The cold moonlight fell into the churning hot spring pool.
In an instant, the pool water turned calm and serene.
This was the remnant shard of authority once belonging to the dark god, the **Moon of Silence**, still imbued with its mighty power to render everything deathly still.
Violent clashes were suppressed by the force of silence.
Mela’s slender fingers twitched slightly, golden threads trembling at her fingertips. Profound ripples continuously emanated from her petite figure, surging into the golden pool water.
She was using external forces to push the transformation forward.
Moen could feel the scorching heat within his body beginning to subside. In this soundless stillness, the alchemical core and magical matrices constructed from dead matter began to steadily cross that final chasm, integrating completely with his flesh and blood.
Mela gazed at the scene eagerly. At this moment, even her usually composed demeanor gave way to a trace of tension.
If this succeeded, it would signify a complete breakthrough in one of the most challenging aspects of the plan, paving the way for the subsequent steps.
Because of this, she focused even more intently, holding her breath. A fine sheen of sweat had appeared across her smooth forehead.
Moen gradually settled into tranquility.
It seemed as though the unbearable, searing pain had faded from his body. He looked as if he were truly soaking in a warm spring, with a calm smile on his lips.
In Mela’s crimson eyes, which seemed capable of piercing through everything, the transformation within Moen’s body reached its final stage.
Under the influence of external forces, the intricate magical matrices had completely fused with his flesh, as naturally as if they were his own veins.
And that most crucial alchemical core—only a tiny step remained.
Once that final step was completed, everything would…
“Ugh!”
Suddenly, a groan escaped from Moen in the water.
The groan quickly escalated into a scream.
His entire body began to convulse violently, as if he had been struck by a high-voltage current.
Horrific wounds inexplicably appeared on his body, crimson blood flowing down and spreading rapidly. In mere moments, the entire golden pool turned red!
Scarlet flames ignited, yet even the fire could not match the speed at which the wounds opened up. In just a few breaths, Mela could already sense Moen’s life force rapidly dwindling!
“Damn it!”
Mela’s eyes darkened.
Without the slightest hesitation, she raised a finger.
**Dong—**
A resonant chime sounded as a massive, ethereal clock appeared behind her.
Countless gears spun beneath her feet.
The long hand of the clock abruptly began to reverse direction!
**Dong—**
The chime echoed once more.
The reversal began.
As if time itself were being rewound, the blood in the pool surged back into Moen’s body, his wounds healing. His expression turned from contorted agony, to serenity, and then back to agony.
A sliver of moonlight rose from the pool, landing softly in Mela’s palm.
The alchemical core and magical matrices within Moen reverted to their original forms, as if nothing from earlier had ever transpired.
The golden pool water resumed its churning.
“So it did appear, the rejection response.”
The massive clock vanished, and Mela withdrew the moonlight with a flick of her hand.
After a momentary flicker of frustration, she quickly regained her composure.
Emotional turbulence could not solve any issues.
Moreover, it wasn’t as if she had left empty-handed.
“Now it’s certain—this path is a dead end.”
“The silence power of the Moon can indeed calm the violent clashes during the transformation, but it cannot change the essence of this process.”
“Transforming death into life… Disrupting the current alchemical system on such a fundamental level—of course it wouldn’t be easy to achieve.”
“I need to think of other methods… think harder…”
But as she pondered, Mela suddenly faltered.
She felt as though she had forgotten something.
“Damn it!”
Almost as soon as that vague thought struck her, a roar filled with three percent shame, seven percent anguish, and ninety percent pure rage echoed across the **Sea of Flowers**.
“Me—La—Tea—cher!”
“Ah, right. I forgot my foolish disciple was still soaking in the pool.”
Finally realizing what she had overlooked, Mela raised her head with a start, just in time to see a figure, red as a prawn, leap out of the water.
Moen, feeling as if every inch of him had nearly been boiled alive, was on the verge of tears. He glared at Mela, his frustration practically oozing from his pores, and growled through gritted teeth:
“What were you thinking?! Are you trying to boil your only disciple—your kind, handsome, gentle, and charming disciple—alive?!”
“Oh, there was just a little hiccup. Accidentally turned the water temperature up a bit too high,”
Mela replied nonchalantly, spreading her hands in a helpless, almost cute gesture.
“Be a good disciple and forgive your teacher, alright?”
“Hiccup?! Don’t think that just because you rewound time, you can pretend it didn’t happen!”
Moen growled in sheer fury:
“I have a connection to the **Clock of Eternity** too. My memories from before the reversal aren’t erased!”
“Oh?”
Mela raised an eyebrow, then smiled indifferently:
“I almost forgot about that. Well then, my dear disciple, what are you going to do about it?”
“I…”
Moen clenched his fists, glaring at Mela as waves of indignation surged within him.
Too outrageous!
Torturing me all the time is bad enough, but at least you used to warn me beforehand.
This time you just went and threw me into something this extreme, without so much as a heads-up?!
Moments ago, he had clearly felt how close he had come to death!
Even with time reversal, you can’t just treat this like a casual experiment!
At that moment, Moen experienced the same betrayal and frustration as a child distracted by candy from a charming nurse, only to turn his head and get a surprise shot in the butt—half confusion, half fury, part cheated, part stung, and completely outraged yet helpless!
No, he would never let this happen again!
“Mela, Teacher, I’ll make you understand that even as your lab rat, I have my rights!”
Moen took a deep breath, then suddenly pulled his arm back, adopting a boxer's stance.
“Oh? You want to spar with me?”
Watching her silly disciple challenge her with such bravado, Mela raised her eyebrows in amusement. She casually lifted one delicate hand.
“Fine, I’ll play along.”
“Wait!”
Moen suddenly yelled.
Seeing Mela’s familiar stance trigger a bad memory, his hand shot instinctively to his forehead.
“That’s not fair—using your age and level to bully me?! What kind of person does that make you?!”
“Hmm?”
Mela smirked.
“What do you want, then?”
“What do I want…”
Moen scanned Mela’s form deliberately. Then, glancing down at himself, his eyes brightened.
He slapped his thigh and declared:
“We’ll have a fair contest! No magic, no battle aura, no special tools, and no tricks of any kind!”
“Without any of those, what are we even competing?”
“Simple.”
Moen thrust out his chest and raised his arms, his knees slightly bent, assuming the classic pose of a bodybuilder. His lean musculature, lacking excessive bulk but brimming with explosive power like a panther, was displayed to its fullest.
**┗|｀O′|┛**
“We’re comparing muscles♂!”
“Muscles?”
Mela’s willow-like eyebrows arched high again in surprise.
She glanced at Moen’s firm biceps and chest muscles, then at her own slender, delicate, and snow-white arms without a trace of excess fat, and her smile grew brilliantly.
“Alright, I'm in.”
