Meanwhile, Konrad sat crossed legged above the Tribulation Valley with nine pairs of white light wings spreading from his back. A ring of the same color stood above his head, and a lotus bloomed within.
As the lotus fully blossomed, it vanished, reappeared by Konrad's side, and turned into an exact replica of him.
This was his first Pure Self. And since he majored in both the martial and spiritual paths, it could use both spells and arms.
Thus, he'd officially completed the first step of cultivation, and become a Saint!
Now, the next step was to seize the inheritances on the eighth floor and the Celestial Founder's Blood Origin.
"You've been out for more than two years. In the outside world, not many days remain before the plague officially begins."
Selene's voice echoed within his head.
"Unfortunately, even the tower can't cheat the system. Your exp growth is not that startling. Want to check your current stats?"
"No need. It should now be approaching twenty-seven billion. I'd rather you tell me about the new functions."
Konrad replied while standing up. Activating his Origin Sight, he located the teleportation circle leading to the next floor and with a step, vanished, to reappear before it.
There, the Obsidian Guardian stood. Konrad now understood why Marduk's coffin wasn't protected by the Guardian. Still, he failed to grasp the reasoning. The Guardian usually protected the core inheritance, not the exit. That's why one could cross a floor without defeating its Guardian.
But it seemed that from now on, it would no longer be the case.
Of course, it mattered not. The seventh floor's Guardian was but a peak-stage Fate Wrestling Saint.
In front of the current Konrad, not even qualified to call himself an ant. Before he could bare his weapon, Konrad punched out, sending vibration waves that minced the Obsidian Guardian into metallic powder.
Undisturbed, he stepped on the teleportation circle and shot toward the next floor.
"You have three new major functions. One, Physique Grinding. You can grind one of your physiques into exp, free up a slot, and exchange it for a new one…or something else if you so wish.
Two, Refinery Cauldron. You can toss artifacts and their scraps into a unique furnace to breed new, mightier artifacts. Usable outside the system.
Three, Soul Gourd. You can use it to store souls and improve their grade with exp. You can also directly absorb, and trap weakened souls, should they find themselves separated from their bodies.
Usable outside the system.
Main Quest, level 7:
Description: Congratulations, Harem Lord!
You now stand at the peak of your native empire, control the harem, the economy, and a substantial part of the army. Truly, below one and above the rest.
It is now time to take the final step.
Level 7 objectives:
Part 1: 250 beauties of the Transcendent Rank
Part 2: Control all aspects of the Holy Flame Empire!
Part 3: Overthrow the von Jurgen dynasty and become the new sovereign!
Note: Religion counts as an aspect. The host must expel all extra religions from the empire and become its sole faith. A God-Sovereign, so to speak.
Main Rewards: Harem King Rank, Harem Gate, World Gate.
Timeframe: Ten years."
Konrad's lips curled into a smile. Bluntly said, the quest was asking him to emerge from the shadows and open the hostilities with the Celestial Church. Though the timeframe of ten years seemed ample, this remained a daunting task.
Nevertheless, he would not shirk from it.
Stepping on the teleportation circle, he vanished and reappeared within the eighth floor where the remains of the Celestial Church leaders lied.
This time, a world of clouds awaited. Clouds above, clouds below, clouds as far as the eyes could see.
In the sky, seventeen pearl white coffins flew in the same pattern as before, but this time, guarded by hundreds of Fate Wrestling Saints.
Again, Konrad prepared an Extermination Formation, and shot toward the coffins, plundering all they contained before moving on to the next. Instead of Infernal Souls, dreadful illusions and nightmares protected the corpses.
Fortunately, with his incubus lineage, Origin Sight, and formidable soul power, Konrad could effortlessly see through them.
Corpses and inheritances were harvested until he reached the last of them all, the Celestial Founder's.
And as he stood before her, Konrad was forced to admit that even death couldn't dull her otherworldly grace, beauty, and elegance.
Without delay, he cut open her chest and extracted the Blood Origin which flew toward the white crystal concealed within his abdomen.
The Blood Origin merged with the crystal which absorbed it all and united the new deva lineage with Konrad's demon and human ones. He sat crossed legged to complete the refinement.
As the daughter of the Great Primal Ancestor, Isylia the Celestial Church Founder belonged to the Ravmalakh.
Ranking amongst the mightiest deva of the Celestial Realm, all Ravmalakh were endowed with incomparable soul power and fortitude.
Better, they possessed an intricate connection to the sun and stars. The current Sun God, Surya, was a Ravmalakh, and creator of the Sun Spirits. The lust embodiment bloodline had a perfect balance between the martial and the spiritual.
The titan bloodline was incomparably overbearing in the martial, but frail in the spiritual.
Therefore, to restore the balance, Konrad needed his deva lineage to be the polar opposite of the titan one. And grant him incomparable soul powers.
Hence, he chose the Ravmalakh. Moreover, he also counted on obtaining one of Isylia's physiques. Thus, hitting two birds with one stone.
The three lineages harmonized, and in that moment, the Transformation Skill stopped functioning.
Konrad's hairs turned pure gold, his red titan mark returned in the middle of his forehead, but instead of a circular shape, it now turned into a red prism.
His eyes remained purple, but within, miniature gold stars glittered. And it seemed that with but a glance, he could obliterate the sun and moon.
The bloodlines' harmonization ended, and Konrad stood up. In that instant, the Ancient Crystal World shivered. But it wasn't the only one. All worlds in the Mortal Realm were shaken by violent tremors.
In the Celestial Realm, the sky darkened, and thunderstorms rained!
In the Infernal Realm, gigantic hurricanes rose, as if the Higher Realms mourned the apparition of a nightmarish creature whose existence put them in jeopardy.
Now, as a twister of gold, purple and white haze swirled around him, Konrad didn't doubt, that all across the Ancient Crystal World, beneath the Divine Rank, he didn't have rivals!
However, while the bloodlines had now fully harmonized, Konrad couldn't help but feel that his transformation was only ninety-nine percent complete. His three bloodlines seemed to be generating a new force which once perfected would truly turn him into a new race with innate abilities of its own.
"Congratulations, host on becoming the first triple lineage nephilim in the history of the Three Realms! But while on the surface the bloodline harmonization is complete, it still needs to generate one last ingredient. Afterward, your transformation will truly end."
