The intricate mana infinity circle and the elemental symbol melded seamlessly into a self-sustaining loop within Lu Zhen's heart, eliminating the need for his constant guidance. Mana coursed through this loop, like an ever-flowing river, generating a single strand of pure condensed mana.

This newly formed mana possessed an unparalleled level of purity and density, setting it apart from the previous unrefined mana. Its most remarkable quality, however, was its transparency, akin to liquid water, exuding the inherent essence of the water element as it appeared quite tame.

Lu Zhen's clothing clung to his body, thoroughly soaked in the perspiration brought about by his strenuous efforts. His ragged breaths resonated in the chamber, and beads of sweat ran down his furrowed brow.

Elv's white eyes expanded with astonishment as she perceived Lu Zhen's physical state.

"He has indeed succeeded in reaching the final stage," Elv marveled, her gaze now riveted to Lu Zhen, a newfound intrigue dancing in her eyes.

"Either you have to become my body bearer, which is even better, or bring me the first-stage martial artist, Lu Zhen," she thought to herself, a smirk playing on her face.

"Now, for the final step," Lu Zhen slowly opened his crimson eyes as it shined with determination.

Lu Zhen slowly closed his crimson eyes once more as he sensed a pure strand of mana with the water attribute. He guided the mana directly to his brain.

That's right, to his brain!

Ordinary people, upon becoming mages, don't automatically become smarter out of thin air just because they become a mage. It's primarily because mana possessed a special property that enhanced brainpower.

Mages were known for their intelligence, and their civilization advanced significantly due to this property, even though they had magic that could solve many problems which was what delayed the growth of technology in the martial world.

Unfortunately, that property was lost when mana mutated into qi, as it is today.

Slowly, Lu Zhen tentatively guided the mana towards his brain as he contemplated a certain matter. However, with determination, he allowed the strand of mana to enter his brain.

Boom!

A thunderous sound seemed to erupt within his head, ringing loudly.

Lu Zhen winced as blood began to trickle from his ears.

"It seems this might be troublesome," he frowned as the strand of mana rampaged within his head, moving chaotically.

Suddenly, Lu Zhen's mind blanked out, and his eyes rolled back, but he remained in a sitting position.

"It should be that stage soon..." She looked at Lu Zhen with a hesitating emotion. He was now completely vulnerable. If she attacked him, he would be easily captured, even though she would have to permanently lose half of her lifespan. She could capture him and discover all of Lu Zhen's secrets if he had any.

Elv weighed the benefits of capturing Lu Zhen and losing half of her lifespan versus letting him go now and gaining a first-stage martial artist body.

Finally, after a long time, Elv sighed. She tightened her fist and shook her head, remaining in that position.

"The benefits outweigh the gains," she thought to herself.

Elv was unaware of her good fortune in not attacking Lu Zhen during his most vulnerable moment, narrowly avoiding her servant's body's death.

Unbeknownst to Elv, within a 5-metre radius of Lu Zhen, a thin wire had been subtly set up. It would instantly alert Lu Zhen if anything happened to him, even if he was unconscious.

He had installed these thin wires while he was conversing with Elv earlier. Since she still inhabited a mortal child's body, it was relatively easy for Lu Zhen to set them up.

When Lu Zhen received an alert, even if he was unconscious, he would transform into his Vulgrith form, driven solely by his instincts.

Although this plan was not foolproof, Lu Zhen had no other option. The lethargic feeling from before was returning, and if he delayed any longer, he would be in even greater trouble. So, he had to complete the setup of his mana heart right here.

Slowly, the strand of pure mana in Lu Zhen's head became more tame, ceasing its rampage and settling down slowly.

Finally, the strand of mana slowly nurtured the brain, and the entire structure of his brain began to change. Instead of the usual four chambers, it strangely nurtured the brain, expanding it to eight chambers. This transformation also strengthened the brain's neurons.

The strand of mana diminished gradually as it nurtured everything. When it showed signs of being nearly drained, a strange light suddenly lit up inside Lu Zhen's brain.

[Waking up from hibernation mode]

[System reboot successful]

[Information updated]

[Ding! Alarm: foreign energy detected]

The red light moved towards the thin, dried-out strand of mana.

[Scanning the energy]

[Analysing]

[1%....5%....40%....80%....90%....100%]

[Analysis complete. The energy appears to be beneficial to the host. Its origin seems to be similar to qi.]

[Upgrade available from the new information of the energy.]

[Does the host want to upgrade the system?]

[Ding!]

[The host is unconscious]

[System Permission does not allow upgrades without the host's permission.]

[The upgrade will be paused until the host grants permission.]

[Until then, the energy will remain trapped by the system.]

The cold, emotionless voice of Lu Zhen echoed in his head, but he remained completely unaware due to the previous damage caused when the mana rampaged around.

"Did he succeed?" Elv thought to herself as her white eyes fluctuated, and she stared at the head of Lu Zhen.

There was a time limit for how long the mana could rampage before it was tamed. Since Lu Zhen's mana was comparatively weaker, his time limit was shorter than that of others, even among normal mages. If one were to compare this in the context of mages, it was considerably limited.

After all, the method Lu Zhen used to establish the mana heart wouldn't even make him a proper mage as he couldn't even cast a single spell with the mana capacity in the mana heart.