Town Ghost Pass
"Lin Ming, isn't that the fortress you mentioned up ahead?" Even flying high in the sky, one could still feel its majestic grandeur.
"Yes! After four and a half years, I'm finally back in the Jia Ma Empire," Lin Ming said with emotion in response to Zi Yan's question.
Since leaving Jia Nan Academy, Lin Ming and Zi Yan have spent half a year finally arriving at the border of the Jia Ma Empire. Of course, if they had flown at full speed, they could probably have returned in less than a month, but in that case, they wouldn't have had such a bountiful harvest of medicinal herbs.
In no time, a fortress built against the mountain came into full view of Lin Ming.
"Let's go! We'll go down here." Now that we're back within the sphere of influence of the Jia Ma Empire, there's no need to traverse through desolate mountains and wilderness.
After finding a place to land, Lin Ming led Zi Yan towards the city gate fortress ahead.
"Such a strong Blood Fiend Qi, no wonder it's the first line of defense of the Jia Ma Empire, Town Ghost Pass!" As he approached the fortress, the ground beneath his feet was covered with dried, dark brown bloodstains. Lin Ming exclaimed in admiration.
This fortress, as the primary stronghold of the Jia Ma Empire in its defense against foreign invasions, has witnessed countless battles and resulted in numerous deaths and injuries over the years. Yet, its continued existence testifies to the Jia Ma Empire's resilience in the face of these repeated attacks.
On the city fortress, the three large characters "Town Ghost Pass) stood out with their blood-red color. At this time, at the city gate below the fortress, a long queue of pedestrians waited for the guards to check their passage.
"Let's go! Let's go straight there." Lin Ming called out to Zi Yan. As a member of the Mittel Family, one of the three top powers in the Jia Ma Empire, Lin Ming naturally didn't need to wait in line like the others. He just needed to take out his family identity token, and passing through was a very simple matter.
"Halt! No entry without inspection!" Upon arriving at the city gate, Lin Ming was stopped by city guards.
Facing these personnel, Lin Ming didn't bother with them and simply took out his Mittel Family identity token.
"A member of the Mittel Family!" The guards who were intercepting Lin Ming exclaimed in shock upon seeing the identity token he produced.
The Mittel Family is one of the three most powerful forces in the Jia Ma Empire, so how could they not be surprised that such a young man could produce a token belonging to a member of his family?
These are people from the Great Family whom one doesn't often encounter, and they never expected to meet them here. They were almost in disbelief.
Of course, they had no doubts about the authenticity of the token. These Great Family had extremely sophisticated anti-counterfeiting measures for their family identity tokens, making it impossible for ordinary people to imitate them.
Now, this young man is heading towards the Jia Ma Empire. They don't believe anyone would have the audacity to impersonate a member of the Mittel Family in the Jia Ma Empire.
After all, if this were discovered, they would be hunted down to the ends of the earth, in a never-ending battle.
"What kind of behavior is this, shouting and yelling like that!" At this moment, a deep, reprimanding voice came from ahead. Then, a very burly Big Man led a troop of soldiers wearing silver armor.
"Commander!" Upon seeing this person's arrival, the city guards all bowed and greeted him.
"What's going on? Why are you all making such a fuss?" The Big Man asked again after they reached the city gate.
"Reporting to the Commander! We saw someone enter the city with the Mittel Family's token, so..." the guard began.
"Oh? Members of the Mittel Family are indeed rare guests. Let me see which member of the Mittel Family has arrived." Upon hearing that it was someone from the Mittel Family, the man instantly became interested.
"Young man! I know most of the Mittel Family, if not all of them. But you look unfamiliar!" The Big Man man looked at Lin Ming with a puzzled expression.
"I've been training in other places for the past four or five years, and I'm only just returning. It's normal that you don't recognize me, Commander," Lin Ming said calmly in response to the man's question.
"You've been away training for four or five years? Are you Lin Ming from the Mittel Family?" The Big Man asked in astonishment after hearing Lin Ming's reply.
For several years, the Mittel Family had been rumored to have a member with exceptional talent. At the age of twelve, he reached the level of Dou Zhe, which made him famous throughout the entire Imperial Capital.
Just when everyone in the Imperial Capital thought this genius from the Mittel Family would make a name for himself in the Jia Ma Empire, they discovered that he had vanished without a trace, with no further information being sent out. This led some to speculate that he was a fabrication by the Mittel Family.
Of course, ordinary people might have such thoughts, but the top Great Family of the Jia Ma Empire all know of this person's existence. It is quite normal for this Big Man, as a member of the Mu Family, one of the top families in the Jia Ma Empire, to know these things.
As for why there has been no news of this person in recent years, these Great Family speculate that the Mittel Family has probably sent him somewhere to cultivate.
Of course, the main reason this Big Man guessed that this person was Lin Ming was because he couldn't see through Lin Ming.
Judging from Lin Ming's appearance, he is definitely no more than twenty years old. Being under twenty, and being someone even someone with a six-star Dou Ling (a powerful martial arts master) cannot see through, coupled with his membership in the Mittel family, makes it easy to guess who he is.
Lin Ming was a little surprised to hear this person call him by his name directly.
"Haha! It seems it really is yours. My name is Mu Tie, and I'm on official business. Lin Ming, you've just returned, and I suppose you're also longing for your family, so I won't keep you any longer. But you can visit my Mu Family more often in the future." The man said with a smile, seeing Lin Ming's reaction.
"Thank you, Lin Ming Mu Tie. I'll take my leave now." After bowing to Mu Tie, Lin Ming led Zi Yan towards the city gate.
"Two years ago, the Nalan Family produced Nalan Yanran, who was accepted as a disciple by the Misty Cloud Sect Master, bringing immense glory to both families. Now that the genius from the Mittel Family has returned, I wonder what the situation will be like next. Sigh! The situation is unclear right now, so it wouldn't hurt to be on good terms with them for now. However, one must be strong oneself to succeed. It seems I should inform the family and send all the young men to the front lines for training. Otherwise, if things continue like this, the Mu Family will fall behind." Mu Tie thought to himself as he watched Lin Ming leave.