"Strongest man? Isn't he just another genius who is just above the rest? What's so special?" Merlin sneered, dismissing the notion without a second thought.
"Master, you said it yourself; he is a genius above the rest, which makes him special," Leon insisted. "And how can someone whose fame spread throughout the continent be just an ordinary genius?"
"I doubt a genius from this world could be anything extraordinary," Merlin replied. As a revered Void Lord in the Immortal Kingdom, he had seen many so-called geniuses only to fail and die in the end. Furthermore, he could sense that the surrounding energy in this world was thin compared to his old world, which led him to give such a dismissive opinion.
"Master, weren't you surprised by the existence of ruins? Maybe this time, too, you'll be surprised by the genius in our world?" Leon's eyes sparkled with hope.
"That's a different matter entirely," Merlin replied, his tone sharp. "The ruins caught my interest because they are anomalies. The so-called geniuses here are not."
Leon couldn't forget the first time his master, Merlin, had come across a ruin. His master had been visibly surprised, making various speculations about their origin.
In Merlin's old world, there were no such things as ruins or the dark beings that haunted that emerged from the ruins. In his view, these ruins resembled tombs meant to seal spirits. He had explained that these evil spirits were the cause of the miasma that appeared after the emergence of those ruins.
As Leon flew, the dense forest gradually gave way to grassy plains, the contrast stark and refreshing. The vibrant greens beneath him soon began to fade, transitioning to drier and more arid terrain. Below, the once lush plains shifted to barren land, and before long, he found himself floating above an endless desert.
In front of him lay a vast expanse of sand, while far behind him, the grassy land receded into the distance.
"I'll have to pass through the desert, I guess," Leon muttered. This was the shortest route to the Jul Empire he had found; all other paths either passed through other empires or took a large detour.
Staring back towards the green horizon, his expression turned distant.
"Master, do you miss your family?" Leon asked, curious about the old soul that had guided him for so long.
"I... don't have a family." Merlin paused before replying, his tone uncharacteristically somber. "I was an orphan as far as I know."
Leon's curiosity turned to empathy and he asked, flashing his pearly white teeth in a wide smile. "Master, am I not your family?"
To his question, Merlin snickered, his voice carrying a hint of amusement. "Hah! Little brat trying to act mature with me."
Leon laughed, the sound echoing softly across the desert. "Well, I mean it, Master. You've been with me my whole life. Isn't that what family is?"
Merlin was silent for a moment, the crackling fire the only sound.
"Brat, you haven't even become my official disciple," he scowled. "You're still a thousand years away from calling me your family."
"Master, you're breaking my little heart." Leon tried to appear pitiful, but his master only sneered and remained silent.
The next day, as the sun rose from the horizon, Leon resumed his journey. He flew above the hot desert swiftly, not breaking a sweat. As an ascendant of the Astral Bloom stage and with his master's guidance, Leon had learned to control his body temperature with his energy.
This skill greatly aided him in the desert's heat, allowing him to maintain his full speed, unlike ordinary ascendants who would have to slow their pace.
It was noon, and the sun was at its highest when something in the distance caught Leon's eye. Hastening toward it, he squinted against the glare of the desert, trying to make out the shape. As he got closer, the form became clear—a city in the middle of nowhere. Read now on m_vl_em_p_yr
"There's actually a city in the desert? Did I forget to read the map carefully?" Leon muttered to himself, slowly descending. "I guess I'll stop here for a drink."