End of the Magic Era

Ofran wanted to say that these things were too valuable and weren’t safe in the hands of the younger generation, he wanted to say that the Family should first take them back… But he couldn’t say those words when he saw those youths’ expressions. No one was qualified to take away the stuff personally given out by Lin Yun.

More importantly, even though the things had different values, they perfectly suited all of them. Others might not necessarily display the full worth of those items, and taking and giving them away would lead to internal conflicts.

Ofran looked at Lin Yun’s expression and he seemed to look like a senior casually buying candies for kids.

‘It was said that the wealth Mafa gathered in the Raging Flame Plane made the Beastmen compromise and cooperate. This doesn’t seem to be fake. The Four Seasons Plain has the highest worth. Unfortunately, that’s the territory Mafa personally took over, I can’t meddle with it.

‘So many natural resources, how could I make Mafa share a bit with the Family? A business deal would be good too, there are so many resources that can’t be purchased and would be enough to make the Family prosper.’

It would be wrong to say that Ofran wasn’t jealous or envious, but not to mention meddling, he didn’t even dare to ask. Mafa Merlin was a terrifying name. There was no force in the Raging Flame Plane that would dare to take the initiative to provoke Lin Yun.

Seeing that the young Merlins were becoming more and more excited, Ofran could no longer keep them in check and promptly led Lin Yun back to the Merlin Family.

When he reached the huge gate, he saw that the people welcoming Mafa back even included the Elder Council Mafa wasn’t on good terms with and this gave Ofran an idea.

Welcoming the return to the Merlin Family was a must. Lin Yun hadn’t been stingy and had taken out many specialties of the Raging Flame Plane, as well as several puppets. These Level 35 puppets could be said to be extremely formidable when placed in a region where Archmages rarely appeared.

After the banquet celebrating Lin Yun’s triumphant return was over, Ofran hurriedly pulled Lin Yun away.

Sitting in the study, Ofran sighed with a sincere expression.

“Sir Mafa, your return to the Merlin Family is my greatest contribution to the Merlin Family in this lifetime. Your father had a good son and this is the fortune of the Merlin Family, it is also my fortune.

“I can intuitively feel that ever since you came to the Merlin Family, my status as a Patriarch receive more and more respect.

“The originally hostile Watson Family now has a very good cooperation with our Family. And it is a true cooperation. Our Family’s strength has already increased quite a bit compared to before.

The Cloud Tower and the Black Tower’s attitude towards our Merlin Family has greatly changed. They are cooperating a lot. Even the Gaugass Battlemages, those loathsome and stiff guys joined in.”

Lin Yun was baffled. He didn’t understand what Ofran was getting at. He opened his mouth but remained silent.

“Some children of our Merlin Family would encounter danger while they went out to get experience, only to be rescued by those crazy guys because these guys heard that they were Sir Mafa’s cousins…

“After all, our Andlusa Kingdom’s relationship with those Battlemages isn’t very good. Not getting rid of one of us upon meeting each other in the countryside was already considered a good outcome, let alone helping.

“Even the Cloud Tower’s Holy Land dispatched someone over to discuss collaboration, and they mentioned Sir Mafa…

“Now that I’ve seen Sir Mafa returning from the Raging Flame Plane, I’m sure of one thing. Sir Mafa is the most prestigious person in the entire Merlin Family. After all, the inner struggles within the Merlin Family were quite fierce before.

“But today, three Elders of the Elder Council personally came to meet you. This is a statement.

“Only in your hands will the Merlin Family be able to grow further and become even more powerful. I already discussed with the Elder Council and we decided to let you take over as the Patriarch of the Merlin Family.”

Ofran sighed. He was a bit nervous as he looked at Lin Yun, hoping to find some clues in Lin Yun’s expression.

‘This is the best plan I’ve thought of. It’s impossible to have Mafa help the Merlin Family for nothing. After all, he hasn’t grown in the Merlin Family since he was a child and the Merlin Family didn’t help him when he was at his lowest.

‘It was only when Mafa suddenly rose up and gained a decently-sized wealth that some people of the Family coveted his wealth and wanted to accept him back into the family.

‘This wasn’t a very pretty matter. Mafa’s approval of the Merlin Family wasn’t very high. No, it should be said that aside from a few people in the Merlin Family, he didn’t really acknowledge the Family.

‘If not because of that, Mafa wouldn’t have ignored the Merlin Family in the Raging Flame Plane and only brought his own people on campaigns.

‘Eh, those idiots must be deeply regretting now…

‘Letting Mafa take over as the head of the Family should be the last opportunity for the Merlin Family to rise. This is also the best opportunity. This is all I can do for the sake of the Family. Under Mafa’s leadership, the Family would definitely have a much better future.’

Ofran had a very complicated expression. He was afraid of Lin Yun declining. After all, Lin Yun had grown to the point where the Merlin Family couldn’t force him to do anything.

Lin Yun looked at Ofran with a surprised expression. He hadn’t expected him to step down from his Patriarch position and offer it to him when the Merlin Family started flourishing.

After all, now was the best time to accumulate credits. When the time came and he naturally left his position as a Patriarch to join the Ancestral Land, his status would be a lot higher.

Surprise could be seen flashing in Lin Yun’s eyes, but he hadn’t expected that Ofran had been thinking about this matter for a very long time.

“Patriarch Ofran, it would be better to let William become the Patriarch of the Merlin Family. After all, he is definitely more adept than I am in managing the Family. As for me, I have no clue how to manage a…”

Lin Yun had yet to finish his words before Ofran interjected with a sigh, “Sir Mafa, this isn’t just me, the Elder Council, the Ancestral Land, and everyone in the Merlin Family hopes that you can become the Patriarch.

“I believe, as well as everyone else, that only under your leadership could the Merlin Family thrive and become powerful. We hope that you won’t decline.”

After saying those words, Ofran got up and bowed towards Lin Yun.

Lin Yun’s expression changed and he promptly helped Ofran up. Looking at the grey hair on Ofran’s head and his heavy expression filled with expectations, Lin Yun didn’t have the heart to refuse.

“Patriarch Ofran, I really think that this matter doesn’t suit me. My ambitions aren’t here…”

Lin Yun was interrupted once again as Ofran was choking with sobs, his eyes becoming moist.

“Sir Mafa…”

Lin Yun got a headache. He wasn’t afraid of being forced, but the one thing he couldn’t endure was something like this, an old man tearfully looking at him as if he was on his deathbed. He simply didn’t have the heart to reject him.

As he recalled the matters of the past, Lin Yun softly sighed.

“Patriarch Ofran, let’s not discuss inheriting the position of Patriarch for now. Half a year… I’ll help the Merlin Family become the strongest Family of the entire Andlusa Kingdom. Naturally that doesn’t include all the other Family’s Ancestral Lands and Mage Towers’ Holy Lands. This should be enough?”

Hearing these words, Ofran’s tears and exhausted appearance instantly disappeared, he seemed to have become twenty years younger and his waist instantly straightened.

“Enough, enough, this is enough. There is no need to care about places like the Ancestral Lands. They aren’t present on this plane so we can disregard them. Oh, you’ll understand then, I’m not too clear about it either. You can find the answer in the Ancestral Land…”

Lin Yun chuckled, how could he not notice before? Ofran tricked him, he had been acting. But his goal was to make the Merlin Family stronger, not himself… It could be seen from the fact that he was willing to give up on the Patriarch’s position that his goal was good, he just didn’t have the ability to do it himself.

Ofran seemed to have discovered that Lin Yun found out and awkwardly chuckled.

“Sir Mafa, it is necessary for you to inherit the Patriarch position. Only after taking over as Patriarch would your orders be executed perfectly…”

Seeing as Lin Yun was about to refuse again, Ofran hurriedly added the key point.

“Half a year! Just half a year. At that time, Sir Mafa can decide who is suitable to inherit the Patriarch position and you can pass it to whoever you want. You’ll only keep the Patriarch position for half a year!”

Lin Yun sighed. He knew that he could definitely not refuse this anymore. Without holding the Patriarch position, raising the strength of the Merlin Family until it was the strongest force in the Andlusa Kingdom would really be a bit troublesome. After all, unless he was the Patriarch, many reforms or commands couldn’t be carried out.

Lin Yun nodded and Ofran suddenly jumped emotionally. He then immediately pulled Lin Yun towards the Ancestral Land.

As they reached the Ancestral Land, Lin Yun once again looked at that canyon covered in dense fog. It gave him a different feeling this time.

There seemed to be a large amount of law runes drifting among the light fog. Moreover, many law runes were very advanced, they were already 3D law runes that had been compressed once again. They looked no different from ordinary runes.

The entire canyon didn’t seem tall, but the pressure coming from it felt even greater than the Raging Flame Plane’s Holy Mountain.

Those below the Archmage realm simply couldn’t sense this pressure, this was something that only Heaven Mages with a deep understanding of Laws could sense.

In the past, Lin Yun’s Magic Array faintly caught a powerful aura in the depths of the fog. Within a few seconds, Lin Yun sensed the auras of at least five Heaven Rank powerhouses!

After looking at the Mage Towers at the bottom of the canyon, Lin Yun suddenly understood.

‘No wonder I only saw Archmages the first time I came to the Ancestral Land and didn’t notice any Heaven Rank powerhouse… This was only the outskirts of the Ancestral Land.’

A 9th Rank Archmage was already waiting for them at the entrance of the Ancestral Land. Seeing Lin Yun and Ofran appearing, this old mage smiled and proceeded to do a mage’s greeting.

“Hello Sir Mafa.”

The excited Ofran had yet to cool down, but amazement suddenly flashed on his face as he saw that old man. He then immediately half-bowed as a greeting.

“Sir Link, Sir Mafa already agreed to take over the position of Patriarch. I took him to the Ancestral Land to inform everyone.”

The old mage smiled as he nodded.

“Sir Ofran, you should return for now. I’ll bring Sir Mafa in. The ancestors in the Ancestral Land’s depths want to meet Sir Mafa.”

Ofran was alarmed as he heard these words and he subconsciously asked, “Which ancestor?”

But Ofran suddenly regretted asking that question. This wasn’t a matter he could inquire about.

Sure enough, Link kept smiling but didn’t point out which ancestor it was. Rather, he extended his hand and said, “This is something I’m not too clear about, but a few ancestors want to meet Sir Merlin.”

Disbelief could be seen on Ofran’s face.

‘A few ancestors? Heavens, every ancestor in the depths of the Ancestral Land is at the Heaven Rank. They usually don’t concern themselves with the matters of the family, they have more important matters to take care of. Even when a crisis befall the family, no ancestor could be found to help.

‘Yet now, there are a few ancestors waiting for Sir Mafa? Last time this happened, wasn’t it when that monster Santon appeared?

‘But Santon’s appearance only made two Heaven Rank ancestors appear, they didn’t wait for him.

‘Damn, could it be that the ancestors believe that Sir Mafa is more of a monster than Santon?

‘No, it truly is the case. Santon wasn’t as terrifying as Sir Mafa, Sir Mafa is a monster among monsters. If they had appeared in the same era, Sir Mafa’s radiance might have covered up Santon’s.’

Ofran cautiously stood at the entrance of the foggy canyon and respectfully watched as Lin Yun and Link went in.

As they walked in, the tall Mage Towers could be seen. They had at least seven layers and there was even a Mage Tower with nine layers emitting no mana fluctuations.

According to Noscent’s custom, Mage Towers with seven layers belonged to Archmages, and only extremely powerful Archmages were qualified to build their own Mage Tower. Only first-rate Archmages were qualified to establish eight-layered Mage Towers. As for nine-layered Mage Towers, they all belonged to Heaven Rank powerhouses, without a single exception.

Lin Yun had met the mages of the Family Council in the Guardian Tower before…

But when walking past these Mage Towers, all the mages within stood at the entrances and did a mage greeting as they saw him walking over. They then followed with their eyes as Link guided Lin Yun towards the depths of the Ancestral Land.

All of those mages, without a single exception, were looking at Lin Yun with admiration. Once Lin Yun moved past this field of Mage Towers to reach the depths of the Ancestral land, an 8th Rank Archmage lamented.

“I thought that Sir Mafa would definitely advance to the Heaven Rank, but I definitely didn’t think that Sir Mafa would progress that fast. He has already become a 9th Rank Archmage within a few years.”

Another 9th Rank Archmage had a solemn expression, a trace of shock visible within his eyes.

“No, he isn’t just a 9th Rank Archmage. His strength has already reached the limits of the Archmage realm, even exceeding them. Ranks don’t have much meaning for him. As he walked past us, I felt as if a Heaven Mage was walking past. I only felt unable to resist like that when facing a Heaven Rank powerhouse.

“No wonder he can be summoned by those ancestors in the depths of the Ancestral Land. This might be another Santon…”

…

The group of Archmages studying magic in the depths of the Ancestral Land were discussing Lin Yun with envy and shock. No one foresaw this. When Lin Yun joined the Family Council, no one felt that Lin Yun would progress that quickly.

Here, they were the equivalent to guards defending the entrance of the Ancestral Land. The true ancestors were in the depths. The Heaven Rank powerhouses of the Merlin Family were there and wouldn’t come out for a few dozen years, or a few centuries. No one knew what was in the depths of the Ancestral Land.

Link held a metal-carved inscription imprint as he walked inside the dense fog. The inscription floated in front of him and the mist of mana as steady as a mountain automatically left a passage for them.

Lin Yun lost all sense of direction, it was as if a power was distorting the space and made mana move in a chaotic way. The only way to move forward was to follow the inscription imprint.

Half an hour later, Link suddenly stopped and looked at the fog ahead with envy and respect, as well as a bit of fear.

“Sir Mafa, the path ahead is the last stretch before reaching the depths of the Ancestral Land. I can only lead you up to here, because the path ahead of us has to be forcibly crossed. With my strength, I’ll inevitably fall inside.

“The people in the outskirts of the Ancestral Land, including me, all want to enter the depths. Unfortunately, this is a very dangerous place, and according to the customs, it is only safe up to here. You’ll have to rely on your own strength from here. In the past centuries, there have already been two 9th Rank Archmages and an 8th Rank Archmage falling in there.

“Please don’t force yourself until the end. If you feel that your strength is falling and that you are having a hard time resisting, immediately return. Those that died here all died because they ran out of strength while retreating…”

Surprise flashed in Lin Yun’s eyes. He hadn’t expected that he had to forcibly break through to the depths of the Ancestral Land. People even died?

“Sir Link, what is going on there? People died? Does no one care?”

Link bitterly smiled and shook his head.