Chapter 153 - Third Stage of the Stone Armor Technique

Cassius felt his mind tremble and his eyes filled with newfound wisdom. A sense of harmony spread from his head to his limbs, like a vast spider web extended outward, and covered his skin in a thick veil.

Whether it was an illusion or reality, he couldn't tell. However, what he could tell were his muscles and bones becoming more solid, slowly trembling as some unknown change quietly took shape. Ten minutes later, the white steam encasing Cassius's head gradually dissipated, and the blood seeping from his seven orifices slowly dried up.

He opened his eyes, calm, and glanced at the upper right corner.

[Stone Armor Technique: Heavy Armor Major Culmination (Total Two Stages+)]

The words "Total Two Stages" began to blur quickly, as if shrouded in a layer of white mist. A moment later, it gradually cleared up again.

[Stone Armor Technique: Heavy Armor Major Culmination (Total Three Stages)]

The Stone Armor Technique had been upgraded from two stages to three after the Blood of the Spirit's enhancement, but the plus sign had disappeared. It must be an indication that the third stage was the Stone Armor Technique's max, as its fundamental structure could not support higher levels.

The third stage was an upgraded version of the original Stone Armor Technique and was called Rock Armor. It was divided into Rock Armor Minor Culmination and Rock Armor Major Culmination. As the names suggested, the first to third stages were Light Armor, Heavy Armor, and Rock Armor. The third stage, Rock Armor, provided a rock-solid defense.

Cassius thought for a moment as details of the Rock Armor stage surfaced in fragments in his mind. However, the details quickly became blurry, like a dream slipping away upon waking.

Due to the Blood of the Spirit, Cassius made rapid progress in his mental capabilities but that meant that after he exited this near-sage-like state of clarity, much of the information was quickly forgotten.

He immediately went to the washroom to wash the blood off his face before hurrying downstairs to ask the manor's owner, Mi An, for a pen and some paper. He returned to his room.

"Continuous blunt force strikes can effectively accelerate... The best training times are at dawn and dusk..."

Short phrases filled the yellow sheet of paper. Cassius put down the pen after recording a small portion of the information in his mind. This would be useful for training at the Rock Armor stage of his hardening Qigong, but that was something to consider in the future. He wondered if the Soul Power from Black Rain Manor could further enhance his mastery of Rock Armor...

This required further examination. Soul Power was indeed useful for accelerating techniques, but it was also a double-edged sword; carelessness could take him down a dark path. Sometimes, the issue wasn't just the technique itself but also the user's mastery of it. Cassius didn't want to cripple himself by training recklessly.

Closing the notebook, he noticed some subtle changes in the upper right corner again. The entry for "Heavy Armor Major Culmination" looked slightly blurred, as if it was about to change to "Rock Armor Minor Culmination," but in the end, it didn't, and remained clear and steady.

Cassius began to ponder. It seemed that the Blood of the Spirit not only raised the technique's upper limit but also helped to improve his mastery. This might have been because his broadened perspective allowed him to catch a glimpse of the higher levels.

There was no doubt that Cassius wasn't far from reaching the third stage, Rock Armor. With some diligent training, he might even be able to break through on his own.

After his mind gradually calmed down, he began applying a light red ointment to his injuries. It was a special healing medicine made by Mi An and was very effective for treating external wounds. He needed to soak in medicinal baths regularly to treat his internal injuries.

Cassius spread the ointment over his injuries, and a cool sensation immediately surrounded his body. After about a minute, the coolness turned into a fiery, stinging pain.

Fortunately, Cassius could endure it all. After years of the increasingly painful torment of training in Elephant Soul, his pain threshold was quite high. A little sting from an ointment wasn't a big deal.

After applying the ointment, Cassius placed a few items on the table by the window. Golden sunlight streamed through the open window, bringing with it the fresh scent of plants and trees.

He pulled out a bottle, a piece of parchment, and a shard of stone. The last item, the stone shard, was the required target for his Atonement Task, which was just to grab anything from the ruins. Once he handed it over to Black Rain Manor, the chapel would verify it.

The first two items were from Twilight's original path when he had accidentally stumbled across a cave while on a mission in Mirror Lake City. It had led him to the ruins where he obtained a fake-death pill through sheer dumb luck. However, Cassius had gone a step further. Not only did he get the bottle containing the pill, he also held, in his hands, a piece of parchment that seemed to be connected to the pill. Maybe it was the recipe.

He couldn't read the language on it, so he'd have to pay a visit to his old friend Professor Tennessee at Wenmingda University in East Sea City again. Cassius was sure Professor Tennessee would be more than happy to help.

At noon, Cassius met with Mi An again at the dining table, and surprisingly, Mi An seemed much more spirited than he had in the morning. He seemed to be in an inexplicably wonderful mood as if something good had happened. The good news being Soul Power, of course.

The group exchanged a few words during lunch, and after eating, they sat down on the sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window to begin formally discussing. Mi An and Cassius were the ones talking mostly. Duomo, on the other hand, was more of a bystander, as he listened quietly on the side.

Cassius once again detailed the existence of Black Rain Manor and some information about the Hellsings, including the reason why no Covert Martial Arts Practitioners existed among the Hellsings.

It was only recently that he knew about this, but after breaking through the third-level accelerated blood flow and achieving a powerful circulatory system, Cassius noticed that each time he exerted his full physical strength, the shield mark on the back of his hand would blur, as if something was trying to erase it.

Cassius speculated that if he broke from pugilist to combat artist, the mark would disappear entirely.

Upon hearing this, Mi An broke down the differences between a pugilist and a combat artist for Cassius, the most crucial distinction being "Qi" or "aura." Once the body was refined to a certain level of strength, it would nourish one's mental will. And a strong mental will could generate an aura. There was a technique in Covert Martial Arts called "Heart Eye," where one look could crush an enemy's spirit and dissolve their will to fight. It would spike fire into their hearts, making them easier to defeat.

This made Cassius recall how, when he reached the major culmination of the pugilist realm, he felt something stir between his brows. Perhaps it was the so-called Qi...

The first thing Cassius did was explain the marks of the Hellsings because that was the core of Black Rain Manor.

The mark was akin to a qualification; the qualification to be a dog of Black Rain Manor. It was a two-way selection process. Regardless of how much one longed to join Black Rain Manor, it wouldn't matter if they weren't deemed worthy; they wouldn't even have the chance to eat dog food. The only exception would have been in the very beginning of Black Rain Manor's resurgence, when everything had been in ruins, and the manor desperately needed a large number of Hellsings to keep it running.

However, Black Rain Manor had clearly moved past that and was now in a period of accelerated revival. By the time Twilight was around thirty years old, it had somewhat reached its peak.

Those close to the marked ones would be infected by the manor's power and then killed by Black Rain Manor's Decaying Knights. Julia was one such tragic example.

Cassius's point was clear: accomplished Covert Martial Arts Practitioners had zero chance of receiving a mark from Black Rain Manor and becoming a Hellsing.

And indeed, no one in Black Rain Manor practiced Covert Martial Arts. The only exception was Cassius, who had forced his way in, thanks to his time-traveling. Twilight's body already had the mark, allowing Cassius to slip under the radar.

"So, the only way for us to obtain Soul Power is through other means..." Mi An's aged face took on a dangerous expression.

"That's right." Cassius nodded calmly.

The two of them weren't speaking in riddles. The path ahead was clear: they needed to take down Black Rain Manor.

Once, Cassius had specifically asked the older generation of Hellsings about Soul Power. There was a rumor that there were two large transformation pools beneath the Baptism Chapel—one filled with dark essence, the other with Soul Power. The pool's water served as the source for these two powers.

"Based on your description of Black Rain Manor, this is a powerful and mysterious force. Its history might be deeper than that of the formidable Blood Race slumbering in the Alphama Mountains. This is going to be a tough nut to crack. I’m afraid our Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect will probably..." Mi An tapped his elbow with his fingers, narrowing his eyes.

"Do you not want to work together?" Cassius asked calmly.

"Of course not." Mi An suddenly smiled. "How could we stay indifferent to such a treasure? What I mean is, our Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect probably can't take down Black Rain Manor by itself. We'll need to bring in some equally powerful allies. Maybe White Water Sword, or Skyfall Cross Sect... Or perhaps the entire northern Covert Martial Arts community."

Mi An narrowed his eyes, a slight smile playing on his lips as he looked at Cassius. "I wouldn't mind. After all, the more people, the less risk. But it's up to you since this will affect your interests."

Outwardly, Cassius's face remained expressionless, but inwardly, he was smiling widely.

His interests? The biggest thing he was interested in was shutting down Black Rain Manor, fulfilling Twilight's lingering attachment, and then returning to reality with the power.

He had already used Black Rain Manor to enhance most of his techniques. The only ones left were the ones that carried significant risks. While he could still enhance them, albeit it being a huge risk, he didn't necessarily have to as he could simply just train harder on his own.

If the Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect really brought the entire northern Covert Martial Arts community to East Sea County, Cassius's only concern would be the guests' overwhelming power would make them not act according to the host's plan.

However, it didn't affect his core interests. Taking down Black Rain Manor was Cassius's goal, and on that point, they were aligned. If the northern Covert Martial Arts community wanted to obtain the miraculous Soul Power, they would have to destroy Black Rain Manor.

Additionally, Cassius had some cards to play; he still had the pill that could block the manor's perception. If the northern Covert Martial Arts community really intended to attack Black Rain Manor, they'd undoubtedly need the pill to enter the isolated world of the rain.

Cassius could already picture it in his mind—a black carriage leading the way, followed by dozens of steel carriages. Tightly packed inside of it like sardines in a can would be the Covert Martial Arts experts, temporarily rendered unconscious from the pill.

Brothers, we shall take down the manor together!

At that point, Black Rain Manor would be in for a headache, with hundreds of little supermen swooping in to tear down the entire estate!

"Let's do it your way. If the Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect can really convince the entire northern Covert Martial Arts community to come south and take on Black Rain Manor, I don't need any share of the spoils. The thing I want most is to see Black Rain Manor destroyed!" Cassius said, utterly sincere. It was absolutely true. The original owner of this body, Twilight, deeply loathed Black Rain Manor and in wanting to escape its control, it had led to this series of events in the original timeline.

"I wouldn't ask that of you. I'm just trying to give you a heads-up," Mi An said, taking a sip of tea.

"So, does this mean we've come to an initial agreement?" Cassius also took a sip of tea.

"Yes, we have." Mi An extended his calloused hand. Cassius's eyes flickered, and he smiled as he extended his. The two clasped hands in the air.

"Looking forward to working together,” they said simultaneously.

That very evening after their discussion, the manor in Mirror Lake City was empty. The servants were all given at least a month's leave, and Mi An and Duomo quickly returned to the Three-Eyed Mad Lion Sect's main headquarters. They needed to deliver this news to the sect leaders and start making plans to convince the entire northern Covert Martial Arts community. They needed as many allies on board as possible.

Meanwhile, Cassius took a train back to East Sea County in the south.

He needed to decipher the recipe on the parchment and make more pills. While there was a decent amount in the bottle, it wouldn't be enough if various sects from the northern Covert Martial Arts community joined. Cassius didn't want to waste any potential power when they launched their attack on Black Rain Manor—the more, the better.

In addition, after returning to East Sea County. he needed to make another trip to Black Rain Manor. Even if it was going to be temporary, he still had to complete the Atonement Task to maintain his status as a Hellsing. Plus, Cassius was planning on taking out a huge loan. It didn't matter if he needed it or not—he just wanted to enjoy the thrill of milking the system. After all, he would be turning against them soon.

Moreover, if everything went well, he would likely have to welcome a delegation from the northern Covert Martial Arts community. Smuggling the group into the Rainy World to witness the wonders of Black Rain Manor firsthand would be the best way to convince them. Seeing was believing, after all!

Cassius would probably have to demonstrate Soul Power in action, so everyone could see the effects. Only by bearing witness to its powerful results would those old masters truly be moved. Whether out of desire or greed, they would then participate in the takedown of Black Rain Manor.

The mysterious Black Rain Manor versus the entire northern Covert Martial Arts community of the Hongli Federation. Cassius was curious to see if it could withstand the assault!