Duke Andrew

"Then, I shall take my leave. When you have time, you are welcome to visit me," Gilmer said, bidding farewell to Lewin.

"Certainly."

Lewin saw Gilmer to the gates of his residence.

Gilmer departed.

A few days later, Lewin received an official title from the king of the Hess Kingdom.

Lewin had become Duke Andrew of the Hess Kingdom.

The Hess Kingdom was absolutely delighted to welcome a level nine powerhouse like Lewin.

Even for a kingdom, it was difficult to possess a single level nine powerhouse.

Back then, the Fenlai Kingdom was the strongest in the Holy Union, yet it only had two level nine powerhouses, and one of them, King Clayde, had only reached that level with the help of the Radiant Church.

Because Clayde had offered Linley's mother to the Radiant Church, allowing them to receive a massive reward from the Lord of Light, he had received the church's assistance in return.

Not only did he become a level nine powerhouse, but he also received a Saint-level magic defense scroll.

It was precisely because of this magic defense scroll that Linley's first assassination attempt on Clayde in Fenlai City had failed, leading to Linley's capture.

If not for the Day of Destruction, Linley would have already been executed by the Radiant Church.

The Hess Kingdom currently only had that palace guardian as a level nine warrior.

Of course, although he had become a noble of the Hess Kingdom, Lewin did not need to take on any responsibilities; he merely held the title of Duke.

He spent his time cultivating in his residence as usual.

Improving his battle qi, comprehending the Laws of Light, and training his physical strength—Lewin's daily cultivation schedule was packed.

"Twelve level nine Magical Crystal Cores, thirty-five level eight, and nearly a hundred level seven..."

As magical beasts attacked Hess City several times, Lewin had taken the opportunity to hunt them, collecting Magical Crystal Cores and magical beast blood essence, resulting in a bountiful harvest.

"These Magical Crystal Cores and blood essence are enough to last me a year or two."

Lewin cultivated with peace of mind.

The Radiant Church rarely disturbed him; their expectation for Lewin was for him to reach the Saint level as soon as possible, and they were more than happy to let him cultivate in peace.

As for the Hess Kingdom, knowing that Lewin was effectively a member of the Radiant Church, they dared not bother him at all.

Time passed, and Hess City became increasingly prosperous.

Because it was close to the territory occupied by magical beasts, more and more warriors and mages came here to train, and they would almost always stop in Hess City before heading into the beast-occupied zones.

The warriors and mages who trained there brought back Magical Crystal Cores, blood essence, and various other materials, most of which they chose to sell in the nearby Hess City, which in turn attracted more and more merchants.

Two years after the beast tide ended, the prosperity and population of Hess City already showed signs of surpassing the old Fenlai City.

In the blink of an eye, nearly eight years had passed since the Day of Destruction.

Hanmu Kingdom, magical beast occupied territory.

Sun-Moon Lake had once been a famous summer resort within the Hanmu Kingdom. Before the Day of Destruction, many nobles and wealthy individuals would come here every summer to escape the heat and vacation.

Today, Sun-Moon Lake was not only devoid of people, but there were not even any traces of magical beasts.

This was because it was the territory of a peak level nine magical beast, the Water-Cold Giant Python.

On the surface of the lake, ripples shimmered as a giant blue python rolled incessantly. Its body was as thick as a water barrel, and the breath it exhaled was naturally cold and bone-chilling, enough to frostbite an ordinary person.

A human man stood on the water's surface, locked in a fierce battle with the Water-Cold Giant Python.

If any other human powerhouses were present, they would surely be shocked.

This human fighting the Water-Cold Giant Python was unarmed and did not even use battle qi; he was fighting the beast on equal footing using only his raw physical strength.

The man landed a punch on the head of the Water-Cold Giant Python, and the thick-skinned, peak level nine magical beast was actually knocked directly into the lake by this single blow.

The Water-Cold Giant Python surged out of the water, letting out an angry hiss as it opened its mouth to spray a blast of icy breath.

The man stepped on the water and leaped high into the air, dodging the attack.

The icy breath struck the lake, instantly freezing a radius of over ten meters, with the ice extending all the way to the bottom.

"That's enough. Let's end this."

Still in mid-air, the man threw a punch into the void. Dazzling white light gathered on his right fist, and he unleashed a scorching beam of white light that instantly pierced through the skull of the Water-Cold Giant Python.

The massive body of the Water-Cold Giant Python fell into the lake and slowly sank.

The man landed on the surface of the lake, grabbed the body of the python with one hand, and actually pulled it straight out of the water, tossing it onto the shore.

The giant body of the Water-Cold Giant Python slammed into the ground with a loud thud.

The man left the lake and began to harvest the Magical Crystal Core and blood essence from the Water-Cold Giant Python.

This man was none other than Lewin.

"Lewin Andrew."

"Strength: Level nine warrior."

"Potential: Fusing two profound mysteries, Highgod."

"Physical Strength: Level 9 Warrior."

"Physical Potential: Median Divine Artifact."

Several years had passed, and Liewen's Battle Qi and raw physical strength had both reached the peak of the ninth rank.

Although he had long since reached the Saint-level in terms of his realm, there was still a massive gap in Battle Qi between a ninth-rank warrior and a Saint-level warrior.

Given Linley's talent in the original story, it had taken him over a decade to cultivate enough Battle Qi to break through from a ninth-rank human to a Saint-level human.

Of course, this was also related to the fact that Linley was constantly fighting and comprehending Profundities, leaving him little time for pure Battle Qi cultivation.

It had been ten years since Liewen became a ninth-rank warrior, and his advantage over Linley was that he had no worldly affairs to distract him, allowing him to focus entirely on cultivation.

He could feel that the Light Battle Qi within his body had reached a critical point; he could break through and step into the Saint-level at any moment.

Once he stepped into the Saint-level, it would be a qualitative change; not only would he be able to fly through the air, but he would also possess an infinite lifespan.

Compared to his Battle Qi, his physical strength had improved even more significantly.

The secret technique of the Bo Lei Clan was indeed simple and brutal; as long as there were enough Magical Crystal Cores and beast blood essence of a high enough level, one could rapidly increase their physical strength.

The Magical Crystal Cores and beast blood essence that Liewen had collected during the beast tide had been exhausted in less than two years.

Although there were many shops in Hess City that sold magical beast materials, those at the eighth or ninth rank were rare, essentially being items that were priced but unavailable.

Even if Liewen had the gold coins, he couldn't satisfy his cultivation needs and had to hunt the magical beasts himself.

After several years of cultivation, Liewen's physical strength had also reached the peak of the ninth rank, and he could fight magical beasts of the same level using only his physical power.

The increase in physical strength also led him to abandon weapons and switch to practicing unarmed combat.

This was because ordinary weapons were not even as hard as his fists.

During his battles with magical beasts, he was also deepening his comprehension of the Profundity of Purification.

Liewen was now able to concentrate 256 rays of light into a single direction, forming a beam of light the size of a fist for his attacks, which was far more powerful than light rays scattered in all directions.

However, Liewen felt that his comprehension of the Profundity of Purification was still insufficient, and he was still a long way from fully mastering it.

The next step should be to condense all 256 rays of light into one.

Liewen already had a general direction for his cultivation of the Profundity of Purification. He had a vague premonition that he was only halfway to comprehending it, and when he could condense those 256 rays into one, that would be the day he achieved mastery of the Profundity of Purification.

At that time, he would become a Lowgod.

Although there was still a long way to go with the Profundity of Purification, with the combination of his Battle Qi, his body, and the Laws and Profundities, Liewen was confident that he had no rivals among the ninth rank.

He even had the strength to fight against those Saint-level experts who had no comprehension of the Laws.

After taking the Magical Crystal Core and blood essence of the Water-Cold Giant Python, Liewen turned and left, heading back to Hess City.

After my body reaches the peak of the ninth rank, the improvement from ninth-rank Magical Crystal Cores and blood essence is no longer as effective as before. It seems that to raise my body to the Saint-level, I will need Saint-level Magical Crystal Cores and blood essence.

Liewen calculated in his mind.

Once he broke through to the Saint-level, combined with his physical strength and the Profundity of the Laws, Liewen would have the confidence to hunt Saint-level magical beasts.