Elvis

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Elvis Cleo (埃尔维斯)
Species/Race	Human; bearer of the Cleo Family's divine-beast-derived beast-transformation heritage
Gender	Male
Affiliation	Cleo Family
Occupation/Role	Lord of a small Cleo Family territory; magic-beast hunter
Status	Deceased; killed by Leian after surviving the battle with Laman's faction 5
First Appearance	Chapter 2

Power Progression

Stage / Realm / Level	Chapter	Notes
Seventh-rank warrior	2	Laman and Gari identify Elvis as a fellow seventh-rank warrior, though he is gravely injured.
Beast-transformed combat power exceeding the seventh rank	4	Activates dragon traits and displays speed beyond a normal seventh-rank warrior; Laman suspects he may have reached the eighth rank.
Failed fusion with a level-nine Thorny-backed Armored Dragon core	7	Gains partial dragon transformation but suffers irreversible bodily damage because his inherited Thunder Dragon bloodline conflicts with the core.

Background / History

The Cleo Family had declined for generations, selling inherited assets to survive. To sustain a lord's household, Elvis's father led family guards into the Youquan Mountain Range to hunt magical beasts and sell their cores. Elvis later joined him in these hunts. 2

Half a month before his death, Elvis and his father encountered two level-nine magical beasts fighting: a Thorny-backed Armored Dragon and an unidentified dragon-like beast. The pair pursued the severely wounded survivors for their cores. Elvis's father and the Cleo guards died, while Elvis obtained both level-nine cores. 2 6 7

Driven by his ambition to reach the Saint Realm, Elvis used the family's beast-transformation technique to fuse with the Thorny-backed Armored Dragon's core. Though the dragon's dark attribute matched his battle qi, the fusion conflicted with his thin Thunder Dragon bloodline and permanently damaged his body. He subsequently set out for the county seat to seek treatment. 7

Appearance

In his transformed state, Elvis resembles a partial Thorny-backed Armored Dragon rather than a complete magic beast. 4 5

• Pitch-black dragon scales cover parts of his face, cheeks, and neck. 4 5
• His hands become black, thorn-like dragon claws. 4 5
• His transformation lacks a dragon tail and back spikes, making it markedly incomplete. 5
• He fights with a long blade or broadsword. 3 4

Personality

Elvis is battle-hardened and decisive. After realizing that Laman's ambush has been enabled by a traitor, he stops dwelling on Bird's betrayal and focuses on surviving the immediate threat. 3

He fiercely protects the Cleo Family's hereditary secret. Even when offered his life in exchange for the family's wealth and techniques, he refuses to yield the beast-transformation art and chooses to fight. 3 4

Despite catastrophic injuries, Elvis remains calculating. He feigns death after killing Laman in an attempt to lure Leian within striking range. 5

Abilities & Skills

Beast Transformation

Elvis uses a Cleo Family secret art derived from a Druid technique and the Spring of Life to fuse with a magic crystal core. His fusion with a level-nine Thorny-backed Armored Dragon core gives him incomplete dragon traits. 7

• Enhances his senses; he detects Leian's concealed presence after catching a brief lapse in Leian's aura. 5
• Produces dragon scales and claws. 4 5
• Greatly improves his speed, briefly placing it beyond the expectations for a seventh-rank warrior. 4
• The incomplete transformation does not grant the full defense or agility of a true Thorny-backed Armored Dragon. 5
• The fusion inflicts irreversible bodily damage and leaves him in need of urgent treatment. 7

Swordsmanship and Combat Experience

Elvis is an experienced warrior who has repeatedly hunted magical beasts with his father. 2 5

• Kills seventh-rank warrior Cal in a direct exchange after transforming. 4
• Uses evasive movement and close-range counterattacks to kill Kelun despite being pierced through the body. 4
• Defeats and decapitates Laman after both combatants have sustained severe injuries. 4
• Can fight while severely wounded, but his injuries dramatically reduce his striking power and endurance. 4 5

Black Dragon's Dance

Elvis's ultimate sword technique creates three lifelike afterimages alongside his true body, allowing him to attack multiple opponents in a single rush. 4

• Severes Laman's right arm. 4
• Kills Ryan and Benson during the same attack. 4
• Leaves Elvis nearly unable to stand due to the strain of using it while already injured. 4

Equipment / Items

• Long blade / broadsword — Elvis's primary weapon during the ambush. 3 4
• Spatial ring — Worn on his left middle finger; contains the Cleo Family's wealth, magical cores, cultivation manuals, genealogy, and supplies for beast transformation. It is taken by Leian after Elvis's death. 5 6 7
• Level-nine Thorny-backed Armored Dragon magic core — Used in his failed fusion attempt. 7

Relationships

• Elvis's father — Hunting partner and predecessor in pursuing wealth through magic-beast hunts; dies while helping secure two level-nine magic cores. 2 7
• Elvis's wife — Dies in her bedroom shortly after Elvis's death. 10
• Unnamed son — Twelve years old at the time of Elvis's death; disappears after his mother's death. 10 58
• Bird — Cleo Family steward who betrays Elvis's nighttime journey to Laman after losing his sons and grandson during Cleo Family hunts. 3
• Baron Laman — Neighboring lord who ambushes Elvis to seize the Cleo Family's wealth and beast-transformation secret; killed by Elvis. 3 4
• Leian — Observes the ambush, later kills the wounded Elvis and takes the Cleo Family inheritance. 3 5

Story Role / Major Arcs

Ambush and Battle with Laman

While traveling secretly to the county seat with the Cleo Family's wealth to obtain treatment, Elvis is ambushed by Laman, Cal, Benson, Ryan, Kelun, and their men. Bird's betrayal allows Laman to identify the route and timing of the journey. 3

Laman demands the Cleo Family's secret heritage manual and beast-transformation technique. Elvis refuses, transforms, kills Cal, and unleashes Black Dragon's Dance, killing Ryan and Benson while maiming Laman. Though gravely wounded, he kills Kelun and ultimately beheads Laman. 4

Death and the Lost Cleo Inheritance

Elvis pretends to be dead after the battle, intending to kill Leian when he approaches the bodies. His heightened transformed senses identify Leian, but he underestimates him and is killed by a single sword strike. 5

Leian takes Elvis's spatial ring and inherits the Cleo Family's wealth, cultivation techniques, genealogy, Spring of Life, and level-nine destruction-attribute magic core. 5 6 7

The authorities publicly declare that Elvis and Laman died in a private duel, concealing Laman's attempted robbery and murder. 9

Trivia

• Elvis records the acquisition of the level-nine cores and his own fusion experience in the Cleo Family genealogy. 7
• His partial dragon transformation leads Leian to identify him as resembling a Thorny-backed Armored Dragon. 5
• Leian later discovers that the man who attacks Bella is Elvis's son. 58