Graduation
Haoyue stopped in his tracks.
He turned his head and looked at Linley.
The boy's gaze was earnest, tinged with nervousness and anticipation.
The Four Ultimate Warrior Clans were natural allies because of their bloodlines. There was no need to hide things from one of their own.
Besides, Haoyue had complete faith in Linley Baruch's character.
"Yes," Haoyue said with a nod. "I am."
Linley's eyes widened.
Though he had already suspected it, he still couldn't help feeling shaken when he heard the confirmation.
A Tiger-Striped Warrior!
One of the legendary Four Ultimate Warriors!
Linley blurted out, "The Tiger-Striped Warrior legacy still exists?"
"I got lucky." Haoyue shrugged. "One of my ancestors narrowly escaped the disaster and lived under a false name, keeping the family alive for two thousand years. It wasn't until my generation that someone finally took up the Tiger-Striped Warrior training manual again."
"Unfortunately, my father died when I was very young." Haoyue's tone was flat. "He died in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range before he even broke through to become a Level Six Warrior."
Linley fell silent.
He thought of his own father.
Hogg Baruch, a man who had spent his entire life fighting for his clan's glory. Though his father never said it, Linley knew he had always longed to restore the Baruch Clan's former glory.
All four of the Four Ultimate Warrior Clans had either been wiped out or were on the brink of extinction. It was true of the Dragonblood Warriors, and it was true of the Tiger-Striped Warriors too.
They shared the same misfortune.
"Senior..." Linley looked at Haoyue, suddenly unsure what to say.
"Don't call me senior." Haoyue patted him on the shoulder. "Call me Brother Haoyue. We're both descendants of the Four Warriors, so there's no need to be so formal."
"Brother... Brother Haoyue." Linley wasn't used to it, but he said it anyway.
"That's better." Haoyue smiled. "Come on, let me introduce you to the brothers in my dormitory."
Dormitory 1688.
Luo'en was sprawled on his bed, sound asleep. Kaluo sat reading at the table, while Lei'en cultivated cross-legged.
"Come on, let me introduce you." Haoyue pushed the door open. "This is Linley Baruch, my... distant cousin."
The three looked up and studied the black-haired boy at the door.
Ordinary teachers and students knew nothing of the Ultimate Warriors' secrets and took him for a gifted new student.
As they chatted, Linley casually mentioned his freshman roommates.
When he said the name Yale Dawson, the normally laid-back Luo'en's eyes went wide, his face full of shock.
"Dawson?! The young master of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, one of the continent's three great chambers of commerce?!"
Luo'en could hardly believe it. He had never expected this gifted freshman's roommate to be the heir to one of the continent's most prominent families.
Linley nodded slightly and said a few words about his dormmates.
His freshman dormitory housed the original four brothers from the original story-Linley, Yale Dawson, Reynolds, and George.
Their personalities complemented one another, and in the future, they would become sworn brothers, bound together for life.
Kaluo laughed heartily. "It's fate that brought you together with the young master of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce. Linley, if you ever run into trouble at the institute, come straight to us."
"That's right!" Luo'en nodded repeatedly, especially enthusiastic. "Brother Haoyue's little brother is our little brother!"
Lei'en also nodded silently, his manner gentle.
"Hello, seniors," Linley greeted them politely.
Looking at them, Linley felt a warmth well up inside him.
He had grown up in Wushan Town and had rarely met outsiders. He had thought he would have a hard time adjusting to the institute, but he hadn't expected to meet so many welcoming seniors on his first day.
Especially Haoyue.
Though he didn't know why Haoyue had approached him, Linley could tell that Haoyue genuinely regarded him as a friend.
That feeling of their bloodlines resonating couldn't lie. (The bloodline resonance was due to the presence of a dragon soul.)
From that day on, Haoyue and Linley grew closer and closer.
The two dormitories began spending more time together as well.
Upperclassmen's Dormitory 1688: Haoyue, Kaluo, Lei'en, Luo'en.
Freshman Dormitory 1987: Linley, Yale, Reynolds, George.
The eight boys, seven or eight years apart in age, unexpectedly hit it off, perhaps because two were from the O'Brien Empire and two were from the Yulan Empire, making them fellow countrymen, and their families also had dealings with one another. The four in Dormitory 1688 were practically copies of those in Dormitory 1987, even matching them in identity, status, and background.
Though Kaluo looked big and brawny, he was actually thoughtful and good at taking care of others. Lei'en was a man of few words, but whenever Linley and the others visited, he would silently brew a pot of tea and set it on the table. Luo'en was the liveliest, often drawing Linley and the others into conversations about the institute's gossip and amusing stories.
Haoyue, meanwhile, was the heart of the group.
Like an older brother, he looked after everyone around him.
Sometimes, Haoyue took Linley to cultivate on the mountain behind the institute.
There was a clearing on the mountain that few people usually visited. The two of them would spar with magic there or share their insights on cultivation.
Linley discovered that Haoyue's magic was powerful.
He cultivated three elements at once-fire, water, and earth-and had reached the peak of level six in all of them. His speed of cultivation was simply astounding.
But what surprised him even more was Haoyue's close-combat ability.
In Haoyue's hands, that distinctively shaped miao saber was wielded with consummate skill. Every slash carried fierce battle qi, and the flashing blade struck with astonishing power.
A Level Six Warrior?
Linley didn't believe it.
The pressure he gave off definitely exceeded level six.
But since Haoyue didn't say anything, Linley couldn't very well ask.
Everyone had their own secrets.
Time flew by.
In the blink of an eye, two years had passed.
Winter, year 9992 of the Yulan Calendar.
As the Ernst Institute recruited a new batch of students, it also held a graduation ceremony.
At that ceremony, one person's name was mentioned again and again.
Haoyue Bolei.
Eighteen years old, a Level Seven Mage.
He cultivated three elements at once-fire, water, and earth-and had reached the level of a Level Seven Archmage in all three.
When the news spread, the entire institute erupted.
An eighteen-year-old Level Seven Mage!
Nothing like it had ever been seen in the Ernst Institute's several-hundred-year history!
He would probably rank second even across the entire Yulan Continent.
"Have you heard? Senior Haoyue is graduating!"
"An eighteen-year-old Level Seven Mage! I'd thank the heavens if I ever reached level seven."
"An eighteen-year-old Level Seven Mage. Just imagine, his future is limitless..."
And so the youngest graduate in history was born, though Haoyue knew the record might be broken six years later.
Haoyue himself remained calm in the face of all the talk.
Because he knew this was only the beginning.
A Level Seven Mage, a Level Six Warrior.
He was still two levels away from the Saint-level.
Godhood was further still, far beyond his reach.
But he would not be discouraged.
He was confident he could break through to level nine within three years, and he had to do it.
Within twenty-five years, he would enter the Saint-level.
One day, he would stand at the pinnacle of the Yulan Continent.
But before that, there was something else he needed to accomplish.
Haoyue stood at the dormitory window, gazing at the distant sky.
The eight-year-old kid from two years ago was now ten.
Linley was growing faster than he had imagined.
A Level Three Mage, a Level Three Warrior.
His spiritual energy had also advanced by leaps and bounds and was just one step away from level four, somewhat faster than in the original story.
Given time, he was bound to achieve great things.
"Next..."