Chapter 589: A New Body, A New Soul III

To test it, he sent a very small flow of ordinary, pure energy toward his soul.

Almost at the same moment, the dragon closest to its path changed direction. Golden light separated from its body and surrounded the flow.

Lian realized that the dragon was checking the quality of the energy and the path it followed, and more importantly, whether the energy posed any danger to his soul.

Then, since it found no problems, it allowed the energy to continue without making any changes.

He performed another test, this time deliberately moving the flow away from its normal path and sending it as an attack.

The two nearest dragons reacted. They opened their mouths at the same time, forming something like balls of fire, and fired them at the energy, destroying it in an instant.

Everything had happened without him giving them any direct commands.

Lian smiled. He could understand how important this ability was.

Soul attacks were often very different from physical attacks. Some of them could directly target the structure of a soul without damaging the skin or bones.

And when fighting enemies with powerful souls, even a fraction of a second’s delay in detecting an incoming attack could be dangerous.

But now? Nine guardians were always present around his soul.

Of course, it was still unclear how well they could resist a real soul attack from a much more powerful being.

But this was only their defensive ability.

He moved his gaze across the nine dragons.

According to the system’s explanation, if he gave the command, all of them could launch a coordinated soul attack.

A direct attack on an enemy’s soul.

This essentially worked like a powerful soul attack skill.

Lian wanted to test its power, but he quickly gave up on the idea. To use such an attack in a real situation, he needed a suitable target.

He looked at the dragons again.

For a moment, he imagined what would happen if these nine guardians reached their final stage in the future.

The Soul of the Nine Dragon Emperors.

Even its name sounded much more impressive than its current form. If it could have such an effect on his soul at only twenty percent completion, how powerful would it become at one hundred percent?

He could not find an exact answer, but he had reached one conclusion.

These two achievements had far more room for growth than his current rank could make use of.

Considering the resources needed for completion and the tenfold increase in power at each stage, it was unlikely that he would be able to unlock their full potential during his first or even second evolution.

Perhaps their true value would only become clear when he reached the Celestial rank himself.

At that stage, the amount of power his body and soul could withstand would become much more important. He even had a feeling that once he became a Celestial, these two achievements might help him become the strongest Celestial in the world.

Then he withdrew his consciousness from the inner space of his soul.

When he opened his eyes again, the Dragon Blood River was still flowing around his body.

But its pressure was no longer the same as before.

Lian raised his right hand and looked at the muscles of his forearm. There were no exaggerated changes in his body’s appearance.

His skin was still the same as before, and his body did not look unusual from the outside either, but he could feel his body’s newly gained strength.

And this was only twenty percent completion.

While he was thinking about this, the flow of mana in another part of the river changed.

He turned his head.

Several dozen meters away, Seris had also opened her eyes.

Her wet silver hair fell over her shoulders, and the Ancestral Mark on the back of her right hand was glowing with a soft light. 𝘧𝓇ℯℴ𝓂

But what caught Lian’s attention was the quality of the mana around her.

One month ago, Seris had made incredible progress after her first evolution.

Now? Her mana was much denser, and more importantly, he could feel that the energy inside her body was moving in a different and more organized way.

She stared at a window in front of her for several seconds. It was clear that she had also gained something.

Then she looked away from the window and raised her right hand. At first, only the Ancestral Mark on her skin was glowing.

But a few moments later, very thin lines of golden and silver light appeared beneath the skin of her wrist.

The lines moved along her forearm and then reached her shoulder. Within a few seconds, other parts of her body began to respond to the same light.

Deep within Seris’s soul, structures connected to those same lines began to glow. For a moment, a faint image of the Ancestral Dragon appeared behind her.

But unlike the offensive and defensive blessings of her Mark, this time the dragon did not launch any attacks. It was only there for a brief moment before disappearing.

The young Pendragon looked at the glowing lines on her hand for several seconds, then reduced the flow of her mana. The lights slowly disappeared.

She still did not know all the abilities of [Dragon Veins].

But she could feel that this achievement was connected to her body and soul on a much deeper level than an ordinary skill.

And that would be very valuable for her future path.

Some time later, Lian stood up. Dark red blood slowly ran down his clothes and flowed back into the river.

He climbed onto the stone platform and ran his hand through his wet hair.

One month of continuous training had finally come to an end.

He felt that if he had to sit there for a few more days, even his [Indestructible Body] would not save him from getting bored.

At that moment, he heard footsteps coming from the other side of the platform.

Seris had also climbed out of the river.

He raised his head.

The girl pushed her wet silver hair away from the side of her face. Several strands of hair stuck to her neck and shoulders, and her wet clothes clearly showed the graceful lines of her well-shaped figure.

The red light of the river fell on her fair skin, and small drops of water fell from the ends of her hair. Since her clothes were wet, the shape of her beautiful figure was clearly visible.

Lian kept his eyes on her for a moment.

Seris noticed.

"What?"

He gave her a small smile.

"Nothing. Looks like that month of training did you a lot of good."

She looked at him, then her eyes rested on Lian’s upper body for a fraction of a second.

His black clothes were also sticking to his shoulders and chest, showing the muscles that had become more defined and dense after a month of refinement.

Her gaze moved slightly lower, but she quickly looked back at his face. A very faint red color appeared on her cheeks, so slight that even Lian did not notice it.

"You too."

"Me too, what?"

She moved her wet hair away from the front of her shoulder.

"You’ve become stronger."

Lian laughed.

"Yeah, but I think we should find some dry clothes."

She glanced at her own clothes, and that was when she realized that she had not even noticed how completely wet they were or how clearly they showed her figure.

The red color appeared on her cheeks again. Even for someone with her personality, this was the first time she had been in such a situation in front of a man.

She glanced at Lian from the corner of her eyes... Well, since it was him, was it really a problem...?

If it had been any other man, she would have definitely summoned her sword by now and made sure he could not see her like this.

But she did not know why... She felt that since it was Lian, it was not a problem...

However, she suddenly shook her head and pushed all those thoughts out of her mind. What kind of thoughts were these?

"Let’s go." She did not want to stay in those wet clothes for even another moment.

When they passed through the gate, several Pendragon servants were waiting for them.

One of the women bowed as soon as she saw Seris.

"Lady Seris, Sir Lian, the Patriarch has requested that you visit him after your training is complete."

Lian looked at his own wet clothes, then at Seris.

"I think we should change our clothes first."

The servant replied,

"The baths and fresh clothes are ready. You may use them whenever you wish."

"Great." He smiled.

The two separated at the intersection of the hallway.

Lian headed toward the guest quarters, while Seris made her way to her private rooms. After a month of refinement, a warm bath and dry clothes were pleasant even for them.

About an hour later, they arrived almost at the same time in front of Rhaenar Pendragon’s private office.

The young Vorhelm was wearing fresh black clothes, and his hair was neat again. She was also wearing a white and dark-colored outfit.

Then the office door opened, and they both entered.

Rhaenar Pendragon was sitting behind his desk.

Several reports were placed on the desk, and the evening sunlight came through the large window behind him. Unlike during the crisis at the ceremony, there were no guards constantly coming and going, and no elders from the family were gathered outside his office.

When the two entered, the Patriarch raised his head from the report. He looked at his daughter first, then his gaze settled on Lian.

He said nothing for several seconds.

Lian felt that the man’s gaze was not limited to his face or clothes.

Even though Rhaenar had not released any pressure, he seemed able to recognize the changes in the quality of their bodies and souls.

Of course, the young Vorhelm saw no sign that the Patriarch had discovered the nature of his cores or his Ruined Heart. What was clear was that the quality of their very existence had changed compared to one month ago.

The man finally smiled.

"Congratulations."