Purification Guard

White light shone within Liewen's secluded courtyard.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, his entire body enveloped in white Light Battle Qi. The Light Battle Qi formed a translucent sphere, countless white rays flickering and flowing across its surface.

This was the defensive technique Liewen had developed from his study of the Profundity of Purification—Purification Guard.

The Purification Rays were no longer gathered together for an attack. Instead, they rapidly circled his body, forming a defense.

Within Liewen's sea of consciousness, those scattered spiritual forces were also changing.

All of his spiritual force had been mobilized, forming an identical translucent sphere, with countless rays flashing and circling across its surface.

Liewen's greatest gain during this period was discovering that the Profundity of Purification could be applied not only to material defense and material attacks, but also to soul defense and Soul Attacks.

Not every profundity encompassed both the material and spiritual aspects. The "Light Element" Profundity, for example, could only be applied to material attacks and material defense; it could not affect the soul.

Aside from Purification Guard, Liewen's Purification Beam now also contained a Soul Attack.

If he fought Useno now, Liewen was confident that he could win more easily.

I should be able to fight someone at the Saint Realm Limit now, Liewen thought.

On August 4, Year 10009 of the Yulan Calendar, Linley and Haydson's decisive battle came to an end.

A month later, when September arrived, Liewen and the other two set out for the Yulan Empire.

The reason they had waited until now was because they wished to return alongside the Yulan Empire's delegation.

At the riverside port of the Chiyan River, Linley, Delia, Kailan, and the others had come to see them off.

Delia had not returned with the Yulan Empire delegation. Instead, she remained at Linley's side in a private capacity.

"Mr. Liewen, until we meet again!" Linley said.

"Linley, come visit the Yulan Empire when you have the chance," Liewen said.

He glanced at Delia beside Linley and smiled. "I look forward to hearing your good news."

Linley rubbed his nose somewhat awkwardly at those words, while Delia remained perfectly composed.

"Big Brother Kailan, I'm leaving." Lena hugged Kailan, reluctant to part with him.

Kailan was a good person. During this time, he and Lena had gotten along quite well.

"Lena, once you reach the Yulan Empire, study magic properly. We'll still have chances to meet again in the future," Kailan said with a smile, comforting her.

"Kailan, thank you for everything during this time. If you ever need anything in the future, you can come find me in the Yulan Empire," Liewen said.

During his time with the Daryl Family, Kailan had made many things convenient for Liewen, allowing him to cultivate in peace without interruption. Liewen was deeply grateful for that.

"Thank you, Mr. Liewen." Kailan was both surprised and excited.

He had not expected Liewen to say such a thing. This was practically the same as allowing him to establish ties with a Saint Realm expert.

The Daryl Family was considered a great noble family in the O'Brien Empire, but it had never produced a Saint Realm expert.

"Big Sister Delia, aren't you leaving with us?" Lena climbed in front of Delia, hugged her leg, and looked up at her.

During this period, Liewen occasionally sought out Linley to spar and exchange insights. Lena sometimes went along as well, so she naturally met Delia.

As time passed, the two beauties, one grown and one little, became increasingly close.

Delia glanced at Linley, then crouched down and held Lena's face in both hands. "Big Sister will be staying in Chiyan City for a while longer. Focus on learning magic. When I return, I'll be checking on you. If you don't study hard, Big Sister won't play with you anymore!"

Little Lena immediately grew serious. "Big Sister, I'll definitely study magic properly!"

"Alright, it's about time." Master Longers smiled calmly.

"Teacher, have a safe journey," Delia said.

"Delia found Linley and won't even go home anymore!" Master Longers's magical beast, the Earth Bear Ahuang, teased Delia.

"Ahuang, are you looking to die?" Delia grabbed one of Ahuang's ears.

"Hehe, that doesn't hurt!" Ahuang laughed smugly.

Amid the laughter and playful commotion, Liewen and the others boarded the Yulan Empire's luxurious river vessel.

The vessel set sail, heading along the river toward the Yulan Empire.

"Big Brother Linley, Big Brother Kailan, Big Sister Delia, goodbye..."

Lena stood on the deck, waving farewell to Linley and the others.

The Yulan Empire lay south of the O'Brien Empire.

The Chiyan River was a tributary of the Yulan River. After sailing for three days, the vessel finally left the Chiyan River and entered the Yulan River.

After traveling along the Yulan River for more than half a month, they would reach Yulan City, the imperial capital of the Yulan Empire.

Lena's delighted laughter drifted down from the sky.

The Earth Bear Ahuang carried Lena on his back as he flew around above the vessel.

As a Saint Realm magical beast, Ahuang was quite proud and rarely thought much of ordinary people. Yet Lena had unexpectedly gotten along very well with him.

"Little Lena, do you want to fly even higher?" Ahuang asked.

"Yes!"

"Heh, just watch. Leave it to me, Ahuang!"

Liewen stood on the deck of the vessel, smiling as he watched Lena having the time of her life.

Master Longers stood beside him at that moment.

"Lena is such a lovable child." Master Longers's face was full of smiles. "If her elemental affinity were for the wind element, I would have taken her as my disciple."

Master Longers was a wind-element Saint Magus.

"Master Longers, I've never been to the Yulan Empire before. Could you tell me about it?" Liewen asked.

There had not been much description of the Yulan Empire in the original work. Since he had decided to live there, Liewen also wanted to first gain a basic understanding of it.

"The Yulan Empire..."

Master Longers considered where to begin, then slowly said, "The most important figure in the Yulan Empire is, naturally, the High Priest."

"The High Priest cultivates Nature Magic, and the High Priest's personal disciples are all mages as well. Those accepted as the High Priest's disciples may all become Saint Magi in the future."

Liewen nodded. That was rather similar to the War God. Within the War God Sect, nearly all of the War God's personal disciples could become Saint Warriors.

Mages had a more difficult path of cultivation than warriors. Linley, for instance, had become a Level Seven Mage at seventeen, ranking second in the history of the Yulan Continent. Yet there had been quite a few seventeen-year-old 7th-Level Warriors throughout history.

By the usual ratio, among four Saint Realm experts, there would be three Saint Warriors and one Saint Magus.

The O'Brien Empire and the Yulan Empire were both abnormal cases.

The War God had begun as a warrior, and most of the O'Brien Empire's experts were warriors as well.

Among the O'Brien Empire's Saint Realm experts, only one out of more than a dozen was a Saint Magus.

In the Yulan Empire, however, the ratio of Saint Warriors to Saint Magi was as high as one to one.

"Under the High Priest's influence, magic flourished in the Yulan Empire. It could be called the cradle of mages. Although the Holy Union is also proficient in magic, what makes the Holy Union powerful is its foundational magic education. Take the former Ernst Institute, for example. In the realm of high-level mages, the Holy Union cannot compare to the Yulan Empire."

"After the Ernst Institute was destroyed, the Yulan Empire also surpassed it in foundational magic education. The continent's number one magic academy is now the Yulan Empire Royal Magic Academy. With Little Lena's magical talent, getting accepted will not be a problem."

Master Longers's expression gradually turned serious. "In the field of magic, you need not worry. The Yulan Empire is the best on the continent. The Yulan Empire's greatest problem is its poor social climate."