Despite a few minor mishaps during lunch, Li Aozi's mood unexpectedly improved quite a bit.

After handing the cola to the White Dragon Lady, he finished his meal, settled the bill, and left.

Following his interaction with the White Dragon Girl, Li Aozi actually decided to give up on searching for Ireixis Sundace.

"There's no longer any need to solve the crisis of the Dragon Race. At least there are still some determined individuals within this species and civilization who can recognize the impending national calamity, and the time for change will come. Given this, there's no need to intervene."

He's already dealt with enough matters in this lifetime; perhaps it's best to let the Dragon Race handle their own affairs. If the Dragon Race's fate hasn't run out, young heroes will naturally rise to the occasion, unite, and confront the crisis.

If their fate has indeed run out, then let them be buried in the abyss of history.

Moreover, Li Aozi has already eliminated the genius competitors of the top five tribes in the alliance. He deliberately spared the top-ranked genius of the Aton Underworld Clan, Aishil Corpse Pact, to incite suspicion among the other tribes towards the Aton Underworld Clan.

Li Aozi was the one who did the killing, it was the Secret Councilor [Blacksmith] who took the blame, but it was the Aton Underworld Clan that was questioned.

Now that the rifts among the top five tribes exist and the alliance is fractured, if the Dragon Race can't stand up, one can only say they deserve extinction.

However, since there are people like the White Dragon Lady in the world, even with traitors like Ireixis Sundace, the Dragon Race won't completely disintegrate and repeat past mistakes.

If anything, a few deaths in the Dragon Race might even align with Li Aozi's interests.

The matters concerning the Dragon Race have come to a close, and the real main event is just about to begin.

Swish—

One detailed, precise blueprint after another was hung on the wall, as [Architect] Andrei Belenberg earnestly explained it to Li Aozi:

"Honorable Hidden Dragon True Man, these are all the blueprints I have designed. In total, there are 12 components, integrating the technology of the Layer Abyss, the magical system of the Border Abyss, and the craftsmanship of the Void. Ideally, material from the bodies of the Void Dragon Race would be best for crafting this, as they have long been expelled from the Dragon Race sequence by the enemies who corrupted Dragon Island, so there's no moral burden in hunting and collecting them."

"Please look here—the complete set itself requires 12 components, but actually, as long as you gather the core helmet, studded armor, robe, and boots, you can link them, exerting the main effect. Of course, if you can gather the gloves, ring, necklace, magic wand, royal crown, heart protecting mirror, face armor, greaves, and exoskeleton system, you can achieve the full effect."

Belenberg fervently demonstrated the theoretical basis, technical principles, and predicted performance effects to Li Aozi:

"War in the Layer Abyss is mostly concentrated on cosmic fleet warfare, thus emphasizing range and firepower, whereas the Border Abyss is mostly ground warfare, and the Void scales to civilization-level decisive battles, placing more importance on command and leadership."

"This set of equipment, based on the theory of the triple Starry Abyss, has been balanced and refined, resulting in a relatively perfect answer."

"With sustained endurance, battle nurtured by battle, extreme enhancement of firing parameters, and perception network, it makes you a real spell fortress. Unfortunately, due to material reasons, this set is best suited for [Sovereign] Pathway Ascenders, proficient in Arcane Energy. Still, for a true man like you, skilled in spells, it's also quite a favorable set…"

Belenberg sheepishly added:

"To modify it into equipment suitable for Destroyer Attributes, material changes are required, but that would mean confronting the Superior Dragon Clan…"

"No worries," Li Aozi said with a slight smile. "I have a friend who is on the [Sovereign] Pathway."

"Ah, that's great." Belenberg turned to smile. "Do you have any other comments? This set of equipment is still in the theoretical stage. Our family's finances are limited, and there's yet to be an opportunity to produce a prototype. In terms of this…"

"Just focus on your research, whatever funds you need, talk to Beatrice."

Li Aozi spoke without concern.

He's currently still within the time limit for enhancing his wealth luck, and finances are comparatively ample.

In contrast, given the chance to obtain a more technically refined [Infinite Dragon Demon] set, it would be merely some technical validation and development expenses; spending it is spending it.

For the Pathway Ascenders to Divinity on the [Sovereign] path, once the graduation set is obtained, there's no need to change equipment, focusing entirely on enhancing one's Arcane Energy.

Arcane Energy and the Meteor Fall Technique are Li Aozi's true confidence.

"Thank you so much for your investment, Hidden Dragon True Man. I will surely present to you the complete Dragon Demon ensemble."

"It's no big deal. I won't disturb Mr. Belenberg's research. Beatrice, please see him out."

Andrei Belenberg bowed his head in gratitude, packed up the blueprints, and turned away under Beatrice's escort, leaving Li Aozi sitting in the office, pondering quietly.

"Thus, the final equipment issue is resolved."

Li Aozi murmured:

"The True General account is ultimately just a transitional phase and emergency measure; my true identity is my real asset."

With that, he tore open space and brought his true self to sit before him.

His true self had developed significantly over the last six months, greatly improving the fusion progress. Being in a juvenile stage of growth, the power realm was advancing swiftly.

"The situation is better than I imagined."

Li Aozi raised his hand to touch his true self's head, inspecting the panel information.

The Pathway progress had reached fifty percent. After a series of actions by him and Redd Gold, it should only take less than a year for a formal completion.

"The gains in the Border Abyss have indeed been substantial. In just two years, I've caught up to my past thirty years of progress."

A counterintuitive fact was evident: upon reaching the lower Starry Abyss, the acceleration in Pathway progress was surprisingly rapid, especially after reaching the Void, with everyone's upgrade speed akin to riding a rocket.

Obviously, this didn't mean the difficulty reduced, but rather, the environment changed. After reaching the Zhou Yuan in the lower levels, the Void's rich energy density and vast, complete civilization structure made the god-ascension threshold extremely low, with everyone starting at the demigod level, effectively nullifying the concept of demigods.

When everyone reached the demigod level, a significant issue arose.

The Starry Abyss Divine Race itself lacked fertility ability, and the deities within the Void and lower Starry Abyss mostly had inadequate reproductive capabilities.

This forced the Void's own ascenders to rise, battling in the upper Starry Abyss, corrupting and pillaging population.

Simultaneously, the population of the Layer Abyss and Border Abyss was massive. If the Border Abyss maintained neutrality, allowing Layer Abyss descent, then based on the Layer Abyss's population base, the number of nurtured strong individuals could eventually rival the Void.

Ultimately, the decisive competition was in the Mass Abyss survival games, with the upper realm leaving sufficient national power, the Layer Abyss capped at Kappa (10), thus specifically nurturing enough Kappa (10), and the Border Abyss capped at Sigma (18), thus leaving Sigma (18).

Other highly capable talents had to venture directly down, exchanging fiercely with other Narrative Civilizations, ensuring no resource waste.

Li Aozi would inevitably descend into the Void one day.

However, given his current situation, sending his true self down without sufficient [Sovereign] paths to share the curse would be too disadvantageous, whereas sending the True General down might risk losing the hard-fought foundation in the Border Abyss.

The resources from Dragon Island, the connections accumulated in the Great Liang Empire in the East, the Oxiulia Duchy, and a [Lord Ao Sha] demigod—these assets cannot be surrendered.

The growth rate of the True General is fast, and Li Aozi is also reluctant to give up the monster farming environment within the alliance.

Just from intercepting the five tribes' geniuses last time, he earned quite a bit of Experience.

Moreover, there are two big players waiting for him in the Void.

The Players are just starting to trickle into the Border Abyss, only numbering a few, barely making a difference, especially with that crazy woman Lai Anding still accumulating power in the shadows, while his usual go-to Severston remains unaccounted for.

What truly settled Li Aozi into deciding to recuperate was his conversation with Arstala.

He needed a quiet period to contemplate Arstala's words and his future destiny.

"In that case, let's wait a year."

Li Aozi draped a cloak over his true self, lit three sticks of Peaceful Incense, turned, and sat on a meditation cushion, with five hearts facing skyward, closed his eyes and began meditating.

[Conditions satisfied, would you like to activate the active skill—"Closed-door Cultivation"?]

[Activation complete; the amount of True Yuan gained during cultivation will be converted into Experience based on a ratio.]

[Wishing the Fairy Lord an early metamorphosis and ascension.]

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