“The Grand Warlock is dead! Haha, he finally died!”
Within a desolate area, two silver-robed figures were laughing wildly.
“How many years has it been? We have finally been freed of that devil’s control.” The two silver-robed men simultaneously ripped away the silver robes from their body, which shattered into countless pieces of cloth. “I feel disgusted just looking at these silver robes.” The two men changed their clothes.
They were so excited that their bodies were trembling slightly.
Of the two silver-robed figures, one was a human, while the other was a panther-man.
“Finally free. Finally free!” Their eyes were filled with tears, and they were filled with inexpressible excitement. Over the countless years, under the control of the Grand Warlock, they had done countless things, all of which they now clearly remembered.
If the Grand Warlock remained alive, they would have never been able to regain their freedom.
“Who killed the Grand Warlock? We really should go thank him.” The panther-man was still uncontrollably excited.
“What, Wiggin? You still want to go thank someone else?” the human expert said mockingly.
The panther-man chuckled, then shook his head. “Of course not. I’ve had enough of those long years of being controlled by others. The person who killed the Grand Warlock didn’t do it for our sake. Laghman, what are your next plans?”
“This is my homeland.” The human expert stared at the wilderness, letting out a long sigh. “The Yulan continent. It has been eight thousand years since I was last here. Eight thousand years. Ever since I encountered the Grand Warlock in the Gebados Planar Prison and was controlled by him, my power didn’t improve at all. I plan to make a good long tour of the continent, and then find a place to studiously train.”
“Wiggin, do you want to go to the Necropolis of the Gods?” The human expert looked at the panther-man.
“The Necropolis of the Gods? The Yulan continent…”
The panther-man laughed at himself mockingly. “In the past, I followed my master to the Yulan continent and wanted to go to the Necropolis of the Gods to find treasures. Only, I didn’t expect that the Bloodviolet Fiend was there as well. Back then, many were killed, while others were imprisoned. I no longer dare to have too much hope towards the Yulan continent.”
“I’ve already had enough of being subject to the orders of others, to the life of a mindless puppet. I want to find a place to live quietly for a while.” The panther-man said with a self-mocking laugh, “Given the situation in the current Yulan continent, we Prime Saints are better off being a bit low-key.”
The human expert nodded as well.
And then, the two experts separated, hiding themselves within the Yulan continent.
Those who had never been controlled by the Soulseeds would find it hard to imagine what that was like. Upon being controlled by a Soulseed, one would be loyal to one’s master from the deepest parts of one’s soul. The master’s orders were the number one priority. Under the master’s order, they would kill their parents and kill their family and friends without resisting at all.
They didn’t feel anything when they were controlled.
But once they regained their own will, when they remembered what had happened during those long years, they would often go insane.
“What… what have I done?!” Yale’s heart was filled with agony.
After being controlled by the Grand Warlock, Yale had begun to use cruel, bloodthirsty methods to kill a large number of slaves and collect their souls for the Grand Warlock. During this process, there had been some high level members of the Dawson Conglomerate who had tried to stop Yale. For those who tried to stop him, he suppressed the ones he could suppress, and used bloodthirsty means to kill the ones he could not.
Some of them were his relatives in the Dawson clan!
These vicious, bloodthirsty actions, along with the fact that those silver-robed men assisted Yale, resulted in Yale gaining absolute, unquestioned power within the Dawson Conglomerate. This was a power that was forged through wielding a bloody butcher’s blade.
“Everyone, go back,” Yale said to the surrounding people.
“Lord Chairman, should we arrange some people to take care of this place?” a nearby silver-haired old man said.
“No need, Uncle Alberts,” Yale said sincerely.
Alberts was instantly stunned. Six years ago, Yale had turned cruel and ruthless, and the administrative operations of the Dawson Conglomerate had become harsh and rigid. Ever since then, Yale had never again called him ‘Uncle Alberts’. Hearing these words, Alberts felt somewhat lost, and he began to think of the affairs of the past.
“Uncle Alberts. These past six years. I’m sorry,” Yale said in a low voice.
“Chairman… young master Yale.” Alberts tried to forcibly suppress the excitement from showing on his face. Yale was back. The Yale of six years ago was back!
“Enough. Everyone, go back and get some rest,” Alberts said to the surrounding people in a loud voice. His voice right now was the loudest, most confident he had been in the past six years.
“The people I owe… are far too many.” Yale knew how many mistakes he had made in the past six years.
“And Third Bro.” Yale looked towards Linley, who was currently kneeling on the ground in agony.
Right now, Linley was in terrible shape. His soul had been concussed massively. It must be understood that generally speaking, when a soul suffered a sufficiently powerful blow, it would collapse. As a Deity, Linley’s soul was naturally very strong, but still, he currently felt miserable. His entire body felt as though he was rather woozy.
Linley forced his eyes to open. He looked at Yale.
Seeing the look of concern in Yale’s eyes, Linley instantly felt relief in his heart.
He had risked his life, and in the end, he had brought the old Boss Yale back.
“Third Bro.” Yale knelt down in front of Linley, supporting him. “Third Bro, are you alright?” Yale’s heart was filled with boundless guilt.
“Yale, I’m fine. Wait a moment.”
Linley forced out these words, then sat down in the meditative position. The liquid gold soul essences within the Coiling Dragon ring were currently sending one surge after another of golden fog into Linley’s soul-world, and as it did, Linley’s soul drank it all in as though it was water.
Previously, when the twenty million liquid gold soul essences the Grand Warlock had refined had disappeared, they had been seized by Linley using the Coiling Dragon ring.
To the Grand Warlock, only after refining the ‘gold liquid’ to a ‘Gold Soul-Pearl’ would the soul essences become relatively easier to absorb.
But Linley, as the owner of the Coiling Dragon ring, could easily absorb large amounts of soul essences. As his sword-shaped soul constantly absorbed them, the glow of that sword-shaped soul continuously grew brighter, as it also slowly increased in size.
“How comfortable.” Linley had a comfortable feeling in his heart.
The pain caused by his soul being shaken had long since disappeared. Right now, this sensation of his soul growing was very comfortable to Linley. He didn’t need to focus at all on his soul absorbing those soul essences. While chatting with others or focusing on his training, he could continue to absorb soul essences.
Only now did Linley open his eyes.
“Third Bro, you… how do you feel?” Yale had been by Linley’s side this entire time. His heart was filled with worry.
“I’m fine. But, Boss Yale, you aren’t going to give me any more of that terrifying poisoned wine for me to drink, right?” Linley said with a smirking grin.
Hearing Linley’s words, Yale felt relief in his heart.
“Third Bro, thank you.” Yale’s eyes were filled with a hint of tears.
In his heart, Yale understood very well that his attempt to use the Soulsilk Poison to kill Linley was, rationally speaking, not of his own free will. But he stil
l felt guilty. Hearing Linley say those words, he had the feeling… that his bro, Linley, didn’t care about that matter at all.
“Thank me for what?” Linley said as he stood up, and Yale stood up as well.
“I’m sorry. I’ve made a huge mess of your place here.” Linley glanced at that nearby, exploded building, then laughed towards Yale. Linley was currently in an excellent mood. On this trip, Linley had come to battle with that Deity to the death, and had come prepared to risk his life.
Fortunately, he had succeeded.
“Linley, don’t apologize to me. I can’t bear it,” Yale said solemnly.
Yale felt that he owed Linley too much.
“You can’t be blamed. It was a Deity who was controlling you.” Linley sighed with emotion.
“The Grand Warlock was a Deity?” Yale was somewhat shocked. Although he had been controlled by the Grand Warlock, Yale only knew that the Grand Warlock was powerful, and had no way to determine if the Grand Warlock was a Deity or not.
“Right. Otherwise, how could it have been so hard for me to kill him?” Linley felt that he was rather lucky as well.
If it hadn’t been for this damaged soul-protecting barrier, and if it hadn’t been for…
Linley lowered his head to look at the Coiling Dragon ring. In the past, Linley had never truly controlled the Coiling Dragon ring, and had no way to learn what it contained within. But now, Linley knew exactly what it held. Just then, during that dangerous moment, he had clearly sensed one of those three azure drops of water emit a ray of energy, which allowed the protective azure layer of light around his soul to glow much more brightly.
“So in the past, when the azure layer of light around my soul suddenly shone dramatically brighter, it was the doing of this mysterious azure water droplet.” Linley sighed with emotion.
“Wait, that’s not right.”
Linley realized something. “According to the ancestral records of my Baruch clan, that layer of azure light covering the soul is something only possessed by Dragonblood Warriors. Ordinary Saints wouldn’t possess it. So why is it that this azure water droplet is capable of causing that layer of azure light to dramatically brighten? In addition, that drop of gold blood… why did it cause my Dragonblood Warrior form to evolve?”
Linley glanced at the Coiling Dragon ring, and at the draconic lines carved onto it. “Can it be that the earliest owner of the Coiling Dragon ring had some sort of relationship with the Dragonblood Warriors?”
Linley was forced to come to this sort of hypothesis.
After all, there were simply too many coincidences.
“Linley, what are you thinking about?” Yale, seeing Linley suddenly pause, couldn’t help but ask.
“Nothing.” Linley didn’t think about it any further.
“Third Bro, I have to congratulate you.” Yale laughed.
“Congratulate me for what?” Linley laughed.
Yale stared at him. “Third Bro, you killed a Deity-level expert this time. I expect that you have already reached the Deity level, Third Bro… the Deity level! It seems like such a distant, exalted level. Third Bro, when we were young and fooled around together, I truly would never have been able to imagine that my friend would become a Deity.”
Deity!
Going from being a mortal to becoming a Deity was a change in one’s level of existence.
No matter what race, be it magical beast, beastman, human, metallic lifeform, plant creature, or any other unique, bizarre races, upon reaching the Deity level, they would all have divine bodies and divine sparks. They all had a common term of address – Deity!
Linley had become a Deity!
In the Yulan continent, amongst the human society, the highest, most exalted figures were the War God and the High Priest.
But now, there was another one; Linley!
“Haha…” Linley began to laugh as well. “In the past, who could possibly have imagined it? Ah, I almost forgot something important.”
Linley suddenly turned and stared towards a black patch of ground. It was currently late at night, and nothing could be seen clearly on the ground.
“Third Bro, what are you looking for?” Yale was somewhat puzzled.
“The treasures that the Grand Warlock left behind.” Linley had only taken the divine spark just now, but had forgotten to take two other important items; the Grand Warlock’s divine artifact as well as his interspatial ring. Linley wanted to know what the Grand Warlock held within his interspatial ring.
Spreading out his spiritual energy, Linley instantly discovered the location of that black sickle as well as the interspatial ring.
In order to utilize the interspatial ring, one first had to bind it with blood. Linley was in no hurry to open it, and so he just directly stored both the black sickle as well as the interspatial ring.
“Yale, as long as you are fine, I’ll be at ease. I think… during the past six years, you must have done some foolish things. Of course, none of it is your fault, but your father and the other members of the Conglomerate don’t know that, right? You need to have a good think about what to do. I won’t disturb you. To be honest, I have to get back to Dragonblood Castle right away. Delia, my little brother and the others are all very worried about me. They are worried that I won’t be able to come back from this trip.” Linley’s laughter was so free and unburdened now.
Yale felt a surge of gratitude in his heart.
He knew that Linley was a Saint not too long ago, so he was only an early stage Deity now. For the sake of him, Yale, Linley had charged over here without even knowing how powerful the enemy was. This was extremely dangerous, but Linley had done it anyways, even though he, Yale, had tried to use poison to kill him.
Yale believed that never in his life would he forget this.
“Thank you.” Yale had nothing else to say.
Laughing, Linley clapped Yale on his shoulders. “Yale, you will always be the Boss Yale of our dormitory 1987.” Linley’s smile was brilliant. And then, Linley turned and left, because in Dragonblood Castle, there were people worrying about him!
68
The Disposition of the Divine Sparks
There was a group of people within Dragonblood Castle who were unable to sleep. Linley’s departure to do battle with the Grand Warlock was something that Taylor, Gates, and the others hadn’t known. Only Wharton and Zassler knew. But after Linley left, Wharton and Zassler informed everyone of this affair.
Zassler’s thoughts were very clear.
If Linley didn’t come back, he still had to tell Taylor and the others anyways.
If Linley came back successfully, it would be a joyous affair that everyone had to share in.
No matter what, it was best to let everyone know.
The candles in Dragonblood Castle’s main hall were all lit. A large group of people were assembled here. After Zassler and Wharton had informed them that Linley had gone to do battle against a Deity, they had been utterly shocked. Right now, all they could do was wait impatiently.
Suddenly, footsteps could be heard.
“Mother, why have you left your training?” Taylor, who had been worrying about Linley’s battle with the Deity, turned and saw the person who had just arrived. He couldn’t help but call out in surprise.
“So you are all here?” Delia squeezed out a smile.
Originally, Delia was preparing to wait patiently in the pocket dimension, but Delia discovered… that she just couldn’t calm down. She kept on worrying, and so she decided to just come out and wait for Linley’s return in Dragonblood Castle.
“So you all know?” Delia looked at everyone.
Wharton, Nina, Gates, the Barker brothers and their spouses, Taylor, Sasha, Hillman, and Housekeeper Hiri all nodded.
Delia nodded slightly as well.
All of them were waiting and praying. They raised their heads to stare at the distant night sky, hoping to see that familiar figure appear.
“Everyone, don’t be impatient. There’s a di
stance of thousands of kilometers from here to the valley. The flying time alone will take a good long while,” Wharton urged everyone.
“It’s father!” a cry of delight and joy rang out. It was Sasha, who had been staring at the sky.
Instantly, everyone turned to look at the night sky.
Indeed, a human figure dressed in a sky-blue robe was flying gracefully through the sky. Taylor, Delia, Sasha, and the others all ran forward excitedly.
Seeing everyone here, Linley felt a comforting, happy feeling in his heart.
“Delia. Taylor. Sasha.” Linley had a hint of a smile on his face. He was the calmest person here.
“Lord Linley, you killed that Deity?” Gates, coming from behind, shouted out excitedly. Wharton and Zassler all looked at Linley as well. Delia was worried as well… she was worried that Linley might have lost one of his bodies and been forced to flee back.
“Of course.” Linley grinned.
Instantly, smiles blossomed on the faces of everyone present.
“Wonderful.” Taylor was incredibly excited. “My father is someone who killed a Deity. Tonight, nobody is going to sleep. I’ll immediately arrange for wine and food to be brought over. Tonight, all of us are going to have a wild party!”
“Right! Wild party!” Gates shouted loudly as well.
Everyone was incomparably excited.
“Wild party!” Linley laughed and nodded as well. Normally so somber and serious, he was very happy right now as well. Before the battle, Linley had felt nervous as well, but now, not only had he returned without being injured at all, he had freed Yale. Linley naturally was incredibly happy.
Tonight, Dragonblood Castle was more festive than ever before.
They partied until the dawn was beginning to break. Only then did everyone leave, while Delia and Linley asked Zassler to stay behind.
Gods of Yulan: Book 4 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 54