Chapter 889: Ancient Dragon Demon

Lei En did not immediately check the demon soul, but first observed Duke Silver Star, finding her condition poor, seemingly weakened soul due to overexerted soul power.

"Thank you, madam."

As he spoke, Lei En raised his hand and released a Holy Healing Technique.

Because he needed to revive the three Otiluk, he has recently kept the Holy Blood Amber on his person, and also dispatched a squad of Thundercast Celestial Soldiers to the Remnant Sun plane to hunt monsters, absorb souls, convert them into electricity, then into Holy Light Power stored in the artifact.

The sacred light fell upon Duke Silver Star, nourishing her soul and body; in an instant her complexion turned rosy and her soul power recovered.

"I guess you still have a bit of conscience."

The Duke's expression softened, she scanned Lei En, saw no Holy Blood Amber, but her eyes were still full of envy, sighing: "Artifacts are impressive! Your luck is too good; if I also had an artifact, I'd definitely press Elasran hard."

Lei En thought silently, do you really hold such resentment toward your own sister?

The Duke continued: "You needn't be too grateful; this was the deal we agreed on. Moreover, this hunt for the Ancient Dragon Demon wasn't just me."

"Who else?" Lei En asked.

"Master Howai and Elasran." The Duke replied calmly: "I originally planned to rest a month or two before acting, but that old fool suddenly approached me; he somehow learned of my deal with you, offered to help, and even brought Elasran along."

"So it was Master Howai who intervened." Lei En's face lit up with realization.

Indeed, this eccentric hermit remembered the favor of reviving him; without him saying, he already returned part of it.

One Saint Rank demon soul was clearly insufficient; Master Howai will likely show more later.

However, Duke Silver Star and Storm Queen seem very close to Master Howai; could it be because they are all Chosen Ones of the God of Magic?

Lei En asked directly: "Madam, you seem quite familiar with Master Howai?"

"The old fool is the adoptive father of our few sisters, also half a teacher." Duke Silver Star answered in a flat tone: "Except for Kuilu, the rest of us have lived in Shadow Valley; Kuilu never told you about this?"

"No." Lei En shook his head.

He was a bit surprised; this was a big secret.

The seven sisters and Master Howai indeed have this connection; the place where Master Howai resides is called "Shadow Valley."

"Perhaps she didn't want to say." Duke Silver Star sighed.

Lei En had no intention of probing their sisterly disputes, lowered his head and used his Soul Eye to observe the soul stone.

Instantly, a black demon soul with a demon upper body and a giant dragon lower body manifested; it seemed to sense something, let out a silent roar at Lei En, baring fangs, emitting a terrifying aura of a Saint Rank monster. Inside the demon soul were over twenty Element runes, flashing different colors.

He quickly identified it, his expression slightly shifted.

Indeed, an Ancient Dragon Demon!

Moreover, this Ancient Dragon Demon seemed stronger than the one Duke Silver Star possessed, possessing five legendary Elements!

However, among those five legendary Elements, the Thunder Lord he expected was absent.

They were: Level 14 "Strength", Level 13 "Endurance", Level 12 "Durability", Level 10 "Thunder Trample", and "Immortal Battle Soul".

The first three are basic Elements, indicating that this Ancient Dragon Demon was once enormously massive and its vitality extremely tenacious. Thunder Trample is a combat Element; Lei En also has a similar war Trample, but only Level 3, far weaker.

What caught Lei En's attention most was the "Immortal Battle Soul."

This Element…

After carefully sensing with his Soul Eye, he was instantly shocked.

Immortal Battle Soul is a physique Element; it does not directly increase combat power, and its only effect is that the stronger the bodily qualities, the larger the physique and the longer the lifespan!

By bodily qualities we mean basic Elements such as Strength, Agility, Endurance, and Stamina; in former‑life game terms this is the character's "three‑dimensional stats," which together form the Dragon Demon's vitality, constantly nourishing the soul, repairing soul wounds, preventing soul decay, and extending lifespan.

The longer a Dragon Demon lives, the larger its physique, the stronger its strength—this is well known, and Lei En used to think the same.

Now seeing the Immortal Battle Soul, he realized his previous understanding was reversed.

Dragon Demons become larger because their strength grows, making them live longer.

Theoretically, Immortal Battle Soul could grant a Dragon Demon eternal life!

Lei En couldn't help but think of Augulevi Master, the strongest wizard in history, who, to extend his life, transformed himself into a brain Lich, now a grotesque state neither human nor monster, even his mind is somewhat abnormal.

History records countless who pursued longevity at great cost, most of whom failed.

If Augulevi Master could obtain the Immortal Battle Soul…

No!

Lei En suddenly realized that Immortal Battle Soul cannot solve Augulevi Master's lifespan issue, because it is a physique Element and cannot be forged into a Law Seal to merge with the soul.

The brain's heart is a physique Element, and Immortal Battle Soul is also a physique Element.

This is the root of Augulevi Master's tragedy, and also the greatest flaw of the Law Seal school!

Lei En again seriously sensed the Immortal Battle Soul, discovering that merely merging it does not grant immortality; it also requires a premise: a powerful bodily quality.

Apart from the combat wizard, other schools' wizards and mages have rather weak bodily qualities, only slightly better than ordinary people. If they obtain Immortal Battle Soul, it would harm them; the Element draws life force to nourish the soul, essentially trading short life for long, and a wizard's body is already frail, unable to endure long before weakening and dying.

Thinking of this, Lei En glanced at Duke Silver Star.

She possesses an Ancient Dragon Demon, but she is a Ten Thousand Spirits Wizard, incorporating the demon soul into her soul‑gathering tower for cultivation; in battle she manifests it via soul power, which does not count as truly possessing the demon soul's Element, so the Immortal Battle Soul of the Ancient Dragon Demon cannot affect her.

Similarly, the thousand‑method wizard of the Soul‑Dominion school is the same.

Shape‑shifting wizards are alike; only when a demon soul possesses or they are in transformed state can they grasp the demon soul's Elements; normally their bodily qualities are unremarkable.

Only combat wizards can master all types of Elements.

Professions beyond wizards, such as demon swordsmen, shadow warriors, or warlocks, lean toward physique Elements or Arcane Elements, always with some shortcoming. Half‑casters like monster hunters, elemental rangers, and pastoralists find it hard to ascend to Saint Rank, often none at all.

How many Saint Rank strong beings can hunt an Ancient Dragon Demon?

Three Holy Soul Wizards had to combine forces to slay an Ancient Dragon Demon; Duke Silver Star even overexerted her soul power. Replacing them with other Saint Rank strong beings would only be crushed by the Ancient Dragon Demon. Even if they obtained its demon soul, the chance for other extraordinary professions to successfully fuse it is extremely slim.

Humans capable of fusing demon souls only appeared in the New Era, about 2,500 years ago.

In any case, up to now Lei En has never heard of anyone fusing an Ancient Dragon Demon's demon soul, thus gaining a long life.

He might be the first!

However, Lei En feels he is still young; Saint Rank strong beings live at least two thousand years, so he hasn't reached the point of considering lifespan.

He values another trait of Immortal Battle Soul more: the stronger the power, the larger the physique!

Ancient Dragon Demons are all massive beings, like mountains.

Larger bodies can unleash stronger power; for instance, a transcendent of ordinary human stature versus a ten‑meter‑tall giant, both with Level 10 power, the actual combat potency differs by more than tenfold.

Titanic divine power works similarly; the higher the power level, the larger the manifested Titan Giant and the greater its killing force.

However, Titanic divine power has limits, and its enhancement is very difficult.

Lei En, at his peak, reaches Level 20 power, and can only grow to twenty meters, roughly the same as Titan elder Suo Lim; higher is very difficult.

If he has an Undying Body, his stature should be able to break twenty meters.

The Ancient Dragon Demon that the Silver Star Duke possesses is over a hundred meters long; when it stands, it is more than thirty meters tall, far larger than a Titan Giant. Although the Ancient Dragon Demon has only Level 14 power, in close combat the Titan Giant is likely not its opponent.

Although not a Lord of Thunder, it is also very satisfied with the Undying Body.

Within the demon soul of the Ancient Dragon Demon are three "Lightning Forms"; together with its own seven, the ten Lightning Forms will inevitably evolve into a Lord of Thunder during soul metamorphosis, and there may be more than one.

In addition, there is the "Lightning Baptism".

This is another innate ability of the Ancient Dragon Demon; it is a Physical‑type Supreme Element that can absorb lightning energy to temper its body, stimulating the soul with pain and gradually raising power and defense.

Thus Dragon Demons always chase stormy weather, using natural lightning to boost their strength.

The Ancient Dragon Demon's other physical elements are also extremely powerful: Level 9 "Extreme Rapid Healing", Level 9 "Energy Resistance"; although merely Supreme Elements, combined with its mountain‑sized body they grant it an effect akin to an Undying Body.

Its combat elements, besides "Thunder Trample", also include Level 9 "Heavy Strike", Level 5 "Blood Frenzy", Level 5 "Angry Strike", Level 5 "Piercing Roar", Level 7 "Shockwave", as well as ignoring pain and a Heartbreaking Roar.

By contrast, the Ancient Dragon Demon's spellcasting is inferior to its melee; it only has an eight‑Ring "Lightning Storm", then a seven‑Ring "Advanced Thunderclap Technique" and "Thunderstorm", a six‑Ring "Lightning Beam", and five‑Ring "Chain Lightning" and "Thorny Electric Armor", among others.

The ring counts of these lightning spells are generally low, and Lei En has already mastered them.

Dragon Demons are not especially adept at spellcasting; they are born with mastery of lightning power, but mainly use it for melee and training, with casting only auxiliary.

But Lei En does not care.

Five Legendary Elements—what more could I be dissatisfied with?

After the Soul Eye observed, it found the Ancient Dragon Demon's wave frequency to be relatively close to his own soul frequency, estimating the fusion success rate at over seventy percent.

Seventy percent!

That's a very high probability, four‑tens higher than the "Aman Suoke Giant Bear", and a twenty‑percent success rate for other Legendary Peak breakthroughs of Saint Rank is already quite good.

There is no demon soul more suitable than the Ancient Dragon Demon for my Saint Rank breakthrough.

After achieving Holy Soul Ascension as a Wizard, if he can obtain more Ancient Dragon Demons, Lei En doesn't mind merging a few more, but the Silver Star Duke is tight‑lipped and cautious, never revealing any hint of where the Ancient Dragon Demons are.

Lei En guesses they are likely on another Plane, known only to Howai Master of Shadow Valley and a few sisters.

The Silver Star Duke, seeing Lei En stare at the Soul Stone in silence and assuming his dissatisfaction, said, "I have already fulfilled my promise. Whether this Ancient Dragon Demon is suitable, whether your Holy Soul Ascension as a Wizard will succeed, is no longer my concern; I will not bring you a second Ancient Dragon Demon."

"It is natural."

Lei En puts away the Soul Stone and solemnly says, "I am very satisfied with this demon soul, thank you, madam."

"If you are satisfied, that's fine," the Silver Star Duke pivots, "Now we should discuss the trade‑company matters. I have delayed half a month hunting Ancient Dragon Demons, and I hear many shareholders' slots have already been set; you should at least make a statement."

"No problem," Lei En replied very cheerfully.

He had long anticipated the Silver Star Duke's request and deliberately reserved a few product franchise rights for her, to shut her up.

A little over an hour later, the Silver Star Duke left Glamorgan Castle satisfied.

Lei En sat alone in the study, looking at the Soul Stone in his hand, his eyes unfocused, his mind on tomorrow's Imperial Council vote.

Although he made exhaustive preparations—securing support from the Supreme Council, rallying over half of the Empire's legislators to pledge votes, and swaying hundreds of millions of Empire citizens through propaganda—he is now widely acclaimed and seemingly flawless.

Yet at such a critical moment, he still feels uneasy.

Not afraid of ten thousand, only afraid of a 'what‑if'.

Lei En pondered for a long time; he had done everything he could, and if this still backfires, he shouldn't blame himself for overturning the table.

Anyway, I just want to be emperor, whether it's the Oriense Empire or not, I don't mind.

He stood up and returned to Nuosiruier.

Viola waited for Lei En at Marlinge Manor; seeing his return, she came up concerned and asked, "What's so urgent?"

"I went back and dealt with two minor matters," Lei En said without elaborating.

Viola, being considerate, stopped probing; seeing Lei En's calm expression, she suddenly grew nervous, slipped her arm around his and sat down, whispering, "The vote is tomorrow; aren't you nervous?"

"Nervousness won't help," Lei En said with a calm smile.

Viola nodded.

"Don't worry, nothing will go wrong," Lei En paused, then said meaningfully, "Even if I don't become Consul, it's not a big deal. It's just that the Empire might encounter a tiny little trouble later."

What little trouble?

Viola didn't understand; she lifted her head to ask, but Lei En wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her, her spirit leapt to the third‑floor bedroom, soon filled with soft moans and gasps.

After the long winter night, dawn broke.

(End of Chapter)