The Holy Radiance Federation

Lynn's gaze swept across the men and women in the ballroom, settling mainly on the young men and women from prominent noble families.

Perhaps I could get close to them and use their families' influence to investigate Yao Lao's background. But we're in the Starfire Kingdom, and the reach of ordinary noble families probably doesn't extend that far. I'll need to find someone reliable and choose carefully...

From what Leiluo and Gates have said, Nina, whom they often mention, seems like a good target...

Lynn ignored Kasa and kept his eyes on the ballroom. Impulsive and quick-tempered by nature, Kasa couldn't sit still any longer.

"Hey, Lynn, I'm sitting right in front of you. What are you looking at?"

Kasa's words brought Lynn back to his senses. "Sorry, I just spaced out. What were you saying? Did you need something?"

As he spoke, Lynn discreetly examined Kasa's clothes. His gaze paused for an instant on a blue wooden token peeking out from Kasa's waist. The moment he recognized it, Lynn's pupils contracted sharply, but he quickly composed himself.

Gasp—this is... the Azure Glass Holy Token. Could Kasa be a descendant of the Rivas Family, the family of the Azure Glass Saint Mage?

Recognizing the token, Lynn's gaze toward Kasa changed in an instant.

What a perfect mark! Impulsive, easy to fool, and best of all, backed by a powerful family. At that moment, Nina, who had been radiating irresistible charm in the middle of the ballroom, no longer held any appeal for Lynn.

We're not close. Not at all!

A pretty girl was nothing compared to my brother Kasa.

"Brother Kasa, I've been neglecting you. No need for more words—I'll drink a cup as an apology!" Before Kasa could react, Lynn downed the drink in his glass.

Afterward, Lynn even turned the glass upside down to show that he'd finished every drop.

"Uh..." Faced with Lynn's sudden warmth, Kasa didn't know what to do.

"Come on, Brother Kasa, don't be shy. I've just had a drink on my own. Now let's have one together. It's a party, after all. Having fun is what matters most."

"Let's go!"

"Clink!" Lynn tapped their glasses together.

"Gulp, gulp, gulp." Lynn drained his glass.

Kasa hadn't yet adjusted to Lynn's pace and was completely on the back foot. Seeing that Lynn had already finished, he refused to be outdone and had no choice but to pinch his nose and follow suit.

"That's a fine drinking arm!"

"Come on, bottoms up!"

"No... I can't drink any more..." Kasa waved a hand.

"Shh—Brother Kasa, I understand, I understand. You're not waving me off; you're saying we can pour you more. This drink isn't good enough. Let's switch to something stronger!"

"Red wine, beer, and fruit wine—you've got to mix them all together. That's the good stuff!"

"Gulp, gulp, gulp."

...Under Lynn's practiced control of the situation, it didn't take long for Kasa's cheeks to turn bright red, his eyes swimming with drunkenness.

Seeing that the time was right, Lynn spoke in a tipsy voice.

"Brother Kasa, it's a shame we didn't meet sooner!"

"Today seems like an auspicious day. How about we become sworn brothers?"

"Sure!" Kasa was too drunk to think it through and answered without a second thought.

"Brother Lynn, I was born on December 1, 9996, by the Izelun calendar. When were you born...?" Before he could finish, Kasa curled up on the sofa and threw up.

Beside him, Lynn was just as drunk. Dodging the vomit, he called out his birth date.

"Brother Kasa, looks like I'm a few years older than you. I was born on December 31, 96."

"Ugh... You were born on the thirty-first. Shouldn't that make me older than you?" Kasa had thrown up all over the floor, but his mind had cleared a little. He looked up in confusion.

"Glug..." Seeing that, Lynn opened another bottle of wine.

"Glug, glug... Ugh..."

"Brother, look, you're drunk again. Forget the month and year. Just tell me, isn't thirty-one bigger than one?"

"Ugh... I guess so."

"So doesn't that make me older than you?"

"Ugh... That makes sense!"

"Then what should you call me?"

"Big Brother Lynn!" "Second Brother Kasa!"

"Big Brother!" "Second Brother!"

"Our bond runs deep!" "Ugh... Bottoms up!"

"Glug, glug..."

"Ugh... glug... Ugh... glug... Ugh..."

Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, several months had gone by since Lynn attended the party.

One day, Kasa came to find Lynn training in the back hills.

"Big Brother!" Kasa called from far away, his plump cheeks lending him a boisterous, boyish look.

"I've got news about what you asked me to look into!"

"Oh? What is it?" Lynn emerged from his meditative state, his face alight with excitement.

"Here." Kasa handed him a notebook full of information, his expression a little strange.

"Boss, according to the information my family sent over, that 'Yao Lao' you mentioned used to belong to the Holy Radiance Federation."

"Used to? Was the Holy Radiance Federation destroyed?" Lynn seized on the key point.

"Uh... You could say it wasn't destroyed, just purified. It goes back to the history of the Holy Radiance Federation. It started out as the Nine Cities Alliance, founded in the Black Zone of the Izelun Continent under the leadership of several ninth-level warriors." Kasa had just made a hell of a joke.

"Later, two warriors in the alliance broke through to the Saint Domain. With their Saint Domain strength, they unified the entire Black Zone and renamed the Nine Cities Alliance the Holy Radiance Federation."

"In the name, 'Saint' referred to Theodore Saint, a Light Element Saint Domain warrior, while 'Radiance' referred to Hector Radiance, a Fire Element Saint Domain warrior. They named the federation after their surnames and each founded a family."

"About eighty years ago, Hector, the Fire Element Saint Domain warrior, died under mysterious circumstances. Theodore took control of the Holy Radiance Federation and renamed it the Holy Light Federation. Together with the Church of Light, he ruled the Black Zone, and Hector's family fell apart."

"As for the Yao Lao you mentioned, his real name is Albert Radiance. He was the head of the Radiance clan at the time. Hunted by the Holy Light Federation and the Church of Light, he barely escaped with his life by defecting to the Zhongyuan Empire. He then founded the Dragon Knight Warrior Academy in the Starfire Kingdom."

"Oh... One more thing I forgot to mention. Apparently, before Albert fled, his technique had already reached the point where he could break through to become a Saint Domain Warrior. All he lacked was an accumulation of Dou Qi. But it seems his dantian was damaged during his escape, leaving him unable to store more Dou Qi than the ninth-level limit. As a result, he could never break through."

Listening to Kasa's account of the Holy Radiance Federation, Lynn had more or less pieced together Yao Lao's background.

An immortal Saint Domain expert died under mysterious circumstances... Quite the "mystery," huh? Heh. The person Yao Lao wants me to kill is most likely Theodore, the Light Element Saint Domain Warrior!

The Holy Radiance Federation... the Holy Light Federation... Phew. I wonder what role the Church of Light played in all this.

At the Dragon Knight Warrior Academy, Xiao Yan gazed pensively at the sky, unable to help recalling the scene from several years ago when Yao Lao had recruited him to the academy.

"Don't push me, or else..."

"I'll sink the Church of Light!"