Sovereign of the Ashes

The Reverse Winged Lion King was no longer living the single life.

In the shade of its massive body were at least ten cubs of varying sizes, tumbling about and playing.

All of them were its offspring.

The magic beasts Sein had once released across the Viridescent Land—especially those in the Lysian Alliance—had grown considerably over the past thousand years.

Back then, Sein had also left behind a family led by a lioness in a forest near House Grantt.

After relentless pursuit from the Reverse Winged Lion King, the beast finally got what it wanted.

Its fertility was impressive, judging by the number of cubs it had fathered.

This growing population of magic beasts was actually a good thing for House Grantt.

Thanks to the shared bloodline, the lions had a natural affinity with members of House Grantt.

In other words, the knights of House Grantt could bond with these lions more easily and raise them as mounts.

Plenty of old knight houses did the same, and any intelligent magic beast knew it was far more practical to stick with a strong backer than to survive in the magic beast forests independently.

Sein’s return was a major event for House Grantt.

The two knights who had stayed behind quickly sent word to call back the rest of the family’s knights scattered across the different knightly orders.

Sein, however, had little interest in the typical aristocratic banquets and formal balls.

The closer he moved toward Rank Four, the more he realized his preferences. Sometimes, even his way of thinking was drifting further from those of lower-ranking lifeforms.

During the evening banquet, Sein glanced at his great-grandfather, who was seated across from him, and remarked, “The way you advanced to Rank Three doesn’t seem perfect.”

Julius laughed at that. “Creating a technique from scratch is no easy task. Being able to refine the Violet Flame Battle Qi enough to push it to the level of a Sky Knight alone is already quite an achievement.”

“As for how the path develops from here... Well, it’ll be up to the next generation to improve it slowly,” he added with a smile.

Julius’s self-created and refined Violet Flame Battle Qi had become House Grantt’s legacy technique, and by far its most important one.

The fact that it could be cultivated all the way to the level of a Sky Knight made it one of the superior battle qi techniques in the entire Magus World.

As far as Sein knew, there were no known battle qi techniques in the Magus World that could be cultivated beyond the demigod level. That was already the upper limit.

Any being who stepped into Rank Four had to walk a unique path—one that could not easily be replicated.

Advancing to Rank Four took more than just physical energy and foundational techniques. It required mastery over the deeper workings of the laws.

“I’ll study the Violet Flame Battle Qi technique soon and help refine it further,” Sein offered. “Also, I hope all ranked knights in the family will cooperate with me on some experimental tests during this period.”

In the current House Grantt, only Julius and Kelman held seniority over Sein.

Now that Sein had reached Rank Three, his voice carried significant weight within the family—second only to Julius.

Julius did not even hesitate before nodding in agreement.

Having traveled widely and experienced much, Julius fully understood what it meant to have a grand mage contributing to the growth of a knight house.

Sein ended up spending two full years on and off at House Grantt. Though he never stayed for long at a time, he visited far more frequently than he used to.

What was even more impressive was that despite his busy schedule, Sein never once missed a lesson at the divine tower academy.

With his scientific analysis, the Violet Flame Battle Qi technique underwent three major refinements.

Previously, the technique could only be cultivated up to the early stages of Rank Three. But after Sein’s improvements, it could theoretically be pushed all the way to the late stages of Rank Three.

Alongside this, he also restructured the knights’ cultivation system within House Grantt, making it more systematic and efficient.

The results were immediate and visible.

Thanks to the new training regimen Sein designed specifically for House Grantt’s knights, even a young knight who had been stuck at the peak of Rank One for years finally advanced to Rank Two within two years.

As for bloodline selection, Sein did not recklessly offer a random mix of demon bloodlines just because the family specialized in pyro-attribute battle qi.

For the young knight named Klonde, Sein ultimately bought a “Blue-Blooded Folk” potion from the Magus Alliance’s trade market, believing it to be the most suitable match for his potential.

***

During the years Sein moved between the divine tower and the knight houses, he did not neglect his research on Natalya and Reina.

Natalya’s demon bloodline was maturing well, and with several blood essences from demon lords of Purgatory in his possession, Sein had the means to potentially unlock deeper genetic layers within her bloodline that had yet to awaken.

At this stage, Sein’s demon form no longer bore any resemblance to a traditional Flame Demon.

If Natalya’s bloodline power were pushed to its limits, she might evolve just like Sein.

Still, compared to Natalya’s development, Sein was more fascinated by the changes in Reina over the years.

Reina, who had once again ballooned back into her larger form, clearly had not been following the body-tempering program Sein had designed for her.

Or perhaps she had, but she was simply eating even more than before.

Without Sein around to supervise, it seemed Reina just could not resist her cravings.

Now that he was back, her food intake had been strictly reined in once again.

It was not that Sein wanted to stop her from eating altogether, but he needed to collect more detailed data on her physiology.

To be fair, the sheer volume of fat she carried in her had steadily increased her strength over the years. Her explosive power had also climbed to an impressive peak.

At present, Reina was sitting somewhere around mid-Rank Three. But if she could instantly convert her stored fat into energy and fully activate her hidden potential, she could reach a level of power on par with a demigod.

Aside from Reina, Sia was also proving to be an excellent subject of study.

Sia had advanced to Rank Three earlier than Natalya, and over the past several years, she had refined her demonic powers to near perfection.

Her current strength was solidly in the late stages of Rank Three.

If Sein were to assist her in fine-tuning her control over those powers, Sia might even be able to aim for a breakthrough to the demigod realm.

In the Magus World’s power system, those at the peak of Rank Three were considered demigods, as only at that level could one begin to truly comprehend and manipulate the laws.

When it came to Sein’s proposal to conduct experiments on her, Sia would have none of it.

She already had a pretty good idea of what those experiments would involve through her daughter.

Sein did not really mind her refusal. As a gesture of thanks for the Flame Demon potion Sia had once given him, he repaid her kindness with a generous supply of demonic potions.

Without realizing it, ten years had already passed since Sein returned to the Divine Tower of Verdant Spring.

On this particular day, he was in the lab working on a new mecha for Yuri when he received a sudden call from Lorianne.

Sein never seemed to run out of research ideas.

Even though he had been focusing on his elemental path or lawful body over the years, his daily experimental schedule remained completely full.

“Come on, let’s head to the Divine Tower of Verdant Flame. Your grandmaster and the others are already waiting for our arrival. This will be a full gathering of our faction. It seems they have something to announce aside from resolving your current state,” Lorianne’s voice came through.

“It’s a shame you still haven’t taken on an apprentice. With just the two of us again, our side is looking a little lonely,” Lorianne added with a helpless sigh.

“I don’t mind if you want to take on another apprentice, Master Lorianne,” Sein replied.

Lorianne’s mouth twitched, but she did not respond to that suggestion.