"Hmm? Do you have something else to say?" Lin Fei asked calmly.

Taotie finally breathed a sigh of relief, then gave a bitter smile and shook his head, "I was just trying to negotiate. You can't just demand world origins like that. You didn't even try to negotiate, just went straight to using force."

"Negotiate?" Lin Fei looked at Taotie curiously. So, Taotie's decisive refusal was a form of bargaining?

"Fine, deal or no deal, no bargaining!" Lin Fei declared. "World origin – as long as you provide world origin, I'll let your avatar go."

"Err... Of course, that's no problem," Taotie quickly agreed. "World origins are precious, but over the years, my true body has indeed collected some. But how much do you want?"

"As much as possible!" Lin Fei insisted. "Whatever you can give, I'll take."

"I can offer only one portion of world origin," Taotie replied. "Over these years, I've accumulated only one portion. I intended to use it myself, but haven't had the chance yet..."

A single portion of world origin typically refers to the origin of a most common small world. Frankly, Lin Fei hadn't expected so much. But since Taotie was offering a full portion, Lin Fei was more than willing to accept.

"Fine, one portion of world origin it is," Lin Fei agreed. "Let's meet outside the Ancient City."

"No problem," Taotie confirmed. "Give me no more than three days, and my true body will arrive."

Lin Fei nodded. He hadn't expected Taotie to be so "wealthy". He was just making an offhand remark, not really expecting to receive world origins, let alone a full portion! This was indeed an unexpected boon. To exchange a mere avatar for a portion of world origins was undoubtedly a great deal for Lin Fei.

In fact, Lin Fei was unaware of how difficult it is for an exotic beast to create an avatar. This process is significantly more challenging than for Deity Transformation powerhouses who can manifest billions of incarnations. For an exotic beast to cultivate a single avatar is exceptionally arduous, requiring an immense amount of time.

Moreover, once an avatar is destroyed, creating another becomes even more challenging. The destruction of an avatar can also impact the original body to some extent. Although the effect isn't too severe, there is still some influence.

Therefore, unless absolutely necessary, an exotic beast would not want its avatar destroyed. This is why Taotie's original body was willing to pay the "hefty price" of a portion of world origin for the safety of just one avatar.

If Lin Fei had been more knowledgeable in these matters, he might have been able to negotiate for more. However, a single portion of world origin was sufficient for his needs.

Time flew by, and three days passed.

Taotie's avatar informed Lin Fei, "My original body has arrived outside the Ancient City."

"Has it?" Lin Fei opened his eyes and stood up. With a flash, he flew out of the Ancient City. It didn't take long for him to encounter Taotie's original body. The original body was similar to the avatar, albeit with a slightly stronger aura.

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

However, Lin Fei, having already transcended a thunder tribulation, was not intimidated by Taotie. This was also why Taotie acted so "honestly." Especially the avatar, which knew full well how formidable Lin Fei was. Unbeatable and with greater potential, Taotie had no choice but to obediently hand over the world origin.

"Here is a portion of world origin," Taotie's original body said, presenting it to Lin Fei.

Lin Fei took it and immediately sensed the intense essence of the world's origin, confirming it was indeed from a small world. He then released Taotie's avatar.

"Whoosh." The avatar merged back into Taotie's original body.

"Martial God Lin, we have come to know each other through conflict," Taotie said. "But I must warn you – be careful of Kun."

After leaving this cautionary note, Taotie departed.

Despite losing a portion of world origin, Taotie harbored no resentment towards Lin Fei. The loss was a result of its own greed and a miscalculation of Lin Fei's capabilities.

Moreover, Lin Fei did not destroy its avatar, leaving no deep grudge between them. Taotie's decision to sneak into the Ancient Wilderness was risky; had the Ancient Covenant discovered it, the avatar would have been destroyed long ago.

In retrospect, Taotie considered itself fortunate that the avatar could rejoin its original body. And the instigator of all these events was Kun. Taotie held a grudge against Kun but felt powerless against it. Perhaps only Lin Fei could pose a challenge to Kun.

"Kun..." Lin Fei muttered to himself. He hadn't forgotten about Kun. Previously, he had annihilated one of its avatars. Though that avatar had been suppressed for a long time, avatar's destruction was still a significant loss for Kun, and it was unlikely to let this pass without retribution.

However, although Kun was part of the Ancient Covenant, Lin Fei hadn't yet thoroughly investigated its actual power. The main reason was Lin Fei's own strength was still lacking.

"Even though I know Kun is in the Ancient Covenant, I can't do anything to it," Lin Fei thought. "This portion of world origin should enhance my physical body."

Lin Fei returned to the inn and immediately began to integrate the world origin into his body. This portion, though ordinary, was the essence of a small world. Deity Transformation powerhouses use it to comprehend space, Martial Gods to enhance their bodies, and exotic beasts to strengthen their bloodlines and physical forms. Hence, the world origin of a small world is coveted by many.

"Let's begin." Lin Fei immediately started merging the world origin into his body.

"Hum."

Every particle of his physical body began to grow robustly. World origin represented the purest form of energy. Each strand perfectly integrated into his body, enhancing his physical particles – the foundation of his physical form. Thus, he was strengthening himself from the very core.

Lin Fei's physical body enhanced at a visible rate – 10%, 30%, 50%, 70%, 90%...

In the blink of an eye, his physical strength had doubled! This exponential growth then gradually slowed down. With his physical strength doubled and combined with the power of his particle worlds, Lin Fei's capabilities were now incredibly formidable. Facing the third heavenly thunder was definitely not a problem anymore, and he could even withstand the fourth thunder!

"It's about time. Surviving the second thunder tribulation and capturing three or even four world laws is quite an achievement," Lin Fei thought to himself. "There's no need to further enhance my physical body and world laws for now. It's better to transcend the tribulation as soon as possible to maximize my strength. After further enhancing my strength and becoming a second-tribulation Martial God, I might even be able to contest for the world origins of small worlds!"

Lin Fei's plan was clear. For each level of advancement, like the second or third stage, obtaining more than three laws during each tribulation would suffice. There was no need to suppress his realm to capture five or six laws. It was better to increase his realm and overall strength first, and then contest for a large number of world origins later.

Thus, Lin Fei left the inn and returned to the Ancient Covenant's free tribulation site. He entered the formation again, this time to face his second thunder tribulation.