Duke Winter pondered for a moment, then asked.

“What has happened in the empire recently? Why are there so many strange signs between heaven an earth?”

Herlus pondered for a moment, then answered,

“Recently, the Beilageluoya Empire has indeed not been peaceful. A new star called the Master of the Ultimate Sword has already appeared. He's not even twenty years old, yet he already has the strength of a tier 9 sage.”

“Moreover, the four great families of Rosette, Peony, Rose, and Sunflower joined forces to attack Master of Ultimate Sword. In the end, they were all killed by him in an instant.”

“Even the four great families were forced to be imprisoned under the pressure of Master of Ultimate Sword for 5,000 years.”

“Oh right, your grace, and Edward were also killed by Master of Ultimate Sword.”

Duke Winter frowned, showing some interest in the Master of the Ultimate Sword.

“He has the strength of a tier 9 nice before he's even twenty?”

Duke Winter was an old monster who had been alive for G.o.d knows how many years, but even after experiencing countless years of trials and tribulations, he had never seen a prodigy who had the strength of a tier 9 sage before the age of twenty.

After all, a tier 9 sage who was not even twenty could be considered a top-notch genius even in the holy region.

“Edward was actually killed as well?”

“Didn't that guy just run to the holy region and find the Molmo Empire to become some sort of commander-in-chief?”

“Why did he run back to the Beilageluoya Empire?”

Herlos thought for a moment and replied.

“Edward should be searching for that Princess of the Meersa.s.s empire, but it seems that the timing of the two happened to be staggered. “he current princess should have already returned safely to the Meersa.s.s Empire, and so Edward went back to the Beilageluoya Empire.”

“So that's how it is. Edward, that young fellow, is usually full of evil tricks. It doesn't matter even if he dies. We don't need to care about him.”

To the Duke of Winter, Edward's life or death was like a dead bug in his eyes. There was not much difference, and the Duke of Winter did not intend to take this matter to heart at all.

Following that, the Duke Winter said, “Herlos, the prehistoric relic in the Beilageluoya Empire is about to open soon. Find a time to talk to Master of Ultimate Sword and see if he is willing to join our Winter clan.”

“Of course, if Master of Ultimate Sword is against it, it doesn't matter. We don't have to force him to join. I'm afraid Master of Ultimate Sword is the strongest genius in a thousand years. An existence at this level has endless luck.”

“We only need to be on good terms with him, but most importantly, we must not offend him. Do you understand, Herlos?”

Herlos nodded. “Yes, your grace. That is exactly what I plan to do.”

“Excellent. Since that's the case, you can go.”

After giving his instructions, Duke Winter slowly closed his eyes.

The Master of the Ultimate Sword, Lin Lei, had reached the power of a tier 9 sage at the age of twenty. For such a terrifying genius to be able to join the Winter clan was definitely the best.

However, if the Master of the Ultimate Sword, Lin Lei, was unwilling, the Duke of Winter definitely wouldn't force him.

Time pa.s.sed. Three days in the blink of an eye.

Within the Li Fire sect.

At this moment, Bard, the desolate sword sage, had arrived at the sect.

The arrival of the legendary sage of the empire, the most ancient of the sages, caused the entire Li Fire sect to boil with excitement.

Roderick was filled with incomparable fear and trepidation. He was afraid that if he said something wrong, he would offend Bard, the desolate sword saint.

In the end, Lin Lei brought the desolate sword saint, Bard, back to the solitary confinement room. Only then did Roderick wipe the fine beads of sweat off his forehead.

Without Lin Lei present, the Li Fire sect, which was merely a second-rate power, was under tremendous pressure!

Right now, within the isolation room, Lin Lei didn't have anything to offer to the Bard, the desolate sword sage.

He casually pulled out two chairs and a table, and the two of them sat down face to face.

“Uncle Bard, given your current level of power, your resonance-level mageforce affinity has already reached the peak, right?”

“How can it be so easy…”

Bard sighed and continued.

“If I can reach that level of magic comprehension, I'm afraid I'll be able to understand it in a day or two. If I haven't reached the level of magic comprehension, even after thousands of years or tens of thousands of years, I'll still be at this level.”

“Oh right, Kid, I've asked you to come this time for two things.”

“When we were training together, what you said to me benefited me greatly. This time, I want to continue to discussing some more knowledge regarding the sword art with you.”

“Also, the prehistoric ruins of the Beilageluoya Empire are about to open. I see that you don't know much about matters above the sage level, and so I came here to tell you about it.”

“Prehistoric ruins, existences above the sage level…”

Lin Lei muttered to himself.

Although Lin Lei now had the power of a tier 9 sage, in truth, the amount of time he had spent training was still too short.

He didn't know much about these matters.

As for matters above the sage level, what Lin Lei knew was that when he had killed Edward, he had heard Edward mention something about the saint-level.

Lin Lei nodded, indicating for Bard to continue.

After all, Bard was indeed much older than Linley.

He definitely knew much more about the affairs of this world than Lin Lei did.

Lin Lei didn't have any arrogant thoughts about this. He just humbly studied.

Even though Bard was now much weaker than Lin Lei, this still didn't make Lin Lei look down on the desolate sword sage.

After all, when Lin Lei and Bard had been training together by the sea, Bard hadn't paid any attention to the fact that Lin Lei was younger and had a lower cultivation level than him.

“Right. Since that's the case, I'll continue.”

Bard nodded, then began to speak.

“Kid, back then, you still remember how Edward told you that your horizons are indeed limited. Your horizons are only limited to the Beilageluoya Empire.”

“What he said is indeed correct.”

“Our continent is indeed divided into several regions, and our Beilageluoya Empire is located in the Far East.”

“There are also three major regions, the south, west, and north. There are a large number of countries and tribes. They come from different races, such as orcs, elves, goblins, and so on.”

“And the most important one is the central region that is surrounded by the four major regions in the east, west, south, and north.”

“We usually call this central region the Holy Region.”

“Because it is located in the center of the continent, it is incomparably prosperous! Regardless of race, experts will appear there.”

“In the holy land, geniuses are everywhere, and there are countless experts.”

“The four great clans who have dominated the Beilageluoya Empire for so many years are not as powerful as any of the sects in the holy land.”

“The holy land is said to be the most powerful place in the entire continent.”

“Even the four great regions, east, west, south, and north, combined, are not as powerful as the holy land!”