Chapter 87: Level Seven Subordinate

"Innate... Unity of Qi?"

Fu Fu Lamei read out the term in Chinese, then immediately revealed a gaze full of curiosity.

Lin Yu explained the concept of Innate Unity of Qi to Fu Fu Lamei, then said with a smile: "Regarding research in this area, I already have quite a few phased results, but it's still some time before success."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you for a favor on this matter."

Fu Fu Lamei said without hesitation: "What favor?"

Lin Yu said casually: "Help me catch some test subjects."

"..."

Fu Fu Lamei's gaze sharpened, and she immediately asked in a low voice: "Humans?"

Lin Yu said with a smile: "Humans, elves, dwarves, even demons—I don't mind any of them."

Fu Fu Lamei deliberated for a moment, then nodded: "Alright, I accept this commission."

Lin Yu was slightly stunned, and said in surprise: "That readily?"

Fu Fu Lamei glanced at him and said: "People all change. The current me is no longer as naive as I was ten years ago, believing that all humans deserve to live in this world."

"To tell you the truth, over these past ten years, the human villains who have died at my hands are by no means few..."

Saying this, she paused, then said in a quiet, wistful tone: "Of course, that's only one reason. Based on my understanding of you, once you've decided to begin human experimentation, no one can stop you."

"Even if I refuse, the entire Spine Peak Territory will turn according to your will."

"Rather than waking this beast drunk on peace, it's better for me to act personally—at least that way I can guarantee those caught are all villains..."

Lin Yu stared at her fixedly, and after a moment sighed: "You've really changed a lot. The old you could never have said something like that."

Fu Fu Lamei smiled and said: "This is nothing—I'll keep changing in the future too. That's humans, a fickle species."

"If you want a friend who never changes, why not try getting in touch with Frieren? She absolutely fits your requirements!"

Still pushing your disciple on me?

Lin Yu rolled his eyes and said: "Your disciple is quite something too. She's been staying at my place for almost a week and hasn't even stepped out of her guest room door. In the words of my hometown, she's a bona fide magic shut-in!"

"Magic shut-in, you say..."

Fu Fu Lamei said with a light laugh: "I'd rather call her a mage of the peaceful era."

"Even without battle, she can still research magic as always and keep moving forward."

"On this point, neither I nor my teacher can compare to her..."

Mentioning Fu Fu Lamei's teacher, Lin Yu couldn't help raising an eyebrow, and said thoughtfully: "Speaking of which, doesn't your teacher possess a kind of magic similar to clairvoyance?"

"Indeed."

The moment the words left her mouth, Fu Fu Lamei immediately caught on, and said with an odd expression: "Could it be that she used magic to spy on you?"

Lin Yu said flatly: "I couldn't be sure before, but now that you've said it, it must have been her!"

Hearing this, Fu Fu Lamei's expression grew even stranger.

After a moment's hesitation, she confirmed: "Was it something three months ago?"

Lin Yu nodded.

Fu Fu Lamei's face showed understanding, and she sighed: "Then there's no problem. Three months ago, I brought Frieren to visit my teacher and mentioned your name to her for the first time..."

Saying this, Fu Fu Lamei paused, then said with a beaming smile: "Now I finally understand why the teacher was so furious she drove us out of her Magic Sanctuary."

"At the time I thought it was because Frieren's attitude toward magic had disappointed her."

"Looking back now, her reaction was indeed a bit extreme—Lin, what on earth did you do to her?"

Lin Yu said casually: "It was nothing. She wanted to look, so I opened up and let her take a good look."

Fu Fu Lamei's pupils shrank, and she couldn't help asking: "And then?"

Lin Yu recalled the sensation of being spied on vanishing instantly, and said uncertainly: "She must have been scared off, right?"

"..."

Fu Fu Lamei fell silent, and after a moment said in a quiet, wistful tone: "Worthy of being the teacher—a mage who has lived from the Age of Myth until now. Her attainments in magic are something I fear I'll never reach in this lifetime."

Lin Yu's face darkened with exasperation: "Are you praising the wrong person?"

"Of course not!"

Fu Fu Lamei said without hesitation: "The teacher's realm is profound, but still within my comprehension. But your existence has long since exceeded my comprehension—it isn't worth chasing."

Put that way, it's not wrong.

Seri Ai had briefly glimpsed his true nature, yet didn't break down because of it—instead she fled in panic in fine spirits. That alone was enough to show how immensely powerful she was!

Fu Fu Lamei asked with a smile: "Since then, the teacher shouldn't have spied again, right?"

Lin Yu glanced at her and said flatly: "Would she dare?"

She really wouldn't dare!

Fu Fu Lamei couldn't help laughing, as though imagining her powerful teacher looking utterly flustered and thwarted before Lin Yu.

As far as she knew, what Seri Ai pursued was the pinnacle of magic and equal combat.

Precisely because of that, Seri Ai could never defeat the Demon King, and even less could she provoke Lin Yu.

Because the former was exactly the opponent she longed for, while the latter was a being beyond human comprehension—so terrifying that even a battle maniac like Seri Ai didn't want to fight him.

After taking delight in her teacher's misfortune for a while, Fu Fu Lamei said with a smile: "Since we've already accepted the commission, we should set off."

Lin Yu frowned: "Right now?"

Fu Fu Lamei shook her head: "Of course not. At the very least, we have to wait for Frieren to step out of her room for the first time."

Lin Yu's gaze pierced through the castle, glanced at Frieren in the guest room, and he couldn't help laughing: "Then you've got quite a wait ahead of you!"

"It's fine—at most a week, I'll drag her out by force."

As Fu Fu Lamei said this, she sighed inwardly.

The main purpose of this visit to Lin Yu had, in effect, been ruined by Frieren.

Still, judging from Lin Yu's performance, he clearly appreciated Frieren—at the very least, he was willing to open the library to her, and that attitude alone was enough. As for the sacred scripture, there was always time later!

……

……

That very evening, old Old Old Woer came to the castle alone.

Lin Yu had long been waiting in the forest outside the castle. Gazing at the white-haired elder, who looked bright and alert, he said coolly:

"No need to put on an act in front of me."

"Yes, my lord!"

Old Old Old Woer bowed respectfully. When he raised his head again, his entire body stretched upward, returning to the appearance of a man around forty.

A towering two-meter frame, strong and solid muscles, wild thick black hair, and that angular, resolute face—all proved that in his youth he had been a formidable warrior.

Still… hadn't this body shrunk a little too much?

Lin Yu studied the burly two-meter warrior before him, unable to resist a silent complaint.

But then again, this world seemed to be like that. The later-generation hero Himmel was the same way—in his youth he at least stood over one-seventy, but in old age he had shrunk to one-two-three, shorter than even a dwarf.

"Old Woer, have you gotten used to this body yet?"

"Reporting to my lord, I've more or less gotten used to it."

Old Old Woer said with a smile: "If I had to point out any issue, it's probably the cramped feeling of being squeezed into a tight space—nothing like the freedom I had inside your divine kingdom…"

Even dependents feel this way?

Lin Yu furrowed his brow, a vague premonition of ill rising in his heart.

As mentioned earlier, Lin Yu's so-called dependents are a system extended from the Cosmic Weight.

This dependent system could be said to be the exact opposite of the Cosmic Weight, which connects heaven and earth.

Simply put, Lin Yu himself acts as heaven and earth, carving out portions of his authority and lending them to those dependents who commune with him.

At the same time, dependents who obtain permission become thoroughly bound to his inner universe, body and mind merging into the world, entering a state akin to the Primordial Way-Union.

Of course, dependents who have achieved Way-Union cannot be compared with the true powerhouses.

How much authority they can obtain depends entirely on how much power Lin Yu is willing to lend them.

So far, Lin Yu had roughly divided dependent authority into nine tiers, with enormous gaps between each.

In Lin Yu's design, even the highest 【Tier-One Dependent】 possessed authority second only to Him, able to freely manipulate all matter and energy within the inner universe.

Shaping matter, solidifying space, halting time—these were all basic operations for them.

If he could, Lin Yu would love to test the power of a Tier-One Dependent on old Old Old Woer, but unfortunately, authority of that level was not something just anyone could bear.

Given old Old Old Woer's soul strength, he could at most reach Tier Seven.

Any higher, and even if Lin Yu was willing to grant it, he himself couldn't endure it.

But for old Old Old Woer, becoming a Tier-Seven Dependent was already more than satisfying.

Within Lin Yu's inner universe, a Tier-Seven Dependent could well be called a planet-level powerhouse.

Moving mountains and filling seas, tearing apart continents in a single thought—these were trivial for him.

But authority was, after all, only authority.

If one couldn't understand the principles behind these powers, then they could only be used within Lin Yu's inner universe.

Of course, this didn't mean dependents would lose all their power upon leaving the inner universe.

Take old Old Old Woer as an example—his current body had been reshaped within Lin Yu's inner universe, every inch of flesh and blood steeped in the aura of Lin Yu's original consciousness.

This granted him abilities similar to Lin Yu's, like a weakened version of Lin Yu when he first arrived in this world—possessing numerous heaven-defying passive skills such as energy absorption and the Face-Fruit.

Any attack directed at him would be absorbed into the inner universe, making him virtually indestructible.

Becoming an extension of Lin Yu's will gave him an extremely high ontological rank; with mere incantations he could mobilize the world's magic—truly, words becoming law.

All of these abilities, Lin Yu had already tested with old Old Old Woer.

At the time he hadn't seen any problem, but now, a sudden premonition of ill struck him…

Thinking this, Lin Yu couldn't help but wave his hand, bringing old Old Old Woer to the edge of his ten-li domain.

Seeing the familiar forest before him, old Old Old Woer couldn't help but look at Lin Yu in confusion.

Lin Yu offered no explanation, simply gazing ahead and saying: "See that oak tree marked with a sign? Try walking over to it."

"Yes, my lord!"

Old Old Old Woer accepted the order respectfully and strode toward the oak tree.

When he was about three chi from the oak tree, old Old Old Woer's body suddenly stalled, as though it had struck an invisible barrier.

"…Just as I thought?"

Watching old Old Old Woer come to a halt before the oak tree, his face full of astonishment, Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh.

"Becoming my dependent also means being bound by the inner universe, unable to walk freely in this world…"

Just as Lin Yu was thinking this, he suddenly saw old Old Old Woer curiously reach out his hand and touch the invisible barrier before him.

And when his palm probed toward the barrier, it slowly sank in, breaking through by a full finger's width!

(End of Chapter)