Count Stanwin spoke staunchly, and for a moment, Merlin was stumped.

However, he finally said slowly, "Father, even if I don't choose parasitism, I still need to learn about it, in case Heroult has deceived me."

Count Stanwin hesitated for a moment, glancing at Merlin, before finally replying, "Leon, parasitism is a hazardous means. In general, only those who inherited no bloodlines, and who had no hope left at all, would choose this path. Practically, no one who chooses parasitism can survive. Even if someone succeeded by fluke, then as their abilities increased, the almighty beast's will would grow stronger too. In the end, they'd be incapable of suppressing the almighty beast's will and forfeit their own consciousness completely."

Throughout a long history, a method like parasitism was gradually developed by people who did not have the almighty beast bloodline. They desired to become contenders and would stop at nothing just to gain formidable power.

When they had incidentally discovered that the almighty beast's will existed, they used all methods to merge with the almighty beast's will, thus carving out a path divergent from those who inherited the almighty beast bloodline. However, choosing parasitism was too dangerous. In the first place, the success rate was pitifully low. Moreover, upon success, they had to struggle against the almighty beast's will at every moment, teetering on the brink between life and death.

Therefore, how could Count Stanwin possibly allow Leon to go for such a risky method? In Count Stanwin's eyes, Leon could inherit the countship, the territory, and a great amount of wealth. In his territory, he would have supreme authority. Leon could have a good life without any need to endanger himself with a dangerous path like parasitism.

Nonetheless, Count Stanwin did not know that this son he pampered had switched with another soul, who would gain self-preservation skills at all costs.

"Leon, don't mull over parasitism anymore. Have a good rest first."

Merlin nodded without any signs that he had taken this advice to heart. He turned to leave the hall, and headed to his room upstairs.

Seeing that Merlin had left, Count Stanwin's face slowly darkened. He waved his hand lightly and a guard dressed in heavy armor came in.

"Go, chase Heroult of the Fossil Museum out of Boulder City. I don't care where he comes from. He comes to my Boulder City and dares to incite Leon to try parasitism, so he mustn't be allowed to stay here!"

Count Stanwin was ultimately somewhat apprehensive because he had come into close contact with Heroult before but found that he could not see through the other party. Heroult must be someone who possessed a formidable almighty beast bloodline, only he had come to Boulder City for some unknown reason.

Although banishing him in this manner might easily offend this mysterious contender, for Leon's sake, Count Stanwin would stop at nothing.

The guard nodded, then left with soft steps. The hall was quiet once more, and only the roaring flames of the fireplace would crackle now and then…

…

Back in his room, the place had been tidied up by a maid. A white slip of paper was placed on the table, with a message on it.

"Leon, today the Honorable Count has allowed me to visit my clan. I might only return after a few days. Things are rather chaotic outside, so try not to go out."

It was signed by Reese. She had left this note.

A smile tugged at the corner of Merlin's mouth. Reese had been staying in the Count's Manor long ago. Of course, this was not in keeping with propriety but with Count Stanwin's overbearing manner, Reese's clan dared not speak up.

Moreover, Reese's clan would not care about her, a descendant of the clan who did not inherit the almighty beast bloodline. Now that they could form a relationship with Count Stanwin, naturally, it was perfect for them. Why would they not agree?

Thus, Reese had always stayed in the Count's Manor, preparing to hold the wedding after the matter of the Blackbat Militia at the front lines had been resolved.

Merlin kept the paper slip, following which he sat down before the mahogany desk, making light strokes across the white paper with a quill. If one looked closely, one would know that this was the Molta language of the Void Zone.

"It's too difficult."

After a long moment, Merlin slowly put down the quill. On the paper, he had drawn one model after another. In his past life, he was a Great Lord among the Spell Casters, having perfected the Mind Power system. Therefore, he could not create another cultivation system suited to his present body.

Nonetheless, this required a very extensive period. Furthermore, though he borrowed from the Spell Models constructed by Spell Casters, this still required research and experiments, bit by bit. How could he come up with something in a short while?

After putting down the quill, Merlin's brain spun with countless ideas. He immersed his consciousness in his Awareness. The Illusory World was scattered and smashed, leaving just a bit of the power of the natural order now.

"To restore the Illusory World, I'll have to first mend the collapsed framework of the Illusory World but this would consume a lot of Mind Power."

Merlin was rather hesitant. His Mind Power would dwindle each time he used it. If he mobilized his Mind Power now, he would be in trouble if he ran into any danger.

However, if he did not even repair the framework, relying solely on that most basic strand of the natural order, who knew how many years it would be before it slowly recovered? Thus, this was a dilemma.

"The Illusory World is my foundation. Only by materializing it as reality, will I have the chance to truly break away from the Latitude Cosmos, like Aruba, roaming through each one of them instead of being like me now, being trapped in this Latitude Cosmo, like in a prison. Therefore, no matter what, restoring the Illusory World is the most crucial thing."

Merlin contemplated the matter. After an intense bout of debate, he finally decided to first restore the general framework of the Illusory World. Otherwise, he only had one strand of the most basic and essential natural order, which would not be of much use. Once the Illusory World had its basic framework, it could slowly repair itself from then on, even if this would still take an inconceivable amount of time.

Therefore, Merlin started to immerse his consciousness in the natural order. His Mind Power was quickly mobilized. With this strand of the most basic natural order, restoring the Illusory World was difficult. However, restoring the framework of the Illusory World would still be feasible.

A wave of invisible fluctuations emerged over Merlin. These were Mind Power fluctuations. Merlin had to be extremely cautious. The Mind Power fluctuations were no big deal. Even though they were a new form of power, the will of the Almighty Beast World would not notice them. After all, they were no threat to the Almighty Beast World.

Nonetheless, if a trace of the force of the natural order in the Illusory World was leaked out, the entire Almighty Beast World might be affected. With Merlin's present circumstances, he must not let the force of the natural order to leak out. Therefore, as he repaired the overall framework of the Illusory World, he could only be extra careful.