Within the strange storm surrounding him, the last of Arthur's life seeds finally melted and merged into the core within him.
This core didn't look like something made of flesh and blood. It was now a crystal that appeared to be made of glass or some gem.
The core was very large. It was about the size of his head. This was small in size when compared to the total size of every organ and the 1,024 life seeds that went into creating the core.
The core itself was transparent. It truly looked like it was made of glass. But unlike normal gems, it was thoroughly enchanted with various runes and symbols.
The core also had many faces. It had 1,024 faces in total, and each face was smooth and well defined as if the core were a gem crafted by a master gemsmith.
These details were difficult to see because of all the brightness, though. The core itself is see-through, but it contains so much energy in such a small place that it was glowing brightly like a small golden star.
When he was at the peak of the third mortal coil and had 1,024 life seeds, each life seed contained 1,000 units of energy. This was the same amount of energy that his life seed at the peak of the second mortal coil contained.
1,000 units of energy multiplied by 1,024 life seeds might look like a lot, but it wasn't a lot for someone at the peak of the third mortal coil who could use all of their life seeds at the same time.
For someone who could use all of their life seeds as one single engine, all they really had was the 1,000 units of energy because the energy in all of the life seeds was being used at once. That has changed now that he has formed a core.
All of the energy in the 1,024 life seeds was placed in one larger and stronger vessel. This vessel still retains the combined power of 1,024 life seeds, but now it has 1,024,000 units of energy to use the power instead of just 1,000 units.
Another difference between having 1,024 life seeds and having one single core with all of their powers is that the core is better than a life seed in terms of quantity and quality.
All of the potential that was used to craft 1,024 life seeds has now been digested and combined to create one superior superstructure. This superstructure is now capable of processing energy at a higher level.
This means that he can now continue to cultivate his body, energy, and mind just like he did when he first formed his life seed at the second mortal coil.
The growth of his energy, body, and mind, which stopped at the peak of the second mortal coil, can now continue because of the superstructure called the golden core. Already, he is beginning to see the benefits.
The bodies of human beings are stuck at the tenth transformation. That has changed now that he has formed a core.
He formed a life seed and gave it potential when he established his foundation. Then he transformed his foundation and digested all of the potential that he gave his life seeds when he was at the third mortal coil. Now he can begin to enjoy the benefits of all of that hard work.
His hard work has removed the limits that used to bind him as a human. He has also become something other than a human from now on.
It is as it said: the old things have passed away. Now, all have become new.
In this case, he truly began to shed his body. As his superior energy began to transform him, his body fell apart to make way for something newer and better.
His nails fell out. Then his hair fell out. Next his skin molted and separated from his body. His blood was changed into a thick golden liquid that was mostly full of mana.
The mana in his blood and his core are actually both wood and lightning elements. They don't normally glow a golden color. It is the high concentration of them that made them glow golden.
Every person who forms a core will exhibit this intense golden radiation of energy no matter what element they possess. This is what it means to be golden. This is where the name "golden core" comes from.
He was transforming like a caterpillar does into a butterfly. The feeling was strangely pleasant, not painful as it seemed.
If this process was painful, then the odds are that he will fail to advance to the fourth mortal coil. This is because the advancement process isn't over yet.
After the life seeds fuse, the product of the fusion will transform its vessel. The core will either crack under the stressful requirements of the transformation, or the energy within the core will go berserk and kill the vessel.
The first case happens when the core is not strong enough to transform its vessel and wielders. The second situation where energy goes berserk only happens when the person couldn't control the power of all their life seeds at once when they were at the second mortal coil.
For humans, as long as the core was formed from a seventh transformation foundation, the core will be strong enough.
Weaker races with less potential will require a core with less structural integrity, while stronger races with high potential will require a core formed from a stronger foundation.
He has a perfect foundation, so his core is more than strong enough to help him break the shackles of biology that bind him.
He also has perfect control of his power with a 100% mastery of host techniques and 100% harmony of the elements, so his energy and newfoundpower can't go berserk and kill him. There is just no chance of that happening to him.