Chapter 342: Show Me What You Can Do

Seeing Leon’s stunned expression, Lamia couldn’t help but chuckle. "You went too far with that attack, master. You could have killed that monster with half the mana. But considering it’s your first time, it’s normal. But what I want to say is... Yes, you are capable of slaying monsters or opponents far stronger than you. Even the strongest opponent in the tower won’t be your match at present. But the problem is not their strength. It’s their number. You can deal with three to five of them with ease. But what about the rest? You remember you can’t consume monster cores in later stages, right?"

Leon’s enthusiasm dimmed a little. He stayed silent for a while before straightening his back. "Okay. I will wait for a few more days. For now..." He looked ahead. Rifts to exit the dungeon automatically hadn’t appeared. That could mean one thing. Either there were more monsters to deal with, or there was a special task to complete.

"We may have to go even deeper. But before that..." He raised his palm. A core appeared, Qi pulsing thickly inside it. "I need to recover my Qi. Or maybe even..." He didn’t finish. Instead, he swallowed the core. He didn’t mind doing it in front of everyone. He had known Emily and Sol since the hidden realm. They were trustworthy people. And even if they weren’t, it’s not like anyone could threaten Leon with anything anymore. What he needed now was to save time. Every single second counted.

The moment the core went inside Leon, energy surged violently. A huge amount of Qi exploded inside him, as if wanting to tear his body open from the inside. Leon closed his eyes and focused. Spiritual energy refined into Qi and continued to fill his Dantian. A warm gust of wind swept outward, moving the corners of everyone’s clothes.

[You have absorbed a huge amount of Qi.]

[You have absorbed a huge amount of Qi.]

Notifications popped up in the blue panel before Leon while he had his eyes closed.

After several more notifications, the one Leon wished would appear came.

[You have absorbed enough Qi for a breakthrough.]

[Congratulations, Host. You have reached the third stage of the Martial Grandmaster realm.]

Leon still had his eyes closed because he could feel it. The core’s energy hadn’t been fully absorbed yet.

A single core, but this much spiritual energy. And Leon wasn’t just absorbing the Qi to achieve a breakthrough. He was also condensing it to its purest form.

The core contained so much Qi because it was from a monster at the Martial King level. Compared to a Martial King, a Martial Grandmaster had a much smaller reserve of Qi

Leon opened his eyes after a few more seconds. He didn’t achieve a second breakthrough. If someone else saw this, they would die of shock. Because the amount of Qi he needed now was just too insane. But what could he even do? He had three separate dantians now. And then came the condensing of Qi.

’Show my current status.’ Leon asked inwardly, and the system reacted.

[Host: Leon Bale]

[Cultivation Rank: Martial Grandmaster Realm — Level 3]

[Physique: Absolute Heaven-Devouring Physique — Level 3]

[Bloodline

1. Abyssal Adaptation

Bloodline Class: Rare

2. Demon Monarch’s Bloodline

Bloodline Class: Elite]

[Soul Status: Level 1

Soul Sanctuary: 3/5 Beasts]

[Special Abilities Awakened:

1. Berserk Mode — Level 2

2. Self-Heal

3. Spirit Zone

4. Fly

5. Telekinesis]

[Elemental Affinity:

1. Ice

2. Fire]

[Non-Elemental Affinity:

Gravity]

’Show me the status bar as well.’

[Host: Leon Bale]

[Status Bar]

[Damage: 500]

[HP: 115]

[Perception: 90]

[Speed: 570]

[Mana: 62 T]

[Soul Strength: 11]

Leon’s lips curved into a smile. ’Good. My stats increased a lot even after just one breakthrough. And now I even have sixty-two trillion Qi. I have more cores to eat. I can consume the spiritual energy stored in the Demon Sword as well. But should I clear the dungeon first or increase my strength first?’ Leon wondered inwardly. After pondering for a while, Leon decided to increase his strength first.

"Let’s just see where I can reach with the available resources I have first. If I face more opponents like the last monster, it will be difficult to ensure everyone’s safety. After all, it’s a permanent gate for a reason. If it were that easy, joint efforts of Disaster Class hunters could have cleared it with enough preparation." Leon whispered and walked to the side.

"Let’s rest for a while before we go deeper." He said.

Without waiting for a response, Leon sat down on the ground and waved his hand. Immediately, cores started to fall beside him as if it were raining. These were the cores the system had collected after Leon killed any monster.

Except for Lamia and Frenrir, nobody moved. They had felt that huge surge of energy when Leon had achieved a breakthrough. They stared at Leon with bewilderment.

"Big bro," Sol whispered. "He just grew stronger. So that’s why he wanted to come inside the dungeons?"

Emily also remembered something. She had seen Leon swallow monster cores before inside the hidden realm. Now she just confirmed her doubts.

Snow didn’t know what to say. ’What a monster!’ She thought. ’He can swallow monster cores to grow strong. From when did it become so easy to increase strength? Doesn’t that mean the more he fights, the more he will grow unstoppable? What a weirdo!’ She thought before chuckling softly.

Leon meanwhile totally focused on the cores. He swallowed one core after another.

[You have absorbed Qi.]

[You have absorbed Qi.]

The cores he had left gave him very little Qi. These cores were nothing like the core of a Martial King monster. Soon the cores were gone, but Leon hadn’t achieved a breakthrough yet. He looked ahead.

"The Demon Sword." He whispered. The moment he did, the hilt of the Demon Sword popped out of the translucent panel. Leon grabbed it and pulled it out.

"Now show me what you can do. Let’s see how much Qi you have stored for me."