Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Slash!”

  Covered with that golden-white aura, Icedream actually pierced straight through Wharton’s palm and then, with astonishing speed, stabbed into Wharton’s scale-armored chest.

  And then, still covered in that bizarre golden-white light, Icedream once more split open Wharton’s scales.

  Although it took time to describe it, the actual event happened in the blink of an eye. Icedream pierced through both Wharton’s palm and into his chest, and Wharton had actually reacted very quickly as well.

  “F*ck off!” Wharton’s right leg kicked viciously against Blumer.

  Blumer, forewarned, had immediately begun to withdraw his sword. Piercing through the opponent was difficult, but pulling the sword out was much easier. Blumer dodged Wharton’s kick, but he wasn’t able to dodge the slap from Wharton’s draconic tail…

  Wharton had actually launched consecutive attacks with his tail and leg.

  “Whap!” That draconic tail came swinging towards him. Unable to dodge it, Blumer could only use his left arm to block, while at the same time, allowing the momentum of the force to carry him backwards.

  “Bam!”

  The battle-qi protecting Blumer’s left arm immediately split open, and the tip of the draconic tail actually slammed into Blumer’s chest, knocking Blumer spinning through the air.

  Wharton fell to the ground paralyzed, blood pouring from the wound in his chest.

  “Big lunk!”

  Nina called out in shock.

  Wharton’s injury was very severe. This sword blow from Blumer had pierced into his vitals and damaged his internal organs. Even coughing wracked Wharton’s body with immense pain.

  Blumer flipped up from his fallen position on the ground.

  His left arm was broken, but he was still battle-worthy. But right now, Wharton could no longer move. If he were to try to do so, his severe injury would only grow more severe, to the point where he might even lose his life.

  “Haha…”

  Blumer laughed coldly. By this point, it could be said that Blumer was the victor, but Blumer actually moved at high speed towards Wharton, the Icedream sword in his hands stabbing mercilessly towards Wharton.

  Just as Blumer moved, another human figure suddenly moved as well.

  “F*ck off!” An angry roar could be heard. The 80,000 viewers only saw a sudden hurricane wind appear out of nowhere, and then countless flashes of violet light simultaneously struck against Blumer.

  Blumer immediately hurriedly roused the battle-qi in his body to form a protective armor.

  He didn’t dare to take the blow head on. Borrowing the momentum force from those blows, he hurriedly retreated, letting himself be blasted backwards. But despite that, he still suffered several dozen sword wounds.

  Blood flowed everywhere.

  Fortunately, he retreated at high speed. If he had dared to resist the blow for even a second, Linley’s sword would have run him through. The only things he had suffered so far were superficial wounds.

  “Wharton, are you okay?” Linley couldn’t be bothered with Blumer as he immediately inspected Wharton’s injury.

  “I…am fine.” Wharton shook his head.

  Linley’s face changed. The chest was a vital area. A serious blow there could be life threatening. That Blumer could already be considered to have achieved victory, but he still had wanted to kill Wharton.

  “This gentleman with the violet sword, please depart. Others cannot interfere in the duel between these two.” A cold voice rang out. The speaker was one of the judges, Mr. Kenyon.

  Linley turned to stare at him.

  Couldn’t he tell that Wharton had already been defeated?

  “I represent my younger brother in admitting defeat.” Linley said coldly. If they lost a duel, then they lost it. To Linley, this wasn’t nearly as important as Wharton’s life.

  It was normal for an expert to lose a duel at times. As long as they could learn from their losses, they would be able to slowly improve.

  “Impossible.” Kenyon said calmly. “Per the rules of the competition, unless one of the duelists personally admits defeat, the duel must continue to its conclusion. Since Wharton has not yet admitted defeat, the duel has not finished.”

  Blumer rose to his feet as well.

  Although he looked as though he had been badly injured, Linley’s sword hadn’t injured him at his vital points. He still could do battle.

  “You are Wharton’s older brother? Nonetheless, I still ask that you depart. Wharton and I will continue our competition.” Blumer said directly.

  Wharton’s chest was deeply injured, and he could only speak in a tiny voice. If he used too much force to speak, his wound would worsen as well. Wharton opened his mouth, forcing himself to say loudly, “I…I…”

  Watching beads of sweat form on his little brother’s forehead as he struggled, Linley’s heart clenched in pain. “Wharton, don’t speak. Don’t speak.” Linley stopped his little brother from speaking.

  “Sir, please leave the dueling platform.” The judge, Kenyon, spoke again in a loud voice.

  “You shut your motherf*cking mouth!!!” Filled with rage, Linley roared at him loudly.

  The entire Colosseum grew silent. Even the judge, Kenyon, was stunned. He…he had just been cursed at?!

  He, a stately personal disciple of the War God, a Saint-level expert, had just been cursed!?

  In the Colosseum, in front of 80,000 viewers, he had been cursed!!!

  Kenyon immediately erupted with fury.

  “Whoosh!” Kenyon immediately flew out of the judge’s stand towards the dueling platform, staring at Linley coldly. “What type of thing are you, that you dare speak to your betters in such a way?”

  Kenyon was both a Saint-level expert and the personal disciple of the War God. Who would dare be disrespectful to him?

  Even the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, was very polite towards him. But today, in front of all these people, he had actually been cursed out by this person who came from gods-knew-where.

  “Barker, take Wharton away first.” Linley glanced coldly at Kenyon.

  Barker and his brothers immediately rushed towards the dueling platform.

  “Boom!” “Boom!” “Boom!” Barker and his brothers landed on the platform with those long-handled greataxes on their backs, and the weight of those 5000+ pound greataxes caused the earth to shudder.

  All the onlookers had gone completely silent.

  Barker and his brothers very carefully lifted Wharton up, taking him down from the platform. As they did, however, Barker and the others glared viciously at Kenyon.

  “Fck, who the fck does he think he is?” Gates even cursed at him in a low growl.

  Kenyon couldn’t help but stare angrily at Gates…but just at this moment, Linley’s body began to undergo an astonishing transformation. Black draconic scales sprouted forth from his body, and his forehead, back, elbows, and knees all became covered with sharp spikes. A black draconic tail began to wave about behind him.

  “Ah!” The on-looking audience members cried out in shock.

  “He is a Dragonblood Warrior as well?” Seeing this, Haydson was shocked as well. Linley’s Dragonform was much more ferocious-looking than Wharton’s, in particular that line of spikes running up his spine.

  Raising his head, Linley stared at Kenyon with those utterly remorseless dark golden eyes.

  Today, Linley’s heart was filled with boundless fury. An expert such as Kenyon should have easily been able to tell the sort of condition his little brother was in. His little brother had already lost, and so Emperor Johann and Haydson hadn’t spoken out or tried to stop Linley. But Kenyon had tried to stop him. Clearly, he was biased in favor of his fellow apprentice, Blumer.

  Kenyon began to grow wary.

  He discovered…

  The person in front of him was a threat.

  “Dragonblood Warrior?” Kenyon said in a solemn voice, floating in mid-air.

  Linley actually ro
se into the air as well, rising to the same height as Kenyon as he stared coldly at him. Seeing Linley float in the air, everyone in the Colosseum exploded with excitement.

  Good heavens! Yet another Saint-level combatant!

  Was this going to be a battle between two Saint-level combatants? This was simply too exciting!

  Two Saint-level experts stood in mid-air, staring at each other!

  “I already told you that my younger brother admitted defeat. But you…still wanted my younger brother to continue.” Linley’s voice was utterly cold, seeming to come from the underworld.

  “My fellow apprentice only wanted your younger brother to personally admit defeat. He didn’t actually want your younger brother to continue. Your younger brother could’ve admitted defeat, but he refused to. Whose fault is that?” Blumer equivocated.

  “Roll the f*ck away.”

  Linley let out an angry shout as he suddenly moved. How could Kenyon watch Linley act without stopping him? He immediately drew a gold-black dual-color staff and he smashed it towards Linley.

  “F*ck off!”

  Linley’s entire body seemed to have transformed into the sun, as countless violet sword-shadows blasted out in every direction. In the blink of an eye, ten million sword-shadows stabbed towards Kenyon.

  Profound Truths of the Wind – Rippling Wind!

  Kenyon was completely unable to block. In the blink of an eye, the layer of protective battle-qi over his body exploded with a ‘BAM!’. Facing certain death, Kenyon retreated backwards at high speed in terror, but despite that, he was still stabbed several times by Bloodviolet.

  Kenyon landed at the edge of the dueling platform, his long robes totally soaked with blood. He looked absolutely pathetic.

  Kenyon stared at Linley in shock and terror.

  They were on totally different levels. Linley definitely had the power of a peak-stage Saint-level expert!

  A majestic personal disciple of the War God, a Saint-level expert…had been reduced to such dire straits by a single attack.

  “Blumer!” When Linley turned to look at Blumer, he saw that Blumer, sensing that things were going terribly wrong, had immediately fled from the platform, heading towards the position of the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson.

  The only person standing above the platform was Linley, who looked like a vicious demon who had descended from another plane of existence. That devilish Bloodviolet flexible sword was still dripping with blood.

  The Colosseum. 80,000 viewers. Utter, deathly silence!

  Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 8, The Prodigy Sword Saint

  With a single stroke, Linley had defeated a Saint-level expert who was the personal disciple of the War God. In addition, Linley’s current transformation was into a terrifying form. This deeply shocked everyone present. None of the 80,000 viewers actually dared make a single sound.

  Deathly silence. Terrifying silence!

  Blumer stared terrified at Linley, still hovering in mid-air. At this moment, Linley’s cold, remorseless dark golden eyes were fixed upon him. Blumer felt as though he could die at any moment. This utmost sensation of terror caused him to run even closer towards the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson.

  Silence. No one dared to speak.

  “Drip!” A single drop of bright red blood dripped down from the tip of Bloodviolet, landing on the dueling platform and splattering on it. In the silence, that clear sound rang out loudly.

  This was the blood of Kenyon.

  Kenyon was standing at the edge of the dueling platform, in miserable shape. Controlling his muscles and battle-qi, he sealed his wound and stopped the flow of blood. But he didn’t dare fight against Linley again.

  He was a Saint-level, true. But he was ‘only’ a mid-stage Saint-level. In terms of their comparative levels of enlightenment, he was far lower than Linley.

  “Master Linley.” Johann finally spoke. His voice echoed in the Colosseum, seeming to come out of nowhere, causing more than half the people to turn to him. His face still covered in smiles, Emperor Johann said, “Although I knew you were a powerful warrior, I had no idea that your talent in this field was not one whit inferior to your talent in stone sculpting.”

  Emperor Johann’s words visibly eased the tension.

  Just then, Linley’s vicious demeanor had caused those 80,000 onlookers to not even dare breathe loudly. But as soon as Emperor Johann finished speaking, the entire Colosseum became filled with the sound of countless conversations.

  “Master Linley? Ah! Could it be that he is that youngest-ever grandmaster sculptor?”

  “Master Linley belongs to the Holy Union. I heard that Count Wharton had originally come from the Holy Union as well. Dragonblood Warriors truly are formidable!”

  “Master Linley is so young! When he was sixteen, he created ‘Awakening From the Dream’, and only eleven years have passed since then. A twenty seven year old Saint-level combatant. Doesn’t that make him even more incredible than Lord Olivier?”

  …..

  Countless conversations regarding Linley could be heard. Linley had appeared out of nowhere. His status as a master sculptor was well known to many aficionados of stone sculptures.

  This was an individual who was almost on the same level as Master Proulx.

  And now, this young master sculptor, only twenty seven years old, had defeated in a single blow a Saint-level expert who was a personal disciple of the War God!

  Unavoidably, many people began to compare him and Olivier.

  Compared to Olivier, Linley was even younger.

  “My young friend Linley, that technique you used just now should have been derived from your insight into the Laws of the Wind, yes?” The Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, spoke, his voice ringing from the judge’s platform.

  As soon as Haydson spoke, everyone else in the Colosseum fell silent. What did the Monolithic Sword Saint wish to discuss with this genius, Linley?

  “It was indeed, Mr. Haydson.” A calm reply from Linley.

  “Might I ask what the name of this technique is?” The Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, was a man devoted to his training and focused on reaching the Deity-level. Haydson was very much interested in the mysteries gleaned by other Saint-level experts. Perhaps by doing so, he might suddenly gain some new insights and have a breakthrough.

  “The name of this technique is Rippling Wind.” Linley didn’t try to hide it.

  In order to learn a powerful technique, one must possess a certain level of understanding and insight with regards to the Laws of a certain element. Without that level of understanding, no matter how clearly you explained a technique to someone, they wouldn’t be able to learn it.

  Still standing in mid-air, Linley glanced at the distant Kenyon. Calmly, he said, “Your name is Kenyon, correct?”

  At first, Kenyon had thought Linley was someone who wasn’t even at the Saint-level. Naturally, he was furious when Linley rebuked and cursed at him. But now, he knew that Linley was more powerful than he was.

  Although he was still rather angry, in his heart, Kenyon already viewed Linley as someone on the same level as himself, or perhaps at an even higher level.

  “I am.” Kenyon nodded slightly.

  “Mr. Kenyon, given your level of power, you should have been able to clearly discern the seriousness of my younger brother’s injury. Given that you knew exactly how wounded he was, you shouldn’t have said the words you said. Remember. As a judge, you have to be at least somewhat impartial. We had admitted defeat, after all. You can’t go too far!”

  As soon as Linley finished speaking these words coldly, he flew down towards his own squad. Linley was still concerned about his younger brother’s injury.

  Having been rebuked by Linley yet again, Kenyon felt rather embarrassed.

  But he knew that he had acted wrongly here. Just then, the other side had admitted defeat. He did indeed go a bit too far by acting in such a manner.

  …..

  “Wharton, are you okay?”
Linley said worriedly as he returned to his human form, rushing to his little brother’s side and crouching on one knee.

  Right now, quite a few people were surrounding him. Even Nina had ignored everything and rushed over.

  “Lord Linley.” A light-style magus next to them smiled. “Don’t worry. I just utilized recovery magic on him. Lord Wharton’s wounds are already half-healed. Given Lord Wharton’s natural healing abilities, in ten days or half a month, he should be totally fine.”

  “Big bro, I feel much better.” Wharton was able to speak fairly easily now.

  Linley finally calmed down.

  At the same time, he felt rather satisfied with the preparations the Colosseum had made. Linley knew exactly how effective light-style magi were in treating wounds. Generally speaking, low-ranking magi would only be able to treat superficial wounds. Only powerful light-style magi would be able to heal broken bones or internal injuries.

  And of course, the most powerful light-style magi could even totally restore to peak condition anyone who had not yet died. For example, when Linley had received the Divine Boon at the Radiant Temple, that divine power had carried just a bit of healing power with it, but that little bit had been enough to totally restore Linley’s body to peak condition, healing all of his broken bones.

  This sort of regenerative ability was very formidable.

  “Everyone!”

  At this moment, the tournament organizer, that silver-haired old man, reappeared on the dueling platform. His face covered in smiles, he said, “I imagine everyone has had an incredible time watching this battle today. Haha. Even our dueling platform has been destroyed as a result of this battle.”

  The 80,000 viewers stared at the shattered, crater-marked dueling platform, and they all began to laugh as well.

  This duel today had absolutely been worth watching.

  Not only had they seen a competition between two ultimate geniuses, they even had had a chance to see the terrifying power of Wharton’s older brother, Linley. He had, in one blow, defeated Kenyon.

  Although the exchange between Linley and Kenyon was very brief, the ‘value’ of watching that exchange was much higher than that of the battle between Wharton and Blumer. After all, this was a battle between Saint-levels. Many people would live their entire lives without having a chance to witness such a battle.