Chapter 593: The Patriarch’s Warning

These two structures had not been created just to make a level twenty-nine Awakened stronger, they were the foundation of a power that could make a huge difference at much higher levels.

But what exactly did this man mean when he said the Celestials would kill him?

Lian stared at the patriarch with a confused expression, and the man simply laughed in response.

"Don’t worry, since I know about your relationship with my daughter, I won’t try to kill you like the others would, but my warning still stands, be careful around the other Celestials."

He paused for a moment before adding,

"If they find out, they won’t leave you alone, no one wants the balance of power to change."

Lian remained silent, as he fully understood the situation, however, he had never expected to suddenly become a threat to the most powerful beings in the world.

And he doubted that hiding himself from them would be easy.

"They won’t notice that you’ve obtained these two structures the way I did, I guessed because it was obvious, being able to hold your own against a Demon at your age is proof of your talent, and with talent like yours, it’s easy to figure out."

"Then I don’t need to find a way to hide them?" The young Vorhelm asked after thinking for a moment.

"I doubt you’ll be unlucky enough to encounter the other Celestials again so soon."

Lian nodded, as he had received an answer to some extent.

"Father." Seris, who had mostly been listening until now, raised her right hand.

Rhaenar looked at her.

"Yes?"

"Dragon Veins."

With a gentle flow of mana, thin golden and silver lines appeared beneath the skin of the girl’s wrist.

The lights moved along her forearm, and for a moment, a faint glow could even be seen beneath the clothes on her shoulder.

Then they slowly faded away.

Rhaenar looked at his daughter’s hand for a few seconds.

"So you have an achievement of your own, too."

Seris nodded.

"How should I complete them?"

The patriarch gave a small smile.

"Dragon Veins have become part of your body’s and soul’s structure, and they can be a great help to you in the future, as you know, they allow you to use the power of a dragon."

"As your veins grow, the connection between your body, soul, and Ancestral Mark will become stronger. This structure can become especially important when you reach the stage of forming a Dragon Body."

"Do they require special resources?"

"Yes. You need suitable resources related to dragon races and gradual refinement. Heavenly Dragon Marrow can also help you in the later stages, but you don’t need to focus all your attention on that for now."

Seris glanced at her wrist for a moment.

Rhaenar continued,

"The most important thing is that you don’t try to force your Dragon Veins to grow too quickly. Your body and soul must be ready at the same time."

Then he gave a small smile.

"Knowing you, that was probably the first thing you wanted to do."

The young Pendragon said nothing, she simply lowered her hand.

Lian glanced at her face from the side, and it seemed that the patriarch had guessed correctly.

He gave a faint smile.

"I think that warning was meant more for you."

Seeing the two of them, Rhaenar slightly shook his head, but unlike a few minutes ago, there was something different in his eyes this time.

For a moment, he looked between Lian and his daughter, then asked very casually,

"By the way, where exactly is the relationship between you two supposed to go?"

For a moment, Lian thought he had misheard, and Seris also turned her head toward her father.

Just a few seconds ago, they had been talking about legendary refinement structures, Celestials, and resources from the Heavenly Realm.

And now?

Rhaenar seemed to have brought up another completely ordinary topic.

The young Vorhelm raised his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?"

The patriarch continued without the slightest change in his expression.

"You two have been spending more time together lately, so I thought it wouldn’t hurt to know what your plans are."

Seris continued looking at her father, while the fingers of her right hand slowly curled around the armrest of her chair.

Lian thought for a few seconds before answering,

"For now, our plan is to become stronger."

Rhaenar looked at him.

"That’s all?"

"For now."

Silence fell for a moment, and then the patriarch gave a very small smile.

"Then I should make one thing clear from the beginning."

Lian felt the man’s tone change, it was not threatening, but it became much more serious than before.

"As long as you’re a Vorhelm, you won’t be allowed to marry my daughter."

He did not answer for several seconds, marriage? When had the conversation even reached marriage?

He had not even made a clear decision about his own feelings toward Seris yet.

He enjoyed being by her side, trusted her, and had come to value her presence in battle.

But Rhaenar was talking about marriage as if the ceremony were going to happen tomorrow.

Lian let out a quiet breath.

"I don’t think we’ve reached that stage yet."

"I know."

Rhaenar continued looking at him calmly.

"That’s why I’m telling you now, before it’s too late."

Seris wanted to say something for a moment, but her father continued.

"I have no personal problem with you, Lian, you’ve already understood that."

His smile slowly disappeared.

"But I don’t trust the Vorhelms."

Lian’s expression became more serious, the rivalry between the two families was nothing new, but Rhaenar’s tone made it clear that this was more than just a political disagreement or an old rivalry.

"The Vorhelms bring misfortune."

The man remained silent for a moment, his gaze moved away from Lian and settled on an unclear point beside the window.

"I don’t want what happened to my sister to happen to my daughter, too."

The young Vorhelm was no longer smiling.

Rhaenar’s sister? Until now, he had never heard anything about what had happened to the patriarch’s sister.

Even the information he had about the rivalry between the Pendragons and the Vorhelms contained no clear mention of such an event.

However, from the way Rhaenar spoke, it was clear that this matter held deep personal meaning for him.

Lian was about to ask a question, but before he could say anything...

"Father!"

Seris’s voice rose, this time it was not cold and brief like her usual replies, but firm and clearly full of protest.

Rhaenar turned his gaze toward his daughter, and for a moment, their eyes met.

She had tightened her fingers around the armrest of the chair.

From her expression, it was clear that she wanted to object, but the patriarch did not even allow the conversation to turn into a long argument.

He calmly shook his head.

"Anyway, enough being lazy."

Lian blinked.

Lazy?

"You’ve spent an entire month resting, it’s time to start working hard again."

For a moment, he genuinely did not know whether to laugh or protest.

He had spent a month under pressure in the Dragon Blood River that even his monster-like body could barely endure.

His bones and muscles had been refined again and again, his soul had gained a completely new structure, and now Rhaenar was calling that entire month a rest?

But before he could say anything, the patriarch continued,

"Reach your Third Evolution as soon as possible."

His gaze moved between the two of them this time.

"You might be the strongest among humans of your generation, but don’t forget that your greatest enemies and rivals are in the Heavenly Realm."

Seris was still unhappy about the earlier topic, but Rhaenar clearly had no intention of discussing marriage again.

He raised his hand.

"You can leave for now."

Lian felt the change in space before the movement was complete, the distance between the desk and the door became strange for a moment.

Seris also noticed the change, but neither of them had a chance to react.

Rhaenar simply moved his hand slightly, and then both of them disappeared from in front of the desk, appearing in the hallway outside the office a moment later.

The huge wooden door closed behind them.

He looked at it for a few seconds before letting out a quiet breath.

"Your father is a strange man... Ah, my father is the same."

Seris gave no reply, and Lian glanced at her briefly, the girl was silent, and her gaze remained fixed on the stone floor of the hallway for a moment.

It seemed that she was still thinking about her father’s words.

At first, she had intended to apologize to Lian for Rhaenar’s behavior.

But just before she opened her mouth, another thought came to her mind.

Why should I apologize? Her father had said he would not allow Lian to marry her.

So why did those words bother her so much? Was she planning to marry Lian?

She glanced at the young man beside her for a moment.

Lian was still standing calmly, and it seemed that the sudden change of topic by Rhaenar was stranger to him than the marriage discussion itself.

Marriage...? The word repeated in Seris’s mind for a moment.

She liked being with Lian, and she enjoyed training and fighting alongside him.

She wanted to become stronger so she could stay by his side in future battles.

When Lian was away from her, she sometimes thought about his return more than she expected.

But marriage? The young Pendragon had never made a decision about such a thing.

She did not even have a clear idea of what their relationship would become in the future.

Then why did hearing her father’s objection make her feel as if someone wanted to take something away from her?

The girl looked away from Lian, and a very faint color appeared on her cheeks, so slight that it was almost impossible to notice in the soft light of the hallway.

Do I really want to marry him? For a moment, Seris felt that it would be better to stop thinking about this.

At least for now.

But just as she was trying to sort out her thoughts, Lian’s voice rang out.

"By the way, do you want to return to the Ruined Realm?"

Seris raised her head, and for a moment, her gaze rested on his face.

Then she nodded.

"Yeah."

The young Vorhelm gave a small smile.

"Good. Because I have a suggestion."

Seris waited.

"Before we check out that hidden area, how about we settle an old debt?"

The girl fell silent for a moment.

An old debt?

Her gaze remained fixed on Lian’s face, and she quickly understood what he meant, the creature they had both decided to return to someday.

The monster whose memory was still unpleasant for her.

And now, after a month of refinement in the Dragon Blood River, they had an excellent chance to test their new powers.

Her eyes narrowed slightly, and her lips slowly moved.

"The Dreadmaw Sovereign?"

----

( A/N : Since Lian has gained many abilities and will gain even more in the future, I’ve created a section called panel on the Discord server where you can view almost all of his progress and status information.

If you forget something or need a quick reminder, feel free to check it out. )