Duke Andrew

"Then I'll be going. When you have time, come visit me sometime," Gilmer said in farewell to Liewen.

"Certainly."

Liewen saw Gilmer to the gates of the estate.

Gilmer left.

A few days later, Liewen received his investiture from the king of the Hess Kingdom.

Liewen became Duke Andrew of the Hess Kingdom.

The Hess Kingdom was naturally thrilled to welcome a 9th level expert like Liewen.

Even a kingdom would find it difficult to possess a 9th level expert.

Back when the Fenlai Kingdom was the strongest kingdom in the Holy Union, it had only two 9th level experts. Its king, Clayde, had only become a 9th level expert with the Radiant Church's help.

Because Clayde had offered Linley's mother to the Radiant Church, allowing the Radiant Church to receive an immense reward from the Lord of Light, he had in turn gained the Radiant Church's assistance.

Not only had he become a 9th level expert, but he had also obtained a Saint Realm magic defense scroll.

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

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

At present, the Hess Kingdom had only one 9th level warrior—the royal guardian.

Of course, although Liewen had become a noble of the Hess Kingdom, he did not need to take on any actual duties there. He merely bore the title of duke.

He still cultivated in his estate as usual.

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

"12 9th level Magical Crystal Cores, 35 8th level Magical Crystal Cores, and nearly a hundred 7th level Magical Crystal Cores..."

During the several monster assaults on Hess City, Liewen had taken the opportunity to hunt magical beasts and collect Magical Crystal Cores and magical beast Essence Blood. His gains had been considerable.

"These Magical Crystal Cores and magical beast Essence Blood should be enough to last me a year or two."

Liewen cultivated in peace.

The Radiant Church rarely came to disturb Liewen. Their hope for him was that he would enter the Saint Realm as soon as possible, so they were more than happy to let him cultivate diligently.

As for the Hess Kingdom, they knew that Liewen was actually one of the Radiant Church's people, so they dared not disturb him either.

As time passed, Hess City became increasingly prosperous.

Because it was close to territory occupied by magical beasts, more and more warriors and magi came here to train. They would generally stay in Hess City before heading into the magical beast territory.

The warriors and magi who trained there brought back all sorts of materials, such as Magical Crystal Cores and magical beast Essence Blood. Most chose to sell them nearby in Hess City, attracting more and more merchants as well.

Two years after the beast tide ended, Hess City's prosperity and population already showed signs of surpassing those of Fenlai City in its prime.

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 retreat within the Hanmu Kingdom. Before the Day of Destruction, many nobles and wealthy people came here every summer to escape the heat.

Now, Sun-Moon Lake had not only no human presence, but not even a trace of magical beasts.

Because it was the territory of the peak 9th level magical beast, the Water-Cold Giant Python.

The lake's surface shimmered with ripples as a blue giant python rolled about in the water. Its body was as thick as a water barrel, and even the breath it naturally exhaled was bone-piercingly cold, enough to frostbite an ordinary person.

A human man stood upon the water, battling the Water-Cold Giant Python.

Had any other human expert been present, he would surely have been shocked.

The human fighting the Water-Cold Giant Python was barehanded, with not even a trace of battle qi on his body. Relying solely on his physical strength, he fought the Water-Cold Giant Python to a standstill.

The man smashed a fist into the Water-Cold Giant Python's head. The peak 9th level magical beast, with its tough hide and thick flesh, was actually punched straight into the lake.

The Water-Cold Giant Python burst out of the lake, letting out an enraged hiss as it opened its mouth and spat out a stream of icy breath.

The man stepped off the water and leaped high into the air, dodging the attack from the icy breath.

The icy breath struck the lake, instantly freezing an area more than ten meters wide, with the ice extending all the way to the lakebed.

"Enough. Let's finish this."

Still in midair, the man threw a punch through the air. Blazing white light gathered around his right fist, and he unleashed a scorching white beam that instantly pierced through the Water-Cold Giant Python's skull.

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

The man landed on the water, grabbed the Water-Cold Giant Python's body with one hand, and actually hauled it straight out of the lake before tossing it onto the shore.

The Water-Cold Giant Python's enormous body slammed into the ground with a deafening boom.

The man left the lake surface and began collecting the Water-Cold Giant Python's Magical Crystal Core and Essence Blood.

That man was none other than Liewen.

"Liewen Andrew."

"Strength: 9th level warrior."

"Potential: Highgod capable of fusing two Laws' Profound Mysteries."

"Physical strength: 9th level warrior."

"Physical potential: Median Divine Artifact."

After several years, both Liewen's battle qi and pure physical strength had reached the peak of the 9th level.

Although he had long since reached the Saint Realm in terms of realm, the gap in battle qi between a 9th level warrior and a Saint Realm warrior was still immense.

Even with Linley's talent in the original story, it had taken him more than a decade to cultivate enough battle qi to break through from a humanoid 9th level warrior to a humanoid Saint Realm warrior.

Of course, that was also related to the fact that Linley had constantly been fighting and comprehending profound mysteries, leaving him relatively little time to cultivate battle qi alone.

It had also been ten years since Liewen became a 9th level warrior. His advantage over Linley was that he was not burdened by worldly matters and could focus wholeheartedly on cultivation.

He could sense that the Light Battle Qi within his body had reached a critical point. He could break through and enter the Saint Realm at any moment.

Once he entered the Saint Realm, it would be a qualitative transformation. Not only would he be able to fly through the air, but he would also gain an infinite lifespan.

Compared with his battle qi, his physical strength had improved even more.

The Bo Lei Clan's secret technique was indeed simple and brutal. As long as he had enough Magical Crystal Cores and magical beast Essence Blood of sufficiently high quality, he could rapidly enhance his physical strength.

The Magical Crystal Cores and magical beast Essence Blood Liewen had collected during the beast tide had been used up in less than two years.

Although there were many shops in Hess City selling magical beast materials, materials at the 8th and 9th level were scarce and were essentially unavailable even at a price.

Even with gold coins, Liewen could not satisfy his cultivation needs, so he could only hunt magical beasts himself.

After several years of cultivation, Liewen's physical strength had also reached the peak of the 9th level. Relying purely on bodily strength, he could battle magical beasts of the same level.

The increase in physical strength also led him to abandon weapons and instead train in fist and kick techniques.

Because ordinary weapons were not even as hard as his fists.

During his battles with magical beasts, he had also deepened his comprehension of the Profundity of Purification.

By now, Liewen could concentrate 256 rays of light in a single direction, forming a fist-sized beam for attack. Compared to light scattered in all directions, its power had increased greatly.

However, Liewen felt that his comprehension of the Profundity of Purification was still insufficient. He remained far from fully understanding it.

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

Liewen already had a general direction for cultivating the Profundity of Purification. He had a vague premonition that his current comprehension was only halfway complete. When he condensed all 256 rays of light into a single ray, it would be the day the Profundity of Purification reached completion.

At that point, he would become a Lowgod.

Although there was still a long road ahead in the Profundity of Purification, with his battle qi, physical body, and Laws' Profound Mysteries combined, Liewen was confident that he had no opponents among those of the 9th level.

Even against Saint Realm experts with little comprehension of the Laws, he had the strength to fight.

After taking the Water-Cold Giant Python's Magical Crystal Core and Essence Blood, Liewen turned and left, returning to Hess City.

"Now that my body has reached the peak of the 9th level, 9th level Magical Crystal Cores and Essence Blood are no longer as effective as before. If I want to raise my body to the Saint Realm, it seems I'll need Saint Realm Magical Crystal Cores and Essence Blood."

Liewen calculated silently.

Once he broke through to the Saint Realm, combined with his physical strength and Laws' Profound Mysteries, Liewen was confident that he could hunt Saint Realm magical beasts.