Colin Ullman was the original name of Thunder's current body. Colin's father was a minor baron, a noble of sorts, but ever since the baron passed away, the family's situation plummeted. With the tree fallen, the monkeys scattered—even the servants all found new masters, leaving only the butler Oak and the little maid Tiffany.

The family estate and lands were stripped clean by a local nouveau riche, leaving nothing behind. Now, calling this home "bare walls" is no exaggeration.

A few days ago, that nouveau riche set his sights on Tiffany, insisting on buying the little maid. Naturally, Colin refused, and was beaten black and blue by several thugs, passing out on the spot.

Colin was pitiful—not only had he lost his inheritance, but he was bullied everywhere he went. Now, even his soul had been completely devoured by Thunder.

"Young master..." Tiffany bit her lip, her large, teary eyes rolling down her cheeks. "If they come again, you should just sell Tiffany... They won't beat you anymore."

"Nonsense!" Thunder glared, shooting Tiffany a fierce look. As the sixty-first generation disciple of the Dragon Tiger Sect, how could he possibly engage in human trafficking? Especially when the person in question was just a little girl.

"Tiffany knows you're doing it for my own good..." The little girl sobbed continuously. "But if this keeps up..."

"My affairs are none of your concern!" Thunder took the towel from Tiffany's hand and carefully wiped inside his collar. Who knows how many days this body had gone without cleaning—it felt sticky and uncomfortable.

"Tiffany, take good care of the young master. I'll go prepare dinner." The butler glanced over, realized he couldn't get a word in, gave a reminder, and left.

After crying for a while, Tiffany also left, leaving Thunder lying alone on the bed. His injuries hadn't fully healed, and every movement hurt like hell.

This family... is so poor! Even the money for medical treatment was scraped together by selling a few belongings.

Thunder was also puzzled. Although the people and things before him felt both familiar and strange, logically, he would never have said such things to Oak and Tiffany. Thinking it over, he figured it must be the lingering memories of Colin in his mind causing trouble.

Taking advantage of the empty room, Thunder quickly sat cross-legged, assuming his usual cultivation posture.

His body hurt a lot—Thunder couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this way. In the past, aside from angering his master and being chased all over the mountain with a stick, he'd never really been beaten by anyone else.

A vast energy filled his body, even more surging than the true essence he'd cultivated before, but Thunder's face turned pale.

It didn't feel like true essence at all. The true essence he'd painstakingly cultivated over the years was definitely not like this.

So what was this energy inside his body? What exactly was it?

Magic power? A brand new term suddenly surged into Thunder's mind, this unfamiliar word coming from the merged consciousness.

No way, right? Thunder skeptically circulated his energy through a full cycle—no obstacles, his meridians were clear, and the surrounding spiritual energy was even richer than at Dragon Tiger Mountain. The effects were many times better than before, but—but—but as soon as the spiritual energy entered his body and reached his dantian, it was completely assimilated by the magic power, unable to retain the original properties of true essence.

Although his physical body was destroyed and his cultivation lost, Thunder could still feel it. Upon probing, he was shocked to discover that a bead had appeared in his dantian's purple palace—not a golden core, but the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl he had seen before.

Chapter Two: The Maid Tiffany

Thunder spent a whole night on the bed pondering, finally piecing most of it together.

It must have been the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl that protected his consciousness and brought him into this person's body.

And that surging magic power was likely the result of the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl. Back on Dragon Tiger Mountain, an immense amount of spiritual energy had poured into his body, not only boosting his cultivation but also widening his meridians countless times.

Unfortunately, the people and the internal structure of this world were slightly different from those on Earth. Spiritual energy couldn't be stored as true essence here, so it had to be converted into magic power.

So, does that mean he could never cultivate as before? Thunder lay on the bed, lips bitter. No matter how hard he studied and practiced in the future, all the spiritual energy he gained would turn into inexplicable magic power! In this world, spiritual energy was also called magical elements.

This was a place called the Continent of Atlantis, and Thunder was in the Principality of Ceylon.

In the Principality of Ceylon, any mage was a respected, uncrowned noble!

But even so, it couldn't compare to his grand pursuit of cultivation! Who knows how much time passed—Thunder felt his stomach growl, and he was utterly exhausted.

The little maid Tiffany brought up a bowl of something black and unidentifiable. Thunder had no idea what it was; chewing it felt like eating wax.

Tiffany seemed to have something to say, but seeing Thunder lying there like a corpse, she hesitated several times.

After three days of recuperation, Thunder's injuries had mostly healed. Although the properties of his true essence had turned into magic power, under Thunder's control, the magic power could still help with healing.