The emerald-green cluster of light floated toward Purple Hammer’s head.
The cluster seemed to have no physical form, passing directly through Purple Hammer’s head and seeping into his flesh and brain.
In an instant, Purple Hammer felt his mind become much sharper.
Thoughts collided and crystallized within his mind in a flash.
In the past, when facing an incoming blade, Purple Hammer could think of three ways to parry and block it.
Now, he could calculate many more, more rational ways to counter in an instant, and even look further ahead to devise follow-up combos for a counterattack.
However, he felt his body was a bit sluggish, unable to keep up with his thoughts.
“My blessing power, the Brain of Wisdom.”
“It can accelerate your thinking and enhance your wisdom.”
“At the same time, it allows you to manipulate your body with greater precision.”
As Purple Hammer listened to Wisdom Aclaire, he felt the changes in his body with pleasant surprise.
“Now that you have obtained courage and wisdom, go and try again.”
Wisdom Aclaire turned his head toward Strength Aclaire.
At that moment, Strength Aclaire was still snoring loudly.
Purple Hammer took a deep breath and approached the dragon claw pressed against the rock.
He bent down, his four arms tightly gripping the scales on the dragon claw, and then exerted sudden force.
Accompanied by the tremor of the rock, the massive, immovable dragon claw was actually lifted bit by bit.
Seeing this, Purple Hammer rejoiced. He hurriedly increased his strength and stepped under the dragon claw.
With his four arms raised, he bore the dragon claw on his back.
Exerting force with his legs, which seemed almost to sink into the rock, he lifted the dragon claw inch by inch.
The muscles across his entire body adjusted constantly.
Obtaining the blessing of the Brain of Wisdom allowed Purple Hammer’s brain to manipulate every inch of his muscles with finer precision.
These constant adjustments allowed Purple Hammer’s body to switch to more effective ways of applying force throughout the process of lifting the dragon claw.
Cracks began to appear in the rock beneath his feet, and his soles sank little by little into the hard stone.
“Up!”
With a final explosive roar, his four arms exerted force upward simultaneously. He straightened his body, and the dragon claw was lifted entirely above his head.
The bones of Purple Hammer’s entire body began to creak and groan.
From his palms to his soles, every inch of flesh seemed to come alive, working hard to adjust and maintain the fragile balance of this lifting motion.
“He lifted it!”
Courage Aclaire shouted, then spat a fireball onto Strength Aclaire’s head.
The sudden explosion of the fireball startled Strength Aclaire awake from his deep slumber.
He looked left and right, and finally, seeing his own dragon claw being held up by Purple Hammer, a look of disbelief crossed his face.
“To think you actually lifted it. Consider my trial, the Trial of Strength, passed.”
“The fact that you could solve my predicament is proof enough of your strength.”
Strength Aclaire retracted his claw, and Purple Hammer collapsed to the ground, his brain dizzy as he struggled to regulate his body.
Part of it was oxygen deprivation in the brain from overexertion.
Part of it was the depletion of mental energy.
The blessing of the Brain of Wisdom allowed Purple Hammer to manipulate every inch of his muscles with precision, but this process was extremely taxing on the mind and could not be maintained for long.
Furthermore, mobilizing the muscles of the entire body in such a way placed a massive burden on the physique.
“My blessing, the blessing of Strength Aclaire, is called the Third Arm, the Arm of Strength.”
Strength Aclaire opened his maw and spat out a blood-red cluster of light.
The blood-red light shot toward Purple Hammer and quickly sank into his back.
In an instant, Purple Hammer felt a sharp pain in his back, as if a red-hot branding iron had been thrust directly into his flesh and then enveloped by it.
The pain came quickly and left just as fast. Once it passed, Purple Hammer felt a mysterious sensation in his back.
It was as if a part had suddenly been added to his body.
However, when he tried to reach back and feel it, he sensed nothing.
“Concentrate your mind, and you will be able to feel the existence of the Third Arm.”
“The Third Arm is formless and weightless. Although you may not be able to adapt at first, once you do, it will provide you with much assistance.”
Purple Hammer closed his eyes, carefully sensing the extra part behind his back and struggling to manipulate it.
And behind Purple Hammer, a transparent arm, seemingly without physical form, reached out.
Once the arm emerged, Purple Hammer felt as though it had grown naturally from his body; he felt no awkwardness in manipulating it.
The Third Arm was like an arm composed of a soul, formless and weightless, appearing in a transparent state.
If one's vision and perception were not up to par, they might not even sense the arm's existence.
Looking from the air, one could only notice a slight distortion in the atmosphere.
“The power of the Third Arm depends on your physical strength.”
“The stronger your physical body, the stronger the Third Arm will be.”
“The Third Arm has no fixed form. When in Materialization, its strength is equivalent to half of your total physical power.”
“When in Etherealization, its power is very weak, only one-tenth of its materialized strength.”
“Furthermore, the Third Arm can emerge from any part of your body.”
Purple Hammer manipulated the Third Arm; everything was exactly as Aclaire had described.
A transparent third arm that possessed half of his total strength and could emerge from any part of his body.
Whether it was from his back, the top of his head, his front, or even the soles of his feet.
“The Third Arm usually resides within you in Etherealization. In that state, its spiritual sense is extremely keen.”
“It can sense danger and automatically reach out to protect the body when a crisis arrives.”
Purple Hammer manipulated the Third Arm, feeling very satisfied with this ethereal limb.
Though for a purple-skinned blacksmith who already had four arms, this Third Arm should really be called the fifth arm.
“Lord Strength Aclaire, what would happen if the Third Arm were to be injured?”
Purple Hammer looked at the Third Arm; although it was an arm acquired later, it felt connected to him by blood.
His sixth sense told him that if the Third Arm were injured, he likely wouldn't fare well.
“The Third Arm is the condensation of the physical power of your entire body. When injured, it is no different from your normal arms.”
“Once it is severed, besides the injury you suffer, the Third Arm will vanish completely.”
“Unless you find the severed Third Arm and reattach it.”
Having finished introducing his blessing power, Aclaire spread his dragon wings and flew into the air.
“Follow the crater ahead downward, and you will see the stairs leading to the Exiled Land.”
“I hope the end of your fire-seeking journey does not disappoint me, seeker of fire.”
Aclaire, the guardian of the Exiled Land who had completed the trial, flew into the thick smoke belched by the crater, vanishing as he hid within the smoke once more.
In front of Purple Hammer, a path leading to the center of the volcano appeared.
Purple Hammer donned his equipment, shouldered his Purple Treasure Mallet, and followed the road deep into the volcano, disappearing into the smoke belched by the crater.
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