Hogg’s eyes were moist. His body trembled from excitement as he carefully looked at this familiar-feeling youth.
He looked at those eyebrows…those two eyes…that nose…
At the same time, he compared them to the memories he had of the young Linley.
“Linley, it really…really is you?” Hogg’s voice was hoarse, and his eyes were red.
“It’s me, Father. It really is me!” Linley impatiently wanted to prove himself. “Father, do you remember how, back when we were in our ancestral hall, you asked me to pay my respects to the ancestors of our clan? Do you still remember how you tested me for the Dragonblood in my veins? And…I told you that I had three good friends at the Institute. Two of them are here!”
Linley immediately pointed towards the nearby Yale. “Look. That’s Yale, of the Dawson Conglomerate. And there; that’s George of the Yulan Empire!”
“And me!” Bebe flew out as well, staring at Hogg. “Uncle Hogg, remember me? I’m that little Shadowmouse.” As he spoke, Bebe’s body flickered as he transformed into a little black mouse, hopping onto Linley’s shoulders while still speaking in the human tongue. “It was Boss who raised me!”
Hogg repeatedly nodded.
“Father, look, the Coiling Dragon ring! You know about it, right?” Linley stretched out his ring.
Hogg, hearing this, began to weep from joy. “Right. Right!” He couldn’t help but stretch his arms out, taking Linley into his embrace. He clapped his hands against Linley’s back repeatedly. “Haha, it really is you. Linley. This is wonderful. Haha. This really is wonderful.” Hogg was so excited that he was stammering.
He had died, then been transformed into an undead. He had spent two thousand-plus years as an undead, then suddenly regained his memories and been brought here.
And then, his son had suddenly appeared in front of him.
How could he not be excited? Not be happy?
“Father, come. Let’s go inside. Let’s go inside and chat.” Linley wiped his tears dry, then immediately took his father by the hand and led him flying towards the rear courtyard of the Abyssal Inn.
To be able to see his father was a sort of joy which surpassed the joy and excitement Linley had felt upon finding out that he had become a Soul Mutate. Linley felt like he had returned to his youth, when he learned from his father regarding culture and more. Whenever he didn’t do well, he would be hit on the palm. Back then, he felt it was quite painful, but thinking back to it now gave him a warm feeling.
The death of his father had caused Linley to sink into an abyss of darkness. He was willing to give up everything for revenge.
But now…
Everything was better!
Within the room.
A group of people were seated around two tables, while Hogg was still feeling completely mystified. He hurriedly asked Linley, “Linley, what is going on here? Before, I was a Saint-level Black Knight. How did I suddenly regain my memory and be brought here, then see you?”
Hogg had never heard of an undead regaining its memories.
“The Boss asked the Sovereign to do it.” Bebe chortled.
“Haha.” The nearby Dixie sighed, then said, “Uncle Hogg, in the past two thousand years, Linley has gone beyond just being a genius student at the Ernst Institute. He is an expert who stands at the very peak of the Netherworld, the Infernal Realm, and the other Higher Realms. It was he who asked the Sovereign to restore all of our memories and send for people to find us, then bring us here. Myself, Yale, and George; we were all brought back by Seven Star Specter level experts.
“He asked the Sovereign to find us, and even arrange for people to bring us?”
Hogg couldn’t help but look at his son, who stood before him. In the Yulan continent, Hogg knew that his son had potential, but Hogg only believed that Linley would one day become a powerful magus, or perhaps even bring back their family’s ancestral heirloom. But…ask a Sovereign for favors? Hogg felt his head spin, just thinking about it.
“Linley, how are you…” Hogg didn’t even know what to ask.
Ask about his son’s level of power? What his son had been doing these years?
“Boss is a Highgod Paragon.” Bebe said proudly. The nearby Yale and the others, over the past few years, had learned this as well.
“What’s a Paragon?” Hogg asked.
Bebe was startled.
Previously, Yale and Bebe’s parents were also unaware of what being a ‘Paragon’ meant. Only after hearing an explanation did they understand. Bebe’s mother, that violet-robed woman, said with a laugh, “Hogg, being a Highgod Paragon means…amongst Deities, your son is an unmatched individual! Even Sovereigns would warmly invite him to become an Emissary for them.”
“Amongst Deities…he’s unmatched?” Hogg blinked several times, staring at Linley in astonishment.
Hogg had the sense that everything that had happened today – seeing Linley, hearing all these things – was all a dream.
Hogg’s reaction was what everyone had thought it would be. When Yale and George had asked about Linley’s abilities, after they were given clear answers, they had also been stunned for a long time. Everyone knew exactly how many Deities there were in the Netherworld and Infernal Realm. They were counted in the trillions.
There were countless Deities in the countless planes. How terrifyingly powerful must one be, to stand at the very top of this pyramid?
Hogg had experienced two thousand years of life in the Undead Realm, and his mental fortitude was now much greater than before. He quickly recovered, then his eyes lit up and he asked hurriedly, “Linley, your mother’s death. It was that Duke Patterson of the Kingdom of Fenlai…were you able to get vengeance?”
“He died. I personally killed him.” Linley said solemnly.