"Mall? Teacher?" Lin Ke's words left Linley momentarily stunned. "Brother Lin, do you know some other powerful Magus?"
Linley looked excited, but Lin Ke, inside the System Space, only smiled and shook his head. "Your teacher should come to meet you soon. Remember, don't tell anyone about me without my permission."
Lin Ke didn't explain further. Linley was just about to ask more when his vision blurred.
A kindly old man appeared before Linley the next moment, dressed in a pale moon-white mage's robe, with white hair and beard.
The kindly old man smiled. "Hello, young man. My name is Doering Cowart, a Saint-level Magus of the Puang Empire."
Linley's eyes widened as he stared at the kindly old man who had suddenly appeared before him. "You—you're a Saint-level Magus? No, that's not right. You're a fraud! The Puang Empire fell more than five thousand years ago. You're trying to fool me."
Inside the System Space, Lin Ke watched Doering Cowart from Linley's point of view on the television. The corners of his mouth lifted slightly.
In the original story, Doering Cowart's death had been one of Linley's lifelong regrets, and a regret shared by every fan of Coiling Dragon.
But now that Lin Ke himself was in the Coiling Dragon World, he didn't dare have Linley reveal his existence just yet.
True, Lin Ke was now a system, and Doering Cowart—a Saint-level whose soul was all that remained—couldn't do anything to him.
In fact, not even a Chief Sovereign or an Overgod could do anything to him.
But that didn't mean Linley was invincible.
Linley and Doering Cowart had only just met. They didn't yet share the deep bond they would develop later.
Doering Cowart had been very good to Linley in the original story.
But Lin Ke couldn't forget that Doering Cowart was a Saint-level powerhouse who had experienced countless schemes and betrayals in his lifetime.
What if, after learning Lin Ke existed, Doering Cowart killed Linley to resurrect himself?
It was better to wait until Linley and Doering Cowart had grown closer before deciding what to do.
Lin Ke shook his head, casting the thoughts aside.
"First, I need to design a System Panel for Linley." Lin Ke rubbed his chin with his right hand. "It should be simple. Linley is a native of this world, so if it's too complicated, he might not understand it."
Lin Ke closed the view of Linley. A 3D projection of him appeared in front of the television screen.
"Now that I'm a system, I can quantify things like physical attributes." Lin Ke stood up from the sofa and paced back and forth. "An average adult's physique will count as one point, and a first-level warrior will have a physique of five points."
With that, Lin Ke waved his hand. Information about Linley's attributes appeared beside the projection.
Name: Linley Baruch
Age: 8
Energy Points: 10 (White)
Physique: 0.91
Mental Strength: 1
Battle Qi: 0
Magic Power: 0
Elemental Affinity: Earth Element (Superior), Wind Element (Superior), Destruction (High), Fire Element (Medium), Water Element (Superior, Hidden)
Laws Comprehension: None
Battle Qi Manual: None
Meditation Method: None
"Not bad!" Lin Ke nodded slightly at the Attribute Panel he'd designed. "Next, I need to set up the Mall."
Lin Ke waved his hand and closed Linley's panel.
The system had been damaged earlier. Apart from its ability to create anything, all the information it had contained was lost.
Otherwise, Lin Ke wouldn't have needed to edit all this himself.
"First, daily necessities." Lin Ke sat back down on the sofa. "Linley will need them when he goes to the Magical Beast Forest or enters the Higher Plane."
As he thought, Lin Ke waved his hand and created various items inside the System Space.
Clothes and shoes, all kinds of food, guns and gear...
Creating objects inside the space cost Lin Ke no Energy Points, but for them to exist outside the System Space, they would need to consume Energy Points.
"A set of clothes should cost about 0.1 Energy Points to create in the outside world. I can charge Linley one Energy Point."
"A bucket of instant noodles costs 0.2 Energy Points? Then I'll charge him two."
"A handgun costs a hundred points? Can't a fourth-level warrior dodge this thing? Modern weapons aren't worth much here."
"..."
It took Lin Ke quite some time to try creating everything he could think of.
Then he waved his hand, and all the items inside the System Space vanished.
"Cold weapons and firearms from my previous life would be pretty useless in the Coiling Dragon World. I'll leave them out."
Lin Ke shook his head and looked ahead. A three-by-three grid for the Mall appeared.
Clothing: 1 White Energy Point
Instant Noodles: 2 White Energy Points
Roast Duck: 3 White Energy Points
"Daily supplies are sorted." Lin Ke nodded slightly at the Mall he'd designed. "Now I need to add items for improving strength."
This time, Lin Ke didn't act as casually as before. He fell into thought.
"What Linley needs most right now is to improve his physique and strengthen his mental power." Lin Ke leaned back against the sofa. "Right, and activate his Azure Dragon Bloodline."
While Lin Ke was still creating the Mall, Linley was in his bedroom.
"Grandpa Doering." Linley stared excitedly at the empty space in front of him. "Are you really a Saint-level Magus? Can you really teach me magic?"
"Hahaha! Of course." Doering Cowart stroked his beard and laughed. "But magic isn't that simple. First, I need to test your elemental affinity and mental strength."
They said that there was great terror between life and death.
Doering Cowart had already died once, and he'd come to take many things in stride.
He'd had no wife or children, and had lived alone before finally dying at the hands of his old rival.
Now, seeing the clever little Linley, Doering Cowart felt something stir in the heart that had been silent for thousands of years.
If he hadn't taken up the path of cultivation back then, might he have had a sweet grandson like this in his old age?
Doering Cowart had no answer, but for now, he liked Linley very much.
"A test?" Linley looked at Doering Cowart, puzzled. "Grandpa Doering, what do you need to test? Can we start now?"
"Of course." Doering Cowart smiled at Linley's eagerness. "Linley, a test of magical talent has two parts: affinity for the elements of the world, and mental strength..."
Doering Cowart began teaching Linley the basics of magic.
Meanwhile, inside the System Space—
"Finally, it's done."
Lin Ke smiled at the two floating drops of liquid in front of him, one purple and one green, then shook his head helplessly.
"The Beggar Version Purple Light Dew and the Upgraded Beggar Version T-Virus. It's a shame the full-strength T-Virus, with its mutagenic effects removed, costs too much. Linley can't afford it right now. Otherwise, just one dose of T-Virus would improve both his physique and mental strength."
Lin Ke waved his hand, and the Mall Panel appeared again.
This time, however, it was divided into two different sections: daily necessities and combat.
The Purple Light Dew and T-Virus Lin Ke had just created appeared together in the combat section.
Purple Light Dew: 10 White Energy Points
T-Virus: 10 White Energy Points
Before you continue