Moreover, Lei Lin had the Radiant Church backing him, which was why the city had remained stable. Without it, the economy would probably have collapsed long ago!
Lei Lin looked at Laite, who had just finished reporting on the city's development, and smiled. "Big Brother Laite, do you remember the gift I said I'd prepared for you?"
"Although the laboratory and workshop haven't finished expanding yet, I've already got your gift ready!"
"Want it?"
Laite raised an eyebrow. "Heh, Lei Lin, you're getting more and more shameless."
"How many times have we expanded already? And who keeps demanding that we expand again?"
"I'm telling you, if I'm not satisfied with this gift, I swear I'll go home and..."
Lei Lin waved his hand. "All right, all right. I promise you'll be satisfied!"
"Come to the laboratory. I'll modify you myself."
Laite asked, puzzled, "Modify me? What kind of modification?"
For some reason, he shuddered, as if something terrible was about to happen.
Various memories of Lei Lin's bloodline research began flashing through his mind. "My lord, I've suddenly changed my mind about the gi—"
Lei Lin grabbed Laite, whose legs had gone weak as he tried to run, and said, "Too late!"
"You're getting it whether you want it or not!"
Fifteen minutes later
Laite stared at the target, now marked with a blackened imprint from the punch he'd just thrown, and at the Level Seven reading displayed on it. He asked in disbelief, "Lei Lin, did I really do that?"
The alchemical target was a testing device Lei Lin had crafted. It displayed a person's strength level according to the force of their attack and could reliably test anyone below Level Nine.
But anyone below Level Seven could forget about leaving a mark on it!
Laite was confused because he was only a Level Five warrior.
There was one of these targets in the family's training grounds, too, and he'd never managed to leave a mark on it before.
He'd just gone from Level Five to Level Seven in one leap. Of course he was surprised—and confused!
Lei Lin nodded. "Yes, you did."
"But it's only temporary!"
Laite's excitement vanished. Level Seven might not be much across the continent, but in the Fenlai Kingdom—and in the Zi'ao Family—it was already an impressive level.
"Temporary? What do you mean?!"
Lei Lin patted Laite on the shoulder and tested the strength of his muscles. "Well, this is the latest result of my bloodline research."
"By using potions and medicinal baths, I can temporarily grant people the strength that comes from a magical beast's bloodline."
"But the effect only lasts about three months. The duration may be shorter depending on the person's strength and how intense the battles they fight are while the modification is in effect!"
Laite's head drooped. "Only three months? That's way too short!"
Lei Lin shook his head. "What, you want it to be permanent?"
"I can do that, too. It's not as powerful, but it can still get you to Level Seven, more or less."
"Want to try it?"
Laite perked up at once, but when he saw Lei Lin's teasing expression, he sensed a trap. In the end, he resisted the temptation. "No, I think I'll pass. The temporary one is pretty good, too."
Seeing Laite's expression, Lei Lin teased, "You're not completely stupid, at least!"
"Strengthening someone with a magical beast's bloodline is a double-edged sword. It can raise their strength quickly, but once they use this method, their maximum potential is basically fixed."
"Otherwise, with my achievements in bloodline research, why did I only modify the family's Blood Guard? And why did I require anyone joining the Blood Guard to be married and already have children?"
"And after all these years, haven't you noticed that the Blood Guard members' strength has barely improved?"
As Lei Lin had said, permanent bloodline strengthening was indeed much easier than temporary strengthening.
After all, temporary strengthening meant not only merging two bloodlines but also preserving the purity of the human bloodline, ensuring that the magical beast's bloodline did not contaminate the human bloodline—or did so only in tiny amounts.
It was like mixing sugar water and salt water evenly, then somehow separating them completely.
If the Alchemists on the continent who studied bloodlines learned of this method, it would cause a huge uproar in their field. It was a fundamental breakthrough in bloodline research!
Laite said helplessly, "While the family was expanding, there was constant fighting and killing. It got even worse after we started developing the Chaotic Territory."
"You also fixed the Blood Guard's numbers and wouldn't let us go over the limit."
"I thought we just went through Blood Guard members too quickly because we lost so many, and that was why none of them stood out."
Lei Lin smiled. "Bloodline research is too complicated for you to understand."
"For now, put aside the work you have on hand and focus on improving your strength. The modification is temporary, but Level Seven is still Level Seven."
"While the effect lasts, your training will be like a Level Five version of you borrowing the training efficiency you'd only have at Level Seven."
"It'll help you improve quickly!"
"If you make the most of these three months, there's no reason you can't reach Level Six in real strength!"
Laite was instantly delighted. "Really?"
"Of course," Lei Lin said. "And it won't be just you. From now on, the family's core members will all train this way."
"Our family rose to prominence too recently. We lack a solid foundation!"
"My results still leave something to be desired, but they're enough to temporarily solve the problem of our core members lacking strength."
Laite exclaimed, "And you're still not satisfied? What are you trying to achieve before you'll be satisfied?"
Lei Lin fell silent for a moment. After ordering Laite to cut off business dealings with the Debus Family, where Kalan was, he sent him away. Then he murmured, "What would it take to satisfy me?"
"Ah, I don't know when I'll be satisfied, either."
His purpose in researching bloodlines was to use them to strengthen himself.
But the changes in his own bloodline were currently the most original and valuable research sample he had.
Until his bloodline modification was complete, he wouldn't use potions that affected bloodlines to improve himself. That was why he'd researched this temporary method of increasing strength.
But even after he'd developed it, he still didn't dare use it!
Even if this method only had a slight effect on his bloodline, there was still the question of whether it might affect him in some other way.
After all, he wasn't like ordinary people. His bloodline was evolving, and a method that didn't affect ordinary people might still affect him!
So he didn't know what it would take for his research to be satisfactory.
"Forget it. I won't think about that. I'll focus on training, condense more battle qi, and refine magical power to provide energy for my bloodline's evolution."
"From my recent conversations with Uncle Hogg and the reports the family sent from Wushan Town, it seems he can't hold back from taking revenge much longer. Then again, he might have already acted."
"My current strength at the peak of Level Seven still isn't quite enough. I'll see if I can break through to Level Eight in the next few days."
"If I reach Level Eight, I should be able to unleash Level Nine combat power on par with Lantan's. Then even if I attract Clyde's attention, I won't be afraid. At worst, I'll just kill Clyde!"
Before you continue