Chapter 344: Settling Affairs

Chapter 344: Chapter 344: Settling Affairs

Chapter 344: Settling Affairs

"Dean Carmilla," Rhain spoke, offering a polite nod to the anxious group, "Before I depart for the Sunless Umbral Basin, there are certain geographical and survival details regarding that territory I must clarify with you. Let us discuss this in private."

Seraphine and Myrielle exchanged slightly confused glances, but given the severity of the Emperor’s three-month death sentence, it was entirely logical for Rhain to seek out the only person present who had actually survived the deeper zones of that wasteland.

Carmilla met Rhain’s gaze. Beneath his placid expression, she recognized the seriousness of his secret mental transmission.

"Of course," Carmilla nodded, hiding her inner bewilderment perfectly. "Follow me."

The two of them excused themselves from Seraphine, Myrielle, and the worried girls, walking briskly into one of the highly warded, private chambers located deep within the Dean’s secluded island.

The moment they stepped inside, Carmilla waved her delicate hand, activating the profound arrays that completely sealed the room, severing all sound and auras from the outside world.

"Alright, little thief," Carmilla said, crossing her arms over her chest. "We are alone. What exactly are you planning to do about this poison? Even the Alchemy Emperor of the Royal Court concluded decades ago that it was entirely incurable."

"Please sit down first, Dean," Rhain instructed.

Carmilla frowned slightly but complied, sitting cross-legged on a polished meditation mat.

Rhain also sat crossed legged around her, pushing his vast, ocean-like Soul Power to its limit.

His dark grey eyes instantly ignited with a piercing golden light.

Eyes of Truth!

The golden gaze swept over Carmilla, completely bypassing her physical form and piercing directly into her spiritual sea, her dantian, and her intricate network of meridians.

What Rhain saw made his brow furrow into a deep frown.

This poison... Rhain thought inwardly, a rare flash of astonishment crossing his mind.

It wasn’t simply a highly toxic fire element.

The venom that had ravaged her body over the decades had deeply fused with her meridians, unexpectedly forming a parasitic sentience!

It clung to her life force like a starving leech.

Rhain’s mind spun with rapid calculations.

He had initially assumed he could simply use the Abyssal Sovereign Physique to devour the poison, or unleash the Red Tribulations Heavenly Flame to incinerate it into nothingness.

But seeing how deeply the parasitic energy had woven itself into her meridians, he realized the brutal truth.

If he forcefully burned or ripped the poison out right now, Carmilla’s meridians would shatter, and she would undoubtedly die on the spot.

"It is more complex than I anticipated," Rhain stated, the golden light slowly fading from his eyes.

"This is not a simple poison," Rhain withdrew his gaze, his expression turning serious. "It possesses a parasitic sentience. Forcefully burning it away will cost you your life."

Carmilla let out a bitter, self-deprecating sigh, a miserable smile brushing past her lips. "I told you, you little thief. It is incurable. Just let it be. I have already made peace with my fate."

"There is no such thing as an incurable disease in this world," Rhain stated firmly, "To cure you without harming your meridians, I must refine a specific Mystic-Grade pill. But it requires the beast core of the exact same species of mutated python that attacked you as the core ingredient."

He looked directly into Carmilla’s eyes.

"Dean, describe the beast to me."

For a moment, Carmilla was left utterly speechless.

Hope, an emotion she had buried decades ago, suddenly flashed back in her eyes.

"It was massive," Carmilla murmured, her voice trembling slightly as she recalled the beast. "A multi-headed fire Python, but what made it truly distinct from ordinary beasts was a bizarre, glowing mark etched perfectly upon its primary forehead."

Rhain nodded slowly, "A mutated multi-headed fire Python with a marked forehead... Good. I will find and hunt it down in the Sunless Umbral Basin."

Before Carmilla could even open her mouth to protest his suicidal plan of hunting a Domain Master-level beast in a death zone, Rhain spoke up again. "Turn around, Dean. "I cannot cure you completely without that beast core. But I can buy you enough time so you don’t have to suffer while I am gone."

Carmilla could only obediently turn her back to him.

Rhain gently placed his palm between her shoulder blades.

Suddenly, the pitch-black void within his dantian spun fiercely.

Abyssal Sovereign Technique!

The devouring power of the Abyssal Sovereign Physique erupted!

An irresistible suction force tore into Carmilla’s meridians.

The parasitic poison shrieked soundlessly as it was forcefully dragged backward.

Rhain mercilessly devoured the excess toxic energy, drawing the sickly green miasma out of her body and directly into his, where it was instantly crushed and refined into nothingness.

He could not safely rip out the roots, but he could definitely annihilate the active poison threatening her life.

"Ah..." Carmilla let out a soft moan as an indescribable feeling of lightness and warmth spread through her chest.

The sickly, pale-green hue on her skin instantly vanished, returning her complexion to the smooth, youthfully fair skin.

Even her breathing suddenly became as clear and steady as a calm spring.

Rhain slowly withdrew his hand, exhaling a quiet breath.

Carmilla opened her eyes, looking at her own hands in utter disbelief. She felt lighter, stronger, and more energized than she had in years!

"I have suppressed it and bought you time," Rhain stated, walking toward the doors of the chamber, "It will not act up again while I am gone. When I return from the basin, I will have the core. And I will cure you completely."

Carmilla stared at Rhain’s back, her heart swelling with an overwhelming sense of gratitude.

"You little thief..." Carmilla whispered, a breathtakingly beautiful smile blooming across her face. "Is there anything in this world you cannot do?"

--------------------

Over the next few days, Rhain maximized his remaining time at the Stormveil Academy.

Knowing that he would soon be plunged into the barren wastelands of the Sunless Umbral Basin for three entire months, he completely cast aside his relentless cultivation schedule.

He spent his days entirely with Seris.

They sat quietly by the edge of the frozen lake in the Core Palace, leaning against one another as they watched the glowing stars flicker in the night sky.

Holding the girl he loved more than his own life, listening to her sweet, melodic laughter, completely melted away the chilling burden of the impending banishment.

During this brief period of tranquility, Elara also came to bid her farewell.

"Young master Rhain," Elara spoke, offering a respectful bow in the courtyard. Her blue eyes shimmered with profound admiration. "I must return to my family’s estate. I will coordinate my family’s forces to oversee the massive expansion of the Celestial Elixir Pavilion across the Inner Province. Rest assured, while you are in the basin, your empire will be perfectly maintained."

"You have my complete trust, Lady Elara," Rhain replied with a warm smile. "Take care of the Pavilion while I am away."

"I will not let you down," Elara promised, before offering a polite farewell to Seris and Liana, and departing for the commercial district.

With Elara’s departure, Rhain turned his attention to the foundation of the Academy itself.

Inside the grand halls of the Core Palace, Rhain summoned the highest echelons of the Stormveil Academy

High Preceptors Aldren, Octavius, Mordecai, Erasmus, and Amarantha, all were assembled.

Standing alongside them were the elite Preceptors, including the recently ascended Fabian.

They all looked at the nineteen-year-old youth sitting casually at the front of the hall with expressions of utmost reverence.

"You have all stood by my side when the entire dynasty demanded my head," Rhain spoke, his dark grey eyes sweeping across the exalted elders. "Before I leave, it is time I repaid that loyalty."

Without a single wasted word, Rhain began his lecture.

Drawing upon the immense repository of knowledge he had ripped directly from the restricted top floors of the Valdris Royal Academy, Rhain began to systematically deconstruct their foundational laws.

"Law of Earth is not just about crushing weight, it is the womb of creation...

"To command fire is to command the very source of life itself...

One by one, Rhain shattered the decades-old bottlenecks of every single High Preceptor and Preceptor in the room.

He unveiled profound truths and supreme elemental theories that transcended the reach of Stormveil Academy, and even the entire Solatahne dyansty.

The lecture lasted for an entire day and night.

And by the time it ended, the atmosphere on the hall had dramatically shifted.

Aldren closed his eyes, instantly slipping into a state of deep enlightenment.

Octavius crossed his legs, his breathing slowing as the essence around him suddenly stabilized and compressed to a frightening degree.

One by one, profound spiritual fluctuations erupted across the room as the veteran experts slipped into deep epiphanies.

Decades-old bottlenecks shattered like fragile glass.

The overall foundation and future combat strength of the Stormveil Academy underwent an qualitative leap overnight.