CHAPTER 460 - Kassadin: I Want to Be Your Father-in-Law

[Abyssal Mask (Epic · Unique): Malzahar's exclusive mask, offering strong energy resistance and spell power. The wearer's body and soul are corrupted and tainted by the Void.]

[Corrosive Blade (Artifact · Unique): Malzahar's exclusive dagger, primarily used to carve out the heart and brain of a live sacrifice when making offerings to the Void. The user's body and soul are corrupted and tainted by the Void.]

Li Lin was surprised and disappointed by Malzahar's suicide.

If Kassadin had been the one to kill him, Li Lin could have at least secured an assist, gained a level or two, and obtained some valuable Orange Essence.

However, the two items Malzahar left behind helped alleviate Li Lin's regret.

After dealing with the remaining Voidlings in the area, Li Lin and the furious Kassadin landed in front of the Prophet's "corpse."

"Dammit! Why did he have to kill himself?! Ugh..."

Kassadin exhaled in frustration, angry that he couldn't avenge his wife with his own hands.

However, when he saw Li Lin attempt to touch the items imbued with corrupting Void energy, he quickly stopped him. "Li Lin, don't touch—"

Before he could finish his warning, the Abyssal Mask and Corrosive Blade suddenly disappeared from Li Lin's side, and he swallowed the rest of his words.

He had almost forgotten that Li Lin seemed to have a special ability to enhance his power using unique magical artifacts.

But would items tainted by Void corruption have any effect on him?

Just as Kassadin's concerns began to surface, Li Lin quickly checked his system panel.

The Abyssal Mask in the Essence Shop was priced at 2700 Blue Essence, while the Corrosive Blade was listed at 2000 Blue Essence.

Because these items were unique to the real world, both could be sold back to the shop for half-price, yielding one-tenth of the amount in Orange Essence.

After defeating six Void Eyes and countless Voidlings, his Blue Essence had reached an astounding 111,318—over one hundred thousand!

His Orange Essence had also rebounded to 4230, allowing him to unlock the blueprints for the Battlefield Mecha Nesus and the Giant Colossus, which he couldn't afford to unlock before due to insufficient Orange Essence.

Kassadin silently stared at Malzahar's tattered robe for a long time, sighing deeply. "Malzahar was actually tied to the Void Empress... Could it be that all of this was planned by that monster?"

Li Lin shook his head, signaling that he didn't know either.

After a brief pause, he spoke again. "There's only half a year left. I need to move faster."

Kassadin placed a hand on Li Lin's shoulder, his voice hoarse. "I... I've made things difficult for you and Kai'Sa."

"Don't say that," Li Lin shook his head and glanced at him. "The Void is already stirring. It was a problem we were always going to face. Bel'Veth just brought that point forward a little, but it's not our final threat."

"Huh?" Kassadin was puzzled. "But isn't the Void here in Icaria already sealed by the Celestial Horok?"

"It's not Icathia."

Li Lin's gaze shifted to the west before turning to the far north, his eyes darkening with concern.

"Besides Bel'Veth, the Conqueror's Sea beneath the ocean, and Freljord are disasters we must face."

He said in a voice barely above a whisper.

...

Having solved the Malzahar problem, Li Lin and Kassadin double-checked the area where they had used energy weapons. The faint dispersal of energy had not awakened any dormant Void entities.

Confirming that there was no remaining threat, the two returned to the borders of Icaria.

Kassadin had initially planned to first visit his village in Valley of Songs to pay respects to his late wife, then meet with Kai'Sa in Piltover, and return to Bel'Zun for a while.

In six months, he would take the Blade of the Underworld and the Voidstone to help Li Lin and his daughter destroy Bel'Veth.

After that, he would return the Ascendant weapon to Azir and beg him to seal the Voidstone, then retire peacefully in Bel'Zun.

With Malzahar dead, there was no other goal for him beyond Bel'Veth.

The Great Salt Flats would be his final resting place.

Had it not been for the remaining corruption deep beneath the Village, he would have already been preparing to build a house there to join his wife.

But Kai'Sa was different. She was still young and needed a broader world, not to spend her life in the Great Salt Flats like him.

He thought it would be good for his daughter to stay in Piltover, especially since she was with Li Lin. Young people should live as young people.

However, to Kassadin's surprise, when they returned to Songsha Village, Li Lin had secretly contacted Kai'Sa and had her teleport there.

"Dad!"

Kassadin, who had been kneeling in front of the ruins of his home, staring at the gravestone he had personally carved for his wife and daughter years ago, heard that familiar voice. Tears welled up in his eyes instantly.

"Binskai?" Kassadin called out the word "daughter" and turned around sharply.

A dozen meters away, Kai'Sa had quickly changed from her battle armor to casual clothing. She rushed over, her face already streaked with tears, and threw herself into his arms.

One day apart felt like three autumns.

Since their brief reunion deep within the Void passage under their homeland, and after a small period of time together before they parted ways, it had already been over a year since they last saw each other.

Hot, crystalline tears slid down Kassadin's weathered face as he tightly embraced Kai'Sa, savoring the brief moment of warmth and family.

Then, he looked up at Li Lin, who was standing off to the side with a slight smile, and gave him a grateful glance, silently thanking him for leaving the father and daughter alone.

Reuniting on their home soil, even in the ruins of their homeland, held a significance far beyond their first meeting in a foreign land.

For the rest of the day, Kai'Sa stayed in her father's arms, sharing stories about her time in Piltover, her new friends, and the people she had met.

Such as Caitlyn, who didn't have an ounce of nobility in her, Orianna, who practiced ballet and was graceful in movement, and Seraphine, who had a divine voice and could listen to the song in others' hearts.

Of all the people she knew, she especially spoke highly of Li Lin, and most of the topics she discussed revolved around him.

Kassadin observed everything—the changes in his daughter, and all that she showed. By the time the sun was setting, Li Lin emerged from beneath the ground.

The Void energy in this area hadn't been completely purified yet, but ever since he acquired controllable nuclear fusion technology and the ability to extract elements from seawater, the mines here had been abandoned. There was no longer a need to keep watch over them.

Today, he happened to be inspecting the traces of the Void. He retrieved the three Vigilant Eye Stones that he had placed here a year ago and resold them to the store.

With advanced technology in his grasp, he could easily deploy drones for reconnaissance. If worse came to worst, he could have the nanomachines turn into "scout sentinels" to perform the same function as the Eye Stones.

With the help of satellites and quantum technology, these new methods were just as effective as the Eye Stones, though they couldn't bypass physical means or powerful magical sensing.

Li Lin saw that Kassadin and Kai'Sa had spent enough time together, so he was ready to invite them back to the Kiramman Estate to help Kassadin unwind a bit.

Afterward, Li Lin planned to strengthen his body, at least to the second stage.

He had yet to master the technology to extend life; that would only be unlocked at level 100, so for now, he couldn't do anything about Kassadin's aging.

However, before leaving, the father, concerned for his daughter, grabbed Li Lin's hand, speaking somewhat sheepishly: "According to our Shuriman customs, Kai'Sa is already of marriageable age."

"Dad?!" Kai'Sa was stunned. She hadn't expected her father to bring this up with Li Lin.

Shurima's climate was harsh, and the average life expectancy was around thirty to forty years, with many dying unnatural deaths.

For someone like Kassadin, who had managed to live to forty, he was practically a rare exception.

Therefore, people in Shurima typically married at an early age, much like in ancient times in Li Lin's homeland—usually in their teens.

By Shurima's standards, Kai'Sa was indeed at the age when marriage was considered.

Li Lin was also taken aback, momentarily unsure of how to respond to why Kassadin would ask him this.

"You…" he barely managed to utter a sound before Kassadin's next words nearly made him stumble.

"Though this might upset Miss Kiramman, as a father, it is my duty to ensure my daughter's happiness, right?"

Kassadin hadn't spelled it out clearly, but at this point, even Li Lin, no matter how "slow," could hear the underlying meaning.

He didn't want to let the precious daughter he had raised—who almost perished during a "calamity"—be taken advantage of by others. This was his way of being responsible for her happiness.

Simply put, Kassadin had intentions of becoming Li Lin's father-in-law.

Kai'Sa glanced at her father and then at Li Lin, as if realizing something. Her face flushed bright red. "Dad, how could you say that? Li Lin... he already has..."

Her voice was as quiet as a whisper, but there wasn't much resistance in it.

"But hasn't Li Lin yet formally married Miss Kiramman?" Kassadin shot a glare at his daughter. "You spent most of the afternoon talking about Li Lin. As a father who's seen a thing or two, I can tell that you have feelings for him!"

"I..." Kai'Sa opened her mouth, unsure of how to respond.

"Happiness must be fought for. Your mother was the most beautiful woman in her tribe, and many men pursued her. When I saw her for the first time, I knew I had to marry her."

Kassadin continued, his tone shifting from light-hearted to serious. "I overcame countless challenges, defeated my rivals, and earned your mother's heart—that's how I fought for happiness!"

"That's... that's not the same," Kai'Sa mumbled, her face now a deeper shade of red.

Li Lin, instinctively looking at her, thought to himself:

This is too much…

Even before his transmigration, he had called Kai'Sa "wife," but at least that had been "legal."

But now…

Li Lin quickly shook his head, flustered. "This really won't do, Kassadin!"

"Why not?" Kassadin frowned. "Is it because of the Kiramman family?"

The rough-and-tumble Kassadin had a simple way of thinking. When it came to his daughter's happiness, he didn't want to overthink things.

He didn't care too much about the Kiramman family's involvement. "Though they've helped you a lot, doing this would indeed be unfair to them, especially Miss Kiramman, but for my daughter's happiness, I'll take the hit and face the consequences."

Kassadin placed his hand on Li Lin's shoulder, who was still stunned. "I'll talk to the Kiramman family head about it. If it really doesn't work out..."

He glanced back at Kai'Sa, gritting his teeth. "After our conversation this afternoon, I know that my daughter likes you. At the very least, you should give her some kind of recognition, right?"

Li Lin gave a bitter smile. "It's not a matter of the Kiramman family and recognition..."

If it had been Sona, it would have been easier, since she was about to undergo her coming-of-age ceremony.

But with Kai'Sa... Li Lin didn't think he was "that kind of beast."

Seeing his daughter's somewhat dim expression, Kassadin spoke with urgency, "Then why not?"

"This…" Li Lin scratched his head. "You might have heard of Piltover's laws, right?"

He even addressed Kassadin with a formal tone, feeling truly troubled by Kai'Sa's situation.

Kassadin stared at Li Lin for a moment, then suddenly had an expression of realization.

"Ah, I see now. You're concerned about Kai'Sa's age? Hahaha... you should have said so earlier, no need for me to worry about it."

Kassadin gave Li Lin's shoulder another pat, and his tense demeanor seemed to relax.

"Well, you two are young, so it's up to you to decide. But I'm getting old, and I probably won't live much longer. Before I meet the sheep spirit, I hope to hold my grandchild."

Kai'Sa: "..."

Li Lin: "..."

(End of Chapter)

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