"Alright. Letâs go back now." Milo said, "Itâs unadvisable to interrupt her at this moment. Meet her later."
"Okay." Max nodded in understanding, but he did notice that Milo suddenly seemed to be in a hurry.
Before he could ponder over it, Milo grabbed his shoulder and shot into the sky and flew in the direction of the core hall.
Seeing how he was flying faster than before, Max couldnât suppress his curiosity, especially because Miloâs behaviour seemed to have changed after he noticed Rimaâs breakthroughâs fluctuations, and asked via mental transmission, [Is something wrong, Elder?]
[Nothingâs wrong. Itâs just that I was suddenly called over to a meeting in the Core Elderâs Hall.] Milo answered, his voice sounding calm and casual as before.
Max didnât try to pry further.
...
What he didnât know was that just a few moments after they left, a figure materialized in the place they were.
It was a white-haired and violet-robed middle-aged manâGrand Elder Rowan.
He glanced at Rimaâs residence and sighed, "What a reckless little lady!"
Then, he waved his hand and a hole silently appeared in the several formations covering her residence.
Simultaneously, he disappeared and appeared before the cultivation chamber Rima was in and opened the tightly shut door with a wave of his hand.
Shua! Shua!
Rumble!
Buzz~
Seeing the scene inside the chamberâmana whirling around Rima like a tornado, violently pouring into her while her constant, high pitched buzzing sound emanated from her coreâhe shook his head and silently released his aura, enveloping the entire chamber in it.
Then, he pressed his hand from afar toward Rima and immediately...
Puff!
All the swirling mana calmed down and the buzzing noise stopped. At the same time, blood poured out from Rimaâs seven apertures and she fell unconscious.
"Why are these young children so reckless?" He muttered, then as he recalled the related information Milo had transmitted in the message just earlier, a faint, approving and somewhat reminiscent smile appeared on his face.
He then waved his hand and the chamberâs door sealed shut again.
Shua!
Grand Elder Rowan appeared in the sky above her residence before waving his hand again. The hole in the formations silently closed.
Then, he stared into the depths of the Inner Hall for a moment before disappearing.
...
Milo left after leaving Max at the foot of Grand Elder Rowanâs mountain, which was named Violet Peak.
Max didnât rush to ascend it, instead, he took his time because he needed to feel the changes within him.
âThis bloodline... Itâs insane!â He sighed after a while.
When his Garfield Bloodline was triggered and fought with Isabelle, dominating herâthough it was mostly because she was caught off guardâhe had been surprised to see how powerful he had suddenly become.
While, as stated before, Isabelle was caught off guard, she was still a high stage King Mage and one of the more powerful ones within that stage.
So, how did he, a
mere
peak Four Star Mage, manage to defeat her?
Several factors worked thereâthree to be precise.
First, when he let the Lust Overlord Bloodline absorb a significant amount of the refined Devil Energy, his Bloodline Energy had grown very powerful, at least double of what it was before he entered the Minor Realm.
Moreover, all that refined devil energy helped the Lust Overlord Bloodline to get a little stronger, which in turn, gave the Bloodline Energy a qualitative boost, making it even stronger.
Since a significant portion of his Bloodline Energy constantly circulates throughout his body along with his blood, it constantly nourishes his body, making it more powerful.
If after he progressed in [Barbarian God Physique] technique and got a significant boost in his physical strength in the War Temple, he was able to face peak Five Star and some weaker early stage King Mageâthough he wouldnât have an easy timeâthen after the improved Bloodline Energy nourished his physique, he had become powerful enough, physically, to face them more easily.
Second, his Fire and Thunder Mana, powered by the Fire and Thunder Laws and his aura, which was powered by his bloodline energy and the Laws, increased his strength multifold. Though he had paid a price for using itâwhen he got possessed by the second, his mana core was on the verge of shattering due him recklessly pulling out Thunder and Fire Mana.
However... Even with all the powerups, he should have barely become a match for a mid stage King Mage like Ryuu.
So, what pushed his strength to the limit and allowed him to contend with Isabelle was the third factorâThe Garfield Bloodline.
Apparently, in his rage, he had activated first of its bloodline abilities, the sole function of which was to increase his battle power a few foldsâThe Overdrive.
Except for the Garfield Bloodline, the other two factors had the direct or indirect help of the Lust Overlord Bloodline.
However, he didnât exclaim in awe just because of that.
He did it mainly because of its other function, which was his backboneâNascent Energy.
As mentioned earlier, by the time he was possessed for the second time, his Mana Core had been on the verge of crumbling.
However, the Nascent Energy Lust Overlord Bloodline produced when he and Isabelle
became one
healed it to its perfect state. Not only that, it also allayed the friction between the Fire and Thunder Mana while also mending any other side effect his outburst and possessions might have had on his body.
âBut...â His pupils flickered in wonderment, âJust how many times I
did it
with Isabelle to gain so much Nascent Energy?â
Currently, he had Ten Minor Units worth of Nascent Energy stored in his Dantian.
Considering that repairing his mana core and fixing the side effects should have consumed a significant part of the total Nascent Energy, he should have gained at least Twenty to Thirty Minor Units from her, if not more.
He didnât gain so much even when he first had sex with Esme, an emperor.
Therefore, unless she had a special constitution like Sera or there was some other reason behind so much energy generation, the only logical conclusion was that he did it with Isabelle several times.
âTch! What a waste! I couldnât enjoy even a bit of it.â He thought, clicking his tongue in annoyance.
But then he recalled what he made her go through and felt a little guilty.
Shaking his head, he soon rushed up the mountain and found Grand Elder Rowan sitting in the room.