Chapter 378: Arcane Ring
"I say, Cousin Leon, how did you know we were heading to the Turin Mountains?" Lin Yun's tone sounded offhand, as if he were just making small talk—but only Lin Yun knew that as he asked, he'd already begun channeling mana into the Arcane Wheel...
If Leon Merlin's answer had even a hint of a flaw, the mana Lin Yun poured into the Arcane Wheel would erupt instantly—a torrent of spells, killing and silencing in one cold stroke. Lin Yun was never one for half-measures.
The plan for the Turin Mountains was known by only three and a half people: Lin Yun himself, Ross Merlin, William Merlin, and, if you counted the Dragonblood Orc Hubert—who'd slept for two months and couldn't even remember his own surname—that made up all the insiders. Half a person, at best.
But now, Leon Merlin had casually revealed their destination. How could Lin Yun not be wary?
Ross Merlin and William Merlin would never spill the plan—Lin Yun trusted them. As for the Dragonblood Orc Hubert, he might want to blab, but could he even manage that much?
So where did Leon Merlin get his information? Lin Yun's suspicion gnawed at him.
To Lin Yun, there was only one possibility: Leon Merlin had been spying on this house all along, and by some ludicrous stroke of luck, overheard Ross Merlin and William Merlin plotting the trip to the Turin Mountains.
For Lin Yun, that was utterly intolerable...
After surviving the madness of those thirty thousand years past, Lin Yun knew better than anyone how dangerous it was to be watched.
Lin Yun's approach to danger was always simple: snuff it out before it could take root...
Just like now—if Leon Merlin couldn't give Lin Yun a satisfactory answer, then this seventh-tier mage from Cloudspire Tower might just find himself snuffed out before he could blink.
"Wait!" Oddly enough, the mana Lin Yun infused into the Arcane Wheel was so well hidden that even Ross Merlin and William Merlin, standing right beside him, had no clue that Lin Yun's offhand question carried a hint of murder.
But for some reason, Leon Merlin seemed to sense it the moment Lin Yun spoke. His face went pale, he stammered "Wait!" while backing away—almost as if he knew Lin Yun was about to do him in...
"Hmm?" Lin Yun was quietly surprised. Back in Seaview City, Leon Merlin wasn't nearly this perceptive...
Back then, the Mana Lock was about to drop on him, and he was still full of swagger and nonsense. He'd have missed any threat entirely—yet now, with just a trickle of mana into the Arcane Wheel, Leon Merlin already sensed Lin Yun's intent.
A few months apart, and he's made real progress...
This was actually rather interesting...
After a moment's thought, Lin Yun did withdraw the mana he'd poured into the Arcane Wheel. "Go ahead..."
"A misunderstanding, Cousin Mafa, it's all a misunderstanding..." As Lin Yun withdrew the mana, Leon Merlin visibly relaxed—his hands stopped trembling, his color returned, and his voice lost its edge of fear. "It's just that I happen to know a few secrets about the Turin Mountains..."
"Oh?"
"I'll explain that secret in detail later. Don't worry, Cousin Mafa, I'll need your help with this, so there's no point in hiding anything. For now, let me tell you how I knew you were heading to the Turin Mountains..." Leon Merlin shot Ross Merlin a peculiar look. "Truth is, I found out because of Ross Merlin..."
"Nonsense!" Ross Merlin burst out, indignant.
If Lin Yun weren't here, Ross Merlin might've had murder on his mind. That bastard Leon Merlin was slandering him—damn it, so you know our destination, fine, but why drag me into it? Did I ever wrong you that badly?
Claiming it was all Ross Merlin's fault...
Damn it, if Cousin Mafa thinks I'm loose-lipped, how unfair is that?
"Easy, Ross. Let him finish..." Lin Yun knew things were never that simple, so he raised a hand to stop Ross Merlin from lunging. Then he nodded to Leon Merlin, "Go on."
"Cousin Mafa is sharper than most—unlike some people..." Leon Merlin shot Ross Merlin a smug look, thinking, let’s see if you still dare mess around at dinner next time...
After the last Elder Council, Leon Merlin had warmly invited Lin Yun to dinner—hoping to smooth over old grudges and maybe build some rapport. He hadn't expected that idiot Ross Merlin would tag along, dragging William Merlin with him...
So for the entire meal, Ross Merlin kept pestering William Merlin about every last detail of his conflict with Cousin Mafa back in Seaview City—how he tried to recruit him, how shameless he was, how he got locked up by the Mana Lock...
One question after another—he spent the whole time red-faced and mortified, with no chance to patch things up or build any rapport...
Now, finally, he had a chance to claw back a bit of what he'd lost...
After a little payback against Ross Merlin, Leon Merlin continued, "Cousin Mafa, you should know—William Merlin, Owen Merlin, and I are the main contenders for the next family head. So I keep an eye on them now and then. And that's when I noticed something odd: William Merlin was searching for something. At first, it didn't concern me much, just piqued my curiosity, but I didn't pay it much mind..."
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Who could've guessed, by sheer coincidence, I ran into Ross Merlin in the Dawnrealm..." Leon Merlin glanced at Ross Merlin with a sly smile. "Ross, you remember the Dawnrealm, don't you? When you beat the three Yalean High Priests and broke into their temple to steal that journal, I was actually right behind you. You were so focused, I didn't have the heart to interrupt...
"You..." Ross Merlin's face changed instantly, his gaze toward Leon Merlin turning complicated. Of course Ross remembered the Dawnrealm—he'd defeated the three Yalean High Priests, but paid a heavy price. 'Burnt out' barely described it; if Leon Merlin had been ruthless, there'd be one less contender for family head...
"Alright, no need to look at me like that. I may not be much, but I don't kick people when they're down." Leon Merlin turned back to the others. "If I hadn't mentioned it, Ross would never have guessed I'd already read that journal he stole. It was left by a Title Archmage and mentioned a lost meditation codex called Elemental Tide..."
"How did you end up there?" Ross Merlin still couldn't wrap his head around it...
"Simple. The secret I mentioned is actually related to that journal..."
"Oh?" Lin Yun perked up, his interest finally piqued.
"Ross Merlin, you should remember—the journal mentioned that the Title Archmage's magical inheritance came from a Third Dynasty ruin. The ruin itself wasn't complete, only a tiny fraction of the inheritance survived, but it left clues. If you follow those clues long enough, you'll eventually find the complete legacy..."
"Yes..."
At this point, Ross Merlin was finally convinced...
Leon Merlin really had read that journal.
"In fact, years ago I came across another journal. You may not believe it, but its contents were almost identical to the one you stole—another Title Archmage, another incomplete magical inheritance, another trail of clues to follow. If I'm not mistaken, there are seven such journals in total, each nearly identical..."
"Oh?" Lin Yun frowned, puzzled by why Leon Merlin was sharing all this...
"Because this is the magical inheritance left by the King of the Caucasus. After his legendary battle with the Long-Legged Emperor, he vanished into the depths of the Turin Mountains—but his magical legacy was split into seven parts, including the Elemental Tide that Ross Merlin has been longing for..."
"How do you know all this?"
"Because, just like Ross Merlin, I also received one of those magical inheritances. Only, mine wasn't a meditation codex—it was the King of the Caucasus's Arcane Sigil, the Arcane Ring..."
"Oh?" Lin Yun heard this and glanced at Leon Merlin, his eyes now tinged with doubt. Lin Yun had certainly heard of the Arcane Ring—no, not just heard of it. In fact, when he was choosing his magical runes, the Arcane Ring had been a top contender.
Legend has it that a mage who possesses the Arcane Ring, upon reaching the rank of Title Archmage, can fuse each ring with an Essence Relic, reaching the peak of magical power. At the summit, nine Essence Relics can be fused, pushing one's combat power into realms beyond imagination.