Chapter 444 - Inside Information

Translator: Shiraishi Editor: TheAlliance

“Haha...”

When he heard the young mage laugh, Rio had the urge to run into a wall. He really hadn’t expected that his praise would only get a chuckle from the other side. This made him feel really embarrassed. Just as he intended to say something else, Lin Yun’s voice echoed again.

“Err, Sir Rio, can I ask some questions? Why are the ancestors of the Ancestral Land looking for me...?”

“...”

This question instantly made Rio choke back his words. When the Family’s young geniuses were summoned to the Ancestral Land, they didn’t even have time to feel happy, so how could they ask such a question? But after thinking about it, this Mafa Merlin wasn’t an ordinary person, so Rio stopped and answered, “As for the true reason, you’ll have to wait to meet them to ask. Their answer has more weight. But this matter should be related to the Raging Flame Plane. The Sword Saint going to the Raging Flame Plane with you, that Thorne guy, came to the Ancestral Land a few days ago.

“Oh...”

Lin Yun lightly nodded. He then landed beside Rio and walked into the ravine with him. Lin Yun suddenly recalled the mysterious Ancestral Land, and Rio, as one of the ancestors, should know many things. Thinking of this, Lin Yun asked, “Sir Rio, what’s going on with our Merlin Family’s Ancestral Land...?”

Rio smiled. He seemed to have been expecting this question. This was one of the secrets of the Merlin Family and couldn’t rashly be leaked, but the youth next to him wasn’t ordinary. He would know of some matters sooner or later. “Mafa... In reality, the source of our Merlin Family’s Ancestral Land has been an enigma to this day. No one knows how it appeared. The only thing I can tell you is that a millennium ago, there was Lorr Merlin, our ancestor. He left the Ancestral Land and built the Andlusa Kingdom alongside the first king. After establishing the kingdom, he withdrew and returned to the Ancestral Land, and no one met him ever since.

Rio sighed as he looked at the dense fog, a complicated expression on his face. “Ever since Lorr Merlin disappeared, the successive generations of the powerhouses of the Merlin Family chose to live in the Ancestral Land, firstly to attack a higher realm, and secondly to wait for a certain matter to happen.”

“Wait for a matter to happen?”

Hearing Rio’s answer, Lin Yun was bemused. He could understand attacking a higher realm, but living in seclusion in the Ancestral just to wait for something... This sounded pretty strange. ” Does Sir Rio know what that matter is...?”

“No. This was an ancestral teaching Lorr Merlin had left behind. Even if we don’t know anything, we still comply with it,” Rio said, perplexed. He didn’t seem unwilling to answer the question, but he truly didn’t know. He pointed to a tower in the distance. “That magic tower is said to be the dwelling of a Heaven Mage that disappeared, and in reality, the Ancestral Land is the true foundation of our Merlin Family. There are many Archmages here, and if ancestor Lorr is counted, we have three Heaven Rank powerhouses. As for the other one, you should have guessed. It is Santon Merlin. But he hasn’t returned to the Ancestral Land for a long time and his last appearance seemed to have been in the Blood Moon Plane.

“The Merlin Family has truly exceeded my expectations, it’s even deeper than I thought...” Hearing Rio’s explanation, Lin Yun coughed with sorrow.

If he hadn’t known the secret of the Merlin Family beforehand, he would have been truly shocked hearing this news. The Merlin Family actually had three Heaven Ranks!

The last time he came to the Ancestral Land was to undergo the Bloodline Ceremony. He didn’t enter the ravine back then, but when passing by, he discovered the outline of over a dozen magic towers. Now, the deeper he went in, the more apprehensive he was. He finally understood what Rio meant by “many Archmages”.

“This is only an Ancestral Land?”

Lin Yun walked alongside Rio for over ten minutes, but he was so shocked that he was speechless. He could clearly sense that this Ancestral Land was incomparably huge, just like a plane, and was ruled by the Merlin Family. It looked just like an independent kingdom. There were nearly a hundred magic towers with seven floors, and more could be seen in the depths...

Didn’t that mean that the number of Archmage powerhouses was in the triple digits?

“Mafa, you can see now, this is the true Merlin Family...” On the way, Rio observed Lin Yun’s expression and was secretly prideful. He then gave Lin Yun a bit of an explanation. “The most elite children of the Family would come to this place. This is the foundation of the Merlin Family. Not only are there many powerhouses here, but there are also all kinds of passages to various planes, some of which were conquered, and some still in the process of being conquered.”

“Sir Rio, do the major forces of Okland have similar areas to our Ancestral Land?” Lin Yun didn’t doubt Rio’s words. The Ancestral Land was indeed showing such power and definitely had the qualifications to launch expeditions on every major plane. But he then remembered the Black Tower and the Cloud Tower.

It would be quite frightening if those forces also had places with the same layout as the Merlin Family.

“Naturally, those well established thousand-year-old forces also have their own locations similar to our Merlin Family’s...” Rio smiled gently. “In fact, this isn’t something you should have known, but you are already qualified, which is why I’m leading you to the Guardian Tower...”

Half an hour later, an imposingly large tower was now standing in front of the two. Just by standing in front of it, Lin Yun could feel rich mana assault his senses, and he couldn’t help looking up. The tower was built with incomparably profound arrays, and even with Lin Yun’s achievements in the field of alchemy, there was a small part he couldn’t understand.

Lin Yun and Rio entered the Guardian Tower together and followed the staircase up. After about ten minutes of walking, they reached the top floor of the Guardian Tower. Rio stopped and knocked on the door with a solemn expression. After hearing an answer from inside, he opened the door and entered with Lin Yun.

This place was a conference hall. It was extremely spacious, and a simple wooden table stood in the middle, around which seven old men were sitting. With one glance, Lin Yun felt apprehensive, because he saw that everyone here was stronger than Rio Merlin.

While he sized up these people, they also studied him, smiling to some extent.

“Very powerful...”

When Lin Yun’s eyes fell on the old man recuperating with his eyes closed on the other side of the table, his mind couldn’t help shivering. Although this man seemed to be sixty or seventy years old, there was no hint of his vitality declining, and he gave Lin Yun the feeling of an insurmountable mountain.

At this moment, a storm raged in Lin Yun’s mind.

‘That old man is too powerful.’

He hadn’t had that feeling before, even when he faced Star Sage Jouyi. That old man was definitely more powerful than Star Sage Jouyi!

He could sense that the old man had a hint of Extraordinary aura, but clearly, that old man still wasn’t at the Heaven Rank yet.

At this time, the old man opened his eyes and looked at Lin Yun for a few seconds before coughing. “Hey young man, we meet again...”

“...”

Lin Yun really wanted to spit up blood. He clearly remembered that a few months ago, Sir Ryan had said the same thing when he came to the Elder Council, but he really couldn’t remember when he met Sir Ryan and this person...

He could see that the old man who had just spoken had an important position among the seven people.

One of the old men sitting on the side coughed twice and waved at Lin Yun, smiling kindly.

“Mafa, we meet again...”

That person was the Archmage that came to the Elder Council a few months ago, Ryan Merlin. He looked at the one who was almost Heaven Rank and said, “Mafa, let me introduce you. This is Sir Oren. He is the most powerful Archmage among the ancestors. He had even fought a Heaven Rank ancestor of the Watson Family over a hundred years ago and held his own. Oh, right, you should know of Ancestor Lorr, Ancestor Lorr is Oren’s father...”

Lin Yun looked at Oren in disbelief. Just the fact that he had fought a Heaven Rank ancestor of the Watson Family without being defeated shook him. Lin Yun clearly knew the gap between Archmages and the Heaven Rank, but Oren was able to contend against a Heaven Rank powerhouse despite only being a Peak Archmage. This was shocking.

No wonder that old man gave him this kind of feeling. It turned out that he had strength surpassing his rank.

Moreover, Sir Oren was extremely old. He knew that Lorr Merlin had come out of the Ancestral Land a millennium ago and helped establish the Andlusa Kingdom before vanishing. But Lorr being Oren’s father meant that Sir Oren was close to a thousand years old...

Lin Yun was startled speechless. If not for Sir Ryan’s introduction, he wouldn’t have guessed that Sir Oren was a millennium old. But it also explained his strength. Lin Yun knew that the most powerful in Noscent weren’t all geniuses. Some relied on their effort to steadily advance through realms and make up for their weakness. Oren might also be such a person.

After Ryan’s introduction, the old man known as Oren Merlin only smiled at Lin Yun, but he didn’t say anything.

Ryan smiled and nodded before looking at another person and starting to introduce everyone one by one.

“Chila Merlin. Became an Archmage three hundred years ago, already a 7th Rank Archmage.”

“Lyde Merlin. Became a Sword Saint two hundred and seventy years ago, already a 5th Rank Sword Saint.”

“Jass Merlin. Became an Archmage two hundred years ago, already a 7th rank Archmage.”

“Hodin Merlin. Became an Archmage two hundred and eighty years ago, already a 6th Rank Archmage.”

“Kara Merlin. Became a Sword Saint one hundred and fifty years ago, advanced to 7th Rank Sword Saint not long ago.”