Light-Element Magic

Kuhn entrusted his daughter Lena to Liewen.

Liewen had expected Lena to cry bitterly, but the little girl was sleeping soundly.

Liewen gave Kuhn the address of his residence in Hess City.

Kuhn memorized it firmly, then gave Lena one last reluctant look.

"Please, Mr. Liewen."

Kuhn's eyes were slightly red. After speaking, he turned and headed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Liewen strapped Lena tightly to his back with cloth.

He was ready to take care of his own business.

That ninth-rank ascetic was still unconscious. He dragged the ascetic into a house by the roadside.

There were bloodstains on the walls, and the homeowner had already died at the claws of magical beasts.

Liewen severed the tendons in the ascetic's hands and feet.

The pain woke the ascetic.

"I need every Light-Element spell from the seventh rank to the forbidden level," Liewen said coldly.

The ascetic's face twisted in agony, but he clenched his teeth and said nothing.

Liewen sliced off the thumbnail on his right hand with one stroke of his sword.

The ascetic cried out in pain but still refused to yield.

Liewen sliced off his second nail.

Half an hour later, Liewen dragged the ascetic's battered corpse out of the house.

He had obtained all the Light-Element spells he wanted.

Liewen's interest in the Tiger-Striped Warrior was only a minor reason for saving Kuhn. His main purpose had been to obtain Light-Element magic.

Seventh-rank to forbidden-level spells of every element were controlled by the major powers and were never made public. They could not be acquired through ordinary means unless one joined a faction or resorted to extraordinary methods.

He dug a large pit and buried the ascetic together with the two Religious Inquisition experts.

Liewen wanted to destroy the evidence.

In truth, if he left them here, their corpses would eventually be devoured by magical beasts. But to be safe, Liewen decided to bury them anyway.

After finishing everything, Liewen headed toward Hess City with little Lena.

Along the way, he continually pondered the Light-Element spells he had acquired, hoping to draw some inspiration about the Mysteries of the Laws of Light from them.

Mysteries and magic were actually closely connected.

Many years ago, the sovereign gods of each element had competed for the power of faith from the various Material Planes. In order to spread their faith, they had created magic based on the mysteries of their respective laws and passed it on to their followers.

Magic was, in fact, simplified mysteries.

"This forbidden Light-Element spell, Angel's Descent, appears connected to the Mysteries of Light Element. Both control Light Element to condense it into specific forms."

"Light magic's Soul Suppression should have been simplified from some kind of Soul Attack mystery."

"And the forbidden spell Light of World Purification—what mystery is that based on?"

While contemplating the mysteries, Liewen continued onward and entered the Hess Kingdom.

Once he arrived here, the scenery along the road finally changed. There were no more magical beasts, and neither cities nor villages showed signs of dead bodies.

There were still very few people, but they had likely migrated north out of fear of danger.

Liewen continued forward and saw military camps stretching endlessly into the distance.

Besides the Hess Kingdom's army, there were also knight orders and mage legions from the Holy Union.

The Holy See clearly intended to establish a defensive line in the Hess Kingdom to block the beast hordes.

After passing through the checkpoint established by the army and traveling another three hundred li, Liewen finally arrived at Hess City, the capital of the Hess Kingdom.

Hess City was already packed to the brim with nobles and wealthy people from various nations who had fled there.

Liewen entered the city and found the residences he had purchased.

Of the many residences he had bought, most were meant to be sold. Only one had been reserved for his own residence.

The influx of nobles and wealthy people into Hess City had caused prices, as well as hotel room rates, to soar.

A fine meal that might once have cost only a hundred gold coins now sold for several thousand, and demand still exceeded supply.

During the few months he had lived in the countryside, Liewen had already entrusted the Dawson Chamber of Commerce with hiring a group of servants and stockpiling daily necessities, so he did not need to worry about rising prices.

He had once considered opening an inn or restaurant as well, but he was busy cultivating and did not want to waste effort managing one, so he gave up on the idea. Buying residences and reselling them was a one-time business.

Liewen returned to his residence.

The residence he had chosen for himself was not in the central area of Hess City. It was relatively quiet and free from disturbance.

The servants in the residence had long since received word and were waiting at the main gate.

"Greetings, sir." The servants bowed to him. In the Hess Kingdom, Liewen was no longer a viscount, so the servants all addressed him as sir.

"All right, go about your work." Liewen waved a hand and dismissed them.

"Steward Edward, help me find an experienced wet nurse to care for the young miss."

Liewen handed little Lena to the steward. To outsiders, he claimed that Lena was his younger sister.

Babies of that age all looked much the same, so he was not worried about the Radiant Church discovering her.

"Yes." Edward held little Lena. He was an elderly man with meticulously combed white hair, a straight back, and proper manners. At a glance, he was clearly a highly experienced noble household steward.

"Sir, people have been coming by these past few days to ask about purchasing residences. Since you were absent, I turned them all away. Would you like to meet them?"

Liewen smiled upon hearing this. Many nobles and wealthy people had flooded into Hess City these past few days. Accustomed to luxury, such important figures naturally could not tolerate staying in ordinary inns and hotels, so they wanted to purchase residences.

The price of residences in Hess City had already multiplied several times over.

Residences that normally cost two or three hundred thousand gold coins now sold for more than a million gold coins.

"Fine. Let them come." These were exactly the people Liewen had been waiting for.

Over the next two days, Liewen met with quite a few nobles and wealthy people in succession. Nearly all the residences in his possession were sold, earning him more than a hundred million gold coins.

There were a few minor incidents during that time. One impoverished noble came to cause trouble.

One of the residences Liewen owned had been sold to him by that man. The fellow was a wastrel who had sold his family's ancestral home to Liewen.

The price had been the market price at the time.

But now that its value had multiplied several times, he immediately felt resentful and came to demand a share of the profits. Liewen simply beat him and threw him out.

One day, while Liewen was comprehending mysteries in the courtyard, the steward approached him.

"Sir, a guest has come to ask about purchasing a residence."

Liewen opened his eyes. "Take him to the study."

He had only one residence left for sale. It was on Keyan Street in Hess City, an entirely ordinary residence outside the central district.

He had bought it for two hundred thousand gold coins. Of course, anyone who wanted it now would have to pay a million.

In the study, Liewen met the buyer. He was a man with short green hair. Judging from his clothes and bearing, he was a guard, clearly sent by his master to inquire about the price.

In the end, the residence was sold for one million gold coins.

Liewen also learned the buyer's true identity: Sha Ke, the second prince of the Fenlai Kingdom.

The man with short green hair left, and Liewen knew that the next witnessing was approaching.

His next witnessing mission was to witness the death of Doehring Cowart.

On the Day of Destruction, after Linley escaped from the Radiant Temple and left Fenlai City, he encountered Sha Ke, the second prince of the Fenlai Kingdom, on the road.

Linley had once assassinated Clayde in Fenlai City, but he had used Dragonform at the time, so most people believed that the one who had attacked Clayde was a monster.

The Radiant Church had also suppressed the news, so many people did not know that Linley had attempted to assassinate Clayde.

Sha Ke did not know either. Therefore, he did not suspect Linley and traveled with him to Hess City.

When fleeing Fenlai City, in order to avoid attracting the attention of Saint Realm magical beasts, the Fenlai royal family had departed in three separate groups. Hess City was one of the rendezvous points agreed upon by Sha Ke and Clayde.

Linley followed Sha Ke in order to find Clayde.

Sha Ke purchased the residence as a temporary dwelling for himself and Clayde.

In Hess City, Linley successfully killed Clayde and learned from him that Clayde had offered Linley's mother to the Radiant Church.

Because Linley's mother possessed a pure soul, the Radiant Church had offered her to the Lord of Light.

After Linley killed Clayde, he was besieged by six special-grade executors from the Religious Inquisition.

Linley and Bebe were outnumbered. In the end, Doehring Cowart exhausted the last of his soul power and unleashed the earth-element forbidden spell Meteor Fall, saving Linley.

Doehring Cowart's soul was scattered and destroyed.