The Qi around the island increased a lot after Luan created the formation. He even added 20 Third Order Monster Cores to reinforce the formation.

Surrounded by 10 Monster Cores of the Second Order, Luan was meditating. His body muscles contracted as the Qi began to enter his body and flow through his veins in abundance. His aura and Qi suction were so great that the others had to stay away or else they would have their own Qi sucked out by Luan.

'Aberration!' That's what they thought when they saw Luan cultivate. Now they had come to know the true genius of cultivation; it was totally different from their own. Even Ingrid, who was often better, wasn't as freakish as Luan.

Like the sound of a gong, Luan's body made this sound over and over again as he raised his Qi.

*Crack Crack, Crack...!*

Two hours later, the Monster Cores ran out of Qi that kept them in balance and began to break down 1 to 1.

'Blood Refining – Level 7.' Luan's eyes blinked and the menacing slits of the dragon that had formed were gone. The blood running through his veins became purer and easier to control; his body's reaction increased. Taking 20 Second Order Monster Cores, he placed it in the matrix below his feet and went back to meditating.

"So handsome…" Ingrid said dreamily.

Luan looked like a god loved by Qi. He was surrounded by multicolored Qi particles entering his body like a vortex.

'There.' Luan's feet shifted, claws and white scales appearing like a dragon. He could also feel great strength in his feet. They were at least 10x stronger than before.

'I can't just increase my Qi. I need a strong body that wants to accept the transformation of the White Dragon...' Luan knew what needed to be done and could already feel that the transformation of the dragon's feet and arms was leading him to his limit.

He mostly needed to form the Dragon Core. Currently, his Pseudo Core was still useful for now, however, it still had a limit. While it was not the true Dragon Core, it was still superior to any Dantian out there.

'Advanced step. There's still the final step, and then I'm going to start the Realm Core Formation with the body...' Luan concentrated and began to direct the Qi to the Pseudo Core.

The Monster Cores were emitting an intense light, and also a lot of pressure. It was, after all, 20 of the Second Order at once. But that didn't make Luan shake; he didn't even shiver.

All the leaking Qi was vacuumed through Luan's body, leaving no waste. At that moment Luan's body was glowing like a deity. The Qi in his body was so concentrated and was so vivid that it glowed throughout his body. It took all of Luan's willpower to direct all the Qi to the Pseudo Core.

After nearly an hour, Luan's body finally shivered a little, but he stabilized so fast before it got out of control. The Qi was not able to escape him and was strengthening his Pseudo Core.

Opening his eyes briefly when he felt the Monster Cores were going to crack, he grabbed another 20 Monster Cores from the Second Order. Those who saw could only stand with their jaws dropped and awestruck.

"Abnormal, he's a freak!" Elijah said out loud. Luckily he was well away and Luan, who was concentrating on absorbing the Qi, didn't hear.

"Hey, why are you fools kneeling on the floor? Get up and go train!" Elias looked strangely at the group of twenty who knelt and even had some with tears in their eyes.

"Captain Elias, don't you understand? We are witnessing the Ascension of a God. It is normal that we kneel before such a being!" Renato Lopes said with fanaticism.

"Yes, Captain Elias, don't you see? Look, even the heavens rejoice in the presence of the God Luan," another said. In the air, clouds began to swirl around each other. Of course, that was because of Luan's Origin, but they didn't know that.

Now that they started to believe that Luan was some kind of deity, it was going to be hard to get that out of their heads.

"Ingrid, say something to them." Elijah didn't know what to do.

"So handsome…" Ingrid said with a star in her eyes, looking in Luan's direction.

"Ah, ah, it's over, there's no more hope." Elijah gave up.

Like the sound of glass breaking, the first twenty Monster Cores shattered.

Luan opened his eyes and warned, "What are you standing there looking at? Everyone, go back to training!"

"Yes, sir!" Quickly, they got up and started training.

'Am I the Captain or is Luan their Captain? Because when I said it, they didn't listen to me!' Elias complained in his mind, but he didn't dare say it out loud.

The previously incomplete Pseudo Core began to show similar signs to that of a puzzle which was being fitted with new pieces. Gradually, the glow of the Pseudo Core was becoming more evident and more powerful. The power of Luan and his body also began to grow.

The aura was intimidating, the power was heavy, making him sink to the ground together with the Monster Cores. A pillar of Qi formed on top of Luan's head and the pain of his flesh being torn and renewed was immense. His bones broke repeatedly and renewed; the blood also ran and recomposed through the bone marrow. The corners of Luan's mouth dripped blood. His hair started to fall out, and soon he went bald.

Breathing erratically, Luan struggled to return to more normal breathing and stabilize his cultivation. In the crater that formed, it was already soaked with his blood, skin, and bones.

Like a phoenix, Luan started to be reborn. New bones were brought forth; new skin grew; new blood was produced. His white hair grew back and turned a little silver, which Ingrid found to be very handsome. Damn, he was getting even more handsome than before.

"Hahaha! I entered the Marrow Refining stage!" Luan laughed out loud. Then he closed his eyes and looked through his core.

'Is this a mirror?' Of course, that wasn't the real look of his core, but rather a representation, which was thousands of mirrors.

'But what does that mean? Why mirrors?' Luan was confused.