This mysterious mountain village, situated in the southern part of the Chaos Realm, had gathered nearly all its inhabitants together. When they saw Miller, Livingston, and Lin Lei fly over, several thousand people instantly erupted into fervent excitement, shouting the names of the two Saint-realm powerhouses.
"Miller!" "Miller!" "Miller!" ...
"Livingston!" "Livingston!" "Livingston!" ...
The wave-like cries echoed continuously within the valley where the mountain village lay, making the atmosphere even more heated. Miller, Livingston, and Lin Lei descended to the center. With just a wave of his hands, Miller gestured for quiet, and the entire gathering surprisingly fell silent.
Everyone watched the three figures in the center. Many also noticed the adorable little Shadow Mouse perched on Lin Lei's shoulder.
A smile appeared on Miller's face. "This year, as in years past, the village competition is about to begin. However, this time is somewhat different... First, the number of participants registered this time has reached 1,022, far more than in previous years. As for the second point—this year, the renowned Master Lin Lei of the Yulan Continent has come to visit us!"
Master Lin Lei?
Hearing this name, the thousands of villagers instantly fell silent, their gazes entirely focused on Lin Lei. Immediately after, even more fervent cheers erupted throughout the mountain village. Everyone was excited by the arrival of the legendary genius Saint-realm powerhouse.
"Excuse me, coming through," Rein said repeatedly as he tried to push his way forward through the crowd.
There were too many people. Initially trying to keep a low profile in the village, Rein had been standing toward the back, but now he was relentlessly pushing his way forward.
"Pushing, are we?" Suddenly, a disgruntled shout rang out.
Rein turned to look. The speaker was Vedry, with whom he had a conflict. Amidst the thunderous cheers from outside, Vedry coldly looked at Rein and said in a low voice, "What's this? You want to catch a glimpse of Master Lin Lei's face? Haha... truly laughable!"
Rein ignored Vedry and sidestepped another person to continue squeezing forward.
"Everyone, please settle down." Miller raised his hand in a calming gesture, and the villagers quieted down. Just as Miller was about to speak, a voice carried from within the crowd: "Third Brother!"
At that moment, Lin Lei, who had been chatting quietly with Livingston, froze. Livingston, noticing the change in Lin Lei's expression, couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Lin Lei?" But Lin Lei seemed not to hear him, slowly turning toward the source of the voice.
That familiar figure stood amidst the crowd.
"Third Brother..." Rein trembled with excitement.
"Fourth Brother!" At this moment, Lin Lei was filled with overwhelming joy and excitement. He didn't bother saying anything more to Miller or Livingston. His form flickered as he dashed forward like a phantom, directly to Rein, who had finally pushed his way out. The two brothers threw their arms around each other in a tight embrace.
It was a powerful hug!
Back when he learned this good brother had died, a violent aura had filled Lin Lei's chest. After learning the truth, in a rage, he had immediately set out to kill Prince Yulin. When he discovered it was Hook who killed Rein, Lin Lei had been ready to kill Hook at the camp to avenge his brother.
But later, Hook revealed that Rein wasn't dead. Only then did Lin Lei not kill him right there.
Lin Lei was not a soldier. In his heart, he had no concept of the so-called nobility or warfare. According to some monarchical views, a subject must die if the ruler wills it. Prince Yulin feared death and caused Rein's death; Rein's death would have been in vain. This was because, in that mindset, the monarch's status was elevated to the highest.
But in Lin Lei's eyes.
Nonsense!
Even an emperor wasn't as important as his brother. So what if he was an emperor? Born into the imperial family and inheriting the throne—did that necessarily make him nobler than one's own brother? That was just a form of brainwashing for the masses. Lin Lei couldn't care less about that.
"Rein and Master Lin Lei... this..." The people present were stunned.
Especially Vedry. The person he had considered a mere pretty boy, 'Rein,' was actually embracing Lin Lei emotionally? What exactly was their relationship?
Lin Lei and Rein let go of each other.
A rare, extremely happy smile appeared on Lin Lei's face. He turned to look at Miller and Livingston. "Miller, my apologies for interrupting the village competition."
"Not at all," Miller said quickly. Then, looking at Rein with curiosity, "Brother Lin Lei, you and this Rein are...?"
Lin Lei casually placed a hand on Rein's shoulder and said, "Rein is my good brother—just as close as a blood brother." Rein smiled and patted Lin Lei's shoulder in return, pouting slightly, "Third Brother, don't be so sappy."
"Haha..." Lin Lei laughed with pure joy.
The village competition naturally proceeded as planned, but many of the young villagers felt dazed seeing Lin Lei and Rein together. They had bullied Rein before; beating him up was a common occurrence. If Rein told Lin Lei, and Lin Lei told Miller...
Given the severity of Miller's punishments, they would be in deep trouble.
"This Rein, how did he get involved with Master Lin Lei?" Vedry and his group of youths felt resentful and frustrated in their hearts.
After the opening ceremony of the competition was presided over, Miller and Livingston took Lin Lei and Rein and left together. The group headed toward the village's forbidden area—the home of Monika.
"Uncle Miller, I think I'll skip this," Rein said immediately, looking at the dense forest in the distance.
This was the village's forbidden ground.
Miller smiled. "No need. Since you are Lin Lei's brother, come along. It's nothing." He paused, then chuckled. "Rein, you call me Uncle Miller, but I call Lin Lei brother. This... this is quite amusing, haha."
Lin Lei and Rein were momentarily stunned, then understood.
Livingston laughed. "Miller, stop talking nonsense. We address each other however we please. I've known you for over a thousand years, and I've met Saint-realm powerhouses who are three or four thousand years old, even some over five thousand. Do we use titles like that with them? We just call them directly."
"I was just saying," Miller said with a pout, feigning displeasure.
Rein also laughed. It was rare to see Miller, whose face was always cold, joking around. Probably few people in the village had ever seen Miller crack a joke. Rein understood... only when among peers of equal strength did these people relax and joke like this.