Chapter 42: Keeping the Appointment
The five-year agreement—Linley still remembered his promise.
"I hope Jenny won't be too stubborn," Linley thought. He knew that even if Jenny still decided to follow him, he would at most let her accompany him like the Rebecca sisters.
Linley couldn't invest his emotions.
Having experienced so much, enduring tribulation after tribulation, the depths of Linley's heart had long been frozen over. That ice was cold, thick. To melt the solid ice in Linley's heart would be very, very difficult.
Thinking of emotions, Linley naturally thought of little Wharton.
"From the letters Yale sent, that kid Wharton has been getting along famously with the Empire's Seventh Princess this past year. But according to the letters' descriptions, it won't be easy for Wharton to marry the Empire's Seventh Princess."
The Empire's Seventh Princess had too many advantages: kind, pure, beautiful, high status, favored by the Emperor. There were far too many suitors pursuing her.
Linley could only silently wish for his younger brother to obtain a perfect love.
At least, not like him.
********
Half a month later.
"Milord." Old Five "Gates" rushed over excitedly, speaking to Linley, who had just finished a stone sculpture. "My big brother has also comprehended 'lifting heavy as light.'"
"Oh?"
Linley flipped his hand and put away his flat chisel, asking in surprise, "Barker has reached the 'lifting heavy as light' level?"
"That's right, milord. Do you want to go see?" Gates suggested.
Linley smiled. "Gates, go call everyone to the main hall. I have something to tell you all."
"Oh." Seeing that Linley had something important, Gates nodded.
After a while, everyone gathered in the main hall. They were still discussing Barker's comprehension of the 'lifting heavy as light' level.
"Everyone."
Linley smiled as he looked at the assembled group. "I have an important matter to attend to and need to go out. This time, I'll only take Bebe and Hei Lu with me. The rest of you will stay here and continue training. If it's a short trip, I'll be back in a few days. If it's a long one, I'll send someone with a message."
"Milord, you're not taking us all out?" Gates asked bluntly.
"You all continue training." Linley glanced at Gates with a smile. "Gates, if you reach the 'force' level, or reach the ninth rank, I'll take you out."
Gates immediately shut his mouth.
He wasn't Linley. Reaching 'lifting heavy as light' was already extremely difficult for him. He had only just begun to grasp that level and hadn't fully mastered it.
"Alright, I'll set out tomorrow morning." Linley announced directly.
……
The next morning, under the watchful eyes of the Barker brothers, the Rebecca sisters, Sesslar, and the others, Linley—wearing a warrior's outfit underneath and an open black robe over it—mounted the Blackstriped Cloud Panther "Hei Lu." Bebe also stood on Hei Lu's back. One man and two magical beasts set off from Cloud Peak Town.
The robe fluttered noisily in the wind. Linley had stored all his weapons in his interspatial ring.
"Using the Blackdirt Heavy Sword to execute the Earth Essence has great power. But once the Earth Essence is unleashed, it might take lives. For everyday use, I'll stick with the Purple Blood Divine Sword."
In terms of the Earth Essence, Linley had already reached a relatively high level.
But regarding the 'Wind Essence' of the Purple Blood Flexible Sword, Linley was still very shallow.
Linley didn't think that using the 'Purple Blood Flexible Sword' would make his attacks weaker than the Blackdirt Heavy Sword. After all, the wind-type forbidden spell included 'Dimensional Edge.' If magic could unleash it, then sword techniques should be able to as well.
"Bebe, I've noticed you've been improving all these years. What kind of magical beast are you, exactly?" Linley asked with a smile, looking at Bebe standing on Hei Lu's back.
Hei Lu let out a low growl. "Master, Bebe is abnormal. I've never seen such an abnormal magical beast. Five years ago, he was about as strong as me. Now he's far stronger than me, yet he hasn't reached the Saint Domain yet."
If Hei Lu had seen the three sons of the Magical Beast Mountain Range's king, "Dilin"—those terrifying Saint Domain magical beasts that could easily devour over a hundred dragons—he would know that there were even more abnormal beasts than Bebe.
"Bebe is indeed a bit powerful." Linley smiled. "Maybe Bebe is still growing."
Linley suspected that Bebe hadn't yet reached his mature stage.
"Hehe, very likely!" Bebe raised his little head narcissistically. "When I, Bebe, reach my mature stage, I might just become a Saint Domain magical beast!"
Saint Domain magical beasts, like the Blood-eyed Mane Lion, the Earth Collapsing Bear, the Purple-eyed Golden Fur Ape... these beasts, through normal growth, naturally became Saint Domain magical beasts once they reached maturity.
That was the talent of Saint Domain magical beasts.
"I know about Saint Domain magical beasts, but are there naturally born Deity-level magical beasts?" Linley sighed inwardly. "Even if there are, they probably wouldn't exist on a plane like the Yulan Continent."
……
Traveling onward, Linley arrived at Ceres County City by evening.
On the streets of Ceres County City, there were quite a few people riding magical beasts, but most of them rode low to mid-level beasts like Windwolves or Fangwolves.
When Linley rode the Blackstriped Cloud Panther down the main street, the other magical beasts instinctively and fearfully moved out of the way.
Humans might find it hard to judge a magical beast's level when seeing an unfamiliar one, but low-level magical beasts could easily sense the gap when encountering a high-level one.
"Hmm? A black panther?"
An ordinary man on the street of Ceres County City saw Linley and the black panther beneath him, his eyes lighting up. "A black panther, and his appearance matches the portrait closely. It's almost certainly him."
The man was extremely excited inside. He immediately left the main street and hurried into a small alley.
……
At the entrance of the Ceres County City Lord's Castle, Linley had just spotted the castle gates when he saw a large crowd gathered there. As he approached,
"Brother Lei!"
A young man and woman called out from a distance.
Linley recognized them immediately. The woman, who had grown more mature and beautiful, was Jenny. The handsome young man, half a head taller than Jenny, should be the now-adult Keane.
Keane and Jenny quickly ran over.
Keane, now nineteen, said loudly, "Brother Lei, I heard from the guards long ago that someone riding a black panther was coming. I guessed it was you."
A black panther—that was rare. Aside from the Blackline Panther, there was only the Blackstriped Cloud Panther.
"Brother Lei." Jenny's face flushed slightly as she looked at Linley expectantly.
"Let's go inside first." Linley said with a faint smile.
The group bustled into the castle. Starting from the age of sixteen, Keane had officially taken over handling affairs and was now a qualified city lord.
Last year, Keane had also married a beautiful wife. At the time, Keane had wanted to invite Linley, but he didn't know where Linley was.
"Jenny, you've become a mage?" On the way to the main hall, Linley asked with a smile.
With his spiritual energy, Linley could sense the magical aura around Jenny. It wasn't very strong.
"Yes, water-type magic." Jenny's eyes sparkled with excitement. "After you left, Brother Lei, I had nothing to do. Later, I thought that since you were so powerful, if I kept following you and holding you back, it wouldn't be good. So I went to get tested for elemental affinity and spiritual energy. I didn't expect to be suited for water-type magic."
Back when Jenny was a child in the city lord's mansion, she had been suppressed by the first wife and never had the chance to practice magic.
No one knew that Jenny actually had magical talent.
"But my talent isn't great. After five years of training, I'm only a third-rank mage." Jenny said softly.
Normally, a person's spiritual energy increased from infancy to adulthood. For prodigies like Linley and Reynolds, even if they didn't train, by the time they naturally grew to eighteen, their spiritual energy for magic would probably reach the third-rank mage level.
Starting at eighteen and spending five more years to only reach third-rank mage?
Her talent was only average—slightly better than ordinary people.
"Brother Lei, please sit." Keane warmly offered Linley the seat of honor. "Let me introduce you. This is my wife, Eileen."
Beside Keane was a very pretty young woman with beautiful blue eyes. The city lord's wife was currently looking at Linley with curiosity. When she was dating Keane, he had often told her stories about Linley.
"Brother Lei." Eileen bowed.
"Keane, everyone, please sit down. Don't be so formal." Linley said with a faint smile.
Everyone took their seats one by one. Keane kept looking at Linley. He knew very well that Linley's visit this time was related to the agreement made five years ago.
Five years later, Jenny was twenty-three. Having practiced water-type magic, her skin was as smooth as congealed fat, making her even more beautiful and charming. At twenty-three, Jenny no longer had the shyness of an eighteen-year-old.
Over the past five years, many had pursued Jenny.
Not only in Ceres County City, but also when Jenny and Keane attended the annual clan gathering in the provincial capital of Basel, many had expressed admiration for her.
But Jenny had never paid attention to anyone else.
"Jenny." Linley looked at Jenny and got straight to the point. "You must remember the agreement from five years ago. Jenny, let me tell you, in my heart, I truly see you as a younger sister who needs care."
Jenny's body trembled, but then she smiled.
Beside her, Keane, and even the butler Lambert, let out a soft sigh.
"Brother Lei." Jenny smiled. "Having a brother like you is something I've always looked forward to. No matter what, I will follow you. If I never marry, don't think you can shake me off."
Linley was momentarily stunned.
Then he understood. Jenny was determined to follow him. But from her words, it was clear that over these five years, she had already mentally prepared herself.
"When are you planning to leave with me?" Linley asked.
Jenny hesitated for a moment. After all, she and Keane were siblings, and she was reluctant to leave her brother. But seeing how happily Keane and Eileen got along, she felt at ease.
"I can leave with you anytime, Brother Lei. Where are we going first?" Jenny asked.
"First, to a small town on the outskirts of the provincial capital, Basel." Linley replied.
"The provincial capital, Basel?" Keane was startled. He immediately said, "Brother Lei, our Jax family holds an annual clan gathering in Basel every year on November fifteenth. That's three days away. Could you let my sister attend one more gathering with me? It's on the way anyway."
Keane looked at Linley expectantly.
Keane was very attached to his sister. He knew that Linley traveled the world, and once his sister left with him, he didn't know when he would see Jenny again.
The siblings had grown up together and shared a deep bond.
Linley looked at Keane, then at Jenny, and nodded. "Alright. We'll go to Basel together. After you finish the clan gathering, Jenny will leave with me."
"Thank you." Keane said gratefully.
……
While Linley was in the city lord's castle, the personnel of the Radiant Church lurking in Ceres County City grew excited.
"Linley has actually come to Ceres County City! This is wonderful!" A white-robed man's face was full of excitement. "Five years! Five years! We've finally found traces of this Linley!"
The Radiant Church had been searching for Linley's traces for five years. Unfortunately, the Church had too few people in the O'Brien Empire, mainly stationed in provincial capitals and county cities. Naturally, they couldn't find Linley, who had been living in seclusion in a small rural town.
And Ceres County City, where Linley had once stayed for a long time, had a considerable number of Church personnel stationed there.
"Hurry and notify Lord Lande, who is staying in the countryside. Tell him that Linley has arrived in Ceres County City." The white-robed man immediately ordered his subordinate.
Lande and the other six angels had come to the O'Brien Empire. They had once scoured the world for Linley for two full years but found nothing. In the end, they had no choice but to settle in a small town near Ceres County City, waiting for news.
Once they received word, they would act immediately.
Kill Linley at all costs, even if it meant dying together. That was the order given to the six angels.
(Second chapter done!)