Chapter 144 - 127 - Journey to the Imperial City【First set on the shelves!】_2

Finally, the man in the middle of the trio spoke.

Short gray hair, medium build, ordinary looks, ordinary demeanor, ordinary clothing. At first glance, he appeared to be a common man. However, after hearing his words, Alec immediately nodded, stepped back, and said, "Right, little sister Ai Lin, I haven’t introduced you yet. This is Nigo-Or, the eldest son of Chief Justice Orr. And the one on the left is Orr’s second son, Nigen-Or. We three are good friends."

Ai Lin nodded and greeted them one by one. Nigo seemed quite sensible but Nigen had been sizing Ai Lin up and down without any attempts to disguise his gaze from the start.

"Well, little sister Ai Lin, go home and rest first. I’ll visit you at the Iron Blood General’s Mansion later!" Alec said enthusiastically.

Finally, after sending off the three men, Ai Lin helplessly glanced at Long Yi.

The trio didn’t even so much as glance at Long Yi throughout, let alone speak a word to him. They didn’t even give Ai Lin the chance to introduce Long Yi. Given Long Yi’s size, they couldn’t possibly have overlooked him. Their deliberate indifference was obviously calculated and harbored ulterior motives.

"It’s okay, these are just childish games," said Long Yi, nonchalantly. He could feel the hostility lingering in the air, and could guess where it stemmed from.

What has that got to do with me? If they can’t accept it, they can come up and prove themselves. Who’s afraid of whom?

Finally, nearing noon, the two finally arrived at the Iron Blood General’s Mansion, a massive estate occupying nearly ten hectares.

In Imperial City where land was worth its weight in gold, the fact that one could possess such a grand estate reflected the Emperor’s regard for them.

Indeed, the Iron Blood General’s Mansion was a specially allocated area by the Emperor for his father. In his prime, General Kai Long led the third and fourth legions, suppressing the Black Dragon Empire’s five other legions at the borders for up to a year. Now, Kai Long had relinquished his military power and turned to studying wartime strategy. He had also compiled several war textbooks, some of which still serve as standard teaching materials at Command College.

From various perspectives, Long Yi had learned about the legend of the Old Master Kai Long. He greatly admired such people, believing himself not particularly adept at commanding war, and hence held considerable respect for these strategists.

Ai Lin led Long Yi straight to General Kai Long’s study and knocked lightly on the door. Kai Long’s hoarse voice came from inside.

"Come in!"

The door opened, and Ai Lin appeared in the study.

"Grandfather!"

"Ai Lin? You’re back!"

Looking at the stiff excitement on the old general’s face, Long Yi could understand that people who were usually emotionless often had semi-numb emotional nerves. Expressing stiff excitement on their face was already an achievement.

Although Long Yi was an outsider, he received a lukewarm welcome from the old general, which suited Long Yi just fine.

After making some simple pleasantries, Ai Lin returned to her room - girls, after all, had a lot of things to tidy up. Left behind in the study were Long Yi and the old general, staring at each other.

"Tell me about your journey," said General Kai Long.

"Ai Lin performed very well, or I should say, beyond my expectations. Ai Lin now possesses fifteen layers of mana," said Long Yi.

"Very good! What else?" On hearing that Ai Lin now had fifteen layers of mana, General Kai Long was very happy. He had always thought Ai Lin was a rare genius in the family, but he hadn’t expected that he had still underestimated her!

"That’s it."

"That’s it?"

"Yes, that’s it."

"You two left the academy for two and a half months and you summarize it with ’Ai Lin performed very well’?" General Kai Long looked at Long Yi discontentedly.

"Do you also care about my performance? Alright then, after so many battles, I’ve also improved. I now have twelve layers of Fighting Aura," Long Yi said with a smile.

"Don’t play any tricks with me, boy, you know that’s not what I want to hear," Kai Long approached Long Yi. Despite their height difference where Kai Long was much shorter, in terms of aura, the genuinely good-natured Long Yi didn’t seem to hold too much of an advantage.

"Alright, I’ll start with the level-nine compound beast we encountered at the start," Long Yi cleared his throat, about to begin.

"Wait!" Kai Long suddenly interrupted Long Yi. He turned around. Waited for a moment, murmuring, "Never mind, I don’t want to listen any more."

"Oh?" Long Yi laughed.

"Ah, I understand what you’re trying to say, boy! Ai Lin has chosen her own path, and I, as an old man, ultimately have to let go!" General Kai Long shook his head helplessly and laughed. His smile remained stiff, but it was sincere.

"Actually, you should ask Ai Lin," said Long Yi. "Throughout our journey, Ai Lin has been working very hard. I think, this effort is not only for herself, but perhaps also for her beloved grandfather."

Kai Long listened and slowly sighed, "I know that, too! But, she is the granddaughter of the Iron Blood General. Now that she’s chosen this path..."