Even so, Simon mobilized nearly all of his soul power for defense.
Yet Elodi's Soul Attack was strangely peculiar. It directly annihilated most of the barrier formed by Simon's soul power and invaded the depths of his Soul Ocean.
Facing the menacing "Light Ray," Simon summoned his remaining soul power for a desperate final stand. But soon, even that last bit of soul power was completely annihilated. The remaining soul power within the "Light Ray" then struck Simon's Sword-shaped Soul heavily.
Having lost all ability to resist, Simon let out a muffled groan and fell helplessly from the sky.
Seeing this, Elodi was about to step forward and finish him off.
But Patriarch Solo, who had been watching closely all along, instantly erupted with his maximum speed. Turning into a hurricane, he caught Simon before Elodi could reach him.
"Patriarch Solo, isn't this against the rules? This is a duel between Simon and me!"
"Hmph, Elodi and Joshua, is it? We lost this battle. Take the Magic Crystal Core mine on the northwest border if you want it."
The voice infused with Battle Qi echoed through the skies above the Seine River, and every noble and commoner watching heard it clearly.
This also meant that the Herbert Family had admitted defeat. According to the ancient rules of dueling, once one side conceded, the other side could no longer continue attacking or make trouble.
After saying that, Solo carried Simon away and flew straight back to the family without looking back.
"You got lucky. But after taking my full-force Soul Annihilation Art, even if Simon doesn't die, he'll be crippled." Elodi watched Solo and Simon disappear into the distance and spoke softly.
Then he transformed into a Light Ray and flew northwest, preparing to take over the Magic Crystal Core mine.
Awakening
"It has already been two and a half months. Why hasn't the young master awakened yet?" Head steward Pete sighed.
He had served as the Herbert Family's steward for a hundred years and had watched Simon grow up. In his heart, he had long regarded Simon as one of his own juniors.
Ever since Simon fell unconscious, the old man, whose hair and beard had turned completely white, had not left his side for even a single step.
Fortunately, Pete was a powerful Level 9 Warrior. Even going without sleep or rest for months was something he could endure.
Then, under Pete's watchful gaze, massive amounts of pale green and deep blue Heaven and Earth Elements suddenly began gathering around Simon.
The abrupt development instantly frightened Old Pete. Although he was a Level 9 Warrior and could barely be considered an expert on the Rayast Continent, he had never seen anything like this before.
Panicking, Old Pete could only hurry off to find Patriarch Solo.
Solo came to Simon's bedside and stared at the phenomenon before him in shock. What's happening? Simon's soul power was initially almost imperceptible, yet in only a few short minutes, it has grown to a level that even makes me feel alarmed. What exactly happened? Solo did not dare carelessly use his soul power to inspect Simon's condition in detail.
Pete looked at the silent patriarch and the unconscious Simon, not daring to make a sound for a moment.
Solo had never seen anything like this before. He had not even heard of such a thing. Although his strength had reached the Saint Realm Peak, with his knowledge, he truly could not understand what was happening.
But he knew that the best thing to do now was nothing.
He believed that the most outstanding junior of the family before him would definitely pull through. After all, Simon had already endured for so long. A little longer would make no difference.
Inside Simon's Soul Ocean.
The Sword-shaped Soul was trembling violently. With every tremor, it grew a little stronger. Meanwhile, the pale green Wind Elements and deep blue Water Elements surrounding Simon's body continuously poured into him.
Finally, after expanding to ten times its original size, the Sword-shaped Soul stopped trembling, and the elements around Simon gradually dispersed.
At that moment, the dream shattered, and illusion became reality.
Simon opened his eyes!
Feeling his current condition, how could Simon not realize that his Soul Mutation had succeeded?
"I didn't expect that right after transmigrating into the Coiling Dragon World, my first cheat would come knocking on my door. Then I won't be shy about accepting it. Hehe."
Having avidly read Coiling Dragon in his previous life, Simon naturally knew what Soul Mutation meant. Although it was only a Dual-Element Mutation, it was already an opportunity that could only be encountered by chance.
This meant that although Simon possessed only an ordinary human body, his mutated potential was no weaker than that of those exceptionally gifted Divine Beasts. His soul was also stronger, stronger at the very essence of life itself. In cultivation, this manifested as faster deduction and comprehension of laws, as well as a higher upper limit for his achievements.
Moreover, after a brief experience, Simon felt that his comprehension of laws had become much clearer than before. Even his soul seemed more lucid and pure.
"After my soul fully fused, it seems that even my cultivation aptitude evolved," Simon thought to himself.
It could be said that he was now a true favored child of heaven and earth.
"Soul Mutation, limitless potential!"
And it was a Water-Wind mutation, an especially complementary combination. He could possess both the speed and offense of the Wind Element and the defense and healing of the Water Element.
"Coiling Dragon, here I come!"
Then Simon opened his eyes. What entered his view were the anxious expressions of Patriarch Solo and Old Steward Pete.
Seeing Simon awaken, both of them revealed smiles of immense relief.
"It is good that you're awake. Good that you're awake," Solo said with a long sigh.
"I'm sorry, Patriarch. I made you worry."
Simon spoke sincerely.
In that seemingly endless dream, Simon had truly felt the care and affection the Herbert Family had shown him. Especially the old patriarch before him, who could be said to be the sky of the Herbert Family and its true pillar.
The old patriarch had risen through the military, tempering himself amid life-and-death struggles. Relying on the crudest Battle Qi Manual, he had grown stronger step by step until finally breaking through to the Saint Realm. The empire had then granted him the title of duke and bestowed the Northwest Province upon him as his fief. Over the following thousand-plus years, Solo shifted his focus to nurturing the family's younger generation, successfully producing two more Saint Realm experts within the family.
The family's fief gradually expanded to its current three provinces. Under his leadership, the entire family's atmosphere was upright. They revered strength but not violence, and there were very few arrogant, extravagant, or depraved members. Most cultivated diligently. Solo did not force those without cultivation aptitude, instead assigning them to the family's various businesses so they could continue contributing. As a result, the entire family steadily flourished, displaying a vigorous and thriving state.
This also made Simon regard the Herbert Family as his true home, and he felt proud from the depths of his heart to be a member of the Herbert Family.
"Let everything from Blue Star remain buried. If I get the chance, I should still return there someday," Simon silently thought.
"Silly child, what are you apologizing for? It is the family that has wronged you. I never should have let you accept that damned challenge."
"Don't say that, Patriarch. No one could have expected that the once unremarkable Elodi had hidden himself so deeply. All of us underestimated him."
"Sigh, it was still my fault. All right, Simon. You have been unconscious for so long, so we won't disturb you any further. Rest and recuperate some more."
With that, Solo and Pete left Simon's room.
Within the spacious and magnificent room, Simon lay quietly on the bed, sensing the changes in himself.
"My condition has never been better!" Feeling the immense soul power within his mind, Simon could not help revealing a delighted smile.
With his current Dual-Element Soul Mutation as a foundation, coupled with his evolved cultivation aptitude, Simon felt a surge of bold confidence. Even though the Coiling Dragon World was filled with countless dangers, he felt that he could go anywhere in the future.
The heavens were vast and the earth was boundless. I can roam wherever I please!
With such cultivation aptitude and potential, the easy life he had envied in his previous life was no longer something Simon needed to covet. In this life, he could finally pound his chest and declare, "A real man should rely on himself. Who would still think about living off a woman after transmigrating?"
After a long while, Simon calmed down and reviewed his previous battle with Elodi.
He realized that he had still made the mistake of underestimating his opponent. If he had used his strong defense and superior speed to keep his distance, continuously kiting Elodi and never giving him an opportunity to release that Soul Attack at close range, then he would not have suffered such a miserable defeat in the end.
But then again, if he had fled when things looked bad or simply admitted defeat, he naturally would not have had the opportunity to transmigrate, much less successfully undergo Soul Mutation because of it.
Every gain and loss had its cause. Fate truly had its own design.
But this good fortune did not mean he would be so lucky next time.
"I still need to be more cautious in the future. If I were strong enough, if I had successfully entered the Law of Wind or broken through to the Saint Magus realm, I could have released a Dimensional Blade from far away and killed him in one strike. Why would I have needed to lose so miserably?"
Simon felt that he needed to be more cautious in the future. If he did not strike, then so be it—but when he did, he had to kill his enemy. At the very least, he had to fully ensure his own safety.
After reviewing the battle, Simon found that his spiritual power, or soul power, was indeed around ten times stronger than before. It had fully reached the spiritual power threshold required for a Saint Magus and could even control the fusion of Wind Attribute Battle Qi and Water Attribute Battle Qi, as well as the fusion of Wind Element magic power and Water Element magic power.
After some simple testing, Simon discovered that whether he used martial techniques or magic, the fused energy increased their power tenfold. This was the boost in strength brought by stronger foundational energy, matching the strength increase brought by Soul Mutation in the original work.
"I'll go see my parents and clansmen first to put them at ease, then I'll enter seclusion wholeheartedly and seek a breakthrough to the Saint Magus realm."
In the Coiling Dragon World, powerful strength was the foundation of everything.
Afterward, Simon went out to see the patriarch, elders, his parents, and the others. Once they were completely reassured, he announced that he would enter seclusion and would not emerge until he broke through to the Saint Magus realm.
After that battle, the bottleneck preventing Simon from reaching Saint Magus had already been resolved by his Soul Mutation. His spiritual power had reached the requirement and far surpassed it. All that remained was to refine enough magic power.
Seeing that the former cultivation maniac had returned and appeared to be in even better condition than before, everyone completely put their worries aside and dispersed to attend to their own affairs.
Only the old patriarch stood before the doors of Simon's seclusion chamber, lost in thought.
This legendary Saint Realm expert, weathered by countless trials, still could not see through what had happened to Simon. Perhaps it is a good thing. If Simon wishes to tell me in the future, he will. If he doesn't, I won't force him. Children and grandchildren have their own fortunes.
After returning to the place where he often cultivated in seclusion, Simon sat down cross-legged. Once he adjusted his condition, he quietly began refining magic power with all his focus.
Thanks to his exceptional elemental affinity, Simon refined magic power extremely quickly.
In the blink of an eye, half a year passed. Simon, who had been immersed in refining magic power all this time, suddenly opened his eyes.
"It is time to break through."
After six months of accumulation, Simon had gathered his magic power to the limit of a Level 9 Magician.
All that remained was to mobilize all of his spiritual power and compress his magic power to the limit, transforming liquid magic power into solid form.
This step required extremely powerful spiritual power.
But because of his Soul Mutation, Simon's current spiritual power could accomplish this with ease.
As for his realm of comprehension, Simon had long reached the Momentum of Heaven and Earth.
Everything was ready.
As expected, with a soft sound, the barrier that had blocked Simon from becoming a Saint Realm Magus for years was effortlessly broken through.
At that moment, the Magic Crystal Core formed within Simon's body after compressing all his magic power shone brilliantly. Pale green and deep blue light reflected off one another.
This solid Magic Crystal Core represented Simon's official entry into the Saint Magus realm. After successfully breaking through, Simon's soul grew more than tenfold once again.
"My strength has increased by far more than a hundred times now. If I fought Elodi again, even the stupidest move, Spirit Storm, could kill him in a single strike!" Simon said confidently.
With a soul that had become ten times stronger after mutation and another ten times stronger after reaching Saint Magus, along with his once again evolved aptitude, Simon's speed in comprehending and deducing laws increased greatly. In just a few days, he truly entered the Profundity of Speed.
He even gained vague impressions of the other Profound Mysteries of the Law of Wind, as though he could enter them at any moment. This powerful aptitude left Simon clicking his tongue in amazement.
The only troubling matter was that although he had been in the Saint Realm for quite some time, he still had not figured out exactly what period this was.
The only thing he could confirm was that the Chief Sovereigns had most likely all been born already. After all, magic religions of every element could be found across the Rayast Continent. What remained uncertain was whether Linley had been born yet. He needed to find a way to verify that, as it concerned whether he would have a chance to compete for those opportunities.
"Without going to the Supreme Planes, it still won't do," Simon thought.
The qualitative transformation in spiritual power brought by breaking through to Saint Magus made Simon's comprehension of laws even clearer.
The Profound Mystery of Speed, which he had previously been unable to enter, was naturally comprehended with the support of his greatly increased spiritual power after breaking through.
After truly comprehending it, Simon discovered that the Profundity of Speed represented the ultimate speed within the Law of Wind. Integrating it into movement meant ultimate speed, while integrating it into attacks greatly increased attack speed. The exact degree of enhancement depended on one's level of comprehension and method of application.
Simon estimated that upon first entering the Profundity of Speed, it could roughly increase his original maximum attack power by another three times, while the increase in attack speed would be about the same. At mastery, it should reach ten times. Of course, this was only the basic enhancement of the law itself and did not include racial bonuses or other factors.
Before you continue