"Sorry… my dear, I can't stay with you!"
Furui's eyes reddened slightly once more, a shimmering mist settling over them.
"No! In truth, by raising Xirui, you've already done an immense service for me, for our Farell family…"
Leilin rose to his feet and looked at the sturdy little fellow.
Because the child had inherited his Snake Emperor bloodline, the little one had a voracious appetite, and there were occasional episodes where he couldn't control his spiritual power and bloodline energy. Of course, for an advanced warlock, none of these were real problems.
"…If that's the case, have our Comoin warlocks' bloodline shackles all disappeared?"
Furui had seized upon the crucial point.
"No! Strictly speaking, my bloodline shackles have disappeared, while your bloodline essence has been transferred onto me…"
Leilin told the truth. "However, with my help, your advancement to the sixth rank should pose no difficulty. And Xirui, bearing my bloodline, has even greater potential…"
"Greater potential?" Furui looked confused.
"Xirui! Come here!" Leilin beckoned with a smile.
"Father!" The little fellow ran up to Leilin, his small hands smeared with fruit juice and grease. "Hug!"
"Of course!" Leilin smiled and gathered the child into his arms.
"Xirui! My bloodline! I bestow my blessing upon you! You shall receive incomparable glory! Holy light shall accompany you for eternity!"
Leilin made his declaration.
And at that moment, the world seemed to freeze. Behind Leilin, the towering phantom of a Tagalian Winged Serpent materialized from thin air.
Leilin's expression was solemn, as if a deity were delivering a divine oracle.
Unfortunately, all the maids present had long since fainted. Only Furui could barely keep her composure, but even she trembled faintly at the terrifying phantom looming behind Leilin.
Xirui had already fallen into a deep sleep. Only a small phantom of the Comoin Snake Emperor appeared over his body.
"Though I could wait until you've grown older, bloodline enhancement is easier to integrate the younger the child…"
Leilin's eyes swirled with primordial chaos. "My son Xirui! You shall inherit my power of infinity and eternity, and become the King of the Ouroboros!!!"
"From this day forth, you are Ouroboros—the Infinite Serpent Ouroboros!"
"Hsss…" At that moment, the Tagalian Winged Serpent behind Leilin also opened its maw, releasing billowing black smoke that enveloped the Comoin Snake Emperor phantom.
The swirling smoke ultimately formed a cocoon, encasing the Snake Emperor phantom within, as though some mysterious transformation was taking place.
And Xirui continued to sleep soundly. Only the aura emanating from his body had visibly changed.
"This… this is…" Furui stared at the scene, completely bereft of words.
"He's exhausted! Take him down for proper rest! Make sure to double his high-energy nutrient solution daily from now on!" Leilin smiled. All the phantoms and terrifying power retracted, and he seemed to return to his previous appearance as an ordinary warlock—save for the warm smile still on his face, and the unmistakable, non-negotiable tone of his words.
"Y-Yes…" Furui left with Xirui in her arms, eyes vacant. One could imagine she would fall into a state of immense bewilderment and shock afterward. What Leilin had displayed was no longer a mortal's power! Even the Dawn Throne was far inferior to even a fraction of his might…
After completing these matters, Leilin walked alone to the window, his gaze seeming to pierce through the canopy of the Ganges Secret Realm to the starry sky beyond.
"Daniel! My eldest son!"
With Leilin's murmur, his spiritual power seemed to travel directly through the omnipresent force of natural law, arriving at the Dark Extreme Domain—to where Xiling and Daniel were.
"What is… what's happening? This power?"
Xiling, dressed as a young matron, was struck dumb by the overwhelming force. Fear filled her eyes.
Whoosh! A massive amount of black particles converged, forming an enormous face. The mere majesty emanating from its pupils was enough to leave Xiling breathless.
But the face was intimately familiar to her. "Lei… Leilin? It's you, Leilin!!!"
"My son Daniel!"
The colossal black face continued to speak, and Daniel, cradled in Xiling's arms, began struggling violently, reaching toward the dark visage.
"You shall inherit my power of devouring and dreams, and become the Midgard Serpent—Jörmungandr!!!"
Accompanying the face's proclamation, a torrent of devouring laws and the power of dreams enveloped Daniel, subjecting him to a terrifying metamorphosis!
"I'm leaving now. Take good care of Daniel!"
At the ceremony's conclusion, the enormous black face looked upon Xiling and spoke in Leilin's voice. Then it vanished without a trace.
But the terrifying sensation lingered. Xiling touched her own face, finally convincing herself it had not been a dream or some illusion.
"Daniel! My Daniel!" Xiling rushed to Daniel's side. Only after confirming he had merely fallen unconscious did she let out a sigh of relief.
At that moment, she also noticed subtle changes in Daniel, particularly the small black rune clutched tightly in his hand against his chest.
This black rune possessed a pure, absolute quality—as if it were the only one in existence. Upon it was the image of a terrifying demonic serpent bearing devilish wings and razor-sharp claws, faintly connected to some inconceivably powerful existence.
"It's Leilin's aura! This is his rune!"
Xiling stored the black rune away with a peculiar expression, then gazed at the sleeping Daniel and murmured to herself: "Leilin… just what level has he reached now?"
…
"From this day forward, the Infinite Serpent Ouroboros and the World Serpent Jörmungandr shall be the two principal bloodlines of my Farell family…"
Leilin leaned against the balcony, his eyes filled with swirling chaos.
As his legitimate son, the power of eternity and infinity that Xirui had inherited was, for the present Leilin, merely a concept—or rather, a seed. Only as Leilin continued to grow stronger himself could he guide Xirui down an ever more powerful bloodline path.
As for his eldest son Daniel, the power of devouring and dreams he had inherited was something Leilin knew intimately. It was stable and could swiftly develop into real combat capability.
"In truth, Xirui's bloodline has greater developmental potential—possessing infinite possibilities—but it's far from complete! Daniel's bloodline is currently the most formidable, yet its future is already set in stone!"
Leilin rubbed his chin, a smile playing at the corner of his mouth.
"The present versus the future—that's up to you two to decide!"
As an existence approaching the seventh rank, Leilin could now draw upon the power of the world's source to accomplish things that even most advanced wizards could scarcely imagine.
Solidifying his own bloodline as a hereditary legacy, even directly replicating several abilities—none of this was difficult for him.
However, the two bloodline paths were merely Leilin's own conceptions, supplemented by the Chip's computational projections, so there were still some imperfections.
In truth, names like "World Serpent" and "Infinite Serpent" had been chosen simply because they sounded impressive, and partly because Leilin had been indulging a moment of whimsy.
Still, he was confident that after several hundred years, these two fully matured bloodlines would come to dominate the entire Central Continent, rendering all other bloodline warlocks pale by comparison.
And once Leilin achieved the realm of Eternity, his two bloodlines would be no less magnificent than the mythologies of his previous world.
"Though I've already modified and enhanced their bloodlines, their bloodline essence still resides with me. Currently, the maximum potential of both bloodlines is only the sixth rank. Unless I ascend to a higher tier, they won't be able to continue advancing…"
Leilin deliberated carefully. Alongside establishing his family and proliferating his bloodline, exploring further possibilities for bloodline evolution had been one of the projects the Chip was perpetually researching.
What surprises might the inherited bloodlines bring after nature's process of natural selection and biological self-selection—this was something he greatly anticipated.
…
An endless expanse of azure ocean stretched to the horizon, white-capped waves rolling across its surface from time to time.
Leilin and the others stood on the deck of an enormous sailing vessel, their bodies swaying with the undulation of the waves.
"So… the operation to transport Comoin warlocks to the South Coast is still ongoing?"
Leilin gripped the railing, his brow furrowing slightly. "This pace is far too slow! The center of the Ouroboros Ring must be relocated here within one month at the latest—only then will we have enough manpower to launch the underground trade!"
Even this mild complaint was enough to make
In the end, it was Gilbert—who had a former master-disciple relationship with Leilin—who stepped forward to speak: "The waters near the South Coast are rife with dangerous zones, some reaching the level of fourth-rank hazard areas. We've had to use reinforced-model airships and vessels, escorted by Morning Star–level combatants, so progress has been slow…"
Though the dangers near the South Coast were trivial for Morning Star wizards, they were insurmountable chasms for those third-rank wizards.
"Mm. What you say has merit, but the pace still needs to be accelerated!"
"We'd love nothing more than to get our hands on those underground trade profits a day sooner, but unfortunately…" Emma and Gilbert exchanged glances, bitter smiles on their faces.
"I've studied the surrounding maps. The most dangerous area here is the Dragon Whale Sea, correct?"
Leilin spoke suddenly.
"Y-Yes, my lord!" Emma answered unconsciously.
"Good! Then perhaps I can lend a hand."
Leilin said this with a faint smile, then his expression turned cold. "Come out!!!"
A terrifying voice, laden with bone-piercing authority, suddenly rippled across the sea surface. The mere peripheral energy fluctuations were enough to drain the color from Gilbert's and Emma's faces.