ancestors.

He smiled and continued, "My teacher is a Holy Soul Wizard."

Asina's interest was indeed piqued, and she suddenly wondered, "Your teacher is a Holy Soul Wizard, so you are a wizard too?"

"Of course," Lei En nodded in acknowledgment.

"You don't look like a spellcaster at all," Asina raised an eyebrow, scrutinized Lei En a few times as if trying to see through him, shook her head oddly, her golden ponytail swaying, "If I hadn't never seen you before, I might have taken her as one of my kin."

The "kin" she mentioned refers to the shrunken Titan Giant.

Lei En instantly regarded Asina's perception with newfound respect.

His own strength, defense, lightning form, and the many lightning spells he mastered were indeed nine‑tenths similar to those of a shrunken Titan Giant. If he could also master the "Giantization Technique" to enlarge his form, he could easily impersonate a Titan Giant, likely fooling even Storm Giants.

Asina must have sensed that his aura was close to hers, which is why she pursued him to ask.

Even while he wore a blood‑red cloak to conceal his aura, Asina could still see through his essence, showing how keen her sight was.

Sure enough, Asina asked directly, "Lei En, how strong are you?"

"It's okay, I guess."

Lei En gave a vague answer.

He realized Asina's intention, but did not want to fight her, as it was meaningless and could cause trouble for him.

The Storm Giants in the Thunder God Arena had already taken notice, each walking over like moving mountain ridges.

Asina was not satisfied with Lei En's reply; what does "it's okay" mean? She heard a hint of perfunctory tone in those words—seeming modest but actually revealing Lei En's strong confidence in his own strength and his lack of interest in sparring with a Titan Giant.

His Soul Eye detected her shift in thought, and Lei En muttered internally, "Damn."

He quickly added, "I am only a novice legendary Wizard; my strength is far below Lady Asina's. That battle just now opened my eyes."

"Excessive modesty is arrogance."

Asina smiled faintly, "I was only asking about your strength, not intending anything. You are so eager to defend yourself and even flatter me; clearly what you think inside differs from what you say—perhaps the exact opposite. Do you think you can defeat me?"

Whoa!

Lei En learned from Asina's cleverness and was indeed hit by her words.

This young Titan Giant was indeed very powerful, but in his eyes she was not invincible; her strength was slightly below Ma Er Ke, and he could likely defeat her without exerting full force.

Asina saw through his true thoughts with just two or three sentences; she had to admit, she was indeed impressive.

"Lady Asina, you're overthinking; I'm simply not good at duels," Lei En said without defending himself, glanced at the approaching Storm Giants, and bowed, "I'm sorry, I must visit Elder Suo Lim; please excuse me for leaving now."

Having said that, he turned and continued forward.

"The Storm Temple is so vast; as an outsider you must be unfamiliar with the paths, right?" Asina hurried, taking two steps for every one, and said enthusiastically, "As the host here, I have a duty to guide guests."

Lei En ignored her, and with a 'crack' transformed into a bolt of lightning that shot out.

He landed and immediately sensed another lightning following, revealing Asina's tall figure, who gave him a sweet smile and said, "Elder Suo Lim is always in the Furnace Temple; he never lacks time and can be visited anytime. Tell me about the state of the Prime Material Plane."

Lei En halted his flash and turned back, asking, "What do you want to know?"

"Hmph..." Asina snorted displeased, "As I thought, you just don't want to fight me and look down on me like this?"

Lei En throbbed with a headache; a woman's thoughts change on a whim, even a Titan Giant is no exception.

One moment she was asking whether the outside world was wonderful, the next she flipped, thinking he looked down on her—what, is she a female boxer? Does she even follow any rules when punching?

Before Lei En could respond, Asina regained her smile, playfully saying, "Just kidding with you. I never force anyone to spar with me; I just wanted to test you, since it's rare to see a human from the Prime Material Plane in the Storm Temple."

Lei En let out a sigh of relief, feeling a slight stir inside.

He walked while asking, "Has Elder Suo Lim never made trades with people from the Prime Material Plane?"

"There have been," Asina replied, unconcerned about revealing details, "Before you, I saw three traders from the Prime Material Plane, but they weren't human."

"Not human?" Lei En pressed.

"Hmm, I don't like them, so I haven't interacted with them," Asina's eyes flashed with a hint of disgust, "As for their race or status, I cannot tell you."

Lei En nodded.

Since they are not human, there is no conflict of interest with me, and no competitive relationship exists.

Elder Sorim likely chose trading partners intentionally, trading with people from different planes and regions to expand the range of source crystal collection while preventing traders from intersecting and colluding behind the scenes, which would put him at a disadvantage.

In either trade or negotiation, information asymmetry is a huge advantage.

Asina quickened her pace, walking side by side with Lei En, tilting her head and asking, "I heard from the elder that the Oriense Empire possesses the world's most powerful magical construct, namely the floating city—what does it look like?"

"I live in the floating city..."

Lei En gave her a rough description of the floating city's appearance and its operating principle.

Asina listened intently, her light-gold eyes fixed on Lei En, though her mind wandered a bit, as if she were constructing in her mind the scene he described. Besides the floating city, she was curious about everything in the Prime Material Plane, as if she had endless questions, like a curious baby.

Lei En patiently answered all of her questions.

The two unconsciously slowed their pace, but after a moment they still arrived at the highest building at the center of the sanctuary, namely the Furnace Sanctuary.

The two thunder-forged statues stood guard at the entrance, motionless.

Lei En's gaze swept over them, and he said, "Miss Asina, I am going in to see Elder Sorim." His meaning was that you may leave.

Asina was listening with great interest, quite reluctant to go.

She thought for a moment, then said, "I'll go with you."

"If Elder Sorim has no objection, I have no opinion." As Lei En passed the thunder-forged statues, they showed no reaction, presumably having recorded his features.

Upon entering the hundred-meter-high palace gates, the interior space unfolded before his eyes.

The floor, like transparent glass, was spotless, revealing the enormous Titan Furnace below, connected to huge pipes that surged outward with electric energy.

Titan Elder Sorim, this powerful demigod, was not sitting on the palace's sole high-backed chair at the moment; instead, he stood at the center of the palace, directly above the furnace, shooting bolts of lightning-shaped energy from his hands that penetrated the ground and entered the furnace, as if he were tuning its operation.

Waves of lightning elemental energy emanated from the Titan Elder, the vast energy making one's heart palpitate.

Even though Lei En possessed a "Lightning Form," facing such terrifying energy he could barely withstand it, his hairs standing on end and uncontrollable currents surging across his skin.

"Your Excellency Sorim."

Lei En stood at the doorway and bowed from afar in greeting.

Elder Sorim halted his work, the massive energy immediately subsiding, and the runes lingering in the air vanished.

He turned his head, gave a gentle nod, and said, "Lei En, come in."

Although Lei En had closed his Soul's Eye, he still caught a hint of pleasure in the Titan Elder's eyes, evidently not because he welcomed Lei En himself, but because of the source crystals Lei En had brought.

"Elder!" Asina also followed him inside.

"It's Asina..." Elder Sorim saw the young Titan Giant, a hint of affection appearing on his face, "You've met Lei En? You didn't say anything you shouldn't have, did you?"

"How could that be!" Asina laughed happily, "I merely asked him about the Prime Material Plane; it's far more interesting than the Storm Plane."

The Titan Elder neither affirmed nor denied.

When Lei En and Asina approached, he also shrank to a little over two meters tall, becoming a sturdy middle-aged man with a weathered, resolute face, clad in a white robe, looking at Lei En and asking, "You returned so quickly; you must have gathered source crystals, right?"

"Yes, Elder." Lei En replied with a smile, "Indeed, I have collected a bit."

"How many pounds of source crystal have you refined, and what do you wish to exchange for?" Elder Sorim asked.

"Seventeen thousand pounds."

Lei En answered truthfully, taking out the already-refined source crystal from his spatial ring and dropping it to the floor with a thud.

Elder Sorim had merely asked as a matter of routine, not expecting much from Lei En, since Lei En had only been away for a little over a year; in a demigod's eyes, a year is brief, feeling as if Lei En had just left and returned.

When he saw the half-cubic source crystal Lei En produced, he was utterly stunned.

"So much!"

Beside him, Asina's face was also full of shock, stunned by Lei En's grand gesture.

Source crystal is the most vital resource for storm giants; the elder has expended untold effort to obtain enough of it.

Since a thousand years ago, when the elder decided to trade source crystals with outsiders, traders usually could only produce a few hundred pounds, occasionally accumulating up to a thousand pounds, but no one had ever produced over ten thousand pounds at once, let alone on a first trade.

Asina couldn't help but repeatedly appraise Lei En, as if she needed to reacquaint herself with this young human.

Elder Sorim could hardly wait to reach out and touch the source crystal, feeling its texture, and even broke off a piece to hold in his hand for careful testing.

"It truly is source crystal!"

"Moreover, it has been refined, with purity over ninety percent, and can be used directly as fuel for the Titan Furnace!" Elder Sorim exclaimed, unable to conceal his delight.

He produced a huge scale, placed the source crystal on it to measure, and the weight showed exactly what Lei En had said—seventeen thousand pounds, neither more nor less.

"Lei En, you've given me a great surprise, exceeding my expectations." Elder Sorim was in high spirits, not immediately putting away the source crystal nor asking where Lei En had obtained it, and happily inquired, "What would you like to exchange for?"

Lei En had already decided what he wanted in exchange.

"Please give me a thunder-forged statue, a copy of 'Titan Rune Knowledge,' and a nebula ring, and exchange the rest for Titan blue iron."

(End of chapter)