Coiling Dragon Book 16 – The Starmist Sea

Book 16 – The Starmist Sea

Chapter 1, Black Stone

The Amethyst Mountains were covered by that unfeeling, icy mist. Within the mountain hollow, Delia was currently seated quietly, her eyes closed. Today was as peaceful as always.

“Delia, Bebe!”

Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Delia, who had been quietly meditating, couldn’t help but be startled. She immediately opened her eyes and turned to look over. Right now, Bebe’s worried voice rang out as well. “Boss, why did you stop training? How is your divine earth clone doing? Did you succeed, or is it…?”

By the time Delia looked over, she saw that the sky-blue robed Linley, his original body, was already standing in front of her. “What’s  the  situation?”   Delia  walked  over,  asking  with concern.

Linley felt a surge of warmth in his heart. Nodding, he said, “Everything is fine. Right now, my divine earth clone is on the way back, and will arrive soon. Delia, Bebe, I’m sorry. I’ve made  you  worry  during  this  period  of  time.”  Linley  didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry right now.

He didn’t know if he should say that he was lucky, or if he was unlucky.

He had just been testing Worldwalking for the first time when he had encountered the juvenile amethyst beast. However, because of this, his power had increased greatly. Indeed, blessings and disasters could be hard to differentiate.

Suddenly, footsteps rang out from afar. It was Olivier.

“Linley, you successfully escaped, right? I can tell just by the look on your face.” Olivier laughed loudly. 

Linley nodded slightly.

“Boss,   you   successfully   escaped.   This   is   a   cause   for celebration! Although we might be stuck here a very long time and need to be a bit sparing with the wine, today, we absolutely still have to celebrate this joyous occasion.”  With a flip of his hand, Bebe retrieved several bottles of fine wine.

Wine was extremely precious in the Amethyst Mountains.

Within the Amethyst Mountains, perhaps not even hundreds of millions of inkstones would be enough to trade for a single bottle of wine. After all, in the Amethyst Mountains, harvesting amethysts was simply too easy. Wine, on the other hand, was gone after being drunk. The Amethyst Mountains didn’t have any materials that could be used for making wine.

“Haha, today, drink as much as you like.”  Linley laughed loudly. “Even if we drink up all the wine we have, it doesn’t matter!” Bebe immediately stared. “Boss, you can be happy, but you can’t be so wasteful.”

Olivier was somewhat astonished as well. Delia looked suspiciously at Linley, asking, “Linley, are you preparing to abstain from alcohol?”

“Haha…” Laughing, Linley shook his head. “That’s not it. It’s because I’ve already found a method by which I can take you all out from these Amethyst Mountains.”

“Leave the Amethyst Mountains?”  Bebe, Delia, and Olivier couldn’t help but be stunned.

After so many years, nobody who had entered the Amethyst Mountains had been able to leave on their own. Olivier and the others had tested it out as well, but weren’t able to leave the Amethyst Mountains at all. But Linley was now saying…

Delia, Bebe, and Olivier knew what sort of person Linley was.

They knew that Linley wouldn’t lie. 

But leaving the Amethyst Mountains, this was simply too unbelievable.

“Boss? You tellin’  the truth?”  Bebe was filled with doubts, and he asked again.

“Linley, you’d better not be making me happy for nothing.” Olivier chuckled, but his eyes stared hard at Linley with a hint of expectation in them. If anyone else had said this, Olivier probably wouldn’t even pay them any mind, but it was Linley who said this.

Linley wasn’t the sort of person to lie!

“Linley,  you  have  a  way  to  deal  with  that  astonishing gravity?” Delia went straight to the heart of the matter. If one wanted to leave the Amethyst Mountains, first, one had to deal with that astonishing gravity. The gravity of the Amethyst Mountains was something which not even most Highgods could nullify while flying. “Don’t worry. If I said we can leave, that means we can leave.” Linley said with absolute certainty.

Bebe, Delia, and Olivier all had a hint of excitement on their faces.

“Boss, how would we leave?” Bebe asked.

Linley  smiled.  “Fine.  I’ll  give  you  a  demonstration,  as otherwise, you probably wouldn’t believe it.” Linley’s original body was capable of borrowing divine power from his divine body. Immediately, Linley’s body began to circulate with a surge of divine earth power, and he immediately activated it based on the insights he had gained.

Geomagnetic ripples spread out from Linley’s legs, stretching out into the earth.

“Crackle…” At the same time, the ground within a hundred meters began to ripple strangely. Linley smiled as he looked at Delia, Bebe, and Olivier. “What do you think?”

“Huh?”

Delia and the others were astonished. To their amazement, they discovered that the effect their body suffered from the astonishing gravitational force of the Amethyst Mountains had been weakened by more than 90%. Although the remaining amount of gravity pull was considerable, it was no longer enough to prevent the three of them from flying.

Delia, Bebe, and Olivier easily hovered up from the ground.

“Linley,  what’s  this?”  Olivier  couldn’t  help  but  find  this unbelievable.

“Right.” Bebe’s face was filled with astonishment. “Garlan and Jarrod had told me that even if one mastered Gravitational Space, it would be useless here in the Amethyst Mountains. Up till now, nobody has been able to nullify the gravitational force like you.”

Although some experts were powerful enough to fly despite the pull of gravity, that was just relying on pure power, unlike Linley who was using profound mysteries.

“Do you believe me now?” Linley didn’t explain further.

“I believe you, I believe you.” Olivier’s face was covered with delight, the many years of unhappiness all washed away.

“Boss,  what  about  that  strange  wind  region?”  Bebe  asked hurriedly. That chaotic region was the true culprit behind so many experts being trapped here.

Linley laughed calmly. “No need to ask. When we leave, I’ll deal with it.” Linley still remembered clearly how the juvenile amethyst beast, Reisgem, had said that in the area of the strange wind sound, by relying on this black stone, he would be able to pass through it. 

“I have to spend some time giving a thorough review of this black stone.” Linley said quietly to himself.

After exiting the cave, Linley had been in a hurry to come back, and hadn’t analyzed the black stone. However, even that cursory glance he had given it had shown that the black stone had astonishing aspects to it. In particular, it held within it an aura that made one’s heart tremble, and the spiritual energy within it constantly changed. All of these things attracted Linley’s interest.

“But of course, I still need to spend some time preparing, and get a thorough understanding of the method we’ll use to leave.”  Linley  laughed.  “The  Amethyst  Mountains  are  very safe. In the Infernal Realm, it’s very, very rare to find such a safe training area.”

“Indeed, aside from the flaws of the white fog here limiting visibility to a hundred meters, the astonishing gravity, and the boring, dull lifestyle…in the Amethyst Mountains, aside from the day of the Fog Wave, it really is quite safe in here.” Olivier nodded as well. 

Right at this moment, the returning divine earth clone finally sprouted out from the stone, fusing into Linley’s original body. Delia and Bebe, upon seeing this, finally let out sighs of relief.

“Haha,  Boss,  let’s  celebrate!”   Bebe,  having  received  two pieces of good news in a row, was naturally in an excellent mood.

After Linley’s group of four celebrated, Linley began to focus on his analysis of the black stone.

“This black stone contains within it an earth-type aura, and it also has a spiritual aura. It really is odd.” Linley carefully inspected the black stone, his heart filled with questions, and then   he   laughed.   “Perhaps   the   black   stone   has   some connection to amethysts.” Amethyst-top stones were naturally earth-style.

However, amethysts contained spiritual energy as well. This was quite similar to the black stone. 

“Only, the aura of the spiritual energy in this black stone causes one’s heart to tremble…” Linley said to himself.

The black stone also held within it those 108 constantly fluctuating spiritual energy auras. These 108 spiritual energy auras were moving into constantly changing configurations, causing Linley to feel utterly delighted. The configurations he himself had developed thus far were just the basics.

But within the black stone, the naturally transforming configurations were on a deeper level.

Linley immediately calmed down and began to analyze the methods by which one would use this Gravitational Space technique. Although seemingly simple, controlling it for one’s own use was very complicated. It was much like how Linley had seen those 108 spikes on the back of the juvenile amethyst beast, but truly understanding the configuration had required a very long amount of time.

Right now, this was the difficulty which he faced. 

However, Linley was absorbed by it…

“When Boss trains like this, he pays no attention to time at all.” Bebe muttered, not for the first time. In fact, he had complained like this innumerable times.

Delia laughed and glanced at him. “Bebe, calm down and train. It’s just been twenty years. It went by in a flash! Look at Olivier. As soon as he started meditating, he hasn’t woken up a single time. If you are so impatient, when will you be able to make a breakthrough?”

Bebe pouted but didn’t speak.

“Heeey.”  Bebe’s eyes suddenly lit up. “The Boss woke up.” Delia hurriedly turned to look towards where Linley was seated in meditation. Right now, Linley’s eyes were open, and his face was all smiles. “So the black stone can even be used in such a manner. I truly am a fool.” Linley turned and urged, “Bebe, come over.”

“What for?” Bebe didn’t quite understand.

“Get a feel for my Gravitational Space.” Linley said.

Bebe raised his head, then immediately walked over. Disdainfully, he said, “Gravitational Space? Give it your best shot. I, Bebe, have a really powerful body. Your Gravitational Space won’t be able to harm me, no matter how powerful it is.” Bebe was fully confident, and indeed, precisely because of his tough body, Linley had asked him to come.

“Get ready.” Linley immediately began to use it.

“Crackle…”

Geomagnetic ripples spread out from Linley’s feet, spreading out through the earth and continuously transforming from within it. The strange thing was, the black stone was currently floating within Linley’s sea of consciousness, and the 108 rays of spiritual energy within the black stone were moving in exactly the same manner as the geomagnetic ripples.

It was as though the two were moving in accord.

“Haha, the gravity is quite something, but it’s nothing to me.” Bebe said delightedly, but suddenly, Bebe’s face changed. He frantically shook his head. “Boss, stop playing around. My head feels miserable.”

Linley immediately halted.

“How does that feel?”  Linley laughed while looking at him.

This was all as Linley had predicted it would be.

Bebe stared at Linley in surprise. “Boss, just now, my head felt so dizzy. That feeling was just, just like how when I heard the strange wind sound in the Fog Sea. It was that sort of feeling. My head felt extremely miserable. How’d you do it?” Bebe somewhat didn’t dare to believe it. 

“This is the effect of a treasure I received.” Linley explained.

Actually, in the later stages of his analysis of the black stone, Linley had discovered this. It was at this point of the analysis that Linley realized why the juvenile amethyst beast had said that with this black stone, he wouldn’t have to worry about the influence of the strange wind sound. It was because the special effect of the strange wind sound and the soul-effect of the black stone were identical!

Linley suspected…

“Perhaps,  within  these  Amethyst  Mountains,  there  is  an extremely large ‘black stone’, capable of impacting and spreading out to a range of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.” Linley guessed.

“Linley, what are you testing out?” Delia walked over as well. Bebe turned his head and grinned. “Delia, the Boss is now extremely powerful, and I even daresay that we definitely won’t have any problems in leaving the Amethyst Mountains.” After having tasted this technique, Bebe was now completely confident in Linley.

Delia’s eyes lit up. Walking over to Linley, she said, “Linley, shall we head out now?”

Linley frowned slightly. “No rush. Delia, the Infernal Realm has too many dangers hidden within it. We should wait until we are a bit stronger before heading out. Right now, I’ve only fused two types of profound mysteries. However, I am confident that I should be able to fuse three types of profound mysteries very soon!”

“Fuse three types?” Delia and Bebe were both surprised.

There were quite a few experts who had fused two types of profound mysteries, but the number who had fused three was extremely, extremely low. It must be understood that many Six Star Fiends had only fused three types of profound mysteries. As for fusing four….even Elquin, the Seven Star Fiend, had only fused four.

With each increase in level, the power would increase tenfold as well! The difficulty, as well, would also increase exponentially.

For example, Linley had fused the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Gravitational Space. To fuse a third type of profound mystery, he would have to have the third profound mystery find a ‘joining’ location for both of the other two types of profound mysteries, which would be the foundation for the fusing. Only then would fusing become possible. Finding the ‘joining’ location, however, was extremely difficult.

For example, Linley had spent a long time looking for a ‘joining’ point between the Throbbing Pulse of the World and the Gravitational Space without success and without any breakthroughs. Afterwards, he had used the ‘Essence of the Earth’ to have these two types of profound mysteries find a ‘joining point’. “I’m confident in being able to fuse three profound mysteries, but four?” Linley couldn’t help but think of the ‘Worldwalking’ technique. Up till now, he hadn’t had a single insight into how he would fuse Worldwalking with any of the other three profound mysteries. To fuse four profound mysteries, he would at least have to begin fusing Worldwalking with the other three profound mysteries.

But he hadn’t even found a joining point; how could he then fuse it with the other three?

Most likely, even after spending ten thousand years, he still wouldn’t be able to do it.

“The  higher  I  climb,  the  harder  it  becomes.”   Linley understood.

Chapter 2, Ten Years of Harvesting

The ‘Essence of the Earth’ had been fused with the Throbbing Pulse of the World long ago, and had been partially fused with the Gravitational Space. At present, to fuse these three profound mysteries into one, it could be said to be just a matter of time. Linley naturally wouldn’t choose to leave first.

The Amethyst Mountains were as calm as always.

As the calm days passed, Linley’s understanding of the Laws of the Earth gradually increased, and the degree of fusion of the three types of profound mysteries constantly increased as well. Time silently flowed onwards, and in the blink of an eye, another 120 years passed.

On the surface of the stone, Linley was seated in the meditative position, his body covered by a layer of dust. Suddenly, a surge of energy swirled around his body, sweeping away the dust.

“Just a little bit more, and the three profound mysteries will be  fused.”  Linley  opened  his  eyes  and  let  out  a  low  sigh. Pausing his training, he said, “A bottleneck is hard to breakthrough. Once I am stuck at the final bottleneck, who knows how long it will take? Fusing profound mysteries have two critical points; the first is finding the ‘joining point’, and the second is the ‘final bottleneck’. The amount of time needed

for these two is completely unpredictable.”

Despite that, however, Linley was still in quite a good mood.

He was just a tiny step away from fusing these three profound mysteries, and his power was now five or six times that of the past, when he had only fused two profound mysteries.

“Originally, when escorting Salomon and his treasure, we had been trapped in that castle of sand. Now, I’m going to create a Blackstone Prison of my own!”  Linley smiled, then willed it…

Instantly… With Linley at the center, divine power surged forth in the area with a circumference of a hundred meters. A large amount of earth elemental essence coalesced, instantly forming a black, completely sealed prison. Not a hint of sunlight could be seen from within the prison, and nothing could be seen at all.

At the same time, within this prison, there was an extremely strong gravity!

Compared to the past, when Linley had only fused two profound mysteries, the power of the gravity now was actually several times greater.

“Hmph. Even a Highgod who falls into this most likely won’t even be able to run out from within it.” Linley was very confident. “Their speed will be lessened, but my speed won’t be influenced at all. I can easily kill that Highgod!”

Blackstone Prison!

A prison formed as the result of the fusion of the Throbbing Pulse of the World, the Gravitational Space, and the Essence of the Earth profound mysteries, while using the mysterious priceless treasure, the ‘black stone’, as the nucleus.

Within this prison, the trapped person would suffer tremendously powerful gravitational bindings, while at the same time the soul would be impacted as well. The person would be able to use less than a tenth of his total strength. Within this region, Linley definitely could deal with his opponents.

“Unfortunately, the three profound mysteries haven’t been completely fused.” Linley said to himself.

Linley knew very well that given how hard it was to train in the Laws, to successfully fuse four profound mysteries would take countless years. What he was currently training in now would be, at this point in time, his greatest asset when roaming the Infernal Realm.

“Logically speaking, the Asuras of the Infernal Realm should have fused five types of profound mysteries. As for Seven Star Fiends, most of them have fused four profound mysteries. Only a very few have fused five profound mysteries. Generally speaking,  Six  Star  Fiends  have  fused  three  types.” Linley hypothesized.

Ordinary Highgods were Four Star Fiends. After fusing two profound mysteries, they would generally be capable of becoming Five Star Fiends.

But of course, this wasn’t absolute. This was just a generality.

“Although I’m only one step off from completely fusing three profound mysteries, the effect of my ‘Blackstone Prison’ should be greater than that of four fused profound mysteries.” Linley knew very well that the reason why this technique was so powerful was primarily because of the strange way in which it was used.

This was the way in which the juvenile amethyst beast used Gravitational Space.

108 geomagnetic rays of force, when working together, could actually increase the former upper limits over a hundredfold! When combined with the ‘black stone’ and its support, the power of this technique would definitely doom most Highgods who encountered it.

In normal circumstances, Highgods could easily kill Gods, precisely because they were able to rely on their Godrealm as well as their naturally stronger souls.

Only…

With regards to the soul, Linley had a Sovereign soul- protecting artifact. As for the binding power of a Godrealm, Linley’s Gravitational Space had an even greater binding power. Generally speaking, any Highgods who encountered Linley would indeed be doomed. Actually, this made sense.

He had the ‘black stone’, the ‘soul-protecting Sovereign artifact’, and was very nearly at the point of fusing three profound mysteries.

Although his God-level divine power was rather weak, the three advantages listed above were simply too strong. Most Highgods definitely wouldn’t be a match. 

“Linley, you are finally prepared to head out.”  Olivier had waited a long time for this day.

“Sorry.” Linley laughed.

And then, Linley glanced at the nearby Delia and Bebe. “Everyone,  prepare  yourselves!”  As  he  spoke,  Linley’s  body began to circulate with an earthen yellow light, and then a ten- meter long sphere of earthen light emanated out, surrounding Linley and the group of four within it, levitating.

A Gravitational Space didn’t have to be flat; it could be made into a sphere. However, this was something Linley had accomplished only after centuries of research.

“Let’s go!”

Within the Gravitational Space, Linley easily countered the impact of that gravitational pull. Linley’s group of four immediately flew into the air. 

“When we came, the gravity was so powerful. But now that we are leaving, I can’t feel any gravity at all.” Olivier couldn’t help  but  glance  at  Linley.  Sighing,  he  said,  “Linley,  of  the experts of the Yulan continent who came to the Infernal Plane, I imagine there are very few as powerful as you.”

Olivier couldn’t help but be impressed by Linley.

They flew into the white fog ahead of them. Linley’s group of four constantly rose upwards, higher into the air.

“We’ve already left the region of powerful gravity.”  Linley had been continuously controlling the gravitational sphere. Naturally, he could sense the changes in gravity outside. “We’re about to immediately enter the region of that strange wind sounds, that chaotic area.” Linley reminded everyone.

Delia and Olivier were very careful, because their soul defenses weren’t very strong. “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

That wind sound rang out again. Immediately, Bebe frowned, while Delia and Olivier began to feel their heads going dizzy.

Linley immediately activated the ‘black stone’, and his own spiritual energy emanated out from within the black stone, filling the entire Gravitational Space sphere.

“So it really is the same.” Linley had a smile on his face. Right now, he could easily sense the principles behind the wind sound causing the soul to grow dizzy. Actually, it wasn’t the wind; it was a sort of strange spiritual energy ripple. Even when it entered the body through the ears, it would still be transmitted straight through to the sea of consciousness.

Linley shut out that strange wind sound, and Delia along with the others felt much better.

“We’ll   definitely   be   able   to   leave   now.”    Olivier   was incomparably excited. After seeing Linley shut out that strange wind sound, he was completely sure of it now. It must be understood that this chaotic region with this strange wind sound was a place which even Highgods found difficult to deal with.

In the chaotic area, Linley’s group of four was completely unaffected. Naturally, they headed straight through.

Moments later…

“I see the outside world.” Bebe said in surprised delight.

“Me  too.”  Linley  immediately  dispersed  the  Gravitational Space.

At this moment, not too far away from Linley, a group of people were standing aloft in mid-air, clearly waiting for amethysts to fly out.

“Ah,  two  amethysts!”  From  afar,  an  excited  cry  could  be heard. 

“Haha, I didn’t expect that after being here for just half a month, you would be able to get two amethysts. Let’s go have a good celebration.” From afar, some idle chatter could be heard.

Linley’s group of four looked at each other and laughed. These words were very familiar to each other. They were words commonly heard here in the Fog Sea.

They had finally escaped!

“We really did come out.” Bebe’s face was full of delight.

“Hey, the four of you, be careful. Don’t go too deep into the Fog Sea. I saw that the four of you seem to have come from rather deep within. You have got to be careful.”  A flying God warned Linley’s group of four. “If you go past the safe zone, you’ll never be able to leave again.”

“We know.” Linley chuckled in response. 

Of course they knew the danger. They themselves really had in fact been trapped within.

“Let’s go.”  Linley’s group of four felt quite joyful, and they immediately flew out of the borders of the Fog Sea.

“Linley,  when  we  leave,  each  of  us  should  pay  three amethysts. Let’s not return the writ.” Delia said through divine sense.

“Why?” Bebe asked.

Linley was puzzled as well, but then he immediately understood. Delia explained through her divine sense, “I’m worried that after each Fog Wave, the eighteen clans will change to a different type of writ. If we take out our writ of passage, they might very well know that we entered during the previous Fog Wave, and will definitely suspect that we came out from within the Amethyst Mountains. Once we are discovered, we’ll be in for a great deal of trouble.” Bebe and Olivier immediately understood.

Right. This was very possible.

“If we’re discovered, we really will be doomed.” Linley could imagine it.

It must be understood that in the Amethyst Mountains, acquiring amethysts was simply too easy. It was like picking money off the ground.

Linley’s group of four immediately flew towards the outside perimeter, and instantly, two black-robed men went to greet them. One of them glanced at Delia in surprise, especially upon seeing the Fiend medallion on Delia’s chest; this was a Highgod Fiend! It was extremely rare for them to see a Highgod Fiend enter the Fog Sea to harvest amethysts.

Linley couldn’t help but feel startled. “The four of you, where are your writs of passage?” One of the black-robed staff members said.

“We entered without buying them.” Bebe replied.

“Oh.”  The  black-robed  man  replied  very  naturally,  “Same rules as always. Three amethysts each, twelve total for four of you.”

With a flip of her hand, Delia produced five amethysts while saying, “My luck was a bit better than yours, so I’ll pay five amethysts. How about you three? Bebe, this time, you had pretty good luck as well, right? You got quite a few amethysts, I believe.”

“Oh, I’ll pay the other seven.” Bebe chortled as he withdrew seven amethysts.

Accepting the twelve amethysts, the two black-robed figures glanced at Delia in puzzlement, and then nodded. “You can leave.”  Clearly, the black-robed men didn’t want to make too much of a fuss. 

Linley’s group of four laughed and immediately flew away, while from behind them came the sound of the two black- robed men chatting.

“That Highgod Fiend entered to harvest amethysts as well.

What’s wrong with her?”

“Who knows? Perhaps that woman reached the Highgod level while harvesting amethysts.”

“Oh, right, that’s very possible. It’s only been a few centuries since the Fog Wave, but that skinny kid had really good luck. He was actually able to produce seven amethysts.”

Linley’s group heard these words as they travelled farther away. From afar, Linley’s group took out their metallic lifeform and entered it, and it transformed into a ray of black light, quickly disappearing into the eastern horizons.

Within the metallic lifeform. 

“Haha, we’re rich, we’re rich!” Bebe called out excitedly.

“How so?” Linley laughed as he looked at Bebe.

“Boss, a hundred years ago, you said that you had a way to let us leave the Amethyst Mountains, right?”

“Right, so what?” Linley looked at Bebe in puzzlement.

“Since I knew we were going to leave, I began to go harvest those amethysts like mad.”  Bebe laughed delightedly. “Boss, you don’t know this, but I couldn’t settle down and focus on training, so I went to harvest amethysts. At a single one of those Demonic Amethyst Lairs, in a single day, I was easily able to acquire millions of amethysts. I was harvesting for ten full years!”

“Millions of amethysts every day for ten years? How many do you have?” Linley, Delia, and Olivier were all shocked. 

“Heh  heh,  can’t  you  calculate  it  for  yourself?”  Bebe  was extremely delighted with himself. “In the Amethyst Mountains, amethysts are worthless, but in other places, they are quite valuable.”

Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

All of them knew this logic. However, Linley, Delia, and Olivier had only gone to harvest some amethysts earlier on, and afterwards they had focused on their training. Only Bebe, bored, would go harvest so many amethysts.

But ten years of harvesting? This number was simply too extravagant.

On this trip, they no longer encountered any dangers, and Linley’s group constantly advanced. The Infernal Realm really was incomparably vast. From the Amethyst Mountains to the Bluemaple City of the Rainbow Prefecture took Linley’s team eight full years of time. “We’re here at Bluemaple City!” Bebe celebrated.

All four of them in the metallic lifeform were overjoyed.

“We finally arrived!” Looking through the translucent metal and seeing the beautiful, distant, ancient Bluemaple City, Linley felt a surge of joy. On this trip over, they experienced countless dangers, and only now had they arrived at the Bluemaple City of the ‘Rainbow Prefecture’. Now that they had arrived at Bluemaple City, they could begin their journey through the Starmist Sea.

After passing through the Starmist Sea, they would be at the place where Linley’s ancestors resided.

The Bloodridge Continent!

Chapter 3, Saturation

Rainbow Prefecture. Bluemaple City. This was at the southeastern-most point of the entire Redbud Continent. From Bluemaple City, one only would have to fly a few moments before reaching the borders of the vast, boundless Starmist Sea.

Everyone headed from the Redbud Continent towards the Jadefloat Continent of the east or the Bloodridge Continent of the southeast would primarily travel through here, as Bluemaple City was the closest location. Some major trading guilds would also have branches here, resulting in Bluemaple City being far more bustling and active than any of the other cities in the Redbud Continent!

“The gates of Bluemaple City actually have Redbud Army soldiers  standing  on  duty.  How  strange.”   Olivier  laughed calmly in praise. At this moment, Linley’s group of four had already entered Bluemaple City and were walking along the roads of Bluemaple City.

“Bluemaple City is an extremely developed and bustling city. Trade has caused many merchant’s guilds to depart from this location. There are also many experts who wish to go to other continents who set out from here as well. It makes sense for some Redbud Army soldiers to be stationed at such an important  location.”   Linley  said,  while  at  the  same  time scanning his surroundings.

Linley was in an excellent mood as he enjoyed the views of Bluemaple City, which were different from Royalwing City.

How could Linley not be in a good mood? After all, they had taken a big first step on their journey to the Indigo Prefecture.

“Linley.” Delia sent quietly through divine sense.

“Huh?” Linley turned to look, puzzled. Delia gestured with her eyes towards Bebe, and only now did Linley notice that Bebe seemed to be in a rather strange mood.

Upon arriving at Bluemaple City, the normally lively Bebe actually hadn’t said a single word. He was wearing his straw hat, which covered half his face. He paid no attention at all to the surrounding architecture or people. Bebe just walked quietly. It was hard to tell from the look on Bebe’s face as to what he was thinking, but seeing this, Linley began to understand.

Most likely, only Nisse’s affair could cause Bebe to be like this.

“Bebe.” Linley spoke out.

Bebe was suddenly startled awake, and then turned to look at Linley, puzzled. “Boss, why are you calling for me?”

“Are you thinking about Nisse?” Linley lowered his head to look at Bebe.

“Right.” Bebe nodded slightly, clearly quite saddened. “Ninny has gone to the Jadefloat Continent. She definitely headed out from Bluemaple City as well.” Upon arriving in Bluemaple City, Bebe couldn’t help but think about Ninny. And then, Bebe let out  a  low  sigh.  “However,  she  came  to  Bluemaple  City centuries ago.”

Bebe  raised  his  head  and  laughed  wryly.  “Boss,  I’m  fine. Ninny went to the Jadefloat Continent centuries ago. It would be very hard to find her. In the future, when I have the chance…well, let’s go. Let’s head to the Fiend Castle.”  As he spoke, Bebe led the way.

Linley and Delia exchanged glances, then followed him.

Olivier actually hesitated slightly, as though thinking of something. After Linley and the others had moved some distance…“Olivier, what are you thinking about?” Olivier only now came to his senses and immediately hurried after them.

“Olivier.” Linley said.

“Hrm?” Olivier looked towards Linley. “Have  you  truly  decided  to  join  us  to  the  Bloodridge Continent?”   Linley  laughed.  While  on  the  trip  over  from Bluemaple City, he had chatted about this with Olivier. “The Starmist Sea is vast, and it’s hard to say what sort of dangers we’ll encounter on the trip over.”

Olivier laughed calmly. “Linley, in the Infernal Realm, I have no particular goal or target. It’s fine for me to just adventure with you for a time. What’s more, although the Starmist Sea has dangers within it, we have you, a powerful expert, right?”

Powerful expert?

As Linley and Olivier chatted on the street, given how densely populated the streets of Bluemaple City were, quite a few people nearby overheard them. Those people couldn’t help but glance sideways at Linley, either disdainfully or with amusement. Clearly…none of them viewed Linley as a powerful expert.

Because Linley was a God! In the vast Infernal Realm, Gods could only be considered ordinary people. They couldn’t be considered powerful experts at all.

Linley noticed the glances of the nearby people, and he really didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. “Olivier, since when did you become the type of person to say these sorts of things?” Olivier should be that sort of person who was solemn and icy, and not the type of person to joke around like this. However, Linley understood that the reason was because Olivier now viewed him as a true friend.

In a foreign land, people from the same homeland were especially near and dear.

In the Infernal Realm, of course they would be closer to each other, as they were both from the Yulan continent.

The Fiend Castle. The Fiend Castles everywhere were all the same. Per the usual norms, Linley’s group arrived on the second floor of the Fiend Castle. There were a row of rooms on the second floor, one of which was meant for One Star Fiends to take on assignments. Linley’s group of four thus entered one of the empty rooms.

Within the room, there was a golden-haired, violet-robed woman.

The violet-robed woman raised her head and glanced at the four of them, then said calmly, “Speak. What sort of mission do you want?”

“The four of us wish to take on a two star mission, hopefully one which is heading from Bluemaple City to ‘Nishan City’ of the Bloodridge Continent.” Linley said.

Nishan City belonged to the northwestern corner of the Bloodridge Continent. From the Redbud Continent, most would first arrive at Nishan City. “Bloodridge Continent? Wait a moment.”  The violet-robed woman glanced at Linley with her blue eyes, then closed them momentarily before opening them again later. When she did, a thick scroll appeared within her hands, which she flipped open while saying, “From Bluemaple City to the border city, Nishan, of the Bloodridge Continent, within the next month, there are 13,043 different types of missions, with 1836 of them being two star missions. Choose for yourself.”  As she spoke, she placed the thick scroll in front of Linley.

Linley’s group of four was stunned.

Over ten thousand choices?

“Linley, when we came over from Royalwing City, there were only  eleven  missions,  three  of  which  were  two  star.”  Delia sighed in shock.

The violet-robed woman said calmly, “Every day, there’s a large number of people heading from Bluemaple City to the Bloodridge Continent, the Jadefloat Continent, or the Starmist Sea. However, most of them are self-guided merchant caravans. There aren’t that many real missions being issued. Despite that, it’s normal for there to be over ten thousand.”

Linley flipped through the two star missions.

“Boss, which one should we choose?” Bebe was seeing stars after looking through so many. He didn’t know which one to pick.

Linley turned to glance at the others. “This time, I’ll pick a simple, easy one.”

After their most recent experience, Linley didn’t dare to choose those missions which recruited an entire pile of Fiends. The more Fiends that had been invited, the more complicated a mission would be. However, if there were too few Fiends, the trip would be more troublesome and there would be more danger.

Thus, Linley chose a two star mission that was employing a group of Two Star Fiends. 

“This one.” Linley decided.

“This one?” Bebe leaned over to take a look, then muttered, “There’s almost no payment. To go all the way through the vast Starmist Sea for just fifty thousand inkstones…” Last time, the escort mission’s reward was two hundred thousand inkstones. But of course…

On that mission, the mission givers, the white-horned elder and the black-horned elder, had both died. Linley’s group had failed the mission and thus had gotten nothing.

“If we can’t get paid, what’s the point?” Linley laughed.

Delia laughed as well. “Bebe, you care about this?”

Bebe had harvested amethysts for fully ten years. The fortune he was in possession of was most likely comparable to the entire fortune of the Boyd clan. 

“I’m just saying.” Bebe mumbled.

Linley was actually musing secretly that the higher the compensation was, the more hidden dangers would most likely be held within this mission. How could the last escort mission be considered a two star mission? Those people who had been employed on that mission had been all but throwing their lives away. Aside from Linley’s group, who had been lucky enough to be spared by Phusro, all of the other hired Fiends had died, with only Learmonth being able to escape thanks to his power.

“Give me the Fiend medallion for a moment.”  The violet- robed woman said.

After finishing the paperwork, Linley’s group of four left the Fiend Castle, while at the same time they now knew when they were going to leave. It was going to be in three days! One of the reasons why Linley chose this mission was precisely because it was starting in three days. Linley’s group of four first enjoyed a meal, then purchased a great deal of delicacies and wine which were pre-stored, then headed to a hotel.

The next three days, they spent within a private courtyard in the hotel.

“After six hundred years of training, I’ve improved quite a bit in earth and wind. Only, my progress in my divine fire clone has  been  too  slow.”   Seated  in  the  courtyard,  Linley  was pondering his training.

During the six hundred years he had spent in the Amethyst Mountains, his divine earth clone had made the most accomplishments, while his divine wind clone had also finally, completely fused the ‘Sound Waves’ and ‘Music’ profound mysteries, while also reaching the later stage in the simpler ‘Essence of the Wind’ profound mystery. However, the Elemental Laws of the Wind had in total nine profound mysteries, and the further along he went, the slower it was…

As for the divine fire clone, in six hundred years, he had only gained a basic understanding of the ‘Flamebody’ technique, and had yet to reach the God stage.

Linley shut his eyes.

Within his sea of consciousness, above the sea, three bodies were seated meditatively. They were the earth-yellow robed Linley, the light green robed Linley, and the fire-red robed Linley. The three Linleys formed into a triangle, and above them was the rainbow sword-shaped soul.

Beneath the sword-shaped soul was a black stone.

At the same time, threads of golden fog was being absorbed into the sword-shaped soul. Only, the absorption speed was already very slow.

“Hm?” Linley frowned, opening his eyes. “Over the past six hundred years, I’ve placed many amethysts into the Coiling Dragon ring to refine and absorb them. After six centuries of non-stop absorption, the rate of absorption is now growing slower and slower.” This situation had only begun in the past few days. In the past, the absorption speed had never lessened before.

“Can it be that the amount of soul essence a soul can take in has a limit?” Linley wondered.

And then, Linley nodded slightly. It made sense that there was a limit. Otherwise, if a soul could constantly strengthen nonstop, what would the end result be?

Linley wasn’t sure.

Although absorbing soul essences could allow one’s soul to strengthen and even seemingly improve in quality, in truth, this was a form of ‘quality’ that came from ‘quantity’. It was much like a bottle; if you filled it with too much gas, the gas might compress and even be forced to liquefy due to pressure.

This was an example of quantity changing quality. 

But there was still a limit, because if you kept on filling the bottle with gas, even after the gas liquefies, if the liquid reaches a limit, the bottle will explode…and the soul would shatter.

This was the situation with Linley. His soul had reached a limit and was unable to absorb any more.

If he wanted to strengthen his soul still further, he had to increase the size of the ‘bottle’ and make it sturdier, allowing it to fill with more gas and to make the liquid denser! This sort of transformation was a true ‘qualitative’ transformation, but there was only one way to do this; break through to the next level of Deityhood. Advancing from Demigod to God, and God to Highgod!

Even by fusing with a divine spark, the divine spark would allow for one’s soul to change.

But of course, becoming a Deity on one’s own would result in the descent of the natural Laws, increasing the intrinsic quality of the soul.

This was why many Highgods, even those who didn’t absorb soul essences, would have souls which were more powerful than Gods! Linley had absorbed so much soul essence, but his soul power could only be considered the peak of Gods. Compared to Highgods, he was still a bit off.

Three days later, at the gates of Bluemaple City, a large number of people were gathered. There were many groups gathered here, preparing to depart. There were also quite a few Fiend Castle staff members here. Linley’s group presented their Fiend medallions for inspection, and a Fiend Castle staff member led Linley’s group of four to a metallic lifeform.

“Your people are here.” The Fiend Castle staff member said a few words, then turned and left.

“The four of you, I am your employer, Aches [Ai’qi]!” A short, curly  golden-haired  man  laughed.  “Wait  here  a  while.  The people I’ve invited are almost all here. When we are all here, we will head into the sea.”  Suddenly, ‘Aches’  stared at Delia unblinkingly. 

Delia was startled by his stare.

Linley frowned, while Bebe said unhappily, “Hey, kid, what are you looking at? What sort of attitude is this?”

“Highgod, haha, you are actually a Highgod?” Aches was all smiles. “Haha, what a bargain, what a bargain! I didn’t expect that amongst the twenty one Two Star Fiends, a Highgod Fiend would be amongst them.”

Chapter 4, Out To Sea

The Infernal Realm’s Redbud Continent, Karol Continent, Jadefloat Continent, Bloodridge Continent, and Muja Continent. These five great continents were essentially formed into a circle, with the inside of this circle being the inner sea, the ‘Starmist Sea’. Although it was the ‘inner sea’, the size of this Starmist Sea vastly exceeded any other continent.

“Splash….” The clear, slightly-violet tinged water of the seas were forming waves.

At the boundless Starmist Sea, even when there was no wind, there would still be meter-high waves.

“Swish!”  A  rhomboid-shaped  metallic  lifeform  ‘boat’  was flying at high speed through the waves, making its way forward. This metallic lifeform, transformed into a rhomboid, was nearly fifty meters long and ten meters wide. It had no ceiling, while the metal on each side was transparent.

Linley, Delia, and the others were all admiring the scenery of the Starmist Sea. This was their first time entering the Starmist Sea.

“So beautiful!”

The bottomless, faintly violet sea water. The slender, thin clouds. The clear, cool mist coiling about. Seeing this, Linley couldn’t help but have a feeling of vastness in his heart.

“Boss, just now, when we headed out, there were almost no fog clouds above the sea. Now, there is fog everywhere. This is the same as the Amethyst Mountains. Only, it isn’t as thick as the fog in the Amethyst Mountains.”  Bebe raised his head, staring up above. The metallic lifeform advanced upon the surface of the water.

Roughly ten meters or so above the metallic lifeform was the fog.

The fog above the Starmist Sea came in thin strands that posed very little restriction to visibility. Linley raised his head to look at it. From nearby, a voice suddenly rang out. “Don’t underestimate the fog. The ‘fog’ of the Starmist Sea is extremely dangerous. Upon entering the fog region, you will suffer attack from lightning. The deeper into the fog you go, the more powerful the lightning! Even Highgods dare not fly too high!”

Linley turned to look. The speaker was another God-level Fiend. This God-level Fiend had short black hair which looked like steel needles, and a very thick beard. He was very casually leaning against a corner, holding a bottle of wine and drinking.

“My name is Linley.” Linley laughed while looking at him.

“You can address me as Bates [Bei’ci]!” The big bearded man said casually. “This is your first trip to the Starmist Sea, right? Everyone is like this on their first trip. However, in the future, you’ll feel bored. After all, there’s nothing here but seawater. Occasionally, there will be some irritating bandits. There really are bandits everywhere in the world. So damn annoying.”

Linley couldn’t help but laugh. 

“Haha, there’s no need to worry about those bandits.”  The employer, Aches, walked over, his face all smiles. “This time, our squad has two Highgods. Those small bandit groups…how would they dare offend two Highgod Fiends? As for the more powerful forces, they most likely won’t attack people like us.”

Olivier glanced at him sideways. “From what you are saying, we should be quite safe?”

“In the Starmist Sea, just based on the fact that we will constantly advance for decades, who knows what will happen?”  In  the  main  hall  of  the  metallic  lifeform,  other Fiends spoke out disdainfully as well.

Linley chuckled.

Danger?

As long as they didn’t encounter any Seven Star Fiends or Asura-level combatants, staying alive shouldn’t be a problem. 

Night. At the front of the boat-shaped lifeform, Linley appeared, having stepped out of his cabin. There were currently quite a few people at the front of the boat.

“Whooooosh.”

The metallic lifeform was moving at high speed. The sea wind was very strong, carrying a knife-like force. Ordinary people would have died from the sea wind alone. To Deities, however, this sea wind didn’t impact them much. Linley didn’t chat with these people. He came to a half-rest, leaning against the semi-translucent metallic planks, enjoying the night scenery of the Starmist Sea.

The water of the Starmist Sea at night seemed very dark and gloomy, as though an enormous beast was hiding within its depths.

“We’ve been in the sea for a full year. However, I don’t feel as though we’ve advanced very far.”  Linley sighed in his heart. This ‘Bates’ had spoken the truth. After spending a long time in the Starmist Sea, one would feel bored. After all, they were always surrounded by boundless water.

Although the metallic lifeform flew very quickly, one couldn’t notice it.

“Linley.”  A voice rang out from behind. Linley turned, and saw that it was Delia. Delia sat by Linley’s side as well. Half- reclining, she took Linley’s hand. For some reason, she began to laugh.

“Why are you laughing like a fool?” Linley laughed as well.

“I’m just thinking. Back when we met for the first time at the Ernst Institute, who would have imagined that there would come a day where the two of us would be adventuring in the Starmist Sea of the Infernal Realm? Fate really is a strange thing.” Delia sighed.

Linley couldn’t help but laugh as well. “Linley, look. There’s thunder in the distance.” Delia pointed to the distance as she spoke.

Linley turned to look as well…

Indeed, in the distance, the thin fogs in the sky had a large amount of lightning snaking down from within.

“The scene is quite beautiful. We’ve been in the Starmist Sea for so long, but we’ve never seen a sight so interesting.” Linley laughed, then sighed.

“Lightning!”   Several  people  nearby  began  to  cry  out  in alarm.

Not wasting words at all, almost all of them scurried back into the cabin like startled rabbits.

Linley and Delia turned to look, puzzled, only to see their employer, that Aches, stare at them while sending a mental message, “Hurry up and come in. The Starmist Sea is about to storm. Quick!”

“Storm?”

Although Linley and Delia were both puzzled ,they still flew back into the metallic lifeform. Upon returning to the metallic lifeform, Linley and Delia immediately stared through the translucent metal towards the lightning. Everyone else was doing the same.

“Crackle…”  From within the mist, countless electric snakes were shooting out, with the storm area growing greater and greater.

Moments later, lightning bolts began to rain down from the skies above this metallic lifeform. Linley was greatly shocked. “In the blink of an eye, it expanded over a thousand kilometers.”  Deities had a very long field of vision. For the lightning storm to expand so quickly truly caused Linley’s group to be astonished. ““Swoosh!”  The metallic lifeform Linley’s group was riding immediately completely sealed itself while turning around at high speed, fleeing backwards.

“Crackle…”

In the air above Linley’s group, as well as in the air above the nearby areas, countless lightning serpents were crackling about. The area of lightning bolts was rapidly expanding, and the speed of the expansion was far faster than the metallic lifeform’s flying speed.

“I hope we can escape this storm region.” Aches said softly.

Linley and the other Fiends all looked upwards through the translucent metal. At present, the lightning bolts had already spread across an extremely large area, and the entire world seemed to be covered by them. The originally sparse, dark clouds, under the illumination of the lightning serpents, seemed so gaudily visible.

“Rumble…” A low sound rang out. 

Countless lightning bolts struck out, and even the fog began to swirl. In mid-air, countless lightning bolts and clouds began to revolve around each other, as a vortex that was over ten thousand kilometers in size began to form. This enormous lightning vortex was so dazzling to behold, and the light from it even made the faces of Linley and the others bright.

“Rumble…”

The enormous ten thousand kilometer vortex actually caused the sea water below them to suddenly also form into a ten thousand kilometer whirlpool. The power of this vortex was simply astonishing. One could imagine how much force this vortex had to contain, for it to be able to cause the water within ten thousand kilometers to form into a whirlpool.

For ten thousand kilometers, sea water swirled, with the waves of the ocean rising to dozens of meters, actually touching the fog above. “Swish!” The metallic lifeform Linley was aboard frantically tried to pass through this region, seizing every moment to escape the center of the vortex.

“The  power  of  this  vortex  really  is  something.  Even  the metallic lifeform is trembling.” The big-bearded Bates sighed. Linley could also clearly sense the tremors from throughout the metallic lifeform.

“Why  don’t  we  fly  up  higher?”  Bebe  said  with  a  frown. “Although we’ll be hit by lightning in the fog, if we don’t go too deep in, the power of the lightning shouldn’t be too great. The power of this vortex is simply too enormous.”

The entire metallic lifeform was being shaken so powerfully by the vortex that it was almost turning backwards.

“Motherf*cker, we actually encountered a Fogsea Storm. Our luck is terrible.”  Aches cursed softly, while at the same time working hard to direct the metallic lifeform to advance. “Enter the fog above us right now?” The other Fiends in the metallic  lifeform  laughed.  “When  there  is  a  Fogsea  Storm going on, countless bolts of lightning will gather together and charge into the fog. The power of these lightning bolts is tremendous. Not even Highgods can take on those bolts of electricity. If you want to die, that’s fine, but don’t doom the rest of us as well.”

In the entire metallic lifeform, aside from Delia, there was one  other  Highgod.  The  bald  youth  laughed  calmly.  “We noticed it early, and the eye of the vortex is fairly far from us. We aren’t in the central region of the vortex, so for now it won’t be too dangerous. However, the final wave of attacks in a Fogsea Storm is truly frightening.”

“The final wave?” Bebe looked at him, puzzled. Linley, Delia, and Olivier weren’t too sure either.

The bald youth said, “The Fogsea Storm first forms into a vortex, and then will drag everything in towards it. At most, it will put us in a sorry state; it won’t actually kill us. However, at the final stages of a Fogsea Storm, countless lightning bolts will swirl about in the sky, and then wildly stab down below! If you are struck…” The bald man chuckled. 

“Even I, if struck, would die.” The bald youth said.

Linley was secretly shocked. Raising his head, he looked at the vortex formed from countless lightning bolts. “The power of these lightning bolts truly is great. That bald youth is a Highgod, but not even he can take a hit from them. Now, Linley understood why the metallic lifeform was fleeing.”

It was because the closer one was to the center of the vortex, the denser the attacking lightning bolts and the higher the chance one would be struck.

Actually, this Fogsea Storm was a natural phenomenon of the Starmist Sea, because the fog of the Starmist Sea was very unique. It would naturally absorb the electric power of the world, and so anyone who entered the fog would have the fog release lightning bolts upon them.

But, since they knew this, nobody would be so stupid as to enter it and be struck. With no one entering the fog, the amount of lightning accumulating in the fog would naturally increase, until at a certain point, it would have to release it.

That was what a Fogsea Storm was.

The process of a large amount of electricity being released!

“No time. We won’t be able to escape the perimeter of the Fogsea  Storm.”   Aches  sighed,  then  turned  to  glance  at everyone.  “Everyone,  be  careful.  Don’t  get  hit.  Remember, when the lightning bolts come down, no matter what, don’t go into the water.”

Linley and the others understood that water conducted electricity.

In an area of ten thousand kilometers, when countless lightning bolts capable of killing a Highgod rained down, they would probably strike down all the way into the depths of the sea! Entering the sea thus meant death. 

“I wish everyone good luck!” The bald youth said.

“Good luck!” Others called out as well.

“Good luck!”

Everyone’s face was solemn. In the Infernal Realm, people often teetered between the brink of life and death. Only, each time, nobody dared to be complacent! This time, however, it was completely a matter of luck. The lightning bolts were just less than a hundred meters above them. When they struck down, there was no time to dodge at all.

“Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!”

Linley raised his head to look…

Instantly, within ten thousand kilometers, countless lightning bolts suddenly came smashing down like the rain in a dense cluster. In this instant, the entire world became eye- piercingly bright!

They struck the sea in the blink of an eye, and within ten thousand kilometers, more than a large half of the numerous metallic lifeforms were struck.

Linley’s group was lucky. The closest lightning bolt actually struck the surface of the sea. Every single lightning bolt carried an astonishing amount of power, striking down into the depths of the sea like a sharp arrow. Every single lightning bolt only had a small amount of electricity dissipate and spread across the surface of the sea.

The vast majority of the energy was so condensed that it plunged straight through into the depths of the sea.

“Crackle…”

However, even the remnants of electrical power that were on the surface of the waters caused Linley’s metallic lifeform to violently shutter. 

“BANG!” The metallic lifeform exploded.

Linley’s group just hovered above the water. Only now did they let out sighs of relief. On the surface of the water beneath them, there was still a electricity circulating, only, everyone knew that this wasn’t much of a threat to them.

“We’re safe.” The employer, Aches, cracked a smile.

The Fiends all let out sighs of relief. They laughed.

“Haha. Safe!”

“Motherf*cker, I got my life back!” After having dodged this trial, they all began to grow relaxed.

But Linley only stared into the distance. Just now, when those countless bolts of lightning had struck down, there had been another metallic lifeform not too far from Linley’s group’s, but that one had been unlucky. It had been struck and immediately exploded apart. Quite a few people died on the spot, while the rest had fled for their lives.

Linley had no idea how many people had died within this region of ten thousand kilometers.

“I seem to have saw someone flying in the sky just now, ignoring those striking lightning bolts.”  A puzzled voice rang out.

Just now, when lightning bolts had rained down like the apocalypse, someone had dared fly in the skies?

All the Fiends nearby, Linley included, turned to look. The speaker was the big-bearded man, Bates. Frowning, he said, “I shouldn’t have seen wrongly. It was a person, and he seemed to be carrying a weapon. I don’t know if it was a sword or a saber.”

Chapter 5, That Powerful Man

When a Fogsea Storm occurred, trillions of lightning bolts would slam down. Not even a Highgod could withstand it. What sort of power was this?

And yet, this Bates was claiming that someone dared to fly in that sort of situation?

“Haha, Bates, is it that you dodged this tribulation and thus were so overjoyed that you started to spout nonsense? You saw that Fogsea Storm as well. Even extremely powerful Highgods capable of withstanding this sort of lightning wouldn’t be so wild as to fly in the air.”  A green-haired Fiend laughed while speaking.

Linley and the others all nodded slightly.

In this sort of environment, most likely only someone as powerful as a Seven Star Fiend or an Asura would dare fly. “If you don’t believe me, then forget it.” Bates chuckled, clearly not caring. “But I definitely didn’t see wrongly just now. I don’t believe that I was just seeing things.”  As a God, how could he be seeing things?

“Boss, it’s just flying in lightning. You and I can both do that. What’s the big deal?”  Bebe’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind. “So what if that thunder hit me? What can it do? When we were in the castle of sand, Boss, you were hit by that Highgod’s full-power lightning attack but weren’t hurt at all.”

Linley laughed.

Lightning bolts?

His original body had first absorbed a drop of that golden blood, and then absorbed that drop of liquefied Sovereign’s Might as well as its powerful energy. His body was so mighty that it had already exceeded most Highgod artifacts. Linley was actually confident as well in his ability to resist those lightning bolts. “Bebe, make sure you don’t start bragging.”  Linley sent to him.

Bebe chortled. “Got it, Boss. I’m not that sort of person who brags wildly.” The two chatted through their spiritual link, and so others couldn’t overhear.

“I also saw that just now, someone was indeed flying within the lightning.” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

“Oh?”

Linley couldn’t help but be surprised. He turned to look. Not just Linley; the other luckily surviving Fiends also turned to look. The speaker was that young bald Highgod. He nodded and said, “And I saw clearly that on his back, he had a saber or a heavy sword type of heavy weapon.”

The bald youth was a Highgod. His words were much more convincing than Bates’. “There really was a person?”

“If Lord Boff [Bo’fei] said it was so, how could it not be?” Someone immediately replied.

“How would I, Bates, lie about this? Even Lord Boff says the same.” Bates immediately was rather self-delighted.

The bald youth was named ‘Boff’. The bald youth turned to look  at  Bates,  staring  at  him.  “Bates,  just  now,  there  were countless bolts of lightning descending. That was a life and death moment. I was confident, which is why I was able to be slightly distracted and look at my surroundings. In that sort of situation, how could you also be paying attention to the distance?”

Bates was startled.

At a critical moment, how could he dare be distracted? Bates laughed in a silly manner, his beard fluttering up. “I only look into the distance after dodging past through bolts of lightning. Only, at that time, the person had already flown far away. That’s why I didn’t see clearly, only that he had a weapon on his back.”

“Oh.” The bald youth said.

“Alright, everyone. We all safely passed through this trial, which is a source of joy. Haha…but we still need to continue on our  journey.”  The  employer,  Aches,  chuckled.  At  the  same time, the metallic lifeform which had transformed into a rhomboid ship once more appeared on the sea.

Linley and the others immediately entered the metallic lifeform.

“Swoosh!” The metallic lifeform immediately broke through the waves and advanced.

Within the metallic lifeform, the Fiends were all in an excellent mood after having survived. All of them were loudly laughing, drinking wine, and chatting. The walls of the hall were all translucent, and so everyone could look through the metal walls to see the sea outside. Currently, the surface of the sea was still faintly crackling with electric sparks, but the power was clearly much weaker now.

“How is it that in the center of the vortex, there is still lightning crashing down?” At the side of the main hall, Olivier, staring at the outside, suddenly spoke.

“There’s still lightning?”

Linley and the others immediately turned to look. Through the translucent metal, they could immediately see that in the location which had been the center of the vortex, the vortex had already disappeared, but in the location above that spot, thick bolts of lightning were crashing down wildly at one location.

The metallic lifeform constantly advanced forward, drawing closer and closer to that location. “How truly odd. I’ve never heard of lightning continuously striking  down  after  a  Fogsea  Storm.”   Immediately,  people began to murmur, although none of them were worried for their safety, because the lightning was concentrated on one spot. There’s no way it would hit them.

Linley suddenly stared.

“Someone’s there!”  As they drew near, Linley immediately discovered that in the area where the lightning was continuously crashing down, there was a man standing on the surface of the sea.

The distance was too great, and Linley could only just barely make out his figure. The thick bolts of lightning crashed down, but the figure didn’t dodge at all.

“Ah,   there’s   someone   beneath   the   lightning!”    Others discovered as well.

“That’s the location where the center of the vortex had been. The lightning is so powerful…not even those legendary Seven Star Fiends should be able to take on that lightning head on.” The other Fiends were shocked. However, they had all only heard of Seven Star Fiends; after all, meeting a Seven Star Fiend was extremely rare.

“Hey, Aches, hurry up and go closer and let us take a look?” Immediately, everyone began to urge him.

In the Infernal Realm, everyone worshipped strong experts. Someone who dared to stand in the middle of a Fogsea Storm and actually draw lightning bolts down upon himself was definitely someone worthy of adoration. Aches said magnanimously,  “Fine,  I’ll  immediately  direct  the  metallic lifeform over. However…at most, we’ll draw within one kilometer. Any closer, and we’ll probably irritate that lord.”

As he spoke, the metallic lifeform headed closer towards that location.

One kilometer’s distance, for Deities, was extremely close.

Deities could clearly see an ant at that distance. Currently, bolts of thunder that seemed as thick as a hundred lightning bolts combined were constantly crashing down upon that person in the sea. That person was thin, but he stood there, ramrod straight. His pitch black long hair fell to his shoulders, and it casually fluttered in the wind.

Linley could clearly tell that this person was carrying a warblade, and his head was raised as he stared towards the lightning.

“Crackle…”

Countless bolts of lightning crashed viciously upon his forehead, and then crackled across his entire body. However, the man just stood there unmoving like a mountain. Occasionally, his eyes would emit two rays of cold, netherworldly scarlet lightning which would crash into the fogs up above, causing the lightning descending from the fog to grow even stronger.

“So powerful!” Linley’s heart clenched. The power of the crashing lightning caused even space itself to shudder, but that person was completely unharmed.

Everyone in the metallic lifeform was holding their breaths.

An expert like this was too frightening.

“Firing   lightning   from   his   eyes?”    Linley   began   to understand. This person should be a person who trained in the Laws of Lightning.

“He should be someone who trains in the Laws of Lightning.” The calm Olivier spoke out.

The others were all startled into wakefulness, and the big- bearded Bates nodded as well. “Lightning, after crashing down, would normally dissipate, but this person is constantly attacking the sea of fogs, drawing down ‘punishment’ from the sea of fogs time and time again…but as far as I can tell, he seems to be enjoying the punishment.”

“He is training.” The bald youth, Boff, said. 

Everyone nodded.

For someone who trained in the Laws of Lightning to come personally experience the powerful lightning bolts of a Fogsea Storm was indeed an excellent training method. However, this sort of training method was generally only doable by a powerful expert.

“Let’s go.”  The employer, Aches, laughed hurriedly. “All we are doing is watching him as he stands there. If his lordship finishes his training and sees us here, if he is angry, we’ll all be in trouble.” As he spoke, Aches ordered his metallic lifeform to leave.

Everyone began to laugh.

Experts had their own pride. Unless there was some sort of special situation, they would rarely vent their anger on weaker people. The light of the Blood Sun slightly penetrated the thin fog, shining downwards. The waves billowed, and the metallic lifeform rode the wind, breaking through the waves and advancing.

Linley and Delia were seated at the head of the ship.

“It’s been two years since we’ve entered the sea. In the sea, there are far fewer bandits than on the continents.”  Linley sighed. “On the Redbud Continent, every so often, we’ll run into bandit teams. In the Starmist Sea, however, we’ll only run into them once every two months.”

Delia nodded.

And then, Delia laughed. “Linley, you really are such a jinx.

Whatever you mention ends up happening.”

“What?” Linley turned to look as well. Indeed, in the distance, beneath the waters of the sea, there were figures floating. At the same time, an enormous, fierce green python that would require three or four men to wrap their arms around it broke out of the surface of the sea. It was at least a hundred meters along. This giant python, comparable to the size of a massive dragon, came smashing towards the metallic lifeform, which immediately halted.

Linley couldn’t help but laugh and shake his head. With a flip of his hand…

“Roaaaar!”  A ten meter high earthen yellow bear appeared out of nowhere. The great bear grabbed that green python, bellowing as it ripped the python into two pieces.

Actually, the only reason why the opponents had created this elemental construct was to make the metallic lifeform come to a halt.

“Heh  heh,  I  didn’t  expect  us  to  encounter  bandits.  The Starmist Sea is incredibly boring. Finally, something interesting  has  come.”  Laughter  rang  out  from  within  the metallic lifeform as quite a few Fiends came running out. 

An entire group of Fiends were outside the metallic lifeform.

Right at this moment, a hundred figures were hovering in front of the metallic lifeform. Only, they immediately noticed Delia.

“A Highgod Fiend?”  The hundred bandits immediately felt that the situation had become thorny.

“Hey, why are you afraid? Are you afraid just because you saw we have two Highgod Fiends?” The big-bearded Bates was the type of person who only feared the world was too orderly, and thus he called loudly.

Linley’s group of four was very relaxed. These hundred plus figures didn’t have a single Highgod amongst them. They posed no threat at all.

“Disperse.” The leader, a balding man with fish scales on his forehead growled. 

Right at this moment…

Linley and quite a few others could sense a terrifying power, and they immediately turned to look. Only, Linley’s group only saw a bolt of lightning crash down from the heavens, surrounding a person. Linley found out, to his amazement, “It is him!” It was the expert whom they had encountered a year ago, who had taken on the lightning bolts of the Fogsea Storm head on.

At the same instant this figure descended, his right fist smashed down hard from the air.

“Bang!”

The fist smashed into the empty air, but a terrifying explosive sound rang out, while at the same time, with the fist at the center, circles of ripples spread out, forming curved lines which twisted, passing by Linley’s group and striking that group of bandits who had wanted to flee. Silently…

All of the bandits who were struck trembled, and then fell down and slowly sank into the water.

With one attack, over a hundred bandits had all died!

Aches, Bates, and the others all stared, slack-jawed. Linley had seen Elquin, Bluefire, the juvenile amethyst beast, and other powerful experts, and so he had quite a bit more experience than them. Naturally, he wasn’t too shocked. Only, Linley was puzzled. “In the Infernal Realm, there are an uncountable number of bandits. Generally speaking, experts can’t be bothered to deal with them. But this person…why?”

This was indeed puzzling.

At the same time, Linley took a careful look at this person, who was now close to them. His face seemed to have been sculpted by a carving knife, and his gaze was as fierce as a blade. He himself gave off a baleful, sharp aura, and every single strand of hair seemed like a thin strand of steel. As they fluttered in the wind, they actually carried a strange sound with them.

The man lowered his head, glancing down at the sinking corpses of the bandits, sneering coldly. “Bandits and thieves all deserve death!”

After speaking, the man moved, once more flying into the fog above and moving at high speed through the fog. Everyone who entered the fog would suffer the attack of lightning bolts, and so wherever this figure passed, countless lightning bolts flashed.

“His speed is so fast. He is so powerful.” Olivier said softly.

The group of Fiends came to their senses moments later.

“Ahhh! All those bandit corpses are sinking. So many divine sparks   and   interspatial   rings!”    The   big-bearded   Bates immediately howled in grief, and all the other Fiends only now realized this as well. However, all of the corpses had sunk down long ago. 

There were quite a few people living at the bottom of the seas as well. To Deities, being in the water or on the land didn’t make much of a difference.

The Fiends immediately began to regret it.

“Haha, if they’re gone, then forget about them. Look at all of you. Haha, let’s head off.” Aches laughed. “The sea region up ahead has an extremely powerful bandit force. They live there, on Knifeblade Island. Let’s make sure we take a roundabout path away from that damn place.”

As he spoke, Aches once more took control over the metallic lifeform, which headed out at high speed!

Right now, though, Linley was still thinking about that man’s appearance. “This expert who trains in the Laws of Lightning should have the power of a Seven Star Fiend.” Linley calculated silently.

Chapter 6, Knifeblade Island

Knifeblade Island. Its circumference was nearly ten thousand kilometers. On the island, a single mountain peak stood by itself, appearing like the blade of a knife rising into the heavens. Thus, this island was named Knifeblade Island.

Knifeblade Island was the lair of an extremely powerful group of bandits. Everyone passing through the Starmist Sea would actively move away from it. But despite that…the forces of Knifeblade Island were spread out and on the prowl. Upon finding a target, they would immediately lead a group of people to attack in unison.

“Rumble…” The waters of the ocean bellowed as they struck upon the beaches of the island.

A bolt of lightning crashed down. After the electric sparks dissipated, a person appeared standing at the beach. It was the grim looking man who carried the warblade.

The grim eyes of the man came to a rest on the distant, eye- catching mountain peak. He murmured, “Knifeblade Island. This is the second place!” And then, the man strode forward, his body flashing with each step which took him hundreds of meters as he instantly entered the depths of the island.

The mountain peak had a large number of bandits living there.

This grim looking man was dressed in a long black robe, and he strode forward boldly, seeming to not care at all about the power of these bandits.

“Who is it!” Within the mountain forests, someone shouted loudly.

A very large number of bandits lived here at Knifeblade Island. Naturally, people would discover this black haired man, but the black haired man didn’t even look at the person who had shouted, continuing to move hundreds of meters with each step.

The bandit’s face changed, and he immediately shouted loudly, “Someone is invading the mountain!” “Someone is invading the mountain!”

That ringing roar filled the entire mount peak. The bandits who had been resting or training were all startled awake, and the entire Knifeblade Island became a hubbub of activity. Immediately, quite a few pirates began to move towards the sound. Naturally, some of them would run into the black haired man.

But the black haired man still didn’t care at all, continuing to move forward.

“Over there!” Immediately, people discovered him.

“Halt!” Others shouted.

But the black haired man still travelled hundreds of meters per step, constantly moving towards the mountain peak. “Kill!” Not hesitating at all, the many bandits gathered in the surrounding areas all immediately bellowed, brandishing their cruel, merciless weapons. Flashes of fiery red light, earthen yellow light…all sorts of elemental Law based attacks began.

The black haired man’s facial expression didn’t change at all.

“Crackle…”

A strange sound rang out. The black haired man’s speed didn’t slow down at all, moving a thousand meters in three steps.

“Hey? How come this person isn’t reacting at all?”  Quite a few bandits didn’t understand at all.

“BANG!”

Very suddenly, thirty bandits suddenly exploded, their flesh and blood splattering everywhere and their divine sparks landing to one side. The lucky survivors were so terrified, their faces turned white. Only now did they realize that the person had attacked just now.

Only, the speed was too fast. They hadn’t seen it at all.

The Elemental Laws of the Wind, Lightning, and Light were all very suited for speed. How fast someone would be depended on their accomplishments.

But to reach a level of speed where not even these Gods could sense anything at all was simply terrifying.

From the base of the mountain to the gates of that castle within Knifeblade Island, he only took, in total, twenty eight steps. He killed six hundred and twenty eight people. Given the amount of chaos he was creating, the three leaders of Knifeblade Island naturally came out as well, and the elites of Knifeblade Island were currently all on the walls of the castle.

Knifeblade Island had in total three leaders, a hundred Highgods, and over ten thousand Gods. In the society of bandits, they could be considered a supersized power.

At this moment, those hundred Highgods were all surrounding the three leaders. They were on top of the walls of the castle, staring down at the black haired man.

“Who are you, that you have come here to wantonly commit slaughter here?” A grim silver haired man said in an icy voice. He was the chief leader of Knifeblade Island, ‘Acketts’ (A’ke’ci), and was also the number one expert of the entire Knifeblade Island. Acketts could already tell that the black haired man was not easy to deal with.

“Why has this person come to make trouble for us bandits?” Acketts didn’t understand.

The ultimate experts of the Infernal Realm generally didn’t want to bother with bandits.

The black haired man slowly raised his head. His face was pale, and his eyes stared at Acketts like daggers. “My name is Lomio Bornesen [Lu’miao Bo’er’nuo’sen]!” Acketts frowned. Lomio Bornesen?

He hadn’t heard of this name before.

The black haired man said calmly, “I heard that Mr. Acketts, the leader of Knifeblade Island, had already become a Six Star Fiend long ago. Today, I have two reasons for coming to Knifeblade Island. The first reason is to challenge you, Mr. Acketts!”

Acketts couldn’t help but narrow his eyes as he weighed this Lomio with a viperous gaze.

Him being a Six Star Fiend was back before he became a bandit. After so many years had passed, not many people knew whether or not he now had the power of a Seven Star Fiend. This was also the reason why nobody in Knifeblade Island dared to offend him. Nobody wanted to offend someone who was possibly a Seven Star Fiend.” “This person dares to challenge me. Then…he most likely is confident  in  being  able  to  challenge  a  Seven  Star  Fiend!” Acketts was calculating mentally.

Moments later…

“Brothers, join forces and kill him!” Acketts instantly spread out his divine sense to the hundred Highgods nearby, including the other two leaders. The group of Highgods simultaneously drew out their weapons and immediately used their most powerful attacks.

“Swoosh!”

The black haired man instantly rose into the heavens.

“Acketts, you truly disappoint me!”  A cold voice rang out from the skies, while at the same time, countless bolts of lightning appeared, and countless electric serpents actually began to swirl about as though in a vortex. The eye-catching electric serpents radiated light, glowing on the faces of each person of the castle. 

Acketts and the others were all shocked.

“Boss, this looks like a Fogsea Storm.”  The second leader, ‘Dimon’ (Dai’man) said in alarm by Acketts’ side.

Indeed, this was the scene of the Fogsea Storm, with countless lightning bolts appearing and circling about.

“Boss,  what  should  we  do?”   The  third  leader,  ‘Nieles’ (Ni’li’si), was worried as well.

Acketts face was sinister. He knew that once those countless lightning bolts snaked down, most likely ninety percent or more of the hundred Highgods present would all be killed. These were the elites of Knifeblade Island. Acketts immediately shouted  loudly,  “Lomio,  since  you’ve  challenged  me,  then come!”

As he spoke, a pair of short, deep green awls appeared in his hands. 

“This is the saber attack I have just developed. If you can withstand this blade, I will spare your life!”  The cold voice rang out from the heavens, where many lightning bolts snaked around in the vortex. Seeing this, Acketts only let out a cold snort, his entire body faintly beginning to gleam with a green light.

At the same time, Acketts’ entire body began to turn bizarrely blurred as a fog enveloped his entire body.

“So you have some ability.” The calm voice rang down from the vortex above.

“Boom!”

The vortex from the large amount of lightning bolts suddenly began to spin, and a large amount of lightning concentrated at one point. Instantly, from that point, a ray of fierce electric saber light blasted out, carrying boundless power as it ripped through the skies and chopped downwards. Acketts’ entire body was enveloped by that fog, and on the surface of the fog, a strange wind-wheel appeared, frantically spinning.

“Crackle…” One crack after another was appearing in space.

“The most powerful defense of the Boss.” The second leader, ‘Dimon’, and the third leader, ‘Nieles’, watched this from afar in nervousness. Their Boss trained in the Elemental Laws of Water. The defensive power of the Elemental Laws of Water was that it was both unyielding and soft, and could definitely be considered amongst the most powerful of defensive Laws.

“Boom!”

The lightning saber flashed, chopping down upon the foggy wind-wheel.

“Bang!”  The wind-wheel exploded, transforming into two deep green awls which fell to one side. The fog dissipated as well. The faint green light covering Acketts body swiveled like a protective membrane over Acketts. He wanted to flee, but the speed of that lightning saber was simply too fast, and it directly chopped onto his body.

It paused for only a moment.

But then, the lightning saber flash still managed to chop through the membrane.

“Bang!”  And then, the explosion. Acketts’  entire body blew apart, and three divine sparks actually fell to the ground, along with an interspatial ring. The lightning saber flash transformed into a warblade, and the black-haired man, Lomio Bornesen, once more appeared.

“Interspatial ring!”

The other two leaders, Dimon and Nieles, immediately stared at that interspatial ring. Acketts had been in control of more than half of the wealth of Knifeblade Island, all of which was stored in his interspatial ring.

The black-haired man, Lomio, stretched his hand out and took the interspatial ring. This sight caused the facial muscles of the watching bandits to twitch and convulse. Lomio looked at the three divine sparks. “Six Star Fiend? He did indeed have the power of a Six Star Fiend. If I hadn’t made that breakthrough just a year ago, it wouldn’t have been so easy to kill you today.”

Lomio turned to look at the others.

Dimon and Nieles, as well as the other Highgods, felt terror in their hearts. Their leader, Acketts, was dead. Who could overcome this Lomio? In addition, to an expert on Lomio’s level, a hundred Highgods wouldn’t be able to do anything to him at all in a group battle.

“Mr. Lomio, the Boss is dead because his strength was inferior  to  yours.  You’d  best  leave.”  Dimon  suppressed  his anger. 

The black haired man swept them with a glance, then continued. “I told you, I have two reasons for being here today. The first was to challenge Acketts. This is already completed. The  second  reason…”  The  black  haired  man’s  lips  curved upwards. He was laughing.

This cold, callous man was actually laughing. His smile appeared quite pleasant, only, the group of bandits all felt their hearts shudder.

“The second reason is to destroy Knifeblade Island!”  The black haired man, Lomio, said, his voice turning cold!

“Flee!!!”

An explosive shout instantly rang out, and the two leaders as well as the group of Highgods immediately scattered in every direction. The large amount of bandits on Knifeblade Island all immediately scattered as well. “BOOM!” A large number of lightning bolts blasted out.

Of the hundred Highgods, fifty two corpses immediately collapsed. But of course, of the fifty two corpses, many had Highgod-level divine clones as well and so they continued to flee.

“They ran quite fast.” The black haired Lomio laughed coldly. Right now, all of the bandits of Knifeblade Island had fled. Only corpses remained!

“The  second  place  is  done!  Time  to  start  with  the  third target…”  The  black-haired  man  transformed  into  a  ray  of lightning, disappearing into the horizon.

The second leader, Dimon, was currently leading thirty six Highgods and thousands of Gods. They were mounted on ten metallic lifeforms, advancing in an awe-inspiring sight. While fleeing, in order to prevent themselves from being all taken in one engagement, the second leader and the third leader had led their forces fleeing separately. “What sort of horrible luck is this? We were doing perfectly fine  when  such  a  monstrously  powerful  bastard  appeared!” Dimon’s rage knew no bounds.

“The vast fortune we built up!”  Dimon’s heart ached. The leader, Acketts, and that interspatial ring which had fallen after his death! The fortune stored there exceeded what he and the third leader had, combined.

The Highgods around them all had ugly looks on their faces.

“Second  leader,  there’s  a  metallic  lifeform  up  ahead.” Immediately, a subordinate reported in.

Dimon looked out through the metallic lifeform towards the outside world. These bandits were people who normally waylaid and robbed people to begin with. Right now, they were in an especially foul mood and had bellies full of fire. Dimon didn’t dare to vent his anger on that black-haired Lomio, but he did dare to do on these travelers. “Kill them. Kill them all, don’t spare a single one!”  Dimon said viciously.

Dimon’s group had been slaughtering everyone in their path as they headed to another island.

Linley’s group was leisurely resting within the metallic lifeform,  and  Aches  was  chuckling.  “We  went  over  ten thousand kilometers away from Knifeblade Island. There should be no problem.”

“Is Knifeblade Island so powerful? You seem very afraid of them.” Bebe said.

“Knifeblade Island has more than a hundred Highgods alone, and I hear that long, long ago, their leader was a Six Star Fiend. According to legend, he now has the power of a Seven Star Fiend. You tell me, is he powerful are not? Even those two other leaders are only slightly weaker than the chief leader.” Aches said with some fear.

Linley was secretly astonished. 

A bandit group actually had a Seven Star Fiend within it?

“Hey?”    Linley   looked   through   the   translucent   metal windows to the side. “Why are there ten metallic lifeforms, and each one so enormous? It seems as though there are hundreds of people in each metallic lifeform, for a total of thousands of people all combined. Can it be that there is large trading caravan passing through the Starmist Sea?”

Suddenly…

The ten metallic lifeforms suddenly separated while flying at high speed. Moments later, Linley’s group of just twenty or so people were completely surrounded by a dense network of people who had come out from every single metallic vessel.

Linley’s group was momentarily stunned.

“Even if they want to waylay us, there’s no need for them to use thousands of people against our little group.”  Linley felt numb as well.

Chapter 7, Hidden Expert

In the vast Starmist Sea, ten large metallic lifeform vessels were completely surrounding a small metallic lifeform vessel. Thousands of people flew out from within the metallic vessels, all of the bandits staring at Linley’s pitiful little group. Clearly, they didn’t feel any concern about the group of twenty-plus in front of them.

“Finished.  We’re  all  finished!”   Aches’   entire  body  was shaking slightly, and his face was ashen.

The other God-level Fiends, upon seeing the countless experts surrounding them, all felt their hearts turn into blocks of ice. They felt so cold! The God-level Fiends all felt despair in their hearts. Thousands of bandit Gods were surrounding them. They didn’t have any chance at all.

“Boss, this will be troublesome.” Bebe’s face was solemn.

Linley nodded slightly. Not just troublesome. When engaging in group attacks, the more people there were, the more terrifying the attacks would be. The other side had thousands of Gods, after all.

“There   are   even   people   beneath   us.”    Linley   glanced downwards and saw that beneath the surface of the sea, there were hundreds of bandits. These bandits seemed to be worried that Linley’s group would flee down into the depths.

“We’re finished.” Some people were already in despair.

The big-bearded Bates had a solemn look on his face. He said in a low voice, “Thousands of Gods, and also Highgods. There are too many of them. Each person will have to rely on their own abilities. I wish everyone the same thing I wished you during the Fogwave Storm – Good luck!”

“Everyone, good luck.”  The bald man, Boff, said in a low voice as well. Although he was a Highgod, in a situation like this, he wouldn’t be able to help the others.

Within the metallic lifeform was utter, deathly silence. 

“Everyone.”

Everyone all turned their heads to look. The speaker was Aches.

Their employer, Aches, said in a solemn voice, “This time, I invited you all to come, but I didn’t expect that this would result in everyone being trapped within a calamity of certain death. I am sorry!” Aches bowed very slightly.

“Motherf*cker,  even  if  we  die,  let’s  kill  a  few  of  them!” Someone began to bellow.

“Right, if they want to kill me, it won’t be so easy. I even survived the goddamn Fogsea Storm. I won’t die so easily!”

The insides of the entire metallic lifeform began to bellow with shouts. But Linley’s group of four was silent.

“Rather strange.” Linley looked towards the outside. On the Fog Sea, those countless Gods were clustered all around them. “So many Gods are gathered, but none of them are attacking? What is causing them to hesitate?”

“Boss, we…?” Bebe looked at Linley.

“At a time like this, there’s no need to pretend any longer.” Linley said with resignation through his divine sense. By now, if they kept hiding their power, they’d probably be killed.

Suddenly…

A powerful bolt of lightning snaked its way out from the bottom of the sea, bellowing as it struck towards Linley’s metallic lifeform. With a colossal ‘boom’ sound, the entire metallic lifeform transformed into smithereens, while Linley and the others all immediately began to hover above the sea. Linley and the other twenty plus people were like a flock of sheep trapped by a pack of wolves. They floated in the air pathetically.

“Haha…” The thousands of bandits all immediately began to laugh loudly. At present, the second leader of Knifeblade Island, ‘Dimon’, led thirty six Highgods towards the front of the group, and these ordinary God bandits all immediately respectfully withdrew.

Dimon waved his hand gently, and all of the thousands of Gods immediately fell silent.

Linley and the others immediately looked towards Dimon.

“This person should be the leader of these bandits.”  Linley stared at Dimon, calculating mentally. “Behind him there are thirty six Highgods. This bandit leader most likely has the power of a Five Star Fiend or even a Six Star Fiend.”

Linley began to grow careful. 

At present, he didn’t have enough confidence in his ability to battle with a Six Star Fiend.

“Rumble…” The ocean water rolled out in waves.

Dimon and the other Highgods were up ahead, stepping on the waves, their eyes faintly red.

“Haha,  I  didn’t  expect  there  to  be  two  Highgods  here.” Dimon began to laugh wildly, his eyes locked onto that bald youth, Boff, while occasionally glancing at Delia. “Do you know who I am? I’ll tell you. I’m the second leader of Knifeblade Island!”

Dimon had an evil smile on his face, but his red eyes carried a strange look in them.

The group of bandits all knew that once their second leader, Dimon, smiled in this manner, it meant he had gone insane and had just turned into a monster! 

“Milord  of  Knifeblade  Island.”  Aches  hurriedly  called  out loudly in supplication. “We are only ordinary travelers. I hope you can spare us, milord. We are willing to offer you our wealth.”

“Wealth?”

Dimon, hearing this, couldn’t help but think of the death of Acketts’ and how his interspatial ring had been taken away. That was the fortune of Knifeblade Island. Dimon was still unable to accept this matter. Dimon stared with bulging eyes at Aches. “Wealth. How much wealth can you possibly have? Do you think I care about your money? Ever since I fled from Knifeblade Island, I encountered three groups of people on the way over and killed them all.”

Immediately, Dimon pointed at Linley’s group. “And you, will be the fourth group!”

Linley and the others, hearing this, frowned. “These people fled from Knifeblade Island?” Linley began to understand.

“That bald man and that bitch. Those two are Highgods. The four  of  you,  go  deal  with  them.”  Dimon  turned  to  glance backwards as he spoke calmly. Immediately, four Highgods flew out, and Dimon immediately then shouted, “Brothers of the second mountain, this time, it’s your turn. Kill them all!”

Immediately, a group of Gods that had been waiting this entire time immediately came charging out. Last three time, it hadn’t been their turn to attack, and so they had already become quite impatient.

“Kill!”

“Kill!”

All of them were so excited that their eyes were red. Seven or eight hundred Gods, under the command of the four Highgods, charged forward all together. The other bandits all watched from afar. Sending out eight hundred plus people to kill this small group of around twenty was already more than enough.

The eight hundred people charged forward, walking on the waves, with thousands watching around them. This sort of mental pressure was enough to cause Linley and the others to feel unable to breath.

“Everyone, protect yourselves.” The bald youth, Boff, said in a low voice.

Knifeblade Island’s side had four Highgods, two of which were virtually flying shoulder by shoulder, simultaneously emitting two draconic roars. Two white icy dragons emerged from the surface of the sea, charging straight towards Boff as the two Highgods continued to advance.

The other two Highgods stared at Delia, attacking her at the same time.

Linley’s gaze grew cold, and Bloodviolet appeared in his hand. 

“Linley, let me give it a try.” Delia’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind. Linley turned and saw that Delia was wielding the Spear of Cortez. Her waist swiveled slightly, and then shot backwards the other direction, and the spear in her hand shot out…

“Swish!” With a green flash of light, it arrived in front of a Highgod.

That person struggled to dodge, but unfortunately, the Spear of Cortez, infused with the ‘Dimensional Attack’ profound mysteries, was simply too fast. The Highgod was only able to make his head avoid the attack, but with a ‘crunch’ sound, the Spear of Cortez pierced straight through the Highgod’s right chest.

The other Highgod wanted to use this opportunity to attack Delia, but suddenly, in front of him a Deathgod Golem appeared!

“Hmph!”    The   Deathgod   Golem’s   right   leg   lashed   out viciously, smashing straight out towards the skull of that Highgod.

“Clang!” The Highgod immediately used his divine artifact to dodge, but he was still sent knocked flying backwards from the collision.

The Highgod flipped in the air and stabilized himself, but his face changed dramatically and he stared at the Deathgod Golem in astonishment. “A Deathgod Golem!”

Actually, the attack of these four Highgods was nothing much. The truly terrifying scene was that of those eight hundred Gods, especially in close range. The seven hundred Gods actually began to brandish the divine artifacts in their hands, and countless dazzling rays of light shot out, piercing towards each of the twenty-plus figures.

“Roaaaaaar!”

Linley immediately Dragonformed, forcibly taking on several blows aimed at Delia. A few God-level attacks wouldn’t do anything to Linley at all.” Bebe helped the nearby Olivier as well.

Despite that, however, the eight hundred Gods still killed six of the Fiends. Bellowing, the bandits charged forward into close combat. The dense group of bandits swarmed forward, and everyone engaged in a wild battle, with Linley, Bebe, and Olivier all using their most powerful attacks.

Linley and Bebe went without saying. As for Olivier, he had reached the God level in both the Laws of Light and the Laws of Darkness. As someone who had a mutant soul who had fused light-type and darkness-type divine power, each of his sword blows reached a new threshold in speed and also contained a strange, pure power.

He slaughtered a person with each sword.

“Huh?” From afar, Dimon’s face suddenly changed as he stared unblinkingly at Olivier. “A Soul Mutate!” Dimon could immediately tell.

Olivier’s fusion of light-type and darkness-type power had yet to reach Learmonth’s level. Learmoth was capable of reaching the level of having the two types of divine power fuse to the point where occasionally the Destruction-type aura shone and occasionally the fire-type aura emanated.

But Olivier could not.

“Haha…we suffered such a great loss at Knifeblade Island, but  I  didn’t  imagine  I  would  encounter  this  Soul  Mutate.” Dimon felt a surge of fire build up in his heart. “If, if I offer him…”

Dimon began to grow excited.

But the battle scene was causing Dimon to frown ago. Not only did Linley, Bebe, and Olivier slaughter at high speed, there was another person who was terrifying. Strange ‘swish’ ‘swish’ ‘swish’ sounds could be heard as one God after another fell nonstop. 

A black shadow flashed without stopping. Those seven hundred bandits were reducing in number at an astonishing rate as they all fell down lifelessly.

Miserable screams continued unabated, but nobody could resist.

Linley brandished Bloodviolet, effortlessly killing an oncoming God while at the same time glancing at astonishment towards the shadow which flew about at high speed. “I didn’t expect that he was actually hiding his power. Nobody realized this!”

“Brothers of the second mountain, return!” Dimon’s face was filled with anger, and he immediately roared.

Immediately, the lucky survivors retreated, but in this blink of an eye, their numbers had been reduced to four hundred, with the vast majority having been killed by this person who had hidden his power. “Oho, how boring. They actually fled.” The figure reformed atop the waves. It was the big-bearded ‘Bates’.

At present, Bates’ aura was mysterious and mighty. He was a Highgod!

“He  was  hiding  and  suppressing  his  aura!”  Linley  said  to himself silently. Generally speaking, when investigating someone’s power, one did so by sensing someone’s aura, and from it judged if someone was strong or weak. If one wasn’t able to sense it at all, it meant that the target was a level more powerful. By this, Linley was capable of judging who was a God and who was a Highgod.

He couldn’t sense a Highgod’s aura.

But sometimes, a powerful Highgod was capable of intentionally releasing just a weak aura to intentionally cause others to be unable to correctly judge his power.

“Haha…” Dimon was so angry, he started to laugh. “I didn’t expect that in your group, there was a third Highgod, and seemingly the most powerful of the group at that.” Dimon was currently in a terrible mood, and so had engaged in slaughter the entire way over.

Upon encountering this Bates, a tough bone to chew, Dimon was naturally angry.

“The  most  powerful  of  the  group?”   Bates  looked  at  his surroundings. The bald ‘Boff’ was currently heavily injured, while Delia had been able to hold her own by relying on the Deathgod Golem.

The big-bearded Bates laughed while looking at Dimon. “Hey, leader of Knifeblade Island? I trust you understand that if you want to deal with us, even if you succeed, you will probably lose a majority of your men. You won’t get anything good in exchange for the loss. I can’t be bothered to kill those weak little Gods either. How about we go our way and you go yours?”

Immediately, the luckily surviving God-level Fiends all grew excited. “Bates, uh, Lord Bates!” Aches had some ability and was still alive. He was currently looking at Bates in excitement. “Lord Bates, I truly must thank you this time. I, I, when I reach the Bloodridge Continent, I’ll definitely increase your remuneration.”  At  present,  Aches  was  so  excited,  he  didn’t

know what to say.

As Aches saw it, as long as Dimon wasn’t an idiot, he wouldn’t waste the lives of his subordinates.

“Remuneration?” Bates laughed. “Fine, fine, but, it has to be double that of Boff’s!”

“Definitely double.” Aches said hurriedly.

Bates then glanced at Dimon. “Hey, are you done with your considerations yet? Why are you standing there like a fool?”

Chapter 8, Blackstone Prison

Although Bates had asked the question, he himself was quite confident. He understand very well the habit of these bandits: Abuse the soft targets, fear the hard ones!

Even though the bandits might be able to kill all their targets, they would consider the cost-benefit ratio and if it was worth it! Right now, in Linley’s group, Bates was too powerful. Even Linley, Bebe, and Olivier could easily kill Gods. They were clearly a tough bone to gnaw.

To kill Bates and the others, the bandits would definitely lose quite a bit.

“It’ll definitely be fine. The bandit leader won’t be so foolish.”  The God-level Fiend with green-hair, Tam [Tai’mu], had a rare smile appear on his face.

“We’ll definitely live.”  A nearby short, muscular man also said in a low voice. Aches’ eyes were filled with hope as well.

“If we can avoid battle, that would be best.”  Linley said to himself. However, he didn’t dare to relax, continuing to stare vigilantly at the nearby bandits. Currently, Linley’s side had fourteen lucky survivors, all of whom were waiting for the reply from the enemy leader, Dimon.

The bandit forces were awaiting Dimon’s response as well.

“Second  leader?  Kill  them  or  no?”  The  Highgod  behind Dimon asked softly.

The bandits were somewhat unwilling to give up. The other side only had a few people, while they had thousands, thirty plus Highgods, and their powerful second leader. The enemy had killed nearly three hundred of the Gods. Were they to be allowed to leave, just like that? The bandits weren’t willing!

Dimon narrowed his eyes, staring at the distant Bates, and then glanced sideways at Olivier. “A Soul Mutate…” Dimon  was  calculating  while  glancing  at  Bates.  “This Highgod expert is clearly one who trains in the Laws of Darkness and specializes in speed as well as hiding his aura.” Dimon was very surprised as well, because he hadn’t discovered Bates had been hiding his power at first.

“The profound mysteries he is training in should focus in subterfuge and speed. His attack power should probably be somewhat lacking.” Dimon said to himself.

If the opponent was very powerful, there was no need for Bates to negotiate with him at all.

Thousands of people surrounded those ten-plus. All was silent. Everyone was waiting for Dimon’s decision. Then, very suddenly…

“Kill!!!” Dimon suddenly howled angrily. The looks on the faces of Aches, Tam, and the other Gods immediately froze. Even Bates’ face changed.

“Attacking?” Linley frowned.

Dimon’s eyes were gleaming red, and he bellowed, “Brothers, all of you, charge together. Kill, kill them!”

“Kill!”  First came the group of Highgods behind Dimon. At their fastest speed, they charged forward. Instantly, as waves bellowed, elemental behemoths appeared out of nowhere, and the Highgods either charged forward astride the heads of elemental pythons or were hidden beneath the foggy waves.

The combined attacks of over thirty Highgods…the aura alone made Linley feel it was hard to breath.

In unison, those thirty plus Highgod brandished their weapons, blasting out soul attacks. All sorts of half-translucent flashes of light shot out towards Linley’s group. “Terrible!” Linley’s face changed dramatically.

These thirty-plus Highgods were less than a hundred meters away from Linley’s group. A soul attack moved much faster than a person. Everyone was only able to move very slightly. The combined soul attacks of these three Highgods were aimed at three people…

Bates, Boff, and Delia!

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

“Careful!” In that dangerous moment, Linley, by Delia’s side, suddenly pulled her aside while also trying to move away.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

Even though he dodged as best as he could, six soul attacks still slammed onto Linley. Thirty or so Highgods attacking three people. Ten soul attacks were aimed at Delia and Boff, while ten more were aimed at Bates. Linley dodged as best as he could, but six Highgod soul attacks still struck him!

“Bang!”

The six soul attacks directly entered Linley’s consciousness, smashing heavily against his soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. Like eggs smashing onto a rock, they shattered upon collision. These Highgods were all fairly weak Highgods, and so their soul attacks were quite rudimentary.

Only now did Linley breathe a sigh of relief.

“Linley.”  Delia couldn’t help stare unblinkingly at Linley in worry.

“I’m fine.” Linley revealed a smile. The six hundred years of training he had spent in the Amethyst Mountains, especially his absorption of so many amethysts and their soul essences, caused his soul-protecting Sovereign artifact’s flaw to rapidly heal. After six hundred years, the flaw had already a thin membrane appear.

Although it wasn’t as strong as the other parts of the soul- protecting Sovereign artifact, its defense was still excellent.

Linley wasn’t too bad off, but Boff and Bates were in trouble.

The bald youth, Boff, was also struck by several soul attacks. He directly crashed down from the skies, while at the same time, another Boff dressed in a black robe flew out. It was Boff’s divine God clone.

“Swish!” Bates was extremely fast.

Facing those ten soul attacks, he actually dodged the majority and was only struck by two. These two soul attacks caused Bates’ face to turn ashen. He didn’t have a soul-protecting divine artifact. 

After all, even someone as mighty as a Seven Star Fiend wouldn’t have a soul much stronger than that of most ordinary Highgods. At most, their defense would be a bit stronger. If they took too many soul attacks head on, they would definitely be finished.

The  big-bearded  Bates  glanced  sideways  at  Linley.  “This Linley…he really is hiding his power. He was hit by multiple soul attacks but he is fine. He really lives up to the name of being  a  descendant  of  the  Four  Divine  Beasts  clan.”  Bates, having seen Linley’s Dragonform, had already guessed Linley’s status.

“Big brother!”

Nearby, a desolate cry.

Linley turned. It was one of the God-level Fiends who had come with them. That skinny, tall, silver-haired man, Wilburn [Wei’er’bo’en], was crying out in grief, his tears already flowing down. 

What had happened was that although Bates had dodged the majority of the soul attacks, one of them had struck upon the unfortunate elder brother of Wilburn. How could Wilburn’s brother possibly withstand the soul attack of a Highgod?

What’s more, Wilburns’ older brother had fused with a divine spark to become a God. He immediately died.

“Wilburn should have a close relationship with him.” Linley saw how heartbroken Wilburn was, and he said to himself. At this moment, nobody went to console Wilburn. Linley immediately focused his attention on those Highgods.

“Haha,  I  didn’t  expect  you  to  have  some  ability.”  Those Highgods laughed loudly.

“Brothers, let’s do it again.”

These thirty-plus Highgods all liked to engage in combo attacks. 

“Linley,  if  you  still  refuse  to  act,  then  I’m  going  to  stop bothering about this and leave.”  A voice rang out in Linley’s mind. Linley could immediately tell that the person who sent the message was that big-bearded Bates. “Linley, I didn’t expect you to be a Highgod as well who was hiding his power. Even I didn’t see through you.”

Linley was stunned.

He was a Highgod? How come he didn’t know?

“A venerable core disciple of the Four Divine Beasts clan. I recognized you as soon as you transformed. You are going to keep hiding your strength? I, Bates, am not skilled at other things, but I’m highly talented in fleeing for my life. I’m not able to deal with thirty six Highgods, especially that leader. If you don’t make your move, I’m leaving. I’m not the sort to sacrifice his life for others!” Bates sent through divine message.

Bates valued his own life quite highly. “Haha, kill them!” From afar, Dimon shouted in joy.

“Got it, second leader.”

The thirty-plus Highgods were fully confident, once more waving their weapons.

“Linley!” Bates once more sent his divine sense over.

“Time to prepare for a slaughter.” Linley sent back to Bates. At the same time, within Linley’s sea of consciousness, beneath his rainbow-colored soul, with that black stone at the center, a large amount of spiritual energy began to spread out. At the same time, a large amount of elemental essence began to condense.

Linley stared calmly at the thirty-plus Highgods, their weapons raised. Strangely, powerful surges of earth-style divine power rippled out like the waves of the sea, spreading out to a range of two hundred meters. The curvature of the ripples was identical to the changing curvatures of those 108 rays of spiritual energy of the black stone.

Within a range of two hundred meters.

Those thirty six Highgods suddenly found that suddenly, a tremendously powerful gravitational force was affecting them. This enormous gravitational force instantly caused them to be unable to continue to fly, and they began to sink downwards!

“Ahhh!” The thirty six Highgods began to cry out in alarm.

“Whooooosh.”

The countless amounts of earth elemental essence had already completely solidified. A completely black, totally sealed prison had formed, with everyone within two hundred meters being caught within the black prison. Those thirty six Highgods were naturally trapped within as well. 

Blackstone Prison! The thousands of Gods outside were all stupefied and stared slack-jawed.

But within the Blackstone Prison…

“What…what  is  this  place?”  The  thirty  six  Highgods  all stared in astonishment at the surroundings. They were surrounded by dark walls, with corridors and rooms present. They could already tell that they were in a different place, and they could sense the powerful gravity.

The gravity was simply too extravagant.

Even Highgods were unable to fly.

“Crunch!”   A  black  shadow  flashed  past,  and  a  Highgod collapsed. “Haha, this is excellent.”  Bates was incomparably excited. Linley’s side was all surrounded by earth-style divine power, and they weren’t restricted by the gravity at all. Their speed was like normal.

The thirty six Highgods, however, had their speed drop to a very low level. Bates, however, wasn’t impacted at all. Also, those thirty six Highgods had all been separated…

It was a massacre!

“This  damn  place….break!”   A  Highgod  angrily  smashed towards a black wall, which rippled like water but wasn’t damaged at all. This was a Blackstone Prison formed from three types of profound mysteries. In terms of defensive strength, it was comparable to Linley’s former Pulseguard Armor.

“Motherf*cker,  how  should  we  leave?”  The  Highgod  was extremely frantic.

Suddenly… “Hi.” A voice rang out.

The Highgod turned to look and saw a strange shadow emerge from the walls. He only saw a pair of cold, dark golden eyes appear, and then his head went dizzy and he lost all consciousness.

“Killing in this environment really is easy.”  Linley laughed calmly.

The Blackstone Prison wasn’t just capable of trapping people and applying powerful gravity; the black stone itself also contained that sort of special soul affecting property, much like the strange wind sound of the Amethyst Mountains. As Linley attacked, he immediately used his spiritual energy to use the black stone to affect the soul.

When the opponent was dizzy and unconscious, Linley would naturally kill them effortlessly with one attack. …………….

“Urgh!”  A  Highgod  was  greatly  shocked  and  immediately used a soul attack.

A black light flashed by, and the Highgod’s head immediately blew apart as a divine spark flew out.

“Haha, he’s so slow.” Bebe laughed loudly.

Under this sort of profound gravity, their speed was slowed and they weren’t even able to dodge. All they could do was use soul attacks, but upon encountering Bebe, this person still died.

But of course, if he encountered Linley…he’d be even worse off. He wouldn’t even have a chance to use a soul attack.

…………. “Brothers, material attacks, all together!” In the instant the Blackstone Prison formed, Dimon immediately bellowed angrily.

Immediately, the thousands of Gods immediately wielded their weapons, and thousands of tightly clustered material attacks shot out. Earthen yellow, light blue, green, golden yellow…all sorts of colors shot out as attacks roared forth towards the Blackstone Prison.

However…

“Whoosh!”  The Blackstone Prison, strangely enough, began to sink down from the surface of the sea into the depths.

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

Of the thousands of attacks, only a few hundred struck the Blackstone Prison. The combined attacks of a few hundred Gods, against this Blackstone Prison formed from three types of profound mysteries and which was comparable to something completely formed from Pulseguard Armor, only caused the walls to tremble lightly, and then immediately return to calmness.

It hadn’t been damaged at all!

Linley’s Blackstone Prison wasn’t too far off from that Castle of Sand.

“Huh?” Dimon was shocked.

But suddenly, the entire Blackstone Prison bizarrely vanished, revealing twelve people within it. It was Linley’s group. Although all of this took time to describe, roughly only ten seconds had passed before the Blackstone Prison formed, then vanished.

The only difference was, those thirty six Highgods had all been killed.

“Im…impossible!” Dimon’s face changed dramatically. 

Thirty six Highgods, all dead in the blink of an eye. How was this possible?

“There’s an expert who trains in the Laws of the Earth.” Dimon understood that just now, the black stone castle that had formed had a powerful earth aura. In the blink of an eye, thirty six Highgods had been killed. “That expert most likely isn’t the big bearded fellow. There’s another hidden expert in that group.”

Dimon was startled.

He didn’t know what was going on with this little squad. It originally only had two Highgods, which was already quite formidable, but then first Bates popped out of nowhere, and now it seemed yet another powerful figure had appeared.

“Haha…” Bates laughed loudly. “Now, the only Highgod left is you. Heh heh, my turn…” How could Dimon dare to take them head on?

Dimon wasn’t completely confident in being able to deal with Bates’ power, and what’s more, there was another hidden figure who was even more powerful than Bates, who trained in the Laws of the Earth!

Flee!

Without saying a word, Dimon immediately turned and fled, while  secretly  cursing,  “This  squad  only  had  twenty  or  so people. Why are there so many experts hidden within it?”

“That  black  stone  castle  actually  resulted  in  thirty  six Highgods dying so quickly within it. It definitely was formed by a Six Star Fiend, or possibly a Seven Star Fiend!”  Dimon was extremely certain. “Forget it. Why obsess over it? At least I discovered a Soul Mutate this time. I can be considered to have made an accomplishment!”

While thinking this, Dimon fled far away. 

“The second leader fled.”

“Quick, flee!”

Those thousands of Gods were all frightened and fled as well. Just now, their combined attacks had been unable to budge the Blackstone Prison, and that was with the Blackstone Prison being so huge as to have hundreds of attacks strike it. If it had been a Highgod, perhaps only a few attacks would have landed.

Moments later, they all disappeared without a trace, leaving behind only twelve lucky survivors.

“Just now, who was that expert who created that black stone castle?”  The lucky survivors and Aches immediately looked around, only all of the surviving Fiends were puzzled. Bebe, Olivier, and the others all intentionally looked around in confusion as well. “Hey, who was it?”  Bebe looked puzzled. “We actually have such a powerful expert here? I admire him so very much. Tell me, who is it?” Bebe continuously looked around at the others.

Chapter 9, Emotions

The waves of the sea rolled on. There was nobody left around them.

The twelve lucky survivors had strange looks on their faces.

Seeing Bebe continuously ‘search’ for that hidden expert, the big-bearded Bates cursed silently to himself: You know who it is, yet you put on such a show.

He immediately laughed loudly, “Bebe, if that expert doesn’t want to reveal himself, how can you know? Right?”

“Right.” Bebe nodded.

The bald youth, Boff, had a calm look on his face. His divine Highgod clone was dead, leaving behind only his God clone. He said calmly, “No need to look for him. Perhaps that expert isn’t even amongst us and is an expert who was hidden near us and helped us, then left. This isn’t impossible. 

It was indeed possible for those Seven Star Fiends and Asura- level experts to escape the notice of these bandits, but under normal conditions, would an Asura-level expert be so bored as to help them?

Unless there was someone they cared about present.

“That might indeed be the case.” Aches’ face was all smiles. “Everyone,  let’s  not  waste  any  more  time.  Let’s  hurry  off.” Aches was a very skilled person. Regardless of whether or not that expert was in their squad, since he didn’t want to show himself, Aches naturally wouldn’t pursue the matter and possibly make that person unhappy.

Aches was delighted from the bottom of his heart.

His squad had such an expert with it. What would they have to fear on their journey?

“Oh no!” Aches suddenly laughed bitterly. 

“What is it?” The others looked at him.

Aches laughed bitterly. “That was my last metallic lifeform, and it’s already been destroyed. However, we’ve gone less than 10% on this journey. What should we do?” Aches looked at the surrounding people. “Who here has a metallic lifeform to lend me? I can buy it. Or perhaps I can pay for all of the expended divine jewels on the way.”

Everyone glanced at each other.

Metallic lifeforms were fairly high level items. Generally speaking, God-level Fiends weren’t able to buy them.

“Only prepared a few metallic lifeforms?”  The big-bearded Bates chuckled, then waved his hand. Immediately, a metallic lifeform floated above the sea while transforming into a ship. “Aches, this metallic lifeform doesn’t have any divine jewels within it. You can fill it up yourself.” “Hmph, he’s an expert, yet he’s so stingy.” Bebe muttered.

The big-bearded Bates immediately turned to look at him. He couldn’t help but stare at Bebe, then glanced at Linley. Only, he simply laughed, then sent through divine sense, “Hey, Linley… you are an expert of the Four Divine Beasts clan. You are a Six Star Fiend, right? Or are you a Seven Star Fiend? Why are you hiding your status?”

Six Star Fiend? Seven Star Fiend?

“I’m actually a One Star Fiend.”  Linley sent back through divine sense.

“One Star Fiend?” Bates rolled his eyes, then turned and flew towards the metallic lifeform. “Hey, let’s hurry on our way. Prepare to head out.”

Only now did Linley return to his normal human form. “I told the truth but he didn’t believe it.” Linley shook his head, laughing to himself. And then, he couldn’t help but sigh. “The power of this Blackstone Prison is indeed great. One part of it is the profound mysteries, but the other part is the special trick in exerting the profound mysteries. How could there be such a powerful trick?”

Linley didn’t understand it.

Just the special trick to using it could cause the upper limits of the gravity strength to multiple hundredfold. Most likely, even fusing another profound mystery wouldn’t result in such an extravagant increase in power.

“Also, if I were to try and extrapolate it from scratch, most likely even after countless years, I still wouldn’t be able to do so.” Linley knew very well how hard it would be to develop this completely on his own. After all, who could have come up with using 108 rays of divine power? In addition, the 108 rays of divine power could be set up in countless configurations, and in most of them, they were very weak. But who would have imagined that under certain circumstances, they would produce such an effect?

Before Linley learned this technique, only the juvenile amethyst beast could use it, and the juvenile amethyst beast was a ‘divine beast’. This technique was his innate, ultimate technique! When using it, the power was even more extravagant than Linley’s execution.

“Rumble…”

The metallic lifeform pierced through the waves and advanced.

Within the metallic lifeform, everyone was chatting, drinking wine, and laughing. Only, occasionally, some of them would intentionally glance at the others, pondering who was most likely to be that secretive, ultimate expert.

“Who was that expert?”  The green haired man, Tam, was very curious. At the same time, with a rather excited gaze, he glanced at every single lucky survivor nearby. When his glance fell upon the silver-haired ‘Wilburn’, he shook his head slightly. If Wilburn was that expert, he most likely wouldn’t have let his big brother die.

Tam continued to look at them, one by one.

“Shouldn’t be them. I know these ones.” Tam then turned to look at the big-bearded Bates, who stared at him. “What are you looking at?”

Tam immediately laughed awkwardly.

However, Tam knew that Bates trained in the Laws of Darkness and so wasn’t that expert.

“Can it be them?”  Tam then glanced sideways at Linley’s group, looking at each of them. Upon seeing Linley, he paused slightly. “That shouldn’t be right either. I saw him use that violet longsword. He seems to train in the Elemental Laws of the Wind. Not him either!” Although Deities would train in more than one type of Elemental Law, when they engaged in battle, they would generally use their most powerful profound mystery. They had seen Linley utilize the Elemental Laws of the Wind, and thus were certain that Linley was a wind-style Deity. They didn’t

think about anything else.

“Linley.”

A voice rang out in his mind. Linley himself was at the side of the main hall. He was staring at the outside through the translucent metallic metal. Hearing this sound, he immediately replied with divine sense, “Bates, why have you kept on chatting with me these past few days?”

“Hmph. Ever since that day when I revealed my true power, those kids have been very careful when chatting to me. It’s really boring.” The big-bearded Bates said.

Linley chuckled. Bates was someone who liked a lively atmosphere. “Hey, look. That Wilburn kid has had a gloomy face the past few days. He seems to have been turned into a cripple. I didn’t expect that that short big brother of his was so important to him.” Bates sent with divine sense yet again.

Linley turned to look at Wilburn. This Wilburn was someone who also valued emotional relationships. If either Linley or Wharton had died, the other would probably be very heartbroken as well.

“Wharton. When I didn’t let him come to the Infernal Realm, that was the right decision.” Linley sighed in his heart.

The many dangers of the Infernal Realm had been far greater than he had imagined. However, after six hundred years of training in the Amethyst Mountains, he already was confident in his ability to protect himself. Regardless of whether it was a ‘Fogsea Storm’ or those Knifeblade Island bandits, there wasn’t much of a threat to him.

Night. The sea wind blew drearily. Linley walked to the front of the ship. Although the metallic lifeform moved very quickly, Linley still walked very stably atop it.

“Huh?” Linley looked towards the front of the ship in surprise. “There’s someone here!” Tonight, aside from himself, there was actually someone else who had come to the front of the ship long ago. It was the silver-haired youth, Wilburn, who was leaning against the railings.

Linley found to his astonishment…

Wilburn’s face was covered with tears. He was quietly staring into the distant seas. Who knew what he was thinking about?

“Wilburn.” Linley sat down as well.

Wilburn was startled. The tears on his face immediately dried and vanished, and he looked as cold and emotionless as ever. “Thinking about your elder brother?” Linley stared into the dark waves up ahead, but spoke very directly.

When Wilburn heard this, the muscles on his face couldn’t help but begin to tremble slightly.

“You had an elder brother, while I, I have a little brother.” Linley let out a long sigh. “His name is Wharton! However, this time, when I came to the Infernal Realm, I didn’t let him accompany me…and in the blink of an eye, nearly seven centuries have passed. I wonder how my little brother is doing.”

Nearly seven hundred years.

It had only taken Linley, in the Yulan continent, a few decades to become a legend. In the Infernal Realm, he had spent nearly seven centuries. Seven centuries…how many things could happen in such a period of time? Linley didn’t know. How were his family members in the distant Yulan continent doing? “My elder brother and I have been in the Infernal Realm for tens of thousands of years.” Wilburn suddenly said.

Linley was somewhat astonished. Wilburn was actually speaking.

However, Linley still listened carefully. Given how heartbroken Wilburn was, he would indeed feel better after speaking out.

“My elder brother cared greatly about me. I still remember what it was like back in our homeland, that material plane.” Wilburn’s gaze drifted away as he returned to his memories. “My elder brother was fairly honest and simple, while I was fairly arrogant! When I was young, because of my arrogance, I didn’t have many friends. Only, my elder brother always cared about me.”

“Afterwards, when I grew up, because of an certain matter, a rupture appeared in the relationship between myself and my elder  brother.”   Wilburn  said  bitterly,  “I  killed  my  elder brother’s fiancée!” Linley was startled.

Seeing the look on Wilburn’s face, Linley could imagine that the situation back then must have been very complicated. Otherwise, given how much Wilburn cared about his brother, he wouldn’t have done such a thing.

“From that day onward, my elder brother stopped meeting with me. As for myself, I became all the more arrogant. Because of some complicated matters, in my anger, I attacked the Imperial palace and killed that detestable Imperial crown prince, and even the Emperor. That night, blood flowed into a river…”

“Only, the power of the Imperial palace was also very strong. They actually had eight Saints! I killed five of them, but was badly injured as well. I could see death coming for me.”

“I had given up. After all, I had killed that Imperial crown prince and that dogshit Emperor. I was willing to die. Only, at that moment, my elder brother appeared. He saved me! Doing so meant that he was directly opposing the Empire!” Wilburn thought back to the events of that year.

Wilburn shook his head and said bitterly, “Actually, back then, I had killed my future sister-in-law by accident. I had always felt guilty towards my elder brother…”

“After   killing   the   Emperor,   things   became   extremely troublesome. The elder chairman of the Empire’s magus association normally never got involved in matters, but after learning about this, he would definitely intervene.”

Wilburn  sighed.  “Thus,  we  immediately  fled,  and  then immediately found the Planar Overseer to go to the Infernal Realm!”

“You came here as Saints?” Linley was shocked.

Wilburn nodded. “Only after arriving did we learn…how dangerous it was. For Saints in the Infernal Realm…this place is a nightmare…” As he spoke, Wilburn turned silent, and his tears began to quietly cascade down again. 

“Enough of that.”  Wilburn shook his head. “After arriving here and experiencing the myriad dangers of the Infernal Realm, my elder brother and I understood that death could descend at any moment. I always hoped that if we were to die, I should be the first to die. I didn’t want my elder brother to die…because in my entire life, he was the only true family and friend I have ever had!”

Linley glanced at Wilburn, then sighed to himself.

However, Linley himself didn’t feel too sad. He had experienced too much, here in the Infernal Realm. He had seen these things often. Those Fiend trial participants, only a few dozen survived from a thousand participants. For the people who had come to the Infernal Realm, how many of them were ‘ordinary’?

Linley quietly sat there.

At some point in time, Wilburn returned to the ship’s cabin.

Linley continued to sit there and stare at the waves of the sea. 

Tonight, only a tiny hint of a crescent of the Violet Moon remained. The entire Starmist Sea seemed so dark and gloomy. The waves of the sea seemed like part of some incomparably enormous monster.

“The  Infernal  Realm  is  just  like  this  Starmist  Sea.  It  is incomparably vast, and it devours one living creature after another. Only a truly powerful expert can remain here in the Infernal Realm and reach the pinnacle. Experts die, and only still more powerful experts can live!”  Linley stared into the boundless waters in front of him. For some reason, he felt his heart tremble slightly.

The dark sea waters were vast and endless.

Linley quietly sat there at the head of the boat, silently staring into the boundless sea, not a single hint of light in his eyes.

Perhaps a long time passed, or perhaps just a moment later… Linley opened his eyes.

In Linley’s mind, illusory rays of divine power actually were forming. The rays of divine power formed into the ‘Blackstone Prison’. The ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, ‘Gravitational Space’, ‘Essence of the Earth’…all sorts of profound mysteries were fusing into his soul.

Dawn.

Linley stood up as well. Staring at the Blood Sun, blurry behind those thin clouds, he had a hint of a smile on his face.

Chapter 10, Ganmontin

By the time Linley’s group once again entered the metallic lifeform and headed further into the Starmist Sea, the second leader of Knifeblade Island, ‘Dimon’, travelled by himself deep into the bottom of the Starmist Sea, arriving within a nameless gorge.

“Hmph. If it weren’t for the fact that my elder brother died while I myself am not aware of where the Lord Commander lives, how could you have ended up getting a share of the glory!”

Staring at the gorge, Dimon felt hatred in his heart.

And then, Dimon transformed into a shadow, easily passing through the nameless gorge. Within the gorge, there were some strange plant creatures at the bottom which were colorful to behold. Sometimes, a few oceanic magical beasts would even pop up at the bottom of the sea, but Dimon paid them no mind at all.

Moments later… Dimon arrived at the gates to an underwater estate, located deep within the seabed gorge. There were two guards at each side of the gate.

“Halt!” One of the guards immediately barked.

Dimon laughed calmly. “What, you don’t even recognize me?”  As he spoke, Dimon moved somewhat closer. The two guards only now began to laugh, one of them saying, “So it is second leader Lord Dimon of the Knifeblade Island.” Although that was how they spoke, clearly, they didn’t hold Dimon in much regard.

Although their strength wasn’t that great, their master was incredible.

“Go make a report to your master. I want to meet him. This is an important matter!” Dimon said seriously.

The two guards exchanged glances. 

“It seems there really is an important matter. You can go make the report.”

The other guard said, “You can just wait here. I’ll go report this to our master.” As he spoke, he entered the estate. After a long while, the guard came out. “Lord Dimon, my master invites you. Please come with me!”

Dimon snorted inwardly. “Just because you are somewhat stronger than me!”

This estate was extremely large, and it was very luxuriously decorated. Moments later, Dimon arrived within the main hall. The entire main hall was surrounded by sculptures and all sorts of paintings, which seemed to be telling an ancient story. Dimon, in his heart, knew: “Hmph, these are all about the boastful affairs of himself, Ganmontin. So what if he’s gone to Purgatory. Such arrogance!”

Although he said this in his heart, Dimon was still rather envious. 

“Dimon, where’s your elder brother, Acketts?” A calm voice came out from the front.

At the throne in the front of the main hall, a green-haired man whose forehead was covered with fish scales was seated, dressed in a green cloak with golden trimmings. The green- haired man’s eyes glowed with green light, and his lips had a violet tint. He himself gave off an extremely devilish aura.

“He died!” Dimon said sorrowfully.

“Acketts died?” The green-haired man immediately stood up in shock, then hurriedly asked, “How is that possible? Your elder brother was a Six Star Fiend who trained in the Elemental Laws of Water. His defense was the highest amongst our group. Who was capable of breaking his defense?”

“It was a black-haired man known as Lomio Bornesen!” Just mentioning this name caused Dimon to feel terror. That day, the black-haired man’s body had transformed into countless bolts of flashing lightning in the sky and caused something akin to a Fogsea Storm. And then, with but one blade blow, he had killed Dimon’s elder brother.

“Lomio  Bornesen?”  The  green-haired  man  on  the  throne frowned. “How come I’ve never heard of this person? What does he train in?”

“He  trains  in  the  Laws  of  Lightning.”  Dimon  said,  “This person came to our Knifeblade Island, then transformed into countless bolts of lightning and caused something identical to a Fogsea Storm, creating an enormous lightning vortex above our Knifeblade Island. It was too terrifying!”

“There’s actually such an expert.”

The green-haired man frowned. “It seems I must go report this to the Lord Commander!”

And then, the green-haired man looked at Dimon. “Dimon, can it be that you’ve simply come to tell me about this?” The green-haired man had decided immediately in his heart that no matter what, he couldn’t make an enemy out of this Lomio Bornesen. Someone capable of killing Acketts in one blow was too terrifying.

“Lord Ganmontin!” Dimon’s face had a hint of a smile appear on it. “I’ve come to bring you some good news.”

“Speak.” Ganmontin said.

“Although I’ve never met the Lord Commander, I’ve heard my elder brother say that the Lord Commander had always been collecting some divine beasts with extremely powerful innate abilities, or talents who have mutated souls.”  Dimon grinned as he spoke.

“Yes, there is such a thing.” Ganmontin said calmly.

“This  time,  although  our  Knifeblade  Island  was  attacked, while I was fleeing, in the Starmist Sea, I actually encountered a talented Soul Mutate!” Dimon said hurriedly. “He’s definitely a Soul Mutate genius. I personally saw him use a combination of darkness-type divine power and light-type divine power!”

“What!”

Shocked, Ganmontin immediately stood up.

Soul Mutates were extremely rare. In addition, geniuses like them were extremely terrifying in the future!

For example, an expert who was Soul Mutate, upon reaching the Highgod level, just based on the fact that he had fused two different types of divine power, would have the strength of his attack increased tenfold! When a person used fused divine power, even if he used the same type of profound mystery, the power would be ten times that an ordinary person’s!

And in addition…only Soul Mutates were capable of fusing the profound mysteries of two different types of Elemental Laws! For example, Learmonth had later merged the profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of Fire as well as the Way of Destruction.

When profound mysteries belong to different types of Laws were fused, the power would be even greater by far than when two profound mysteries of the same type of Law was fused!

For example, if Linley’s ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ was capable of being fused with the ‘Dimensional Attack’ profound mystery of the Elemental Laws of the Wind, then the power… would be comparable to fusing three profound mysteries of the same type of Law!

If he also fused two types of divine power when using the attack, the power would increase tenfold yet again.

A Soul Mutate only had to fuse two different types of profound mysteries together, and his power would immediately become comparable to that of a Seven Star Fiend. However, ordinary Highgods would have to fuse four profound mysteries to reach the Seven Star Fiend level!

“Where is he?” Ganmontin said hurriedly.

Dimon said helplessly, “I didn’t have the ability to bring him here.”

Ganmontin’s face immediately changed, and he sneered, “So even you, a Five Star Fiend, were unable to bring him back. It seems this Soul Mutate has already reached the Highgod level. I expect he has already fused profound mysteries as well… what, do you want me to go die?”

Ganmontin knew very well his own limits, as a Six Star Fiend.

Although he was specialized in attacks, against a Soul Mutate, especially a Soul Mutate at the height of his power, he had no confidence. Soul Mutates were monstrously powerful.

Two different types of divine power, when fused, would make the power of even an ordinary profound mystery increase tenfold! If they were able to fuse three different types of profound power, the strength would increase a hundredfold! If they were able to fuse four…the power would continue to compound.

However, the more types of divine power one trained in, the lower the chances one would have of having a soul mutation. For example, a person capable of using three types of divine power, even if he underwent a soul mutation, would have nearly a 100% chance of dying during the process. In the entire history of the Infernal Realm, there had only been an extremely infinitesimally small number of Soul Mutates.

Virtually all of the successful ones fused two types of divine power to become Soul Mutates. For example, when Olivier’s soul had mutated, he had been in a coma for months.

In the countless years the Infernal Realm had existed, only a single person had fused three types of divine power! 

As for having four different types of divine power and yet still fusing them, despite the passage of countless years, not a single such person had appeared in the countless planes of the multiverse.

Normally speaking, when people were discussing Soul Mutates, they referred to people who fused two different types of divine power.

For example, Linley had earth, wind, and fire-type divine power. Even if he were to undergo a soul mutation, his chance of death would be almost 100%! After all, in the countless years the Infernal Realm had existed, this sort of genius had only appeared once.

“Dimon, it’s not too likely that one is going to be able to control that sort of mighty Soul Mutate.” Ganmontin laughed coldly.

“No. That Soul Mutate is only a God.” Dimon said hurriedly. “Only a God?” Ganmontin was overjoyed.

The weaker the target was, the easier to control.

“Huh?” Ganmontin suddenly frowned. “Just a God. How is it that were unable to bring him back?”

Dimon explained, “Lord Ganmontin, the Soul Mutate is only a God, but…he is currently within a squad which has two experts.”

“Experts.   How   is   their   strength?”    Ganmontin   asked hurriedly.

“One of them trains in the Elemental Laws of Darkness. By my calculations, he should have the power of a Five Star Fiend, perhaps closing on that of a Six Star Fiend! As I saw it, he specializes in speed, assassination, and hiding his aura.” Dimon said disdainfully. Ganmontin laughed calmly. He wouldn’t even care about an ordinary Six Star Fiend.

“And the other?” Ganmontin pursued.

Dimon looked rather awkward. “Actually, I didn’t discover that other person either. However, he should be hidden in their group. In terms of power…I can’t say.”

“Eh?” Dimon frowned. “Explain in detail what the situation was like.”

Dimon immediately explained in detail. After hearing Dimon’s explanation, Ganmontin nodded slightly. “The attack of hundreds of Gods actually managed to cause the black stone castle to tremble. It seems its defense isn’t that powerful, and it also covers a fairly small area…based on my calculations, at most this person is a Six Star Fiend!”

Ganmontin had already calculated this out. The opponent wasn’t too much of a threat.

“I can break through that black stone castle with one sword blow.” Ganmontin laughed calmly.

Dimon advised, “Milord, how about we first go inform the Lord Commander…that way, there won’t be any chance of failure.”

“A mere Six Star Fiend? How can the Lord Commander personally get involved for this?”  Ganmontin laughed coldly. “This sort of affair, I alone can handle easily.” Ganmontin was very confident. He trained in the Elemental Laws of the Wind, and he specialized in two things; attacking and fleeing!

Even against a Seven Star Fiend, he was confident in his ability to flee.

For a battle like this, it was better to first prepare for defeat than to prepare for victory. Only then would one not have to worry about any problems. 

“Do you know where that squad is?”  Ganmontin looked at him.

Dimon smiled. “Milord, don’t worry. I’ve made the arrangements long ago. In addition, it’s only been less than half a month. Even if something happens, finding them will be easy. After all…this is our turf.”

“Excellent.”    Ganmontin   nodded   in   satisfaction.   “Don’t worry. Once I collect that Soul Mutate and offer him to the Commander, I will definitely report your contributions to the Lord Commander as well.”

“Thank you, milord.” Dimon said hurriedly.

But in his heart, Dimon was still furious. If he had known how to go find the Commander, would he have come to report all of this to Ganmontin? If he had enough power to seize Olivier, he wouldn’t need to let Ganmontin take the credit either. The sea waves rolled on. Linley and Bebe were seated together at the end of the ship.

“Boss, why have you always been staring at the sea lately?” Bebe asked, puzzled.

Linley chuckled, first setting up his Godrealm to block out sound, and then explained, “Bebe, recently, I feel as though there are some problems with my ‘Blackstone Prison’. I know that the answer lies within this vast sea…the waters of the sea flow on casually and contain unfathomable transformations. My Blackstone Prison is too rigid. Although it is able to distort and reform, that expends divine power. Also, it isn’t able to easily deflect outside power.”

Bebe just listened. He couldn’t help but stare at Linley.

“Why are you staring at me?” Linley laughed as he looked at Bebe.

“Boss, didn’t you say that you’ve already fused three types of profound mysteries?” Bebe said hurriedly. 

During the past few days when Linley had been staring at the sea, he had gained a sudden insight and had managed to completely and perfectly fuse the ‘Essence of the Earth’, ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, and the ‘Gravitational Space’, these three great profound mysteries. The power of his ‘Blackstone Prison’ had once more increased. By now, even against a Six Star Fiend, Linley had confidence in winning.

“So what if I have?”

Linley sighed. “The Blackstone Prison is still insufficiently perfected. Actually, if I were able to infuse the Profound Mysteries of ‘Vitality’ of the Laws of the Earth with the other three, it would perfectly balance and strengthen the power of my Blackstone Prison. By that time, the Blackstone Prison would regrow and regenerate without end. Even a Seven Star Fiend would find it hard to break it.”

“Only, fusing four types of profound mysteries is too hard. In addition, ‘Vitality’ should be a fairly unique type of profound mystery in the Laws of the Earth.” The vast earth was deep and gave birth to countless lifeforms, and thus it possessed profound vitality.

Linley knew a few special details regarding the Profound Truths of Vitality, only…Linley had yet to be able to gain a basic understanding of it.

“Boss, don’t be too greedy.”  Bebe pursed his lips and said. “You’ve fused three types of profound mysteries.”

Linley laughed. Actually, this didn’t have anything to do with greed. Linley simply pursued perfection and wanted to continuously improve himself.

“Huh?” Right at this moment, Linley was suddenly shocked. “Below!”

“Bang!” The metallic creature, which had been advancing at high speed, once more exploded, and everyone within it now hovered in mid-air, their faces covered with puzzlement. In particular, the big-bearded Bates. He roared angrily, “Motherf*cker! This metallic lifeform was mine!” Linley carefully stared at the surface of the sea.

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

Two figures broke through the surface of the sea, leaping into mid-air. One of them was a grim looking green-haired man who was dressed in a green cloak with gold trimmings, and who had fish scales over his forehead. The person by his side was a familiar figure to Linley’s group. It was the second leader of Knifeblade Island. Dimon.

Chapter 11, So It Was Him

The waves of the sea rolled about. The green-haired Ganmontin and the second leader Dimon both stood there in mid-air, staring calmly at Linley’s group.

“That’s  the  leader  of  the  Knifeblade  Island  group.”   The employer, Aches, immediately recognized Dimon. The others recognized him as well, and as they did, their hearts sank…as the second leader of Knifeblade Island, Dimon’s power was obvious.

And yet, right now, Dimon was seemingly following behind that green-haired man, as though he were a subordinate.

“Boss, trouble’s coming.” Bebe sent through divine sense.

“No rush. Let’s wait and see.”  Linley watched Ganmontin calmly. At his current level of power, Linley was more than capable of fighting against most Six Star Fiends. More importantly…Linley had that Sovereign’s Might. If he used Sovereign’s Might to attack… Even a Seven Star Fiend was nothing to fear!

“Hey,  leader  of  Knifeblade  Island,  what’s  your  name?  I forgot. But you fled last time, fellow. Why are you back this time?” The big-bearded ‘Bates’ barked unhappily. “What, last time, when we spared your life, you didn’t feel gratitude, but instead came back and actually brought someone else over? Fine then, today, we’ll just deal with both of you.”

Ganmontin and Dimon didn’t say a word.

Ganmontin’s flashing green eyes swept past Linley’s group. He carefully inspected every single person to see who was the legendary hidden expert. As he looked, Ganmontin couldn’t help  but  frown.  “Aside  from  those  two  Highgods,  it  seems there isn’t a third Highgod!”

During the last battle, Boff had lost a Highgod clone and was now just a God. The entire squad only had two Highgods. One was Delia, and the others was Bates.

“The situation isn’t good.”  Ganmontin was an expert who had entered Purgatory before. Naturally, he wouldn’t drop his guard. “This hidden expert can actually escape even my notice. It seems his power isn’t any lower than mine. At the very least, his ability in hiding his aura is quite powerful.”

Ganmontin thought rapidly, then came to a decision.

“Dimon, the Soul Mutate you spoke of. Which one is it?” Ganmontin sent through a divine message to Dimon.

The reason he had brought Dimon was solely to have him point out the Soul Mutate. Dimon looked towards Olivier while saying through divine sense, “Lord Ganmontin, it’s that man with the long gray cloak who has hair that is black streaked with white.”

Ganmontin’s gaze immediately rested upon Olivier, a crafty look flashing through his eyes. 

Linley’s group was puzzled. The two had destroyed their metallic lifeform, but hadn’t said a single word. What were they intending, exactly?

“You, greenie! Why are the two of you blocking our path? If you want to say something, hurry up. We don’t have time to waste with you!” Bebe, wearing his straw hat, wasn’t afraid at all, and he loudly shouted towards Ganmontin.

Ganmontin began to laugh.

“Haha…” Ganmontin emitted an ear-piercing laughter, the sound of it bizarrely causing the area within hundreds of meters to echo, while outside of this area, no sound could be heard at all. The sound of the laughter bored directly into the skulls of Linley’s group.

“This is the ‘Profound Truths of Sound’  of the Elemental Laws of the Wind.” Linley immediately recognized it. The Profound Truths of Sound fused the ‘Sound Waves’ and ‘Music’ profound mysteries. Linley had already completely fused them. This Ganmontin actually used this to ‘ambush’ them, but clearly, the power of Ganmontin’s laughter wasn’t too great.

“How painful.” Aches, Tam, and the others all held their heads.

As for Linley, Bebe, Delia, and Olivier, they weren’t as bad off.

Ganmontin glanced at the people who his laughter hadn’t affected, then chuckled. “Everyone, I am Ganmontin! Today, I have only come to take a person away. I don’t actually want to harm the rest, and I hope you won’t block me either.”

Take someone away?

Linley was puzzled. “Who in our group is worth this sort of high-level figure coming out?” For Ganmonton to be capable of having Dimon by his side like a manservant meant that his power was definitely greater than Dimon’s, most likely at a Six Star Fiend level or perhaps even a Seven Star Fiend level.

“Take someone away? Who?” Bebe asked.

“Right. Who are you taking away?” Aches asked as well. This group all felt nervous, afraid that they would be selected.

Ganmontin smiled as he said, “The person I am taking away is him!” As he spoke, he reached out with his right hand and pointed towards Olivier!

Instantly, everyone turned to look at Olivier!

“Me?”  Olivier’s face changed, and his eyes were filled with disbelief. He had only been in the Infernal Realm for a few hundred years and he hadn’t offended any powerful foes. Why would they take him away?

“Olivier!” Bebe called out in surprise. 

Linley and Delia both began to frown, while Aches, Tam, and the other Gods let out sighs of relief.

“Why is this person taking Olivier away?” Linley’s thoughts flashed through his mind. Olivier had spent the vast majority of his years in the Infernal Realm in the Amethyst Mountains with Linley. He had never encountered any ultimate experts. The only thing special about Olivier was…”

His soul mutation!

“Could it be that the reason he wants to take Olivier away is related  to  the  fact  that  Olivier  is  a  Soul  Mutate?”   Linley couldn’t help but guess this.

“Hey, why do you want to take away Olivier? Olivier is one of us. You want to take him away just because you say so? Absolutely  no  way!”  The  big-bearded  Bates  snorted.  Bates’ words caused Linley, Bebe, and the others to feel joy. “This Bates is a fine fellow.” Linley said to himself.

Ganmontin laughed loudly. “Oh, so his name is Olivier. I can tell you plainly…” Ganmontin swept Linley’s group with his gaze, his eyes slowly turning cold. “Today, Olivier must leave with me. If anyone wants to stop me, there will only be one result…death!”

Ganmontin’s green glowing eyes, violet lips, and cold voice caused everyone to feel their hearts tremble.

“He’s using the Profound Truths of Sound yet again.” Linley said to himself. “This person can utilize the Elemental Laws of the Wind quite freely.”

Ganmontin, seeing that the Gods seemed to be rather in dread of him, then immediately began to smile again. “But of course, if you don’t block my path, I naturally won’t kill you. Right now, I’ll give you all a chance…aside from Olivier, the others can all leave safely. Everyone can leave now!”

“Leave?” The God-level Fiends all hesitated. 

“I’ll count to ten. If by then there are people still remaining, that  means  they  are  my  enemies.  The  result  will  be…” Ganmontin suddenly made a serpent-shaped longsword which gleamed with green light appear in his hands. He casually waved the sword, which blurred while causing the world to be filled with a beautiful sound.

“Slash!”

Space itself had a large crevice split open within it, while at the same time, the sword blur carried what seemed like countless wind blades, charging downwards towards the sea like  thousands  of  soldiers  in  an  army.  “Boom!”   The  sea rumbled, and instantly, the water beneath that point for hundreds of meters around turned into a massive hole that was dozens of meters deep.

Moments later, the surrounding water filled the gap, and immediately a series of waves could be heard. Aches, Tam, Wilburn, and the other Gods all had very ugly looks on their faces. Linley, Bates, and the others all had solemn looks on their faces. The Infernal Realm’s planar walls were very stable. To slash open a crevice within the Infernal Realm was proof of having displayed terrifying power.

“One!”   Ganmontin  smiled  as  he  spoke.  “Two.  Three…” Ganmontin’s counting speed was unhurried, and his voice wasn’t loud, but hammered down upon the hearts of every single Fiend present.

Those God-level Fiends glanced at each other, all hesitating.

“Everyone, no need to waste your lives for me.” Olivier said bitterly.

Immediately, the employer, Aches, was the first to turn towards  Olivier  and  say  apologetically,  “Forgive  me.”  As  he spoke, he immediately flew away. As Aches left, immediately the other Gods all left as well. By the time Ganmontin counted to ten, Boff and Wilburn flew away as well. They were all God-level Fiends, of no use at all.

“Nine!”    Ganmontin’s   gaze   once   more   swept   the   five remaining  figures.  “Everyone,  if  you  don’t  leave  now,  you won’t have the chance later.”  But the five didn’t pay him any mind at all.

“Ten!”

Ganmontin had counted to ten, but five were still remaining.

They were Linley, Delia, Bebe, Olivier, and Bates!

As for Aches, Tam, Wilburn, and the other seven, they had all flown far away. From a distance of three kilometers, they stared towards this scene. Aches said softly, “Everyone, don’t be worried. I expect that the mysterious expert who used the Blackstone Prison last time should be one of those three; Linley, Bebe, or Olivier. When that expert attacks, perhaps he will be able to defeat Ganmontin!” The other six felt their hearts firm up. In the Infernal Realm, very few people would choose to throw their lives away.

Their choices were correct.

“Who knows which one of them is the expert.” Wilburn said softly.

“I hope he can defeat Ganmontin.” Boff said as well.

Right at this moment, above the boundless Starmist Sea, Linley’s group of five was hovering above the surface of the sea, standing opposite from Dimon and Ganmontin.

After counting to ten, Ganmontin was already feeling extremely unhappy. Prior to this, he had used the ‘Profound Truths of Sound’ through his laughter to test Linley’s group. As early as then, he had expected that the hidden expert should have been one of the people in front of him, but who would have imagined that none of these people left. He had counted from one to ten, but his ploy of his had no effect at all. Whether or not those seven Gods left had no affect on him at all.

He, Ganmontin, wanted to get the hidden expert to leave!

If he could avoid battle, he would! After all, he had no way to discover who the opponent was. Ganmontin was even wondering…“Could this hidden expert be a Seven Star Fiend? Could it be that when resisting the forces of Knifeblade Island, he was hiding his true power?”

“Hmph. Who cares what you are. If you hide yourself like a coward, I imagine you can’t be too strong.”

Ganmontin wielded his green serpentine longsword, grinning. “I didn’t expect the four of you are really chivalrous. You are actually willing to die for Olivier. Since that’s the case, I’ll oblige you.” Ganmontin laughed as he looked at Bates. “Your power isn’t bad. The first one I’ll deal with is you.”

Bates’ face changed slightly. 

“Linley,  if  you  don’t  act,  then  I’m  going  to  leave.”  Bates hurriedly sent with divine sense. “I’m not a match for that old fellow!”

“Ganmontin!”

A voice rang out, and a figure suddenly appeared in front of Bates. His entire body was covered with azure-golden draconic scales. Beneath the dazzling light of the Violet Sun, he was very eye-catching. Those two dark golden eyes stared at Ganmontin. It was the transformed Linley!

“Ganmontin, today, you’d best leave. I don’t want to fight you.” Linley said.

Linley wasn’t completely certain of his ability to win this battle, but if he had to, he would use the Sovereign’s Might. However, Linley was rather unwilling to. “So it was you!” Ganmontin was shocked. He stared at Linley in surprise, and then began to laugh loudly. “I didn’t expect that a core member of the Four Divine Beasts clan was hidden in your group. I am Ganmontin. Might I ask who you are?”

“Linley!” Linley said calmly and directly.

“Haha,  Linley.”   Ganmontin  laughed  loudly  as  he  spoke. “Today, I’ve come here not for myself, but for my Lord Commander.”

“Commander?”  Linley  was  stunned.  He  couldn’t  help  but think back to what the juvenile amethyst beast he had met back in the Amethyst Mountains had said. “Back then, that juvenile amethyst beast had said that he was a commander in Purgatory!”  A commander of Purgatory was a position which Linley had yet to fully understand.

But given the power of the juvenile amethyst beast, Linley could guess. “As a member of the Four Divine Beasts clan, I imagine you wouldn’t want to ruin the affairs of my Lord Commander.” Ganmontin laughed calmly as he spoke. Ganmontin was very self-confident. Even the clan leader of the Four Divine Beasts clan most likely wouldn’t offend his Lord Commander.

Ganmontin laughed as he looked at Linley.

“Ganmontin, I’d like to ask you to leave.” Linley said calmly.

Chapter 12, A Great Battle

“It’s Linley!” From afar, the onlookers, including Aches and the other Gods, were all shocked. They hadn’t expected that the hidden expert was Linley!

“It  was  actually  him!”   Wilburn  stared  at  the  distant, Dragonformed Linley.

For now, let us ignore the shock of Aches and the rest of the seven. Ganmontin, hearing Linley’s words, couldn’t help but feel a surge of rage. Glancing sideways at Linley, he began to laugh from rage. “Oh, Linley, what? You don’t even care about my Commander at all? What audacity!”

‘Dimon’, the second leader of Knifeblade Island, could tell that the situation was turning bad. He immediately retreated. “I can’t suffer the backlash from a battle between these two.”

“It isn’t audacity.” Linley looked at Ganmontin. “Ganmontin, I definitely will not permit you to take Olivier away. Although I don’t wish to fight you, if you truly insist on forcing him to leave, then I will be forced to.” “Hmph!”

Ganmontin felt yet another surge of rage. He had already given Linley a great deal of face by saying so much.

“Haha…” Ganmontin continued to laugh as his rage built up. “If that’s the case, then I shall…”  As he spoke, Ganmontin suddenly lifted up the green serpentine longsword in his hand and filled it with wind-style divine power. The entire sword began to tremble and emit a clear ringing sound of windchimes.

The sword-hymn reverberated within a hundred meters.

Beneath Linley’s feet, rays of earth-type divine power radiated out as well, merging into the surface of the sea below. With the ‘black stone’ in his sea of consciousness as the core,

108 rays of earth-type divine power began to move in

accordance with a pattern. The area within three hundred meters began to tremble as countless amounts of earth-type divine power coalesced. 

Ganmontin, suffering this astonishing gravitational pull, found to his astonishment that his body was beginning to sink down.

At the same time, a large amount of earth elemental essence and divine power took shape. In the blink of an eye, an enormous Blackstone Prison appeared, floating on the surface of the water. Although Dimon had retreated into the distance early on, Ganmontin and Linley were both now already trapped within that Blackstone Prison.

Linley’s ultimate attack, formed from three fused profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth and with the ‘black stone’ at the nucleus: Blackstone Prison!

“The scope is larger than last time.” Dimon sucked in a cold breath. “It seems last time, this Linley really was hiding his true power.” But how could he know that in reality, during this period of time, Linley just so happened to break through a bottleneck and completely perfect his fusion of those three profound mysteries? Within the Blackstone Prison was utter darkness. The only light came from the faint earthen yellow glow coming off those pitch-black walls. As a Highgod expert, even though it was pitch-black, Ganmontin could still see clearly.

“What  a  terrifying  gravity!”   Ganmontin’s  face  changed greatly. And then, Ganmontin gnashed his teeth, summoning the divine power in his body. With regards to flying speed, as an expert in the Elemental Laws of the Wind, Ganmontin was quite proficient. The better one’s flying ability was, the better one was able to resist powerful gravity.

“Hmph!” Ganmontin’s body finally, barely left the surface of the ground. He hovered into the air.

“Not bad. In my Blackstone Prison, you are actually barely able to fly.” A sound of praise rang out. A figure, with a ‘whoosh’, appeared within Ganmontin’s line of vision. It was the Dragonformed Linley. Linley had already been prepared for Ganmontin being able to just barely resist the gravity.

Ganmontin was an expert in flying, and his power was that of a Six Star Fiend or a Seven Star Fiend. Him being capable of this was in line with Linley’s expectations.

Ganmontin immediately landed.

“I truly am in admiration of you, to reach such a level in your training of the Laws of the Earth.” Ganmontin laughed as he spoke, but at the same time, his right fist suddenly struck out with the green serpentine longsword in his hand. His target – the floor of the Blackstone Prison beneath his feet!

Linley’s face changed, and he launched himself forward, immediately charging towards Ganmontin, an adamantine heavy sword suddenly appearing in his hand.

“Slash!”  An  astonishing  crack  in  space  appeared,  and  the floor of the Blackstone Prison was cut open as well.

Ganmontin’s body immediately sank down as he fled through the giant crack beneath him. “I didn’t imagine that he actually escaped.” Linley willed the large Blackstone Prison to vanish.

“Rumble…”  The  waves  of  the  Starmist  Sea  rolled  on  and roared.

Ganmontin hovered there in mid-air as him and Linley stared at each other.

“I need to modify and improve the Blackstone Prison.” After that last experience, Linley now had an idea as to a flaw of the original Blackstone Prison. The Blackstone Prison had a circumference of roughly three hundred meters and had many corridors and rooms and what not. If Ganmontin were to chop open a wall next to him, even if he broke through, he would find yet another wall.

However, Ganmontin had directly struck down at the floor beneath his feet.

The Blackstone Prison was only so large. It was a single-story edifice. By chopping down into the ground, Ganmontin had managed to escape.

“In the future, not only must the scope of the Blackstone Prison be large, it also needs to have nine levels, with the opponent trapped in the fifth floor. That way, even if he breaks through the floor, he will still have four more levels to go!” Linley said to himself.

Olivier, Bebe, Delia, Bates, Dimon, and the distant onlookers all held their breaths as they watched. None of them knew if Ganmontin was stronger, or if Linley was stronger.

“How difficult to deal with!” Ganmontin’s eyes narrowed.

With a ‘whoosh’ sound, within a thousand meters, over a thousand ‘Ganmontins’ appeared, each one of them having a smile on his face. “Haha, Linley, with so many Doppelgangers, can you possibly find my true body?” As he spoke, the thousand ‘Ganmontins’ began to fly through the air with a whooshing sound.

Linley didn’t move at all. 

His earth-style divine power, however, radiated out to three hundred meters, naturally including the nearby Delia, Bebe, and Olivier. The power of this gravitational pull didn’t have much of a difference compared with the Blackstone Prison, only, it didn’t have any prison ‘walls’ to block movement.

Gravitational Space!

Of the thousand plus ‘Ganmontins’, whenever some of them flew into the Gravitational Space, they would immediately begin to sink down, unable to resist the powerful pull of gravity.

“Ganmontin, just give up. There’s no way you’ll be able to take Olivier away!”  Linley said clearly. “Your Doppelgangers aren’t able to resist the power of my Gravitational Space. Only your true body is just barely able to do so.”

Indeed… Those Doppelgangers all sank into the sea, with only the true Ganmontin just barely able to stay aloft.

“Linley, I have never seen a gravitational pull so powerful as yours in this Gravitational Space.”  Ganmontin said, and then he immediately flew backwards, outside of the range of Linley’s Gravitational Space. Linley didn’t try to block him either, instead just watching.

Linley actually hoped that this Ganmontin would leave.

“Whoosh!”  Ganmontin suddenly flew into the sky, into the thin fog above the sea. Immediately, lightning began to strike towards Ganmontin.

“Eh?” Linley frowned. “Why did he fly into the fog?”

Bebe  raised  his  head  as  well.  “Does  this  Ganmontin  have some mental problems? He wants to let the lightning strike him?” The power of the lightning within the ‘fog’ of the Starmist Sea increased as one flew higher. Ganmontin had already flown to a height which was roughly his maximum. 

That sort of lightning was only capable of inflicting some mild wounds.

“Swoosh!” Ganmontin flew in a straight line.

It must be understood that the farther one was from the gravitational pull area, the weaker the gravity would be. Ganmontin had flown so high that the Gravitational Space set up at the surface of the sea, at the height he was in, didn’t pose much of an effect at all.

Ganmontin flew directly towards the air above Linley’s head.

And then…he dropped down in a straight line!

Gravity pulled downwards, and so Ganmontin’s downwards speed reached a new height!

“You want to play like this?” Linley laughed calmly. 

In the area around them, the constantly fluctuating rays of divine power suddenly returned to Linley’s body, swirling around it. At the same time, with Linley at the center, a roughly hundred-meter, enormous sphere took shape, forming a unique, sphere-shaped repulsive force region.

Ganmontin had been full of confidence, but as soon as he entered the repulsive sphere…

“Huh?” Ganmontin immediately sensed a surge of powerful repulsive force impacting his entire body. He had been dropping at high speed, but now, his speed virtually slowed down to nothing. Sensing this sort of repulsive strength, Ganmontin was so shocked the look on his face changed. “How could a Gravitational Space be like this?”

Ganmontin had never heard of a Gravitational Space actually possessing repulsive power!

Although shocked, Ganmontin still frantically resisted that repulsive power and forced himself to descend, while at the same time brandishing out the green serpentine longsword in his hand. The longsword was covered by a layer of indistinct green illusions and also rang out with that sound of wind chimes. The sword shadow which seemed slow but was actually fast slashed through the sky, and wherever it passed, space itself split apart. A ray of flashing green light from his

illusory sword instantly pierced through the heavens and

appeared in front of Linley’s eyes.

Blood Drop Sword!

Ganmontin’s face was savage as he unleashed his most powerful sword attack.

His body was suffering the effects of the repulsive force, but his sword energy attack wasn’t impacted much.

“So fast.” Linley hurriedly worked hard to dodge.

But one’s body movement speed was indeed inferior to the speed of that sword light. “Clang!”  The sword light viciously struck Linley’s draconic scale-clad left shoulder. With a clear ringing sound, Linley’s draconic scales on his left shoulder actually shattered, with three scales breaking open and hints of blood oozing out.

“What?” Ganmontin stared, slack-jawed.

His most powerful material attack had actually only caused the opponent to bleed slightly.

Linley glanced at his arm, his gaze turning cold. He immediately wielded the adamantine heavy sword, moving towards Ganmontin at high speed like a bolt of lightning.

Ganmontin, astonished and frightened by that scene, immediately flew back and retreated. Given the repulsive force, his fleeing speed was quite fast!

“Gravitational force!” Linley willed it, and immediately, that hundred meter sphere shaped space’s repulsive force suddenly transformed into attractive force. In addition, the range changed from a hundred meters to two hundred meters. Ganmontin was trapped within this indistinct sphere shaped region.

The powerful gravity drew Ganmontin closer and closer to Linley.

“What level of combatant is this Linley? My most powerful attack actually only broke a few draconic scales!”  Ganmontin frantically tried to throw off the power of the gravity and escape, but the gravity was too strong…although he was able to just barely resist it, his flying speed was slow.

More importantly…

Linley’s speed was unaffected, and he immediately caught up!

“Die.” Linley’s adamantine heavy sword in his hand clapped down in a light, breezy manner, while at the same time, an illusory, earthen yellow sword shadow flew out from the adamantine heavy sword, striking directly into Ganmontin’s body. 

Laws of the Earth – Voidwave Sword!

Ganmontin was shocked, but under this astonishing gravity, his speed was too slow. “How can this gravity be so monstrously strong? Even Asuras shouldn’t be capable of this. Can it be that he is a hidden Asura-level combatant?” Everyone had their own specialty, and there were some people who specialized in gravity.

But gravity so powerful that Ganmontin, a Six Star Fiend, was only barely able to resist it was truly too extravagant.

“Haaargh!”  Ganmontin  launched  a  backhand  sword  blow, and that indistinct faint green sword shadow shot out as well.

The light green sword shadow and the light earthen yellow sword shadow collided!

After a momentary stalemate, the light yellow sword shadow collapsed, and the remaining amount of the light green sword shadow immediately charged towards Linley. Linley was too close to Ganmontin, and wasn’t able to dodge at all. The light green sword shadow immediately shot into Linley’s body.

“Huh?” Linley’s body shuddered slightly.

“Haha…his  soul  attack  is  actually  weaker  than  mine!” Ganmontin was overjoyed.

Linley’s Gravitational Space and his terrifying defense had scared Ganmontin out of his wits. Unexpectedly, his attack which he had only wanted to use to block Linley’s had actually easily broken through Linley’s soul attack.

“Haha, go die.” Ganmontin actually release two more sword blows downwards. Generally speaking, if a person’s soul attack was strong, his soul defense would also be strong. Seeing how weak Linley’s soul attack was, he knew that Linley’s soul defense couldn’t be too powerful either. Although Ganmontin’s accomplishments in soul attacks was inferior to that of his accomplishments in physical attacks… His soul attacks still outstripped Linley’s!

The two light green sword shadows shot towards Linley at high speed. Linley didn’t have time to dodge at all.

And Linley didn’t dodge. “Haha…” Linley laughed loudly, flying at high speed towards Ganmontin, ignoring those two light green sword shadows which flew into his body. He immediately rushed straight in front of Ganmontin. “Bang!” He viciously lashed Ganmontin with a kick to his chest.

“Crunch!”  Ganmontin was knocked flying, and he spewed out a mouthful of blood.

But after flying not too far away, due to the great power of the gravitational sphere, he was once more drawn closer to Linley.  Ganmontin’s  face  changed  greatly.  “This  Linley,  he suffered two hits of my soul attack, but he didn’t feel anything?” Ganmontin wasn’t too specialized in soul attacks, and he also was being drawn closer once more due to the gravitational sphere. “Here comes another one.” Linley immediately drew closer to Ganmontin once more.

“Aaaah!”  Ganmontin  howled  loudly,  and  suddenly,  over  a thousand Ganmontins appeared around him.

“EXPLODE!” Ganmontin howled furiously.

“BOOOOOM!” The thousand ‘Ganmontins’ all blew apart!

Chapter 13, Unbindable

Within the vast, boundless Starmist Sea, within that gravitational sphere that extended two hundred meters around Linley in every direction, Ganmontin’s thousand or so doppelgangers all blew apart. “Bangbangbang…” It was as though the world itself was about to collapse, as wild energy waves lashed out in every direction!

Ganmontin was very nearly at the Seven Star Fiend level of power. With such an enormous number of doppelgangers simultaneously exploding within this globe, ordinary Gods at least would definitely not be able to withstand it.

“Not good.” Olivier’s face changed.

That Bates immediately emanated a black energy aura, instantly covering Olivier, Bebe, and Delia behind it.

“Bang!” The powerful explosion came crashing over, causing the black aura over their bodies to flicker and shake. “Bates, I’m fine.” Bebe said disdainfully.

At the same time, Bebe and the others stared at the center of the explosion, where Linley’s blurry figure could be seen. Linley was currently turning to stare at them, clearly worried about the shockwaves from the explosions striking them.

“This   is   the   moment!”     Ganmontin’s   original   body immediately seized the opportunity, frantically resisting the gravitational pull and striving to fly away at high speed. He wanted to flee out from the Gravitational Space, and after flying outside of it, given his speed, he would easily be able to throw off Linley.

“Quick, quick!”  Ganmontin frantically increased his speed, while that gravity clutched at him like countless ropes that were tightly entangling him.

“Who the hell is this Linley? His gravity control is actually at such a level, and the scaled armor on his body is so powerful.” Ganmontin was furious. Linley’s Gravitational Space and powerful body defense just so happened to perfectly counter him. 

But although he was furious, Ganmontin still seized the moment when Linley was distracted to flee.

“Boss, we’re fine, but don’t let that Ganmontin escape!” Bebe hurriedly used his divine sense to speak to Linley frantically.

“Right,  Ganmontin!  I  can’t  let  him  escape!”   Linley  was startled awake. He immediately turned to look at Ganmontin, who currently had already reached the borders of the Gravitational Space. Before Linley had a chance to react, Ganmontin leapt out from the borders of that gravitational sphere.

As soon as he left that Gravitational Space, he was like a bird who had been given the skies.

Ganmontin was incomparably excited and rejoiced. “Haha, I finally escaped!” Linley stared at Ganmontin. His lips cracked into a smile, while at the same time, he gently chanted, “Grow!”

The two hundred meter sphere of Gravitational Space suddenly expanded once more, increasing to a sphere of gravity that was four hundred meters!

It must be understood that previously, when creating his Blackstone Prison, Linley was already capable of easily reaching three hundred meters. The two hundred meter diameter was far from being Linley’s limit.

“I finally escaped that damn place. That Linley is actually such a monster. I’d best go back for now.” Just as Ganmontin was rejoicing, very suddenly…that terrifying gravitational force once more covered his entire body, with those invisible forces once more entangling him tightly.

Sensing this force, Ganmontin’s face instantly turned white, without a hint of blood.

“What?” Ganmontin was stupefied. 

He was very fast, but under that gravitational pull, he wasn’t even at a tenth of his normal speed. How could he possibly escape Linley’s pursuit? Last time, he had used the exploding doppelgangers to distract Linley, but this time, Linley wouldn’t be distracted again.

“Can it be that I am going to die today?” Ganmontin turned to look, but all he saw was Linley’s dark golden eyes. Those two dark golden eyes were currently drawing nearer to him. Within the Gravitational Space, Linley’s speed was far greater than his!

Although this took time to describe, in reality, less than a second had passed since Linley had expanded his Gravitational Space.

“You  won’t  be  able  to  flee!”   Linley’s  voice  rang  out  in Ganmontin’s mind, echoing.

“Whoosh!”   Linley’s  right  fist  struck  out  like  an  aquatic dragon leaving the seas, seeming to carry a force that was mighty enough to shatter the earth itself. It howled as it tore through the air, and wherever his fist passed, even the space of the Infernal Realm itself began to shudder, creating spatial cracks.

Linley’s powerful muscles and body had bestowed upon him incomparably vast strength. If he were to use a long-distance attack based on the Laws, this massive physical strength wouldn’t be able to be used, but once he entered close combat, Linley’s mighty body, having been transformed by the ‘golden drop of blood’ and ‘Sovereign’s Might’, was capable of releasing astonishing might.

This was his most powerful punch, one which fused the ‘Essence of the Earth’ and the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ and connected it with his mighty physical strength!

Ganmontin felt his vision blur as a draconic scale-covered fist suddenly swung at him. Ganmontin immediately launched a backhand blow with his sword. The sword seemed to move slowly but was actually extremely fast. Before the fist arrived, the green serpentine sword was already there to block.

“Bang!” Linley’s fist collided viciously against the serpentine divine artifact sword.

“Rumble…”  The serpentine sword actually was smashed so hard that it bent. That fist, carrying boundless force, was knocked slightly off-target by Ganmontin’s sword, but it still smashed hard against Ganmontin’s shoulder. With a ‘crunch!’ sound, Ganmontin’s shoulder-blade shattered and he was knocked flying backwards by the blow.

“What terrifying brute strength!” Ganmontin’s face changed dramatically. “If he were to land a blow on my head, I would die without question. It was that close!”

Even a divine artifact sword had been bent. This force was simply monstrously powerful. However, after having been lucky enough to dodge that, Ganmontin let out a sigh of relief, but then his face changed greatly, because a flashing, azure- golden streak of light was already moving towards him like a blurred whip. No, it wasn’t a blurred whip!

It was Linley’s draconic tail, which had reached an extreme level of speed!

As it turned out, when Linley had smashed out with his right fist, he had also sent his steel-like draconic tail slashing through the air towards Ganmontin’s head.

Ganmontin was so terrified that the look on his face completely changed. The longsword in his hand slashed out in a blur, while at the same time, a pleasant flute sound rang out. This strange flute sound caused Linley to unconsciously pause. “Crackle…”  Where the sword shadow passed by, space split apart.

“Clang!” The serpentine longsword smashed hard against the draconic tail, and sparks flew everywhere. Three draconic scales on the serpentine tail were shattered, while the strike of the draconic tail couldn’t help but miss its mark. Alas, the power of this blow from the draconic tail was simply too great. Even though it was slightly off-target, it was only just a bit lower.

“WHAP!”   The  draconic  tail  smashed  viciously  against Ganmontin’s chest like a chopping blade, and as it passed through his neck, it actually separated Ganmontin’s head from the rest of his body. Ganmontin’s head immediately flew away, his eyes filled with astonishment.

With a return whipping blow from that azure-golden draconic tail, yet another strike was landed on the headless body.

“Bang!” The headless body immediately blew apart.

“You won’t be able to flee!” Linley chased after Ganmontin’s head.

With Linley at the center, a terrifying gravitational force pulled out. Every living creature within that gravitational sphere was drawn towards Linley. Ganmontin’s head was affected  by  the  gravity  as  well.  “Crackle…”   Starting  from Ganmontin’s head, a neck, shoulder, and chest were quickly growing out…

The power of a head by itself to fight back was simply too weak!

Naturally, he wouldn’t be able to resist the gravity, and thus he drew near Linley.

“You won’t have enough time!” Linley’s right leg just gently kicked out, carrying a massive force capable of shattering a mountain range as it chopped down towards the head like a chopping knife. Linley’s right leg seemed to carry a hint of a blade shadow as it gently slashed past the only half-grown upper body.

“No!” A furious, unwilling scream.

“You cannot kill me. If you kill me, the Lord Commander will definitely kill you!”  As Linley’s leg-blade chopped down towards Ganmontin’s head, Ganmontin sent his final divine sense message.

Unfortunately, Linley didn’t hesitate at all.

“Slash!” The head was chopped down by Linley’s leg, and it blew apart from the blow.

Ganmontin was dead!

With a flip of his hand, Linley retrieved that green divine artifact longsword and interspatial ring, taking them into his hand. At this time, Delia, Bebe, and the others excitedly flew over as well. Linley naturally caused everyone to be overjoyed by his being able to kill Ganmontin.

“Haha, Boss, that Ganmontin was so boastful, but in the end, he still died.” Bebe laughed loudly. “Boss, let me take a look and see how much wealth his interspatial ring had within.” “You are still thinking about such things?” Linley smirked as he laughed.

The amount of wealth Bebe had was comparable to the total wealth of some of the ancient clans of the Infernal Realm. This Ganmontin, although powerful, wasn’t a Seven Star Fiend. Most likely, he only had a few trillion. Compared to Bebe’s fortune, it was like a hair on the body of nine oxen.

“I like counting money.” Bebe felt itchy in his heart.

“Linley, just give the interspatial ring to Bebe.”  The nearby Delia laughed. “If you don’t give it to him, he won’t give up.” Linley laughed, then tossed the interspatial ring to Bebe.

Bebe chortled, then immediately began to investigate the contents of the interspatial ring.

The big-bearded Bates just looked at Linley. He knew that Linley was powerful, but even Ganmontin had died in such a manner. This caused him to be surprised. He couldn’t help but sigh, “Mr. Linley, even Ganmontin was in such dire straits in front of you. This truly is admirable.”

Linley just shook his head and laughed, looking at the green serpentine longsword. In his heart, he said to himself, “Ganmontin really was unlucky to have encountered me.”

It wasn’t that Ganmontin wasn’t strong enough, nor was it that Linley was too strong.

It was…

Linley was a perfect counter to Ganmontin!

Ganmontin specialized in speed and in material attacks.

In terms of speed, Linley’s unique Gravitational Space would cause any expert, no matter how fast, to feel as though he were moving through mud once trapped within. Any expert’s speed would be much slower. 

As for material attacks, to his misfortune, Linley’s powerful body was so strong, only an exceedingly few number of races of the Infernal Realm could compare to him. Ganmontin’s most powerful sword attack was only able to break apart two or three draconic scales, unable to influence Linley at all.

“If I were to encounter a Six Star Fiend who specializes in soul attacks, I would be in bad shape.” Linley said to himself.

Ultimate experts who were skilled in soul attacks were generally capable of reaching the level of making their soul attacks ‘conscious’. For example, the Volcano Titan, Phusro! Even the ‘Godslayer Arrows’ for sale in the Redbud Castle contained a mind of its own.

These were all from experts who were quite skilled in matters of the soul.

Linley was worried most about this type of expert. Those who specialized in material attacks, however, were perfectly countered by Linley. 

“Ah, Boss? There’s no way to bind this interspatial ring by blood.”

“Eh?” Linley turned and saw that Bebe was looking sourly at the interspatial ring in his hand. The nearby Delia was frowning as well. “This interspatial ring has an owner. Can it be…that Ganmontin has another surviving divine clone?”

In the Infernal Realm, some experts would separate their divine clones into different areas.

But of course, this was only the minority. After all, there were strong divine clones and weak ones. Weak divine clones had to be put in a safe location. But where in the Infernal Realm was truly safe? The weak didn’t have the money to buy dwellings within cities, while those experts who roamed all over the place didn’t want to let their clones be separated.

In the depths of the sea, within that nameless gorge and the estate within. Ganmontin, dressed in a deep green robe, was shaking, his green glowing eyes staring in front of himself. 

“My divine wind clone, destroyed!”  Ganmontin ground his teeth, his entire body trembling. “Linley, of the Four Divine Beasts clan? I don’t give a damn who you are. I, Ganmontin, will definitely, definitely make you regret it!” Ganmontin now only had his divine water cloner remaining.

In terms of power, Ganmontin’s strongest clone was his divine wind clone.

Even his divine wind clone had proved incapable of killing Linley; how, then, would he kill him?

“My  only  choice  is  to  go  beg  the  Lord  Commander!” Ganmontin’s eyes flashed with the light of hatred, then he transformed into a ray of green light and immediately flew out of the hall.

In the waters above the Starmist Sea, Linley’s group was staring at that green serpentine longsword and that interspatial ring. Bebe muttered, “That fellow actually hid a divine clone. In the past, very few of the many Gods that I’ve met have done such a thing! So troublesome. We can’t even bind his interspatial ring.”

“If we can’t bind it with blood, then we should destroy it.” Linley laughed calmly. “If we leave it untouched, Ganmontin would know where we are located.”

Right at this moment…

“Linley, those seven are coming.” Delia said.

Linley turned to look. Indeed, Aches, Tam, Boff, and the rest of the seven Gods were flying over. Aches, in particular, had an apologetic smile on his face. The seven of them had watched this battle just now. Only now did they realize that the ‘hidden expert’ was Linley.

“They actually have face to come back? Hmph.” Bebe let out a low snort. “Lord  Linley.” The  first  to  fly  over  was  Aches,  and  he immediately called out in a very friendly voice.

Chapter 14, Drifting For Twenty Years

“Oho, so it’s you guys? What are you doing here? I thought the seven of you left already! How come you came back?” Bebe intentionally cocked his head to one side, a mystified look on his face. Immediately, Aches and the other seven felt rather embarrassed.

Although in that sort of situation, it was understandable that they had to consider their own safety, if they had truly just left, that was one thing.

But now that they had come back? It was rather awkward.

In the Starmist Sea, however, where bandits abounded everywhere, given their strength as Gods, how could they safely reach the Bloodridge Continent? Only by relying on the protection of Linley and Bates would they be able to reach their destination. Although relying on Linley’s group to help out was rather awkward, given the other choice was losing their lives, they had to do it.

Aches chuckled, then hurriedly said, “Bebe, we…” “Oh, I know.” Bebe suddenly had a look of insight appearing on  his  face.  “Aches,  originally,  you  were  borrowing  Bates’ metallic lifeform. Now that Bates’ metallic lifeform was destroyed by that Ganmontin, you have now come back to compensate him for the metallic lifeform, right?”

“Metallic lifeform?” Aches was flabbergasted.

Bates’ eyes lit up. Only now did he remember his metallic lifeform, and he immediately laughed. “Right. I agreed to your request to use my metallic lifeform and allow everyone to ride it. Now, it’s destroyed. Aches, you have to compensate me! My metallic lifeform was a high level one, worth eighteen million inkstones!”

“Eighteen million?” Aches stared.

“What, are you not going to pay up?” The face of the big- bearded Bates immediately hardened, as though he were about to attack Aches. Aches hurriedly said, “Lord Bates, don’t worry, I’ll compensate you, I’ll definitely compensate you, alright?”

“That’s   more   like   it.”    The   big-bearded   Bates   laughed delightedly. His metallic lifeform was actually only worth around eight million inkstones. Now that it had been destroyed, he actually made a profit of ten million inkstones.

Aches felt resignation in his heart. Who the hell had he pissed off, for all these disasters to happen on this trip through the Starmist Sea?

“If this happens a few more times, this entire business trip will all but have been for nothing.” Aches sighed helplessly. Actually, the value of the products which Aches had brought was quite high. If he could bring it to the Bloodridge Continent, he would indeed make quite a bit of money.

Unfortunately, the price of metallic lifeforms was high as well.

“Will you be coming with us?” A voice rang out. 

Aches and the other seven Deities turned to look. The speaker was Linley. The big-bearded Bates glanced at him, then began to chortle. “Aches, if you want to travel alongside us, you need to first see if Linley agrees or not. I’m not the decision maker here. It’s up to Linley.”

Aches and the rest of the seven all knew that the most powerful person in this group was Linley!

“Lord Linley, we…” Aches hurriedly laughed.

“If you want to travel along with us, it’s fine.” Linley laughed calmly as he spoke. When these words came out, Aches and the others all let out sighs of relief. Linley, seeing the situation, couldn’t help but laugh. “However, I have to warn you that although I killed Ganmontin, he still has another divine clone left. More importantly…there is a terrifying figure behind him, and that ultimate expert will most likely come looking for me.”

“Ultimate expert?” Aches and the rest of the seven couldn’t help but look at each other. 

The nearby Bebe, wanting to frighten them, added, “That Ganmontin was nothing more than a subordinate of that expert. If you just think about it, you can probably come to the conclusion…that the expert should be on the same level as an Asura!”

“Asura!”  Aches,  Tam,  Wilburn,  and  the  others  felt  their hearts shake. To a God, the Asuras were invincible figures that were far above them.

The green-haired man, ‘Tam’, hurriedly said awkwardly, “Lord Linley is so powerful that he should be able to deal with that expert, right?” Aches and the others immediately looked at Linley.

“I don’t have any confidence at all of being able to do so.” Linley refuted. “Everyone, make your decisions!”

Aches and the other seven looked at each other. “We’ll still follow you, Lord Linley.”  The seven, in the end, made their decision. If the seven were to roam the Starmist Sea by relying on their own power, there was no way they would be able to safely arrive at the Bloodridge Continent. By following Linley, they would be much safer.

Linley, hearing this, couldn’t help but laugh.

“If I can protect you, I will. If I’m not able to, then you’ll have to rely on yourselves.”  Linley laughed calmly. “Alright, let’s head out!” Linley waved his hand, and a metallic lifeform appeared on the surface of the Starmist Sea.

Linley knew very well that Aches no longer had any metallic lifeforms.

Since they knew that behind Ganmontin there was this Lord Commander, Linley’s group naturally devised a method to make it so that they wouldn’t be found. First, Linley destroyed the interspatial ring and even that divine artifact, then took a roundabout route as they advanced towards the Bloodridge Continent. 

The Starmist Sea was vast and boundless. Even the most powerful of experts would find it very hard to find someone within the Starmist Sea.

At first, Linley’s group had been quite worried, but after advancing for over a year without encountering any danger, everyone relaxed.

The endless Starmist Sea. During their quiet voyage, twenty years quickly passed after their encounter with Ganmontin.

“Rumble…” The waves of the sea rolled on.

The metallic lifeform broke through the waves, with Linley seated outside at the head of the ship, staring at the waves.

“Twenty  years!”  Linley  gripped  the  wine  bottle,  casually taking two gulps. “In the Infernal Realm, time really does go by fast. Just traversing the Starmist Sea alone takes decades. By now, we haven’t even covered half the distance.” During the past twenty years, at first, Linley was worried about encountering that Lord Commander.

But as time went on, Linley relaxed. After travelling for twenty years, most likely it would be extremely difficult for that Commander to locate them. After all, even Paragon-level Highgods wouldn’t have a significantly greater divine sense than normal Highgods.

How then could they find Linley?

“Boss.”  Bebe  suddenly  scurried  out  from the  cabin  of  the ship, his face filled with excitement. “Boss, in the cabin, they were discussing an extremely famous island that we are about to  reach.  It  seems  it  is  called  Miluo  Island!”   During  this journey, Linley’s group had halted at a few cities before as well.

The vast Starmist Sea had many islands within it, and they were divided amongst ten prefectures as well. Every single prefecture had ten cities, which were all built upon the various islands. 

The islands of the Starmist Sea generally had a circumference of ten thousand kilometers, with the larger ones perhaps even a million kilometers, far larger than Linley’s homeland of the ‘Yulan continent’. This was more than enough land to build a city.

“Miluo Island?” Linley couldn’t help but be surprised.

“They say that Miluo Island is very developed and flourishing with trade. There’s even some sort of ‘Arena’ on Miluo Island as well, I hear.” Bebe was rather confused about this as well.

Linley, however, remembered that in that book which described the geography of the Infernal Realm, there was a rather weighty description of the ‘Miluo Island’.

The Miluo Island was a large island that was hundreds of kilometers in circumference, and was within the ‘Silverblue Prefecture’ of the Starmist Sea. Miluo Island was an extremely bustling place with a very large amount of people passing through it. Each day, many merchants and warriors would gather there. Its degree of activity wasn’t one whit lower than the ten major cities of the Silverblue Prefecture.

This was a very puzzling thing, actually. An island that was comparable to the ten cities of Silverblue Prefecture?

“Hey, Linley, what are you chatting about?” The big-bearded Bates walked to the front of the ship as well.

“Just chatting about Miluo Island.” Linley laughed calmly.

“Miluo Island?”  The big-bearded ‘Bates’  sighed. “This is a very special place. It isn’t under the protection of the Starmist Army, nor does it have the protection of any prefectural soldiers, but it is as bustling as any of the large cities. Within the island, there is an independent castle which allows merchants to engage in trade.” The Starmist Army was comparable to the ‘Redbud Army’; it was the army of the Starmist Sea.

“Miluo Island has an extremely powerful army within it which  protects  the  rules  of  Miluo  Island.”  Bates  sighed  in praise. “The soldiers of this army are all Highgods and are very outstanding. After all these years, Miluo Island has never decayed!”

Linley couldn’t help but feel puzzled.

Each prefecture only had ten cities. But this Miluo Island was actually able to entice so many merchants to enter it, and was able to be maintained for so many years. This was indeed quite astonishing.

“Miluo Island has two famous places within it. One is the ‘Free Castle’, while the other is the ‘Arena’. Within the Free Castle, no battles are permitted whatsoever. If any fighting is discovered, the soldiers of the Miluo Island will definitely show no mercy at all! Within the Arena, the onlookers aren’t permitted to battle each other. Anyone who violates this will also be surrounded and killed by the army!” Bates’ eyes were filled with amazement and excitement. “Miluo Island is too powerful. Up till now, no one has dared to challenge it.”

“So many merchants trade there? Can it be that no one dares to steal there?” Bebe snorted. “I refuse to believe it. Ordinary people don’t dare rob the merchants, but can it be that the prefectural soldiers will also be afraid to? For example, the Starmist Army?” The Starmist Army was the army of the Sovereigns.

Could it be that it wouldn’t come to deal with Miluo Island?

“I’m not sure about that.” Bates shook his head.

“Miluo Island has already existed for countless hundreds of millions of years. There definitely has to be a special reason for all  this.”   Linley  had  a  general  idea  of  some  information regarding Miluo Island. However, it was still just a general idea. From this, though, Linley was able to postulate…that someone capable of forming an army composed of Highgods, as well as create a trading location outside of the city, had to be an utterly, monstrously powerful figure.

“Behind  Miluo  Island  there  is  definitely  an  astonishingly powerful force.” Linley said to himself.

“Hey, just now, I heard you say that in three days, we’ll be at Miluo Island?” Bebe suddenly asked.

The big-bearded Bates nodded and laughed, “Right. Three more days. Miluo Island is extremely interesting and fascinating, especially the Arena, and especially the Highgod Arena. The battles there even include some extremely powerful experts. It is so incredible!”

Linley couldn’t help but feel a hint of anticipation in his heart as well.

Miluo Island. An independent island within the Starmist Sea. It had no prefectural soldiers of the Starmist Army, and yet it was one of the most bustling places here. 

Three days later.

“There’s so much activity!” Seeing the enormous island from afar, Linley’s group was shocked. Upon seeing Miluo Island’s island entrance, they actually saw countless, densely clustered metallic lifeforms heading in that direction.

“At every moment in time, there are a large number of metallic lifeforms arriving.” Linley couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. “Each day, how many people must be arriving here at Miluo Island? It really is hard to fathom. The amount of activity here at Miluo Island really is no lower than any other island.”

On this trip, Linley had seen quite a few cities.

Their degree of activity was roughly the same as this Miluo Island. “Boss, let’s go. Let’s go take a look at this Miluo Island!” Once the metallic lifeform drew near and halted at the entrance location, Bebe immediately and excitedly was the first to charge out.

There was no need to pay an entrance fee to enter Miluo Island. Linley’s group thus stepped down and entered this legendary Miluo Island.

Chapter 15, Miluo Island

Miluo Island was a verdant island. Ancient trees could be seen everywhere, and the fresh air uplifted the spirits of Linley and the others. From afar, they could see the varied buildings, some sumptuous restaurants, and other edifices. The people on the streets were in an endless stream as well.

At present, some members of bizarre races walked past Linley’s group. Some were sharp-eared elfin creatures with faintly green skin, while others were enormous whale-warriors whose faces had a rather scaly look. Although upon becoming a Deity, one could transform into a human, some bizarre races had different aesthetic standards compared to humans. Even in human form, they would maintain some of the things they felt proudest about. For example, the tail of a fox-man, or the fish- scales of an oceanic creature.

Linley’s group was no longer puzzled by these things. Turning, he laughed as he looked at the nearby Delia and the others. “We’ve been on the sea for quite a while. Let’s first go to a restaurant, and then to the Arena and the Free Castle later.” Linley had been curious long ago regarding the legendary ‘Arena’. In this place, he would be able to see some of the techniques of real experts. How could he give up a chance like this?

“We’ll  do  as  you  say,  Lord  Linley.”  Aches  chuckled  as  he spoke.

Linley, hearing these words, understand that ever since his battle with Ganmontin, he had already become the acknowledged leader of this squad. This was how things worked in the Infernal Realm. Experts were revered.

“Hey, Boss, look. That squad dressed in blood red armor. All of  them  are  Highgods.”  Bebe  immediately  pointed  into  the distance.

Linley and the others immediately turned to look. Indeed, on the streaming, crowded streets, there were three men dressed in blood red armor, which had some unique patterns atop them. Linley wasn’t able to tell what sort of hidden meaning the patterns represented. As the three warriors walked atop the streets, everyone else on the streets intentionally maintained their distance, clearly not daring to offend them. 

The  big-bearded  Bates  said  hurriedly,  “Linley,  that’s  the private army for protecting Miluo Island. No matter what, don’t offend them. All of them are Highgods, and they are extremely many in number. Over these countless years, nobody has ever dared to cause trouble at Miluo Island.”

“Understood.” Linley laughed calmly.

This private army of an island was actually vastly more elite than the Starmist Army or the prefectural armies. In addition, Miluo Island had been bustling for countless years now. Linley couldn’t help but feel astonished by the person behind Miluo Island.

“Hey?”  The nearby Delia frowned, her eyebrows knitting. “Bates, I remembered that you said before that Miluo Island is divided into the west island and east island regions. In the east island, it seems only the ‘Arena’ and the ‘Free Castle’ are restricted. In the other areas, it is fine if battle occurs, so there shouldn’t be any members of the island patrol, right?” Linley’s group, prior to coming to Miluo Island, had been warned about the rules of Miluo Island by Bates, who was familiar with them. Only the ‘Arena’ and the ‘Free Castle’ of Miluo Island were safe grounds.

“Those aren’t patrols. Most likely, those three warriors are on break.”  The big-bearded Bates laughed as he spoke. “Also, when Miluo Island warriors are on patrol, each squad has ten people, not three!”

While walking and chatting, Linley’s group headed deeper into Miluo Island. Miluo Island was simply too vast, with a circumference of hundreds of thousands of kilometers, which was multiple times larger than Linley’s homeland of the Yulan continent. Fortunately, Linley’s group was capable of moving at a speed that far exceeded mortals, and so to them, this sort of scope wasn’t that much.

“This restaurant isn’t bad. I ate here last time.”  The big- bearded Bates pointed at an ancient, classy-looking building in front of them. “Alright. I’ll trust your judgment.” Bebe chortled and was the first to rush into the restaurant. Linley’s group naturally began to laugh while following him. However, as they walked into the restaurant, Linley was stunned.

By the side of the door, there was an explanation notice:

For those who eat in my restaurant, if they engage in battle, they must pay a fee of ten thousand inkstones. If a chair is broken, a hundred inkstones must be paid. If a table is broken…

“What…what’s this all about?”  Linley had never seen this outside of a restaurant before. Olivier, curious, also read through the rules. “How greedy. The chairs and tables are probably worth not even a single inkstone, but they actually want to charge so much. Also, any overturned food needs to be paid at ten times the price?”

Aches  laughed.  “This  is  a  unique  aspect  of  Miluo  Island. After all, in normal cities, battles are strictly forbidden. But in Miluo Island…aside from those two areas, the other areas all permit battle and killing. Or, at least, the patrol soldiers of Miluo Island won’t interfere. But these many restaurants and hotels and other service areas, which have formed into a huge alliance, will interfere.”

The restaurants, hotels, and other service locations had formed an alliance? Linley was somewhat astonished.

“They won’t go too hard on you, but if a battle occurs, then you absolutely must pay enough money. If you don’t pay up, they’ll attack.” Aches sighed in praise. “If I were a store owner, I’d hope for people to engage in battle, and then I would be able to collect money afterwards.”

Special places had special rules.

“How intriguing.” Linley let out a few words of praise, and then headed into the restaurant. The restaurant was very large, and there were quite a few customers present. Linley’s group headed up to the second floor, dividing into two tables. Linley’s table was one seated near a window. Naturally, the fees were covered by Aches. “The silverfish slices are so tender. They melt as soon as they enter the mouth.” Bebe sighed in amazement, hurriedly using his spoon to scoop up yet another piece of fish, delivering it to his mouth while calling out loudly, “Delicious, delicious.”

“This  Bebe…”   Linley  and  Delia  were  enjoying  this  rare chance to eat delicacies as well.

“Did you misspeak? How is that possible!”

“Of course I didn’t misspeak! This is absolutely correct. On the sea here from Bluemaple City of the Redbud Continent, every single large-scale bandit force was completely destroyed. Those bandit forces were completely dispersed!”

Hearing this, Linley was shocked. All of the powerful bandit forces from Bluemaple City to here had been destroyed? Who could be so powerful? Linley turned to look, and saw two men drinking wine and chatting amongst themselves. One of them, a man with long golden hair, was speaking with assurance and composure. “You might laugh at me for saying this, but a good friend of mine became a bandit. He personally witnessed a black-haired man wipe out his Orchid Coral Island. The eleven Highgods on the island, the leader included, all died. That black-haired man only used a single blade attack! My friend and the other

ordinary bandits immediately fled in every direction. Most likely, that expert couldn’t be bothered to chase down and kill ordinary Gods.”

The discussion between these two was overheard by quite a few people nearby, and these people all began to discuss the matter amongst themselves as well. Clearly, the news of many powerful bandit forces being destroyed was no longer a secret.

“This is true. Roughly a month ago, it seems as though one of the Highgods of Blueshark Island’s bandit forces escaped. All the others died.”

Linley’s group, hearing these conversations, couldn’t help but sigh in amazement.

“Destroyed  so  many  bandit  forces,  all  by  himself?”  Bebe sighed,  somewhat  surprised.  Olivier  frowned.  “Black-haired man? Everyone, do you still remember that man who resisted those thunderbolts back then that we ran into?”

Linley’s mind immediately drifted back to the scene of the Fogsea Storm, and how that man who carried a warblade on his back resisted the lightning bolts. That man had a head of black hair.

“If it was him, he probably really did have the power to destroy all those powerful bandits.” Linley said to himself. At the same time, Linley also thought of how when they had encountered a small group of ordinary bandits, that black- haired man had immediately attacked and killed them.

Clearly, the black-haired man held a deep hatred for bandits.

Linley’s group chatted while eating.

“Linley, these dishes are excellent. Have a taste.” Delia said. Linley couldn’t help but to turn and smile at her. But right at this moment…“Bang!”  A wild, explosive collision sound rang out on the second floor of the restaurant. 

Immediately, the other customers on the second floor were startled. Linley turned to look, and noticed that two people were fighting each other, moving as fast as lightning. “Clang!” Divine artifacts clashed, and then only blurred legs which gave off a fiery glow could be seen, smashing viciously into the chest of the other black-robed man, who was immediately sent flying.

“Swoosh!” The black-robed man was kicked so viciously that he flew as fast as lightning towards the direction Linley’s group was in. The man was about to crash into and ruin Linley’s table of dishes.

Linley couldn’t help but frown, and divine earth power began to gather on his body.

“He actually really is trying to kill me.” The black-robed man who was kicked flying was actually overjoyed in his heart. He was planning to seize the opportunity to flee and fly out from the window near Linley’s group, but as he came falling down towards Linley’s group… A strange repulsive force activated upon the black-robed man’s body. The repulsive force was simply too strong. The black-robed man, suffering this invisible repulsive force, was actually sent flying back the opposite way, accelerating at high speed towards the fiery red figure.

“Slash!”

A fiery red blade shadow chopped down, and actually easily sliced through the black-robed man’s head. The black-robed man stared disbelievingly, and then his head blew apart. The impact of the sudden repulsive gravity being applied to the black-robed man had caused him to be in a state of astonishment, and so he had died to a single blow.

“Haha, after so many years, I finally killed you, you bastard.” The fiery light surrounding the red-robed man’s body vanished. His face was filled with excitement, while at the same time, he stretched out with his hand to collect the interspatial ring and the divine artifact.

At this moment, one of the waiters in the restaurant walked over and said casually, “You should know the rules. All the expenses, combined, total 32,100 inkstones.”  At Miluo Island, there were very few people who dared to offend their alliance. Thus, there was no need for threats. A waiter coming over with the bill was enough.

The red-robed figure very straightforwardly withdrew thirty thousand or so inkstones, and then left, heading towards Linley’s group. Bowing slightly, he said, “Thank you for your assistance. Otherwise, who knows how long it would have been before I would have been able to avenge my enmity.”

“You can leave now. Don’t bother us.” Bebe, still chewing on delicacies, just frowned.

The red-robed man wasn’t angry. He immediately left.

“It really is necessary to be careful at Miluo Island. Battles can occur at any point in time.” Linley, after having seen this, warned himself. His plan was to next go to the Free Castle to buy some things. It seemed that he needed to be careful. After all, upon revealing his fortune, it was possible that others would lust after it. 

After dining, Linley’s group left the restaurant, then headed straight for the famous ‘Arena’ of Miluo Island.

The Arena was extremely large, taking up over a hundred kilometers. The spectators of the Arena weren’t permitted to battle each other. If they were discovered to be engaging in battle, they would suffer the assaults of the patrol soldiers of Miluo Island, who would show no mercy at all.

Anyone who wished to watch the battles would have to pay a fee of 100 inkstones.

“The  fee  really  is  quite  high.  The  Arena  supposedly  has millions of seats. If all the seats were filled, just based on this alone, their daily income would be in excess of a hundred million inkstones!”  Linley sighed in amazement. “A hundred million inkstones a day…how much is that in ten thousand years?”  This was indeed a vast sum. However, only someone with sufficient strength was capable of maintaining it. Just by looking at the many island guards with blood red armor, one would understand how powerful the force here was.

While passing through the staircases and entering the walkways, Linley’s group would often see roving patrols of the island guards. “All of them are Highgods. I’ve seen over a thousand by now. Who knows how many island guards there are in total?” Linley was secretly shocked.

As Linley’s group of experts ran towards the viewing platforms of the Arena, they didn’t know that in a different part of the corridors of the Arena, there were some familiar faces!

“Captain, our patrol for today is over. Let’s first go out and have  some  fun.  Patrolling  bores  me  to  death.”  Ten  island guards, dressed in the same blood red armor, were walking together. They were chatting amongst themselves.

“Go out for fun? Today, we have some things to do when we get back. Next time.” A calm voice rang out. 

“Oh.” The nine others couldn’t help but feel resigned. Only, they didn’t dare disobey the orders of their captain. They knew exactly how formidable and how powerful their captain was. He was a person who, in the Highgod Arena, had won a hundred battles in a row!

To win a hundred consecutive battles in the Arena was a tremendous glory.

“Cesar, that kid…alas.”  The captain let out a long sigh. If Linley was present, he would definitely recognize this captain dressed in the blood red armor. Amazingly, he was an expert of the Yulan continent…Tarosse! Only, the current Tarosse had already become a Highgod!

Chapter 16, Familiar Face

The Arena was divided into three levels. The Highgod Arena, the God Arena, and the Demigod Arena. There was only a single Highgod Arena, three God Arenas, and just three Demigod Arenas as well.

“Boss,  which  level  should  we  visit  first?”  Bebe  hurriedly asked.

“The Highgod battles should be the most exciting. Naturally, we’ll go there.”  Linley laughed. The others also were rather more interested in the Highgod battles, and so all of them followed the directions on the walkway and headed directly towards the Highgod Arena.

Moments later, Linley’s group arrived at the vast Arena.

The Highgod Arena. The central dueling area was a round, empty expanse of land that was five kilometers in diameter. Around it was an extremely dense cluster of spectator seats. At a glance, there were nearly a million seats. 

“The Highgod Arena is a large one. The other two arenas aren’t  nearly  as  large.”  The  big-bearded  Bates  said.  Linley’s group headed through the corridors to find some empty seats, then sat down.

Deity-level combatants were able to see to a very great distance. Thus, everyone was able to see clearly across multiple kilometers to view the two men battling in the central dueling area.

Currently, in mid-air, two figures were hovering while staring at each other. One was a muscular, one-horned man. The other was a devilish, bewitching red haired woman. What attracted Linley’s attention wasn’t these two people who were preparing for combat; it was the edges of the central area. In front of the viewing platforms was one blood red armored warrior after another!

At the edges of the circular viewing platforms, every few meters, there was an island guards warrior. “There  are  actually  over  a  thousand  island  guards  here!” Linley inspected them carefully. These people alone represented a force of a thousand Highgods. In addition, these were just the ones who were standing at the edges. It must be understood that other areas, such as the roving patrols going

through the corridors, had quite a few island guards as well.

The number of island guards present at this arena was simply astonishing!

“Wow. There’s quite a few island guards.”  Bebe sighed in amazement.

Aches laughed. “This is the Highgod Arena. They are here to prevent the shockwaves from the battle from harming the viewers. Thus, they arranged for so many island guards present. The number of island guards at the God Arena are far fewer, while the Demigod Arena has virtually no island guards present.”

“How much damage could shockwaves from a Demigod-level fight cause?” The big-bearded Bates chuckled as well. 

While chatting, Linley’s group also carefully watched the battle going on in the center of the arena. Two figures, transformed into blurs, were currently battling as fast as lightning. In mid-air, multiple rays of light flashed, while Linley’s group continued to watch carefully.

“Rumble…”

The devilish red haired beauty actually brandished forth a red staff, striking down like lightning towards the horned man.  “Aaaah!”  A  desolate  scream  could  be  heard,  and  the horned man was sent smashing away. And then, with a queer ‘boom’, his body exploded.

“Clarinda, second victory!” A voice rang out.

The devilish red haired beauty flew directly down towards the corridors below the arena. “Too weak!”  Watching this battle, Linley secretly shook his head.  “Just  by  using  a  slight  amount  of  the  rather  unique ‘Explosion’ profound mystery of the Elemental Laws of Fire, she was able to win twice. The quality of the combatants in this Arena is really low.” Linley had simply seen far too many

powerful experts.

Bluefire, Beirut, Learmonth, Royalwing, Elquin, Phusro…

Even the Ganmontin he had defeated was far superior to these people.

Next to Linley, the big-bearded Bates said softly, “Linley, any Highgods who wish to participate in this arena are permitted to, so of course there will be differences in quality. However, true experts will occasionally appear as well, which is why the ordinary battles will of course be considered by you as uninteresting.”

“Occasionally   appear?”    Linley   shook   his   head,   feeling resigned. The reason he had come was to watch experts do battle. According to their plans, they would only stay for a day or two at this Miluo Island. After finishing their shopping at the Free Castle, they would leave. He didn’t have time to wait here for experts to appear.

“Unfortunate.” Linley sighed.

“The experts here at the Arena are actually fairly common.” Bates said in a hushed voice. “The Highgod Arena has a rule; if one can defeat ten combatants in a row, then all items at the Free Castle will be 10% off. If one wins fifty victories, everything in the Free Castle will be 20% off. But if you win a hundred victories! All items in the Free Castle will be at half price, and in addition, a reward of ten billion inkstones will be given! At the same time, one will be qualified to enter a secret area of the western part of the island to do a special viewing!”

Half price shopping and a ten billion inkstone reward?

Linley didn’t care too much about those, but…

“A special viewing of a secret area in the western island?

What does that mean?” Linley was rather puzzled. 

The eastern part of the island was publicly open to anyone, but the western part of the island was forbidden to outsiders. However, Linley had never heard of a ‘secret area’ in the western part of the island.

“Miluo Island is jointly controlled and run by five great clans. The disciples of these five clans, as well as the island guards, all live on the western part of the island. However, supposedly, the western part of the island has an extremely important hidden area. Only someone who receives a joint invitation from the five clans or someone who wins a hundred victories is qualified to go pay a visit.” Bates sighed.

Linley couldn’t help but feel curious.

Five major clans jointly managed Miluo Island. Then…what was this so-called secret area on the western part of the island?

“Bates, you’ve never gone to take a look?”  Linley looked at him. “I would very much like to.” Bates shook his head and laughed. “Only, I value my own life rather highly. Winning ten victories, for me, wouldn’t be too hard. But a hundred? After all, not all combatants will be very weak. If an expert suddenly appears, won’t I be finished?”

“Can it be that nobody has been so lucky as to only encounter weaklings during the hundred battles?” Linley asked.

“Impossible.”  Bates shook his head. “Even if you are lucky and only encounter weak Highgods during the first 99 battles whom you defeat, at the 100th battle, the five clans will arrange for one of their own experts to go test the challenger! Every single person who was truly victorious in a hundred battles is a true expert, and has at least my level of power.”

Linley nodded slightly.

It made sense. The five clans wouldn’t so casually toss out ten billion inkstones to someone who was lucky but weak. “The reward alone is ten billion inkstones. The five clans truly are rich and profligate.” Linley said to himself.

“Linley, if you try for yourself, winning a hundred battles would be very easy.” Bates said enticingly. “Generally speaking, someone at the Six Star Fiend level is capable of winning a hundred battles. Lucky Five Star Fiends also have a shot. After all, generally speaking, you might not see a Seven Star Fiend participate in the Arena even so much as once every ten thousand years.”

Linley chuckled. That was of course the case.

Would an almighty Seven Star Fiend care about ten billion inkstones? But of course, as time passed, over the course of ten thousand years, perhaps a Seven Star Fiend might appear to take part.

“Boss, quick, look!” Bebe said urgently.

“Eh?” Linley looked at Bebe, puzzled. Not just Bebe; even Delia and the others all called out, “Linley, quick, look at the person who appeared in mid-air. That’s the person we encountered back then!”

After having seen the first battle, Linley wasn’t too interested in the arena battles any longer.

But at this moment, Linley immediately turned to look. What he saw shocked him!

In the wide, empty space, there was a familiar figure!

“Him?” A look of amazement appeared on Linley’s face. “Who would have expected that an event which happens perhaps once every ten thousand years is happening right now. Such a powerful expert really has come to participate.”

In the empty space of the arena, a cold, callous man, dressed in a long black robe and carrying a warblade on his back was standing there. His long black hair fluttered loosely in the wind. He stood there like a glacier who had existed for countless years, icy and unapproachable. 

In his eyes, electric sparks were dancing.

“It’s him.”  Bates cleared his throat and said in amazement, “If he participates, isn’t he guaranteed to win a hundred victories?”

The nearby Bebe said, puzzled, “Eh? I remember that he travelled faster than us. Logically speaking, he should’ve arrived at Miluo Island long before us. He shouldn’t be here with us at the same time.”

Travelling by himself, that black-haired man was indeed very fast.

But Linley thought back to the conversations of the others in the restaurants.

From Bluemaple City to Miluo Island, all of the larger bandit forces had been destroyed. 

“Perhaps it was because he destroyed so many bandit forces on the way. Or perhaps he was training on the way.” Linley said to himself.

Linley immediately began to watch the arena carefully. After all, the person battling was the powerful black-haired man.

“You are too weak. Beat it!”  A calm voice echoed in the air above the arena. The speaker was the black-haired man. His opponent was dressed in a long white robe, and was a handsome, violet-haired youth who wielded a scepter that was flashing with white light.

The viewing area immediately burst into a commotion. It had been many years since they saw someone so arrogant, to order the opponent to beat it before the battle even began.

The violet-haired youth, hearing this word, couldn’t help but feel enraged. “You’ll only know after fighting!” The black-haired man couldn’t help but stare at him.

“Swish!”

Suddenly, two bolts of electric light shot out from the black- haired man’s eyes. The speed was so fast that the violet-haired youth wasn’t able to dodge at all. It directly slammed into the violet-haired youth’s body, and the violet-haired youth trembled slightly, then collapsed, never to rise again.

The hundreds of thousands of onlookers were all momentarily stunned.

The entire viewing platform was utterly still.

“Weaklings should not come. If you do, you are looking for death. Next challenger. Someone stronger. I’ll just keep fighting here!” The black-haired man said calmly.

Consecutive battles! 

This was an extremely arrogant display, because if one engaged in consecutive battles, one wouldn’t have the chance to choose one’s opponent. Regardless of who the next opponent was, he had to do battle! Even if the next opponent was an Asura, he’d still have to do battle.

But of course, there was no way an Asura would participate.

Thus, as long as one wasn’t completely hot-heated, generally speaking only a true expert would dare to do consecutive battles.

“Lomio,  one  victory!”  A  voice  rang  out  from  within  the arena. “Everyone, right now, Mr. Lomio has chosen to engage in consecutive battles. Any Highgod, no matter who, is permitted to participate. Anyone who is interested can immediately go down below to register. Alright, now, time for the second battle!”

Linley watched without blinking. He watched straight from the first to the tenth battle!

As for the eleventh battle…it wasn’t that Linley didn’t want to continue watching, it was that he no longer had the chance to.

This was because every person who wanted to fight in the Arena could only fight ten battles each day. Even if one wanted to fight a hundred battles, one would have to spread it out over ten days. Lomio fought ten consecutive battles, gaining victory easily in each one. His power was so great that the onlookers all found it hard to breathe as they watched.

“Too powerful.” Linley’s heart was trembling. “This person is very skilled in both material attacks and soul attacks. In addition, from start to finish, he’s never even drawn his warblade.”

“Lomio.” Linley memorized this name.

They went to watch a few battles at the God Arena and the Demigod Arena. Bebe even joined the God Arena and fought ten battles in a row. Given Bebe’s power, just by unleashing a bit of his might, he easily won ten victories!

After leaving the Arena, Linley’s group headed straight for the Free Castle.

“Bebe, how bored are you? You actually went to compete.” Linley laughed.

“Ten victories, y’know. At least I got this medallion. I’ll be getting a 10% discount when shopping.” Bebe said delightedly.

Linley was speechless. How much money could shopping possibly use up? 10% off was nothing to them. Given the wealth which Linley and Bebe currently had, a discount of 10% was meaningless.

“The Free Castle is beautifully built.”  Linley looked at the distant, dark green walls and the red-topped ancient castle. This castle’s entrance was like a nonstop flood of people. “This place has many products for sale. Some of the Starmist Sea, some from other continents. It has even more things for sale  than  the  Blacksand  Castles  of  the  Redbud  Continent.” Aches sighed in amazement.

Linley’s group immediately entered through the gateway.

At the sides of the entrance to the Free Castle, a man with black hair who was dressed in a long, loose robe was lazily lying down in the grass, holding and nursing a bottle of wine. If Linley had seen him, he would immediately have recognized him – this was an old friend who, like them, had come from the Yulan continent. Cesar!

Cesar currently looked very dispirited.

“Last time? Haha, last time?” Cesar raised his head to laugh loudly, his tears dripping down.

Quite a few people on the streets turned to look at him, but none of them would be so bored as to interfere. 

“Eh?” Linley, already at the gateway, suddenly turned to look into the distance. He stared carefully, but around him was a sea of people. “Could I have misheard?” Linley, just now, vaguely felt as though he had heard Cesar’s voice.

But there were many people with similar voices, and although Linley looked carefully, he didn’t see Cesar.

“I must have heard wrong.” Linley shook his head and sighed.

“Boss, let’s head in. What are you looking at?” Bebe said, and Delia looked towards Linley as well.

“Let’s go in.” Linley laughed. He thus entered the Free Castle along with Delia.

But what Linley didn’t know was that Cesar was lying in the grass by the road. If Cesar had stood up, Linley would perhaps have seen him, but he was lying down…how could Linley discover him?

Chapter 17, A Confrontation

Miluo Island. A dazzling jewel of the Starmist Sea.

An unofficial force which was actually capable of building up a Free Castle, capable of allowing trade. In addition, it had been in existence for countless years. This was indeed a queer thing. Because of low taxation rates as well as other attractive policies, countless merchants of the Infernal Realm all gathered here. Every day, the number of customers who came to the Free Castle were beyond number.

The Free Castle had a total of six layers. Four of them were publicly available for guests to enter, while Linley’s group was currently on the first floor’s main hall.

“Fighting is strictly forbidden in the Free Castle as well. It is very safe here. Everyone can go their own ways here and buy whatever they want by themselves. After finishing, we’ll gather together.” Linley glanced at the people around him and spoke. This group of people had already very naturally taken Linley as their leader. Everyone agreed. After all, everyone’s amount of wealth was different and different things to buy. The group immediately split apart, with everyone heading in different directions.

“Linley, I’ll go browsing as well.” Olivier said to Linley, and then left by himself to go roam the Free Castle.

The only ones remaining were Linley, Delia, and Bebe.

“Boss, where to first?”  Bebe was very excited. He had an enormous fortune on him, and so naturally he looked forward to spending it.

Linley looked around, then saw that at the sides of the main hall, there were sales counters with signs for various items. These sales counters had items which were all quite low- priced, most under a hundred inkstones. Linley remembered how when he had been at the Redbud Castle, there had been three stories, with each story representing a different level of price.

Most likely, this Free Castle was the same. 

“I’ll head straight for the fourth level. Most likely, the fourth floor has the best items for the highest price.”  It wasn’t that Linley was wasteful of his money; he understood that in the Infernal Realm, the best items cost more money.

Bebe was the first to walk forward, while Linley and Delia followed from behind as they constantly moved up the stairways.

“There’s certainly a large number of island guards here.” Linley noticed that throughout the Free Castle, those blood red armored Highgod warriors could be seen.

Delia laughed. “With so many island guards present, even if someone wanted to fight, they wouldn’t dare.”

Linley nodded.

Bebe carefully inspected those island guards. “How many people can possibly resist the combined attacks of a group of Highgods? Most people naturally wouldn’t dare to cause trouble!”

“Even  if  there  is  an  expert  capable  of  resisting  the surrounding group of island guards, most likely more island guards would quickly head here. Miluo Island has existed for countless years. Their power is nothing to joke about.”  As he spoke, Linley led his group into the fourth floor of the Free Castle.

The fourth floor’s main hall held an enormous exhibition area with a number of trade items on display within. Every single sign showed exceedingly astonishing prices. The lowest was marked in millions of inkstones, while the higher ones started at a hundred million inkstones. Most Deities wouldn’t dare to enter a place like this.

“Boss, this place has Deathgod Golems!” Bebe said excitedly.

“Deathgod Golems?”  Linley immediately turned to look in the direction of Bebe’s pointing finger. Indeed, there was a large display area with several Deathgod Golems on display. 

Delia laughed. “Linley, you finally found it.”

Linley immediately laughed as he walked over. He had wanted to buy some Deathgod Golems long ago. At a critical point in time, one could use it to completely entangle an opponent, and then flee. Only, Deathgod Golems weren’t something you could simply buy with money. Linley had made inquiries in the other cities he had passed through, but hadn’t found any Deathgod Golems for sale at all.

“Hey, how much do your Deathgod Golems sell for?”  Bebe was the first to ask.

The shopkeeper was an icy looking youth with short black hair and violet eyes. He was currently seated in his shop with his eyes closed. Hearing Bebe’s words, he opened his eyes and said calmly, “The price is marked very clearly on the sign. Go read it for yourself.” And then he shut his eyes again.

Linley couldn’t help but laugh. Someone who ran a business but had an attitude like this really was rare. 

“Is this person relying on the fact that Deathgod Golems are easy to sell?” Delia laughed.

Linley nodded, then glanced at the price list. Deathgod Golems were divided into three levels, based on the toughness of their bodies. High level Deathgod Golems had bodies that were as tough as Highgod artifacts, and were exceedingly hard to destroy.

Low level, mid level, high level. High level Deathgod Golems each cost 150 million inkstones!

This price was actually reasonable.

“How  many  high  level  Deathgod  Golems  do  you  have?” Linley asked.

Only now did the black haired youth open his eyes.

Frowning, he glanced at Linley. “How many are you buying?” “A  hundred.  Do  you  have  that  many?”  Bebe  said.  Linley couldn’t help but look at Bebe. He had no intentions of buying so many. It must be understood that to control a Deathgod Golem to engage in battle, one had to focus one’s mind on it to control it.

Generally, each person could only control a single one.

But of course, if one didn’t have to control them too exquisitely, a single person could control quite a few.

Linley currently had four souls. He could simultaneously control four Deathgod Golems with perfect accuracy. But of course, if Linley’s original body was battling with the enemy, at most he could have his three extra souls accurately control three Deathgod Golems total. If the level of control didn’t have to be too high, then he would be able to control much more.

The cold man shook his head. “I can at most sell you ten high level Deathgod Golems.” “If you can sell ten, I’ll take ten.” Linley laughed. Linley was already very satisfied with this figure. “Also, those mid level golems. Give me two hundred of those as well.”  Linley was preparing to accurately control the high level golems. As for the mid level ones, in a time of emergency, they would be used as cannon fodder.

Mid level Deathgod Golems were worth fifteen million.

“Two hundred?”  The cold youth shook his head. “I can at most provide a hundred.”

“That’s fine too.” Linley happily paid for and took those ten high level Deathgod Golems and hundred mid level Deathgod Golems. Buying these Deathgod Golems cost a total of 2.7 billion inkstones. To Linley, this was nothing at all.

The amount of money he himself had was nearly two hundred billion inkstones.

As for Bebe, he had gathered countless amethysts, which made up an astonishing fortune. 

Actually, the total price should have been three billion inkstones, but Bebe had that 10% discount medallion which he had won in the Arena for ten victories!

After having sold those ten high level Deathgod Golems and hundred mid level Deathgod Golems, a rare smile was on the face of that cold, callous youth. With a wave of his hand, he collected all of the items of his store into his interspatial ring, then turned and left the fourth floor.

“He actually leave?” Bebe stared.

“He’s most likely sold off all of his product. Those remaining low level Deathgod Golems aren’t much.” Linley guessed.

Deathgod Golems were very hard to make.

If one had money, one would still find them hard to purchase. After all these years of wandering various cities, Linley had yet to find any Deathgod Golems. One could imagine how rare they were.

“Let’s go. Keep shopping for more treasures!” Bebe said in a high, excited voice.

Walking to the main hall of the fourth floor’s various exhibits, Linley sensed how wonderful having money was. He directly purchased many precious treasures. It must be understood…these treasures were things which people might perhaps only obtain after risking their lives.

But as for Linley, all he had to do was spent money.

“Where should we go next?” Bebe said. “We’re pretty much done here in the fourth floor.” On the fourth floor, only distant clothing stores were available. Bebe, at least, had no interest in clothing.

As he saw it, shopping for clothes was boring! “Wait. We have the clothing stores. Let’s go take a look.” Linley  said  hurriedly.  “Delia,  what  say  you?”   Linley  had noticed long ago that Delia would occasionally glance towards them. Women were always quite intrigued by clothing.

Delia snorted, then walked over.

There were some women trying out the clothes of the shop, but when Linley saw the prices listed, he felt a hint of surprise in his heart. “These clothes are ridiculously expensive. All over a million inkstones?”  Although he said this, Linley wouldn’t mind buying whatever Delia liked.

After browsing through the three clothing shops, Delia arrived at the fourth without having found anything she liked.

There were quite a few guests here. Business was quite good.

“Not bad.”  As Linley entered, he felt as though every set of clothing gave him a very superb feeling, as though they were exquisite works of art. Only, the price of clothes here was astonishing as well. The other places had clothes going for around a million inkstones, but here, almost every single set of clothes was over ten million inkstones, with only a very few number being less.

“Linley, how about this one?” After multiple selections, Delia took a fancy to a primarily pink outfit.

Linley glanced at it, then his eyes gleamed. “Excellent.”

Delia was smiling as beautifully as a flower. Clearly, she too had taken a fancy to this set of clothes. Only, the price of this set of clothes was simply too astonishing…

Just this set alone actually cost more than eighty million inkstones!

This was the second most expensive one in the store. The most expensive one cost a hundred million inkstones. The nearby shopkeeper immediately said warmly, “This set of clothes is made from materials that come from the Divine Plane of Light. It was made from the feathers of Boissi Swan- men [Bo’si’yi], and the owner of every single feather had reached the Highgod level. The materials for this set of clothes alone, combined with the shipping cost, is an astronomical figure. Its toughness is comparable to a Highgod artifact!”

“Oh?” Linley was rather surprised.

Beautiful yet sturdy. This price made sense.

“Buy it.” Linley nodded.

The owner, seeing Linley nod so freely and easily, felt a surge of joy. At the same time, he was also secretly shocked. People really couldn’t be judged by their appearances. Superficially, Linley looked as though he was only a God, but he didn’t mind at all about paying nearly a hundred million for a set of clothes.

“See this?” Bebe reached out and flipped out his ten victories medallion. 

“Uh…” The shopkeeper couldn’t help but be astonished, and then he laughed. “Alright, alright, ten percent off! You only need to pay seventy six million inkstones.”

Linley laughed, then paid the money.

Delia put on this set of pink clothes, carefully looking at herself in the mirror, clearly very happy. Looking at Delia’s slightly blushing face, set off by the pinkness of her clothes, he felt that she was so devilishly charming.

Linley had to say that this set of clothes was quite worth it!

At this moment, outside the store, six people came in, the leader a callous looking youth with short red hair who stood

2.2 meters tall. He was currently staring at Delia, dressed in that outfit, and a smile was on his face.

“Young master, you’ve taken a fancy to it?”  A silver-haired elder behind him said softly. 

“Yes. Not bad.” The short red haired youth nodded slightly, then said loudly, “Shopkeeper, do you have any more of that set of clothes that woman is wearing?”

The shopkeeper, hearing this, turned to look at Delia, then quickly shook his head. “Sorry. The materials for this set of clothes are simply too rare. My shop only has this one set. Every single set of clothes in my shop is quite precious. Most of them are unique!”

“Just  one?”   The  red-haired  callous  youth  frowned,  then glanced sideways at Delia.

The silver-haired elder behind him, quite intelligently, immediately walked forward towards Linley and Delia, saying directly to Delia, “Our young master has taken a fancy to the clothes you are wearing. Sell it to us.”

Linley, hearing this, was startled. He couldn’t help but turn to look at them. “Give us the clothes. We’ll pay you for it. However much the price  was,  we’ll  pay  double.”   The  silver-haired  elder  said calmly. Hearing this, the shopkeeper clearly was rather regretful.

“Double?”   Linley  laughed,  then  glanced  back  at  Delia. “Forget about double. Even if you wanted to pay us ten times as much, we wouldn’t sell it!”

The silver-haired elder’s face immediately turned ugly.

“Hey,  that  guy  over  there  is  your  young  master?”   Bebe glanced at the red-haired, callous youth, then pursed his lips. “Young master, the clothes you are wearing are quite excellent. I’ve taken a fancy to them. You can go ahead and sell it to me. I’ll pay you double as well. Are you willing to sell?”

Chapter 18, The Blood-Colored Miluo Insignia

The red-haired youth, hearing these words, couldn’t help but narrow his eyes, his gaze growing cold.

The silver-haired elder snorted with cold anger as well. “You’d best know what’s good for you. It’s just a set of clothes, right? Be careful. Don’t lose your lives for the sake of clothes!” But Bebe paid no attention to the silver-haired elder’s threats.

“You threaten me?” Bebe rolled his eyes as he spoke angrily.

But Linley realized something more.

Linley carefully inspected this red-haired youth, then at the silver-haired elder. He secretly mused, “Most of the people who come to the fourth floor of the Free Castle for shopping are quite wealthy. In the Infernal Realm, most people who have money have great power as well. For the silver haired elder to dare to be so arrogant in a place like this means that he should have some sort of a background.” Although Linley wasn’t afraid, in a strange place like this, he didn’t want to make any enemies either.

“Bebe, Delia, let’s go.”  Linley pulled the enraged Bebe as he began to walk towards the outside of the store. Linley didn’t want to continue wasting time with these people.

“Whoosh!”  The  four  people  behind  the  red  haired  youth immediately blocked Linley’s way. The four were all Highgods!

“You want to leave?”  The red haired youth let out a cold laugh, a very condescending look in on face. “There’s nothing that I want that I cannot get! I’m in a good mood today and don’t want to fight. You’d best hand that set of clothes to me. Otherwise!”

Linley couldn’t help but begin to feel his anger rise as well.

“The offer of double price is gone now. However, we’ll still give you the same price. Don’t say that our Bagshaw [Ba’ge’xiao] clan takes advantage of people!” The silver-haired elder snickered as well. These words instantly caused the owner of the clothing store’s face to change.

Bagshaw clan?

Linley was intrigued, but unfortunately, this was his first time at Miluo Island, and he had never heard of this Bagshaw clan.

“You’d best give them the clothes.” The store owner urged.

“Linley, this Bagshaw clan seems to be rather formidable. Just give them the clothes.” Delia sent through divine sense to Linley as well. Linley glanced at the nearby Delia. He knew that Delia, in her heart, really didn’t want to part with it.

Only, Delia didn’t want to offend people for Linley’s sake.

“It’s fine.” Linley laughed calmly. 

And then, Linley turned to look at those people and barked coldly, “What, you want to start a fight in the Free Castle?”

Immediately, those people were stunned.

This was the Free Castle. The laws and mores here forbade fighting. Anyone who engaged in combat would be mercilessly slaughtered by the island guards.

Right at this moment, the patrolling guards on the main hall of the fourth floor noticed the situation as well, and immediately, a small group of ten of them hurriedly walked over. The leader, a bald, burly man, shouted loudly, “What’s going on? You want to cause trouble here? Are you looking for death?”

“Right,   they   are   causing   trouble.”    Bebe   said   angrily. “Everyone, we bought a set of clothes, but these people here want to force us to sell it to them. We didn’t, so they barred our way.” Linley watched this happen calmly.

Since the Free Castle had its own rules, then those rules definitely wouldn’t be allowed to be broken by anyone, no matter who they were. Otherwise, who would care about the rules?

“Captain,  these  people  are  rather  arrogant.”   The  other guards immediately called out.

“You want to force others to sell their clothes to you?” The bald burly man stared with eyes as wide as a bull’s, a look of anger in his gaze. “Such audacity! You dare to be so bold in the Free Castle! No matter who you are, nobody here in the Free Castle has the right to be so brash!”

Bebe immediately began to chortle.

The arrogant red-haired youth frowned, glancing sideways with a cold look at the leader of the guards. With a flip of his hand, he revealed a blood red insignia, covered by marvelous patterns. The patterns on the insignia was very similar to the patterns on the armor of the island guards.

“A   blood-colored   Miluo   Insignia!”    The   bald   warrior stuttered, and his face instantly changed dramatically.

“Milord!”  The ten island guards, the bald leader included, immediately bowed respectfully as they spoke.

Linley, Delia, and Bebe were shocked as well.

“And it is actually a high level blood-colored Miluo Insignia!” The shopkeeper was stunned as well. There were, in total, two types of the ‘Miluo Insignias’ which conferred extremely high power within Miluo Island. The first type was green, while the other type was blood-colored. Blood-colored Miluo Insignias represented extremely great power.

At the same time, they were also extremely rare. “A blood-colored Miluo Insignia?”  Linley didn’t understand what sort of treasure this thing was, but judging from the looks of those ten guards, Linley understood the value of this insignia.

The other island guards on the fourth floor also noticed the special event occurring here. Immediately, quite a few warriors hurried over, and even the general manager of the fourth floor hurried over. Immediately, hundreds of island guards surrounded the area.

“Young master Sequeira [Sai’ke’la], what is it? You want to buy  clothes  for  your  wife?”   The  general  manager  was  a handsome, gold-haired youth. Seeing the young master, he immediately greeted him warmly.

The red haired, cold youth named Sequeira laughed calmly and nodded.

“Boss, the situation looks bad.”  Bebe sent through divine sense. How could Linley not have realized this already?

“Linley, let’s just give them the clothes.” Delia sent through divine sense, urging him. Linley considered for a moment. Delia definitely liked this set of clothes very much, and he should keep it for her sake. But clearly, the opponent came from a ridiculously powerful background.

Linley decided that he might as well swallow his anger for now.

“Sorry, Delia.” Linley looked at Delia, who laughed and shook her head.

Seeing this, the silver-haired elder laughed, while the red- haired youth snickered as well.

“Hmph, now it’s too late!” The silver-haired elder snorted in an ill-tempered manner. “We won’t give you a single inkstone. Do you want to offer it or not?” The silver-haired elder had a belly full of fire right now. As a member of the Bagshaw clan, how had he ever had to swallow his temper? 

“However, if you give it to us now, we’ll generously spare your lives.” The silver-haired elder said disdainfully.

“Motherf*cker,  keep  dreaming.”   Bebe  was  indescribably angry.

Linley began to laugh. Laughter born of anger!

He himself had been willing to swallow his anger to end this situation, but these people had actually taken him for a soft target, easily abused!

“What is going on with this Free Castle? Even when shopping here, we suffer threats and pressure, and a demand for us to give our items without compensation. This Free Castle isn’t free at all! It seems the reputation of this Miluo Island is fake, and these island guards are nothing more than ornaments!” Linley’s voice echoed throughout the fourth floor.

Immediately, the other customers all looked towards them. 

The looks on the faces of the island guards instantly turned ugly. The face of the young master ‘Sequeira’ of the Bagshaw clan turned sinister as well. The rules of Miluo Island, which had been passed down since antiquity. In the Free Castle, nobody was permitted to engage in battle, no matter who they were.

Any who violated this would be killed!

If the rules were broken, in the future, who would dare do business here?

“Young  master  Sequeira,  this  isn’t  easy  to  handle.”   The general manager, that gold-haired youth, said through divine sense. The cold, arrogant young master Sequeira also knew what was important and what wasn’t. Glancing at Linley’s group, he said calmly, “Let’s go!” As he spoke, he led his people away.

The general manager, that gold-haired youth, glanced at Linley,  then  sent  through  divine  sense,  “Kid,  be  careful! Offending Sequeira in Miluo Island means that while you’ll be safe in the Free Castle, as soon as you leave it…” And then, the gold-haired youth left.

Those island guards all left one by one as well.

“Those people really motherf*cking went too far.” Bebe was unable to restrain his temper.

“Linley, it’s all my fault.” Delia said softly.

Linley tightly clenched Delia’s hand, shaking his head. “It isn’t your fault. In the Infernal Realm, sometimes, if we have to endure, we will. But if someone goes too far, then we might as well just have a battle with them.” Linley was laughing coldly in his heart as well. At worst, he would just go all out!

He could use a drop of Sovereign’s Might and engage in a wild slaughter. What was there to fear? “Let’s go out.” Linley said.

Linley knew very well that at Miluo Island, the Bagshaw clan definitely had to be an extremely powerful force. Most likely, they were one of the five clans which controlled Miluo Island! Linley immediately decided that after finishing buying things in the Free Castle, they would head directly out of Miluo Island!

“I was originally planning to watch the next nine days of competitions for that ‘Lomio’.” Linley shook his head and sighed to himself.

Linley’s group intentionally strolled about for a while on the third floor of the Free Castle, and then came to their original gathering spot. By now, half the people had already gathered here again. Linley’s group only had to wait for less than an hour before Aches, the last one to return, came back.

“Sorry, sorry. There were many things in this Free Castle which normally aren’t for sale in the Blacksand Castle or the Redbud  Castle,  so  I  had  to  take  a  bit  of  time.”  Aches  said hurriedly. 

Linley’s group all knew that Aches was a merchant. It wasn’t strange for him to spend a bit more time.

“Everyone, you can head back first.” Linley said.

“Huh?” The big-bearded ‘Bates’, Aches, and the others all immediately looked at Linley.

“In this Free Castle, we irritated members of the Bagshaw clan. Right now, there are people following us. For your safety, you need to leave first. Right…you can go to the restaurant we first ate at earlier, and we’ll all regroup there. If we haven’t arrived within one day, you can head off first.” Linley said very directly.

Bates and the others were all shocked. In the end, everyone wisely chose to leave.

However, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier stayed by Linley. 

After waiting a long time after the others left, Linley’s group headed towards the exit of the Free Castle. Behind Linley’s group, however, was the silver-haired elder, who stared at the backs of Linley’s group. “You offended my clan’s young master, and you want to leave alive?”

The silver-haired elder immediately picked up the pace to follow.

“We’re out. Everyone, be careful.” Linley stepped out of the Free Castle, but then his face suddenly changed.

At the two sides of the wide street, over ten people immediately drew close to them. The two lines of people immediately surrounded Linley’s group while at the same time separating them off from the other customers of the Free Castle.

“Haha, you still want to leave?” The silver-haired elder came out from outside. As soon as he had exited the fourth floor, he had immediately arranged for two of the guards of the young master to lead ten other Highgods to wait at the entrance. No matter what, they wouldn’t let Linley’s group flee. It had been a long time since his young master had to swallow his temper like that.

“Boss, they really did set an ambush for us.”  Bebe said in a low voice.

Linley glanced sideways at the two rows of twelve Highgods. These Highgods were roughly ten meters away from Linley, but to Highgods, a distance of ten meters was absolutely nothing. Battle could begin at any moment.

At the same time, a large number of people on the streets immediately hurried over to surround and watch, and they all began to chitchat over the situation.

“So many Highgods, surrounding just those few people?”

“That silver-haired elder is the housekeeper for the Bagshaw clan. I recognize him. Those people are doomed. They actually offended the Bagshaw clan.”

The chatter went on, but Linley faced it all calmly.

“Walk towards the front.” Linley said through divine sense.

Immediately, Linley’s group of four immediately walked towards the front, not even looking at the twelve Highgods to each side of them.

“You want to leave!” An explosive shout. Instantly, one of the Highgods flew towards Linley. Clearly, as he saw it, Linley was just a God. He alone would be more than enough to deal with him.

“F*ck off!” Linley held little regard for ordinary Highgods.

The divine earth power on his body flexed out, and instantly, an astonishing repulsive force was applied to that Highgod’s body. That Highgod who had been pouncing towards Linley with his divine artifact drawn, before even touching Linley, was instantly flicked backwards by that astonishing repulsive force, while Linley himself continued to walk forward.

“How is that possible?” The Highgod stared with wide eyes.

The silver-haired elder’s face changed. He shouted, “Attack!”

Instantly, the twelve Highgods simultaneously pounced towards Linley’s group. But right at this moment, with Linley at the center, a faint earthen yellow hemisphere that was ten meters in diameter suddenly appeared, trapping all of the twelve attacking Highgods within its reach.

Blackstone Space!

Those twelve Highgods, because of the astonishing gravitational force, were drawn directly to the ground. “How is that possible?” The twelve hadn’t even had a chance to react when suddenly, a bizarre wind sound directly entered their consciousness. It was much like the strange wind sound Linley and the others had heard in the Amethyst Mountains. Their soul was affected, and the twelve of them were instantly drawn into a stupor.

“Swish!”

A devilish violet sword light flashed, chopping through the necks of those twelve men like a giant guillotine.

“Bang!” “Bang!”

The heads of those twelve men exploded, and their divine sparks fell to the floor.

Everyone watching this scene in front of the wide gates of the Free Castle was stunned. The previously rowdy streets instantly turned silent, with the most astonished one being that silver-haired elder, who stared disbelievingly at this sight. 

Twelve Highgods, killed with one sword?

“These ordinary Highgods, within my Blackstone Space, will have their souls drawn into a stupor. They are only able to stand there and be slaughtered by me.” Linley naturally hadn’t paid any mind to these sorts of people. Highgods who were in a stupor were like blocks of wood that couldn’t fight back.

Killing them was simplicity itself!

“Linley.”   Delia  looked  towards  Linley  with  a  hint  of excitement in her eyes. All women loved it when their man was powerful.

“Let’s go.” Linley laughed calmly.

Linley’s group of four continued to walk forward, while on the wide streets, the previously rowdy crowd immediately split a path for them, allowing Linley’s group to leave. Everyone who had seen Linley’s sword just now were all staring in Linley in shock and admiration.

In the Infernal Realm, the strong were worshipped!

“He  killed  twelve  Highgods  with  one  sword.  This  lord  is simply too powerful. I originally thought he was just a God- level Fiend.”

“What do you know? This lord was hiding his true power. As I see it, this lord is at least a Six Star Fiend.”

Those who watched this scene were all chattering and discussing this event.

“So formidable!”

Currently, that arrogant, red-haired youth, ‘young master Sequeira’, as well as that gold-haired youth, both appeared at the entrance. Actually, this had been arranged by Sequeira to begin with. Naturally, he was watching everything in secret. At this moment, he too was watching, stunned, at Linley’s distant, disappearing back.

“Young master.” The silver-haired elder said hurriedly.

But Sequeira just frowned as he looked at the gold-haired youth. “This person killed twelve Highgods so easily with a single sword. I thought he was a God. So he was a Highgod who was hiding his true power! Could you tell how powerful he truly was?”

Sequeira knew very well how powerful the gold-haired youth was. As a chief of a thousand-man corps, the gold-haired youth had the power of a Six Star Fiend.

If even the gold-haired youth couldn’t tell how powerful this person was, then this person was definitely very fearsome.

“I…can’t see through him!” The gold-haired youth had been staring towards Linley this entire time. “This person has been hiding his power, but I can’t see through it at all. And from the sword attack he used just now…actually, the sword attack wasn’t that formidable. What was formidable was that those twelve Highgods seemed to have gone silly, allowing that sword to kill them without resistance!”

“I didn’t expect that after the Arena had a seemingly Seven Star Fiend level combatant, ‘Lomio’, appear, yet another seemingly Seven Star Fiend level combatant has appeared here.” The gold-haired youth’s face was solemn.

Chapter 19, War God, Cesar

After having killed twelve Highgods with a single sword, he had shocked his opponents. Thus, Linley’s group of four left safely.

“Linley, will that young master of the Bagshaw clan bring experts for revenge?” Olivier frowned, somewhat concerned.

Linley chuckled.

Delia  replied,  “Olivier,  in  truth,  the  young  master  of  the Bagshaw clan and the three of us were only in a dispute because of clothing. And then, Linley killed those twelve ordinary Highgods. To an ancient clan like his, the death of twelve ordinary Highgods is nothing at all. I imagine that this young master wouldn’t be so rash as to seek revenge without clearly investigating.”

“If they come, we will kill them!” Bebe snorted. “We’re about to leave Miluo Island anyways. Who cares about the Bagshaw clan. No matter how powerful they are, can it be that they can control other areas also?”

“Let’s  go.  These  large  clans  are  disdainful  towards  lesser individuals, but against true experts, they are still somewhat cautious.”  Linley chuckled. Linley, when attacking, had been viewed by others as a Highgod, and yet his aura was that of a God!

The enemies would definitely believe that Linley was hiding his aura.

Actually, Linley really was only just a God! How could they possibly discover any Highgod aura from him?

However, the enemies would only believe that Linley was so powerful that his ability to hide his aura was simply too great!

Given his ability to hide his aura, as well as the sword attack he had just displayed, the opponents had plenty of material to begin wildly speculating over. No matter how powerful a clan was, they wouldn’t want to offend an ultimate expert. After all…a true expert, by himself, could destroy a clan.

In front of an ultimate expert, human wave tactics were ineffective.

That young master Sequeira wouldn’t dare to offend a possibly Seven Star Fiend over a small fit of pique.

Linley’s group immediately headed outside. After walking for a while, Linley didn’t discover anyone following them. In his heart, he understood that young master Sequeira should have really given up the idea of getting revenge.

Bebe muttered, “Miluo Island is quite a beautiful island. Unfortunately, after being here just a single day, we have to leave. I really wanted to become a hundred battles victor in that Arena.”  How could Bebe possibly lose in a fight against those Gods? He could just stand there and let them beat on him. Unless the opponent also had a godspark weapon or a Sovereign artifact. Most likely, only with those items would they be able to harm Bebe.

“Let’s go. In the future, we’ll still have the chance.”  Linley laughed calmly.

“Linley,  quick,  look!”  Delia,  somewhat  stunned,  pulled  at Linley and called at him. Linley immediately turned and followed Delia’s gaze. As he did, Linley was shocked. From a distant translucent restaurant window, he was able to see an icy man with long red hair seated on the other side of the window!

The War God, O’Brien!

“War God!” Linley was overjoyed.

“War God?”  Olivier looked over, puzzled, and then he too was overjoyed. All of these experts who had entered the Infernal Realm understood that it would be extremely hard for them to run into their old friends from the same material plane. The feeling of meeting with their old friends was enough to make them very excited and energetic.

“Haha, War God!”  Bebe was the first to dash towards the restaurant.

Linley’s group immediately followed him as well. Entering the restaurant, they saw that this was a fairly quiet restaurant with fairly few customers. O’Brien was currently sitting there, quietly drinking a cup of tea.

“The  War  God  actually  became  a  Highgod?”   Linley  was somewhat startled. In the past, the War God had relied on fusing with a divine spark to become a God. In as short a period of time as a thousand years, he became a Highgod? There was only one explanation – he had fused with a divine spark.

“Hey,  War  God!”  Bebe  immediately  ran  towards  the  War God’s table. 

O’Brien, his head lowered to his cup of tea, was startled. War God? In the Infernal Realm, it had been many years since someone had addressed him in that manner.

O’Brien raised his head and saw Bebe by his table, and also Linley, Delia, and Olivier walking this way as well. The War God O’Brien’s face went slack, and then he revealed a look of joy. “Linley, it’s actually you four!”

“O’Brien, long time no see.” Linley laughed.

“Long time no see.” O’Brien laughed as well.

“Aren’t you going to invite us to sit?” Bebe snorted.

O’Brien immediately began to laugh. “Haha, it’s fine if I don’t invite others to sit, but how would I dare to not invite you, Bebe, to sit? Come, let’s all sit together.” As he spoke, O’Brien immediately beckoned towards a distant waiter, who immediately came over. 

“I don’t want to eat right now.” Linley said hurriedly.

“Then  we’ll  order  some  wine.”   O’Brien  casually  ordered some wine, and then everyone began to chat together.

O’Brien asked Linley and Olivier about what had happened in recent years, while Linley gave a general description of the events which had occurred after their arrival in the Infernal Realm. However, he didn’t go into too much detail regarding the dangers they had faced. After giving a brief summary, Linley’s group concluded their description of what had happened in the Redbud Continent.

“We  were  trapped  within  the  Amethyst  Mountains  for  a time, but luckily were able to escape.”  Olivier, for example, discussed that matter with a single sentence. While they were chatting, Delia even especially set up her ‘Godrealm’ to cover all of them within it, shutting out sound and preventing outsiders from eavesdropping. Linley had thought that O’Brien would be shocked, but O’Brien didn’t seem to feel anything was amiss.

Actually, O’Brien had always been in the Starmist Sea, and thus he knew very little about the Redbud Continent. He didn’t understand what being trapped in the Amethyst Mountains and then escaping really meant!

“Linley, you really are audacious. The Infernal Realm is filled with countless dangers. If I hadn’t been following Tarosse, I probably would’ve died in the Starmist Sea long ago. You, however, actually left the Redbud Continent and began to hurry towards the Bloodridge Continent. Formidable. Admirable!” O’Brien sighed in amazement.

Olivier just chuckled.

As Olivier saw it, given Linley’s current strength, he would be able to roam the Infernal Realm with ease. As long as he didn’t encounter any major foes, he definitely wouldn’t be in any danger. “O’Brien, how about you? How has life been in the Infernal Realm?” Linley laughed as he asked.

“Me?  Not  bad.”   O’Brien  nodded.  “After  arriving  in  the Infernal Realm, our group included Tarosse and Dylin. Although we ran into some dangerous situations, Tarosse and him were able to deal with it. Afterwards, Tarosse broke through from the God level to the Highgod level. He became a Highgod on his own!”

Linley couldn’t help but be surprised.

“After Tarosse reached the Highgod level, he became truly formidable.”  O’Brien sighed in praise. “Tarosse himself had fused two types of profound mysteries to begin with. Matching that with his innate divine ability…in the Starmist Sea, he is extremely formidable. He even once killed three Five Star Fiends!”

“Killed three Five Star Fiends?” Linley’s group was shocked as well. But after considering it, Linley understood. Tarosse had become a Highgod independently and had fused two types of profound mysteries. If he was able to perfectly match his attacks with his innate divine ability as a divine beast, then it was possible for him to be comparable to a Six Star Fiend.

“Right.  Tarosse  won  a  hundred  victories  here  at  Miluo Island!” O’Brien sighed in approval.

Linley nodded to himself. Generally speaking, Six Star Fiends were capable of gaining a hundred victories. Five Star Fiends, if lucky, could as well. It was possible for Tarosse to accomplish this.

“Dylin, in turn, won a hundred victories at the God Arena.” O’Brien laughed. “Precisely because of this, Tarosse and Dylin both now live in the western part of the island. Tarosse gave us divine sparks to allow myself, Cesar, and Dylin’s children to all reach the Highgod level.”

Linley now understood. So that was what had happened. Dylin’s two children, those Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions, had both fused with divine sparks to become Deities, and O’Brien had as well. Since they had already fused with divine sparks, they might as well just keep doing so. Only, given that they had used divine sparks to become Highgods, their future potential was now rather slim.

Delia smiled. “It seems your life here isn’t bad.”

“That’s right.” O’Brien nodded, but then he seemed to have thought of something. He shook his head. “But Cesar, he…”

“What about Cesar?” Linley hurriedly asked.

Linley had a rather deep friendship with Cesar. Previously, in his homeland near Fenlai City, Cesar had helped him. Afterwards, when Linley had gone to rescue those Undying Warriors, the five Barker brothers, at the critical, life and death moment, Cesar had once again helped him and saved him. Linley naturally was grateful towards Cesar for having helped him multiples time.

“Cesar is rather…depressed these days.”  O’Brien shook his head and sighed.

“Depressed?” Bebe stared. “Cesar seems to have no cares in the world. How could he become depressed?”

Linley was rather puzzled as well.

“Problems of the heart.” O’Brien said.

A look of surprise appeared on the faces of Linley and the others. Cesar, in the Yulan continent, had been an extremely dissolute fellow who often changed women. There was no long-term woman for him. Even that ‘Holy Lady’ of the Frost Goddess Shrine, Cesar had ran away from as though fleeing a disaster. As Linley saw it, a person like him shouldn’t suffer too much from matters of the heart.

Seeing the looks on the faces of Linley and the others, O’Brien explained, “At first, I was like you, unable to believe it. But this time, Cesar is for real. With regards to that woman, Cecily (Sai’xi’li), it is as though he has been possessed. Him and that Cecily woman really fell in love. Cesar even told me that this time, he had found true love!”

Linley’s group just listened, stunned.

“But of course, what happened between them in terms of their relationship, I’m not too clear. We wouldn’t pry about their private affairs. All of us were just very happy that Cesar and Cecily were able to be each other.”

“Logically speaking, this was a good thing.”  O’Brien shook his head and laughed. “Unfortunately, that Cecily had a very special status. She was actually a core member of one of the five major clans of Miluo Island, the Gaylord [Gai’luo’de] clan. In addition, not too long ago, she got married to young master Sequeira of the Bagshaw clan!” Young master Sequeira?

Linley’s group of four, upon hearing this name, exchanged glances. This matter actually had something to do with Sequeira? But not too long ago, Linley’s group had gotten into a dispute with that Sequeira.

“What, are you surprised? We were surprised as well. But that’s the truth.”  O’Brien sighed. “Deities should have tough, resilient minds. Who would have imagined that Cesar seemed to have suffered a fatal wound. He’s in a daze all day, either drinking or just daydreaming or sleeping or training. He is extremely dispirited.”

Linley couldn’t help but sympathize with Cesar.

Although O’Brien described it all in a very ordinary manner, Linley himself had been heartbroken in love before as well. He knew well the heart-ripping pain of having his woman being taken away, and how that agony could make a person be able to barely breathe. The more deeply one loved, the more deeply one would be wounded.

“Cesar…seems to have really fallen for her.” Linley sighed.

As they chatted, their wine was soon used up.

“It’s a matter of time. This happened just recently after all. Cesar is just unable to get over it for now, I imagine. When time goes on, he should be better.” O’Brien said, then stood up. “Linley, come. Let’s go meet with Tarosse, Dylin, and those two children of Dylin’s. All of them are present. When they see you, they will definitely be very happy.”

Linley’s group immediately rose as well.

“Boss, are we still going to head off with Aches’ group?” Bebe asked. “No need. When the time comes, we’ll travel alone. In addition, with Bates by their side, safety shouldn’t be a problem.” Linley, having met with a group of old friends, was in no rush to leave. As for his problem with Sequeira, Sequeira hadn’t immediately attempted to gain revenge, and so clearly he probably wouldn’t in the future.

After all, if he really wanted to get revenge, he would’ve done so right away.

Linley’s group of four followed O’Brien, heading directly into the western part of the island.

Miluo Island was divided into the eastern part and the western part. The western part was where the island guards, the five clans, and the others all lived. Outsiders were forbidden entry.

“It really is beautiful here.”  Linley saw the beautiful two story buildings from afar. “Those  are  the  homes  for  the  island  guards.”   O’Brien laughed. “I’m here as well. Thanks to Tarosse’s help, I also became an island guard. Island guards rotate their duty once a year. This year, I’m on break.”

In the area where the island guards lived, people were on patrol.

“Are we allowed to go in?” Bebe was a bit nervous.

“It’s fine. The residential area of the island guards aren’t under strict supervision. As long as an island guard leads the way, you can go in. The place which is under very tight supervision is the place where those five clans live. However, they are deeper inside.”  As O’Brien spoke, his body suddenly became covered by a blood red uniform armor.

This was the proof of one’s status as an island guard. The patrolling island guards immediately let them in.

Linley’s group of four thus followed O’Brien into the residential area of the island guards.

Chapter 20, With Child?

The island guards lived in small buildings which dotted the mountains and forests of this area. Just by looking at the number of buildings, Linley could imagine what a terrifyingly large number of island guards there were here.

“The  five  clans  must  indeed  be  powerful,  to  be  able  to support such an enormous army of Highgods.” Linley couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. Maintaining an army meant paying salaries; after all, nobody was willing to work for free. Generally speaking, Highgod soldiers would have fairly high pay.

To support such an enormous army required an astonishing amount of wealth.

However, just by looking at the number of people who passed through the Arena as well the Free Castle, one could imagine how astonishingly wealthy Miluo Island was.

“We’re here.” O’Brien laughed. 

“O’Brien, this building is quite large.”  Linley looked at this residence in surprise. This residence took up space that was roughly ten times that of those ordinary residences. It had a large courtyard and three smaller buildings within. It was built as a stand-alone residence, and the walls had carvings as well.

O’Brien  laughed.  “This  is  Tarosse’s  residence.  Generally speaking, Highgod victors of a hundred battles, if they join the island guards, will have a salary as well as treatment far superior to that of ordinary island guards. Although I do have a small house of my own, normally, we all live at Tarosse’s place. His place is large!”

As he spoke, O’Brien pushed the door open and went inside.

“Oh, O’Brien, you’re back.”  A voice rang out. By the green grass off to the side of the courtyard, a green haired man was seated in the meditative position. It was Tarosse!

Tarosse turned to look at him and was about to say something, but suddenly he was stunned. He stared at Linley and the other three behind O’Brien. Linley, seeing the look on Tarosse’s face, intentionally smirked at him.

“Swish!”   Tarosse  instantly  appeared  in  front  of  Linley’s group.

“Haha!”  Tarosse slapped Linley on the shoulders. “Linley, you guys actually came as well. This is so incredible and such a rare occurrence. The Infernal Realm is so vast, but we actually ran into each other here. Haha…”

Tarosse was very excited and happy.

“Bebe, Lord Beirut actually was able to bear with letting you come to the Infernal Realm?” Tarosse noticed Bebe.

Bebe pursed his lips. “What, got a problem?”

“It’s  fine,  it’s  fine.”   Tarosse  greeted  everyone.  “Come, everyone, sit down. Dylin and Cesar are currently outside. Jeeze!”

Linley’s group laughed, then sat down. Tarosse hurriedly said, “You really came at a fortuitous time. Today I was still out on patrols. I just came back not long ago. It is destiny that our group of people from the Yulan continent can meet here today!”

Linley was very happy as well, and he also laughed and chatted. While chatting about he and Olivier had met, they naturally discussed the Amethyst Mountains as well. However, Linley’s group once again just skimmed over it with a word. Tarosse actually didn’t seem to pay any attention to it at all.

Or perhaps it was simply that he didn’t understand what it really meant for Linley’s group to have been able to exit the Amethyst Mountains!

Actually, this was normal.

Tarosse was a Highgod, true. 

But the amount of time he had spent in the Infernal Realm was simply too short. The things he knew about the Infernal Realm came mostly from those books he had read. Generally speaking, those geographical books would just give a simple explanation of the Amethyst Mountains. In the past, Linley had read some geography books as well, but before arriving at the Amethyst Mountains, he didn’t truly know how dangerous they were.

“Creaaaak!”  The courtyard door was pushed upon, and a black haired man reeking of alcohol sauntered in, his eyes droopy with drunkenness as he gave off a clearly dispirited aura. It was Cesar!

Seeing how Cesar currently was, Linley couldn’t help but sigh in amazement. That former playboy who had enjoyed himself amongst the ‘flowers’…how had he ended up like this today? The events of the world truly were hard to explain.

“Cesar!” Linley spoke out. Cesar heard that someone was calling to him, but he didn’t care too much. He just glanced sideways at Linley, then continued to head towards his own residence. But after taking just two or three steps, his body paused, and he turned to look at Linley once again, his misty gaze slowly growing brighter.

“Linley?” Cesar’s voice contained disbelief in it as well.

“Cesar, long time no see.” Linley began to laugh as well.

“Haha, Cesar, I’m Bebe.” Bebe immediately jumped up also.

Cesar took a deep breath, activating the divine power in his body. The odor of alcohol immediately vanished from his body, and he became much more sober. A rare hint of a smile appeared  on  Cesar’s  face  as  well.  “Linley,  you  came  to  the Infernal Realm as well? When did you come?”

Cesar was full of questions, and Linley’s group chatted with him happily as well. Although Linley knew what had happened with Cesar, Linley hoped that Cesar’s mood would improve. Clearly, seeing some of his old friends from their Yulan continent had caused Cesar to be invigorated.

“Linley, chat more with Cesar, but remember, don’t raise that  Cecily  matter.”  Tarosse  hurriedly  sent  through  divine sense. The state Cesar was currently in was the best state he had been in during this recent period of time.

“I know.”

Linley replied. At the same time, Linley was also somewhat puzzled. What was so amazing about that Cecily woman, that this sort of dissolute playboy like Cesar would become so infatuated with her?

Miluo Island. The residential area of the five clans. In the very center was the residence of the Bagshaw clan. The five clans were led by the Bagshaw clan, but the Bagshaw clan was actually not a very densely populated one, with the clan members far fewer than the other four clans. 

But precisely because of this, every member of the Bagshaw clan had a fairly high status.

At present, in the rear flower gardens behind the Bagshaw clan’s ancestral estate, two men who were 2.2 meters tall were currently walking together. One of the two men was a youth with short red hair, while the other was a middle-aged man with unbound, long red hair.

If Linley was present, he would recognize that the youth with short red hair was Sequiera!

“Sequiera, you need to pay special attention to that man named Lomio in the Arena!” The red-haired middle-aged man had thick eyebrows and large eyes. With each moment, he gave off a domineering aura. “According to the servants’  reports, this Lomio is very likely a Seven Star Fiend. He has already achieved ten consecutive victories on multiple days. In two more days, he’ll have completed a hundred victories!”

“Yes, Father!” Sequiera said respectfully. 

Sequiera’s father, Bakwill [Ba’ke’wei] Bagshaw, was the clan leader of the Bagshaw clan. Bakwill, despite having lived for countless years, only had two children. Each member of the Bagshaw clan had exceedingly few children, most having only one.

Having two children was already quite lucky.

“If he really is a Seven Star Fiend, then that’s wonderful news. It’s rare to meet a Seven Star Fiend. We can’t let him slip away.” Bakwill said calmly.

“I know, Father.”  Sequeira laughed. “Father, not long ago, you went to the secret area, so I didn’t have a chance to tell you. Seven or eight days ago, in the Free Castle, I met an expert. We had a small disagreement with each other, but that expert, with a single blow, killed twelve Highgods!”

“Killed twelve Highgods?” Bakwill looked towards him. There were quite a few experts capable of killing twelve ordinary Highgods with one blow.

“This isn’t the strange thing. The strange thing is…those twelve Highgods hadn’t even drawn near that expert, but they seemed to have gone silly and unresponsive, allowing that expert to kill them with one blow.”

Bakwill was surprised.

Cause twelve Highgod experts to not be able to even resist?

“This man’s soul is extremely strong.” Bakwill evaluated.

“More importantly!” Sequeira lowered his voice as he spoke. “Father, that person was actually hiding his aura. From the outside, he seems to be just a God. Even the thousand-man commander of our Free Castle, that Six Star Fiend, wasn’t able to sense even a hint of his true aura!” Only now was Bakwill shocked.

A Six Star Fiend being unable to sense a hint of the ‘true aura’ of someone, and with that someone having such a powerful soul!

“At very least, a peak Six Star Fiend, and possibly even a Seven Star Fiend. In addition, one specialized in the soul.” Bakwill evaluated. Experts who specialized in the soul were dread-inducing, because the soul was the foundation of every single person. Experts who specialized in the soul were very hard to deal with.

“Where is he?” Bakwill said hurriedly.

“Gone.” Sequeira shook his head. “He shouldn’t be someone from Miluo Island. He didn’t know anything about the blood- colored Miluo Insignia. I didn’t dare to rashly attack him, so all I could do was watch him leave.”

Bakwill let out a long breath, then laughed. “If he’s gone, then forget it. Your actions were correct. When you encounter an expert like this, you can’t rashly offend him. If he kills you, then that truly would be terrible.”

Sequeira laughed as well.

“Sequeira!” A voice of jubilation came out from the gates of the rear gardens. A mesmerizingly beautiful woman with a pure white complexion and jade hair came running in, her face covered in joy. This was Sequeira’s wife: Cecily!

“Father.”      Seeing    Bakwill,    that    jade-haired    beauty immediately curtsied.

Bakwill nodded calmly.

“Lily.” Sequeira, seeing his wife, immediately smiled and walked over to welcome her.

“Lily, you seem so excited. Do you have some good news?” Sequeira laughed. 

“Sequeira, I’m with child.” Cecily said hurriedly.

Hearing this news, Sequeira and Bakwill were both stunned…and then looks of wild joy appeared on their faces. The two looked at each other, with Bakwill laughing loudly in excitement. “Haha…Sequeira, you chose an excellent wife, an excellent wife, haha!”

“I  have  a  child?  I  actually  have  a  child!”   Sequeira  was incomparably excited as well.

Cecily, hearing this, was puzzled.

It was just a child. Why was it that even the perpetually unflappable clan leader would be so excited? She had never seen the clan leader Bakwill be so excited before.

“Excellent!” Bakwill was so excited that his face was red. He slapped his son on the shoulders. “Sequeira, your wife has rendered great merits.” “Right.” Sequeira nodded excitedly as well.

And then, Sequeira rushed to his wife, embracing Cecily as he excitedly kissed her. “Lily, you actually are with child…I… thank   you…really…thank   you   so   much!”    Sequeira   said excitedly.

Cecily, seeing her husband so affectionate and ardent, even with the clan leader nearby, felt both amazed and awkward.

“I have a child.” Sequeira stretched his hand out, gently placing it on his wife’s belly.

“Huh?” Cecily stared, puzzled, at her husband. She saw Sequeira’s right hand slowly emit a blood colored glow which was extremely bizarre. Sequeira’s face was full of excitement, but slowly, Sequeira’s expression froze. He stared in astonishment at his nearby wife, Cecily.

Cecily felt puzzled by the look in his eyes. 

“WHAP!”  With a sudden swing of the hand, he struck his wife heavily on the face, knocking her into the ground far away.

“Bastard, slut!”  Sequeira was so angry, his entire body was trembling.

Cecily held a hand to her face, staring at her husband in disbelief.

“Sequeira, what are you doing!” Bakwill was enraged.

“Father.”   Sequeira  turned  to  look  at  his  father,  saying hurriedly, “That…isn’t my child!”

Bakwill was stunned. “Sequeira, are you saying…?”

Sequeira nodded. 

Bakwill’s face instantly sunk down, as though covered by a layer of frost. Bakwill glanced sideways at Cecily, then said in a voice that was like ice, “Sequeira, this woman is no longer worthy of being your principal wife. You decide how to punish her. After a period of time, prepare to take another wife.”

“Yes, Father!” Sequeira turned to stare furiously at Cecily.

Cecily’s face was filled with confusion. She immediately said hurriedly, “Sequeira, this is your child, why do you say it is another’s?”

Actually, not even a Deity was able to tell if the fetus in his wife’s body was or wasn’t his own. But some people were exceptions! For example, Linley, because Linley belonged to the Dragonblood Warrior clan.

Any descendant of the Dragonblood Warrior clan would definitely have the lineage of the Dragonblood Warriors. Even if the amount was sparse, it would still definitely be there! If there was no Dragonblood Warrior lineage in one’s body, then one definitely didn’t belong to the clan.

“Why?” Sequeira was so furious, his facial muscles were twitching.

The Bagshaw clan belonged to the ‘Bloodrune Titan clan’ of the Infernal Realm. The descendants of the Bloodrune Titan clan all had the Bloodrune Titan lineage in their veins. Of course, there were varying degrees of density, and if the density reached a certain level, they would possess extremely great power.

Just now, Sequeira had used some of their clan’s special energy for sensing, only to discover…

The child in the belly of his wife actually didn’t have any of his clan’s lineage at all!

Without even a hint of the lineage of his clan, it meant that this child was definitely not his own!

Chapter 21, I Want Him Dead!

“You played me for a fool!”  Sequeira stared at his wife, his eyes like death. “The child in your belly is someone else’s.” Sequeira doted dearly on his wife. When he had gone to the Free Castle, it was for buying clothes for her, but who would have imagined that his wife actually had another man!

And the child in her belly was that man’s!

The Bloodrune Titan clan was an extremely mighty clan within the Infernal Realm, and the power they controlled was astonishing as well. In Miluo Island, although on the surface, the five clans were in charge of things, in reality, the other four clans were simply subordinate clans to the Bagshaw clan!

The Bagshaw clan was the Bloodrune Titan clan. This was a secret which very few people knew.

At least, Cecily didn’t know it. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have run over so excitedly to tell her husband that she was with child. 

“No…no!” Cecily hurriedly shook her head.

“This woman doesn’t even admit it.” The nearby clan elder, Bakwill, said furiously, “Son, this is a shame to our clan. If this woman refuses to admit it, then destroy her entire familial branch within the Gaylord clan!”

Cecily’s body trembled.

The Gaylord clan, one of the five clans, was extremely large, with very many family branches. Destroying one of the branches, to the true masters of the Miluo Island, the ‘Bagshaw clan’, would need nothing more than a single word.

“Speak!” Sequeira stared coldly at his own wife as well.

Sequeira cared deeply about his face, and he was always very proud of the fact that he was a member of the Bloodrune Titan clan. He himself was the son of the clan leader, and was definitely in the principal line of descent, of an extremely exalted status. He was very haughty. Now that his wife had another man’s child in her belly, of course he was already going mad!

His face was so ugly, it was turning purple!

“Hurry, speak!” Sequeira landed a kick on Cecily’s body, who was struck viciously by that kick and sent smashing into a decorative boulder. “Otherwise, you and your lineage in your clan lineage will all die!” Sequeira said in a frenzy.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk.” Cecily said hurriedly. She was about to go mad.

Actually, she herself wasn’t sure who the child in her womb belonged to, because previously, she had been dealing with two men at the same time. One was Sequeira, while the other was Cesar. She had slept with both men, and so she herself wasn’t sure whose child it was.

Originally, as Cecily viewed it, since even she couldn’t be sure, she might as well say that it was Sequeira’s. There was no way for him to tell anyhow.

Unfortunately, she didn’t know that the Bagshaw clan was the Bloodrune Titan clan!

“Even I don’t know for sure who the child belongs to.” Cecily, seeing the rage on Sequeira’s face, hurriedly added, “But I’m certain that it is either yours or Cesar’s!”

“Cesar?”

Sequeira was stunned, and then he raised his head to the skies, laughing wildly. “Hahahaha….” His laughter carried boundless insanity within it, and his body faintly began to glow with a bloody light. He, Sequeira, a favored son of the heavens, had never suffered such a humiliation before.

Could there be anything more insulting than his woman having another man’s child in her womb? “Cesar…I want him dead!!!”  Sequeira snarled viciously, his eyes glowing with a faint, bloody light, as though he were a man-eating wolf.

At Tarosse’s residence. Over the past few days, Linley had lived here very comfortable, each day watching Lomio’s ten battles at the arena. He also often chatted with his old friends. As for Aches, Bates, and the others, they had left Miluo Island long ago.

“Lomio  really  is  powerful.”   Pushing  the  courtyard  gates open, Linley and the others walked in while chatting amongst themselves. “That saber blow of his is all but undefeatable. It just chops the opponents in half.”

“He is proficient in both material attacks and soul attacks.” Tarosse sighed in praise as well.

Olivier agreed, “In particular, his speed is also astonishing. Lomio is simply too powerful. Each time, he wins with such ease. Up till now, nobody has been able to exchange a few blows with him. All of them were defeated with the first blow.” Thinking back to the sight in the arena, Linley felt amazed as well.

In the Arena, Lomio was simply too arrogant. He held everyone in condescension, but he had the strength to do so!

“Linley, you’re back.”  Dylin laughed as he came down from upstairs, and Linley’s group went to welcome him. “Dylin, where’s Cesar?”

“Cesar?” Dylin frowned, lowering his voice. “He’s sleeping.”

“Sleeping?”

Deities didn’t need to sleep at all, and Cesar normally wouldn’t sleep. However, ever since his relationship with Cecily had been destroyed, Cesar had become depressed and would often just lounge around lazily and sleep. Tarosse shook his head and sighed. “Don’t disturb him. Just let him rest.”

Just as Linley’s group of people were gathered together and chatting, young master Sequeira of the Bagshaw clan, a sinister look on his face, was leading three black armored experts out of his ancestral estate. These three black armored experts were true elites of the Bagshaw clan.

“This Cesar actually dares to live amongst the island guards!” Sequeira became all the more enraged.

Cesar had slept with his woman, and was now living on his clan’s grounds!

“Let’s  go!”   Sequeira  immediately  flew  into  the  heavens, moving at high speed straight for the island guards residences. Those three black armored warriors quietly followed.

Moments later, Sequeira arrived at the island guards region. The patrolling guards immediately came to welcome him. Seeing the four of them, these guards couldn’t help but be very shocked, especially upon noticing those three black armored warriors. Those silent black armored warriors were like three glaciers.

Although they were silent, they gave others a feeling of being unable to breathe.

“Go. Hurry and summon a thousand-man regiment!” With a wave of his hand, Sequeira revealed his blood-colored Miluo Insignia.

“Blood-colored Miluo Insignia!”  The patrolling guards were shocked, and then immediately said while bowing respectfully, “Yes,  milord.”   Although  they  were  puzzled  as  to  why  a thousand-man regiment was being summoned, anyone with a blood-colored Miluo Insignia could easily summon and order about a thousand-man regiment.

Soon, a thousand-man regiment was summoned.

“Young master Sequeira.” The commander of the thousand- man regiment immediately recognized Sequeira. “What are you…?”

“No questions. Follow me!” Sequeira ordered coldly.

The thousand-man commander was startled. He realized that today, Sequeira’s expression seemed rather different. In the past, Sequeira would always be smiling and laughing, but today, Sequeira’s face was simply too ugly to behold, and the aura his body was radiating was one of danger!

“Whoosh!”

Sequeira was the first to fly into the air, with the three black armored guards following. After them was the massive, dense cluster of a thousand island guards.

“Number 306!” Sequeira still remembered the address which his wife had given him, for where Cesar was living. Generally speaking, the addresses for the island guards had very large numbers, but 306 was an extremely small number. Generally speaking, only some rather special people could live there. 

For example, Highgods who had won a hundred battles.

Tarosse’s residence. Linley’s group was seated together.

“Tarosse, you truly aren’t willing to leave with us?”  Linley asked yet again. “Cesar has agreed to leave with us.”

In the end, Miluo Island wasn’t the ‘root’ for Tarosse and the others.

However, the Indigo Prefecture was where the Four Divine Beasts clan was located. Linley wanted to gather there with those people as well. Cesar was willing to leave, but O’Brien had to stay with Tarosse. Tarosse had given him a God-level spark, in exchange for his service.

“No  need.  We  don’t  want  to  leave  this  place.”   Tarosse laughed, then shook his head. Dylin shook his head as well. “We’ve lived here a long time, and we’ve grown to consider this place our home in the Infernal Realm. We don’t want to leave.”

Linley could only laugh helplessly.

“A  few  days  after  Lomio’s  battles  conclude,  we’ll  leave.” Linley said. “Such a pity. I wanted to be together with the rest of you, but there’s nothing for us. I have to go to the Indigo Prefecture.” Linley wouldn’t try and force them either.

If they weren’t willing, then forget it.

“Sorry, Linley.” Dylin apologized.

“It’s fine.” Linley shook his head.

Suddenly, Linley was startled. Raising his head, he saw a large number of island guards in mid-air. “Why are there so many island guards? What major event is happening?” Tarosse was surprised as well.

But Linley noticed that the leader of this large group of guards was that arrogant young man with short red hair. Sequeira!

“What’s he doing here?” Linley was startled.

Right at this moment, that large group of people descended. Sequeira led the three black armored warriors into the courtyard, while over a hundred of the other island guards also landed there, with the rest hovering in the air.

“Boss!”

“Linley!”

Delia, Bebe, and Olivier all rose to their feet. They saw Sequeira as well. 

“Are they here for us?” Delia asked through divine sense.

Linley stared at Sequeira, completely not understanding. Given what he had expected, Sequeira shouldn’t be causing such a ruckus over that small matter. But Sequeira had clearly brought a large number of experts to surround them.

“Who are you?” Tarosse stood up.

“Tarosse.”  The thousand-man commander laughed calmly. “This is young master Sequeira of the Bagshaw clan! He has business.”

“Bagshaw clan!”

Tarosse and Dylin couldn’t help but be stunned.

Sequeira just glanced at Linley. “You are here as well.”  And then, Sequeira paid no further attention to Linley. He shouted angrily, “Where is Cesar? Have him roll out!” His angry shout shook the entire courtyard.

“Cesar?  He’s  here  for  Cesar?”   Linley  began  to  frown. Sequeira wasn’t here for Linley, but was here for Cesar, but for what? Could it be that it had something to do with that woman named Cecily?

“Young master Sequeira, what are you looking for Cesar for?” Tarosse asked.

“No  questions.  Just  have  him  roll  out!”   Sequeira  stared around at the building, and then Sequeira let out a cold sneer, directly releasing his divine sense and almost immediately locating Cesar. He couldn’t help but look towards the second floor of the little building.

“Who is looking for me?”  A lazy voice rang out, and Cesar walked out, flying directly down from the second floor.

“You are Cesar!” Sequeira stared at him. 

“You are…  Sequeira!”  Cesar’s eyes immediately grew fierce, and became filled with rage.

Seeing the look in his face, Sequeira began to laugh wildly. This loud laughter caused Linley and the others nearby to have a bad feeling. The suppressed rage which Sequeira had held in his heart was now bellowing forth, and Sequeira’s eyes were faintly red.

Deities lived for too long.

It was very normal for a female Deity to have had multiple relationships with different men.

Sequeira wouldn’t care too much.

As long as his wife wasn’t with any other men while they were together, that was enough. But what enraged him was… the child in the womb of his wife belonged to another man! Given Sequeira’s temper, how could he possibly swallow this insult?

“Sequeira, why have you come looking for me?”  Cesar said coldly.

“Why?” Sequeira raised his head to the skies and laughed loudly, his body beginning to brim with a bloody light, and then he stared at Cesar. “Today, I’m going to kill you!”

The faces of Linley’s group immediately changed.

Sequeira stared at the surrounding people, then said loudly, “Today, my Bagshaw clan is going to execute this Cesar. All of you others, leave. If you don’t leave…then you are becoming enemies of our Bagshaw clan!”

The faces of O’Brien, Linley, and the others turned ashen. Cesar seemed very tranquil. He turned to look at Linley and Tarosse, then shook his head. “Don’t worry about me. Actually, recently, I myself have felt that my continued existence has no purpose. There’s no need to offend them for my sake.”

“How  can  this  be  acceptable?”  O’Brien  stepped  forward, staring  at  Cesar.  “Cesar,  we  came  here  from  the  Yulan continent together. Over so many years, have any of us ever abandoned each other? At worst, we’ll die together. What is there to fear!”

“O’Brien, resisting blindly is just death.” Tarosse let out a low sigh, then walked off to one side. “I won’t interfere in this matter.”

Linley was startled.

“O’Brien,  don’t  resist.  Resisting  means  throwing  your  life away. There’s no point.” Dylin shook his head as well. He actually walked to one side as well. As for Dylin’s two children, those two Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions, they stared with shock on their faces. 

“Father.” The two Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions stared at Dylin.

“Come over.” Dylin snapped at them.

The two siblings exchanged glances, but they had no choice but to follow their father.

“You…you…” O’Brien didn’t dare believe it. When they had come to the Infernal Realm, they had adventured together and treated each other’s lives like their own. Everyone believed… that none of them would ever abandon each other. However, how did things end up like this today?”

“Excellent!”  Sequeira said coldly, and then looked towards Linley. “As for you, sir?”

“Me?”  Linley,  Delia,  Bebe,  and  Olivier  all  looked  at  each other. In their smiles, they knew what each other were thinking.

Linley laughed. Taking three steps forward, he walked to the side of Cesar and O’Brien. In a calm voice, he said, “I, too, am from the Yulan continent. None of us will abandon one of our own!”

“I, too, am from the Yulan continent!”

Delia, Bebe, and Olivier walked forward as well, with Linley as their leader.

Linley’s face grew solemn, and his gaze flashed through this group of Highgods.

He understood…

“This time, we really are going to go all out. I cannot show any mercy or forbearance!” Linley’s heart was beginning to fill with a killing intent. At a critical time like this, if necessary, he would sacrifice a drop of Sovereign’s Might and launch a slaughter that would turn the world upside down.

Chapter 22, All Who Bar My Path Shall Die!

Sequeira saw Linley step forward. His face changed slightly. He knew very well how powerful the person in front of him was. If Linley was to interfere, then a new variable would have entered this affair. Sequeira said coldly, “Today, my Bagshaw clan is definitely going to kill Cesar. Can it be that you all want to die with him?”

But Linley’s group didn’t hesitate or retreat at all.

“Linley, O’Brien, Bebe.” Cesar looked towards them, shaking his head slightly.

“Haha…” O’Brien began to laugh loudly, then looked at Cesar.  “Cesar,  we’ve  lived  so  many  years,  and  have  seen countless things! Our life is important, but sometimes, there are some things which are more important than life! Today… either we shall all live together, or we shall all die together!”

Cesar trembled. He looked towards Linley’s group. 

Linley’s group smiled back at him.

“Sequeira!”  Linley turned to look at Sequeira. Linley could tell that Sequeira was currently slightly hesitant. As Linley saw it, it would be best if battle could be avoided. Linley thus said, “Sequeira, what sort of enmity do you and Cesar have, exactly, that you must force him to his death? Everyone should take a step back!”

Anyone else who said these words would be as good as looking for death.

But Linley saying these words was a different situation, because in Sequeira’s heart, Linley was very possibly a Seven Star Fiend!

“What is it about?” Sequeira was furious just thinking about this. “You ask him!” Sequeira pointed furiously at Cesar.

“Me?” Cesar had no idea. 

Sequeira was so angry that his face was purple, but how could he so openly and publicly discuss this affair? Was he supposed to directly say that the child in his wife’s womb was another person’s? Once this got out, most likely he, Sequeira, would be a laughingstock for the rest of his life!

“Hmph!” Sequeira, seeing the look on Cesar’s face, couldn’t help but sneer.

“You are doing this because of Lily?” Cesar laughed coldly. “It must be for Lily’s sake, as otherwise, how would you, the mighty young master of your clan, come here for me?”

“Shut your mouth!”

Hearing Cesar call Cecily by her nickname ‘Lily’ in such an intimate manner, Sequeira was all the more enraged. “You aren’t worthy of calling her by that!” “Haha…” Cesar laughed wildly as he stared at Sequeira. “I’m not worthy of calling her by that? It’s true that Lily and I were once together, but so what? Ever since you married her, the two of us never met again! What, can it be that after getting married, you are going to kill all of the men who were previously lovers with your wife?”

Immediately, the many island guards in the air and in the courtyard all began to speak quietly amongst themselves.

Deities had an unlimited lifespan. It was normal for people to have had many romantic relationships. If Sequeira were to truly say that he was going to kill a former lover of his wife, that would be going too far.

“So that’s what this is about!” Linley felt rather surprised as well. He had heard of the affairs of Cesar and that woman. That woman had met with Cesar one last time before her wedding, and then they had never met again.

Linley empathized for Cesar. But who would have imagined that Sequeira would come to kill Cesar!

“Cut the crap!”  Sequeira was furious, and yet he couldn’t even explain the real reason he was so angry. Explaining something so shameful, to him, was something worse than death!

“I’ll ask you one last time. Are you really insisting in interfering?!”  Sequeira stared death at Linley. He didn’t even glance at Cesar. He held Cesar in utter contempt. As long as he were to attack, he could kill Cesar in the blink of an eye.

The one he worried about was only Linley, who stood in front of him!

“Young master Sequeira, why do you care so much about this God?” The thousand-man commander was puzzled. Even Tarosse and Dylin were confused about this.

“I am!” Linley said calmly, “Even if it was just for the sake of the friendship we held, I cannot possibly just sit and watch. What’s more, Cesar has saved my life before!” Linley’s expression was calm, but in truth, the energy in his body was boiling, prepared to explode into an attack at any point.

Sequeira narrowed his eyes slightly, a cold look being revealed.

“Quick, go inform my father that someone who is apparently a  Seven  Star  Fiend  is  getting  tangled  up  in  this  matter.” Sequeira immediately sent a mental message to one of the black armored warriors. A hint of surprise appeared on the black armored warrior’s face, and then with a flash, he disappeared.

Seeing this, Linley couldn’t help but furrow his forehead.

“Haha…” Sequeira suddenly began to laugh wildly. “Kill!” Sequeira suddenly howled.

The surrounding guards were clearly prepared for this the entire time. In the instant Sequeira gave the order, all of the island guards immediately made their move. Clearly, Sequeira wanted to launch a sudden attack to catch Linley off-guard and thus seize the opportunity to kill Cesar at once.

However, as soon as Sequeira ordered that black armored warrior off, Linley had been prepared.

In the same instant that Sequeira let out that furious howl…

“Rumble…”

With Linley at the center, within three hundred meters, a misty earthen light arose. This region was large enough to cover a large number of the island guards, including both Sequeira and their leader, the thousand-man commander. Blackstone Space!

Powerful gravity!

“Aaaah!” Some of the guards who had been flying up in the air, not too far away, were caught within the sphere as well, and all of them dropped at high speed. As for Sequeira, who had been on the ground to begin with, his body involuntarily hunched down for a moment before he then immediately straightened his waist.

“Not good!”

Sequeira’s face changed dramatically, because he saw that Linley was charging towards him at high speed!

To subdue bandits, first capture their king!

Linley had made his plans long ago. “It will be hard for anyone to flee from Miluo Island, but Sequeira is clearly an important figure. If we can capture him and use him as a hostage to threaten the others, the situation would be much better!”  In the same instant he created his Blackstone Space, Linley charged straight for Sequeira.

“What    terrifying    gravity!”     Sequeira’s    face    changed dramatically while at the same time he immediately retreated.

“Young  master!”   The  two  black  armored  warriors  by Sequeira’s side, ignoring their own lifes, immediately interposed themselves in front of Sequeira, forcibly blocking Linley’s path to him.

“Die!” Linley’s gaze turned cold.

“BANG!”

Linley’s clothes exploded violently, and he instantly Dragonformed. Azure-golden draconic scales covered every part of Linley’s body, and those dark golden eyes stared coldly at the people in front of him. That draconic tail, flashing with a metallic light, began to wave. 

Seeing this, those island guards, Sequeira, the thousand-man commander, and the black armored warriors all felt their hearts tremble.

“An ultimate expert!” The island guards had all thought that Linley was just a God, but now they realized how terrifying Linley was. All of them immediately believed that Linley had been hiding his true strength, and that his true status was that of an extremely powerful expert.

“Four Divine Beasts clan!”  The thousand-man commander was greatly shocked.

“He’s of the Four Divine Beasts clan!” Sequeira, while rapidly retreating, was surprised as well.

“Kill!” Sequeira shouted explosively once more.

So what if he was of the Four Divine Beasts clan? The current Four Divine Beasts clan was not like how the Four Divine Beast clans had been in the past. The former Four Divine Beast clans, their Bagshaw clan might perhaps be frightened of, but these days…their Bagshaw clan didn’t fear them at all!

They were capable of controlling Miluo Island and keep it proudly erect in the Starmist Sea. The true power of the Bagshaw clan was such that not even Sequeira, the young master of the clan, knew more than just the tiniest bit.

“Linley, he…!”  Tarosse, Dylin, Cesar, and O’Brien were all greatly shocked.

“Die!”  The  dark  golden  eyes  swept  past  those  two  black armored warriors. A surge of spiritual energy centered around the ‘black stone’ suddenly surged towards those two black armored warriors. Instantly, a strange wind sound began to thoroughly penetrate their souls.

The two black armored warriors both hesitated slightly.

“Swish!” A devilish violet light flashed. 

“Clang!”  Those  two  black  armored  warriors  actually  both drew their weapons, blocking Linley’s sword.

Although the soul-affecting power was great, these two black armored warriors could be considered true elites of the Bagshaw clan. Both of them had the power of a Five Star Fiend. Although they were affected by the wind sound, they didn’t fall into a stupor, and were able to maintain their grip on a hint of wakefulness.

“Whap!”   The  draconic  tail  viciously  slammed  upon  the shoulder of a black armored warrior.

“Crunch!” Flesh and blood exploded out, and an arm and half the side of his body was split off. The black armored warrior seemed to have been struck by a meteor, and was knocked far away. The black armored warrior was greatly shocked. Fortunately, he had dodged quickly enough, as otherwise, Linley’s draconic tail would have swept onto his head. The whipping strikes of Linley’s draconic tail were simply too powerful!

“Whap!” The other black armored warrior was sent flying as well.

“Hmph.” Linley’s gaze was focused on the frantically fleeing Sequeira. Although the above took time to describe, in truth, when Linley charged past the two black armored warriors, he just struck out twice with his draconic tail, fast as lightning, and sent them flying.

Sequeira had been so terrified by the previous scene that his face was greatly changed. The two black armored warriors hadn’t been able to stop Linley for even a moment!

“You want to flee?!” Linley laughed coldly.

Instantly, the gravitational pull that had been towards the ground changed. As Linley’s divine power flowed out and began to fluctuate, immediately, all living things within the Blackstone Space sensed an astonishingly powerful gravitational force that was tugging them towards Linley. The sudden change in gravity caught all of the enemies off-guard.

“How is this possible?!”

Sequeira could sense that he was unable to overcome this gravity, and was actually being drawn backwards!

How could he be moving backwards?!

Immediately, his body emanated a bloody light, allowing Sequeira to just barely resist the force. But still, he was completely unable to move forward. The backwards gravity was simply too strong.

“Young master Sequeira!”  The thousand-man commander, however, was able to resist the gravity.

“Block him!” The thousand-man commander shouted loudly. Even if a thousand island guards died, it didn’t matter, but Sequeira couldn’t die! The Bagshaw clan had too few people. Every single member of the clan was precious, and what’s more, Sequeira was of the primary line!

All of the island warriors were unsteady right now, and because they were squeezed into too small a space, they were tightly clustered together. They didn’t dare to wildly chop out with their weapons, because they might hurt their own people!

“Fleeing?”  Linley increased his speed. Sequeira couldn’t be allowed to flee. Linley wasn’t too far away, and so naturally, he almost instantly appeared next to Sequeira.

“Bang!” A wave of powerful energy struck onto Sequeira, but Linley couldn’t help but be astonished. That wave of energy had actually come from the nearby thousand-man commander.

“Swoosh!”   Sequeira  instantly  was  knocked  far  into  the distance, outside of the effect of the gravitational field.

After having left the gravitational field, Sequeira flew for another thousand meters before coming to a halt. He felt a sense of terror in his heart. “This member of the Four Divine Beast clans is simply too terrifying. That gravity was just…even I was unable to resist it. Fortunately, that last blow!”

Sequeira felt very grateful towards the thousand-man commander. That last attack was very queer; it didn’t possess much harmful power.

It was just a very heavy blow which impacted him, constantly pushing him outwards at high speed. This surge of force, combined with Sequeira’s own power, naturally shot him out rapidly.

“Kill, kill! Kill him for me!”  Sequeira immediately shouted explosively!

Only two hundred or so people were trapped in the Gravitational Space, while the eight hundred other island guards were flying high in the sky. They wanted to attack, but the people trapped in the Gravitational Space were too densely clustered, and most of them were their own people. They didn’t dare to engage in group assaults. 

If they did, they would injure their own people!

“Terrible!” As  soon  as  Sequeira  escaped,  Linley’s  heart lurched.

The situation just turned terrible!

After Sequeira escaped, he definitely wouldn’t be so careless as to fall into the Gravitational Space again.

The plan of capturing Sequeira had failed!

“Now, only the second method is left to me!”

A slaughter was about to commence! At present, Cesar and O’Brien were watching in stunned shock. They had believed that Linley was just a God and had come to die by their sides. They had been certain that they were going to die, and had been prepared to fight to their deaths. But now, they discovered…

They were wrong, ridiculously wrong!

Those island guards and black armored warriors weren’t even able to stand on their feet steady, within that Gravitational Space. Those people, in front of Linley, were like a flock of sheep, while Linley was a savage wolf. The wolf entered the flock of sheep!

“Linley, he…” Cesar and O’Brien were both rather stunned.

“The situation right now is very bad. Having not captured Sequeira, all we can do is slaughter a path out! To prevent them from engaging in group attacks, we have to battle within their groups. Only within their groups will we be able to avoid the group attacks of the other island guards!”  Linley’s voice rang out in Cesar, O’Brien, Delia, Bebe, and Olivier’s minds. 

Cesar and the others immediately focused their attention.

“Remember, follow me!”

After giving this instruction to those behind him, Linley let out a growl, then like an explosively enraged lion, led Cesar, Bebe, and the others to charge directly into the group of island guards in front of them!

“All who bar my path shall die!”

At this moment Linley’s heart was as cold and hard as iron.

He would no longer show any mercy!

Chapter 23, Turning the World Upside Down

Within the Bagshaw clan’s estate.

The only sound that could be heard was that of the gentle wind. Only, a large number of figures flew out from within the Bagshaw estate, moving at high speed towards the residential area for the island guards. It must be understood that those who lived at the Bagshaw clan estate, aside from the elites of the Bagshaw clan, were the true experts.

In mid-air.

His long red hair fluttered unrestrained. Bakwill’s face was emotionless as he flew at high speed. Behind him was three experts dressed in long red robes, two of them men, one a woman. The three red-robed experts were the true experts of the Bagshaw clan…

In the Bagshaw clan, the number of red-robed elders was extremely low. They were, however, one of the main reasons why the Bagshaw clan was able to stand so tall in the Infernal Realm, to erect Miluo Island, and ignore the official powers.

Every single red-robed elder was a Seven Star Fiend!

The Bagshaw clan, in the entire Infernal Realm, was one of the ancient clans that was ranked within the top ten! The Four Divine Beasts clan, before their fall, was of course far superior to the Bagshaw clan. But now that they had declined, they were a level weaker than the powerful, full-strength Bagshaw clan.

“Seems to be a Seven Star Fiend?” Bakwill was full of worry.

He was worried about his son!

“Whoooosh!”  Bagkwill flew at high speed, with three red- robed elders behind him, and a hundred black-armored warriors behind the elders. “Swish!”

A ray of blood-colored light spread out at high speed into the skies, from the residential area for the Miluo Island’s guards. As it flew high into the skies…“BANG!” It released a powerful explosive sound, while at the same time the blood-colored light expanded greatly, instantly seeming to become an eye- piercingly bright blood-colored sun.

The faces of Bakwill and the three red-robed elders changed.

This was the emergency call-to-arms for Miluo Island, ordering all of the warriors of Miluo Island to immediately enter battle mode as well as prepare to attack.

“Let’s move ahead!” Bakwill sent out his divine sense.

Immediately, Bakwill and the three red-robed elders increased their speed dramatically, instantly throwing off the nearly hundred black-armored warriors behind them. The four Seven Star Fiends transformed into four blurs, instantly moving into the distance. Bakwill, as soon as he saw the signal, was worried for his son.

Indeed, the situation had turned extremely, terrifyingly grim, for Sequeira to have been forced to release the signal. Sequeira hovered in the air off into the distance, staring at the slaughter down below, his face ashen. “Too terrifying. How could he be so strong?”

A slaughter!

Linley, who had entered berserk mode and was using both his incomparably strong Dragonform as well as the ‘Blackstone Space’, had released a slaughtering power that caused the hearts of these men to turn cold.

“Kill!”  Linley’s icy, dark golden eyes were filled without a hint of compassion.

He led Bebe and the others to charge and slaughter into the residential area of the island warriors. Within this region, there were simply too many island guards. Most of them were spread into the various regions, and on the way over, there were quite a few groups of island guards. Linley intentionally charged towards the areas where the guards were the most plentiful.

The Blackstone Space had expanded to its limit as well…a diameter of five hundred meters!

Everyone within this region was affected by the gravitational pull. Within a diameter of five hundred meters, each time he unleashed it, many island guards were caught within. When affected by the gravitational pull, they couldn’t help but be dragged  closer  to  Linley.  “Bang!”   Their  bodies  smashed through walls but continued to be pulled towards Linley.

“No!” These island guards were terrified as well.

They discovered that there were many island guards already within the gravitational field.

But instantly, the direction of the gravity changed! 

Originally, the gravity was directed towards Linley, but suddenly, it became directed to the ground. The sudden change of the direction of the gravity caused those island guards who had been striving to resist the gravity to smash viciously against and fall downwards towards the ground.

“Kill!”  Some of the island guards who had suddenly been pulled into the gravity field were enraged.

“Kill!”

The many island guards who had been trapped into the gravity field attacked.

But as soon as they attacked, Linley immediately activated the soul-bewildering effect! All of the island guards who had fallen into the gravitational field entered a stupor, but of course, amongst the island guards were a few experts as well who could just barely remain clear-headed. Against these very few experts, there was only one word… Kill!

They were able to just barely remain clear-headed, but in the gravity field, how could they compare to Linley in speed?

“Bang!”    The   devilish   Bloodviolet   directly   chopped   an enemy’s head apart.

As for those other island guards who were in a stupor, Linley continued to control a small amount of gravitational power to drag them along with him at high speed as he fled.

A violet sword light continued to flash unabated!

An azure-golden blur continued to flicker!

Blood and flesh exploded, skulls shattered, and divine sparks flew everywhere wildly! Linley’s ‘earthen yellow light sphere’ continued to advance, like a strange, devouring beast that had swallowed the island guards directly into it. Those who didn’t resist became stupefied puppets, while those who did resist were mercilessly slaughtered by Linley!

This beast was continuously advancing.

“Bastard.”  Sequeira,  watching  this  from  mid-air,  felt  his entire body tremble.

“Linley!”   Cesar  and  O’Brien  felt  their  hearts  filled  with astonishment as well.

“Haha, Boss, this feels great!” Bebe was very excited.

All of them, despite being within the gravity field, were covered by a flowing earthen yellow light, and so they weren’t affected at all. In addition, in the regions through the island guards residential area, more and more island guards had flown into the air, coming in nonstop after having seen the summoning signal in the skies.

Not only were there many island guards on the ground, there were many island guards in the skies as well. In the skies, the island guards were like a swarm of locusts. More than ten thousand island guards were hovering high in the sky. Staring down at that earthen-yellow sphere of light that was constantly advancing, they too couldn’t help but angrily curse…

“This bastard!”

As they saw it, Linley really was quite a bastard!

Because within the Blackstone Space, there was a group of stupefied island guards. These guards were like a wall of flesh!

If these island guards in the skies were to attack en masse downwards, the first to be struck would definitely be these ‘meat shield’ island guards. Linley was completely capable of controlling these stupefied island guards to use them to block any attacks, once they came.

“Can’t let this continue.” Sequeira gritted his teeth.

He immediately spread out his divine sense towards those ten-plus  thousand-man  commanders.  “Forget  about  those hundred island guards. Group attacks. Kill that man!”

The thousand-man commanders were all shocked.

“Yes!” They still acknowledged.

Very soon, the ten thousand island guards in the skies all received the orders.

“Attack?” The island guards were all rather surprised, but they still obeyed their orders. In accordance with the group orders, the ten thousand island guards in the skies all began to brandish their weapons, unleashing countless material attacks and physical attacks!

“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”

Instantly, countless multicolored attacks filled the skies, falling down from up above like a rain of rainbows. Only, each ‘raindrop’ was a lethal one!

Seeing this sight, Linley’s heart clenched.

“They  really  are  going  to  do  this!”   Linley  immediately turned, leading the group of people within his gravity field to dodge to the side.

Fortunately, the countless island guards up above them were all afraid of being caught up by this blackstone space, and so they all were rather high up, causing their attacks to have to fly quite a long distance. With such a long distance, even though they flew quickly, there was still enough time to react. Linley’s group dodged!

“Bang!” “Bang!” “Bang!”

The attacks descended from the skies. Countless rays of material attacks or soul attacks fell upon them without mercy!

They fell down as tightly clustered as drops of rain.

The thousand-man commanders of the island guards clearly knew that Linley would dodge, and so their attacks were also aimed at the areas which Linley might possibly flee to. Although by doing so, it meant their attacks were not very focused, in the end…Linley wouldn’t be able to dodge them all either.

Within the gravity field, those many stupefied guards were controlled by Linley to block from above Cesar, Bebe, Delia, and the others. Linley himself also retreated backwards to stand closer to Delia. With so many ‘meat shields’, the soul attacks naturally struck them first, entering the seas of consciousness for those many stupefied island guards. The number of attacks that actually fell directly upon Linley’s group came in clusters, with a single ‘meat shield’ sometimes being able to block multiple soul attacks and quite a few material attacks.

“Quick,  prepare  the  second  wave  of  attacks!”   Sequiera immediately shouted.

The thousand-man commanders understood that the first wave of attacks was almost completely absorbed by the ‘meat shield’. Linley’s group wouldn’t actually be harmed much.

But before they had a chance to give the orders, Linley moved.

“Up!”

Linley’s group had just relied on the meat shields to avoid that last round of attacks, and as they did so, they immediately charged upwards. Their flying speed was of course extremely fast, and most of the island guards above them hadn’t even had a chance to react before Linley flew within several hundred meters of them. Instantly, dozens of island guards above Linley were drawn into that Blackstone Space.

“Ahhhh!”  “Ahhhh!”  They screamed miserably, but began to sink down at high speed.

But their screams quickly quieted, because they themselves entered a stupor.

The island guards began to panic.

“Flee!”

If they fell into the Blackstone Space, that would be terrible. Linley’s sudden upward charge into the middle of the island guards caused them to completely fall into disordered chaos. All of them were terrified of falling into the Blackstone Space, and so they frantically tried to fly farther away from it. “About time.” Linley said to himself.

Instantly, a large amount of earth elemental essence began to rise up.

“Crackle…”   The  strange  thing  was,  an  enormous  black cuboid appeared in mid-air. This black cuboid had six sides, and it hovered there in mid air, four hundred meters tall. This enormous black cube contained more than a hundred Highgods within it.

This enormous cube was formed from countless miniature cubes that were only four meters tall.

The precise number of the small cubes, was a million!

An enormous cube that was four hundred meters tall, formed from a million smaller cubes. Those Highgods were all trapped within. This was the true form of the Blackstone Prison – a cube!

“What is this?” Many island guards were astonished.

“Swoosh!” That enormous cube flew towards the east at high speed. Any island guards that were too slow or who weren’t able to dodge, upon contact with the cube, were immediately devoured within.

At the center of the enormous cube, Linley’s group was gathered together.

“Now that these people have come in, it will be hard for them if they want to go out again.” Linley laughed calmly. The gravitational force within the cube was under Linley’s complete control. By relying on changing the direction of the gravity, Linley was capable of causing those within it to lose their sense of direction. In addition, each time they attempted to break through a wall, it would be tremendously difficult.

It must be understood that this was formed from a million cubes, and Linley was capable of soundless altering the insides of this cube.

To escape was virtually impossible.

The only possible way was to forcibly shatter it!

“Linley, what are we going to do?” Delia asked.

“First, we’ll fly to the eastern part of the island.” Linley had planned this out in advance. “By the time we arrive at the eastern part of the island, we will only have to cause a panic amongst the countless guests. The population in the eastern part of the island is very high. After causing them to panic, we’ll be able to seize the opportunity to flee.”

This was Linley’s second scheme!

“Linley, you…you…when did you become so powerful?” The War God, O’Brien, looked at Linley. “When we are all safe, I’ll tell you.” Linley replied.

“Bang!”   The  outsides  of  the  black  cube  were  currently suffering countless attacks from the island guards. Although the island guards were numerous, their attacks were too spread out. At most, they would be able to destroy a few exterior layers, which Linley could instantly repair.

“I can block those material attacks, but as for the soul attacks, let those unfortunate ‘meat shields’ block them. The Blackstone Prison is so large that those outside have no way at all of knowing where we are within it.”

The countless island guards in mid-air were staying far, far away from that enormous black cube. The black cube thus flew across the skies of Miluo Island, moving at high speed towards the eastern part of the island. Slowly, it drew nearer and nearer to the eastern part of the island.

“What’s that?” The countless outsiders of Miluo Island raised their heads, staring at the enormous black cube.

Suddenly…

Four blurs shot at high speed towards that black cube, while at the same time, a dazzling, enormous black saber-light flashed, slashing directly across the black cube. Although it seemed to cut through it with difficulty, in the end, it still chopped through the center of the black cube.

“BANG!” The black cube crumbled.

The Dragonformed Linley, with Delia, Bebe, and the others, hovered there in mid-air.

“You  won’t  be  able  to  flee!”  A  cold  voice  rang  out.  The speaker was Bakwill, who along with the three red-robed elders were staring coldly at Linley. Linley stared at his surroundings.

Currently, the area around them was surrounded by dense clusters of island guards who had already formed a sphere around them, completely sealing them off. From afar, the countless outsiders at the eastern part of the island were raising their heads to stare at this place.

“Those four are very powerful.” Linley felt a hint of tension. That blade just now had been launched by one of the red-robed men, but the red-robed men were clearly under the command of that red-haired man. Linley had no confidence at all in his ability to fight those four head on!

“It seems…I’ll have to use plan three.”  Linley’s gaze slowly turned ice cold.

Plan three…was the final plan!

It was time to use the Sovereign’s Might!

Chapter 24, Life and Death, Two Paths

Currently at Miluo Island, at the air above the border between the western and the eastern part of the island, tens of thousands of Highgod island warriors were in a sphere, surrounding Linley and his group who were in the center with no place to flee. The greatest threat to Linley, however, was the four people he was facing.

Four Seven Star Fiends!

“A single saber blow that chopped my Blackstone Prison ‘cube’ in half, with enough remaining force that I had to disperse it with my fist. The power of that saber blow was really  quite  frightening.”  Linley  felt  that  his  right  fist  was slightly numb. Lowering his head, he saw that on his fist, there was a white imprint.

Linley was quite astonished.

This was the remaining power from that flash of saber light, after it had chopped through so many walls of the Blackstone Prison! If the saber had landed with full power on Linley, it would be hard to say if his draconic scales would be able to resist it!

“Seven Star Fiend! Definitely a Seven Star Fiend!”

Linley stared at the red-robed man who had launched that saber blow just now. He was a muscular, red-robed man with wild, tousled golden hair like the mane on a lion. At present, this man was currently standing respectfully behind the red- haired man.

“And who is this red-haired man?” Linley was cautious.

The three red-robed elders were by the side of the red-haired man, while young master Sequeira was currently by the side of the red-haired man, appearing quite respectful. However, the red-haired man glanced at him, and Sequeira lowered his head, respectfully stepping to the side.

“Even Sequeira is so respectful, and he seems quite similar in features to Sequeira. Could this be Sequeira’s father?”  Linley, seeing this scene, guessed to himself. After a short consideration, Linley came to the conclusion…

That the situation was grim!

The three red-robed men were very likely Seven Star Fiends.

As for the red-haired man, he couldn’t be weak either.

“Using  Sovereign’s  Might  is  one  possibility,  but  more importantly, I have to protect Delia and the others.” Linley was still rather worried. After all…their group was surrounded by a dense cluster of tens of thousands of Highgod island warriors!

This group of Highgod warriors were extremely dangerous as well.

“It seems…I have no other options!” Linley gritted his teeth.

He had to block the opponents while at the same time, he had protect Delia and the others. But the enemy consisted of four Seven Star Fiends. Even if he used his Sovereign’s Might, he had to go all out.

Thus, in the worst case scenario, he had to simultaneously use two drops of Sovereign’s Might!

One drop for his original body to deal with the four Seven Star Fiends.

One drop for his divine clone to protect Delia and the others.

“That’s the worst case scenario.” Linley was rather unwilling to do so. After all, this was two drops of Sovereign’s Might. But the enemy was too powerful!

“I hope you won’t force me to that step.”

Linley said quietly to himself. Currently, as Linley was weighing his opponents, they were weighing Linley as well. They discovered, to their astonishment…that they, four Seven Star Fiends, weren’t able to see through Linley at all.

“This person is extremely powerful.” The clan leader of the Bagshaw clan, Bakwill, felt astonished. At the same time, he gave his son a hard look.

If it wasn’t because of his son, how could they have possibly offended an enemy like this?

“Boslo [Bo’si’luo]!” Bakwill shouted.

“Milord.” The lion-like man went forward.

“Go test him. If you can, then kill him.” Bakwill ordered through divine sense. Bakwill knew very well exactly how powerful the three red-robed elders accompanying him were. In terms of defense, Boslo was the strongest. Thus, he was the most appropriate choice for testing the opponent’s strength.

“Yes, milord!” Boslo seemed rather excited.

Boslo immediately turned his head, his yellow golden eyes locking onto Linley. Cracking his lips, he laughed loudly. “Haha, just now, you were able to take on my blow. That means you are worthy of knowing my name. I am Boslo. Now, if you die, you won’t die without even knowing who killed you!”

Linley just stood there coldly in mid-air.

His body suddenly moved, and his divine wind clone flew out, landing next to Delia, Bebe, and Olivier’s sides. Delia was filled with concern as well, while Bebe said through divine sense, “Boss, are you going to use the Sovereign’s Might?”

“Right. My wind-style divine clone will also carry a drop of Sovereign’s Might. At a time of danger, I’ll immediately use it.” Linley sent mentally. 

Two drops of Sovereign’s Might. One was held by the original body within the Coiling Dragon ring, while the other had been shifted into Linley’s divine wind clone’s interspatial ring. If the situation suddenly changed, Linley would immediately use his Sovereign’s Might!

“Haha,  I  haven’t  even  killed  you,  but  you  are  already  so frightened that you sent out your divine clone?” Boslo laughed loudly.

The laughter echoed like thunder in the air above Miluo Island.

“Enough bullshit!”  The cold voice burst forth from Linley’s lips. Boslo was slightly startled, and then his face grew solemn as well. With a flip of his hand, he retrieved a pitch black long blade that was two meters long.

Immediately… The tens of thousands of surrounding Highgods and the countless Deity spectators on the ground all went silent, expectantly waiting for this astonishing battle to begin.

“I didn’t expect that this sort of battle would occur at Miluo Island.”  A black haired man carrying a warblade on his back appeared within the ground. Raising his head, he stared at the battle. This was Lomio Bornesen whose fame had become widespread throughout Miluo Island.

Lomio narrowed his eyes, staring at the two men who were about to battle as closely as a viper.

The battle that was being watched by countless people was about to begin!

“Rumble…” That explosive red-robed man, Boslo, wielded his long blade. His speed reached the limit, and because he was too fast, the world itself began to rumble and thunder. In an instant, Boslo appeared high in the air.

And then, Boslo’s form tightened! 

Silently, soundlessly, Boslo charged down from up above with his long blade, chopping down viciously towards Linley. But the strange thing was…this blade actually didn’t make any sound at all, and it didn’t cause any spatial vibrations at all.

It looked as though it was a very ordinary blade blow.

“Eh?” Watching from below, Lomio’s eyes suddenly lit up. “To have trained to such a level in the Way of Destruction… Miluo Island really is a place of crouching tigers and hidden dragons!”  But  Lomio  discovered  that  Linley  still  just  stood there, not seeming to care at all.

Lomio was surprised.

Even he, in the face of that saber blow, wouldn’t dare to be so casual.

“Formidable.” A sigh of praise escaped Linley’s lips, but right afterwards… As Boslo slashed down in a perfect arc, while he was still two hundred meters or so away from Linley, his body suddenly, bizarrely quivered, then was pushed back by several meters. Instantly, the stance of his downwards chopping blow was broken.

“What sort of power is this?”  Boslo was astonished. Just now, he clearly could sense a terrifying repulsive power acting on his body. Even at his level of power, when caught off-guard, he couldn’t help but retreat.

Even Bakwill and the others, watching at a distance, were astonished.

“Father, that man’s Gravitational Space is very bizarre. Not only can it pull downwards, it can also draw inwards or repulse outwards.”   Sequeira  immediately  explained  to  his  father through divine sense. Bakwill couldn’t help but stare at Linley in amazement. “A Gravitational Space that can reach such a level?” He didn’t dare believe it!

“Haha…” Boslo let out a loud, gravelly laugh, which sounded like the bursting waters of a flood. His flashing golden eyes stared at Linley. “I underestimated you.”

Boslo wielded his saber with both hands, forcibly resisting the repulsive force as he charged towards Linley.

Linley just stood there quietly.

“Die.” Boslo swung down violently with full force. Wherever his warblade passed by, space itself was chopped open by the sharp blade, with a large crack easily being created. That enormous long blade came straight down towards Linley’s head.

Before the long blade arrived, the spatial tremors that it had caused had reached Linley. “This  is  the  moment!”   Linley’s  eyes  suddenly  widened viciously.

The repulsive force immediately transformed into a downwards gravitational force!

Boslo felt that he instantly seemed to have had a trillion- kilogram mountain crush down on his body. This sudden gravitational pull caused all of his movements to change. When experts exchanged blows, a sudden change like this had a tremendous impact.

Boslo, caught completely off-guarded, suddenly sank down. Boslo had been chopping down at Linley, but he was now below Linley. How could he possibly hit Linley?

“Hmph!” A cold voice rang out.

An azure-golden light flashed. Linley’s right leg struck out like a blade towards Boslo’s head, with his Dragonformed body containing such boundless physical strength that this kick actually caused space to crack and rumble. 

Boslo was an expert as well. He immediately changed his downwards swing to an upwards block, and wherever the blade of his saber passed, space was parted like the waters of the sea.

“Bang!”

Linley’s right leg slammed viciously onto the blade, but the weird thing was, the power of the blow actually passed through the warblade and into Boslo’s body. Boslo’s entire body twitched momentarily, and at almost the same moment, Linley’s draconic tail also lashed viciously against Boslo’s body.

Boslo had been impacted by the Gravitational Space to begin with and was being impacted by an astonishing downwards gravitational force. Now that he had been successively hit by Linley’s kick and also struck by Linley’s vicious tail.

“Bang!”  The earth trembled as Boslo smashed directly into the surface of the other, an enormous, deep crevice appearing on the ground. 

The tens of thousands of island warriors and the countless spectators on Miluo Island were all stunned.

He actually had dared to use his leg to kick down towards Boslo’s warblade? And had even knocked Boslo into the ground?

“How hard is his leg?!”

This was what countless people were wondering.

“Swoosh!”  Boslo emerged from the ground and flew out at high speed, his face filled with disbelief. At this moment, a voice rang out in his mind. “Boslo, what is going on?”

“Milord, his strength is too powerful. I’ve never encountered a person whose strength was so great!” Boslo sent back.

His physical strength was indeed vast! 

Just now, when Linley’s leg had smashed against Boslo’s warblade, Boslo had felt as though an enormous mountain that had existed for ten million years had slammed onto his body. The strength of this power was indescribable!

“Milord,  just  now,  my  attack…he  wasn’t  injured?”  Boslo asked. As he was smashed into the ground, he hadn’t had a chance to notice.

“You only broke a few of his draconic scales. You didn’t injure him much.” Bakwill said.

“My blade attack contained a soul attack as well. He didn’t feel anything?”  Boslo asked hurriedly. Although he was more proficient in material attacks, his soul attacks weren’t weak either. Anyone who didn’t have a soul-protecting divine artifact would find it hard to resist.

“His soul defense has to be excellent. I haven’t noticed any change in him.” Bakwill was beginning to worry. The mysterious expert of the Four Divine Beasts clan in front of him seemed to be rather too powerful.

“How dangerous. Fortunately, my soul-protecting Sovereign artifact ablated ninety percent of the attack power.” Linley was frightened as well. Just now, although the material attack component of that blade chop was powerful, it was only able to shatter his draconic scales and give him a flesh wound.

But the soul attack embodied within the blade had struck like a thunderbolt against that translucent membrane.

Upon smashing into the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, of course it shattered. After the first blow, 60% – 70% of the power was dispersed, and then the remaining force spread throughout the translucent membrane and discovered the flaw in the membrane. The ‘bandage’ over the flaw was now quite strong, and an enormous amount of force was needed to break through it.

The remaining bit of energy, Linley was able to resist with his own soul power. 

“This person is still more proficient in physical attacks. If I were to encounter someone who was an expert in soul attacks…”  Linley, just now, had already gripped the drop of Sovereign’s Might into his hand, prepared to use it at any moment.

Bakwill and the three red-robed elders were all hesitating. This Linley was truly unfathomable to them. Even a Seven Star Fiend like Boslo seemed to be at a disadvantage.

But what they didn’t know was that even a Six Star Fiend, if proficient in soul attacks, would be enough to deal with Linley.

Unfortunately, they didn’t know any details regarding Linley.

After all, they all believed that Linley was hiding his aura.

“His ability at hiding his soul aura is at such a level…how could  his  soul  attacks  possibly  be  weak?”  Bakwill  and  the others all came to this conclusion, which is why they had sent Boslo, who had the strongest material attacks in their group.

“Father.” Sequeira said softly.

“F*ck off. Go to one side.” Bakwill growled.

Bakwill was frustrated, but Linley was also frustrated. Linley knew his own power. His body was very tough and so he could frighten the opponents, but if they were to truly battle, he would absolutely have to use up his Sovereign’s Might.

Linley immediately flew over towards Bakwill.

“What are you doing!”  Bakwill immediately used his divine sense to shout. Bakwill and the three red-robed elders all grew guarded, staring at Linley. It was as though if he said a single word wrong, they would immediately attack. “That Lord Linley is flying over. Can it be that he wants to fight them, one on four?”

The countless spectators on Miluo Island who were watching with their heads raised were all staring at this sight, and Lomio was watching quietly as well.

Linley continued to fly. Roughly at a distance of three hundred meters from Bakwill, Linley came to a halt. Seeing Linley halt, Bakwill and the others calmed down slightly as well.

“How could I be here to cause you trouble? You just don’t know…that at a long distance, my divine sense isn’t long enough to reach you!” Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. He was only a God. Generally speaking, the divine sense of a God was only a hundred meters.

Although he had refined a large number of amethysts and his soul had grown to the limits of power for a God and was unable to absorb any more, his divine sense was still limited to three or four hundred meters or so. Highgods, however, could generally speak with divine sense to a thousand meters. 

Only by drawing closer was he able to speak with divine sense!

“I am Linley!” Linley sent through divine sense to Bakwill.

“Bakwill.”  Bakwill responded. “Linley, your friends are all surrounded. As long as I give the order, tens of thousands of Highgods will join forces and attack. Your friends will all die. Given your power, you should know the true power of our Bagshaw clan. If we really start to claw at each other’s faces and go all out, even if you are an Asura, our Bagshaw clan will still be able to kill you.”

The experts of the Bagshaw clan were more numerous than just the few of them present.

“I understand. My power has only been partially revealed as well.” Linley sent back through divine sense, while at the same time, Linley stretched out his right hand. In his right hand, a sparkling blue drop of water appeared! This blue drop of water was giving off a faint yet awe- inspiring aura of power.

The faces of Bakwill and the three red-robed elders immediately changed greatly. “Water-type Sovereign’s Might!”

“I don’t want for us to rip at each other’s faces and go all out. You should know that given my power, if I use this drop of Sovereign’s  Might…what  the  results  will  be!”   Linley  sent through divine sense.

Bakwill’s facial muscles twitched, and then he laughed coldly.

Bakwill flipped his own hand, and a drop of black liquid appeared. Linley could sense the terrifying energy contained within that black drop of liquid. It was a power on the same level of his blue drop of water, only what it emanated was the aura of Destruction.

“Destruction-type Sovereign’s Might?” Linley was shocked as well. 

“Your Four Divine Beast’s clan has Sovereign’s Might. Did you think my Bagshaw clan doesn’t?”  Bagshaw sent through divine sense. “For you to have a drop of water-type Sovereign’s Might means that your position in the Four Divine Beasts clan must be quite high.”

It was normal for Bakwill, as the leader of the clan, to be carrying a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

The top ten ancient clans of the Infernal Realm, such as the Bagshaw clan, all possessed astonishing power of their own!

“You killed so many of my men. Although they were minor figures, you still besmirched the face of my Bagshaw clan. I’ll give you two paths to choose from! The first path is the path where we go all out against each other and engage in a great battle. At worst, my Bagshaw clan will lose a number of experts, but we will still kill you. I wager your Four Divine Beasts clan won’t dare to come to my Miluo Island to avenge you!” Bakwill was absolutely confident. Linley’s face didn’t change. He continued to listen.

“The second path is, my Bagshaw clan can give you face and forget about those minor figures you killed. However, you must serve my Bagshaw clan and assume the position of a red-robed elder. You must serve the Bagshaw clan without compensation for ten thousand years as a form of apology. In this way, this matter will be at an end.”

“Pick a path!” Bakwill stared at Linley.

Chapter 25, Red-Robed Elder

Which path to choose?

Linley’s forehead creased slightly.

Neither of these two paths were ‘good’ paths. The first went without saying; for the Bagshaw clan to be able to keep Miluo Island erect in the Infernal Realm for countless years meant that this ancient clan’s roots and foundation of power definitely exceeded his imagination. Killing Linley wouldn’t be too hard!

The second path, be a red-robed elder for ten thousand years?

For an ordinary expert, ten thousand years wasn’t much. But to him, it was too long a period of time. From birth until now, he hadn’t even lived a thousand years. “Linley, you haven’t made up your mind yet?”  Bakwill was growing rather angry. He believed that the conditions he had offered for the second path were already quite good; it was just a short ten thousand years. For ultimate experts, they might spend ten thousand years in a single training session.

“Ten  thousand  years  is  too  long.  I  have  to  go  to  the Bloodridge Continent on business.”  Linley sent back through divine sense.

Bakwill’s face instantly became all smiles.

Ten thousand years. A hundred years. To experts on the level of Bakwill, there wasn’t much difference. If he truly had wanted to punish Linley, he wouldn’t say ten thousand years; he would say a hundred million years! After all, to ultimate experts like them, a hundred years or ten thousand years really wasn’t a long period of time.

“That’s  easy  to  negotiate.  Linley,  since  you  are  willing  to become my clan’s red-robed elder, my Bagshaw clan won’t go too far either. How about this. No matter what, you still have to show your sincerity in apologizing. Let’s just say a hundred years then.” Bakwill said.

Actually, Bakwill didn’t want to waste his Sovereign’s Might either, nor did he want to lose his clan’s experts. If he could avoid battle, he would. As long as Linley was willing to give his clan face, it would be enough.

But of course, this was also because Linley’s ‘power’ was too great.

If it had been another person, even another Seven Star Fiend who didn’t have Sovereign’s Might, Bakwill most likely would have ordered them to be killed already.

“There’s nothing I can do. This is the only choice.”  Linley understood as well.

Although he had two drops of Sovereign’s Might, the Bagshaw clan had Sovereign’s Might as well. If they really did claw at each other’s faces and battle wildly, using up those two drops of Sovereign’s Might was a small matter, but whether or not he would be able to safely allow Delia and Bebe and the others to leave was another, greater matter.

Right now, both sides were taking a step back.

He might as well stay a hundred years. By doing so, not only would he save two drops of Sovereign’s Might, he would also protect Delia and the others.

“I accept.” Linley nodded.

Bakwill instantly laughed.

“Linley, follow us, then.” Bakwill sent through divine sense.

Linley nodded, then sent mentally to Bebe and Delia, “Bebe, Delia, Olivier…all of you, follow me.” Although Bebe and Delia were full of questions, they still flew over. “Go back!” Bakwill suddenly said in a clear voice.

And then, Bakwill, the three red-robed elders, Sequeira, Linley, and the others all flew directly towards the western part of the island, with the hundred black armored warriors following. As for those tens of thousands of island guards covering the skies, they were all completely lost.

Not just them. The countless spectators watching the battle with heads raised on Miluo Island were puzzled as well. Why did that lord leave with the people of the Bagshaw clan?

“What just happened?”

“Moments ago, they were battling mightily. Why is it that the Draconian expert left with the people of Miluo Island?”

“Isn’t it obvious that it’s because he fears the people of Miluo Island? Over countless years, there’s been no one who dares to resist Miluo Island.” “I disagree. Most likely, that Draconian lord was concerned about his friends.”

The countless outsiders of the entire Miluo Island were all chatting about this battle, either discussing Linley’s power or guessing at why Linley had left with them. However, without question, everyone agreed…

That Draconian was very powerful.

He was able to kick a red-robed expert flying and control a large number of Highgods like toys in the palm of his hand.

“Experts are as common as the clouds. It seems as though I should accept the invitation of the Bagshaw clan. Let’s take a look  and  see…what  sort  of  experts  the  Bagshaw  clan  has!” Lomio Bornesen raised his head, watching Linley and the others disappear into the western horizons.

And then, he calmly turned and vanished into the crowds, while the people around him continued to chat excitedly. 

While flying towards the western part of the island and towards the residential area of the Bagshaw clan, Olivier, O’Brien, and Cesar all used their divine sense to query Linley. They had bellies full of questions.

“Linley, what did you promise that Bagshaw clan?”  Cesar hurriedly asked. His heart was filled with guilt. This was all because of him.

“Boss, what does that Bagshaw clan want us to do?”  Bebe queried.

“Linley, are you a Highgod or a God?” O’Brien asked.

The repeated questions from multiple people caused Linley to momentarily not know how to respond.

“My power, I won’t explain for now. In the future, I’ll explain in detail. You can just consider me as a Six Star Fiend.” Linley responded to O’Brien. Six Star Fiend only was a level of power. 

It didn’t mean he had to be a Highgod.

“Bebe, Delia, they just want me to be a red-robed elder for a century. We’d best humbly take a step back.” Linley replied.

Only now was Delia relieved. Delia hadn’t been in a hurry to go to the Indigo Prefecture to begin with; she only wanted that Linley wouldn’t place himself in too much danger. That tremendous battle that was about to break out just now had terrified her so much that her heart was rising into her throat.

Fortunately, the dangerous moment had passed.

The Bagshaw clan took up an exceedingly wide amount of space, with all sorts of buildings and manors scattered throughout it.

“Linley,  from  today  onward,  you  can  live  at  the  estate.” Bakwill laughed calmly. “We agreed that you would only stay for a hundred years. It’s just a hundred short years. There’s no need for you to make a special oath.”

With a wave of his hand, Bakwill brought out a set of long red robes and a green insignia.

“This  is  the  uniform  for  red-robed  elders.  The  defensive power of this uniform is equivalent to a Highgod divine artifact. This insignia is a ‘green Miluo Insignia’. In Miluo Island, when you use this insignia, you can easily summon and mobilize a hundred island guards.” Bakwill smiled as he spoke.

Linley immediately smiled and accepted it.

“Lord Bakwill, don’t worry. Within these hundred years, without your permission, I definitely won’t leave on my own.” Linley said.

Bakwill laughed and nodded. “I trust the words spoken by the descendants of the Four Divine Beast clan.” Bakwill knew very well that large clans like theirs, the Bagshaw clan and the Four Divine Beasts clan, all had Sovereign’s Might and would give them out to clan members of exceedingly high status.

As he saw it, for Linley to be able to acquire a drop of Sovereign’s Might meant that even in the Four Divine Beasts clan, he was most likely an elder-level figure.

The word of someone like Linley was thus worthy of being trusted.

If he had to swear an oath for simply a hundred years, that would actually be laughable.

“Lord Bakwill, normally, what do I need to do?” Linley asked.

“Not much. Only when any major problems occur would we have the red-robed elders go out. For example, today!” Bakwill teased. “But of course, as a red-robed elder, there is a benefit as well. In the future, you can go to the secret area here in the western part of the island for a viewing.” “The secret area in the western part of the island?”

Linley had heard others speak of this place long ago. It seemed as though the victors of a hundred Arena battles were qualified to go in for a viewing. Linley had wanted to ask more questions regarding this secret area, but that Bakwill just laughed and said, “Linley, I’ll leave now. If there’s anything you need, feel free to come find me.”

Linley didn’t feel comfortable chasing after him with questions.

Thus, he simply watched as Bakwill, Sequeira, and the three red-robed elders left.

………………

“Creaaaak.” The door shut. In the main hall, only Bakwill and Sequeira remained.

“Father,  you’re  going  to  just  let  Linley  live  a  hundred comfortable years? This is letting him off too easy. How many of  our  men  has  he  killed!”  The  rage  which  Sequeira  had suppressed for so long was finally boiling out.

“Hmph!”

A single cold snort, but it struck against Sequeira’s heart like a hammer. Sequeira’s words instantly came to a halt.

Bakwill turned and gave Sequeira a cold stare. “This matter, if we pursue it to its roots, was caused by that slut and Cesar. She’s just a woman. Can it be that for the sake of your slut, my Bagshaw clan would lose several Seven Star Fiend-level experts and one or two drops of Sovereign’s Might, while at the same time offending the Four Divine Beasts clan? Is it worth it?”

Killing Linley? They could do that. But the price was far too high.

“It’s just the Four Divine Beasts clan.” Sequeira muttered.

“Hmph. An enormous dragon, even after starving to death, is still enormous. Although compared to ten thousand years ago, the Four Divine Beasts clan has changed dramatically and their power has dropped, however…the Four Divine Beasts clan had previously dominated the Infernal Realm for countless years. Their roots are extremely deep.”

Bakwill growled, “Our Bagshaw clan is more powerful than the Four Divine Beasts clan, but only by a bit.”

Sequeira no longer dared to say a word.

West Miluo Island. The Bagshaw clan’s residential area.

Linley’s estate. “Elder!”   At  the  estate,  two  servants  respectfully  saluted Linley.

Linley was currently dressed in a long red robe. All roving island guards, upon seeing Linley, would be extremely respectful. Linley gave orders to a nearby island guard. “Go to room 306 of the island warriors’ residential area. Bring Tarosse and Dylin over.”

“Yes, elder.” An island guard said respectfully.

Linley turned and returned to his estate. At present, Delia, Bebe, Cesar, O’Brien, and Olivier were all living here. In three steps, Linley reached the rear gardens.

O’Brien, Olivier, and Bebe were chatting idly, but Cesar was in the corner of the garden, sitting there foolishly, thinking who-knows-what.

“Linley.” Delia walked towards Linley from behind. Delia had also noticed the distant Cesar. Sighing, she said, “Most likely Cesar is still thinking about Cecily.”

“Right.” Linley nodded slightly. Most likely, Cesar would need a long period of time before he could escape this ‘valley’.

“Hey, Boss, you came.”  Bebe immediately rushed over and intentionally said a few words of congratulations. “Boss, I must say, that red elder’s robe you are wearing looks quite fetching and handsome.”

Linley couldn’t help but laugh.

Linley’s conversation attracted the notice of Cesar, who upon seeing Linley, immediately ran over, his eyes lighting up. He hurriedly said, “Linley, I want to ask something of you.”

“Cesar, if there’s anything you need, just say it.” Linley had always felt gratitude towards Cesar in his heart. Cesar said nervously, “For Sequeira to suddenly attack me… I’m worried that possibly some sort of major conflict sprang up between him and Lily. Otherwise, how could Sequeira have been in such a towering rage and have come for me? After all, the day before her wedding, Lily and I officially broke up. Ever since that day, we never met again, not once.”

Up till now, Cesar still didn’t know that Cecily had become pregnant with his child.

“Linley, I want to ask you to go investigate and see what is going on with Lily.” Cesar begged.

Linley nodded. “Alright. Don’t worry. I will go do a careful investigation.”

Linley knew a bit about Cesar and Cecily’s affairs.

The two of them, Cesar and Cecily, were actually truly in love with each other. Unfortunately, young master Sequeira had taken a fancy for Cecily. The Gaylord clan had thus immediately requested Cecily to marry Sequeira, so as to win the favor of the Bagshaw clan!

How could Cecily disobey the orders of her clan?

Thus, in great pain, she had to separate from Cesar. On the day before her wedding, she hardened her heart and told Cesar that they would never meet again.

“Alas, Cesar is really unfortunate.” Linley sighed to himself. “Miluo Island supposedly has five clans, but in reality, the master is the Bagshaw clan. The other four clans are just their subordinates.”

He could completely imagine how, in order to ingratiate themselves to Sequeira, the Gaylord clan had forcibly required Cecily to do what had to be done.

Beneath the ground. In a darkened tunnel. Sequeira was walking with a cold look on his face. On each side of this tunnel were jail cells, each of them quite unusual. They were specially made to detain Deities. This corridor had a black armored warrior on guard every ten meters.

“Slut!”

Whenever Sequeira thought about how his wife Cecily had someone else’s child in her stomach, and had so excitedly run over to tell him about it, he felt humiliated. And today, he hadn’t been able to kill Cesar because Linley had appeared.

“Linley! He shows up everywhere.”  Sequeira truly detested Linley. He had first shown up in the Free Castle, and now here as well.

“Time to deal with it.”  Sequeira took a deep breath. Cecily was the shame of his clan. She definitely wouldn’t be permitted to continue living. Once this got out, the Bagshaw clan would become a laughingstock. He had come here…to kill Cecily. Not because he wanted to, but because his father had ordered it!

After arriving at a cell.

“Open  it.”  Sequeira  said  calmly,  while  at  the  same  time showing his blood-colored Miluo Insignia.

In the dark, damp jail cell, Cecily was leaning against a wall, her long hair somewhat in disarray. Hearing the cell door open, Cecily couldn’t help but turn to look. Seeing that it was Sequeira, her face changed slightly.

“You…you killed Cesar?” Cecily said in a low voice.

“Yes. I killed him.” Sequeira said coldly, as he emotionlessly stared at Cecily, waiting expectantly for that look of despair and agony on Cecily’s face.

He got what he wanted! 

Cecily’s face instantly turned white. Soundlessly, her tears came dripping down. In the short few hours she had been imprisoned here, she had been worried about Cesar. She knew that Sequeira would go seek revenge, and she also knew that Cesar wouldn’t be able to stop him.

But…she had still held onto hope. Upon hearing Sequeira’s words, though, she lost all hope.

“Cesar….”

Cecily’s mind returned to those happy scenes, those days she had spent with Cesar. She had been so happy, so free, without any restrictions from the clan. She could live as she pleased. But…

Sequeira had taken a fancy to her.

And thus, her destiny had been changed. In the face of her clan, she had lowered her head. Even after being married into the Bagshaw clan, she had always forced herself to remain smiling and happy.

“Sequeira!”   Cecily  suddenly  raised  her  head  to  stare  at Sequeira, her eyes like death. “If it wasn’t because you are a member of the Bagshaw clan, you would be less than dogshit. Do you know? Whenever I slept with you, I pretended you were Cesar!”

Sequeira’s face turned red and he roared angrily, “SLUT!” With that explosive shout, he immediately launched a heavy, furious slap, smashing down on Cecily’s head. “Bang!” Cecily’s entire body trembled, and then she slowly slid to the ground. To the very end, Cecily had a strange smile on her face.

She had said those words because she wanted to die.

Death would be an escape.

She would no longer have to continue to force herself to be happy every day. Wouldn’t have to force herself not to think of Cesar every day. 

“Slut, slut, SLUT!!!!”  After having killed Cecily, Sequeira’s rage was still endless. In his mind, those final words echoed over and over.

“Do you know? Whenever I slept with you, I pretended you were Cesar!”

Chapter 26, Scryer Records

Since he had promised Cesar, Linley naturally began to ponder as to what method he could use to investigate Cecily’s situation. However, despite the fact that he was now a red- robed elder, he didn’t have the authority to arbitrarily enter the residence of the clan leader. After having ordered people to bring Dylin and Tarosse over here, Linley began to investigate and see what he could find.

“Magnolia [Ma’ge’nuo’li’ya]!”

Linley quickly strode forward to greet her.

Magnolia. A red-robed elder of the Bagshaw clan. She was the one and only female red-robed elder of the three which Bakwill had brought during the previous battle. Magnolia turned, her violet eyes carrying a hint of a smile. “Mr. Linley, is there something you need?”

“Magnolia, there’s something I want to ask about.”  Linley said hurriedly. 

“Go ahead.” Magnolia was very courteous.

“Last time, Sequeira was infuriated and wanted to kill my friend. It should have been for the sake of his wife. Do you know the current situation of young master Sequeira’s wife?” Linley asked directly.

Magnolia furrowed her forehead, then shook her head. “I’m not sure about that. Sequeira and his wife both live in the clan leader’s estate. I normally find it hard to go in there as well. I imagine that those who know of this situation are most likely the servants and the housekeepers of the clan leader’s estate. Just those few.”

Linley frowned.

The clan leader’s estate was the most tightly restricted area in the entire Bagshaw clan. The people who lived there consisted of Bakwill as well as his two sons. Those servants who lived there normally never came out. To investigate would be very hard.

“If you have the chance, you can just go ask Sequeira or the lord clan leader directly.” Magnolia advised.

“Alright. Got it. Sorry for bothering you.”

Linley immediately left.

Ask Sequeira or Bakwill? Of course Linley knew that was the best way! But Linley also knew that upon asking, Sequeira or Bakwill would definitely know that he was asking on behalf of Cesar, at which point, what would Sequeira and the others think?

At the very least, they would feel quite uncomfortable.

Unless absolutely necessarily, Linley didn’t want to act to make others irritated. After walking around for a bit, he asked quite a few people with high status, but he still didn’t know anything about Cecily’s current situation. Disappointed, Linley thus could only first return home. By the time he returned to his own estate, Linley saw Cesar at the gates.

“Linley, how did it go?” Cesar hurriedly asked.

“Cecily lives in the clan leader’s estate. Even I’m not allowed to just barge in there. Don’t be hasty. I’ll ask again in a while.” Linley shook his head regretfully.

A look of disappointment flashed past Cesar’s eyes, and then he forced out a smile. “I’m in no rush, in no rush!”

Linley sighed in his heart.

“Right.  Tarosse  and  Dylin  are  here.”   Cesar  said.  “They came?”  Linley  immediately  walked  inside,  and  the  nearby Cesar hurriedly said, “Linley, you can’t blame them. You know how bad the situation was. They didn’t want to sacrifice themselves for nothing.” “I understand.”

In his heart, Linley didn’t blame Tarosse or Dylin too much.

Only, Linley was puzzled. Based on his understanding of Tarosse and Dylin, when that sort of dangerous situation had occurred, those two should have been the first to stand forward. But both of them actually retreated, naturally causing Linley to be filled with disbelief.

Although there was nothing wrong with their decision, from an emotional standpoint, it was still rather hard to accept.

Walking past the corridor, he passed through the courtyard door. Linley saw Dylin and Tarosse, currently seated.

“Boss!”  Bebe stood up, then muttered disdainfully from the corner of his lips, “These two came.” Linley just glanced at Bebe. Although he wasn’t happy, there was no need for them to stomp on their face like that.

Dylin and Tarosse both immediately stood up as well. The two of them were rather embarrassed. But Linley laughed as he walked over. “Dylin, Tarosse, sit and chat, sit!” Linley himself was the first to sit.

Dylin and Tarosse exchanged a glance.

“Linley, about today, it was our fault.” Dylin took the lead to speak. Shaking his head, he said helplessly, “I’m sorry. At the time, we both thought that resistance just meant death, and so…” Tarosse nodded as well.

When a person felt guilty, they would be timid when speaking. This was how Dylin and Tarosse were right now.

“I don’t blame you.”  Linley laughed. “After all, in the end, Cesar’s still fine.” Linley could tell that Dylin and Tarosse both felt ashamed. Since they were capable of feeling shame, there was no need for him to say anything else. 

Tarosse and Dylin both felt relieved.

“Linley!”  Tarosse couldn’t help but feel puzzled, and so he asked, “I heard that you, by yourself, killed many island guards, and that you even defeated a red-robed elder?”

“That was luck.” Linley said.

Tarosse and Dylin looked at each other. They lived here on Miluo Island, and knew how powerful the red-robed elders were. Each red-robed elder had the power of a Seven Star Fiend! But this God in front of them, Linley, had actually defeated a Seven Star Fiend!

Back when they were in the Yulan continent, Linley was only just a Demigod.

“Linley,  you…are  you  a  God  or  a  Highgod?”  Dylin  asked again. 

It wasn’t Dylin’s fault for asking this. Linley’s performance had simply been too astonishing.

“No need to discuss this. You can just consider me a Six Star Fiend.”  Linley shook his head. “Tarosse, Dylin, I want to ask you about something. I hear that the victors of a hundred battles in the Arena can enter the secret area in the western part of the island. Do you know what is inside the secret area?”

The red-robed elders were qualified to enter the secret area of Miluo Island as well.

What exactly did the secret area of Miluo Island have? Linley was puzzled as well.

“The secret area?”  Dylin and Tarosse were both surprised and puzzled.

“Ask Tarosse. I’m not sure.” Dylin shook his head. 

“Weren’t  you  a  victor  of  a  hundred  battles  in  the  God Arena?”   Linley  didn’t  understand.  Dylin  explained,  “After entering the secret area, you also need to undergo a test within the secret area. Only if you are considered to be qualified will you be allowed to go in for a viewing. I was refused outside the door.”

Linley was startled.

There was an inspection for whether or not a person was qualified?

Linley turned to look at Tarosse, who sighed emotionally and said, “The only thing I was able to see in the secret area was a series of scryer recordings!”

“Scryer recordings?” Linley was astonished.

Linley was very familiar with scryer recordings. They were created from a simple ‘Floating Scryer’ technique, a very simple water-style spell. That year, before Linley had broken up with Alice, Linley had purchased two memory crystals that had been filled with scryer recordings. He had used the memory crystals and filled them with many memories to give to Alice.

Only, after they broke up, Linley had smashed the memory crystals.

“Scryer recordings?” Linley didn’t understand.

These scryer recordings could record many memories, but why would the Bagshaw clan treat them as a treasure? What exactly did these images record?

“Right.  Scryer  recordings.”    Tarosse  said  with  a  sigh. “Recordings of experts who battled each other. Every single scryer recording has recorded some truly astonishing duels, with the experts who were in the duels at least of the Seven Star Fiend level.”

Linley’s eyes lit up. 

For many people, viewing a duel between true experts was of great benefit in helping them to make breakthroughs and gain insights. Normally speaking, it was extremely rare to see a pair of Seven Star Fiends do battle.

“How many duel recordings are there?” Linley was eager as well.

“Very many, at least thousands.”  Tarosse sighed in praise. “There are so many experts in those recordings. Also, there are explanations and introductions to each of those ultimate experts, including the Sixwing Fiend, the Bloodviolet Fiend, the Snow Fiend, the Silvermoon Fiend…it truly was astonishing.”

Linley’s eyes were shining as he listened.

So many Seven Star Fiend duels? “However, my strength was insufficient. I was only allowed to go to the second secret room to do a viewing.” Tarosse shook his head. “In the second viewing room, the vast majority were Seven Star Fiend level battles, not just here in the Infernal Realm, but also including experts who are in the other Higher Planes as well as the Divine Planes.”

“I hear that the scryer recordings in the first room are truly exciting.” Tarosse’s eyes were shining. “There are recordings of Asura-level experts, and supposedly, there are recordings of inter-planar battles. And even…scryer recordings of a Sovereign showing his might!”

Linley sucked in a cold breath.

Recordings of a Sovereign showing his might?

“However, that’s all in the first room.”  Tarosse shook his head. “Generally speaking, only red-robed elders or Seven Star Fiends are permitted to go view them. In addition, that’s only at the invitation of the Bagshaw clan.” Linley remembered quite clearly how Bakwill had said that as a red-robed elder, Linley was qualified to enter the western part of the island’s hidden area.

“The recordings of so many experts engaging in battle is a priceless treasure! Asura-level battles, inter-planar battles… and even Sovereigns attacking?”  Linley’s heart was blazing. What did those high and mighty Sovereigns look like when they attacked?

He had been a red-robed elder for two days now. During these two days, Linley hadn’t found any hint of information regarding Cecily.

“Boss,  the  secret  area  actually  has  so  many  exciting recordings. Can I go take a look as well?” Ever since they had learned information two days ago regarding the secret area, Bebe had also been desirous of going to take a look.

“I don’t have that authority. That’s the treasure of the Bagshaw  clan.”  Linley  then  frowned.  “Only,  I  rather  don’t understand. The scryer recordings of ultimate experts battling against each other definitely can be considered a priceless treasure.”

“But why is the Bagshaw clan willing to open it up to the public and allow the red-robed elders and the victors of a hundred battles to go for a viewing?” Linley was puzzled.

Logically speaking, these recordings should be kept secret.

Bebe rubbed his nose, then muttered, “Maybe it’s because the Bagshaw clan is confident in their strength, and so intentionally put on a show of being generous, so as to attract more experts to go to the Arena to fight. That is their lure.” Linley nodded slightly as well.

Suddenly, footsteps rang out from behind them. It was a black-armored guard.

“Elder.”  The black-armored guard bowed respectfully. “Per the orders of the clan leader, tomorrow morning, please gather tomorrow morning at Suncutter Peak in the western part of the island. At that time, you will meet with victors of a hundred battles in the Arena and go into the secret area together!”

Linley’s eyesbrows lifted up.

“Haha, it came just as we were discussing it.”  Bebe laughed loudly. “Hey, can I go too?”

The black-robed guard couldn’t help but be startled, and then he immediately, courteously withdrew.

“No sincerity.”

Bebe snorted. He was uncomfortably curious, but Linley still wasn’t able to take him in to do a viewing as well. “Enough, don’t be impatient. In the future, you’ll have a chance to look.”

“What are you talking about? Why so happy?” Delia walked in from her room. “Ha!” Bebe immediately leapt up in excitement. “I was a fool! Victors of a hundred battle are all qualified to go in. Although I’m  a  God,  I  can  go  win  a  hundred  victories.”   Bebe  was uncontrollably  excited.  “Last  time,  I  won  ten  victories.  I’ll continue!”

Miluo Island. Suncutter Peak.

Suncutter Peak was a very ordinary mountain peak, just a thousand meters tall. Currently, eight people were gathered at the peak, with Linley being the last one to arrive. As Linley arrived and looked at the other seven…

“Three   Highgods.   Two   Gods.   Two   Demigods.”    Linley instantly could tell. Those who were allowed to enter the secret area were all victors of a hundred battles. Thus, even Demigod victors would be allowed in.

“Him.” Linley instantly noticed that person.

A skinny body, a long black robe, and long black hair, with a warblade on his back. It was Lomio Bornesen! 

Currently, Lomio Bornesen had seen Linley, and he was staring at him, his eyes shining. “You are Linley, right?” Lomio had accepted the invitation of the Bagshaw clan, and then had asked around for some information regarding that battle. He had also learned Linley’s name.

Linley felt rather astonished. Lomio actually recognized him?

“I saw the battle between you and that red-robed elder the other day.”  Lomeo’s face, normally so hard that it looked as though it had been carved out by a knife, was currently revealing a hint of a smile. His gaze was akin to one who was staring at a precious item. Firmly and forcefully, he said, “Your power is very great! Once we leave from the secret area, I hope we can have a competition.

Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

This Lomio was utterly insane. Whenever he met an expert, he wanted to fight them. 

“Everyone, you are all here?” A familiar figure walked over. His tall form, his short red hair…it was the young master of the Bagshaw clan, Sequeira.

Sequeira glanced at the eight people, his gaze pausing momentarily on Linley, then said loudly, “Alright. I’ll lead all of you to the hidden area, everone. Just stay behind me, and remember, on the way over, don’t make trouble. If you are killed by the guards in the hidden area, don’t blame others.”

“Sequeira.” Linley suddenly said.

Sequeira frowned slightly. He didn’t have any good feelings towards Linley at all, but he still opened his mouth. “Elder Linley, what is it?”

“I’d like to ask, how is Cecily doing?” Linley asked directly. This question caused Sequeira to be quite embarrassed, but Linley didn’t have any other choices. After all, he couldn’t enter the clan leader’s estate. For Cesar’s sake, he had to ask without consideration for his face.

“You ask me about this?”  Sequeira’s face was frozen into a frown. He could guess that Linley definitely was asking on behalf of Cesar. Once again, Cecily’s dying words echoed in Sequeira’s mind.

“When I slept with you, I pretended you were Cesar!”

Sequeira’s rage began to rise, and he couldn’t help but let out a cold sneer. Knowing Linley’s power, however, he knew that attacking meant humiliating himself.

“She…left Miluo Island.” Sequeira said coldly.

Chapter 27, Secret Area

“Left Miluo Island?”  Linley was suspicious as soon as he heard this.

Only a few days had passed since that last great battle, and Cecily had married Sequeira not too long ago. How could she suddenly leave Miluo Island? Even if she had truly left, others should have seen it. But in the past few days, he had asked many people. None of them knew anything about Cecily, nor had they seen her.

“He is lying!” Linley decided.

Why was he lying? Instantly, Linley had a terrible premonition in his mind.

“Everyone, follow me. We’re heading out.”  Sequeira’s face was extremely sinister looking right now. After speaking, he led the group of people deep towards Suncutter Peak. Although Linley felt suspicious in his heart, he still followed. Suncutter Peak. Linley’s group of nine floated into it.

Moments later, Linley’s group arrived at a deep cavernous tunnel, without a hint of sunlight within it. Sequeira was the first to enter the deep tunnel, while Linley’s group of eight hesitated slightly, then entered as well.

“Young  master  Sequeira.”  A  Highgod  said  through  divine sense. “Where exactly is this secret area? This tunnel seems to be bottomlessly deep.”

“Just follow me.” Sequeira said calmly.

Linley and Lomio followed quite calmly. What was there to fear? This Sequeira was right in front of them, and either of them could easily kill Sequeira. They didn’t need to fear Sequeira playing any tricks at all. In addition, Linley had learned from Tarosse that the hidden area contained scryer recordings.

“Linley.” A voice rang out in Linley’s mind. 

Linley turned to glance at the nearby Lomio. Just now, the one who had sent him the mental message was Lomio. Lomio’s lips curved upwards, and he continued to chat through divine sense. “When I saw you fight, I became certain that the Four Divine Beasts clan really lives up to its fame. Might I ask how strong the other three branches of the Four Divine Beasts clan are?”

“Why so many questions?” Linley responded.

In truth, Linley himself knew very little regarding the Four Divine Beasts clan.

“Right.  There’s  no  need  to  ask.  I’ll  know  once  I’ve  truly fought with them. After we exit this secret area, let’s first have a little spar. Afterwards, I’ll head to the Indigo Prefecture of the Bloodridge Continent to seek out the experts of the other three branches of your Four Divine Beasts clan and compete with them.”  Although Lomio’s face was calm, his eyes were shining. Lomio was very eager to battle against other experts.

Linley couldn’t help but feel a headache coming.

As soon as he left the secret room, he would have to compete against this madman? It wasn’t that Linley didn’t like to compete, it was that Linley knew his own strength and weakness. It wasn’t so bad if he ran into an expert who specialized in material attacks, but if he encountered an expert in soul attacks, it would be terrible.

Linley cursed inwardly, “This guy, ugh. He’s even crazier than that Learmonth was. As soon as he encounters an expert, he wants to challenge them.”

While chatting with Lomio through divine sense, given the speed at which Linley was advancing, they had gone multiple kilometers. The strange thing was, however, that despite having gone down many kilometers into the cavern, there was still no end in sight. “Given this depth, we should be deep within Miluo Island.” Linley guessed to himself.

Suddenly, Linley discovered that the corridor beneath them was completely filled with water.

“It’s  all  water  down  there.  Are  we  still  going  down?” Someone couldn’t help but ask.

“Just  follow  me  and  cut  out  the  chitchat.”  Sequeira  was feeling very unhappy right now. Linley’s words at Suncutter Peak had made his mood turn terrible Those words which Cecily had said before dying made him feel even more insulted than when he had discovered that Cecily had another person’s son in her womb!

“Drip, drip…”

Linley’s group followed Sequeira into the water, and the eight of them all formed protective coverings around their bodies, easily blocking the water. 

“Back then, I should’ve asked Tarosse in detail as to what place  this  secret  area  actually  is.”  Linley  felt  puzzled.  This water-logged passage had cave walls covered with green vegetation. Clearly, this passage had been filled with water for a long, long time.

Suddenly…

The tunnel beneath them became smooth, and at the end of this smooth tunnel, a faint glow could be seen.

“We finally reached the end.” Linley couldn’t help but feel a sense of celebration. As soon as they exited the tunnel, however, they saw a world of endless, boundless water.

“Eh? The secret area is actually in the middle of the ocean?” Linley couldn’t help but speak out in astonishment.

Sequeira sneered. “Are you puzzled?” Linley discovered that ever since he asked that question, Sequeira’s face had continuously been ugly to behold, and his temper had turned irritable as well. Linley couldn’t be bothered to reply. Arguing with Sequeira was something that simply wasn’t worth it.

After flying at the bottom of the sea for some time, Linley was stunned.

Off the distance, an enormous black castle that was dozens of kilometers in circumference had been erected at the bottom of the ocean, like a massive monster lying in wait. The amazing thing was, countless, densely clustered figures could be seen around the castle on patrol. The number of people here was extremely high.

“This is the secret area of our western part of the island.” Sequeira said proudly. “The secret area of my Bagshaw clan! You are very lucky to have the chance to come here.” As he spoke, from the distance, a squad of black armored warriors dressed with black cloaks flew over. Seeing this squad, Linley and the others all felt a sense of shock in their hearts. These ten guards all naturally emanated a baleful aura, and their faces were all expressionless and cold.

“Each  of  them  is  an  expert.”   Linley  was  incomparably shocked.

Compared to the warriors of Miluo Island, these black armored and black cloaked guards gave off a far more powerful, valiant, remorseless aura. Even Lomio narrowed his eyes, looking carefully at the distant black castle.

“A  single  clan  actually  has  so  many  forces!”   Linley  felt stunned.

He could see, with the naked eye, thousands of people, each of them Highgods, and excellent Highgods at that. They weren’t on the same level as the island guards, who were made up of just any Highgods who wanted to join. “Young master Sequeira.” The leader of the squad bowed.

“They all came. Let’s go.” Sequeira said calmly. The ten black armored guards immediately guided Linley’s group towards the black castle. The gates to the black castle were open.

This black castle had existed for unknowable amounts of time, deep at the bottom of the sea.

The strange thing was…

The black castle seemed to have a sort of strange energy. It actually was able to keep the waters of the sea at a distance, making all the sea water unable to get within a kilometer of the black castle. It was as though a translucent barrier was protecting the castle, keeping all the seawater at a distance.

And thus Linley’s group suddenly entered a water-less area. “Hey?” Everyone was astonished, while Lomio’s eyes lit up in excitement as well.

Linley turned to carefully look, but he wasn’t able to find any special ‘barrier’. “There really are all sorts of marvels in the world.” As he entered the black castle and saw the many guards within the black castle, Linley was stunned.

“This…is most likely the true power of the Bagshaw clan.” Linley said to himself.

Within the black castle. An empty plaza. Linley’s group of eight was waiting here.

“Wait here a while. Later, people will come.”  Sequeira said emotionlessly. “You’ll have to be tested to see if you will have the chance to enter the secret area.” After speaking, Sequeira himself turned and left.

His assignment was complete. “Tested?” Some people were instantly puzzled.

“Wasn’t  it  said  that  as  long  as  we  can  win  a  hundred victories, we’ll be able to go to the secret area for a viewing? Why is there a test?”

Hearing this discourse, Lomio and Linley both maintained their silence. Linley knew all along that there would be a test, and he stared at the area around him. The buildings around this plaza also had roving patrols of black armored guards, and the entire castle was like a military fort, under extremely tight guard.

Just moments later, the ancient, dark blue gates in front of the plaza that were ten meters tall up rumbled opened.

“Creaaaaaaak.” The opening of the dark blue gates caused a very unpleasant, scraping sound.

Six people walked out from inside the gates, the leader a man with white hair, a white beard, red armor, and a red cloak. The five behind him were all black armored warriors, but they too wore red cloaks.

“Welcome!”   The  white-haired  elder  immediately  strode forward  and  laughed  clearly,  “Welcome  to  Castle  Hendsey [Han’di’sai]! Let me introduce myself. My name is Uriah [You’lai]!”

Castle Hendsey?

A hint of suspicion arose in Linley’s heart.

“Although all victors of a hundred battles in the Arena can come  to  this  secret  area,”    Uriah  laughed,  “The  scryer recordings within the secret area aren’t just shown to everyone. If you want to view them, you must undergo testing.”

“Scryer recordings? Of what?” Lomio said. “Battles of Seven Star Fiends. Battles of Asuras. Interplanar wars. Even scryer recordings of a Sovereign showing his might!”  Uriah  smiled.  “This  has  been  accumulated  by  my Bagshaw clan over countless years!”

As soon as these words came out, everyone’s eyes lit up. Even Lomio’s eyes were shining. Linley sighed to himself; these scryer recordings of experts doing battle was indeed a very alluring prospect.

“Now, all of you come, one at a time, to compete against our people. Based on your performance, I will judge if you are qualified to go in for a viewing.” Uriah glanced at a person next to him, and immediately, a callous bald man wearing black armor and a red cloak strode forward.

Uriah stretched out with his hand, pointing towards one of the Highgod victors. “You first.”

“Fine.”   That  Highgod  who  had  won  a  hundred  Arena victories chuckled twice, then stepped forward. “If I kill him, don’t blame me.” This Highgod was dressed in a blue robe and had thick eyebrows. 

“If you can kill him, feel free to.” Uriah laughed calmly.

Immediately, this blue-robed Highgod and the bald man moved to the center of the plaza. The two faced each other.

“You can start now.” Uriah gave the order.

“Boom!” The blue-robed Highgod instantly transformed into a flash of fiery light that didn’t emit flames, with the scorching heat causing even the air to crackle. And then, the flameless fire-light immediately formed into a fiery arrowhead, which hovered there in mid-air in the plaza, emanating a heart- shaking power.

“Swoosh!”

The arrow of flame suddenly shot out like a meteor. “Hmph!”  The bald man gave a low snort, his entire body immediately becoming covered by an earthen yellow armor. His enormous fist began to be covered with rippling light, and he astonishingly landed a direct punch towards that fiery missile.

“Bang!”   A  low,  rumbling  sound.  Even  the  arena  itself trembled.

The rippling light on the fist of that bald man had been shattered, and even his fist had been blown apart. Even the layer of earthen yellow armor on his body was cracked, and he couldn’t help but take several steps back, cracking the ground as he did.

The fiery red missile collapsed as well. That blue-robed Highgod’s face was ashen, but he was still standing there.

“Not  bad.”   The  white-haired  Uriah  nodded.  “You  are qualified to enter the second secret room.” “The  second  secret  room?”  The  blue-robed  Highgod  was puzzled.

“Right. The secret area is divided into two rooms; the first room and the second room. The first room has more scryer recordings, and the experts in those recordings are more powerful.” Uriah said calmly.

“Then  what  must  I  do  to  be  qualified  to  enter  the  first room?” The blue-robed Highgod was rather unwilling to accept this.

“Kill him in one blow.” Uriah pointed towards the bald man.

The blue-robed Highgod instantly gave up.

Hearing this, Linley was stunned. “Can it be that the leader of this castle doesn’t treat life as having any value? He can so casually sacrifice even his own people?” “You are next.” Uriah pointed to a God.

“Enough of this.” A cold voice rang out. Lomio directly strode forward, looking calmly at Uriah. “Let me go first. Didn’t you say that if I could kill him with one blow, I can enter the first room, right?”

Uriah glanced at Lomio in surprise, then laughed. “You are Lomio, right?”

Lomio nodded calmly.

“You don’t need to be tested.”  Uriah shook his head and laughed. “Of the eight of you, you and red-robed elder, Linley, don’t need to be tested. You can go directly to the first room for viewing.”

Linley couldn’t help but laugh. “However,  opening  the  secret  room  is  a  very  important matter. We have to make a request to the master of the castle, and then find a good time. You can go rest for now. We will soon notify you.” As he spoke, Uriah arranged for people to guide Linley and Lomio away.

As Linley was led away by the black-armored, red-cloaked guard, he now understood.

“It isn’t that the leader of the castle doesn’t care about the lives of his men. It is that when a real expert comes, there’s no need  for  a  test.”  Linley  was  quite  eagerly  anticipating  that moment of viewing those scryer images coming as soon as possible.

The black castle was very large. It had thick, sturdy walls, and a very complicated layout of many corridors.

“Captain Mob [Mo’bu], I’ve been here for nearly a month.

Why isn’t his lordship willing to meet me yet?” “Don’t be in such a hurry. If his lordship wishes to meet you, he will. Otherwise, just wait here.”

Hearing this voice from a corridor up ahead, Linley couldn’t help but frown. “This voice is so familiar!”

In front of Linley were four corridors. Two people headed out from one of the corridors, and one of them was a man who wore a long green robe and had fish scales on his face. He was currently with another man, one dressed in black armor and a red cloak, who the first man was constantly speaking to. And then, the two of them entered another one of the corridors.

“Ganmontin?” Linley’s face was filled with disbelief. “Why is he here?”

This person was the exact same person who had waylaid and attacked Linley’s group in the Starmist Sea, the person who had wanted to offer Olivier to his ‘Lord Commander’. Ganmontin!

Chapter 28, The Secret

Originally, Ganmontin had wanted to forcibly take Olivier away, but Linley had refused. Thus, Ganmontin and Linley had battled against each other. At that time, Linley had relied upon his Blackstone Space to execute Ganmontin’s divine wind clone, but who would’ve thought that Ganmontin actually had a divine water clone as well?

Ganmontin naturally hated Linley to the core.

Linley still clearly remembered Ganmontin’s dying bellow. “You can’t kill me. If you kill me, the Lord Commander will definitely kill you!”  Ganmontin had, back then, used the so- called ‘Lord Commander’ to threaten Linley.

“He  went  to  find  the  Lord  Commander?  And  he  is  now here…can  it  be  that  the  Lord  Commander  is  right  here?” Linley frowned.

This mysterious seafloor castle…Castle Hendsey. The white- haired elder who had welcomed him had once said, “Opening the secret room was a matter of great importance. We need to request permission from the master of the castle.”

“Master of the castle?” Linley pondered. “The people which Uriah had brought were all roughly around the level of Six Star Fiend in power. Then Uriah’s power…? The power of the master of the castle…?”

“Ganmontin’s so-called. ‘Commander’…”

“The master of the castle?”

In that instant, Linley suddenly thought of a possibility.

As soon as he thought of this possibility, Linley only felt a sense of terror fill his mind. His entire body couldn’t help but tremble, and his face instantly turned white. “Can it be…”

“That I’m like a lamb who has delivered himself into the mouth of a tiger? That I’ve come to throw my life away?” Linley pondered.

From the number of experts at Miluo Island and the number of experts on display here at the seafloor Castle Hendsey, Linley could tell that this master of Castle Hendsey was, without a doubt, an ultimate expert who possessed astonishing power!

In the Infernal Realm, a person who had great status had to have an equivalent, matching amount of power. Otherwise, others wouldn’t submit to them!

“Eh?” Lomio, who was travelling alongside Linley, naturally noticed that Linley currently seemed rather ‘off’. He glanced at Linley, puzzled. What had caused Linley to lose his bearings like this?

Fortunately, the person leading them didn’t turn to look at Linley, and didn’t know what had happened.

“Milords, once we arrive at the guest houses, we’ll be nearly there.”  The black armored red cloaked warrior laughed as he spoke, his words causing Linley to be startled awake from his pondering. Linley immediately began to adjust his mindset.

After all, the situation hadn’t become utterly disastrous yet. Even assuming that the master of the castle was the ‘Commander’, which he might even be, this person had never met Linley.

“One thing at a time.” Linley said to himself.

The seafloor Castle Hendsey was like a small city, filled with intersecting corridors that divided it into many areas. Generally speaking, guests all stayed in one area, which had a number of two-story buildings that were all built in a similar fashion.

These small buildings were built with a type of rice-yellow stones, and made one feel quite comfortable within the black castle.

“Lord Lomio, you will stay here in room twenty six. Lord Linley, you will stay here in room twenty seven.”  The black armored,  red  cloaked  warrior  said  respectfully.  “When  the time comes, someone will deliver food to you. As for when you will enter the secret room, please don’t be impatient, milords. When the time comes, there will be people who will come notify you.”

Lomio  frowned.  “Are  we  just  supposed  to  wait  here indefinitely?”

Linley felt rather uncomfortable as well.

“Milords, don’t worry. Based on our long-established rules, in roughly half a day or so, you’ll be invited to the secret area. At  the  slowest,  it  would  only  take  three  days.”  The  guard smiled as he spoke.

“Right.” Lomio nodded calmly.

At most, three days? Lomio wouldn’t mind. But Linley minded! “You can go now.” Linley stepped back from the guard, feeling rather concerned, because the more time he spent here at Castle Hendsey, the more dangerous it was. After all, Ganmontin was within this castle.”

“Linley, I’ll go to my room for now. If you need anything, you can come find me.” Lomio said, then immediately turned and entered his room, not giving Linley a chance to reply.

Lomio was normally a very arrogant, solitary figure. It was only because he had seen Linley fight and wanted to spar with Linley that he was now so courteous. Otherwise, why would he say so many things to Linley?

But Linley’s mind was preoccupied with Ganmontin, and so he didn’t have any energy to bother with Lomio. He turned and went to his own room as well.

Taking a meditative stance on the stone bed, he looked through the window to the outside. “I had wanted to come watch the scryer recordings of battling experts, but who would have imagined that Ganmontin was here?” Linley sighed to himself. At this time, footsteps rang out from outside, followed by a knocking on the door.

“Enter.” Linley said calmly.

The door opened. Immediately, two beautiful women dressed in bright yellow robes walked into Linley’s room, carrying a large platter of food.

“You can just leave it on the table.” Linley said calmly.

“Yes,  milord.”  The  two  maids  were  very  respectful.  They gently set down the platter of delicacies, but Linley suddenly raised his head to look at them. “Has the examination of those who had come alongside us concluded?”

One  of  the  maids  said  respectfully,  “Yes,  milord.  The examination is complete. Of those six lords, two of them have already returned to Miluo Island, while the other four are living here, not too far from you, milord.”

“Oh.” Linley understood.

Of the six, two were like Dylin; they had been refused and shut out, and weren’t going to be permitted to enter the secret room.

“You can go now.” Linley instructed.

The two maids curtsied, then left. As for the platter of delicacies, Linley didn’t take a single bite. He didn’t have any appetite or desire to enjoy delicacies right now.

“Whether fortune or disaster…if it’s a disaster, I won’t be able to avoid it anyhow.” Linley shut his eyes, quietly meditating. Castle Hendsey. Currently, that red armored, red cloaked old man with white hair, ‘Uriah’, was currently walking on a tightly controlled and restricted corridor.

“Rumble!”  A great door covered with all sorts of mystical runic carvings swung open, revealing a narrow walkway.

Uriah continued in.

And then, the two guards at each side of the door immediately closed it again.

The walls on each side of the walkway had some carvings, either of thousands of soldiers doing battle, or two figures dueling each other in mid air…

At the end of the walkway was a wide, empty throne room.

On one end of the throne room, there was an enormous fireplace. Uriah walked to the end of the fireplace and pressed a button, immediately causing a wide corridor made completely from a blood-red stone to be revealed. This blood-red corridor had a deathly aura about it that made one’s heart tremble.

Uriah took a deep breath, then stepped into the wide, hidden tunnel.

The tunnel wasn’t very large. At the end, there was a blood- red door with black edges that was ten meters tall and six meters wide. The entire gate faintly emanated a red glow. Uriah didn’t dare take another step forward.

“Teacher!” Uriah said in a low voice.

“Mm. The examination is done?” A low, gentle voice rang out from past the door.

Uriah   said   respectfully,   “Teacher,   nothing   out   of   the ordinary happened. The other six didn’t have any special abilities or potential. However, Teacher, those two you paid attention to should be very strong. I, your disciple, personally witnessed Lomio’s battles in the Arena. He is definitely on a Seven Star Fiend level. As for that red-robed elder, Linley, he was able to easily defeat the red-robed elder, Boslo. There’s no need to say anything further.”

“Mm.” The person inside made a noncommittal sound.

Uriah hesitated a moment, puzzled, then asked, “Teacher, that Linley is a descendant of the Four Divine Beasts clan.”

“Four Divine Beasts clan?” The low voice suddenly began to laugh. “Haha…if this was ten thousand years ago, I’d be concerned. However, the Four Divine Beasts clan, at present, wouldn’t dare come irritate me! There’s no need for me to be concerned. However, for him to possess a drop of Sovereign’s Might means that this Linley should be an important figure within the Four Divine Beasts clan. Unfortunately, the present is the present, not ten thousand years ago.”

“Tomorrow, bring Linley and Lomio in to see me. Let Lomio come in first, then let Linley come in.” The low voice instructed. “Yes, Teacher.”  Uriah said respectfully. After waiting a few moments without any response, Uriah added respectfully, “Then I’ll leave now.”

“You can go.”

Uriah immediately bowed, then left, not worried about his teacher at all. Sovereign’s Might? A drop of Sovereign’s Might was indeed powerful, but his teacher was at the highest level one could be at, beneath the Sovereign-level.

Forget about just a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

Even that ultimate expert, Lord Aikens of the Redbud Continent, who was able to refine Sovereign’s Might from inkstones was someone his teacher didn’t fear!

“Sovereign’s Might, in the hands of different people, have different amounts of power as well.” Uriah clearly remembered the words his teacher had once said to him. At present, Linley was seated with his eyes closed, while people would occasionally cross by from outside on the street. Most were maids and guards. But of course, occasionally some guests would pass by as well, and each time they did…

Linley would open his eyes!

“Ganmontin is a guest. He should live in this area as well!” Linley said to himself. “Judging from his conversation with that captain, Ganmontin clearly is waiting to see that so-called ‘lord’.”

Quietly, silently, time flowed on.

Although they were at the bottom of the sea and unable to tell whether it was day or night, Linley could clearly calculate in his mind if it was time for the sun to rise or the sun to fall. It was night, now. Suddenly, footsteps came from the street, outside the window.

Linley still opened his eyes, looking outside the window carefully. 

A figure walked past the window.

Linley’s eyes instantly lit up. “Him!” Although he only caught a glimpse of the man, Linley immediately recognized him. It was Ganmontin. With but a thought, a human figure appeared in Linley’s room. It was one of Linley’s Deathgod Golems!

“Swoosh!”  The Deathgod Golem instantly appeared outside the door, looking towards the street.

The Deathgod Golem wasn’t a living creature. It only had a hint of Linley’s consciousness within it. At the doorway, it stared at the distant Ganmontin, who didn’t notice anything. But of course, if it had been Linley himself staring at Ganmontin, he would have noticed.

A Deathgod Golem, in the end, wasn’t a living creature. It was just an object. Who would care about an object? “I didn’t expect that this Ganmontin would be here as well.” Linley, through the Deathgod Golem, could clearly see Ganmontin enter a little two story building that was eight hundred meters or so away from them.

It made sense. Ganmontin had arrived a month earlier, after all. It made sense that he lived here.

A killing look flashed past Linley’s eyes.

“Ganmontin hasn’t yet had a chance to meet with his ‘Lord’.

It’s best to remove this potential source of disaster early on.”

If Ganmontin was allowed to remain alive, it would be very dangerous for Linley as well as Olivier. It was better to remove him immediately. The roving patrols of Castle Hendsey didn’t keep a very strict patrol watch on the guest living area.

In addition, even if they kept strict watch, it didn’t matter. “Whoosh!”  The  Deathgod  Golem  entered  the  interspatial ring, while Linley himself instantly arose, his body immediately fusing with the ground…

Worldwalking!

Linley didn’t dare to emanate any hint of an aura. Immediately using Worldwalking, he reached the window below that two-story building, but as soon as he arrived, Linley heard Ganmontin cursing loudly.

“Hmph, a group of bastards. They knew that my divine wind clone was destroyed so they all look down on me. After talking to them for so long, all of them are still delaying. Most likely his lordship doesn’t even know that I’m here!”

Ganmontin had a belly full of fire right now, and thus was currently cursing in his room.

He came here wanting to meet the Lord Commander, but now that his power had greatly dropped after losing his divine wind clone, those ‘old friends’ of his all looked down at him. It was like pressing his warm face against their icy buttocks; how could he possibly not be upset?

“Motherf*cker, it’s all that Linley’s fault!” Ganmontin would forever remember Linley, who had destroyed his powerful divine wind clone.

“Once  the  Lord  Commander  knows  that  there  is  a  soul mutant God, he will definitely intervene. That Linley will definitely die!” Ganmontin ground his teeth. “Alright. I’ll have the Lord Commander use his ‘Soulseed’ to control Linley and live for millions of years without freedom, and then be killed!”

Linley, hearing Ganmontin’s ‘cursing’ from outside the window, felt his heart tremble.

“Soulseed control?” Linley clearly remembered that when he had been at the Yulan continent, his old friend, ‘Boss Yale’, had once been controlled in such a manner. People controlled through a Soulseed had their own memory, but were completely devoted to serving their master. “Soulseed control?”

Thoughts flashed like lightning through Linley’s mind. He instantly thought of a possibility.

“Why would Miluo Island be so generous as to allow the victors of a hundred battles in the Arena to come here and look at the precious scryer recordings of their clan?”

“Why would Miluo Island permit the red-robed elders to come to this secret area?”

“This Ganmontin is hunting for experts with great potential for his Lord Commander. Why does this Lord Commander want experts with high potential? If he was to train them, how could he be assured of their loyalty?”

“Also, why are so many Seven Star Fiends willingly serving Bagshaw’s clan? Why are Seven Star Fiends so loyal to the Bagshaw clan?” “And also, Tarosse and Dylin. When Cesar was about to be killed by Sequeira, why had they actually, unbelievably, chosen to throw their lots in with the Bagshaw clan’s side? In addition, the two of them just so happened to have come here before as well!”

Linley’s face instantly turned white!

Chapter 29, Unable to Leave!

“Trap!”

Linley felt his heart turn cold.

“What an enormous lie!” Linley began to shudder.

Demigods. Gods. Highgods. Generally speaking, all those capable of winning a hundred battles had high potential and some special abilities! In addition, after arriving at Castle Hendsey, they had to be tested. Only after their potential was verified would they be allowed to stay, while the others were deported.

“All those who are allowed to stay have special potential.”

“Wait! If that’s the case, how can we explain Dylin?” Linley, based on the series of events and on the fact that Dylin and Tarosse had chosen the Bagshaw clan’s side, was now certain that Dylin had been controlled as well. 

Linley immediately came up with a possibility…

“It’s  not  just  those  who  pass  the  test  who  are  spiritually controlled. Even if they don’t pass, most likely they will still be controlled.  Only,  a  subordinate  will  do  it  instead.”   Linley understood this; after all, how could any hundred battles victor of the Arena be weak?

The more the merrier, as far as soldiers for one’s forces.

Pondering this from the viewpoint of the master of Castle Hendsey, instantly understood: “The so-called examination is most likely to divide people based on their power. After determining how powerful an opponent is, they’ll know what level of expert is needed to control that person.”  The more powerful a person was, the harder they would be to control.

For the likes of Lomio, a Seven Star Fiend, it would be incredibly difficult to control him. “Lomio and I didn’t need to be tested at all. This means… very possibly, this master of the castle, the so-called lord ‘Commander’, will personally deal with us.” Thinking of this, Linley couldn’t help but be frightened. Even in Miluo Island, there were quite a few red-robed elders.

Within Castle Hendsey, there were multiple Six Star Fiends and Seven Star Fiends.

“Even  Seven  Star  Fiends  have  been  effortless  controlled. Then the power of this Lord Commander…?” Linley frowned. For the Lord Commander to be able to control Seven Star Fiends meant one thing…this person was extremely powerful with regards to the soul.

But what Linley feared the most…

Was precisely this, experts skilled in soul attacks!

“When I encounter this castle master, I won’t be able to resist at all. Can it be that I will have to use my Sovereign’s Might?” Linley immediately thought back to how the clan leader, Bakwill, had Destruction-type Sovereign’s Might himself. “This master of the castle is clearly the true power behind the Bagshaw clan. Even Bakwill has Sovereign’s Might…how can the master of the castle not have it?”

“Someone capable of letting Miluo Island stand proud and independent in the Infernal Realm…the power this master of the castle possesses is at a level which I definitely cannot take on.”

Linley immediately came to a conclusion…

“Flee!”

He had to flee!

Linley turned to look at the window. Ganmontin was currently resting in his room. Ganmontin now only had his divine water clone, and it would be very easy for Linley to kill Ganmontin. “Cannot kill him! If I kill him, I would attract attention, and they will definitely keep a close watch on me. If I want to leave, it will be very hard.” Linley, after having come to this understanding, couldn’t possibly remain here and wait for death.

He had to flee quickly!

“Just consider yourself lucky.” Linley glanced at the window, then immediately utilized the Worldwalker technique and entered the ground.

After having come to this conclusion, Linley himself felt shock in his heart. Based on what he knew…his hypothesis was most likely 99% correct! It no longer mattered whether or not this place truly had scryer records of experts; he couldn’t remain!

Having one’s soul controlled was a fate worse than death!

On the city walls that were forty meters tall, there were a large number of patrolling black armored guards. Occasionally, there were some red cloaked guards amongst them. This place was more severely guarded than any other place Linley had ever seen.

All of the black armored guards were silent, not daring to make a sound.

However, the red cloaked guards would occasionally chat, as though quite relaxed.

“Each time Arena victors are sent here, even we have to come over and be on patrol.” Two red cloaked warriors were walking alongside each other while chatting and laughing.

“Actually, all we need to do is capture anyone we see fleeing. The real task of oversight isn’t for us to worry about; it’s that thing over there.” One of the red cloaked warriors pointed to the core of the city.

“You are talking about the Water Element Heart?” “Naturally. The Water Element Heart controls the vast water around this area. If anyone dares to exit our boundaries, the Water Element Heart will easily detect it. By then, we’ll just have to act.” The roving guards were quite relaxed.

It was impossible for anyone to secretly flee!

Forcibly flee? That depended on if they were strong enough.

If they were, those patrolling guards would be dead.

But suddenly…

The enormous city wall glowed with the colors of the rainbow, and the multicolored light even blinked twice, immediately startling awake all of the patrolling warriors.

“Someone is fleeing!”

Dozens of the nearest black armored guards and red cloaked warriors all flew directly towards the direction of the disturbance. They clearly could tell that the person who had charged out was…

The red-robed Linley!

“Good heavens, a city wall that has a circumference of tens of kilometers is actually protected by an enormous magic formation? And which seems to have all types of elemental energy?”   Linley  stared  at  the  massive  city  walls  and  the flashing, multicolored magic runes. He tasted sourness in his lips.

He wasn’t able to flee.

Currently, a large number of black armored guards were staring at this place, and many red cloaked experts descended from the skies as well.

“A  red-robed  elder?”   These  red  cloaked  warriors  were startled, and then one of them said in a sonorous voice, “You dare to abscond? Hmph!” Linley glanced at the group of red cloaked warriors. Previously, during the testing, Linley had seen a red-cloaked warrior attack. They were roughly on a Six Star Fiend level. “A group of Six Star Fiends?” Linley laughed bitterly to himself.

There was no way for him to forcibly escape any longer.

“I am a red-robed elder of the Bagshaw clan, Linley! I have something important that I must immediately return to handle. I didn’t want to disturb you. Now, please step aside and let me return to Miluo Island.” Linley’s voice rang out.

The leader of the red cloaked warriors said calmly, “Oh, Elder Linley? The rule of our Castle Hendsey is that unless we have permission, no outsiders are ever permitted to leave.”

“I have something important to do!” Linley said angrily.

“Please,  Elder  Linley,  just  wait  a  while.”  One  of  the  red cloaked warriors said. “If you want to force your way out, then don’t blame us.”  Actually, these red cloaked warriors, upon seeing that it was a red-robed elder of the Bagshaw clan, didn’t want to attack either.

This was because red-robed elders were all Seven Star Fiends.

Once battle began, their group of people might be able to obtain victory through numbers, but it would assuredly be a pyrrhic victory.

Linley was frustrated. “Neither acting firmly nor speaking softly works. If I try to force my way out, most likely all the experts from the castle will pop out.”

“Linley, why are you in such a rush to leave?”  A familiar voice rang out. Linley turned and saw that white-haired elder with red armor and a red cloak fly out. It was that expert named ‘Uriah’.

Uriah laughed as he looked at Linley. “Linley, you haven’t even gone to the first viewing room yet.” “Mr. Uriah.”  Linley said hurriedly. “There’s nothing that I can do. Just now, I received a soul message from my servant. I really do have something important I must handle, and so I have to leave. As for the first viewing room, how about I return tomorrow?”

“Oh?” Uriah frowned.

“Makes sense.”  Uriah laughed. “Linley, since you really do have an important task to handle…”

Linley’s heart leapt up.

“Then  I  won’t  force  you  to  stay.  However,  I’ve  already reported your arrival to the master of the castle. I don’t have the authority to let you leave. How about this. You wait here for a while, and I’ll make a report to the master of the castle. I trust that he won’t make things difficult for you.” Uriah laughed. “Sorry for the trouble, Mr. Uriah.” Linley said.

Uriah laughed calmly, then immediately flew away.

Linley’s  face  sank.  “Ask  the  master  of  the  castle?  This  is going to be troublesome!” Linley glanced at his surroundings. There were tens of red cloaked experts staring at him, and on the walls, there were many black armored guards watching as well.”

“How can this Castle Hendsey have so many experts?” Linley was helpless.

Originally, in Royalwing City, even Six Star Fiends were very rare. As for Seven Star Fiends, they were virtually nowhere to be seen, as they were usually hidden throughout the Infernal Realm. But this Castle Hendsey had a pile of Six Star Fiends and even quite a few Seven Star Fiends, and a seemingly even more powerful ‘master of the castle’.

Moments later… “Eh?” Linley’s face changed.

From afar, with Uriah at their head, three red armored and red cloaked experts flew over, with the black-robed expert, ‘Lomio’, with them!

“Red armor, red cloak? The other two people have roughly the same status as Uriah. Most likely, they are here to keep me from fleeing. But…why did they bring Lomio?” Linley was puzzled, but Lomio had a rare smile on his face.

“Mr. Uriah, you have news?” Linley said clearly.

Uriah and the others landed alongside Lomio, and Uriah laughed. “Good news, good news. The master of the castle is truly considerate towards you, Linley.”

Linley was startled. Could it be that he had guessed wrong? The master of the castle was going to be so kind as to let him leave 

“When he learned that you, Linley, had something important to handle, he agreed to let you and Lomio go to the first viewing room right now! Going to the first viewing room and using your divine sense to view the scryer recordings is a very fast process.” Uriah laughed.

Linley’s facial expressions couldn’t help but congeal.

“Linley,  since  you  could  wait  here  for  me,  you  also  have enough time to go to the first viewing room and do a quick viewing with your divine sense, right?” Uriah laughed. The other two red armored, red cloaked experts laughed as well as they looked at Linley.

But Linley felt bone-deep terror from their stares.

“Alright, then we’ll go do a viewing first.” This was the only thing Linley could say. Uriah immediately laughed. The three of them immediately led Linley and Lomio towards the center of Castle Hendsey. The path over there had multiple intersections, and patrols could be seen everywhere. Outsiders would probably find it hard to take a single step here, but as Linley was following

Uriah, he wasn’t barred or impeded at all.

“Lomio, you need to thank Linley. If it wasn’t for him, you’d probably have to wait until tomorrow before you can go to the secret room.” Uriah laughed.

Lomio had a rare smile on his face. Clearly, he was in an excellent mood due to the prospect of about to see so many experts doing battle in those scryer recordings.

“Linley, it is quite rare for the master of the castle to let you go to the secret room early.” Uriah said to Linley.

“Right. I truly need to thank the master of the castle.” Linley said, but in his heart, he was cursing nonstop. That master of the castle clearly had no good intentions. While walking on the path, Linley was paying attention to his surroundings.

But the deeper into the heart they went, the more patrols there were, and in addition, he had those three experts around him.

Flee?

Hard!

“Rumble!”  The great door covered with mysterious carved runes swung open, revealing a corridor which had many carvings on each side. Linley and the others thus began to walk towards the end of the corridor.

Linley didn’t have any time to enjoy the sculpture.

As they reached the throne room at the end of the corridor, Uriah walked to one side of the throne room, against a brazier, and opened up a mysterious, wide corridor. The corridor was made completely from blood red stones, and emanating a heart-shaking, deathly aura.

“How mysterious.” Linley frowned.

Lomio frowned as well. The silver-haired woman by Uriah’s side  laughed  and  said,  “This  is  the  place  where  the  scryer recordings are held. Naturally, it’s rather hidden. The two of you, just follow me in.” As she spoke, she was the first to enter.

Linley and Lomio naturally followed them in, while Uriah and the other followed from behind.

At the end of the tunnel, they reached that black, patterned door with the blood red edges. They came to a halt.

“Teacher,   Lomio   and   Linley   are   here.”    Uriah   said respectfully, while the others bowed as well. Lomio raised an eyebrow. “There’s someone else inside?”

“A place as important as this naturally must be guarded.” Uriah laughed as he explained. Linley just narrowed his eyes, musing to himself, “It seems this so-called ‘Teacher’ is the master of the castle.”

“Fine. Let Mr. Lomio be the first to enter for the viewing.” A low, gentle voice came from within the door. Immediately, the large door swung open slightly, revealing a crack that was enough for one person to enter.

“Lomio, go on in.” Uriah and the other two looked towards Lomio.

Lomio was a bold, courageous expert. He immediately was about to head in, but Linley gave a soft cough, then hurriedly sent via divine sense, “Lomio, be careful. The person within the room will most likely take sinister action against you. Beware his soul attack.” Lomio glanced at Linley in surprise, but then with a laugh, he still entered.

“Regardless  of  whether  this  is  true  or  not,  thank  you!  If someone inside really does attack, I’d actually be quite happy.” Lomio’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind, while he himself entered past the door.

“BANG!” The great door once more slammed shut.

Chapter 30, Sledgehammer

The blood-red corridor. The blood-red gate. That overpowering aura of death.

“I need to flee. How can I flee?”  Linley was incomparably frantic. The three experts around him were all guarding him, while past that door was the ‘master of the castle’, a person of astonishing power. Most likely, even if he used Sovereign’s Might, it would be hard for him to flee.

“Calm down. Calm down!”

Linley strove to find a chance to escape, but no matter what he thought of, in the end, there was only one possibility.

“I can only entrust my hopes to Lomio. Lomio will be on his guard. He might be able to escape. If he had a violent battle with that ‘master of the castle’ and attract the attention of those three, I’ll be able to seize an opportunity to flee.” Linley understood that for the master of the castle to be willing to allow Lomio enter meant that he was confident in being able to easily defeat and mentally control Lomio. If it really was that simple, though…then even this final chance Linley had for escape would be gone.

Although he was frantic, Linley still watched carefully for any chance, and was prepared to explode forth and flee at any moment.

“Linley,  are  you  impatient?”   Uriah  chortled.  “Don’t  be impatient. Lomio needs a bit of time in the first viewing room to view those scryer recordings. It’ll be your turn soon.”

“It’ll be my turn soon?” Linley felt that Uriah’s laughter was so vile. Uriah clearly knew that this was a lie, a trap, but was still trying to lie to Linley, even now.

“BOOM!”  Suddenly, the entire floor trembled violently, and even the great door in front of them shook forcefully. The tremor caused the walls around them to begin to crack, with scattered rocks falling down and smashing onto the corridor. Linley’s group of four swayed, and they were all astonished. 

“Good.” Linley was overjoyed. Lomio, indeed, hadn’t let him down. He had indeed caused a disturbance.

“Eh?” Uriah and the other two were shocked. They looked at each other. Given the master of the castle’s power, how could such a huge commotion have been caused? Although they were shocked, they still kept watch on Linley.

Linley put on a puzzled look. “Mr. Uriah, what is going on inside?”

“I’m not sure.” Uriah laughed calmly. “Perhaps Lomio, when watching those scryer recordings of ultimate experts, was suddenly so excited that he wanted to test out a technique. Right. Linley, after you enter the secret room, no matter what, don’t wildly test out techniques.”

“Got it, got it.” Linley had to admit that Uriah’s dissembling abilities were top notch. Right at that instant…

“Rumble…”  It was as though heaven was collapsing or the earth was shattering. A terrifying explosive sound rang out, and the entire corridor and great door blew apart, with countless pieces of rubble flying everywhere, each one containing lightning-type energy.

Chaos!

The faces of Uriah and the other two changed. They hadn’t imagined that Lomio, in front of their teacher, could cause such a huge disturbance.

“Excellent.” Linley was overjoyed. “This is the moment.” Just as Linley was preparing to use the Worldwalker ability to leave…

“Swish!” Uriah and the other two immediately moved, forming a three-point triangle and surrounding Linley. Uriah laughed calmly.  “Linley,  don’t  be  impatient.  Perhaps  Lomio  did something to anger Teacher.”

Linley, seeing that he was surrounded by these three, frowned.

“Haha…kid, it looks like I underestimated you.”  The low, rich voice rang out in the air above Castle Hendsey, and Linley couldn’t help but to raise his head to look up.

In the air above the shattered building, Lomio’s blood- splattered black robe fluttered in the wind. He held a black warblade in his hands, and his entire body was surrounded by crawling lightning serpents. His eyes were flashing with electricity, and he looked to be the very picture of a true Thunder God.

Facing Lomio was a man that was nearly 2.5 meters tall. The man had short red hair that looked as though it were made out of metal, and he wore a very ancient, unadorned set of armor. His thick, massive arms were a bronze color, seeming to hold a vast amount of strength, while in his right hand, he actually held a large black sledgehammer!

“He is the master of the city? That ‘Commander’?”  Linley said to himself. But then, Linley stopped paying attention to the skies, instead focusing on the three around him. He hoped that one of them might relax their guard, allowing him to flee.

From high up in the sky, Lomio’s voice rang out once more.

“Hmph, I must thank you. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have made yet another breakthrough. You want to kill me? You are far from being able to!”

“The   three   of   you,   keep   watch   on   Linley.”     The sledgehammer-wielding red-haired man said calmly.

“Yes, Teacher (Master)!” Uriah and the other two said. “Indeed.” Linley became all the more certain. “They actually address him as ‘Master’…I didn’t expect that amongst these three, two are under the control of the master of the city.” Although surprised, Linley was still searching for his chance to flee.

Linley’s face changed.

“Uriah, what is going on?” Linley asked angrily.

Uriah laughed, “Teacher wishes you to stay, so as to let you be able to view the first secret room.”

“Why  do  they  address  him  as  ‘Master’?”   Linley  asked another question.

“We have been followers of Master since we were Demigods.” The silver-haired woman said calmly, while Linley just smirked coldly. Two Demigod subordinates had actually both become Seven Star Fiends? “Whatever abilities you have, use them all!” Lomio said with incomparable valor.

In mid-air, that sledgehammer-wielding red-haired man let out a loud laugh. “You were able to take a few punches from me. Not bad. Now, let’s see if you can withstand my sledgehammer.” The red-haired man agilely swept out with the massive black sledgehammer in his hand.

It made no sound out all…

The sledgehammer struck out, and as it did, a very bizarre ripple spread out, with the sledgehammer at the center. Everywhere the ripple passed through, the stone structures all transformed into fine powder. Thus did this sledgehammer slam down with no sound.

It seemed slow, but in reality it arrived next to Lomio in an instant.

“BANG!” Lightning appeared out of the blue skies. 

As the thunder roared, a saber shadow clashed with the sledgehammer.

“Rumble…”  The sledgehammer seemed to tremble slightly, with the surface of the sledgehammer rippling as though the sledgehammer was made of water. Lomio’s warblade actually trembled as well, and then completely shattered.

A silent, soundless sledgehammer blow.

But even Lomio’s weapon had been destroyed.

Linley, stunned, raised his head up to watch, his mind filled with that soundless blow that he had just seen. It seemed so graceful and gentle, and yet in reality the sledgehammer blow had carried trillions of kilograms of force. That amazing, miraculous curving blow caused Linley’s soul to be stirred.

Linley had never been able to understand the description of the ‘Strength’ profound mystery of the Laws of the Earth, but suddenly, Linley had the feeling…

It was as though a seed in his mind had suddenly begun to bloom.

“Strength…boundless…massive…”

Linley had been training hard in the ‘Profound Mysteries of Strength’, but had yet to make any headway. However, this time, upon seeing that sledgehammer blow from this ‘castle master’ which seemed to hold a hint of the Profound Mysteries of Strength.

Although in reality, this master of the castle used the Way of Destruction, every single path had some similarities.

For example, the Laws of Lightning and the Laws of Light all had mysteries pertaining to speed. The speed of lightning had some similarities with the Profound Mysteries of Lightspeed. “Impossible!”  Lomio  had  been  thrown  far  away,  and  he landed in a pile of debris, his face filled with disbelief. He had just made a breakthrough, and so he felt he was now strong enough to battle against an Asura. But why was it that despite his power, he still wasn’t able to withstand that sledgehammer?

At this moment, Uriah and the others all glanced slightly at Linley. Seeing that Linley wasn’t running, they immediately returned to watching this battle. This battle, to them, had quite the allure.

“If Linley is to flee, with so many people in the castle, he has nowhere to run.”

Uriah and the others were very confident.

“The  natural  ability  of  my  Bloodrune  Titan  clan,  when matched with the Way of Destruction…did you think it was something to be trifled with?” The red-haired man said loudly. Standing in mid-air, he was like a celestial divinity, causing people’s hearts to be filled with fear. 

“Ah, why am I standing here like an idiot? I need to flee, that’s what matters.”  Linley instantly came to his senses and stopped his pondering.

The sudden starting and stopping of his pondering actually only took a very short period of time.

“These three are actively watching this battle.” Linley felt a surge of joy in his heart, then turned his head to stare at the distant  master  of  the  castle  and  Lomio.  “The  moment  the master of the castle attacks is the moment that I’ll flee!”

The attack of the master of the castle would definitely be carefully scrutinized by Uriah and the other two, while the master himself wouldn’t have any time to bother with catching Linley.

“You managed to eat one of my sledgehammer blows without dying. You can be considered a peak Seven Star Fiend, approaching the Asura level in strength.”  The master of the castle laughed loudly, and then transformed into a bloody shadow, instantly slashing through the sky…

Linley’s eyes lit up. “This is the moment!”

Worldwalking!

Very suddenly, Linley disappeared from within the rubble, while Uriah and the other two, in a triangle surrounding Linley, were focused on watching this battle in the sky. An instant after Linley escaped, Uriah and the other two noticed from the corner of their eyes that Linley had disappeared!

“Fled?” Uriah and the other two were dazed, but they quickly recovered.

“He   used   Worldwalking.”    Uriah   immediately   shouted. “Hurry up and fly into the sky. He won’t be able to flee from the ground. He’ll have to go into the skies.” Deep under Castle Hendsey as well as on the walls surrounding it was that enormous magic formation. There was nowhere to flee. 

Only by flying through the skies or by going through the gates would one be able to leave.

The three powerful experts immediately flew into the air while simultaneously shouting towards the other warriors to be on the lookout.

“All of you, watch closely. If you are capable of Worldwalking, hurry into the underground and find Linley, quick!”   Uriah  immediately  shouted.  One  black  armored warrior after another began to use Worldwalking, merging into the ground.

Uriah and the other two were floating in the sky. At the same time, other experts were hovering in the sky as well, all of them staring in every direction.

“This Linley actually dared to flee!” Uriah couldn’t help but feel infuriated. After this event, his teacher would definitely censure him.

Underground, Linley had fused with the earth elemental essence and was travelling through the ground.

“There’s  no  way  I’ll  be  able  to  flee  the  castle  from underground.” Linley had previously tested it already. “I’ll first run to a unassuming place in the castle, then quickly fly into the  air  and  flee.”   Linley  immediately  flew  at  high  speed towards the northwest corner.

But the strange thing was…

“Eh?” Linley could easily sense that there was a living aura from up ahead.

Linley was shocked. “There are others using Worldwalking as  well?”  That  living  aura  immediately  drew  near  at  high speed, even spreading out a divine sense. “Lord, Linley is here!” A voice rang out, echoing in the castle. Linley himself immediately fled hundreds of meters away, and then ignored all else, immediately emerging from the ground.

“Swoosh!”

Linley immediately flew into the skies, his entire body transforming violently, with azure-gold draconic scales covering every part of him and fierce spikes sprouting out as well. Linley’s speed increased yet again, and like an azure-gold flash of light, he flew upwards at high speed.

“Seize him!” The distant Uriah bellowed.

Instantly, from every direction, a large number of black armored guards and red cloaked guards swarmed over towards him like locusts. Linley let out a mighty roar, and then with Linley at the center, a sphere of nearly five hundred meters in diameter formed.

Blackstone Space! 

“Huh?” All of the black armored guards and red cloaked guards who charged into this region found out to their astonishment that they were forced to retreat.

“What  a  powerful  repulsive  force.”   Those  people  were astonished.

“Pincer  him  from  every  direction.  Trap  him.”    Uriah bellowed, while he himself was hurrying over as well.

Linley’s dark golden eyes were focused up above himself, but from up above, a large number of black armored guards had already gathered, completely sealing off his escape routes.

“It’s your own fault for seeking death!” Linley’s eyes turned cold.

Instantly, the world began to glow with an earthen yellow color, and earth elemental essence suddenly gathered at high speed. Divine earth power flowed about, and instantly, an enormous cube that was four hundred meters tall appeared out of nowhere. Those black armored guards which were struck by the cube were directly swallowed into it.

“Bang!”

From afar, the red-haired man once more exchanged blows with Lomio. Lomio’s face was ashen, but then, with a sudden bellow, he transformed into a ray of black lightning, disappearing into the horizons at an astonishing speed. The master of Castle Hendsey raised his head, watching with resignation. “This fellow trains in the Laws of Lightning…he’s actually so fast. He’s even a bit faster than me!”

Lomio’s speed was so great that even the master of the castle couldn’t catch him.

“There’s still another one.”  The master of the castle turned to look.

Currently, Linley’s ‘cube’ had collapsed. After having suffered the combined attacks of four Seven Star Fiends and many Six Star Fiends, Linley’s ‘cube’ had immediately blown apart, while Linley himself continued to fly up at high speed.

“Teacher,  his  Gravitational  Space  is  very  bizarre.  We  are unable to catch him alive.” Uriah said hurriedly.

“Hmph.”

A cold snort, and then the master of Castle Hendsey, holding his sledgehammer, transformed into a bloody shadow as he chased towards Linley. The master of Castle Hendsey was so fast that he was only just a hair slower than Lomio, and far faster than Linley.

He was quickly drawing nearer and nearer to Linley.

“Kid, why don’t you stay.” A loud laughter rang out.

Linley lowered his head to look. “The master of the castle?” With a flip of his hand, a drop of Sovereign’s Might appeared, but Linley didn’t immediately use it, because Linley was still confident in his Gravitational Space.

“Crackle…” As the bloody shadow passed through the area of the Gravitational Space, its speed lessened dramatically.

“Haha, this Gravitational Space isn’t bad.”  As he spoke, the master of Castle Hendsey laughingly waved the sledgehammer in his hand. Multiple rays of black energy coiled out from the sledgehammer, as though countless strands or ropes had been spun out, filling the entire Gravitational Space.

“Catch!”

The countless rays of black energy entangled Linley, making him no longer able to flee.

“What is this?”  Linley frantically struggled and was able to break dozens of strands through brute force, but even more black strands entangled him. Linley’s face changed, and he was about to immediately use his Sovereign’s Might. 

But right at this moment…

“Your strength is decent, and the Gravitational Space isn’t bad either. Unfortunately, the difference between you and Reisgem is still quite great.” A gentle voice rang in Linley’s ear.

Linley was stunned. “Reisgem? Gem-Gem?”  Linley thought back to that adorable juvenile amethyst beast in the Amethyst Mountains.

Chapter 31, Purgatory Commander

Linley remembered the name ‘Reisgem’ very, very clearly.

Back in the Amethyst Mountains when Linley had been testing out ‘Worldwalking’, he had fallen into the hands of that juvenile amethyst beast, who had announced his name and that he was a Purgatory Commander, wanting to overawe Linley. Unfortunately, Linley had no idea what Purgatory was and thus had no idea what it meant for a person to be a Purgatory Commander.

“Crackle.” Countless black energy strands surrounded Linley, and they were incomparably stiff, causing Linley to be completely unable to move. Even though Linley’s strength was massive and inexhaustible, the speed at which he destroyed the black energy bindings was slower than the speed by which they increased.

“Kid, don’t use your Sovereign’s Might. You’d be wasting it if you did.” The low, gentle voice continued. Linley turned his head in astonishment. Fortunately, the black energy strands didn’t cover Linley’s head as well. Linley could clearly see that ancient armor, and that red-haired man standing in mid-air, holding that massive sledgehammer.

“What do you want to do?”  Linley chuckled. “What, you want to dominate my soul?”

“You even know about this?” The master of Castle Hendsey was quite surprised.

While the two were chatting, the master of the castle had set up his Godrealm, completely blocking out their conversation, while those who were watching from afar couldn’t see a single thing.

“Come with me. Let’s have a nice chat.”  The master of the castle actually flew downwards.

“Follow him?” Linley was stunned. The master of the castle, seeing that Linley wasn’t moving, turned and glanced at him, then laughed calmly, “Given your soul strength as a God, you are far from being my match. Controlling you would be utterly effortless. There’s no need for me to play any tricks.”

“If there’s something you want to say, you can say it here.” Linley said.

The master of the castle glanced at him, amazed, then began to laugh and nod. “Fine. I’ll do as you say.” For so many years, nobody had ever dared to speak to him in such a way. And so, the master of the castle began to chat with Linley in the air above Castle Hendsey.”

“First, let me introduce myself. I am Mosi [Mo’si] Bagshaw! The master of this Castle Hendsey.”  The master of the castle had a hint of a smile on his face.

The master of the castle was of the Bagshaw clan as well! Linley had noticed that the ‘master of the castle’, so valiant in battle, actually spoke in a very soft, gentle voice, and his smile was quite friendly as well. He didn’t give off any aura of being a rude boor at all. Linley replied, “I am Linley.”

“Can you tell me what your relationship is with Reisgem, for you to actually convince him to make a soul-protecting divine artifact for you?” The master of the castle, Mosi, laughed calmly.

“Reisgem…made  me  a  soul-protecting  divine  artifact?” Linley was astonished.

“Isn’t that the case?”  Mosi laughed calmly. “I’ve heard of your combat prowess. You were able to kill so many Highgods, and also defeat ‘Boslo’. Your soul protection must be very strong. However, you were only a God. How powerful could your soul possibly be? The soul of a God, in terms of ‘quality’, is simply far too inferior compared to Highgod souls!”

“It is true that I have a soul-protecting artifact, but what of it?” No matter what, Linley wouldn’t dare say that he had a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. 

Otherwise, most likely this ‘Mosi’ in front of him would be unable to resist being greedy.

“There we go.” Mosi laughed. “It is exceedingly hard to create a soul-protecting artifact. You must understand, first of all, a person who wants to make this must have an exceedingly high level of accomplishment with regards to the soul. In the entire Infernal Realm, there are very few people capable of making a soul-protecting artifact. Reisgem, however, is one of them.”

“You are able to utilize his trademark special skill, the ‘Amethyst Space’; you definitely were taught by him. Thus, I said that your soul-protecting artifact must have come from him helping you make it as well.” Mosi said very confidently.

Linley shook his head. “My Gravitational Space did indeed originate from him, this is true. But the soul-protecting artifact wasn’t made by him.”

“Oh?” Mosi glanced at Linley in surprise, then laughed. “I must say, you are quite mysterious, kid. Your body is so incomparably tough; even amongst the Four Divine Beasts clan, this is exceedingly rare. And you also have a soul- protecting artifact, and have some sort of a relationship with Reisgem…”

Linley frowned.

This Mosi had talked with him for so long. Why? But it seemed as though the man didn’t have the intention to kill him.

Mosi, seeing the look on Linley’s face, couldn’t help but laugh, then said comfortingly, “Kid, don’t worry. Even if it were just for the sake of giving Reisgem face, I won’t kill you. Only, I feel you are quite curious, kid, so I want to chat with you a bit.”

Linley let out a sigh of relief.

“I didn’t expect that because of that juvenile amethyst beast, I dodged a catastrophe today.”  Linley had great faith in this castle master Mosi, as the man’s power far outstripped his own. There was no need for Mosi to lie to him if he wanted to kill him.

“Why are you so certain that I am a God?” Linley asked.

“Haha…”  Mosi  immediately  began  to  laugh.  “Kid.  Forget about the Infernal Realm; even if you were to search the entire Four Higher Planes and the Seven Divine Planes, you would at most find ten who are superior to me in terms of the soul! However, although they are slightly superior to me, there’s no way they could possibly completely conceal their strength in front of me.”

Linley was secretly shocked.

Four Higher Planes and Seven Divine Planes…in all those combined planes, there were no more than ten people who were superior to Mosi in terms of the ‘soul’?

Then that meant… In the Infernal Realm, Mosi’s soul power should rank in the top three! The Infernal Realm had existed for countless years, and it contained experts beyond number, while many of the ‘Asuras’ had received their position after many of the original Asuras had retired and gone into seclusion.

Experts were as common as the clouds!

But this Mosi was actually able to rank in the top three as far as souls went? Terrifying!

“But of course, there’s another possibility.”  Mosi laughed. “You might be a Sovereign! That’s the only way you could possibly deceive even me.”  As he spoke, Mosi had a sudden thought, and the black energy strands retracted.

His freedom returned to him, Linley felt more kindly disposed towards Mosi. “Castle Master Mosi, dare I ask, what’s your relationship with Reisgem?”

“Him?” A hazy look flashed through Mosi’s eyes, as though he were thinking back to many things that had happened in the past. And then, his gaze firmed once more, and he sighed, “Reisgem and I are both Commanders of Purgatory.”

“As I thought!” Linley was now completely certain. The ‘Lord Commander’ which Ganmontin had spoken of was this Mosi!

“What   is   Purgatory?   What   does   being   a   Purgatory Commander mean?” Linley asked, puzzled.

“What  is  Purgatory?”  Mosi  glanced  at  Linley  in  surprise. “You don’t even know this?” As Mosi saw it, given how many secrets Linley seemed to have, he should know about what Purgatory was.

But Mosi still answered. “Purgatory is a very special place in the Infernal Realm. In that place, experts are as common as the clouds. Many retired Asuras, reclusive experts, and others will enter Purgatory…in that place, there are simply too many experts!”

“And a Purgatory Commander?” Linley continued to ask. 

“Purgatory has a total of 108 Commanders!” Mosi laughed.

“108 yet again?” Linley was astonished.

“Right. The Infernal Realm has 108 Asuras, and Purgatory also has 108 Commanders. The Asuras in the Infernal Realm all control a prefecture, while the Purgatory Commanders command an army!” Mosi explained.

“Oh. Then…which is more powerful? Asuras, or Purgatory Commanders?” Linley continued to ask.

Mosi glanced at Linley. “The Asuras of the Infernal Realm and the Commanders of Purgatory…you can’t quantify one as being superior to the other. This is because every person capable of becoming an Asura or a Purgatory Commander is close to the very peak of power possible for a Highgod, and all have their own special, ultimate attacks. There are quite a few Seven Star Fiends in the Infernal Realm, but the number of Asuras and Commanders is forever limited. In addition, they often engage in challenges, and upon losing, retire. The stronger will take the position!”

Linley couldn’t help but nod.

“However,  comparatively  speaking,  the  108  Asuras  of  the Infernal Realm have it easier. They control an entire prefecture, and don’t face too many challenges. But Purgatory Commanders are different. Battles and slaughters are commonplace.” Mosi sighed.

Linley had to admit that having been in the Infernal Realm for so long, he had seen quite a few Seven Star Fiends, and here at Miluo Island had seen quite a few Seven Star Fiends.

Generally speaking, Highgods capable of fusing four profound mysteries could become Seven Star Fiends.

But in truth, there were some who had fused five or even nearly fused all six types. But of course, there were those experts who had fused six types of profound mysteries and become Paragons.

There were some who were Soul Mutates, while others were divine beasts who had innate divine abilities. Some were of strange races that also had innate abilities, while other experts were in possession of Sovereign artifacts or Sovereign’s Might…

Only the most extraordinary of people were capable of becoming ‘Asuras of the Infernal Realm’ or ‘Commanders of Purgatory’.

“My Gravitational Space is already so powerful, but if utilized by the juvenile amethyst beast? In addition, that’s his innate ability. When using it, it’s definitely ten times or a hundred times more powerful than mine.” Linley still remembered how the entire Amethyst Mountains had an enormous ‘Gravitational Space’ that was hundreds of thousands of kilometers in circumference.

Over the course of this conversation, the relationship between Linley and Mosi grew significantly friendlier. 

“Castle Master Mosi, there’s something I wish to beg of you.” Linley said sincerely.

Tarosse and Dylin were definitely under soul control. This sort of life, where they had lost their own will, was a life worse than death. Linley naturally wanted to be able to free Tarosse and Dylin and allow them to regain their own will.

“Oh, speak.” Mosi said.

“I have two friends who were both Arena victors. I believe they are under soul control. I hope you, Castle Master Mosi, can let them regain their freedom.”

Mosi paused for just a moment.

Linley was rather nervous. Soul control was one of the techniques this person specialized in. Linley could only hope that this person would give him face and release the two of them. 

“Fine, then. Tell me their names.” In the end, Mosi nodded.

“One is a Highgod named Tarosse. The other is a God named Dylin.” Linley said hurriedly.

Mosi sighed. “Tarosse. I personally controlled him. He has quite some potential. As for Dylin, one of my subordinates should have controlled him.” Mosi paused momentarily. “Don’t worry. By the time you return to Miluo Island, you will have discovered that the two of them have regained their free will.”

“Castle Master Mosi, I’m incomparably grateful.” Linley truly was rather grateful. If this person didn’t want to give him face, there was nothing he could’ve done.

Mosi just laughed calmly. He controlled quite a few Seven Star Fiends. Naturally, he wouldn’t care too much about a mere Tarosse and Dylin.

“Let’s go. Now, you can go down with me, right?” Mosi said. 

Linley laughed as well, then followed Castle Master Mosi down, back towards the castle. At this moment, those damaged parts of the castle were currently under repair by a large number of black armored warriors, who had brought black stones over and were working at high speed.

“Teacher  (Master)!”   Uriah  and  the  others  drew  nearer respectfully.

Castle Master Mosi nodded in acknowledgment, then flew downwards with Linley.

“Who is this Linley?” Uriah and the others were puzzled. As they saw it, their teacher was one of the truly peak figures of the entire Infernal Realm, and yet he was actually so friendly towards Linley. This was truly inconceivable.

Linley and Castle Master Mosi flew downwards, but suddenly… “Milord, milord!” A frantic voice rang out.

Linley turned to look. He couldn’t help but frown, as he saw Ganmontin flying over frantically while calling out, ‘Milord!’

“Oh,   Ganmontin.”     Castle   Master   Mosi   immediately recognized Ganmontin, then was puzzled. “Ganmontin, your divine wind clone?”  Ganmontin was one of his more senior subordinates.

Ganmontin immediately bowed respectfully, then said angrily, “Milord, he destroyed my divine wind clone!”  As he spoke, he pointed at Linley.

“Eh?” Castle Master Mosi frowned.

“How did you and Linley end up in a fight?”  Castle Master Mosi said. Ganmontin said hurriedly, “Milord, I discovered a God-level Soul Mutate, so I immediately went to capture him to offer him to you, but who would have imagined that this person was Linley’s friend. Linley thus attacked and destroyed my divine wind clone.”

“A God-level Soul Mutate?” Castle Master Mosi’s eyes lit up.

The potential of a Soul Mutate was higher than that of even a divine beast.

“Castle  Master  Mosi,  that  God-level  Soul  Mutate  is  my brother.” This was all that Linley could say.

“Milord,  you  must  get  revenge  for  your  subordinate.” Ganmontin said hurriedly.

Castle Master Mosi frowned and was momentarily silent. For a moment, neither Linley nor Ganmontin knew what Mosi was thinking. “You can go now!” Castle Master Mosi said calmly.

Ganmontin was stunned. His face couldn’t help but turn ashen. He knew Castle Master Mosi’s temper very well, however,  and  so  he  immediately  bowed  respectfully.  “Yes, milord.” Ganmontin didn’t dare to say a single word more. He immediately left.

Linley let out a secret sigh of relief.

Castle Master Mosi turned to look towards Linley. Laughing, he said, “Linley, want to go to my first secret room and take a look at the scryer recordings of experts doing battle? That place even has recordings of Sovereigns showing their might!”

Chapter 32, The Might of a Sovereign

“There really are scryer recordings?”  Linley couldn’t help but be interested.

Ever since he had found out that those so-called recordings of experts doing battle served as a trap, Linley had doubted whether or not Castle Hendsey had scryer recordings or not. But from Castle Master Mosi’s words, it seemed as though there really were such things.

“You’ll know once you go take a look, right?” Mosi said mysteriously.

Castle Hendsey. Underground. Within a mysterious, wide throne room. The two sides of the throne rooms had quite a few bookshelves, only the bookshelves didn’t have books on them. Instead, they had many fist-sized crystal balls.

Linley and Mosi were currently in the throne room. “There are a total of 1628 crystals here, each one of which contains a scryer recording.” Mosi said leisurely. “In addition, the crystal balls all have introductions and explanations regarding the battle and the techniques used.”

Linley, staring at the many crystals balls stored on the bookshelves, couldn’t help but stare with shining eyes. These were all scryer recordings of ultimate experts doing battle.

“In this first room, most of the recordings are those of peak Seven Star Fiends doing battles. There are also recordings of Asuras and Purgatory Commanders doing battle. As for the scryer recording of a Sovereigns showing their might…” Mosi pointed to a corner of the room, where a rectangular pillar was located which had a glowing gemstone placed at the very top of the pillar. “The scryer recordings of Sovereigns are located there, within that pillar. The pillar is hollow. You can open it like a door.”

Linley couldn’t help but take a deep breath to calm himself down. Good heavens. Recordings of Sovereigns showing their might? He had only heard legends of Sovereigns, but had never ever seen one. Everyone said that the might of a Sovereign was inviolable, but who knew exactly how powerful a Sovereign was?

“I’ll start from the Seven Star Fiend battles.” Linley walked over to the bookshelves.

After walking forward, Linley discovered that on the surface of every single crystal ball that was placed on a bookshelf had two names recorded down.

“This is to simplify the process of finding the recordings one wants to watch.” Mosi walked over and said with a laugh.

“Understood.” Linley swept the racks of bookshelves and the dozens of crystal balls, then suddenly his gaze fell upon a crystal ball which had several names atop it: ‘Bloodviolet Fiend’ dueling the ‘Ironleaf Fiend’!

“Bloodviolet Fiend?” Linley immediately drew closer. 

This crystal ball contained scryer recordings within. One could use divine power to cause the scryer recordings within the crystal ball to emerge from it and appear in mid-air. That way, multiple people could watch at the same time. However, a person could also use his divine sense directly enter the crystal ball, which would make the watching process extremely fast.

Linley immediately filled the crystal ball with his divine sense…

In a desolate desert, thousands of people were battling everywhere, while in mid-air, two people were staring at each other. One of them was completely covered in black scale armor, with long black hair that glowed with a blue light.

The other person had a long violet robe, long violet hair, and a violet longsword in his hand. The familiar figure was one which Linley had seen long ago.

“It really is him. The Bloodviolet Fiend!”  When Linley had first used his divine sense to enter Bloodviolet, he had seen many different images, and the primary subject of every single image was this person. But only now was Linley completely, 100% certain.

“That longsword is Bloodviolet!”

Only today was Linley completely convinced and certain that the original owner of his Bloodviolet sword was the legendary figure, the ‘Bloodviolet Fiend’.

There was no sound at all from the battle scene, only the images recorded down.

The Ironleaf Fiend and the Bloodviolet Fiend both specialized in speed. Linley just saw two experts instantly transform into two blurry shadows. Wherever the Ironleaf Fiend passed by, space itself began to emit a strange, rippling spatial vibration. When looking at all the vibrations at once, they actually formed a flower that was blooming.

A devilish violet light was repeatedly flashing. 

“Whoosh!”

A ray of violet light filled the skies, and the spatial ripple flower transformed into two halves, and many spatial cracks appeared.

Only now did the Ironleaf Fiend’s body grow clearly visible, and he dropped down from the skies, while the Bloodviolet Fiend’s expression didn’t change at all.

“These two people were all terrifyingly fast. The Bloodviolet Fiend’s sword attacks are much more powerful than even Learmonth and Boslo. When he strikes, he shows no traces of his actions at all, and the power is tremendous. He doesn’t need to build up his power at all.” Linley could just barely understand the intricacies of this battle.

Just from the scryer recordings, he could tell that the Bloodviolet Fiend’s material attacks were tremendously powerful! Far greater than the material attacks of those other Seven Star Fiends which Linley had seen. 

After the recording was completed, there was some information regarding this battle.

“This explanation is quite detailed.” Linley, after reading it, sighed in praise. This explanation actually gave a detailed explanation of the techniques used by both people. Only now did Linley understand: “So the Bloodviolet Fiend is actually most powerful in the Way of Destruction.”

Linley opened his eyes.

“How do you feel?” Mosi, seated on a distant chair, laughed as he looked at Linley. “There are many Seven Star Fiends, but the weakest of them have fused four profound mysteries. The most powerful are comparable to the Asuras of the Infernal Realm or the Commanders of Purgatory.”

“Very powerful.” After seeing the explanation of this battle, only now did Linley understand how frightening the Bloodviolet Fiend was. If he were to encounter the Bloodviolet Fiend, he would most likely be finished.

“The Bloodviolet Fiend is extremely famous, and his power is more than enough to compete against most Asuras of the Infernal Realm or Commanders of Purgatory. His accomplishments in the Way of Destruction are at a very high level, and he is also a Soul Mutate. He truly is powerful.” Mosi shook his head and sighed. “Unfortunately, this astonishing, dazzling figure went to a material plane ten thousand years ago and was killed.”

In his heart, Linley knew that the Bloodviolet Fiend was killed in his own homeland.

“Could it be that Lord Beirut was the one to kill him?” Linley wondered to himself.

Linley didn’t over-think things. He seized the opportunity to immediately go watch the scryer recordings of other experts doing battle. They included the Bloodviolet Fiend, the Royalwing Fiend, the Bluejacket Fiend, the Silvermoon Fiend… Aside from these, there were also scryer recordings of ultimate Deity-level experts from other Higher Planes engaging in battle.

Asuras of the Infernal Realm, Commanders of Purgatory… scryer recordings of figures at this level.

“There’s  even  a  scryer  recording  of  Reisgem  engaging  in battle.” Linley didn’t recognize virtually any of the figures who did battle, so when he saw Reisgem’s, he was naturally delighted.

The scryer recording had ‘Reisgem’ in a human form. He looked like a very handsome youth, quite similar with Bebe. Only, Reisgem’s entire body was covered in an amethyst armor, and in battle he relied on his hands and feet.

Clean and blunt. The Gravitational Space formed from violet light which Reisgem used was far more powerful than Linley’s. “So powerful.” Linley stared, slack-jawed.

Another Purgatory Commander was fighting Reisgem, but the battle was one-sided.

Linley watched nearly a thousand scryer recordings, finally arriving at the pillar at the corner of the throne room. Pulling open the pillar ‘door’, he saw that inside, there were three memory crystals.

“You only need to see a single one of these three crystal balls.”  Mosi finally stood up and walked over, laughing. “The three crystal balls are all recordings of a Sovereign dealing with a Highgod, and the technique they used in each is essentially the same.”

“Understood.” Linley took a deep breath, then sent his divine sense into the first crystal ball.

It was a vast, endless sea. In the air above, there was a black- robed middle-aged man. This person was currently laughing with his head raised towards the skies, but tears were streaming down his face. His lips were moving, as though he was saying something.

The strange thing was…

In the air above the sea, a blurry, enormous face appeared, which was completely formed from elemental essence.

The black-robed man immediately pointed angrily at the enormous face, his lips moving nonstop.

A hint of annoyance passed through that enormous face, and its lips moved slightly. The black-robed middle-aged figure’s body trembled, and then he fell down from the skies, while the enormous face vanished.

“That’s it?”  Linley looked at the explanation for this scryer recording. “And that black-robed figure was an Asura of the Infernal Realm?” Linley withdrew his divine sense from the crystal ball, his mind still numb.

“That enormous face was a Sovereign?” Linley turned to look at Mosi.

Mosi nodded. “Right.”

“All the Sovereign had to do to kill an Asura of the Infernal Realm was just move his lips?” Linley felt that this was simply too incredible.

Mosi  sighed.  “The  Will  of  a  Sovereign  is  inviolable.  Even someone as powerful as an Asura, with but a thought by a Sovereign, will be easily killed. In front of a Sovereign, even the most powerful of Highgods will be unable to resist.”

Linley couldn’t help but be astonished. Not being a Sovereign, Linley couldn’t understand how Sovereigns could be so powerful.

Kill an Asura with just a thought?

“The  might  of  a  Sovereign  is  irresistible.”  Linley  said  to himself.

Compared to those countless Deities, Sovereigns were high and above them, capable of effortlessly killing any Highgod.

“Sovereigns are very remote and distant from us. As long as you do not anger Sovereigns, they won’t lower themselves to kill you.” Mosi laughed.

Linley nodded slightly. After having viewed so many scryer recordings, Linley was quite stunned. After calming himself, Linley said, “Lord Mosi, I’ve disturbed you for so long. I should return now. I truly am grateful to you.” Mosi laughed and nodded.

Linley suddenly thought of something, and he couldn’t help but laugh awkwardly. “Lord Mosi, there’s one last thing.”

“Oh?” Mosi furrowed his forehead.

“During that battle at Miluo Island, I promised Bakwill to serve as a red-robed elder for a hundred years, and that I wouldn’t leave the island without his permission. But I truly long for my homeland and want to go back sooner…”  Linley continued to explain.

The next day. The Bagshaw clan’s estate. Linley’s residence. Currently, Linley and Uriah were walking towards the gates of the estate.

“Elder.”  Two guards at the side of the gate to the resident immediately bowed respectfully. Linley instructed, “Go to the island guard’s residential area and have Tarosse, Dylin, and Dylin’s two children come over.” This guard had gone last time, so he knew exactly where Tarosse lived.

“Yes, elder.” The guard immediately left.

“Mr. Uriah, sorry to trouble you.” Linley turned and laughed.

“It’s no trouble.” Uriah was very courteous as well.

After Linley returned from the underwater Castle Hendsey to Miluo Island, he had brought Uriah with him. Uriah’s was on official orders from the master of Castle Hendsey to order Bakwill to permit Linley to leave.

“Linley, then I’ll go speak with clan leader Bakwill now.” Uriah immediately left. Just as Linley entered his residence, he saw Bebe, Delia, Olivier, Cesar, and the others all come welcome him.

“Boss, did you just say we are about to leave?” Bebe was the first to run over.

Linley looked at Bebe, Delia, and his friends. Although he had only gone one or two days without seeing them, during the past two days, he had walked to and from the brink of death, and had learned many secrets in the process.

“Yes. We are about to leave.”  Linley laughed as he rubbed Bebe’s head.

“Delia.” Linley turned to look at Delia.

“If it weren’t for the fact that the master of Castle Hendsey was giving face to that juvenile amethyst beast, I probably really would have been done for.” As he thought of this, he couldn’t help but tremble. Linley couldn’t help but immediately pull Delia into his arms, tightly holding her. 

“Linley?”   Delia  asked  softly.  She  could  tell  that  Linley seemed to be in a strange mood.

“I missed you.” Linley said softly. Delia’s face couldn’t help but turn red, and she said softly, “Olivier and Cesar and them are all here.” Linley released Delia. Seeing her bashfulness, he couldn’t help but begin to laugh loudly.

Sequeira was walking alongside the road. When he arrived at the gate to Linley’s residence, he heard the loud laughter coming from within.

“Oh, that Linley’s back?” Sequeira recognized Linley’s voice, and then he chuckled. “He was so arrogant in front of me. But in the end, hasn’t he become just another dog for my Bagshaw clan?” Sequeira, as the young master of his clan, knew that those red-robed elders were all under soul control.

Sequeira immediately entered Linley’s resident. The guards at the door didn’t dare to bar Sequeira’s path.

Linley was currently laughing and chatting with Delia, Bebe, Olivier, and the others.

“Linley.”  A voice suddenly rang out. Linley turned to look.

The newcomer was Sequeira.

Sequeira raised his jaw slightly, and with a cold laugh, flipped out his blood-red Miluo Insignia. “See this?”

Linley was puzzled.

“Blood-red colored Miluo Insignia. What of it?” Linley said, puzzled. This time, the master of Castle Hendsey had given him a great deal of face, and had satisfied every request he had made. Linley didn’t want to cause any more problems with this Sequeira.

“Come here!” Sequeira said coldly. 

Frowning, Linley walked over.

“Kneel.” Sequeira shouted.

Linley’s face couldn’t help but turn dark.

“In the name of the blood-red colored Miluo Insignia, I order you to kneel.” Sequeira shouted with cold fierceness. “Hurry.” In the Bagshaw clan, the red-robed elders who had been controlled served, above all others, the master of the castle. After that, they would obey holders of the blood-red colored Miluo Insignia.

Currently, Sequeira just wanted to thoroughly humiliate Linley. As for killing Linley?

He wouldn’t do that. As he saw it, Linley was now an obedient dog for his clan. How could he bear to kill him? “Sequeira, what are you doing?”  Linley felt that this was absolutely ridiculous.

“You dare disobey?”  Sequeira was enraged. Nobody whose soul had been controlled had ever dared to disobey the blood- red colored Miluo Insignia.

“You have brain damage.” Bebe immediately shouted angrily.

“Sequeira!” Suddenly, a furious shout rang out.

Sequeira turned his head and saw his father, ‘Bakwill’, currently walking over alongside Uriah. Sequeira immediately walked  over  and  said  angrily,  “Father,  that  Linley  actually dares to disobey my orders. He needs to be properly punished.”

“Shut  your  mouth!”  Bakwill  was  so  furious,  his  face  was turning red.

Sequeira was stunned. 

Bakwill immediately turned to look at Linley, squeezing out a smile. “Mr. Linley, over the past few days in this place, I haven’t been a very good host. I’m truly sorry.” Hearing these words, Sequeira stared, slack-jawed.

“Father, why are you…” Sequeira didn’t understand.

Why the need to be so courteous to a completely devoted person whose soul had been dominated?

“Shut your damn mouth!” Bakwill shouted angrily.

After Uriah had conveyed the order, Bakwill and Uriah had chatted in detail. Bakwill now understood that Linley’s status was truly extraordinary. If Linley was simply a mere descendant of the Four Divine Beasts clan, his ancestor, Lord ‘Mosi’, definitely wouldn’t have stayed his hand.

“Father, I…” Sequeira was completely lost. 

“WHAP!”   Bakwill  launched  a  vicious  slap  directly  on Sequeira’s face. “I told you to shut your damn mouth!”  This slap from Bakwill finally brought Sequeira to his senses. Sequeira immediately stood off to one side, not daring to make another sound.

“Mr. Bakwill, no need to be like this.” Linley now could guess that Sequeira had probably taken him for someone who had been spiritually controlled.

Bakwill forced out a smile. “Linley, my son sometimes is so arrogant as to consider everyone else beneath him. It’s only proper that he be disciplined on occasion. Linley, I’ve already learned everything from Uriah. Alas. You haven’t even stayed here at my place for more than a few days, but you are already going to leave. What a true pity.”

“There’s nothing I can do. I really do have something I must be doing.” Linley said. “Fine, then. I won’t try to further dissuade you from leaving, Mr. Linley. Mr. Linley, you can leave whenever you wish…but of course, if you ever return to my place, my Miluo Island welcomes  you  at  all  times.”  Bakwill  said  in  a  very  friendly manner.

“Definitely, definitely.” Linley laughed.

Linley suddenly turned his head, and he saw that Tarosse, Dylin, and Dylin’s two sons were currently walking over. Tarosse and Dylin, upon seeing Linley, were overjoyed and embarrassed. Their emotions were extremely complicated right now.

They wanted to say something, but with Bakwill present, they didn’t know what to say for now.

“Haha,  Dylin,  Tarosse!”   Linley  immediately  laughed  and walked over. “No need to say too much. It is all over now!”

“Right. It’s all over now.” Tarosse and Dylin had unshed tears in their eyes. They had been under soul control, but now they had regained their freedom. This freedom which they had lost then regain would cause even the toughest of men to feel emotional. What’s more, they knew that the reason why they had regained their freedom was due to Linley.

“Haha, let’s go. It’s time to head out!”

Linley stared into the distant southeastern skies. “Indigo Prefecture…time to go back!”