"But the little fellow has a point. He's only attuned to the Lightning Element. Without a master who can guide him in lightning, he really wouldn't be a good fit!"
"Although the Holy See has Saint Realm experts who wield lightning, not many of them have made any real progress in the Law of Lightning."
"Tsk... This is a bit of a problem!"
"Forget it. Let's test the little fellow's abilities first. Lantan may be an Angel and perfectly loyal, but her judgment isn't the best."
"Lei Lin is going to be groomed as a core member, after all. I'll feel better if I verify things myself."
The warmth in Falling Leaf's expression never changed. He said gently, "You're right. A teacher who specializes in lightning would be the best fit for you."
"But if you don't become my disciple, I won't hand over Saint Realm Silver Dragon Blood so easily."
"Come on, show me what you can do. If you earn my approval, I won't mind giving you more dragon blood. Otherwise, the Silver Dragon Blood you already have will be the only batch you get from me."
Seeing the surprise on Lei Lin's face, Falling Leaf added, "Remember to give it everything you've got. After all..."
"My standards are quite high!"
Lei Lin thought, So this is what it's like not to be the protagonist? Lin Lei never had this much trouble in the original story.
Is elemental affinity really that important?!
But outwardly, he took a deep breath and said, "Then forgive me, Lord Falling Leaf!"
A quarter of an hour later
Falling Leaf wore an unrestrained smile, with a hint of astonishment mixed into it. "Little Lei Lin, if you need dragon blood from now on, just come to me~"
"Of course, you can also come to me for other valuable materials."
"Hahaha~ Let me give you a tip: I—and the Radiant Church—have plenty of rare materials that money can't buy!"
Falling Leaf's reaction was no wonder. Even Heidens would have reacted the same way to a genius who could comprehend the profound mysteries of the laws before reaching the Saint Realm.
Watching Falling Leaf act like a kindly old grandfather toward a younger relative, Lei Lin thought, Looks like I overdid it just now.
Still, Falling Leaf is a Saint Realm expert and a core leader of a major power like the Radiant Church.
Why is he acting like he's never seen anything before?
Lei Lin felt uneasy. He decided to lower his standing in Falling Leaf's eyes, lest he accidentally end up joining the Radiant Church's inner circle.
Even if he did become part of its inner circle, he wouldn't be above taking the benefits without doing any work, then turning against the Radiant Church when Lin Lei eventually made his move.
But it was better to stay away from the Radiant Church if he could!
"Then I want Saint Realm Silver Dragon Blood. Hmm, ten barrels a month!" As he spoke, he pointed to a battered wooden barrel about as tall as a person. "A barrel this size will do!"
Falling Leaf glanced at the barrel, the corner of his eye twitching, but he nodded without hesitation.
His Silver Dragon familiar was huge and had an excellent capacity to recover. What was ten barrels of blood a month?
He could even manage ten barrels a day!
Lei Lin: "..."
Realizing he might have said something foolish, Lei Lin continued, "My bloodline research has hit a bottleneck lately, and I need test subjects."
"Lots of test subjects."
To lower Falling Leaf's opinion of him, Lei Lin made a request that fit the image of an Alchemist but blatantly violated the Radiant Church's public doctrine.
Falling Leaf's smile froze.
He understood that Alchemists—especially those who studied bloodlines—needed to conduct experiments on living subjects. But that was generally something only renowned bloodline masters needed to do.
Bloodline research was different from cultivating battle qi or magic. There was no sudden epiphany that could transform one's spirit and grant an understanding of the laws.
It took hands-on experiments, step by step, to build up experience!
In Falling Leaf's eyes, Lei Lin had simply gotten too full of himself. He wanted to take the "shortcut" of experimenting on living subjects to advance his understanding of bloodline research.
Otherwise, why would he need living test subjects, let alone so many?
If it had been another senior Church official, they might have agreed without a second thought.
But Falling Leaf was an Ascetic who had spent years experiencing hardship in the slums. He decided to persuade Lei Lin to abandon the idea of live experiments for now, or at least start with a small number of subjects.
"Lei Lin, life is precious..."
Before Falling Leaf could finish, Lei Lin tactfully replied, "Lord Falling Leaf, I know how precious life is, and I know this kind of thing can't be done openly. So..."
"I plan to conduct my experiments in the Chaotic Territory."
"The Chaotic Territory is at war constantly. Precious lives are lost there every day."
"Rather than letting them die for nothing, why not let them contribute to the advancement of magic?"
"Especially those heretics who worship the Dark. This might be the greatest light their lives can ever shine!"
Falling Leaf fell silent, then sighed. "The Chaotic Territory? It really is a suitable place. But you don't need to go yourself. I'll arrange for people to capture heretics for you."
"It's too chaotic there. It isn't safe for you!"
Lei Lin had already made up his mind, and he refused outright. "Lord Falling Leaf, there are two reasons I want to go myself. The first is that the experiments require it."
"The second is..."
"I love war. I love killing!"
"I didn't become this strong at my age by quietly cultivating. I got here through one life-or-death trial after another in the Magic Beast Mountain Range."
"But lately, the trials in the Magic Beast Mountain Range have felt too monotonous. I want to experience the allure of war."
"Of course, most importantly, I want to fight heretics in the name of the great Lord of Light!"
Falling Leaf's lips twitched. He could put up with live experiments; he wasn't incapable of tolerating that. But loving war and killing?!
Was he getting so old that his eyes and ears were failing him?
How could this little fellow, who barely had any bloodlust about him, say something so deranged?
They were the Radiant Church, for heaven's sake!!!
Falling Leaf had planned to ask the Pope to find little Lei Lin a Saint Realm teacher with considerable expertise in lightning as soon as possible.
But now, he felt he would have to choose the teacher even more carefully—someone who was also good at guiding others toward the right path.
He didn't want another lunatic joining the Inquisition or the Fanatics!
After taking his leave of Falling Leaf, Lei Lin immediately began making plans to go to the Chaotic Territory.
Falling Leaf had ultimately agreed to his request, but insisted that he conceal his identity to avoid drawing the attention of the Dark Church.
"As for becoming his disciple, I've probably managed to put that off for now. But just in case, I'd better hurry to the Chaotic Territory."
"Ugh, it all comes down to not being strong enough. If I were a Saint Realm expert, I could just refuse outright. Why go through all this trouble?"
"Forget it. No point dwelling on that. I should study this Silver Dragon Blood first."
"The Azure Dragon Bloodline reacts to dragon blood. With this Saint Realm Silver Dragon Blood, I can not only compare it with the Black Dragon Blood I got earlier..."
"Saint Realm dragon blood is bound to cause a stronger reaction than ninth-rank dragon blood."
Before you continue