Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Wharton.” Emperor Johann didn’t think about it any longer. Smiling, he said, “A while later, you and Nina will get engaged. You need to take good care of Nina. This child has the temper of a spoiled princess. We hope you can be accommodating towards her.”

  Wharton straightened his chest, hurriedly saying, “Your Imperial Majesty, don’t worry.”

  But Linley was staring at Emperor Johann.

  “A few days ago, Caylan said that Emperor Johann was going to choose Blumer, but now…” Linley was puzzled about this.

  Linley asked directly, “Your Imperial Majesty, I wish to ask, why is it that you chose my younger brother Wharton?”

  Emperor Johann was a bit startled.

  “Haha…” Emperor Johann laughed loudly. “Linley, didn’t We already discuss this at the palace? We were considering things from Nina’s standpoint. Nina likes Wharton, after all. We are deeply gratified that We are able to bring Nina happiness.”

  Linley snickered secretly.

  If Emperor Johann really were considering things from Nina’s standpoint, then when Wharton had asked for her hand in marriage, he wouldn’t have delayed and caused a large chain of events to occur before accepting.

  Emperor Johann saw the look on Linley’s face. “What? You don’t believe it, Linley?”

  “I don’t fully believe it, actually.” Linley said bluntly.

  Emperor Johann started. Generally speaking, who would dare speak to him in such a way? But the one who said these words was Linley, a peak-stage Saint-level expert. Emperor Johann let out two awkward chuckles. “Actually, We admit that We had originally been considering Blumer.”

  That was more like it.

  Although that had been Linley’s first time meeting with Caylan, he had the feeling that Caylan was a trustworthy person.

  “Linley, you should know that in reality, it is Saint-level experts which determine the rise and fall of an Empire.” Emperor Johann sighed. “Saint-level experts can easily kill the enemy’s leaders despite being surrounded by a million soldiers. Saint-level magi can utilize destructive forbidden-spells and destroy a million man army entirely. It can be said that in the eyes of ordinary people, Saint-levels are absolutely invincible experts.”

  Linley nodded. When he was young, Saint-levels were indeed the ultimate combatants in existence.

  “Although We are the Emperor, We do not dare issue orders to Saint-levels. If We were to offend them, they might leave the Empire. We trust there are many places which would welcome a Saint-level expert’s arrival.” Emperor Johann laughed bitterly.

  Linley understood this.

  If a Saint-level expert were to flee, given their flying ability, that would be very simple.

  “Both Blumer and Wharton are likely to reach the Saint-level in the future. But the critical issue is…Blumer belongs to the War God’s College. All of the experts of the Empire are clustered around the War God’s College. We do not wish to anger the War God’s College. After all, there is an entire group of Saint-level experts there, not just one or two!”

  An entire group of Saint-level experts. Just hearing the words was enough to make people shiver.

  “With multiple fellow apprentices of Blumer coming to speak on his behalf, We didn’t have a choice.” Emperor Johann shook his head and sighed.

  “Then why did you choose my younger brother Wharton in the end?” Linley asked.

  He had been wondering about this the entire time. What was the reason?

  Emperor Johann turned a puzzled gaze towards Linley and Wharton. “Linley. Does your Baruch clan have some sort of historical relationship with the War God?”

  “The War God?”

  Linley immediately understood. Shocked, he said, “Your Imperial Majesty, are you saying that it was the War God who caused you to select Wharton?”

  “Of course.” Emperor Johann said, “Linley, think about it. In the Empire, whose word carries even more weight than the members of the War God’s College? Only the War God, the highest power of the land.”

  “Our venerable ancestor, the War God, directly spoke to Us mentally and ordered Us to choose Wharton.” A hint of excitement was in Emperor Johann’s eyes. “This was the first time We have ever heard the voice of our venerable ancestor, the War God.”

  The War God!

  It had actually been the War God!

  The War God was an incredible figure. Five thousand years ago, he had battled the High Priest over the Yulan river to a standstill, proving that he was definitely a Deity-level combatant.

  After five thousand years, although no one had ever seen the War God fight again, everyone understood that given the War God’s natural talent, he was undoubtedly even more terrifyingly powerful now.

  The War God had trained incredibly fast, going from ordinary person to Deity-level in just a few centuries.

  His sudden rise to prominence five thousand years ago had caused his fame and glory to completely eclipse even the Four Supreme Warriors, becoming the most brilliant shining star of that era.

  “The War God helped my little brother?” Linley couldn’t understand it.

  “Could it be that he knows my side has six Saint-level experts?” Linley began to wonder. Given the War God’s power, he definitely could sense the strength of Linley’s forces.

  Linley shook his head.

  Impossible. To a Deity, Saint-level experts were nothing. Most likely, the War God could kill all six of them with one blow.

  “Then what’s the reason? Could it really be because he had some relationship with the ancestors of the Baruch clan?” Linley truly didn’t understand what the reason was behind the War God’s actions.

  …..

  West of the imperial capital. War God Mountain. Aside from the primary peak, there were four other peaks. Connecting two of the peaks was a natural cave tunnel.

  Lanke and Castro were walking side by side in the tunnel.

  After travelling several hundred meters through the winding tunnel, the tunnel suddenly turned downwards sharply. If one stared downwards into that bizarre, deep dark hole, not a single thing could be seen. Nobody could tell how deep that tunnel was.

  “Whoosh.”

  Lanke and Castro jumped directly into the deep hole. They fell down at a fairly slow speed. After falling for several thousand meters, the two landed as gently as leaves on the ground. From the entrance of the tunnel to this hole was merely a thousand meters, but this hole took them several thousand meters underground.

  “Master usually spends his time in closed-door training, and whenever he does so, he’ll usually spend several years, several decades, or even longer training. When he is engaged in training, he’ll virtually never speak to us mentally. But this time, at the Martial Palace, he actually reached out to us mentally and told us to tell Johann to choose Wharton, then told us to come back here.” Lanke was mystified.

  This was very contrary to the War God’s habits.

  There were very few matters in the world which an ascetic such as War God would issue orders about.

  “Junior apprentice-brother, don’t think about it too much. Master surely has his reasons for acting like this. All we need to do is listen and obey.” Castro said.

  “Yes, senior apprentice-brother.” Lanke nodded.

  To the disciples of the War God’s College, the commands of the War God were not to be flouted. They would do whatever the War God ordered them to do. There was no need to think about it.

  “Rumble…” A blistering heat could be sensed in the depths of the tunnel. As they walked in, the stones were slowly turning red as well.

  The temperature here was very high!

  After going several hundred more meters, Lanke and Castro came to a halt in front of a pitch-black stone door. The stone walls surrounding this door were already scarlet red, and the temperature was so high that even Lanke and Castro had to use their battle-qi on their feet to protect themselves.

  If a piece of paper was tossed out, it would most lik
ely instantly be set alight.

  “You’ve come.” A calm voice drifted out from behind the door.

  The War God’s voice was very soft, but it carried a penetrative power. The voice was like a needle, piercing directly into one’s soul. Castro and Lanke, his two disciples, even suspected…that the War God could possibly dissipate their soul with his voice alone.

  This was one of the reasons why Castro and the other personal disciples of the War God feared their Master so much. The War God was simply too powerful.

  “Yes, Master.” Castro and Lanke said respectfully. Castro continued, “Master, what instructions have you for us?”

  The War God’s voice rang out yet again. “April 12th will be the day of the engagement ceremony for that kid Wharton. Go speak to your eldest apprentice-brother and acquire an interspatial ring. On the day of that kid Wharton’s engagement ceremony, give it to him as his engagement present.”

  Castro and Lanke were utterly stunned.

  The War God was giving an engagement present?

  This had never happened before. Even when they, his personal disciples, had gotten married, the War God paid no heed. After all, was the War God someone who had to send congratulatory gifts to others? Even if he wanted to do so, who would be worthy of accepting his gifts?

  But the War God was now ordering them to deliver a congratulatory gift for Wharton’s engagement ceremony?

  “You can leave now.” The War God’s calm voice once more sounded out in the tunnel.

  Castro and Lanke stared at the pitch-black stone door, then glanced at each other. Although they didn’t understand it at all, they didn’t dare disobey the orders of the War God.

  “Yes, Master.” Lanke and Castro replied, their voices filled with incomparable respect.

  Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 17, Stepping Onto the Stage

  Yulan calendar, year 10009, April 12th. This was the day on which Wharton and Nina would be engaged at the imperial capital. One of the two lovers was the younger brother of a peak-stage Saint-level expert, while the other was the daughter of the Emperor. An engagement ceremony such as this would definitely be very well attended.

  The nobles of the imperial capital who received invitation letters all felt extremely proud. Many common nobles weren’t qualified to be invited to this event; after all, if everyone was invited, the Count’s manor wouldn’t be able to hold all those people.

  The Count’s manor was very festive today, and the outside of the manor was flooded with arriving carriages, which blocked off a large half of the Boulder Street. The guards and servants of the nobles weren’t qualified to enter the manor, and all had to wait outside. In total, there were thousands of guards and servants waiting outside.

  An ocean of people!

  Each carriage was gaudier and more lavish than the next, and each young noble lady was dressed more beautifully and was more mesmerizing than the last. The engagement ceremony banquet at the manor was definitely one of the imperial events of the highest caliber, and the people who came were all people of great status.

  “Big bro, I still feel really uncomfortable wearing this.” Wharton had wasted quite a bit of his time in his room. He felt more nervous than he ever had before.

  Linley laughed. “Enough, Wharton. You already look very handsome. Have some confidence!”

  Wharton took a deep breath.

  “Let’s go. Time to welcome the guests in the hall.” Linley laughingly lectured. “You can’t just keep on having Grandpa Hiri welcome the guests. For example, when his Imperial Majesty comes, how can you possibly not be out there to welcome him?”

  Wharton and Linley entered the main hall, and as soon as they did, they breathed sharply. Good heavens. There were so many people there. What’s more, that was just a small portion of the nobles who would be present. Many senior personages hadn’t arrived yet.

  “The imperial capital really is the imperial capital. There are far more nobles here than in Fenlai City.” Linley sighed.

  In the past, Linley had participated in Alice and Kalan’s engagement ceremony. The number of people present that day clearly were far fewer than the number attending the ceremony today, and were clearly a much lower caliber of people as well.

  The noble clans of a kingdom naturally were far fewer in number than the noble clans of an empire.

  As soon as Linley and Wharton entered the main hall, they immediately became the center of attention. Wharton’s massive frame was simply too eye-catching, and many people went over there to greet him warmly.

  “Wharton, come over here.” Housekeeper Hiri immediately called out to him.

  Wharton immediately hastened over to the main door of the hall and began to greet each of the arriving guests. As for Linley, he filled a cup with wine, then casually walked to the center of the hall, occasionally clinking cups with the guests.

  These nobles were very conscientious and didn’t try to get too close to Linley or bother him too much, only gently tipping their cups towards him from afar.

  However…

  Some of the young noble ladies had their eyes set on Linley. They knew that Linley was unmarried. A twenty-something year old peak-stage Saint-level expert…where would anyone find another man like this?

  “What a headache.” Linley saw three separate young noble ladies begin to drift in his direction. Linley could only pretend not to have seen them.

  When these three young noble ladies were a meter away from Linley…

  “Whoosh.” A soft yet firm gust of wind suddenly pressed against their bodies. No matter what they tried, those three young noble ladies couldn’t move any closer towards Linley.

  And then, Linley raised his cup, smiling faintly, before heading to a corner of the main hall and sitting down.

  “Just then, Master Linley…” A golden-haired and golden-eyed beautiful young noble lady got excited. “What sort of amazing technique was that?”

  The other two young noble ladies didn’t know either.

  Not knowing wasn’t an issue. This didn’t impact Linley’s status in their heart. In fact, to the contrary; this made Linley seem all the more powerful and mysterious to them. Actually, what Linley had just used was just the simplest manipulations of the wind.

  “Did you see Master Linley’s Dragonform transformation that day at the Colosseum? He seemed so wild and untamed. I was so excited.”

  “He really is exciting. I like this type. Those men at school are all soft as cotton. None of them are extremely manly like him.”

  Linley’s hearing was simply too good. Hearing what the young noble ladies were saying to each other, Linley felt a wave of resignation in his heart. They called his Dragonform transformation ‘wild and untamed’? And ‘extremely manly’?”

  “His Imperial Majesty has arrived!”

  The voice of the guest announcer at the main gates immediately increased in volume. He had clearly shouted using battle-qi, allowing all the guests in the hall to hear clearly.

  The entire hall full of nobles fell silent as they all looked towards the gates. There were many nobles outside the hall as well. There were too many guests here today, and the hall simply couldn’t fit them all inside.

  “Johann has arrived?” Linley stood up and left the hall.

  “Milord.” The uniformed Gates called out towards Linley.

  Today, all five of the Barker brothers were dressed in handsome matching uniforms. As they wandered around the manor, their massive size and frame made the hearts of the nobles quail. The nobles all secretly sighed…the Dragonblood Warrior clan lives up to its name. Even their guards were so incredible.

  Emperor Johann was a sight to behold, as always. Holding the Empress’s hand, he was followed by a few bodyguards.

  “Wharton.” Emperor Johann immediately picked out Wharton from the crowd. Seeing how handsome and strong Wharton looked, Johann nodded with satisfaction. “Not bad, not bad.”

  Linley arrived.

  “Your Imperial Majesty
, come rest inside.” Linley laughed.

  “Alright. We have much to discuss with you, Master Linley.” Emperor Johann said warmly. Immediately, the two of them entered the guest hall. As for the other nobles and ministers, they very conscientiously stepped aside for them.

  So many of the nobles of the imperial capital had arrived today, but Linley hadn’t gone to welcome any of them. The nobles all felt that this was normal. A Saint-level expert, go welcome them? Was that possible?

  “The Chairman of the Dawson Conglomerate has arrived!”

  That high-pitched voice rang out again. The Chairman of the Dawson Conglomerate, one of the three major trading unions of the Yulan Continent. Although the Dawson Conglomerate didn’t actually possess any Saint-level experts, it still possessed astonishing economic power.

  Even Emperor Johann stood up and said to Linley, “Monroe Dawson is one of Our good friends.”

  Linley rose as well.

  Yale was sure to have come alongside Monroe Dawson. Of course Linley would go welcome them.

  “Haha…” The big-bellied Monroe Dawson made his way over, with Yale by his father’s side. Seeing Emperor Johann, Monroe Dawson immediately bowed slightly. “Monroe pays his respects to the mighty Emperor Johann.”

  Emperor Johann smiled warmly. “Monroe, today, Linley is the master of this location. There’s no need for you to stand on too much courtesy with Us.”

  “Master Linley and I have been friends for a long time. Only, I didn’t expect that in a few scant years, Master Linley had reached such a level of accomplishment. Haha…” Monroe Dawson laughed so hard his eyes turned into merry slits.

  “Uncle Dawson, just call me Linley.” Linley smiled as he spoke. He and Yale were the best of bros. Naturally, he had to be respectful to Yale’s father.

  “Wharton, come and greet Uncle Dawson.”

  Wharton came over as well.

  “What a handsome, strapping young lad.” Monroe Dawson’s eyes lit up when he saw Wharton. Clearly, Wharton’s size and stature had surprised him.

  One noble after another arrived, and even Blumer arrived. Blumer acted in an extremely gentlemanly manner today, and even spent some time congratulating Wharton.