# Chapter 1: A Strong Backing
Lei and Woton had been separated for nearly seventeen years now.
Seventeen years ago, shortly after the Yulan Festival had passed, Woton had followed the butler Hiri and left Wushan Town, heading for the distant O'Brien Empire. At that time, Lei was ten years old and Woton was six. Both brothers were innocent back then, knowing very little about the vast world. And at that time, they still had Hogg behind them, protecting them like an eagle shielding its eaglets.
Now, Hogg had long since passed away. One brother was a count of the O'Brien Empire, while the other had already possessed the terrifying strength of the Saint Domain.
In the count's mansion living room.
Lei, Woton, the butler Hiri, Hillman, Nader, the five Barker brothers, Sessler, Jenny, and the sisters Rebecca and Lina were all gathered together.
Two rectangular dining tables were placed side by side, and fine wines and sumptuous feasts were brought up one after another.
Lei and Woton were talking about everything that had happened over the years. Although Woton had long known the general outline of Lei's affairs from the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, hearing it from his own brother still made him worry.
So close, so close his big brother had come to dying.
"Three years of bitter training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, plus nearly six years of cultivation in the Northwest Province. Although I went through several fierce battles, I managed to get through them all safely in the end," Lei said with a smile. "In the past, I was still quite worried about the Radiant Church. Now? Although I don't have the ability to attack the Radiant Church's headquarters, I do have the ability to protect myself."
The Radiant Church had been established in the Yulan Continent for many years.
Being able to stand alongside the O'Brien Empire in the Yulan Continent, its hidden strength was absolutely terrifying. From the fact that the War God's Temple had sent three personal disciples who were all Saint Domain, one could judge—
The Radiant Church's Saint Domain experts were certainly not few in number.
"Brother. You... you've reached the Saint Domain?" Woton asked in surprise. Woton knew how difficult cultivation was. Even with his extremely high Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration, he was still only at level eight, and his transformation only reached the peak of level nine.
And Lei's Dragonblood Warrior bloodline concentration was even lower than his.
But daring to say he had the ability to protect himself meant he had at least reached the Saint Domain.
"After transforming, I have indeed reached the Saint Domain," Lei said with a gentle smile.
Hillman and the butler Hiri, who were also at the dining table, looked at each other. Their eyes shone with excitement. The butler Hiri was so moved he choked up a little: "I have served three generations of the Baruch family, and finally the Baruch family has produced a Saint Domain expert."
The Saint Domain was an entirely new level.
If a family possessed a Saint Domain, as long as that Saint Domain didn't die, the family would never decline.
"Woton." Lei looked at his brother. "When I was in the Northwest Province, I was also keeping up with your affairs. That matter between you and the imperial family's Seventh Princess..."
Woton nodded honestly: "Yes, brother. I really want to marry Nina. But the situation is very complicated now. Kaelan had just given up not long ago when Bloomer popped up."
Lei had already learned about this on the road.
After all, in the imperial capital right now, the matter involving Woton, Nina, and Bloomer was spreading like wildfire.
"Bloomer. I heard people talking about this Bloomer on the streets of the imperial capital. It seems he has become a personal disciple of the War God. And he's also Oliver's younger brother," Lei said with a faint smile.
Woton nodded, a worried look on his face: "Brother, you don't know what kind of reputation Oliver has in the O'Brien Empire. That Oliver is incredibly powerful, terrifyingly strong. Nine years ago, people already estimated that he had the strength of a Saint Domain peak. And now... who knows how terrifying he has become."
Lei patted Woton on the shoulder: "Woton. Don't boost the enemy's morale and dampen your own spirits."
Woton nodded.
The butler Hiri sighed and said, "Young Master Lei, you haven't lived in the imperial capital, so you might not understand the influence of the War God's Temple. Even the Emperor of the empire treats the War God's personal disciples with great courtesy. The War God's personal disciples hold a very transcendent status."
Hillman said solemnly, "After all, the Emperor of the empire is already a descendant of the War God from over a hundred generations. Among the successive emperors of the empire, many have never even seen the War God's face in their entire lives. But the War God's personal disciples? They have the opportunity to see the War God frequently. Who is close and who is distant?"
Lei understood in his heart.
That made sense.
Over a hundred generations. The War God was after all the ancestor from over five thousand years ago, from the time of Jona. After five thousand years, the War God had countless descendants. How deep could his feelings be for descendants from over a hundred generations?
Just from the fact that many emperors never saw the War God even once in their lives, one could tell.
On the contrary, personal disciples were different. The War God personally guided them.
"I'm not trying to boost the enemy's morale, but I really don't have much confidence," Woton said dejectedly. "I really don't know what I would do if Nina is betrothed to Bloomer."
Woton couldn't accept that outcome.
"Damn it, if that so-called emperor dares to do that, we brothers will just go snatch that imperial princess and give her to you as your woman!" Gates said loudly.
The entire living room fell silent.
Woton looked at Gates in surprise, then turned to Lei: "Brother, this is?"
It was only then that Lei realized—he had been so excited to reunite with his brother that he had only been focused on constantly talking with him, forgetting to introduce Sessler and the others.
"Haha..."
Lei stood up. "Woton, first have the servants withdraw. Have all the attendants outside leave too." Lei was ready to introduce his people to Woton and the others.
There was no need to hide anything from his own people.
"Understood." Although Woton didn't know what Lei wanted to say, he immediately followed his brother's instructions and dismissed all the servants and guards.
Lei first walked over to the three women, Jenny, Lina, and Rebecca. Sighing, he said, "Woton, back then our mother was forcibly taken away by the Radiant Church because of her pure soul. Lina and Rebecca were taken for the same reason."
Hearing this, Woton felt a stir in his heart.
"When I was in the Northwest Province, I rescued them as well. This is Jenny. Woton, treat these three girls like your own sisters," Lei instructed.
Woton nodded.
"As for this one..." Lei walked over to Sessler. Woton and the others had actually felt a chill in their hearts just looking at Sessler. His skeletal frame and the green light flickering in his eyes were enough to frighten anyone.
"This is Mr. Sessler, a level nine Necromantic Archmage. He's also the oldest among us, already over eight hundred years old."
As soon as Lei finished speaking, Woton, the butler Hiri, Hillman, and Nader were all astonished.
A necromancer. This was a legendary type of mage, and a level nine Necromantic Archmage at that. One had to know that mages were much harder to train than warriors. Mages required the highest level of mental strength, while warriors didn't have such high demands on mental strength.
For example, the mental strength of a level eight mage surpassed that of a Saint Domain warrior.
Saint Domain warriors might have relatively tough mental strength, but in terms of quantity, a mage of the same level had mental strength a hundred times greater than a warrior of the same level, or even more.
"Over eight hundred years old? I recall that the human lifespan limit without reaching the Saint Domain is five hundred years," the butler Hiri suddenly said.
Those in the Saint Domain had long, long lifespans, but those who hadn't reached the Saint Domain couldn't exceed five hundred years.
"Haha..." Sessler's aged voice rang out. "What you said applies to normal people. Let me tell you, mages who cultivate the three top-tier magical arts—the Great Prophecy, Life Magic, and Necromantic Magic—all have extremely long lifespans. Among them, necromancers have the longest."
Sessler glanced at everyone with a sinister look: "If any of your old folks are about to die, you can come find me. For Lei's sake, I can help you transform into a corpse demon body. Immortal and eternal."
Immortal and eternal?
This was the goal pursued by countless people. But a corpse demon body... just hearing it, one knew it was a type of "undead."
Woton, the butler Hiri, Hillman, and the others could only force a smile. Facing a Necromantic Archmage, they really felt a bit intimidated.
"Sessler." Lei gave Sessler a displeased look.
The green light flickered in Sessler's eyes, and he laughed: "Just joking with your brother. Transforming into a corpse demon body isn't that easy either."
Lei shook his head and walked over to the five Barker brothers.
"Finally, it's our turn." Gates deliberately puffed out his chest. Woton and the others' eyes also lit up. Each of the five Barker brothers was as tall as Woton, but much more muscular. Especially the five giant axes placed to the side—they were clearly super-heavy weapons.
"Woton, have you heard of the Amanda family?" Lei looked at his brother.
"The Amanda family? You mean the Undying Warrior family?" Woton's eyes lit up as he spoke.
Lei nodded with satisfaction: "That's right. Barker, Anke, Black Shark, Bune, and Gates—these five brothers are members of the Amanda family, and all five of them are Undying Warriors."
"All of them are Undying Warriors?" Woton was greatly surprised. Beside him, Hiri and Hillman were also shocked.
Being a member of the Amanda family and being an Undying Warrior were two different concepts.
After all, Hogg was a member of the Dragonblood Warrior family, but he wasn't a Dragonblood Warrior. In a ultimate warrior family, it was very rare for a genius capable of achieving the ultimate warrior transformation to appear.
"That's right." Lei nodded.
The five Barker brothers felt proud seeing the surprised expressions on Woton and the others' faces.
"The Amanda family has declined severely. They even lost the 'Undying Codex.' Fortunately, Lord Hisset helped," Lei said with emotion. "Woton, among the five Barker brothers, Barker, Anke, and Gates have all reached level nine. The other two are at the peak of level eight."
"Level nine!" Woton was stunned.
"Brother, you mean..."
"That's right. After they transform, they also possess Saint Domain strength," Lei said with a smile.
Woton, Hillman, the butler Hiri, and Nader all felt a surge of heat in their hearts. It was excitement, exhilaration. They had been thrilled to learn that Lei had Saint Domain strength, but they hadn't expected three more Saint Domains to appear all at once.
Four Saint Domains!
What terrifying power.
Confidence!
Absolute confidence. Originally, Woton had been very worried about how to compete with Bloomer and the others. But now that his big brother had arrived with a group of people, Woton felt like a beggar who had suddenly acquired billions of gold coins.
"Lord Hogg, can you see this? Can you see this?" Hillman kept saying excitedly.
If Hogg were still alive and could see today's scene, he would surely be very happy.
"Woton, this is a magical beast I tamed in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. His name is 'Heilu.' Heilu, say hello to everyone," Lei said with a smile.
The Black-striped Cloud Leopard, which had been lying on the ground, stood up. Its cold eyes looked at Woton and the others, and it spoke in human language: "Heilu greets everyone."
Woton looked at Lei in surprise: "Brother, this magical beast, it just—"
"That's right. A Saint Domain magical beast," Lei nodded.
Woton, Hillman, Hiri, and Nader all felt their throats tighten. Heavens, magical beasts were naturally more advantaged than humans. A Saint Domain magical beast could generally only be defeated by a human expert at the Saint Domain peak.
Lei himself being a Saint Domain was one thing, but even his magical beast was Saint Domain.
"Hmph."
A cold snort sounded. Woton and the others immediately looked toward the source of the sound. It was Bebe, who was beside Lei. Bebe was holding his little head high.
"Bebe." Woton felt very warm and familiar seeing the familiar Bebe. Bebe had been with Lei for a very long time. Back when they were children, Woton had played with Bebe too. "Bebe, how does it feel to be with a Saint Domain magical beast? Are you in awe of him?"
Bebe glared at Woton and said loudly, "Woton, you little brat! What kind of magical beast do you think I, Bebe, am? Even if this Heilu guy has reached the Saint Domain, he's no match for me, Bebe."
"Ah!"
Woton and the others looked as if they had seen a ghost. They could accept that the mysterious leopard-type magical beast was a Saint Domain, but Bebe... they had seen Bebe with Lei back then.
That cute little Shadow Mouse back then was now also a Saint Domain.
"Bebe is indeed stronger than me," the Black-striped Cloud Leopard 'Heilu' also spoke in a low human voice.
Bebe held his little head even higher, his eyes full of pride.