"Soul fluctuation, bloodline detection, identity verification — passed!"
The mechanical voice emanated from a small serpent queen statue on the squad leader's hand.
As the scanning wave swept over him, Leilin sneered inwardly. With the concealment of his soul and bloodline — and especially Agnes's unwitting cover — his original information had effectively been written into the database, eliminating the only potential vulnerability in his identity verification. No matter how thorough the inspection, they couldn't touch him.
"Done inspecting? Now get lost."
Thomas watched the guards retreat in disarray, a look of satisfaction in his eyes.
"Little sister Sophia! These guards are all from our Stewart Family. If you ever run into them in the Holy City, don't be afraid! Just mention my name!"
With that, Thomas began ingratiating himself with Sophia.
Leilin quietly rolled his eyes. He knew that if the Belinda sisters hadn't been present, Thomas would never have hot-headedly stepped up to back him.
"Nick, are you alright?"
The Belinda sisters stepped into the small courtyard. Looking at the cramped space and the low, shabby buildings, their brows furrowed slightly.
"Why don't you come live with us instead?"
"No need!" "No need!"
Leilin and Thomas spoke almost simultaneously. Seeing the faintly threatening look in Thomas's eyes, Leilin smirked inwardly and put on a smile for Belinda: "It's great here! Besides, Young Master Thomas has waived all my rent — that's already incredibly rare in the Holy City... In truth, just being able to become a free citizen of the Holy City, even for only ten years, is more than I could ever ask for..."
Leilin deliberately emphasized the last few words. In Thomas's eyes, this was a declaration of loyalty, and he nodded with satisfaction. Belinda, however, looked at Leilin with some surprise.
In her memory, Leilin absolutely should not have been like this.
"But... Brother Nick! How can you live here? Sophia feels so sorry for you..." Sophia tugged at Leilin's sleeve from the side.
"Enough, enough! You two, stop coming here and causing me trouble!"
Leilin wore an impatient expression as he ushered the Belinda sisters out and shut the door.
"Very good! Well done!"
After the door closed, Thomas's secret voice transmission reached his ear, along with another piece of information.
And right after, Thomas's arrogant and smug voice rang out from outside: "Forget about that Nick — look! He actually dared to treat you like that. Little sister Sophia, how about I take you to see the Holy Mother statue?"
Listening to their voices fade into the distance, Leilin shook his head with a faint smile.
"Sometimes, even when you don't go looking for trouble, trouble comes looking for you. Did I act too well on the road earlier?"
Right now, what he wanted more than anything was for the entire world to forget about him, letting him farm in peace.
But as things stood now...
Night fell. The purple halo of the moon descended, and the clamor of daytime faded from the Holy City. Even the holy light that permeated every corner dimmed.
After a full day of city-wide searches — during which dozens of unlucky souls without proper documents were thrown directly into the moat, dissolved until not even bones remained — the streets were completely empty, carrying a desolate chill.
"Bloodline mark — activate!"
In the small courtyard, beside the flower bed, Leilin gazed at his right arm. Now, along his wrist, a dozen or so white serpent brands lay in a row.
These were all bloodline marks he had created using the Devil White Phosphorus Snake's bloodline.
Hiss... A fifth-level Beast Soul tattoo surfaced, making Leilin's control over the bloodline marks far easier.
Using the power of the Beast Soul to suppress resistance really did maximize the effectiveness of the bloodline marks!
A trace of a smile curled Leilin's lips. Then he watched as one of the brands rapidly faded and vanished from his wrist.
[Ding! Host has consumed a Devil White Phosphorus Snake bloodline mark. Initiating connection to the Dream World!]
The Devil White Phosphorus Snake inherently possessed dream-related talents — it could even traverse the Dream World. Through the bloodline marks, Leilin had gained this ability as well.
However, in his heart, he still harbored some doubts about this achievement. After all, it was something the Thousand-eyed Woman had drawn out during his last adventure in the Dream World.
Therefore, when his True Spirit power had already made contact with a fantastical world, Leilin chose not to cross over directly. Instead, he simply attempted to draw upon the dream's power.
Bzzz...