Chapter 210: The Patriarch’s Word and the Child Who Understood [Part 2]

The Patriarch’s Word and the Child Who Understood [Part 2]

Soon, the two figures descended alongside Victor.

Their feet finally touched the ground.

Victor landed among the gathered members of the Salvatore family.

The moment he arrived, his gaze naturally moved through the crowd.

One face.

Then another.

One familiar aura after another.

For a few seconds, Victor said nothing.

He simply observed them.

And the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

The Salvatore family had changed.

No...

Changed wasn’t quite the right word.

It had transformed.

Compared to the family he had left behind years ago, the difference was almost absurd.

The number of powerful members had increased dramatically.

Their foundations had become much stronger.

Even the younger generation had begun to show frightening potential.

Victor could feel it clearly.

The family had grown far beyond what it had once been.

A faint smile appeared in his eyes.

Still, he wasn’t surprised.

He had known this would happen.

During his three years of seclusion, Victor had never truly been isolated from the family.

Even while he remained in closed-door cultivation, he continued receiving the strength and benefits generated by the entire clan.

Every breakthrough made by a family member had contributed to him.

Every improvement in the family’s overall foundation had benefited him.

Every new talented member had added another piece to that growing foundation.

The stronger the Salvatore family became...

The stronger Victor became.

It was almost like an invisible current.

The family continued moving forward.

And that progress constantly flowed back toward him.

Without those accumulated benefits, Victor’s cultivation would never have advanced at such an astonishing speed.

His personal strength was already terrifying.

There was no doubt about that.

But Victor understood something even more important.

The family itself was becoming a greater source of power with every passing day.

And that was only the beginning.

His gaze continued traveling through the crowd.

He looked at the elders.

The younger generation.

The warriors who had fought in the recent battle.

The people who had remained behind to maintain the formations.

He took in everything.

Then—

His eyes suddenly stopped.

Victor’s expression changed slightly.

Someone had caught his attention.

It wasn’t one of the elders.

Nor was it one of the powerful cultivators standing near the front.

It was a child.

A young child standing quietly among the family members.

Victor stared at the little figure for a moment.

Something about that child was different.

And for the first time since returning to the family...

Victor’s attention was completely drawn away from everything else.

The boy was being held in Abil Salvatore’s arms.

He had black hair.

His eyes were black as well.

A thin book was clutched tightly against his chest.

The boy looked completely absorbed in it.

There was even a tiny trace of drool at the corner of his mouth.

Abil noticed where Victor was looking.

His body immediately stiffened.

"Patriarch, this is my youngest son, Oliver."

He carefully adjusted the child in his arms.

"He was born with phenomena. Innate Mortal Forging."

Abil hesitated.

For some reason, he suddenly looked a little embarrassed.

"It’s just..."

He scratched the back of his head.

"He has no interest in cultivation."

Victor looked at the child.

Oliver slowly lifted his head.

His little fingers remained wrapped around the book.

For a moment, the boy simply stared at Victor.

Then he asked in a soft, innocent voice,

"Patriarch Grandpa, is reading useless?"

The question caught Victor slightly off guard.

There was no fear in the child’s voice.

No nervousness.

Just genuine curiosity.

Victor couldn’t help smiling.

He reached out.

His hand gently took Oliver from Abil’s arms.

The boy didn’t resist.

He simply hugged his book tightly against his chest and allowed Victor to carry him.

Victor looked down at him.

"Do you enjoy reading?"

Oliver’s eyes immediately lit up.

The change was instant.

"I love it!"

His voice became much more energetic.

"I love reading the most."

He hugged the book even tighter.

"I love the wisdom inside books."

There was such genuine happiness in his voice that Victor’s smile deepened.

He gently patted the boy’s head.

"If you love something, does it matter whether it’s useful or not?"

Oliver froze.

His little face slowly became thoughtful.

"If you love something..."

He looked down at the book.

"Does useful or not... matter?"

He repeated the question quietly.

His small brows gradually drew together.

Victor didn’t interrupt him.

He simply waited.

Oliver stared at the book in his hands.

Then something changed in his eyes.

It was subtle.

Barely noticeable.

But Victor saw it.

A tiny spark appeared within those innocent black eyes.

The boy slowly raised his head.

"If you love something..."

His voice became firmer.

"Useful or not..."

He paused.

Then, as though he had suddenly grasped something profound, he continued.

"Heaven and earth themselves are without use..."

His little face became unusually serious.

"Only the common man frets over it!"

The words came from Victor.

Yet Oliver repeated them as though they had suddenly become his own.

He fell silent afterward.

For several breaths, nobody around them spoke.

Then Oliver nodded.

Once.

Firmly.

There was an almost comical seriousness on his chubby little face.

It was as though he had just understood something far beyond what a child his age should have been able to comprehend.

Victor stared at him.

A trace of amusement appeared in his eyes.

This child was interesting.

Very interesting.

He had only intended to tease him a little.

He hadn’t expected such a response.

Victor was just about to say something more when his expression suddenly changed.

The faint amusement disappeared from his face.

His golden eyes shifted.

He looked beyond the Sovereign Blessed Land.

Beyond the peaceful mountains.

Beyond the boundaries of the Salvatore family’s territory.

His gaze continued farther.

Farther still.

It was as though endless distance meant nothing to those golden eyes.

Something had caught his attention.

And whatever it was...

It was far beyond the peaceful world surrounding him.