The sounds of Krune's heartbeat echoed within the cave as it gradually increased in speed. The heat his body emitted managed to eventually vaporize all the water in the pool, only to fall down as drops not long after through condensation.

With this, a cycle was formed. In other words, there was a continuous supply of water for his body heat to vaporize and keep him at controllable levels.

His arms bulged at the start, becoming bulkier as the muscles seemed to be in the process of forging, becoming hotter. When the water touched it, his muscles turned leaner, repeating the process as Krune became taller.

Surprisingly, his physique was becoming more robust, more explosive, and more streamlined. Before Krune came to the Sub-Realm, his physique was average. He was around 170 centimeters tall. But now, he had already reached 200 centimeters in height.

Moreover, the excess heat, the energy emitted by the gem he had swallowed, and the repeated forging process also affected the Monster Gecko skin armor, evolving it as well as it also began to grow larger, developing tougher scales that covered his body.

Even now, it didn't stick to his skin, only remaining as armor. Nevertheless, it was also growing. Moreover, on sections of his hand, leg, hips, jaw, head, back, and chest, a thin layer of white began to grow.

It still had the scaly patterns, but the substance that was growing wasn't skin but instead bone. And this bone, although flexible, had a sense of hardness to it, increasing its defensive properties. It was honestly a lucky find for Krune.

In any case, the greater change was brought about by the water in the pool and the Blood Essence Crystals he was using every day. They were the cause that evolved it further. After all, it was sourced from a Monster Gecko whose blood had been siphoned alive. So, it was kind of mysterious in itself.

As the armor finished developing, Krune's body had also stopped growing, now at a staggering 220 centimeters in height. As for his weight, he had probably reached a hundred kilograms by now, transforming into a giant.

On top of that, his body hadn't become overly buffed, still retaining a streamlined form to allow an explosive burst of speed and flexibility. Overall, he had grown tremendously stronger in this short duration.

Then again, the most shocking change that happened to him was his thumping heart. If someone dissected his body to gaze at his heart, they would be shocked to find out that the color of his heart had changed to blue. On top of that, five crimson stripes could be seen on top of it.

The heart thumped with vigor as Krune gradually regained consciousness, feeling odd at the fact that the water around him was warm. Not only that, but he felt that his body was brimming with power and seemed…stronger than usual, way stronger to the point where it scared him.

He gazed at his hand, staring at it speechlessly for a minute before muttering, "What…the hell is this?"

To compare his perspective, he gazed at his body, observing its changed size before noticing the upgrade to the skin armor. He then looked at the Whale Tooth Dagger beside him, holding it in his hand to notice that it was a bit small to his liking now.

He wielded it as if it was a vegetable cutter to him now due to its size. He could feel something was different in him, able to feel it instinctively.

Krune double-tapped his glabella, summoning his tablet, looking at the row of words that flashed on it. "Killed one Monster Gecko Emperor, obtained one Godly Point."

He didn't care about that, gazing at the new line that popped up below. "Obtained Passive: Ocean Heart."

"Ocean Heart…" Krune shuddered at the name as its significance meant a lot. Having been on the Sub-Realm for so long, Krune realized that the naming scheme used in the place was simple but straightforward. It didn't have any exaggeration attached to it.

So, if his passive ability was called Ocean Heart, considering the name of the layer he was in, Krune could feel his excitement brimming up. Barely managing to calm himself down, he meditated, focusing on his heart that he felt was the source of the passive ability.

The Neon Radiance was on his skin, Sonic Radar was in his throat, and Underwater Breathing was in his nose. Similarly, Ocean Heart was in his heart. Rather, it was his heart, as he could sense.

Similar to the other passive abilities, Krune wasn't able to understand the ins and outs of his ability immediately. Though, he realized that as long as he meditated while experimenting from time to time, he would be able to understand it eventually.

Nevertheless, the ability's name was the most important indicator. Krune thought about the two ingredients he had used, getting out of the pool as he began to jog while remaining in the same place, working out to see the improvement in his physique.

There were remarkable differences, making him realize that he was able to barely go toe to toe against a Mutated Monster Gecko. Though, if he was careless, he would still die. Then again, it wouldn't take one hit like before. He would be able to withstand at least three to four hits before dying.

Krune exercised until he was able to obtain a good understanding of the change, finally gazing at a boulder as he lifted it. It was hard, forcing him to put all his might into it. Even then, he was struggling to lift it.

And in such a situation, he focused on his heart, intending to summon more power. Suddenly, the image of five crimson rings flashed in his mind as the topmost ring shone with a crimson hue. In an instant, his heart began to pump energy through the blood.

As the blood circulated through his body, Krune was able to exert slightly more strength, being able to lift the boulder more and more. He quickly dropped the boulder, relaxing as he tried to stop the energy flow, sighing in relief once it stopped.

There were some difficulties, but as he repeated the exercise of lifting the boulder, he was able to get the hang of the energy flow. Eventually, he realized that every time he activated the ability, the image of the five crimson rings would flash in his mind.

Upon every activation, Krune noticed the topmost ring slightly dull in its radiance every time. Eventually, he determined that he had five rings worth of energy in his heart, shown as the five crimson rings. Unexpectedly, each ring had the same energy as a Blood Essence Crystal, which was a tremendous amount.

He eventually stopped experimenting, returning to another chamber where he had stored his food, filling his belly first. He then rested, patiently meditating as he concentrated on the sounds of his heartbeat, realizing that if he heard it long enough, he could hear the sounds of the ocean.

A couple of hours later, Krune activated the ability once again, gazing at the topmost ring to see that its radiance had increased by a slight amount. "So, the expended energy will recover as I eat. Though, it seems I need to eat for at least 10 days to recover enough energy for a ring. That's how much I can replenish it after my body sustains itself using energy from the food intake. Nevertheless, this serves as a good trump card."

"Moreover, this doesn't seem like the end for this ability," Krune muttered, clenching his hand into a fist as he heard the sounds of the ocean through his heartbeats. He tugged his skin armor, revealing a part of his body as he used the Whale Tooth Dagger to make a small cut.

Then, he focused on his heart, noticing that nothing happened. After that, like before, he activated the ability as the image of the five crimson rings flashed in his mind. With that, he continued to focus on the ocean sounds, concentrating further and further when the image of the five crimson stripes in his mind turned blue.

"Success!"

Krune bellowed in joy as energy streamed out of his heart, being transferred through his blood. When the blood reached the injured part, his injury began to slowly heal. Even though it was really slow, taking more than ten minutes to heal it completely, Krune was exhilarated.

It was the power of the Water Essence. Just as he had expected, by making the Mutated Monster Gecko swallow the Water Essence, it finished its evolution, reaching the peak of its race. When the bone tree absorbed it while it was still alive, most of the Water Essence's power was still circulating in its body.

After all, when Krune used it, its power was in him for a couple of weeks. The Monster Gecko Emperor hadn't expended it completely yet. So, when it was being absorbed into the bone tree, its dominant ability had been recognized as the ability of the Water Essence.

If Krune had absorbed its blood then, he might have obtained the passive ability of the Water Essence. But, since it was condensed by the bone tree into a gem, he obtained an even stronger passive ability.

Now, Krune had a reserve of energy to bank upon and also an ability to heal. Even though it was slow for a mortal, just the notion of being able to heal made them almost invincible. Not only that, but the speed of healing was considerable.

So, as long as his heart wasn't shattered and he had enough energy, Krune would be able to recover from any state of injury.

For the following week, Krune continued to experiment to the limit, watching the amplifications to his other passive abilities using Ocean Heart. He also consumed a Blood Essence Crystal, noticing that its energy directly refilled his crimson stripes and the fact that the side effects he felt after its use had been halved.

Finally, after trying out everything, he concluded, "Each crimson stripe has the same energy as a Blood Essence Crystal. When I use it to heal, by consuming two crimson stripes worth of energy, I obtain the same healing effect as a Water Essence."

Krune smirked as he continued, "I guess, even after I return to being a cultivator, this would still prove useful for me."