Kuhn's Letter

Liewen returned to his estate.

The moment he entered, an eight-year-old girl ran over excitedly and wrapped her arms around his.

"Brother Liewen, you're back!"

The little girl was Lena. She was eight years old this year as well, with long, silky hair, pale blue eyes, and fair skin tinged with pink. She was already a budding beauty.

Liewen smiled and patted little Lena's head. He took out a blue crystal stone and handed it to her.

It was a Blue Crystal Stone, a kind of stone found only at the bottom of Sun-Moon Lake. It was useless for cultivation, but its pretty appearance made it popular among noble ladies and young misses.

Whenever Liewen returned from hunting magical beasts, he would bring Lena little trinkets.

"Lena, this is a gift for you."

"Thank you, Brother Liewen!"

Holding the Blue Crystal Stone, Lena's eyes sparkled as she happily admired it. The stone suited her pale blue eyes quite well.

Liewen smiled at Lena. "Lena, you're eight this year too. Do you want to become a mage?"

"A mage?"

Delight appeared on Lena's face. She often watched Liewen train and had long been interested in cultivation.

"Yes, I want to be a mage!"

"Then three days from now, I'll take you to the magic test," Liewen said.

Three days later, the Radiant Cathedral in Hess City would hold its annual magic test.

Just like Fenlai City in the past, Hess City held a unified magic test every year. At that time, the major magic academies of the Hess Kingdom would also recruit students on-site.

I wonder what Lena's spiritual force and elemental affinity are like, and whether she can meet the standards of a mage, Liewen thought.

That evening, after dinner, Lena returned to her room to rest, while the butler brought Liewen a letter.

"A letter?"

Liewen was somewhat surprised. He could not think of anyone who would write to him.

He opened the envelope and only understood after reading its contents.

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

Back then, to evade the Radiant Church, Kuhn had chosen to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range and head to the O'Brien Empire.

Although Kuhn was an Eight-ranked Warrior, the Magical Beast Mountain Range was fraught with danger. He had repeatedly fallen into life-or-death crises, though he had ultimately escaped each one safely.

Kuhn successfully reached Chiyan City, the imperial capital of the O'Brien Empire. After several years of hard work, he finally gained a foothold in the city. Only then did he write, hoping to reunite with his daughter Lena.

"The O'Brien Empire... Linley should be in its Northwest Province around this time," Liewen muttered.

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 lay the four great empires, the Far East Prairie, the Land of Chaos, and the Eighteen Northern Duchies.

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

Both of those great empires had God Realm experts overseeing them.

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

Back when Linley left Hess City and entered the Magical Beast Mountain Range to train, he spent three years crossing the range before arriving in the O'Brien Empire.

In the O'Brien Empire, Linley discovered and sabotaged some of the Radiant Church's secret operations. A group of highly capable companions also gathered around him.

They were the 9th Level Grand Magus of Necromancy Sessler, the five Barker brothers of the Undying Warrior Family, and the sisters Lina and Rebecca.

All of them had been captured by the Radiant Church and bore grudges against it.

Sessler had been captured because the Radiant Church wanted his Necromancy. The five Barker brothers had been captured because their physical strength had reached that of Eight-ranked Warriors, while the sisters Lina and Rebecca had been captured because of their pure souls.

Linley's group lived in the Northwest Province of the O'Brien Empire for nearly six years before heading to Chiyan City, the imperial capital. There, Linley displayed the strength of a Dragonblood Warrior and became famous throughout the Yulan Continent.

Liewen's next witnessing mission was to witness Linley reunite with Delia. Their reunion would take place in Chiyan City.

There was still about a year until the witnessing.

"Once little Lena finishes her magic test, I'll take her to the O'Brien Empire," Liewen decided.

Since he would be taking little Lena with him, Liewen did not intend to cross the Magical Beast Mountain Range. Instead, he would head north, go around its northernmost edge, enter the Northwest Province of the O'Brien Empire, and then proceed to Chiyan City.

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

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

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

Liewen had already told her about Kuhn. She was both expectant and nervous about meeting her father. When Kuhn had left, little Lena had not even been a year old, so she had no memories of him.

"Lena, I'm going to write back to your father. Is there anything you want to tell him?"

Lena thought about it seriously, but because she had no impression of her father in her memories, she ultimately did not know what to say.

Liewen smiled, understanding completely. He had the butler bring a quill and paper, then wrote Kuhn a reply, informing him that he would bring little Lena to Chiyan City in the O'Brien Empire to reunite with him.

Once the letter was finished, he instructed the butler to send it out. At the same time, he had the servants prepare their luggage and carriage so that he could leave with little Lena once the magic test was over.

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

That morning, after breakfast, Liewen took little Lena into a carriage and headed for the Radiant Cathedral in Hess City.

The Radiant Cathedral stood in the center of Hess City. It was grand and imposing, built entirely from massive white stones. Its soaring spires pierced the sky, while the stained-glass windows depicted the missionary stories of the Radiant Church.

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

The square before the cathedral was already packed with carriages from Hess City's major noble families. Many commoners and minor nobles from the surrounding countryside had also come, forming two separate groups that did not interfere with each other.

The moment Liewen and Lena stepped down from their carriage, they quickly drew everyone's attention.

"Look, it's Duke Andrew!"

"Did Duke Andrew bring his little sister here for the magic test?"

"Good heavens, Duke Andrew rarely ever leaves his estate. We actually got to see him today."

Although Liewen kept a low profile and rarely interacted with the outside world, he was a 9th Level expert with the Radiant Church behind him. His reputation had long spread among the nobles of Hess City.

More importantly, Liewen was only in his thirties, unmarried, and had hopes of reaching the Saint Realm in the future. His prospects were boundless.

Every Hess City noble with a daughter of suitable age tried every possible means to arrange a meeting between her and Liewen.

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

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

"Duke Andrew, this must be your younger sister, yes? What an adorable little girl!"

The nobles crowded around them. They acted lofty and arrogant before commoners, but when facing someone of higher status, they all wore ingratiating expressions.

Little Lena was frightened by the scene. Liewen shielded her as he smiled and dealt with the crowd, releasing a thread of battle-qi to push the people aside and make his way toward the cathedral entrance.