A Letter from Kuhn

Liewen returned to his mansion.

As soon as he stepped through the door, an eight-year-old girl ran over excitedly and hugged Liewen's arm.

"Brother Liewen, you're back!"

The little girl was Laina. She was eight years old this year, with long, silky hair, pale blue eyes, and skin with a rosy glow—a true beauty in the making.

Liewen smiled and patted little Laina's head, then took a blue crystal stone from his person and handed it to her.

This was a blue crystal, a type of stone found only at the bottom of Sun-Moon Lake. It had no use for cultivation, but because it was quite beautiful, it was very popular among noble ladies and young misses.

Every time he returned from hunting magical beasts, Liewen would bring back some small trinkets for Laina.

"Laina, this is a gift for you."

"Thank you, Brother Liewen!"

Laina held the blue crystal, her eyes sparkling as she happily admired it. The crystal complemented her pale blue eyes quite well.

Liewen looked at Laina with a smile: "Laina, you're eight years old now. Do you want to become a mage?"

"A mage?"

Laina's expression brightened. She often saw Liewen cultivating and had long been interested in it herself.

"I do! I want to be a mage!"

"In that case, I will take you to participate in the magic aptitude test in three days," Liewen said.

Three days later, the Radiant Cathedral in Hess City would hold a unified magic aptitude test.

Just like in Fenlai City, Hess City held a unified magic test every year, and the various magic academies of the Hess Kingdom would be on-site to recruit students.

I wonder how Laina's spiritual energy and elemental affinity are. I hope she can meet the standards for a mage, Liewen thought to himself.

That evening, after dinner, Laina went to her room to rest, and the butler delivered a letter to Liewen.

"A letter?"

Liewen was somewhat surprised; he couldn't imagine who would be writing to him.

He opened the envelope and, upon seeing the contents, realized who it was.

The letter was from Kuhn, Laina's biological father.

Years ago, in order to escape the Radiant Church, Kuhn had chosen to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range to reach the O'Brien Empire.

Although Kuhn was a warrior of the eighth rank, the Magical Beast Mountain Range was fraught with danger. He had fallen into life-or-death crises multiple times, but fortunately, he had managed to turn danger into safety in the end.

Kuhn had successfully reached the O'Brien Empire's imperial capital, Chiyan, and after several years of hard work, he had finally established a foothold there. He had written this letter hoping to reunite with his daughter, Laina.

"The O'Brien Empire... I suppose Linley should be in the northwestern province of the O'Brien Empire by now," Liewen muttered to himself.

The human powers of the Yulan Continent were divided by the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

West of the Magical Beast Mountain Range lay the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance.

East of the Magical Beast Mountain Range were the four great empires, the Far East Prairie, the Land of Chaos, and the Northern Eighteen Duchies.

Among them, the most powerful were the O'Brien Empire and the Yulan Empire.

Both of these great empires had god-level experts presiding over them.

Separated from the Holy Union by the Magical Beast Mountain Range was the O'Brien Empire.

Back then, when Linley left Hess City to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, it had taken him three years to cross it and arrive in the O'Brien Empire.

In the O'Brien Empire, Linley had discovered some of the Radiant Church's covert operations and disrupted them, gathering a group of powerful companions along the way.

They were the ninth-rank necromancer Sessler, the five Barker brothers of the Undying Warrior clan, and the sisters Lina and Rebecca.

All of these people had been captured by the Radiant Church and held grudges against it.

Sessler was targeted because the Radiant Church wanted his necromantic magic, the Barker brothers because their physical strength had reached the eighth rank, and the sisters Lina and Rebecca because of their pure souls.

Linley's group had lived in the northwestern province of the O'Brien Empire for nearly six years before heading to the imperial capital, Chiyan. It was in Chiyan that Linley displayed his strength as a Dragonblood Warrior, becoming famous throughout the Yulan Continent.

Liewen's next witnessing mission was to witness the reunion of Linley and Delia, which would take place in Chiyan.

There was still about a year left until that event.

"Once little Laina's magic test is over, I'll take her to the O'Brien Empire," Liewen planned.

If he brought little Laina along, Liewen didn't intend to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range directly. Instead, he would head north, bypass the northernmost tip of the mountain range, enter the northwestern province of the O'Brien Empire, and then proceed to the capital, Chiyan.

Under normal circumstances, this journey would take about a year.

"If I leave now, I can make it in time for the next witnessing."

The next day, Liewen gave Kuhn's letter to little Laina.

Liewen had already told her about Kuhn. Regarding meeting her father, little Laina was both expectant and a bit nervous; when Kuhn left, Laina had been less than a year old and had no memories of him.

"Laina, I'm going to write a reply to your father. Is there anything you want to say to him?"

Laina thought about it seriously, but because she had no impression of her father in her memories, she didn't know what to say in the end.

Liewen smiled, understanding her feelings. He had the butler bring a quill and paper, and he wrote a reply to Kuhn, telling him that he would bring little Laina to Chiyan in the O'Brien Empire to reunite with him.

After finishing the letter, he instructed the butler to send it out, while also ordering the servants to prepare the luggage and carriage so they could leave with Laina as soon as the magic test concluded.

In the blink of an eye, the day of the magic test arrived.

In the morning, after breakfast, Liewen took Laina into the carriage and headed toward the Radiant Cathedral in Hess City.

The Radiant Cathedral was located in the central district of Hess City, magnificent and imposing, constructed entirely of massive white stone with towering spires piercing the sky, while the stained-glass windows depicted the missionary tales of the Radiant Church.

The Radiant Cathedral in Hess City was in no way inferior to the one in Fenlai City back in the day.

The plaza in front of the cathedral was already filled with the carriages of the major nobles of Hess City, and there were also many commoners and minor nobles from the surrounding countryside; the two groups stayed in separate circles, not interfering with one another.

As Liewen and Laina stepped down from the carriage, they immediately attracted the attention of the entire crowd.

"Look, it's Duke Andrew!"

"Is Duke Andrew bringing his sister for the magic test?"

"Good heavens, Duke Andrew rarely leaves his estate; to think we would actually see him today."

Although Liewen lived in seclusion and did not associate with the outside world, he was a ninth-rank powerhouse with ties to the Radiant Church, so his reputation had long since spread among the nobles of Hess City.

Most importantly, Liewen was only in his thirties, unmarried, and had the potential to reach the Saint Realm in the future, making his prospects boundless.

Nobles in Hess City with daughters of marriageable age had tried every possible means to arrange a meeting between their daughters and Liewen.

"Duke Andrew, greetings, I am Marquis Andor."

"Duke Andrew, I never expected you to come as well; I am Count Keen."

"Duke Andrew, is this your sister? What a cute little girl!"

The nobles swarmed forward one after another; these nobles, who looked down their noses at commoners, all wore fawning expressions when facing someone of higher status.

Laina was frightened by the scene, so Liewen shielded her, smiling as he dealt with the crowd while releasing a wisp of battle qi to push through the throng and head toward the cathedral gates.