"My second blood descendant has been born!"
Leilin didn't know exactly what he was feeling, but the birth of a blood descendant still brought a faint softness to the depths of his heart.
"You two, I must take my leave!" Leilin said to Aofa and
"Of course, Your Highness Leilin—go attend to your affairs!" Aofa and Jeffrey finally recovered from their earlier shock and spoke with understanding.
A flash of black flame, and Leilin vanished from midair, arriving directly inside the castle.
The lavish room was now filled with the smell of blood and the musky scent of amniotic fluid. Several midwives had already collapsed to the ground, and the culprit was the wailing infant. Even though these midwives had been carefully selected—almost all of them were official first-level Warlocks—the fifth-level bloodline power radiating from the infant was beyond what they could withstand. After all, Leilin, Frie, and the others usually made a point of suppressing the pollution their constitutions inflicted on the surrounding environment, but a newborn could not possibly have that awareness.
"Wah, wah…" Amid the crying, circles of dark energy particles materialized around the infant. Black flames even began to take shape, rampaging across the surrounding furniture and bedsheets.
"A spiritual power and bloodline power surge?" Far from being alarmed, Leilin was delighted. "This child has extraordinary talent!"
For him, a surge of this magnitude was nothing to worry about. He easily suppressed it and picked up the infant. Perhaps due to the bloodline connection, the baby stopped crying the moment it saw Leilin. It even broke into an innocent smile.
Frie, being a peak third-level Warlock with an extraordinary constitution, was still conscious. When she saw who had arrived, she was startled at first, then relaxed. "My dear… our child…"
"Yes! Our child has been born. You've worked hard," Leilin said softly, stroking the infant's forehead with his palm. A faint gleam of black light flashed, lulling the baby into a deep sleep.
Leilin sat holding the child, quietly keeping Frie company. Before long, even though she was a Warlock, the fatigue of bearing and giving birth to one of special bloodline caused Frie to drift off to sleep as well.
"Bloodline inheritance—carried on from generation to generation!" Leilin gazed at the sleeping infant in his arms, and a peculiar sentiment stirred within him.
Pursuing immortality was the dream of all humanity, but virtually no one succeeded. Therefore, they had another method: to propagate their offspring and pass on their bloodline, achieving a form of immortality through blood and genes. Or else they would pass on their knowledge and worldview, teaching disciples so that the transmission of culture and knowledge would constitute a kind of spiritual immortality. Going further still, they would cultivate their descendants through bloodline, knowledge, and other means, gradually instilling their own philosophy into the next generation, achieving a kind of permanence in a certain sense—as long as it continued generation after generation, it counted as reaching part of that goal.
Therefore, whether in this life or the last, whether in ancient or modern times, East or West, affection for one's descendants was something all humans shared. While there were odd exceptions, this remained the mainstream view.
For Leilin, the proliferation of his bloodline was not merely the formation of a power structure—it was also the hope of carrying on his philosophy and legacy. While the
"The bloodline power is potent, but there are still some hidden dangers!"
His soul power swept over, exposing everything inside the infant's body to Leilin's perception. He furrowed his brow.
A fifth-level Kemonyn Snake Emperor bloodline would certainly be detected by the Mother of Myriad Serpents. However, with Leilin himself as the far greater target, these descendants—whose bloodline was mixed with half other lineages—might not attract too much attention. But even a few small actions would be catastrophic for an infant with no defenses whatsoever. Therefore, Leilin still needed to plan ahead.
"Chip! Construct a dream-protection sigil!"
Leilin commanded.
『Ding! Task established. Beginning rune extraction…』 the Chip reported promptly.
One by one, rune characters resembling wisps of smoke materialized on Leilin's palm, forming a unique seal that sank into the infant's back. The shifting runes quickly faded and vanished completely.
"The chance of his bloodline attracting attention was already low. With these protections added, it should be sufficient!"
Leilin nodded, then thought of Xiling. "I'll also need to find time to make a trip to the Dark Extreme Region!"
He pulled open the door and stepped out, carrying the child.
Outside the door, not only were his subordinates like Gubule waiting, but
"Congratulations, Master!" Gubule, the Warlock who had followed Leilin from the very beginning, immediately knelt respectfully.
A wave of congratulations followed.
"Mm." Leilin nodded, then raised the infant high above his head. "I, Leilin Farell, hereby name him! His name shall be Siree! Siree Farell!"
In the grammar of the Central Continent, Siree carried the meaning of "noble" and "blessed one"—a fine name indeed.
At Leilin's declaration, Gubule and the others cheered in unison: "Siree! Siree!"
The roar of celebration instantly swept over the entire area.
…
To celebrate the birth of Leilin's blood descendant, a grand banquet was held that evening. Not only did Aofa, Jeffrey,
After the lavish banquet concluded, Leilin summoned Gilbert, Emma, and Aofa and the others, announcing his decision to depart on a long journey.
His excuse to these people was that he had discovered an alternate world and planned to embark on a prolonged expedition.
Although Aofa and the others found Leilin's behavior somewhat puzzling, they agreed and promised to continue supporting the Ring of the Ouroboros as they always had.
As for the outside world, the official story was that the Warlock Leilin—invincible beneath the Radiant Sun—would be undertaking an extended period of research, and would thus be staying in the Morning Star Plane for a very long time.
What impact this news would have on the politics of the Central Continent was beside the point. In truth, Leilin slipped out of the Morning Star Plane covertly the very next day.
He departed in extreme secrecy, and virtually no one noticed. By the time anyone realized what had happened, Leilin had already vanished without a trace.
…
The Dark Extreme Region. A lava lake erupted, revealing Leilin's figure.
At this moment, he stared expressionlessly at his sleeve, where a scorch mark from the molten rock had left a charred, circular hole.
"So it's as I suspected. After applying the seal, my current strength is actually weaker than the last time I came here—barely average among Morning Star level beings." A bitter smile tugged at the corner of Leilin's lips.
Due to the restriction of the Myriad Serpent Curse Mark, he could not wield power above the Radiant Moon level. He had even proactively sealed off most of his bloodline power. Even so, this had only bought him three years.
Within that time, he had to break through the bloodline shackles and resolve the curse of the Myriad Serpent Sigil. Otherwise, the consequence would be the total suppression of all his bloodline power by the Myriad Serpent Sigil, followed directly by his demise!
And now, having voluntarily sealed away the majority of his bloodline power, Leilin was evaluated by the Chip as merely a four-star Morning Star Wizard.
The lava channel he could previously traverse with impunity could now penetrate his defenses and leave marks on his clothing—the best proof of his diminished state.
"This feeling is truly suffocating!"
Leilin's brow furrowed.
With the Myriad Serpent Curse Mark afflicting him, he was actually weaker than an ordinary Radiant Moon Wizard. The last time he had been in the Morning Star Plane, he had managed to conceal his aura well enough to bluff his way through, but Leilin wouldn't dare stay long.
For someone whose strength had been drastically reduced, the Central Continent was far too dangerous. He needed to leave and lay low for a while.
Leilin never believed in hot-bloodedness or righteousness. Only the most meticulous plans had guaranteed his safe advancement all this way!
If he stayed in the Morning Star Plane, he would inevitably face endless probing. Leaving, on the other hand, was better for both sides.
Before it was confirmed that Leilin had truly perished, who would dare move against the Ring of the Ouroboros and Frie and her child?
In truth, buried in Leilin's heart was a rather dark calculation: even if someone did strike at his forces, the worst that could happen was that he would return later for revenge—repaying them a hundredfold or a thousandfold.
An enemy with nothing to lose was the most terrifying of all!
"After settling matters in the Dark Extreme Region, I'll probably need to make a trip back to the South Coast!"
Lost in silent calculation, Leilin suddenly raised his head, gazing up at the gloomy stone canopy overhead, and let out a quiet sigh.
For him now, resolving the Myriad Serpent Curse Mark required a journey to the Purgatory World—the very lair of the Mother of Myriad Serpents. The danger there went without saying.
Therefore, even Leilin had little certainty about this venture, which made it all the more important to tie up his loose ends before setting out.
The Central Continent was more or less settled. Next was the Dark Extreme Region.
And in the depths of Leilin's heart, he still needed to return to the South Coast. Whether it was the third-level Wizard who had gravely wounded him and forced him underground, or the matters concerning the Farell Family back on the Keli Archipelago—these were all threads that needed to be severed completely.
With his current strength, even limited to Morning Star, he was invincible on the South Coast.
Only when all of these matters were fully resolved could Leilin set everything aside and enter the Purgatory World to fight for his path—prepared even to perish in the attempt!
"Matters in the Dark Extreme Region are simple enough. But should I leave behind another hidden agent, commanding them to operate in secret?"
Leilin stroked his chin, then his entire figure suddenly transformed into a streak of black flame and vanished into the horizon with a piercing whoosh.
And Xiling, standing beside an infant's cradle, stared in delighted surprise at the figure that had suddenly appeared before her: "Leilin!"(…