Chapter 728: Thunder‑Forged Divine Weapon

As the electricity in the soul‑power pool dropped, the progress bar of the Main Brain Heart surged, and within seconds it rose to level two.

"So fast!"

Lei En was very surprised; this upgrade consumed only a little over thirty units of electricity, far less than he had expected, yet on second thought it seemed normal.

The Main Brain Heart is a supreme Element and only at rank one, so its starting point is low, and the electricity required for upgrading is truly little for him now. The steel body he first acquired was also a supreme Element; at that time it reached level two, costing two hundred units of electricity.

Each time a Soul Transformation advances, the electricity units in the soul‑power pool rise like water lifting a boat.

Lei En estimated that one unit of electricity at Legendary High‑rank is at least equivalent to ten units at the initial rank, perhaps even more. The current pool holds over 2,300 units, which converts to roughly five thousand units at Legendary Mid‑stage.

He sensed the upgraded Main Brain Heart.

A level‑two Main Brain Heart can create and control twice as many sub‑brains, up to sixteen.

"Continue upgrading."

Lei En kept feeding electricity; the Main Brain Heart's progress bar flashed brightly, quickly advancing to the end, and rose to level three.

The electricity consumption remained low.

So Lei En did not stop; the Main Brain Heart's icon kept pulsing, the progress bar repeatedly filled from left to right, and the numbers on the right rose in succession.

Level three…

Level four…

Level five…

Level six!

In just a few minutes, Lei En's Main Brain Heart surpassed Augulevi Master, reaching level six, and he finally stopped.

Each level increase doubles the number of sub‑brains.

A level‑six Main Brain Heart can create 256 sub‑brains; if all are used to forge Titan Engines, that would already equip the four regiments of the Extreme Corps—240 Extreme Warriors in total—with a set of powered armor each.

Lei En shook his head slightly, feeling it was still insufficient.

The Main Brain Heart cannot be devoted solely to making Titan Engines; at least half must be allocated to the clones.

He glanced at the soul‑power pool, noting that raising the Main Brain Heart from level one to six consumed about seven hundred units of electricity, leaving roughly 1,600 units.

"Continue."

The progress bar beneath the icon advanced again; this time the upgrade was much slower, and the electricity consumption surged. After a quick calculation, Lei En found that moving from level six to seven required about eight hundred units, which both startled and delighted him.

His experience in upgrading Elements told him this was a sign that the Element was about to advance.

When the Main Brain Heart reaches level seven, it will advance to a Legendary Element!

Normally, an Element's advancement makes it stronger or grants new abilities; advancing to a Legendary Element is a qualitative leap.

In Lei En's expectation, eight hundred units of electricity were poured in.

The Main Brain Heart's icon began flashing at high frequency, the leaves of the World Tree glowed, illuminating the entire soul space; the Element runes on the leaves twisted and blurred, only stabilizing after a few minutes, and a brand‑new Element was formed!

Lei En sensed it briefly and was instantly overjoyed.

Sure enough, it was a Legendary Element!

Immediately, the changes from the Element's advancement were clear: a level‑seven Main Brain Heart can create twice as many sub‑brains, up to 512.

That was the expected change; what truly surprised Lei En was the Main Brain Heart's new ability.

When creating sub‑brains, it now offers an extra option:

Element‑attached!

Lei En's eyes widened instantly, his expression as joyous as winning the lottery.

Augulevi Master's magical notes contain a section on creation techniques and the application study of the Main Brain Heart, stating that sub‑brains carry a 'Heart Soul'; this Heart Soul is controlled by the main body yet remains autonomous, much like a normal soul.

The Heart Soul cannot inherit or copy the main body's Elements; all abilities must be cultivated by itself.

In other words, the Heart Soul is a 'blank‑board' soul.

A clone merged with a Heart Soul becomes a complete duplicate, indistinguishable from an ordinary person who has never undergone Soul Transformation. The duplicate possesses the main body's knowledge and memories, lacks the Blood Soul Curse, and its talent and starting point far exceed those of normal people, allowing it to surge forward rapidly on the path of transcendence.

Now that the Main Brain Heart has advanced to a Legendary Element, the Heart Souls it creates need no longer be blank boards.

Lei En believes Augulevi Master does not know that a level‑seven Main Brain Heart can have this change; after all, his Main Brain Heart is only at level five, far from advancing.

Perhaps Augulevi Master will never have the chance to encounter this change.

Because the Spirit‑absorbing Monster race is too sparsely populated.

Even if Augulevi Master devoured them all, his Main Brain Heart could not advance to a Legendary Element; it might not even be enough for half.

And cultivating Spirit‑absorbing Monsters is an extremely long and time‑consuming process.

Spirit‑absorbing Monsters have no gender; they reproduce asexually, capable of laying eggs twice in a lifetime. Each egg sac contains thousands of eggs, which are placed in a brain pool to cultivate; after a month they hatch into tadpole‑shaped larvae, then require another ten years before entering metamorphosis. The mature larvae are implanted into the ear of a humanoid, enter the brain, consume the brain and replace it, merging with the body to become an adult Spirit‑absorbing Monster.

From a single egg to a Spirit‑absorbing Monster, the survival rate is less than one in a thousand.

Augulevi Master's magical notes mention that the total number of Spirit‑absorbing Monsters in the Dark Region is under five thousand, and Yilaientu's scale is already one of the few in the Spirit‑absorbing Monster community.

For sustainable development, he can only hunt a batch of Spirit‑absorbing Monsters every few years, daring not to exterminate them completely.

Let alone Augulevi Master.

Lei En even suspects that even the most powerful Main Brain has not broken the Main Brain Heart through to level seven; he might be the first in history!

He focuses on sensing the Main Brain Heart's information.

Then he discovers that a level‑seven Main Brain Heart is not entirely without limits.

When creating sub‑brains, it offers two options: one is the same as below level seven, creating a 'blank‑board' Heart Soul without Elements; the other allows attaching Elements, but with the condition that only Elements the main body obtained before becoming Legendary can be copied, regardless of Element type.

Lei En's brows gently furrowed.

Elements obtained before becoming Legendary?

Moreover, once such an Element‑attached Heart Soul is formed, it can never undergo Soul Transformation. In other words, the Heart Soul's rank remains at High‑rank forever, unable to ascend to Legendary, though it can still acquire new Elements and existing Elements can continue to advance.

Lei En scratched his chin, a thoughtful expression on his face.

He had acquired many Elements before becoming Legendary: steel body, strength, swiftness, metallic touch, activated metal, truth will, Key of Doors, true dragon body, dragon's roar, rainbow‑light law, and so on, each extremely powerful.

There are also four Lightning Affinities and multiple Lightning spells.

The Key of Doors also includes four Arcane.

It is no exaggeration to say that a clone that acquires these Elements, even if it cannot perform Soul Transformation to ascend to Legendary, is extremely powerful, comparable to or even surpassing Legendary transcendants.

Moreover, the clone's heart‑soul directly inherits the Elements' levels.

Its strength alone reaches Level 9, surpassing the vast majority of Legendary, and it also has a Tier‑3 Iron Body, a Tier‑5 True Dragon Body, and Tier‑7 Swiftness…

Lei En nodded inwardly.

He lacks the energy and resources to support many clones; even Augulevi Master, after centuries, has only cultivated four or five Saint Rank casters. Even though he possesses a MutatedPhone that can absorb souls for charging, he cannot produce many powerful clones in the short term.

At most, there are only a dozen or so Legendary mages and Legendary Wizards, which is about the limit.

Whether a clone can ascend to Grand Mage or Holy Soul Wizard depends on Reslin's progress. If Reslin successfully ascends to Grand Mage, consolidates experience and shares it with all clones, then a clone's ascent to Grand Mage will pose no difficulty.

The most important thing is whether enough resources can be gathered.

Such an infinitely potent powerful clone must start from a "blank" heart‑soul and clone; any clone that ascends to a Saint Rank caster consumes countless resources.

A dozen or so added together…

Lei En suddenly felt an overwhelming pressure.

The remaining clones, half are used to forge Titan Engines, the other half to create an absolutely loyal clone army, while also serving as toolhands responsible for crafting weapons and armor, Bolt Guns, developing new equipment, producing ammunition, daily maintenance, and so on, so that he and Reslin need not handle everything personally.

The clone army possesses Elements below Legendary, which is already more than sufficient.

Even before reaching Legendary, he can slaughter all around, unmatched at his tier, even surpassing higher tiers; a army of a few hundred sub‑Legendary selves has overall strength not inferior to the future ultimate battle group!

A thought flashed through Lei En's mind.

"If the Core Mind Heart is raised to Level 8, can the boundary of attached Elements be elevated above Legendary?"

He tried it and found that the power required to reach Level 8 surged more than threefold, a full 2,500 units.

The soul pool still had only 800 units of power, far insufficient.

"Forget it."

Lei En decisively gave up; there are many places that now need power.

He triggered a mental leap, his figure instantly jumping from the meditation chamber to the alchemy room, appearing before the operating table where the clone still lay asleep.

A thought stirred, and the leaf on the World Tree representing the Core Mind Heart quivered.

In an instant, Lei En felt something abnormal happening in his brain.

Something was forming in his brain, growing bit by bit, located in the gap between the brain and the skull, expanding the previously tight space, as if about to burst out from the brow.

"Sss…"

A wave of excruciating pain surged into his heart, comparable to a soul Tear, causing Lei En to gasp a cold breath.

He hurriedly activated "Ignore Pain" but found it useless; Ignore Pain can only shield bodily pain, whereas this soul‑Tear pain originates deep within, similar to a Soul Transformation ritual, and must be endured alone.

Fortunately the pain did not intensify, and Lei En, feeling he could still endure, did not open the music player.

Gradually, the thing in his brain grew larger.

The Core Mind Heart is a Physical Element; releasing it consumes stamina, which for Lei En is a drop in the bucket, and it can recover automatically without using power.

About three minutes later.

The thing in his brain ceased growing; on the Soul World Tree, the leaf of the Core Mind Heart blossomed with strange light, linking with the newly formed mass, and simultaneously a revelation surfaced in Lei En's mind, informing him that the clone carrier was complete, and next comes the creation of the heart‑soul.

Lei En must choose: either generate a "blank" heart‑soul or begin copying Elements.

He chose to copy Elements.

As soon as the thought settled, the highest Core Mind Heart leaf quivered slightly, rays of light spread outward, descending to illuminate the nine branches at the base of the World Tree; these nine branches, formed from demonic souls, together held thirty‑one Elements, plus three Elements shared via Oxyriya's soul contract.

Thirty‑four Element leaves flew out as rune phantoms, coalescing into a light sphere.

The soul space opened a passage, and the light sphere immediately flew through. In that instant, the phone interface in his view flickered, its power dropping twenty units, and a massive soul‑energy burst forth in the soul, turning into a familiar Little Red Flower that chased the light sphere and merged into it.

Sure enough, the MutatedPhone split in tandem with the Core Mind Heart.

Lei En was overjoyed; this process was strikingly similar to the original creation of the enigmatic clone, and the next second the light sphere exited the passage, merging with the clone.

He let out a low hum as his brow split open.

A fissure of flesh and blood led straight to the brain, widening slightly, from which a clump of silvery‑gray matter flew out and fell before his eyes.

Lei En reached out and caught it.

The pain in his brain receded like a tide, and the brow fissure healed in an instant.

He looked at the object in his palm; it was as light as nothing, having emitted a faint glow when it first emerged from his brain, then quickly condensed into a fingertip‑sized sphere, crystal clear without any blemish, with a Little Red Flower embedded at its center, reminding him of the glass marbles he played with in a past life.

The transparent sphere was virtually weightless, existing between energy and matter.

This is the clone!

Augulevi Master's magical notes state that clones have two forms: one is an illusory soul that can merge with a clone body; the other is a tangible substance that can be embedded in a magical item, and once solidified, cannot be altered.

A clone must be used promptly after creation; it will dissipate within three days at most.

Lei En observed the clone.

At the same time, he sensed the heart‑soul inside the clone, which was also observing him.

The heart‑soul has no body yet, but it is innately telepathic, able to perceive surroundings without sensory organs and relay them directly to Lei En's mind. From the clone's perspective, it feels as if a giant holds it in its palm; the alchemy room's scene is reflected in its mind, with no blind spots, clearer than sight or hearing.

Because of Reslin's existence, Lei En is now familiar with this sensation.

He used his Soul Eye to look inside the clone.

A Little Red Flower materialized before his eyes, surrounded by thirty‑four Elements, all of which he had obtained before ascending to Legendary.

Tier‑3 Iron Body, Tier‑9 Strength, metallic touch;

Tier‑5 Charge, Four‑Ring Dragon Power Technique, Four‑Ring Rainbow Beam;

Truth Willpower;

Tier‑7 Swiftness, Tier‑5 Rapid Run, Four‑Ring Thorny Lightning Armor, Lightning Affinity;

Four Ring Electric Blast Orb, Four Ring Electric Flash Teleport, Four Ring Thunder Roar Technique, Four Ring Static Field, Four Ring Arc Technique, Lightning Affinity;

Activated Metal, Level‑9 Toxin Resistance;

Key of Doors, Light Burst Technique, Prismatic Light Shield, Flash, Any Door, all are Four Ring;

Level‑4 Destruction Critical, Level‑5 Tenacity, Lightning Affinity;

Four Ring Electric Claw Technique, Four Ring Wind‑Thunder Wings, Four Ring Thunder Cloud Technique, Lightning Affinity;

Rainbow Light Principle, Level‑5 True Dragon Body, Giant Dragon Roar.

(Note: The above 197 characters will be added after chapter release, not billed.)

These Elements come from the nine demon souls fused before the Legendary, and Lei En knows each Element like the back of his hand; the last three were shared from Ao Xiliya. Among them, the Arcane Elements have mostly surpassed the Four Ring now, many are seldom used, but in the heart and soul the highest is only Four Ring.

He observed for a few minutes, no longer hesitating.

He stepped forward, placed the brain fragment on the clone's forehead, then stepped back.

The brain fragment turned into a stream of energy, like a sponge soaking water, and in an instant merged into the clone's brain; the Soul Eye saw no conflict between the fragment and the clone's brain, as natural as water flowing, merging smoothly into one.

The clone on the operating table trembled for a few seconds, then finally opened its eyes.

He sat up, planted his feet on the ground, stood, and looked at Lei En.

The two locked eyes for a moment; the two identical people faced each other like a mirror, their thoughts linked, everything understood without words.

Beep!

An electronic tone rang in the clone's brain, and its view saw a familiar boot interface, with a Little Red Flower in the center.

The phone powered on!

At the same time, the void around the clone surged with massive energy; an invisible energy storm engulfed him, pouring wildly into his body. His skin reflected a metallic sheen, his muscles and bones became incredibly hard, and arcs of lightning surrounded his body; deep within his eyes a primitive gate made of worms appeared.

Lei En stepped back a little farther, silently watching the clone's power surge.

After a dozen minutes, the energy storm finally subsided.

The clone opened the phone interface, all functions complete; the thirty‑four Elements had all reached the limit just below Legendary, exactly matching the Elements Lei En saw with his Soul Eye.

At this moment, he already possessed all the power Lei En had before ascending to Legendary.

Strength, defense, Lightning and Arcane.

The only flaw was that the clone had four Lightning Affinities but could not advance to a more powerful Lightning Form. The clone's thoughts synced with Lei En's; Lei En's mind stirred, and he took from the Nebula Ring a bottle of "Lightning Essence", filled with plasma‑like liquid.

It was a Demon Elixir brewed by the Titan Elder.

"Drink it."

The clone understood without being asked, took the Lightning Essence, raised its head and drank it.

A spicy rush slid down its throat into the stomach, churning like a storm, spreading throughout the body. The fierce aura surged back up, straight to the crown; the clone involuntarily opened its mouth, spouting a blue energy like lightning sparks, erupting from its nostrils, eyes, and ears.

Immediately followed by a warm feeling, extreme comfort spreading through the whole body to the soul.

Electric light flashed in the clone's eyes.

He felt his change, opened the phone interface and saw a new Lightning Affinity appear; then the five Lightning Affinity icons gradually blurred and vanished, advancing into a Super‑Ultimate Element Lightning Form!

The Elements decreased by three, but power rose a notch.

The clone lightly clenched its fist, a crackling sound, and a thick dazzling lightning burst forth.

"Not bad."

Lei En nodded in satisfaction, took from the Nebula Ring a set of his usual underwear and mithril light armor, and gave them to the clone to wear.

After he put them on, he suddenly asked, "What name should I have?"

This was the clone's first spoken words.

Lei En had just cut a piece of flesh from his arm, was about to begin casting Creation Technique to create a second clone, and, hearing the question, answered without turning his head, "Come up with one yourself."

The clone nodded slightly.

He stood beside quietly watching Lei En cast, the flesh on the operating table proliferated rapidly, another body outlined a human shape, and as this clone neared completion, he softly said, "Then I shall be called 'Fan Du Si', serving as commander of the Thunder‑Forged Divine Weapon Legion."

Lei En suddenly looked at him, surprised, "Thunder‑Forged Divine Weapon?"

(End of Chapter)