"Oh?" The beautiful woman was also surprised.
A trace of a smile played on Desrey's face. When he first saw 'Bei Bei' on Lin Lei's shoulder, his heart had been just as shocked. The moment he laid eyes on Bei Bei, Desrey had decided he absolutely must build a good relationship with Lin Lei. He was willing to sacrifice anything for that.
Desrey still couldn't quite believe it in his heart - that Bei Bei would actually choose to acknowledge a master.
But Desrey understood that since Lin Lei was Bei Bei's master, building a good relationship with him was an absolute necessity.
"I'd like to see what kind of magic beast it is," the beautiful woman said with a smile when she saw Desrey acting mysterious. The two walked forward together. After a while, Desrey and his wife arrived where Hayward, Livingston, Lin Lei, and the others were gathered.
The beautiful woman's gaze immediately flicked to Lin Lei's shoulder.
However... Lin Lei's shoulder was empty.
"On the table," Desrey's voice echoed in her mind. The beautiful woman now noticed that the adorable little Shadow Mouse 'Bei Bei' was holding a cup of wine and drinking it very contentedly. "Its fur is actually black!" Her heart trembled slightly.
A black-furred rat-type magic beast was far more than just a common, lowest-tier Shadow Mouse.
Many in the Church of Light or the War God's Gate might not understand Bei Bei's identity, but those from the Chaos Region or the Ice Goddess Temple knew this very clearly.
"Father, Mother!" Monika was overjoyed, but seeing her mother, she began to worry about Rein again. She knew her mother's temperament all too well.
Desrey and the beautiful woman walked towards the dining table and took their seats at the head.
"Desrey's wife?" Lin Lei looked at the beautiful woman in surprise. With her hair color and everything else, Monika and her mother looked almost identical. An outsider might mistake one for the older sister and the other for the younger. However, the cold aura emanating from this beautiful woman startled Lin Lei.
"Another powerhouse, not much weaker than Miller."
Lin Lei felt even more that what the War God had said was correct. The War God had said... among those experts who had been hidden on the Yulan Continent for thousands of years, apart from the God-level powerhouses, the first tier consisted of Faen, Desrey, and the other five great experts. The second tier was the level of the Pope of Light, and the third was the level of Heteson. Heteson's level was merely the most ordinary among those hidden experts.
No wonder even Olivier had suffered such a defeat in the Arctic Tundra. After all, he couldn't even match Heteson - who else could he possibly defeat?
Desrey said warmly, "Lin Lei, allow me to introduce you. This is my wife, Bing Selin."
"Greetings, Madam," Lin Lei said modestly.
A kind smile appeared on Bing Selin's face. "I must apologize. I've been in seclusion cultivating and only just came out. Please don't take offense." As soon as these words left her lips, Monika beside them was stunned. Her mother's temperament was such that, besides her father, she didn't really care about anyone else.
But...
Mother was apologizing? Being polite?
Was this still her cold mother?
This was Lin Lei's first time meeting Bing Selin, so he naturally didn't know her temperament and assumed she was always this kind. He immediately smiled and said, "Madam is too polite."
"Monika, is this Rein you told me about?" Bing Selin looked at her daughter with a smile, then let her gaze rest on Rein. Rein had already been warned by Monika and was quite apprehensive about his future mother-in-law.
"Yes, Mother," Monika quickly replied.
"Greetings, Madam," Rein said, feeling a bit nervous inside.
Bing Selin looked at Rein with approval. "Mm, very good. Monika... you have quite good judgment. Why didn't you bring Rein home sooner?" Bing Selin's words immediately made Rein happy. This future mother-in-law seemed to like him quite a bit.
Monika was bewildered all over again.
Was this really her mother?
Lin Lei also felt a significant increase in his favorable impression of Bing Selin. Just then, a hearty voice rang out. "Big brother, I heard we have guests?" A middle-aged man with dazzling golden long hair strode in. His gaze immediately locked onto Lin Lei, but he also noticed Bei Bei beside Lin Lei, and his eyebrows shot up.
"Come quickly, Higginsen. You're the last one," Desrey said with a smile.
Then Desrey turned to Lin Lei. "Lin Lei, Higginsen, like Hayward, came here with me back then. Higginsen cultivates the Laws of Light."
"Greetings, Mr. Higginsen," Lin Lei immediately said.
Higginsen found an empty seat and sat down with a smile. "No need to be formal, Lin Lei. Consider this your own home." Lin Lei felt a warmth in his heart. The attitude of Desrey's group towards him was truly impeccable.
Inside this cave mansion, there were also several serving maids.
The maids brought out all sorts of delicacies, and the group began chatting casually. Rein and Monika naturally stayed off to the side, not daring to speak much. The main conversation was between Desrey's group and Lin Lei, occasionally touching upon Bei Bei.
But today, Bei Bei hardly said a few words. In Lin Lei's words, it was — putting on a cool act.
During this time, Lin Lei also discovered that the leader of this group was naturally Desrey, followed by Hayward and Higginsen, who had come to this mountain village with Desrey all those years ago. After them came Miller, Livingston, and Furman. Because it was obvious... Miller, Livingston, and Furman all called Desrey "Lord." While Higginsen and Hayward called him "Big Brother."
After the meal.
Having eaten and drunk to their fill, people naturally wanted to do something.
With Lin Lei's group of experts present, sparring and friendly matches naturally came to mind.
"Lin Lei, Furman cultivates the Laws of Earth just like you. Why don't you two spar a little?" Miller said with a smile from the side. Furman's round face broke into a smile, revealing two dimples. "Miller, there's no need for that between Lin Lei and me. I cultivate the Laws of Earth following a path similar to Heteson. He's already fought Heteson, so there's no need to fight me."
Livingston glanced at him. "Furman, are you scared?"
Desrey smiled. "Furman is right. His strength is about the same as Heteson's. There's no point in sparring with Lin Lei again. How about this... Hayward, you spar with Lin Lei." Desrey looked at Lin Lei. "Lin Lei, be careful. Hayward's strength is very formidable."
"He's a Holy Grand Mage," Lin Lei remembered Desrey's introduction.
"So what if he's a Holy Grand Mage?" Hayward said with a smile.
Lin Lei smiled awkwardly. In his eyes, a Holy Grand Mage without a magic beast to protect them would be at a significant disadvantage in a fair fight against a Saint-level warrior. Lin Lei asked, "Mr. Hayward, don't you have a magic beast?"
"I did. A Saint-level magic beast, in fact. Unfortunately, it died," Hayward sighed.
Desrey also nodded. "That was over two thousand years ago. That Saint-level magic beast died protecting Hayward. Another one of my good brothers died that day too. We wanted to save them but were too late. Sigh..." Desrey, Hayward, and Higginsen all seemed to be recalling events from that time.
Lin Lei's heart jolted.
Even with Desrey present, a Saint-level magic beast had still died to protect Hayward. How brutal must that battle have been?
"You keep bringing up magic beasts. Do you think a Holy Grand Mage without a magic beast is no good?" Hayward looked at Lin Lei with a smile.