Sovereign of the Ashes

As Sein expressed how much he missed her, Leena lowered her head and smiled shyly.

She stood tall on the other side of the magic array, with long, silky black hair draped over her shoulders.

In recent years, Leena rarely stayed in her teenage form.

In the harsh environment of Blackhaven, appearing in that form could lead to being underestimated and targeted.

Despite the shy smile she showed to Sein, Leena was known as a cold beauty and a deadly Black Widow in the Black Tower of Cinderbones.

Not only did the black mages of the opposing Black Tower of Bone regard her with fear, but even some Rank Two black mages in the Black Tower of Cinderbones were afraid of her.

"The war between the Black Tower of Cinderbones and the Black Tower of Bone has not been mediated by higher-ranked black mages, so it is likely to escalate soon. It appears that several other black towers in the vicinity are about to be drawn into the conflict as well.

"The region around the Black Tower of Cinderbones will become increasingly chaotic over the next few decades. I may not have much time to correspond with you after this," Leena explained.

"Do you need me to come over and help you?" Sein asked.

Leena shook her head and replied, "It's not appropriate for you to be in Blackhaven when you're divine tower mage. The mages here in Blackhaven are ruthless. If they were to discover your identity as a divine tower mage..."

"Then you should still try to contact me every once in a while. Even if I can't go directly to Blackhaven to help you, I can still support you by providing magic items and potions as much as possible," Sein replied.

Leena nodded instead of refusing his offer.

Their conversation lasted for more than an hour, and both cherished the time immensely.

With the uncertainties ahead, there was no telling when they could speak to each other again.

After stepping out from the basement of the magic tower, Sein breathed a sigh of relief and immediately plunged back into his experimental research.

***

Half a month later, in the magic tower's alchemy laboratory.

Sein stood at the experimental table, adjusting various instruments before him as he pondered the new alchemy techniques he had recently explored.

"The path of alchemy taken by Blackhaven's black mages leans toward practicality. Master Morsidor had a similar focus in his path of alchemy, and that greatly influenced me," Sein reflected.

"This Rank Two black mage named Canberra seems to be a superior alchemist compared to Master Morsidor. Although she lacks top-notch materials to work with, several of the alchemy techniques she mastered are quite fascinating. Her criss-cross repair technique, composite component mending, as well as metal spinning and weaving are certainly eye-opening," he exclaimed.

Sein had already disposed of the crystal ball that stored the soul of the Rank Two black mage.

After extracting most of the alchemy knowledge from the other party's memories, Sein found the crystal ball no longer useful. Moreover, keeping it could pose more risks than benefits.

Moreover, the alchemy techniques Sein gleaned from that black mage's soul were not necessarily her original creations.

Even Sein's former mentor had learned most of his techniques from his predecessor.

This Rank Two mage's techniques that had caught Sein's eye were likely standard alchemy practices in Blackhaven.

Back at the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring, Sein had studied extensively from alchemy-related books, including those from Master Lorianne's private library.

He noted a significant difference between the alchemy techniques of the Magus World's tower masters and those developed by Blackhaven's black mages.

For example, the recent techniques he acquired focused on repairing broken magic equipment at minimal cost.

In contrast, the alchemy techniques promoted by the divine towers were not as "frugal" as those in Blackhaven; their dominant approach did not focus on minimal-cost repairs.

Instead, they delved into the fundamentals, teaching mages the definition of alchemy, its essence, and the intricacies of elemental and energy conversion.

Sein aimed to integrate the best of both worlds.

From an alchemist's perspective, he naturally favored the mainstream techniques of Magus World because, frankly, he had no reason to be frugal since he faced no financial constraints.

This time, however, Sein would utilize one of the Blackhaven alchemy techniques he had recently mastered—metal spinning and weaving.

Although a similar technique likely existed within the mainstream alchemy of the divine towers, Sein had yet to encounter it.

Moreover, he lacked the time and energy to return to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring to search for it.

As the repository of wisdom from billions of Magus World's spellcasters, the Arcane Light surely contained more refined and advanced alchemy techniques.

Unfortunately, Sein's Arcane points were limited, and he was still a Rank One Arcanist.

To access knowledge from the Arcane Light, Sein needed to make enough contributions first.

Only by providing sufficient knowledge to the Arcane Light could he redeem an equivalent amount of information.

Pushing the experimental instruments before him, Sein turned to Yuri, whose presence was so subtle she nearly seemed invisible.

"Let's head to alchemy lab number three. Bring the demigod-level Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly molt I brought back last time," he instructed.

"Yes, master," Yuri replied obediently.

***

The process of an alchemy experiment was more precise, complex, and variable than a body tempering session.

The armored shell of the demigod-level Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly was extremely hard. However, thanks to Sein's exceptionally potent verdant flame power and the recent fusion of some characteristics from the Everburning Violet Flame, he had finally succeeded in processing this demigod-level molt.

Nevertheless, this achievement came at a cost. Sein had depleted a significant portion of the verdant flame crystal he possessed.

This verdant flame crystal he received from Master Lorianne came from Master Gregory.

Sein had used the best portion of it to craft the head of his Verdant Flame Heart Rod.

He kept a large number of remaining scraps to use as elemental heating additives for his body tempering experiments.

These scraps proved invaluable when he needed to melt the demigod-level molt.

Despite the high cost, the results were satisfying.

Although the Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly's molt measured only two meters in height, they yielded a considerable amount of demigod-level raw materials.

After all, this was the concentrated essence of an entire demigod-level being.

In terms of inherent quality, a two-meter-tall demigod-level Bamboo Leaf Dragonfly was equivalent to a Thunder Beast King that spanned hundreds of meters or a demigod-level Sea King nearly a thousand meters in size.