The manor was very quiet. Seysseler was cultivating in his room, while the Buck brothers and Wotton were training in the vast practice field in the backyard. The Rebecca sisters, Jenny, and the Seventh Princess Nina were also together, chatting idly.
"Whew."
Having finished cultivating and taken a rinse, Wotton changed into a dry set of clothes. He walked through the manor, feeling deeply content. He had never felt his days so blissful.
His brother was with him, and he had married Nina. Grandpa Xili, Hillman, and the others were also living a quiet, comfortable noble life.
"Father, Mother, if you were still alive, you would certainly be very happy." Wotton felt satisfied and equally grateful to his big brother, Lin Lei, who had brought all this to pass.
Lin Lei was the pillar of their family.
If not for Lin Lei, would the emperor have given Nina to him? If not for Lin Lei, he would have been just an ordinary person in the capital. At most, he might have earned a reputation as a genius.
Wotton saw Grandpa Xili reclining in a deck chair in the distance, leisurely sipping fruit wine.
"Grandpa Xili, where is my brother?" Wotton walked over to ask.
The butler, Xili, looked up and smiled. "Ah, it's Wotton. Young Master Lin Lei went out early this morning."
"He hasn't returned yet?" Wotton nodded.
"Your brother is out and about, what are you worried about? Your brother is a Saint-level powerhouse. Young Master Wotton, you must work hard too," the butler said with a chuckle.
"Mm." Wotton nodded.
"Grandpa Xili, next month is the great battle between Olivier and the Granite Sword Saint. Will you go watch it then?" Wotton asked with a smile.
"Of course! A battle between two Saint-level powerhouses, how could one not watch?" The butler's eyes lit up. "The Granite Sword Saint is one of the strongest in the Saint Realm. A duel between the two will certainly be spectacular."
A look of longing also appeared in Wotton's eyes.
"One day, I will become like my big brother, Olivier, and Hedesen." Wotton made this resolve in his heart.
At that moment, the sound of footsteps rang out from a distance.
Lin Lei's figure appeared at the courtyard gate. Seeing his big brother, Wotton felt a warmth in his heart and hurried over to meet him. "Brother, why are you only just getting back now? Buck and the others, and I, have all finished our training. Dinner will be starting soon."
"I went out to meet some people," Lin Lei said with a smile.
He didn't tell his younger brother about the trip to the Martial God Mountain. In Lin Lei's view, there were things on this continent that his brother didn't need to know just yet. It would be fine to tell him once he reached the Saint Realm.
Within a separate courtyard of the manor, Lin Lei resided there. Although the manor's practice field was large, with the Buck brothers, Wotton, and the whole group training there, a lot of space was required. Lin Lei simply cultivated in his own courtyard.
"Whew!" "Whew!" A gentle breeze blew, causing even the lush branches and leaves in the courtyard to dance. Lin Lei's hair occasionally swayed with it.
Lin Lei held the Blacksteel Heavy Sword, its tip touching the ground.
"The vibration waves of the Earth's mysteries... currently, I can at most convert them into 128 layers." Back in Cloud Peak Town, during those five years, by the fourth year, Lin Lei had already reached the Hundred Layer Wave realm.
From the initial Three Layer Waves to Ten, and then to a Hundred, Lin Lei's progress had been very fast.
But after reaching the Hundred Layer Wave, the speed at which he could increase it started to slow. Even now, he had only reached 128 layers.
Only with each new insight could he add one or two more layers.
"I wonder what the ultimate limit is?" Lin Lei immediately sat cross-legged.
"Dong!" "Dong!"
The Earth's pulse echoed in Lin Lei's mind. That strange rhythm seemed to possess a magical melody, capable of drawing one in involuntarily.
Lin Lei's muscles, surprisingly, were also slightly pulsating, expanding and contracting in rhythm. Naturally, a small whirlwind formed around his body. When cultivating in a seated position, he had discovered that if his muscles vibrated along with the Earth's pulse, the efficiency of absorbing Earth elements increased, and his physical quality improved faster.
"Ah!"
Lin Lei abruptly stood up, his eyes shining with an intense light.
"The Earth's pulse, the Earth's pulse..." Lin Lei's mind recalled the scene of the Granite Sword Saint, Hedesen, blocking him and Olivier.
The earthy-yellow shockwave around Hedesen's body had hammered him like successive waves of force, forcing him back.
"At that time, I felt Hedesen's defense was somehow familiar, but I couldn't quite grasp it, and didn't have time to think it through. But now it seems..."
At this moment, Lin Lei had the feeling of clouds parting to reveal the moon.
"The Earth's pulse is not just vibration waves. It can be converted into something intangible, and it can also be transmitted through Dou Qi." It was merely a membrane; once he pierced through that layer, he understood.
"Pulse Defense, haha... Among the forbidden Earth magic, there is indeed a 'Pulse Guard'. It seems the principle is the same. But mine is a protection for the body itself."
Dou Qi, blue-black in color, swirled around Lin Lei's body.
"That's not right."
Lin Lei closed his eyes, his mind syncing with the Earth's pulse, while continuously adjusting the rhythm and variations of his Dragon Blood Dou Qi. He understood the theory, but putting it into practice was not so simple.
Lin Lei stood in the courtyard, the blue-black shockwaves around him churning like mist.
Actually, the principle was simple. For instance, a piece of paper is very easy to tear. But if that paper is cut into six strips and braided together, this paper rope could even lift objects weighing dozens or even hundreds of jin.
The same material, but simply cut and braided, can withstand vastly different amounts of tension.
Dou Qi defense worked the same way.
With the same amount of Dou Qi, just by controlling its profound mysteries differently, its defensive power could increase dozens or even hundreds of times over. And this 'Earth's Pulse' was such a unique method.
Within the Laws of the Earth, the Earth's Pulse was just one path.
Lin Lei's comprehension of the Earth's Pulse had already reached a relatively high level. Now, applying this understanding to comprehend Pulse Defense, since he grasped the theory, practice would merely take some time and would come quickly.
"Brother, time to eat!" Wotton strode over, with the five Buck brothers following behind him. All six of them had just finished training and rinsing off.