CHAPTER 58: AURENWOOD TREE’S LEAF

Subsequently, they left the city at a slow pace as James was still at the Silver Rank.

While they were on the way, James asked the system about the method to upgrade the system’s level.

The system told him that there were multiple ways to upgrade its level such as through completing missions, hidden requirements, or even surpassing the system’s limit rank himself.

For example, the system’s current limit was at the forbidden tier. Which meant that James could raise its level just by reaching the Hallowed Rank. This point alone proved that the old man’s rank had reached the Hallowed Rank Knight at the very least.

He also informed Ignis about Lilith’s information. Even though he was pretty confident that she wouldn’t lose, he just wanted Ignis to know her opponent’s ability in advance so that it would be easier for her to win.

[Name: Lilith]

[Age: 18]

[Race: Heavenly Demon Fox]

[Rank: Peak Legendary Rank]

[Attribute: Imperial-level Fire Element]

[Qualification: Sovereign Rank]

[Skills: 9-Tailed Heavenly Demon Fox skills (4-Tailed)]

— — —

1st Tail: Awakening

_Foxfire Flame: Gains the ability to conjure and manipulate basic foxfire, a mystical flame that can burn both physically and spiritually.

_Enhanced Agility: Movement becomes faster and more fluid, with reflexes heightened.

_Charm Gaze: Gains a weak charm ability that can mildly influence weaker-willed individuals.

2nd Tail: Illusion Mastery

_Foxfire Explosion: Can create small explosions with foxfire, adding more destructive potential to attacks.

_Basic Illusions: Can cast simple illusions to deceive enemies, such as creating fake images or altering surroundings slightly.

_Increased Demonic Qi: The amount of Demonic Qi the character can store and control increases significantly.

3rd Tail: Demonic Transformation

_Partial Transformation: Gains the ability to partially transform into a fox demon, enhancing physical strength, claws, and senses during combat.

_Illusion Domain: Can cast larger-scale illusions that affect multiple enemies at once, distorting their perception of reality.

_Regeneration: Gains a moderate healing factor, allowing wounds to heal faster in and out of battle.

4th Tail: Foxfire Manipulation

_Advanced Foxfire: Gains complete control over foxfire, able to shape it into various forms like whips, shields, or weapons.

_Fox Spirit Clone: Can create illusionary or physical clones of oneself using demonic energy, confusing enemies in battle.

_Aura of Fear: Unleashes an intimidating aura that instills fear in weaker opponents, reducing their combat effectiveness.

— — —

...

A few minutes later, they arrived at a vast barren land that was quite far from Valentis City.

"This area will do. No one will disturb us here." Guardian Lu said and waved his hand, creating a thin, yet extremely vast barrier that stretched for more than a kilometer.

"Old man, we’ll rely on you to keep us from getting vaporized." James smiled at Guardian Lu beside him.

Guardian Lu only spared him a glance and didn’t respond, making Elara feeling curious.

"Brother, is that old man a shy person?" Elara tugged James’ coat softly.

Cough!

James was caught off guard and coughed lightly, thinking that Elara’s innocence was sometimes truly dangerous to the point that it might endanger their lives.

"Don’t talk nonsense, Elara." James flicked her forehead and looked at Guardian Lu with a bitter smile. "Please don’t mind her, she’s still young and just says whatever she has in her mind."

Guardian Lu glanced at Elara with a faint smile before shaking his head helplessly.

"Uhhm–James... Can I play with Elara?" Yvonne asked, as she couldn’t hold back anymore because of Elara’s cuteness.

"Ask her, not me." James replied with a chuckle.

Looking at Yvonne who wanted to play with herself, Elara asked as she bit a finger and looked at Yvonne as if she found another target. "What do you have for Elara?"

James shook his head helplessly, but remained silent and let her do whatever she wanted.

Yvonne smiled faintly. "What do you want?"

"Do you have delicious food like the skewers Sister Ignis has given me?" Elara asked excitedly.

"Of course—"

"But Elara is not hungry now." Elara said disappointedly.

Yvonne chuckled. "What do you want then? Tell me."

"Hmmm..." Elara put her fingers on her chin cutely, seemingly thinking about something important for a moment.

"Little Bubble, what should Elara ask for?" Elara looked at the small bubble on her hand with a troubled expression. The small creature inside moved around a little bit in response.

"Treasure! Elara wants treasures." Elara’s eyes lit up.

Yvonne seemed to think about something for a second and took out a huge golden leaf around 30 cm big.

The leaf shimmered softly, its surface was smooth with faint veins of emerald green pulsed underneath as if it was alive. Each vein branched delicately, forming patterns that were structurally rather than random.

Despite its size, the leaf looked weightless. When it moved, even the slightest motion caused gentle ripples of light to dance across it.

A faint, calming fragrance drifted from it—warm, honeyed flowers, and reminiscent of spring mornings. Just being near it made the heart steady, and the body feel lighter, as if the tension itself couldn’t exist with its presence.

The moment Yvonne took out the leaf, Guardian Lu and Lilith were shocked. Even the old man widened his eyes for a split second.

"Wow." Elara marveled at the leaf’s appearance and opened her mouth wide.

"What kind of treasure is this?" She asked excitedly, as she noticed that everyone was surprised when they saw it.

James was stunned because he couldn’t see the details of the leaf’s description!

The only thing he could see was just the name of it.

[Aurenwood Tree’s Leaf]

[Description: ???]

[Effect: ...]

"Do you know what that is?" James glanced at Ignis and asked her through their connection.

"Unfortunately, I don’t. But I’m certain that it has a magical effect if it’s brewed as a tea." Ignis replied.

"Well, I guess we need to wait a bit then." James looked at Yvonne.

Yvonne looked at Elara and explained what kind of treasure with a proud expression. "This is a leaf from the Aurenwood Tree. Brew it into tea and your comprehension skyrockets. It’s especially valuable for breaking bottlenecks—and most importantly, it can heal damage to the soul."

She then stuffed the leaf onto Elara’s hand with a faint smile. "Are you satisfied now? This leaf is extremely precious that—"

Before Yvonne could continue, Elara cut her off. "So, this thing can only be used to make tea?"

"Well, technically yeah, but—"

"Elara doesn’t want this then." Elara refused, but didn’t give it back to Yvonne and stuffed it onto James’s hand instead.

"..."

"..."

"..."

Yvonne, Lilith, and Guardian Lu were speechless when they heard it. They had never thought that someone would refuse such an extremely precious treasure like this.

Even James raised an eyebrow for a second before coming back to his senses and instantly put the leaf in his inventory without a second thought.

Noticing the disappearance of the leaf, Yvonne instantly reacted by extending her palm as if asking for the leaf back. "Alright then if you don’t want it. I’ll give you something else."

James feigned ignorance and looked at Yvonne in confusion. "What are you doing?"

"What do you mean by what I am doing? Where’s the leaf? Give it back to me. I’ll change the gift to something else." Yvonne said in annoyance.