Choosing the Path Ahead

Perhaps in the eyes of the system, the Peak Saint Realm was already a level of strength that possessed a certain foundation, capable of developing in multiple directions.

The first could be called the path of elements. Given Karl's current wealth, he could cultivate all eleven elements simultaneously without issue, but it was clear that there were not many choices available right now; it was merely an extra option.

The second was the path of self-strengthening, as Karl had seen an option for physical cultivation in the Mall.

[Name: Physique Growth]

[Price: 50,000,000]

[Description: Your body will undergo endless growth.]

This price could be called extremely expensive. After all, the purchase price for the Mysteries of the Wind Element was only ten million, yet Physique Growth was as high as fifty million.

However, this price was something Karl could consider.

Having been in this world for three hundred years, plus the few years of decline after the original work became popular in his past life, although Karl's memory had been greatly enhanced, there were still many things about his past life that remained unclear and intangible. Perhaps it was the change brought about by a different world, but Karl still kept some important matters firmly in his heart.

In his impression, there was already one proven method of transcendence in the Coiling Dragon Universe: gathering Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire to achieve the status of a Low-level Sovereign of the same level, which would then allow one to attain the Mysterious Yellow Body and pierce through the secrets of the universe. This was also the reason why, when choosing the ultimate attack, Karl did not choose the Destruction Rules—at least to leave himself a glimmer of hope.

Beyond transcendence, without involving soul mutation, Karl was just an ordinary human. He held no advantage over his peers in the Yulan Continent, as powerful bloodlines had existed there.

For instance, the four types of Ultimate Warriors, such as the Dragonblood Warrior, had appeared in the human camp. Similarly, in the Magic Beast camp, powerful Magic Beasts all possessed extremely strong bloodlines. Although their bloodlines also limited them, the power of Magic Beasts could not be denied.

After all, according to the common knowledge of the Yulan Continent, the strength of a Magic Beast that had just entered the Saint Realm was comparable to a Mid Saint Realm powerhouse, and those with stronger bloodlines were even comparable to the Peak Saint Realm.

A strong body leads to a higher ceiling of strength; Karl was very clear about this point. Especially since this advantage could be sufficiently compensated for even after becoming a Deity, a formidable body remained a high-priority advantage.

In Karl's somewhat blurred memories, there seemed to be a powerhouse with an extremely strong body who had gained the attention of a Sovereign while he was still only a Low-level Deity.

"A strong body means my combat power among my peers is higher, and once I reach the limit of what I can achieve, this extra advantage will become a ceiling that makes me stronger than other powerhouses of the same level."

Karl pondered for a moment, glanced at the other elemental laws, and finally fixed his gaze on Physique Growth.

Fifty million points vanished in an instant. Even for someone as wealthy as Karl, it was impossible not to feel a pang of heartache. He thought to himself that he must accelerate the development of his territory's influence while watching the item for Physique Growth in the Mall transform into a scarlet dot of light, which was slowly approaching him.

The moment [Physique Growth] slowly merged into his body, Karl felt the changes within.

"Stronger."

A full-power strike of Battle Qi from a Level 6 Warrior was almost equivalent to the pure physical strength of a Level 9 Warrior. Even though the body of a Saint Realm powerhouse had undergone one transformation and their physical strength had increased, it was still impossible to reach the Saint Realm level of physical power.

But when Karl integrated [Physique Growth], he captured that instantaneous change; his body was growing rapidly.

Before long, Karl felt his physical strength break through the barrier of Level 9 and officially reach the Saint Realm level.

Clenching his fists, Karl carefully felt the changes brought about by his body.

"A Saint Realm-level body is enough to erupt with more Battle Qi. Now, with my physical strength, if I only unleash Battle Qi, my power is no less than that of a Mid Saint Realm powerhouse. If I add my own Momentum of Heaven and Earth on top of that, my strength will likely be no less than the Peak Saint Realm."

Karl muttered to himself, his heart filled with excitement. It was worthy of being an item worth fifty million points; not only could it bring Karl a higher ceiling, but it could also provide immense strength right now.

After all, there was a fundamental logic in the Coiling Dragon Universe: energy.

A Low-level Deity could view the Saint Realm as ants, but that was only because even a sliver of a Low-level Deity's power exceeded the lifetime accumulation of a Saint Realm limit.

And if they were at the same level, even a Saint Realm limit powerhouse would find it difficult to instantly kill a prepared Saint Realm powerhouse, unless the gap in strength between the two was truly immense.

The reason this situation occurred was the effect brought about by the fundamental logic of the Coiling Dragon Universe.

For example, if the Battle Qi eruption of a powerhouse who had just entered the Saint Realm was ten, then they could cancel out a Battle Qi attack of ten. The same logic applied to the Mid Saint Realm.

For example, if the eruption of a Mid Saint Realm powerhouse was one hundred, then it would require energy of the same level to cancel it out. Therefore, if the human camp wanted to contend with a Mid Saint Realm powerhouse, they would need at least someone very close to the Mid Saint Realm. However, the Magic Beast camp was different.

For a Saint Realm Magic Beast, their body is strong. Even if they have just entered the Saint Realm, they can erupt with stronger Battle Qi by relying on the strength of their body. Under this mutual amplification of body and Battle Qi, they are capable of erupting with an attack in the one-hundred range.

This logic led to a situation where a Saint Realm powerhouse with an attack power of 10 erupts with an attack power of 10. As the defending party, there are two ways to resist: one is to counterattack with an attack, also erupting with an attack power of 10 to wear down the opponent's attack; the other is to establish a defense on one's body. This defensive method does not require a defense of 10, but rather relies on Battle Qi and the body itself, with a combined strength reaching 10.

Therefore, to truly defeat a Saint Realm powerhouse, at least one condition must be met.

That is, one's own attack power must be greater than the opponent's attack or greater than the opponent's defense. Only in this way can one manage to have residual energy to strike the body itself after wearing down the opponent's means.

Karl's physical strength reaching the Saint Realm level now did not mean his Battle Qi accumulation could be greater, but rather that he could unleash more Battle Qi at the same time.

For example, previously, Karl's full-power strike could consume ten percent of his own Battle Qi to erupt with ten times the power, but now Karl could easily unleash thirty percent of his own Battle Qi, and the power erupted would be far more than thirty times.

Moreover, a strong body also meant that Karl's consumption for the same attack was lower, and similarly, in terms of defense, Karl could also resist stronger attack methods.