Master Longsers could hardly fail to notice that his own disciple was so worried about Lin Lei that she had lost her composure.
"It's fine, Dilia, don't worry!" Lin Lei said with a smile. Dilia's concern stirred a warm feeling in his heart.
"Mm." Dilia nodded.
Even so, she couldn't put her mind at ease. After all, the one Lin Lei was about to face in battle was none other than the Granite Sword Saint Hedersen — widely regarded as the strongest in the Saint Realm.
Longsers glanced at Lin Lei, then at Dilia, and smiled. "You two old classmates haven't seen each other in quite a while, have you? I won't stand here getting in your way. I'll head out for a stroll. You two have a nice long talk. After ten years apart, you must have plenty to say to each other."
Dilia shot her teacher a grateful look.
Master Longsers had clearly arranged this so she could have some time alone with Lin Lei.
With that, the master led the Great Earth Bear out of the courtyard, leaving only Lin Lei, Dilia, and the two magic beasts — Bei Bei and Hei Lu — behind.
Dilia lowered her head and gently stroked Bei Bei in her arms, waiting for Lin Lei to speak.
The scene before her — a beautiful woman cradling a pet — was a touching one, yet Lin Lei felt bitter inside. If it were a Saint Realm powerhouse he was facing, he wouldn't feel the slightest fear. But with Dilia, things were complicated deep down in his heart.
Of all the girls his age, the one he knew best was probably Dilia. After all, they had spent their youth together.
But Lin Lei wasn't dense. He could sense what Dilia felt for him. That was precisely why he felt awkward — especially now, alone with her.
"How have you been these past years?" Lin Lei broke a long silence with this painfully awkward question.
Dilia looked up at Lin Lei, then burst out laughing. "Lin Lei, you're already a Saint Realm powerhouse, and yet you've gotten so shy? I've been fine, honestly. I've got my family behind me, and I've got my teacher. Who would dare bully me?"
Her string of words helped Lin Lei relax a little.
"How did you spend all those years?" Dilia asked softly.
"Nothing special, really." Lin Lei seemed to drift back through the last ten years. A decade ago, upon learning of his father's death, he had thrown caution to the wind, resolved to have his revenge even at the cost of his own life.
On the path of vengeance, he had gone ever further, ultimately killing Klayde. But the six Great Deacons of the Church of Light had cornered him, and Grandpa Derinkoort — his dearest kin — had sacrificed his very soul to save him…
Three years of harsh training in the Magic Beast Mountain Range. Nearly six more years of secluded cultivation in the O'Brien Empire.
The battle against Stiller, the clash with the six archangels, the duel with McKensie… Scene after scene flashed through his mind, and as he spoke, he laid everything bare before Dilia without reservation.
Dilia's hand, which had been stroking Bei Bei, came to a stop as she listened carefully to every word.
Lin Lei spoke of it all so lightly, as though it were nothing. But Dilia could vividly imagine what these nearly ten years had truly been like for him. When he finished, she let out a long, heavy sigh.
"Lin Lei." Dilia suddenly reached out and seized his hand, gripping it tightly.
Lin Lei looked up at her in surprise, but Dilia's gaze was steady and unwavering. "Lin Lei, don't push yourself so hard. You've already done more than enough."
Her hand was a little cold.
Yet Lin Lei could feel a pulse coming from her palm — the rhythm of her heartbeat. Sensing that shared heartbeat, warmth flooded his chest, and some of the ice within him began to melt.
"Thank you," Lin Lei murmured.
"Don't thank me," Dilia said, shaking her head, her eyes burning with intensity as she looked at him.
The atmosphere between them grew charged in an instant. Something shifted, and Lin Lei felt his thoughts scatter — now the memory of Alice from years past surfaced, and now it was that night when Dilia had kissed him. His heartbeat grew erratic. For the first time, Lin Lei felt a flutter of panic.
"Bei Bei," Lin Lei said, turning to the little shadow mouse and then back to Dilia. "Dilia, do you know how powerful Bei Bei really is?" Under that suffocating tension, his panicked mind immediately seized on a change of subject.
He didn't know what would happen if the current atmosphere continued.
Instinct told him to steer the conversation elsewhere.
Dilia let out a silent sigh inwardly. She was skilled in diplomacy and negotiation, and naturally she had studied human psychology. It had actually begun back at Ernst Academy — and the original reason she had taken up the study was to understand Lin Lei.
Dilia understood him very well.
She knew that after what had happened with Alice, Lin Lei seemed to have moved on. But she also knew… the impact of such feelings was not something that could simply be forgotten on a whim.
First love was fragile.
Especially for someone with Lin Lei's iron will. Once he truly fell in love, he would treasure that first love far more than most people would. The failure of that love had, on a subconscious level, already cast a shadow over his heart when it came to romance.
Even if other girls tried to get close, Lin Lei would instinctively guard himself.
Dilia understood. A layer of ice had formed over Lin Lei's heart. To melt it, she couldn't rush. She had to take it step by step.
Dilia loved Lin Lei dearly and felt a deep ache for everything he had endured. He had lost loved one after loved one, and at the age of only twenty-seven he had already reached the pinnacle of the Saint Realm. The achievement was remarkable, but how much hardship lay behind it?
Dilia truly didn't want Lin Lei to keep suffering like this. For his sake, she had steeled herself — no matter how long it took, she didn't mind. If she could just make his life a little easier, a little happier, she would be content.
"Dilia, what are you thinking about?" Lin Lei noticed that she had drifted off.
Dilia snapped back to the present and smiled. "What am I thinking about? Thinking about you." Lin Lei stared at her, taken aback. Seeing his expression, Dilia laughed. "I'm kidding."
Lin Lei laughed too.
"You were going to tell me something about Bei Bei?" Dilia asked with a smile.
"Bei Bei, how about saying a couple of words for Dilia?" Lin Lei looked at the little mouse with amusement.
"Talk?" Dilia stared at Bei Bei in shock. The insignificant little shadow mouse from her days at Ernst Academy could actually speak? A magic beast that could talk — that was a Saint Realm magic beast.