“Finally, some movement!” Luca let out a long sigh of relief. Had it been anyone weaker in will, they would have crumbled under the torment of this excruciating refining process long ago.
He hoped this wouldn’t disappoint him—otherwise, all the suffering would have been for nothing!
Just as this thought crossed his mind, the cracking sounds in his ears grew more frequent.
Waves of black impurities were being expelled from Luca’s body, only to be immediately incinerated by the golden flames enveloping him, leaving not even ash behind.
In the next moment, a celestial, almost divine, sound of shattering erupted in his ears!
Boom!
Luca felt as if something that had been locked away inside him for ages had suddenly burst open. A torrent of energy surged like a flood, rushing through his veins, filling every inch of his body.
In that instant, Luca felt a profound sense of relief, as though an invisible shackle had been lifted from him!
Outside, under the stunned gaze of everyone, a golden pillar of light shot skyward from the center of the Heavenly Pool grand hall, dyeing the entire sky above Southwind City in a radiant golden hue!
Even from the distant foothills of the Heavenly Pool Mountain, people could see this earth-shattering phenomenon from afar!
Staring at the golden beam reaching into the heavens, Orf blinked in astonishment, muttering, “…Why does this seem different from the legend?”
In all of Red Maple Academy’s records, there was no mention of a Soul Forge causing such a grand spectacle.
Could his memory be faulty, or had the previous generations failed to record something?
Orf was completely baffled.
[Ding! Congratulations, you’ve successfully broken through the limits of your potential during the “Soul Forge,” achieving Transcendent status! Your “Potential” attribute has increased to 20 points!]
[Ding! Congratulations, you’ve obtained the Transcendent-level potential: “Divine Sun Physique”! You can now comprehend and learn any fire-related skill below the Transcendent level!]
[Ding! Congratulations, you’ve unlocked the S-rank talent: “Scorching Heaven Flame”! You can freely manipulate the flames of destruction, with damage scaling based on your level!]
…
“It worked!” Luca clenched his fists, excitement surging through him uncontrollably.
Transcendent potential! So this was the potential beyond max level—Transcendent potential!
He could now naturally comprehend and learn Transcendent-level skills, surpassing even the max-level potential!
But what thrilled Luca even more was that this potential had granted him a new talent!
[Scorching Heaven Flame: S-rank talent. The player can control the Scorching Heaven Flame to inflict massive damage on enemies. Damage scales with level, currently at 300%. Additionally, the player can elementalize their body, becoming immune to physical attacks.]
The Scorching Heaven Flame was undoubtedly powerful, on par with even Sophia’s innate talent.
But what shocked Luca the most was gaining a talent in the first place. Whether in his previous life or this one, this was the first time he realized it was possible to acquire a talent through other means!
It wasn’t Luca’s fault for being out of the loop. In his past life, his limited talent had kept him struggling from the bottom ranks. Even though he eventually became a Transcendent-level powerhouse, he never truly reached the pinnacle of humanity and thus remained ignorant of many secrets.
He didn’t know the true identities of the people behind Zenith Technology Company, nor the hidden mysteries within the Abyssal Demon Realm.
Suppressing his excitement, Luca opened his status panel to check his attributes. After undergoing the “Soul Forge,” all of his stats had seen a significant boost. His mental attribute had skyrocketed to 3,000 points—an increase of nearly 700 points! And that was just his mental stat; his other three attributes had also received major enhancements.
“I’ve hit the jackpot this time!” Luca thought, his expression filled with excitement. Even if he had simply leveled up to 40, there’s no way he would have gained this many attribute points!
After calming himself, he turned his attention to the golden spear at the bottom of the lake and sent a thought of gratitude toward it.
From the prompts he had seen earlier, Luca now knew that the spear was called the “Solar Divine Spear.”
For something to bear the title “Divine Spear,” and possess its own consciousness, it had to be extraordinary!
Luca, however, had no immediate desire for it.
Given his current capabilities, even if the Solar Divine Spear accepted him as its master, he wouldn’t be able to wield it.
The requirements for using such a top-tier artifact were always incredibly strict.
In response to Luca’s gratitude, a flash of light shimmered across the Solar Divine Spear.
A voice then resonated in his mind, saying, “Young one, your talent is the finest I’ve encountered in many years. One Soul Forge is likely not enough to fully unlock your potential. Return to me when you reach the advanced tier, and I will assist you with another forging.”
The spear’s presence was warm, its voice that of an elderly man, gentle and kind, vastly different from the overwhelming power it wielded. It spoke like a benevolent elder.
Hearing this, Luca felt even more grateful and once again offered his thanks to the Solar Divine Spear.
He could sense that conducting the Soul Forge had required a great deal of energy from the powerful artifact spirit.
For it to offer him a second forging was an immense favor.
All of this, he knew, was due to his maxed-out charisma.
This innate favorability often brought him great advantages when dealing with powerful, righteous entities like the Solar Divine Spear.
As these thoughts passed through his mind, a golden flash suddenly flickered before his eyes.
“The little King-level monster beside you has an extraordinary origin. A sword can both kill and wound its wielder, so be cautious when using her,” came the Solar Divine Spear’s parting warning.
It seemed the Solar Divine Spear had recognized Jormungandr’s true identity.
Luca gave a silent nod, not saying anything further.
Since he dared to keep Jormungandr by his side, he was fully prepared for the risk of betrayal.
However, compared to what he stood to gain, those risks were ones he could bear.
In a flash of golden light, Luca disappeared from the Celestial Pool Secret Realm.
A gentle breeze swept across the lake’s surface, stirring faint ripples.
Quiet returned for a long time.
Then, a faint, ethereal voice drifted over the lake.
A sigh echoed: “One hundred thousand years have passed… the Abyss is nearing… Can this one, the sole variable to escape fate, truly shoulder the burden of billions of lives?”
“Sylvia…”
The voice scattered with the wind, fading slowly into the air, disappearing without a trace, leaving no reply…
When Luca regained his senses, he found himself back in the Heavenly Pool grand hall.
Before he could even steady himself, two figures shot toward him as fast as lightning.
“Well? Did you succeed in the Soul Forge?” Orf asked, his expression tense, as though fearing Luca might deliver devastating news.
Medel’s hollow gaze was also fixed on him.
Luca hadn’t planned to hide anything from them, so he smiled and nodded, “Yes, I succeeded. The gains were substantial.”
He then briefly recounted to Orf and Medel what had happened during the trial.
However, he left out the part about breaking through his max-level potential and gaining a second talent, glossing over it vaguely.
That was his trump card, and it might prove useful in the future. There was no need to reveal it just yet.
“Good, good, good! Success is all that matters!” Orf let out a sigh of relief, unable to contain his joy as he burst into hearty laughter. “Well done! With your talent and the boost from the Soul Forge, you’ll undoubtedly surpass us old folks and reach Transcendent! When that day comes, your teacher will be proud to call you his student! Hahaha!”
Medel pursed his lips.
Although he couldn’t stand Orf’s smugness, for once, he refrained from arguing. MVLeMpYr-your-novel-source
He felt a sour pang in his heart and simply wasn’t in the mood to bicker.
Afterward, Luca asked Orf about the history of the Celestial Pool Secret Realm.
He wanted to know more about the origins of the Solar Divine Spear.
Given how extraordinary the spear was, there was a chance he might stumble upon some valuable insights.
Unfortunately, the information wasn’t very enlightening.
According to Orf, the Solar Divine Spear had already existed long before the founding headmaster established Red Maple Academy.
In fact, it was the spear’s aid that allowed the first headmaster to rise to prominence in the first place.
After he had made his mark and become a top-tier powerhouse, he returned to Heavenly Pool Mountain, carved off its peak, and created the Celestial Pool Secret Realm, where Red Maple Academy now stands.
After hearing this, Luca sighed.
If even the first headmaster didn’t know the true origins of the Solar Divine Spear, it would be even harder for future generations to uncover its secrets.
Casually, Orf seemed to remember something and pulled out a jade-green box from his storage ring.
He smiled and said, “This is a magic rune I crafted many years ago. At my current level, it’s no longer useful to me. I was planning to wait until your strength increased before giving it to you, but since you’ve undergone the Solar Divine Spear’s Soul Forge, I believe you can now handle this Superclass magic rune without any issue.”
“Thank you, Master!” Luca’s eyes lit up at the words, and he quickly expressed his gratitude.
One of the reasons he came to Red Maple Academy was that it was easier to obtain Superclass magic runes here.
He had expected to wait a while longer, but the process had turned out to be easier than he anticipated.
“Alright then, you can refine it right here. Don’t worry about anything else while I’m around,” Orf said with a smile, waving his hand as the jade box slowly opened. A simple, ancient-looking blue magic rune floated out.
A faint blue light flowed over it, and a rich life force instantly filled the entire grand hall.
“Great!” Luca said, eager to begin.
With Orf overseeing, the refining process for the Superclass magic rune would surely be much faster.
Without delay, Luca sat cross-legged, dark purple magical energy surging from him, enveloping the floating magic rune.
“This kid’s rune crafting skill is pretty high!” Medel noticed something unusual and couldn’t hide his surprise.
“Well, whose student do you think he is?” Orf replied with a chuckle, stroking his beard, which only made Medel want to curse him.
This old geezer really had no shame. Luca had only been his student for a few days, and Orf was already taking credit for his talent?
But deep down, Orf was just as astonished.
He could see that Luca’s rune crafting skill had already reached the maximum level.
Even among the scions of great families, with all their resources, reaching level 7 in rune crafting was already considered a rare talent.
Yet Luca, at such a young age, had pushed his rune crafting skill to the highest level?
Such a phenomenon was unheard of, even for him.
But then, remembering Luca’s maxed-out potential, Orf understood.
With such incredible potential, Luca’s refining of a single magic rune was like someone else refining ten. How could his skill not improve quickly?
Shaking his head with a smile, Orf flicked his sleeve, and a surge of powerful magical energy flew from his hand, flowing into Luca’s body.
Luca instantly felt a wave of relief wash over him!
Nodding gratefully at Orf, Luca focused entirely on refining the Superclass magic rune.
With Orf’s assistance, the speed at which Luca refined the magic rune was several times faster than usual.
In less than two hours, Luca successfully refined the magic rune.
[Ding! Congratulations, you have successfully refined the fixed magic rune “Heavenly Star Crystal Tree (Superclass),” quality: “Rare”!]
[Your skill “Magic Rune Crafting” has reached max level. You have gained 1,000 points of free proficiency!]