And this was enough to keep his master, the eighth-level powerhouse Sa'er, tied up for an entire afternoon, constantly bragging to his fellow soldiers about how outstanding his disciple was!
Both Beirut and the Four Divine Beasts were Main God-level figures!
But the more Lei Lin read, the more he felt that something was off. For some reason, the Dragonblood Secret Manual gave him an inexplicable sense of déjà vu. It also wasn't as complicated as the advanced battle-qi manuals he had encountered.
"Seeing it in person is a far cry from hearing about it. This Dragonblood Secret Manual is quite different from what I imagined. Could this really be the work of a Main God?!"
"I can't let someone's strength make me see them through the lens of a powerhouse anymore!"
"Forget it. I'm not going to practice it anyway..."
The Dragonblood Secret Manual seemed overly crude and simple to him, so Lei Lin instinctively tried circulating battle qi according to the parts he could understand, attempting to reproduce their effects.
This was a bad habit he had picked up while researching battle qi in the past, but it helped him quickly grasp related knowledge.
However, when he tried to circulate battle qi according to the manual, some of the methods had no effect at all. That was normal, after all. This manual wasn't meant for ordinary people to practice.
But just now, he had suddenly noticed that part of the battle-qi route he had simulated seemed to be working.
He immediately closed the manual. Making arbitrary changes to the path of battle qi might cause a minor problem, but if he created a serious one, it would take considerable effort to get his body back into proper condition.
After a long while, Lei Lin confirmed that nothing was wrong with him, then continued reading the rest of the manual. Having learned his lesson, he didn't keep testing it by simulating the battle-qi circulation.
"This is strange. Why does something keep feeling off? Have I overlooked something?"
After pondering for a while longer, Lei Lin put his current research aside. Once he had stored Lin Lei's blood sample, he noticed Beibei's bloodline sample. After a moment's thought, he began researching Beibei's bloodline.
As a bloodline sample from a super divine beast, the God-Eater Rat, it was extraordinarily precious. Once his bloodline-purification techniques became more mature and advanced, he might be able to use this sample to extract a higher-purity God-Eater Rat bloodline.
Although a bloodline purified this way couldn't compare to essence blood, he could still try to acquire the God-Eater Rat's innate ability with it.
Researching it now would be a waste.
But Lei Lin couldn't simply leave it untouched. The reason he had taken the blood was to study it, and he couldn't be sure whether Beirut was secretly watching him. If Beirut noticed anything amiss, Lei Lin would be in serious trouble.
This time, Lei Lin's research methods were less meticulous, and he left longer intervals between recording data. After all, this was just a perfunctory study. He had already spent more than half a month in the laboratory and was tired. He only wanted to hurry up and get the "research" over with.
But as he continued, he began to feel that something was off.
"Strange, strange. What exactly is wrong? Why do I keep having this odd feeling? This isn't the first time. What have I overlooked?"
"Whether it's research into Lin Lei's bloodline or Beibei's, both are clearly beyond my current abilities. It's normal that I've made no progress."
"But why do I keep feeling that something is wrong?"
"Hmm, no, something definitely is wrong. I must have overlooked something!"
With his thoughts in disarray, Lei Lin felt as if he couldn't continue his research at all. He took a deep breath and put Beibei's blood sample away as well.
If he couldn't figure it out for now, there was no point dwelling on it. The most important thing to him now was to deepen his friendship with Lin Lei.
After leaving the laboratory, Lei Lin summoned the butler and asked, "How are things with the ninth-level dragon blood?"
A troubled look appeared on the old butler's face. "My lord, according to the information from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, they can help obtain a sample of ninth-level Silver Dragon Blood, but they don't want money."
"The Dawson Chamber of Commerce's representative in the Royal Capital hopes to meet with you. Based on my initial assessment, they want to deepen their cooperation with our family in the field of magical equipment."
"They've indicated as much before, but following your instructions to keep the family business from expanding too quickly, the council of elders has kept the matter on hold."
"It's for you to decide, my lord!"
As he spoke, a smile crept onto the old butler's face. After all, as one of the three great chambers of commerce on the continent, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce's offer of cooperation was not something just anyone could ignore. It showed the strength of the Zi'ao Family—not just its revival, but its rise.
As the family's butler, he couldn't help feeling proud!
"Hmm, it seems the royal family has news of ninth-level dragon blood too. After they found out the family was buying ninth-level dragon blood, they sent someone to hint that they had ninth-level Black Dragon blood."
"But they want to hold a social gathering soon and hope you'll attend."
"If you go, they'll give you the ninth-level Black Dragon blood."
Lei Lin couldn't help but marvel. "The title of history's greatest genius really carries weight!"
"They're willing to hand over top-grade magical materials like ninth-level dragon blood just to build a good relationship with me. But thinking about it, it makes sense. Ninth-level dragon blood is precious, but once you're strong enough, it's not all that remarkable."
"Given the size of dragons, it's only blood. In the end, it's nothing special!"
"But if I refuse, the royal family will probably keep bothering me in other ways."
"Master Sa'er is a member of the royal guard. Before I reach the Saint Realm, I still need to establish myself in the Fenlai Kingdom."
"Clyde wouldn't fob me off with a princess meant to build ties with me. I suppose taking one more wife won't hurt!"
After musing for a moment, Lei Lin asked directly, "When is the royal family's gathering?"
The old butler asked, "Well, my lord, when do you have time?"
Lei Lin: "..."
"Then have the royal family hold the gathering two days from now. Before that, arrange a meeting with the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. Tomorrow at ten, at the Azure Water Paradise."
"It's time to expand the family business and sphere of influence again."
The old butler immediately replied respectfully, "Of course, my lord!"
Then a hesitant look crossed his face. "Well, my lord, aside from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce and the royal family, there's also news from the black market. Someone claims to know of a Saint-level Tyrannosaurus's blood, but they're asking for one million gold coins."
"However, we can't confirm whether the information is accurate. They also insist that if we make the deal, the time and place must be chosen by them. There's a chance they'll try to rob us."
Lei Lin was genuinely surprised. Ninth-level was one thing, but reaching the Saint Realm was an entirely different matter. For most ordinary people, the Saint Realm existed only in legends!
Before you continue