It had to be said that after several bloodline enhancements, Leilin's charisma had nearly reached its absolute peak — irresistible to man and woman alike, young and old.
Even Darlenlei couldn't help lowering her head with a faint blush.
Seeing this, even Leilin felt a slight stirring of emotion, and he offered Darlenlei a smile.
That immediately sent the witches ahead into a frenzy: "Ah! He smiled at me!" "Who said that? He was obviously smiling at me!"
Several witches flushed crimson and nearly came to blows over it.
"Youth is truly wonderful!" Leilin shook his head. Once the airship had come to a complete stop, he strolled away without delay.
"That gentleman — he must be a
She herself had不错的 talent and could be considered naturally gifted. Combined with her tireless effort, she had advanced to First-level Wizard at such a young age and had even taken firm steps toward elemental transformation.
Yet despite all that, the several probes she had directed at Leilin out of curiosity had vanished without a trace, like stones dropped into mud — immediately making her realize that Leilin was no ordinary Wizard.
Unfortunately, her companions around her did not share this assessment. Looking at the lovestruck expressions on their faces, Darlenlei could only sigh helplessly…
"Triones City really hasn't changed at all!"
Standing before the towering city walls, the massive volcanic city looked exactly as she remembered it from the past. Only the marks of time on the walls had deepened further.
Leilin couldn't help recalling his first visit, and that pitiful Witch — Jenna — and the Meditation Method she had inherited — Holy Light Candleflame!
He casually displayed his Wizard credentials and passed through the gates of Triones City without any obstruction.
The city was as bustling as ever, divided into multiple tiers. Leilin extended his spiritual perception and immediately located his former villa, but the arrays and arrangements had all been changed, and another Wizard now resided inside.
Seeing this, Leilin shook his head and lost all interest in investigating further. Instead, he casually wandered into a bar.
He had already gathered the general intelligence along the way, but there were still some recent developments he needed to learn about, particularly concerning the Soul Slaughter Cult.
Moreover, now that he had arrived here, Avek and the other Wizards had nowhere to run. Leilin could simply wait at his leisure.
"Blood of my lineage! Heed my will — come to me!"
A trace of crimson surfaced in Leilin's eyes, and terrifying spiritual power surged outward. But because the Morning Star's power was far too refined, not a single Wizard in all of Triones City detected it.
However, several Wizards whom Leilin had specifically targeted suddenly felt a very ominous premonition.
*Snap!* A steel pen snapped in half. Avek shot to his feet, clutching his chest. "This feeling? What's going on?"
A Wizard's premonition was often uncannily accurate, and Avek was a Third-level Wizard who had relied on this instinct many times before to escape dire crises.
Now a similar sensation had returned — but the palpitations it produced were ten times worse than anything he had ever experienced before. How could he possibly remain calm?
"Someone come!" he bellowed.
"What are your orders, my lord?" Several elderly Wizards respectfully entered through the main doors and bowed.
"What has the Soul Slaughter Cult been doing recently? I need every piece of information on them. Everything!" Avek's expression was dark as a thundercloud.
"At once!" The other Wizards immediately accepted the order with reverence, their faces as humble as if they were beholding a god they worshipped.
A Third-level Wizard — on the South Coast, that was the absolute pinnacle of power! After the Third Great Wizard War and the battle against the Soul Slaughter Cult, the massive casualties among the strong had elevated the surviving Third-level Wizards to even greater authority. And Avek, who held the fortified stronghold of Triones City, was one of the most preeminent Wizards among the entire White Wizard faction.
His orders were carried out with the utmost urgency. Before long, every detail concerning the Soul Slaughter Cult had been laid out on Avek's desk.
"Is this all?" he flipped through the documents expressionlessly, then asked abruptly.
"My lord! All the recent intelligence on the Soul Slaughter Cult is here. The cultists who've been spotted in the area recently seem to be hunting someone down — they don't appear to be deliberately staging massacres or harvesting souls!"
One of the elderly Wizards hurriedly bowed and reported.
"Hmm! I read your report as well. A Second-rank Wizard leading the pursuit — the target doesn't seem to be a trivial catch either…"
Avek sank back into his seat and rubbed the bridge of his nose.
The old Wizard hesitated, looking troubled, which only annoyed Avek further. "Is there something else? Don't you dare conceal anything from me!"
"My lord! I wouldn't dare!" The Wizard was so frightened he dropped to his knees to beg forgiveness. "It's just that… regarding the Wizard being hunted, there are some vague rumors circulating. But without concrete evidence, we didn't dare reach a conclusion…"
"Speak!" Avek's expression turned even darker.
"Yes!" The old Wizard stole another glance at Avek, cold sweat rolling continuously down his face. "According to the rumors, the Wizard being pursued by the Soul Slaughter Cult appears to be… appears to be… appears to be someone from the family of Leilin Farell…"
Leilin Farell! The moment that name was uttered, every Wizard in the room stiffened.
In Avek's presence, that name was an absolute taboo! His only son had died at Leilin's hands.
And during the campaign to hunt Leilin down, the target had ultimately escaped through a teleportation array. Worse still, Avek himself had been grievously wounded by Gegewu through Leilin's machinations and forced to flee — an enormous humiliation!
*BOOM!* Terrifying spiritual pressure descended. Every object in the room trembled.
"A remnant of the Farell family? Where is he?" Avek's voice was laced with ice.
His hatred for Leilin had once driven Avek to openly violate the unwritten rules of the South Coast's Wizard community by sending forces to exterminate the Farell family.
During that operation, the entire Farell family had been nearly uprooted. Only a few bloodlines, shielded by mysterious figures, had vanished without a trace. That loose end had been a thorn in Avek's side ever since — and now it had been unearthed again.
"This… this subordinate cannot be certain either. But the only thing we know for sure is that the target has fled into the territory of our Triones City!"
The old man was now stammering. Though they were all Wizards, he was only First-level, while Avek stood at the very apex of every Wizard on the South Coast as a Third-level Wizard — the gap between them was simply too vast.
"Find him! Immediately!"
Avek issued the command at once. The other Wizards fled the room as though granted a reprieve from death, silently cursing the fool who had dared to speak up.
"Leilin…"
Only after all the Wizards had departed did a voice, clenched between gritted teeth, echo through the room.
…
"Thank you for your patronage, valued customer!"
An old man respectfully escorted Leilin out of the shop, maintaining his bowing posture until Leilin's figure had completely vanished before he dared to straighten up.
His establishment was a shop specializing in the trade of information, and a customer as generous as Leilin was exceedingly rare. Moreover, the aura radiating from Leilin left him with a faint sense of suffocation.
"Everything changes, yet nothing stays the same…"
Leilin strolled down the street, sighing softly to himself.
The intelligence he had gathered aboard the airship mostly concerned the broader political landscape. But once in Triones City, he had found information brokers through the bar and obtained a wealth of detailed intelligence.
First, there was Black Bone Forest Academy — Leilin's alma mater was still the same as it had been centuries ago. The only change was the headmaster; the original Slay had vanished without a trace. Beyond that, nothing was different.
As for the
Compared to such enduring factions, many of the names Leilin remembered had long since vanished from the pages of history.
He had even deliberately offered the names of old acquaintances like George, but received no information whatsoever. After all, when Leilin had departed, he had still been a Wizard Apprentice — he could not possibly have left any mark in the annals. Perhaps, after the events at the Ganges Secret Realm, George had simply lost heart and retired from the world.
As for Leilin himself — the young man who had shaken up the balance between Dark and Light Wizard factions — even now, his exploits occupied a prominent place in the intelligence records.
What was more, both the Dark and Light factions, along with the Soul Slaughter Cult, had secretly placed bounties on his head that remained active to this day. It left Leilin feeling rather speechless.
"Shopkeeper! I'm very capable — I have experience in both alchemy and Potionology, and I can also…"
At that moment, a young woman was being forcibly ejected from a shop. The shopkeeper himself turned out to be a Wizard who had even reached the stage of semi-elemental transformation; the faint elemental corona radiating from him forced many onlookers to take several steps back. "I already told you — I'm sorry! You don't meet our requirements. Please leave!"
"Sir! My lord! I truly need this job. Please give me this chance…"
The ejected woman clutched at her skirt, looking both desperate and humiliated, but she was rejected without mercy.
"Did I not already say what I had to say? Must I repeat myself?!"
A tremendous force radiated from his body, pushing Darlenlei backward several steps.
Suddenly, she felt a firm support behind her, and her footing steadied. "Thank you! Wait — you're… that gentleman from before…"
"Lucky for you." The semi-elemental shopkeeper was clearly wary of Leilin's sudden appearance. He shook his head and retreated back into his shop.
"Are you all right?"
Leilin looked at Darlenlei with an amused expression. Her current situation was obviously quite embarrassing. "Can I buy you a drink?"