In the study of the Stone Fortress, Lin Yu closed the Chat Box in his mind, leaned back on the recliner, and stretched lazily.
After having a friendly exchange with the three Little Group Members, he had completely figured out their situations.
Su Haoming was a Transmigrator from *The Story of Tang Dynasty's Strange Events*, whose identity was Su Wuming's cousin. He was currently in the timeline of the first case in the TV series, which was the Chang'an Red Tea Case.
Yun Ye was the Protagonist of *Tang Dynasty Stone*. He had transmigrated to the Zhenguan era of the Tang Dynasty and had currently become the Lord of Lantian County in the Great Tang. His timeline was roughly at the beginning of the second volume of the novel, which was before Yushan Academy was formally established.
Fan Xian was the male lead of *Joy of Life*. He thought he had transmigrated to ancient times in a Parallel World, but in reality, that place was a future world where humanity had redeveloped from the Stone Age after a nuclear war destroyed the world.
As for the timeline, Fan Xian himself said that he had only recently arrived in the Capital and had not yet met Lin Wan'er.
Without a doubt, the commonality among these three was their status as Transmigrators!
Considering that Lin Yu himself was also a Transmigrator, this made him suspect that the Chat Group had some hidden requirement, only selecting Transmigrators from the Myriad Worlds to join the group.
... A Transmigrator Chat Group!
While teasing in his mind, Lin Yu pondered another issue—the world-level of the Group Members.
Both Yun Ye and Su Haoming had transmigrated to a World Without Demons, or more accurately, a world that appeared to be a World Without Demons on the surface.
As for the strongest, Fan Xian, his world was merely a Low-Magic World, where only a Great Grandmaster could barely touch the Threshold of a Middle-Martial world.
In comparison, the world Lin Yu was in, whether it was the Inner Universe or *Frieren: Beyond Journey's End*, the world-level was somewhat too high.
If the Chat Group truly had a hidden standard when selecting members, the gap between members shouldn't be this large.
So... was it really his problem after all?
Lin Yu blinked. After all, when the Chat Group first floated into his Inner Universe, it hadn't intended to invite him to join.
It was he who forcefully imposed himself, keeping the Chat Group behind, which forced the Chat Group to recognize him as its master...
Forget it, what's done is done. Dwelling on this is meaningless. It's better to figure out how to get along well with these three little guys first!
Thinking of this, Lin Yu couldn't help but sigh.
While chatting with Su Haoming, he couldn't help but reveal his desire to visit other worlds, showing his true colors.
Su Haoming was quite pleased with this action, but Fan Xian and Yun Ye fell into a brief silence, seemingly still hesitant about inviting Lin Yu to their respective worlds.
This was normal. After all, people hesitate even when meeting up with an online friend they've known for many years in reality, let alone a powerful expert from another world like Lin Yu who had joined the group for less than twenty minutes.
But it didn't matter; the seed had been planted anyway.
In the future, whenever they encountered an unsolvable problem, they would definitely think of him first!
Lin Yu thought this while casting his gaze past the Stone Fortress, towards the territory spanning ten miles around.
The reason he chose to end the chat at this moment naturally had a reason—
After a decade, the Warrior who had gone out adventuring finally returned to his hometown, covered in Scars and medals.
Seeing his hometown, which had changed drastically over the past ten years, the Warrior, who had traveled alongside Vlamay, couldn't help but be startled. Seeing his Parents, who were nearly sixty but still robust, he couldn't help but be startled again.
Of course, all the surprises along the way paled in comparison to the two little ones held in his Parents' arms.
"...Are these really not children you adopted?"
The strong Warrior, who stood over two meters tall, carefully held the two children and couldn't help but pose a Soul-searching question to his Parents.
The Old Village Chief's smile froze, then he said irritably, "Stop overthinking! They are truly your Younger Sister-in-law and Younger Sister!"
Damon remained full of suspicion: "But you two..."
The Old Village Chief glared at him and kicked his Son in the waist.
But the burly Damon was clearly not someone he could move. Facing his father's full-force kick, his body didn't even sway, and the children in his arms didn't feel the slightest tremor.
"Father, be careful not to scare my Younger Sister!"
"Hmph!"
The Old Village Chief sullenly lowered his leg, then stared at Damon: "Remember, this is the Divine Gift from the Lord; it is not for you to question!"
The Lord?
Damon paused.
The Old Village Chief seemed to recall something and chuckled, "The City Wall of Jifeng City is already one-fifth complete. I am preparing to form a City Lord Guard for the Lord, and you've returned just in time..."
Before he could finish speaking, Damon frowned.
The Old Village Chief also noticed that his Son didn't seem inclined to serve the Lord, so he coughed twice and promptly changed the subject: "Since you're back, rest at home first. After dinner, come with me to pay respects to the Lord!"
"..."
Damon's brow smoothed out, and he nodded.
Even if his father hadn't said anything, he would have gone to the Castle to convey Vlamay's greetings to That One, whom he had never met.
...
...
Compared to ten years ago, the Stone Fortress had undergone some changes.
Although the Dome above was still towering and the Stone Fortress hall was still Magnificent, the Stone Pillars on both sides were no longer as bare as they once were.
Besides the Stone Pillars themselves having many exquisite carvings, the bronze Candlesticks had been replaced by Crystal Chandeliers shining with Magic Power.
Between the Stone Pillars was a long Red Carpet, flanked by two rows of soldiers over two meters tall, clad entirely in plate armor.
The silver armor worn by these soldiers was inscribed with mysterious Runes. They carried Greatswords at their waists and held Spears, standing there like statues, their menacing spear tips pointing directly at the Dome above.
Judging by the blue Magic Power glowing in their eyes, these were definitely not Human soldiers, but powerful Puppet constructs.
'With things like this, why would you need to form a City Lord Guard?'
Damon's mouth twitched, and he couldn't help but cast a questioning look at his father beside him.
At this moment, the Old Village Chief had changed into a proper Robe.
Facing his son's doubt, his expression was solemn, but he was dismissive in his heart.
Whether it was necessary or not was one thing; whether to do it or not was another...
As expected, this fellow was still as childish as he was ten years ago while wandering outside!
Just then, familiar footsteps sounded from behind the Crystal Throne at the end of the Red Carpet.
The Old Village Chief's expression tightened, and he quickly pulled his son down to one knee, bowing his head respectfully, "Lord—"
Before the words were finished, the figure ahead arrived before the two as if by Instant Transmission.
An invisible force surged out of nowhere, forcibly helping them up so they could look directly at the elven Young Man wearing a Black Robe before them.
...What?!
Damon, forcibly lifted, was shocked, but before he could react, his eyes met the Young Lord's eyes, which were pitch-black like the night.
Seeing the Lord appear in a manner that broke convention, the Old Village Chief couldn't help but show a helpless expression.
"My Lord, according to the rules, you should..."
"Enough, enough!"
Lin Yu waved his hand dismissively: "What rules? Here, my word is the rule."
"...Yes."
The Old Village Chief sighed and responded respectfully.
Lin Yu turned his head, looking at the tall Warrior who still hadn't grasped the situation, and said with a smile, "Only I live in this place. Putting on all this pomp is just for show; it serves no practical purpose."
"Under normal circumstances, I always receive your father in the Study behind here."
"This time, your father insisted on meeting me in the main hall. For your sake, I reluctantly agreed..."
Hearing Lin Yu's candid words, the Old Village Chief's face flushed, clearly feeling a bit embarrassed.
Lin Yu didn't mind. His gaze swept over the tall Warrior before him, sizing him up from head to toe, then he asked with a smile:
"You are Damon?"