Reynolds

On the outskirts of Wushan Town, Linley descended from the sky, deactivated his Dragon Transformation, and changed into a set of clothes before walking toward the town.

A nine-year-old Saint-level was simply too eye-catching.

Especially since, on the way back, Linley had listened to Lin Ke explain the situation on the Yulan Continent.

Linley, who had originally thought he was on the verge of becoming the number one powerhouse on the Yulan Continent, instantly calmed down.

If the Yulan Continent only had the War God and the High Priest, Linley was certain he could surpass both of them within ten years.

However, the waters of the Yulan Continent seemed far too deep, and Linley dared not guarantee when he would truly become the strongest person on the continent.

Therefore, until his strength was sufficient, it was better to keep a low profile.

"Young Master Linley, you've returned?"

"Young Master Linley, I heard you went to study magic with the mage?"

"Young Master Linley..."

"..."

It was currently the afternoon, and there were many residents on the streets of Wushan Town. Upon seeing Linley, they all stepped forward to greet him.

In particular, the Baruch Clan had now become a Count's household.

With a smile on his face, Linley greeted the uncles and aunts of the town all the way, taking more than ten minutes to reach the gates of the Baruch Clan estate.

"Uncle Hillman." Seeing Hillman waiting at the main gate, Linley quickened his pace. "Why are you outside?"

"Someone just came to say you were back, and your father specifically asked me to wait here." Hillman's face was full of smiles. "Go on in, your father has been waiting anxiously."

Hearing Hillman's words, a surge of excitement welled up in Linley's heart.

After all, he was still a child, and it had been nearly a year since he had been home.

"Linley!" As soon as Linley entered the estate, he saw Hogg waiting in the courtyard. "It's good to be back, it's good to be back!"

Hogg's face was full of smiles as he looked Linley up and down. "You've grown a bit taller. Good, very good!"

Perhaps it was because the hatred for his wife had always weighed heavily on Hogg.

Now that he had the ability to take revenge, Hogg felt a sense of relief, yet he found himself unsure of how to interact with his son.

Tears shimmered in Linley's eyes. "Father, I'm home!"

"Good, it's good to be back!" Hogg patted Linley on the shoulder. "Go see Wharton; he's been talking about you this whole time."

As soon as Hogg finished speaking, the butler Hiri brought Wharton out from the backyard.

Seeing Linley, Wharton immediately opened his arms and ran toward him.

"Big Brother!!"

"Wharton!" Linley stepped forward and scooped Wharton up into his arms. "You've grown taller. Wharton is almost becoming a big boy now."

Looking at Wharton in his arms, Linley felt a wave of emotion.

Wharton was born in January and was now five years old; in another year, he would be able to test the concentration of his bloodline.

However, with Big Brother Lin Ke around, even if Wharton's bloodline concentration wasn't enough, he could simply exchange for dragon blood to awaken it.

"Big Brother." Wharton wrapped his arms around Linley's neck. "Father said that when Big Brother came back, you would bring me a gift."

"Of course." A smile appeared on Linley's face. He flipped his right hand and took a ninth-rank Magic Beast core from his interspatial ring. "This is a gift for Wharton."

"So pretty." Wharton's eyes lit up as he looked at the fiery red crystal core. "Thank you, Big Brother!"

Compared to Wharton, Hogg's pupils constricted the moment he saw the crystal core.

A ninth-rank Magic Beast core was worth at least several million gold coins, and it was the type of item that was impossible to find even if you had the money.

Yet, Linley had handed it to Wharton as if it were a small toy.

However, after a moment's thought about Linley's strength, Hogg felt relieved.

Although his son was young, after his Dragon Transformation, he was a genuine peak ninth-rank powerhouse.

Among those of the same level, the Ultimate Warrior was an absolutely invincible existence.

With Linley's current strength, killing a few ninth-rank Magic Beasts was truly not a difficult task.

Not to mention Linley, even he himself could likely kill one or two weaker ninth-rank Magic Beasts if he paid a certain price.

"Linley." Hogg spoke, interrupting Linley as he teased Wharton. "The Ernst Magic Institute will be starting soon, and His Majesty has also bestowed a mansion upon us. Why don't we move into Fenlai City today?"

"I'll listen to whatever Father decides." Linley nodded. "However, we should still leave someone to guard the ancestral home, right?"

As Linley spoke, he looked at Hogg. There wasn't much of value, but the ancestral home held the spirit tablets of their ancestors; they couldn't just move everything to Fenlai City.

"Don't worry, Young Master Linley, I will stay behind." Hillman smiled from the side. "Lord Hogg requested a Baron title for me, and although there is no fief, I can manage Wushan Town on your behalf."

"Congratulations, Uncle Hillman." Linley's eyes lit up. "Nade is not young anymore; Uncle Hillman can send him to study at the warrior academy in Fenlai City."

"Rest assured, it's already been arranged." Hogg smiled from the side. "Nade is already a student in the warrior class at the Welin Magic Institute."

"Indeed, it is all thanks to Lord Hogg." Hillman said with deep emotion. "So, Young Master Linley, please rest assured. I will take care of the ancestral home."

With Hillman leading the guard to protect the ancestral home, Linley felt at ease.

At dusk, Linley, Hogg, Wharton, and the butler Hiri traveled by carriage to Fenlai City.

The residence Clayde had bestowed upon Hogg was located on Greenleaf Road, though it was a size smaller than the grand mansion granted to Linley in the original story.

However, no matter how small, it was still a residence within Fenlai City, and on Greenleaf Road at that.

Everyone living on Greenleaf Road belonged to the truly powerful families within Fenlai City.

The Baruch Clan was only able to reside here thanks to Linley's so-called ninth-rank magus teacher.

Along the way, Hogg told Linley quite a bit about what had happened since he had left.

For instance, Viscount Philip and several other barons had been stripped of their noble titles by the kingdom.

Their fiefs now all belonged to the Baruch Clan.

However, Hogg had no interest in managing these fiefs.

He now had only one thought in mind.

To cultivate diligently while secretly searching for the enemies who had kidnapped and murdered his wife.

In the original story, Hogg had seen no glimmer of hope, so after receiving a large number of Magic Beast cores from Linley, he had begun his revenge regardless of the consequences.

It was a pity that he had miscalculated the strength of the mastermind behind the scenes and ultimately met a tragic death.

But things were different now.

Hogg's future was already clear: he would become a Saint-level powerhouse.

Hogg could even foresee his two sons also becoming Saint-level powerhouses.

Therefore, Hogg was no longer as radical as he had been in the original story.

However, for Linley, this was a good thing.

Although Hogg was a rather irresponsible father, he was his father nonetheless.

Linley had lost his mother at a young age, so having Hogg around now was a positive thing for Linley's growth.

Of course, that was on the condition that Hogg would not be as overly harsh toward Linley as he once was.

The residence they moved into was already fully staffed, which saved them the trouble of cleaning.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, after Linley finished breakfast with his father and Wharton, he left the residence alone.

Today was February 8th, and Linley was setting off to report to the Ernst Magic Institute.

The Ernst Magic Institute was not located within Fenlai City, but in a mountainous forest area more than twenty li to the south of the city.

When Linley arrived at the gates of the Ernst Magic Institute, there was already a child, quite a bit shorter than him, handling his enrollment.

The child was accompanied by an old man.

Seeing Linley, the boy turned around to greet him: "Hello, I am Reynolds from the O'Brien Empire."