Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “The War God?” Linley truly didn’t understand it.

  This was the second time the War God had assisted him. The first time, he had ordered Emperor Johann to choose Wharton, while this time, he had Fain tell him these secrets.

  Fain suddenly said, “Linley, I hear you are quite powerful. Let’s spar together. What do you say?”

  Linley’s eyes lit up. He immediately nodded.

  To train with someone on the level of Fain would definitely be beneficial. With a flip of his hand, Linley retrieved his Bloodviolet flexible sword. Leaping backwards, he retreated at high speed, while at the same time, those black scales covered his body, and those sharp, ferocious spikes appeared as well.

  Staring at Linley’s cold, remorseless dark golden eyes, Fain sighed in praise. “This Variant Dragonform of yours seems to be quite special. Come. Are you ready?”

  Linley was already chanting the words to the Windshadow spell.

  “Ready.” Linley nodded.

  Looking at Linley, Fain recalled his master’s instructions. He couldn’t help but let out a resigned sigh. The reason he actively asked Linley to spar was also at the behest of the War God.

  According to the War God, it was time to let Linley have an idea as to how powerful the true experts of the continent were.

  “Linley, I am extremely fast. Be careful.” Fain said with a smile. In fact, Linley had chosen to use Bloodviolet precisely because he had heard that Fain was fast.

  Bloodviolet could reach an astonishing level of speed when used correctly.

  “Let’s begin.” Fain’s eyes lit up.

  “Swish!” An azure light suddenly flowed out from Fain’s body, so powerful that it crackled and popped.

  Fain suddenly moved.

  Linley only felt an azure bolt of lightning suddenly streak towards him, at least twice as fast as Olivier’s top speed. This terrifying speed rendered Linley completely unable to dodge.

  “How frightening!”

  Linley leapt backwards while hurriedly transforming Bloodviolet into a tornado of movement, creating countless flashes of violet light which attacked that azure bolt of lightning.

  Profound Truths of the Wind – Rippling Wind!

  Linley didn’t dare to use any other techniques. If he were to use the ‘Tempos of the Wind’ instead, he probably wouldn’t even be able to touch his opponent. Only by using this extremely fast technique could he just barely defend himself.

  “Bam!” A terrifying force struck onto the tip of Bloodviolet.

  And then, Linley could clearly sense that azure bolt of lightning seem to be transmitted through Bloodviolet towards him, striking onto his black scales.

  “Bang!”

  It was as though a heavy warhammer had struck Linley’s soul. Linley flew upwards, then immediately collapsed onto the floor, his entire body trembling as that azure lightning continued to ripple across Linley’s body.

  His entire body felt paralyzed. Linley could sense that his muscles had lost all power, and he was barely able to remain conscious.

  After a long period of time, Linley finally regained full consciousness, and his four limbs and his muscles slowly gained strength as well. Only now did Linley stand up, staring at Fain with disbelief.

  When he had dueled with Olivier, Linley had believed himself to be a peak-stage Saint, which meant that there should be very few people in the continent capable of defeating him.

  But now, after sparring with Fain, he realized that the difference between himself and Fain was extremely vast.

  Fain was twice as fast as him. Although that didn’t sound like much, when engaging in a battle of speed, even a tiny advantage in speed meant the faster party held an advantage. Twice as fast…this was an unbridgeable gap.

  There was no way for him to counterattack.

  What’s more, that lightning-attack had stunned his very soul. Fain had actually held back from using his full power as he had not wished to injure Linley.

  “What, you can’t believe it?” Fain sat back down on his wooden chair, laughing.

  Linley’s mind was in a state of chaos. “Although I knew that you are strong, Mr. Fain, I didn’t expect…I couldn’t resist at all. Mr. Fain, have you reached the Deity-level?”

  “No. I’m still just a peak-stage Saint.” Fain shook his head.

  “I’m also a peak-stage Saint. But…” Linley couldn’t understand.

  Laughing, Fain looked at Linley, then sighed with emotion. “Linley, don’t be fooled by the four words, ‘peak-stage Saint-level’. In the eyes of experts such as us, the so-called ‘peak-stage’ doesn’t matter. The only thing that matters is how much and how well you understand the Laws.”

  “If you understand just the tiniest bit of the Laws, then you are a ‘peak-stage’ Saint in the eyes of ordinary people.” Fain said disdainfully.

  Linley was startled.

  Right. That was indeed the case. When Linley’s proficiency with the sword had reached the ‘impose’ level, that was merely borrowing the ‘imposing force’ of the heavens and the earth. It didn’t have anything to do with the Laws.

  But the techniques he had developed based on the Profound Truths of the Earth and the two techniques he had developed based on the Profound Truths of the Wind, the Rippling Wind and Tempos of the Wind techniques, were indeed based on what he himself knew was but a tiny bit of understanding of the Laws.

  “According to what Master says, the Elemental Laws are as vast and boundless as the seas. If you’ve understood a single drop of water in those seas, you are a peak-stage Saint. If you’ve understood a hundred drops of water, you are still a peak-stage Saint. But there is a huge difference between the two!”

  A hint of loneliness could be seen on Fain’s face. “The Elemental Laws truly are vast and boundless. Supposedly, only after mastering 1% of a Law can one reach the Demigod stage.”

  “As for you and Olivier, you haven’t even mastered 0.01%.” Fain laughed as he glanced at Linley. “Tell me. Although both of you have gained some insights, can your insights compare with the likes of those of us who have been training for thousands of years?”

  Linley understood.

  No matter how much of a genius he was, he had spent less than ten years meditating on the Elemental Laws.

  And Fain? He had been doing the same for thousands of years. Even if Fain wasn’t as talented as him, how could his understanding of the Laws be lower than Linley’s?

  “Linley, most of the famous Saints in the world, such as that ‘Monolithic Sword Saint’ Haydson, all became famous in the past millennium. Those true experts who have been training for thousands of years are all far past the point of caring about worldly fame. All of them are meditating and training in private.”

  Linley was stunned.

  The Monolithic Sword Saint had the reputation of being the most powerful Saint, after all.

  “Those lists and rankings that you might have heard about are nothing more than the experts which most people of the continent know about. Do you know how powerful the experts you are unaware of are? All of the lucky survivors of those battles from five thousand years ago have been in training in secret since then. I refuse to believe that they would be willing to leave the plane of the Yulan continent.” A hint of a smile was on Fain’s face.

  Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 22, The War God’s Summons

  After saying these words, Fain turned and walked to the edge of the peak, allowing the wind to buffet his long robes. As for Linley, he continued to sit there, digesting what he had just learned.

  From the Planar Overseer, Hodan, Linley had learned that upon reaching the Saint-level, one could leave the plane of the Yulan continent.

  From Fain, Linley had learned that the Yulan continent’s plane contained a major secret. The descent of those experts from other planes five thousand years ago was also related to this mystery.

  Actually, it was already quite incredible that Linley had reached his current level at the tender a
ge of twenty seven. After all, those extremely powerful experts who were training in secret here in the Yulan continent had all been training for countless years.

  “Whew.” Linley let out a long breath.

  “Why worry about so much? As long as my little brother and I are happy, and as long as I can exterminate the Radiant Church to avenge my parents, I should feel satisfied.”

  Linley’s current goals required that he reach a certain level of power.

  As for Linley himself, he truly enjoyed the path of training.

  The path of training was filled with obstacles, treacherous cliffs, and dangers. Many powerful people had lost their lives on this path. How few would actually reach the pinnacle?

  In the entire Yulan continent, there were only five Deities.

  Ever since embarking on this path, Linley’s goal was to stand at the very pinnacle of the Yulan continent. When he had embarked on this path as a youth, Linley had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of death and failure.

  “When I was six, because I was unable to train in Dragonblood battle-qi, my dream was to become a warrior of the seventh or eighth ranks. Afterwards, I not only became a Dragonblood Warrior, I also became the genius magus of the Holy Union.”

  “When I was young, I dreamed of eventually reaching the Saint-level. And now, I have become a peak-stage Saint.”

  A hint of a smile was on Linley’s lips.

  He had confidence.

  “Fain? In the not too-distant future, I will defeat him as well.” Linley felt full of excitement. The more experts he surpassed and the greater the heights he achieved, the more satisfied he felt.

  What truly moved a person wasn’t the results he gained, but the overcoming of setbacks and breakthroughs which one made on the path to success.

  Fain turned his head, looking at Linley.

  “Rest here for now. At nightfall, I will take you to see Master.” Fain smiled.

  “The War God?” Linley frowned.

  The War God wanted to personally meet with him?

  “Naturally, Master has something he wishes to discuss with you. Just train here quietly for now. If there is anything you need, you can ask me.” Fain didn’t want to waste any more time on Linley. He walked to a stone that had already been polished smooth by him sitting on it countless times. Seating himself in the meditative stance, he closed his eyes.

  Linley stared at the meditating Fain.

  “What exactly does the War God want?” Linley didn’t think about it for too long, as he also sat down and began to quietly meditate.

  …..

  Time passed. In the blink of an eye, the sun had set.

  Fain had been quietly meditating on the boulder. Suddenly, his body began to turn blurry, then disappeared from atop the boulder and reappeared next to it.

  Seeing that Linley had been quietly meditating this entire time, Fain couldn’t help but secretly nod.

  True experts had to learn how to endure solitude.

  For example, Olivier had quietly meditated by himself atop that desolate mountain for three full years. Linley, in turn, had spent three painstaking years training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. If one couldn’t endure solitude, one’s level of talent wouldn’t make a difference.

  “Linley, it is about time. Come with me to meet Master.” Fain smiled.

  Linley opened his eyes as well, and immediately followed Fain.

  Fain walked to the side of the peak, and then began to fly downwards. Although Linley wasn’t able to fly in human form, Linley leapt off the peak as well, allowing himself to gracefully drift downwards.

  Based on his mastery of the wind, Linley could slow down the rate of his descent.

  Soon, Fain landed at the half-way point down the mountain, and Linley landed as well.

  “Come in with me.” Fain headed straight for a natural tunnel. Linley felt rather puzzled. The War God actually lived in a tunnel?

  The tunnel curved left and right. After a long time, it ended in that deep, bottomless pit. Looking down into it, nothing but darkness could be seen.

  “Let’s go down.” Fain jumped down directly, and Linley followed him.

  “Whoosh.” “Whoosh.”

  The two fell down at high speed. Linley was secretly shocked. “We’ve definitely fallen for at least two thousand meters. We’re below the ground level by now.”

  After falling for a long period of time, Fain and Linley gracefully floated to the ground.

  And then, Linley followed Fain as they continued to move through the tunnel, but as they did, the tunnel’s temperature grew higher and higher.

  “What a high temperature.”

  Even Linley didn’t dare to resist this terrifying heat with his body alone. He had to use his battle-qi to protect the soles of his feet, and even his skin and head was covered by a layer of azurish-black battle-qi.

  Without the protection of his battle-qi, most likely Linley would have caught on fire.

  The surrounding stone walls were all red with heat. After walking for a while, Linley saw a pitch-black stone door in front of him. Despite the extremely high temperature, the stone door hadn’t turned even the slightest bit red. Clearly, it was made from no ordinary material.

  “Whoooooosh.”

  Gusts of hot air came from the other side of the door, carrying with it a faint, majestic presence. Faced with this majestic presence, Linley actually felt the sudden urge to bow down towards it.

  “Master, I’ve brought Linley.” Fain said respectfully.

  The War God?

  The War God was past this door!

  Linley had previously been calm, but now, his heart couldn’t help but begin to beat faster. He was actually standing in front of one of the six ultimate experts of the Yulan continent, with only a stone door separating them.

  “Alright. Fain. You can leave now.” A calm voice rang out.

  “Yes, Master.” Fain respectfully departed.

  Linley still stood there, quietly waiting for the War God to address him.

  “Linley. Twenty seven years old. An Arch Magus of the ninth rank who has already embarked on the path of understanding the Laws…” The War God’s voice remained very calm. “Linley, you aren’t bad.”

  Linley frowned.

  He could sense that the War God’s voice seemed to be causing his soul to shudder. He had the sense that if the War God was to raise his voice a little bit, it would cause his soul to dissipate and collapse.

  “Thank you for your praise, War God.” Linley said humbly.

  “I have already instructed Fain to tell you that which you need to know. Outside the door, there is a scarlet talisman of command. Take it. From today forward, you can be considered to be someone belonging to my side.” The War God said calmly.

  Linley’s heart shook.

  Considered to be someone belonging to the War God’s side?

  He turned to look at the side of the door. Indeed, atop a flat rock, there was a scarlet red talisman, which slowly rose into the air and began to fly towards Linley.

  Atop the talisman, a single engraved word could be seen: “War”!

  “What is this War God thinking? I’ll be considered as belonging to his side?” Linley felt somewhat unhappy. The War God was forcibly recruiting him without even asking or negotiating with him.

  The War God’s calm voice once more rang out, “Given your current level of power, you actually aren’t yet qualified to receive this talisman. However…I believe you will reach that level sooner or later, which is why I am giving it to you in advance. Once you have this talisman, you will be qualified to investigate the secrets of the Yulan continent.”

  “The secrets of the Yulan continent?” Linley said.

  “When your human form reaches the Saint-level, or…when you defeat the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, come find me again. By then, you will be qualified to know this secret. Only then would you truly be worthy of this talisman.” The War God said calmly.

  From th
e War God’s words, Linley could sense a certain lonely arrogance.

  In the War God’s eyes, the current Linley wasn’t even qualified to possess this talisman. In his eyes, Linley’s power was indeed quite weak.

  Linley knew his own limits as well.

  “War God.” Linley said respectfully. “You just said when my human form reaches the Saint-level, or when I defeat the Monolithic Sword Saint? Does that mean you, War God, feel that only after my human form reaches the Saint-level will I be able to defeat the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson?”

  The War God was momentarily silent.

  “That Monolithic Sword Saint is reputed to be the world’s strongest Saint. Although in the eyes of those other peak-stage Saints who lie hidden throughout the world, he doesn’t live up to that reputation, Haydson’s current level of power can still be considered on par with those who have trained for thousands of years.

  Linley understood.

  “As for reaching the Saint-level in your human form…if you remain unable to defeat Haydson even after your human form reaches the Saint-level, then I will feel embarrassed on your ancestors’ behalf.” The War God said calmly.

  Linley laughed.

  Clearly, as far as the War God was concerned, once Linley’s human form reached the Saint-level, Linley should definitely have surpassed Haydson. But the War God seemed to currently feel that he was not yet able to overcome Haydson.

  “I refuse to believe that the War God knows about the true offensive power of my ‘Profound Truths of the Earth.’” Linley said to himself.

  Although the War God possessed divine power, he wasn’t omniscient.

  “Linley, let me offer you a word of advice!” The War God suddenly said.

  “War God, please speak.” Linley’s eyes lit up, and he immediately listened carefully. The War God had become a Deity over five thousand years ago. His advice could allow Linley to avoid many missteps.

  That calm voice rang out from behind the stone door. “The Elemental Laws contain all sorts of truths. What you need to do is select a single path and follow it to its conclusion. It is best if you don’t simultaneously train in multiple paths.”

  Linley was startled. The Elemental Laws were indeed quite boundless. For example, Linley was currently analyzing two aspects of the Elemental Laws of Wind. The first one was speed, the ultimate speed.