It felt so good to be close to the witch!

After dawdling for a long time, Roy and the Ice Witch Ais finally got down to business.

The Ice Witch Ais sat cross-legged on the bed, holding a high-purity magic crystal she had taken from the crystal box in her right hand, and closed her eyes.

A rich source of natural magic surged from the high-purity magic crystal and was absorbed into her body.

The high-purity magic crystal, from which natural magic was extracted, emitted a dazzling starlight, illuminating the entire hidden place like a starry sky. The Ice Witch Ais, who was closest to the high-purity magic crystal, was made even more beautiful, like an elf in the starry sky.

Roy took a deep breath and sat cross-legged in front of the Ice Witch Ais. He held Ais's left hand with one hand and lightly touched the high-purity magic crystal with the other. His expression was solemn and serious as he monitored the natural magic power within the crystal.

Advancing to the "Grand Master" rank is by no means an easy or safe thing.

The number of "Grand Witches" is so rare that ordinary people, even regular knights, have never even heard of them.

This shows that the difficulty for a witch to break through to the "Grand Rank" far exceeds that of a Silver Knight breaking through to the Gold Rank.

Moreover, everyone is at their most vulnerable during the breakthrough process, and the fact that the Ice Witch Ais was willing to break through in front of him is enough to show her trust in him.

Ais entrusted her future to him, so Roy naturally dared not be careless and had to do his best to make the most of it.

The high-purity magic crystal contains approximately 80 strands of natural magic, which are currently disappearing at a rate of one strand per second. In their place, the Ice Witch Ais's magic is becoming increasingly powerful.

Natural magic is a very magical energy. It is incredibly pure and can be absorbed by witches at a near 1:1 ratio, transforming into their own magic. In this process, it can even dilute the level of pollution on a witch's body, making it a "treasure" to her.

Roy focused all his attention on sensing, and after about six seconds, he noticed that the Ice Witch Ais's absorption of natural magic was slowing down. At the same time, the energy in Ais's body seemed to have reached a limit.

Six strands of natural magic... the limit... which means that the Ice Witch Ais's total magic power is approximately 94 strands...

The thought flashed through Roy's mind, and he became increasingly tense.

Raising the total magical power to the limit of 99.9 is the first step for a witch to break through to the "Grand" rank, and it is also the simplest, easiest, and least stressful step. The second step is the real test.

What is "Grand Rank"? Roy asked Ais this question before he started trying to break through, and the answer he got was that he didn't know.

Yes, I just don't know.

The Grand Rank is a legendary status, even for witches.

I've heard of many, but I've actually seen very few. At least, none of the witches Roy knows have ever seen a "Grand Witch".

Knowing only the name but not the specifics makes it impossible to break through. For example, a formal knight knows that to advance to the Bronze rank, they need to condense battle qi and temper their body with it, but without an advanced breathing technique, no matter how hard a formal knight tries, they cannot advance to the Bronze rank.

The Shadow Witch had previously thought that obtaining high-purity magic crystals could help the semi-out-of-control Light Witch Vivian advance to the "Grand Rank." This was merely the last straw she grasped in despair, even though she herself knew that without the correct breakthrough method, the possibility of advancing to the "Grand Rank" was almost nonexistent. But it was her only choice at the time.

Fortunately, the Ice Witch Ais, as a near-peak existence among witches, has not wasted her many years of wandering. Through searching for clues bit by bit, carefully verifying them time and time again, and even by learning from advanced breathing techniques, she now has a way to try to break through to the "Grand Rank". That is: to condense a real magic storage organ in her body.

The heart is where witches store their magical power; therefore, a witch's heart is also known as the "witch's heart."

The Ice Witch Ais once covered the heart of the Shadow Witch Lilia with ice magic, thus rendering her unable to use magic and putting her in a weakened state.

However, although it is called the "heart of a witch", in reality, the hearts of witches are still made of flesh and blood, and there is an upper limit to the amount of magic power they can contain. This upper limit is 99.9.

Once this limit is reached, no matter how hard one tries, even absorbing natural magic from the outside world, it is impossible to increase the upper limit of magic power by even a fraction.

Now, here comes the crucial point.

Following the logic of the Ice Witch Ais, since there is a limit to the amount of magic that a flesh and blood heart can store, why can't the heart be modified?

In Ais's speculation, the so-called "Grand Rank" should be the "organ" used by "Grand Witches" to store large amounts of magical power.

Therefore, the second step to breaking through to the "Grand Rank" is to condense the "Magic Organ" - the "Witch's Heart".

The idea for a breakthrough is there, but how exactly do we condense the "magical organ"?

The answer is pressure.

When one's own magic power reaches the limit of 99.9, they continue to absorb natural magic power from the outside world. This natural magic power cannot be absorbed and converted into one's own magic power to increase the upper limit of magic power, but it will accumulate in the body. The more unabsorbed natural magic power accumulates, the more it will create a huge inward "pressure" on the body, which is called "magic pressure".

Using this immense magical pressure, natural magic is continuously forced into the heart, gradually transforming the flesh and blood heart into a true magical organ—the "Witch's Heart."

After hearing this idea, Roy thought about it for a long time and felt that it was indeed feasible.

However, this method also carries significant risks.

First, there's the question of whether the witch's body can withstand the accumulation of natural magic without being stretched and torn apart. Second, after the formation of magical pressure, how can the more fragile heart remain intact amidst the gradual infiltration of magical power and eventually become a magical organ?

In response to Roy's two concerns, the Ice Witch Ais had simply shaken her head slightly during their previous conversation, saying, "I have a way to deal with it. Besides, how could breaking through to the Grand rank be without any risk?"

These words left Roy silent for a long time before he finally nodded in agreement.

Although the Second Prince has not yet made a move, Roy can sense that an invisible giant net has already enveloped the Black Stone Territory and is slowly descending. By the time it closes in, it will be too late.

To turn the tide, we must increase our own strength as much as possible before the Second Prince's actions begin, and at the same time obtain the [Arrogant Magic Source] magical item under Star Lake. This way, we will have leverage in negotiations.

A few witches alone are not enough to face the Second Prince. Only by having a Grand Witch who is even more powerful than the Golden Knight can we gain the right to "speak".

Chapter 59 Wait, there, you can't!

Roy didn't know if the "breakthrough method" mentioned by the Ice Witch Ais was correct, but now he had no other choice.

As Ais said, how could breaking through to the "Grand Rank" be without any risk?

All Roy could do was try his best to help Ais complete her promotion.

After the magic power stored in her flesh and heart reached the upper limit of 99.9 dao, the Ice Witch Ais absorbed natural magic power at a much slower rate, from 1 dao per second to 0.25 dao per second.

These natural magical energies that could not be absorbed or transformed began to accumulate in Ais's body.

When the accumulated natural magic power reached 10, Ais's body began to tense up and her breathing became rapid; when it reached 15, she clenched her teeth, and the light blue veins on her forehead, neck, and the back of her hands began to bulge; when it reached 20, she finally couldn't help but groan, and dense, light blood vessels appeared on her fair skin.

Seeing this, Roy's heart leaped into his throat.

The 20 accumulated natural magical powers had begun to exert pressure, but it was far from reaching the level of "magical pressure." However, Ais's body could no longer withstand it.

If this continues, before the "magical pressure" can even fully form, her body will be torn apart by the accumulated natural magic.

How to do?

Shall we make our move now and draw out the natural magic power accumulated within her body?

In preparation for tonight's attempt to break through to the "Grand" rank, Roy had already replaced the low-purity magic crystals under the four lamps in the treasure room, which were almost completely depleted of energy. Combined with his own capacity, he now has a maximum absorption limit of 50.

However, if she were to absorb the natural magic now, Ais's breakthrough would be a failure.

Before the natural magic power inside the high-purity magic crystal is drained and can be used to store energy, these 50 energy absorption limits are what Roy planned to use to absorb pollution.

The degree of pollution can be understood as the proportion of pollution, or in simple terms, the ratio of solute to solution.

Pollution is the solute, and magic is the solution.

The principle of absorbing natural magic to dilute pollution lies in increasing the volume of the solution. However, the Ice Witch Ais has a maximum of 94 magic powers. With a pollution level of around 90%, she has 84.6 pollution powers. Even if she increases her magic power to 99.9 by absorbing natural magic, it only dilutes the pollution by 5.3%, reducing the pollution level to 84.7%, which is a very weak effect.

To reduce the pollution level to below 40%, only Roy's external assistance can help.

Seeing that more and more blood vessels were appearing on Ais's body, Roy gritted his teeth and decided to absorb the natural magic.

This attempt to break through failed, but there will be another time. However, if something happens to the Ice Witch Ais, that would be a big problem.

But just before Roy was about to make his move, the Ice Witch Ais suddenly opened her eyes and said in a slightly trembling voice, "Wait, I can still hold on!"

Because of the natural magic power accumulated within her body, Ais's eyes radiated a bright, ethereal purple light, making her look dreamy and beautiful.

Upon hearing Ais's words, Roy paused, gritted his teeth, and ultimately chose to believe Ais.

Although they hadn't known each other for long, Roy could tell that Ais was definitely not a witch who liked to show off. When she said she could still hold on, she really could.

The natural magic power within the high-purity magic crystal continued to flow out. As time passed, more and more blood vessels appeared on Ais's body. The overflowing blood stained her crimson dress into a bright reddish-purple. With blood vessels covering her face, neck, and body, she looked like a porcelain doll on the verge of breaking, a shocking sight.

Soon, Ais's body accumulated 25 strands of natural magic, and at this moment, her body officially reached its limit. A tear about 20 centimeters long appeared on her left forearm. It was foreseeable that in the next very short time, her body would suffer more large-area tears, and eventually, her entire body would be completely torn apart by natural magic.

Just before Roy could react, Ais uttered a soft "Condense!"

In an instant, her body was covered with ice threads thinner than a strand of hair, forming a net of ice that enveloped her.

These ice threads not only stitched up the blood vessels and cracks on the surface of her body, but also penetrated deep into her body, injecting a "heart stimulant" into Ais's body, which was on the verge of collapse, and instantly stabilizing her.

Witnessing this, Roy let out a deep breath, large beads of sweat dripping from his forehead due to tension, but he dared not wipe them away, still focusing wholeheartedly on Ais's physical condition.

With the help of the "Ice Web", Ais's physical endurance has been greatly improved.

30……35……40……45……50！

The accumulated natural magic power increased from 25 to 50 without causing any further physical tearing.

Or perhaps the flesh has been torn apart, but it has been tightly stitched together with ice thread, so it is not visible from the outside.

After accumulating 50 strands of magic power, the pressure finally reached a critical value, and "magical pressure" was generated. The immense pressure began to force the natural magic power into the heart little by little.

Under normal circumstances, a heart that has reached the upper limit of 99.9 magic power will explode with a "bang" if more magic power is forcibly injected. However, due to the existence of "magic pressure", the heart cannot explode and can only be infused with natural magic power little by little. In this process, the heart is tainted by the huge magic power and its structure begins to change.

The moment the heart transforms from pure flesh and blood into a "magical organ" marks the successful breakthrough.

Roy perked up, but his expression grew even more serious.

Next, it was his turn to make a move.

The reason why the Ice Witch Ais said that in order to advance to the "Grand Rank", the level of pollution must be kept below 40% is because during the process of the heart being forcibly tainted by "magical pressure", the pollution within the magic will cause a disturbance.

The pollution riots were not only harmful to the witches' bodies, but also had a severe impact on their mental well-being.

Madness, bloodlust, tyranny... and other negative emotions can easily breed under the influence of pollution and riots.

To maintain the "Ice Web," Ais must maintain extremely high concentration, using ice threads to stitch up every blood vessel in her body. Such meticulous work is terrifyingly mentally taxing. If she is affected by the pollution riots and loses control of her emotions, causing the "Ice Web" to collapse, her body will be instantly torn apart by the immense "magical pressure" of natural magic.

Without hesitation, Roy immediately activated his talent [Infinite Desire] to absorb the pollution from Ais's body.

The status of [Infinite Desire] is very high. Its mechanism of action is not a pure attraction, but a higher-dimensional pull.

When Roy absorbed the pollution, it did not affect the natural magic. The pollution contained in the magic within Ais's heart was being absorbed by him at a constant rate.

Before long, the four almost empty low-purity magic crystals, as well as Roy's own body, were completely filled with energy converted from pollution.

"call……"

Roy finally breathed a sigh of relief as he watched the transformation of Ais's magical organ, the "Witch's Heart," proceed smoothly within her body.

At this moment, the level of contamination in Ais's body has dropped to around 35%, which is considered a safe level.

Next, as long as the transformation is carried out step by step, the breakthrough to "Grand Position" can be achieved!

Under Roy's watchful eye, the transformation of Ais's heart gradually accelerated.

10%...20%...

Until, finally, 100% is reached!

Become!