The countless waves of heat finally all converged into the Sea of Consciousness.
Leilin watched as the already-liquefied streams of silver Spiritual Power began to boil, and even the three-layered nested core Spiritual Body at the center shimmered with flowing light. The strange crimson runes were only a single point away from completing themselves at the very center!
"Activate the Crystallization Magical Array!"
The Crystallization Magical Array deployed in the room immediately let out a deep rumble, its crimson runes lighting up one after another.
Leilin's entire body shuddered.
Unlike the previous magical arrays, the sensation brought by this Crystallization Array was not only the terrifying force of compression but also a bone-piercing cold!
Frigid air currents penetrated straight into his Sea of Consciousness, mixing with the boiling liquefied Spiritual Power.
On one side, waves of heat; on the other, surges of cold. Leilin felt as though his head had swollen an entire size larger, as if it were about to explode.
Under the alternating assault of hot and cold, his Sea of Consciousness underwent tremendous changes, its boundaries continuously expanding outward.
The vast quantity of liquefied Spiritual Power was compressed relentlessly under the immense pressure, tempered repeatedly by the heat and the cold, until it finally revealed a faint crystalline sheen.
This crystallized Spiritual Power represented the transformation from liquefied Spiritual Power to Crystallized Spiritual Power!
Leilin gazed at these Spiritual Power crystals. Different wizards naturally possessed Crystallized Spiritual Power that carried their own distinct personal style.
And his own crystallized Spiritual Power was pitch-black, like black crystal threaded through with faint streaks of fiery red — a perfect reflection of his Elemental Affinity.
The crystallized liquefied Spiritual Power had shrunk dramatically in volume, but the heat currents generated by the
"Alert — subject has broken through current genetic limits. All physical parameters increasing!"
The Chip's monitoring voice rang out once more.
After a wizard reached the Crystallized rank — which served as the foundation for the Morning Star realm — the entire body would undergo certain transformative changes. Physical attributes were only one aspect.
"So it really is an evolution at the genetic level!"
Joy surfaced on Leilin's face. Opportunities to break through the genetic limits of the human body were exceedingly rare for low-level wizards, making them incredibly precious.
"Alert — subject's Spiritual Power has broken through the threshold. Promotion to Crystallized
The Chip's notifications arrived one after another. By now, the waves of heat and cold had stabilized and gradually faded away. Leilin's Sea of Consciousness was entirely filled with a crystalline black Spiritual Power that carried an unyielding, indestructible quality.
His data was refreshed once again.
"Leilin Farell — Warlock, Third Rank Crystallized — Bloodline: Komoin Giant Serpent — Strength: 35, Agility: 35, Constitution: 50, Spirit: 351.7, Mana: 351.7 (Mana determined by Spiritual Power synchronization)"
"Strength and Agility jumped up by five points in one go — that's already quite good. As for Constitution, if I hadn't previously obtained rare materials like the Blood Dragon Fruit, I wouldn't have been able to reach this value…"
Leilin looked over the data the Chip had refreshed and nodded with satisfaction.
Moreover, his Spiritual Power had completely broken past the 350 threshold and entered the Crystallized domain.
Leilin raised his hand. He could feel that the transformation this crystallized Spiritual Power was working on his body had only just begun. Though the pace had slowed — no longer as dramatic as during the breakthrough itself — this gradual, imperceptible change would, given enough time, unleash terrifying power!
"Senior Lusi didn't promote to Third Rank Crystallized until he was over five hundred years old, and that speed was already considered quite fast within the Ouroboros Ring. Senior
Leilin tidied up the items in the room, a bitter smile crossing his face.
"If word got out that I'm only two hundred and change and already this fast, it would cause an even bigger stir!"
Promoting to Crystallized Wizard more than a hundred years ahead of Robin — and without borrowing any external aids — would alarm even
The problem was that Leilin desperately needed strength right now and had no choice but to advance as quickly as possible.
"I'll have to wait for a while. When the great upheaval arrives and everyone's attention is focused on the war, my speed will still draw some notice, but it won't be nearly as disruptive as it would be now…"
Having made his decision, Leilin resolved not to leave the Wizard Tower for the time being, sequestering himself inside.
With the concealment Magical Arrays he had set up, combined with the amplification of the Wizard Tower itself, unless Gilbert came in person, no one would know he had secretly advanced to Crystallized.
This hidden strength would be more than enough to deal a devastating blow to enemies who had miscalculated!
A cold smile crept onto Leilin's lips. "I'd very much like to see who will be the first to walk right into it…"
…
The first basement level of the Wizard Tower had been divided into numerous small compartments, forming a large number of laboratories. The equipment within was first-rate across the entire Central Continent, and had cost Leilin a great deal of Magic Stones and resources to obtain — along with not a few favors owed.
In the past, Leilin had opened some of the less critical laboratories to the senior Warlocks under his command.
But now, the entire first basement level was deserted. Even the wizards remaining inside the tower had followed Leilin's orders to temporarily relocate elsewhere for a time. Even his disciple Shilubi had been sent away.
In the centralmost, most advanced, and largest laboratory, Leilin stood quietly, inscribing runes on the floor.
Although the Chip had already simulated the process many times, he remained utterly focused, his eyes fixed intently on the symbols and lines on the ground.
Unlike the other magical symbols of the Central Continent, the symbols he was inscribing this time carried a distinctly otherplanar aesthetic — some were nothing more than chaotic jumbles of shapes and lines, yet upon closer inspection they possessed a strangely three-dimensional quality.
Only after completing the final stroke did Leilin look over the flawless magical array and finally let out a quiet breath of relief. "It's done!"
The prolonged inscription had left a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead — something that was nearly impossible given his current constitution.
"Scan complete. No errors detected!" The Chip's voice came through at that moment.
"In that case, the preliminary preparations for the otherplanar experiment are complete!"
Leilin rubbed his chin.
Hadn't he gone to all that trouble hunting down the Star Realm Stone specifically to prepare for the preliminary experiments on the Star Realm Gate? So the moment he had advanced to Crystallized, he had eagerly begun.
All experiments relating to the Star Realm were exceedingly dangerous, preliminary research included! That was why Leilin had dismissed every wizard from the tower — to eliminate outside interference and allow himself to conduct the experiments with complete concentration.
The Star Realm Gate was a high-level pursuit that only Morning Star Wizards could undertake, one connected to the glory of ancient times. Leilin harbored even grander ambitions to put this research to use.
Such preliminary experiments were therefore imperative.
But even preliminary research had extremely strict requirements. A high-grade Wizard Tower, a wizard of at least liquefied rank, and a Star Realm Stone were the bare minimum.
Although the wizard requirement was merely liquefied rank, Leilin had decided to wait until he himself advanced to Crystallized before conducting this research, purely for safety.
The greater one's strength, the more secure one's safety — that was beyond dispute.
The preliminary research data on the Star Realm Gate had, of course, come from Duke Gilbert, and Leilin had also accumulated considerable experience through numerous supplementary experiments.
At the center of the massive otherplanar Magical Array, the smaller Star Realm Stone obtained from Vance was set in place, its blue surface glow appearing slightly brighter than before.
"Tower Spirit! Begin charging!" Leilin took a deep breath, ran one final check, confirmed there were no issues, and then issued the command.
"Authorization confirmed! The Wizard Tower retains ten units of energy as baseline reserves. All remaining energy to be prioritized for the Magical Array!" the Tower Spirit reported rapidly.
Outside, the wizards witnessed a remarkable spectacle.
The enormous black Wizard Tower saw its runes dim one after another, and apart from a faint greyish glow, it nearly ceased all operations.
In its over a hundred years standing here, this was the first time such a thing had occurred. Panic immediately spread among the uninformed residents — to them, the Wizard Tower was their guarantee, the sole anchor of their lives and safety!
Guibule, who remained stationed at the Black Fortress, had to dispatch patrol squads to maintain order.
"Grandfather!
"How could the mysteries of the Star Realm be within our reach? As long as the Magical Array activates successfully, the Lord's experiment will count as a success!"
Pike smiled ruefully. "The energy required to probe the Star Realm is terrifying — most Wizard Towers simply couldn't sustain it. But don't worry, the Lord's tower is equipped with a top-of-the-line Positive and Negative Energy Pool configuration. There's absolutely no problem on the energy front!"
Hummm!
The massive Wizard Tower trembled as terrifying elemental surges converged, forming two enormous rainbows — one bright, one dark — that plunged into the tower's apex and the earth below respectively.
"The Tower Spirit has begun charging. The Positive and Negative Energy Pools are in operation!"
Shilubi was no stranger to this sight, but all he could do now was silently pray in his heart that his master's experiment would succeed.
Somewhere deep inside, he also felt a touch of pride.
The exploration of the Star Realm — even just this preliminary experiment — was something that perhaps only a handful of wizards on the entire continent could accomplish independently at the Third Rank. And his mentor was one of them!