Destroyer of Ice and Fire

"What does Belo look like this?"

"He… has turned into an egg?"

"Beastmen are not birdmen… so no matter how great the transformation, he should not transform into an egg right?"

"Teacher Donna, Belo is still alive right?"

"Won't the toxin of the Poisonflame Emperor Egg kill him if he stops moving?"

Cries of astonishment rang out from the Southam Demon Forest as the gentle light of dawn descended upon it and revealed a human sized egg to Ayrin and the others, who had finally caught up with Donna and Berryn by following the tracks they had left behind.

The eggshell seemed to be condensed from blood and salt and was covered with tree leaves.

"What happened?" Ciaran asked as she turned and looked towards Donna and Berryn.

By this time, Belo should have already mostly dissipated the toxin of the Poisonflame Emperor Egg and begun recovering, yet Ciaran could still clearly sense its presence within the 'egg' before her.

"He didn't consume just a single egg, but all of the remaining ones. And they were all consumed at the same time," Donna replied.

"This impetuous fellow! I just knew he was going to do something wrong!" Stingham exclaimed as he feigned fainting. "But no matter how impetuous he is, how can he kill himself?!"

"His beastman blood must innately provide him some resistance to poisons and toxins, so the might of a single Poisonflame Emperor Egg was just not enough for him," Liszt said as he felt the auras within the 'egg'. His eyes flashed as he added, "Only… for him to still be alive at this moment after ingesting so many Poisonflame Emperor Eggs demonstrates that he is able to resist their toxin. So the question remains, why is he in such a state right now?"

At this time, Ciaran walked forward and gently touched the 'egg'. After several seconds of silence, a strange look emerged on her face as she finally said, "He is trying to push his body to the limit."

"Trying to push his body to the limit?" Minlur scratched his head as he said, "What do you mean?"

"After dissipating most of the Poisonflame Emperor Eggs' toxins, instead of using all of the substances released by his body and the heat produced by moving around to consume the toxin, he decided to stop and rely on only his body." Ciaran took a deep breath before continuing in a clear and decisive tone, "He is relying on just his body to defeat the toxin! If he succeeds, the ability of his body to assimilate toxins and the Chaotic Blood within his beastman bloodline will both greatly increase!"

"This 'egg' is solidified from the pus and sweat which has been secreted by his body during this process."

"……" Stingham was completely speechless.

Belo had decided to calmly sit still and allow the toxin to attack so that he could temper his body.

This method was simply too heartless and crazy!

"Teacher Ciaran, having experienced the toxin ourselves, it is simply too fierce! Seeing how much pus and sweat has already been secreted by Belo, how can he possible continue to resist?!" Ayrin nervously shouted as he finally understood what was going on.

Meanwhile, Rinloran's face gradually turned pale as he silently stood off on the side.

Even he found Belo's method to be a little too inconsiderate of his own life.

Furthermore, he also couldn't imagine how so much pus and sweat could flow out of someone and condense into a shell. Just what kind of state was Belo in within?

Perhaps he had already turned into a dry husk?

Even if he suddenly awakened a vitality which was as tyrannical as the first beastman ancestor, it would likely not be enough?

"Although his method has put his life on the line, he has been clever about it. Look here."

As Ciaran's hand moved, numerous black particles gathered at her fingertips.

At a glance, they looked like nothing more than specks of debris. But upon closer inspection, they were actually dried ant husks!

Although their corpses were no larger than dried shimp, these ants evidently were not this small while alive.

"Could he be…" Rinloran's eyes bulged in surprise.

He immediately turned his attention to the ground surrounding Belo and saw several black ants half the size of a nail walking through the grass and leaves and drilling into the 'eggshell'.

"There must be countless nests of these Bloodsucking Ants nearby. Belo is using the scent of blood to constantly attract them over and is then sucking them dry and using their blood to continuously replenish his body's vitality."

Ciaran turned and looked towards Ayrin, Rinloran, and Stingham as she said, "Based off what we have before us, his plan is working perfectly. As long as he can maintain this, it is only a matter of time before he dissipates the remaining toxin. So all we can do right now is just wait."

"If Belo completes this metamorphosis, then he will become a lot stronger!" Minlur roared as he turned and waved his fist towards Moss. His eyes were full of energy and fire as he said, "Do you understand now, brave warrior Moss? No expert ever succeeds without careful contemplation."

"I understand now! Teacher Minlur!" Moss excitedly replied.

Boom!

All of a sudden, Moss' body flew forwards.

Leaves began to fall like raindrops in the forest before them as a deep human-shaped hole emerged in the trunk of a massive tree before them. Like a pile of putty, Moss slid down the trunk and fell onto the ground with a loud plop.

"Great!"

Minlur's eyes lit up as he roared with laughter and exclaimed, "Brave warrior Moss, you have finally made progress! You are no longer exploding into the sky and can finally launch a sudden attack!"

As Donna and Berryn watched the scene unfolding before them, they couldn't help but think to themselves, "If it were the students of any other academy undergoing these trainings, they surely would have died by now right?"

Right at this same moment, a strange look emerged on Stingham's face as he turned alert and quickly looked behind him.

Rui had originally been quietly standing behind him.

Yet now, Rui was nowhere to be seen.

Whistle!

A fast-moving black line appeared on Stingham's right side and viciously descended towards his head.

Bang!

A dim yellow light flickered over Stingham's body as countless weeds and saplings began to sprout around him.

But against such a fierce strike, these weeds and saplings were immediately blasted apart.

"Such a heavy strike? Is Rui always beating this fellow so hard? Is that why he acts so idiotically?" Berryn thought as his eyes widened once more.

Witnessing the scene before him, this renowned coldest and calmest arcane master of the Golden Roses Plains had completely lost his cool. He couldn't help but feel a sense of speechlessness arising within him.

But what shocked him even more was that Stingham seemed to be absolutely fine.

His body didn't have the slightest reaction to Rui's strike.

Meanwhile, ripples of energy swept through the ground beneath Stingham's feet as it violently exploded! It was like a small but powerful earthquake had occurred.

Stingham put his hands on his hips as he broke out into laughter, "Ahahahaha! Teacher Rui! Such a crafty scoundrel! You wanted to catch me off guard, but it is useless! Ahahahaha!"

"Ashur's Shock Conduction!"

"The unique defensive technique which allows the user to transmit any force which is impacting their body into the ground beneath their feet!"

Looks of disbelief simultaneously emerged atop Donna and Berryn's faces.

"Are they trying to nurture him into a second Ashur-like existence?! A fellow like Stingham has managed to learn such a skill in such a short time?!"

"Not bad, Stingham! You are completely fine even against such a powerful strike from Teacher Rui's black stick! Such an awesome skill!" Ayrin excitedly cheered.

Stingham became even prouder as he continued to laugh, "Naturally, I'm most handsome!"

Crack!

At this moment, the force which had been transmitted into the ground reached Belo's 'egg'. A large crack abruptly appeared in the surface of the 'shell'.

"Belo?"

Everyone quieted down as they turned their attentions towards the 'egg'.

They watched as the 'shell' slowly began falling apart.

A completely black figure which looked like a shadow appeared before them.

"How could this be? He's become black! He's even blacker than Teacher Rui's black stick!" Stingham shouted as he stepped back in shock.

In the following moment, Belo's figure seemed to fall apart.

"Those are ant corpses! So many corpses!" Ayrin exclaimed.

"Belo…"

As the ant corpses fell away from Belo's body, Ayrin's eyes only widened further. Belo's skin had turned even paler than usual, and his usual impetuous manner was nowhere to be found.

Even stranger were his hands, which had turned a strange jade green color.

"Why are you looking at me as if you have seen a ghost?" Belo joked with Ayrin in a playful manner. Afterwards, his gaze swept across Stingham, Rinloran, and the others as he snorted and said, "What? Do you all wish to lick this grandfather's feet?"

"…" Stingham wiped away his sweat as he took a breath and said, "Now everything has truly returned to normal."

"Indeed," Rinloran agreed as he let out a sigh of relief.

"This is normal?" Berryn exclaimed before becoming speechless once more.

"Your hands… have changed color," Ayrin couldn't help but mention as he nodded towards Belo's hands.

"A portion of the toxin contained within the Poisonflame Emperor Egg has been assimilated within them. It is as if he has received a portion of the Poisonflame Emperor's abilities," Ciaran softly explained.

"That's why they have changed color?" Ayrin and Stingham exchanged looks.

"Can we leave now?" Belo snorted as he turned around.

"Since he has assimilated a portion of the Poisonflame Emperor Egg's toxin, Belo has also become stronger," Ayrin and Chris thought to themselves as they exchanged looks of excitement.

"Let's depart! To the Land of Ruins!" Ayrin and Chris simultaneously shouted.