Kaelan strode forward and reached them. He knelt beside his son-in-law, motioning for her to move aside.

"Step back."

With practiced effort, he pressed two fingertips to Qin Wei's wrist. His brows furrowed as he checked out his insides.

A moment passed. Then another.

A soft exhale escaped the House Lord. His expression eased slightly.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said quietly, half to Vanessa, half to himself. "His condition isn't that serious. He's just overdrawn his strength and his body went into temporary paralysis. But he's going to be fine after a few days of rest

From within his sleeves, he pulled out a golden vial, the same kind Mikael Fireheart had used moments ago.

He poured the potion into Qin Wei's mouth.

As it passed down through his throat, a soft glow rippled over his body, and the internal injuries started healing at a rapid pace.

*Ding!

[A foreign object is entering the host's system]

[The foreign object is not harmful. Proceeding to allow its effects.]

[Overheating is stabilized.]

[Torn ligaments began to heal.]

[Temporary Paralysis' effectiveness reduced to 36 hours.]

"Vanessa, take him to his room," Kaelan instructed, standing tall once again. "Have him rest under no disturbance."

Vanessa nodded quickly and lifted Qin Wei carefully, her mana wrapping around him protectively.

As she turned to leave, Kaelan looked to one of the silver-haired elders nearby.

"Send for Physician Aelius. Have him arrive immediately."

The elder clasped his hands and bowed. "Yes, House Lord." He vanished in a streak of light.

Another elder spoke. "House Lord, is it really wise to offend the Duke with such comments? Both the kids are alive. You could have dealt with the matter subtly and continued to have the cooperation with Dawnmere."

Kaelan turned to face the clear sky, where Mikael had disappeared. He deeply frowned. "Mikael Fireheart is a grand sorcerer, Elder Cassian. He wouldn't get angry just because of a few insulting words from me or a defeat of his son."

"What do you mean, Lord Kaelan?"

Kaelan smiled. "Why do you think the Duke himself didn't attend the match when I am here. And did you not sense the presence of a grandshadow (Rank-10 Assassin)?"

"What, a grandshadow intruded into our estate?"

Kaelan shrugged. "He didn't stay for a long time, though. It was probably a brief meeting. But I believe Mikael Fireheart has decided against cooperation, regardless of the results. If not this, he would stage a different scenario."

"Then why come all the way here?" As the elder asked, Kaelan replied, "It is highly possible to gauge our strength. To scan the whole city, finding the number of hidden experts, and yet not get caught… Only a Rank-10 with such a position as his can do that."

"But why? I don't understand..."

"I don't know the answer to that either." Kaelan shook his head. He then glanced at unconscious Qin Wei, and his face turned serious as he thought, "Icarus' power is too mysterious to my understanding. And the only logical explanation I can think of is that the Princess truly reached the Divine Temple and gained some sort of inheritance, which she then sealed inside him."

Two days later;

On a bed, Qin Wei, who was lying unconscious for all this time, stirred.

His eyelids twitched for a moment before slowly fluttering open. The wooden ceiling above greeted his blurry vision, gradually sharpening as he blinked.

Pain still pulsed faintly through his body, like distant echoes of a storm—but he was alive and breathing.

"Thank god… I'm not dead…" he muttered hoarsely, his voice cracking from dryness.

As he shifted slightly, the familiar translucent holographic screen shimmered before his eyes.

[Recovery is complete.]

[Mission 1 Complete: Evolve Heaven's Eye to Stage 3. Rewards: +1000 Credits, +3 Talent Points.]

[Mission 2 Complete: Improve your public reputation to +1000. Reward: +5000 Credits.]

[Emergency Mission Complete: 'Defy the Oppressor'. Secondary Bloodline Unlocked: Eye of Truth (Dormant)]

*Ding!

[Mission 1 Unlocked: Evolve Heaven's Eye to God's Eye. Reward: 1,000,000 Credits, One SS-rank Pick token, 10 Talent Points.]

[Mission 2 Unlocked. Improve Public Reputation to 5,000 (1233/5000). Reward: +10000 Credits]

[Mission 3 Unlocked: Evolve Eyes of Truth to the Eternal Eye. Reward: 100,000 Credits. S-rank Pick token. 10 Talent Points.]

[Fusion Path has been unlocked.]

[Skills linked to bloodline and element are upgraded.]

Qin Wei's groggy eyes widened as the stream of notifications poured in.

He sat up slowly, wincing at the residual soreness that laced his muscles. Even breathing hurt, but the glowing rewards more than soothed the pain.

He took a moment to stretch out his hands, flexing his fingers a bit.

"Aria," he whispered, "Open Character Interface."

At once, the holographic window appeared.

Icarus Phoenix/Qin Wei

Rank: 1

Age: 19

Species: Human

Bloodline: Heaven's Eye (Stage 3), Eyes of Truth

Titles: None

Elements: Fire, Lightning

Credits: 9500

Inventory: 2x sets of clothes, 1x battle gear (basic), 512x Exploding Talisman, 314x Storage Talisman, 188x Spirit Locking Talisman.

SKILLS:

[Great Fireball]: Spits a massive flaming orb with explosive force. Range: 60 meters. Cooldown: 300 seconds.

[Ground Current]: Sends an electric shock through the ground to stun multiple targets. Temporary paralysis for 10-15 seconds, depending on the opponent's strength. Range: 30 meters. Cooldown: 300 seconds.

[Multiple Clones]: Creates an infinite number of non-corporeal visual duplicates of the user. No combat value. Cooldown: None.

[Ripple Drift]: The user activates a temporary ripple in space and drifts up to 10km in a chosen direction. Cannot pass through the rank-10 or above space barriers. Cooldown: 400 minutes.

[Celestial Sword of Destiny]: Conjure celestial swords formed of divine energy to entrap and paralyze targets within a 10-meter radius for five seconds. This skill cannot cause physical harm. Effect 1: Temporarily suppresses the target's soul below the Grandmaster stage (rank-10). Cooldown: 20 seconds.

[Lightning Dragon Barrage]: Harness the element of lightning to form multiple chained strikes in the shape of a serpentine dragon. Range: 40 meters. Cooldown: 600 seconds.

[Spirit Beast Art] (Not active): Conjure a spirit beast compatible with the user. (More details will be added after activation.)

[One Fist]: Use all of your internal strength to unleash a transculent energy fist at the target. Range: 35 meters. Aftereffect: Loss of stamina. Cooldown: None.

*

SEALING TECHNIQUES:

[Exploding Seal]: A sealing inscription technique that absorbs and stores compressed natural energy and releases it as an explosion upon detonation, compared to a rank-4. Note: Any kind of energy that comes in contact with the seal will trigger the detonation. Cooldown: 30 seconds.

[Storage Seal]: Inscribe spatial seals into any non-living material, and turn it into a vessel to store objects in a pocket dimension. Cooldown: 60 seconds.

[Paralysis Seal/Spirit Locking Talisman]: When placed on a person, object, or even terrain, the seal spreads across the target. As long as the seal remains intact, the target will be in a state of immobility, provided that the target is under Rank-6 or the object is under the Earth grade stage. Note: For Rank-6 and above enemies, earth grade and above artifacts, multiple tags are required to be linked together.

*

GATES OF TRANSCENDENCE:

The latter gates can only be activated after the earlier gates. The higher your base rank, the fewer the drawbacks

* Gate of Will: The raw strength of a rank-4 for 600 seconds. Drawback: Mild strain on muscles and joints. Drawback: Mild strain on muscles and joints

* Gate of Flesh: +1000% stamina regeneration, +30% minor wound instant recovery, the Raw strength of a Rank-5 for 300 seconds. Drawback: Risk of Internal Overheating over prolonged use.

* Gate of Breath: The Power of rank-6 for 180 seconds. Drawback: Extreme soreness after the effect ends.

* Gate of Sight: The Power of a rank-7 for 100 seconds. Drawback: Hidden damage stacks while the gate is open.

* Gate of Echo: The Power of a rank-8 for 60 seconds. Drawback: Torn ligaments, overheating, and temporary paralysis after the effects are over.

*

6th Gate: Gate of Precognition: The power of a rank-9 for 30 seconds. The high-speed thinking will give you a short glimpse of the immediate future.

Price: 96,000 credits

Drawback: Bleeding from the eyes, inner chakra circuits overheat, risk of permanent paralysis after the effects are over.

*

7th Gate: Gate of Mortality: The power of a Grandmaster for 20 seconds, the user could literally see 60 minutes into the future with the highest probability

Price: 800,000 credits

Drawback: Organs rupture, 90% chance of permanent paralysis, 50% chance of brain death, and 30% chance of death after the effects are over.

*

8th Gate: Gate of Death: The power of a Half-Deity for 10 seconds, the power to see multiple future events up to a year.

Technique Unlock: One

Price: 13,000,000 credits

Drawback: Instant death

*

9th Gate: Gate of Transcendence: Grants the power of a deity, capable of rewriting the reality of anyone below Half-Deity rank (Limited to one person and cannot rewrite one's own reality).

Technique Unlock: Rewrite

Price: 200,000,000 credits

Drawback: The destruction of the soul.

***

TALENT TREE: (Talent points: 4 left)

[Elemental Path] :

Fire Path: None

Lightning Path: None

Fusion Path: None.

*

[Bloodline Path]: None.

*

[Combat Path]:

Orb 1: Movement Speed (+100%)

Orb 2: Damage Taken (-30%)

*

MISSIONS LIST:

Mission 1: Evolve Heaven's Eye to God's Eye.

Fulfilling criteria: Needed Void's Eye to be combined with Sage Core to evolve to God's Eye.

Fulfilling Criteria 2: Rank-7

Reward: 1,000,000 Credits, One SS-rank Pick token, 10 Talent Points.

Note: Void's Eye can only be formed when there is intense heartbreak and rage that comes from the depths of the soul.

*

Mission 2: Improve Public Reputation to 5,000 (1233/5000).

Reward: +10000 Credits

*

Mission 3: Evolve Eyes of Truth to the Eternal Eye.

Fulfilling Criteria: Needed the Eyes of Truth to be combined with the Sage core to evolve to Eternal Eye.

Fulfilling Criteria 2: Rank-4

Reward: 100,000 Credits. S-rank Pick token. 10 Talent Points.

*

Mission 4: Create at least 10 distinct talisman types and sell 100 of each to become a Master Talisman.

Reward: 1x Aether Crystal

*

Mission 5: Earn at least 1,000,000 gold coins through your own hard work.

Reward: Unlock Exchange System

Note: Gifts given by others, rewards given from tasks, or selling artifacts don't count. It has to be earned through business legitimately.

*

Qin Wei's eyes narrowed at the Skill Fusion option now glowing in the bottom of the Elemental Path.

"Fusion…?" he tapped on it.

A new window unfolded:

Fusion Path Unlocked.

Combine the two skills of the user to create a new skill that has both elements. The result can be random.

Note 1: Combining the two skills of the same element and same rank might result in a higher-ranked skill than both of them, with a fair chance. The user, however, will have the option to pick a skill of their choice.

Note 2: Combining the two skills of the same element, yet of different rank, will result in a random skill that is equivalent to the same rank as the higher-ranked skill of the two choices.

Note 3: Combining the two skills from different elements will result in a skill inheriting the element and the rank of the skill equal to whichever picked skills is higher.

Note 4: Combining two equally ranked skills from different elements will result in a skill with dual elements.

Warning: On combination, the original skills will disappear from the skills list. And it cannot be reversed unless you have a fusion stone.

Slot 1: [Select Skill]

Slot 2: [Select Skill]

Two circles appeared on the screen with a plus sign in each circle, asking him to pick one skill from each.

He whistled softly.

"So it's finally possible to evolve skills beyond their limits..." he muttered. "But at the moment, I don't have enough skills to combine, and neither do I have enough credits to make purchases, anyway. However, one thing is for sure. This is my ticket to A-rank and S-rank skills. Anyway, let's think about it later and focus on that new skill."

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