Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Linley didn’t understand. The Patriarch, in terms of profound mysteries, shouldn’t be weaker than him.

  “This is a difference in the Laws.” Gislason said resignedly. “I primarily train in the ‘Elemental Laws of Water’. The defense of the Elemental Laws of Water isn’t bad, but it’s ability to unleash power isn’t that great.”

  Linley nodded as well.

  Of the Elemental Laws of Water, only the ‘Profound Mysteries of Ice’ allowed one to use one’s physical strength.

  “In terms of physical strength, I’m no weaker than the Patriarch of the Black Tortoise clan. But if we were competing in power attacks, he vastly outstrips me. This is because he trains in the Laws of the Earth.” Gislason said.

  Linley laughed.

  The Laws of the Earth even had the specialized ‘Profound Mysteries of Strength’. Thus, it was only natural that those who trained in the Laws of the Earth were able to easily bring out the power of their bodies.

  Every single Law had its own areas of specialization.

  The four Edicts, as well, had their own differences.

  The Elemental Laws of Water had superb defenses, with exceedingly strong defense against both soul attacks as well as material attacks. The Elemental Laws of Fire, by contrast, was different; it was weak in defense, but specialized in offense.

  The Edicts of Fate, meanwhile, specialized in the soul, while having some deficiencies on the material side.

  It was hard to be truly perfect.

  “The power of your fists is already very great. It even poses a bit of a threat to me.” Gislason praised. “In the past, your fleeing abilities were excellent. But now, you will pose a great threat to your foes.”

  Linley knew very well that when he clashed fists with the Patriarch, in truth, Linley’s own ‘Firmament Splitter’ had ablated much of the force of each of the Patriarch’s punches. Only an extremely small amount of power remained from the Patriarch’s punches.

  Otherwise, each blow from the Patriarch would have been able to easily smash Linley’s fist.

  Similarly…

  In receiving each blow of Linley’s, the Patriarch had to rely on his profound mysteries to ablate the force. Otherwise…it would have been like their first exchange, with the results being shattered draconic scales and a hint of blood.

  “Even someone like you, Patriarch, with such terrifyingly strong defense, was injured. How can ordinary Seven Star Fiends resist it?” Linley laughed.

  In the past, Linley, thanks to his Blackstone Space, was very proficient in fleeing. His attacks, however, were far weaker than those which Seven Star Fiends normally possessed. However, the situation now was different. Even if that Elder Bulo once again encountered Linley, it would be very hard for him to win.

  Deep within the Skyrite Mountains.

  Linley, Delia, and Bebe were at the edges of a cliff. Above the edge of the cliff, there was a large metallic lifeform in the shape of a black phoenix.

  “Delia, I haven’t accompanied you on a single trip since arriving in the clan. This time, I definitely will accompany you.” Linley held Delia’s hand. They had agreed that once he fused the profound mysteries, the two would go on a trip together.”

  Delia couldn’t help but reveal a smile of true happiness. “Right. This is our first trip…we’ve been here at the clan for almost six centuries now, but I barely noticed anything. I wonder how Sasha and Taylor are doing.”

  “Taylor?” Linley couldn’t help but think of his children.

  However, Linley still felt that the decision he had made that year was wise. The Infernal Realm truly was too dangerous. Wharton and Taylor, back at the Yulan continent, would at least be able to enjoy peaceful lives.

  “Elder Linley.” A soft voice rang out.

  Linley turned to look. The person who had come was Elder Tewila [Te’wei’la] of the Azure Dragon clan. Elder Tewila was a very good-tempered person who had never before entered Bloodbath Gorge. Not only was he not strong enough, he also preferred hiding like a turtle.

  Linley actually felt very positively towards Tewila. Tewila, at least, wasn’t as sinister and vicious as Emanuel and Forhan.

  “Elder Tewila, you are the escort this time?” Linley laughed.

  “Right.” Tewila laughed so hard, his eyes creased into slits.

  “Then I’ll be troubling you to protect us this time, Elder Tewila. I’m going to Meer City on this trip as well.” Linley laughed.

  A look of delight and joy immediately appeared on Tewila’s face. “Elder Linley, you are going as well? Haha, this is wonderful. With the two of us present, even if anything dangerous appears on this journey, we won’t have anything to fear.”

  Linley laughed, then nodded.

  “Oh, Elder Tewila, Elder Linley, you are here as well.” A familiar voice rang out. Linley turned to look. The person who had just arrived was Forhan. Forhan’s golden eyebrows raised up, and then he laughed. “This time, Elder Tewila is the escort, right?”

  Tewila nodded. “Right. Elder Linley is going to Meer City this time as well.”

  “Oh.” Forhan nodded. “Then, Elder Tewila, Elder Linley, have a safe journey. However, I imagine that with both of you present, there’s no way anything untoward will happen.”

  “Elder Tewila, let’s go.” Linley couldn’t be bothered to pay attention to Forhan.

  For some reason, Linley always felt as though there was something in Forhan’s gaze that made him feel uncomfortable.

  Elder Tewila nodded in acknowledgment towards Forhan, and then flew alongside with Linley into the metallic lifeform, entering it. Quite a few people were hurriedly flying into the metallic lifeform.

  As for Forhan, he just stood there at the cliff, looking upwards at the metallic lifeform, watching until it flew away.

  “Hmph. This Linley remains so brash?” Forhan’s face sank, his heart filled with rage.

  He had always viewed Linley with some disfavor. As he saw it, in their clan, only the second and third generation members of the clan were the noble figures of it. Even if Forhan’s mother didn’t want to use the ancestor’s Azure Dragon ring, he, Forhan, should be the one using it.

  What was Linley?

  Forhan’s son, Emanuel, had lost his most powerful divine clone, and would never be able to advance again. He wanted to act against Linley, but…the four clan leaders had ordered that Linley not be required to carry out any missions.

  Forhan’s heart had been smoldering with rage this entire time without any place to let loose. The more time passed, the angrier he became!

  “Going to Meer City, eh?” Forhan’s gaze was growing cold. “Hmph. Then I’ll let the forces of the eight great clans deal with you. When you die, you’ll be able to kill a few of their people as well. It won’t be a waste at all. Sadly…others will have to accompany you to the grave as well.”

  Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 40, Betrayal

  The Skyrite Mountains. In the ground beneath the palace where Forhan lived. A dark, lightless underground hall.

  The hall was chilly and forbidding. Currently, the only person within it was Forhan. Forhan was seated upon the throne in the hall, slouched over it like a beast in ambush, his eyes flashing with dim light, thinking thoughts only he knew.

  “Inform the forces of the eight great clans?” Although Forhan did want Linley dead and to have the eight great clans do it, it was nothing more than a thought. As he seriously considered it, however…he began to hesitate.

  This was because the only way to let the forces of the eight great clans know was to inform them.

  As for the act of informing them, there was no way someone else could carry out this task, nor could anyone else be allowed to know of it. This was because this act would be considered a ‘betrayal of the clan’, a grave crime! Forhan, as an Elder, was confident that he would be able to easily pass this information regarding Linley to the eight great clans. If it were to leak out that he had done so, however, he, Forhan, would never have a pla
ce again amongst the Four Divine Beasts clan!

  “Betrayal of the clan…is punishable by execution of all bodies.” Forhan remembered this punishment very clearly.

  “For the sake of taking revenge upon Linley…to take such a great risk…is it worth it?” Forhan wanted to do it, but he still hesitated.

  Without question, Forhan was deeply proud of the fact that he was a descendant of the Four Divine Beasts clan. He wouldn’t betray the clan. But he also wanted to kill Linley and worry about the consequences later!

  “The Azure Dragon ring belonged to our ancestor! This Linley, of a generation that is so many times removed from us…by what right does he hold it?” Forhan’s eyes were cold. Jealousy constricted his heart, causing him to dislike Linley all the more.

  “If Linley is permitted to continue to grow, there will come the day when he will be riding on my head.” Forhan still clearly remembered the conversation he had with his mother, the Grand Elder.

  That time, the four clan leaders had ordered that Linley was to no longer participate in Bloodbath Gorge missions. Forhan was puzzled, and so later on, he went by himself to speak with the Grand Elder to ask her about this in detail, to try and understand why the clan leaders had made this decision.

  The Grand Elder didn’t want to discuss the Redbud Sovereign, and so this is what she had said to Forhan: “Forhan, are you aware that Linley is just a God? A God who has the power of a Seven Star Fiend…when he becomes a Highgod, how powerful do you think he will be? He is the future hope of our clan. He can’t be put in danger for now!” Forhan, upon hearing the Grand Elder’s explanation, was shocked.

  He had always believed that Linley was hiding his ability, but unexpectedly, Linley actually really was just a God.

  Within that dark, cold, underground hall.

  Forhan suddenly stood up, his gaze cold and sinister. In a low voice, he said, “This Linley is already a Seven Star Fiend. If this continues, once he becomes a Highgod, he will definitely become a trump card of our clan. His status will be even higher than mine, and he’ll be riding on my head! Can it be that in the future, I’ll have to forever watch him act so arrogantly in front of me?”

  When Forhan imagined how glorious and influential Linley would be in the future, the look on Forhan’s face became all the uglier!

  “No!” Forhan bellowed in a growling voice. “Absolutely not. Be beneath him for the rest of my life? I’d rather die.”

  “Linley must die. He must!”

  Forhan’s body was trembling slightly. “Right. I’m just getting rid of Linley. I’m not destroying the clan. This can’t be considered betraying the clan. It can’t! Also, I’m not personally killing him, I’m just letting the eight great clans kill him. Linley can be considered to have died in service to the clan, battling the eight great clans!”

  “That Azure Dragon ring…”

  Forhan couldn’t help but frown. “If Linley dies, wouldn’t that mean that the Azure Dragon ring would end up in the hands of the eight great clans?” Forhan was rather worried. The Azure Dragon ring was, after all, a precious treasure of the clan.

  “No. It’s fine. It’ll only be Linley’s most powerful clone that dies. The other clones will remain alive in the Skyrite Mountains. Even if the eight great clans acquire the Azure Dragon ring, they won’t be able to bind it.” Forhan convinced himself. “Afterwards, when I have the chance, I’ll seize it back. And what’s more, Linley’s death won’t have a major impact on the clan. Our Four Divine Beasts clan was in a position of weakness to begin with…at most, we’ll just stay in the Skyrite Mountains. Our clan won’t be destroyed.”

  After frantic pondering, Forhan finally came to a decision.

  “A clan with Linley in it is a place I cannot live in, no matter how powerful the clan is. A clan without Linley in it, no matter how weak, is a place I can live comfortably.” Forhan quirked his lips. He had already made up his mind.

  “Whoosh!” Forhan’s cloak fluttered as he walked out from his underground hall. He had already decided on what he was going to do.

  A shadow appeared out of nowhere in the mountain villages, solidifying into a Forhan’s figure. However, this was just a divine clone of Forhan’s. Forhan let out a low chuckle, then his appearance changed, from that of a golden-haired old man to a bald youth.

  Forhan, in his disguise as a ‘bald youth’, flew directly outwards…

  “Rumble…” The waters of the river roiled about, and the ‘bald youth’ Forhan stood there, hovering in mid-air, sweeping the area below with his icy gaze. In a low voice, he said, “Men of the eight great clans. Come out.”

  On the pre-determined routes, the people who were hidden belonged to either the intelligence networks of the Four Divine Beasts clan or of the eight great clans. Forhan knew exactly who his own clan’s agents were and where they were. If someone was present who didn’t belong to the Four Divine Beasts clan, then naturally they belonged to the enemy!

  “Who are you?” A low voice transmitted down from below the river.

  “Remember this. An Elder Linley of the Azure Dragon clan has already mounted an azure, phoenix-shaped metallic lifeform, and is heading to Meer City. If you want to kill him, then seize this opportunity. There’s another Elder travelling with him!” Although the metallic lifeform was in the shape of a black phoenix when they left, Elder Forhan knew that each time, when it headed out, the metallic lifeform would change to a different color and appearance. And so, Elder Forhan had investigated in advance.

  This time, the transformation would be to the appearance of an azure phoenix.

  At the same time, Forhan waved his hand, and a crystal ball fell down from the skies.

  “In this crystal ball, there is stored the appearances of Linley’s wife Delia, as well as his good friend, ‘Bebe’.”

  When the crystal ball fell to the surface of the water, a ray of azure energy appeared, wrapping around the crystal ball and pulling it underwater. Forhan, seeing this, smiled coldly, then turned and flew away at high speed.

  Long after Forhan left, a green-haired figure emerged from the surface of the river.

  “Elder Linley of the Azure Dragon clan?” A look of disbelief was on the face of this intelligence agent. “I didn’t expect I’d be able to render such a meritorious deed today.” The eight great clans had issued the order to find and kill Linley long ago. Naturally, they had ordered their intelligence agents to be on the lookout for him as well.

  However, all these years, there had been no one who was successful in locating him.

  The news from the intelligence agent came very quickly. That very day, the eight great clans were made aware of this, and immediately, the leaders of the eight great clans were all excited. None of them had expected this news to come so suddenly.

  After a discussion, this mission was assigned to the Edric clan and three other clans.

  The eight great clans were, after all, separately located at two different sides of Indigo Prefecture. The four clans on the west were the Edric clan who had come from the Higher Plane of Life, the Venna clan from the Divine Plane of Wind, the Dean clan from the Divine Plane of Earth, and the Reinales clan, native to the Infernal Realm.

  The western borders of Indigo Prefecture. The Edric clan and the other three clans were gathered together. Below the main palace, there were eight figures dressed in gray robes.

  “Although this Linley is only a God, he has the power of a Seven Star Fiend. In a few short missions, he has caused our eight great clans to lose multiple Seven Star Fiends.” A graceful, gentle voice came from a handsome, rather elfin-looking man who stood within the hall.

  His long green hair fell to his waist, and his eyes seemed to glow like stars. This was Patriarch Edric, in the flesh. He had led his clan here from the Higher Plane of Life. It was he who had founded this clan.

  “He isn’t a major threat to us yet, but if a few more years pass and he becomes a Highgod, then it will be terrible.”

  “Thus, the eight of
you must execute this Linley, no matter what the cost.” The voice was as gentle as ever.

  “Yes, Patriarch.” Outside the main hall, two handsome gray-robed men bowed, while the other six gray-robed men hurriedly followed.

  Within the hall, another Patriarch said calmly, “Here are three drops of Sovereign’s Might. Of the eight of you, Elder Zabu [Zha’bu], the strongest, will naturally carry one. As for the other two…Elders Tempah [Tan’pu] and Nice [Ni’si] will carry them.”

  “Yes!”

  The three immediately bowed respectfully. Of the three men, one was of the elfin-looking race.

  “Remember. You must be successful in this endeavor. Even if you have to spend all three drops of Sovereign’s Might. Even if all eight of you have to die. You must kill Linley!” Another voice, a forceful, hard one, rang out.

  “Yes!”

  The eight Elders below couldn’t help but feel their hearts tighten.

  Although they knew that this target of theirs, ‘Linley’, was just a Seven Star Fiend who was accompanied by a single other Seven Star Fiend, and that given the power the eight of them possessed, killing Linley shouldn’t be a problem…hearing the words from the Patriarchs, they couldn’t help but feel the pressure.

  “Go, then! Move quickly, so that you might arrive at Meer earlier.” The gentle voice said.

  The eight gray-robed Elders bowed fractionally, then immediately left.

  Within the hall, the four Patriarchs began to chat amongst themselves. “This is an excellent opportunity. Failure is not an option. Only after we kill that Linley will we be able to relax slightly. I refuse to believe that the Four Divine Beasts clan will be able to produce yet another genius who has the potential to become a Highgod Paragon.”

  “Don’t worry. These eight Elders are the elites which we have selected from our four clans. Linley will unquestionably die!”