After Huosi and Adkins left, the three brothers who remained fell silent.
"Th-third brother, pinch me. I'm not dreaming, am I?"
After a long silence, Burgess finally spoke. His voice was halting, and disbelief filled his words.
"Ow! That hurts!"
"Looks like it's real."
The white-robed middle-aged man pinched his face hard, then commented at the sound of his yelp.
"Why didn't you pinch yourself?"
Burgess rubbed his cheek and asked through gritted teeth.
"Weren't you the one who asked me to pinch you? Besides, pinching myself would hurt!"
The white-robed middle-aged man shrugged, looking unconcerned.
"You—you—you! I'm going to strangle you today!"
Burgess lunged at him, reaching for his second brother's neck.
"Easy, easy, big brother!"
Seeing that his eldest brother was about to blow up, the second brother quickly changed the subject.
"Let's not talk about that. Third brother has been taken in by Lord Huosi. That's what we should be focusing on right now."
"You rascal!"
Burgess pursed his lips and stopped chasing him. Then he looked at the wristband in Leilin's hand.
"It really is incredible!"
Leilin was full of wonder, turning the wristband over and over in his hands.
A moment later, Leilin put the wristband on his arm. It suddenly began to glow blue.
In an instant, a translucent screen appeared in midair.
[DNA authentication in progress. Please provide a DNA sample.]
"DNA sample?"
A crisp voice came from the wristband, leaving all three of them stunned.
"I-is this an intelligent system?"
Burgess asked, looking dazed.
"Don't make such a fuss. Intelligent systems are nothing unusual in the Federation."
The white-robed middle-aged man rolled his eyes at his eldest brother.
"I know, but aren't these usually only available to official Federation members? We've only ever heard of them."
Burgess immediately retorted.
Intelligent systems were no secret in the Federation. They were already being used in many places.
But personal smart wristbands were still extremely rare in the Federation.
Generally, anyone who had one held a high position in the Federation. At the very least, they were official members of a certain rank.
The brothers had heard about them many times, but had never actually seen one. Today, they were finally getting a firsthand look.
"Third brother belongs to Lord Huosi now. What does being an official member matter?"
The white-robed middle-aged man rolled his eyes again, making it clear that his eldest brother was fussing over nothing. He should have considered who had given Leilin the wristband.
"Uh, right."
Burgess gave an awkward smile and rubbed his hands together.
Lord Huosi had given it to him personally, so of course it wasn't an ordinary item. In fact, that was only natural.
If Lord Huosi had given him anything other than a smart wristband, that would have been strange.
While the two brothers were talking, Leilin decisively dripped a drop of blood onto the wristband.
[DNA authentication in progress. Authentication passed. Welcome, Mr. Leilin. If you have any questions, just ask me.]
"What should I call you?"
Leilin looked at the wristband in disbelief, then thought for a moment before asking.
[I am an artificial intelligence system specially developed by the Federation. My purpose is to help students get along, study hard, and make progress every day. You can call me Xiao Ai.]
"Xiao Ai, Xiao Ai, what can you do?"
Leilin nodded and continued asking questions.
[Xiao Ai currently has eleven functions, including identity authentication, Federation currency balance and usage, remote communication, and searching for various kinds of information...]
"That sounds like quite a lot. Speaking of which, can I check my account balance—"
Leilin suddenly paused. Then he remembered that he didn't have much money in his account.
He had earned some money over the years, but it wouldn't be enough.
[Your current account balance is 304,200 Federation coins.]
"That probably won't be enough to live on in Qingya Continent. And how do you know my balance...?"
Leilin's mouth twitched.
[This system has the highest level of authorization in the Federation and can retrieve all of Leilin's data from the banking system. Not a single coin will be unaccounted for.]
"That's impressive. It's just that I don't think I have enough money to live in Qingya Continent."
Leilin looked at Xiao Ai helplessly and continued.
Everyone knew that Qingya Continent had the most advanced technology and the finest facilities in the entire Federation.
At the same time, it was also the most expensive place to live.
Although divine-level experts didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep, without Federation coins, they couldn't enjoy access to cultivation resources.
Whether it was research materials and equipment, or the weapons and information he would need as he progressed, without enough money, he would probably end up sitting around in his room if he went there.
[Mr. Leilin's authorization level is A. You may use basic facilities below Grade A in Qingya Continent free of charge, including cultivation chambers specially designed for divine-level experts. The elemental energy inside is far richer than in the outside world.]
[In addition, if Mr. Leilin has an experiment or research project he wishes to pursue, you may apply for funding directly. The Federation will provide it and ensure you receive the highest-grade materials, with priority given to your requests.]
"You can do that too?"
Leilin was at a loss for words. He suddenly felt like he'd become rich.
"Third brother, you've really made it to the top now."
Burgess clapped Leilin hard on the shoulder.
"Xiao Ai, can I bring my two older brothers with me...?"
[Mr. Leilin, your authorization allows you to settle in Qingya Continent with your two brothers. However, they will not be allowed to enter any area of the Academy of Sciences. They may live in the family apartments for Academy of Sciences staff and travel around the continent.]
Before Leilin could finish, Xiao Ai cut in, making arrangements for all three of them.
"It really is convenient!"
Leilin opened his mouth, but in the end, that was all he could say.
"Sir, who exactly is this Leilin? Why do you think so highly of him?"
While Leilin was chatting with Xiao Ai, Adkins, who had already left, finally couldn't hold back from asking.
It was no wonder Adkins had asked. The authorization Huosi had just given Leilin was Grade A, a privilege held by fewer than a thousand people in the entire Federation.
At present, Huosi alone held the highest authorization in the Federation. Adkins, Pusiluo, and Bernas had Grade S authorization, while everyone else had Grade A at best.
Leilin was only a newly advanced Lowgod, yet he had received such treatment. It had left Adkins utterly astonished.
"This little fellow has tremendous talent. Probably even greater than yours, Pusiluo's, and yours."
Huosi glanced at him and replied calmly.
"What? He's that talented?"
Adkins was startled.
He didn't doubt Huosi's words. In Adkins's eyes, Lord Huosi couldn't be wrong. He was simply shocked.
In the million years since the Federation was founded, there had only been a few hundred Midgods in the entire Federation.
Fewer than ten of them had advanced to Midgod through their own efforts, and Adkins and Pusiluo were the only two Midgods who had begun fusing Profound Mysteries.
Adkins had only just begun fusing a third Profound Mystery, but he was confident that if given another ten million years, he would probably become a Highgod who had fused three Profound Mysteries.
Adkins had no idea what his talent would mean in the Divine Planes.
But within the Federation, only Lord Huosi and Pusiluo ranked above him. He didn't take anyone else seriously.
Yet today, Lord Huosi had said that the man named Leilin might become even stronger in the future. Could he fuse four, or even five, Profound Mysteries?
For such a powerful Highgod to appear in the Yulan Plane—could there be some strange kind of destiny in this plane?
If Huosi had heard Adkins's thoughts, he would only have patted him on the shoulder and said, "You can be even bolder. He might become a Paragon High-God."
Qinghuo Leilin truly had the talent to become a Paragon. In a sense, he could even be called a bug.
Looking at the entire Coiling Dragon World, the Yulan Plane seemed to have a cheat-like advantage, even without Linley, the protagonist.
First, there was Beirut, a super divine beast. His Innate Divine Ability, God-Eater, struck fear into countless powerful Asuras. Anyone without a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact who wasn't a Paragon would undoubtedly die.
Many Asuras feared Beirut even more than they feared Paragons. When Beirut appeared, ordinary gods were doomed.
There were only a handful of super divine beasts across the countless planes. Destruction Sovereign, Death Sovereign, the Four Divine Beasts, and Bauhinia Sovereign had all been born in places like Hell and the Underworld.
For a super divine beast to be born in a Material Plane was already incredibly rare. Yet two God-Eater Rats had appeared there.
For a Material Plane to produce super divine beasts—and two of them—was so astonishing that even the Sovereigns would be dumbfounded.
Not only that, but the Yulan Continent had also produced someone named Leilin.
In a place like the Plane Prison, where the elemental energy was scarce, he had managed to cultivate almost to perfection through his own efforts. He had even figured out his entire cultivation path by himself.
By now, the Federation's basic education had long emphasized the importance of fusing Profound Mysteries early.
Leilin could have started looking for points of fusion as early as the Saint Realm. He might even have had a chance to become a Paragon without using a Sovereign Spark.
"A Paragon?" Huosi wondered, looking forward to seeing Leilin become one.
The most powerful thing in the Coiling Dragon World wasn't divine power or the Laws' Profound Mysteries. It was willpower.
He had considered analyzing willpower, and even manufacturing it.
But on the one hand, their current level of technology was nowhere near sufficient. On the other, without a sample, he couldn't create one from nothing. He needed an existing sample before he could even begin to study it.
Yet in the Coiling Dragon World, only Sovereigns and Paragons possessed willpower. He couldn't exactly go to them and ask them to be his test subjects.
If they found out about that, they'd be happy to show him just how powerful willpower was.
Leilin might be a chance—a chance to uncover the principles behind willpower.
Before you continue