Starting Unlimited Evolution from Grinding

"Mm-hmm."

Lily nodded somewhat woodenly. "My Grand Princess... I can't guess her thoughts, but she probably doesn't like me very much."

Lin Mo nodded, not surprised by this.

This was actually quite easy to understand.

As the successor to the empire, having a younger sister who was clearly far more outstanding than oneself would naturally breed hostility... even if the other party seemed to have absolutely no interest in that position.

It could only be said that the struggle for the heir's position had always been like this.

Encountering the Grand Princess was just an insignificant little interlude. Lin Mo and Lily didn't dwell on it for too long either. After the other party left, they continued hurrying towards the side palace of the Imperial Palace.

Lily was naturally very familiar with the Imperial Palace. With her leading the way, everyone soon arrived at the side palace mentioned by the guard.

Upon entering the palace, a faint fragrance of vegetation wafted over. This pure and fresh scent instantly dissipated the irritation in one's heart, leaving one feeling completely relaxed and comfortable.

She had long, light golden hair that cascaded over her shoulders like a waterfall. Her skin was as fair as snow, her features delicate and beautiful, as if carved by a master artisan.

The girls around Lin Mo were all very beautiful, each possessing astonishing looks. Yet, one had to admit that, in terms of the refinement of facial features alone, none of them could match the Elven Princess before them.

Her face was simply too perfect. The smooth contours, exquisite features, delicate skin, combined with that gentle and elegant temperament, made her seem as if she had stepped right out of a painting.

Lin Mo's gaze lingered briefly on her pointed ears before he politely spoke up. "Hello, Princess Velesia."

Hearing this, Velesia stood up and nodded calmly. "May I ask who you all are..."

Lin Mo glanced at Lily. She took half a step forward and explained, "I am the Third Imperial Princess of the Violet Empire, Lily."

"So it's Princess Lily."

Velesia immediately showed a look of understanding. Although she was the Third Imperial Princess of the Violet Empire and not the heir to the throne, Lily's talent was undoubtedly the strongest among all the imperial princes and princesses. Therefore, she was also famous and widely known.

However, why had this Imperial Princess specifically come to find her, and who were these people with her?

The doubts in Princess Velesia's heart had clearly not yet been answered.

"I've just returned from outside. I heard from the palace guards that Princess Velesia just had a meeting with my Grand Princess?"

Velesia nodded, a trace of worry appearing on her lovely face.

"The result of the meeting... doesn't seem to have gone well."

No need to ask further. It seemed that meeting earlier had gone just as they had previously guessed. The Violet Empire would likely not send troops for this.

"Princess Velesia, may I ask what the current situation is like in the Barbarian Forest?"

Velesia took a deep breath and spoke slowly. "Those Gnomes have been accumulating strength in recent years, harboring ambitions to expand outward for a long time. So the Elven race has always been on guard. After the Gnomes officially began their outward expansion, we immediately assembled troops and prepared for defense. But..."

"After an initial frontal conflict, we discovered we had still greatly underestimated the current prosperity of the Gnome Kingdom. The number of Goblins and Gnomes is simply too vast. The Elven population is sparse and scattered, making it difficult to resist. Moreover, during battles with the Gnomes, the Elven elders discovered some strange anomalies."

"The power used by most Gnomes and their combat methods differ from the usual impression. They carry a disgusting aura about them... corrupt, dark, filthy."

Lin Mo and Lily exchanged a glance, both frowning.

That sounded somewhat like the Dark Tide.

After the Dark Tide develops to a certain extent, it often chooses to control and parasitize certain races, using them to incite large-scale wars, create more bloodshed and pain, and then devour the negative energy born from these wars to further strengthen itself.

If the situation Velesia described was truly related to the Dark Tide, then the Dark Tide in the Barbarian Forest had undoubtedly grown to a very dangerous degree.

This war was something they couldn't avoid participating in, even if they wanted to.

Of course, they wouldn't voice these thoughts openly. After a brief exchanged glance, they both averted their gazes, their expressions returning to normal.

"That does sound quite terrible... No wonder Princess Velesia would specifically come to the Violet Empire to seek aid."

Velesia looked at Lin Mo who had spoken, hearing the implication in his words, and said, "Have you all come here for something?"

Lin Mo smiled. "We came to offer Princess Velesia a small suggestion. In my view, neither the Violet Empire nor the Serya Empire further north is likely to send troops for this matter. I believe Princess Velesia should understand this by now."

Velesia frowned but couldn't refute it.

Indeed, she had already guessed the outcome before coming. But even so, even if there was a sliver of hope, she had to try her utmost.

Although the Roxez Empire, due to its proximity to the Barbarian Forest, had agreed to assist their Elven race, their actions were very slow, clearly not wanting to invest too much in this matter.

The Gnome Kingdom posed a huge threat to the Elven race, but for a massive empire like Roxez, it could only be considered a slightly troublesome nuisance.

The Roxez Empire's intentions were already quite clear. Of course, this matter needed to be resolved, but they wouldn't be the main force, especially before the scale of the situation exceeded the boundaries of the Barbarian Forest.

To this day, many officials within the Roxez Empire were still thinking about how to profit from this matter, seeking to gain benefits and prestige at the smallest cost.

This meant their Elven race would bear most of the pressure. Without more assistance, they might be able to survive this crisis, but the losses would certainly be devastating. Who knew how many clansmen would be sacrificed? Even the Elven Royal Court might be destroyed by the Gnome army.

If it truly came to that, the crisis of the Gnome Kingdom would be resolved, that's true. But for the greatly weakened Elven race, countless other threats would follow one after another.

The Elves' handsome and beautiful appearance was something they took pride in, but it could also become a source of danger.

Countless human nobles prided themselves on owning an Elven slave, which was why the Elven race generally held no favorable impression of humans. This naturally included Velesia, the Elven Princess.

But the current situation was not the time to care about such things...

Although humans coveted the Elven race, they normally wouldn't dare to invade rashly. Those Elven slaves were basically obtained through various despicable means, targeting clansmen who had left the Elven Royal Court.

The reason was simple: the Elven race was strong.

To be precise, the elders within the Elven race were strong.

Although limited by their bloodline, Elves found it difficult to progress further after reaching a certain height in their growth, one must remember that Elves had very long lifespans. This meant the powerful individuals among them could live for thousands or even several thousand years. Accumulated over such long periods, the Elven race possessed numerous powerful Heroic Realm experts. These were the members of the Elven Elder Council.

Furthermore, the Elven Royal Court excluded all outsiders, so humans lacked understanding of the Elven race's specific circumstances. They couldn't determine exactly how many top-tier experts existed among the Elves, or even whether Legendary Level combatants still existed within the Elven race.

The Roxez Empire's approach was, in part, also to probe the Elven race's actual situation.

In fact, the answer was affirmative.

There currently was a Legendary Level expert from ancient times within the Elven race. However, to this day, his lifespan was also nearing its end, about to return to the embrace of the Goddess of Nature, with less than 10 years remaining.

His life was already like a candle flickering in the wind. If he was forced to take action in this war, his already scant remaining life force would likely be exhausted, leading him to an early end.

By then, the Elven race would have exposed all its strength, suffered heavy casualties, lost more than half its elders, and its only Legendary Level senior would have returned to nature... The Elven race would completely lose the capital that made human empires wary.

This was what the Elven race feared most.

Throughout their long history, they had already seen through the human race.

Once they fell into such a predicament, what they would face next would be humanity's endless invasions and hunts!

Therefore, no matter the cost, Velesia had to prevent all of this.

This is what she thought during her solitary journey away from the Elven people, heading towards the human empires.

Yet the reality was that no empire wanted to get involved in such troublesome affairs. No matter how politely she negotiated, or even pleaded bitterly, that Imperial Princess never relented, clearly expressing the Violet Empire's determination not to participate in this matter.

She didn't even get a chance to propose conditions...

If the Violet Empire wasn't participating, the Serya Empire, which was further away and faced threats from the Orc Empire, was even less likely to do so.

Velesia was now plunged into confusion, unsure of what to do.

Lin Mo directly pointed this out, causing her to frown deeply.

But this young man who came with Princess Lily probably wasn't just here to state the obvious, right?

So she composed herself and looked at the young man before her, waiting for him to continue.

Lin Mo smiled slightly. The predicament Velesia and the Elven race faced was even worse than previously thought. Clearly, he had already grasped the initiative in the matter. This way, getting her to help would be simple.

"I actually have a suggestion... Since directly seeking aid from empires is unrealistic, why not try a different approach?"

"Please speak..."

"First, let me introduce myself. I am Lin Mo. Regarding the different approach I mentioned..."

Lin Mo?

Velesia was stunned for a moment, soon showing a look of surprise.

She had already heard this name many times while still in the Elven Royal Court.

The elders of the clan all said that among humans, an extraordinary genius had emerged, with astonishing talent and aptitude, who might not be inferior to her in the future.

And after entering human society, she heard this name even more frequently.

Unlike previous Academy Grand Competition champions, the journey of the Doria Kingdom's academy to victory was too shocking, too legendary. Therefore, Lin Mo, as the key core of it, attracted far more attention than champions of previous years. It could be said that currently, Lin Mo had become the most famous figure among the younger generation across the entire continent. His various exaggerated talents and performances had already been woven into stories by numerous Bards and were being sung far and wide.

After hearing numerous rumors about Lin Mo, Velesia had also developed some curiosity about this human genius.

She never expected to meet him formally now.

Soon, as Lin Mo explained, she quickly understood the gist of his meaning.

Leveraging his current fame could indeed attract many small and medium-sized forces who wanted to befriend him but had no way to do so. More importantly, they could also use the title of 'Number One Genius' to attract many young talents to come and see for themselves.

Now that Lin Mo's reputation was soaring, many young geniuses would certainly be curious about his actual strength, wondering if the rumors were truly that exaggerated. Many would also be unconvinced and want to compete with him.

Furthermore, this event itself was also a great opportunity for practical experience, very suitable for those talented individuals with decent strength but lacking in real combat experience.

With a little maneuvering, it could even be turned into a genius competition...

By then, it wouldn't just be these young generation geniuses coming, but also the forces behind them.

After all, to become a genius, besides talent, resources were also needed. The backgrounds of these people wouldn't be simple; most would be from powerful academies and families.

They wouldn't want to see the geniuses they had painstakingly nurtured get into trouble, so they would definitely send personnel for protection.

Accumulating little by little like this, although still far from matching an imperial army, it could somewhat alleviate the pressure.

"That is indeed a good suggestion."

Velesia nodded in agreement. But then the question arose... Why would people agree to this plan and follow her to the Barbarian Forest?

This wasn't an easy matter. It was troublesome and also dangerous. But just from the matter itself, it didn't seem to offer Lin Mo any particular benefits.

"Then, may I invite Mr. Lin Mo to return with me?"

A faint smile curved at the corner of Lin Mo's mouth. "That depends on Princess Velesia's sincerity."

He didn't directly state his conditions but instead tossed the question back to her first, to see what she thought.

Sincerity?

Velesia pressed her lips together. Of course, she understood Lin Mo's meaning. He wanted her to offer sufficient chips as compensation.

There was no such thing as a free lunch. Velesia certainly understood this principle.

She took a deep breath, her gaze sweeping over the people before her once more, and said slowly, "I understand. As long as Mr. Lin Mo is willing to return with me, after the matter is concluded, I guarantee you will be satisfied... No matter what conditions, I will not refuse."

The moment she left the Elven Royal Court, she had already prepared herself to give up everything.

Lin Mo shook his head. "Your Highness, making empty promises isn't a good habit."

He paused, then continued. "Of course, I also know that Princess Velesia is sincere. I'm not such an unreasonable person. So... let's be more practical."

As he spoke, he took a few steps closer, looking into her beautiful eyes. "I wonder if Princess Velesia could help me with a small favor?"

Velesia bit her lower lip, lowered her head, and a layer of mist seemed to veil her eyes.

In the end, she still nodded, as if using all her strength, tightly clutching the buttons on her clothes, and gave her answer. "Alright."

Great, the matter is settled!

Lin Mo chuckled inwardly. "Indeed, as long as you grasp the initiative and make the other party unable to refuse, transactions become very simple."

The people behind him exchanged bewildered glances. Why did the atmosphere feel a bit off?

Weren't they here to find someone to help fight?

Why did the scene before them seem to have taken a strange turn...

Is this even a proper transaction?

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!