"Thank you for your warm hospitality! But I must take my leave! I look forward to our next meeting!"
Inosid waved to
The numerous rust-colored streaks retracted, restoring the room to its original arrangement. The sensation of spatial connection gradually dissipated, leaving an inquisitive gleam in Leylin's eyes.
"This kind of traversal ability? Is it an evolution of the rule power he commands? It seems quite effective for traveling between other worlds and through the astral plane..."
……
"My lord, may we come in?"
At that moment, Im and the others' voices came from outside the door. It turned out that their brief exchange had consumed an entire night.
Of course, for an existence like Leylin, this was nothing. Even decades of ceaseless activity would not cause any fatigue in a body forged of rules.
"A sublimation and qualitative transformation of life's essence? Or a leap across tiers of existence?"
Leylin gazed at his own pale, translucent palm, a distant look flickering in his eyes. He could feel it—his current self was steadily transforming toward some more powerful state of being. And yet, this was precisely what he had always pursued.
"Come in!"
Shaking his head, he dismissed those thoughts and walked straight to the sofa to sit down, watching as Im, Arthur, and the others filed in.
"I trust Lord Leylin rested well last night?" An obsequious smile hung on Im's face. For someone who had always been supremely arrogant, forcing such an expression was rather difficult—the muscles on his face even twitched with an uncoordinated spasm.
But ever since he had learned from King Arthur that Leylin had surpassed the Radiant Sun realm and entered the seventh-level Rule
The entire Lias Family could only tremble under the other's gaze—their survival or destruction, all hinged upon a single thought of his.
As the true ruler, bowing and scraping before the powerful for the sake of the family's survival was simply a necessity.
"Passable!" Leylin nodded, his tone utterly indifferent.
"If Lord Leylin would deign to accept our servitude, it would be the greatest honor of the entire Lias Family!" Im said with an apologetic smile.
The man had, after all, received noble training. Though some things had gradually faded from memory, he picked them back up with remarkable speed.
"Alright! Next, I'll be discussing the arrangements for the trade channel!"
Leylin waved his hand dismissively. He had long grown tired of hearing such fawning and flattering words. Humbling this clan head was clearly not as important as the tasks he still had ahead of him.
"Please give us your orders, my lord!"
Arthur and Im immediately bowed respectfully. The sight of it left
Regardless of anything else, the fact that Leylin had managed to completely subdue a rank five blood warlock and a peak rank six Throne was proof enough of his terrifying power — power that was utterly beyond what he had once been.
"Good! I intend to open the planar channel immediately and establish trade between both worlds. The agent on this side will be Im, with Arthur in a supporting role. Any objections?"
"Your will is our honor, my lord!"
Im and Arthur both lowered their noble heads in deference, appearing extraordinarily submissive. In truth, they had absolutely no ability to resist Leylin.
"Good! As your compensation, you will receive thirty percent of the total trade profits!"
Leylin didn't bother with any further pleasantries. He simply followed the terms of their prior agreement. In reality, with his current strength, he could have demanded that the two of them work for nothing, and they would have had no choice but to comply. Maintaining their thirty percent share was already an act of considerable generosity on his part.
No — it couldn't really be called generosity. Leylin genuinely wanted to sustain the trade here as a major source of revenue for his own forces, which meant he had to give these two agents a taste of something sweet to keep them motivated.
Otherwise, even if he could force them into submission through pressure alone, things might hold for a short while but would inevitably break down in the long run.
Leylin could always crush any trouble that arose, but why bother?
When his own forces were feasting on meat and drinking broth, he needed to throw a few bones to the outer periphery as well. That was the way of longevity.
"Understood!"
Im agreed at once. Though the share was considerably smaller than before, he was more than satisfied.
After all, inequality in strength could never lead to equality in agreements.
True, this meant the Lias Family's share of profits would shrink considerably, and what remained had to be split with Arthur, who would walk away with the larger portion. But at least there was still profit to be had, with no need to pour in their own money. It could serve as a source of revenue for the Lias Family.
And besides... Im glanced subtly at Arthur beside him.
Through the binding of shared interests, even the mere fact of establishing a connection with this King Arthur would be excellent for the Lias Family — to say nothing of the even more terrifying Leylin standing behind him.
"No problem!" Arthur naturally couldn't object either.
Having already reached the pinnacle of the Dawn tier, he was all the more capable of understanding the terrifying nature of rules.
It could be said that if Leylin unleashed his wrath, the complete destruction of the Arthurian Empire within a single night was entirely possible.
Therefore, no matter how harsh the conditions might be, Arthur could only agree. The other party clearly had no intention of using their strength to force him into contributing for free, so there was naturally no reason for Arthur to resist.
Leylin had already guessed at Arthur's mindset, and seeing everything unfold exactly as he'd anticipated, he gave a slight nod.
Although these two Wizards certainly harbored a bit of self-interest, as long as the distribution of profits was maintained and his absolute superiority in strength remained overwhelming, they wouldn't dare express even a shred of dissatisfaction.
"One more thing! In the Underdark, Belinda and Agnes will serve as my representatives and supervisors, responsible for all matters there!"
Leylin then turned his gaze toward Belinda and Agnes.
In his plans, these two snake-women were to be the principal overseers of his expansion in the Underdark. Moreover, the profits from the trade between the two layers would more than suffice — not only as funding for the organization's development, but even after accounting for the luxurious lifestyles and cultivation resources of the three women.
"According to what they described earlier, this bilateral trade — whether on the first layer of the Underdark or the surface world — exceeds the landmass of a single continent of the Infernal World. So the profits generated would be..."
Agnes's mind raced through the calculations. Just imagining the future earnings was enough to leave her somewhat shaken, unable to steady herself.
She could estimate with perfect clarity that the profits from this trade would be an astronomical figure — one that would drive her former family into a frenzy if they ever heard of it. Yet Leylin had handed it to them so casually.
The gulf in their standing struck Agnes with overwhelming clarity.
"So this... is the thinking of a supreme existence? Even the wealth of two continents amounts to nothing more than an afterthought in their eyes?"
Agnes looked at the unfathomable Leylin, then at Belinda beside her, clenched her fists, and silently made a resolution in her heart.
"But... I've never done anything like this before. What if something goes wrong?"
Belinda hesitated, or rather worried that she might fail to carry out Leylin's instructions properly.
But this attitude brought a smile to Leylin's face, for it was a sign that she had truly accepted his terms: "You needn't worry about that. I've always trusted your abilities, and Agnes, as well as Arthur and the others, will help you!"
"In that case, I accept!"
Belinda nodded.
"Excellent!" Leylin nodded, and several streaks of light suddenly burst forth from him.
Bang! The entire world seemed to freeze in an instant. Even Arthur, the most powerful among them all, felt like a lone skiff tossed upon the raging tides of the ocean, as though it could capsize at any moment.
One of the streaks shot toward him, and Arthur involuntarily reached out to catch it.
Thump! Arthur staggered back several steps, a look of astonishment on his face as he stared at the black rune resting in his palm.
All the illusions vanished, and only then did he notice that each of the people around him held an identical object in their hands.
"This is my token. From now on, it will also serve as a badge for conducting trades! You can use it to contact me — as long as you remain within the Wizard World, nothing can obstruct the connection…"
Having obtained power infinitely close to that of a Rule-tier existence, numerous supernatural abilities had gradually manifested within Leylin.
This type of rule rune representing his identity was only one aspect.
Furthermore, holding this sigil meant being branded with Leylin's mark. Even upon encountering other Rule-tier existences, the bearer might receive a certain degree of preferential treatment — though certainly not if the encounter involved a mortal enemy like the Mother of Ten Thousand Snakes; in that case, the outcome would surely be utterly miserable.
Moreover, after undergoing a specific ritual, the bearer of the rune could even offer sacrifices to Leylin and receive augmentation and infusion of the Devouring Rule's power.
"Although the Wizard World isn't suited for large-scale sacrificial rites, the power-transmission channel I've personally established is more than sufficient to support this. With it, your safety is more than guaranteed!"
Leylin briefly explained the rune's functions, and Arthur and Im knelt down with expressions of delighted reverence.
"Why are there only two? What about
Belinda asked bluntly.
"I already gave hers to her last night!" A faint smile curled at the corner of Leylin's lips, which instantly made Belinda blush, silently cursing him under her breath.
"Very well! Go and make your preliminary preparations. In three days, I intend to completely unseal the passage!"
Leylin waved his hand, and Im and the others promptly withdrew.
Even Belinda, who clearly had more to say, reluctantly retreated under Agnes's tugging.
"What a magnificent world!"
Leylin walked to the window and threw the curtains wide open. Outside, the numerous members of the Lias clan, along with the scenery in the distance, all came clearly into view.