"The Seven-Star Bloodline, one of the Seven Great Bloodlines."

"What? One of the Seven Great Bloodlines? No way! Me?" Dick was so astonished that his mouth hung open. Could a transmigrator really be this lucky?

"Seven-Star Fortress is indeed quite unique. Its true core stronghold isn’t on land but on an island near the coast, technically outside the borders of the Great Yan Kingdom. Once, a Paladin emerged from Seven-Star Fortress, but three hundred years ago, that Paladin fell."

Li Cong knew quite a lot.

"A Paladin can fall too?" Dick was utterly shocked. A Paladin, with a millennium-long lifespan, was already a top-tier extraordinary being.

"Information about the Holy Rank is highly secretive. I don’t know much either. I just know that even Saints aren’t at peace. Dick, Saints must also cultivate, and where there's cultivation, there’s conflict," Li Cong explained, and Dick understood.

Could there be a rank beyond the Holy Rank?

"Ever since the last Paladin of Seven-Star Fortress fell, no new Saint has appeared in over three hundred years. Because the advanced cultivation methods of Seven-Star Fortress are passed down through bloodlines, they don’t accept outsiders. Their numbers are actually quite small. True bloodline warriors are not as numerous as those of typical noble families."

"As for the exact number of people in Seven-Star Fortress, I’m not sure. I’ve never been there. Not just anyone can enter Seven-Star Fortress. The fame of one of the Seven Great Bloodlines is too widespread, so I know a bit."

True enough, though Li Cong was a direct descendant of his family, his cultivation level was still low.

"Our family has done business with Seven-Star Fortress. My father has been there. Dick, if you want to go, I’ll have our family’s sea vessel take you."

No wonder Harvey also knew about the existence of Seven-Star Fortress. After all, its disciples needed resources for cultivation, so it was normal to trade with merchants.

"That would be perfect." With a familiar guide, Dick wouldn’t be stumbling around blindly.

But why would his mother, a child of Seven-Star Fortress, end up in the distant northern York Territory? Could she have been running away from a marriage? Quite possibly, since most women in this era were products of arranged unions.

If that’s the case, wouldn’t he be discriminated against when he arrived at Seven-Star Fortress?

Let them discriminate. Learning the next level of cultivation techniques was what mattered most.

He had to go eventually. If they didn’t accept him, he could always return. Without his family’s bloodline techniques, he could still continue cultivating. His talent as a mage wasn’t bad, even without advanced methods.

Why not give it a try? He had nothing to lose.

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"You two need to keep this a secret for now. What if enemies of the Seven-Star Family ambush me?" Dick still remembered a few years ago when Liu Tiesheng, Thomas Sharp, and Alan conspired and sent a dozen intermediate knights to hunt him down. This time, traveling with Fatty’s family, merchants at heart, they wouldn’t be able to offend any nobility.

It would be safer to leave quietly.

"You’ve got quite the imagination, haven’t you?"

"Alright, Fatty will keep it secret for you. Wouldn’t want you getting killed and blaming me."

Dick found the Anna sisters and bid them farewell, merely saying he was going out to train, seeking a breakthrough. That was common enough. Some went to the Magic Beast Mountains, while others traveled the world to break through bottlenecks.

Fatty was a true friend. His family’s trading company in the capital prepared two carriages and a few impressive guards. Conveniently, his family had just had a son, so returning home to visit was a perfect excuse. No need to make up an alibi. Dick slipped away in the private carriage unnoticed.

"Fatty, you’ve really moved up in the world. This carriage must be reinforced with magical arrays. The magical energy is so strong you could cultivate in here."

"Of course! I’m already a Third-Level Mage, the top mage in my family. A mere magic carriage is nothing. When I return, I’ll have my father give me a flying magical beast—that’s what suits the stature of a Third-Level Mage!"

A Third-Level Mage was a top-tier existence, not just in a merchant family, but even among nobles. As for Fourth-Level Mages, not even most nobles could afford to keep one—that was the privilege of royalty. Unless a mage was part of the family, no noble could support a mid-level mage.

Once Harvey advanced to Fourth-Level, the royal family would reward his family with at least a barony. One man’s success would bring glory to the entire family—an honor befitting a mid-level mage.

Harvey’s home was far away. Even with the magical beast-drawn carriage speeding along, it took more than ten days to reach his family’s estate.

When Harvey returned, even the elders of the family gathered around him like stars surrounding the moon.

"This is my classmate and friend, Dick, a Second-Level Mage and Fourth-Level Warrior!"

Some of the elders had heard Harvey mention Dick before, and his father was especially welcoming. As an elder, Harvey’s father gifted Dick a finely-crafted magical staff as a welcoming present. Though only a Second-Level staff, it was worth at least fifty or sixty thousand gold coins.

Dick hadn’t been able to afford one before.

Since it was a gift from an elder, Dick graciously accepted.

"Father, Dick is my brother, skilled in combat with battle-qi. He’s a Fourth-Level Warrior now. That meteoric iron battle blade we’ve had stored away isn’t much use to us anymore."

"Fine! I’ll have someone fetch it."

Harvey was in a good position now, and his father had always doted on him. A mid-level magical blade was nothing to hold back.

"Thank you, sir!"

The heavy black blade was clearly reinforced with several magical arrays, and coincidentally, they were of both the water and fire elements. Damn! This couldn’t have suited him more perfectly. Harvey must’ve planned this all along.

"No need to be so polite. You’ve taken care of Harvey at the magic academy, haven’t you? If you ever need anything, don’t hesitate to ask. Our family isn’t lacking in wealth," said the elder, fond of his son’s friends.

Despite his age, Harvey’s father had only one son and many daughters. No wonder he was so excited about having a grandson. It seemed a family tradition to be blessed with daughters, after all.

Harvey dismissed all the servants and leaned in conspiratorially.

"Harvey, what’s going on? Just say it."

"Father, there is something..." Harvey kept his voice low, remembering Dick’s request for secrecy. He told his father everything.

"Seven... Seven-Star Fortress!" Harvey’s father’s eyes widened.

"Yes, father, you’ve been there before, haven’t you? Is there anything shady going on? I don’t want Dick to get caught up in something dangerous." Harvey knew that no matter how powerful a family, internal strife was inevitable. And Dick’s mother’s situation was particularly delicate.

"I do know some of the secrets. Seven-Star Fortress isn’t strictly one family. It’s composed of seven families, arranged according to the pattern of the Big Dipper." Dick was familiar with the Big Dipper, and surprisingly, the constellation in this world resembled the one on Earth.