by Unknown
The ring began trembling more strongly, and the glow from the Coiling Dragon ring began to grow as well.
Fortunately, there was no one in Linley’s bedroom right now. Anyone entering the room would have been stunned. Linley, however, was still blissfully asleep, and didn’t notice at all that the Coiling Dragon ring was now floating.
“Ting!” The glow surrounding the Coiling Dragon ring suddenly began to contract rapidly, and then a single ray of hazy light flew out from within the ring. Descending next to Linley’s bed, it transformed into a person’s image.
The image was of an amiable looking old gentleman with moon-white robes and a long white beard.
At this point in time, the Coiling Dragon ring directly fell back onto Linley’s chest, powerless. Linley’s eyelids flickered, and then slowly opened. Upon seeing an old man whom he had never met before at the head of his bed, he couldn’t help but feel shocked. “You… who are you?!”
“Hello, kiddo. My name is Doehring Cowart [De’lin Ke’wo’te]. I am a Saint-level Grand Magus of the Pouant [Pu’ang] Empire!” The amiable looking old man said with a smile.
Linley’s eyes suddenly turned round. “You… you are a Saint-level magus instructor?”
The white-haired old man nodded confidently.
“No way. Gramps, you just said you are from the Pouant Empire. The Pouant Empire that was eradicated over five thousand years ago?” Linley was quite familiar with the history of the world, and he knew very well that the Pouant Empire had ceased to exist before his own clan had even came to be. In the modern era, the Pouant Empire was not one of the four great empires of the world.
*
Book 1, Chapter 19 – The Coiling Dragon Spirit (part 2)
The Pouant Empire had lasted for an extremely long period of time, and had been erected over eight thousand years ago. The entire Pouant Empire had lasted for three thousand years, but in the end, it was still destroyed. The domain which the Pouant Empire had previously held sway over was approximately the combined borders of the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance.
In other words…
The entire Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the twelve kingdoms, and the thirty-two duchies all once belonged to the Pouant Empire. From this alone, one could tell what a vast empire it had been.
But the Pouant Empire had been destroyed long ago!
“Over five thousand years ago?” The white-haired old man was momentarily stunned, and then let out a sigh. “There’s no way for me to sense the passing of time from within the Worldring. I didn’t expect that by the time I left the Worldring, over five thousand years would have passed since the destruction of my country.”
“Gramps, what are you talking about? I’m confused.”
Linley felt as though his entire mind had been turned muddy. This old grandpa had suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and claimed that he was a Grand Magus from the era of the Pouant Empire, which had been destroyed five thousand years ago. What could be more ridiculous than this?
Linley even wondered if he was in a dream!
“Kid.” The white-haired old man looked at Linley. Smiling, he said, “The ring you wear next to your chest is the Divine artifact I once used – the Worldring!”
“Wait, wait, wait!”
Linley immediately peered up at him and said, “What ‘Worldring’? This ring around my chest was left behind by elders of my ancestral clan. Its name is the ‘Coiling Dragon Ring’!”
“Coiling Dragon Ring? It was originally named the Coiling Dragon Ring?” The old man said in surprise.
Linley was stunned.
“Original name? What do you mean, original name?” Linley looked questioningly at the old man.
Only now did the old man begin to laugh. “Oh, ‘Coiling Dragon Ring’ must be the name you gave it. Or perhaps the name an elder of yours gave it. When I originally discovered this ring, I searched through all sorts of documents but couldn’t find any information about it. Thus I gave myself the authority to title it the Worldring. But as to what it was originally called, even I have no idea.”
“Oh, gramps, you chose the name for it yourself as well. But now it belongs to me, and I named it the Coiling Dragon Ring.” Linley was quite stubborn.
“Fine, fine, call it the Coiling Dragon Ring if you wish.” The old man chuckled, not wanting to debate with Linley.
“Gramps, can you tell me why you just appeared from within the Coiling Dragon Ring?” Linley questioned.
The old man smiled. “In year 4280 of the Yulan calendar, I-”
Upon hearing this, Linley was secretly shocked. “Year 4280? This year is year 9990!”
“In year 4280 of the Yulan calendar, I encountered an old foe of mine, a Saint-level Grand Magus named Hamelin [Ha’mu’lin], and the two of us began to fight. I didn’t expect yet a second Saint-level combatant to ambush me and sneak attack me. In the end, I was defeated, and my body was destroyed. I didn’t wish for my spirit to be captured and tortured by my enemy, Hamelin, so I sealed myself within this Worldri-, ahem, this Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man explained what had happened in the past.
“The Coiling Dragon Ring is an extremely amazing object. It doesn’t appear to emanate any magical aura, but in usefulness it can even compare with Divine artifacts. When I sealed my soul within the ring, Hamelin and the other searched a long time for me, but weren’t able to find me. This, too, is thanks to the Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man smiled as he spoke.
Linley secretly nodded.
The Coiling Dragon Ring, by appearances, really did look quite plain. As the member of an ancient clan, Linley had a rather appraising eye.
Normally, precious items would have at least some sort of elemental aura. But this Coiling Dragon Ring seemed like nothing more than plain, inert wood.
“Gramps, you said that five thousand years ago, you were ambushed by a Saint-level Grand Magus and a Saint-level combatant, and then you were self-sealed within this ring? And that this ring is an artifact which is comparable in power to a Divine artifact?” Linley finally said.
“Right.” Seeing that Linley understood, the old man couldn’t help but smile and nod.
“Then Gramps, how is it that you appeared from within the ring just now?” Linley looked doubtfully at the old man.
Laughing, the old man explained, “Actually, when I sealed my spirit within the Coiling Dragon Ring, I interwove my very existence into the Coiling Dragon Ring. Only when a person becomes the new owner of the ring would I be allowed to depart it.”
“Becomes the new owner of the ring?”
“Right. Through dripping blood onto the Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man laughed.
Linley frowned while mumbling, “Dripping blood onto the ring?” Frowning as he tried to recollect when that had happened, Linley suddenly remembered that when the rock had cut his head open, fresh blood had suffused his clothes and his chest. Most likely, it was around then that the blood had dripped onto the ring.
“Oh. Then that makes me the owner of the Coiling Dragon Ring.” Linley nodded.
“Right. Only now, after you became the owner of the Coiling Dragon Ring, am I able to depart the ring and once more experience the air of the Yulan continent.” A hint of a smile was on the old man’s face. “Right. Kid. I just told you my name, but what is yours?”
Linley smiled brightly. “My name is Linley! Linley Baruch!”
“Linley, a fine name.” The old man smiled.
“Gramps, are you going to be forever bound to the ring and unable to ever regain your freedom?” Linley felt rather bad for him.
The old man smiled and nodded. “Linley, you must know that when most people die, their spirits will enter the Nether Realm! But because I was a Saint-level Grand Magus at the time of my death, my mental energy had obtained physical form. That was the only reason why I could temporarily resist the call of the Nether Realm and seal myself within the Coiling Dragon Ring. Right now, there is only one way for me to leave this ring – exhaust al
l of my remaining mental energy.”
“Exhaust all your remaining mental energy?” Linley didn’t quite understand.
“What men called mental energy, ghosts might call ‘spiritual energy’. When a person’s mental energy was utterly exhausted, his soul would naturally dissipate. In other words… when my soul dissipates, it will leave the confines of this Coiling Dragon Ring.” The old man said calmly. “But the current situation is fine also. Although I am confined by the Coiling Dragon Ring, preventing me from ranging more than three meters away from it, this isn’t too bad.”
Linley’s heart trembled.
Suddenly, in his heart, Linley felt some pity for this old man.
“Heh heh, Linley, I’m already very satisfied. You don’t know this, but… if my spirit had been captured by Hamelin, it would have been a fate worse than death.” The old man sighed.
“Gramps, you said your name is Doehring Cowart? Can I address you as Grandpa Doehring?” Linley suddenly said.
Doehring Cowart was a mighty Grand Magus of the Pouant Empire, and thus had an extremely high personal status. Back then, he would have ranked amongst the top five personages in the Yulan continent. He fell only because he had been despicably ambushed by Grand Magus Hamelin and another Saint-level combatant.
However…
Doehring Cowart had never had a child, nor grandchildren. Upon hearing Linley address him as Grandpa Doehring, Doehring Cowart’s heart, which had been lonely for thousands of years, suddenly felt warm.
“Yes, yes.” Doehring Cowart felt extremely happy.
A look of excitement suddenly appeared in Linley’s eyes. “Grandpa Doehring, just now, you said that you are a Saint-level Grand Magus. Then, can you teach me how to use magic?” Linley’s heart was frantically pounding. The person in front of him was a five thousand year old Saint-level Grand Magus.
In Linley’s mind, the huge body of the Velocidragon, the terrifying spectacle of the Dance of the Fire Serpents, and the countless boulders falling from the sky began to play over and over again, along with the spectacle of that proud man who stood on top of the Black Dragon.
He deeply desired that one day…
He, too, would step on top of the head of a Black Dragon and make the heavens tremble.
Doehring Cowart stroked his white beard. His eyes shining, he said, “Of course I can! Your Grandpa Doehring is a Saint-level Grand Magus of the almighty earth style… and amongst all of the elements, the element of earth is the mightiest of them all!” As he began to discuss magic, Doehring Cowart began to get excited.
*
Book 1, Chapter 20 – Earth-Style Magic (part 1)
Linley’s anticipation was about to erupt like a volcano as he immediately became suffused with excitement.
“Grandpa Doehring, can you really teach me to become a magus?” Linley excitedly looked up at old man Doehring.
Doehring Cowart, seeing the state Linley was in, stroked his white beard. “Linley, your Grandpa Doehring is a Saint-level Grand Magus. Even if you don’t have much natural talent, I can still teach you magic. Of course… if your talent is low, your accomplishments will be low as well.”
If any other magus had been present and heard his words, they would have been astonished.
Amongst the society of magi, the most important thing is talent. No talent meant no possibility of becoming a magus. Many people believed this!
But Doehring Cowart dared to claim that even if his student’s talent was poor, he still had the ability to make a magus out of the student. If anyone else had made this claim, they would be viewed as just wildly boasting… but the man who said these words was a five-thousand year old Saint-level Grand Magus!
“Low talent, low accomplishments?” Linley felt his heart tremble.
The reason he wanted to become a magus was because he wanted to restore glory to the Baruch clan. Even if he couldn’t accomplish this, he hoped to at least accomplish the one task which generations of clan elders had strove to achieve for centuries – reclaiming their ancestral heirloom. If he could accomplish this, it would be enough.
But to do so, power was an important component.
“Linley, don’t be worried. Your aptitude for magic hasn’t even been assessed yet. Who knows if it will be high or low? Perhaps you will have a tremendous talent for magic.” Doehring Cowart stroked his white beard as he smiled.
Grandpa Doehring’s tranquility brought calm to Linley as well.
“Grandpa Doehring, how does one test for magical aptitude?” Linley couldn’t help but grow eager.
“It is actually quite easy to test for magical aptitude.” Just as Doehring Cowart spoke, suddenly –
Footsteps could be heard from outside the door. Hearing them, Linley immediately grew nervous. He quickly said to Doehring Cowart, “Grandpa Doehring, quick, hide. Someone is coming.” If this five-thousand year old Saint-level Grand Magus of the bygone Pouant Empire was discovered, it could be disastrous.
Doehring Cowart only smiled, not moving at all.
“Grandpa Doehring!” Linley was beginning to grow impatient.
“Creaaak.” The bedroom door swung open, and Housekeeper Hiri stuck his head inside. Seeing that Linley was awake, he couldn’t help but smile. “Young master Linley, I didn’t expect that you would have already awoken. How do you feel, young master?”
Linley immediately forced out a smile. Nodding, he said, “Thank you for asking, Uncle Hiri. I’m much better now.”
Linley felt extremely agitated. He couldn’t help but turn to look in the direction of Doehring Cowart, but Doehring Cowart was still standing there, grinning. “What’s going on with Grandpa Doehring? Ugh. We’re about to get discovered. It’s going to be so annoying to have to explain.”
“Young master Linley, it’s time for dinner. Since you are already awake, come eat dinner with us.” Uncle Hiri smiled as he spoke.
“Oh. Got it.” Linley snuck another peek at Doehring Cowart, his heart filled with questions. “What’s going on. From Uncle Hiri’s expression, it seems as though he can’t see Grandpa Doehring at all.”
Seeing Linley constantly glance at the corner of his bed, Uncle Hiri asked curiously, “Young master Linley, why are you staring at the side of your bed? Did you drop something? I can help you look for it.”
“No-, nothing.” Linley immediately crawled out of bed. “Uncle Hiri, let’s go eat dinner.”
Although he found Linley’s reaction to be a bit odd, Uncle Hiri didn’t think too much of it, just nodding and smiling. Linley dressed himself, but still couldn’t help but sneak a peek at Doehring Cowart. But just as he did so, Doehring Cowart, who was still grinning at him, suddenly disappeared from Linley’s field of vision.
“He entered the Coiling Dragon Ring.” Linley could now clearly feel that a spirit was now residing within the Coiling Dragon Ring.
Unlike in the past, Linley had now soulbound the ring with his own blood, giving him a deeper level of understanding.
“Linley, no need to speak aloud. Just speak to me mentally. As the master of the Coiling Dragon Ring, you can directly engage in spiritual communication with me, as I am a spirit within the ring.” Doehring Cowart’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind.
This greatly surprised Linley.
“Grandpa Doehring?” Linley tested the mental link.
“I hear you.” Doehring Cowart’s voice rang out in Linley’s mind as well.
Linley’s heart was immediately filled with joy. But as he engaged in conversation with Doehring Cowart, he didn’t pay attention to where he walked, and he tripped over the doorway. Uncle Hiri, walking ahead of him, turned and laughed. “Young master Linley, watch where you walk.”
“Got it, Uncle Hiri,” Linley laughed in reply.
While excitedly engaging in mental conversation with Doehring Cowart, Linley entered the dining room and sat down. Today’s dinner was actually quite sumptuous, including a fragrant smelling roasted sheep. Hogg glanced at Linley. Smiling, he said, “Linle
y, have some.” As he spoke, Hogg personally tore off a strip of meat from the sheep’s lower hindlegs for Linley.
“Thank you, father.”
Linley felt quite surprised. His family was in poor economic straits, so normally their dinner was quite spartan. But today, they even had roast sheep?
What Linley didn’t know was… when the rain of stones descended on the town, aside from men and women, even many animals were killed. The Baruch clan aside, even some poor families who rarely ate meat were enjoying an extravagant meal today.
“Grandpa Doehring, why didn’t Uncle Hiri see you just then?” Linley mentally asked Doehring Cowart.
“Linley, I must inform you that aside from you, nobody can see me. Because right now, I’m just a spiritual projection, which has no matter. I’m invisible to the eye. Only you, as the master of the Coiling Dragon Ring, can see me.” Doehring Cowart explained in detail.
Linley suddenly understood.
Previously, Grandpa Doehring had said that he had died long ago, and only his spirit now remained.
“Grandpa Doehring, in the future, doesn’t that mean you can always appear by my side?” Linley felt extremely happy.
Just as Linley spoke, he saw that next to him, a white-haired old man suddenly appeared out of nowhere. It was Doehring Cowart. But Hogg, Housekeeper Hiri, and his younger brother Wharton still continued to eat and chat, not noticing Doehring Cowart’s existence in the slightest.
“Wow… “
Hearing and seeing were two different things. When he personally witnessed all the other people at the dinner table be unaware of Grandpa Doehring’s presence, Linley felt deeply astonished.
“There’s still some people who can sense my presence. Those whose spiritual presence are on par with me can feel my presence. But naturally… if I hide within the Coiling Dragon Ring, they definitely won’t be able to sense me.” Doehring Cowart’s voice sounded within Linley’s head.
“On the same spiritual level as Grandpa Doehring?” Linley chewed and thought at Doehring Cowart at the same time.