Worries Left Behind

Hogg shuddered and jerked his head up. "What did you say?"

"Sacrificing souls to the Radiant Sovereign usually doesn't destroy them completely." Haoyue told him what he knew. "The sacrificed souls are sealed away in the divine realm. As long as we find a way to get a god's help, or become a god-a powerful enough god-there's a chance we can summon a soul back to the mortal world."

"Is that true?" Hogg's voice trembled violently. "Lina... she can still come back to life?"

"I can't promise that," Haoyue said honestly. "But it's possible. And the only thing you can do is keep living and keep getting stronger, until the day Linley can find a way to save her."

Hogg's eyes reddened.

How many years had it been? He had thought he'd accepted Lina's death, thought time would wash everything away. But when he heard that his wife might be brought back to life, all his suppressed emotions burst forth like a flood through a broken dam.

"I..." Hogg opened his mouth, but no words came out.

"Uncle Hogg." Haoyue stepped forward and looked at him solemnly. "The Radiant Church has its eye on me too. They failed to recruit me, and although they haven't given me trouble for now, there's no telling whether they will in the future. So I'm looking for ways to grow stronger too."

"Once we're both stronger, we'll settle this score with the Radiant Church."

Hogg gave Haoyue a long look.

This young man was only eighteen, yet he already had such deep foresight and a strong sense of responsibility. He had not only told Hogg the truth, but also shown him a path forward-to stay alive, grow stronger, and wait for the right moment.

"All right." Hogg nodded firmly. "I'll do as you say."

Haoyue breathed a sigh of relief.

What worried him most was Hogg acting impulsively. Fortunately, Hogg had weathered many storms and soon calmed down.

"Haoyue, you said you came to Wushan Town to take care of something." Hogg wiped the corners of his eyes, regaining some of his composure. "Aside from telling me all this, is there anything else?"

"Yes." Haoyue nodded. "I hope you'll take your family and my mother and leave the Fenlai Kingdom."

Hogg frowned. "Leave? Where would we go?"

"The O'Brien Empire." Haoyue laid out his plan. "It's a land of warriors, with little connection to the Radiant Church. Sell your property and take your family there to settle down."

"Why?" Hogg was puzzled. "The Radiant Church may have influence over the Fenlai Kingdom, but as long as we're careful, shouldn't we be fine?"

Haoyue shook his head without explaining much. He couldn't very well say that Fenlai City would be destroyed in the future, could he? No one would believe him if he did.

"In any case, the Fenlai Kingdom is within the Radiant Church's sphere of influence," he could only say. "Now that you know the truth about Aunt Lina's death, you might let it show on certain occasions. If the Church notices, the consequences would be unimaginable."

Hogg pondered for a moment, then nodded. "That makes sense."

"Also-" Haoyue took a card from his robes. "These are the gold coins I've saved over the years. It's all the money I've made selling magical beast cores these past few years, plus the academy's prize money and the salary I got in advance from Clayde. It's all here."

He handed the heavy money pouch to Hogg. "It's enough for you to buy property in the O'Brien Empire."

Hogg was stunned. "This... how can I accept this?"

"Why not?" Haoyue smiled. "Linley is my junior disciple, you're my elder, and my mother is going there too. She'll be staying with your family for the time being, so it's only right that I help you."

Hogg looked at the card in his hand, at a loss for words.

This money was enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for several lifetimes! Yet Haoyue had just given it away so casually!

"There's one more thing." Haoyue snapped his fingers toward the window.

A huge figure descended from the sky and landed in the courtyard, making the ground tremble slightly.

Hogg's expression changed dramatically. "This is..."

"My contracted magical beast, the Velociraptor King Xun," Haoyue explained. "It's a Peak Eighth Rank magical beast. I only show Level Seven strength in public. Now I'm having it go with you and escort you to the O'Brien Empire."

"Peak... Peak Eighth Rank?" Hogg sucked in a breath.

That was the equivalent of a Ninth Rank warrior! In a small place like Wushan Town, it was practically invincible!

"Don't worry, Xun is very obedient." Haoyue patted the giant beast's head. "He can understand what you say. With him protecting you on the way from the Fenlai Kingdom to the O'Brien Empire, I'll be more at ease."

Hogg took a deep breath and gave Haoyue a long look.

"Haoyue, you... I don't know what to say."

"You don't need to say anything," Haoyue said with a smile. "Once Linley and Wharton have grown strong, it'll be time for us to take revenge. Until then, keep yourself safe."

Hogg nodded firmly.

"Oh, right-" Haoyue suddenly remembered something. "Isn't Wharton going to the O'Brien Empire Warrior Academy? That's perfect. You can all go together. Once you've sold your property, go straight to the imperial capital and settle down."

Hogg nodded. "I understand."

That very evening, the Baruch Clan began packing. Hogg summoned merchants from the city that night and sold the family property at a discount. Although he took a loss, it was better than leaving behind things they couldn't take.

Early the next morning, Hogg, Wharton, Martha, the steward, the guards, and Wang Xun formed an unusual party and set out for the O'Brien Empire.

"Father, take care!" Linley stood at the edge of town, waving at the departing carriage.

Hogg leaned out and waved back. "Linley, train hard! Once I've settled down in the imperial capital, I'll come get you!"

"Yes!" Linley nodded firmly.

"Mom! Take care!" Haoyue waved goodbye too.

"Haoyue! Remember to write to me!" Martha didn't know what her son was planning, but she trusted him. The only thing she could do was avoid causing him trouble.

The carriage gradually receded, disappearing at the end of the mountain road.

Linley turned around and glanced at Haoyue. "Brother Haoyue, thank you."

"What for?"

Linley's eyes were a little red. "Thank you for helping me take care of my father and the others."

Haoyue patted him on the shoulder. "You're my junior at the academy. It's only right."

"Besides..." He paused. "Once you've grown stronger, we have something more important to do."

Linley nodded firmly. "We definitely will!"

After seeing Hogg and the others off, Haoyue stayed in Wushan Town for another two days.

That night, he went alone to a small hill outside town and sat cross-legged.

Moonlight fell on him like water.

He closed his eyes and recalled everything that had happened over the past few days. Telling Hogg the truth, arranging for his mother to leave with them, providing a large sum of gold coins, sending Wang Xun to escort them... all of it was to protect his and Linley's families, and to leave himself with fewer worries.

The Radiant Church... sooner or later, he would come into conflict with them.

But before then, he had to grow stronger.

Haoyue took a deep breath and began circulating the battle-qi within him.

The battle-qi of a Level Seven Warrior flowed slowly through his meridians, one circuit, two circuits, three circuits...

Suddenly, he sensed something unusual.

"This is..."

His battle-qi suddenly began circulating faster, forming a small vortex. The energy accumulated in his body seemed to have found an opening, surging madly into the vortex.

Boom!

The battle-qi cyclone inside him gradually transformed into tiny droplets, and a powerful aura erupted from Haoyue, shooting straight into the sky.

Early Seventh Rank!

He had broken through!

Haoyue opened his eyes and stared at his hands in disbelief.

But immediately afterward, he realized something.

It was a knot in his heart.

Learning that Hogg and his family had left safely had resolved his last worry. With nothing weighing on his mind, his battle-qi had naturally broken through its bottleneck.

"So that's how it is," Haoyue murmured. "A warrior's cultivation really does require the right state of mind."

He felt the surging battle-qi within him, a satisfied smile appearing on his face.

A Level Seven Warrior! Although he was only at the Early Seventh Rank, he was already a whole level stronger than before.

If he transformed into a Tiger-Striped Warrior, his strength could reach the Ninth Rank!

On top of that, his health had been boosted by the From Mind to Matter Hex, and he had the defensive boost from Dragonheart's three dragon souls...

Haoyue made a rough estimate.

After transforming into a Tiger-Striped Warrior, his defense had already reached the late stage of a Level Nine Warrior! Combined with the seventh-level spell Saint-level Earthguard Armor, his defense could even rival that of a peak Level Nine Warrior!

"Not bad." Haoyue nodded in satisfaction.

Although he was only a Level Seven Warrior now, his actual combat strength far surpassed others at the same level. And as his cultivation improved, that gap would only grow wider.

"Tiger-Striped Warrior..." he murmured. "One day, I'll make this name resound across the Yulan Continent once more!"

Beneath the moonlight, the young man cultivated in silence, his aura as unfathomable as an abyss.

And far away in the Fenlai Royal Capital, the gears of fate had already begun to turn.

What Haoyue didn't know was that during the time he'd left the Fenlai Kingdom for Wushan Town, quite a few things had happened within the kingdom.

King Clayde had issued a series of new decrees, increasing his support for the Radiant Church. The Inquisition had also sent out more people to search for "heretics" throughout the kingdom.

But for the time being, none of this had anything to do with Haoyue.

At that moment, all he wanted was to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

Being a Level Seven Warrior was only the beginning. His goal was the Saint-level, the Deity-level, to stand at the very pinnacle of this world!