Linley patted Bebe on his little head. “Do you want to die?” Most likely, any expert in that plane could easily kill them.
Linley already had a plan for his future training.
Sovereign? That was too far away.
One step at a time. First, reach the Demigod-level. Upon becoming a Demigod, Linley would have confidence in his ability to destroy the Radiant Church.
Linley knew his own limits. Given his current power, he wasn’t yet strong enough to impose his will upon and act as he pleased in the Yulan continent.
“It’s hard to say if I’d even be able to defeat Olivier.” Linley didn’t feel any confidence at all when it came to Olivier’s spiritual attack in his obsidian sword.
Spiritual attack?
Linley suddenly thought of his Coiling Dragon ring. In the past, when divine power had entered Linley’s soul, a burst of power had emanated from the Coiling Dragon ring to counter it.
“But Grandpa Doehring was also a master of the Coiling Dragon ring in the past. Why is it that at the point of his death, the ring didn’t help him?” Linley was puzzled.
The mysterious power of the Coiling Dragon had to be activated somehow.
The divine power of the Radiant Sovereign had done just that, somehow agitating the power in the Coiling Dragon ring, causing it to manifest protectively. But Olivier’s attack wouldn’t necessarily also activate the Coiling Dragon ring’s protective energy.
“I have no idea what secrets lie hidden within the Coiling Dragon ring. But no matter what, I can’t just put all my hopes on the Coiling Dragon ring. In battle, the only one I can rely on is myself.”
Right now, the manor was filled with countless nobles and magnates, but Linley and his two magical beasts remained in the training courtyard in the rear of the manor. As if no one was present, Linley began to train.
“After going to the Infernal Realm, returning will be almost impossible. I can’t possibly hope that I will receive any support from my ancestors. Everything that I do in the Yulan continent, I will have to rely on myself.”
But Linley had forgotten something. Why was it that the dozens of Dragonblood Warriors as well as all of the other Supreme Warriors had left the Yulan continent en masse, and hadn’t left even a single Saint-level expert behind to look after their descendants?
The waters of the Yulan continent were far deeper than Linley could imagine.
20
The War God’s College
By nightfall, many of the guests at the manor had left, and most of the nobles were now gone. The engagement banquet was an afternoon banquet. The people still remaining at the manor were all relatively important guests.
“Wharton, where is your Big Brother?” Yale poured two cups of wine, then walked to Wharton’s side. “I haven’t seen him for almost the entire afternoon, I think?”
“My Big Brother left with that Mr. Hodan. No clue where he went.” Wharton shook his head.
“I’ll go look for him. Given your Big Brother’s personality, he might have run off to the training yard and started to train.” Yale left the guest hall. Making his way down the corridors, he arrived at the training courtyard after a while.
“Drip.” “Drip.”
Water flowed down the manmade fountain. Each drip-drop of water could be heard clearly in the silent training courtyard. Linley was seated in the meditative trance on the grass, not moving at all.
If one moved closer and examined him carefully, one might see that Linley’s muscles were contracting and expanding in a very rhythmic way. And as they did, a natural gust of wind seemed to have surrounded Linley.
His spirit had become one with the endless earth and attuned to the boundless wind.
“Boom!” “Boom!” …
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!” …
His eyes shut, Linley could feel the trembling, vibrating spirit of the earth, and the formless wind that filled the skies. After a long time, Linley opened his eyes.
“His lordship issued the order that no one is to be permitted to enter without his permission.”
“Not even me?” Yale sounded very resigned.
“Boss Yale, come in.” Linley had a hint of a smile on his lips, and he immediately stood up. Only now did Yale walk in. Looking at Linley, he chuckled, “Third Bro, I knew it. You are training again. Why are you so hard working? You are already a peak-stage Saint-level. You are already incredibly powerful.”
Linley glanced at Yale and chuckled.
To Yale, Linley could already be considered a peerless expert in the Yulan continent. Even the Emperor of the O’Brien Empire was incredibly courteous to Linley. But after having interacted with Hodan, Linley knew that he was still far from being adequate.
“Come, have some wine with me. I haven’t had much of a chance to drink with you today.” Yale put down two flasks of wine on the stone table.
Linley sat down as well, then retrieved two wine cups from his interspatial ring.
“It’s a pity that Fourth Bro couldn’t be here.” Linley shook his head and sighed. A month ago, when Emperor Johann had announced who would marry his daughter, Reynolds had left the imperial capital.
“He had no choice. The army had ordered him to return. He had to go,” Yale said helplessly. “Last time, he just so happened to be on leave, which was why we three bros were able to have a reunion. It isn’t so bad for Fourth Bro, but for Second Bro… if we want to see him, we have to go to the Yulan Empire.”
The distance from the Yulan Empire to the O’Brien Empire was quite far.
Chatting idly with his dear bro, Linley felt extremely cheerful. Why would he want to give this up to go to a Higher Plane and engage in slaughter?
The most enjoyable part of training was in the spirit, gaining a greater and greater level of understanding. It wasn’t about the bloody slaughter.
“Third Bro, in a few days, I’ll leave the imperial capital as well.” Yale sighed emotionally. “Nothing for it. I’m still young. There are many things that the Conglomerate needs me to handle. Otherwise, in the future, I won’t be qualified to manage it.”
Linley understood.
An organization on the level of the Dawson Conglomerate definitely wouldn’t award someone the leadership position just because one’s father previously held it. Otherwise, the Dawson Conglomerate wouldn’t be as powerful as it currently was. Of course, being the son of the Chairman had its advantages, but one also needed to have ability and a work history.
“Next month, Olivier will be doing battle with the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson. Doesn’t that mean you’ll miss it?” Linley laughed.
“Yeah.” Yale laughed uncaringly. “I’m just a magus anyhow. How much would I understand from watching a battle between two Saint-level warriors?”
Linley suddenly put down his wine cup and looked at the door. “Someone is coming.”
“Who?” Yale was puzzled. “Someone else knows that you are here?”
“Those two from the War God’s College.” Linley laughed calmly.
Saint-level experts could use spiritual energy to scan an area. The comparatively tiny manor could easily be completely covered by it. Naturally, they could easily locate Linley.
Castro and Lanke walked towards the back courtyard side by side. They were very surprised by their master’s instructions.
“Although Linley’s strength is not bad, there’s no need for Master to act this way.” Lanke shook his head.
“I don’t understand either.” Castro also felt puzzled.
Both of them were confused. Walking into the back courtyard, they saw that the guards had opened the door for them already. Castro and Lanke exchanged a glance.
“Linley knew that we were coming.”
Castro and Lanke immediately saw Linley seated alongside Yale. Seeing that Yale was here as well, the two frowned.
Yale immediately stood up. “Third Bro, people have come to see you. Why don’t you have a chat with them? I’ll go to the main hall for now.”
>
Linley nodded.
After Yale left, Castro and Lanke sat down. Linley asked, “Castro, Lanke, why have you come?”
Castro laughed. “Linley, the two of us have come bearing an invitation from our master to pay a visit to the War God’s College.”
“The War God is inviting me to the War God’s College?” Linley could hardly believe it.
How could someone like the War God be inviting him?
Lanke nodded. “Linley, Master did indeed instruct us to have you come to the War God’s College. And what’s more, Master has instructed our senior apprentice-brother to welcome you personally. Linley, you must understand, even when the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, visited the War God’s College in the past, our senior apprentice-brother didn’t come to welcome him.”
“Oh?”
Linley was intrigued. Who was this ‘senior apprentice-brother’ of the War God’s College?
“Your senior apprentice-brother should be the first disciple of the War God, right? Wait… how old is he?” Linley suddenly came to a realization. Good heavens. The War God was someone who had reached this level over five thousand years ago.
Castro and Lanke both grinned.
“Right. Our senior apprentice-brother is already five thousand years old. He isn’t much younger than our master.” Castro nodded. “We were very surprised as well when we heard that Master instructed our senior apprentice-brother to welcome you.”
Linley knew that the War God only accepted a personal disciple every three hundred years.
The youngest one was Blumer, only thirty years old or so. But the oldest was this senior apprentice-brother, and was five thousand years old.
“Alright. When should I go?” Linley asked with a laugh.
“You can come to the War God’s College at any time. How about this? Here’s my insignia. When you arrive at the War God’s College, hand it to one of our fellow apprentices. They will inform me.” With a flip of his hand, Castro retrieved a scarlet red medal which had Castro’s name carved onto it.
Accepting the insignia, Linley laughed and nodded. “Don’t worry. I will definitely go.”
Castro and Lanke both nodded, then left.
Linley secretly wondered to himself… if the senior apprentice-brother of the War God’s College was five thousand years old, how powerful was he?
Could he be weaker than the Monolithic Sword Saint?
Linley didn’t much believe it. The Monolithic Sword Saint was only a few centuries old, while the senior apprentice-brother had been training in the War God’s College for thousands of years with the War God’s personal guidance. After five thousand years, how could he possibly not be strong?
The primary peak of the War God Mountain was covered with many buildings. These were the places where the honorary disciples of the War God stayed, along with Kenyon, Castro, and Lanke, who were in charge of the ordinary affairs of War God Mountain, great or small.
The mountain wind was very strong this day. Many of the honorary disciples of the War God’s College were training.
“Haaargh!”
A boulder weighing dozens of tons was easily tossed from one person to another, who in turn kicked it back… the two honorary disciples of the war God’s College were able to easily kick around this massive boulder.
Most importantly, the boulder wasn’t damaged at all.
This required a very fine control of both physical strength and battle-qi.
Right at this time, a graceful figure appeared, soaring across the sky like blue smoke. It gracefully circled around War God Mountain, and in the blink of an eye it arrived at the War God’s College.
“Hrm?” One of the honorary disciples of the War God’s College looked at the arrival with surprise. He hadn’t seen anyone earlier, but then all of a sudden, this person had appeared.
“Are you… Master Linley?” The honorary disciple could recognize him. On the day of the duel at the Colosseum, the honorary disciple had gone to support Blumer.
Smiling, Linley nodded. “Castro invited me to come. This is his insignia. Please go inform him.” Linley tossed the insignia to the honorary disciple.
The honorary disciple hurriedly said, “I’ll go report it right away. Master Linley, please take a rest first.”
Linley nodded. Wharton’s engagement ceremony had concluded two days ago, and today, Linley had accepted the invitation and headed off to the War God’s College to see for himself what it was all about.
“That person is Master Linley. I hear he’s only twenty-seven years old.”
“Even apprentice-brother Kenyon was easily defeated by him.”
“I was there that day. It only took one blow. Compared to Linley, apprentice-brother Kenyon is very weak.”
“Apprentice-brother Kenyon is only the 25th personal disciple of our master. It is understandable that he is a bit weaker. Most likely, apprentice-brother Castro is roughly on par with Linley. If the first ten disciples of Master had been the ones to do battle, most likely they would have easily beat Linley.”
Many of the honorary disciples of the War God’s College murmured in quiet voices while casting glances at Linley. All of these honorary disciples were geniuses in their own right, and they were all proud and arrogant. But compared to Linley, they had a long way to go.
“Linley,” a bright voice rang out.
Castro ran out, his face wreathed in smiles. “You came after all. Come, let’s go to Bluethunder Peak.”
“Not here?” Linley was puzzled.
Clearly, this primary peak was the largest one with the most buildings. The other four peaks didn’t have much construction.
Castro laughed. “Linley, we have many honorary disciples here at the War God’s College, so we let them stay at the main peaks. Myself, Lanke, and Kenyon all stay here because we are in charge of them. The rest of our fellow apprentices are all on the other mountain peaks.”
Linley nodded slightly.
Castro immediately led Linley in the direction of a different mountain peak. Linley and Castro walked up the steep mountain walls as easily as if they were travelling on flat land, their steps as graceful as flying birds.
“Castro, you are in which generation of personal disciples of the War God?” Linley asked.
“Me? I’m the 22nd personal disciple.” Castro laughed.
“You’ve reached the peak-stage of the Saint level by now, right?” Linley asked. When he was at the courtyard, he had heard the honorary disciples say that Castro should be on par with him. This was why Linley asked this question.
Castro nodded. “Right. But I most likely am not a match for you. Your speed is quite astonishing, on par with Olivier.”
Linley was thinking nonstop.
Even the 22nd personal disciple had reached the peak-stage of the Saint level. Then what about the earlier disciples?
“Castro, the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, is reputed to be the number one Saint in the world. Has he ever competed against your senior apprentice-brother?” Linley asked.
“No way.”
Castro let out an involuntary chuckle. “Although Haydson already has a rather high grasp and understanding of the Laws of the Earth, the War God’s College has quite a few people more powerful than him. The reason why Haydson is famous is because my senior apprentice-brother and second apprentice-brother are all over five thousand years old, and have retreated from the secular world thousands of years ago. How could they go out and compete against a junior who is only a few centuries old for the sake of fame and glory?”
Linley suddenly understood.
“Even aside from our War God’s College, I know others more powerful than him as well. For example, that King of Killers, Cesar. A thousand years ago, Cesar sparred against my senior apprentice-brother, and they were both on par with each other. I imagine if Cesar wanted to act against Haydson, he would be able to easily gain victory,” Castro said with certainty.
Linley was startled.
Cesar?
“We’ve arrived at Bluethunder Peak. Come. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen my senior apprentice-brother as well. Master has always said that amongst all of us disciples, senior apprentice-brother is the most likely to reach the Deity level.” Castro’s face was filled with confidence.
21
The Eldest Disciple
The mountain wind howled drearily. Walking up the mountain, Linley and Castro travelled a hundred meters with every two or three steps.
“On Bluethunder Peak, eight of us apprentice-brothers are living there. Our senior apprentice-brother is also living at the very top of Bluethunder Peak,” Castro said with emotion.
But Linley was currently thinking about that battle the eldest disciple had with Cesar a thousand years ago.”
“Castro, do you know anything about that duel between your senior apprentice-brother and Cesar?” Linley asked.
Castro said enviously, “When that duel occurred, I hadn’t been accepted into the War God’s College yet. I have, however, heard other fellow apprentices discuss it. That Cesar was extremely powerful, and he was extremely fast as well. Senior apprentice-brother’s speed is the highest amongst all of us, but he was only able to match Cesar’s speed.”
“How fast were they?” Linley was also specialized in speed.
Castro laughed calmly. “I don’t know either. After all, I didn’t personally witness this duel. But I think… they should be much faster than you and Olivier.”
Linley could understand. After all, his human form was not yet at the Saint level. He still had a long way to grow. It was normal if he currently wasn’t a match for them.
At the top of Bluethunder Peak.
Baruch Rising_Book 3 of the Coiling Dragon Saga Page 16