Soul Talent

The human territories were vast, but Lei Mo was in no rush. He rode his Divine Wind Bear, spending his time sampling fine food and wine, and occasionally visiting places not meant for children.

He traveled at a leisurely pace during the day, staying in treehouses or inns at night. Whenever he practiced, Lei Mo focused on comprehending the Law of Destruction.

He had long since abandoned the cultivation of battle qi, yet his battle qi continued to grow on its own.

Thanks to the awakening of his destruction talent, Lei Mo no longer needed to constantly gaze at the destruction runes on Franklin.

Whether he held Franklin in his hands, rested it on his knees, or carried it on his back, every moment was an opportunity for insight.

Sensing the fluctuations of the Law of Destruction between heaven and earth, Lei Mo felt an indescribable sense of comfort.

One day, Lei Mo encountered a merchant caravan. On a whim, he had Bill transform into a miniature bear and crawl into his pocket.

After paying ten gold coins, Lei Mo gained the right to follow the caravan.

This was a caravan transporting textiles to the Northern Frontier.

They carried silk and cloth outward, and returned with various types of Magic Beast furs.

Speaking of furs, the pelt of the Wind-Thunder Magic Bear had already been handed over to the Keaton Kingdom in exchange for 200,000 square kilometers of land around the Franklin Valley. That was enough to establish a large grand duchy, but Lei Mo had no interest in nation-building.

He had also received two sets of Magic Bear leather armor in return, one for himself and one for Rachel.

After the Magic Bear meat was smoked, a significant amount was stored in his spatial ring, while the majority was kept within Franklin's Soul Space.

Lei Mo was currently wearing the Magic Bear leather armor; the Wind-Thunder Magic Bear's defensive and force-deflecting capabilities had left a deep impression on him.

"Uncle Bailey, Uncle Bailey, here is some roasted meat! I saved it especially for you."

A little boy with fiery red hair shouted as he ran toward Lei Mo.

Yes, Lei Mo was once again using the name Bailey.

Vikli was a young boy Lei Mo had met in the caravan. His father was a wagoner, and the boy did odd jobs like organizing cargo. He was essentially free child labor for the caravan; they provided food and lodging, and he received no wages—a mutually beneficial arrangement.

On this continent, such child laborers were called apprentices. They usually started helping their masters or caravans at age eight and had to work until they were sixteen before they could earn a real apprentice's wage.

This was a very common phenomenon among commoners, and being able to become an apprentice was actually something to be happy about.

Not only did they get free food and lodging, but they also had the chance to learn a trade to support themselves, which was the foundation for their future.

If they were afraid of hardship and ran home, their parents would break their legs.

Young Vikli was a very observant child; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to hold his own in the caravan.

The first time he saw Lei Mo, he noticed his leather armor and the two black pillars on his back, and felt that he was someone extraordinary.

He would intentionally or unintentionally try to get close to Lei Mo. This was the instinct of a person at the bottom of society—they always showed great enthusiasm toward those who were capable and not too ill-tempered.

Lei Mo also liked this diligent and sensible child. He gave him a few small trinkets that seemed useless but were actually very beneficial to the body.

Vikli didn't know what they were, but he accepted them happily. One of them was even a silver coin engraved with a Burning Rune.

This was just a casual act by Lei Mo, much like when he had saved Sarich.

Recently, Lei Mo had been studying that particular rune. Unlike the others, which were clearly incomplete, this one was whole, and Lei Mo was filled with curiosity about it.

Lei Mo had no insight into this rune at all, let alone a way to verify its function, and he had yet to find a soul that could comprehend it.

Perhaps it was a rune unique to the main body of Franklin, as it did not exist on the eight sub-pillars.

Franklin had now projected this complete, mysterious rune into the space. At Lei Mo's request, it was scattered in multiple corners, in the hope that some soul would be able to comprehend it.

If that happened, there would be a corresponding soul rune, and Lei Mo would have a chance to use it as a springboard to comprehend the complete rune itself.

More than half a year had passed, but there was still no progress. It seemed the difficulty of this rune was not small; judging by the rune threads, it was indeed complex.

With Franklin's assistance, although Lei Mo could not comprehend the seven elemental laws, his perception of the seven elemental energies was extremely sharp.

Lei Mo was certain that this rune did not belong to the seven elemental laws or the Law of Destruction. Logically, such a thing shouldn't exist.

Yet, the reality was just that: this rune contained no energy from any of the seven elements. Or rather, this rune was the "attribute-less" power Lei Mo had been desperately searching for.

Thinking about these random matters in his mind, he could only sigh at the sight of it. Without a soul rune to serve as a springboard, he could not comprehend it.

My direction might be wrong! Lei Mo thought to himself.

Currently, Franklin's space was filled mostly with the souls of Tauren, with only a few thousand human souls.

Yes, those were the ones killed by Lei Mo during that great battle, their souls dragged inside. The rest were a few dozen Magic Beast souls he had also slain.

"Different souls might have different talents, but I can't just go around killing innocent people for the sake of souls!"

This clearly did not align with Lei Mo's values. The best way was to participate in a war; death in war was considered normal.

Although this sounded hypocritical, the education Lei Mo had received made him feel that this was how it should be.

He followed the caravan through two kingdoms and left once they reached the vicinity of the Elf Forest.

The pace was simply too slow, and as for the bandits they encountered, Lei Mo would not intervene unless it was a life-or-death crisis.

The place where Lei Mo left the caravan was the northernmost part of the human territories, a kingdom called Keir. Further north lay the Chaos Zone, a place where all sorts of people mingled.

Legend had it that the Keir royal family had elven blood, though who knew if it was true? It didn't matter, anyway. With so many elves in existence, what did the Keir Kingdom amount to?

Although the elves were a peace-loving race, they did not tolerate the existence of overly powerful nations or factions on the borders of their lair, which was why there were no organizations like the Seti Alliance there.

The elven population was small, and they did not venture out of the vast Elf Forest; the forest provided them with everything they needed to live.

After leaving the caravan, Lei Mo released the Divine Wind Bear and continued his leisurely journey northward, crossing the border of the Keir Kingdom and entering the Chaos Zone.

The entire Elf Forest belonged to the Elf Nation, but due to the sparse population of the elves, Magic Beasts were the dominant force within the woods.

This directly resulted in the border regions near human territories frequently suffering from Magic Beast incursions; if any kingdom were to occupy these lands, they would have to defend against the beasts, a burden many kingdoms were unwilling to bear.

Consequently, the areas bordering the Elf Forest were often lawless zones, and even when powerful individuals occasionally established a principality there, it would inevitably perish within a few hundred years.

The moment he stepped into this region, Lei Mo kept his spiritual power constantly probing, while Franklin projected his Saint-level soul to remain on alert, instantly shedding the relaxation and laziness he had felt within human territories.

"BOOM--"

A piercing sound tore through the air as a black shadow streaked toward Lei Mo; he could not tell if it was friend or foe.

Is this the welcome I get the moment I arrive in the Chaos Zone?

Lei Mo did not panic, raising his Totem Pillar horizontally to block the strike with a loud "BANG."

Only then did he see that his attacker was a Saint-level Dragon Lion, its entire body covered in purplish-red scales, with a single purple horn protruding from the center of its brow.

Its body, over eight meters long, appeared quite petite among Saint-level Magic Beasts, with a shoulder height of over three meters, only slightly taller than the Divine Wind Bear.

"Human! Hand over my child, or else--die!"