Andrew Family

Greenleaf Road was the gathering place of nobles in Fenlai City, and the residences of many noble families in the Fenlai Kingdom were located along this very road.

The Andrew Family residence was here as well.

"Young Master Liewen." The guards at the estate gate recognized Liewen and lowered their heads in salute.

Liewen nodded to the guards and walked into the estate.

Though he was an illegitimate child and was not welcome in the Andrew Family, the household servants still did not dare be too presumptuous toward him on the surface.

Liewen arrived outside Viscount Andrew's bedroom just as Viscount Andrew's legal wife, Helen, came out.

The moment Helen saw Liewen, her expression darkened.

"You bastard, I'm warning you—don't even think about getting the Andrew Family's wealth. Not a single gold coin here belongs to you!"

Helen clearly knew that Viscount Andrew had written to Liewen and told him to return.

However, she did not know why Viscount Andrew had summoned Liewen back.

Precisely because of that, she had thought of many possibilities. What she feared most was that Viscount Andrew intended to divide the Andrew Family's wealth with Liewen.

Liewen had heard Helen's vicious insults countless times since childhood. He cast her a cold glance, ignored her hostility, and walked into Viscount Andrew's bedroom.

Joseph Andrew was the current head of the Andrew Family and the holder of the title Viscount Andrew.

In Liewen's memories, Joseph had been fairly tall, but the old man now lying in bed beneath an expensive gold-thread quilt looked frail and diminutive.

Joseph opened his eyes, turned his head slightly, and looked at Liewen.

"You're here," Joseph said weakly, sounding utterly drained.

"Yes, Father," Liewen replied calmly.

Joseph took a prepared letter from beside the bed and handed it to Liewen with trembling hands.

Liewen walked over and accepted the letter.

"This is a letter of recommendation I've prepared. After you graduate from Welin Warrior Academy, you can take it to the military department of the Fenlai Kingdom. It can secure you an officer's post. As for how far you can go afterward, that will depend on you. It will have nothing to do with the Andrew Family," Joseph said.

Liewen understood what Joseph meant. Joseph intended to use this letter of recommendation to sever Liewen's ties with the Andrew Family.

Joseph had two sons. One was born to his legal wife, Helen, while the other was Liewen.

Perhaps Joseph sensed that he did not have long to live, and since Helen could not tolerate Liewen, he made this arrangement to avoid disputes over the inheritance after his death.

The son born to his legal wife would inherit the viscount title and the Andrew Family's assets, while Liewen would take this letter of recommendation and make his own way in life.

Liewen had no objections to this. He had never felt any sense of belonging to the Andrew Family in the first place.

Still, since Father made this choice, it seems he doesn't think much of my future, Liewen thought.

If Joseph knew that Liewen could become a Saint Realm expert, he would never have allowed Liewen to leave the Andrew Family.

If a family had a Saint Realm expert, then so long as that expert did not fall, the family would never decline.

In Joseph's eyes, Liewen was merely someone with fairly good talent as a warrior.

Back when his magical talent had been tested, Liewen's affinity for the Light Element had been high-grade, while his spiritual power was twice that of his peers.

His elemental affinity was good, but his spiritual power was too low and did not meet the standard required to become a mage.

To become a mage, one's spiritual power had to be at least five times that of one's peers.

Joseph had also asked a friend with the strength of an Eight-ranked Warrior to test Liewen's talent as a warrior.

Liewen's physical talent was good, and he could become a warrior. Combined with his high-grade affinity for the Light Element, he was suited to cultivating light-attribute battle qi.

Back then, that Eight-ranked Warrior had judged that if Liewen trained normally, he would certainly become a 6th-Level Warrior and had a good chance of becoming a 7th-Level Warrior as well.

That assessment had been fairly accurate, nearly identical to the result given by the system.

The assessment given by that Eight-ranked Warrior was how Joseph viewed Liewen's potential.

A 7th-Level Warrior held no low status in the Fenlai Kingdom, but compared to the stability of the family, Joseph favored the latter.

Thus, Joseph decided to abandon Liewen.

Liewen put away the letter of recommendation and said calmly, "I understand, Father. If there's nothing else, I'll be going."

Joseph looked at his illegitimate son with slight surprise. He had thought Liewen would strongly resist this arrangement, but Liewen had accepted it with remarkable calm.

That's for the best. It saves a lot of trouble, Joseph thought to himself, then said to Liewen, "Go on."

Liewen nodded. He had no particular feelings for his biological father, but the man had fulfilled the basic duties of a father. As they were parting, Liewen felt he ought to offer him a blessing.

"Take care of yourself, Father."

With that, Liewen turned and headed for the door.

Helen was standing outside the door, with a young man in his early twenties beside her.

The young man was about one meter seventy-five tall. Like Liewen, he had black hair, and his features were fairly handsome. However, his eye sockets were sunken, his dark circles severe, and his gaze dull. He looked like someone ruined by excessive drinking and debauchery.

The young man was named Danton, Liewen's half-brother and the first in line to inherit the Andrew Family.

Helen and Danton had been standing outside and had heard the conversation between Liewen and Joseph. At that moment, both wore smug expressions.

"Get out, bastard. There's no place for you in the Andrew Family!" Helen sneered.

"Don't even think about getting tuition or living expenses from now on. The Andrew Family won't support a parasite like you!" Danton added maliciously.

Liewen laughed in anger. He had not wanted to lower himself to their level, but his magnanimity apparently made others think he was easy to bully.

He raised his hand and slapped them twice, sending Helen and Danton directly to the floor.

Helen was an ordinary person, while Danton was a Third-ranked Mage. Before Liewen, a 6th-Level Warrior, neither had any ability to fight back.

"Y-you dare hit me!" Helen clutched her swollen left cheek and glared at Liewen, her eyes nearly spitting fire as her voice trembled with rage.

"Guards! Guards!" Danton shouted, trying to summon the guards.

Liewen stepped on his mouth. Though he had held back, he still crushed several of Danton's teeth.

"If your mouth can't speak properly, I can help you cripple it!" Liewen said coldly.

With his mouth pinned beneath Liewen's foot, Danton's eyes filled with terror. Only now did he realize how foolish it was for a Third-ranked Mage to provoke a 6th-Level Warrior at close range.

Danton then thought of how his father did not have much time left, how he would soon become the new Viscount Andrew and inherit a vast estate. If he angered Liewen now and Liewen killed him, would that not be an enormous loss?

"I... won't... do it... again... spare... me..."

Danton begged repeatedly, but with his mouth pinned down, his words came out muffled and unclear.

Liewen snorted and moved his foot away.

He had not intended to kill Danton either. Killing someone openly here would leave Liewen unable to escape punishment. At his current strength, he could not yet disregard secular authority.

Liewen ignored the terrified Helen and Danton, turned, and left the Andrew Family residence.