The entrance to Mill City, where the intelligence departments of the eight great families had set up their posts.
"My lords, Lin Lei and his two companions have set out with an infant. They should be reaching the city gate very soon."
"Oh? They even brought along an infant? It seems they really are leaving the city. But no rush—just wait. Once we spot Lin Lei and the others at the city gate, we'll report it to the eight elders." The speaker was a seemingly honest and simple-looking young man.
This simple young man was standing by a high-rise window, gazing down at the street below with an air of casual nonchalance.
From this vantage point, he had a clear view of the city entrance.
A long time passed…
The young man's pupils contracted sharply. In the midst of the bustling crowd within his field of vision, several familiar figures had appeared—Lin Lei and his group.
"Lin Lei, oh Lin Lei, you've finally shown yourself. I thought you planned to hole up in Mill City for a thousand or ten thousand years. But it looks like it's only been a little over a year." The simple young man narrowed his eyes, a plain and guileless smile floating across his face.
"Quick—relay this news to the elders." The young man issued the order via divine sense transmission.
"Yes, sir!"
Roughly a thousand li from Mill City, deep in a mountain forest, stood an unremarkable stone building. It was quite spacious inside, furnished with eight meditation cushions. Eight grey-robed figures sat cross-legged upon them, waiting in silence.
It had been over a year!
They had come with the firm resolve to kill Lin Lei. Yet opportunity after opportunity had eluded them, and they never found an opening to strike. The murderous intent in their hearts had naturally faded with time.
"This Lin Lei just refuses to leave the city. Who knows how long he plans to stay there—ten years, a thousand years, ten thousand years?" One of the grey-robed men, sporting long black hair and a thick black beard, spoke with visible irritation.
Waiting without a fixed deadline was the most maddening kind.
"Tempu!" An elegant voice rang out. "People of your Reynolds family still haven't learned to calm their minds."
The bearded grey-robed man let out a low grunt and said nothing more.
"Someone's coming from outside," a cold, sharp voice announced abruptly. Even as the words fell, a figure came rushing in at great speed—this was the operative stationed by the intelligence department, ready at all times to relay messages to the eight elders.
"Eight elders, Lin Lei—he's left the city!" The messenger's voice trembled with excitement.
"Rise!" The eight grey-robed men surged to their feet almost simultaneously. Even their leader, the composed Elder Chabu, betrayed a flash of joy before he spoke: "Lin Lei has finally shown himself. Everyone… remember—the instant we strike, use the Power of a High God. Hold nothing back. We must kill Lin Lei."
Outside the city gate of Mill City, a number of Azure Dragon clan members had gathered. Thanks to the clan emblem, they could clearly sense one another's presence.
"Elder Lin Lei, you're here quite early today," Twinla approached, transmitting via divine sense.
Lin Lei smiled and nodded. "If I'd come any later, I'm afraid you'd have been furious, Elder Twinla." Twinla shifted his gaze to the infant 'Wendi' cradled in Dilia's arms and transmitted: "Lin Lei, this must be your son—he's truly adorable."
"Wendi looked just like a little old man when he was born," Lin Lei said. Naturally, he was delighted to hear his son praised.
"By the way, when do we depart?" Lin Lei asked.
Twinla glanced around. "It looks like almost everyone's here. Let's wait just a little longer. Oh, and Lin Lei—our metal lifeform today has a very special passenger."
"Oh? A special passenger?" Lin Lei was mildly surprised.
"Yes. The clan patriarch personally instructed me to pick him up and bring him along to the Sky Sacrifice Mountains." Twinla grinned. "Come with me—I'll introduce you."
Curious about who this special passenger might be, Lin Lei followed Twinla and came face to face with a rather slight young man. He had short golden hair and an innocent smile on his face.
Yet… looking at him, Lin Lei felt a strange sense of familiarity.
"Haha, Lin Lei." A hearty voice echoed through Lin Lei's mind, and he jolted with sudden recognition—Possil! That was Possil's voice!
"You?" Lin Lei stared in astonishment at the slight young man before him. The young man blinked and transmitted: "Can't be helped. Your clan patriarch said my last little display probably let the eight great families catch a look at my face. He even made me change my shape before I could ride on your metal lifeform. Honestly… what's there to be afraid of? Even if a few elders showed up, I'd handle them all by myself."
Lin Lei couldn't help but laugh.
Possil was an envoy of a High God—Lin Lei had witnessed his power firsthand. Even Buluo, who had wielded the Power of a High God, was no match for him. Taking out a few elders would be child's play.
"Haha, well, the patriarch is thinking of what's best for the clan," Lin Lei said with a smile. "But how did you end up getting involved with our patriarch?" The last time Possil had intervened to save him, he hadn't even known the patriarch.
Still, five hundred years had passed. What wasn't possible in that time?
"That's none of your concern," Possil replied with a mysterious grin via transmission. "Just know that my meeting your patriarch can only do you good—no harm."
Lin Lei smiled and nodded. "Setting everything else aside, having you come with us back to the Sky Sacrifice Mountains this time is already a tremendous benefit." With Possil present, and especially alongside himself and Twinla, this was no small force.
A single Possil was worth several Seven-Star Demons.
"And I still haven't seen Possil unleash his full power," Lin Lei mused.
"Lin Lei, who is this?" Dilia and Bei Bei regarded the slight young man with curiosity. Lin Lei chuckled. "I'll give you a proper introduction once we're aboard the metal lifeform."
Possil, for his part, gave a deliberate wink.
"Wah, waaa~" In Dilia's arms, little Wendi stretched out his chubby finger toward Possil. Possil had held Wendi many times before, and though his appearance had changed drastically, the infant—still less than a year old—possessed an instinctive sense of recognition.
"Good boy, Wendi," Possil said, smiling down at the baby.
Dilia and Bei Bei were stunned. How did this slight young man know Wendi's name?
"Everyone's here—let's move out," Twinla said, walking over. With a shimmer, a massive silver-wolf-shaped lifeform materialized in midair, and a passage opened in its underside. One by one, the Azure Dragon clan members filed inside.
Lin Lei, Possil, Twinla, Bei Bei, Dilia, and the others boarded together.