Homecoming

For the next month, aside from his daily training, Jie Ning spent his free time exploring every corner of Kading City with Arannis.

Jie Ning dared say that now, ninety-nine percent of Kading City's residents were less familiar with the city than he, an outsider, was.

Of course, Quinta followed behind the two of them as well.

"Jie Ning, are you really leaving?" Arannis looked at Jie Ning, her face full of reluctance.

Over the past month, the relationship between Jie Ning and Arannis had progressed by leaps and bounds.

If, at the very beginning, Arannis had mainly spent time with Jie Ning because of pressure from her father, then now, she had truly fallen for him.

As the Earl's eldest daughter, Arannis knew that unless she possessed the power to overturn everything, an arranged marriage in accordance with her family's wishes was inevitable. Of course, she had no intention of resisting it either.

She believed that her parents, who had always doted on her, would not force her to marry someone she hated.

All she had to do was choose a suitable person from among the eligible candidates selected by her parents.

Naturally, that was assuming the other party agreed to the marriage as well.

For now, the impression Jie Ning had left on her was simply too good—handsome, powerful, witty...

He was practically the husband of her dreams.

Jie Ning smiled and lowered his head to look at Arannis. "Lannie, don't worry. Once I return, I'll discuss our marriage with my father."

"But once you leave, it'll be months before I see you again." Arannis was full of reluctance.

Under normal circumstances, it took three months to travel from Kading City to the town where Jie Ning's family lived. However, the merchant caravan had taken detours through various towns to trade, which was why it had taken Jie Ning four months to reach Kading City.

But if a powerful warrior traveled at full speed, the journey would take even less time.

Jie Ning patiently comforted Arannis. Once he returned and discussed matters with his father, the next time he came here would be to ask Count Lewis for Arannis's hand in marriage.

"Don't worry, Lannie..."

"So why can't we go to Tieling Town with you?" A voice shattered the tender atmosphere between them.

Jie Ning and Arannis turned toward the voice in surprise.

Seeing their expressions, Quinta looked somewhat annoyed. "I've been here this whole time. Don't look at me like you're wondering why I'm here."

Jie Ning smiled apologetically at Quinta. "Sorry, Quinta. You know, your invisibility spell is just too well-practiced."

"Brother Quinta, it looks like your magic has improved greatly lately." Arannis was equally astonished.

"I've never practiced invisibility." Quinta spoke expressionlessly. "I'm a Fire Element mage. Fire Element magic doesn't have an invisibility spell."

"Haha, really? So Fire Element magic can't turn invisible?" Arannis said in surprise. "Still, Brother, your presence is just far too weak. You really are more suited to being an assassin."

Quinta first took a deep breath, as if wanting to say something, but in the end he gave up and could only sigh.

"Quinta, you mean you and Lannie can return to Tieling Town with me?" Jie Ning quickly took over the conversation. Otherwise, he felt Quinta might not be able to take it much longer.

Hearing Jie Ning's question, Arannis finally reacted. Her beautiful eyes immediately fixed on Quinta, and she asked expectantly, "Brother, do you mean we can leave Kading City with Jie Ning?"

"Will Father agree?" Arannis asked nervously.

Quinta sighed in relief and said, seemingly joking, "Of course it's true. Father can't wait for you and Jie Ning to get married immediately."

"If I didn't know this was his first time meeting Jie Ning, I'd be wondering who his real son was."

Hearing that, Jie Ning immediately recalled Count Lewis's enthusiasm over the past few days, so intense it had nearly become a burden. The corners of his mouth twitched.

"That's because Jie Ning is so outstanding!" Arannis proudly said, wrapping her arms around Jie Ning's arm.

The group traveled along the road from Kading City to Tieling Town.

The group was unexpectedly huge. In fact, it contained far more people than the merchant caravan Jie Ning had traveled with when he first arrived.

Jie Ning looked strangely at Maki. "So, Uncle Maki, how did you get Count Lewis to come back to Tieling Town with us too?"

That was right. Besides the siblings Quinta and Arannis, Count Lewis and Lady Carita had set out with them as well. With the accompanying knights and guards, their numbers were unexpectedly large.

Maki chuckled. "Who told you to be so outstanding, Jie Ning?"

"Lewis is brimming with sincerity. He intends to go straight to your father and confirm the wedding date for you two children."

Jie Ning looked toward the back of the group, where Lady Carita was pulling Quinta aside and talking to him about something. Quinta's face was already turning pale. "Then can you explain why Lady Carita says she wants to learn from Mother about raising children?"

"I don't have a problem with it, but I think you should watch out at night lately. Quinta might use earth magic to build you a grave on the spot."

Maki said awkwardly, "You can't blame me for that either. Can you really say Melinda didn't help you a great deal? I was just praising Melinda properly."

"From what I heard, someone was recounting a fantastical tale about how he became his nephew's idol, and how the child's mother encouraged him to learn from his uncle. After Lady Carita managed to pick out the few genuine details in it, that someone began boasting that his sister had pioneered a method of motivational education..." Jie Ning was speechless. Sure enough, humanity came in all kinds. Who would have thought his uncle was addicted to bragging?

Maki's gaze immediately began to wander.

"Ah..." Jie Ning sighed and said helplessly, "I hope Ms. Melinda will be willing to give her dear elder brother a dignified ending once she learns of her 'glorious achievements'..."

Then, ignoring the sweat beginning to form on Maki's forehead, he dismounted and continued sensing the earth.

The others in the group had long grown used to this.

There were even rumors going around that this was precisely how Jie Ning had grown so quickly. Whenever they stopped to rest, knights could occasionally be seen imitating Jie Ning and walking barefoot around the camp.

After Arannis noticed this, she had even come to Jie Ning in alarm. Jie Ning could only laugh helplessly at that.

He specifically explained to Arannis that this method was only useful to a very small number of people who had reached a certain level of strength, and even then, it might not necessarily work.

As for those knights, setting aside whether they possessed an affinity for earth elements, most of the imitators were only Level 5 or Level 6. That alone meant their efforts were almost certainly futile.

Still, Jie Ning did not say much. What if there was a hidden genius among them?

Arannis stared dreamily for a while at Jie Ning, who was immersed in his own world. Jie Ning is even more handsome when he's focused on training.

But the next moment, Arannis forced herself to look away from Jie Ning, and her gaze became resolute.

"Lannie, you need to train hard too. If you can become a Saint Realm powerhouse as well, then we'll have endless time to travel across every corner of the Bana Continent in the future, just like how we're traveling through all of Kading City now." Aslannie seemed to hear Jie Ning's words from their time in Kading City echoing in her ears.

Jie Ning will definitely become a Saint Realm powerhouse. I need to work hard too. Closing her eyes, Arannis took several deep breaths and began trying to meditate as well.

Time always passed quickly on the road.

Soon, good news arrived: Aslannie had successfully become a Level 6 Mage.

Everyone was delighted.

And Tieling Town was close at hand.

Brothers and sisters with tickets, please send some votes.