Linley's First Love

Fenlai City.

Haoyue stood at the city gates, gazing at the familiar walls, and took a deep breath.

It had been half a year.

His six months of training in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range had finally come to an end.

He didn't linger at the gates, heading straight for the Marquis of Three Elements' estate. Along the way, the city guards who knew him saluted him, while people on the streets eyed the young marquis with curiosity.

When he returned to the estate, the steward hurried out to greet him. "My lord marquis, you've finally returned! While you were away, a letter arrived from the O'Brien Empire."

Haoyue took the letter, and his lips curved slightly when he saw the handwriting.

It was from Hogg.

He unfolded the letter and read it carefully.

"Haoyue, we have arrived safely in the O'Brien Empire. Wang Xun escorted us on the journey, and we encountered no major trouble. Your mother, Martha, is in good health and has settled into our new home. Wharton's warrior aptitude test results have also come in. He has good potential as a warrior, and he arrived just in time for this year's winter admissions. He has successfully enrolled in a warrior academy. Please don't worry. -Hogg"

Haoyue carefully put the letter away and let out a long breath.

As long as they're safe.

Next, he went to the royal palace to seek an audience with King Clayde.

"Haoyue, you're back." Clayde sat upright on his throne, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes as he looked at the young man standing below. "I hear you made a breakthrough a few months ago?"

"Yes, Your Majesty," Haoyue replied calmly. "I successfully broke through to become an Eighth-level Magus."

Clayde beamed and slapped the armrest. "Good! Good! The Fenlai Kingdom already has few Eighth-level Magi, and now we have gained another. It is a blessing for the kingdom that the royal family has such a pillar of support!" (Even the vice dean of the Ernst Institute was only a Level Eight Magus.)

He paused, his gaze turning meaningful. "Haoyue, do you know that the Radiant Church has been very dissatisfied with us lately? They say the Fenlai Kingdom does not have enough powerful experts to safeguard the faith..."

Haoyue lowered his head. "I understand the church's concerns."

"Mm." Clayde nodded with satisfaction. "You've just returned from the Magical Beasts Mountain Range. Take a month to rest and recuperate. During that month, you needn't come to the palace unless something important comes up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

Haoyue took his leave.

As he stepped out of the palace, he looked up at the sky. A ray of sunlight broke through the clouds and fell on his face.

His six months in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range had yielded much. The Moonshadow Grass had eliminated the Tiger-Striped backlash, and his Battle-qi had successfully broken through to the Eighth-level Warrior realm. After transforming into a Tiger-Striped Warrior, his combat power could reach the peak of the ninth level. With the defensive boost from Mountain Dragon Soul and the level-seven spell Saint-level Earthguard Armor, health equivalent to that of an early-stage Saint-level warrior, and the cultivation of an 8th-level Magus combined with Overflow for instant casting with no cooldown-he now ranked among the top figures in the entire Fenlai Kingdom.

Haoyue sighed softly and headed for the Marquis of Three Elements' estate.

Over the next month, Haoyue followed a strict routine.

He rose every morning to cultivate his Battle-qi and magic, spent the morning reading various texts in his study, practiced Flat Blade Style stone carving in the back courtyard in the afternoon, and sat alone in meditation at night.

Carving became a daily exercise he never missed.

He would pick up his carving knife, imagine the vitality contained within the stone, and then release that vitality bit by bit. The process brought Haoyue a profound sense of peace.

Day after day, he carved one work after another. There were lions, eagles, sea beasts... Every one was so lifelike that it seemed ready to come alive at any moment.

That month also deepened his understanding of the Flat Blade Style.

Time flew by, and the year 9996 quietly came to an end in peace.

Spring, 9997.

Spring came especially early to Fenlai City. Willow catkins drifted through the air, and flowers bloomed in profusion.

As the Marquis of Three Elements and the first court magus, Haoyue had social engagements to attend to every day. Noble banquets, exchanges at the Magus Association, court meetings... His schedule was packed.

But no matter how busy he was, he made time to visit the Ernst Institute every few days.

"Brother Haoyue!"

Whenever Haoyue came to the institute, Linley would immediately run over.

At fifteen, Linley had grown considerably taller, and his features were gradually taking on a young man's handsome appearance. Dressed in his institute robes, he had an excited gleam in his eyes.

"Brother Haoyue, here to practice stone carving?" Linley pulled several pieces of stone and a Flat Blade from inside his robes. "Did you try that blade technique tip I told you about last time?"

Haoyue shook his head with a wry smile. "I did, but I'm still not quite there. With my ordinary talent, I can't catch up to your master-level skill."

"Not at all!" Linley chuckled and sat down at the stone table. "Grandpa Doehring said art should be shared with more people. You might be slow to get started, but every step you take is solid. Here, let me show you."

He picked up the Flat Blade and flicked his wrist, tracing a graceful arc across the stone.

One cut, two cuts, three...

In just a few minutes, a lifelike jade rabbit emerged from the stone. It had its head lowered to graze, its ears slightly raised, as though it might flee at any moment.

"See? You have to bring the blade down decisively and finish the cut cleanly." Linley set down the Flat Blade. "Your problem before was that you hesitated at the end of the cut. Once your force faltered, the spirit of the carving slipped away."

Haoyue nodded thoughtfully and picked up his own Flat Blade to practice several times. Though he couldn't match Linley's smooth, flowing rhythm, he had indeed improved a little.

"Good, good, you're making progress!" Linley watched from the side, nodding repeatedly.

The two continued practicing Flat Blade Style stone carving, and before they knew it, the sun had begun to sink in the west.

"Linley, how has your cultivation been going lately?" Haoyue suddenly asked.

Linley's excitement immediately returned. "Brother Haoyue, I've got good news! I'm a Level Five Mage now, and I've also reached the middle stage of a level-four warrior!"

"A dual-cultivation genius who's a Level Five Mage and a Level Four Warrior. You must be in high demand at the Ernst Institute."

"Hehe, everyone says I have a bright future." Linley scratched his head, then suddenly remembered something, and his expression grew complicated. "But... Grandpa Doehring has been urging me lately. He says that if I want to break through, I have to go train in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range."

Something stirred in Haoyue's heart.

Doehring Cowart... That old ghost still wants Linley to go train, just as I thought.

"Teacher Doehring is right." Haoyue nodded. "If you want to become strong, cultivation alone isn't enough. Real combat experience is just as important."

"But..." Linley hesitated. "The Magical Beasts Mountain Range is dangerous. I'm worried something might happen to me."

Haoyue patted him on the shoulder. "If you decide to go, I can help you prepare. For example, you can come to my place first, and I'll give you a few things to keep you alive."

Linley's eyes lit up. "Really? Brother Haoyue, you're so good to me!"

Haoyue smiled at the innocent boy before him and thought, I really hope you can always stay this innocent.

But he also knew that some trials couldn't be avoided on the road to growing up.

Training in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range was a path Linley had to take. And the trial of love that followed would be an even greater catalyst in his rise to power.

He chose not to intervene.

It wasn't indifference, but respect for Linley's growth. He also wanted to guard against intervening too much and shifting the plot so far off course that he lost his foreknowledge of it.

The third month of 9997.

Linley ultimately followed Doehring Cowart's advice, said goodbye to his friends, and set out alone to train in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range.

Two months slipped quietly by.

Autumn, 9997.

A carriage slowly came to a stop at the gates of the Ernst Institute.

The person who stepped out was Linley.

In the two months since they had last seen him, Linley had changed a great deal. He had grown a few inches taller, his skin was deeply tanned, and he had acquired several faint scars. His bearing had also become much steadier.

"Linley, you're back!"

Yale and Luo'en, who had been waiting at the gates, rushed over and excitedly clapped Linley on the shoulder.

"How was it? What did you gain from your training?"

"A lot." Linley smiled. "I'm a peak level-five mage and a level-four warrior now."

"That's amazing!" Yale gave him a thumbs-up. "It's only been two months!"

The group walked toward the dormitory as they talked, and Linley's tone suddenly grew gentle. "Oh, right. I also met someone on my way back."

"Someone?" Yale winked. "Don't tell me..."

Linley blushed and nodded. "She was surrounded by a group of magical beasts in the Magical Beasts Mountain Range. I passed by and saved her."

"Really?" Luo'en grew interested too. "What's her name?"

"Alice Dawson." A trace of tenderness flashed in Linley's eyes. "She's the daughter of an ordinary noble family. She's kind and lovely..."

"Well, well, Linley, you've got some luck with women!" Yale burst out laughing.

In the days that followed, Linley kept in frequent contact with Alice. At first they only exchanged letters, but gradually they began going on dates.

They often walked together in Fenlai City's parks, talked by the lake, and read together in bookshops...

Linley didn't tell Alice that he had a very powerful "big brother"-Haoyue. He only said he was an ordinary student at the Ernst Institute.

Alice didn't ask many questions either. She simply liked this promising, gentle, and considerate young man.

Winter, 9997.

A heavy snow covered Fenlai City, wrapping the world in white.

In a park pavilion, Linley and Alice stood side by side, watching the snow fall.

"Linley..." Alice spoke softly. "Let's be together."

Linley turned to look into the girl's clear eyes, his heart pounding.

"I... I like you too, Alice."

They embraced tightly and kissed in the snow.

At that moment, Linley felt like the happiest person in the world.

Spring, 9998.

Linley made a breakthrough.

At sixteen, he became a Sixth-level Magus.

"Brother Haoyue, I did it!"

Linley rushed excitedly into the Marquis of Three Elements' estate and shouted as soon as he saw Haoyue.

Haoyue put down the book in his hands and smiled with satisfaction at the young man before him. "Congratulations, Linley. A Sixth-level Magus-to reach that level at your age, you're truly outstanding."

"It's all thanks to your care, Brother Haoyue!" Linley grinned.

Autumn, 9998.

Those six months were the happiest time of Linley's life.

He saw Alice once every half month, and when their romance was at its height, as often as four times a month. They went to bookshops and art exhibitions together, and had picnics in the countryside...

They were so close that they often spent the night at an inn outside the institute, cuddling and talking until dawn. But they didn't cross the final line-Linley wanted to give her a proper wedding, and Alice respected his choice.

Of course, there were arguments amid their sweet romance.

When they disagreed, the two would get red in the face. But after every argument, they made up all the more quickly, and their feelings grew deeper instead.

Haoyue knew it was Linley's own romance, so he chose not to interfere.

This was Linley's trial, and also his opportunity.

Only by experiencing sweetness, pain, and growth could Linley truly become the powerful man capable of shouldering the great task of reviving the Baruch Clan.

September 29.

That was the day Linley and Alice had arranged to meet.

Linley arrived early at their meeting place, a café in the center of Fenlai City. He ordered Alice's favorite vanilla latte and waited patiently.

An hour passed.

Two hours passed.

Three hours passed.

Alice didn't come.

Linley wrote her a letter, but received no reply.

When he went to her house to find her, a servant said she had gone out.

The first crack quietly appeared.

Linley began to feel uneasy.

Meanwhile, Alice was under immense pressure in her life.

Alice's father was a gambler. Some days earlier, a group of people had set a trap for him, and he had gambled away the entire family fortune and incurred a massive debt.

The people who had set the trap belonged to Kalan Debs' clan.

The Debs Clan was a powerful and influential family in the Fenlai Kingdom. They gave Alice's father a choice: either let Alice marry Kalan, or watch her father go to prison and her family be destroyed.

Alice was an ordinary girl. She had neither Linley's courage nor his talent. She longed for a stable life and feared change and loss.

Faced with immense pressure, she chose to seek advantage and avoid harm.

She got together with Kalan.

October, 9998.

Yale, Luo'en, and the others noticed that something was wrong.

One day, they saw Alice and Kalan together in a square in Fenlai City. The two were holding hands, chatting and laughing, and looking very intimate.

Yale immediately returned to the dormitory and told Linley.

"Linley, there's something... I think I have to tell you."

Linley was reading. Without looking up, he said, "What is it?"

"I saw Alice in the square." Yale took a deep breath. "She was with a man, and the two of them looked... very intimate."

Linley's hand froze.

"Impossible." Linley shook his head. "Alice would never betray me."

"Linley, I'm not lying to you."

Linley shot to his feet. "You must have mistaken someone else for her!"

He rushed out of the dormitory and ran to Alice's house.

When Linley reached Alice's house, he knocked on the door, but an unfamiliar servant answered.

"Excuse me, is Miss Alice home?"

"Miss Alice?" The servant looked Linley over. "Who are you?"

"I'm her friend, Linley Baruch."

The servant shook his head. "Miss Alice isn't here. She went out with Young Master Kalan."

A roar exploded in Linley's head.

Young Master Kalan.

Kalan Debs.

He had heard the name before. Kalan was a member of the Debs Clan.

"Does she... Does she often go out with Young Master Kalan?" Linley's voice trembled.

The servant nodded. "Yes, they've been going out together often lately. They seem very close."

Linley turned and ran, as fast as he could.

He didn't cry. He just felt hollow inside, as though someone had carved a piece out of him.

He still clung to a sliver of hope.

Maybe Alice had her reasons?

Maybe she'd been forced into it?

Maybe she was still waiting for a chance to explain?

Linley decided to seek her out one more time.

November, year 9998.

Linley wrote Alice letter after letter, but received no reply.

He sent people to her home, but every time, they were told she wasn't there.

Every day, he waited in the square, hoping to see her again.

But he never saw Alice again.

Until one day at the end of November.

Linley was wandering aimlessly through the streets of Fenlai City when he suddenly noticed a crowd ahead.

A young man and woman were coming out of a clothing store, carrying bags of all sizes.

The man wore splendid noble attire and had a smug smile on his face. The woman wore a beautiful dress and smiled happily.

It was Kalan and Alice.

They smiled at each other, and Kalan put an arm around Alice's waist. She didn't push him away. Instead, she nestled against him.

Linley stood in the crowd, watching them, his whole body ice-cold.

He finally understood everything.

Alice hadn't been forced.

Alice had chosen this of her own free will.

Alice had chosen a man with more power and wealth than Linley, a man who could give her a secure life.

His first love was over.

Linley turned and left, his retreating figure desolate.

His heart hurt so badly he couldn't breathe.

Late at night.

The court mage's residence.

Haoyue was reading in his study when he suddenly heard a knock at the door.

"Come in."

The door opened, and Linley walked in.

Haoyue put down his book and looked at the youth before him. Linley's face was pale, and his eyes were red and swollen, as though he'd cried all night.

"Brother Haoyue..." Linley's voice was hoarse. "Alice and I... broke up."

Haoyue was silent for a moment. Then he rose, walked over to him, and patted him on the shoulder.

"Cry if you want to."

Linley opened his mouth, but couldn't cry.

"I don't understand..." Linley murmured. "Things were so good between us... why..."

Haoyue sighed. "Linley, in this world, not every relationship lasts to the end."

"I know... but..." Linley closed his eyes, and two streams of tears finally slipped down his face. "I really liked her..."

Haoyue said nothing, simply staying quietly by his side.

Moonlight streamed through the window and fell on them both.

At that moment, Haoyue suddenly remembered many things.

He remembered his previous life, the girls he'd once liked, and the relationships that had ultimately come to nothing.

He remembered coming to this world, becoming a descendant of the Tiger-Striped Warriors, and shouldering the heavy responsibility of restoring his family.

He thought of Linley, this young boy who was walking a path destined to be full of thorns.

This ordeal of love was only the first obstacle on his journey through life.

The road ahead would be even harder.

But it was precisely because of those hardships that Linley would grow stronger.

"Linley," Haoyue said. "You know, we'll meet many people in our lives. Some never recover after a setback, while others grow stronger through adversity."

He looked Linley in the eyes. "I hope you'll be one of the latter."

Linley wiped away his tears and nodded firmly.

"I will, Brother Haoyue."

Haoyue smiled and handed him a cup of hot tea. "Good. Here, have some tea and warm yourself up."

Linley took the cup. Steam rose from the tea, blurring his vision.

Outside the window, the night was dark.

But beneath the moonlight, a new moon was slowly rising.

Just like Linley's life: after passing through darkness, it would finally welcome a new dawn.