For someone of Leilin Farell's existence, once he threw himself wholeheartedly into something, he would often lose all sense of time's passage. In a daze, centuries could slip by without him noticing.
Of course, for beings of the Laws whose lifespans stretched tens of thousands of years, this brief span might be nothing more than a nap. But for mortals, it meant dozens of generations of birth and death.
Even for Wizards, this was a considerable length of time.
Perhaps some of the lower-ranking Wizards didn't even live that long.
Only the lofty, great beings could afford to disregard the passage of time so casually.
For the South Coast—and perhaps even for the ordinary Wizards of the underground world—the most profound piece of news from the outside world during all those years was likely the rise of the Ouroboros Ring.
The Ouroboros Ring of today had long since shed its former embarrassing state of being a small, insignificant outfit. It had grown into a formidable power that dominated the surface of the
And the Farell Family, which led the Ouroboros Ring, was hailed as the "Number One Bloodline Family!"
The powerful bloodline they had inherited overshadowed every other sorcerer family on the continent, and their extraordinary combat prowess was soon on full display.
This was even more pronounced among Leilin's direct descendants, and even several generations removed among the collateral branches, the bloodline power they contained was enough to bring immeasurable benefits to other Kemoi families.
Frey and Maggie's families were clearly among the beneficiaries of this advantage, closely following behind the Farell Family. As vassals, they had greatly purified their own bloodlines through intermarriage and other means. The proportion of high-rank warlocks among them increased again and again, appearing in an endless stream.
These new-generation warlocks possessed extraordinary bloodline power and fanatically worshipped Leilin as the source of their bloodline, forming the ruling foundation of the Ouroboros Ring.
And the gradually deified Leilin had become a legendary figure—often not showing his face for decades on end, shrouded in an air of mystery.
The great authority of the entire Ouroboros Ring was gradually taken over by his second-generation offspring—Cyril and the other warlocks.
In the underground world, a squad of warlocks bearing the Ouroboros Ring's insignia on their garments was slowly making its way forward.
Behind them followed a large number of captives, along with what were clearly plundered supplies and materials.
"Captain Lucca! The headcount is complete! No one's been missed. Their family can be confirmed as completely destroyed!"
A blond warlock of average appearance reported, his eyes filled with obvious admiration.
"Good! Put binding chains on all of them! Prepare them to be sold as high-grade slaves!"
Lucca spoke without a trace of hesitation on his face, and the warlocks below accepted his orders matter-of-factly. Everything proceeded in an orderly fashion, as if they were already well accustomed to it all.
"The underground world… this gloomy rock ceiling—it really is hard to get used to. Perhaps after this mission, I should apply for some rest and recuperation on the surface…"
Lucca gazed at the dark rock canopy overhead and couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
As a veteran of the Ouroboros Ring, he was already over five hundred years old. He had experienced everything from the early days of being besieged to all the major events of the subsequent glory. His youthful appearance could no longer conceal the steady decline of his life energy.
"Truly… recalling all of this, it really does feel like a dream…"
Lucca looked at the multitude of captives and the column resuming its march, murmuring to himself.
Everything—all of it—had begun from the moment that lord had entered the Ouroboros Ring. The man seemed born to be a powerhouse. The speed of his advancement had nearly exceeded the limits of Lucca's imagination.
"Those damn lowlife scum, daring to defy our Ouroboros Ring's orders! They were simply courting death! Of course, it took Captain Lucca himself to easily wipe them out!"
The blond-haired squad member sidled up to him, speaking with a hint of flattery.
"Me? Heh… Back in the day, maybe my strength as a third-rank warlock counted for something, but now… Don't tease your Uncle Lucca, kid!"
Lucca looked at the young warlock, a glimmer of doting affection flickering through his eyes.
"The Farell Family goes without saying. Even the Blood Snake Family and Maggie's family—their achievements are nothing compared to those true bloodline aristocrats. After all, they inherited that lord's bloodline directly…"
Lucca's voice grew reverent, and the young warlock's face wore an expression of admiration.
"A sixth-rank bloodline! Without even needing to cultivate diligently, one could reach the Morning Star or even Brilliant Moon realm…"
The young man's face held both envy and disappointment. "If only I could…"
"Lockede! Drop those unrealistic thoughts! Lord Leilin himself didn't have any particularly outstanding bloodline back in the day, yet he still reached his current heights…"
Lucca's tone carried a note of warning. "What you need to do right now is maintain order! Understood?"
"Yes, Captain!" Seeing Lucca's stern expression, the young warlock immediately saluted and ran to the back of the column.
"The youngsters these days…"
Lucca shook his head, helplessness flickering in his eyes.
The rise of the Farell Family and its vassal families had undoubtedly been a massive shock to the original bloodline aristocrats.
Of course, crushed beneath absolute power, those bloodline aristocrats didn't dare utter a single word of protest. They all wholeheartedly accepted the Farell Family's absolute control.
Along with this rise came a pathological worship of the "Imperial Bloodline"—which, for warlocks, was entirely natural.
Unfortunately, the Farell Family's policy toward controlling their bloodline had always been extremely strict, with very little leakage.
To date, only a handful of the original bloodline aristocrats had been granted this privilege.
The many old nobles could already see the reshuffling that the emerging Imperial Bloodline would bring. To obtain the new, powerful bloodline, they were willing to pay any price.
Of course, they wouldn't dare scheme to seize it by force. So, sparing no effort to curry favor with the Farell Family—or even with the other subsidiary families—became their fundamental policy.
At the same time, anyone who coveted the Farell Family's bloodline through illegal means would inevitably face the Farell Family's bloody destruction.
"Sigh… that kid Lockede has a reasonably strong bloodline, but compared to the Imperial Bloodline, it's nothing… And with our family's status, waiting for the bloodline to spread would be an endlessly distant prospect…"
All Lucca had to do was think about those noble heirs who followed the Farell Family's women around like a swarm of flies, and his scalp would tingle.
He had never had the heart to tell this junior the cruel truth, for fear that the young man would become utterly disheartened.
"Sigh… I hope fortune smiles on that foolish boy Lockede and lets him catch the eye of some young lady from the Farell Family. Even becoming a live-in son-in-law would be acceptable…"
Lucca's mind began to wander down absurd paths before he broke into a wry laugh.
"Never mind. Let me figure out how much profit this haul will bring me—that's the more practical concern…"
The leaders of the Farell Family were well aware of this contradiction, but the spread of bloodlines was an extremely serious matter that required the accumulation of time.
Therefore, what they could do now was continually expand their interests to divert the tension.
Clearly, although Lucca harbored some dissatisfaction deep down about his own family not receiving the new bloodline, his thoughts were obviously captivated by the gains he was about to make.
By the time he confirmed that this harvest would be enough for him to accumulate sufficient contribution points—even to exchange for rare materials and make a push toward Crystallization—Lucca's face was full of smiles.
"This is the benefit of controlling trade channels! Who would've thought that I, Lucca, would actually have the chance to advance to third-rank Crystallization…"
The profits that bilateral trade brought to the Ouroboros Ring were truly enormous, and the result was a massive enrichment of cultivation resources, which to some extent alleviated the tensions.
"Attention! We're approaching White Phosphorus City!"
Lucca's telepathic transmission set the entire column into motion, and even Lucca himself felt a surge of anticipation.
The importance of the passage at White Phosphorus City was extraordinary—it was nothing less than the lifeblood of the entire trade route. As such, it was the most heavily guarded and also the most prosperous location.
Although communication between the underground and the surface was deepening steadily, neither side had ever discovered a more convenient passage. This only further elevated the importance of White Phosphorus City.
The Astral Gate could handle the transfer of small quantities of important materials and personnel, but for large-scale trade, it would inevitably result in losses.
To date, a consensus had been reached throughout the entire underground world—whoever controlled White Phosphorus City controlled an immense fortune!
Under the lure of such tremendous profits, and perhaps also because other underground powers had been displaced by the trade, they had never ceased coveting White Phosphorus City.
They wouldn't dare launch a frontal assault, but their underhanded provocations were plentiful.
The White Phosphorus City side found these forces as repugnant as rats in the sewers, and whenever they were discovered, they were met with the most resolute suppression and annihilation.
But as long as the Ouroboros Ring's exploitation of the underground world continued for even a single day, one could be certain that such resistance would never cease.
And this time, Lucca had been dispatched to eliminate one of these small factions.
These minor irritants posed no threat whatsoever to the lofty rulers and profiteers, and their views were remarkably unified: total destruction!
Before overwhelming power, no matter how resolute or tragic the resistance, the only outcome was annihilation.
Lucca glanced at the column of captives trailing behind him, a trace of disdain curling at the corner of his lips.