Sixteen days later, the bandages around Linley's chest were finally removed.
His three broken ribs had healed completely.
Standing in the training grounds of his estate in Yunfeng Town, Linley slowly rolled his shoulders.
There was no pain.
He took a deep breath.
His lung injuries had healed as well.
Ninth-rank Dragonblood Battle Qi flowed through his meridians, far more condensed than before. Even without transforming, Linley could clearly feel the power contained within his body.
"We can set out now," Linley said.
Doehring stood beside him.
"Let me take another look."
"Grandpa Doehring, you already checked yesterday."
"Yesterday was yesterday."
Doehring pressed a hand against Linley's shoulder and swept his divine sense over his chest.
His bones were intact.
His lungs had no lingering damage.
Only then did he withdraw his hand.
"You can fight, but only to spar," Doehring said. "Don't break those newly healed bones again."
"I know."
"You said that last time, too."
Linley did not answer.
Bebe lay atop Haeru's head and grinned.
His injuries had long since healed, and his black fur was sleek again.
On the other side of the training grounds, Barker and his four brothers had already gathered their weapons.
Sessler, Lina, and Rebecca also came out of the courtyard.
Jenny brought only that small box.
This time, no one would stay behind in Yunfeng Town.
Linley had already decided to head straight for the imperial capital after sparring with Mackenzie.
His four years of seclusion in Yunfeng Town were over.
Everyone left the estate and headed toward Basil Provincial Capital.
That afternoon, they arrived at the Jax Family's castle.
The guards had already received Mackenzie's orders.
The moment they saw Linley's party, the castle gates opened.
A middle-aged nobleman dressed in black formal attire came out to greet them personally.
"Lord Linley."
The middle-aged nobleman bowed slightly.
"I am Oden Jax. Ancestor Mackenzie is already waiting in Clear Garden."
His gaze swept over Barker and his four brothers.
The five muscular men, each over two meters tall, stood shoulder to shoulder, giving off a far greater sense of pressure than an ordinary army.
Oden did not dare look any longer.
Everyone entered the castle.
Clear Garden lay deep within the castle grounds and covered an enormous area. There were no lavish palaces inside, only woods, pools, and a few low stone houses.
Mackenzie stood beside a pond.
When he saw Linley, a smile appeared on his face.
"Earlier than I expected."
"My injuries have healed," Linley said.
Mackenzie's gaze settled on Doehring.
He could not sense any fluctuations of divine power.
He could only sense that this old man in moon-white robes had an extremely profound command of the Earth Element.
"And this is?"
"Grandpa Doehring," Linley said. "My teacher, and an elder of my family."
Doehring smiled. "Mackenzie."
Mackenzie nodded in acknowledgment.
He did not ask further about Doehring's strength.
Saint Realm experts all had secrets.
There was nothing strange about an unfathomable old man appearing at Linley's side.
"Where is Albert?" Jenny suddenly asked.
Oden's expression stiffened somewhat.
Mackenzie, however, did not evade the question.
"He is no longer the Jax Family's first heir."
Jenny looked at him.
"I had people investigate what happened at the Naier Hotel and the matter of the cavalry outside the city," Mackenzie said. "Despite knowing nothing of the other party's identity, he still mobilized the family's cavalry to take part in surrounding and killing them. He also attempted to take you away by force."
His voice grew cold.
"Someone like that is unfit to lead the Jax Family."
Oden lowered his head.
"Albert has already been sent to one of the family's mining districts in the north," he said. "Without permission, he is forbidden from returning to Basil Provincial Capital for the rest of his life."
Jenny was silent for a moment.
"I understand."
She did not plead for Albert.
Nor did she show any pleasure.
This man, who had pestered her for years, could no longer affect her life.
Mackenzie looked at Linley.
"Tonight?"
"That works."
"There is a barren mountain outside the city," Mackenzie said. "No one lives there. It will suit our match."
Linley nodded.
That night, a crescent moon hung in the sky.
On a small barren mountain outside Basil Provincial Capital, there were only Linley, Mackenzie, and Bebe.
Doehring had not come along.
This was Linley's own sparring match.
There were no trees on the summit, only exposed rock.
Mackenzie stood on a boulder, and a blue longspear appeared in his hand.
The spear was nearly three meters long.
Its tip was dark red, and wisps of flame flowed along its shaft.
"Bluefire," Mackenzie said. "It has been with me for over a hundred years."
Linley drew the Black Jade Heavy Sword.
The Purple Blood Soft Sword also hung at his waist.
"Edgeless."
Mackenzie laughed.
"A fine name."
Boom!
Fiery-red battle-qi erupted from his body.
The air within dozens of meters instantly became scorching hot.
Linley also began his Dragonform transformation.
Black dragon scales covered his body.
Spikes sprouted from his forehead, elbows, and back, and his nearly two-meter-long dragon tail slammed heavily against the rock.
Crack!
A deep groove split open in the rock.
Linley's feet left the ground, and he hovered in midair.
For the first time since truly entering the Saint Realm, he faced a normal expert of the same realm.
Mackenzie was at the Saint Realm Middle Stage.
In terms of the sheer quantity and density of his battle-qi, he was stronger than Linley.
"Let's begin," Linley said.
Mackenzie stepped forward.
The Bluefire Longspear crossed dozens of meters in an instant.
Before its tip arrived, the surrounding world seemed to be pressed down by flames.
"Supreme Force!"
Linley's gaze sharpened.
The Black Jade Heavy Sword slashed horizontally.
Clang!
The longspear and heavy sword collided.
Flames burst outward in every direction.
A boulder on the summit was struck by the shock waves and exploded with a crash.
Linley retreated more than ten meters.
Mackenzie took only three steps back.
The gap in their energy was obvious.
Yet the fighting spirit in Mackenzie's eyes burned even more fiercely.
"You only just broke through, yet you could block my spear head-on."
He gripped his spear with both hands.
The Bluefire Longspear thrust out in rapid succession.
One thrust.
Nine thrusts.
Dozens of spear shadows appeared at once, completely sealing off the space around Linley.
Linley chanted a magical incantation.
Wind Shadow Technique!
Blue currents of air swirled around his body.
His speed abruptly increased.
Several black afterimages flickered among the spear shadows.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The spear tip struck the afterimages one after another.
Flames exploded in midair.
Linley had already circled around to Mackenzie's side.
The Black Jade Heavy Sword cleaved toward the middle of the spear shaft.
Mackenzie twisted his wrist, and the butt of the spear lashed out like a whip.
Linley raised his left arm to block.
Bam!
A white mark appeared on the surface of his dragon scales.
Linley used the force to retreat, but the heavy sword in his right hand bore down on the Bluefire Longspear as he moved.
Ten layers of vibrations traveled along the spear shaft.
Mackenzie's arms went numb.
The spear nearly slipped from his hands.
He immediately pulled back his spear and flew backward.
"Is that the attack you used to kill the angels?"
"Only ten layers."
Mackenzie stared at his own palms.
Ten layers of vibrations could already pass through the Bluefire Longspear and affect his arms.
If the Hundredfold Waves landed directly on his body...
Mackenzie finally understood why Linley had broken the Six-Pointed Angel Battle Formation with a single sword strike.
"Again."
He felt no fear.
Instead, he laughed loudly, and his fiery battle-qi surged once more.
The Bluefire Longspear vanished.
No.
It had not vanished.
Longspears appeared all over the mountaintop.
The area for hundreds of meters around Mackenzie became a world of flames.
Countless flaming spear images thrust at Linley from every direction.
Every spear image carried Mackenzie's aura.
Linley could not directly distinguish the real from the false with his spiritual energy.
Flame Pseudo-Domain!
The scorching heat seared his black dragon scales.
Linley swung his heavy sword, smashing several spear images before him.
They were all false.
An extremely faint whisper of wind suddenly came from behind him.
The real Bluefire Longspear thrust out of the flames.
Linley twisted aside to dodge.
The spearhead grazed the dragon scales at his waist, tearing a gash.
Mackenzie's figure flashed past and merged back into the flames.
Countless spear images surged toward him again.
Linley did not continue attacking indiscriminately.
He closed his eyes.
His spiritual energy spread out.
Fire elemental essence filled his surroundings.
Every spear image had the same aura.
But although flames could fake an aura, they could not turn a real body into an illusion.
When Mackenzie moved, he displaced the air.
He stirred the wind.
Linley had not comprehended the fluctuations of wind.
But he was a mage of the eighth rank in the wind element.
The Wind Shadow Technique surrounded his entire body, and every change in the surrounding airflow registered clearly within his spiritual energy.
Behind me, to the left!
Linley spun around.
The Bluefire Longspear was thrusting out of the flames.
This time, he did not dodge.
He drew the Purple Blood Soft Sword with his left hand.
The purple blade swept along the Bluefire Longspear.
Hiss!
The flaming battle-qi on the shaft was sliced open.
The Purple Blood Soft Sword left a shallow mark on the longspear.
Mackenzie's expression changed.
"A divine artifact?"
The Black Jade Heavy Sword in Linley's right hand was already descending.
Mackenzie had no time to pull back his spear and could only block with its shaft.
Clang!
The heavy sword and longspear collided again.
Linley did not send the Hundredfold Waves into Mackenzie's body.
He kept all the vibrations confined between the Bluefire Longspear and Mackenzie's right arm.
Twenty waves.
Fifty waves.
Eighty waves!
Mackenzie's entire right arm shook violently.
His fingers instantly went numb.
The Bluefire Longspear flew out of his hand.
Linley was also driven backward by the impact of the Saint Realm Middle Stage flaming battle-qi.
Mackenzie did not chase after his longspear.
Flames ignited around both his fists, and he charged straight at Linley.
"Good!"
Fighting spirit blazed in Linley's eyes as well.
He put away the Black Jade Heavy Sword, keeping only the Purple Blood Soft Sword.
The two figures clashed repeatedly within the world of flames.
Mackenzie was stronger.
Every punch made the air explode.
But Linley was faster.
The Wind Shadow Technique pushed his speed to its limit, and the Purple Blood Soft Sword could bend at will. Again and again, its edge slipped through gaps in the flaming battle-qi, leaving tears in Mackenzie's robe.
One.
Three.
Seven.
Several shallow sword wounds appeared on Mackenzie's body.
Not a single strike landed on a vital spot.
A punch also grazed Linley's shoulder, cracking a large patch of dragon scales.
But this was no longer a killing blow like Landan's, powerful enough to break his breastbone.
He twisted in midair, lashing his dragon tail at Mackenzie's waist.
Mackenzie raised a hand to block.
Bang!
Both men broke away at the same time.
The world of flames began to dim.
Maintaining this sort of pseudo-domain required consuming a vast amount of battle-qi in an extremely short time.
Mackenzie's speed also slowed a fraction.
Linley vanished again.
Three afterimages charged at Mackenzie from different directions.
Mackenzie shattered the afterimage in front of him with a punch.
A fake.
He immediately turned around.
But the Purple Blood Soft Sword had already curled beneath his arm and stopped before his throat.
The blade was less than half an inch from his skin.
Mackenzie's right fist also stopped before Linley's chest.
Neither moved any farther forward.
The flames on the mountaintop gradually died out.
Mackenzie looked at the purple blade before him, then glanced at Linley.
"I lost by half a move."
"If this had been a fight to the death, you wouldn't have used all your battle-qi on the pseudo-domain." Linley withdrew the Purple Blood Soft Sword.
"If this had been a fight to the death, your Hundredfold Waves wouldn't have shaken only my arm, either."
Mackenzie laughed.
"A loss is a loss."
The Bluefire Longspear flew back into his hand from the distance.
He looked at the shallow mark on its shaft with some distress.
"That flexible sword of yours is far more precious than my Bluefire."
"I don't know what level it really is, either," Linley said.
"A divine artifact," Mackenzie said with certainty. "An ordinary weapon couldn't possibly leave a mark on Bluefire."
Linley did not explain further.
He himself did not know the origins of the Purple Blood Soft Sword.
Mackenzie did not press him, either.
He put away the Bluefire Longspear and looked at the furrows torn into the mountaintop by flames and battle-qi.
"Your comprehension is higher than mine."
"Your battle-qi is stronger than mine."
"That's why we need to spar," Mackenzie said. "I've always wanted to imitate God's Domain with flames. Only today did I discover that an aura can fool spiritual energy, but not real wind."
Linley was also reflecting on their battle.
The Wind Shadow Technique was only magic.
He had been able to locate Mackenzie not because of the Wind Shadow Technique itself, but because he had detected the changes in the airflow.
Wind was everywhere.
Perhaps within it lay a path that was no less than Earth Pulsation.
As soon as this thought arose, Linley committed it to memory.
He did not try it immediately.
His journey to the imperial capital could not be delayed any longer.
Early the next morning, Linley and his party left the Jax Family castle.
Mackenzie saw them off in person.
They traveled south, reaching the banks of the Yulan River at dusk.
A three-deck ship lay beside the dock.
Its hull was over a hundred meters long, and its deck was spacious enough for Barker and his four brothers and the two magical beasts to move around freely.
"This ship will take you to the imperial capital," Mackenzie said. "All the sailors aboard have traveled this waterway before."
"Thank you," Linley said.
"When you reach the imperial capital, give Wharton my regards," Mackenzie said with a smile. "With a brother like you, his marriage to Nina won't be as difficult as it was before."
Linley looked south.
"The marriage is for Wharton and Nina to decide."
"The emperor and the War God Sect may not see it that way."
"That's why I'm going."
Mackenzie nodded.
"Take care."
Everyone boarded the ship.
The mooring ropes were cast off.
The ship sailed south along the Yulan River.
Yunfeng Town, Chier County City, and Basil Provincial Capital were gradually left behind.
During the day, Linley stood on the deck and trained.
At night, he listened as Doehring analyzed Mackenzie's Flame Pseudo-Domain.
Doehring did not comment on who had won or lost that battle.
He asked Linley only one question.
"Why were you able to find his real body?"
"The wind," Linley said.
"Not the Wind Shadow Technique?"
"The Wind Shadow Technique can only make me faster." Linley gazed at the river. "What actually let me find him was the airflow displaced by his body."
Doehring smiled.
"Then remember that feeling."
He said no more.
Linley had already forged his own path in the Laws of the Earth.
In the wind element, he should likewise find his own way.
The ship continued south.
No one pursued them.
More than ten days later, an enormous city appeared in the distance.
Its walls stretched to either side, their ends beyond sight.
The imperial capital, Chiyan City.
The most prosperous and most powerful city in the O'Brien Empire.
Its permanent population alone numbered in the millions.
Linley stood at the bow, watching the city draw closer.
He had not seen Wharton in many years.
The last time they met, Wharton had been only six.
That sturdy little boy who always followed him around calling him big brother was now an earl of the empire.
The tower ship docked at a pier outside the city.
Everyone disembarked and entered Chiyan City.
The streets were wide enough for more than a dozen carriages to travel abreast, with pedestrians, noble convoys, and all kinds of magical beast mounts constantly passing by.
The five Barker brothers stood out for their height.
Haeru made the ordinary magical beasts on the streets give him an even wider berth.
Linley paid no attention to the gazes around him.
"Fushi Road, in the eastern part of the city."
The intelligence sent by the Dawson Chamber of Commerce clearly listed Wharton's address.
The group crossed more than half of Chiyan City.
The towering walls of the imperial palace gradually came into view in the distance.
Fushi Road lay in the eastern city's noble district.
There were no crowded shops here; both sides of the road were lined with residences built to a uniform design by the empire. Outside each residence hung its owner's noble title and family crest.
Linley walked on down the road.
Residence after residence passed by his side.
A viscount's residence.
A marquis's residence.
The minister of military affairs' residence.
At last, Linley stopped.
Above the entrance ahead hung a dark plaque.
Earl Wharton's residence.
Two tall guards stood ramrod straight on either side of the gate.
Gates was about to step forward, but Linley had already walked over first.
"Is this Wharton Baruch's residence?"
The guard glanced at the large group behind Linley.
"Yes. Who are you?"
Linley looked at the Baruch Clan crest above the gate.
It was a crest he had known since childhood.
"My name is Linley Baruch."
Both guards froze.
"Linley?"
"I'm Wharton's older brother."
One of the guards turned and ran into the residence.
The other immediately opened the gate.
Before long, hurried footsteps came from within the residence.
The first to rush out was a white-haired old man.
"Young Master Linley!"
Linley trembled.
"Grandpa Hiri."
Hiri had aged considerably.
He hurried up to Linley and gripped his arms with both hands, his eyes already brimming with tears.
"It really is you."
"You're still alive."
Behind Hiri, a tall middle-aged man rushed out through the gate.
"Linley!"
"Uncle Hillman."
Linley looked at those two familiar faces.
Wushan Town was already far behind him.
But at that moment, the memories of those early-morning training sessions, family dinners, and his father sitting in the hall all came flooding back.
"Where's Wharton?" Linley asked.
"At the training ground," Hiri said hastily. "Someone has already gone to fetch him."
Heavy footsteps sounded from deep within the residence.
A young man standing two meters twenty tall rushed around the corner.
He wore a close-fitting warrior's outfit, with an enormous saber strapped to his back.
His face bore a seventy or eighty percent resemblance to Linley's.
Only it was more rugged.
Linley looked at him.
The six-year-old child in his memories finally merged with the young man before him.
Wharton stopped at the other end of the courtyard.
He looked at Linley, his lips moving slightly.
His eyes instantly reddened.
"Big brother."
Linley walked toward him.
"Little Wharton."
Wharton rushed forward in great strides and threw his arms around Linley.
Linley hugged his younger brother tightly as well.
After so many years apart, the two brothers had finally reunited in Chiyan City.