Thunder God and Hong

Qian Min's sudden burst of power caught Si Yao completely off guard; she had lost.

As she was kicked off the arena stage and tumbled onto the ground, her expression remained dazed, unable to process what had just happened.

She had never imagined that she would lose.

She couldn't help but glance at her teacher in the spectator stands. Her teacher was looking at Qian Min on the stage with a face full of surprise, his eyes reflecting the familiar look of admiration and affirmation—along with astonishment.

Was her teacher surprised by her talent as well?

Si Yao pursed her lips, stood up silently, and walked toward her seat in silence.

On the stage, Li Yilin looked toward the Cloud Sea Family Head, who raised his hand and laughed heartily.

"Brother Li, you are too kind."

Li Yilin raised an eyebrow. "Victory and defeat are common occurrences in the martial world. The Cloud Sea Family is truly a top-tier clan of Black Dragon Mountain; this junior is full of admiration." As he spoke, he stood up and bowed slightly toward him.

When night fell, Li Yilin returned to the Floating City. Si Yao was already waiting anxiously in front of his residence. "Teacher, did Ah Yao lose face for you?"

As she spoke, her voice choked up. Her blue eyes were bloodshot, and tears teetered on the edge of falling.

Li Yilin found it amusing. He stepped forward and gently tapped her forehead. "Winning or losing isn't important. As long as you are happy, Teacher is happy."

He took her hand and walked into the house, saying as they went, "In the first half of my life, I took winning and losing too seriously—" so seriously that the slightest mistake would have meant death and total annihilation.

His eyes held memories as well as a sense of relief, his voice growing increasingly gentle. "I hope Ah Yao can always be happy. At the very least, during the days you are under my protection, I want you to be happy."

On the arena stage.

After Qian Min kicked Si Yao off the stage, she jumped down shortly after and returned to the spectator stands.

As for the reward for winning the Star Level championship, it would be presented together after the Star Level matches concluded.

She walked toward her seat. As she was about to pass Si Yao, her peripheral vision caught the girl sitting in her chair with her head bowed. Her once-straight back was slightly slumped, and she was curled into a small ball, her beautiful brows furrowed.

It was just one lost match; was there any need to be like this?

Her mental fortitude was too fragile!

Why did the ancestor take a liking to her?

She felt puzzled, yet as she was about to pass by, she reached out her hand.

Si Yao was still feeling miserable about disappointing her teacher when a hand suddenly appeared before her. In a fair palm lay two exquisitely wrapped candies, their azure-blue wrappers very similar to the color of her own pupils.

Si Yao looked up instinctively and immediately met Qian Min's blood-red eyes. Despite how terrifying those eyes were, she caught a hint of awkwardness within them.

She blinked, not yet having reacted.

Seeing that she didn't move, Qian Min's brows furrowed even tighter. She pursed her lips, shoved the candies directly into Si Yao's arms, and squeezed out a sentence from the corner of her mouth, "Here, stop being sad."

Even if she acted in a way that made people soften, she would never throw a match.

Five years later.

Li Yilin emerged from the cultivation room as usual and went straight to the balcony to lie down.

Five years had passed. The fluctuations of the Law on his body were becoming increasingly distinct, yet his aura had grown more steady and unfathomable.

The second level of the Thunder Dragon Art had been completely mastered, and his combat power had steadily increased from three times to nine times his base. Following the creation of his first phantom clone, he had also finally managed to utilize time acceleration for the first time not long ago.

Being able to use time acceleration, even if only in a small area, was enough to show his progress in comprehending the Time Law.

What he looked forward to most was that the giant egg of his Clone inside the World Ring had suddenly begun to consume a massive amount of energy these past few days, which meant the Clone had entered a stage of rapid gestation.

Unfortunately, the eggshell possessed an extremely strong anti-scrying effect; even his spiritual energy could barely penetrate it, let alone probe the gestation process.

If nothing went wrong, in another four years, it would be time for his Clone to emerge.

Thinking of this, he connected his consciousness to the Virtual Universe as usual and headed to the Killing Field.

Man Luo was still sitting in a corner of the Killing Field, eyes closed to rest his mind, secretly observing the martial artists coming and going.

"Lord Man Luo." Li Yilin walked over with a smile and handed him a drink he had just bought.

Man Luo opened his eyes, his cloudy pupils rotating. His gaze landed on Li Yilin's face and lingered for a few seconds. After a long while, he smiled faintly.

"Kid, I haven't seen you in a few days, but you're quite a sight to behold now."

If he had previously been like a half-drawn sword, he was now fully unsheathed, his sharp edge fully exposed.

"Lord Man Luo is too kind. If not for your help, this junior would not have been able to make such rapid progress." Li Yilin chuckled and sat down familiarly at his feet.

Even though there was a sofa nearby, he acted as if he didn't see it and sat directly on the ground.

"Fast progress is good, but you mustn't neglect other things." Man Luo closed his eyes again, a faint smile on his wrinkled face.

"The best way to improve your strength and ensure you don't go down the wrong path is through combat. Only by constantly experiencing life-and-death crises and seeking life through death—" Man Luo's voice grew increasingly ethereal, like a low murmur, as if he were about to fall asleep in the next second.

Li Yilin was silent for a moment, then nodded. "Does Lord have any good suggestions?"

Man Luo straightened his back, leaned forward, looked at Li Yilin, and grinned. "The Outer-Domain Battlefield."

Li Yilin's eyes widened slightly.

Man Luo leaned back in his chair once more and said leisurely, "Although the Outer-Domain Battlefield has a relatively high mortality rate, it is undeniable that it also produces the highest number of powerhouses."

"Of course, I am not telling you to go to the Outer-Domain Battlefield right now. Even with the strength of a Domain Lord, the possibility of falling in a place like that is still too high. However, if you break through to the World Lord level, with your strength, you would have a certain ability to protect yourself in the Outer-Domain Battlefield, and it would be worth a try."

He truly liked this kid; his eyes were like the deep universe, and it was truly rare to see such beautiful, pure black eyes.

Most importantly, the kid's personality was exactly to his liking.

Therefore, he was more than happy to give him a little advice.

Li Yilin shook his head, "I appreciate your kindness, Lord Man Luo, but I am not ready to break through to the World Lord level yet." He wanted to gain recognition for his Lightning Law before breaking through.

Once he reached the World Lord realm, he would ensure his comprehension of the Lightning Law was sufficient to guarantee a breakthrough to Immortal, then devote himself entirely to comprehending the Time Law, eventually gaining recognition from the Time Origin Law.

If all went well, relying on the secret manual Thunder Dragon Step to achieve time acceleration or deceleration, he would have at least the strength of a Marquis Immortal once he broke through to become an Immortal.

Man Luo nodded, "That's true. You've had the strength to break through to World Lord for a long time; if you haven't, you must be aiming for something."

He raised the cup in his hand, "Seeing you buy these drinks every few days, I assume you aren't short on money."

"If you have the funds, go check out the mid-level auctions. Hmm, if you can come across a quota to enter the Initial Universe for enlightenment, buy one. It will be good for you." As for what kind of benefits, he did not say.

Li Yilin nodded.

The two chatted idly, and just as they finished their drinks and Li Yilin was about to stand up and head to the Battle Space, his gaze suddenly sharpened, and he turned to look at the entrance of the hall.

It wasn't the fact that two people had entered the hall that surprised him; what shocked him was that the language they were speaking was actually Chinese.

The familiar yet distant language pulled his memories back to the long-ago Earth, that beautiful azure planet, and his eyes couldn't help but drift away—

"So this is the Killing Field?" The bald monk in white robes walking at the front looked up at the massive dome above the hall, his eyes full of admiration.

A bald monk speaking Chinese—was this Thunder God from the original story?

"It's so grand!"

"How could it not be? The consumption in this place is incredibly expensive. I'm at Planetary Level 9, and I have to pay 100 Black Dragon Coins a day—"

Beside the bald monk was a young man about 1.9 meters tall with black hair and black eyes. With his sharp, short-cropped hair, the man gave off the impression of a long spear poised to pierce the heavens.

The only person who could be this close to Thunder God and have this appearance could only be Hong.

"Hmm, someone is looking at us." Thunder God quickly noticed Li Yilin, who had been watching them from not far away.

The black hair and black eyes, exactly like those on Earth, made him freeze for a split second, but the purple vertical eye on his forehead pulled him back to reality.

Although everyone's physical fitness was fixed at Apprentice Level 4 in the Virtual Universe, the law fluctuations and soul aura of a powerhouse were far beyond what an ordinary person could compare to.

Thunder God only had to take one look to be certain that this person's strength was far superior to his own.

He nodded slightly to show respect.

Hong, standing to the side, had clearly noticed Li Yilin long ago. He tugged on Thunder God's arm, his expression somewhat grave.

"He seems to be listening to us."

"We're speaking Chinese; can he understand it?" Thunder God was greatly shocked.

"I don't know." Hong shook his head.

"Let's go, let's go."

The two pulled at each other and left. Li Yilin stood where he was, watching the two walk into the passage and quickly disappear, without making a move.