Hummingbird Falcon

"Master? Is there something you need?"

Franklin's voice resonated within Lei Mo's mind.

"Where is the Transformation Rune on you? The one I mentioned before, the one that looked completely intact!"

Lei Mo felt a sense of urgency. Had Franklin stored it away, just like the Soul Rune?

"Hmm? Has that rune disappeared? I don't feel anything different."

Franklin fell silent afterward, and a long time passed.

It was so long that Lei Mo even thought Franklin had malfunctioned like a robot!

"Franklin! Franklin!"

Lei Mo called out repeatedly in his heart, truly growing anxious. He couldn't afford for anything to go wrong with Franklin.

"Master, I am here! I have sensed it, and there is nothing amiss, but the rune you mentioned has indeed vanished."

After a moment of silence, Franklin continued.

"I have thought back carefully on this rune; it only appeared after I met you, Master. No soul had ever perceived it before."

"Not only that, it never manifested on any of the sub-bodies. That is the reason why you, Master, had me searching for a soul to perceive this rune, yet never had any results!"

"If you hadn't been constantly thinking about it, Master, I wouldn't have even paid attention to it. Now that it's gone, I don't feel anything at all, as if it never existed in the first place."

Franklin's successive answers left Lei Mo somewhat bewildered.

What does that mean? Could I have manifested a rune onto Franklin myself?

If so, what was the reason? Was it a projection of my own thoughts? Now that I have fully comprehended it, has it ceased to exist?

"Wait—it hasn't disappeared!"

Lei Mo's consciousness sank into his Soul Ocean, instantly arriving at the space where his soul resided, gazing at the Nebula Soul that he couldn't help but marvel at every time he saw it.

This nebula-like soul, operating with the precision of a magic array, was still functioning with the intricate complexity of countless clockwork gears, appearing slow yet moving at an incredible speed.

Faintly, Lei Mo seemed to see the Transformation Rune; it would manifest within the entire nebula, only to vanish again.

The entire nebula-like soul seemed both real and illusory. Every time he observed it, he seemed to gain new insights, and at this moment, many ways to utilize the Transformation Rune flooded Lei Mo's mind.

Within the entire Nebula Soul, the most stable element was the phantom of the colossal Totem Pillar that reached toward the heavens.

In terms of volume, it was roughly the same size as the nebula-like soul, merely encased within it.

A sudden realization dawned on Lei Mo: perhaps the fusion of the Transformation Rune phantom with the one he had crafted had violated the laws of the universe.

It had no choice but to shatter and disperse into the Nebula Soul to avoid being erased by the laws of the universe.

"So, is my Transformation Rune the most unique one? Could it be that I can even transform into a Divine Beast?"

Lei Mo's mind couldn't help but wander, indulging in impossible fantasies.

Divine Beast bloodlines and innate divine abilities were the most unique things in this world; how could a Druid possibly transform into a Divine Beast?

When Lei Mo comprehended the Transformation Rune, the inherited information had also informed him that the Transformation Rune could only transform one into a Saint-level Magic Beast at its peak.

Lei Mo quickly curbed this unrealistic thought.

Must not think about it, must not think about it—I'm already drooling.

"You, come forward!"

Back in the main hall, Lei Mo pointed at the eighth person.

The success of the seventh person just now had given Lei Mo a great deal of confidence.

He used a beast-hair brush to trace the liquid mixed with this person's blood onto the stone disk. The eighth person—failed.

"I have many methods. Although you seven cannot become Druids, you can still become Rune Warriors."

Looking at the seven people who were filled with disappointment but dared not show any expression, Lei Mo brought out his trump card.

The inexplicable mental connection Torista and the seventh person had established with Lei Mo made him feel that he could spread the path of the Rune Warrior.

At least on a small scale; it involved his own blood, so Lei Mo dared not be too reckless.

"You seven, wait here! You, come with me!"

Lei Mo called away the seventh person from earlier and arrived at a relatively open area, taking out a drop of Magic Beast essence blood.

"Try to absorb and refine this! Also, what is your name?"

Lei Mo handed the drop of essence blood to the seventh person.

"My name is—Cole Minair, my lord."

As he spoke, Cole sat down cross-legged.

He held the drop of Magic Beast essence blood in his hands and slowly closed his eyes.

The essence blood suddenly vanished. Immediately afterward, feathers began to sprout from Cole's body, his nose lengthened and turned gray, becoming a bird's beak.

His figure shrank rapidly, his arms vanished and transformed into a pair of bluish-gray wings, his legs turned into bird claws, and then a bluish-gray bird less than twenty centimeters tall stood on the ground.

"Try to see if you can fly."

Lei Mo gave the order.

"Flap, flap--"

The little bird lightly vibrated its wings, its figure instantly soaring upward, fast as lightning, disappearing from sight in the blink of an eye.

It seems my guess was correct; Druids can ignore size constraints when refining essence blood!

Back when Lei Mo could transform into a Divine Wind Bear and Torista could transform into a Wind Leopard, Lei Mo had already considered this, as both the Divine Wind Bear and the Wind Leopard were far from small in stature.

That was the reason for the scene just now; Lei Mo had asked Franklin to expand his Divine Domain to capture this small Magic Beast—the Hummingbird Falcon.

Do not be deceived by its petite size; this was a true peak Rank 6 Magic Beast. Its wind-type magic was exceptionally strong, though it was entirely focused on enhancing speed.

It possessed no offensive spells; its primary method of attack was to use its beak to pierce through an enemy's body at extreme speeds. Due to its diminutive frame, it acted like a sharp blade when passing through a target, making it incredibly lethal.

"Flap, flap--"

The Hummingbird Falcon from before returned, landing in front of Lei Mo, shaking its feathers as it transformed back into the appearance of Cole.

"Many thanks, My Lord!"

Cole knelt on one knee directly before Lei Mo.

"My Lord is too formidable; these methods are truly unfathomable to gods and ghosts alike!"

An endless sense of worship for Lei Mo rose from the bottom of Cole's heart. He did not know that he now possessed the ability of an undying soul, nor did he know that from his soul to his flesh, he was now entirely Lei Mo's person.

"Cole, try again to see if you can fuse with this drop of essence blood."

Lei Mo brought out the essence blood of the Wind Leopard. The Hummingbird Falcon's essence blood was too scarce; taking even one drop had nearly cost it its life, and it was still recovering now.

Lei Mo had fed it a drop of golden liquid, otherwise, it was uncertain if it would have even survived.

"My Lord, I cannot absorb it!"

Cole returned the drop of Wind Leopard essence blood with both hands.

"I suspect that one must increase their strength by one rank to fuse with a drop of Magic Beast essence blood, or perhaps one can only fuse with a drop of essence blood from a Magic Beast of the same rank. This will still require experimentation."

"Go on, go report to Torista. Since your surname is Minair and you are someone Torista trusts, work hard at your cultivation and revitalize the family!"

Lei Mo waved his hand and returned to the main hall, where those seven people were still standing respectfully to one side.

"Display your battle qi, each of you! Let me have a look!"

Lei Mo issued the command directly.

Watching the battle qi each of them displayed, Lei Mo had already made his decision.

He would divide the seven of them into two groups: four would use runes suitable for them, and three would use mismatched runes.

It was simply because Lei Mo only knew water-type, fire-type, earth-type, and light-type runes, so he had no other choice.