The luxurious interior featured colorful carpets and numerous pieces of furniture carrying a faint, elegant fragrance, as if warmed by some special incense, lending the room a refined atmosphere.
Leilin looked around and nodded with satisfaction.
Although as an honored guest he had already seen the Lias family's VIP rooms on his last visit, the luxury of this room had risen yet another level.
This had once been Im Lias's mansion, naturally, once Leilin expressed his intention to stay, it had been prepared for him at the fastest speed.
Leilin was currently standing before an enormous oil painting, gazing at the portrait of a blue-haired warlock within.
The portrait bore some resemblance to Im, clearly depicting some kind of ancestor.
And after Leilin had focused on it for a while, the eyes in the portrait moved, revealing an expression of extreme terror, as if it had come alive, yet unable to speak or move, it could only plead with its expression.
"Hmm! A wisp of residual will…"
Leilin nodded. Everything about the oil painting was taken in by his gaze. "It seems there's also a hidden demiplane within, storing the bloodline and remains of an ancient adult Thousand-spined Thunder Bird? It looks like this is the Lias family's final trump card!"
In such a short time, there had been no way for Im to remove such an important mechanism.
Of course, the other party might also have been counting on Leilin not discovering it, or even if he noticed something, that his lofty standards would lead him to dismiss such things—so they hadn't bothered to hide it too much.
"Interesting! Interesting!"
Leilin rubbed his chin, then sat back down on the sofa, causing the portrait in the painting to breathe a sigh of relief and return to its blank expression.
As for those things, Leilin truly had no particular designs on them right now.
Perhaps when he was at the fifth or sixth level, a sixth-level bloodline would still hold considerable appeal, but now, having advanced to the peak of Dawn and even being called half-seventh-level, he truly had no interest in such things.
"Big Brother Leilin! This sofa is so comfortable!"
But in reality, the cunning glint in her eyes let Leilin know what she was thinking.
The
As for benefits delivered to his doorstep, Leilin naturally accepted them without the slightest courtesy.
Moreover, even if Belinda still harbored some reservations, accepting him was merely a matter of time—and perhaps he'd need to bring another along with her.
Leilin rubbed his chin, a strange arc forming at the corner of his lips, and with a wave of his hand, the surface of the oil painting was shrouded in darkness. "Little Sister Sophia! Want to play a really fun game with big brother?"
…
The joyful time passed quickly, and in the end it was Belinda who came to collect Sophia, whose legs had gone weak.
As they left, Belinda shot Leilin a fierce glare, its meaning very complex, while Agnes wore the expression of someone enjoying the show, her cheeks inexplicably flushed as well.
"Very clever women!"
Leilin closed the door and made a calm assessment.
These women were all very clever, leaving him ample private space.
"Come out!" At this moment, Leilin's expression was utterly calm, his gaze fixed on a wardrobe to one side.
Gurgle! Gurgle! The ground seemed to melt instantaneously, layers of black bubbles rising to the surface, a coat of orange rust appearing and slowly spreading to cover the entire room.
Almost in the blink of an eye, Leilin found that his surroundings had undergone a tremendous change.
"
Leilin rubbed his chin.
In this environment, a black light gate opened from the wardrobe, and then a wizard wearing a tailcoat and top hat, holding a gentleman's cane, slowly walked out.
The wizard wore a pair of golden circular lenses over one eye, with intricate precision chains connecting directly to the back of his ear.
"Pleased to make your acquaintance! I am Inosighte!"
The visiting wizard removed his hat and bowed elegantly.
"A Rule Existence? You've only just now reacted? That's already beyond my expectations!" Leilin examined him with great interest. Through his perception of Rules, he could clearly perceive that the body before him was merely a form the other had casually chosen, while his true body was a mass of fog with a complex black halo at its center, radiating with a peculiar rhythm, enveloped in dense power of Rules.
A profound and dark aura, like a bottomless abyss, that made one tremble to behold.
This was a true seventh-level wizard, an existence that had completely mastered the power of Rules!
"I am Leilin Farell! Greetings to you, sir!" Leilin showed no surprise whatsoever at the other's arrival.
In truth, the soul-force of a Rule Existence could traverse the entire Central Continent in an instant through Rules. While it was impossible to carefully scan every ant on the ground, enormous energy radiators could not escape detection.
After all, Leilin had made no effort to conceal the aura of Rules on his body, making it easily perceivable by beings of the same level.
This was also his purpose. He was, after all, a member of the
"Remarkable… the power to devour all things… and a terrifying bloodline force. I have never encountered such a bloodline origin before…"
Inosighte's eyes held a look of genuine astonishment. "Even though you haven't fully crossed into the threshold of a Rule Existence, Mr. Leilin, your current strength is already no less than ours…"
Leilin accepted the compliment without the slightest modesty.
His current physical parameters were indeed infinitely close to those seventh-level existences, and combined with the bizarre nature of his Devouring talent and other means, he was fully comparable to an ordinary seventh-level Rule Wizard.
"Since the Ancient Termination War, our Wizard World has not produced a single new seventh-level wizard. Having you, Mr. Leilin, is truly something to celebrate!"
Inosighte seemed genuinely excited.
"I was originally just a minor warlock from the South Coast, with very little understanding of the world beyond the seventh level. I'll need Mr. Inosighte to provide much guidance on the common knowledge!"
Leilin's words were very modest.
"That is only natural! As high-ranking members of the Wizard World, we should naturally watch out for and assist one another!"
Inosighte nodded solemnly. "Additionally, I have some matters to bring to your attention. Although you haven't fully entered the seventh-level threshold, your strength has truly reached it, so certain Rules between us will also apply to you!"
"As long as they are reasonable, I will naturally not violate them!" Leilin nodded.
Inosighte detected a loophole in Leilin's words but clearly paid it no mind, smiling carelessly. "Actually, the regulations are quite simple. You must not deliberately sabotage the Wizard World's World
"The World Will is still slumbering? Is it because of the Ancient Termination War?"
Leilin's eyes glimmered.
"Yes! The Ancient Termination War! Twilight of the
"What exactly happened during the Ancient Termination War?"
Leilin asked with some urgency.
"The specifics, you'll naturally learn in time. Broadly speaking, it was two worlds going to war over the hope of reaching the ninth level, resulting in the fall of a great many Rule Existences…"
Though Inosighte spoke casually, Leilin could see the mountain of corpses and sea of blood lurking behind those words.
Rule-level existences—even during the Wizard World's most glorious era—might not produce even one in a thousand years, yet they had fallen in heaps.
"And after that war, our World Will fell into slumber. The collective consciousness of the God World, the Supreme Deity, suffered the same fate, and it even sealed off the entire Crystal Wall System to prevent outside observation! Those of us who survived retreated underground, to the place closest to the World Will, to guard it and comprehend the Rules…"
Inosighte continued.
"The Wizard World's will sleeps at the planet's core?" Leilin rubbed his chin. "And the closer one is to the World Will, the clearer the manifestation of Rules—let alone the favor of Primal Force. No wonder those Rule Existences are all shut-ins staying underground!"
"Once the formal contract is signed, Sir Leilin, you will become one of us!"
Inosighte moved on to official business. "I came here specifically to inform you, but the preparation for the Rule Contract will still take about ten years! We will extend an invitation when the time comes!"
He seemed never to have considered the possibility that Leilin would refuse. Of course, Leilin would not be foolish enough to make enemies of every Rule Existence in the Wizard World.
"I understand!" Leilin nodded with a solemn expression.
"And as for your territory?" Inosighte fidgeted with the enormous ruby on his hand. "Since Sir Leilin comes from the surface world, how about you take charge there? After all, it's the least dangerous area, and there are no other Rule Existences guarding it…"
"The least dangerous?"
Leilin felt a mix of amusement and exasperation. It seemed that having him guard the surface might genuinely be a gesture of goodwill on the other's part.
Of course, this also aligned with his own plans, so he agreed without hesitation. "Very well!"
Once the business was concluded, Inosighte and Leilin continued their conversation. The breadth of knowledge Inosighte revealed left Leilin thoroughly amazed, and the advice about matters to be aware of after advancing to the seventh level proved immensely beneficial.
When the other party finally departed, Leilin even felt a twinge of reluctance.