Breaking Through to Level Eight, Secret Protection

It was not until Lin Lei sheathed his blade and stood still that Lei Lin, who had been completely captivated by the stone carving process, finally snapped back to reality.

The aura emanating from his body shifted abruptly; electric sparks flickered, and a surge of pressure flashed and vanished!

Eighth rank, achieved!

At this moment, Lei Lin felt that his strength had once again seen a significant increase.

In terms of combat power, he estimated that he could now hold his own against Lantan in her normal state!

Feeling the changes in his body, Lei Lin sighed inwardly.

He had been at the peak of the seventh rank for some time; although he could feel himself growing stronger every day, he simply hadn't broken through.

He had originally assumed that his accumulation was insufficient and that he needed more time.

Under constant accumulation, he believed that once the water was full and overflowing, the breakthrough would come naturally.

But this breakthrough made Lei Lin realize that he had been far too tense all this time!

Before the seventh rank, it was fine; breaking through the bottlenecks of each rank wasn't difficult, but the seventh rank was a watershed.

After the seventh rank, the difficulty of breaking through each level increased significantly!

Although for him, there wouldn't be any true bottlenecks before the Saint Realm, he still had to ensure his battle qi and spiritual energy met the requirements to advance.

Because his situation was different from an ordinary warrior, he couldn't just rely on accumulating enough battle qi to become an eighth-rank warrior.

What he needed more was balance!

He needed his energy (battle qi/magic), physique, and spiritual energy—or rather, his essence, energy, and spirit—to all reach the eighth-rank level before he could break through.

Otherwise, his bloodline changes would actually restrict his growth!

Relying on the large amount of high-grade magic crystals excavated from the magic crystal mine, Lei Lin's battle qi and magic power had long since met the requirements.

But he had lived too tensely for too long, and under the pressure of suppressed emotions, his spiritual energy had failed to keep up.

Now, observing Lin Lei's carving, his mind was completely relaxed; while it wasn't an epiphany, his spiritual energy had naturally risen.

Although this improvement was nothing compared to Lin Lei, who was in a state of epiphany, it was enough for him, already at the peak of the seventh rank, to break through that fragile bottleneck.

"Sigh, I have indeed been living too tensely."

"I need to adjust in the future, devote more energy to art and entertainment, or spend more time with my family!"

Lei Lin quickly retracted his aura and, seeing the gazes that had shifted to him due to his breakthrough, said nothing.

He simply walked quietly to Lin Lei's side and said, "Eat something."

Then he looked at the stone carving and added, "After you eat, get a good sleep and rest!"

Lin Lei looked back at the stone carving, nodded, and remained silent!

The stone carving was still named Dream Awakening. After eating and getting a good night's sleep, Lin Lei decided to re-enter the Magic Beast Mountain Range, just as in the original story.

After some thought, Lei Lin did not suggest going together, but he followed in secret.

As a small butterfly, he had already brought about huge changes to this world.

Especially after he personally saved Hogg, he had confirmed that apart from some trivial matters and details, some major events were not set in stone.

He wasn't sure if Lin Lei would still be as lucky as in the original story to devour the dragon blood and dragon crystal of the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon and become a Dragonblood Warrior.

"Sigh, strictly speaking, Lin Lei himself is a 'person of unpredictable fate'!"

"Under the influence of a variable like me, it is already very fortunate that Lin Lei hasn't undergone any major changes yet."

"But I still need to cling to this thigh!"

"Even if, because of me, Lin Lei doesn't become a Controller in the future, Beirut will definitely protect him because of his relationship with Beibei."

"I, this little butterfly, can also enjoy some of the glory of a big shot!"

"In this Magnolia Continent..., Beirut is an obstacle that cannot be bypassed!"

"The relationship with Lin Lei and Beibei must be maintained well!"

Thinking of this, Lei Lin sighed inwardly: "I wonder if Beirut has discovered Beibei yet? Oh, Main God..."

At the mere thought of Beirut, Lei Lin felt immense pressure.

To a Main God, without the protection of a godhead, memories are transparent. Even if one becomes a god, there are plenty of soul-manipulation methods to toy with one's soul and memories.

He didn't know if his Golden Finger could protect his secrets from being discovered by Beirut!

This was also the reason why he hadn't dared to target Lin Lei and Beibei early on!

"Forget it, overthinking is useless!"

"As a Main God, under normal circumstances, Beirut wouldn't even deign to use such methods to probe someone else's memories."

"Or rather, even if he did probe my memories and learned my secrets, I wouldn't be able to resist anyway!"

Reflecting on this, Lei Lin calmed his heart: "Since I am here, I will settle in; doing what I can is enough!"

"Anyway, even if Beirut probes my memories and discovers my secrets, given my current relationship with Lin Lei and Beibei..."

"I should, probably, maybe not get wiped out immediately~"

"Or..."

As he thought about it, Lei Lin felt a sense of resolve: "Why worry so much? What's the point?"

"I can't resist anyway. If I'm discovered, I'll just come clean; if not, I'll keep cultivating."

"I just need to work hard to improve my strength!"

Under a large tree, Lin Lei, who had just killed a Bloodthirsty Iron Bull, looked at the dazed Delin beside him and asked, "Grandpa Delin, what's wrong?"

Delin shook his head and said, "It's nothing."

In his heart, however, he thought: Why does this kid Lei Lin suddenly seem different?

Lei Lin's secret protection of Lin Lei might have been hidden from Lin Lei, but it couldn't be hidden from Delin.

Or rather, he never intended to hide it from Delin!

After all, how could one do a good deed without leaving a name behind!?

If he didn't leave a name, wouldn't the good deed be for nothing?

He, Lei Lin, was never someone who liked to hide in the shadows!

Sensing an anomaly in the Electromagnetic Wave, Lei Lin thought to himself: This kind of fluctuation?

Hmm, it must be Delin!

He is the only one in the vicinity I cannot perceive!

With Lei Lin's current strength, he was still unable to observe Delin in his soul state, but the essence of spiritual power was also an Electromagnetic Wave!

He couldn't see Delin, but if Delin's spiritual power radiated outward, he could detect it through his sensitivity to Electromagnetic Waves.

Thinking of this, Lei Lin sensed Lantan and the others who were following far behind him!

Sigh~ Although this Lantan is usually quite annoying, she is currently the only Saint Realm combat power I can utilize.

I hope the Purple-Striped Magic Bear and the Spine-backed Iron-Armored Dragon still end up both heavily injured!

Otherwise, if I intervene in the battle and intentionally trap myself, I fear Lantan and her squad won't be a match for the Purple-Striped Black Bear even if they use the Angel Battle Formation.

In that situation, Lantan would most likely order one of her subordinates to manifest their Angel Form (Saint Realm power) to protect me and die in the process (manifesting the Angel Form would cause their bodies to collapse and die from the strain)!

If that happens, the Holy See will definitely strengthen their protection over me in the future!

Many things won't be as easy to do freely then!