Lizarius stared at him silently for a moment.
Then—
he answered calmly,
"Yes."
"The older human with sufficient cultivation can probably perceive it."
Lian froze instantly.
His pupils contracted slightly.
*Older humans… cultivators.*
His mind immediately jumped to one person.
*Village Head Wa Shi.*
A cold realization spread through him almost immediately afterward.
He hadn't visited Wa Shi again since that night.
At first—
it had only been because he wanted time alone to comprehend the cultivation manuals properly.
But now—
his expression slowly stiffened.
*If Wa Shi can see this dark energy…*
*Then if I visited him immediately after what happened…*
His thoughts accelerated.
*He might have noticed something.*
*And if he noticed right after those three villagers disappeared…*
Lian's jaw tightened slightly.
That possibility alone made a faint layer of cold sweat form across his back.
Then—
Lizarius' voice interrupted his thoughts calmly.
"You can also see it."
Lian blinked.
"…Huh?"
The white lizard's pale eyes reflected softly in the light filtering through the room.
"You are a cultivator now."
"A spirit beast naturally perceives such things."
"But humans usually require spiritual enhancement to do so."
Lian stared at him.
"…I can see it too?"
Lizarius nodded once.
"Focus your spiritual energy into your eyes."
Lian straightened immediately afterward.
"…Oh."
Curiosity briefly overpowered the tension in his chest.
He immediately began circulating spiritual energy through his meridians according to the Water Vein Compression Art.
Cold Qi flowed steadily through his body.
Then slowly—
he guided a portion of it upward.
Toward his eyes.
A faint cool sensation spread through his vision.
The world sharpened instantly.
Not merely clearer—
but fundamentally different.
For the first time—
he could actually *see* traces of spiritual energy drifting faintly through the room itself.
Thin streams of pale Qi lingered around the Water Essence Pearl beneath his coat.
Subtle currents of energy moved naturally through Lizarius' body like silent rivers beneath his white scales.
Lian's eyes widened slightly.
"…Wow…"
His voice lowered instinctively.
"So this is what spiritual energy actually looks like…"
Then—
he quickly looked down at himself.
His arms.
His chest.
His hands.
But after several moments—
he frowned.
"…I don't see anything."
Lizarius stared at him blankly for a moment.
Then said calmly,
"Look at a mirror."
Lian blinked.
"…We don't have a mirror."
A pause.
Then realization crossed his face.
"…Right."
He immediately moved to a nearby water bucket and knelt beside it.
The water surface rippled briefly before slowly settling.
Lian leaned forward and stared into his reflection.
And froze.
There—
faint but unmistakable—
a thin strand of dark energy lingered across his forehead.
Like black mist.
Weak.
Almost transparent.
But undeniably present.
Lian stared silently for several long seconds.
"…I can actually see it…"
His voice came out quieter than expected.
The dark aura drifted slowly around him like smoke clinging weakly to his skin.
Not violent.
Not monstrous.
But wrong enough that simply looking at it made him uneasy.
Lian slowly looked up.
"…So how do I get rid of it?"
Silence followed.
A few seconds passed.
Then more.
Lian slowly turned his head.
Lizarius still sat calmly atop him, offering no response.
"…Master Lizarius?"
Nothing.
Lian blinked.
"…You don't know?"
The white lizard remained perfectly balanced on his head even as the boy leaned awkwardly over the bucket.
Lian stared blankly.
"…Huh?"
Lizarius' tail shifted lazily once.
"I do not understand why you wish to remove it."
"It does not harm you."
A pause.
"It may even become useful."
Lian's expression twitched slightly.
"…Useful?"
Lizarius nodded.
"If you find the correct technique."
Lian froze.
Then immediately frowned.
"…Wait."
"The correct technique?"
His eyes narrowed slightly.
"…Wouldn't that be some kind of demonic art?"
A brief silence followed.
Then Lizarius tilted his head slightly.
"…Demonic art?"
The white lizard's pale eyes reflected a faint confusion.
"I do not see the difference."
Lian stared at him.
"…What do you mean you don't see the difference?"
Lizarius answered evenly,
"Humans divide techniques in a peculiar way."
"Demonic."
"Orthodox."
"Righteous."
"Corrupt."
His tail shifted once.
"But all techniques are simply methods of using power."
Lian frowned.
"…That's not how humans see it."
Lizarius looked entirely unconcerned.
"I noticed."
Lian opened his mouth—
then stopped.
Because, honestly—
coming from Lizarius…
it sounded completely sincere.
To him—
strength was simply strength.
Useful or not useful.
Effective or ineffective.
Nothing more.
The white lizard continued calmly,
"If a technique strengthens you…"
"…humans call it righteous when it benefits them."
A pause.
"And demonic when they fear it."
Lian remained silent.
Lizarius continued evenly,
"Humans kill for spirit stones."
"Kill for territory."
"Kill for inheritance."
"Kill for pride."
Another pause.
"But if one cultivator absorbs blood or death aura for power…"
"…suddenly it becomes evil."
Lian unconsciously lowered his gaze slightly.
Because after last night—
those words carried more weight than before.
Lizarius continued,
"You already killed humans."
"The world will not care why."
"The only thing that changes…"
"…is whether you survive long enough to decide what you become afterward."
Silence settled heavily through the room.
Lian slowly looked back toward the water bucket.
Toward the faint dark aura drifting across his reflection.
Then quietly asked,
"…So if I leave it alone?"
Lizarius answered immediately.
"Eventually it may fade naturally."
A pause.
"Or deepen."
Lian's expression stiffened slightly.
"…That doesn't sound reassuring."
"It is simply truth."
The room fell quiet again.
Outside—
distant village sounds continued beneath the afternoon sun.
Normal.
Peaceful.
Completely disconnected from the conversation inside the small wooden house.
Then, after several moments—
Lian unexpectedly let out a quiet laugh.
Not because anything was funny.
But because, somehow—
his life had become absurdly complicated in an unbelievably short time.
A few months ago—
he had only worried about catching enough fish to survive winter.
Now—
he was discussing killing intent, demonic techniques, and spiritual corruption with a white lizard sitting on his head as if it were completely normal.
Lian looked toward the floating sphere of water again and smiled faintly.
"Yeah."
A small grin formed.
"Master Lizarius, I've been learning two techniques for the past three weeks while you were gone."
The sphere of water hovering above the bucket trembled slightly under his control before slowly spinning once in the air.
Lian pointed at it.
"This is the Water Control Art."
"It lets me manipulate water directly."
The sphere drifted upward slightly, then circled lazily around his hand.
Not perfectly smooth.
Not refined.
But stable.
His grin widened slightly.
"And the other technique helps compress and refine my spiritual energy."
He lifted his other hand.
"When I circulate it now, my Qi feels much denser than before."
Across from him—
Lizarius remained silent.
But his attention was not on the floating water sphere.
It was on Lian himself.
More precisely—
on the spiritual essence flowing through the boy's body.
Something had changed.
Subtly.
But undeniably.
The water essence within Lian no longer felt loose or scattered.
It flowed more smoothly now.
More coherently.
As though his body itself had begun adapting to the energy over time.
The white lizard's eyes narrowed slightly.
*Interesting.*
Then inwardly—
he addressed the system calmly.
*Why is the child's water essence changing?*
A brief pause followed.
Then the system responded mechanically.
> [Analysis Complete.]
> [Target has absorbed high concentrations of Water Essence over an extended period.]
> [Body is undergoing low-level adaptive transformation.]
Lizarius remained still.
*Transformation.*
So the child's body was changing.
Then another thought surfaced immediately.
*But only slightly.*
*Why?*
The system responded at once.
> [Target possesses an ordinary mortal physique.]
> [Initial constitution quality is extremely low.]
> [Water Essence density insufficient for rapid evolution.]
> [Current changes remain minimal due to structural limitations.]
Lizarius' tail shifted faintly.
The system continued.
> [However…]
> [Repeated long-term absorption may gradually improve affinity toward water-aligned spiritual energy.]
> [Possible outcomes include:]
> [—Improved spiritual circulation.]
> [—Enhanced compatibility with water techniques.]
> [—Slight increase in cultivation speed.]
> [—Low probability of developing an incomplete Water Spirit Physique.]
Lizarius' eyes narrowed slightly.
*Incomplete.*
Not a true elemental physique.
Only the early stage of one.
Still—
for a human village child—
even this was abnormal.
The system continued calmly.
> [Current transformation remains unstable.]
> [Progress is extremely slow.]
> [Without higher-grade essence or external refinement methods, full evolution probability remains low.]
Lizarius remained silent for several seconds.
Meanwhile—
Lian continued proudly controlling the water sphere, unaware that the white lizard had stopped paying attention entirely.
"…It took me almost five days just to stop it from exploding everywhere."
The sphere wobbled violently.
Lian panicked.
"…Ah—wait—"
SPLASH.
Water burst directly into his face.
The room went silent.
Lian slowly wiped water from his eyes.
"…I still mess up sometimes."
Lizarius stared at him blankly.
Then said calmly,
"Yes."
Lian's face twitched.
"…You answered too fast."
But inwardly—
Lizarius remained thoughtful.
*A human body slowly adapting to elemental essence…*
*Interesting.*
Most humans required bloodlines, inheritances, or heaven-grade treasures to alter their constitutions meaningfully.
Yet this child—
through exposure alone—
had already begun to change.
Barely.
But enough for even the system to register it.
Which meant one thing.
The Water Essence Pearl's quality…
was likely far higher than Lizarius had initially assumed.
The white lizard's gaze drifted toward the hidden pearl beneath Lian's coat.
Then inwardly—
another thought surfaced quietly.
*If he continues absorbing it…*
*what exactly will he become?*