Arthur cast a look of pity at Lin Luo.
The poor kid still had no idea what he was about to face.
Li Xuanjian's request was something Arthur had no intention of refusing—on the contrary, he welcomed it wholeheartedly. Few things pleased him more than letting overconfident youngsters experience the cruelty of reality firsthand.
That said, this was his own home, so it wouldn't be appropriate to use any overly destructive magic. Instead, Arthur simply released a fraction of his godkin pressure.
In an instant, the previously aloof Lin Luo completely lost control of his expression. His face drained of color, replaced by pure terror.
Lin Luo swore that he had never felt anything so horrifying in his entire life—not even from his own master, who had one foot in the Void-Returning, Union-with-the-Dao realm. That pressure hadn't come anywhere close to this.
It felt as if the entire Mount Shu had been slammed down onto his shoulders, crushing him so thoroughly that even breathing became difficult.
Li Xuanjian was sitting right next to Lin Luo and was unfortunately caught by the edge of that pressure.
He had always known that this younger brother of his was powerful—after all, someone without real strength couldn't possibly block the Ministry's Trace so casually at such a young age.
But Li Xuanjian had never imagined that Arthur's level was this absurd.
Wiping the cold sweat from his forehead, he quickly said,
"Xiao, that's enough, isn't it?"
Arthur heard him and withdrew his pressure.
Before he could say anything else, two figures suddenly Apparated into the room.
They were Snape and Hermione.
Snape remained calm. After witnessing Arthur alter the heavens to help Hermione complete her Animagus transformation, he had developed a remarkable level of composure. No matter what Arthur did now, Snape could take it in stride.
Hermione, however, was a different story.
She had been reading in her room when she suddenly sensed Arthur's aura erupt. Thinking he had encountered a powerful enemy, she didn't even bother with the stairs and Apparated straight down.
The moment she arrived, without checking the situation, she raised her wand and released her full aura.
Lin Luo had just managed to recover from Arthur's pressure—only to be crushed again by Hermione's.
Feeling a presence even stronger than his own, and staring at the clearly underage, youthful face in front of him, Lin Luo suffered a devastating blow to his Dao heart.
Arthur might have been understandable—his senior brother had warned him, and Lin Luo had simply been arrogant enough to ignore it.
But this foreign girl?
Why was she stronger than him too?!
Lin Luo nearly had his Dao heart collapse. For a moment, he even suspected that his senior brother had been lying when he said the British wizarding world was weak.
If Ranni hadn't been inside the Zen Garden at the moment, and if she had released her godkin pressure as well, Lin Luo's Dao heart would have shattered completely—leaving him with no hope of further progress in this lifetime.
"What's going on?" Snape asked calmly.
Arthur gestured for Hermione to rein in her aura and explained,
"Nothing much. This gentleman wanted to get a feel for my strength."
He pointed at Lin Luo.
Snape looked at Lin Luo with visible surprise.
How self-destructive did this kid have to be to want that?
By now, Lin Luo had fully recovered. He stood up, clasped his fists together in front of his chest, bent deeply at the waist, and bowed to Arthur.
"I was disrespectful earlier. Please forgive my offense."
Li Xuanjian watched from the side and nodded in satisfaction.
It seemed that although Lin Luo had been spoiled, his master had at least taught him proper etiquette. At the very least, he hadn't raised an unruly brat.
Arthur waved his hand.
"There's no need for that. You didn't offend me, and besides—you're a few years older than I am."
Despite standing at 180 cm and having a body that had already endured countless years of accelerated time, as long as Arthur hadn't entered fourth year, he was still officially fourteen. Lin Luo being older than him was simply a fact.
"Those who have attained the Dao come first. Etiquette cannot be abandoned."
After saying those eight words, Lin Luo respectfully returned to his seat beside Li Xuanjian, clearly a taciturn and reserved type.
Arthur let it be and turned to Snape.
"These two are disciples from Mount Shu in the Eastern lands. I'll be heading back to China with the elder one in a few days. I'll have to trouble you to keep an eye on things here."
Before Snape could respond, Hermione jumped in immediately.
"I'm coming too!"
Arthur rubbed her hair gently.
"Don't worry. I'll take you with me."
Hermione nodded happily and obediently sat down beside him.
"You should've told me earlier," Snape said with a frown.
"Is something wrong?" Arthur asked.
"Leah told me she wants to watch the Quidditch World Cup," Snape replied. "I was thinking of inviting your whole family along."
Snape didn't particularly want Leah, a Muggle, immersed in the wizarding world—but he respected her wishes. Since she rarely made requests, he didn't want to disappoint her.
Bringing Arthur along was partly for company, and partly because with Arthur present, there'd be someone reliable to rely on.
Arthur raised an eyebrow.
"You… want to watch Quidditch?"
Snape frowned.
"Is there a problem?"
Was there a problem?
There was a huge problem.
Arthur clearly remembered that this year's Quidditch World Cup featured an entire team of Veela as mascots—magical creatures capable of enthralling men to the point of madness.
If their appearance had lasted any longer, ninety percent of the male audience would've jumped straight out of the stands.
And after that—
The Death Eaters' attack.
Arthur nodded.
"There may be some… incidents at this year's World Cup. I don't really recommend bringing Leah. If you insist on going, take this with you."
He pulled out a small box filled with gray-black powder and handed it to Snape.
"What is this?" Snape asked.
"A teleportation powder I developed based on Floo Powder. Sprinkle it on a person, and they'll be instantly transported to a preset location."
Arthur pointed to the center of the living room.
"I've set this one to lead here."
In truth, it was an improved, portable version of the trap-type teleportation mist he had once reverse-engineered from Patch's notes.
Unlike Floo Powder, it didn't require the Floo Network or a fireplace—far more convenient.
Snape stared at the powder, deep in thought. If Arthur was giving him something like this, then whatever happened at the World Cup definitely wouldn't be minor.
"Oh, right—if you run into Harry, return this to him for me."
Arthur made a tossing motion.
Snape instinctively reached out and felt the weight of an invisible object land in his hand.
He recognized it immediately—the Invisibility Cloak.
Arthur had borrowed it before the holidays for the Ministry break-in, only to discover that the night guards were so lax he never even needed it.
Snape put away both the cloak and the powder. He was about to remind Arthur to stay safe while traveling—but then realized that, given Arthur's strength, it was probably the others who needed to worry.
So he changed his words.
"Don't worry. I'll look after the Grangers."
"Thanks," Arthur said.
Snape waved him off and left.
He intended to discuss the World Cup with Leah—and regardless of her decision, he was going.
After all, Arthur had mentioned Harry.
Knowing Harry's passion for Quidditch, Snape was certain he wouldn't miss the World Cup. Someone had to make sure the boy stayed alive.
Once Snape had gone, Li Xuanjian finally brought up the main reason for his visit.
"Xiao, I'm heading back in two days. Would that work for you? If not, I can always wait."
His tone was consultative and respectful.
After witnessing that pressure earlier, Li Xuanjian knew one thing for certain—Arthur was an existence on the level of a great power within the cultivation world.
If he could bring Arthur back to Mount Shu, letting the sect know he had befriended such a figure, it would be nothing short of glorious homecoming.
Because of that, whether Arthur wanted to leave in two days—or delay for half a month—Li Xuanjian would agree without hesitation.
"No problem, Uncle. I'm ready to go anytime," Arthur replied.
Most of his belongings were either in the Zen Garden or his system space. Traveling was effortless—there wasn't even any luggage to pack.
"Good, then it's settled. Just wait for my notice. Don't worry, I've already taken care of the tickets."
Li Xuanjian continued,
"If there's nothing else, I'll head out. I still need to help this junior of mine get familiar with the surroundings."
With that, Li Xuanjian stood up to leave.
"Won't you stay for lunch?" Arthur asked.
"No need. There's still luggage at home that needs sorting."
After saying their goodbyes, Li Xuanjian took Lin Luo with him and left Arthur's house.
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