# Chapter 1: Dust-Sealed Memories
The shoulders of Hillman's clothes, gripped by Linley's dragon claws, were torn through. Fresh, crimson blood slowly seeped out, staining the fabric red.
Yet Hillman seemed not to feel it at all.
Hillman stared at Linley, speaking in a low voice, "Linley, calm down first."
"Tell me." Linley stared back at Hillman.
Hillman said solemnly, "The cavalry behind us will be here soon. Don't let others know about your family's affairs for now. Come with me." Hillman broke free from Linley's sharp claws, grabbed Linley's arm covered in black dragon scales, and tried to pull him toward the ancestral hall. But he couldn't budge him.
"Linley." Hillman turned around, somewhat angry.
"Uncle Hillman, I know what's important."
Linley's face was as dark as water, but he took a deep breath. The dragon scales covering his arms retracted back into his body. His entire form returned to normal. As he crouched down to pick up the warblade "Slaughter" again, Linley heard the sound of horse hooves outside.
The cavalry unit of the Radiant Church had finally arrived.
Linley turned his head and glanced coldly at them, but paid them no mind. He directly said to Hillman, "Uncle Hillman, lead the way."
"Alright."
Seeing that Linley could calm down made Hillman feel somewhat relieved. He immediately led Linley toward the ancestral hall. Linley still wore a grim expression. At this moment, perhaps only Linley himself could imagine the deep pain hidden beneath his calm exterior.
The shadowmouse "Bebe" and Doehring Cowart both remained silent.
They had a soul connection with Linley and naturally sensed his unprecedented pain and sorrow.
***
The wind rose, sweeping up the withered, fallen leaves on the stone-paved road that had existed for who knew how many years.
"Creak—"
Hillman pushed open the door of the ancestral hall and then looked at Linley. Linley, holding the warblade "Slaughter," stepped inside with a calm expression. But his gaze lingered on the rows of spirit tablets inside the hall. With Linley's current eyesight, he could clearly see the newest and foremost tablet.
On its front were only the words "Hogg Baruch."
Linley, who still clung to a shred of hope, felt his mind spin. But he remained steady. Then, holding the warblade "Slaughter," he walked forward and finally placed this massive warblade "Slaughter" on the stone table where the spirit tablets were arranged.
Linley looked at the spirit tablet, a serene smile appearing on his face. He said softly, "Father, I'm back."
"I know your greatest wish in life was to find our family's heirloom treasure and even restore the glory of our Dragonblood Warrior clan." Linley spoke very softly, very carefully, as if afraid of disturbing someone.
Linley gazed at the spirit tablet: "I haven't let you down. I have brought back the heirloom treasure of our Baruch clan, our Dragonblood Warrior clan—the warblade 'Slaughter.'"
"Now, I have brought back the warblade 'Slaughter,' and soon, I will also make our Dragonblood Warrior clan regain its glory. I will make the entire Yulan continent know the splendor of the Dragonblood Warrior clan, and I will make your name known across the entire Yulan continent."
"I swear, I will accomplish all of this."
A trace of ferocity suddenly appeared on Linley's face. "But before that, I will take revenge for you."
There was no doubt that his father, Hogg, had been murdered.
Otherwise, with his father's strength as a rank 6 warrior and being in the prime of his life, he wouldn't have been taken by an ordinary illness. If he had died of illness, Uncle Hillman wouldn't have been so evasive. Linley's intuition told him that his father's death was anything but ordinary.
"The one who killed you, I will make him die too!!!"
A hint of the cold, dark gold of a Thornback Black Dragon seemed to appear in Linley's eyes—a chilling dark gold.
Linley suddenly turned to look at Hillman: "Uncle Hillman, tell me, how did my father die? And where is he buried? You said he died over three months ago, why didn't you tell me?" Hillman opened his mouth but couldn't speak.
"Linley, calm down first," Hillman said slowly.
Calm down?
How could he calm down?
"How I wished I could let my father see the warblade 'Slaughter' with his own eyes, how I wished I could let my father see that I could also transform into a Dragonblood Warrior, how I wished to see my father's smile—the gratified smile upon seeing the warblade 'Slaughter,' the proud smile upon seeing me become a 'Dragonblood Warrior'! But... none of that is possible anymore."
Linley felt as if his heart were being twisted.
And now Hillman wanted him to calm down!
Linley wanted to lash out at Hillman, but he held back. Taking a deep breath, he swallowed all his resentment and anger. Linley stared at Hillman: "Uncle Hillman, tell me everything that happened. I want to know everything."
"Your father died three months ago. But before he died, he entrusted me with something... unless you reached the strength of a rank 7 warrior, I couldn't tell you the cause of his death," Hillman said solemnly.
"Rank 7 warrior?"
"Yes." Hillman nodded gently. "That's why I went to your academy to find you but didn't tell you the news of your father's death. According to your father's dying wish, he hoped you would continue cultivating peacefully, as much as possible without knowing about his death."
Hillman looked at Linley: "Linley, it's not that I didn't want to tell you, but this was your father's final wish. I couldn't go against it. Unless you reached the strength of a rank 7 warrior, I could only tell you everything then."
Linley understood.
Rank 7 warrior?
Linley pulled a leather-bound booklet from his chest and handed it to Hillman.
"This is?" Hillman stared blankly as he took it.
"Magus rank certificate," Linley said calmly.
Every magus, from the moment they were first ranked, was issued this magus certificate. Every time they advanced a rank, it was recorded in it.
Hillman opened the booklet. On the earth and wind magic sections, there were seven dazzling stars.
"Rank 7, a rank 7 dual-element magus?" Hillman was stunned. He looked at Linley in disbelief.
How old was Linley?
Seventeen.
A seventeen-year-old dual-element magus—what did that mean? Hillman wasn't sure, but he knew that in the entire kingdom of Fenlai, the most powerful magus was only a rank 8 magus. And that was an old man over a hundred years old.
Hillman still remembered when he was in the army, the kind of grandeur and prestige a rank 7 magus commanded when they arrived.
But little Linley, whom he had watched grow up, had suddenly become a rank 7 dual-element magus.
"This... is this real?" Hillman asked a very foolish question. He also knew that this magus certificate couldn't possibly be fake.
"Uncle Hillman, can you tell me the truth now?" Linley stared at Hillman.
Hillman nodded and walked toward the secret room behind the ancestral hall. He came out shortly after, walked up to Linley, took out a letter from his chest, and handed it to him, saying softly, "This is the letter your father left before he died. Read it, and you'll know everything."
Linley's trembling hands reached out and took the letter.
There were no words on the envelope.
Opening the envelope, there were two full pages of content inside.
"Linley: When you open this letter, I may have been dead for a very long time.
I have endless apologies in my heart for you and Wharton, but I have no way to make it up to you. I only hope you can live peacefully for as long as possible. That's why I asked your Uncle Hillman to give you this letter only when you reach the strength of a rank 7 warrior."
Seeing this, Linley's heart ached.
Let him live peacefully for a while? Father probably never imagined he would become a rank 7 magus so quickly. After all, at a normal pace, going from rank 6 to rank 7 took a very long time.
"Linley, I have always kept a secret in my heart. Your mother did not die from complications during childbirth with Wharton."
This sentence from his father shook Linley to the core.
Since he was young, Linley had known that his mother died from complications giving birth to Wharton. But now it seemed that was just a lie.
"Back then, your mother became pregnant again. She and I were both very happy, but the medical conditions in our Wushan Township were too poor. Your mother and I set out for Fenlai City. In Fenlai City, your mother safely gave birth to little Wharton. Little Wharton was very cute. Your mother and I were both overjoyed. Shortly after Wharton was born, your mother and I took little Wharton to the Radiant Temple to pray for blessings for him. That day, your mother and I were both very happy. Afterwards, we left the Radiant Temple and stayed at an inn in Fenlai City for the night."
"That very night, a group of mysterious people came to the inn and directly took your mother away. I was outnumbered and could only protect Wharton. But I also saw that one of the attackers had a red spider birthmark on his arm."
Seeing this, Linley felt as if he had returned to that night over a decade ago.
Surrounded and attacked by a group of mysterious people, his outnumbered father could only protect Wharton, forced to watch helplessly as he couldn't save his beloved wife.
"I knew that group wasn't ordinary. The weakest among them was a rank 4 warrior, and the strongest was even stronger than me. Fortunately, their target was only your mother, or I would have been killed long ago. To be able to dispatch such a team, they weren't small fry in Fenlai City. I didn't dare make a fuss. I brought little Wharton back and told everyone your mother died from childbirth complications. This secret was known only to the steward Hiri and your Uncle Hillman."
Seeing this, Linley grew puzzled.
Among that group, the strongest was stronger than his father. But they hadn't cared about his father; they only took his mother. What was so special about his mother that they wanted to take her?
"I couldn't tell you all this. For over a decade, I buried this secret deep in my heart. I didn't dare speak of it... I couldn't even investigate alone whether your mother was alive or dead, or who that group was. I didn't dare investigate."
His father's words made Linley's heart clench with pain.
"I was the heir of the Dragonblood Warrior clan. At the very least, I had to raise you both to adulthood. I couldn't let the Baruch clan die out. I endured year after year, but every night I couldn't sleep. Whether your mother was alive or dead—that thought tormented me. I endured... I endured for eleven years!"
"Linley, you made me very proud. First becoming a student of the Yulan continent's number one magic academy, then becoming a genius of the Ernst Institute. I had great confidence in you. Even Wharton's Dragonblood Warrior blood concentration met the requirements. I was very proud—both sons were so outstanding. I had not failed the ancestors of the Baruch clan! But even then, I still didn't dare investigate your mother's situation, because Wharton still needed a large amount of money for his expensive tuition."
"I endured for eleven years. When you gave me the large number of magical beast cores you obtained from the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, I knew that day... I could finally set aside everything and investigate whether your mother was alive or dead. Although she hadn't returned in eleven years, and it was more than likely she was dead, I didn't want to give up. Even if she was dead, I would avenge her."
Seeing this, Linley's hands trembled.
Linley understood. In the past, because his father had to bear his younger brother's expensive tuition, he had never dared to risk his life to investigate their mother's situation. But the magical beast cores Linley had given him, worth nearly eighty thousand gold coins, had completely freed his father of that burden.
"I could finally investigate. I changed my appearance, disguised my identity, and infiltrated Fenlai City. I began to trace the events of that year."
"But too much time had passed. I only knew about the red spider birthmark on the arm. I investigated for nearly a year and finally found the person with that red spider birthmark. Following that lead, I continued to dig deeper. Gradually... I finally discovered the person behind that group."
"The mastermind behind that group was none other than the younger brother of His Majesty King Clay of the current Fenlai royal family—Duke Patterson."