Chapter 42: Keeping an Appointment
Lin Lei still remembered his promise about the five-year appointment.
"I hope Jenny won't be too stubborn." Lin Lei knew that even if Jenny insisted on following him, he would only allow her to join him in the same way he did with the Rebecca sisters.
Lin Lei could not afford to invest emotionally.
Having experienced so much, one calamity after another, the depths of Lin Lei's heart had long been frozen solid. That ice was cold, very cold. It was very, very difficult to melt the hard ice deep within his heart.
When thoughts of emotion surfaced, Lin Lei naturally thought of young Wotton.
"From the letter sent by Yeru, that kid Wotton has been getting awfully close to the empire's seventh princess over the past year. However, based on the description in the letter, it won't be easy for Wotton to marry her."
That seventh princess had too many outstanding qualities: kind, pure, beautiful, of high status, and doted on by the emperor. There were simply far too many suitors.
Lin Lei could only silently wish his brother happiness in love.
At least, it couldn't be like his own situation.
Half a month later.
"My Lord." Number Five, 'Gaiz', rushed over excitedly to Lin Lei, who had just finished a stone sculpture. "My eldest brother has also grasped the concept of 'lifting the heavy as if it were light'."
"Oh?"
Lin Lei flipped his hand to put away his flat knife, asking in surprise, "Bach has reached the 'lifting the heavy as if it were light' realm?"
"Yes, my Lord. Why don't you go and see?" Gaiz suggested.
Lin Lei smiled. "Tell you what, Gaiz, go and gather everyone in the main hall. I have something I need to tell you all."
"Oh." Gaiz saw that Lin Lei had something important to say and nodded.
A short while later, the main hall was filled with everyone. The others were still discussing how Bach had comprehended the 'lifting the heavy as if it were light' realm.
"Everyone."
Lin Lei looked at the gathered crowd with a smile. "I have an important matter and must go on a trip. This time, I will only bring Bei Bei and Hei Lu along. As for the rest of you, continue to stay here and cultivate. If the trip is short, I'll be back in a few days. If it takes longer, I will send word."
"My Lord, you're not taking us with you?" Gaiz asked bluntly.
"Continue your training," Lin Lei replied, glancing at Gaiz with a smile. "Gaiz, if you reach the 'Momentum' realm, or attain the ninth level, then I'll take you along."
Gaiz immediately fell silent.
He was not Lin Lei. Reaching the 'lifting the heavy as if it were light' stage was already immensely difficult, and he had only just touched upon it, not yet fully mastered it.
"Alright. We set out tomorrow morning," Lin Lei declared directly.
The next morning, under the watchful eyes of the Bach brothers, the Rebecca sisters, Sessle, and the others, Lin Lei—clad in a warrior's tight-fitting clothes beneath an open black robe—mounted the black-striped cloud leopard, Hei Lu. Bei Bei also stood on Hei Lu's back, and the man and two magical beasts departed from Cloud Peak Town.
His robe fluttered loudly in the wind. Lin Lei had stored all his weapons in his spatial ring.
"Using the Blackjade Heavy Sword to execute the Profound Truth of Earth is immensely powerful. And once the Profound Truth of Earth is unleashed, it could easily take a life. Usually, I still use the Violet Blood Soft Sword."
In terms of the Profound Truth of Earth, Lin Lei had already reached a relatively high level.
However, in the 'Profound Truth of Wind' aspect of the Violet Blood Soft Sword, he was still very much a novice.
Lin Lei did not believe that using the 'Violet Blood Soft Sword' would result in weaker offensive power than the Blackjade Heavy Sword. After all, within the high-level magic of the Wind System, there was the 'Dimensional Slash'. If magic could cast it, then sword techniques should be able to manifest it as well.
"Bei Bei, I've noticed you've been making progress all these years. What kind of magical beast are you exactly, really?" Lin Lei asked with a smile, looking at Bei Bei standing on Hei Lu's back.
At that moment, Hei Lu let out a low growl: "Master, Bei Bei is monstrous. I've never seen such a monstrous beast. Five years ago, it was about my level. Now, it's far stronger than me, yet it still hasn't reached the Saint Realm."
If Hei Lu had seen the three sons of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts' king, 'Di Lin'—those terrifying Saint Realm beasts who could easily devour hundreds of dragons—he would know that beasts more monstrous than Bei Bei did exist.
"Bei Bei is indeed quite formidable," Lin Lei chuckled. "Perhaps Bei Bei is still in its growth phase."
Lin Lei suspected that Bei Bei had not yet reached maturity.
"Hehe, that's very likely," Bei Bei said narcissistically, tilting its small head. "Once I, Bei Bei, reach maturity, I'll probably be a Saint Realm beast."
Saint Realm beasts like the Blood-Eyed Mane Lion, the Earth Bear, the Purple-Eyed Golden-Furred Ape... For these beasts, normal growth naturally resulted in the Saint Realm once they reached maturity.
This was the innate talent of Saint Realm beasts.
"Saint Realm beasts, I understand. Are there innate God-level beasts?" Lin Lei sighed inwardly. "Even if there were, they probably wouldn't exist in a plane at the level of the Yulan Continent."
As they traveled onward, by evening, Lin Lei arrived at Chi'er County City.
On the streets of Chi'er County City, there were also quite a few people riding magical beasts, though most rode lower or intermediate-level beasts like Wind Wolves or Fang Wolves.
When Lin Lei rode his black-striped cloud leopard down the main street, all the other magical beasts instinctively and fearfully moved out of the way.
Humans might find it difficult to judge a magical beast's level upon seeing an unfamiliar one, but lower-level beasts could easily sense the gap in rank when encountering a higher-level beast.
"Hm? A black panther?"
An ordinary man on the streets of Chi'er County City noticed Lin Lei and the black panther beneath him and his eyes lit up. "A black panther, and his appearance matches that portrait quite well. There's an eighty or ninety percent chance it's him."
The man was very excited in his heart and immediately quickened his pace, turning off the main street and running into a small alley.
At the castle gate of Chi'er County City's lord, Lin Lei had just caught sight of the castle's main gate when he noticed a large crowd gathered outside. As he drew closer...
"Brother Lei!"
A young man and woman called out to him from a distance.