Illusion Rune

After the Duke promotion ceremony concluded, Lei Mo did not leave. Instead, he engaged in a discussion with Tagore and John, exchanging insights and experiences regarding their cultivation.

From their conversation, Lei Mo deduced that Tagore was likely cultivating the Profound Mystery of Speed within the Laws of Wind, though he appeared to have only just stepped through the threshold.

As for John Keaton, he was merely at the mid-stage of the Saint Realm and possessed no comprehension of the Laws. It was Lei Mo—someone who had already attained significant insight into the Laws upon just entering the Saint Realm—who truly surprised the two of them.

They assumed Lei Mo was a genius, and relative to them, he certainly was. However, Lei Mo knew himself better; compared to true geniuses, he was nothing.

Without Franklin, he might still be stuck at the seventh rank even now.

Tagore Keaton had been famous for thousands of years and was well-versed in the powerhouses who had emerged over the last few millennia.

According to him, in the last ten thousand years, two Saint Realm experts had reached an extremely high level. Any other Saint Realm experts who challenged them, or whom they challenged, either died or were wounded; there were no records of them ever suffering a defeat.

Gustav—located in the far east of human territory, where tribes existed rather than kingdoms. The fighting there was relatively brutal, and he wielded a heavy hammer.

He had the highest body count under his belt. The region he occupied was chaotic, with frequent inter-tribal warfare, and his personality was rough, fierce, and ruthless.

Natalia Saavedra—active in the northern human territories near the Elf Forest. Her personality was relatively gentle, though that was only by comparison.

Natalia was a half-elf. Her appearance was closer to that of an elf, yet she could not gain recognition from the Elven race and could only drift through human society.

Saavedra was her mother's surname. Her father was an elf, while her mother was an ordinary human who had long since passed away from old age.

It was said that her father was also a Saint Realm expert. As for why a peak Saint Realm powerhouse could not return to his clan, no one knew.

Tagore added this last bit as an afterthought; perhaps he shared the same weakness as Lei Mo, unable to stop himself from talking more whenever the subject turned to women.

Within Tagore's circle, they had spontaneously categorized cultivation attributes into various elements, though not as systematically as Lei Mo had.

Upon hearing Lei Mo's classification, they were in complete agreement.

Throughout the conversation, John Keaton rarely interjected, or perhaps he simply couldn't find an opening.

"Lord Franklin, what are your plans next? Do you intend to remain with the Magic Beast Knights?" John had to find another way to steer the conversation.

"That depends on Lord Tagore's arrangements. I quite enjoy the atmosphere of the Keaton Kingdom. I have already taken Rachel in, and from now on, she is the Duchess in the Keaton Kingdom!"

Lei Mo said this casually. It was no longer appropriate to use a princess for a political marriage with him; it would have made the hierarchy difficult to manage, so this arrangement was quite satisfactory.

"Have Martin make proper arrangements for Rachel's family!"

Tagore set the tone, and those below could only execute it. With a single order, Rachel's father became a titled Count.

It was efficient and swift. While a grand promotion ceremony was impossible, Old Bella—now Count Bella—was already so happy he didn't know which way was up.

"Lord Franklin, you should also be promoted to Grand Commander. It will be an honorary position; John rarely manages the actual affairs anyway."

Tagore looked at Lei Mo, testing the waters.

"Snap—" Lei Mo gave a military salute and stood at attention, signaling his agreement. He had managed to show off again!

Tagore's mouth twitched, but he said nothing. Saint Realm experts were free to do as they pleased; as long as they were happy, it was fine.

In all likelihood, Lei Mo would never actually report for duty at the Magic Beast Knights.

"I may travel across the continent. I would like to ask Lord Tagore: who are the people I should watch out for?"

Lei Mo asked, and Tagore and John nodded in understanding.

It was a joke to think otherwise; Saint Realm experts flew at incredible speeds, covering thousands of miles in a single day. How could they stay in one place forever?

After saying this, Lei Mo raised the scepter in his hand to signify his status as a member of the Keaton Kingdom, and then he left the palace.

Returning to the Duke's mansion, the main city of his territory was still under construction, so he had to reside in the royal capital for the time being.

Once back, Lei Mo informed Rachel that the royal decree for the Duchess title would arrive soon. That night, he enjoyed Rachel's attentive service, nearly losing his "heart of a powerhouse."

Setting aside those scenes and actions unsuitable for children, even while engaged in such intimate acts, Lei Mo was still thinking about battle qi. It was a critical issue.

Although women were easily available to the current Lei Mo, he was still quite reluctant to let go of his little darling, Rachel.

She was the first person he had truly connected with since arriving in the human kingdom, and she was only seventeen. Lei Mo, who was twenty on the surface but had the mind of a sixty-year-old, could not be so heartless.

"Water element—water element—" Lei Mo had been pondering and deducing for three months, during which he had also been inseparable from Rachel. The royal decree for the Duchess had been issued, and the staff of the Duke's mansion were even more respectful toward Rachel.

"It seems I can only engrave the Illusion Rune!"

Rachel's rapid progress in cultivating water-element battle qi proved she had an affinity for it, so combining it with water-element runes was the correct path.

The problem was that Lei Mo only knew the Image Rune and the Illusion Rune for the water element, and the Image Rune corresponded to the Profound Mystery of Images—or the Profound Mystery of Floating Shadows—which was a high-level profound mystery.

It was not easy to comprehend, and Lei Mo did not know the rune corresponding to the Profound Mystery of Water Elements.

He couldn't let the Rune Soul tattoo itself onto Rachel; Lei Mo wasn't that generous, even if it was a controlled Rune Soul.

He could only use the Illusion Rune. The Illusion Rune—Mist Illusion—was a mid-level profound mystery. You're the one!

With the strategy set, Lei Mo still had much preparation to do. To maximize the effect, he took Franklin with him, left the Divine Wind Bear behind to protect Rachel, and set off for the Seti Mountains.

According to Tagore Keaton, there was a lake in the center of the Seti Mountains spanning over a hundred thousand kilometers, home to many aquatic magic beasts.

The entire Seti Mountains contained no magic beasts above the Saint Realm; the highest were at the peak of the Saint Realm. Otherwise, they would have unified the Seti Mountains long ago.

Lei Mo's plan was to kill a Saint Realm water-type magic beast, preferably one with an innate talent for illusions, and use its essence blood to engrave the tattoo.

Of course, this was just an experiment. He would certainly have to test it on other beasts many times before using it on Rachel.

Bill Cleveland had been feeling quite melancholy lately; Lei Mo's strength was increasing too quickly, and he no longer had any use for his speed.

It was currently making a bitter face at Rachel, seemingly pouring out the frustration in its heart!

However, with its azure fur, round face, and small eyes blinking round and round, it couldn't have been any cuter.

"Rest assured, you were carefully chosen by the Duke; otherwise, why would he have picked you? There are plenty of wind-element Magic Beasts with high speed."

Rachel stroked Bill Cleveland's round head, looking into its pitch-black little eyes, finding it more adorable the more she looked!

Unable to help herself, she gave it a vigorous petting for a while, leaving Bill Cleveland to pull a helpless expression, unable to resist.

Rachel was right; Lei Mo had indeed chosen the Divine Wind Bear with great care, so how could he possibly leave it to its own devices?

At this moment, he was holding the vague information provided by Tagore, muttering to himself.

"Wind-element—bear-type—I wouldn't dare dream of a Divine Beast, but are there any naturally occurring Saint-level Magic Beasts?"