The Witch Hunter System

624 Imperial Capital

If Vaan consumed more of the Divine-rank Stalactite Milk, the potency would be mostly absorbed by his meridians and five viscera before he could direct it into his bones.

Thus, oral consumption wasn't effective if he wanted to temper the bones solely.

Fortunately, Vaan had comprehended the Spatial Law and overcome his limitations with the Heaven-Swallowing Space. He could open a small portal and directly infuse the Divine-rank Stalactite Milk into his bone marrows.

Nevertheless, the bone marrow was different from the meridians and five viscera. Without any records of the Stalactite Milk being used on the bone marrow, it was difficult to determine the exact effect it would have.

As such, Vaan infused the diluted version, the Transcendent-rank Stalactite Milk, into his tailbone, which was considered the most useless bone in the human body. As such, even if something went wrong, he wouldn't suffer any loss.

Nevertheless, reality proved Vaan had been overly cautious.

The Transcendent-rank Stalactite Milk miraculously blended with his bone marrow and strengthened his tailbone. At the same time, the newly produced blood cells in the bone marrow appeared to be more potent.

Ding!

<You have successfully fortified your tailbone>

<You have successfully strengthened your bone marrow>

<Your affinity to earth has increased>

<Your lifespan has slightly extended>

…

Once Vaan confirmed the positive results of his experiment, he began infusing more Transcendent-rank Stalactite Milk into the rest of his bone marrows. At the same time, he also commanded the Fire Law to temper his bones.

Even if no visible change could be seen on Vaan's body, he was burning from the inside.

Ding!

<You have successfully fortified your bones>

<You have successfully strengthened your bone marrow>

<Your affinity to earth has increased>

<Your affinity to fire has increased>

<Your lifespan has noticeably extended>

…

Vaan was pleasantly surprised by the results of this self-tempering method. He didn't expect his elemental affinity to improve at their current level. At the very least, it was still understandable for his earth affinity to increase since the Stalactite Milk was a miraculous elixir born of the earth.

However, it was surprising that even his fire affinity could still be increased through the tempering of his own flames!

This proved that there were still some remaining parts of his body that had yet to be tempered by the flames.

Vaan was curious to see how far he could raise his affinity to earth and fire once he completely tempered all his bones.

What would happen to his body once he raised his elemental affinity to the limit?

Although Vaan wanted to find out immediately, he had to execute self-control. There was a time and place for everything and now was definitely not that time. He had already limited his tempering session by a great deal.

Otherwise, he could improve even faster!

…

"Is it just me, or is it getting a little hot around here?" the only Late-

stage Aura Grandmaster in the group broke the silence on the deck with his question.

"Oh? It wasn't just me?" Raaj expressed his surprise before adding, "I have also noticed that the surrounding temperature has been steadily increasing for some time now."

"That shouldn't be right," Gurken frowned before saying, "Given our traveling speed and altitude, the strong breeze should be quite cool. Furthermore, we are heading in the Eastern Sea's direction, so if anything, it should be getting colder, not hotter."

While the group of warriors was growing doubtful over the weather, the temperature steadily started dropping back to its expected level. As a result, the group became even more puzzled.

"What region just passed just now?"

"It should be the Sleeping Mountain… Don't tell me...the dormant volcano erupted? But that can't be right either… We would have already known if a volcano erupted. Maybe it's a sign that the Sleeping Mountain is going to erupt soon?"

Although one of the warriors made a bold yet unlikely assumption, the others felt startled.

The Sleeping Mountain was one of the largest mountains in the entire empire. If the Sleeping Mountain truly were going to erupt, it would be an earth-shaking, sky-rending event that would shock everyone.

None of the warriors realized Vaan was the true culprit behind the temperature change. He had skillfully dispersed his internal heat into the surroundings before the heat concentration on his body drew their attention to him.

Over time, everyone's curiosity died down as they all went back to silent meditation.

After all, even if something big was about to happen to Sleeping Mountain, they couldn't go back to investigate it. There was nothing they could do until they reached the capital.

…

In the blink of an eye, the one-day trip neared its end as the two wyverns pulling the magic airboat roared. Based on the warriors' past experience, the wyvern's sudden roar was the sign that they would reach the imperial capital within another thirty minutes.

This half-hour timeframe was for them to enjoy the view while they could.

The imperial capital of the Great Ratholos Empire was unlike any other city Vaan had come across. As it was a coastal city, its size and population were on a completely different level. Even the Holy Knight Empire's capital city couldn't compare to it.

The Great Ratholos Empire's imperial capital was home to over thirty million people. Furthermore, with the upcoming grand event, it wouldn't be a surprise for this number to inflate to thirty-five million people.

And this was only one coastal city.

Considering the entire eastern coast was completely occupied by several human cities, the total population of the people living on the east coast broke the hundred million mark!

However, this also contributed to eighty percent of the population living in the whole eastern region.

The sheer number of tall buildings lined up on the eastern coast formed an enormous crescent moon and looked like a great wall that was built to fend off tsunamis.

"We're finally here. No matter how many times I visit this city, I am always awed by this spectacular sight!" Judani said emotionally as he appreciated the view.

'So this is the Great Ratholos Empire's imperial capital…' Vaan quietly thought.

Just by looking at the grand city in the distance, one could easily tell how much effort the Great Ratholos Empire had invested in the Eastern Sea and where its focus lay.

It was no surprise that it was not interested in the resources and territories of other countries.