After another ten minutes or so, the entire core had softened completely.

Zhang Lie clutched the crystalline, multicolored orb in his hands that glowed like a piece of art. He felt a sense of unusual familiarity with the core, as though it were only an extension of his body.

Once he felt such a sensation, Zhang Lie couldn't resist his impulses any longer, and he swallowed the core whole.

As the core slid down his throat, Zhang Lie felt a huge lump of energy settle in his stomach.. Subsequently, all that energy contained within the core burst apart.

Almost immediately, Zhang Lie took...