"What kind of magic is this?" Outside the Hidden Dragon Cave, Li Xiaoyao and the others stood dumbfounded, watching the teleportation spell unfold.
Li Xiaoyao merely felt the scene inside the blazing fire circle was different from their surroundings. But Liu Jinyuan and Lin Yueru instantly recognized it—the view inside was none other than the Lin Family Castle.
"Let's go..." Once the teleportation circle stabilized, Alex stepped forward without hesitation.
Though still shaken, Liu Jinyuan and the others quickly followed.
The moment all four crossed over, Alex waved his hand, and the magic circle dissipated into thin air.
"Miss! Young Master Liu! When did you return?" Lin Yueru's personal maid happened to pass by and, upon seeing them suddenly appear, gasped in shock.
"We just got back. Go fetch some hot water—I'm tired and need a proper bath." Lin Yueru, still trying to steady herself, sent the maid away with a calm voice.
"Master, does this spell allow you to travel anywhere at will?" Liu Jinyuan asked in awe, unable to believe they had returned from the Hidden Dragon Cave—a hundred miles away—in an instant.
For ordinary people, transcending space itself was nothing short of divine.
"Such magic is unbelievable! With this, you could go anywhere in the world!" Even Li Xiaoyao, still brooding over his loss to Alex in the martial arts competition, couldn't help but marvel.
"Then why did you make us walk all the way there?" Lin Yueru frowned. "You clearly had such a powerful spell, yet you let us suffer along the road."
It wasn't the first time either. He had made them carry heavy baggage before, and now he dragged them on a long trek instead of using his magic.
Alex shook his head. "This spell has a limitation. It only works in places I've visited before. I had never been to the Hidden Dragon Cave, so I couldn't use it."
This was indeed the natural restriction of teleportation magic.
To cast it, one not only needed magic power to construct the circle but also a vivid mental image of the destination. The clearer the image, the faster the casting; without it, the spell wouldn't connect.
In simple terms, it was like making a phone call—you could, in theory, dial anyone in the world, but you still needed the exact number to reach them.
Understanding dawned on Lin Yueru, and she gave a small nod. Even with restrictions, this magic was overwhelmingly powerful.
"What a spell! And the one that could shrink Mount Sumeru into a mustard seed—Master, your sorcery is as incredible as your swordsmanship..." Liu Jinyuan's admiration deepened as he looked at Alex.
The more time he spent with him, the more unfathomable his master seemed.
"How can someone my age have such strength?" Li Xiaoyao thought, staring at Alex in disbelief. Swordsmanship, sorcery—he excelled in all of it. How did he even reach such a level?
Of course, Alex had no idea of Li Xiaoyao's thoughts. If he did, he might have teased him back, asking how he had managed to progress so fast under the Drunken Sword Immortal in just a few short months.
Regardless, the teleportation spell left Li Xiaoyao and the others stunned. Before long, word spread, and Lin Tiannan, Elder Shi, and the rest of the Lin Family Fort rushed over to greet them.
"It's him..." Lin Tiannan recognized Li Xiaoyao at a glance and gave a silent nod.
They had found the man, but when his eyes swept to the side, the ethereal girl was nowhere in sight.
"Are you Li Xiaoyao? Tell me, where is our princess?" Elder Shi's face darkened, his words sharp and without courtesy.
Lin Tiannan's earlier remarks had already soured their impression of this so-called consort, and Elder Shi clearly had no intention of being polite.
"Who are you? What princess? I don't know what you're talking about."
Li Xiaoyao's temper was never one to yield. Faced with the rudeness of a complete stranger, he naturally replied in kind.
"Scoundrel! Our princess was married to you, and you dare lose her? Her name is Zhao Linger!" Elder Shi's tone grew harsher, his face turning uglier the more he looked at Li Xiaoyao.
"So you're from Nanzhao Kingdom..." Li Xiaoyao muttered, finally piecing together their identities.
But at the mention of Zhao Linger, his face sank. His voice grew heavy as he admitted, "Linger has disappeared... I don't know where she's gone."
"Tch, useless! He actually lost our princess..."
They had already been dissatisfied with Li Xiaoyao, and now this only confirmed their contempt. Even Tang Yu, standing to the side, couldn't hold back his anger and spoke with open disdain.
"Hmph, and you people are any better? You didn't manage to find her either," Li Xiaoyao shot back coldly. Being blamed the moment they met was something he had no intention of swallowing.
Liu Jinyuan, seeing tempers rise, was about to step in to calm things down — but Alex stopped him with a slight shake of the head.
This quarrel was nothing more than a clash between a son-in-law and Nanzhao's ministers. At worst, it was a private family dispute. As an outsider — and a scholar at that — it was neither proper nor wise for Liu Jinyuan to interfere.