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After an unknown amount of time, Ash woke up.
The moment he opened his eyes, he could feel that something had changed.
He felt much stronger than before.
Ash clenched his fist and then opened it again, staring at his hand in wonder.
"Woah, I feel so strong," he muttered.
Raphael hummed in response from within his mind.
"You are. According to my calculations, your body is now roughly three times stronger than before. Not to mention your Artificial Aura Circle located around your heart."
Ash immediately closed his eyes.
Using his breathing technique, Breath of Wisdom, he focused inward and examined his body.
With the enhanced perception granted by the technique, he quickly found what Raphael was referring to.
The Aura Circle he had created before his advancement was completely different from what existed now.
"What is this?" Ash asked in confusion.
The Aura Circle revolving around his heart no longer resembled the four-layered structure he had originally built.
Instead, it looked like a revolving crown.
A beautiful crown-shaped construct made entirely of aura.
"The advancement fixed every flaw in your body," Raphael explained. "It may have perceived the Aura Circle as an imperfect structure as well and refined it during the process."
Raphael compared the old design to the new one.
The difference was astonishing.
The Aura Circle she and Ash had created before was functional, but crude.
The new version was far more sophisticated.
It was like comparing a steam engine to a modern high-performance engine.
The crown-shaped Aura Circle possessed several crown spikes, each serving as a storage point for aura.
Whenever aura was stored, the spikes glowed softly before feeding the energy into the main ring.
The entire structure rotated smoothly around his heart.
Most importantly, the flow of aura was vastly superior.
There was almost no resistance.
The energy moved through the structure with incredible efficiency.
Ash watched the flow carefully.
Then he watched it again.
And again.
He had to double-check because it seemed too good to be true.
The aura flowed so smoothly that it looked almost effortless.
There was no wasted energy.
The entire construct operated as though it had been designed by a master far beyond anything he and Raphael could currently achieve.
"This thing is amazing," Ash said.
Raphael nodded.
"I agree. Even if we spent years refining our original design, I doubt we would have reached this level."
"Of course, that is with our current limited knowledge," Raphael added.
Ash couldn't help but smile.
His advancement had given him far more than a Deep Blue Mana Core.
It had also transformed one of his greatest creations into something far better than he had ever imagined.
"Most likely, since it was attached to my heart and closely related to my blood flow, it was perceived as part of my body. Just like Mogar helps magical beasts during their advancements, she probably helped me as well," Ash said.
Then he asked the question he had been waiting to hear the answer to.
"Speaking of that, what bloodlines did we get?"
Raphael shook her head.
"The bloodlines are still too dormant to study properly. We need to reach at least a Blue Core before they fully surface. Only then will we be able to identify them and their abilities."
Ash nodded.
"Well, I can wait."
With that, he left the underwater cave and swam back to the surface.
After drying himself with a simple fire spell, he returned home.
The next day.
"So, you're finally here, kid."
Saber was standing in a clearing within the Life Woods, supervising a hand-to-hand sparring match between Shyna and Noireal.
Shyna, the Three-Tailed Fox, was a beautiful young woman with silver-white hair and blue eyes.
At the moment, she was in her hybrid form.
Fox ears rested atop her head, while a fluffy tail swayed behind her. Combined with her elegant appearance, she looked like something straight out of a fantasy story.
Noireal, on the other hand, possessed a more refined and delicate appearance.
She looked like a petite young woman with black hair, dark eyes, and a slim, lean build that perfectly suited her role as an assassin.
Ever since evolving into a Stalker Owl, she had become even more focused on stealth and precision.
Nearby sat Aqua and another pair of magical beasts.
They were the Twilight Wolves.
The male was Ryan, while the female was Ruru.
Both possessed striking appearances.
Their black-and-white hair mirrored their Light and Darkness affinities.
One eye was black while the other was white, giving them a unique and exotic appearance.
The six Emperor Beasts sat together in the clearing.
Saber.
Aqua.
Shyna.
Noireal.
Ryan.
Ruru.
These six Emperor Beasts were currently Ash's training partners.
They fought together.
Learned together.
And grew stronger together.
For years, they had accompanied him on his journey, becoming far more than simple magical beasts.
They were his closest friends and companions.
As Ash arrived, Shyna and Noireal stopped their sparring match and turned toward him.
"You're here."
"Good morning, Ash."
The others also greeted him.
Ash smiled and greeted everyone back.
Saber crossed his arms and smirked.
"So, kid, you kept saying that you would succeed eventually. Did you actually do it this time?"
He was clearly expecting the same result as before.
After all, Ash had failed countless times while trying to replicate Dragon Aura.
Instead of answering, Ash simply raised his hand.
A moment later, bright blue flame-like energy appeared around it.
The energy quickly condensed and transformed into a long sword.
The beautiful blade shimmered with blue aura.
Saber's smug expression instantly disappeared.
The other beasts stared at the weapon in shock.
"How?" Saber asked.
The others were equally stunned.
Ash grinned.
"It took a lot of experiments, but I finally figured it out."
Aqua's eyes immediately lit up.
"Can we learn it too?"
Among the group, Aqua was the most interested.
She had already advanced to the Blue Core stage long before Ash.
In fact, she was currently one full stage above him.
Over the years, she had also unlocked two additional bloodline abilities.
However, both of them were support-oriented abilities similar to Mermaid's Blessing.