Learning the Truth and Training

Time flew. A month had passed since Linley returned to Fenlai City.

During that month, Linley secretly trained his Dragonblood Warrior powers under Haoyue's guidance.

His progress could only be described as astonishingly fast.

His warrior level soared all the way to the peak of level six, only one step away from level seven.

Under Haoyue's guidance, the advantages of his Dragonblood Warrior bloodline gradually began to show.

One evening,

Linley came to visit the Marquis of Three Elements' residence again.

"Brother Haoyue."

He called out toward the courtyard.

Haoyue stood in the middle of the courtyard, the Purple Blood Soft Sword in his hand, slowly moving through a sword form.

His movements were so slow that every path the sword traced was clearly visible to the naked eye.

Yet those movements, slow to the extreme, somehow seemed perfectly natural and flawless.

The Taiji Sword Technique.

After half a year of study and practice, Haoyue's understanding of the Taiji Sword had grown ever deeper. In particular, after he incorporated the round and yielding power of Water Element magic into the technique, the entire sword form had become even smoother, more effortless, and seamless.

"You're back."

Haoyue lowered his sword and stood still, looking at Linley with a faint smile.

"Mm." Linley nodded and walked over to Haoyue. "Brother Haoyue, I feel like... my warrior level is about to break through to level seven."

"Oh?" Haoyue raised an eyebrow. "Not bad. That's a little faster than I expected."

"It's all thanks to your guidance, Brother Haoyue." Linley smiled a little sheepishly.

He meant it.

If Haoyue hadn't used an eighth-level Gravity Spell to help him train to his limits and given him pointers on combat techniques from time to time, he couldn't possibly have progressed so quickly.

"You're talented, and you're willing to work hard." Haoyue patted him on the shoulder.

Suddenly, his expression turned solemn.

"Linley, you're seventeen this year, aren't you?"

"Mm. I'll be eighteen after this year's Yulan Festival." Linley nodded.

"A Level Seven Mage and a Peak Level Six Warrior at seventeen, and you've awakened your Dragonblood Warrior bloodline." Haoyue looked at him, his gaze profound. "You're already capable of protecting yourself."

Linley looked at Haoyue in confusion.

He couldn't shake the feeling that Brother Haoyue was a little different today.

"Brother Haoyue, what is it?"

Haoyue was silent for a moment before he slowly spoke.

"There's something your father and I have kept from you for a long time."

"Now it's time to tell you the truth."

In the living room,

Haoyue and Linley sat facing each other.

The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.

"Brother Haoyue, what is it?" Linley couldn't help asking.

Haoyue looked at him and spoke word by word:

"It's about your mother's death."

Linley's body jolted.

His mother's death...

All his life, his father, Hogg, had only ever said that his mother died of illness, but Linley had always felt something was wrong. The hatred and restraint his father occasionally revealed had given him a vague sense that there was more to her death.

"Brother Haoyue, you... what do you know?" Linley's voice trembled slightly.

"Your mother didn't die of illness." Haoyue's voice was low and clear. "Her death had a great deal to do with two people."

"Who?!" Linley shot to his feet, his eyes bloodshot. "Brother Haoyue, tell me! Who killed my mother?!"

"Sit down first." Haoyue gripped his shoulder, sending a powerful force into his body that calmed his turbulent emotions somewhat. "Hear me out."

Linley took a deep breath and forced himself to sit down, but his fists clenched with a cracking sound.

"The people responsible for your mother's death were Duke Paterson of the Fenlai Kingdom and his older brother, the current king of Fenlai, Clayde," Haoyue said slowly. "And behind them, the Radiant Church of the Holy Union was also involved."

"What?!"

Linley froze as if struck by lightning.

King Clayde? The Radiant Church?

One was the ruler of a kingdom; the other was one of the most powerful forces on the continent.

"How... how could they be involved..." Linley murmured.

"According to my investigation, back when Clayde wasn't yet king, he searched everywhere for people with pure souls on the Radiant Church's behalf, both to gain its support and to improve his own strength." A trace of coldness entered Haoyue's voice.

"Your mother, Lina, caught their attention because her soul was pure."

"So Clayde ordered his younger brother Paterson to seize your mother. Clayde personally presented her to the Radiant Church, and the Radiant Church... sacrificed her soul."

"No-!!!"

Linley let out a heart-rending roar of fury.

His eyes turned bloodshot in an instant, and the blood throughout his body seemed to burn. A terrifying aura burst uncontrollably from within him, and azure dragon scales instinctively emerged from beneath his skin.

A soul sacrifice!

That was countless times crueler than death!

"I'll kill them! I'll kill Clayde! I'll kill Paterson!!"

As if driven mad, Linley turned and started to charge outside.

"Linley!"

Haoyue stepped forward and seized his shoulder. A powerful force pressed down like a mountain, leaving Linley unable to move.

"Come to your senses!"

"How can I?!" Linley whipped his head around, his eyes bloodshot as tears welled up uncontrollably. "That was my mother! Brother Haoyue, that was my mother! They sacrificed her soul! I'm going to kill them! I'm going to avenge her!!"

"Revenge?" Haoyue sneered. "With your current strength?"

Linley froze.

"Tell me, how strong are you right now?" Haoyue stared into his eyes. "A Level Seven Mage? A Peak Level Six Warrior? Are you going to throw your life away?!"

"Paterson is a Level Seven Warrior, and Clayde is a Level Nine Warrior." Haoyue's voice was like ice. "Besides, Clayde is the king of Fenlai. He's surrounded by experts and has the Radiant Church backing him. If you charge in alone, you won't get revenge-you'll be throwing your life away!"

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

He knew Haoyue was telling the truth.

With his current strength, he might not even be able to defeat Paterson, much less kill Clayde.

"But... but I can't just do nothing..." Linley's voice choked up. His fists clenched with a cracking sound, his nails digging deep into his palms.

"Of course you can't do nothing." Haoyue's tone softened somewhat. "But revenge requires a plan. You can't just rush in."

"If you're in such a hurry," Haoyue said seriously, looking at him, "I can go over there right now and kill both Clayde and Paterson to avenge your mother. What do you think?"

Linley abruptly raised his head.

He looked at Haoyue and knew he wasn't joking.

With Brother Haoyue's strength, he really might be able to do it.

But-

Linley shook his head hard.

"No, Brother Haoyue." His voice was still choked, but his gaze grew firm. "This is my revenge. I have to take it myself."

"I understand now." Linley took a deep breath and wiped the tears from his face. "I'll work hard to get stronger and focus on my training. One day, I'll kill them with my own hands!"

Seeing Linley pull himself together, Haoyue nodded in satisfaction.

"That's right."

He patted Linley on the shoulder. "For the next while, focus on your training. I'll keep using the Gravity Spell to help you train, and we'll try to get your warrior level to break through to level seven as soon as possible. Then, combined with your Dragonblood Warrior transformation, you'll be able to fight a Level Nine Warrior."

Linley clenched his fists. "All right! Brother Haoyue, I'll do as you say!"

From that day on, Linley began a hellish training regimen.

Haoyue's Earth Element magic, the Medium Gravity Spell, became Linley's best training tool.

As the gravity kept increasing, Linley practiced swordplay, ran, and did push-ups in the gravity field. Every day, he trained to exhaustion, until he could no longer stand.

Haoyue also guided him from the sidelines.

"Pay attention to the rhythm of your breathing. Under gravity, once your breathing falls into disorder, your strength will scatter."

"..."

Haoyue's pointers always went straight to the heart of the matter, and Linley benefited greatly from them.

And as Linley trained under the Gravity Spell, his understanding of gravity also grew deeper.

"Brother Haoyue," Linley said suddenly one day after training, "I feel like... gravity isn't quite that simple."

"Oh?" Haoyue raised an eyebrow. "Let's hear it."

"I think gravity is a kind of rule." Linley frowned, struggling to put his thoughts into words. "It isn't just pressure from a force. It's a... a rule that already exists in the world. If someone could comprehend that rule, they'd probably be very powerful, wouldn't they?"

Haoyue paused, then smiled.

"You've got good comprehension, kid."

He patted Linley on the shoulder. "Remember what you felt today and keep exploring it more deeply. Gravity is something you'll use often in the future. The deeper your understanding of it, the more you'll benefit."

"Mm!" Linley nodded firmly.

What he didn't know was that Haoyue's reminder and this period of training under gravity had brought him into contact with the very surface of the Profound Mystery of Gravity at an early stage. This planted an important seed for his rapid advances in the Laws of the Earth in the future.

The days passed one by one.

One day, a month later, Haoyue was practicing with the Purple Blood Soft Sword in the courtyard.

He switched freely between three types of magical power, perfectly blending three entirely different styles into a single sword technique: the weight of the Earth Element, the explosiveness of the Fire Element, and the roundness and yielding nature of the Water Element.

Suddenly-

"Brother Haoyue! Brother Haoyue!"

Linley came running in from outside in a hurry.

"What is it?" Haoyue lowered his sword and stood still, looking at him in puzzlement.

"Someone's come to Fenlai City!" Linley's expression was somewhat strange. "He's a Cardinal of the Radiant Church named Gilmer. He says he wants to see me."

"A Cardinal?" Haoyue raised an eyebrow, a glint flashing in his eyes. "What does Gilmer want with you?"

"He said..." Linley paused. "He said he could recommend me as a disciple to one of the Radiant Church's top legendary Ascetics."

"That Ascetic's name is Fallen Leaf."

Haoyue curled his lip. "Then go. He's a Saint-level expert too, though I expect your trip will be for nothing."

So Linley said goodbye to Haoyue and went to the Radiant Church with Cardinal Gilmer.