After dealing with the trouble,
Every day, aside from his regular meditation, exposing himself to the radiation of the Snake Empress's finger bone to accelerate the maturation of his own bloodline, he would immerse himself in the
Other than that, he would occasionally discipline Scruby or patrol his territory.
For him, such leisurely and peaceful days were a rare experience indeed.
And as time slowly accumulated, his own strength could still grow bit by bit — truly a delightful thing.
Without anyone realizing it, Leylin's authority over this territory had sunk deep into every corner.
The massive Black Castle stood firmly upon the land, the core of mundane power. The erosion of time had left deep historical marks upon it.
The entire ancient castle, besides being as impregnable as ever, had gained an additional air of history — the kind of gravitas that only a true great noble's fortress could possess.
The only thing that remained unchanged was the towering Wizard Tower not far from the Black Castle.
Its light shimmered eternally, as if it could endure forever…
Inside the Wizard Tower, Leylin lay bare from the waist up on a massive laboratory table, his lean, well-defined muscles on full display.
Above the table, several mechanical arms gripped a translucent crystal sphere. From within the sphere, blood-red radiance shot forth, continuously scanning across Leylin's body.
Through the hard crystal surface, one could faintly make out a milky-white finger bone, hovering at the center of the crystal sphere, with wisps of mysterious aura emanating from it.
Leylin lay on the operating table with his eyes tightly shut, seemingly sensing something.
The entire process lasted for two hours before the mechanical arms retracted back into their housings. Leylin then opened his eyes.
But his pupils had completely transformed into amber-colored vertical slits, an unyielding ferocity lurking within.
The instant he opened his eyes, several tools in front of him turned into ashen stone sculptures, and the alarm sounds of various instruments blared continuously.
"An overly powerful bloodline is also quite the trouble!"
Leylin lowered his head as if lost in thought. When he raised it again, the amber vertical pupils had been completely concealed, replaced by a pair of dark, bottomless black eyes.
Rip! A layer of yellow skin was directly torn from Leylin's body and tossed aside.
The yellow skin was coated in bodily fluids, with distinct traces of scales still visible upon it.
Next, Leylin began tearing at himself again, ripping away all the dead skin that resembled a shed snakeskin.
"This is already the third time I've gone through the shedding process!" Leylin looked at the large pile of shed skin on the ground, a helpless expression crossing his face.
A Wizard's cultivation involved continuously meditating and modifying one's body, progressively moving toward the form of ancient creatures.
It could be said that the more advanced a Wizard was, the less human they appeared—and it was no different within the Ouroboros Circle.
Leylin's bloodline was that of the Komoin Giant Serpent, so naturally, the shedding periods of growth were unavoidable. However, under the radiation of the Serpent Woman's finger bone, this growth process had been greatly accelerated.
"Tower Spirit! Prepare hot water for me—I want a proper bath!"
Leylin issued the casual command. The Tower Spirit moved swiftly, and by the time Leylin reached the dedicated bathroom, steaming hot water was already prepared.
These were droplets of water condensed from water elemental particles, utterly pure, and specially proportioned to be perfectly suited for a Wizard's body and skin.
Leylin reclined comfortably in a bathtub of black marble, gazing at the fairer, smoother skin on his body as his eyes drifted into a distant, unfocused state.
Every time he shed his skin, his strength underwent an earth-shattering transformation, and by now, the degree of his advancement had become truly terrifying.
Leylin looked at his own hand—who could have imagined the horrifying power hidden within this ordinary, slender palm?
"
Leylin sank into deep thought.
Indeed, nearly a hundred years had passed since his last venture into the Land of Forgotten.
Such an immense stretch of time was enough for ordinary people to cycle through four or five generations, yet for Leylin, it had only made him look slightly more mature.
For advanced Wizards who routinely lived eight or nine hundred years, he was still in the prime of his youth.
Over the course of this century, Leylin had quietly devoted himself to research within his own territory, fully integrating his knowledge with that of the Central Continent and even reaching the current limits of many fields.
And the Chip's data column had long since refreshed several times over.
"Leylin Farrell — Warlock Rank 3 (Liquefaction), Bloodline: Komoyan Giant Serpent, Strength: 30, Agility: 30, Constitution: 45.5, Spirit: 315.6, Magical Power: 315 (Magical Power is synchronised with Spiritual Power)"
By using the Snake Woman's finger bones to accelerate the maturation of his own bloodline, even without taking Spiritual Power potions, the boost brought by the power of his bloodline alone had caused Leylin's Spiritual Power to rise day by day, until it reached the standard required for advancement to Liquefaction.
Over twenty years ago, Leylin had used the Hall Gemstone and the Liquefaction Formation to finally compress his Spiritual Power into a liquid state, breaking through the bottleneck of Liquefaction.
The benefits of his bloodline's maturation did not end there — what delighted Leylin even more was that his Strength and Agility, which had stagnated for so long, had both surged, and his Constitution had shot up as well.
But once his Strength and Agility reached the value of 30, Leylin discovered that even the power of his Komoyan Giant Serpent bloodline was no longer of any use in increasing those stats.
It seemed he had already reached his current limits.
The same was true for his Constitution — the enhancement brought by this moulting was negligible, and it appeared that even after the next period of transformation there would not be much further improvement.
"Just the radiation from the Snake Woman's finger bones alone has brought me so many benefits!"
Leylin clenched his fist, feeling the surging power within his body, and the blood that had grown more vigorous and full of vitality after the transformation period. He murmured to himself.
"Master, it's lunchtime!" From beyond the bathroom door rang two voices as sweet as golden orioles.
Leylin smiled and stepped outside.
Two young maids dressed in servant's attire knelt on either side of the bathroom entrance. Seeing Leylin emerge bare-bodied, they showed not a hint of shyness, drying the water droplets from his skin with large white towels before helping him into a loose bathrobe.
The fluctuation of a Rank 1 Wizard emanated clearly from these two maids, accompanied by that particular bewitching allure.
These two maids were actually both Bloodline Warlocks! Although only Rank 1 and not particularly pure in bloodline, they were still exceedingly rare.
These were Leylin's own warlocks. The two sisters hailed from the same Manxter Giant Serpent family, and due to the limitations of their bloodline, their standing within the Ring of the Ouroboros had been exceedingly low. The moment Leylin had extended his offer of recruitment, the family had immediately pledged allegiance, sending this pair of twin sisters to Leylin's Wizard Tower.
The interior of a Wizard Tower was extremely dangerous — even the living quarters radiated powerful energy, making it impossible for ordinary people to reside there. Only Wizards were suited to live within.
Leylin's Wizard Tower was naturally open to his apprentices and some of his subordinates as well. Though they only had access to the living quarters and a few laboratories, it was more than enough to move his followers to tears of gratitude.
"Teacher!"
In the dining hall, Leylin also met Slubi. The little fellow had already advanced to become a Rank 2 Warlock, which was quite impressive given his Hollar Black Snake bloodline and aptitude.
"Mm." Leylin gave a slight nod, took his seat at the head of the table, and the twin sisters immediately served up a delicious meal.
"How's the library coming along?" Leylin asked Slubi a few questions while eating.
After building and stocking the library, seeing Slubi's enthusiasm for books, Leylin had simply handed management of the great library over to him.
"Everything's fine, just a minor oxidation reaction in sector B-3. I've already submitted a request to the Tower Spirit for isolation treatment…"
Slubi answered modestly.
"Also, those prisoners held in the testing area have been getting more irritable lately. Energy consumption in the restraint cells has gone up by 1.9%…"
This next report caught Leylin's attention.
After finishing lunch, he made his way to the underground section of the Wizard Tower.
Boom! Boom! Crack!
Once he entered this area, faint but constant sounds reached his ears, making Leylin frown.
He walked up to one of the restraint cells. Through the tempered glass, he could see a massive kobold, its eyes bloodshot, thick trails of saliva dripping from its mouth as it repeatedly slammed its canine head against the wall.
Each time it did so, thick bolts of blue electricity would lash out from the walls, striking the kobold and scorching its brownish-red scaly hide into charred black.
"Pull up its file!"
Leylin ordered with a frown.
The Tower Spirit immediately projected a screen before his eyes, covered in dense rows of surgical logs and monitoring footage.
"After the original bloodline enhancement experiment, it began showing signs of frenzy on the eighth day?"
Leylin rubbed his chin.
"This kobold no longer has any observational value. Dispose of it and send the corpse to the dissection room!"
"Authority confirmed. Processing!" the Tower Spirit replied without a trace of emotion. In its programming, carrying out Leylin's commands was always the top priority.
Whoosh!
A streak of black light flashed past, and the frenzied kobold inside the restraint cell immediately crumpled to the ground.
In just an instant, this terrifying kobold whose aura had faintly reached the third rank was thoroughly dead, unable to put up even the slightest resistance.
Shortly after, the cell door opened, and several mithril puppets carried stretchers inside, bringing out the kobold corpse that no longer held any trace of life.