"Kill Lin Lei?" Bernard looked at his son. "Kalan, why kill this Lin Lei? He's just a stone sculpture master. Does he affect our Debus Family?"
The news of Lin Lei becoming a level-seven dual-system mage had not yet spread throughout Fenn City, the holy capital. Plus, Bernard had been preoccupied with his family's affairs recently, so he was completely unaware of any information regarding Lin Lei.
Kalan nodded and said, "Father, this Lin Lei is only seventeen this year, yet he has already carved a stone sculpture at the grandmaster level. Most importantly... he is also currently the Yulan Continent's number one magic genius. Even in the history of the Yulan Continent, he is the second greatest genius ever, because at just seventeen years old, he is already a level-seven dual-system mage."
"A dual-system mage at seventeen?"
Bernard drew in a sharp breath. His intuition alone told him that this Lin Lei posed a threat to his family.
"This Lin Lei cannot be left alive," Bernard said directly.
Hearing his father say this, Kalan couldn't help but smile. However, after only a moment, Bernard's brow furrowed. "No, this second greatest magic genius in history will surely have astonishing magical achievements in the future. Such a person—how could the Church of Light, the Church of Darkness, and the four great empires let him go? Perhaps Lin Lei is already connected with the Church of Light."
"Kalan, this Lin Lei cannot be killed," Bernard said solemnly, looking at Kalan.
"Father, he's only a level-seven dual-system mage right now!" Kalan's face was filled with urgency. Suddenly, he lowered his voice. "Father, we don't need to act ourselves to kill that Lin Lei. We can pay someone to do it, just like when we killed that court official back then."
Bernard pondered for a moment. "Kalan, leave this matter to me. I will handle everything."
Bernard did not confirm whether or not to kill Lin Lei, which left Kalan feeling irritable and unable to settle his mind.
That night, Bernard arrived at a reserved private room in a hotel. Inside the room sat an old man with a white beard.
"Mr. Bernard," the white-bearded man said, smiling as he greeted him upon seeing Bernard.
Bernard nodded. "Mr. Blade, I've come to see you tonight to request two favors."
"Speak, we're old customers," the white-bearded man continued to smile.
Bernard said directly, "Two things. First, I want you to destroy the work 'Awakening from a Dream' currently on display at Pruxus Hall." Bernard knew well that extracting the stone sculpture 'Awakening from a Dream' from Pruxus Hall was almost impossible.
But destroying it significantly lowered the difficulty.
"Destroy the stone sculpture 'Awakening from a Dream'?" The white-bearded man was taken aback.
"What, can your 'Saber' organization not even do this?" Bernard chuckled lightly.
The Yulan Continent's four great assassin organizations, each with their unique strengths. The 'Saber' organization's power was exceptionally formidable. Given enough gold, they dared to assassinate even Cardinals in Red.
Of course, assassinating a Saint Realm expert would be far too difficult.
"Don't tell me even you fear offending Pruxus Hall?" Bernard was somewhat puzzled.
"No, we certainly don't care about a mere Pruxus Hall. Please state the second matter," the white-bearded man suddenly said.
Assassins existed to offend people. They even dared to offend the Church of Light; what else would they not dare?
Bernard suppressed his doubt. "Second, I want you to kill Lin Lei."
The white-bearded man finally smiled helplessly, shaking his head at Bernard. "Mr. Bernard, please forgive us, but we cannot accept your two tasks. Truly, my apologies."
"You refuse?" Bernard shot to his feet, unable to believe what he was hearing. "Mr. Blade, I know your capabilities. Since when does your organization not dare accept such a simple task?" Bernard simply could not believe the outcome of his visit.
After all, they dared assassinate ministers of the four great empires and Cardinals in Red. Was a mere Lin Lei so off-limits?
"It's not that we dare not, but that we do not wish to accept this task. As for the reason, our organization is not obligated to explain," the white-bearded man's expression turned cold.
Bernard quickly forced a smile. "Mr. Blade, my apologies. Since you are unwilling to accept this task, I will take my leave."
The white-bearded man nodded.
After Bernard left, the white-bearded man slowly stood up and muttered to himself, "This Bernard... of all tasks, he had to choose to destroy a stone sculpture and kill Lin Lei. I should report this to the Old Instructor. Having refused this task today, the Old Instructor should be quite pleased."
This white-bearded man was a veteran within the Saber organization.
However, because he was so old, he no longer took on missions. He resided in the great city of Fenn, enjoying his life, occasionally hosting wealthy nobles.
As for the so-called 'Old Instructor' he mentioned.
Within the Saber organization, the Old Instructor was a legendary figure. Even the current head of the Saber organization had to respectfully address him as 'Instructor' when meeting. Probably no one in the entire Saber organization held more seniority than this 'Old Instructor'.
Pruxus Hall, the fourth day of the 'Awakening from a Dream' stone sculpture exhibition.
In the 'Master Exhibition Hall,' a very peculiar phenomenon was occurring. According to Pruxus Hall's rules, guests in the Master Exhibition Hall had to leave after every three minutes to allow the next group in. If they wished to view again, they had to requeue.
But in the Master Exhibition Hall, one guest had already been inside for nearly two hours. This was a clear violation of the rules!
This guest appeared to be in his thirties or forties, wearing a loose-fitting robe. His hands were tucked into the wide sleeves, folded across his chest. Long black hair hung casually about him. He seemed to be thoroughly enjoying his view of the exhibited stone sculpture 'Awakening from a Dream.'