325: Lin Yu's practice

It floated quietly, and under each of its four hooves, three Lightning Rings slowly rotated.

On the single horn pointing toward the sky, a wisp of black electric arc flashed and vanished.

The head of the Lightning Qilin, which was entirely composed of energy, slowly turned.

Its eyes, entirely composed of lightning, held no emotion, only the pure embodiment of law and destruction.

It stared at Lin Yu.

The next instant.

Zizla... A harsh, unusual sound, like shattering glass, rang out.

The ominous black electric arc on the Lightning Qilin's single horn suddenly spread!

Blackness, like ink dripping into clear water, instantly contaminated the pure white body of the Divine Beast.

Violent, chaotic, and destructive energy began to clash wildly.

"Boom!"

A muffled sound.

The Lightning Qilin, which had just been extraordinarily majestic and overwhelmingly imposing, exploded without warning into a mass of chaotic plasma right in front of Lin Yu.

Terrifying energy turbulence swept out in all directions!

On the alloy walls of the room, Alarm Runes flashed frantically, and layer after layer of energy shields were instantly activated, only to be instantly pierced through.

Lin Yu stood at the center of the storm, yet remained completely unharmed.

He simply stretched out his hand silently, allowing the violent Electric Snakes to wrap around his arm before being easily absorbed and brought to stillness by him.

It failed.

The final step ended in failure.

Sure enough, this kind of power gained through forced growth was ultimately a castle in the air.

The foundation was unstable.

He could easily shape relatively simple forms like Dragons and Phoenixes, as that was merely shaping energy.

But the Qilin was different.

In ancient legends, the Qilin represented "Auspiciousness" and also "Punishment."

It was, in itself, an embodiment of rules.

To shape it, one required not only vast energy and exquisite control but also a sufficiently profound understanding of the "Law of Lightning."

And this understanding was precisely what Lin Yu lacked the most.

cards could instill knowledge in him.

But they could not directly grant him "Enlightenment."

Lin Yu raised his hands once more.

The second time.

This time, he was more cautious, investing more Spiritual Power into sorting out the laws.

Lightning gathered.

The Qilin's form slowly coalesced again.

It was much slower than the previous attempt, and much more stable.

Single horn, ox tail, horse hooves... Success!

Just one second before the Qilin was fully formed.

That wisp of black electric arc appeared out of thin air on the single horn again.

Boom!

It was another dazzling energy fireworks display.

Lin Yu expressionlessly absorbed the scattered energy.

Again.

The third time... half of the Qilin's body successfully coalesced, then disintegrated.

The fourth time... only lacking a head, it dissolved.

The fifth time... the ninth time.

This time, the Lightning Qilin was fully suspended in the air, the Lightning Rings around its body rotated steadily, and an imposing aura permeated the entire room.

Only the final step remained.

To dot the "eyes" that represented its Divine Essence.

Lin Yu's will transformed into two points of the purest light, slowly imprinting themselves onto the Qilin's eye sockets.

Buzz... The Qilin's body began to tremble violently.

That wisp of black electric arc was stirring restlessly again.

Still not working?

The understanding of the law still had a deviation.

Lin Yu didn't force it and was preparing to disperse the energy.

Yet, at this very moment, a flash of realization suddenly crossed his mind.

Deviation... If there's a deviation, then forcefully correct it!

His will was no longer a gentle guide; instead, it transformed into the sharpest Carving Knife, carrying unparalleled dominance, forcefully intervening in the operation of the Law of Lightning.

The energy that was about to go out of control instantly encountered a monarch's soldiers, being forcefully reversed and brought back to order!

That wisp of black electric arc was forcibly suppressed back into the single horn and vanished.

Success!

The tenth time.

Finally successful.

A perfect Lightning Qilin quietly floated before him.

Its entire body was pure white, sacred and majestic, and the Lightning Rings beneath its four hooves rotated slowly. Each rotation seemed to resonate with the Law of Lightning of the entire world.

This was truly his Creation.

Lin Yu waved his hand, and the Lightning Qilin dispersed into points of light.

He slowly exhaled, but his entire being sank into a deeper level of thought.

That forced correction in the final moment just now... that feeling seemed familiar.

He suddenly recalled the lightning storm that had swept across the entire Blue Star not long ago.

He had always thought it was a natural phenomenon—a necessary process—caused by his power being too great when he broke through to the "Origin Level."

Thinking about it now... that wasn't it at all!

That wasn't a process; that was loss of control!

It was because his understanding of the "Origin Level" was completely zero, yet he had forcefully stacked his skill level using cards.

The immense power exceeded the limit of his will's containment, causing it to leak out wildly and trigger that world-spanning Celestial Phenomenon.

He was like a child holding a hose but not knowing where the valve was.

The water pressure was too high, the hose slipped from his grasp, and it sprayed the entire world.

And he had been smug, thinking he had mastered some incredible sprinkling technique.

How ridiculous.

A chill crept up his spine.

He recalled an earlier time.

In Insect Dwelling, he forcefully used [Exquisite Finger Snap] to raise [Vitality Nourishment] to the Origin Level as well.

And then... he died.

If not for the special nature of [Vitality Nourishment], which brought new characteristics upon reaching the Origin Level, he would already be a corpse.

He had previously attributed this death to utilizing a card Bug and suffering a system backlash.

Now it seemed that was only part of the reason.

The more important reason was probably the same as this lightning storm.

It was loss of control!

It was ignorance of Origin Level power that led to the complete collapse of his body and soul!

Even that resurrection was a loss of control!

Upon realizing this, Lin Yu felt a chill run down his back.

He had always been walking on an extremely dangerous tightrope.

Beneath him was an Abyss Ten Thousand Feet Deep.

He relied too much on the convenience brought by cards, relying on the satisfying feeling of maxing things out with one click, yet ignored the most important foundation.

That was the "understanding" of power itself.

The previous mechanical practice, done merely to grind proficiency, was far from enough.

That only made his body remember the movements.

But it failed to make his soul understand the core.

Lin Yu's expression was unprecedentedly solemn.

He had to change.

From now on, he would completely re-examine all his Core Skills.

Not to increase proficiency.

But to truly understand them and master them.

Only in this way could he truly turn those "borrowed" powers into extensions of his body and manifestations of his will.

Only in this way could he walk further and more steadily on the path ahead.

Lin Yu slowly raised his hand.

This time, there was no leaping electric light at his fingertips.

Instead, there was a warm, vibrant... Green Light Cluster.

[Vitality Nourishment].

He decided to start with the skill that had killed him once.