Power. A sense of pure, immense power filled every fiber of his being.

He had the distinct feeling that he could blast a hole clean through the castle wall with a single punch.

But this was only the most superficial of the changes.

The deeper changes concerned his perception of himself and the world.

Within his Dantian, the Qi Sea formed from his condensed Fighting Spirit was placid and still. It was like a deep lake, seemingly tranquil, yet containing an unparalleled reserve of energy.

With a mere thought, a wisp of Fighting Spirit rose from the Qi Sea, moving with the ease of a limb. It flowed swiftly and powerfully along his meridians, which were now several times tougher and wider than before.

This level of control was far beyond anything he could achieve as a Great Knight.

But the benefits of his breakthrough didn’t end there.

His Spiritual Power also seemed to rise with the tide of his Fighting Spirit’s qualitative change, and his senses grew sharper than ever before.

When he closed his eyes, his surroundings appeared in his mind in an entirely new form.

He could "hear" Moonlight’s steady heartbeat and Coal Ball’s slightly nervous breathing. He could even "see" the colorful motes of Magic Power in the air, which had always been invisible to the naked eye.

Like joyful Elves, they drifted on the wind, affectionately circling around him.

The sensation was utterly novel, as if the world had lifted a mysterious veil just for him.

However, just as Raylo was immersing himself in this wondrous new perception, disaster struck!

The Qi Sea in his Dantian—the newly formed ocean of Fighting Spirit that should have been calm and deep—erupted into a tempestuous maelstrom without any warning.

The entire Qi Sea began to spin with frantic speed, forming a massive vortex.

Vast amounts of Fighting Spirit were swept up by this irresistible force, breaking free from their original circulatory path. Like a river bursting its banks, the energy surged furiously in one direction.

Its destination: his heart!

"Hm?"

The color drained from Raylo’s face instantly.

His heart had seemingly transformed into a greedy, bottomless pit, and it was frantically devouring the Fighting Spirit that was his very lifeblood.

This wasn’t nourishment. It was pillaging!

In the space of just a few breaths, the level of his once-full Qi Sea had visibly dropped.

’What’s going on?’

His heart sank at the sudden turn of events, and an intense sense of crisis washed over him.

He tried to regain control over his Fighting Spirit, to use his will to pacify the rampaging Qi Sea. But he found that his will was as insignificant as a small boat before the raging vortex, swallowed in an instant.

The rate at which he was losing his Fighting Spirit accelerated, and his heart’s consumption grew ever more voracious.

Cold sweat beaded on Raylo’s forehead, and his face grew visibly paler by the second.

He could clearly feel his Life Force being siphoned away along with his Fighting Spirit.

The nascent Qi Sea, the very source of power he had taken such pride in, had now become a death warrant, and it was being rapidly drained dry.

’If this goes on, forget about the power I just gained,’ he thought. ’I’ll be sucked dry and turned into a husk!’

"YEOOOW!"

A sharp and urgent cry rang out beside him.

Moonlight, who was in his arms, abruptly lifted her head. For the first time, her pale-gold eyes showed anxiety and solemnity.

She had clearly sensed the potentially fatal energy disturbance within Raylo’s body and the rapid depletion of his Fighting Spirit.

Moonlight struggled fiercely in Raylo’s arms and leaped to the floor.

Without a moment’s hesitation, her pale-gold eyes instantly lit up, as if two miniature Suns were burning within them.

A majestic aura, far surpassing her petite form, erupted from her.

"Moonlight?"

Raylo managed to force out the single word, his vision already starting to blur.

Moonlight didn’t respond.

She raised her head high. An invisible contractual chain, originating from the depths of their souls, materialized between her and Raylo. It pulled taut, shimmering with a silver brilliance.

This was the most fundamental link between a Knight and his Giant Dragon companion, and now, for the first time, Moonlight had actively invoked it.

In the next moment, the space in Raylo’s room began to warp.

Coal Ball, who had been lying on Raylo’s other side, still trying to figure out what was happening, suddenly saw its round, black eyes go wide.

It felt a terrifying wave of Dragon Mighty awakening within the one it knew as its aloof and proud "Big Sis."

Moonlight’s snow-white, feline body began to stretch and elongate within the silver light.

Her delicate fur receded, replaced by sleek, silver scales. Each one was like an exquisite work of art, reflecting a cold light in the dim room.

In the space of a few breaths, her body swelled to over three meters in length. Her long, graceful neck curved slightly, and a ferocious yet noble draconic head rose high.

Two long, spiraled silver horns pointed toward the ceiling, emitting a faint halo and looking as if they would pierce right through the roof.

A pair of huge, membranous wings unfurled from her sides. On the translucent membranes, intricate patterns of Magic Power were clearly visible, like a flowing river of stars.

The Silver Dragon, Moonlight!

For the first time, she had voluntarily revealed her true Giant Dragon form to Raylo.

Her pale-gold, slitted pupils locked onto Raylo.

She made no sound, simply placing a silver-scaled claw gently upon Raylo’s chest.

BOOM!

A pure, vast, and immense torrent of energy, carrying the cool, clear aura of Moonlight, surged through the contractual link. Like a flash flood, it poured forcefully into Raylo’s nearly depleted body.

Raylo, who had been on the verge of collapse, felt his spirit jolt back to life, like a parched riverbed receiving a sudden downpour.

Moonlight’s energy was both pure and immense, instantly replenishing the reserves his heart had so rapidly consumed.

With this powerful external support, Raylo could finally catch his breath.

He immediately focused his mind. Instead of trying to resist the brutal pull from his heart, he began guiding all of Moonlight’s energy to actively cooperate with its consumption.

’Perhaps this isn’t a fatal crisis,’ he realized, ’but an unforeseen transformation to a higher level.’

Time ticked by, each second an agony.

Half an hour felt as long as a century.

In the room, the Silver Dragon stood quietly, her claw held steady against Raylo’s chest.

A continuous stream of energy flowed from her body, sustaining the terrifying consumption of Raylo’s heart.

And at the center of it all, Raylo sat cross-legged with his eyes shut tight, his body enveloped in a dense silver radiance.

His consciousness had sunk completely into his body, "watching" everything happening to his heart with unprecedented clarity.

It was no longer a heart made purely of flesh and blood.

Infused with massive amounts of Fighting Spirit and Moonlight Dragon Power, it was undergoing Decomposition and being reforged.

Every muscle fiber, every blood vessel, was scoured by this supremely pure energy, ground down to its most primitive particles, and then reassembled into a more perfect structure with far greater tenacity.

It was a process of destruction and rebirth, accompanied by indescribable agony, as if someone were meticulously carving his heart with a blade, cut by agonizing cut.

But Raylo gritted his teeth and made no sound.

He could feel that as the reconstruction progressed, a new kind of power, one that thrummed with the rhythm of life, was gestating in the center of his heart.

However, the cost of this transformation was terrifyingly high.

Even Moonlight, in her Giant Dragon form and possessing vast reserves of Magic Power, was beginning to feel weary.

The light in her pale-gold eyes had dimmed slightly.

The torrent of energy she was sending to Raylo, while still stable, no longer possessed its initial overwhelming vastness.

The luster of the silver scales on her enormous draconic body had faded, and her breathing had grown noticeably heavier.

Fortunately, the heart’s reconstruction was complete.