Hogg's Thoughts (Seeking Follow-up Reads)

"Where is your teacher? Did he come back with you?"

Philip looked at Linley, forcing himself to remain calm.

He realized that the facts seemed to be somewhat different from what he had guessed.

Originally, Philip was certain that because Wushan Town had been destroyed, Hogg had colluded with Viscount Locke to put on a show in front of everyone.

The goal was to use the fabricated title of a mage to swindle money.

Therefore, Philip was certain that Hogg would never dare to let his son, Linley, return.

For the past few months, Philip had been constantly inciting the surrounding nobles to pressure Hogg.

However, at first, everyone was intimidated by the title of a mage, and it was only in the last month that nobles gradually began to realize the truth and started frequently visiting Wushan Town along with Philip.

But now, why did Linley dare to return?

The other four barons beside him already had thoughts of backing down, and Philip naturally could not allow such a thing to happen.

Sure enough, after Philip spoke, the four barons also turned their gazes toward Linley.

He was wearing form-fitting clothes suitable for activity, with a mouse standing on his shoulder and a backpack on his back.

Other than that, there was nothing else, and naturally, there was no so-called Lord Mage.

"That's right, Linley, we heard you had apprenticed under a Lord Mage, so we came specifically to congratulate you."

"That's right, Linley, let us meet your teacher as well."

"..."

Following Philip's lead, the other four barons also gained confidence and began to question him one after another.

Looking at the faces of the five men, a cold sneer curled the corners of Linley's mouth, and he immediately looked up at the sky.

The crowd felt puzzled, so they all looked up as well.

In the sky, a tiny black dot approached rapidly, and in the blink of an eye, it arrived overhead, its massive shadow shrouding the entire courtyard.

It was an eagle with green wings spanning over ten meters, and three golden feathers on its forehead swayed in the wind.

It was a Green-Winged Golden-Feathered Eagle, a rank nine Magic Beast of both the Wind and Lightning elements.

"Xiao Jin, please go back and tell Teacher that I have arrived home safely."

"Screech~"

As Linley spoke, the Green-Winged Golden-Feathered Eagle let out a long cry and flapped its wings.

A gale swept through, and in the blink of an eye, it had disappeared into the sky.

"Li-Linley, what was that just now?"

Hogg looked at Linley, his voice trembling slightly.

"Xiao Jin, it is my teacher's Magic Beast." Linley said with a smile, "Teacher is preparing to break through to the Saint-level, so he could only have his Magic Beast send me back."

"Saint-level?"

Before Linley's words had even faded, Philip spoke in disbelief, "Linley, your teacher is a rank nine mage?"

As Philip spoke, his entire body trembled, and his face turned deathly pale.

"Viscount Philip, and the four barons." Linley looked at the five of them with a cold expression, "I have just returned home; could you allow me to speak with my father alone?"

"Yes, yes, yes." Philip nodded rapidly, "It is we who have disturbed you; we shall leave at once, we shall leave at once."

Philip looked as if he were about to cry, and he could only scramble away in a panic.

"Damn it, Philip, didn't you say it was absolutely impossible for Linley to have apprenticed under a powerful mage?"

"That's right, Philip, what do we do now? Linley's teacher is about to break through and become a Saint-level powerhouse."

"Philip, we must repair our relationship with the Baruch Clan."

"Philip, this is all your fault."

"..."

As soon as they left the Baruch Mansion, the four barons pointed their fingers directly at Philip.

However, at this moment, Philip was powerless to refute them.

He was now thinking about what would become of his own clan after offending the disciple of a mage who was about to become a Saint-level powerhouse.

If nothing else, there would certainly be people who would target his clan in order to curry favor with Linley.

The Philip Clan was truly finished!

Meanwhile, inside the Baruch Mansion.

"Hahahaha~" Hillman burst into laughter after Philip and the others left, "Linley, thanks to you! Philip has been coming here constantly while you were away, and I finally got to vent my anger!"

Although Hogg did not laugh out loud, the corners of his mouth curled up, and his gaze toward Linley was filled with pleasant surprise.

"Linley, come inside quickly." Hogg said, reaching out to pull Linley along, "Is your teacher really about to break through to the Saint-level?"

"That's right, Father." Linley nodded. "My teacher has recently begun his push toward the Saint-level."

Linley's expression was calm; this was the script Lin Ke had instructed him to use after leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

At his current age, Linley was simply too young: an eight-year-old ninth-rank warrior and seventh-rank magus.

Looking at the entire Coiling Dragon Universe, this was nothing, but in the Yulan Continent, it was still far too conspicuous.

Therefore, before Linley was strong enough to fear no danger, he still needed to maintain a disguise.

As for that Green-Winged Golden-Feathered Eagle, it was actually a magical beast that Linley had beaten into submission before leaving the Magical Beast Mountain Range.

Of course, Linley had not signed a contract with it.

Only a few among the Green-Winged Golden-Feathered Eagle species were capable of breaking through to the Saint-level.

Linley's standards were higher now; if nothing else, he would only consider signing a contract with a beast that was at the Saint-level upon reaching adulthood.

As for Beibei, that was different.

Not to mention the initial system mission.

Just based on the companionship over the past half-year, Linley already considered Beibei his family.

"If your teacher is about to become a Saint-level expert, do you still need to attend the magic aptitude test, Linley?"

Hogg looked at Linley with curiosity, and Linley nodded directly.

"Teacher said that I am still too young, so I need to go to the academy to interact more with my peers. Besides, breaking through to the Saint-level isn't something that happens overnight, so I also need to find a place to study magic."

Too young!

After hearing Linley's words, Hogg felt a sense of daze wash over him.

He looked at the Linley standing before him again.

Standing over 1.7 meters tall, he was only a head shorter than Hogg himself.

If one didn't look at his face, they would likely assume Linley was already an adult.

But in reality, Linley was only eight years old, his features still youthful.

I am not a qualified father!

Hogg felt a pang of sorrow in his heart, but thinking of his deceased wife, he could only force himself to suppress his reluctance.

To raise his children to adulthood, and then seek revenge for his wife.

This had already become Hogg's obsession.

However, now that Linley had a magus teacher—and a ninth-rank magus at that—things were different.

As soon as Wharton turned six and had his bloodline tested, he could finally set out to seek his revenge with peace of mind.

"Father, I have a gift for you."

Linley did not notice the change in Hogg's emotions and continued speaking.

Immediately, Linley brushed his left hand over the ring on the ring finger of his right hand, and ten Magic Cores appeared on the table.

"This is? A spatial ring?"

Seeing this, Hogg exclaimed in shock.

This was a spatial ring!

The Baruch Clan had once possessed a spatial ring, but unfortunately, neither Hogg, nor his father, nor his grandfather had ever seen one.

"That's right, Father. It is indeed a spatial ring."

Linley nodded. He had redeemed this spatial ring from the system.

The price wasn't high, costing only 1,000 Green Energy Points, and it had an internal space of 1,000 cubic meters, which was more than enough for use.

"These are ten eighth-rank magical beast cores, with a total value exceeding one million gold coins." As Linley spoke, he pushed the ten cores toward Hogg. "This is a gift from my teacher to you, Father."

"One million... gold coins?"

Hogg was shocked once again.

Magical beasts only began to form cores within their bodies once they reached the third rank.

However, the price of low-rank magical beast cores was not very high.

Even for a sixth-rank magical beast, a core was only worth about a thousand gold coins.

Only when reaching the seventh rank did the price of a core begin to soar.

A seventh-rank magical beast core was worth about ten thousand gold coins.

As for eighth-rank magical beast cores, they were generally worth one hundred thousand, and some rare beast cores could fetch several hundred thousand.

Receiving ten eighth-rank magical beast cores all at once, Hogg's hands trembled as he took them.

But at the same time, the desire in Hogg's heart to seek revenge for his wife grew ever more intense.