Chapter 54: Azure Dragon Marrow

Lothe still hadn’t shaken the lingering terror of seeing Seana crushed beneath the mutated titan.

He hated the feeling—the overwhelming helplessness, the suffocating fear of losing the person who mattered most to him. He swore to himself that he would never experience it again.

"I won’t let what happened earlier happen again," Lothe murmured softly, his voice muffled against her hair. "I promise."

Seana closed her mouth, swallowing the sarcastic retort that had almost escaped. She remained still in his arms, resting her forehead against his chest.

She was only just beginning to process the complex feelings she had developed for him, but she had zero experience with romance. Everything about this emotional closeness was entirely new and awkward for her.

"It’s okay, Lothe. I’m fine now," she said gently, wrapping her arms around his back.

Lothe held her for a moment longer before slowly loosening his grip, though his hands lingered on hers.

"And I’ve broken through to Level 5 as well, so I’m completely fine," Seana added, offering a faint, reassuring smile.

She didn’t like seeing him this weighed down. She preferred the confident, slightly arrogant fox who always acted like he owned the room—not this unusually serious version of him.

Lothe remained silent for a beat before giving a firm nod, though his dark eyes suggested he still had plenty to say.

"Right! The loot," Lothe abruptly shifted the mood, releasing her hands and looking around their immediate surroundings. "Looks like we landed in a cave."

His gaze swept across the subterranean chamber.

Rough, jagged stone walls enclosed them, while water droplets fell continuously from the high ceiling, creating a rhythmic, echoing cadence in the gloom. Their only visible exit was a narrow stone passage directly ahead.

Even with his evolved Level 5 vision, Lothe couldn’t pierce the pitch-black darkness shrouding the passage.

More concerningly, the tunnel gave off an inexplicable, unnatural chill—as if stepping beyond its threshold meant trespassing into a forbidden domain.

Lothe raised his guard, activating his evolved [Spatial Perception]. At Level 5, he could detect the micro-vibrations of atmospheric particles up to fifty meters around him.

Yet the passage resisted his perception entirely. His spatial domain hit an invisible wall at the tunnel entrance, completely swallowed by the dark.

"Do you sense anything ahead?" Lothe asked quietly.

Seana closed her eyes, extending her mental focus. A thin thread of crimson Blood Qi shot forward into the passage.

A second later, her eyes snapped open. "Uh?"

"What is it? Are you alright?" Lothe instantly stepped in front of her, his hand reaching for his spear.

"I’m fine," Seana dispersed her energy. "It’s nothing physical... but the moment my Blood Qi crossed the threshold of that passage, it was completely consumed by the dark. Like it was erased."

Lothe let out a slow exhale, his analytical mind immediately processing the data.

"Whatever lies beyond that passage possesses enough authority to nullify both of our perception skills. We tread very carefully."

Just then, his eyes caught a group of four glowing spheres resting on the stone floor nearby.

"Ah..." Lothe’s eyes lit up slightly. "The crocodilian titan’s drops."

He stepped over and picked up the four orbs: two glowing with vibrant green light, one pulsing with a brilliant azure-blue radiance, and the last radiating a magnificent golden luster.

Lothe activated his newly evolved passive skill: [Inspect].

He focused his gaze on the first green orb.

[Inspect]

[ELITE-GRADE ORB]

Item: Azure Dragon Marrow (Elite-Grade)

Description: A rare, ancient cultivation resource containing a trace of primordial dragon essence. Upon refinement, it tempers the host’s skeletal structure, blood vessels, musculature, and meridians.

Warning: The refinement process causes severe physical agony. The stronger the host’s physical foundation, the higher the absorption efficiency.

Lothe’s eyes widened in silent awe. Dragon marrow tempering...

Suppressing his excitement, he inspected the second green orb.

[Inspect]

[ELITE-GRADE ORB]

Item: Jade Alchemy Cauldron (Elite-Grade)

Description: A high-tier crimson jade cauldron forged for refining Spirit Herbs, beast materials, and elemental cores into Spirit Pills and Elixirs.

Special Property — [Qi Preservation]: Automatically stabilizes internal thermal energy during refinement, reducing the Alchemist’s Qi consumption by 60%.

Lothe’s lips curved into a subtle smirk. This couldn’t be more perfect. Knowing she would definitely choose the Alchemy Mastery subclass, this cauldron was practically tailor-made for her.

He moved his gaze to the azure-blue orb.

[Inspect]

[MASTER-GRADE ORB]

Item: Twin-Origin Spirit Fruit (Master-Grade)

Description: A legendary cultivation fruit housing twin, perfectly balanced energy cores.

Special Property: The fruit can be cleanly severed into two equal halves without suffering any energy loss or degradation. Each half automatically adapts to its consumer, strengthening their foundation and restoring full Qi reserves.

Lothe nodded in satisfaction. No arguments needed here—it was a perfect 50/50 split.

Finally, he inspected the glowing golden orb.

[Inspect]

[SPECIAL GOLDEN ORB]

Reward: 80 Unallocated Attribute Points

Eighty free attribute points. A massive jackpot.

"What are you standing there for? Hand over a green orb first," Seana’s voice broke his concentration.

Lothe turned around. Judging by the eager gleam in her crimson eyes, she had no idea what was inside. He could already picture her reaction when she saw the cauldron.

He handed her the second green orb.

Seana immediately channeled a strand of Crimson Blood Qi into the sphere.

VRMMMM!

The green sphere dissolved, revealing its system log directly to her interface:

[Elite-Grade Treasure Acquired: Jade Alchemy Cauldron]

[Special Property: Qi Preservation — Reduces Alchemist Qi strain by 60%.]

[Accept Item?]

"Accept!" Seana blurted out without a second’s hesitation.

Her black eyes lit up like bright lanterns. Lothe almost facepalmed at how adorable her reaction was, her smile was so radiant that he found himself wishing she would look at him like that more often.

BOOM!

A pulse of brilliant green light exploded from her palm, condensing on the stone floor.

When the light faded, a magnificent, four-foot-tall crimson jade cauldron rested on the ground. Intricate, ancient runic symbols were carved along its outer body, radiating an ancient, profound aura.

Seana immediately crouched beside it, her slender fingers tracing the smooth, cool jade surface. She peered inside the spotless chamber, her eyes practically shining with joy.

With a quick mental command, she stored the cauldron directly into her Soul Manor sanctuary.

Lothe shook his head in amusement. She really loves medicine.

Seana stood up, her gaze landing on the item Lothe was holding, a gleaming, bone-like artifact pulsing with faint dragon energy. She didn’t ask questions, knowing it was undoubtedly a high-tier physical tempering resource meant for him.

Lothe stored the Azure Dragon Marrow into his own Soul Manor, then picked up the azure-blue Master-Grade orb. He channeled a strand of Void Qi into it.

BOOOOOOM!!

A brilliant wave of blue light illuminated the entire cave chamber!

[Master-Grade Treasure Acquired: Twin-Origin Spirit Fruit!]

Seana’s eyes brightened as she read the floating system prompt. "A split-type foundation fruit? That’s amazing!"

"Quick, split it!" she urged, extending her hand.

"Yes, ma’am," Lothe chuckled.

The fruit resembled a smooth, sapphire pear, radiating a soothing, liquid blue light. Lothe carefully sliced it down the center with a thin blade of spatial Qi. The moment it separated, both halves continued to glow with identical, undiminished energy.

He handed one half to Seana, who stored it in her Soul Manor with a satisfied nod. Lothe did the same with his portion.

Now, only the golden orb remained in Lothe’s hand.

"You keep that one," Seana offered generously before he could speak. "After all, you’re the one who killed the monster."

Although she was curious, she had her own pride. She knew when to share and when to defer, and she knew there would be plenty more monsters to slay in the future.

"It contains eighty Attribute Points," Lothe informed her honestly.

"Whoa... eighty?!" Seana blinked in surprise. "Yeah, definitely keep it. You earned it."

"Alright. I’ll absorb it later," Lothe nodded, stashing the golden orb.

Then a playful smirk touched her lips. "Now... what about the rest of the loot?"

"I thought you’d forgotten." Lothe said, playing dumb.

"My foot," Seana pointed a finger at him. "Bring out the hoard!"

"Okay, okay," Lothe smiled.

With a wave of his hand, dozens of glowing orbs

CLATTER! CLANG! SHSHSHS!

Dozens of glowing orbs, scrolls, even thier sag bag they had used for provision, rained down onto the stone floor! From their very first kill against the four Silver-Horned Wolves to the final drops of the academy siege, Lothe dumped their entire accumulated hoard into a massive pile.

Before long, a small mountain of glowing treasures, and food rations sat stacked between them.

"..."

"..."

For several long seconds, total silence filled the cave. Neither of them had realized just how ridiculously wealthy they had become.​