Deciding to Ask for Guidance

"Thank you for your help." Only after confirming that her daughter was all right did the woman turn to Li Yilin and thank him gratefully.

"It was nothing." Li Yilin gave a slight nod.

After watching the mother and daughter leave, Li Yilin no longer felt like continuing his stroll. When he passed the administrative hall, he went straight inside and bought a castle from the staff to serve as his residence on Qiu Dragon Planet.

The castle's underground training room.

Inside the World Ring.

Li Yilin stood before the purple giant egg. Feeling the vigorous life force within, he wore an expectant expression.

"Another twenty years, and my Clone will be born.

"Almost there!"

"Whoosh!"

A blinding white light flashed. Inside the sealed training room, hundreds, even thousands, of tiny lightning snakes darted about, intertwining and clashing with one another. Wherever they went, they left behind ear-splitting booms.

By the time all the lightning snakes had disappeared, the walls and floor of the training room were charred black from scorching, and a pungent smell filled the air.

Li Yilin, however, seemed not to notice a thing. Sitting cross-legged on the smooth metal floor, he raised his right hand slightly. Three agile purple lightning snakes coiled and slithered around his fingertips, docile as could be—not at all like the wild creatures they had been moments ago.

"My Law Comprehension is fine.

"Then why? Why can't I get anywhere with cultivating the Thunder Dragon Art?

"Control it, control it... How exactly am I supposed to control it?" Li Yilin gritted his teeth, unable to figure it out no matter how hard he tried.

"Maybe I should go ask Sawatdee. He should have a solution."

As soon as the thought came to him, he acted. He immediately opened his Smart Optical Computer and sent Sawatdee a message.

Over the years, although he had traveled all over the universe, he had never lost touch with Sawatdee.

Sawatdee was a hearty, easygoing man, and talking with him was always a pleasure.

Virtual Universe.

Not long after Li Yilin appeared in the villa, Sawatdee showed up.

"Hahaha, it's been a long time, Brother Yilin."

The moment he saw Li Yilin, Sawatdee burst out laughing and walked over, giving him a slap on the shoulder.

"Long time no see, Senior Sawa." Li Yilin smiled faintly.

"Been years since we last met. Come on, let's sit down." He put an arm around Li Yilin and led him to the sofa. Sawatdee reached into the air with his right hand, and two bottles of drink appeared. He handed one to Li Yilin.

After they sat down, Sawatdee gulped down more than half his drink and sighed contentedly. Only then did he ask, "You don't come to the Three Treasures Hall without a reason. You came to see me, so I'm guessing you need something?" He pointed at Li Yilin and laughed.

"Go on, tell me. If there's anything I can do, I'll do it!"

Ten years ago, he had taken a fancy to a treasure, but didn't have enough money. Li Yilin had happened to contact him at the time, so he mentioned it in passing.

To his surprise, the kid had transferred him a hundred thousand Hunyuan Units right away, saying it was a gift for his big brother and not to think of it as a loan.

Who wouldn't like a brother that generous?

He certainly did.

He had first befriended Li Yilin because of that dragon's roar during the life-and-death battle. Later, he learned that it was nothing more than a special cultivation method Li Yilin practiced. Before he could cultivate it, his body had to be transformed, and he needed the bloodline of that mysterious purple Thunder Dragon.

Once he understood the reason, he let it go.

The universe was vast. Everyone had a bit of good fortune. Most opportunities were practically made for the person who found them—others couldn't take them, even if they wanted to.

Now, he was simply friends with Li Yilin.

The kid had long been capable of breaking through to World Lord, but had chosen to remain at Domain Lord Level to spend more time building up his foundation.

The only thing he lacked was rank. His strength was already comparable to that of an ordinary World Lord, so befriending him was no slight to Sawatdee's status as a World Lord.

"My cultivation seems to have run into a problem." Li Yilin sighed and got to the point.

"I'm cultivating a secret technique, and it requires..." He carefully explained the problem he had encountered, then concluded, "I feel that my Law Comprehension is deep enough, but I still can't get started on the second level of the secret technique."

Sawatdee's heart stirred. "Could you go to the Battle Space and let me see for myself?"

The Virtual Universe had countless uses, including places for assisting with cultivation and testing secret techniques. Li Yilin was simply more accustomed to cultivating in reality, and mostly used the Virtual Universe as a shopping platform and social app.

That didn't mean he was unfamiliar with some of the Virtual Universe's functions. He nodded at once.

"Sure."

Since he had already decided to ask for advice, he naturally wouldn't hold anything back.

Battle Space.

As soon as Li Yilin appeared, Sawatdee said, "Go ahead."

Li Yilin nodded and used the Thunder Dragon Art.

First, he used the first level of the Thunder Dragon Art—"Summon Thunder." This level condensed the Thunder Dragon into a series of lightning snakes. The increase in combat power depended on the number of snakes and how densely their energy was concentrated.

At mastery, it could triple one's combat power.

He had already mastered this level. With ease, he summoned eighteen lightning snakes as thick as his arms to coil around his body. Though they were called snakes, they actually looked more like dragons.

Despite their numbers, they weren't terrifying. Instead, they seemed even more imposing and dignified, as though he had become the ruler of thunder itself.

Seeing this and feeling Li Yilin's aura surge to more than three times its former strength, Sawatdee was a little surprised.

The first level was already this powerful. This secret technique was no ordinary one!

"Go!" Li Yilin's eyes narrowed. He stepped forward, merging with the Thunder Domain like a phantom, and six lightning snakes roared as they lunged at Sawatdee.

The snakes intertwined, with one meeting him head-on from every direction. There was hardly a single opening.

Sawatdee's expression didn't change. He retreated several dozen meters and swept his right hand sideways. A wisp of flame appeared out of nowhere, transforming into a fire serpent resembling a lightning snake, which rushed toward them.

There was only one fire serpent. No one could tell how Sawatdee controlled it, but in just a few moves, it forced the Thunder Dragon to reveal a tiny opening, which it slipped through.

"Boom!" As soon as it drew close to the lightning snakes, the fire serpent exploded. Countless flames burst outward, tearing a gap in their defenses. One of the lightning snakes even vanished in the blast.

Li Yilin's heart skipped a beat.

Sawatdee was merely a World Lord who hadn't even received the acknowledgment of a Law. How had his attack broken through Li Yilin's defenses so easily?

Sawatdee turned his head and glanced at Li Yilin, as if he had seen through his confusion. He laughed loudly. "Wondering how I broke through your defenses so easily?"

Without waiting for Li Yilin to answer, Sawatdee continued, "That's the difference between having a teacher and a systematic, proper method of cultivation, and just figuring things out on your own.

"Remember this: with a teacher or without one, even with the same talent, you won't reach the same heights."

Li Yilin nodded. He agreed. His talent was actually quite poor, but thanks to the system, all kinds of heaven-defying treasures and cultivation techniques, and tens of thousands of years of hard work, he had achieved what he had today.

Anyone with better talent or a teacher to guide them would have achieved far more.

But so what?

He had no intention of taking a master.

The system's existence was like a Supreme Treasure. Whether the treasure was ordinary or one of the most powerful Supreme Treasures, it was precious.

And something precious shouldn't be in the hands of someone lacking in talent, fortune, strength, and foundation.

He didn't want to test anyone's resolve in the face of a treasure, nor did he want to overestimate his own generosity.

He was selfish. He didn't want to share anything good.

Seeing Li Yilin's expression, Sawatdee felt helpless. He didn't know what was going on with the kid, or what he had been through, but why was he so opposed to joining another faction? He wouldn't even consider taking a master.

If his cultivation hadn't genuinely run into trouble, he probably wouldn't have come to ask Sawatdee for help at all.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help laughing to himself.

He could already picture the kid scratching his head in frustration over his cultivation, looking dejected and dispirited.

"Senior?" Sawatdee had a strange smile on his face and wasn't saying anything. Unable to help himself, Li Yilin called out to him.

Sawatdee came back to his senses, shook his head to clear away his jumbled thoughts, and said solemnly, "It's nothing. Let's continue."

Li Yilin nodded, not giving it much thought. "What I'm about to use is the second level of the secret technique—the one I'm having trouble with."

He recalled the five lightning snakes, and countless tiny ones appeared at once, coiling around his hand. Each movement of the snakes seemed to follow a certain pattern, making Sawatdee look at them again and again.

Why did that pattern look so familiar...

What was it called?

He racked his brains, but couldn't remember. Just as he was about to grasp a clue, Li Yilin finally condensed the Thunder Dragon Claw.

The lifelike dragon claw and its frostily gleaming, rock-hard talons left Sawatdee with no doubt about its power.

"Senior Sawa, watch closely." Li Yilin lifted his eyes, his gaze solemn. He controlled the dragon claw with his right hand and swiped forward.

"Thunder Dragon Claw!"

Five long, black streaks appeared in the air and stretched farther and farther. Sawatdee didn't even have time to react before the five claw marks tore through the void and reached him.

His expression turned grave. A powerful sense of danger made him take out a shield without hesitation and hold it in front of himself.

"Whoosh!"

The claw marks landed on the shield, slicing through it like a knife through tofu and leaving five deep gashes.

Wasn't this a Fifth-Order Force Weapon?

The kind of weapon a World Lord could wield.

And it had been cut through so easily?

Sawatdee looked up in shock and saw the dragon claw in Li Yilin's hand crackle with electricity before turning into countless lightning snakes and vanishing into the air.

Li Yilin spread his hands, looking helpless. "You saw it for yourself, Senior. According to the secret technique's description, my Thunder Dragon Claw should remain until my energy runs out and I can no longer attack.

"But the problem is, my Thunder Dragon Claw only lets me make one attack. Whether my energy is depleted or not, it disappears afterward."