Seeing this, the other kobolds in their containment cells shrank back, as if trying to put as much distance as possible between themselves and the demon that was Leilin.
"The other test subjects are still usable!"
Leilin studied the fear in their eyes and nodded.
Fear meant intelligence, and intelligence meant they still had value as living specimens.
These kobolds were, naturally, Tasha's handiwork.
After receiving Leilin's orders, she had not only collected a large quantity of high-grade kobold warlock bloodline essence, but had also, through some unknown means, procured a batch of kobold prisoners and delivered them to Leilin.
Leilin, who happened to be conducting bloodline experiments based on the Quicksand Organization's research, had naturally accepted these gifts without any hesitation, using the kobolds to test his experimental hypotheses.
The results, it seemed, were quite promising.
Leilin surveyed the other containment cells. The kobolds inside were all over two meters tall, their muscles knotted and dense, their scales grown thicker and more numerous, and even the horns on their heads had become considerably more robust.
"Who would have thought—the rumors about kobolds carrying dragon bloodline were actually true..."
Leilin pulled a vial of golden blood from his leather pouch.
The moment the vial was produced, an overwhelming majesty descended upon the room. Even the most timorous kobolds, crouching in the corners of their cells with their heads tucked between their claws, raised their gaze toward the vial in Leilin's hand, naked longing burning in their eyes.
"Ancient Red Dragon bloodline essence!"
Leilin sighed. If he were willing to part with this ancient bloodline, combined with the high-grade Meditation Method—Dragon King Divine Power—he had obtained from the Underdark, he could likely transform any of these kobolds into a terrifying primordial Dragon Bloodline Warlock in an instant!
But without having developed stronger means of restraint, doing so would only invite trouble. Leilin had no desire for that.
Though his own bloodline had already been set, the ancient Quicksand Organization's bloodline experiments had still given him considerable inspiration.
For instance, the method of burning other ancient bloodlines to bolster one's own strength—this was something Leilin found extremely interesting, and he had been researching in that direction ever since.
Once he confirmed that the excess energy consumption in the facility had been entirely caused by the maddened kobold, Leilin departed and made his way to the Wizardry Testing Zone.
Having undergone a transformation phase, he was in urgent need of gaining more complete control over his powers.
The Wizardry Testing Zone of the
"First up: first-level innate wizardry—Scales of Komoin!"
Leilin's entire body was covered in fine black scales. But the Scales of Komoin seemed subtly different from before. Numerous patterns had assembled into complete symbols, and a thin membrane of light now coated the surface of the scales, linking them together into a secondary layer of defense.
This was the advantage of innate wizardry—when a wizard advanced to a higher level, their innate wizardry would also be enhanced, displaying power comparable to advanced spells.
The same was true for a warlock's bloodline wizardry—the stronger the bloodline, the more formidable the enhancement their innate wizardry would receive.
"Testing commences!" The Tower Spirit floated beside Leilin.
Ever since acquiring the Tower Spirit, tasks that the Chip should have handled had been offloaded onto it. The Chip's freed-up computational capacity had all been pooled together by Leilin to run far more critical projections.
Blinding elemental light flickered. Countless particles materialized, then coalesced into attacks.
First came the most common earth, fire, wind, and water attacks. Then light and dark special particles. Finally, composite wizardry attacks combining multiple elements.
Lightning, hailstones, wind blades, and fireballs detonated against Leilin in succession, each wave more powerful than the last.
Buzz! A dark radiance rippled across the Scales of Komoin, deflecting every one of those terrifying wizardry attacks.
The barrage of violent energy particles continued for over ten minutes before the Tower Spirit's voice rang out once more: "Spell resistance testing complete. Commencing physical defense experiment!"
Crack! Crack!
The instant those words left the Tower Spirit's mouth, the wizardry attacks vanished. Several hatches split open in the floor, and from them emerged adamantine golems wielding massive steel swords, axes, heavy hammers, and other oversized weapons, launching themselves at Leilin.
BOOM!
The tremors lasted nearly half an hour before finally subsiding.
The Tower Spirit flapped its translucent wings and drifted before Leilin to report: "Scales of Komoin defense testing complete!"
It then projected a screen displaying the figures.
"Scales of Komoin. Innate wizardry of the Komoin Giant Serpent warlock, first-level (Enhancement: Third-level). Spell Resistance: 160 degrees. Physical Defense: 175 degrees..."
"With this level of defense, ordinary second-level wizardry attacks would likely be completely nullified!"
Leilin nodded, thoroughly satisfied.
Next, he conducted tests on the Petrifying Gaze and Venomous Gall. After comparison, the Petrifying Gaze's destructive power had also reached the peak of second-level—this, without any additional enhancement whatsoever.
The Venomous Gall's terrifying toxic assault had also quietly crossed the boundary, entering the domain of third-level wizardry.
"This bloodline enhancement has done me a great deal of good!"
Seeing that all his innate wizardries had been strengthened, Leilin couldn't help but sigh with satisfaction.
Most warlocks advanced by letting their bloodline power pull them forward. But Leilin had previously leveled up too rapidly—the Komoin Giant Serpent bloodline in his body had struggled to keep pace with his progress, leaving his first- and second-level innate wizardries stagnant for ages.
But now? He had finally caught up with the veteran warlocks, elevating his innate wizardries to their level—and even surpassing it!
"Chip, how is the previous task computation progressing?"
After finishing the tests on his innate wizardries, Leilin asked silently in his mind.
"Third-level wizardry computation in progress. Progress: 98.9%!"
The Chip responded almost immediately, bringing a hint of delight to Leilin's face. "Almost there—at the current rate, it won't be long before this spell is fully computed!"
Third-level spell models were exceedingly rare, but Leilin had managed to acquire quite a few over the years.
Yet when he recalled his recent battles, one problem kept surfacing.
Though he possessed many tools at his disposal, most of his fights had been won through a combination of potions, wizardry, and the Fallen Sword—overwhelming opponents through sheer comprehensive strength.
Satisfying as that approach might be, the reality was that if an opponent surpassed him in any single area, victory became far from certain.
In short, he lacked a definitive, crushing trump card!
Such a trump card could be a powerful magical artifact, or a devastating spell or potion.
But as things stood, Leilin realized he still had nothing of the sort.
Forging magical artifacts was far too troublesome, and like potions, they were ultimately external tools with many limitations. Thus, after careful deliberation, having the Chip design high-powered spells tailored specifically for him had been placed at the top of his agenda.
To accomplish this, Leilin had not only suspended numerous other tasks but had also specifically deployed the Tower Spirit to shoulder some of the Chip's burden—all to funnel the maximum possible computational power into this single endeavor.
And so far, everything appeared to be progressing smoothly.
"Based on the latest estimates, the spell I'm developing will possess at least three hundred degrees of power! Even ordinary Crystallized Wizards wouldn't dare underestimate it—more than sufficient for use before reaching the Morning Star level..."
A hint of gloom crept across Leilin's face at the thought.
It all stemmed from that last expedition to the Forgotten Land—they had offended Ganfulin, the Morning Star Hunter. Though he had never openly declared his intent to deal with them, there was no shortage of third-level wizards eager to curry his favor by delivering their heads.
Many of these wizards were at the Liquefied stage, with no small number having reached Crystallization.
Under this tremendous pressure, Leilin had remained holed up in his territory for so long, venturing out only on rare occasions.
On the rare occasion that a few hapless intruders wandered in, they were immediately detected. Leilin, boosted by his Wizard Tower, could rival a Crystallized third-level wizard—he dispatched those wizards with ease, earning himself a modest reputation in the process.
After all this time, the number of wizards still harboring such intentions had dwindled considerably.
Moreover, Leilin was confident that once his spell was fully computed, with these trump cards in hand, he could hold his own against even Crystallized Wizards without relying on his Wizard Tower. It was time to venture out.
Truth be told, even Leilin was growing restless after spending nearly a hundred years cooped up in his territory.
"Before that, I should probably pay a visit to the Ouroboros Circle and see if there's anything to be found. Astral Stone, hmm..."
Leilin calculated to himself, then lapsed into a sigh.
Under normal circumstances, once a wizard had acquired their own Wizard Tower and advanced to the Liquefied stage, they possessed the capability to begin preliminary research into the Astral Gate independently.
But Leilin had made no progress in this area, and the sole reason was the absence of the most critical core material—the Astral Stone!
It was the primary construction material for the Astral Gate, a strategic resource reserved for Morning Star Wizards. It never circulated on open markets—trades were conducted only through highly exclusive and private barter exchanges.
These channels were ones Leilin had limited access to so far.
He couldn't even decide what to offer in exchange.
It wasn't that he lacked items of sufficient appeal, but most of them were things he couldn't afford to show in public—such as the Ancient Red Dragon bloodline essence and his haul from the Blood Condor's lair.
Even a casual offering of either would likely be more than enough to obtain some Astral Stone, but both would clearly draw the attention of Morning Star Wizards. Leilin had already provoked one Hunter—he had no desire to attract several more.
Still, Kasha had previously contacted Leilin through a Secret Arcane Mark, saying she had leads on the Astral Stone. She shouldn't disappoint.