Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  The blowing wind. The rippling lake.

  Right now, Linley wasn’t training. He was fishing in the valley lake. A person couldn’t always be training; if they did, it could actually be counter-productive.

  If he wanted to go fishing, he would. If he wanted to go to sleep, he would.

  His heart had become one with the world, one with nature.

  When he did train, this made his rate of improvement extremely high.

  “Big brother Ley.” From outside the valley, a happy voice could be heard. Linley turned and saw Jenne on a fine stallion. Behind her, there were two pretty female servants on horses. These two female servants were clearly quite talented, as their movements on their horses were those of practiced riders.

  “Jenne.” Linley put down his fishing pole and stood up.

  Neither Bebe nor Haeru were currently present. The two of them would often go deeper into the mountains to hunt for wild beasts to eat. The beasts in this mountain range Linley had chosen to stay in were all ordinary animals. Magical beasts were extremely rare.

  “Big brother Ley, these are some of the dishes that I prepared.” Jenne removed a package from the back of her horse. The package was well wrapped. “You definitely can’t have been eating too well here. Come, big brother Ley, have a good taste.”

  Jenne unwrapped the package, one layer at a time. Inside was a metal box, which was filled with all sorts of dishes as well as rice.

  Linley took a sniff.

  “Mmm. It really does smell good.” Linley laughed.

  Jenne’s face immediately turned red with excitement.

  But in his heart, Linley was sighing. How could Linley not tell how Jenne felt? In terms of both appearance as well as temperament, Jenne was all but perfect. But having experienced so much, it was hard for Linley to open the depths of his hearts and let anyone else in.

  “Love?”

  Linley sighed to himself.

  He didn’t have any interest in affairs of the heart. The most important thing for now was to focus on his training. Right at this moment, a scene couldn’t help but suddenly flash through Linley’s mind.

  After Linley’s father had died, all the nobles had come to pay their respects at Wushan township. That night, Delia had come to visit him. She had wanted to tell Linley that she was returning to the Yulan Empire. And that night, before she had left…Delia had kissed him.

  “Delia?”

  Aside from Alice, perhaps the only person Linley felt some romantic affection towards was this girl whom he had known since his very first year at the Ernst Institute, especially after the open displays of affection Delia had shown him. Although Linley had never admitted it openly, in his heart, Delia’s image had been engraved in his mind.

  “Big brother Ley, eat up!” Jenne said hopefully.

  Linley sighed to himself. “I can’t let Jenne waste her youth like this.” As he thought to himself, Linley began to eat heartily while praising, “This really is excellent. The taste is wonderful.”

  Hearing Linley’s praise, Jenne was all smiles.

  “Jenne, in the future, though, you don’t need to come visit me. When I am training, I don’t like to be disturbed.” Linley said to Jenne.

  Jenne was startled.

  “Oh.” Jenne mumbled, then she squeezed out a smile. “Then when you have some free time, big brother Ley, come visit us in the castle.”

  “Sure.” Linley could only respond affirmatively.

  ….

  The days of Linley training in the mountain valley passed by very quickly. In the blink of an eye, over a month had passed. With regards to how to properly use his adamantine heavy sword, Linley had gradually begun to find the proper path.

  So long as he persevered down this path, in a few years time, he definitely would be able to reach a new level that was beyond the ‘impose’ level!

  ….

  Within a secluded hotel in the prefectural city of Cerre.

  This hotel was very dimly lit, and the atmosphere tended towards the dark, giving the impression of dusk. Each table was arranged in a very orderly manner, and between each booth, there was a screen.

  This was a very quiet hotel with a great deal of atmosphere. The first time Linley had come here, he had taken a liking to it.

  The expenses here were fairly high as well.

  While he was training, generally speaking, every seven or eight days, Linley would come here and drink wine while listening to the elegant, beautiful music of the hotel. Every so often, he would hear some gossip from travelers.

  “It’s almost July. Wharton’s school year should be starting soon.” Linley thought to himself.

  Right now, there were quite a few customers in this hotel. All of the customers engaged in conversations were quite conscientiously lowering their voices as they spoke, but when Linley focused, he could clearly hear every word of every conversation they were having.

  Suddenly, a quiet conversation attracted Linley’s attention.

  “Have you heard? In the imperial capital, an incredible genius has emerged. A seventeen year old named ‘Wharton’.” On a table next to Linley, there were three middle-aged men. They were discussing the various geniuses of the empire.

  Wharton?

  Linley focused his attention on them.

  After having spent so much time in the O’Brien Empire, Linley had yet to learn anything regarding Wharton.

  “Are you talking about that genius who popped up out of nowhere in the O’Brien Academy?” The bald man’s eyes lit up. “I’ve heard of him too. The end-of-the-year competitions for students of the seventh grade always receive a great deal of attention. Even some students who have reached the eighth rank will participate on occasion.”

  As the number one warrior academy of the Yulan continent, the O’Brien Academy was divided into seven grades.

  Upon reaching the seventh rank, a warrior was admitted into the seventh grade.

  A warrior of the seventh rank was qualified to graduate, but many of them still elected to stay in the academy. Even some warriors of the eighth rank were in no hurry to graduate.

  “Old bald vulture, you’ve heard this news as well? That Wharton is really…wow.” A jade-haired middle-aged man sighed. “Only seventeen years old. In the past, he had never participated in any of the yearly competitions. This time, when he took part in the seventh grade competition, he actually defeated a warrior of the eighth rank to become the champion of the seventh grade class.”

  “What? A seventeen year old who defeated a warrior of the eighth rank? Are you serious? Is this real?” A pudgy man who had only been listening up till now suddenly spoke in shock.

  The bald man glanced at him. “Of course it’s real. I personally witnessed it. You have no idea. This Wharton was around two meters tall and extremely powerfully built. His physical presence alone exerts tremendous pressure on people. His weapon of choice is an extremely terrifying giant warblade. Wielding that warblade, that Wharton was actually able to defeat a warrior of the eighth rank to become the champion of the seventh grade class.”

  “From what I heard, for this Wharton to already be able to defeat a warrior of the eighth rank now means that he most likely will be able to reach the eighth rank himself by age twenty. In the past, the Prodigy Sword Saint, Olivier, reached the ninth rank when he was thirty. This Wharton’s natural ability isn’t too far off.” The jade-haired man praised as well, “For a seventeen year old to be able to defeat a warrior of the eighth rank is amazing. It has been a long time since the empire has produced a genius like this. He’s even been publicly acknowledged as the number one genius of the O’Brien Academy, and the Emperor has already conferred upon him the title of Count.”

  Book 8, The Ten Thousand Kilometer Journey – Chapter 23, The Cardinal

  The fat man said questioningly, “Hey, according to what you two are saying, someone like this Wharton should’ve become famous a long time ago. Why hadn’t anyone heard of him until now?”

  The
bald man nodded. “I was suspicious about this question as well, so I did some investigating. This Wharton, in all his time at the O’Brien Empire, had never participated in the yearly tournaments, nor did he ever duel against any experts. That’s why he didn’t have any fame at all.”

  “To have power but not reveal it.” The jade-haired man and the fat man both sighed in appreciation.

  “Forget about the past.” The bald man was very confident. “After this seventh grade tournament at the O’Brien Academy, this Wharton is going to be the center of attention.”

  Within that secluded little hotel, Linley continued to sip his wine. There was a hint of a smile on his face.

  “Little Wharton is two meters tall? That’s a bit taller than me.”

  When Wharton left Wushan township, he had only been six years old. At the time, he still had his baby teeth, and was very adorable. In the blink of an eye, eleven years had passed.

  “Little Wharton!”

  A warm feeling swelled in Linley’s heart. This was the affection and bond between siblings.

  “Little Wharton’s density of Dragonblood in his veins is even higher than mine. His natural talent as a warrior is higher than me as well. He defeated warriors of the eighth rank at age seventeen? Mm….I expect Wharton should have reached the seventh rank at least two or three years ago.”

  Linley’s guesses were absolutely correct.

  That year, the six year old Wharton had followed Housekeeper Hiri on the long, winding road to the O’Brien Empire. Given Wharton’s natural ability, it was easy for him to enter the O’Brien Academy.

  But Housekeeper Hiri understood that the Baruch clan still belonged to the Holy Union. Thus, all this time, he had made sure that Wharton would conceal his true strength and not reveal it. If Wharton shone too brightly, after graduation, the O’Brien Academy wouldn’t easily allow him to return to the Holy Union.

  Thus, per Housekeeper Hiri’s guidance, this entire time Wharton had been concealing his strength. Although he had revealed a little when he was a child, at that time he was too young and thus no one paid attention. Once he grew up and matured, he naturally understood the importance of concealing himself.

  Long years of hard training.

  At the O’Brien Academy, the top warrior academy of the most military powerful empire in the world, Wharton’s rate of improvement had been quite rapid.

  When Wharton turned fourteen, Hillman, per Linley’s instructions, had arrived at the O’Brien Academy.

  Actually, by the time Hillman had arrived at the O’Brien Academy, the ‘Apocalypse Day’ had already happened long ago. The imperial clan and major noble clans of the O’Brien Empire all had their own unique communications systems and had known about it long ago. As the elite military academy of the O’Brien Empire, the O’Brien Academy naturally knew about this news as well.

  When Hillman reached the empire, Wharton already knew that Apocalypse Day had occurred.

  Hillman informed Wharton of the death of Hogg, as well as Linley’s decision to seek revenge. Wharton was totally stunned. He had no idea what he should do.

  With Hillman and Hiri at his side, and with the warblade ‘Slaughterer’ in his hands per Linley’s bequeathing, Wharton made up his mind to assume the responsibilities of the clan. But in his heart, Wharton remained concerned for his big brother, Linley. Wharton didn’t know what the situation was with Linley.

  The distance from the Holy Union to the O’Brien Empire was simply too great. A one way journey would take at least a year.

  Fortunately, afterwards the Dawson Conglomerate had gotten in contact with Wharton and sent him a secret letter.

  That secret letter was written by Yale. It clearly described the enmity between Linley and Clayde, as well as the Radiant Church. It also informed Wharton that Linley was fine, but that he would embark on a long period of solo training.

  After hearing this news, Wharton felt a bit more at ease.

  Wharton felt all the more proud of his big brother, and that made him all the more determined to work hard, so that in the future, he would stand side-by-side with his brother. In the past, Wharton was already very hard working, but the three years after that, Wharton trained even harder. When he was fifteen years old, Wharton had reached the seventh rank as a warrior.

  When he turned seventeen, Wharton believed that he had reached a certain level of attainment in the use of the warblade ‘Slaughterer’. At that time, he made up his mind to participate in the yearly tournament. As a result of that participation, Wharton shocked the empire and became the most dazzling new star in the imperial capital. The Emperor himself had bestowed the title of Count upon him.

  ………

  Seated in the corner of the hotel, Linley was happier than he had been in a long time.

  “Boss, Wharton? That’s your little brother, right?” Bebe was curled up on a chair, staring at Linley with his beady little black eyes.

  Laughing, Linley nodded.

  “That little tyke can beat a warrior of the eighth rank?” Bebe sighed in surprise. “Boss, your little brother should be able to transform into a Dragonblood Warrior, right?”

  “Naturally.”

  Linley was very proud of his younger brother Wharton. “Bebe, I transformed into a Dragonblood Warrior through drinking the dragon’s blood of the Armored Razorback Wyrm and agitating the Dragonblood in my veins. My younger brother has a higher density of Dragonblood in his veins. He can directly become a Dragonblood Warrior. But his Dragonform isn’t the same as mine.”

  Linley clearly remembered how the Dragonform transformation was described in his clan’s records.

  Once the density of Dragonblood in one’s veins was high enough, after one trained according to the Secret Dragonblood Manual, one could transform into a Dragonblood Warrior. Normally, a Dragonblood Warrior’s body would be covered with azure draconic scales, have an azure draconic tail, and a single draconic horn sprouting from the forehead.

  Linley’s transformation, however, was a Dragonform covered with black scales and with black spikes piercing from his forehead, back spine, elbows, and knees, as well as a black tail.

  “A bottle of Green Jadeite for each person!” A voice which Linley was familiar with rang out in the hotel.

  “This is…”

  Linley seemed to have been struck by lightning. His entire body turned stiff, and then he immediately said mentally to Bebe, “Bebe, come to me. Don’t reveal yourself.” Linley placed Bebe onto a chair in the corner of his little booth.

  This hotel was very dimly lit.

  What’s more, every table was separated by a wooden screen. Linley’s body was almost entirely blocked by that wooden screen, and so that familiar person didn’t see Linley at all.

  Linley turned his head to peek out just slightly…

  That pudgy figure. Those eyes which turned into slits when beaming.

  “It’s him.”

  Linley immediately pulled his head back. “Cardinal Lampson. Why is he here in the O’Brien Empire? And those people by his side aren’t weak either. What’s more, one of them is one of the Ascetics who appeared at the highest level of the Radiant Temple that year.”

  Indeed, that Ascetic was one of the men who had worked with Heidens in setting up that magical formation. He was a powerful combatant.

  There were at least two combatants of the ninth rank here; Lampson and the Ascetic.

  “I don’t recognize the others, but judging from their auras, they aren’t much weaker than Lampson. Perhaps they are also experts of the ninth rank.”

  Linley’s heart began to tremble.

  “In a place such as the prefectural city of Cerre, why are so many experts of the Radiant Church present? Could it be…could it be that…” Linley’s heart clenched. “Could it be that my identity has been revealed?”

  Linley knew that an enormous organization such as the Holy Union definitely had intelligence networks in the various other kingdoms and empires. But could their intelligence
network really have deeply penetrated even a place such as the prefectural city of Cerre?

  “Boss, what’s going on?” Bebe was still confused. Having been ordered by Linley into a corner, he had no idea what was going on.

  Linley looked at Bebe, a hint of a smile on his lips. “Bebe, experts from the Radiant Church have arrived. There should be several combatants of the ninth rank.”

  “The Radiant Church?” A murderous look flashed in Bebe’s eyes.

  “If they plan to act against me, I’ll make sure none of them leave Cerre alive.” Linley’s heart was filled with a killing intent as well. Linley’s current level of power was far greater than what it had been in the past.

  When Dragonformed, his power was that of a warrior of the peak-stage ninth rank. And what’s more, with regards to the usage of his adamantine heavy sword, Linley had also reached the peak of the ‘impose’ level, and had just dimly begun to sense his way to an even higher level of attainment.

  Linley listened carefully.

  Those people from the Radiant Church hadn’t discovered Linley’s presence yet.

  “For this fellow’s sake, we’ve spent two years. Finally, in another ten days or half month or so, we’ll be able to go back.” Lampson’s voice was very soft.

  Lampson was very careful when he spoke as well, not giving any hint as to the identity of ‘this fellow’.

  “Two years.” Another black-robed man whose back was facing Linley shook his head. “For the sake of dealing with that old fellow, several of my good friends have died.”

  “As long as we capture him, it will all have been worth it.” Lampson said.

  …..

  Linley frowned as he listened to their conversation.

  “What do they mean?”

  He had indeed killed six Special Executors of the Ecclesiastical Tribunal, but he definitely wasn’t an ‘old fellow’.

  “Old fellow? And they are going back soon?” Linley was beginning to understand that these people were here, most likely for the purpose of dealing with that person.

  Linley began to grow curious. Who, exactly, was worth the Radiant Church expending this much effort on?