"Lord Li!"
Natalie stood respectfully next to Andrew, bowing to the elderly man.
The old man, transford from the Black Whale, was indeed the Lord Li ntioned by Pasha!
Andrew looked at the man, remaining silent, though he shared Rick’s questions: Did the Black Whale really defeat the strange crab in their battle, or rely shake it off temporarily?
A bigger question lood: What kind of existence was this Lord Li before him?
The na "Li" sounded feminine; Andrew had always assud that "Lord Li" was a woman.
It was quite surprising to find out he was a man!
As the old man approached, the aura unique to a combat class akin to Ivan’s Deep Blue Guard grew even stronger.
Andrew looked at the elderly man before him, recalling the mont when the Black Whale shifted into a human form. He couldn’t help but wonder, "So is this Lord Li truly human, or a whale that has cultivated a human form?"
In the world before his crossing over, there were many legends of animals cultivating into human forms.
After arriving in the Fla Realm, Andrew had heard that once magical beasts cultivated beyond the Realm of Magic, they could potentially transform into human shape.
The peculiarity of the old man in front of him lay in his physical aura, which carried a strong sense of otherworldliness, as if his true form was indeed a whale!
Yet, his gaze and the aura of his soul were entirely human.
"Andrew, is that right?"
The old man stood before Andrew, his gaze lingering briefly on the Water God Mark on Andrew’s forehead before he spoke.
"Yes."
Andrew nodded, though his body was sowhat tense.
The mont the man saw the Water God Mark, the strange and peculiar emotion in his eyes did not escape Andrew’s notice.
What surprised and startled Andrew was the incredibly strong emotional reaction emanating from the Water God Mark as the man spoke, comparable to its reaction when Andrew had taken the Blood of the Fire God from Rick.
Toward the elder before him, the Water God Mark clearly felt a sense of closeness and even nostalgia.
But there was also an intense aversion and rage that was startling to Andrew!
"What’s going on? Could there be an issue with this Lord Li?" Andrew’s mind raced. "Catherine had opposing properties of Strange Fire, giving the sa feeling of both closeness and aversion. Could Lord Li have similar issues as Catherine does?!"
His mind, montarily eased by Rick’s defeat and the sweeping victory over the Fla Warriors, tensed once more.
Then he heard the man ask, "Are you a descendant of Li?"
Andrew: "?"
Lord Li asked if he was Li’s descendant.
Did the elder not know if Andrew was his descendant?
What a strange question!
The old man chuckled, as if perceiving Andrew’s inner doubt and wariness, then pointed at the Water God Mark on Andrew’s forehead, saying simply: "You’ve inherited Li’s legacy, yet you don’t even know her na?"
Andrew was taken aback, then understood, "You an the precursor who left this Water God Mark was nad ’Li’?"
Andrew had vaguely guessed earlier that the one who left him the Water God Mark was the Water God, the owner of that lodious female voice.
But he had never known the Water God’s na.
He couldn’t help but say, "So the Water God’s na is... Li? But then why is your na also—"
"I am not actually nad Li; I’m just a naless old ghost." The old man said, "The reason the children have called ’Lord Li’ all these years is because I’ve always felt indebted to Li, very sorry to her."
The old man’s tone was very calm, not hiding anything from Natalie, who was beside him.
Natalie was perplexed: "Lord Li, what do you an? You say you... are not nad Li?"
Andrew, however, focused on the words "indebted to Li": "He says he’s indebted to Li? From the way he speaks, he seems to genuinely know the Water God!? But how could anyone live from the Water God’s era to the present day? Even if the ti flow in the Water God Realm is not exactly the sa as in the Fla Realm, it’s impossible!"
With a dry throat, Andrew asked, "Who exactly are you—?"
"You can just call ’Naless.’ After all, I am truly soone unworthy of a na." Naless sighed softly, "You ca from the Fla Realm, didn’t you? Then you surely know its wretched state. And I..."
At this point, Naless pointed behind himself with his thumb, speaking seriously: "I am the one responsible for turning the Fla Realm into that ghastly existence... the true culprit."
Andrew: "..."
Looking closely at the serious expression on the elder’s face, Andrew had a feeling: the man wasn’t lying. The things he said were true.
The proof was that when the elder ntioned the Fla Realm’s state being his fault, a surge of extre anger burst forth from the Water God Mark on Andrew’s forehead, giving him a headache.
Vaguely, Andrew even seed to hear the lodious female voice screaming in rage, "How dare you say that? Shut up!"
For a mont, Andrew’s mind was in a ss.
He was completely unable to focus on self-introductions or ntioning the task Chairman Beiru had given him.
Nor could he delve into whether the self-proclaid Naless elder before him was man or whale.
Before, Andrew’s biggest question had always been: Why had the Fla Realm beco what it was?
Why was the climate so dry and harsh?
Why did the Magic Guild exist in the way it did?
Why were Water Mages exiled, forced to flee?
Why did the Deep Blue Guards end up cursed with the Earth Fire Curse, reduced to desert hunters?
What was the reason for it all?
What was the source?
Too many questions, but too few clues.
All Andrew had known so far was that it likely had sothing to do with a powerful entity, possibly of the Dragon Race, behind the Magic Guild. What exactly happened back then was still a mystery.
But now soone from the Water God Realm was telling him: He was the culprit behind the Fire God Realm’s current state!
"Are you... kidding ?"
Andrew finally spoke again after a long silence, his voice low, "I don’t care who you are, you’ve always been here in the Water God Realm, haven’t you? How do you know what the Fire God Realm is like now? The culprit? This joke isn’t funny at all! Why make jokes about such things?!"
Water Mages, including Natalie, suddenly noticed that Andrew, who helped them win a crucial battle, seed to be on the verge of an argunt with Lord Li, who had led them in a tenacious resistance in the Water God Realm.
Facing an emotionally agitated Andrew, Naless simply smiled faintly, shook his head, and softly said, "I’m not joking with you."
The simple words carried an unparalleled, hidden strength.
Andrew had previously faced a Tier Nine female Warrior Chief and, with Pasha’s help, had won with difficulty.
Yet at this mont, he sensed that every word of "I’m not joking with you" bore trendous weight, heavily pressing on his heart. Clearly not Desolate Language Magic, but just the purest voice produced by vocal cords, it was more terrifying than any Desolate Language Magic!
Andrew let out a muffled groan, his vision went dark, and he instantly passed out. Before he lost consciousness, he heard Natalie’s exclamation: "W-Wait a minute! Lord Li, what are you... doing? Lord Li? Lord Li!"
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