Support me and be 30 chapters ahead of webnovel:
patreon.com/Draco_
*****
Back when he had surpassed 50% progress toward advancing to a Level Six Absolute Ability User, he had already begun to feel a faint touch of divinity.
Although he ultimately had to retreat from that threshold, the sensation itself—and his deeper understanding of the essence of lightning—remained very much intact.
As a result, the power of his lightning-based abilities increased significantly, and he also gained profound insight into all forms of lightning magic.
Ancient lightning spells that once required several minutes of incantation could now be cast instantly, without any chanting, and their power and range had grown far beyond what they used to be.
Even the Taoist techniques of the Li family preserved in Li Xuan's memories, he felt confident he could master within just two or three days of study.
As long as a spell or technique was related to lightning, he would be able to learn it with exceptional speed from now on.
Once you've grasped the essence, the external forms are merely different modes of expression—they can be flexibly adapted at will.
Once it was confirmed that the patriarch's understanding of the Dao had greatly advanced, and that the Li family had gained a new top-tier expert, excitement lit up the faces of everyone in the clan. This was indeed a momentous occasion.
Thus, what had originally been a somber funeral filled with wreaths and white cloth was quickly transformed into a celebration.
However, Clan Head Li Yelan did not throw a grand banquet to entertain visiting Daoist peers. Instead, she deliberately kept the news under wraps and strictly forbade anyone present from spreading information about the patriarch's enlightenment.
Later, she approached George privately:
"Great Uncle, there's something I'd like to ask your help with."
"Go ahead," George replied without hesitation. As the current patriarch of the Li family, it was only natural for him to lend his support where needed.
Li Yelan's face lit up at his response.
"Great Uncle, our clan's magical artifact recently detected the aura of Clow Reed. We believe that means the Clow Cards have resurfaced."
"I'd like to send Xiaolang to recover them in secret, and I hope you can accompany him."
The Clow Cards, created by Clow Reed, were once the most powerful magical artifacts known to the world—embodying the arcane secrets of both Eastern and Western mysticism.
After Clow Reed's death, however, they vanished without a trace and have remained undiscovered to this day.
But just over a month ago, an artifact left behind by Clow Reed within the clan suddenly sensed the presence of the Clow Cards. Their location was pinpointed to a small town in Tokyo, Japan, called Tomoeda.
Since Clow Reed had Li family blood in him, the Li descendants have the rightful claim to retrieve the Clow Cards.
Her son, Li Xiaolang, was a once-in-a-century genius within the clan. If he could obtain the power of the Clow Cards, he would undoubtedly be able to lead the Li family to a glorious future.
However, recovering the Clow Cards required a personal effort—only then would the Cards acknowledge their new master.
Furthermore, due to the Li family's connection to Clow Reed, they had long attracted attention from magical communities around the world. If a prominent clan expert were suddenly to leave with Li Xiaolang, it would surely arouse suspicion.
If word got out that the Clow Cards had reappeared, it would very likely trigger a storm of bloody conflict among magic users.
So originally, she had planned for Li Xiaolang to transfer schools and be accompanied only by an elderly family steward with no magical power, thereby avoiding any attention.
After all, no one would suspect a ten-year-old child of undertaking such a major mission or playing a key role in something so important.
The only downside was that everything would then depend solely on Li Xiaolang himself.
But things were different now. Great Uncle's strength had significantly increased through enlightenment, and no one outside the family knew about it yet.
To outsiders, he was still just an elderly man on the verge of death. Even if he hadn't died this time, they assumed he only had a few years left at most.
With such a pairing—an old man and a young boy—very few people would pay attention.
"No problem. I've been meaning to see those magical cards Clow Reed created anyway. Perhaps studying them will help improve my Daoist cultivation as well."
George immediately nodded and agreed without hesitation.
In fact, he had just been wondering what point in time they were currently in—whether or not the Clow Cards had already reappeared.
He had watched the anime before, but couldn't remember the exact timeline—just that it was sometime around the year 2000.
And since he had seen Li Xiaolang among the family members, it suggested Xiaolang hadn't yet transferred to Japan.
But from what he was hearing now, the Clow Cards had already been released by Sakura over a month ago, and Li Yelan was preparing to send Li Xiaolang to collect them.
As for helping Xiaolang collect the Clow Cards, of course he agreed.
Li Xuan had spent over ninety years studying the Li family's Daoist arts. Though his talent and magical power were lacking, his theoretical knowledge was rich—he was practically an encyclopedia of Li family techniques.
That meant George didn't need to stay behind to delve into Daoist arts. He could rely on Li Xuan's memories and practice slowly on his own.
Besides, he had always been deeply interested in the Clow Cards.
If he could thoroughly study them, he would essentially gain a complete understanding of this world's magical systems, and his power would increase dramatically as a result.
Especially since the Clow Cards included time-based magic.
Of course, he had no intention of claiming the Clow Cards for himself.
They had been specifically left by Clow Reed for Sakura. If he tried to seize them, he'd first have to deal with one of Clow Reed's reincarnations—Eriol Hiiragizawa.
As someone who inherited part of Clow Reed's soul, memories, and magical power, Eriol was the strongest magician currently alive. George wasn't confident he could win against him.
More importantly, Clow Reed wasn't truly dead—he had simply gone to another parallel world. If George caused trouble, there was no telling whether Clow Reed might return and beat him into the ground.
In truth, even without those two reasons, he still wouldn't try to snatch something from a child.
His goal was to study how the Clow Cards were made and uncover the magical principles behind them—not to possess a powerful artifact.
"That's wonderful!"
Li Yelan's face lit up with joy upon hearing her great uncle agree so readily.
As clan leader, her top priority was always the welfare of the entire family. Only after that could she think of her relatives or herself.
Sending her ten-year-old son to a foreign country to collect the Clow Cards—of course she felt reluctant and distressed.
But there was no other choice. For the sake of the family's future, and to cultivate a worthy next clan leader, she had to go through with it.
Besides, Li Xiaolang himself was determined to go collect the Clow Cards.
And now that his enlightened great uncle would be accompanying him as a protector, she could finally feel at ease.
"When do you plan to depart?" George asked one final question.
Li Yelan replied:
"Tomorrow morning. You and Li Xiaolang will fly directly to Tokyo. Some of our external personnel stationed there will meet you and escort you to Tomoeda Town.
The villa has already been purchased and prepared in advance, and Xiaolang's school transfer procedures are all complete."
Originally, the plan had been to wait until after Great Uncle's funeral tomorrow and send Xiaolang off in the afternoon. But now that he hadn't died, they would leave early in the morning instead—which would also be more discreet.
(End of Chapter)