"Where did you get this, Sister?" Richard asked, unintentionally snatching the necklace from her hand.

Even though he didn't yet know who he would enslave with it, the item was clearly valuable enough to trade for.

Lilith didn't seem to mind him taking the necklace. Instead, she reached for the small bottle in his hand.

"In short, it wasn't easy for me to get it," Lilith replied.

"So, do you agree now?"

"Yes..." Richard nodded. "But only half of the water."

"Don't worry. Do I look like someone who would cheat you?"

Lilith then opened the cap of the small bottle.

Splash!

With a flick of her power, she drew out half of the golden liquid and guided it straight into her mouth.

No visible effect appeared on her, but since she wanted it so badly, it couldn't possibly be useless.

"Drink it quickly, or someone might rob you," Lilith said, handing the small bottle back to Richard.

Now that he was sure it wasn't dangerous, Richard had no hesitation in drinking it.

It was so little that he barely felt like he drank anything at all.

However, the moment it reached his stomach, he could feel a mysterious power coursing through his entire body.

DING!

(You have fused with Heavenly Water — a divine liquid that can save you from death as long as a part of your body remains, and can also be used to strengthen your power!)

> [External Power:

Sacred Flame

Incomplete Heavenly Water (0 Points)]

(Notification: When your Heavenly Water points reach 100, your Heavenly Water will become complete.

Complete Heavenly Water grants limitless regeneration and can continue enhancing your strength each time it is recharged!)

Richard: "..."

'How is that even possible?' he thought, blinking in disbelief.

If this was Incomplete Heavenly Water, then what would the Complete one be like?

But what caught his attention the most was his System's ability — could it actually perfect external powers that were originally incomplete?

That had never happened with the Aether Skeleton, likely because each part he fused with was already perfect.

If it weren't — for example, if he had only fused with part of the hand bones — then the System might have completed it for him, restoring the entire hand.

"Boy, why are you spacing out?" Lilith's voice snapped him out of his thoughts.

"It's nothing!" Richard quickly shook his head.

"You'd better go wash up if you plan to watch the tournament," Lilith said again as she stood up.

Then she walked out.

As a princess, she probably had to attend anyway, since the tournament in the capital would be watched directly by the King and the Empress — and even some of the royal elders.

Those elders carried more weight than the King himself. Many of them were former kings of the Holy Star Kingdom.

Unfortunately, Richard had almost no interest in the tournament anymore.

Even now, he still felt like he hadn't slept enough.

After a moment of thought, he lay back down on his bed.

As soon as his head hit the pillow, he fell asleep again.

It was better this way — once he woke up, he could train nonstop until his strength was completely spent.

By midday, he finally woke up feeling refreshed.

He didn't bother bathing or doing anything else; he immediately entered the Dragon Hall and began absorbing Aether.

DING!

(Your Heavenly Water points have increased from 0 to 13!)

By nighttime, the System notification appeared.

> Incomplete Heavenly Water (13 Points)

It shocked him deeply.

Not the data itself — but what he felt inside his body.

He suddenly realized the Heavenly Water within him had grown significantly.

But more importantly, something was beginning to take shape inside him.

'This feels similar to the Sacred Flame,' he thought.

However, in terms of quality, Heavenly Water was clearly far above Sacred Flame. From the names alone — Sacred and Heavenly — the difference was vast, unless it was Heavenly Flame.

'Maybe what the kingdom's founder obtained was only water produced by the Heavenly Water — not the true Heavenly Water itself.'

Richard's eyes gleamed at the thought. It made him look forward even more to the final result.

He continued absorbing Aether.

Time passed — from night to morning, he was still cultivating.

His plan was to keep going for 24 hours straight.

As long as it wasn't 24 hours yet, he wouldn't stop.

> [Aether: 13,280 / 20,000 <Tier 3>] +960

[Aether Accumulation: 28,280 <Tier 3>]

When he finally hit the 24-hour mark, he stopped — quite satisfied that he had gathered 960 Aether.

Seven more sessions like this — 24 hours of nonstop cultivation — and his Aether would reach the maximum point.

At that time, even without the power of his Black Heart, he should already be stronger than Bear, whom he defeated with its help.

Richard returned to his room and collapsed onto his bed.

It was the second day of the tournament, and it seemed everyone had gone to the colosseum — his perception told him there were only a few people nearby.

Spreading out his spiritual waves, he found that someone was still watching him — especially Austin.

'Who exactly is giving this man orders?' Richard wondered.

He thought Austin would have stopped observing him since Luca had already given him a gift.

After all, that man was from the Dark Star Legion.

With his identity, he should have had significant influence within the Legion.

Even if he weren't truly loyal, he should have at least restrained Austin to avoid suspicion.

Yet Austin was still acting.

'Unless someone else gave him orders,' Richard thought.

He was starting to get irritated.

With his growing strength, his pride had also risen sharply — especially knowing his power could be enhanced even further with Heavenly Water.

For someone to stalk him now — he saw that as an unforgivable insult.

'He must die,' he thought coldly.

If one monkey dies, the others are bound to be frightened.

If he doesn't scare them, they will probably think it's okay to make a small nuisance of him.

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