Chapter 186: The Heirs of the Serpent

Li En was quite welcoming toward the "little ones" who had moved in.

He could sense that these all seemed to be pure-hearted young snakes—confirmed, Li En's mental ability was functioning in a bizarre manner.

Li En seemed able to faintly perceive the goodwill or malice of others.

From some of the knowledge he'd heard, this appeared to be an elementary commonality of psychic abilities.

This made him hesitate: should he specifically elevate it into a supernatural profession? He felt this was far more useful than most psychic abilities.

"The psychic seed is burning now, but it will fade. Besides, this is only because they trust you (you're a paladin). Psychic abilities don't just consume the target's resistance—they're inherently disadvantageous."

The snake held a different view.

In his opinion, charm and mind-intrusion abilities were the lowest-cost-efficiency type: effective against the weak, but generally useless against the strong, whose minds and consciousness were typically powerful; success rates and battlefield effectiveness were always ambiguous—even the weak might possess unshakable mental resolve, and "hypnotists" often inexplicably failed.

And unlike certain novels, unless you implanted a larva and strapped a collar to the neck like a mind flayer, such control was always temporary. Those awakened from control would inevitably fight you to the death, and the psychic technique for erasing specific memories involved the most difficult consciousness manipulation—hard to achieve.

If you truly wanted long-term control, you'd need a "psychic network," which essentially required a powerful "server," like a mind flayer's hive-mind.

That's why solitary charm mages or psychic adepts like Salliman have always had weak battlefield performance.

They're mostly support in teams—better at controlling the battlefield and buffing allies than directly attacking opponents.

But if used for crime and personal gain, it's an entirely different matter.

"Any suggestions?" When it came to psychic abilities, even the strongest psychic adept in the world wouldn't be a match for the snake.

Professionals who wielded authority could essentially be seen as administrators with root access to the world's server, and the snake's techniques and knowledge had been refined over countless ages, possessing a complete, self-developed power system.

"Don't be greedy. I mean, you can develop multiple professions, so don't expect one profession to do too much. The more you specialize a single profession in one function, the better it suits you. One profession should specialize in only one thing." As he spoke, the snake smiled happily.

He had always looked down on other psychic superiors—a bunch of greedy, overextended fools.

"Look at psychic adepts—they claim to be all-rounders, imitating other mages' spells with psychic powers, yet end up failing at everything, truly 'all-round incapable.'"

The versatility of psychic abilities led many psychic professions to attempt omniscience, but in effect, it was merely ambiguous. In recent years, the most famous psychic superior in the main plane was the mind flayer, relying on psionic technology—a tragedy for the entire profession.

Of course, powerful psychic individuals and psychic beings always existed, but they weren't conventional superiors; many were self-contained "races"—alien psychic lineages that were truly formidable. The snake clan counted as one, as did mind flayers and Gith, and the Astral Feather Serpent and Astral Leviathan were wildly extraordinary psychic lifeforms.

They typically specialized in their own racial evolutionary paths—no one ever tried to be all-round like psychic adepts.

Precisely because powerful individuals had their own paths, the inherently inferior orcish psychic users appeared even weaker, and the snake didn't strongly recommend Li En spend too much effort on this path.

"Even if you accidentally awakened psychic abilities, your talent here is average. I suggest you either abandon it entirely, or, like the Masked Dragon Knight, find a one- or two-tiered special psychic advancement that's strong at low levels but doesn't exist at high tiers—cultivate your psychic power slowly, letting it grow gradually."

Psychic abilities have many flaws, but one advantage is excellent: their auxiliary power is strong, and they grow alongside the user's own development, requiring no special attention. Put simply, actively training them does little good.

Salliman was the classic example of letting it evolve on its own.

"Any suitable recommendations?"

"No, I don't know any." The snake remained smug—why learn propeller planes when you have a supersonic jet?

He genuinely didn't know; he'd barely studied it before. Back then, there were no reliable psychic professionals in the main plane. He'd only recently done a little research—not for this jerk.

Yes, that's right—the snake viewed "himself" as a jerk, and couldn't stand him at all.

But he didn't want to see Li En perish so quickly. He was still waiting for entertainment—the bombs he'd planted hadn't even been triggered yet.

"My personal advice: focus on defensive psychic abilities. Since you've already started stacking armor, continuing to do so won't be wrong."

Psychic abilities stem from consciousness interference—in the external environment, their effects gradually weaken and are heavily resisted by targets, but within one's own body, they operate at 200% efficiency.

Using them defensively might not be Li En's best choice, but it's certainly a safe one.

Li En's expression, however, was slightly peculiar—he really wanted to float around like in the movies, speaking directly inside others' heads at will.

As the same person, the snake saw through him instantly. He laughed.

"I actually do have one profession that fits your real needs—its primary functions are support and defense."

"Didn't you just say you didn't?"

"I didn't before—but I do now. Wait until my disciple perfects it, then go learn it from her yourself."

With that, the snake visibly faded and vanished, leaving Li En utterly bewildered.

"Disciple? When did you even take on a disciple? Did you just get one these past few days?!" Li En was completely stunned.

But why would the snake respond to this fool? He was also eager to see what sprouts his impulsive seed would produce in these few days.

Expect Li En to create a new profession?

He simply doesn't have the ability (tone)!

His adult mind is too cluttered and chaotic—he could never dedicate his entire life to a single path.

A profession is life—it must be written with a lifetime of effort and energy. Li En could never achieve that.

This was the original Li Ensu's innate weakness—he wasn't "pure" enough. Already saturated with Earth's baggage, he was destined to be an unfit pioneer.

But the hybrid Li Ensus, infused with alien qualities and fragmented memories, could fully integrate into their era and civilization, using their entire lives and alien talents to sprout new growth within their native soil.

Yet the original Li Ensu wasn't without advantages.

"The 'Chameleon' is never an excellent pioneer—but a perfect user and integrator. Once she carves out this path, hand it over to Li En to play with."

The snake cheerfully crossed the void, searching for his disciple.

"He'll probably come up with some new tricks—maybe even pull off something that'll make you go blind."

The next moment, the snake appeared simultaneously on three tables, his tongue flicking—he never said he'd taken only one experimental disciple.

Kuku was fascinated by new-era things, leaving behind countless notes and research ideas; the greedy, curious snake had too many interests too.

"Of course the Masked Dragon Knight trains in martial arts, idiot—try this knight's kick. Shout out the move—don't feel embarrassed. Kill your opponent, and you won't be embarrassed!"

"Stupid! You use psionic weapons to slash like you're a Force warrior? I think you're a Force-idiot! Try casting with it—start with a Force lightning! Idiot, you just shocked yourself!"

"Sssss (Idiot idiot idiot. How are you sleeping again? How can you sleep at your age?!)"

At the same time, he began forcing his three disciples to work overtime.

Only one path? Are you looking down on the snake?

He was both a beast indulging in desire and a greedy Li Ensu—he wanted it all.

Skilled in psychic abilities, he was exceptionally adept at "accelerated maturation."

Moreover, he could continuously observe the future possibilities of these "experiments," fine-tuning them relentlessly, forcing them to succeed—even if you currently lack psychic abilities, it's fine.

"Huh? That adventurer kid has psionic talent too? Hmm, interesting—plant another one near Li En." So the snake split off a fourth snake, preparing to prematurely activate the child's psychic ability.

Side effects of meddling with causality? Aren't all these disciples causally linked to Li En? Give them to him!

As for whether they'll end up owing each other, their karmic threads tangled into chaos—what's that to him, who's already fled?!

Meanwhile, Li En could only blow air at the spot where the snake vanished—this thing would never be tamed, and the snake showed zero concealment of his disdain.

"Tch, I've developed some applications of psychic abilities too—don't look down on me."

But his words weren't entirely ignored—a middle finger appeared at the spot where the snake vanished, signifying contempt.

Yet Li En spoke the truth: in recent practice, combining the Desire Snake Eye and Dragon Eye, he'd developed a "Predictive Sword Art."

By using the Dragon Eye's long-range observation to lock onto the target's "desire to attack" and "desire to defend," he could predict their moves and defenses in advance, completely manipulating his opponent.

"Again!!"

The dwarf warrior of the adventurer team was already fuming.

He could accept losing—but not losing without even touching his opponent, especially when the opponent was a paladin even clumsier than a warrior!

Li En smiled with interest. You want to play? Fine—I'll train with you.

The dwarf warrior's broad, forceful attack patterns were perfect for prediction—in actual combat, Li En would likely need only seven or eight strikes to sever his head.

If willing to take one hit, even three strikes would suffice.

"This is pure combat experience domination—this elder has experienced countless battlefields…"

For the young adventurers, Li En's legendary "senior" background now seemed even more authentic.

"Friend is mean! Bullying Uncle Dwarf!" And the bully Li En got his comeuppance—the team burst into laughter.

Even the dwarf, red-faced and furious, laughed the loudest.

But what followed made him stop laughing.

The little kid stepped onto the field with a wooden stick—and performed better than the dwarf!

Her stable, swift swordplay, her instinctive, beastlike sense for seizing opportunities, even made the dwarf feel he'd be shattered instantly if he fought her—even though he knew his physical strength could easily overpower this girl.

And Li En, forced into defense by her, joyfully discovered the weakness of his new technique.

For such pure, relentless warriors, knowing their goal doesn't determine victory—those swift, life-or-death moves were never meant to be concealed.

Every strike Laina delivered was utterly pure—as if swordplay was her entire existence.

Her goal couldn't be hidden, nor needed to be. Even now weak, she still possessed the confidence to shatter her opponent.

But this, precisely, was what Li En had been seeking.

"Interesting. So its greatest function isn't avoiding attacks—it's aiding one's own offense."

Li En swung his sword fiercely, forcing her to instinctively defend and expose her weakness!

Then, let's trade blows! Force her into defense!

My armor is thicker—I can dodge your lethal strikes and see your weaknesses. Let's see who dies first!

Even with wooden swords and sticks, even deliberately suppressing power and speed, Li En demonstrated his talent for ability development—each strike grew more dangerous than the last.

"Crack!" Accidentally overexerting himself, Li En shattered the little Laina's wooden sword with his own.

She stared at the broken stick, whimpering softly.

Then she stifled her sobs, hugging her knees and crouching down.

This, instead, pierced Li En's heart—he who had just earned the title "Made the Little Girl Cry."

"Don't cry, don't cry, little Laina, ride a big horse—" Looking at the centaur still bandaged, Li En turned his gaze to another.

"... ide a dwarf."

"No! Uncle Dwarf smells like mud!" The dwarf, who had just bent his head, froze—and instantly sank into dejection.

This, perhaps, hurt more than losing to a little girl in swordplay.

Li En Sudar sighed and bent down, met by the girl's tear-filled gaze.

"First off, don't tell anyone else. Tsk. Who taught you this?" Li En Sudar had already seen through it — the girl was faking tears.

"But it's Sister Sallyman's other Sallyman!"

(End of Chapter)