Franklin

Riding the Divine Wind Bear and dressed in sturdy traveling gear, Lei Mo was in high spirits as he followed the primitive, well-trodden path toward a small town in the distance.

He found a tavern, ordered a large barrel of raw wheat ale and five pounds of roasted meat, and began to guzzle it down—

"Ah—refreshing! How long has it been? How long! I'm finally living a human life again!"

Lei Mo's boorish behavior didn't attract any negative attention; instead, several men in the tavern cast him friendly glances.

Drinking and eating crudely, belching loudly—these were all traits fitting for an adventurer. Coupled with his robust physique, many tipsy adventurers couldn't help but come over to clink cups with Lei Mo.

Lei Mo turned no one away. In half a day, he polished off three large barrels of ale and drank seven or eight adventurers under the table. The atmosphere in the entire tavern became thoroughly lively, and the owner's gaze toward Lei Mo grew a few shades warmer.

He fished out a gold coin, tossed it to the bartender, and without waiting for change, walked straight out of the tavern toward an inn.

"Oh my, what kind of Magic Beast is that? It's quite large, and actually rather cute!"

The people on the street didn't seem particularly afraid of the Divine Wind Bear; its appearance simply lacked any real intimidation.

"Are you crazy? That's a level-nine Magic Beast, don't go looking for death!"

This one was a person of discernment.

Lei Mo ignored them all. He found an inn, requested a private courtyard, and upon entering the room, immediately began to meditate and refine his magic power.

The Divine Wind Bear—Bill Cleveland—stood guard at Lei Mo's door, responsible for security; a Magic Beast's vigilance was far superior to that of a human.

Franklin also released several Saint-level souls to keep watch inside the room; these souls were invisible to ordinary people.

Ever since Lei Mo's blood had activated the internal space within Franklin's body, the souls inside could cultivate within it without needing to come out, and the runes on Franklin's body could be projected into that space.

Unfortunately, the runes on Franklin were still incomplete, and they could not allow the Saint-level souls to comprehend the complete profound mysteries of the Laws.

"Master, do you need me to retrieve those eight totem pillars? They are considered my sub-bodies. Now that I have an internal space, although I cannot store items for the time being, I feel I could take those eight totem pillars inside."

Franklin's voice resonated in Lei Mo's mind.

"Not for now. Furthermore, we must let more people contemplate them so that we can collect more souls. Besides, I feel this space of yours still has room for improvement!"

Lei Mo replied after a moment of thought.

"Franklin, do those eight sub-body totem pillars of yours really require ten years to be contemplated once?" Lei Mo asked.

"That is not the case. It was just that I found it troublesome to release the souls every time, so I only opened the space once every ten years to manifest the Saint-level runes on those eight pillars."

"The initial runes on the eight sub-bodies are still too difficult; those Saint-level runes are much simpler."

"Now that this space has come to life, it can manifest at any time, even if we are hundreds of millions of miles apart!"

Franklin's voice echoed in Lei Mo's mind.

"If you let the soul runes manifest long-term, will the people of the Ancestral Court discover it?" Lei Mo asked, puzzled.

"Saint-level experts should be able to sense something, and if it goes on for too long, they will certainly discover it," Franklin said.

"Franklin, why are there so many runes on your body, while those eight pillars have far fewer?" Lei Mo asked whenever he had a doubt.

"Master, the runes on my body exist naturally; they can be seen but not touched. But now, only you can see the ones on me; others can only see those eight sub-body pillars. Following your explanation, I divided them into eight types, and those eight totem pillars each inherited one."

Franklin's voice was languid.

"Then why is it that the runes I engrave are effective, yet I cannot comprehend the runes on your body?"

This was Lei Mo's greatest grievance. It was agonizing to have the Law or Rule runes manifesting right before his eyes, yet be unable to comprehend them!

"Master, your rune engraving only comprehends the soul runes—those manifested by the souls. It is not that you have fully grasped the initial rune; the souls that turned into runes had previously comprehended this initial rune."

Franklin continued, "This manifested soul carries a fluctuation that makes your soul more compatible with this soul rune. The fact that you can trigger the fluctuation of the soul rune shows that you still possess a sliver of talent in this area."

Lei Mo's expression darkened; he had always thought his talent was decent.

"Then what elements do the runes on your body and those on the eight pillars belong to, and what is the difference?" Lei Mo still refused to give up.

"I didn't know before, but after communicating with you, Master, I know they should be Earth, Fire, Water, Wind, Lightning, Light, Darkness, and Destruction, respectively."

Lei Mo's heart went completely cold.

"I actually... I actually have no talent in so many elements! No—I cannot give up. I can still try to comprehend Destruction."

"Although I have no feeling for Destruction right now, as long as I comprehend the Rules of Destruction through slaughter, there must be some change." Lei Mo pulled himself together.

"Master, do not be discouraged. I am still at the Saint level. Once I become a god, the runes on my body should become more complete, and at that time, I will certainly be able to help you."

Franklin comforted Lei Mo.

"Additionally, based on what you said, Master, what I have comprehended should be the Rules of Death. This is the most fitting; it specializes in the soul, lacks specific profound mysteries, and is eerie and unpredictable."

Franklin's words left Lei Mo feeling both comforted and envious.

"Mm, don't worry, I'm not that fragile."

Having lived through two lifetimes and being over fifty years old, his mental fortitude was at least up to standard.

He stayed in the inn for two days to adjust his mood, understanding that the Law runes on Franklin contained all the profound mysteries of the seven elements, plus the Rule runes of Destruction, even if they were all incomplete.

At the same time, Franklin himself, perhaps because his internal space had collected a massive amount of souls, had comprehended a portion of the Rules of Death.

For the time being, none of this was of direct help to Lei Mo, and Lei Mo couldn't comprehend any of it—it was heartbreaking.

On the third day, Lei Mo shouldered the stolen pack, picked up Franklin, walked out of the small town, and continued his journey toward the east.

The small town was located near the Seti Mountains and belonged to a grand duchy called Sunier; in reality, a grand duchy was just a larger noble fief that happened to have smaller noble territories under its jurisdiction.

Leaving the Sunier Grand Duchy and continuing eastward, one would find the formidable Keaton Kingdom. Due to its proximity to the Seti Mountains, the local populace was fierce and hardy, and the Keaton Kingdom possessed immense strength, boasting a renowned peak military force—the Magic Beast Knights.

A few days later, Lei Mo arrived at the border of the Keaton Kingdom, which was his intended destination.

Before coming here, Lei Mo had already gathered clear information: the Keaton Kingdom was adept at recruiting talent from various nations, was not xenophobic, worshipped the strong, and was frequently engaged in war—perfectly aligning with Lei Mo's requirements.

When Lei Mo arrived, he had already planned to join the Keaton Kingdom's Magic Beast Knights in the capacity of a magic beast knight.

Bill Cleveland was a level nine Divine Wind Bear; while Lei Mo's rank might not be high when he first joined the knights, he definitely had a promising future.

Lei Mo had come for the sake of war, so his rank was secondary, and with Franklin by his side, Lei Mo was not afraid of losing control of the situation.

As long as no god-level experts appeared, Lei Mo feared no one and could fight with peace of mind.

Unless he faced a certain-death scenario, Lei Mo could always escape; the speed of this Divine Wind Bear was heaven-defying, which was exactly why he had chosen it.

Combat, war, the battlefield—Lei Mo could not help but feel his blood heating up.

"Roar, roar, roar—"