Chapter 600 – Leyvi and Gandolf

Gandolf carefully studied Leyvi.

It had been more than twenty years since he first saw him. Back then, Leyvi had still been wet behind the ears, lacking all sorts of experience.

Now, just by looking into his eyes, Gandolf could see how much the young man had matured. The presence he carried was that of a tempered individual who had clearly experienced many things in life.

Gandolf flew closer to the barrier, still towing his three disciples along.

"Senior, are you one of our continent's Protectors?" Leyvi repeated his question, this time speaking normally.

"Hohoho. Leyvi Leyan. This old man is happy to finally meet you. Let me introduce myself. I am Gandolf, one of the Cloud Continent Protectors. Back then, I was known as Gandolf the White. I am in charge of the security and safety of the South Region."

Behind him, Nemi, Popo, and Domino were absolutely shocked by the words that had just left their master's mouth. Their eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

Their master was a Protector? One of the legendary Protectors? He was not just some random mountain hermit after all?

Leyvi's eyes brightened as a sudden rush of gratitude filled him.

"Senior Gandolf, it is an honor to finally meet you. I wanted to thank you for the Deed of Sovereignty you bestowed upon me. We could not have reached where we are now so quickly without your grace." Leyvi clasped his fists and bowed with genuine respect.

"Hohoho! You knew it was me?" Gandolf asked, sounding amused.

"Yes, Senior Gandolf. My wife Caterina told me about it," Leyvi replied.

I also know that you once wanted me to succeed you as the next Protector, but I can only say sorry, he added silently to himself.

"Ah yes, that fierce cat girl. I've heard about this. It was surprising news, but this old man will not ask how the two of you ended up together. Hohoho!" Gandolf laughed heartily.

For many cultivators, age difference did not matter much. He himself had no issue with it. Life was long, and sometimes the right person simply arrived later than expected.

"Senior Gandolf, I would like to invite you for an important talk, but… could you disable this lockdown first? I heard that is how it works. I don't want the people here to wait any longer," Leyvi requested, sounding a little embarrassed.

Gandolf was left speechless for a moment. Could it be that Leyvi had actually activated the grand barrier at full capacity by accident?

He did not want to embarrass the young man in front of his disciples, so he chose not to ask further. Instead, he quickly took out the token and ended the lockdown.

A few moments later, the additional layers of the barrier faded one by one until only the usual outer layer remained around the city.

With that, the lockdown was lifted, and people were free to enter and leave once more.

Gandolf then entered the city together with his disciples.

Hmm?

The first thing he noticed after stepping inside Bara City was that the density of spiritual energy had increased.

Spiritual energy had always been more concentrated within the city than outside thanks to the formations, and he was very familiar with the usual levels here.

For some reason, however, the spiritual energy density had risen significantly, something that never happened under normal circumstances.

Had more spirit stone mines appeared within the city? he wondered. Gandolf didn't dwell on it too much. It was a good thing after all.

Afterward, Leyvi led Gandolf and his disciples toward the Leyan Family estate. Since Gandolf preferred being outdoors, Leyvi brought him to the same leisure garden he had been sitting in earlier.

The three disciples still seemed somewhat absent-minded, trailing along like zombies as they tried to process everything. It was a great deal of information for country bumpkins like them to take in all at once.

Leyvi informed the members of the Leyan Family who their guest was. Excitement and nervousness spread among them at the same time.

The person who had arrived was, after all, one of the Cloud Continent Protectors. These were legendary figures that many people always spoke about, yet most never had the chance to meet in person.

Now, one of those legends stood right before them.

Only Caterina felt too embarrassed to come out and greet Gandolf.

The two of them shared a long history. She had once followed him and fought against Demoness Cocolia's forces. During those chaotic years, he had taken care of her a great deal, and after the war he had even helped her establish Holy Cat City.

She rarely cared what most people thought of her, but Gandolf was one of the few senior cultivators she had always deeply respected. In his presence, she always tried to put on her best behavior.

Back then, after the city disaster had been resolved, Gandolf had told her that he wanted Leyvi as his successor. Now that she had married him, she could not help feeling embarrassed. She worried that Gandolf might think she had pursued Leyvi for that very reason.

Leyvi, Anda, and Layla sat facing Gandolf and his three disciples.

"Hoo… There are more buildings here now. When I first gave it to you, there was only this one mansion. Hohoho!" Gandolf laughed, stroking his beard.

"Wait… Senior, you mean you were the one who gifted this mansion to me?" Leyvi was surprised by the sudden reveal.

He had wondered for the longest time who had been generous enough to give an entire mansion to someone who had basically been a complete nobody at the time.

He had always known it must have been one of the Envoys, but he had never learned which one. It turned out it had been Protector Gandolf all along. But why?

He could understand why he had been given the Deed of Sovereignty. After all, he had helped Caterina resolve the Holy Cat City disaster.

Yet he had done nothing to deserve a mansion. So what had been the real reason?

"Hohoho! Do you want to know why I gave you the mansion?" Gandolf could tell exactly what Leyvi was curious about.

Leyvi nodded. There was no reason to deny it.

"It's because of your spiritual sense," Gandolf answered.

"My spiritual sense?" Leyvi repeated.

"I have an ocular technique that allows me to see spiritual sense. At that time you were still only at the early stage of the Foundation Building Realm, yet the range of your spiritual sense was already far beyond what one would normally expect. That got me interested in you, so I began investing. Hohoho."

"I see… That explains everything," Leyvi nodded.

After a short pause, he continued. "Senior Gandolf, I am eternally grateful for everything you have done for me. Without your generosity, there's no way the Leyan Family would have developed this quickly. But to be honest with you, I have no intention of becoming a Protector, even if you believe I have the potential."

"Oh? Why is that?" Gandolf asked.

"Because I'm not the kind of person suited for such a large responsibility. The scope is simply too big for me to care about," Leyvi said honestly.

"Then what scope is acceptable for you?"

"My family. That's all. Unless my family is safe, I don't really care what happens to others. So I can only let you down. I'm sorry." Leyvi apologized, fully prepared for words of disappointment.

"Hohoho! No apologies needed. It was only my one-sided wish to begin with. I never intended to force you. If you don't want it, then so be it. This old man isn't that small-minded," Gandolf said truthfully, waving his hand casually.

Leyvi let out a quiet sigh of relief. He had always wanted to decline the offer in person, and now he had finally done so without offending the other party. His impression of Senior Gandolf only grew better.

"You don't need to feel bad about me. These three clowns will be the candidates to succeed me in the future," Gandolf added.

Nemi, Popo, and Domino's minds were blown once again by their master's words. It was one huge revelation after another.

Them? Succeeding their master as the next Protector? Did they even have that kind of talent?

"Hahaha! If that's the case, then I can finally be at ease." Leyvi laughed heartily.

Knowing Gandolf already had successors in mind lifted a burden from his shoulders. He no longer had to feel guilty for turning down the old Protector's expectations.

The laughter gradually faded.

A moment later, Leyvi's expression turned solemn.

"Senior Gandolf, there is an urgent reason I deliberately activated Bara City's emergency lockdown and summoned you here."

The change in his tone immediately caught Gandolf's attention.

His smile disappeared. "So it wasn't an accident..." he muttered.

He had truly believed Leyvi might have activated the city's grand barrier by mistake. Judging from Leyvi's serious expression now, it was clearly intentional.

"What happened?" Gandolf asked.

Leyvi looked straight into his eyes. "I believe our continent is facing a possible extinction event. We have to act immediately before it's too late."

The words caused Gandolf's pupils to contract.

He shot to his feet so abruptly that even his chair shifted slightly.

"What did you just say?"

Next to him, Nemi, Popo, and Domino were equally stunned.

An extinction event?

The cheerful atmosphere that had filled the leisure garden only moments ago vanished instantly, replaced by an oppressive silence.