319: Chapter 320 The Elf's Brother-in-Law

From the reactions of the surrounding elven guards, who looked as if they were facing a great enemy, and the complex mixture of vigilance, hostility, scrutiny, and disbelief permeating the air, Lin Muyang clearly realized one fact: humans did not seem to be welcome in the Sunlight Elf Clan, and might even be seen as a threat.

When Lin Muyang, accompanied by Lilia, Gui Wanwan, and Feng Ling, stepped into this elven holy land shrouded by towering ancient trees, the Elven Tribes—already surging with undercurrents due to Princess Lilia's sudden appearance—instantly exploded like a drop of water falling into a boiling oil pan.

Whispers, suppressed exclamations, and the soft clatter of weapons rubbing against armor came from all directions: from the root platforms of the giant trees, from the exquisite treehouse windows built among thick branches, and from the shadows of the forest where glowing vines hung down. Countless gazes focused on Lin Muyang like physical arrows, most of them carrying undisguised doubt, vigilance, and even blatant aversion.

Their princess, of noble and pure Sunlight Elf blood, had been missing for over three months. Now that she had returned, she actually had a human male following her? Looking at how they stood side-by-side and the natural intimacy in their behavior, their relationship was definitely unusual! This simply overturned the traditions and perceptions of the Sunlight Elf Clan for thousands of years!

What made the elves even more suspicious and uncertain was that accompanying the princess and that human were two other girls with completely different temperaments, yet both were breathtakingly beautiful. The girl in the fiery red dress with brilliant blonde hair possessed a face of peerless beauty and an incredibly noble and elegant temperament; she seemed to be flowing with the brilliance of sunlight and flame, like a fire goddess walking out of mythology.

The other girl stood silently, profound and quiet, radiating a chilling aura that made one's soul tremble—an aura completely out of place in the vibrant forest. She bore some resemblance to the legendary ghosts described in the clan's ancient texts.

Where exactly did the princess go? What did she experience? How did she end up with such a strange group of people? Questions entwined around the hearts of every elf witnessing this scene like vines.

“Lilia!”

Just then, a young male voice filled with anxiety, surprise, and then sudden shock and anger cut through the noisy waves of sound like a sharp arrow, approaching from the distance.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

Several vigorous figures landed swiftly in the center of the clearing, merging with the previous squad of guards. The leader was a male elven youth who, like Lilia, had brilliant blonde hair and long, pointed ears. He wore elven light armor inlaid with silver patterns, carried a sword at his waist, and bore a beautifully decorated longbow on his back. He was handsome, with features sixty to seventy percent similar to Lilia's but with harder lines. At this moment, his pale green eyes, the same color as Lilia's, were churning with intense emotion.

He was Lilia's elder brother, the Prince of the Sunlight Elf Clan—Laigong.

Laigong's gaze locked onto Lilia immediately. Seeing that his sister was safe and sound—her complexion even more ruddy and healthy than before she went missing—the worry in the depths of his eyes was instantly replaced by immense joy. But this joy lasted for less than half a second. When his gaze swept over Lilia's hand tightly clutching Lin Muyang's arm and the indescribable atmosphere of intimacy between the two, his ecstasy froze as if doused by ice water, and then transformed into a raging fire of shock and anger!

“Lilia!” Laigong took a step forward, his voice tight with extreme restraint. He stared deathly at Lin Muyang, then looked at his sister, questioning her sternly, “Who is he?”

The surrounding whispers stopped instantly. Every elf, whether a guard or a clansman watching from afar, held their breath and waited for the princess's answer. The air was thick with a hair-trigger tension.

Feeling the questioning gazes of her brother and clansmen that were almost tangible, Lilia did not retreat. Instead, she straightened her slender waist. She released her hold on Lin Muyang's arm and took a small step forward, shielding her most cherished existence behind her like a protective lioness. She raised her small face, her pale green eyes clear and firm without the slightest hesitation, as her crisp, loud voice echoed clearly across the silent clearing:

“He is my lover!”

Lover?!

These words exploded in the ears of all the elves like a thunderclap!

It was originally just a guess, just a suspicion, but when these words were spoken personally by Her Highness the Princess, the impact was devastating. Many older elves sucked in a breath of cold air, while young elven warriors widened their eyes, nearly dropping their weapons. Even Laigong looked as if he had been struck hard by an invisible heavy hammer; his body swayed violently, the blood drained from his handsome face in an instant, and his pupils contracted from extreme shock.

This had exceeded the bottom line of what he could accept! How could the Princess of the Sunlight Elf Clan, one of the future heirs to the throne, become lovers with a human of unknown origin? This was simply preposterous! It was a desecration of the Sunlight bloodline! It was a provocation to the entire Elf Race!

“Impossible!” Laigong almost growled, shaking his head violently as if trying to dispel those words from his mind. He turned sharply toward Lin Muyang, his pale green eyes burning with raging fire and cold hostility. His hand was already pressed against his sword hilt, and his voice trembled slightly with anger: “You! Where did you come from? What are your intentions in approaching the Princess of my Sunlight Elf Clan?!”

A violent aura rose from his body. It was a pressure composed of a mixture of the Velos Continent's battle qi and natural magic, making the surrounding air grow heavy. Some elven guards standing close by couldn't help but take half a step back.

Facing this hostility and questioning that was almost solidifying, Lin Muyang simply stood calmly in place, not even twitching an eyebrow. Before coming, Lilia had already given him a heads-up that the Sunlight Elf Clan generally held a wariness toward humans, and it was especially taboo for royal members to associate with humans. He was well prepared mentally.

In fact, with the power Lin Muyang currently wielded, let alone the Sunlight Elf Clan, even if all the races of the entire Velos Continent united, they wouldn't be considered a true threat in his eyes. Any one of the girls under his command had the ability to sweep across an entire region alone. He himself was even more unfathomable.

So-called intentions? In the face of absolute strength, any schemes or calculations appeared pale and laughable. He came here for only two things: one was to accompany Lilia home to fulfill her wish; the other was to calculate the opening time of this plane's plane core, which was the real business.

“Brother, Brother Muyang... he’s really strong.” Seeing that Laigong was about to fly into a rage, Lilia was also a bit anxious. She tried to explain, her voice tinged with helplessness, “I brought him back this time because I wanted everyone to get to know him. Besides, we have very important things to do. We need to calculate when the Velos Continent’s plane core domain will open next. In the other world, we calculated that we’d have to wait over four months, so I don’t know if it will be faster here...”

“Strong? plane core?” Laigong was in a fit of rage and couldn't listen to Lilia's subsequent words at all. A cold smile full of irony and disbelief curled at the corner of his mouth. “How strong can a human be? Lilia, you must have been deceived by his flowery words! As for some plane core, that’s an even more unheard-of excuse!”

He stopped looking at Lilia, his eagle-sharp gaze locking onto Lin Muyang as if trying to see through him inside and out: “Your name is Lin Muyang? I don’t care what your purpose is or what means you used to bewitch my sister. You want to be with her? Not unless you pass my test first!”

With a clear “qiang” sound, Laigong unsheathed the beautifully decorated but coldly glinting elven longsword from his waist. The tip of the sword pointed directly at Lin Muyang. Infused with battle qi, the blade lit up with an emerald-green magical glow, and the surrounding air made faint cutting sounds.

“Defeat me and prove you have the strength and qualification to protect my sister! Otherwise, don't even think about stepping half a foot out of the Moonlight Woods today!” Laigong’s fighting spirit soared, his aura climbing to its peak. In his view, the human youth before him had an ordinary aura; perhaps he knew a few magic tricks to bewitch his sister, but there was no way he could be a match for himself, who had practiced bitterly for many years. He wanted to expose this fraud's true face in public and rescue his sister from his clutches!

Lin Muyang sighed helplessly in his heart. He didn't want to fight, especially not with Lilia's brother. But since the other party's attitude was so stubborn, it seemed he wouldn't be able to settle this today without showing a bit of strength. It was just as well; he also wanted to take the opportunity to observe the level of the core combat power in this flourishing magical world.

He quietly activated the Eye of Creation, his gaze sweeping over Laigong and the surrounding elves who were faintly visible and possessed even stronger auras. Streams of data flashed quickly across his eyes.

Laigong: Energy level roughly equivalent to a Level 180 SSS-Rank Talent warrior on Blue Star. He practiced both battle qi and natural magic, with a solid foundation. His skill tree leaned toward agility and natural buffs. His actual combat power was indeed top-tier among his peers on the Velos Continent.

As for the hidden elven powerhouses, the strongest one had an aura around Level 310 SSS-Rank, lurking at the highest point of the Moon God Ancient Tree; that should be the Great Elder of the clan Lilia had mentioned. There were also several other powerhouses between Level 190 and 260 distributed around. This power configuration was already very impressive for a magical world that relied purely on self-cultivation, enough to support a powerful race standing tall for thousands of years.

“To be able to cultivate to this level in a pure magical world is indeed not bad,” Lin Muyang evaluated objectively in his heart. But “not bad” was only relative. This level was indeed not enough in his eyes.

Looking at the bristling Laigong before him, who acted as if he were facing a life-and-death enemy, Lin Muyang suddenly found it a bit funny and also a bit helpless. He shook his head, a gentle but slightly distant smile appearing on his face as he spoke: “Prince Laigong, I am Lilia's companion and someone she recognizes. I have no intention of meeting her brother in battle.”

He paused, and before Laigong could show a mocking expression of “as expected, he’s chickening out,” he changed the subject: “However, since you insist on proof... how about this: I won’t strike back, and you may attack me as much as you like. If your attacks cannot even make me move half a step, will that count as me slightly proving my qualification?”

Lin Muyang's voice was calm, yet it carried an indescribable confidence, as if he were stating a simple fact.