Dixie

To avoid arousing the Bright Church's suspicions, Wharton told Hogg of his plan and had Hogg return with him to the O'Brien Empire. They would announce to the public that Hogg had died of illness. That way, it would not raise suspicion and would also ease the Bright Church's concerns. Otherwise, given Linley's talent, the Bright Church would certainly investigate detailed information about everyone around him.

Hogg also knew that they did not yet have the strength to confront the Bright Church head-on. At the very least, they had to wait until Wharton and Linley reached the Saint Domain.

For the hope of the Baruch clan, Hogg could only endure the pain brought by hatred once more and agree with Wharton's suggestion. He knew that now was not the time for revenge. He had waited so long already, so a few more years did not matter. Most importantly, he still remembered Wharton saying that he had found a way to activate their bloodline. That way, Hogg could take revenge personally.

"Alright, I'll listen to you," Hogg agreed.

Because of the Foundation-Building Pill, Hogg's bloodline had improved somewhat, but he could only barely cultivate the Dragonblood Codex. Wharton then gave Hogg an earth-element manual. Afterward, Wharton also had Hillman and his son Nade take Foundation-Building Pills. Like Hogg, Hillman and Nade both had earth-element affinities, so Wharton taught the earth-element manual to the father and son. He instructed them to cultivate in the ancestral hall and not let Hogg show himself casually.

After settling matters on Hogg's side, Wharton left Wushan Town with Little Gold and entered the Magical Beast Forest once more.

Wharton calculated that Linley would return in another three months. Linley should still be in the Magical Beast Forest now, so Wharton wanted to see whether he could run into him.

However, the Magical Beast Mountain Range was simply too vast. Half a month had already passed since he entered the Magical Beast Forest, yet there was still no news of Linley. He could only head back and wait for Linley in Wushan Town.

Beside a river more than ten meters wide, a man and a tiger were roasting the corpse of an unidentified magical beast over a rack.

"I say, Little Gold, you're a Level Nine Magical Beast, aren't you? Look at you—your drool is all over the ground," Wharton said with a smile.

"Boss, how can I help it when the meat you roast is so delicious? Boss, the Spotted Leopard meat should be done by now, right? I'm starving," Little Gold said indifferently, still staring fixedly at the leopard meat in Wharton's hands, drool already pooling all over the ground.

"Hehe."

Wharton still had not found Linley, so he decided to return to Wushan Town first. On the way, he encountered a passing Level Five Magical Beast, a Spotted Leopard, which had even taken the initiative to attack him.

In the end, it could only become the roasted meat now sitting on Wharton's rack.

Just after finishing the roasted meat,

Wharton sensed energy fluctuations ahead. He and Little Gold immediately stood up and looked toward where the fluctuations had come from.

"There seems to be someone ahead. It looks like a battle has broken out. Let's go take a look," Wharton said. With a flash, he landed atop a massive tree so thick that three people would need to link arms to encircle it, arriving near the battlefield in the blink of an eye. Little Gold landed beside him as well.

Two groups were confronting each other on the battlefield. Five men in black surrounded a young man dressed in a white robe. The white-robed youth held a long spear and stood proudly in the center, his body straight as he stared expressionlessly at his opponents. Two corpses dressed in the same black clothing lay nearby, blood still flowing from them. They had clearly just been killed.

"Dixie, you actually killed Fourth and Fifth. Today, we'll make you accompany them in death," one of the black-clothed men said, his eyes cold as he looked at the youth opposite him.

"As long as you come back with us, I can apply to those above to spare you," he continued.

"Hmph... What is there in your Dark Church worth joining? Since you dared set your sights on me, you had better be prepared to be killed," the youth called Dixie said without concern.

"So this is Dixie, the other genius of Ernst Academy said to be on par with Linley. Not bad at all. He truly deserves to be called a talent. To remain completely unruffled in such a predicament is impressive, and even rarer is this calmness of his," Wharton said approvingly from the tree.

Although this was his first time meeting Dixie, Wharton still admired him somewhat. He was two years younger than Linley and was already a dual-element Level Six magus. It seemed that his warrior training had reached Level Six as well.