After three days, Thunder had come to terms with everything—surviving a great disaster must mean good fortune is on the way! Although his current home was in shambles, this body’s natural foundation was actually quite good, even better than his previous one. In the Dragon Tiger Sect, he would definitely be someone the masters and elders would fight over to take as a disciple. With the massive spiritual energy transformation brought by the Spirit-Suppressing Pearl, calling him a genius wouldn’t be an exaggeration.

A mage, then! Since he couldn’t change this fate, he could only adapt to it! Besides, the status of a mage was actually quite high.

He had no idea what standard his internal magic power could reach. Previously, Colin wasn’t suited to study magic—his mental strength wasn’t enough—so Thunder had no concept of this in his mind.

“Tifa!” Thunder called out toward the door, and the little maid immediately pushed the door open and came in.

“Prepare some cinnabar for me… uh… a quill, ink, and a few sheets of paper.” Thunder almost let something slip.

Bored with nothing to do, and being a disciple from the Talisman Sect of the Dragon Tiger Sect, Thunder wanted to try drawing talismans with magic power to see if it would work. Since both methods involved absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy (magical elements) and gathering it within the body, they should have the same origin.

He didn’t even know if this world had cinnabar. Thunder thought he could look for it once his body recovered.

Before long, Tiffany came in with the materials.

The best medium for talismans was yellow paper, but there was none here, so Thunder had to use other types of paper instead.

“Parchment?” Thunder asked Tiffany in surprise, pinching the material in his hand. This stuff had a bloody smell, which would greatly reduce the power of the talisman.

“This is all we have at home,” Tiffany said timidly.

“Forget it, I’ll make do.” There was paper in this world, but it was quite expensive. With Thunder’s current resources, he simply couldn’t afford it.

He took a knife and cut the parchment into neat rectangles, stacked them to the side, then pulled one out and spread it open. Dipping the quill in ink, he began to draw skillfully.

Drawing talismans required a single, unbroken motion—no hesitation allowed. Each talisman had to be completed in one stroke.

Tiffany stood on tiptoe, watching Thunder’s movements with curiosity. The little maid noticed that ever since the young master woke up, he’d been a bit different from before, but she couldn’t quite say how.

“If you want to watch, just watch. Why sneak around? I’m in a good mood today, I won’t hit you!” After a few minutes, Thunder finished, put down the pen, and took a deep breath. But what he said next surprised even himself—maybe it was Colin’s memories at work.

“No…” Tiffany quickly averted her gaze and stood respectfully to the side, but before long, her eyes drifted back to the talisman in Thunder’s hand.

The talisman paper infused with magic power faintly emitted a fluctuation invisible to the naked eye. Thunder smacked his lips in satisfaction. The materials didn’t match, and he wasn’t used to the quill, so achieving this result was already impressive.

“Young master, this one is called the Shaking Head, Scaredy, Thunderbolt Golden Lightning Talisman. One strike, and it’ll leave a bloody hole. What do you think?”

Tiffany couldn’t help but giggle, then quickly realized it was inappropriate and composed herself.

“That’s right, smile more! You always look so stern, like someone owes you money. Who are you trying to impress?” Thunder casually tossed the talisman aside and started drawing another one.

The second one turned out better than the first, probably because he was getting used to the quill.

“Young master, I’ll go make dinner.” Tiffany probably found it boring to watch, so she made an excuse to leave. Thunder waved her off without a word.

He drew several more talismans in a row before his magic power was finally depleted.

He was quite satisfied with his current magic reserves. Previously, Thunder’s cultivation only allowed him to draw two talismans at a time, but now he could do much more. He picked out three that looked decent, and was about to go outside to test them when he heard Uncle Oak’s wailing from outside the door: “You can’t do this… let go of Tiffany…”

“Get lost, you old bastard!” a curse rang out, followed by a muffled grunt. Uncle Oak began coughing violently, and Tiffany’s sobs rang clearly in his ears.

Thunder threw off his blanket, got out of bed, pushed open the door, and strode outside.

A number of people had entered the house, all familiar faces. Uncle Oak was lying on the ground, while Tiffany stood in front of him with her arms outstretched, her thin body standing straight and tall. The old and the young were both crying bitterly.

“Don’t hit Uncle Oak, I’ll go with you!” Tiffany’s tears rolled down like beans, her eyes filled with hatred and anger.

“See, wouldn’t it have been easier to do this from the start?” A thug spat disdainfully. “We gave you a chance, but you just had to make us get rough!”

“Heh, Tiffany, you won’t lose out by coming with me!” Behind the thugs stood a fat, big-eared middle-aged man, leering at Tiffany. His flashy clothes stood in stark contrast to the dilapidated house. “With me, you’ll eat and drink well, and live in comfort. That’s much better than staying here!”

Angus, the rich bumpkin who tried to buy Tiffany a few days ago—it was on his orders that his men beat up Colin.