Dimensional Descent

Compared to the process of eating Force Pills, Leonel felt like he was walking on clouds.

After consuming the cobra demon, Leonel's Bronze Runes had all fused into one. If he activated his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor right this moment, he would become a man of bronze from the neck down, his halo would be far more resplendent, and the crown usually tattooed to his forehead would separate, fusing with the Spear Crown of his Spear Domain Lineage factor and exuding a far mightier aura.

Under the effects of the Cleansing Waters, it felt like a final push thrummed through Leonel's blood.

The bronze sheen that covered his body from the next down slowly separated from him, peeling off from his skin and becoming a light that covered him instead. His halo grew in size, shimmering with an even more fierce bronze glow, and at the same time, the sound of sharpening metal resonated through the air.

What happened outside of Leonel's body was mirrored inside. His individual organs, which would also usually be covered in Bronze Runes, radiated a similar glow as well, as though they were enveloped by a light of ambrosia.

There were actually no changes to Leonel's Starry Tailed Fox and Aurora Black Panda Lineage Factors for unknown reasons. But, there were changes to his soul.

It became more resplendent and whole, growing in strength and becoming more and more independent of Leonel's body.

At the same time, the cleansed King's Might that had always laid its roots within the depths of Leonel's soul also began to flourish, slowly becoming more powerful as time continued onward.

Although Leonel had separated his soul from his body, it could survive indefinitely on its own like a Spirituals could or someone with Wise Star Order's Ability Index. At best, he could last a few hours. It couldn't be helped, he didn't have the practice methods of the Spirituals.

But Leonel quickly found that as his King's Might grew stronger, so did his soul, and the vice versa was also just as true. It was hard to tell which was the root and which was the sprout, but what Leonel didn't know was that his King's Might was only becoming purer and the Emperor's Might tablet that had managed to break free and follow him reacted very well to this change.

When Leonel finally awoke, he could feel every cell inside his body tingling. Even his Spear Domain Lineage Factor had become purer, although the changes were nowhere near as exaggerated as what happened with his Metal Synergy Lineage Factor. This seemed to tell him that the Spear Domain Lineage Factor was much closer to perfection to begin with.

Leonel looked down at his body and his skin seemed to glow. His muscles were much softer and far less chiseled in comparison to the past, but this only made sense since he had completely reset his Metal Body.

Even with this being the case, though, Leonel still felt that this basic, untrained Metal Body was more than a hundred times more powerful than it had been back when he was in the Sixth Dimension. The gap was simply enormous and it would only stack further as he re-cultivated it back to its peak.

Leonel exhaled a breath and stepped out of the river.

The feeling of grass beneath his feet made him smile. He had never known that having his own personal forest could feel so good.

When he returned to the Void Palace, he and Aina wouldn't have to bother with finding a place to live again. What place could possibly be better than this?

Leonel smiled to himself and flipped over a palm to reveal Thaela's Emulation Spatial Force Innate Node. It was fairly large, at least compared to Leonel's Innate Node back when he snatched it back from Myghell, but it was still only about two thumb tips large.

Leonel pulled out the Innate Node fusion method he had gotten from the exchange first and prepared to read it. He felt that this Innate Node would be a perfect candidate to replace the node in his brain stem with, so he had to be very careful and thoroughly understand the technique first.

"Hm? An Innate Node?"

Anastasia appeared over Leonel's shoulder, seemingly not caring that he was naked in the slightest. In fact, she had been watching the whole time. She didn't pay much attention to it in the first place, humans, whether clothed or not, were all the same to her.

"Are you sure you want to absorb that, it will cause more problems than not," Anastasia said.

"I received a method of fusion from the Zone we just exited," Leonel explained. "I think it was a Mythological Zone, it had all sorts of methods that I've never even heard of before, including a method to fuse with Innate Nodes that aren't your own."

Anastasia's gaze flickered. "Oh? Is that so…? In that case, put it in the river."

"Huh?"

"Put it in the river."

"Innate Nodes can be cleansed too?"

"Innate Nodes are the purest state a Force can reach, more than comparable to Pure Force Crystals, but there are different calibers among them as well.

"Emulation Spatial Force is definitely a top five Spatial Force, so it's powerful and has Ninth Dimensional potential, but this Innate Node has a problem. It even feels as though it's been moved around a lot and never got the chance to properly grow, so it's missing a lot of the strength it should have for a Sixth Dimensional Innate Node of its caliber."

While Anastasia didn't know about the method of Innate Node fusion that Leonel mentioned, when it came to Forces, her comprehension of them, and how they functioned, practically no one was he equal. And this was to be expected… After all, all things considered, wasn't she essentially the World Spirit of the Segmented Cube? Who could understand more of the nature of things if not her?

Leonel's gaze flashed.

That was right. Thaela had the Ability Index that granted one the ability to move their Nodes and Nodal Pathways instantly within their bodies. This allowed such a person to cast techniques instantly without circulating their Innate Nodes first…

To think that this ability would actually have a crippling effect on an individual with an Innate Node. But compared to this, it was shockingly impressive that Anastasia could see through this flaw in just a single glance. After all, she had never met Thaela before!

"Okay, I will do as you say, then."

Leonel allowed the Innate Node to drop into the river. He wasn't scared about losing it at all, everything in this world was under his control. It would only take a thought for him to make it appear in his palm once again.

Anastasia nodded. "It won't take long. Just focus on learning the fusion technique."

"Mm," Leonel assented.