On the experimental table, the Celestial Dragonian’s struggles gradually grew weaker.

She was not dead. Sein had simply injected her with a large dose of anesthetic.

This was an important living Rank Four specimen to him.

Although he had a Rank Six specimen from Apocalypse World, it was just a corpse.

Besides, dragon-type creatures naturally possessed stronger bloodline traits compared to most others.

Having already carried out extensive research on Apocalypse Potions, Sein hoped to uncover even more secrets related to body tempering through this Celestial Dragonian.

The experiment went pretty smoothly.

After conducting a preliminary vivisection of the Celestial Dragonian’s body, Sein extracted a special glandular fluid.

This fluid could physically enhance female creatures. Unfortunately, its effectiveness on males was only 13.75%.

That said, it did produce a strong aphrodisiac effect in males.

Yuri, Reina, and Leena had all been undergoing body tempering.

After obtaining the Celestial Dragon Fluid, Sein increased the frequency of their body tempering sessions.

Of course, he had not forgotten the others either.

Selina and Eileen remained stuck at their current life levels for a long time, and that had always worried him.

Taking advantage of the fact that the Arid Expanse Worlds War had not yet reached its most intense stage, Sein found time to personally guide them. At the same time, he also began putting the two women through body-tempering sessions.

Sein had always believed that one could never have too many skills, but there was no need for Selina and Eileen to study the deeper mysteries of body tempering themselves. All they had to do was set aside one hundred sandglasses each day for the sessions.

Only someone like Sein would think of putting two relatively weak, low-ranking female mages through body tempering.

He might once have considered it a waste of time, but as the Clash of Civilizations dragged on, Sein came to understand more and more clearly that a strong constitution meant better odds of surviving on the battlefield.

As Sein began tempering their bodies, a new stage of growth quietly opened for the two women.

Selina and Eileen, who had been stuck at Rank Two for many years, finally advanced to Rank Three.

For their age, reaching Rank Three now was admittedly a little late.

Based on the usual advancement patterns in Magus World, their chances of reaching the demigod realm or Rank Four in the future were extremely slim.

Still, nothing in this world was ever absolute.

There had been cases before in which mages, after accumulating enough knowledge and sufficiently deep insight into the mysteries of the truth, underwent a qualitative leap and advanced rapidly within a short period of time.

Sein took out a Golden Silver Potion that Lorianne had previously brewed for him. He diluted some of it and had the two women drink it.

For knights or those who followed a passive evolution path, the physical improvements brought by such a top-tier potion would have been astonishing.

It would not even be an exaggeration to say that it could allow them to leap an entire rank.

Mages, however, relied far more on the accumulation of knowledge, their understanding of elemental power, and even their insights into the power of laws, so the effects were not as dramatic.

What was obvious, though, was that both women had become visibly younger and more radiant.

Among the women around Sein, Eileen had always been the most forward.

Now, with her greatly improved physique and newly restored youth, she pursued Sein rather persistently for a time.

Encouraged by the results, Sein gave Marie the same body-tempering treatment, along with a diluted dose of Golden Silver Potion.

As a result, Marie also successfully advanced to the demigod realm in less than half a year.

From this, Sein came to the conclusion that a mage’s advancement was not determined solely by mental focus and knowledge. At certain times, the constitution could also play a major role in accelerating a mage’s progress.

In the end, the total amount of Golden Silver Potion consumed by the women came to only about twenty percent of a single vial.

This potion was simply too potent. Only law-wielding beings could consume it.

For those below Rank Four, taking too much of it recklessly could even cause their bodies to explode.

***

“Send that Celestial Dragonian to my collection room. I won’t have much time to study her for now. New combat orders have already come down from above,” Sein said.

Once the Celestial Dragonian was sent to his specimen collection room, she certainly would not be lonely, because she would not be the only specimen there.

Who knew? She might even become friends with some of Sein’s other specimens. Though they were confined behind elemental barriers or inside semi-transparent containers made of special materials, they could still communicate with one another via mental focus.

Sein’s latest orders were to join a mixed brigade of mobile suits and psychics from the Rosen Dynasty and capture two low-level planes within the Arid Expanse Worlds.

Both were desolate, ruined worlds dominated by sand and geo elements.

Although the Arid Expanse Worlds covered a vast territory, this star domain’s resources were not evenly concentrated. In fact, many of its planes were quite barren.

The two planes assigned to Sein and his allies fell into that category. As a result, the number of Grand Apocalypse World legions stationed there would be relatively low, while the proportion of native creature legions would be much higher.

The main forces of Grand Apocalypse World within the Arid Expanse Worlds were concentrated on the resource-rich planes at the center of the star domain.

There, the peak Rank Six creature named Seiron had accumulated astonishing wealth through the plunder of many surrounding planes.

For now, those riches belonged to the creatures of the Grand Apocalypse World. In time, they would belong to the Magus Civilization.

“Although I am on good terms with Veunoia, we’ll be operating separately in this war. I won’t interfere too much with all of you,” Sein said before the battle to the Rank Four psychic and the three Rank Four mobile suit pilots assigned to fight alongside him.

“Before we set out, Lady Veunoia instructed us to follow Master Sein’s orders closely. Just tell us your plan directly. We won’t let you down!” the Rank Four psychic assured him.

Ever since the expansion of the Energy Amethyst trade with the Rosen Dynasty, Sein’s relationship with this Magus Alliance partner had grown much closer.

At the same time, the Rosen Dynasty had become the only large-sized alliance world with which Sein had established truly deep business ties.

As for the other large-sized alliance worlds, such as Beastmen World and Titan World, although Sein had formed good personal friendships with figures like Eugene, the God of Half-Beastmen, and Thor, the God of Thunder, there were no real ties of shared interest between them.

The last time they met, the Titan brothers had actually sold Sein a Golden Apple with a bite already taken out of it.

The next time he saw them, he would need to have a serious talk with them.

“Very well, then. Your forces will serve as the second wave of the assault legion and attack the planar barriers of the two worlds below. The first wave will consist of the enslaved creatures the Magus Alliance has assigned to us as cannon fodder,” Sein explained.

“Once your charge begins, I’ll have the space fortress and the mage legions provide long-range fire support.”

“Yes, sir!” replied the Rank Four psychic with the short ponytail.