There are two conditions for advancing to the Diamond realm.
First, one's cultivation must reach the peak of Platinum.
Second, one must thoroughly comprehend the profound mystery of the mutual generation of Yin and Yang.
Upon seeing Yin and Yang's mutual generation, Qin Shilei immediately thought of the terms "yin lightning" and "yang lightning."
The various lightning-based special abilities he currently employed were fundamentally the most rigid and yang.
Although the electric discharge from the silver eel last time had caused the lightning imprint within his body to evolve, it had not enabled him to comprehend the aspect of yin lightning.
Qin Shilei summoned Shi Liren from the intelligence department. "Liren, have your people vigorously search for information regarding any thunder-elemental rare treasures, secret realms, and the like."
"As you command!" Shi Liren, after carefully inquiring about Qin Shilei's needs, turned to leave and began directing his subordinates to collect relevant information.
Qin Shilei returned once more to the blessed land of his cave, drank the Enlightenment Tea, and attempted to grasp the profound mystery of Yin and Yang's mutual generation.
After three days of seclusion, he felt as though he had gained something, yet also as though he had gained nothing.
With no other recourse, Qin Shilei sought out Shi Yongzhen and asked him how he had originally broken through to the Diamond realm.
Shi Yongzhen nodded his head and said, "Yin and Yang are one body; from the extreme of Yin, Yang is born, and when Yang is exhausted, it transforms into Yin..."
The other man spoke a torrent of obscure and profound words, which seemed to hold great truth, yet also seemed to be trying to trick Qin Shilei.
Qin Shilei patiently listened for half an hour. After the other man departed, he once again entered seclusion, and even consumed a Yuan Breaking Pill he had obtained from the Demonic Sect.
His cultivation had slightly improved, but he still did not succeed in advancing.
At this moment, Shi Liren brought him some good news.
Shi Liren handed Qin Shilei several sheets of paper. "Reporting to my King, this is the intelligence gathered by the attribute department regarding thunder-elemental rare treasures.
There are three rare treasures on the trading channel that might aid you in your breakthrough.
Additionally, there are three locations where unusual lightning has appeared, which may also be of assistance to you.
Finally, there are three powerful individuals who may possess potent thunder-elemental rare treasures."
Qin Shilei read the information on the papers while listening to Shi Liren's explanations.
He quickly exchanged two purple-tier equipment for two of the rare treasures on the trading channel. As for the last one, its price was too high, and he felt it wouldn't be of much use to him, so he did not purchase it.
One of them was a heavenly material and earthly treasure called the Tribulation Lightning Vine. The entire vine was streaked with silver lightning bolts, and these spontaneous discharges were quite formidable, capable of electrocuting a Platinum-tier evolved human to the ground.
Qin Shilei thought that a plant capable of emitting electricity might be of some help to him, so he bought it.
As it turned out, the Tribulation Lightning Vine did help his lightning imprint somewhat, but it was not enough to enable him to successfully advance.
The other rare treasure, called the Thunder Origin Stone, was similarly effective.
After finishing the entire report, Qin Shilei discovered that Steve of the United States possessed a staff that was likely an extremely powerful thunder-elemental staff, and one of the locations where unusual lightning appeared was also in the United States.
"It seems it's time to make a trip to the United States."
However, the United States was more than four hundred thousand kilometers away from Daxia. Even if the Golden Winged Thunder Roc flew at full speed for twelve hours a day, it would still take more than ten days to arrive.
Qin Shilei had to properly arrange the affairs of the Qin'an Royal Mansion before he could depart.
He planned to bring all the members of the Night Watch with him, along with two hundred thousand Silver-tier experts.
The affairs within Daxia would temporarily be handled by Tan Anguo, while Zhang Qiang would oversee the expansion of territory.
The Qin'an Royal Mansion would essentially operate according to its previous model.
With the teleportation array, Qin Shilei could return at any time, so he didn't have to fear the unfortunate situation of being overthrown due to a prolonged absence.
After making the arrangements, Qin Shilei stored all the members of the Night Watch and the two hundred thousand troops into the blessed land of his cave.
Then, he mounted the Golden Winged Thunder Roc and flew towards the United States.
Seated on the back of the Golden Winged Thunder Roc, Qin Shilei and An Qian sat embraced, chatting leisurely.
An Qian sighed with some emotion, "Before the apocalypse, I had never even left the country. I never imagined that I would now be able to tour the distant United States."
Qin Shilei gently nuzzled An Qian's hair with his face. "In the future, I will not only take you to tour the entire Blue Star, but I will also lead you to experience the splendor of all the myriad worlds."
An Qian said with longing, "Then it's a deal. I want our legends to be etched in all the myriad worlds."
Qin Shilei teased, "Indeed, your title of Goddess of Wisdom will surely echo throughout all the myriad worlds."
As they were talking, An Qian suddenly said, "Shilei, take a look at the chat channel. It's quite interesting."
Hearing this, Qin Shilei opened the chat channel.
"Over ten countries surrounding Daxia have fallen into the clutches of King Qin'an. Let us observe three minutes of silence for the survivors."
"Is King Qin'an aiming to conquer the Blue Star?"
"Haha, thanks to our United States being far enough from Daxia, even if King Qin'an wanted to set his sights on us, he would be powerless!"
"Watch out, the person upstairs, King Qin'an might just lead his army and annihilate your United States."
"Haha, it would take at least several years for King Qin'an's army to reach our United States. Even if he had the resolve, the powerhouses from other realms wouldn't give him that time."
"What if King Qin'an were to single-handedly charge into your United States?"
"Our United States awaits. Let's see if he can bear to abandon his Qin'an Royal Mansion."
As they watched, both of them couldn't help but burst into laughter.
"I wonder how the survivors in the United States would react if they knew you were currently leading your army towards their country. They'd be utterly stunned," An Qian giggled.
"Heh heh, this time, not only will I seek an opportunity to advance, but I will also cause a great disturbance in the United States."
A hint of killing intent flashed in Qin Shilei's eyes.
"Shilei, logically speaking, the United States is so far away from us and has had very little interaction with us, why do you seem to harbor some animosity towards them?" An Qian asked, a little confused.
"Perhaps I've disliked this United States since my previous life," Qin Shilei said languidly.
Although the speed of airplanes and high-speed trains on the Blue Star was much faster than in Qin Shilei's previous life, the distance of hundreds of thousands of kilometers meant that interactions between the United States and Daxia were extremely rare.
An Qian was able to learn of the United States' existence solely because the satellite network on the Blue Star was extremely developed, and the United States was the most powerful nation in that western region.
Therefore, before the apocalypse, An Qian had learned about the United States through the internet.
As Qin Shilei was heading to the United States, in a luxurious palace, Steve was also discussing Qin Shilei with his subordinates.
"Your Highness the Thunder God, should we perhaps warn our countrymen? Tell them not to provoke King Qin'an too much on the chat channel, lest they anger him and bring a formidable enemy upon our United States."
"You worry too much. A Platinum-tier expert would still take more than ten days to reach us even at full speed. Do you truly believe King Qin'an would travel thousands of kilometers for a mere verbal dispute to vent his anger and then turn back? What benefit would that bring him? He can neither send troops to occupy our United States nor transport resources back from our territory."
"Your Highness, I fear that King Qin'an might truly be a narrow-minded individual and, upon seeing those arrogant words, might come here to unleash a rampage."
"Rest assured, even if he truly comes to our United States, he likely won't fare well."
After his subordinate left, Steve rose and walked into the underground chamber beneath the palace. He then cast a spell and began to contact that powerful force with which he had recently made contact.