Despite being short, he still couldn’t stand on Linley’s shoulders like before.
Linley stared carefully at the human formed Bebe. Bebe looked very slender and delicate. Only, his eyes were as lively and roguish as ever. Bebe chortled, and then rubbed his inch-long hair, raising his head and saying, “Boss, how’s my hair style? I spent a lot of time thinking about it before becoming a Deity.”
Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
“While flying over from the Forest of Darkness, I actually made a little something,” Bebe said in an intentionally mysterious manner.
“Oh?” Linley looked at Bebe. With a flip of his hand, Bebe retrieved a tattered straw hat out of nowhere and then, with a very practiced manner, flipped it onto his head before grinning delightedly. “Boss, this straw hat really suits me, right?”
Seeing how Bebe currently looked, Linley began to laugh. “Suits you, suits you!”
Bebe looked solemnly at Linley. “Boss, let’s go chat somewhere else. Let’s not disturb them.”
“Not disturb them?” Linley was somewhat startled, but then he immediately understood. Turning his head, Linley looked at the nearby War God and High Priest. The two clearly didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry. They wanted to curse Bebe, but seeing how he was acting, they didn’t know what to say.
“Sorry.” Linley hurriedly waved at them.
“Quickly take that little fellow away.” The High Priest was trapped between laughter and curses.
“Alright, let’s go,” Linley said hurriedly. “Then… you guys continue.” While speaking, Linley led Bebe out of the rear garden, but while following Linley, Bebe turned to stare at the High Priest and the War God, letting out a loud shout, “My Boss says, you guys continue!”
Linley could only glance helplessly at Bebe.
The two walked shoulder-to-shoulder into Dragonblood Castle.
“Boss, now that I’m also a Deity, you are no longer necessarily my match,” Bebe said self-delightedly.
Linley laughed, “Bebe, the more powerful you are, the better. If you are more powerful than me, that’s naturally a wonderful thing.” Linley suddenly thought about the innate abilities of divine beasts. He asked, “Bebe, you are only the second Godeater Rat in the countless planes of the universe. Then…what is your innate ability?”
“If others asked me, I definitely wouldn’t tell them,” Bebe said. “But since it’s you, Boss, who is asking me, I’ll give you a hint. Focus on the words, ‘God Eater’.”
After saying these words, Bebe no longer said anything.
“God Eater?” Linley was puzzled. Could it be that he could devour and swallow Deities? It shouldn’t be that simple.
“Oh, right. Boss, Grandpa Beirut, Harry, and his brothers are going to be arriving soon. I was just a bit impatient so I hurried over here first,” Bebe said.
Linley was somewhat surprised. “Lord Beirut, Harry and his brothers are coming as well?”
Indeed, that night, Beirut led his three children to Dragonblood Castle.
Within the study.
“Bebe, you, Harry, and the other two can leave for now,” Beirut said with a calm smile. Bebe and the others all obediently left, leaving behind only Beirut and Linley in the study. Linley looked at Beirut, feeling rather puzzled. “What does Beirut wish to discuss with me in private?”
Although puzzled, Linley’s attitude was still very meek.
“Sit first.” Beirut sat down, pointing at a nearby chair. Linley sat down as ordered.
Stroking his beard, Beirut chuckled while sighing, “Bebe has finally become a Deity. I can finally relax a bit. Linley, Bebe really is attached to you. I asked him to stay with me, but he refused. In the future, I hope you can take good care of him.”
“Of course.” Linley nodded.
Even without Beirut’s prompting, Linley would wholeheartedly take care of Bebe. Linley would never forget how Bebe had blocked that deathblow of the Armored Razorback Wyrm in the Foggy Valley. Bebe had saved him multiple times. Linley would never forget these events.
“Linley, you have reached the Deity level, but you must have many questions regarding the world of Deities.” Beirut laughed. “Even O’Brien and Catherine… how many Deities have they fought against?”
Linley was delighted in his heart.
He knew far too little about the world of Deities. He didn’t even know much regarding battles and training methods. He felt like a blind man without any guidance, utterly helpless.
“I know that you train in the Elemental Laws of the Wind and the Laws of the Earth.” Beirut laughed calmly. “So, I’ll begin giving you a primer based on your training. First of all, you should know that each type of Elemental Law contains many different types of profound mysteries.”
This was common knowledge. Of course Linley knew this.
“However, the profound mysteries inherent in each Elemental Law are not equal in terms of power.” Beirut sighed. “The Elemental Laws contain low-level mysteries, mid-level mysteries, and high-level mysteries! However, all the mysteries, high or low, can allow one to become a Deity!”
Linley nodded.
“Linley, the Elemental Laws of the Earth that you train in should belong to the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’ type of profound mysteries, correct?” Beirut looked at Linley.
“Yes.” Linley wasn’t surprised at all. If Beirut didn’t even know this, that would be bizarre.
Beirut laughed and said, “Normally speaking, a person would only gain insight into higher level profound mysteries upon reaching the God-level, or perhaps the Highgod-level. Many earth-style Gods have yet to gain insights into the Throbbing Pulse of the World, but you, a Demigod, have already done so.”
Linley frowned.
Beirut said with a laugh, “Let me explain it to you like this. Let’s say the Elemental Laws of the Earth include nine different types of profound mysteries. Of course, that’s just a hypothetical; I don’t train in the Laws of the Earth, after all.”
“Nine types?” Linley was rather surprised.
Based on what he knew, the Elemental Laws were virtually boundless. There should be many different types of profound mysteries contained within them… but Beirut was using ‘nine types’ as a hypothetical example. Since that was the case, then clearly, the actual number of profound mysteries shouldn’t be too far off from nine.
“Don’t think that nine profound mysteries is a small number.”
Beirut noticed Linley’s confusion. Laughing, he said, “Every person’s growth, ability, and experiences will determine what they are skilled at. For example, you, Linley. In the Laws of the Earth, you are very sensitive to the Throbbing Pulse of the World and can sense it clearly.”
“Thus, the Throbbing Pulse of the World is the first type of profound mystery of the Laws of the Earth that you train in, and you are very fast in training in it as well. However, if I were to ask you to train on the ‘Gravitational Field’ profound mystery of the Laws of the Earth, would you be able to do so?”
Linley was utterly lost.
Gravitational Field? When he was attuning to the Laws of the Earth, he had never even sensed such a thing. How could he possibly train in it?
“This is a question of effectiveness. It will be very easy for you to train in one type of the Laws of the Earth, but the successive profound mysteries within it will not be so easily learnt. For example, of our nine profound mysteries, perhaps you only need a thousand years to master the first. The second, you would probably need a hundred thousand years. As for the third, you might need a million or ten million years… and thus, as you keep compiling them, it will be extremely hard for you to master all nine profound mysteries. Otherwise, Highgods wouldn’t be so rare.”
Linley now understood.
It was much like how, in the mortal world, a person might be an expert at finance, but terrible at human relations. To let a person skilled at human relations to go learn finance would be very hard.
Linle
y had found it fairly easy to training in the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’.
However, the other profound mysteries within the Laws of the Earth wouldn’t be so easily understood by Linley. It was much like how in the past, Haydson, with a simple step, could move dozens of meters, as though he teleported.
Linley knew that it couldn’t possibly be teleportation.
However, to this very day, Linley still had no idea how Haydson had accomplished that feat of moving dozens of meters in a step.
“Haydson was able to understand it, but I have yet to. I was able to understand the Throbbing Pulse of the World, but he was not.” Linley understood Beirut’s meaning. Understanding the Laws was partly reliant on talent, partly on life experiences, and also on sparks of insight.
Many variables determined one’s direction.
“As for the laws of becoming a Deity…”
Beirut laughed. “I’ll use your training in the Elemental Laws of the Wind for my next example. Let’s say the Laws of the Wind also have nine types of profound mysteries. If you were able to reach the level of mastery in one of them, then you would become a Demigod.” Linley knew this part.
“But to become a God? For example, Linley, the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ mysteries that you trained in, if you were able to reach mastery in both of them, you still wouldn’t become a full God. At this point, you would have two ways to become a God.”
“The first method is to train in yet another profound mystery. In other words, if you reach the point of mastery in three of the profound mysteries, you would become a God.”
“The second method is for you to fuse the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ mysteries into one. Upon succeeding, you would then become a God,” Beirut explained. At this point, Beirut came to a halt, knowing that Linley wouldn’t be able to understand it.
“The Laws of the universe determine whether or not you fulfill the requirements for becoming a God. They care about whether or not you have reached a certain level of insight into the Elemental Laws.”
Beirut sighed. “Actually, let’s say that you have gained full insights into all nine Elemental Laws. Would that be considered complete mastery?”
“If I gain insights into all nine, I should be a Highgod, right?” Linley said.
“Right. It’s true that you would be a Highgod.” Beirut nodded. “However, you wouldn’t be at the level of complete mastery. Forget it, there’s no need to discuss this for now. It’s far too early.”
Linley laughed and nodded.
“When Deities do battle, there’s great differences between Deities of different levels. Generally speaking, Gods are able to kill Demigods. But of course, there are always exceptions.” Hearing Beirut say this, Linley’s eyes lit up.
Beirut explained, “The divine sparks of Gods are able to summon a ‘Godrealm’ that can suppress a Demigod’s. Under his Godrealm, your speed will slow down drastically. In addition, the divine power of a divine God spark is more pure. Just based on these two things alone, the outcome of any battle is virtually preordained.”
Linley nodded.
Within Ojwin’s Godrealm, he had sensed his speed lower measurably. Originally, Linley’s speed had been much faster than those two black-robed men, but within the Godrealm, he was actually slower than them.
“Thus, when a Demigod is to battle a God,” Beirut explained with a laugh, “The first option is to ambush. To use the most powerful attack you have before the enemy has utilized the Godrealm and to kill him.”
“Kill by ambush?” Linley said, puzzled. “Full Gods shouldn’t be so easy to kill.”
“Right,” Beirut said. “Even via ambush, in the instant you draw near to him, he will definitely react. If you want to be able to kill him in a situation like that, then you must have… a profound mystery that is much more powerful than his!”
“Because, your divine power isn’t as pure as his. Thus, you have to overcome him via a better weapon and the Laws!” Beirut explained.
Linley understood.
So what if one was a God?
A God might have, for example, mastered three profound mysteries, but if those three profound mysteries were low-level, then the God wouldn’t be excessively powerful when using any one of those three profound mysteries. Thus, those types of Gods had to rely on their Godrealm and their pure divine power to kill Demigods.
“But of course, even if that God trained in low-level profound mysteries, once they fuse those low-level mysteries they have gained, then you would have no chance.” Beirut sighed. “The fusion of two low-level mysteries is definitely not one bit weaker than a high-level mystery!”
Linley nodded.
For example, the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ mysteries that had fused into the Profound Truths of Velocity was not one whit inferior to the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’.
“In other words, only the most outstanding of Demigods are capable of defeating weak Gods!” Beirut concluded. “But of course, if one has an exceedingly outstanding divine artifact, or if there are some special factors in play, victory might be possible.”
98
The Invincible Highgods
“Victory might be possible?” Linley was stirred.
After speaking, Beirut just sat there, looking at Linley with a hint of a smile tugging at his lips. When Linley noticed the expression on Beirut’s face, Linley suddenly understood. He laughed self-mockingly, “Lord Beirut, are you trying to tell me that I should try to avoid battling Deities of a higher level than myself?”
Beirut stroked his beard, starting to laugh. “Right.”
Linley felt a sense of resignation.
Was he an outstanding Demigod? Linley didn’t feel confident in saying that.
Was his opponent a weak God? That was also hard to determine.
Thus, although in theory, a Demigod was capable of killing a God, in reality, the chance of success was very low. Unless that God was already badly injured and on the brink of death, a God in normal circumstances would virtually never be beaten by a Demigod.
Beirut stood up, walking to the door of the study.
“Creaaak!” The study door opened by itself, allowing the night wind to blow in, rustling against Beirut’s black robes.
Beirut hesitated a moment, then turned to look at Linley. “Linley, there are some things that I originally wanted to tell you after you grew more powerful. However, it is hard to say if you and Bebe will remain on the Yulan continent or not in the future. Thus, I’ll tell you all of it today. Although this might come as discouraging to you, at least this way, you won’t go on any wrong paths.”
Linley immediately stood up.
Discouraging? Go on any wrong paths? He had never been afraid of taking difficult paths. Ever since he was an ordinary youth, up til this very day, since when had he feared any discouragement?
“Beirut, please speak,” Linley said respectfully.
Beirut smiled and nodded. “You should know the requirements for becoming a Highgod.”
“Yes. Gain insights into all of the profound mysteries of a Law.” Linley nodded while responding.
Beirut sighed, “Yes, when you gain full insights into all of the profound mysteries, you will become a Highgod. However, each Elemental Law is a complete whole, much like how your ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ mysteries can fuse into one. If an Elemental Law has nine profound mysteries in it, then…”
Beirut’s eyes began to shine as he stared at Linley. “Any two of those nine profound mysteries can fuse together. Any three can fuse together… and in fact, all nine of the profound mysteries can be fused into one!”
Linley was flabbergasted.
All of them could be fused?
“It is very hard for one to be able to simply gain insights into all nine profound mysteries. To fuse any two or any three of them into one becomes even harder.”
Beirut sighed. “Linley, the true path of training isn’t necessarily ‘the more the better’ when it comes to gaining insights into the Laws. It is �
��fusing the more profound mysteries the better’. For example, the ‘Fast’ and ‘Slow’ mysteries are all low-level mysteries, but when the two are fused into the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’, it is comparable with high-level mysteries. If you were able to fuse three low-level mysteries into one, the power would far surpass that of high-level mysteries.”
Linley’s eyes were shining.
“If you are able to fuse all nine profound mysteries into one, it would represent that you have truly understood an Elemental Law! That is the highest level of attainment for a Highgod!” When saying this, Beirut’s entire attitude was different.
In his heart, Linley sighed unceasingly.
Gain insights into nine profound mysteries and become a Highgod? That accomplishment was far from the actual peak. To merge all nine mysteries into a whole; that was a true peak.
“Nine types of profound mysteries into one?” Linley’s voice couldn’t help but turn into a whisper. “Lord Beirut, how many experts of this level do the planes of the universe have?”
“How many?”
Beirut laughed as he looked at Linley.
“In ten trillion Deities, only one will become a Highgod! But the invincible Highgods who are capable of fusing all of the profound mysteries in an Elemental Law into one… even I don’t know how many Highgods would be needed to produce a single such Paragon.” It was hard for even Beirut to say. “All I can tell you is that even in the infinite universe, the number of experts on this level can be counted by hand!”
“Counted by hand?”
Linley’s heart shook.
The universe had existed for an extremely long period of time, resulting in the number of Deities each material plane produced to be an astonishingly high figure. In the countless planes and especially in the Higher Planes, it was hard to calculate how many Deities there were. But even in the Higher Planes, the number of truly peak, perfect Highgods was actually countable by hand!
“Lord Beirut, within the Gebados Planar Prison, are there any experts who have fused all of the profound mysteries of a Law?” Linley said with curiosity. “I heard that there are five powerful Kings there.”
Gods of Yulan: Book 4 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 77