Moonlight danced with the shadows as a child descended the stairs. Lidien glanced up, his face bathed in the moon’s muted light. As his steps echoed in the silence of the night, Alva was there... standing at the end of the hall on the first floor, waiting for Lidien to exit the Knowledge Spire. "Master... I found a good residence where you can rest... Xyon and Mad Dog are already waiting for you to come." Lidien glanced at her and smiled faintly. Alva bowed, then walked ahead followed by Lidien towards the outskirts, near the southern entrance of the Central Territory. It didn’t take long before Lidien stood in front of a towering gate. As the soldier opened it, hundreds of soldiers greeted them both as they entered the residence. Beyond the gate lay a large, moonlit grassy field. Hundreds of military tents stood in orderly rows outside the main residence wall, a small city of ambition. As the moonlight illuminated the area, Lidien saw a dilapidated Mansion where some of its parts were covered with vines. ’I would like to think that Alva was so thoughtful bringing me to a Haunted House if she knew I could absorb souls.’ Yet, even though it looked creepy, Lidien’s Whisper of Souls couldn’t detect any ghost lingering outside the Mansion. A soft creaking sound of the hinge disturbed Lidien’s thoughts as Xyon welcomed him along with Mad Dog. Mad Dog kneeled in front of Lidien, bowing as he reported. "My Prince... I’ve only gathered almost ten thousand soldiers who accepted the commission to attack the Dark Wolf Clan, and captured almost a thousand slaves from different tribes, North of the Blood Rose Clan." Lidien rested his hand on his boulder-like shoulder before passing through. "Good, Just follow my orders, I’ll give you the plan tomorrow morning so you can divide the troops..." Then his eyes glanced at Xyon, still bowing. "Xyon, bring me some tools so I can write in my room." With that, Alva walked ahead followed by Lidien going to his room. Lidien smiled in the dim light of the moon and the flickering candles that illuminated the long corridor. ’At least my eyes aren’t bloody from the crimson skies inside the Rift.’ After their long slow walk, Alva stopped at the room door and opened it, watching Lidien walk inside. Lidien smiled... the room was somehow the same as the room he had been staying in inside the Rift, a large bed with a silk blanket, a big desk and chair that was larger than his size, and a large window where he could watch the sky outside. He immediately sat on the bed, and glanced at Alva smiling at him. "You can leave Alva and take some rest... just tell Xyon to silently place the writing tools on my desk, and don’t disturb me." Alva bowed, before saying her goodbye to Lidien and leaving the room while silently closing the door. As he stared outside the window, he couldn’t help but smile from the peacefulness the night brought, a large contrast from the never-ending shattering of mirrors inside the Rift. ’I hope Lily will not find the Merit Slips I’ve borrowed from the space ring... well, just consider it the payment for reviving her, right?’ Now, free from the restriction of the Rift of the Shattered Mirrors... Lidien sat in lotus position on top of his bed. Feeling the nature surrounding him. He followed Azer’s teaching... to clear his mind and instinctually focus his breathing towards his lower abdomen. Lidien breathed deeply, imagining that every breath he took, he was absorbing the Elemental Essence that was always present in his surroundings. The coldness of the air when breathing, the heat of his exhale... the dewy surface on the window... and the dryness of the candle smoke. Until... a small, and almost insignificant gas got stuck in his lower abdomen... as the mixtures of Elemental Essence gathered and congregated inside his body. Thɪs chapter is updated by novel※fire.net Yet, as Azer said... he needed to solidify the Essence to form the Coreflux inside his body. Lidien greedily breathed deeply, gathering all the air he took towards his stomach, pressuring his diaphragm to contract the Elemental Essence. Yet, the method was so fussy that the slightest loss of focus would make the gathered Essence dissipate, undoing all his progress in an instant. Though what he absorbed inside his body was not completely gone, it was not enough to form it solid... or he just didn’t know how to. ’Damn Azer... and this method he gave me, it’s already the crudest and the most basic, yet I couldn’t solidify it... Besides, the mixtures of Elemental Essence will somehow pollute the Coreflux if ever I make one, since it’ll not be pure element.’ Lidien scratched the back of his neck and lay on the bed, though he wanted to try absorbing Elemental Essence inside the Dreamflow, he laughed at the thought of it. ’The Crimson Shard could only purify the Spiritual Essence turning it to verve... unless I could create something like Blood Rune of the Monarch of Blood and make it my Coreflux...’ Sighing, he tapped his forehead repeatedly thinking of another way to increase his chances of winning against the Dark Wolf Clan, since building a Coreflux is different from Mastering how to use it... but having one is still much better than having not. "I’ll just try to make my Coreflux for now, and hope I could purify it like how the past Lidien’s Demonic side got purified by overusing the Incite of Blood." A few minutes passed of Lidien’s lying meditation... Xyon entered the room carrying the writing tools Lidien required and put them on the desk, before silently leaving the room without disturbing Lidien. And, after his repetitive failure of forming his Coreflux, Lidien decided to stop for the night and focus on the Main plan that he was willing to share with Mad Dog, along with his trusted aids, for they would be the key for the operation against the Dark Wolf Clan. After a few hours of writing, he rolled up the finished plan. Now, he just needed Kyer to do the business for him. "I hope I won’t use my Escape Plan."