“That old geezer really isn't one for formalities. Sending someone to just stuff the leaf in like this... what if it blew away or got lost?”
Leon gripped the unremarkable leaf, grumbling internally. It looked like a common leaf plucked from a small tree, but upon closer inspection, every vein was etched with extraordinary completeness, presenting a graceful and rhythmic beauty.
Holding it in his hand, he could feel a surge of life force radiating from the leaf, instantly bringing to mind images of nature in full bloom and vibrant vitality.
This leaf was the top-tier treasure Leon had requested from the Sage King before leaving the capital—the Leaf of the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
While it looked ordinary, its function was quite singular: it had only one use, which was to enhance the consumer's life origin.
Yet, it was this very effect that led it to be called a “miracle cure,” the “key to unlocking transcendent potential,” and a “divine treasure.”
The fact that the Heron Empire had been able to overthrow the previous human kingdom and elevate its national power to rival—and even surpass—the nine-hundred-year-old Nightmare Empire in just three hundred and fifty years was largely due to that tree.
The Kabbalah Tree of Life, planted beneath the royal palace in the imperial capital, had played an indispensable role.
When a low-rank transcendent consumed a Leaf of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, it strengthened their life origin and boosted their transcendent potential, ensuring that every subsequent advancement yielded a more powerful increase in strength.
For mid-rank transcendents, consuming the leaf allowed them to break through the shackles of their natural talent, creating a glimmer of hope for overcoming rank bottlenecks that would otherwise have been impossible to breach in their lifetime.
Even those transcendents at the pinnacle of the Ommisiah continent yearned for a Leaf of the Kabbalah Tree of Life.
For experts at the Epic or even Legendary rank, few on the continent could truly wound them. However, once injured, it often meant a severe or even life-threatening trauma that ordinary means could not heal. At best, their strength would decline; at worst, they would lose their lives.
But the leaf of the Kabbalah Tree of Life could heal wounds inflicted by experts of the same level.
Because of this, the powerhouses of the Heron Empire often fought without restraint.
They had dared to besiege Archduke Grant without hesitation, while Grant, upon seeing Minister of Magic Blaise and General Sophia appear simultaneously, immediately chose to retreat with no intention of lingering.
On one hand, he was outnumbered and at a disadvantage. On the other hand, regardless of the outcome, any injury he sustained would be extremely difficult to recover from.
In contrast, Blaise and Sophia, representing the Heron Empire, could quickly heal themselves using the leaf of the tree of life even if they were wounded. They had absolutely no fear of trading blow for blow.
One side could take damage and heal back up, while the other side would permanently lose their maximum HP upon being wounded. Who could possibly stand against that?
The Nightmare Empire frequently had friction with the Heron Empire, and they had certainly considered infiltrating the imperial capital to steal or destroy the Kabbalah Tree of Life buried beneath the palace.
But... the Sage King was in the capital.
If anyone dared to fight the Sage King in the capital, he would show the world exactly what it meant when people said, “the entire capital has stood up as a mage tower.”
And as for trying a different approach, like luring the Sage King out of the capital...
Please. Even during the previous trap to encircle Archduke Grant, when there was a high probability of killing the Nightmare Archduke on the spot, the Sage King still hadn't stepped foot out of the capital. He had only provided magical support from the Star-Gazing Tower in the palace.
To lure the Sage King out, Leon estimated... well, he couldn't think of any way to lure him out either.
“Whatever, I'm getting ahead of myself.”
Even if Leon wanted to lure the Sage King out and beat him until he was polishing Leon's boots, that wasn't something he should be considering right now.
“I should just be able to eat this directly, right?”
The Sage King really was something, not even including an instruction manual for such a treasure.
Leon hesitated for two seconds before pinching the Leaf of the Kabbalah Tree of Life, stuffing it into his mouth, and swallowing it in one gulp.
The texture of the leaf wasn't like a normal leaf; it lacked the expected bitterness and instead carried a refreshing, cool sensation.
It melted the moment it entered his mouth, like swallowing a piece of ice cake.
About half a minute after swallowing the leaf, that icy sensation began to change. It gradually shifted from cold to warm, and finally turned into a scorching heat.
It felt as if a fire was raging in his throat, esophagus, and stomach. Sweat instantly broke out on Leon's forehead, and he slumped down onto the bed.
That intense burning sensation spread from his stomach to his internal organs, his limbs, and every bone in his body, finally surging into his mind like scalding, searing steam.
Leon's eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness.
...
After an unknown amount of time, Leon groggily sat up from the bed. His body was covered in sweat and a layer of sticky, black bloody foam.
With a slight movement, the layer of sticky black foam peeled off his body and scattered onto the sheets.
“This feeling...”
Leon lightly gripped his arm, feeling that his physical body had become significantly lighter, as if a suit of iron armor he had been wearing for a long time had suddenly been removed.
A surge of powerful energy circulated within his body, moving according to his thoughts.
He clenched his fist slightly, and abundant life energy instantly flowed into his palm. With a press of a single finger, he propped up his entire body.
He stomped his foot lightly, and abundant life energy gathered in his leg, allowing him to leap several meters with a gentle hop.
He lowered his head slightly, and his abundant life energy instantly gathered below, making it stand as firm as an iron rod.
“Whoa!”
Feeling the abundant life energy within him, Leon blinked and let out an involuntary exclamation.
However, the most significant change wasn't in his physical body, but in his mental power.
He peered into his sea of mental power and discovered that compared to before he had consumed the Kabbalah Tree of Life, the sea had expanded by a full fifty percent!
This fifty percent wasn't just an increase in the 'water' within the sea; the entire 'basin' had expanded by fifty percent!
In other words, while still at the Silver rank, Leon possessed fifty percent more mental power than other priests.
He was practically invincible among those of the same rank!
“Though, opponents of the same rank couldn't beat me anyway...”
Leon carefully sensed the other changes brought by the leaf and found that not only had his mental power intensity increased, but the potency of his Divine Arts had also been significantly boosted.
The Radiance Force Field, which previously had a radius of only 25 meters, had now expanded to 40 meters.
The burning intensity of Light Prayer, the attack power of the Radiance Longbow, and the enhancement from the Power of the Three Saints had all been upgraded.
“If I were to face that Mad Shark King again...”
Well, relying on himself alone, it was still impossible to defeat the peak Gold-rank Mad Shark King.
However, Leon felt that with his current strength, he would only need to team up with Bishop Miles to fight the Mad Shark King for three thousand rounds without falling.
If he wanted to actually kill the Mad Shark King... he would still need to advance to the Gold rank.
“The gap in power between low-rank and mid-rank transcendents is still quite vast.”
Leon had previously estimated that it would take at least two and a half months to raise his mental power to the intensity of the Gold rank.
Now that his sea of mental power had been expanded, the time required would be even longer.
It might take three and a half months, or even over four months.
“Too slow, too slow! Other geniuses take ten years or so to advance from Silver to Gold.”
“And the legendary geniuses in history only needed four to eight years.”
“I have a panel, and yet I still need over four months. That's way too slow!”
Leon opened his panel and looked at 【Walking Meditation】.
The 【Arduous Meditation】 trait of 【Sacred Light Meditation】 alone was still too slow!
He needed to upgrade Walking Meditation to Lv2 to obtain new meditation enhancement traits!
Rate on N.U.
