Coiling Dragon (Pan Long)

Linley turned to look at his group of saviors. That leader, the black-robed elder, and the ‘Ascetic’ by his side were both exceedingly strong. Otherwise, that Judicator of the Dark Alliance wouldn’t have fled without even fighting.

The black-robed elder seemed to emanate a chilling aura.

“Deputy Arbiter? After all these years, it seems like the Radiant Church hasn’t changed its internal structure. This Deputy Arbiter should belong to the ‘Ecclesiastical Tribunal’.” Doehring Cowart’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind. “Comparatively speaking, that ‘Ascetic’ fellow is more formidable.”

Ascetic?

Linley couldn’t help but turn his gaze towards the ‘Ascetic’.

Wearing clothes made from rough hemp, that barefooted, long-haired old man emanated a simple, ancient aura. When this ‘Ascetic’ looked at Linley, Linley seemed to sense the warmth of the spring breeze.

“Truly powerful.” Linley thought to himself.

Looking at Linley, a rare smile appeared on the face of the black-robed elder. “Linley, why don’t you come back with us to the Holy Capital. When you reach the Holy Capital, those organizations will not dare to bother you.”

Fenlai City, the Holy Capital of the Holy Union. The Radiant Church was based in Fenlai City. Both in the open as well as in the shadows, it possessed tremendous latent power. Neither the Dark Alliance nor the Four Great Empires would dare to cause trouble in the Holy Capital.

….

East Fenlai City. Within a manor on Greenleaf Road, Linley and Yale were seated in the living room discussing the issue of the warblade ‘Slaughterer’.

“Third Bro, I’ve already sent some people to make inquiries. That clan leader of the Lucas clan is totally unwilling to sell the ‘Slaughterer’. Per his words, his clan doesn’t lack for money.” Yale frowned. “I think it might be better if you personally went and paid a visit. But of course, first he would have to be made aware of your status.”

The second greatest genius magus in the history of the Yulan continent, someone who had a high chance of becoming a future Saint-level Grand Magus, was someone whom perhaps even the clan leader of the Lucas clan, no matter how obdurate, would have to give some face to.

“Then tonight, I’ll pay a visit to this leader of the Lucas clan.” Linley viewed the warblade ‘Slaughterer’ as something which absolutely had to be claimed.

How could the ancestral treasure of the clan continue to remain outside the clan? What’s more, recovering it was the long-standing desire of both his father and his ancestors.

The words which his father had said to him when Linley had first left his home and headed to the Ernst Institute still rang out in Linley’s mind.

“Linley. Remember the centuries-long desire of generations of the Baruch clan. Remember the shame of the Baruch clan!”

“After you graduate, you will at least be a magus of the sixth rank. As long as you work hard, becoming a magus of the seventh rank won’t be too hard. What’s more, you are a dual-element magus! A dual-element magus of the seventh rank is definitely going to be a major figure in the Kingdom of Fenlai. In the future, you will definitely have the potential of recovering our ancestral heirloom. If you do not recover it, even in death, I will not forgive you.”

…..

“Even in death, I will not forgive you.” His father’s words hammered at Linley’s consciousness.

Linley did not dare to forget these words. As long as he had the ability to do so, he would recover the warblade ‘Slaughterer’, no matter the cost. This wasn’t just for the sake of the clan. It was also for his father’s sake.

“No matter what, I have to reclaim it.” Linley’s mind was set.

If soft persuasion didn’t work, he would take harder measures.

But of course, it would be better if he could reclaim his ancestral heirloom openly and above-the-board. He would do his best to have the current owners hand it back.

“Boss. How about you just have me act instead and just take it back.” Bebe suddenly piped up in Linley’s mind.

Linley glanced at Bebe, napping on Linley’s legs. He couldn’t help but pat Bebe’s little noggin. “Don’t make trouble.” Bebe couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose. With a hmph, he laid back down on Linley’s leg and went back to sleep.

At this moment, footsteps could be heard from outside. A blue-robed middle-aged man entered and bowed. “Young master Yale, a Minister of Fenlai Kingdom, Lord Calvin [Ka’li’wen], is outside. He wishes to meet with young master Linley.”

“Calvin? Who’s that?” Yale frowned.

Yale generally didn’t bother with meeting an ordinary kingdom’s Minister.

“Young master Yale, recently, haven’t you been focused on the Lucas clan? This Calvin is a member of the Lucas clan as well.” The blue-robed man chuckled. “The current leader of the Lucas clan is, in fact, his uncle.”

Yale’s eyes lit up. “Quick, let him in.”

“Third Bro, it seems as though your chances of recovering your clan’s ancestral heirloom just went up.” Yale chuckled at Linley.

In his heart, Linley was feeling rather pleased as well.

Linley was looking towards the door as well. A short moment later, a golden-haired man stepped inside the room, smiling. Upon seeing Linley and Yale, he immediately bowed courteously. “Calvin pays his respects to young masters Linley and Yale.”

“Calvin, why have you come to meet with my bro?” Yale asked bluntly.

Calvin didn’t mind in the slightest. Smiling, he said, “The purpose of my visit was to serve as the representative of his Majesty. Young master Linley, have you given any consideration to serving as a court magus for the Kingdom of Fenlai? His Majesty would also be willing to enfeoff you with the title of Marquis and the territory to match.”

Linley laughed.

He still remembered the conditions offered by that Cardinal of the Radiant Church; he could choose to serve in any kingdom of the Holy Union, and even receive a Dukedom. He didn’t have to have any responsibilities, just to enjoy life.

“Calvin, I must say, when I was at the Ernst Institute, a Cardinal of the Radiant Church personally came to invite my bro to join the Radiant Church, and the conditions he offered were much higher as well!” Yale smirked.

Calvin chuckled and continued, “Conditions can always be negotiated. His Majesty only hopes that Linley can remain within our Kingdom of Fenlai.”

After all, each of the six kingdoms in the Holy Union had different amounts of power. If the Kingdom of Fenlai acquired Linley’s support, then in the future, Fenlai’s status within the Holy Union would be further solidified.

After all…

The Radiant Church had the authority to depose any king within the Holy Union, or even exterminate an entire royal clan! The power of the Church far exceeded the power of the royals.

Thus, it was extremely important for a royal clan to have a powerful base of support.

“Calvin.”

Linley finally spoke.

Calvin immediately bowed slightly, appearing to listen very carefully.

“You belong to the Lucas clan, correct?” Linley immediately went to the principal topic for him.

Calvin nodded. A trace of pride on his face, he said, “Correct. The clan leader is my uncle.”

“I belong to the Baruch clan.” Linley looked at Calvin. “An ancestral heirloom of my Baruch clan, known as the warblade, ‘Slaughterer’, has been lost to my clan for centuries now. Right now, I hope to recover this warblade, ‘Slaughterer’. Based on what I know, my clan’s ancestral heirloom is currently residing with your Lucas clan.”

After saying these words, Linley no longer spoke.

Calvin couldn’t help but frown.

“The warblade ‘Slaughterer’, the weapon of the original Dragonblood Warrior?” Calvin looked at Linley.

Calvin was silent for a while, then said, “Young master Linley, honestly speaking, the person with the most authority in the clan is my uncle, but my uncle is getting on in his years. He isn’t responsible for most of the clan’s affairs. His biggest hobby is being a collector. This warblade, ‘Slaughterer’, is an item which he often shows off to visitors. This treasure which is worth nearly a million gold coins is the most valuable item in our clan’s collection as well. It would be fair to say my uncle values this item as much as his life. To have him give it up…this will be difficult.”

Linley frowned.

The warblade ‘Slaughterer’ had originally been sold for only 180,000 gold coins. Although due to inflation, the value of gold centuries ago was much more than it was now, at most the selling price would be equivalent to nearly 400,000 today. But Calvin had just claimed the value was nearly a million gold coins.

From the looks of it…

That ‘disgrace to the family’ who sold the warblade, had sold it far too cheaply.

“Calvin. This warblade, ‘Slaughterer’, is after all the ancestral heirloom of my clan, passed down over five thousand years. You can imagine the importance my clan places upon it. To outsiders, it might merely be a collectible item, but to my clan, the loss of this heirloom is a humiliation.” Linley’s face was dark and forbidding as he spoke.

“I absolutely must wipe this stain off of our clan’s honor. In order to recover this warblade, ‘Slaughterer’, I am willing to pay any price. Do you understand what I am saying?” Linley stared at Calvin.

Calvin sensed that things were heading in a very wrong direction.

He, too, had heard of the history of the Baruch clan. After all, his clan had several items related to the Baruch clan.

To a clan which had once dominated the entire Yulan continent, the importance of their ancestral heirloom could be imagined. In the past, the Baruch clan was too weak and could be ignored with impunity. But now, this Linley had appeared out of nowhere…forget about the future Linley, even the present Linley would not find it too difficult to deal with their clan.

If Linley said just a few words to the Radiant Church, suggesting that he wanted to recover the ‘Slaughterer’ to cleanse this humiliating stain on his clan, most likely the Lucas family would have to obediently hand it over.

But once the Radiant Church got involved in this matter, things would get more complicated for everyone involved.

“I understand your meaning, young master Linley.” Calvin was growing a bit nervous.

Smiling, Linley looked at Calvin. “I hope the Lucas clan can understand the difficult position I am in. As a descendant of the clan, I have no choice here. Calvin, why don’t you go back and have a chat with your uncle first. Tonight, I will personally pay a visit to your clan.”

“Our Lucas clan will gladly welcome young master Linley’s arrival.” Calvin was already beginning to mentally map out the way by which he would persuade this obstinate uncle of his.

Watching Calvin depart, Linley felt a slight sense of superiority.

Although he hadn’t taken up any official position, just based on his fame, with a few words, he was able to unsettle a kingdom’s Minister’s mind. This was all due to his status, and his status came from his personal power.

….

That very night.

The welcoming room of the Lucas clan was extremely tastefully adorned, and the ten people within it were, without a doubt, ten extremely important people within the Kingdom of Fenlai. The lowest ranked amongst them was a Count. And the reason all of them were here, was to meet with Linley.

Linley, the newest star of the Kingdom of Fenlai.

Although Linley was only seventeen, and although Linley had not received a writ of nobility, not even the Dukes of the kingdom dared to treat him lightly.

After all, no matter how high their stations were, they were only capable of displaying their power within the Kingdom of Fenlai. But Linley? This was a person who was highly valued by the Four Great Empires and the two major alliances. Perhaps a few decades from now, Linley would become a Cardinal of the Radiant Church, with a status higher than even their king.

It was best for them to build good relations with Linley while he was still of comparatively low rank. And building good relations with Linley was naturally an important matter.

Amonst those ten or so people, only the clan leader of the Lucas clan, Marquis Jebs, [Je’bu], felt rather uncomfortable. He was already getting on in years, and didn’t have any other hobbies. The thing which he loved the most was that weapon of the first Dragonblood Warrior. It was his pride and joy.

But…the descendants of this weapon’s clan had come to retrieve their treasure.

“Mr. Linley, please enter.”

“Mr. Yale, please enter.”

The voices of the attendants outside could be heard. Instantly, all of the ten or so people in the room turned to smile at the door. Even the unhappy Marquis Jebs squeezed a smile onto his face.

This was the first time Linley had been addressed as ‘Mr.’, a title he was a bit unused to. He saw an old man with gleaming silver hair walk over to him, beaming as he said very courteously, “Very happy to welcome Linley and Yale to my clan’s home. As the leader of this clan, I, Jebs, feel deeply honored.”

Linley couldn’t help but show a hint of a smile on his face.

Looked like there was a chance!