Linley was attending a noble's banquet for the first time.
Aside from the endless smiles, there was nothing about the banquet worth remembering.
Fortunately, Hogg had been very strict with Linley, so Linley made no mistakes with his etiquette.
Fortunately, the banquet finally ended just before midnight.
At the entrance to the Royal Palace, Patterson smiled as he said goodbye to Linley and Hogg. "Earl Hogg, I hope we'll get along well from now on!"
"I'm sure we will, Duke Patterson." Hogg smiled. "It's getting late, so we'll take our leave."
After exchanging bows, Linley and Hogg climbed into the carriage.
Yale had already fallen asleep inside.
Earlier, during the banquet, Yale had tried a glass of low-alcohol fruit wine that a servant had carried out of the Royal Palace.
They returned to the Huali Hotel, and the night passed without incident.
Early the next morning.
"Father." Linley looked at Hogg. "Please say goodbye to Wharton for me. I'm leaving for the Magical Beast Mountain Range now."
"In such a hurry?" Hogg frowned slightly. "Shouldn't you at least go back and see Wharton first?"
"No." Linley shook his head. "There'll be time later."
After a moment of silence, Linley continued, "Father, you have to be careful while I'm away. You've seen how quickly I'm growing stronger. When I return, we'll avenge Mother."
"I know." Hogg smiled and stepped forward to pat Linley on the shoulder. "Don't worry. I won't do anything rash."
The sun had only just risen when Linley left Fenlai City.
Not long after he left the city, Doehring emerged from the Coiling Dragon Ring. "I can finally come out and get some fresh air."
"Grandpa Doehring." Linley's expression grew serious. "Are there many Saint-level experts in the Radiant Church?"
"Many." Doehring nodded slightly. "In my day, the Radiant Church was just a small congregation. I never imagined it would grow so powerful."
Doehring recalled the Saint-level experts he had sensed in Fenlai City. "At least five, and that doesn't include the Pope. This still isn't the full strength of the Radiant Church."
Doehring's words made Linley's breathing hitch.
"Don't dwell on it." Seeing Linley's expression, Doehring reassured him. "You have no grudge against the Radiant Church. With how quickly you're growing, they won't make an enemy of you by then."
"That's true." Linley nodded and glanced at his surroundings. "Bebe should be up ahead."
As soon as Linley finished speaking, a black blur darted toward him from the distance and leaped onto his shoulder.
"Squeak, squeak~"
"Boss, you're finally out!"
Bebe sounded a little aggrieved.
On their first night in Fenlai City, after dinner, Bebe had told Linley he wanted to go outside the city and explore.
With Bebe's current strength, Linley didn't need to worry about him getting into danger.
Besides, the two had made a contract, so they could sense each other even from a certain distance.
Linley had originally planned to leave the city as soon as the Magic Test was over.
But then he had to attend the banquet at the Royal Palace, and his departure had been delayed until now.
"All right, all right." Linley smiled and rubbed Bebe's head. "This time in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, how about I get you a Bloodthirsty Iron Bull?"
"Squeak, squeak~"
"I want two!"
"No problem. Two it is!"
"Squeak, squeak~"
"..."
Linley chatted with Bebe as they headed toward the Magical Beast Mountain Range.
The outskirts of the Magical Beast Mountain Range were a little over a hundred miles from Fenlai City.
Linley didn't travel at full speed, and didn't reach the Magical Beast Mountain Range until dusk.
"Bebe, we have a deal." Linley's expression turned serious as he entered the range. "This time, you absolutely mustn't fight unless I tell you to."
"Squeak, squeak~"
"Don't worry, Boss. I won't interfere with your training."
Bebe quickly agreed.
After dark, Linley killed a family of three Bloodthirsty Wild Boars and took over their cave.
"Lin Ke." Sitting beside the campfire and roasting a pig's trotter, Linley contacted Lin Ke. "Show me my Attribute Panel. Also, didn't you say there was a new item that could help me get around in the Magical Beast Forest?"
Name: Linley Baruch Age: 8 Energy Points: 90,000 green, 17 white Physique: 91.07 million (4.9 billion) Spiritual Force: 39.03 million Battle Qi: 11,000 Magic Power: 300,000 Elemental Affinity: Earth Element (Super), Wind Element (Super), Destruction (High), Fire Element (Medium), Water Element (Super, Hidden) Law Comprehension: Wind Element (Slow 0.001%, Fast 0.001%) Battle Qi Manual: Dragonblood Secret Manual Meditation Method: Pu'ang Royal Meditation Method
Last time, he had killed a Level Nine Magical Beast and a Saint-level Magical Beast.
The Saint-level Magical Beast had provided one million Green Energy Points, which Linley had exchanged for a Senzu Bean that saved his life.
The Level Nine Magical Beast had provided one hundred thousand Green Energy Points.
Linley had spent ten thousand of them on a Space Ring, then exchanged another ten thousand for Azure Dragon Blood.
Compared with the inferior Dragon Blood Linley had used at first, he had made quite a few requests when exchanging for the Dragon Blood for Hogg.
Otherwise, even a normal awakening of the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline would cause excruciating pain during the first transformation.
But Hogg hadn't felt the slightest discomfort when he transformed, so Linley felt the ten thousand Green Energy Points had been well spent.
As Linley's Spiritual Force grew, his Magic Power gradually increased as well.
But Battle Qi could only be cultivated slowly over time, so there was no way for Linley to speed up its growth.
However, when Linley opened the Mall Panel, his eyes lit up.
Battle Qi Pill: 1,000 Green Energy Points.
Magic Power Pill: 1,000 Green Energy Points.
Linley spotted the newly added items at a glance and quickly asked, "Lin Ke, how much Battle Qi or Magic Power does one Battle Qi Pill or Magic Power Pill add?"
"Each pill adds 1,000 points of either Battle Qi or Magic Power," Lin Ke replied from within the System Space. "But the main reason I wanted you to look at the mall was to show you another item."
At Lin Ke's words, Linley scrolled through the mall.
The newest items appeared before his eyes.
Primary Detector: 100,000 Green Energy Points
Intermediate Detector: 1,000,000 Green Energy Points
Advanced Detector: 10,000,000 Green Energy Points
"The Primary Detector can scan a radius of twenty miles, and the Intermediate Detector can scan a radius of forty miles." Lin Ke's voice continued to echo in Linley's mind. "As for the Advanced Detector, it can scan a radius of a hundred miles. It can detect humans, Magical Beasts, their levels, and more."
Linley's eyes lit up at Lin Ke's explanation.
A range of twenty miles alone would already let Linley do a great many things.
Especially since Linley wasn't allowed to use Dragon Transformation during this mission.
One hundred thousand Green Energy Points.
That was the price of ten Rank 8 Magical Beasts, or a hundred Seventh-Level Magical Beasts.
Although he couldn't use Dragon Transformation, and couldn't bring his full strength to bear, Linley had already gained a rudimentary understanding of the Mysteries of Fast and Slow in the Wind Element Laws.
Even with only the strength of an eighth-level warrior in human form, Linley feared no enemy below Saint-level.
Besides, Linley wasn't just a warrior. He was also a mage.
A Level Seven Mage.
However, his top priority was still learning magic.
After all, in the few days since he had broken through, Linley hadn't had time to learn Earth Element magic from Doehring.
"Grandpa Doehring." Linley picked up a roasted pig's trotter and handed it to Bebe. "Starting tomorrow, teach me the fifth- through seventh-level Earth Element spells first."
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