The Azure Stone Platform

I didn't know how others felt when they comprehended Edicts, but Lei Mo felt he was making progress every day, and it put him in a very good mood.

He occasionally exchanged insights with Franklin, and Lei Mo benefited greatly from their conversations.

Though they cultivated different Edicts, some of the little tricks they used to understand their cultivation could be applied universally.

"Master, I feel like the computational power of your nebula-like soul is incredible. I don't know if it's because my main body is special, but even my Lowgod-level computational power pales in comparison to yours."

"Fortunately, my progress doesn't rely on calculations and deductions. The souls in the Soul Space are the inexhaustible source of my growth."

Franklin first expressed his envy of Lei Mo's soul's computational power, then immediately began humblebragging.

The several hundred million—or perhaps several tens of millions—of souls in the Soul Space were all driving Franklin's progress.

Who could have a stronger cheat than Franklin? He was practically inhuman!

As he studied the Rune projections in the space and felt the fluctuations within them, his soul running calculations and deductions, Lei Mo didn't stop letting his imagination run wild.

"If Franklin can project the Initial Rune and the Soul Rune inside the space, why can't he project them outside it?"

"Franklin's main body can't be seen or touched, but the Runes can. Even if the Runes on his main body are too high-level to project outside, what about the Runes on the eight sub-bodies? They're all under Franklin's control anyway, aren't they?"

Lei Mo's imagination kept spinning out new ideas. He was always thinking of ways to let more people comprehend Runes and then bring them over to his side.

"Master, I can't do that yet. Perhaps I'll be able to in the future, when I reach Midgod or Lowgod—"

Franklin's voice sounded in the depths of Lei Mo's mind.

"Lord Bailey! Tore City is just ahead!"

A steward from the Minair family came to report to Lei Mo. He was one of the seven from earlier.

This Rune Warrior, named Atel, came from a commoner family and had no surname, yet he had already reached level seven.

Lei Mo nodded and looked up.

A somewhat dreamlike city appeared before him. Why dreamlike?

The first thing that caught his eye wasn't a towering city gate or wall, but two enormous trees that firmly blocked a mountain pass.

The trees were more than ten meters in diameter and hundreds of meters tall. Their crowns intertwined above, sealing the space between them, while the passage through their trunks was less than twenty meters wide.

"Did they copy the Elves so completely that they forgot about fire attacks?"

Lei Mo didn't know what defenses Tore City had, so he didn't make any further judgments.

Inside the city, giant trees and green plants were everywhere, making it look like a forest.

The streets were clean and orderly. Walking through them, Lei Mo felt thoroughly at ease.

"I'll reserve judgment on everything else, but Tore City really is a wonderful place to live. It's a hundred times better than those so-called natural oxygen bars!"

Thinking of that, Lei Mo couldn't help grumbling to himself.

"Honored guests, the king requests your presence!"

A group of court envoys had approached as soon as Lei Mo and the others entered the city. They were deferential in their manner.

They showed none of the usual airs of royal messengers. Perhaps they'd been warned in advance, to prevent well-intentioned people from making a mess of things.

"Lead the way!"

Torista glanced at Lei Mo. Seeing that he had no intention of stepping forward to answer, she gave the order.

"Yes, my lady!"

The envoys hurried to lead the way, heading straight for the palace.

Perhaps for fire safety, or perhaps because of space considerations, the palace wasn't some enormous treehouse. It was a normal human palace, only with exceptionally lush greenery.

From a distance, Lei Mo saw a man in a blue shirt standing at the front of the group.

Behind him stood an old man in a king's robe and crown, respectfully keeping to the side.

The man in front must have been Clair. He had silver hair and a middle-aged face. His expression was calm as he smiled at Lei Mo and gave him a distant greeting.

Lei Mo returned the gesture casually. Clair might be weak, but he hadn't offended Lei Mo, and he'd shown him plenty of respect. There was nothing to be displeased about.

Torista and the others were different. They hurriedly dismounted and returned the greeting with the full proper ceremony.

"Clair, hello!"

Not wanting to put too much pressure on Clair and make him run away again, Lei Mo spoke first.

"Greetings, sir!"

Clair's tense expression eased considerably.

"Let's find somewhere to talk. The people below can handle everything else!"

Lei Mo spoke again, then flew off first. This time, he rode away on the Divine Wind Bear.

The others looked on in surprise once more. So Lord Bailey's mount was a Saint Realm beast, too.

Thinking of the difference in strength between a Saint Realm magical beast and a human in the Saint Realm, they were filled with awe.

Clair followed close behind.

After that, the king and his officials became even more welcoming toward Torista's group.

A Saint Realm magical beast was comparable to a human at the peak of the Saint Realm, and anyone capable of taming one had to be even stronger than that.

It would have been strange if the king and his officials hadn't been welcoming. They still hadn't figured out what relationship Torista and Lei Mo had, but it was clearly a close one.

Lei Mo found a small hill and flew down to it. He turned his hands, channeling battle qi, and pressed them toward the ground.

"Boom—"

The rocks shattered, forming a small platform of a few dozen square meters.

He took out a blue-black, cube-shaped stone platform and set two stone stools beside it. Then he placed pastries and wine on the azure stone platform.

Whether by design or not, the stone platform Lei Mo had brought was the very one made at the Minair family's home, the blue-black cube carved with the Transformation Rune.

He didn't think it would be of any use left with the Minair family, so he'd taken it with him.

The face of the blue-black stone platform carved with the Transformation Rune was turned upward. Light flowed across it, making it seem wondrous and mysterious.

Without blood or other materials to bring it to life, its extraordinary effects couldn't be seen, but even the Rune alone made its unusual nature plain.

After arranging everything, Lei Mo waited several more minutes before Clair arrived.

Thinking Lei Mo was testing his strength, Clair had pushed himself as hard as he could along the way, but still hadn't managed to catch up.

When he landed, he looked a little disheveled. He'd used up quite a bit of battle qi, which didn't quite suit his calm demeanor.

"Please forgive my poor showing, sir," Clair said apologetically.

"Have a drink. It'll help ease your fatigue!"

As he spoke, Lei Mo poured a cup of wine and handed it to Clair.

Clair took it and drained it in one go.

Lei Mo could kill him with ease, so there was no need to worry about whether the wine was poisoned.

"Ah—sir, what... what kind of wine is this?"

The battle qi that hadn't improved in centuries began to grow, little by little.

"Just a little something. It should help improve your strength."

Come on, was wine infused with Golden Liquid ordinary wine? It was a spiritual medicine!

He'd paid a hefty price for the sake of appearances. The Golden Liquid was plentiful, but it couldn't be replenished. Every drop used was one less drop.

He had no idea what that little bead was, or why it floated above the Golden Liquid.

The little bead's color was so strange that words couldn't describe it. Lei Mo had studied it for a long time, but still hadn't discovered anything special about it!

"Thank you, sir!"

Clair was delighted. The improvement in his strength was one thing, but what reassured him most was that Lei Mo held no ill will toward him or the Keir Kingdom.

After setting down his cup, Clair looked at the Rune on the stone platform, his gaze growing distant!

A good while later, he came back to himself and smiled apologetically at Lei Mo.

"I've been rude again. This pattern stirs something in me, though I don't know why."

"No need for ceremony. This is a Rune I developed through my research. I call it the—Transformation Rune!"

Lei Mo didn't beat around the bush. He said it plainly, then deliberately paused.

"Transformation Rune?"

Clair cried out in surprise!