----

"Pheww.." a long exhale escaped Apollo's mouth that turned into a foggy jetstream. At the same time, a thunderous rumbling could be heard within his lungs. However, that wasn't the most notable thing taking place. To understand it, one would need to know how much time passed. ??

From the moment Apollo entered seclusion, over 2 years had passed. In that period, although his level didn't increase much, large changes took place within him. For one, he turned 14 a few months ago. The only movement that happened was the ones he made to stretch his body and train in his two techniques.

Continuous popping noises could be heard as he opened his violet eyes. The hue was deeper than the previous color. Furthermore, when they moved in the darkness, his eyes left an alluring trail as if it were shining amethysts being polished.

Inside him, instead of 120 opened acupoints, there were now exactly 180! In other words, he had achieved significant progress. He had made that breakthrough he felt was prohibiting him.

"It took all of my resources which is more than I hoped for but nonetheless, I've accomplished it, Azridan." Apollo clenched his fist as the traces of ambient Natural Essence flooded towards him. Compared to before, his affinity with it was leagues above! If the previous state was compared to a leaking faucet then this flow was a continuous stream!

[I see. You've attained Level 92 catapulting you into the Spirit-Grade. How does it feel? Is the difference magnificent?]

"Yes," responded Apollo. However, his eyes seemed lifeless like the matter didn't excite him in the slightest. In fact, that wasn't the case. Instead, he just found himself becoming more and more numb. This happened as he continued to cultivate and ingest Demonic Essence Pellets; which continued to diminish in effect.

He had ingested a good amount yet he still had reached the state to enter full demonhood. It felt like an endless process with each pellet now giving less than 1 percent. historical

'If it continues like this it'll take at least 15 more pellets to accomplish the task. But wait, now that I look back, this system it's rather weird. It's almost as if all the events I've done have been in line with the progression of the system. Azridan, could this system be sentient besides you?'

[I don't even know its origin. After certain events, my conscience seemed to have been well.. tampered with. But my question is, who would be capable of that and why was I chosen?]

"It seems we have the same unanswered questions. Secondly, why this body? Nevertheless, I've had enough of being cooped up here. I've achieved Rank 8 and the Spirit-Grade with extremely large increases in my stats. I believe I'll make the cut within the Central Area," said Apollo whilst seeking Azridan's compliance.

[Perhaps, but first. Show me the maximum input of your current absorption. That earlier phenomenon can't be the full extent.]

"I suppose I'll try," Apollo closed his eyes while raising his arms. In what seemed like an instant, the atmosphere roiled. A moment after that, his meridians devoured all traces of Natural Essence within a 2-meter radius. Most importantly, they seemed as if they were still capable of absorbing more!

[So it is truly so. Your meridians are metamorphosing as well. This doesn't belong to a low tier Spirit-Grade. You've yet to even nurture this set of awakened meridians to their peak. If I'm not mistaken, your trait should have increased?]

"Yes," responded Apollo as he gazed at the information on his first trait.

?Increased Essence Affinity? - ?Intermediate Trait?

Information: Natural Essence is a vital foundation in life. The Spirit-Grade is incomparable to its previous counterpart. As a result, the familiarity with Natural Essence has increased exponentially.

Level: 2/5

Effect: Increases the absorption rate of Natural Essence by 55%.

Over 11 times stronger! That's how much higher his absorption rate was. It was now that Apollo possessed a more in depth understanding of the vast disparity between talent grade. For what it was worth, despite it not being the end-all-be-all; it played a large role in the cultivation journey. As Kayn stated before, it determined the difficulty of cultivation.

"This is beyond my expectations. It's... overwhelming," spoke Apollo after leaving his shocked state. Shifting his attention, he took note of his new stats. Simply put, they have increased to a whole nother level.

----

(Demon Monarch System) Lvl.2

Name: Apollo Kaiser

Race: Demi-Demon (Half-Step) [84.56%]

Title: Azridan's Successor

Age: 14

Level: 92

Experience: 204,000/300,000.

Health: 4,500/4,500

Stamina: 4,500/4,500

Body Cultivation Realm: Rank 8 Mortal [980/1,100]

Physique: Spirit-Grade (Low Tier)

Zuls: 980

Strength: 98.0

Agility: 95.0

Intelligence: 74.5

Vitality: 90.0

[?Traits?]-

?Increased Essence Affinity?

?Minor Poison Resistance?

?Tenacious Shadows?

[?Techniques?]-

?Supreme Demon Body: 7 Sinful Stigmata?

?Baleful Steps: Phantasmal Daemos?

?War Path: Nine Infernal Annihilations?

Stat Points: 20

Insane. That's the only world that fell in line with his stats. Not to mention, entering the Spirit-Grade resulted in another liberation in his stats! Although the values didn't change in a mind-numbing manner, the coefficients did! His strength had finally arrived at a 1:1 ratio. Courtesy of the Lightning Element Essence Cores. His body regulated the bonus and channeled it into strength.

In essence, it was an indirect method to increase his strength. After all, lightning resides among a high hierarchy in the elemental pyramid. However, if one had to mention it was the Dark Element. For some odd reason, it bestowed tremendous benefits to his Intelligence.

[With this, I believe you're ready. Everything seems to be equaling out nice. You venture out. You know the procedure, I'll cancel this for yo-]

"No need, let me test out my new strength. I'm curious as to what a thousand Zuls is capable of." Spinning the Vantablack Knife in his hand, a continuous stream of stamina was consumed as the weapon was engulfed in dreadful energy.

A colossal blackened crimson wave billowed forward that collided with and pierced the reinforced rock. Yet, that terrible strike only consumed ? of his total stamina! Stepping outside, Apollo inhaled the fresh air.

The vibrant color assaulted his eyes all at once to which he acclimated with ease. Shifting his head, he dashed into the distance becoming a whirlwind. The mastery he had over the Partial Shade Silhouette now was astonishing. Even in the day, he seemed like half a shadow. This was the attainment of practicing within absolute darkness and receiving a new trait.

It allowed his shadow to be present even within places illuminated by bright lights. Granted, it wasn't omnipotent. This was only in retrospect to things still within his general level.

Nevertheless, he traversed the outskirts with ease and soon entered the Inner Ring but paused. He picked up on both sounds of battle as well as fluctuations of Natural Essence in his Spiritual Vision.

Curious, he changed course and headed in that direction high above in the trees. His movements were soundless and only the slight rustle of leaves could be heard from his steps.