Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Time flowed on like water, advancing silently and soundlessly. Linley quietly trained within the gorge, slowly advancing step by step. As for Wade, he grew up and became an adult as well. When the hundred year event came, Wade went to undergo the Ancestral Baptism and became a water-type Deity.

  “Wade’s power is too weak. In the Infernal Realm, a Demigod’s power is absolutely insufficient for roaming about.” Although Linley wanted Wade to experience some hurdles and hardships, he didn’t wish for Wade to throw his life away.

  Wade normally remained within the Skyrite Mountains, sparring with the other Deities.

  More than a century had passed since Forhan had been killed. However, the higher level members of the Four Divine Beasts clan felt tremendous pressure! This was because the enemy eight great clans had become more and more savage, while the Four Divine Beasts clan had lost too many Elders.

  The residence of Patriarch Gislason.

  “Patriarch!” Garvey said frantically. “We can’t let this continue. If this continues for another millennium, our Azure Dragon clan will probably not have Seven Star Fiends left!”

  Gislason’s back was turned towards him, and he was silent.

  “Patriarch.” Garvey called out frantically.

  “Then you tell me. What should we do?” Gislason said in a low voice.

  Garvey hesitated slightly, then gritted his teeth. “Patriarch, order all of our forces to be withdrawn. Forget about those forces of the eight great clans and their arrogant patrols…we should just stay quietly within the Skyrite Mountains and build up our strength!”

  Gislason was silent.

  In the past, how glorious had the Four Divine Beasts clan been? Their fame had spread throughout all the Higher Planes and Divine Planes. Not a single clan dared to underestimate them, and the lives of the clan leaders of ordinary clans wasn’t worth as much as the lives of ordinary members of the Four Divine Beasts clan.

  The glory of the clan was utterly inviolable.

  For countless years, although the descendants of the Four Divine Beasts clan might die, they had never lowered their heads. This was because these descendants all understood that even if they died, the clan would avenge them! The descendants of the Four Divine Beasts clan were proud and arrogant!

  “Let our Four Divine Beasts clan lower our heads? Hide like turtles within the Skyrite Mountains and not go out?” Gislason said in a low voice. “Garvey, do you know what people will say about us in the outside world? They will say…that our Four Divine Beasts clan was beaten so badly by the eight great clans that we are hiding like turtles, afraid to show ourselves. That we are a pack of cowards! I am absolutely certain that this is how the eight great clans will spin the story, and that they will spread this news throughout the Infernal Realm, as well as the rest of the Four Higher Planes!”

  To ordinary people, Gislason’s line of thought was laughable.

  That was because ordinary people had never reached the heights that Gislason had. Even in material planes, ordinary people would be willing to sacrifice their lives for the glory of their clan, much less Deities who possessed eternal life. To them, the glory of their clan was even more important!

  “Garvey, you can go back for now.” Gislason sighed.

  “Patriarch.” Garvey couldn’t help but feel frantic.

  “I told you to leave!”

  Gislason growled. Stunned, Garvey had no choice but to leave, resigned. In the hall, the only remaining person was Gislason. His entire face was furrowed with wrinkles as he frowned, his heart filled with frustration.

  He had never imagined that the incomparably firm mountains behind their clan, the ancestors, would all die.

  With the ancestors dead, all the pressure now came crashing down upon the clan.

  Within the gorge.

  Linley, Delia, and Wade were eating together. But of course, Wade was now a handsome young man, slightly taller than even Linley, albeit somewhat thinner.

  “Linley!” A voice suddenly rang out.

  Linley raised his head and saw Garvey’s figure appear in mid-air, then descend. Seeing Linley’s family happily eating, Garvey let out a sigh.. “Linley, your life really is carefree and worry-less.”

  “Sit.” Linley pointed in front of him. “What, are you feeling frustrated over the clan’s matters?”

  “Right!” Garvey sat down.

  “Uncle Garvey.” Wade called out.

  Garvey laughed and nodded. “Time moves so very fast. Linley, I still remember how, over a century ago, you held Wade and Delia and hurried back. That really was a major event.”

  Laughing, Linley nodded. “Right, Gravey. What happened within the clan?”

  Upon hearing this subject, Garvey said bitterly, “Just today, yet another Elder of our clan lost his most powerful clone! Currently…our Azure Dragon clan, including you, Linley, only has seventeen Elders who truly possess the power of a Seven Star Fiend.”

  “Seventeen?” Linley was stunned.

  He still remembered how when he had accepted the position of Elder, the clan had more than thirty Elders. But now, only seventeen remained.

  “After I learned this, I thought for a long time, then went to find the Patriarch. I advised the Patriarch that he should order the Elders to no longer go out and do battle, and that we should all return to the Skyrite Mountains.” Garvey clearly felt very miserable for having given this advice.

  After all, he too valued the glory of the clan, did he not?

  “What did the Patriarch say?” Linley asked.

  “He didn’t agree.” Garvey raised his head, gulping down a cup of wine. “Every ten years, sometimes every few years, our Four Divine Beasts clan loses yet another Elder. If this continues, in a few centuries, how many Elders will our Four Divine Beasts clan have left?”

  Linley felt resigned as well.

  In this sort of clan war, the strength of any individual was simply insufficient.

  “Enough of that. Come, drink.” Garvey raised his cup.

  “Drink.” Linley responded.

  Delia and Wade left the table shortly, leaving behind Linley and Garvey to chat and drink wine.

  “Eh?” Linley raised his head, a hint of a smile on his lips. “He’s finally back.”

  “Boss!” A figure descended from the skies, wearing a straw hat on his head. It was Bebe. Ever since he had left with Beirut, Bebe hadn’t returned a single time in the past hundred-plus years.

  Linley rose to his feet.

  “Boss, I missed you to death.” Bebe rushed forward, giving Linley a bearhug.

  Linley and Bebe were as close as real siblings. After not having seen Bebe for so long, he naturally felt extremely happy.

  “Bebe, long time no see.” Garvey greeted as well. After that affair nearly a century ago, all the Elders of the Skyrite Mountains had learned that Bebe was the grandson of the Lord Prefect of Indigo Prefecture.

  “Elder Garvey.” Bebe greeted as well.

  “What have you been doing for the past century?” Linley laughed as he spoke. Bebe rubbed his nose, then laughed smugly, “In the past century, I’ve roamed the entire Indigo Prefecture and visited many secret locations. Indigo Prefecture really is large. In the past hundred-plus years, I’ve only managed to visit some of the more important areas.”

  “Oh, so why didn’t you continue touring?” Linley said.

  Bebe pursed his lips, saying in an unruly manner, “I got bored. Didn’t want to continue.” But although he was acting in a seemingly unrestrained manner, Linley could sense a desolate aura.

  At this moment, Delia and Wade hurriedly walked over from afar. Delia laughed and said from far away, “Bebe, it’s been so long since you left. Look at this fellow next to me. Do you know him?”

  “The fellow next to you?” Bebe was stunned.

  “Wade.” Delia laughed. “Remember now?”

  “Ah?! That little fellow?!” Bebe immediately began to laugh.

  Linley watched as Bebe immediately begin to chat
warmly with Wade, but could still sense that within Bebe’s heart…

  “Bebe’s too lonely! Once the affairs of the clan have been resolved, I’ll immediately accompany Bebe on a trip to the Jadefloat Continent. Let’s go find Ninny.”

  The Infernal Realm. The Jadefloat Continent. Coldcalm Prefecture . The city of Bayfay [Bei’fei].

  The streets of Bayfay City. A man and a woman were walking side by side.

  “Ninny, I’ve come out for the express purpose on a stroll with you. Smile, won’t you?” The man and woman were Salomon and his little sister, ‘Nisse’. Ever since that event at the volcano range, Nisse had believed Bebe to be dead, having perished after diving into that golden magma pool.

  Bebe’s death had come as a tremendous blow to Nisse.

  It had also caused her attitude towards her elder brother to change.

  “Alright.” Nisse just responded with a single word of acknowledgement.

  A passerby on the street was chatting with another person.

  “That scryer recording really was exciting. It’s been so many years since I’ve seen supreme experts like that do battle. Wow. There were actually more than ten Seven Star Fiends, and six of them used Sovereign’s Might. And that Azure Dragon clan’s Elder named Linley, he killed five Seven Star Fiends by himself. Too terrifying!”

  That year, when Linley had suffered an attack from those eight Elders, many people had recorded scryer recordings of the battle. The recordings of such an enormous battle very naturally spread very widely. Since Linley’s name had been verified, it also spread with the battle.

  In the past hundred years, it had finally spread from the Bloodridge Continent to the Jadefloat Continent.

  Hearing this conversation, both Salomon and Nisse were stunned.

  “Linley?” Nisse was stunned. She had always believed that Linley and Bebe had both died. “Someone of the same name?”

  “Linley? Six people who used Sovereign’s Might?” Salomon was stunned as well.

  Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 57, Dangerous

  The contents of that conversation had simply been too stunning. More than ten Seven Star Fiends in a single battle, six of whom had used Sovereign’s Might? This sort of group battle between supreme experts was simply too rare. Even if they occurred, scryer recordings of such battles would rarely spread out.

  “How could it be Linley?” Salomon was completely stunned.

  But from the contents of that conversation, Salomon had learned that the ‘Linley’ these people were discussing as a member of the Azure Dragon clan. The Linley which he knew was also a member of the Azure Dragon clan! “Can it really be him?” Salomon didn’t dare believe it. “He was just a God. How could he kill five Seven Star Fiends? No way. No way!!!”

  A single person, kill five Seven Star Fiends? This sort of accomplishment was simply too terrifying.

  As Salomon viewed it, no matter how powerful Linley was, there was no way he could’ve reached such a level.

  “Big Bro, did you hear that? They said ‘Linley’!” Nisse turned to look at her elder brother, Salomon. Her eyes were filled with disbelief. At the same time, a hint of hope appeared in her heart…

  She had believed that both Linley and Bebe had died.

  But Linley was alive. Bebe, perhaps, was still alive as well! When she thought of the possibility that Bebe was alive, her heart, dormant for a thousand-plus years, began to come to life again.

  “They might just be two people of the same name.” Salomon chuckled, intentionally saying disdainfully, “You know how strong our Linley was. He was just a God. It would be hard for him to face even an ordinary Highgod. Kill five Seven Star Fiends by himself? Do you believe it?”

  Nisse was stunned.

  “Alright. Don’t pay any attention to the idle chatter. Most likely, it’s just a supreme expert who also shares the name Linley.” Salomon laughed calmly. “Let’s go. We’re shopping for clothes today. Pick whatever you like.”

  Salomon didn’t want Nisse to go look at the scryer recordings. It wasn’t an issue if it wasn’t Linley, but if it really was Linley…given Nisse’s temperament, she would definitely immediately go look for Bebe. That would be terrible.

  “Let’s go look at scryer recordings.” Nisse said.

  Salomon shook his head. “Why look at scryer recordings? What? Do you think Linley is still alive?”

  “I don’t know…but regardless of whether or not it is the Linley we know, a scryer recording of a battle including more than ten Seven Star Fiends is worth watching, no matter what.” Nisse turned and immediately walked away.

  Salomon had no choice but to follow, and he secretly consoled himself, “That Linley died long ago. And he was very weak! This supreme expert, in turn, is very strong. It definitely isn’t him. It has to just be someone with the same name!” Salomon had unjustly accused Linley in the past. Naturally, he didn’t want to see Linley grow strong.

  There were three locations in Bayfay City that were dedicated to viewing scryer recordings.

  Large groups of people were gathered in front of the gates of all three locations today, all of them handing over strips of inkstone and azurite to go in and watch the scryer recordings. By the time Salomon and Nisse arrived, they were shocked by how many people were present.

  At the same time, those who had finished watching the scryer recordings were coming out from a side door.

  “Truly astonishing. That Azure Dragon Elder was simply too terrifying!”

  “Right. That azure prison of the Azure Dragon Elder appeared, and when it vanished, all of the enemy Elders were dead!”

  Listening to this discussion, Salomon and Nisse felt all the more curious. They immediately handed over the entrance fee of a hundred inkstones and entered. There were six halls for viewing scryer recordings.

  “Go to hall number five. The last viewing just completed, and will start anew soon.”

  Salomon and Ninny both entered the fifth hall, looking for places to sit. The number of people within the fifth hall rose rapidly, but Nisse just stared at the front of the hall, her body trembling slightly.

  “Ninny, relax.” Salomon said consolingly. “Don’t have too much hope.”

  But Ninny didn’t say a single word.

  Suddenly….

  A large amount of water-type elemental essence coalesced in the front of the hall in mid-air, transforming into a recording. At the same time, a voice rang out. “Everyone, this battle occurred in Indigo Prefecture, at the Bloodridge Continent, in a mountain forest that was a few thousand kilometers outside of Meer City.

  Everyone in the hall fell silent.

  The explanatory voice continued, “These battling experts are eleven Seven Star Fiends! Based on my calculations, in Indigo Prefecture, only the Four Divine Beasts clan and the eight great clans have such a high number of experts. The two just so happen to be in a state of war…and now, everyone, please watch. When the scryer recording started, a Seven Star Fiend had already died, and his corpse is on the ground, still emanating the aura of Sovereign’s Might. Everyone, if you look carefully, you can see it.

  After speaking, the recording in the front of the main hall began to play.

  Everyone in the hall went silent. Ninny and Salomon held their breaths as well.

  Within the enormous scryer recording, one battle scene after another appeared; these were the scenes of Phusro and Tewila battling their enemies. However, just by watching these two battles, the people watching this recording for the first time were already stunned.

  Their bodies were all covered with light, and with each punch and kick, space itself split open.

  “Three of these four are using Sovereign’s Might!” Salomon was stunned.

  “Where is Linley?” Nisse was searching desperately. “And Bebe?”

  However, at present, the scryer recording was primarily focusing on these two battles. At the same time, the scryer recording also recorded gray-robed corpse that lay on the ground, also emanating t
hat aura. It was the Seven Star Fiend who had been killed by Phusro at the very beginning.

  And then…

  The scryer recording switched the point of view to the ground. The ground was roiling like the waves of the sea. Moments later, the ground suddenly exploded, and someone suddenly charged to the skies, blood matting his scales…but Nisse and Salomon were both shocked.

  Those ferocious spikes, that tail, those dark golden eyes…they were so familiar!

  Afterwards, five Seven Star Fiends pursued and attacked Linley. Linley’s body was emanating that blue light; it was water-type Sovereign’s Might. As for the five Seven Star Fiends behind him, one of them was emanating a black aura.

  “It is Linley!” Nisse felt excited in her heart.

  “This…” Salomon was stunned as well.

  They had both seen Linley’s Dragonform.

  “Big Bro, it’s Linley, it’s Linley.” Nisse could no longer suppress her excitement, and her divine sense reached out again and again to Salomon. “It’s definitely him. There’s no mistake.”

  “Nisse, that’s not necessarily the case.” Salomon tried to equivocate through divine sense. “The Azure Dragon clan has many people, and their Dragonform appearances are all quite similar. In addition, in a thousand years, do you think Linley would become so powerful? It’s impossible.”

  Nisse was stunned. Could it be true that there was someone with a Dragonform similar to Linley’s?

  Nisse didn’t know too much about the Four Divine Beasts clan, and didn’t understand how unique Linley’s Dragonform was.

  And then, Salomon and Nisse continued to watch. In the scryer recording, Linley began to go insane, actually using his spiked forehead to batter a Seven Star Fiend to death. The other four remaining Seven Star Fiends wanted to flee, but they were all trapped within that massive blue cube.

  After the blue cube vanished, the four Seven Star Fiends were dead as well.

  The scryer recording was focused on Linley now, and after killing those four Seven Star Fiends, Linley actually flew to the ground. The recording showed how Linley knelt down by the side of a woman who was lying on the ground.