The [Death] of Hogg

There was a massive, mangled wound on the chest of Hogg's corpse.

Hillman glanced at the guards by the door and said, "A few days ago, the master took me to the Magic Beast Mountain Range, hoping to capture a magic beast for a contract, but we ran into a level seven Money Leopard."

"That Money Leopard was already injured, but its speed was simply too fast, and the master was clawed by it."

"Fortunately, we later encountered a pack of Wind Wolves, which gave us the chance to escape with our lives."

"After we returned, the master..."

"He couldn't hold on!"

"He died just yesterday!"

Lin Lei's body trembled upon hearing this, his lips turning deathly pale as he asked, "Yesterday... he just died yesterday!!!"

Seeing the look of disbelief on Lin Lei's face, Hillman opened his mouth several times but couldn't find the words, eventually just nodding his head.

Seeing this, Lin Lei swayed, nearly collapsing to the ground.

Beibei sensed the immense grief in Lin Lei's heart and hopped onto his shoulder, but he too was too choked up to speak.

He didn't know how to comfort Lin Lei!

Delin, however, was old and shrewd; he watched Hillman and felt something was off about his gaze, as he kept glancing toward the guards at the door.

"Lin Lei, the most urgent matter now is to handle the master's funeral properly."

Lin Lei, drowning in sorrow, was already covered in tears as he gripped Hogg's ice-cold, stiff hand and nodded.

"Father, I just broke through to level seven, becoming the youngest dual-element level seven mage in the kingdom!"

"I just became the youngest master sculptor!"

"I even brought back the family heirloom blade, Slaughter, that you always longed for!"

"How could you just die like this?"

Lin Lei looked at Hogg, recalling the past, thinking back to...

Hillman watched Lin Lei, who was staring blankly at the corpse, his eyes filled with pity, but he ultimately held back his words of comfort.

"Young Master, stay here with the master for a while. I will go and attend to the guards you brought back."

Lin Lei remained staring blankly at Hogg, still holding his hand.

Hillman left the room and closed the door behind him, leaving Lin Lei in a space of mourning.

Following this, the Baruch Family held a funeral, and the entire Wushan Town was immersed in an atmosphere of grief.

Representatives from all the major factions in the kingdom, as well as Delia, Yale, and others, all came to pay their respects.

Only Lei Lin did not attend because he was in the middle of an important experiment, though his father, Jinli'an, came in his stead.

A few days after the funeral concluded, a dark figure arrived silently at the Baruch estate and was led into Lin Lei's room by Hillman.

Lin Lei, his eyes bloodshot and his face a mask of deathly stillness, looked at Hillman and asked, "Uncle Hillman, who is this...?"

Hillman did not speak, but the dark figure removed his hood, revealing the face of Lei Lin.

Lin Lei looked at Lei Lin and said, "Big Brother Lei Lin, you're here!"

Seeing the look of dead, hollow grief on Lin Lei's face, Lei Lin thought to himself, Hogg really was that important to Lin Lei!

This state of utter despair—he doesn't even have the motivation to continue his cultivation!

Lei Lin sighed and said, "Lin Lei, do you want to know the truth about your father's death?"

Lin Lei froze upon hearing this, his eyes instantly suffused with blood, and he asked word by word, "The truth?!"

"There is more to my father's death than I was told?!"

As he spoke, he looked toward Hillman at the side; Hillman had personally told him that Hogg died at the hands of a magic beast, and he didn't believe Hillman would lie to him!

Hillman nodded and said, "Young Master, the master did not die because of a magic beast. The reason we said that before was mainly because you were too young."

"We were worried you wouldn't be able to control yourself, which is why we said that."

Lin Lei closed his eyes upon hearing this, took several deep breaths, and then opened them again. "Big Brother Lei Lin, tell me."

"I can handle it!"

Lei Lin was silent for a moment before saying, "Lin Lei, before I tell you the cause of your father's death, let me tell you about your mother."

"Your mother didn't actually die from complications during the birth of your younger brother, Warton. She was abducted."

"Your father had been brooding over this for all these years, but because you and Warton were still so young, he held back for your sakes."

"Over these years, you have grown up, and your brother Warton's bloodline concentration reached the level required to transform into a Dragonblood Warrior, so your father was finally at ease."

"Once he was at ease and had no more worries, he began his journey of revenge."

At this point, Lei Lin paused and said, "And then, he was killed by his enemies!"

After saying this, he handed the Final Letter written by Hogg to Lin Lei.

This was a letter Lei Lin had asked Hogg to write; the original content was mainly about how happy he was to have two such outstanding sons as Lin Lei and Warton.

Then, he encouraged them to cultivate diligently, to revive the family, and to see the family rise once more.

However, after the plan changed, Lei Lin had Hogg add the truth about Lina's death, though he omitted the involvement of Paterson and Clyde, and requested that Lin Lei cultivate diligently but not become obsessed with revenge.

Most importantly, he specifically reminded him to listen to Lei Lin whenever something came up, as Lei Lin had more experience and was very reliable.

After reading it, Lin Lei's face was a mixture of killing intent and tenderness, and tears flowed from his eyes involuntarily as he said, "So, who is the enemy?"

Lei Lin patted Lin Lei on the shoulder and said, "Your enemy is very powerful; you cannot deal with them as you are now."

"Who is the enemy?" Lin Lei continued to ask, the look of determination in his eyes seemingly turning into sharp arrows, ready to pierce that so-called enemy.

Lei Lin still shook his head: "Your strength is insufficient!"

Lin Lei looked at Lei Lin, and only after a long while did he say, "Brother Lei Lin, why are you dressed like this?"

Lei Lin did not speak.

"Why didn't my father give these things to Uncle Hillman, but instead gave them to you?"

Lei Lin still did not speak.

Lin Lei continued: "I am clear about your strength. The only ones in the Fenlai Kingdom capable of forcing you to act like this are the royal family!"

"So, was the death of Prince Paterson, which was the talk of the town a while ago, caused by my father?"

Speaking of this, a trace of determination appeared on Lin Lei's face: "It was the current King, the Golden Lion, Clyde, wasn't it? Only he could make you say that my strength is insufficient."

"And only Clyde would make you feel helpless. After all, Brother Lei Lin, your master is Sa'er of the Wild Thunder Guard!"

Lei Lin's lips moved, and after looking at Lin Lei for a long while, he finally nodded and said, "That's right!"

In his heart, however, he thought: As expected of the protagonist, is he really this smart? I never noticed it before. Have I been taking too much care of him all this time?

Lin Lei continued to look at Lei Lin, as if wanting to see through every expression of his, and finally said, "Father told me to listen to you, Brother Lei Lin."

"Since you say my strength is insufficient now, Brother Lei Lin, what level do you think my strength needs to reach?"

"For it to be enough!?"

Lei Lin looked at Lin Lei and said in a low voice, "Level Nine!"

"Once you reach Level Nine, it will be just about enough!"

Lin Lei immediately said, "I am already Level Nine when I transform!"

Lei Lin: "..., do you think you can storm the palace and kill Clyde to avenge your father just because you can transform?"