Collection

Under the cover of night, Qingshi Town was as tranquil as ever. The residents were resting in their homes as usual, unaware that their lord had died out there.

When Leian returned to his bedroom in the small courtyard, it was already past midnight. As soon as he changed out of his night-traveling clothes, he impatiently took a large wooden chest from his ring and began to rummage through it.

This wooden chest was about two meters long, half a meter wide, and one meter high. Upon opening it, one could see seven or eight small wooden boxes of varying lengths packed inside.

Leian casually picked up a half-meter-long box and opened it to find a dagger inside.

The dagger was pitch black, its surface shimmering with a faint, elusive luster. Leian examined it carefully in his hand; although he could not identify the material used to forge it, he knew it was a weapon of extremely high quality. Whoever used it must have been an expert who practiced Dark Battle Qi.

Dark Battle Qi? Could this be a weapon used by an ancestor of the Cleo Family?

Lost in thought, Leian put the dagger back and pulled out a wooden box over a meter long that resembled a sword case.

As expected, it contained a weapon, though not a sword, but a large, earthy-yellow saber. While its quality wasn't quite on par with the dagger, it was not far behind.

With two consecutive boxes containing weapons, Leian wondered if this entire large chest was filled with armaments.

Thinking this, he quickly checked all the remaining boxes. The result was exactly as he had guessed: every box contained a weapon, including blades, swords, and spears of varying quality. Only two were of the highest grade: the black dagger and a blue long-bladed saber.

Even the lowest-quality weapon in the chest was better than what Leian currently used. However, he didn't find a style he particularly liked, so he eventually put all the weapons back.

Of course, even if he had, Leian wouldn't have dared to use them openly, as these weapons likely belonged to the ancestors of the Cleo Family, and it would be a huge problem if someone recognized them.

After putting the large chest away, Leian took out a square, purple wooden chest. Upon opening it, he found over a dozen small wooden boxes, though these were much smaller, only slightly larger than an adult's fist.

He picked one up at random and opened it to find a seventh-level earth-attribute magic core.

Seeing this, Leian smiled silently, thinking, I knew it! With the strength of that father and son, how could they not have seventh-level magic cores!

As he pondered, he picked up another box and opened it. He had only intended a casual glance, but he was stunned on the spot.

The box contained another magic core, but it was slightly larger than the seventh-level one, and its aura was far more restrained. It was pitch black, with a faint purple halo shimmering on its surface.

"This... could this be a ninth-level magic core?"

Leian stared with wide eyes, filled with disbelief. Magic cores of different levels varied in size and aura, and the one before him matched the illustrations of ninth-level magic cores he had seen in the past perfectly.

So, this was indeed a ninth-level magic core!

The Cleo Family actually possessed a treasure of this level; one truly cannot judge a book by its cover!

Furthermore, what shocked Leian even more was that this one possessed the attribute of Destruction, its aura identical to the Destruction Battle Qi he practiced.

As far as he knew, magic beasts of the four great rule-based attributes were recognized as rare on the continent. Whether the Cleo Family possessed such a treasure due to good luck or deep foundations was a mystery.

Leian pondered this while admiring the rare magic core, but before long, he frowned and exclaimed in his heart, "Wait!"

He had been so focused on identifying the level of the core that he had ignored other signs—for instance, the surface of the core was bright and lustrous, and if he sniffed carefully, he could even smell a faint trace of blood.

Judging by these two points, it hadn't been long since it was extracted.

Coincidentally, half a month ago, Elvis and his father had been blinded by greed for a severely wounded ninth-level magic beast, which had resulted in the father's death.

With the timing so perfectly aligned, it was hard not to draw a connection. Perhaps this magic core had come from that very beast.

Although Elvis's father had died in battle, the ninth-level magic beast hadn't survived either, ultimately allowing Elvis to reap a massive windfall.

Everything seemed perfectly logical.

The more Leian thought about it, the more he felt this was the truth. He then couldn't help but think of himself; tonight, he had inadvertently played the role Elvis once had, which made him marvel at the wonders of fate.

Of course, he was the one who had the last laugh, so he hoped this wonder would remain with him forever, rather than him becoming someone else's "wallet" in turn.

Holding onto this hope and encouragement, Leian put away the magic core and continued to look through the remaining boxes.

As expected, this purple chest was filled with the treasures of the Cleo Family.

Soon, Leian found two more seventh-level magic cores, five sixth-level ones, followed by gold notes, gold coins, and even two pieces of medium-grade ore.

Setting aside the ninth-level magic core, the total value of these treasures alone exceeded three hundred thousand gold coins.

It was hard to imagine that the Cleo Family had once sold antiques just to get by. In just twenty or thirty years, Elvis and his father had amassed such a fortune. Honestly, Leian felt a great deal of admiration for them.

It was a pity that by the time they met, they were already locked in a life-or-death struggle.

Thinking of this, Leian shook his head, tucked the purple chest into his ring, and then took out the final black wooden chest.

Judging by the inheritance of a family, this black chest should contain the Cleo Family's Battle Qi cultivation techniques. The "Magic Beast Transformation" secret art that Laman had been so obsessed with should also be inside, and perhaps even the ancestral genealogy.

With this in mind, Leian opened the chest with a hint of excitement. As he had expected, half the chest was filled with books, and the other half with wooden boxes.

Based on the Cleo Family's collecting habits, the items in the boxes were surely the most precious. Since the best things were meant for last, Leian decided to look at the books first.

In fact, there weren't many books in the chest—only seven or eight in total. Because the paper used was quite thick, the actual content was likely limited.

Leian picked one up at random and opened it, finding it was indeed the genealogy and a chronicle of major events. Generally, such records were quite brief, with very little text.

After a moment's thought, Leian took out all the books, sorted them, and began to read through them slowly in chronological order.

These chronicles were like storybooks, and before long, Leian was completely engrossed. He didn't know what interesting content he had stumbled upon, but his expressions shifted vividly—one moment shocked, the next confused, then contemplative, and finally, as if he had gained some insight.

When he set down the last book, he suddenly stood up and took all the boxes out of the chest, opening them one by one until he stopped at a box containing two small green vials.

Looking at the small green vials before him, his expression grew even more excited. He picked one up in each hand, unable to wait any longer.

The two small green vials were only the size of a fist. The material didn't feel like jade, but rather like wood, and they were a vibrant, dripping green, looking quite beautiful.

Leian held them in his hands, sensed them for a moment, then set down the one that felt slightly lighter and brought the other one before his eyes, gently unscrewing the cap.