Book 3 Chapter 35 – Pay-to-win

　　"It would make sense if he was a bug in the system like you."

　　"I've been thinking about this. Why would he choose me, out of everyone? Am I special in any way? Was I a bug in the system in the first place, or did he create a bug by choosing me?"

　　"I'd think that you were a bug in Heaven's Laws in the first place. It would be nearly impossible to create a bug out of nothing, even for Mr. Kong. But why and how?" Bai Ze shook her head in frustration at her lack of insight, despite being a mythical beast reputed for wisdom and knowledge.

　　"Speaking of which, there are two Mr. Kongs." Li Yiming threw out the doubt that lingered in his mind ever since his encounter with Li Huaibei.

　　"Two?" This revelation once again came to the shock of Bai Ze.

　　"Yeah, Li Huaibei pulled me into his own memory. I saw it in Eden…" Li Yiming retold the details to Bai Ze.

　　"Eden… Mr. Kong…" The mention of what Li Huaibei experienced brought a terrible feeling to Bai Ze. She had never heard of Eden before, but Li Yiming's tale did remind her of something else she knew about, a place she did not even dare to think about…

　　"Give me some time for this, okay?" Bai Ze answered rather spiritlessly.

　　"Oh yeah, I see something called 'immunity to thunder', is that my talent?" Li Yiming changed the topic of the conversation after noticing Bai Ze's low mood. If things were so complicated as to confuse a mythical beast like her, then there was no point for someone that joined the party halfway to worry about that.

　　"No, it's not. That's just a pa.s.sive skill you obtained after the Source of Thunder merged with your body. Your talent is still empty, I can see it clearly. Oh! I know why your spell improved, it's because you took in the Source of Thunder." Bai Ze answered him in a voice that suggested at her still being distracted by Li Yiming's story.

　　"Source of Thunder? Pa.s.sive skill?" Li Yiming could also see how he reached level four in spell now, but he was dumbfounded by Bai Ze's explanation.

　　"You don't know about the Source of Thunder? It's inside you, how's that even possible?" Li Yiming's diversion tactic worked; Bai Ze was now too busy being frustrated by his naiveness to think about Eden.

　　"I told you, I don't know. I've been kind of dragged forcefully to where I am today, you know. Didn't really have a chance to learn much on the way" Li Yiming was speechless.

　　"You know, I’ll never cease to be impressed by the amount of surprises I get when I talk to you. The Source of Thunder is something produced by Heaven's Laws. Sources exist for all elements, but no one knows where they are, or how to obtain them. It can improve your Heavenly Vein and even the talents that have to do with its element of origin. Well, lucky you, I guess there are at least a few benefits to being a bug. For the pa.s.sive talent thing, it's hard to explain… I'm sure that you wouldn't understand even if I told you. At least you don't have to worry about being struck by lightning now."

　　"So, you're saying that I'm immune to Heaven's Punishment?" A thought suddenly occurred to Li Yiming.

　　"Yes, that is correct." Bai Ze said in a discouraged voice. 'I really don't know if it's a good thing to be stuck with him.'

　　"If guardians do anything out of the ordinary in the real world, Heaven's Punishment would befall them, right?"

　　"Didn't you experience that yourself?" Something in the way Li Yiming asked the question alerted Bai Ze. 'What is he thinking about again?'

　　"If I can survive through a punishment, I'll get some kind of reward, right?"

　　"Yes, what are you trying to say?" Bai Ze stared at Li Yiming and tried to guess what he was up to.

　　"I'm immune to thunder, so what if I just go find myself a spot with no one and abuse my power? It doesn't use any life marks anyways, so I'll just keep triggering the punishments and I'll become invincible in no time!" Li Yiming finally revealed his master plan. 'Ha! Using Heaven's Punishment to become stronger, that'll be way faster than obtaining Progression Path points!'

　　"There are other ways to die you know? Who told you that it would be lightning every single time?" Bai Ze answered, not very impressed by Li Yiming's proposal. 'Oh, no… This guy, this newbie is a deadweight… I'll have to keep an eye on him so he doesn't do something stupid from now on.'