While Dick was enjoying his time, young Master Allen, who had long pursued Annie, was far from pleased. Annie, the beautiful girl he coveted, always lingered around this lowborn Dick. A noble like him, losing to a commoner in the chase for a woman, had made him the laughingstock among his aristocratic friends.

Such humiliation could not be tolerated.

Nobles, after all, were well-connected, even in the capital.

Dick, now a third-level warrior, had arranged a hunting trip with Annie and Anna. Without seeking out other teams, the three set out together into the Magic Beast Mountains. However, they had scarcely ventured deep when a group of more than ten mid-level warriors ambushed them.

Annie and Anna fought valiantly, combining their powerful magic, and Dick even managed to slay a fourth-level warrior. But despite their efforts, Dick’s lower strength showed. He soon made a fatal mistake, and a heavy blow sent him crashing to the ground, his chest and internal organs gravely injured.

Nearby, Liu Tiesheng, Thomas Sharp, and Aike—the three young nobles—revealed themselves, mockery in their eyes as they watched Dick's body crumple under the attack. They made no effort to hide their murderous intent.

Annie and Anna, though exhausted, had taken down several mid-level warriors, but they were hopelessly outnumbered.

“Dick!” Five figures rushed toward them at breakneck speed.

Uncle Tytan!

Uncle Tytan's hunting team, comprised of three fifth-level warriors and two fourth-level warriors, quickly subdued the remaining attackers. The three noble brats, seeing the situation turn against them, abandoned their minions and fled on flying spirit beasts.

“Annie, Anna!” Dick, lying injured, looked at the bloodied sisters. His carelessness had almost cost them their lives.

“We’re fine. No serious injuries. A few days’ rest, and we’ll be good as new. But you, Dick, your injuries are too severe. If you don’t treat them immediately, you might suffer permanent damage,” Anna said, tossing him a few magical potions.

“Tytan, Uncle, why are you here?” Dick asked, grimacing as the pain from his wounds surged through him despite the magical remedies.

“I’ve been wary ever since you obtained my loyalty contract, fearing that Thomas would plot against you. I’ve been secretly keeping an eye on him. When I saw him trailing you, I quickly gathered some of my comrades. Unfortunately, we still arrived a bit late,” Tytan said, his face grim, showing just how far his protective instincts extended.

“Dick, the world is full of dangers. Be cautious, always cautious,” he warned.

“Thank you, Uncle Tytan. And thank you all, my uncles,” Dick said gratefully. Without their timely intervention, both he and the sisters might not have made it back alive.

Despite his precautions, he had underestimated the reach of the nobles, almost paying the price with his life.

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“I’m sorry, Dick. This was all my fault,” Annie said, her voice choked with guilt. “Damn that Allen, I swear I’ll kill him one day!”

“Don’t be silly. Even without Allen, Liu Tiesheng and Thomas Sharp wouldn’t have let me off the hook. We’re friends, like family. Don’t worry, I’m a warrior. What’s a little injury to someone as strong as me? Now, come on, give me a kiss to cheer me up!” Despite being the youngest among them, Dick’s experience from two lifetimes made him the de facto elder brother, and Annie and Anna had grown used to his cheeky antics.

Revenge? There was no rush. Until he had the power, it was pointless to dwell on it. To lighten the mood, Dick resumed his playful banter, thick-skinned as ever.

“You’re all battered and still not behaving!” Anna scolded him as she carefully applied ointments to his wounds. His wandering hands, though familiar, were met with a resigned sigh. After all, she had grown accustomed to his roguish ways.

“Don’t tell Harvey or Li Cong. Just say I’m in seclusion for training. Focus on your cultivation. I’ll settle this debt myself, one day. Nobles? Ha! With strength, what do they amount to? I’m weak now, but I’ll endure,” Dick declared, more to himself than to the sisters.

As for the Magic Beast Mountains, Dick knew he couldn't return there any time soon. For now, he would bide his time within the walls of the academy.

With Uncle Tytan’s team watching over Annie and Anna, they had little to fear from the scheming young nobles. After all, no true masters would intervene for such petty squabbles.

Dick threw himself into rigorous training at the academy.

Three years later, to everyone’s surprise, Harvey, the chubby fellow, finally broke through the bottleneck, achieving the rank of a third-level mage at the age of eighteen.

“Damn it, Dick! I was celebrating for two days, and now you’ve already advanced to a fourth-level warrior? You’re even more amazing!”

“I’m practicing a high-bloodline legacy technique. Breaking through to the fourth level before twenty is expected. Unfortunately, the bottleneck of a third-level mage still eludes me.”

“Lucky you, Harvey! You had a son, and it helped you break through. Damn it!” Li Cong said, shaking his head.

“That’s not the same! My wife’s already given me nine daughters. Do you know how hard it was to finally have a son? I couldn’t let people call me useless!” Harvey declared proudly.

In this world, where sons inherited everything from property to titles, having a male heir was paramount. Daughters, though cherished, were destined to marry out and become someone else’s family.

Harvey’s oddball ways had always been a source of amusement, with his house full of concubines. Everyone’s fortunes were different, after all.

Accumulating strength as a second-level mage was relatively easy. The challenge always lay in those maddening bottlenecks.

“Dick, are you leaving?” Li Cong asked.

“Yes, without a new battle technique for my qi cultivation, once my fourth-level warrior training stabilizes, it’ll be time for me to move on.” For Dick, cultivating as a warrior was always the priority, especially given the advanced techniques left to him by his mother.

“Leaving for a while is good. The academy doesn’t require us to train here, after all. Before the age of thirty, we’re free,” Li Cong said.

Dick’s departure wasn’t permanent. As a second-level mage, his training was flexible, and vanishing for a few years wouldn’t raise any eyebrows. As long as he broke through to the third level before thirty, he could return to learn advanced techniques and spells.

“Dick, where are you headed? Or rather, where does your bloodline legacy come from?” Li Cong asked. Childhood friends often shared deep bonds, far stronger than those forged later in life, when trust was harder to come by.

“Funny you ask. My mother mentioned a place in her last words—Seven Star Fortress, on the southeastern coast of the Yan Kingdom. But she didn’t specify which noble's territory it belongs to. The southeast coast is vast, after all.”

“Seven Star Fortress!” Li Cong exclaimed, eyes wide in disbelief.

“Damn!” Harvey swore aloud.

“What? You both know it?” Dick asked, surprised. This fortress must be more famous than he had ever imagined. After all, a family that possessed a high-bloodline legacy couldn’t be anything ordinary.