A Gift for the Family!

Flowing Frost City.

The castle's main hall.

As Lei Wen's voice fell—

The entire hall sank into deathly silence.

A pin could be heard dropping.

Only the faint crackling of firewood in the fireplace echoed through the empty room.

Barte Lei sat rigidly in his chair, his large hand tightly gripping the armrest, his fingertips turning white from the force.

God avatar?

Ascension to godhood?

These words, which sounded utterly absurd, struck Barte Lei's world like a heavy hammer.

Yet his cloudy eyes shone with an astonishing light.

It was a raging fire.

A wild ambition capable of setting the plains ablaze.

The Bart family had lain dormant for a full thousand years.

From falling from the ranks of nobility to becoming commoners, then through Barte Lei's half-lifetime of struggle and military achievements, they had finally clawed their way back to the position of nobility.

Only he himself knew the bitterness and humiliation involved.

Originally—

Lei Wen becoming a Saint Domain expert at such a young age had already been enough to satisfy Barte Lei.

The Bart family had become a duke's household.

Barte Lei had been utterly content.

Then, after he himself stepped into the Saint Domain—

The Bart family's prestige had reached an unprecedented peak.

And now—

His grandson, Lei Wen—

Had become a god!

What did that mean?

It meant that from this day onward, the Bart family would stand above the imperial family!

Even if the Jade Orchid Empire's emperor saw Barte Lei, he would probably have to respectfully address him as "Lord Barte Lei."

What duke or king?

Before the father of a god-tier expert, they were nothing.

"Huff..."

Barte Lei's chest rose and fell violently.

The blood that had seemed to stagnate from age now surged through his limbs like a rushing river.

"Good! Good! Good!"

"The proudest thing I, Barte Lei, have ever done in my life was giving birth to you, my fine grandson!"

Barte Lei slapped his thigh and shouted "good" three times in a row.

His rough laughter shook dust from the ceiling.

Xue did not quite understand all those complicated distinctions in status.

But she understood that with a god avatar, her grandson would be safer.

Xue's eyes gradually reddened.

They were tears of joy.

Compared to the glory of becoming the family of a god-tier expert—

She would rather hope for him to live safely and peacefully forever.

"Wow."

"So now, aren't you even more impressive than the High Priest?"

Lian Qiu blinked her big eyes.

Her face was full of admiration as she skipped over to Lei Wen.

"Let me see."

She wanted to touch the divine armor covering Lei Wen, but she was afraid of damaging it.

Lei Wen could not help laughing.

With a thought—

The Water affinity god avatar transformed into a stream of light and instantly merged into Lei Wen's forehead.

"Hmph."

Lian Qiu pouted unhappily.

"Not showing it anymore?"

"You'll know once you reach that level."

"If I don't know, teach me. I'll become one someday anyway."

Lei Wen rubbed Lian Qiu's head and answered with amusement.

Though his words were casual, they carried an absolute confidence that overlooked the world.

In the current Jade Orchid Continent—

Other than the Behemoth King and the Immortal Phoenix—

Lei Wen did not take any other god-tier experts seriously.

"Alright."

"Let's get to the main matter."

"Since I'm back this time, I brought you all some local specialties."

As he spoke—

Lei Wen stood up, sweeping his gaze over his family, a mysterious smile rising at the corner of his lips.

Local specialties?

Barte Lei froze.

Could the local specialties brought back by a god-tier expert be ordinary things?

Could they be the flesh of Divine Beasts?

Lei Wen raised his right hand, and the ancient spatial ring flashed faintly.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of crisp collisions rang out.

A small mountain instantly piled up on the table.

A dazzling blue light illuminated the entire hall in an instant.

A dense Water Element aura washed over them, causing the temperature in the hall to plummet.

That was...

Barte Lei's eyes nearly popped out.

Xue covered her mouth and let out a startled cry.

Lian Qiu was even more dumbfounded, nearly drooling.

Smog Cores!

They were all Smog Cores!

Every one was the size of a fist, crystal-clear and translucent.

Within the Smog Cores, an ocean seemed to be sealed away, radiating energy fluctuations that made one's heart tremble.

"These are..."

Barte Lei stretched out a trembling hand.

The highest-rank Smog Core he had ever seen in his life was only a Ninth Rank Smog Core.

But these before him—

The aura they emitted had long surpassed the limits of Ninth Rank Smog Cores.

"Saint Domain Smog Cores."

"And all of them are Water affinity."

Lei Wen casually picked one up and tossed it twice in his hand as if it were a pebble.

Thump!

Barte Lei's heart skipped violently.

Saint Domain Smog Cores?

Those were tenth-rank!

Had Lei Wen gone and robbed a treasure vault?

One Saint Domain Smog Core was enough to buy an entire medium-sized city!

And there was no market price for them.

After all, to obtain a Saint Domain Smog Core, one had to kill a Saint Domain Sacred Beast.

But were Saint Domain Sacred Beasts so easy to kill?

Even if one could defeat them—

A Saint Domain Sacred Beast could run if it wanted to, and it was hard to catch.

Even a fellow Saint Domain expert would find it as difficult as climbing to the heavens to kill a Saint Domain Sacred Beast.

Yet now—

Lei Wen had poured out a whole pile as if he were dumping trash.

Just how many Saint Domain Sacred Beasts had he killed?

Xiao Bai silently swallowed.

Before becoming Lei Wen's magical beast—

Its greatest wish had been to obtain a Water affinity Saint Domain Smog Core.

That way, it could advance from a Ninth Rank Sacred Beast to a Saint Domain Sacred Beast.

But after becoming Lei Wen's magical beast—

It had eaten at least ten Water affinity Saint Domain Smog Cores.

Even now—

Even if it continued refining Water affinity Saint Domain Smog Cores—

Xiao Bai's own strength would not improve much further.

Xiao Bai felt deeply helpless about that.

"Mother! Sister-in-law!"

"You are both Water affinity mages."

"Humans generally cannot swallow Smog Cores directly."

"But holding them while meditating will be extremely helpful for comprehending Water Elements."

"Especially Lian Qiu. Your current strength is still too weak."

"With these Water affinity Saint Domain Smog Cores, your strength will rise quickly."

"..."

Lei Wen pushed the Smog Cores before Mother and Sister-in-law.

This was something he had planned long ago.

He would use every possible means to help his family grow stronger.

"Ah!"

Lian Qiu had long been unable to restrain herself.

She rushed forward, picked up the largest Smog Core, and pressed her cheek against it, rubbing against it happily.

"It feels so comfortable!"

"I can feel the Water Elements around me all rushing toward me!"

Xue's body trembled slightly as well.

As a water mage, her senses were even sharper than Lian Qiu's.

It seemed that merely approaching these Smog Cores—

Made the magic within her feel far more active than before.

"Well..."

"Grandson."

"Do you have... well... perhaps..."

"Something suitable for this old man?"

Barte Lei rubbed his hands together, his old face unable to hide its embarrassment.

Within a family—

It was only natural for a grandfather to ask his grandson for something.

But there was nothing he could do.

Barte Lei was truly too eager.

Ever since entering the Saint Domain, he had felt that his cultivation speed was as slow as a snail.

No matter how one looked at it, it seemed capable of greatly boosting one's strength, enough to scare people stiff.

"Of course."

Lei Wen took out the storage bag his father had given him.

He waved his hand again.

Boom!

A black metal lump crashed onto the ground, making even the nearby hall tremble three times.

The sturdy marble floor instantly split with cracks.

"This is Deep Sea Submerged Silver Armor."

"This thing has an incredibly high density. A piece the size of a fingernail weighs a hundred jin."

"Father, you can find a blacksmith and have this thing forged into a set of heavy armor."

"When the time comes..."

"Father's offensive power will definitely receive a tremendous boost!"

"..."