There was a lot in Moltherak's long-winded explanation that Leo couldn't quite understand yet, but there was also plenty he did grasp.
For one, Moltherak seemed to have been humbled by time.
He spoke of his past slaughters not with pride, but with a distant heaviness, as though they were once achievements he flaunted….. yet were actions that he now looked back with regret.
He looked quite pitiful when he talked like that, however, Leo only thought of him as a 'Whiny Bitch', when he suddenly went all monk mode on him.
However, apart from that, everything else he talked about was quite fascinating.
For one, all the ancient beasts were Demi-God tier beings, whose souls had attained godhood, but bodies had not.
Hence, after their bodies were destroyed, their souls had to be sealed in time-stilled worlds, which now acted as their prisons for eternity.
Moltherak also mentioned how the next pantheon of Gods had absorbed fragments of their power—traits, abilities, or remnants of their essence—and used them to grow stronger.
Leo didn't fully understand the implications of that yet, but it intrigued him all the same.
And finally, there was the most baffling revelation: the current gods had transcended the third dimension and mastered the Dao of Time.
It was a simple enough thing to say, but hard to even begin to comprehend.
"So basically what you're saying is… the current gods can't be killed unless another god does it? And they don't fight among themselves anymore?" Leo asked, trying to piece it together.
Moltherak nodded. "That's the gist of it… yes," he said, letting out another puff of smoke through his nostrils.
"If I ever get my hands on a proper body to take over someday… mark my words, kid, I'm going to make those gods pay. I may not look like much now, but if I return to the modern world, the universe will once again remember the terror of Moltherak. That much I promise."
"Agh, die already, old Dragon. Leave some fun for us youngsters, will you? You've destroyed enough galaxies—let us have the privilege of being tyrants now," Leo said with a smirk, waving him off casually.
Moltherak scoffed. "Don't make that mistake, boy. Karma is a powerful force. You may laugh now, but the bigger the crime, the heavier the punishment. That's a law even the strongest can't escape.
I slaughtered hundreds of millions when I was alive. And now I'm paying for it with eternal imprisonment. If I were mortal, I could have died and moved on. Been absolved of my crimes the moment my body crumbled.
But being an immortal? That means I get to carry the weight of my karma forever. My reign lasted a single millennium… but my punishment has been ongoing for over three."
He paused, his tone shifting from grim to solemn.
"Be a force for good. Be someone the universe remembers with gratitude. If you do that, you will become more powerful than you can even imagine."
Leo shrugged. He was too young to care about all that, too grounded in the now. Moltherak's wisdom, while genuine, bounced off him like raindrops sliding off marble.
"Well… thanks for the lecture, old dragon. But let's move on to stuff I actually need your help with.
Can you tell me more about this mana heart and what it's really supposed to do?
I've noticed it acts like a mana filter of sorts, but since you're a dragon and all, I figured you'd know what it's actually meant for," Leo asked, leaning forward, as Moltherak let out a soft chuckle.
"A mana heart… is the greatest blessing a dragon can be born with. It is not just a filter for impurities, boy. It is far more than that."
He paused, then leaned slightly forward, his tone grave.
"It is an engine. A mana core that never sleeps. Unlike ordinary cultivation, which requires effort, meditation, discipline, this organ works silently, without your command. It constantly pushes mana through your circuits, not just to keep them active… but to refine them."
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Refine how?"
Moltherak's eyes gleamed faintly. "Every time mana flows through your body, it leaves traces—tiny imperfections, minute scratches along the path. Over time, they build up and limit how much power you can safely channel. But a mana heart? It smooths those out. Gradually. Constantly. Without rest. It polishes your circuits endlessly until they become flawless. Until they become worthy of divine power."
"So it's like… passive body cultivation?" Leo asked, trying to piece it together.
"Yes. And more than that. It enhances recovery, amplifies your resistance to mana strain, and drastically shortens the time required to adapt to new techniques or breakthrough levels. Your foundation becomes sturdier every second, simply by being alive. That's why dragons born with a mana heart were considered blessed by the stars themselves in the old times."
Leo slowly nodded, beginning to understand. "So basically, even if I don't do anything… I'm still progressing?"
Moltherak smirked. "Yes. But if you do train, if you actively push your limits while this mana engine is running… then your growth becomes monstrous."
"If you were a Dragon, I would have imparted to you my most wonderful cultivation techniques, but since you're a human, they won't work for you.
However, what I would advise you to do is, while you are inside this time-stilled world, just find monsters you want to kill and start stalking and hunting them like they're prey."
He paused, watching Leo closely.
"You don't need to worry about the tainted mana here. It cannot affect you. But the richness of the mana in this place, its density and purity, will help you progress much faster than the diluted streams out there in the regular universe. Think of it as a substitute for meditation. With enough circulation and an active mana heart constantly at work, you will reach the threshold for the nascent soul stage long before you ever master that codex of yours."
Leo grabbed his chin thoughtfully and gave a small nod. "So basically what you're saying is... with an active mana heart, all I need to do is strain it to the limit every day and I'll eventually reach the Transcendent tier, even if I make no progress with my meditation manual?"
"Yes, you foolish boy, exactly that. Like I already explained… yes!" Moltherak snapped, shaking his massive head.
"The mana heart is a cultivation engine. It purifies, it pumps, and it circulates mana without pause, allowing you to grow stronger just by staying alive. Why do you think the older dragons always grow more powerful with time?"
He narrowed his eyes.
"It is because our mana hearts never stop working. Just existing is enough to push you through the mortal ranks all the way up to the boundary of Monarch Realm. Only then does the advantage begin to fade, because past that, true growth requires intent, experience, and mastery."
Moltherak exhaled slowly, his tone softening.
"But until then, this is the greatest blessing you could have ever hoped for."
He explained, as a massive grin broke across Leo's face, with the truth about the benefits of having a mana heart finally sinking in.