"Lin Feng, a Level Seven Mage?" Dixie had just finished meditating when he heard the news from his younger sister, Dilia, and fell silent.
He had originally reached Level Six, surpassing Lin Feng, and had finally felt a little more at ease. But now, the news made him feel as though he had fallen into an endless abyss. Lin Feng was advancing far too quickly. No matter how hard he tried to catch up, Lin Feng would only leave him farther and farther behind.
"Brother," Dilia called softly, a little worried about him.
Dilia knew her brother very well. Ever since they were children, he had been extremely proud and cold toward other people. He was also exceptionally strict with himself. Her brother had never been willing to accept anyone as his superior, but ever since Lin Feng had quickly gone from being a Level Four Mage to a Level Five Mage, he had felt threatened.
Her brother had worked hard, and last year he had reached Level Six.
But Lin Feng...
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Dixie slowly shook his head. "Dilia, I suddenly feel like there's not much point in staying at the academy. I'm going to apply to graduate, then return to my empire and go back to the clan soon."
Dilia was taken aback. She hadn't expected her brother to really be considering returning to the empire. Remembering what Lin Feng had said, she immediately replied, "Brother, I'll apply to graduate in a few days too, then return to the clan with you."
"Hmm?" Dixie looked at his younger sister in confusion, visibly surprised. "You're not going to stay with Lin Feng?"
"He has his own things to do. I don't want to tie him down too much." Dilia's pretty face flushed, and she spoke shyly. "He said that once he's taken care of his business, he'll go to the Yulan Empire and ask my clan for my hand."
The Hualie Hotel had a large, private suite with four bedrooms and two living rooms. The four brothers—Lin Feng and the others—were staying there now.
Ever since word got out that Lin Feng had reached Level Seven, there had been no peace at Dormitory 1987. So many people had come to visit that Lin Feng had been forced to move to the Hualie Hotel. The hotel had powerful backing, so no one could bother them there.
"Third Brother, you sure know how to keep quiet until you make a splash—and then make a huge one!" Yale exclaimed.
Lin Feng smiled calmly.
The Baruch Clan was still weak. If it wanted to rise quickly, revealing that he was a Level Seven Mage was undoubtedly the fastest way.
A seventeen-year-old dual-element Level Seven Mage would attract offers from all kinds of people. Naturally, they would offer him very generous terms.
That way, Lin Feng would have a much higher starting point in the future.
Moreover, Lin Feng understood perfectly well that fame, status, and identity were also forms of power—terrifyingly powerful ones.
A person might know no magic and might not be a warrior, but with a prestigious identity, a renowned name, or a lofty position, they could still bring about someone's death.
For example, an emperor might have no cultivation at all, yet could easily decide the fate of everyone in his empire.
Lin Feng now wanted not only to avenge himself, but also to retrieve the clan's heirloom blade, Warblade Slaughter.
Without a renowned name, he would have to spend several million gold coins to buy it back from the Lucas Clan—and there was no guarantee they would even sell it.
But things would be different if he carried the title of Yulan's "second greatest genius in history." With that status, he could demand the return of his clan's heirloom blade. Even if the other party didn't hand it over free of charge, they wouldn't demand an exorbitant price—or refuse to sell it altogether.
That was the advantage of having a famous name.
Besides, Lin Feng had another purpose in making a name for himself: to get close to his enemies, the Golden Lion, Clayde, and Paterson.
With his current strength in the Saint Realm, he could kill the two of them without difficulty. The problem was that he had to get close to them first. He could charge straight into the palace and kill Clayde, but he had to consider how he would escape afterward. This was the Holy Capital of the Radiant Church, and the headquarters of the Radiant Temple was close to the palace. If he charged in, the Church's Saint Realm experts might arrive before he even found Clayde, let alone killed him. If he ended up captured just as Lin Feng had been in the original story, things would be disastrous.
There were still nearly ten months before the Ten Thousand Year Yulan Festival. If he was captured and they discovered that he couldn't be transformed into a divine pet, he might be executed before the Day of Destruction arrived.
So although Lin Feng was much stronger than his counterpart in the original story, he still had to stay patient if he wanted to avenge himself without fail.
"Third Brother, I won't hide it from you anymore. One of the three great merchant guilds, the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, belongs to my family. Would you be interested in joining us?" Yale looked at Lin Feng, genuinely hoping he would join.
Yulan's second greatest genius in history—if someone like that joined the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, he would surely rise to a very high position. That would also greatly improve Yale's standing in the clan.
"The Dawson Chamber of Commerce?" Reynolds was the first to exclaim. "Wow, Yale! I knew you belonged to the Dawson family, but there are so many families named Dawson. I never realized you were part of that Dawson family—the one behind the Dawson Chamber of Commerce! The Dawson Chamber of Commerce is incredibly wealthy."
George glanced at Yale too.
"Yale, sorry, but I don't plan on joining any faction for now," Lin Feng replied frankly.
Lin Feng knew that although Yale really wanted him to join the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, he wouldn't force him. So Lin Feng didn't hesitate to turn him down.
"In that case, I won't push you," Yale said with a smile. "Whenever you decide to join a faction, I hope you'll consider the Dawson Chamber of Commerce first."
"I can't make any promises about anything else, but if you join us, money won't be a problem. We can offer you at least a hundred million gold coins."
"A hundred million gold coins?" George, Reynolds, and the others were stunned.
A hundred million gold coins—that was an enormous fortune.
It was hard to say whether even the combined assets of the Fenlai Kingdom's greatest clan would amount to a hundred million gold coins.
Lin Feng, however, wasn't particularly impressed. All he wanted was to reach the pinnacle of cultivation and find his way home. Money meant little to him. Before he had crossed over, he would have gone crazy over a sum like that, but not anymore.
No amount of money could outweigh the word "home."
"Third Brother, let me tell you this: in all of Yulan, aside from the other two great merchant guilds, even the four great empires and the two great alliances would find it difficult to produce so many gold coins at once. As for the kingdoms—ha!" Yale said confidently.
The four great empires and the two great alliances all had Saint Realm experts of their own. But they also had to maintain huge armies and run their entire nations. They were wealthy, but it would be extremely difficult for them to produce a hundred million gold coins at once. They would need extensive internal discussions first.
They wouldn't do that for someone who hadn't yet reached the Saint Realm.
Only the three great merchant guilds possessed truly astonishing wealth. Although their military power was formidable, it still paled in comparison to that of the four great empires and the two great alliances. That was why they were even more eager to recruit super experts.
"Knock!""Knock!""Knock!" Suddenly, someone knocked on the door.
Yale frowned, walked over, and opened it. "Didn't I tell you not to disturb us?"
The manager of the Hualie Hotel said awkwardly, "Young Master Yale, the Radiant Church's Cardinal has arrived outside the hotel with three white-robed priests and a company of Temple Knights."
Yale froze.
The Cardinal was second in rank only to the Pope in the entire Radiant Church. Every Cardinal outranked even the king of a kingdom by far. A Cardinal had personally brought people here—this was more than a young master of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce could hope to stop.
"Third Brother sure has a way of attracting attention."
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