Soul of Searing Steel

Half a month after the Harvest Festival, it was winter in Moldavia once more.

As the number of adventurers decreased, the shops in town entered a period of static. Apart from the taverns where voices kept spilling out from within, the other stores were quite deserted.

And Black indeed had not gone out for quite some time.

Since everyone had returned from the Sacred Mountain, the black dragon girl was always together with Ying as they took care of Brandon's two daughters. Together, they scampered everywhere around the city to enjoy the city—there were not many characters in the North who could threaten them with their ability after all, which was why Joshua simply let them go about their business.

Soon, however, the two little girls became reluctant to go out with the incessant wind and snow, and thus Black lost the chance to go out for some fresh air.

For a black dragon, even the residence was a rather cramped space—though life in the city was interesting it remained that she had to suppress her instincts. Additionally, with her gaining human form, Joshua could not let her return to the lake below the snowy summit of Mount Nissia.

As such, the warrior could only walk the dragon himself and take Black out for a stroll from time to time.

After telling 03 and Ying they were going out, Joshua led the black dragon girl away from the main town. Then, in the outskirts covered in white snow, Black stomped the earth excitedly as it returned to its dragon form with a powerful ripple of magic. Snow and dirt splattered between echoing booms.

The scorching heat on the black dragon's body melted every snowflake within a hundred meters, but Joshua took no notice. Flying on top of Black's head and standing between its sharp horns, the warrior ascertained their heading and pointed towards it.

"The target is that plain. Let's go, Black."

"Roar!"

With a single thrilled growl in reply, the black dragon quickly sprinted in the direction of the Ice Plains in the Extreme North, intending to unleash its excess energy.

Joshua did not waste the time on the journey too. Aloft on Black's head, he closed his eyes and continued training his Kokyu-ho and aura.

Since the warrior returned from the Sacred Mountain, his body was in an extraordinarily unusual form. The fake Longsword of the Ashlands had utterly destroyed his flesh, leaving only his bones, heart and brain, each of which was shielded from the lethal blow thanks to his aura protection.

After the Naturalist Instructor had reconstructed his body with Heartwood of the Lifetree, his physique now looked the same as it once was, but with slight differences.

The advantages include the disappearance of his dark wounds and disabilities in his original form, since every bit of muscle and organ were all removed and reconstructed in perfect condition, as well as his attributes that gradually strengthen under the support of life energy. It was a disadvantage, however, since the Heartwood possessed elements of Natural Energies that was incompatible with the warrior's aura traits.

While it usually poses no problems, Joshua had acutely sensed his aura stagnating a little when he fought the Emperor not too long ago. That sort of stagnation would in turn prove to be fatal in a duel against any powerful opponent.

As such, Joshua had been thinking of how he should harmonize body and aura. He found it, and now used this traveling duration to finish it.

Under his control, red-black aura was compressed within his heart and circulated to every part of his body. After that, his flesh would assimilate the Natural Energies in his own body through an atypical rate of vibration, and thus absorb as well as accelerate his physicality empowerment.

Like flames, the substantial aura ceaselessly cleansed the body from impurities while refining his anatomy. Tremendous lifeforce rippled, scrubbing through Joshua's body and spreading clear undulations.

Thump. A dark red fluorescence engulfed him, although it did not singe Joshua's clothes even if it looked like flames. Formless tremors of Life unfurled, raising Black's curiosity even as it kept running happily. Still, it returned its focus to bolting across wastelands in seconds due to the drive of its own personality.

Everything went as Joshua expected. Under his precise manipulation, the Natural Energy in his body would quickly assimilate with his own pure aura. With the use of layers of those vigor, he would filter every corner of his body, incinerating the slightest impurity and discharging them into the air as shapeless airflow.

As everything was about to end, Joshua did not become excited after solving a hidden issue within his body. Instead, he shifted all his concentration to his chest where a green radiance glowed, releasing lifeforce that was at once gentle and rich.

"Azurite… The Sage."

Opening his eyes, Joshua looked towards the horizon of the wasteland in the distance. It was snowing—like layers of thick curtains, snowflakes floated around abundantly, covering all things.

"The Abyssal invasion had almost demolished human civilization," the warrior mumbled. "And the power of Evil Gods is definitely so much greater than Abyssal lords."

Remembering the Evil God of Calamity in the world of Illgner, that malevolent force had been unstoppable for any humans. If not for Father Nature's full-power blessing and entrust, he would have been swept away into dust like an ant.

"But the Sage could stand alone against many, kill and banish the multitudes of Evil Gods…"

Joshua then paused, recalling that silhouette within his Supremee dreams that had brandished a pure-white scepter and faced the endless darkness of Chaos.

The warrior looked up to the sky where heavy and gloomy clouds were gushing.

"How powerful are you, really…" He wondered, his eyes blazing as if on fire.

Suddenly, the fluorescence around the warrior's body fluctuated before shrinking into his body. In the very next instant, the color of steel appeared around Joshua, giving it an indestructible appearance.

It was Steel Armor Kokyu-ho, a pinnacle achievement.

Now, the substantial aura comprehensively purified every part of the warrior's body while combining his own aura as well as his physical form perfectly. As for the Steel Armor Kokyu-he was about to practice had reawakened anew in his rebirthed body and about to reach completion, strongly improving Joshua's survivability.

The warrior's body now had utterly become existence similar to Legendary armor. Conventional weapons, aura, and magic could never break his defense and would only feebly disperse when coming into contact.

Infernal Breath, a skill he learned recently, was also boosted. Heat energy that does not dull in comparison to the black dragon beneath him spread from the warrior substantially. As time passed and the dark-red aura ripple spread, the heat in scale grew too.

But the warrior suddenly discovered something—when he was decontaminating his own body he suddenly sensed a type of barrier. It did not obstruct, however, and merely resembled something like an omen.

Purifying and strengthening this body unto a certain threshold would free it of a certain natural shackle, arriving at a brand new and perfect level. This was a 'complete' bolster, a different definition from the 'breaking the limit' at the peak of one's strength.

"Perfect Body?"

Joshua knew what this type of barrier was and therefore surprised. Perfect Body had always been a privilege exclusive to Legendary-tier individuals and bearing the occupation of 'warrior'. Each person who possessed this specialized talent were the knights or warriors of the utmost caliber, with the prerequisite being reaching the peak of one's strength.

Even Israel had not reached this stage, nor did he in the pre-existence.

What does 'perfect' here mean?

For individuals who possessed it, it means being immune to sickness and fatigue while keeping their form in tip-top condition. Their incredible regeneration prowess would allow them to survive even if they lost ninety-nine percent of their organs while reviving them.

And all that were just the fundamentals.

"Furthermore…"

Mumbling, Joshua lifted his right arm and stared at his palm glinting in steel cold light. Then, arming his left with an aura blade, he slashed at it.

There was a huge resisting force even if it was Joshua's own aura coming into contact with his own body. He could only cut a small tear after mustering his strength, allowing dark-red blood to flow out.

The blood seemed to be sentient and did not drip off after leaving the wound. Instead, it shrank and returned within the wound as if alive. Narrowing his eyes, Joshua focused his spirit to control it, and it was only then that it slowly exited the wound.

As soon as the blood came into contact with atmospheric elements, it displayed a remarkable devouring ability. Within breaths all the elements around it were consumed—if not for Black's incessant rush forward, the blood itself may have created a small vacuum zone.

After it had finished absorbing a huge amount of the elements around it, that single drop of blood turned from dark-red into black. The internal energies seemed to be becoming erratic and would detonate.

"Right, not just yet."

With another sweep of Joshua's will, the internal energies were suppressed and the blood returned to the warrior's body. The warrior stared at it as it slipped back into the wound that closes itself thereafter without any scars.

"No Perfect Body just yet." He nodded pensively. "Not at that stage yet."

Legend has it that Legendary champions are so powerful their bodies would never be destroyed and their will would never vanish. Even if they die, the soul would wander the world for millions of years.

The power of primordial dragons that had lived from time immemorial until present were even more astonishing. They seemed to live eternally and could not be killed, and every single drop of their blood would give birth to a new race in the land. As long as they were not utterly destroyed, each drop of blood that possessed such gargantuan life and soul would give the primordial dragon rebirth from the residue of its own body.

Such was the peak performing powers of Perfect Body.

Right now, Joshua's own physical embodiment had reached the initial stages of 'complete'– although his blood does not have the effect of rebirth with a single droplet, it did display an unusual aspect.

"Interesting." Clenching his right fist with a sound that resembled scraping metals, Joshua looked ahead at the approaching Ice Plains, his thoughts unknown.

But it was clear that he was very happy.

Meanwhile, at the Icy Plains of the Extreme North, Ivan and the others were very happy too.

Because they could see that crumbled mountaintop in the distance—the remains of the dragon lair.