Although bloodline warlocks could progress rapidly at the beginning thanks to their bloodlines—First Tier and Second Tier warlocks faced virtually no bottlenecks, and even Third Tier warlocks could slowly grind their way up by relying on their bloodlines, leaving Wizards far behind with terrifyingly fast advancement—they also had an obvious drawback.
That drawback was the bloodline shackles! A curse that forever clung to bloodline warlocks! Ensuring that their rank could never surpass that of their bloodline source.
This gap was completely imperceptible at lower tiers, and not particularly obvious even during the Morning Star stage, but once one reached the Fifth Tier Lunar phase, warlocks whose bloodline origin exceeded that of a Fifth Tier creature were already becoming increasingly rare, and they gradually fell behind the Wizards.
And after terrifying existences of the Solar tier emerged among the Wizards, the gap between the two sides became even more pronounced.
Due to their bloodline sickness, warlocks tended toward irascible and volatile temperaments, which had offended quite a few Wizards. Coupled with the fact that many bloodline experiments involved forbidden practices, this only further fueled the Wizards' resentment.
Therefore, once the warlocks fell into decline, they immediately faced a united boycott from the Wizards.
On the South Coast, in the Dark Polar Domain, the original warlock lineage had perished under precisely these circumstances.
The Central Continent fared slightly better. Just as the many warlocks were being squeezed to the brink of extinction, the reactivation of the Stargate immediately introduced fresh blood into the warlock community.
In the ancient era, the glory of the warlocks had also been fueled by bloodlines from numerous foreign worlds.
And though they had not fully reclaimed their former splendor, a few warlocks had successfully advanced to the Fifth Tier Lunar phase, preserving the warlock lineage.
This city of Clivy had been established under precisely those circumstances.
Even this core district still consisted of ancient structures passed down from antiquity, unaltered, bearing the marks of countless upheavals across the ages.
"The glory and perseverance of our bloodline ancestors are truly worthy of our admiration and reverence…"
Lei Lin praised with genuine feeling.
Had it not been for the persistence of these high-tier warlocks before him, the entire warlock lineage might well have been exterminated—and the circumstances he would face would be ten thousand times harsher than what they were now.
Therefore, Lei Lin's gratitude toward these people was absolutely sincere.
Clack! Clack! Clack!
Mid-conversation, three stone slabs descended slowly into recessed slots on the plaza of an ancient castle, settling in with perfect precision, not a single seam out of place.
"This is the entire power core of Clivy—the Fortress of Blood!"
Paul introduced to Lei Lin as the three Morning Star warlocks left the plaza and arrived before the castle gates.
Lei Lin found himself appraising the old fortress. The dark walls were mottled with shifting patches of light and shadow, steeped in an ancient aura, and although the exterior was considerably dilapidated—even less impressive than his own Black Castle before—the powerful energy fluctuations and the weight of history within it were something his Black Castle could never hope to match.
"Ha ha… Welcome, welcome! Lord Lei Lin, we've been waiting a long time for you!"
Before the castle gates, a middle-aged Western man with platinum-white hair had been waiting for some time. The moment he spotted Lei Lin, his eyes lit up and he strode forward, clasping Lei Lin's hands warmly.
His palms were broad and thick, radiating great heat and brimming with formidable power—like a current of water flowing deep beneath a sheet of ice, vast and powerful yet concealed beneath the frozen surface, unable to leak even the slightest trace.
Especially those eyes of his — bright as stars yet clear as spring water — brimming with such warmth and closeness that even Lei Lin was genuinely moved.
"Could this man truly mean to accept me with open heart? We've only just met for the first time!"
A touched smile appeared on Lei Lin's face, but inwardly he was rather taken aback. Even accounting for the fact that he himself was a Morning Star Warlock, such intense enthusiasm right from the start was going a bit too far.
At this thought, he secretly commanded the Chip: "Scan!"
Empowered by the Soul Force, the Chip's scanning capabilities had grown considerably more potent — it was now able to extract at least some information even from a Morning Star Warlock.
Under the Chip's scan, the figure opposite was instantly rendered as a three-dimensional image projected before Lei Lin, with vast amounts of data constantly refreshing along the margins.
Sure enough, even though the other party was a Morning Star Warlock, he still could not detect the Chip's fluctuations. Seeing this, Lei Lin felt completely at ease.
"Target identified as a Morning Star Warlock! Elemental affinity judged to be the Illusion school!"
The Chip's first conclusion prompted Lei Lin to speculate further.
"Beep! Wave-based power detected! Judged to be a passive Illusion disposition — capable of automatically generating an Illusion Field around the body, causing all living beings within a certain radius to develop favorable impressions!"
"Just as I suspected! An illusion ability tied to his bloodline? An Illusion technique powerful enough to affect even Morning Star Warlocks — that is truly terrifying…"
Lei Lin was inwardly on high alert, yet on the surface he wore his brightest, most radiant smile, as though his favorable impression of the big man had grown enormously.
After witnessing this, Paul and Philip exchanged a glance, and both broke into knowing smiles.