Leaving

"What did you say? You want to resign as captain of the guards?"

At Laman Manor, Wilson, the commander of the guards, stared wide-eyed at Leian, his face full of disbelief, as if he could not believe what he had just heard.

"Yes, Mr. Wilson, you heard correctly. I came to resign. I plan to take my parents to live in the county city."

Leian repeated what he had just said.

Over a month ago, after initially comprehending Worldly Momentum, Leian had naturally broken through to become a ninth-rank warrior. Taking advantage of this year-end escort of tax payments back to Qingshi Town, he sought out Commander Wilson and voiced his intentions.

Beyond the realm of "Momentum" lay Laws and Profound Mysteries.

There were no words to describe such things. Even Leian could not guarantee when he would be able to touch that realm, especially since he cultivated the Destruction Rule.

The Four Edicts were unlike the Seven Laws. The profound mysteries of the latter were mostly divided into six types, each with a corresponding name; even at worst, one could infer their meaning from the words. The former, however, were a single whole, and even the original work had offered little description of them.

Leian knew very well that if he wanted to take another step forward, staying in such a small place and blindly training behind closed doors would absolutely not work. Especially for the Destruction Rule, which clearly could not do without battle.

Besides, Leian himself wanted to go out and see the world. He had come to this world thirty years ago, yet he had never once left Hashan County. Now that he was a ninth-rank powerhouse, he was fully qualified to make his way across the continent.

When Wilson heard that Leian intended to take his parents to live in the county city, he looked Leian up and down and shook his head with a smile.

"The county city isn't such an easy place to settle down in. With your current sixth-rank... wait."

Before he could finish, he suddenly felt that he had discovered something incredible. He hurriedly focused his attention again, and after sensing from Leian the exact same aura he had possessed when he had broken through to become a seventh-rank warrior, he asked in disbelief,

"You've become a seventh-rank warrior?"

Leian smiled faintly and answered openly, "Yes, Mr. Wilson. I broke through a month ago."

That was naturally a lie. As for the aura of a seventh-rank warrior around him, Leian had deliberately disguised it.

"So that's how it is. No wonder you dare take your parents to the county city."

Wilson's face filled with realization. A seventh-rank warrior could easily serve as a captain of guards in the county city, earning three to five thousand gold coins a year—more than enough to support a family.

If one was not afraid of death and was willing to become a mercenary, or hunt magical beasts in the Youquan Mountain Range, earning tens of thousands of gold coins a year was not impossible either.

Thinking of this, Wilson could not help looking Leian over a few more times, feeling genuinely envious.

The young man before him had even better talent than he did. He had reached the seventh rank at thirty, whereas Wilson had already passed forty when he became a seventh-rank warrior. It would likely be difficult for him to advance any further in this life, but Leian clearly still had a chance.

Any lord would not easily allow such a powerhouse to leave. But Wilson was only temporarily serving as the commander of the Laman territory. Once Randy Rachel came of age, Wilson would ultimately have to return to the county city.

Since that was the case, why not do him a favor?

With that thought, Wilson beamed and patted Leian on the shoulder. "Since you've made up your mind, Leian, I have no objections at all. However, you'd best inform Madam Tina as well."

"I understand. Then thank you, Mr. Wilson."

Leian nodded with a smile. Though no one could stop him if he truly wanted to leave with his strength, this was still the place where he had been born. And since he would be taking his parents with him, it was better to leave on good terms.

After settling matters with Wilson, Leian prepared to leave. Unexpectedly, Wilson was in high spirits and kept him there to talk about the county city, even enthusiastically telling him about the things he needed to watch out for while living there.

After listening for a while, Leian gradually realized that Wilson was trying to do him a favor, which left him somewhat helpless.

In truth, telling Wilson that he was going to the county city had merely been an excuse. His real destination this time was the imperial capital.

Since he had decided to travel the continent, he first had to arrange for his parents to stay somewhere safe. Within the entire Byron Empire, there was no place more suitable than the imperial capital.

When the time came, he only needed to reveal a little of his true strength, and ordinary people would definitely not dare provoke him. He might even be able to obtain a minor noble title from the emperor.

After all, a thirty-year-old ninth-rank warrior was absolutely among the top geniuses on the continent. Even Olivia, the future genius Sword Saint, had only been at that level.

After chatting idly with Wilson for a while, Leian took the excuse of visiting Madam Tina and bade him farewell.

In truth, it was not really an excuse, because he genuinely did go to see Madam Tina.

For someone as talented as Leian, Madam Tina was certainly reluctant to let him leave. But she also understood that Leian had been recruited into the guards by her father, Laman, and was not necessarily particularly loyal to Randy, the future heir of the territory.

And a guard whose loyalty could not be guaranteed could not be trusted, no matter how strong he was.

Thus, Madam Tina's thoughts coincided with Wilson's. She likewise chose to do Leian a favor and agreed to his request.

Having successfully resigned from his guard position, Leian was in excellent spirits. After leaving the manor, he rushed home at high speed and told his parents of his plans.

When Barry and Annie learned that their son intended to take them away, they felt somewhat reluctant, but since they would be living in a big city, they had no other complaints.

Leian cared deeply about the parents he had in this life. In a world where reaching the Saint Realm granted immortality, he hoped his parents could live forever.

Over the years, under his supervision, Barry and Annie had never given up cultivating.

He had even borrowed a testing crystal ball from Madam Tina through the convenience of being captain of the guards, testing his parents' cultivation talents.

Their talents were ordinary. Barry had moderate affinity for earth elemental essence, while Annie had moderate affinity for wind elemental essence.

After learning of their talents, Leian found a battle qi cultivation technique for each of them from the Cleo Family's collection.

By now, Barry was already a fifth-rank warrior, while Annie had broken through to the fourth rank not long ago.

With such strength, living to one hundred and fifty years old would not be a problem at all.

If they cultivated to the realm of sixth-rank warriors, they could live for two hundred years. Once they broke through to the seventh rank, they would have a lifespan of three hundred years.

That way, as long as Barry and Annie did not give up cultivating, slowly grinding their way to the ninth rank should not be difficult.

Over the following days, Leian began preparing for the journey.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed. On the day winter gave way to spring, Leian's family set out in a carriage.

At the entrance of the town, Edwin and the others watched the carriage gradually disappear into the distance, their feelings exceedingly complicated. Once upon a time, they too had wanted to leave the town and venture across the continent, but dreams were ultimately only dreams. Their strength did not permit it, nor did they possess enough courage.

P.S. I had something to deal with today, so there's only one chapter. I'll try to write more tomorrow.