After examining the crater more carefully, Leyvi narrowed his eyes. There was something faint, almost hidden, yet still lingering within the ruined ground.
He raised an eyebrow. "I can sense some faint Dao aura here. Don't tell me Cempaka can already tap into Dao power like you?"
Anda smiled knowingly. "Bingo. She can, but she can't use it freely the way I can yet. I grasped mine through enlightenment, after all. She's still struggling to fully materialize her Dao. As for what kind she has, I'm not entirely sure. But it's definitely a Dao that boosts her attack power to a whole new level."
At the back of her mind, however, another thought surfaced. That guy… President Albert. He learned it so easily. Just what kind of genius is he?
"I see. No wonder her attacks could cause such devastating damage beyond her realm," Leyvi said with a nod.
Anda smirked slightly. "But if Val had been there that day, I would've made her deal the finishing blow instead of Cempaka."
"Hahaha! Of course!" Leyvi laughed. "Val's Sword Intent is far scarier than this. Even I don't dare to take one of her slashes head-on anymore. They're too terrifying."
He spoke from experience. In their countless spars, he had endured Valenia's Sword Intent strikes often enough to know the danger. If he failed to erase the remnant aura from those wounds immediately, they would refuse to heal and only fester further.
Leyvi recalled battles in the past where he had been gravely injured, forced to consume precious healing elixirs just to cling to life. A chilling thought crossed his mind. If those wounds had carried even a trace of destructive Dao aura, I might never have healed at all. I would've died back then.
Over time, he had also come to a realization about Valenia's Sword Intent. What she received from the Talent Bead was not true Sword Intent born from the Dao, but an imitation. Yet imitation or not, at their current realm, its power was no less terrifying than the real thing. For the creator of the Talent Bead, fabricating such abilities was probably not difficult.
He remembered how, back then, Alita had found it strange. Valenia's Sword Intent lacked the aura of Dao, even though Sword Intent was supposed to be a direct manifestation of the Sword Dao.
At the time, Leyvi had dismissed the thought. But now, after learning that his own elemental affinities were neither natural nor permanent, he finally understood. That all of the talents and benefits given by the Talent Bead were just created abilities or powers. They were all borrowed. These talents might stay with them until death, or they might not. It could go either way.
And he strongly suspected that if he ever died, the gifts he had given others would vanish along with him. That was why, when he returned, he'd make all of them explore their talents as much as possible so that even if the talent disappears, their foundation remains.
But this truth did not lessen his respect for the Talent Bead in the slightest. The talents it granted might have been constructed, but each was so extraordinary that it could overturn fates and raise someone to the peak. Anda herself was living proof of that.
This realization also deepened his view of the world. Even a Supreme Expert could not imitate a true Dao aura, which only made the mystery and supremacy of the Dao shine all the more.
He looked at Anda beside him, warmth flickering in his eyes. How fortunate she had been to grasp true enlightenment, the Dao of Fire itself. It had saved her countless hours of struggle, granting her insight into knowledge that most could never hope to touch.
"Hmm? What is that?" Leyvi said, raising an eyebrow.
He kept his spiritual sense active, scanning the crater and the earth beneath it, when he noticed something familiar hidden below.
"What did you find?" Anda asked.
"Gems, a few meters under the crater," Leyvi replied.
"Oh? Did you find a Bloodline Gem?" Anda's eyes lit up as she guessed.
The Leyan Family already possessed one Bloodline Gem, but having more would be a valuable addition. These were rare treasures with unique powers.
Anda had seen the Bloodline Gem Ava used to enhance her speed, but since she was the one who found it, she hadn't considered it part of the family's property.
"I think so. The color, size, and shape are different from our coral gem, but I can sense a similar aura—likely bloodline energy. And there are several of them," Leyvi nodded.
"A bunch? There are many?" Anda's eyes sparkled with excitement.
Leyvi shrugged. "Hmm… That elephant probably didn't have much to do on this island and was afraid to cross the lake, so maybe it made a Bloodline Gem to pass the time."
"Not necessarily," Anda said, her tone clearly disagreeing.
"Oh? What do you think happened?" Leyvi asked, curiosity piqued.
Anda smiled. "You already know the story of the colossal tree, right?"
Leyvi nodded.
"Right. As Senior Lapin said, once a demonic beast evolves to the General Level, that tree immediately acts to kill it. I think this demonic elephant must have known the fate waiting for it, so it created the Bloodline Gem, transferring its bloodline power away. That way, it wouldn't reach its peak and accidentally evolve to the next level," Anda explained, offering her theory.
Leyvi's eyes widened, then softened with understanding. "I see. It capped itself at Commander Level to survive. Poor thing. Still got taken out by you ladies in the end," he said, a mix of pity and admiration in his voice. Anda's theory felt more plausible than his own.
"Well, it can't be helped. Since we're staying on the island for a while, it would have been too dangerous to leave it alive. We have no formation here to protect us after all. If you had been around at that time, I might have tried a peaceful approach first. Maybe you could have recruited it like Mr. Bison," Anda added thoughtfully.
"Heh, it's a Commander Level Demonic Beast. I don't think it would have agreed," Leyvi replied with a smirk. "Alright, let's take the gem. Time for a little training!"
He leaped toward the spot where the gem was buried.
Anda followed gracefully, landing near him but keeping a respectful distance. She knew Leyvi was about to start digging.
Leyvi conjured his invisible hand and began digging into the earth. Every few seconds, a large chunk of soil was pried free and tossed aside, forming a growing mound.
Whenever his mental energy dipped too low, he paused to rest, letting it recover before continuing with the task.
As he dug deeper, progress slowed. The earth grew denser and more resistant, forcing him to exert more effort with each movement.
Anda watched from the side, her eyes alert. Whenever a demonic beast approached, drawn by the noise, she intercepted it effortlessly, trapping it in a fire sphere and incinerating it, leaving only its core intact. Her mastery of the Fire Concept now allowed her to eliminate one or two high-level demonic beasts from a distance with ease.
Observing Leyvi, she couldn't help but chuckle. Since arriving in the Mystic Realm, digging had become a recurring theme. She had already lost count of how many digging-related tasks they had undertaken.
What had once seemed like an unimportant skill now struck her as essential. After all, the most valuable treasures and secrets were often buried deep within the earth, waiting for someone capable to uncover them.
Some time later, Leyvi dug deep enough to reach the hidden Bloodline Gems. He scooped them all up and leaped out of the hole.
From Anda's perspective, a cluster of orange gems floated beside Leyvi, glowing faintly in his invisible palm.
"Hehehe. Nice, nice. There are so many of them! Let me see… hmm hmm… twenty-three in total. What a harvest! I wonder what bloodline powers they hold," Anda counted happily, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
"But they're all the same color, size, and shape. Maybe the elephant only made Bloodline Gems with the same power," she observed, tilting her head thoughtfully.
"Hahaha. Since they came from a demonic elephant, I'd guess something defensive," Leyvi said, smiling. "From all my encounters with demonic elephants, their defense is always their strongest trait."
"Defensive powers are always welcome. That means we'll be safer," Anda nodded. She picked up one of the gems and held it up. "Let me try it."
They already owned a Bloodline Gem, so Anda knew exactly how to use it. It wasn't complicated—she only needed to infuse it with Qi and let the gem reveal its power naturally.
Anda channeled her Qi into the orange Bloodline Gem, and it reacted immediately. A smooth, translucent barrier began to form around her, rising like a massive vertical tusk.
"Hahaha. It really is a defensive bloodline power!" Leyvi said, eyes sparkling with excitement.
His guess had been correct, though he had expected it to give Anda a thick, elephant-like hide. A magical barrier like this was even better. Thank goodness it didn't turn out as he had imagined.
"I see… this is pretty nice. It's similar to Mr. Bison's Protagonist Diamond Barrier," Anda said, inspecting the translucent shield.
She moved around, and the tusk-shaped barrier followed her seamlessly, attuned to the Bloodline Gem itself.
"Oh, right. It really is similar. His Dumbass Diamond Barrier looked translucent too. Hahaha. When everyone in the house has a barrier like this, he won't be able to brag about his stupid barrier anymore," Leyvi laughed.
He couldn't wait to see Mr. Bison's reaction when he got a look at this.