Magnolia Continent, Fenlai Kingdom, the Zi'ao Family
Six-year-old Lei Lin Zi'ao was taking a test to determine his magical aptitude!
Looking at the family members around him, Lei Lin took a few deep breaths. He forced a toothy smile onto his face to hide his nervousness!
A young man a head taller than Lei Lin, Laite, raised his eyebrows at him and said, "Lei Lin, good luck! You're the best."
"Lord Sa'er took a liking to you, so your magical aptitude must be exceptional. Go ahead and show them what you can do!"
At this, Laite's face took on a rather lecherous grin. "And if your test results are really good today, they'll probably be all over the surrounding noble circles before nightfall."
"Heh heh heh, before you've even grown up, who knows how many noble ladies will—"
Before he could finish, the Zi'ao Family patriarch, who was also Lei Lin's father, Jinli'an, shoved him aside.
Jinli'an patted Lei Lin's little head. Seeing the smile stretched across his face, he started to say something, then swallowed his words. In the end, he forced a smile of his own and simply said, "Lei Lin, go on!"
Seeing Jinli'an like this, Lei Lin's mother pushed him aside with a look of disdain, then picked Lei Lin up and rubbed her cheek against his. "Lei Lin, just like Laite said, Lord Sa'er took a liking to you. You're sure to join the Wild Thunder Guard and become a powerful warrior someday!"
Her smile softened, and her voice grew even more affectionate. "And it's wonderful if you have magical talent, but it doesn't matter if you don't. Just relax and do your best!"
Having long since adjusted to his new identity as a child, Lei Lin felt his parents' care and suddenly thought of the parents he'd left behind before transmigrating. How were they doing now?
That's right, Lei Lin was a transmigrator!
He'd dozed off during some "voluntary" overtime, only to wake up and find he'd somehow transmigrated to the Coiling Dragon World.
He'd transmigrated into the household of the Zi'ao Family, a minor noble family in decline. They had no powerful backing or mysterious bloodline, and their fortunes were going from bad to worse.
But he was already quite happy!
At least he didn't have to carry some blood feud over his entire family being killed the moment he was born!
No one had ripped out his Supreme Bone!
And he wasn't poisoned, doomed to endure immense suffering from childhood, or anything like that!
Besides...
He had a Golden Finger!
Just thinking about his Golden Finger made Lei Lin angry.
It was useless: he couldn't talk to it, and it had no intelligence!
Its effect was to let him randomly exchange an item around him once a year for the manufacturing process of some small commodity—things like spicy strips, toilet paper, or soap—that were no use to him personally. It was called the "Random Small Commodity Craft Exchange System."
Heh. What a brain-dead Golden Finger. Lei Lin had come up with the name himself.
"Which lousy urban-fantasy Golden Finger got lost and ended up with me? This is the Coiling Dragon World! What the hell is this thing—"
"Sigh, forget it. It's my Golden Finger, after all. And if it hadn't given me that Taiji manual, I wouldn't have earned Sa'er's favor!"
At present, the system's greatest help to him had been giving him the knowledge in the 24-Style Simplified Taiji Manual, which had earned him Sa'er's regard.
Sa'er was a member of the Wild Thunder Squadron. In the original story, he was the guy Lin Lei casually killed while taking out Clyde—a nobody among nobodies!
But at this point in time, Sa'er was a member of Wild Thunder, the strongest royal guard in the Fenlai Kingdom!
He was an eighth-rank warrior and a mainstay of the guard. Only Kaisa, a ninth-rank warrior, could reliably keep him in check!
If Sa'er hadn't come from a poor background, with the Zi'ao Family investing in him early in his career, then arranging for one of their direct-line daughters to marry him once he'd risen to prominence and establish a stable marriage alliance with him, the now-declining Zi'ao Family would probably have struggled even to see him!
With Sa'er's favor, Lei Lin naturally had a bright future ahead of him. Otherwise, they wouldn't have arranged for a priest who tested magical aptitude to come all the way to the Zi'ao Family's estate and examine him in person.
After all, having a priest come to one's home to conduct a test was a privilege reserved for great nobles and wealthy merchants.
If Lei Lin's results were good, then everyone would be happy!
If they were poor, they could just pretend the test had never happened, so it wouldn't affect his future prospects or damage Sa'er's reputation!
Lei Lin slipped out of his mother's arms and nodded. "I know, Mother. It's just a test. There's nothing to worry about."
With that, he walked toward the Holy See testing official, who was already waiting.
But inside, he was anything but calm. How could I not be worried?
Magical aptitude doesn't have much effect on a warrior's training early on, but the further you go, the greater the impact!
Before the seventh rank, the warrior's path is straightforward enough: temper your blood and accumulate battle qi.
But after reaching the seventh rank, learning all kinds of powerful battle techniques and understanding the Battle Qi Manual you've cultivated gradually become more important. That means aptitude matters more, too!
And seventh-rank warriors are only low-ranking squad members in the Wild Thunder Guard!
The more he thought about it, the more unsettled he became. Besides, I've transmigrated to the Coiling Dragon World. I have to at least reach the Saint Realm!
Without reaching the Saint Realm, I can't even achieve immortality. In the end, I'll be nothing more than a pile of dirt. What would be the point of transmigrating here?
Mazu, Buddha, God, the Three Pure Ones... all you mighty gods, please bless me. I've transmigrated here with nothing but a useless Golden Finger, no powerful background, and no strong bloodline. At the very least, don't let my magical talent be too poor! Otherwise, I wouldn't deserve to share a name with the future Paragon Main God, Bluefire, the great Lei Lin!
At the thought, a flicker of determination passed through Lei Lin's eyes. If my aptitude really is poor, then I'll...
I'll have no choice but to take the risk, swallow my pride, and suck up to... I mean, get to know Lin Lei before he comes into his own!
By the time he'd finished wrestling with himself, Lei Lin had reached the crystal ball used to test elemental affinity. He gently placed his hand on it.
A streak of purple light appeared inside.
The old man conducting the test relaxed his slightly furrowed brow. "Age: six. Elemental affinity: Thunder Element..."
"Average!"
The old man had conducted plenty of these home visits.
Most children had no magical aptitude, or only ordinary aptitude. Average affinity was nothing special, but it was still better than none.
Normally, the family members present would at least cheer a little out of courtesy!
But the Zi'ao Family members watching nearby looked somewhat disappointed. Their smiles and enthusiasm had been doused like a fire with cold water, because this result fell far short of the peerless talent they'd been hoping for!
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