Lei Wen's Decision

Flowing Frost City.

A moment after noon.

The Bart Ducal Residence.

Dining hall.

A huge crystal chandelier cast down soft light.

Exquisite silverware gleamed with a cold sheen beneath the candlelight.

The dining table was laden with sumptuous dishes.

Fresh rabbit meat hunted by attendants from Flag Mountain, stewed with a large amount of spices, gave off an enticing aroma.

Deep Sea salmon, sliced into pieces, lay spread over crushed ice.

There was also purple grape wine specially supplied by Jade Orchid City, swirling gently in crystal goblets like flowing amethysts.

Everything reflected the Barte Lei family's current distinguished status.

Yet the atmosphere at the table was somewhat oppressive.

Only the faint clinks of knives and forks against porcelain could be heard.

"Clink."

A crisp sound rang out.

Doge Bart set down the knife and fork in his hand.

He picked up a napkin and wiped the corner of his mouth, his gaze falling upon his son seated opposite him.

Lei Wen was cutting a lamb chop.

His movements were elegant, neither hurried nor slow.

Every cut was perfectly measured. The texture of the lamb was clearly revealed between the slices, without a single drop of juice spilling out.

"Where are you going in three days?"

Doge's voice broke the silence.

It was a question, but his tone was certain.

A father knew his son best.

These past few days, Lei Wen had indeed stayed home every day, accompanying his younger sister shopping and having tea with Mother.

He behaved like the perfect obedient son.

But Doge could sense it.

That boy's heart had long since flown away.

Especially Lei Wen's eyes.

That desire, the yearning to break through every obstacle, was impossible to conceal.

Or rather—

Lei Wen had never bothered to hide it.

As Doge's voice fell, Xue, who was serving Lei Wen soup, trembled slightly.

The creamy mushroom soup spilled onto the pristine tablecloth like a blooming thorny flower.

She wanted to speak, but merely set down the soup ladle in silence and turned her head toward Lei Wen.

Those gentle eyes were filled with reluctance, yet also with the helplessness of someone who had long expected this day.

Lian Qiu also stopped chewing.

Her cheeks bulged with rabbit meat, making her look like a frightened little hamster.

Only Lei Wen.

His knife never paused.

He put the last lamb chop from his plate into his mouth and chewed slowly.

The ordinary meat tasted like wax in Lei Wen's mouth.

There was no energy.

No fragments of law mysteries.

It was merely feed meant to fill his stomach.

Lei Wen picked up his wineglass, took a sip of the purple liquid, then raised his head and met his father's gaze.

"In three days."

His tone was calm.

As natural as if he were discussing tomorrow's weather.

"Where are you going?"

"How long will you be gone...?"

Xue could not help asking, her voice somewhat trembling.

Though she knew her son was already a Saint Domain Expert, perhaps even stronger than his father.

To Xue, he was still that little child who had once stumbled along on unsteady steps.

"Mother."

"Don't worry."

"I can kill ten Giant Dragons now."

Lei Wen smiled.

The smile on his face instantly washed away the chill around him.

Under the table.

Little White, gnawing on a bone, could not help rolling its eyes.

You were bringing the Dragon race into this again?

Ten Giant Dragons?

Killing a hundred would be like playing to you!

"Where exactly?"

Doge ignored the tender exchange between mother and son.

Since he could not keep him, then he needed to ask clearly about his destination.

This was how men communicated.

"The Deep Sea."

Lei Wen spoke two words.

"The sea?"

Doge's brows furrowed slightly.

As the ruler of Jade Orchid City, he naturally knew what the sea represented.

The Jade Rabbit Empire was vast, but compared to the endless sea, it was no more than a drop in the ocean.

That was a forbidden zone for mankind.

Storms, sea beasts, and countless deep-sea magical beasts.

Even a Saint Domain Expert was merely a small boat upon the boundless ocean, liable to capsize at any moment.

"Why do you want to go there?"

Doge looked into Lei Wen's eyes.

He did not need an explanation. Lei Wen merely wanted to go sightseeing by the sea.

That boy had always been so willful in his actions.

He never did anything useless.

"Because..."

"There's a lot of water there."

At Doge's question, a teasing smile appeared on Lei Wen's face.

"Cough, cough, cough!"

Lian Qiu nearly choked to death on the meat in her mouth and began coughing violently.

Xue hurriedly patted her daughter's back, glaring reproachfully at Lei Wen.

"Stop messing around!"

Doge's mouth twitched as well.

What kind of reason was that?

A lot of water?

Was bathing more convenient?

"Training."

"I've encountered a bottleneck."

"Ordinary opponents no longer interest me."

"But in the sea, there are countless unknown experts and battles beyond my limits."

"Only at the edge of life and death can I break through that barrier."

Lei Wen put away his joking expression.

Those words left the entire family solemn.

Even Lei Wen himself almost believed them.

Of course not.

That was all nonsense.

What life-and-death edge?

What surpassing his limits?

He was going there to eat a whole lot.

He, Lei Wen Bart, twenty years old, at the peak of the Saint Domain.

He possessed fire, water, and lightning affinities.

His Moon Soul Mutation had become a successful type, and his natural affinity for heaven was no less than that of a law fragment.

Such talent would not be inferior in any position.

But Lei Wen's greatest reliance had never been those things.

It was that innate talent.

That ability which had accompanied him since birth and constantly evolved as his strength increased!

No!

It could no longer be called an innate talent.

It was now called the Devouring System.

As long as he devoured magical beast flesh, he could extract its energy essence.

More importantly—

By devouring Saint Domain magical beasts, he could seize fragments of the laws they comprehended!

In this world ruled by dragons, what did becoming a god depend on?

Comprehending laws.

For ordinary people to comprehend laws was like an old ox pulling a broken cart, one step at a time.

Those with good aptitude might enter the threshold after decades and become gods after centuries.

Those with poor aptitude might remain stuck in place even after a thousand years.

But Lei Wen was different.

He could eat them directly.

As long as he devoured a Saint Domain magical beast that had comprehended a certain law.

Lei Wen would have a great chance of directly grasping the law the other party had comprehended.

That speed was not merely a hundred or thousand times faster than cultivating on his own.

However.

For more than half a year.

Lei Wen had rampaged through Flag Mountain.

The Saint Domain magical beasts he could eat had basically all been wiped out by him.

Now, the Saint Domain magical beasts in the depths of Flag Mountain fled at the very scent of him.

The ones running with flames burning beneath their feet were especially fast.

This led to a serious problem—an ingredient shortage!

Especially ingredients suited to Lei Wen's affinities.

Fire-affinity Saint Domain magical beasts?

Those creatures loved living amid volcanoes or in scorching regions, scattered as widely as stars across the sky.

Finding a single fire-affinity Saint Domain magical beast required running until his legs gave out. The efficiency was far too low.

Lightning affinity?

Flagrant Beasts with lightning affinity were naturally rare.

Finding a lightning-affinity Saint Domain magical beast was about as likely as winning the lottery. There was no point hoping for it.

That left only water affinity.

Water affinity was great.

The sea was full of water.

And water meant meat!

The Deep Sea hid no small number of water-affinity Saint Domain magical beasts.

In Lei Wen's eyes.

Those water-affinity Saint Domain magical beasts were the catalysts for his ascension to godhood.