Nimiz, Kalan's two uncles, Kalan, Roland, and Alice — a total of six people — didn't dare to sit down boldly before their host arrived. They could only wait quietly in the drawing room.
"Kalan, when Master Lin Lei arrives, remember to be humble and respectful," Nimiz said coldly, glancing at Kalan.
Kalan nodded: "I understand, Second Grandfather."
In his heart, Kalan actually resented Lin Lei deeply. Especially after learning the reason for his release from prison, his hatred for Lin Lei only grew stronger!
"I'd rather stay in prison than have Alice beg him!" Kalan thought furiously.
Ever since Alice had been with Lin Lei, Kalan had begun to resent him. And reclaiming Alice had given him a slight sense of smugness. In his view, while Lin Lei's strength was decent, he was still far from matching the Debus Family.
Yet, in just a few months, Lin Lei's status had suddenly changed, vaulting him to become the most dazzling new star in all of Fenn City. Even the King of Fenlei Kingdom and the Cardinals of the Church had received him so warmly. Even his own father had to be humble toward him. This filled Kalan with intense hatred.
They were both young men, so why was he inferior to the other?
Especially this time!
He had been thrown in prison, and eventually, he had gotten out. But it was because the person he loved most in the world, 'Alice', had gone to plead with Lin Lei. It was Lin Lei who got him out.
This made Kalan feel a profound sense of humiliation. He wished he didn't owe Lin Lei any favor, that he could have just stayed in prison. He wanted nothing more than to scream curses at Lin Lei, or even kill him.
But for the sake of his family, he, Kalan, now had to come humbly to Lin Lei's residence, unable to show even a hint of disrespect.
Footsteps sounded.
Kalan immediately suppressed the wild thoughts in his mind and forced a slight smile onto his face, trying to make his attitude seem as humble and courteous as possible.
"Sorry to keep you all waiting," Lin Lei's bright, clear voice rang out.
Nimiz and the others looked over. Lin Lei was clearly just out of the bath, his hair damp, wearing a loose, casual robe.
"Please, sit down," Lin Lei said calmly, settling into the host's seat with a casual wave of his hand.
Nimiz and the others immediately expressed their thanks and sat down. Nimiz spoke first with a smile: "Master Lin Lei, we have come this time to thank you. If not for you, Kalan might not have been released so quickly. Kalan, haven't you thanked Master Lin Lei yet?"
Kalan had to stand up at this moment, suppressing the resentment in his heart and trying his best to appear humble: "Thank you, Master Lin Lei."
Lin Lei gave Kalan a faint smile: "Kalan, no need to thank me."
"Mr. Nimiz, I have something important to attend to shortly. I wonder what business you have. If there is something, please speak quickly," Lin Lei said, looking at Nimiz with a smile.
In reality, Lin Lei was too lazy to waste time with these people. His time was for cultivation.
Nimiz was momentarily stunned but quickly recovered, sighing softly: "Master Lin Lei, our Debus Family has been falsely accused of being involved in smuggling water jade ore. At this point, our Debus Family might be destroyed, so we humbly beseech Master Lin Lei to help us. Once our family survives this crisis, we will never forget Master Lin Lei's great kindness."
As he spoke, Nimiz took a black box from beside him.
"Master Lin Lei, this is a small token of our gratitude for helping Kalan out of prison. If our family is preserved this time, we will certainly thank Master Lin Lei even more generously," Nimiz said earnestly, holding the black box toward Lin Lei.
*Whoosh!*
Shadow Mouse Bei Bei darted forward and snatched the black box right out of Nimiz's hands with its two small paws. It then jumped onto Lin Lei's lap, about to open the box.
"Bei Bei!" Lin Lei hissed softly.
Bei Bei looked up at Lin Lei with a dissatisfied glare but didn't open the box. It huffed a few times and fell silent.
"Mr. Nimiz, Bei Bei can be a bit unruly. I'll accept your gift. Thank you for your kind intentions," Lin Lei said with a smile, casually setting the black box aside without even glancing at it.
Nimiz could sense that Lin Lei was growing impatient.
He immediately gave a meaningful look to the others and stood up first, bowing: "Master Lin Lei, then we won't disturb you any further. Our Debus Family's case will be heard in one month. I hope you can lend your help during this time."
Lin Lei nodded casually.
Nimiz and the others then took their leave. From beginning to end, Alice and Roland hadn't uttered a word; it was primarily Nimiz who did all the talking.
Watching the group leave, Lin Lei sneered coldly: "Old Nimiz thinks bringing Alice here will make me give him face?" With one hand, he flipped open the lid of the black box beside him. Inside lay a magic crystal card and a letter.
"A letter?"
Lin Lei held the letter, but suddenly, a flame burst forth in his hand, incinerating the letter to ashes instantly. This letter, he was simply too lazy to read.
In a flash, September arrived.
Over the past month, Lin Lei had trained diligently every day. His body's flexibility and strength had improved significantly in all aspects, and the dragon blood battle qi within him had become even more refined.
Lin Lei had a feeling he had reached the late stages of the sixth level.
As for his mental power's progress, although Lin Lei's advancement speed was extremely fast, for even a genius to go from a seventh-level mage to an eighth-level mage typically required nearly twenty years of effort. Even with Lin Lei's rapid progress, a few months' time still didn't produce a dramatic leap.
The path of magic was indeed long and arduous.
In the Spring Water Garden, a knife影 danced, and a humanoid stone sculpture became increasingly clear. Discarded stone chips flew in all directions, landing on the lawn.
Suddenly, Lin Lei stopped, putting away his flat knife.
"Hah, finally done," he said with satisfaction, nodding as he looked at the sculpture before him.