Breakthrough! Fifth-Rank Warrior!

Flowing Frost City.

Bart's Manor.

That evening, the manor was brightly lit.

The servants standing guard all wore smiles, their backs ramrod straight.

Everyone knew.

The young miss of the Bart family had awakened Water affinity elemental talent, and her spiritual power was seventeen times that of an ordinary person!

What did that mean?

So long as nothing unexpected happened, the future was bound to produce a great mage, perhaps even one with hopes of striking for the Saint Domain of Magic.

However.

The atmosphere in the hall was somewhat tense.

A map of the Magic Continent had been spread out.

Several academy locations had been circled in red.

"Storm Academy!"

"The Empire's number one magic academy, only that place is worthy of Aiken's talent!"

Barte Lei's finger rested on the imperial capital marked beside Jade Orchid City.

This Ninth-Rank Warrior had completely shed his usual composure. He was grinning like a child who had received a new toy.

"Storm Academy is certainly good!"

"But it's in the capital, and we have no foundation there!"

"Besides, Flowing Frost City is far from the capital. The journey alone would take over a month!"

"How old is Aiken? She'd have to travel so far from home!"

Hearing Barte Lei's words.

Xue frowned slightly, her gaze filled with worry.

As a mother, the first thing she thought of was not glory, but whether her daughter would suffer.

"What's there to fear!"

"I'll personally take her!"

"I'd like to see which blind bastard would dare touch my daughter!"

Barte Lei's eyes widened, and his booming voice made the hall hum.

Lei Wen sat in a corner.

He idly played with an exquisite dagger, as calm as an outsider.

Yet he was calculating rapidly in his heart.

If possible.

He naturally hoped Aiken could join Enst Academy.

Enst Academy was the most renowned academy on the continent.

Although Aiken's talent was extraordinary.

For some reason, no one from Enst Academy had come to recruit her.

As for Storm Academy.

In the original story, there had been no mention of this academy at all.

But after living in Jade Orchid City for ten years.

Lei Wen naturally knew of Storm Academy.

The headmaster of Storm Academy was a mage at the Saint Domain!

Having Aiken join Storm Academy might not be a bad choice.

"I want to..."

"I want to go there!!"

Aiken, who had been lying on the table, suddenly spoke up.

She stretched out her chubby little hand and pointed at a red circle closest to Flowing Frost City.

Barte Lei and Xue both froze.

"Purple Orchid Magic Academy?"

"My good daughter!"

"That place is also among the top ten academies on the continent!"

"But compared to Storm Academy, it's inferior by far!"

"Our family doesn't lack money. Why settle for second best?"

Barte Lei was stunned for a moment, his thick brows drawing together into a frown.

"Good daughter!"

"Is it because it's close to home?"

Xue was equally puzzled.

"Storm Academy is too far!"

"If I miss Father and Mother, who will carry me home?"

"I'm not going to that whatever Storm Academy. I'm going to Purple Orchid!"

Aiken nodded vigorously.

Her big eyes blinked, shimmering with watery light.

She tilted her head and glanced at Lei Wen in the corner, her little mouth pouting slightly.

Barte Lei pulled a face.

All the arguments he had prepared got stuck in his throat beneath his daughter's tear-filled eyes.

What Barte Lei feared least in his life was swords and spears; what he feared most was his daughter crying.

"Well..."

He looked toward Xue as though asking for help.

"Since Aiken wants to go herself, then let her attend Purple Orchid."

"Besides, Purple Orchid's Water affinity magic division is quite famous as well. It's more than enough to teach Aiken!"

Xue sighed.

But the expression on her face softened.

Most importantly, it was truly close to home.

A hundred miles, for an ordinary person, was only a short while for a warrior.

Even by carriage, one could arrive by evening.

That way, they could indeed look after their daughter at any time.

"Fine!"

"Then Purple Orchid it is!"

Barte Lei slapped the table and made the decision.

And so it was settled.

Lei Wen put away his dagger, the corners of his lips curling into an imperceptible smile.

Not bad.

Leaving her under their watch was far more reassuring than sending her all the way to the capital.

Five days later.

Behind the manor.

Lei Wen sat cross-legged.

His upper body was bare, revealing lean yet powerful muscles.

Though he was only ten years old, his height and build had long surpassed those of his peers.

Every muscle contained explosive strength, his veins twisting like dragons.

At that moment.

His breathing was deep and rhythmic.

With every inhale and exhale, the air around him seemed to tremble faintly.

"Huff... huff..."

A strange sound came from deep within Lei Wen's chest.

It was as though some ancient giant beast was awakening, breathing heavily.

Lei Wen suddenly opened his eyes.

On the back of his left hand, that dark purple mark was radiating an eerie purple glow!

As Lei Wen circulated his Spirit Qi.

The mark seemed to come alive, its huge mouth opening as it generated a terrifying suction force.

The fire elements drifting between heaven and earth seemed seized by an invisible hand, rushing madly toward Lei Wen's pores.

"Break for me!"

Lei Wen growled inwardly.

The energy that had accumulated for so long erupted at that moment.

The vast Spirit Qi was like a galloping river, crashing fiercely against that invisible barrier.

Crack!

Something seemed to shatter.

Immediately afterward.

An unparalleled feeling of relief swept through his entire body.

His muscles and bones crackled, producing dense popping sounds like beans being fried.

Fifth-Rank Warrior!

Lei Wen let out a long breath. Looking at his hands, a gleam flashed through his eyes.

A ten-year-old Fifth-Rank Warrior.

If word of this got out, the entire Jade Orchid Continent would probably be shaken!

"This strength..."

Lei Wen casually lifted a granite boulder the size of a human head.

He clenched his five fingers.

Crunch!

The hard granite crumbled like tofu in his hand, instantly turning to powder.

His pure physical strength had also reached the fifth rank.

A dual fifth rank!

This did not merely mean his strength had doubled.

It also meant that among warriors of the same rank, he possessed an incomparably powerful combat ability.

"Still not enough."

Lei Wen clenched his fist.

Feeling the surging power within his body.

Yet there was not the slightest satisfaction in his heart.

On this vast continent, he was merely an ant beneath the Saint Domain.

Even.

Compared to those gods standing high above, the Saint Domain was no more than a slightly stronger ant.

If he wanted to truly control his own fate, if he wanted to protect his family in this life, he had to become stronger.

At the very least, he had to reach the Saint Domain!

Perhaps even... become a god!

Lei Wen stood and moved his slightly stiff neck.

Speaking of which.

If he stayed out too long, his father would start nagging again.

The moment he returned to his courtyard.

Lei Wen sensed a wave of resentment.

An extremely heavy resentment.

At the stone bench in the courtyard.

Aiken sat there in a huff, kicking the stones on the ground with her little feet.

When she saw Lei Wen approach, the little girl immediately turned her head away, leaving only a round, pouty cheek for him.

"Humph!"

Her voice was not loud, but it carried plenty of force.

Lei Wen rubbed his nose with amusement, walked over, and reached out to pinch her cheek.

"Hmph!"

Aiken slapped his hand away, turned her head aside, and her big eyes filled with accusation.

"Don't touch me!"

"Lei Wen Barte Lei!"

"Did you forget that you still have a sister?"

"Do you know that I'll be going to Moria Academy in a month or two?"

"When the time comes, I'll have to stay all alone in that place full of strangers, where I won't eat well or sleep well, and no one will keep me company or talk to me!"

"And yet you—"

"All you do every day is train! Train! Train!"

"Can't you spare even half a day to go shopping with me in the city and treat me to something tasty?"

Little Rabbit bounced up and down on the spot, hands on her hips like an angry little cat with its fur standing on end.

The more she spoke, the more wronged she felt, and her eyes quickly reddened.

There was nothing she could do about it.

Lian Qiu was both fond of and worried about her younger sister.

Although she had been talking about how Moria Academy was close to home.

This would still be her first time leaving home to study, away from her parents and brother.

The unease in her heart could only be vented through this manner.

Lei Wen froze for a moment.

Looking at his little sister's reddened eyes, something in the softest part of his heart was touched.

That was right.

In Aiken's eyes, Luo Ye was a peaceful world.

She had a mighty Father, a gentle Mother, and an affluent life.

She had no idea what the cruel undercurrents beneath this world were like.

Nor did she know that her brother trained so desperately precisely to protect the peaceful home she took for granted.

But he could not tell her those things.

Nor was he allowed to.

"Alright!"

"It's Brother's fault!"

Lei Wen sighed helplessly, crouched down, and met Aiken's gaze.

He held out his hand.

Aiken did not move, only turned her body away with a huff.

"Just now, I went to the back mountain and brought you a little gift."

Lei Wen gently wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes, his gaze full of tenderness.

"A gift?"

"What gift?"

"You'd better not be trying to fool me with the sour plum paste from next door!"

Lian Qiu's ears twitched, and her eyes instantly lit up.

"How could I?"

Lei Wen smiled and flipped his wrist.

As if performing a magic trick, he pulled a snow-white rabbit with long ears out from behind his back.

It was a rabbit he had caught barehanded on the back mountain just now.

It had no attack power at all, was especially adorable, and looked like a fluffy ball.

Sure enough—

Lian Qiu's eyes immediately lit up.

"Wow!"

"What a cute little rabbit!"