A Startling Change

Seeing that his mother made no attempt to hide anything from his father, a squad captain of the Darkness Church Guard Legion, he immediately began to suspect that his father might have some sort of undercover identity as well!

For a moment, scenes of spies playing house stampeded wildly through his mind like a hundred thousand alpacas!

A bead of cold sweat unknowingly trickled down his forehead!

Fortunately, his father, Zi Ao, promptly explained his mother's background, and his restless heart gradually calmed down.

"Feng Yun, aren't you happy that your talent for light magic won't go to waste? But don't get too excited. This book only contains magic spells below Level 6, and your mother herself was only a Level 3 Mage."

"Ever since she became separated from her main force in that battle and followed me, she stopped cultivating. Even now, she's still only a Level 3 Mage."

"So your mother can only teach you magic knowledge below Level 3. She isn't familiar with Level 4 magic either and can't offer you much help!"

Driven by intense curiosity, Feng Yun asked about how his father and mother had met and come to know each other.

Six years ago, his father had been a soldier in the Darkness Church Guard Legion, while his mother had been a priest sent by the Light Church to the front lines to gain practical combat experience.

During a great battle, his father had become separated from his unit and suffered severe injuries. Somehow, he ended up in territory occupied by the Light Church, where his mother, who had only recently arrived on the battlefield, muddleheadedly saved him.

His father fell in love with his mother because of that. Later, the Darkness Church dispatched an elite warrior squad to carry out a successful decapitation operation, forcibly severing the Light Church's reach into the Dark Alliance and surrounding and slaughtering every invading member of the Light Expeditionary Force.

His mother, Gu Yue, was being hunted down, but his father saved her while concealing her identity. After returning to the legion, his father was rewarded for "single-handedly charging into the enemy camp" with the position of squad captain and even received a Dou Qi Secret Manual. He had finally made something of himself!

After that, with nothing left to miss in the Holy Alliance, his mother and father gradually developed feelings for each other. She abandoned her former identity and settled down with him in the Dark Alliance, and only then did they have him.

Thus, when he inherited his mother's talent and tested positive for Light Magic Element Affinity, his parents were not displeased in the slightest. Instead, they were delighted.

After learning all this, Feng Yun was glad that he could study light magic without having to worry about an unstable life, yet he also felt a strange twinge of disappointment.

After all, undercover agents and spies sounded pretty exciting when he thought about them.

But after regretting it for only a moment, he took off the Magic Stone hanging around his neck and said happily, "Then teach me magic quickly, Mother! If I'd known I had medium light magic talent and that you were a light mage, I would've started learning light magic from you long ago!"

Bang!

As the front door was violently pushed open, a hoarse voice reached the ears of the family of three. "No, you cannot learn light magic yet!"

As the head of the household, Zi Ao was greatly shocked. He did not fear others learning that his wife, Gu Yue, was a light mage, but her identity as a Light Church Priest Reserve absolutely could not be revealed to outsiders.

That was also why Feng Yun had never known, from childhood until now, that his mother was actually a mage.

A vicious glint flashed in Zi Ao's eyes. His hand unconsciously gripped the hilt of the blade at his waist, prepared to kill whoever had come.

However, when he turned and saw the visitor's attire, his pupils shrank. Veins bulged on the hand gripping his blade, yet he did not dare pull it out even a fraction further.

The man wore specially made fitted armor patterned in black and red, engraved with designs of black moons and stars. Around the collar of his faintly fluttering gray cloak was a Steward Badge forged with precious Mithril, signifying his identity and strength as a Level 7 expert.

Facing a Level 7 church steward, Zi Ao knew that any resistance would be futile.

Gu Yue also recognized the visitor's identity from his clothing. Her face, which had been full of smiles only moments ago, had already turned deathly pale. After looking deeply at her son and husband, she seemed to come to some decision. Just as she trembled and tried to speak, the steward looked at Feng Yun and asked, "You little fellow are Feng Yun Zi Ao, the one with medium Light Magic Element Affinity?"

Feng Yun's little face stiffened. So he came for me. After taking a deep breath, he bowed to the man and said, "Greetings, my lord. I am Feng Yun Zi Ao!"

The knowledge he had learned so far was not enough for him to identify the man's status or strength. After all, church stewards generally did not interact with ordinary people. But from his parents' expressions and movements, he could tell that this was a powerful expert whom their entire family could not resist.

In this situation, obedience was the best choice!

Seeing that Feng Yun was frightened but still composed and orderly in his movements, the visitor secretly nodded. With a flash, he appeared behind Feng Yun and firmly seized him.

"My lord, please spare my son—" Gu Yue and Zi Ao now understood that the other party's target was their son, and they cried out in panic to beg for mercy.

But before they could finish, the Level 7 steward interrupted them. "Shut up!"

"Your son has gotten lucky. The two of you might benefit from this as well. Stay home and don't do anything unnecessary!"

Nearly the time it took to drink a cup of tea later, Feng Yun was brought into a small room. The steward who had brought him there silently locked the door and left.

The cramped space and dim yellow light made Feng Yun feel deeply stifled, but there was nothing he could do. The passing time and the faint cries and commotion coming from outside made it even harder to endure.

Too much had happened today, leaving his emotions in violent turmoil.

The disappointment of his low Dark Element Affinity, the excitement of learning that his mother was a light mage who could teach him light magic, the warmth of hearing his parents' love story, the panic of the Black-clad Assassin's sudden intrusion and abduction, and the oppressive atmosphere of this little room—all those emotions were like a massive hammer pounding against his heart, leaving him utterly exhausted.

He could not help wanting to curl up in the corner and sleep.

But he knew this was not the time to sleep. The Black-clad Assassin would not have brought him to such a place for no reason. There had to be some benefit driving him; that was how things worked in the Dark Alliance. Who would do something without profit?

Although he still did not know what use he, a mere child, could be to the other party, he knew that if he could not demonstrate his value, his family would be in danger.

After all, the Black-clad Assassin knew that his mother had once been a Light Church Priest Reserve.

It would be fine if the other party valued him highly enough. But if his value was not greater than that of a Light Church spy, then his mother, Gu Yue, would be in danger!