That idiot from the Sword Sect turned out to be a lucky charm.

Lin Zhifeng thought to himself, "Is this a showdown? Fine, since that's the case, I'll have a proper talk with you."

Lin Zhifeng said, "Perhaps it's because I have a strong will that I'm able to stay clear-headed."

Suanni nodded his enormous head, seemingly accepting his statement.

Lin Zhifeng continued, "I don't know what you see in me. Actually, being a lion sitter doesn't require much skill; anyone can do it. And I have my own life to live, and my own goals to achieve, so I'm afraid I can't stay and keep you company."

The Suanni said, "One's own life? Can a tiny human really make his own decisions?"

Seeing that Lin Zhifeng didn't understand, he continued, "You see, I was born a dragon prince, so I should be much stronger than you humans. But that's not the case. To put it nicely, I'm a divine beast; to put it bluntly, I'm just a high-ranking servant. My father, in order to curry favor with the powerful and wealthy in the West, gave me to Manjushri Bodhisattva as a mount, and I was castrated and sent here from a young age. I have no human rights, no freedom, and every day I just live a life of eating and waiting to die. If I could choose, I would never have been born a dragon prince."

Although his tone was calm, Lin Zhifeng sensed a lot of resentment in his words. This negotiating partner seemed quite troublesome!

He thought for a moment and said, "We can't choose our birth, which is perhaps the most painful thing. It's like opening a blind box; we can't choose which one we get. But your birth is already much better than that of ordinary people; it's a level that we can't even dream of."

Upon hearing this, Suanni said with dissatisfaction, "What's so enviable about being a slave? I've been separated from my mother since I was a child. Although I have no worries about food and clothing, you know what I'm like? They don't treat me like a human being at all. Before my father sent me to the Bodhisattva, he said it was to prevent me from causing trouble, so he turned me into a eunuch."

Lin Zhifeng had spent more than a year with him, bathing him countless times, so he naturally knew about his condition.

He certainly felt sympathy, but he didn't know how to comment on it.

Just like in his original world, most pet owners would choose to have their pets spayed or neutered to prevent them from going into heat repeatedly.

The same applies to the Suanni. Although it is a divine beast, it is naturally noble and powerful. However, since it is associated with the word "beast," it cannot escape the animal's instinct to go into heat.

Just look at his father, Lao Long; he's practically a walking seed-planting machine.

Moreover, he completely disregarded the concept of reproductive isolation, so none of these nine dragon sons were true dragons.

Lin Zhifeng tried to share this viewpoint with the Suanni. He added, "Although your body is now incomplete, the damage is a fact, so let's look at the positive side—at least the beastly nature in your bones has been removed. You don't want to be like your father, promiscuous and unfaithful, do you? Besides, you're in such an environment with so many resources. Let's take advantage of this time of purity and detachment to cultivate diligently. When we become true dragons, we can go to the Dragon Transformation Pool to reshape our bodies, and then everything will be solved, right?"

The Suanni said, "You make it sound so easy. Becoming a true dragon isn't that simple. Just look at us brothers, which one of us has truly become a true dragon?"

Lin Zhifeng said, "You can't say that. Think about it, what in life is easy? Just like us humans, we are born very weak, and if we want to cultivate, we have to go through tribulations repeatedly. Even if one day we ascend to heaven after going through countless hardships, we have only reached our starting line."

"As for what you said about being unable to control one's own destiny and lacking freedom, aren't humans even more so?"

"I was born into the Sword Sect, but my soul was incomplete from birth, and I was an idiot for twenty years. During that time, I was ostracized by my fellow disciples, ridiculed by everyone, and even my unruly servants could manipulate and bully me at will. Later, when my soul was finally restored, my father disappeared in the battle against the Demon Realm. He didn't despise me when I was an idiot and always took good care of me. Now that he's missing, I can't just abandon him. Besides, I have my own ambitions, and ascending to the Upper Realm to become an immortal is my short-term goal. So now I'm cultivating desperately and finding resources on my own. Although it's not easy, I enjoy it."

Instead of being moved by Lin Zhifeng's "playing the victim," Suanni said enviously, "You may have started from a lower point, but at least you're in control! Isn't it great to be free and unrestrained?"

Lin Zhifeng laughed. Was this a heavenly version of "Why don't they eat meat porridge?"

"Isn't starting from a low point tough enough? Cultivation is going against the heavens. How much suffering and hardship must one endure? Every breakthrough is a life-or-death struggle."

"As for the freedom you mentioned, where can you find absolute freedom? There are laws in the human world, regulations in the cultivation world, and sect rules in the sect. Which of these rules and regulations must not be followed? For example, I had to ask the elders for leave before I went out this time, and I will have to cancel my leave when I return to the sect. Not to mention when our cultivation is still shallow, we have to attend classes every day, and even being late or leaving early will be punished."

Upon hearing this, Suanni said sympathetically, "You've had it pretty tough too."

Lin Zhifeng continued, "With the Bodhisattva, all you do is eat and sleep. Unless there's a large Dharma assembly that requires you to perform, the Bodhisattva won't bother you. You're not satisfied with this carefree life of a deity? Even when you caused such a huge mess in Wuji Kingdom last time, the Bodhisattva covered it up for you. They didn't punish you when you came back. If you're still not satisfied, that's unacceptable!"

After being lectured, Suanni realized that he might have been a bit unreasonable, so he lowered his head and remained silent.

Lin Zhifeng pressed on: "Actually, the biggest hurt you suffered was that incident. In my opinion, you should turn your grief and anger into motivation, cultivate into a true dragon and show everyone. At the same time, it's also an explanation to yourself."

"With such good resources right now, it would be a real shame if you didn't work hard. Look at me, I have to earn money myself to cultivate and upgrade my spirit sword. Don't laugh at me, but I'm here to work for Longquan and earn some spirit stones to spend."

Suanni said, "Then you are quite pitiful. You are not as fortunate as Longquan."

Lin Zhifeng said, "Longquan also has his own troubles. He is destined to be bound to the Tianlong Dynasty for the rest of his life, so he can't do whatever he wants like I do. In addition, he has to compete for power with other heirs, which is life-threatening. Then there's the matter of the Divine Dragon Bloodline. If he can't find the sacred object to awaken it successfully, his status as crown prince will probably be in jeopardy. Then he won't be able to achieve the goal he has been striving for since birth. At that time, he will also face the collapse of his life ideals and the collapse of his worldview."

"That's why I've said it before: life isn't easy for anyone. Everyone has their own troubles. Just listen to me and cultivate yourself properly. All your troubles now stem from being too idle! Get moving, fill your time, and you won't have time to be sentimental."

Suanni knew he couldn't keep Lin Zhifeng, and he quite enjoyed being with Lin Zhifeng. He not only liked Lin Zhifeng's care, but also the peaceful life they shared. Since Lin Zhifeng was someone with ambition, he didn't want to force him.

The Suanni asked pitifully, "When you ascend to immortality in the future, can you find a way to rescue me?"

Lin Zhifeng was frustrated!

So all that motivational talk I gave you didn't really get to you at all?

What? You think I'd come to save you? Even if I ascended and got a formal position, I'd just be one of the 100,000 heavenly soldiers (after all, I'm a sword cultivator). Your master is one of the Four Great Bodhisattvas. Me, trying to take you from him? Am I courting death?

But looking at the blue-haired lion's bright, expectant eyes, Lin Zhifeng didn't utter a curse. He only said, "I'm afraid I can't come to rescue you. But I promise I will definitely come to see you! I just hope that from now on you won't be so lazy and will cultivate diligently. Maybe next time we meet you, you'll have transformed into a dragon."

Suanni said, "That's impossible. A day in heaven is a year on earth. Even if you were a little slow and ascended to heaven within a thousand years, only three years would have passed for us. I would still be in the same state as I am now."

Lin Zhifeng: "..."

Fine, whatever! All that talk about "preferring quiet to activity"—I see, it's just laziness and a lack of motivation!

While I complain about how unfair fate has been to me, my body has already laid down and accepted everything.

Everyone has their own karma, so Lin Zhifeng didn't say anything more to persuade him. He simply said, "Since that's the case, you should let us out quickly and send us to the next level!"