Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Right at this fatal moment…

  A black fist slammed down in front of Linley like a mountain. This enormous black fist lightly brushed past the scimitar. There was a clear, ringing sound, and the direction of the blue scimitar was changed. “Swish!” It slashed past Linley’s chest, effortlessly piercing past it.

  “Quick, back!” That black hand snatched Linley, then dragged him backwards.

  “Patriarch.” Linley saw from the corner of his eyes who this person was, and he felt gratitude in his heart. The person who had saved him was Patriarch Gislason.

  The half-translucent white arrow was slightly slower than the ‘scimitar’, and it landed on Gislason’s body. Gislason didn’t seem to even notice it, nor did he counter-attack; he just grabbed Linley and flew back into the Skyrite Mountains.

  Although this took time to describe, the time it took between Linley flying out, Elder Garvey killing his enemy, and then Linley and Gislason both fleeing back was nothing more than the time it took to blink one’s eye. But such a heart-palpitating series of events had occurred in that blinking of an eye!

  The Skyrite Mountains.

  Gislason and Linley both flew back. Only now did they let out sighs of relief. Elder Garvey had been lucky enough to flee back as well. In truth, the enemies had considered Linley to be their real target, and so Elder Garvey had seized the chance to flee back.

  “Patriarch, thank you for saving my life.” Linley looked at his chest, terror flashing through his mind at what almost happened.

  “You really are audacious.” Gislason let out a long breath, then looked towards the front. “Just now, the enemy actually sent out six people at once, all using Sovereign’s Might. Even I was shocked…in particular, the Patriarch of the Venna Clan even attacked with his weapon-type Sovereign artifact!”

  Linley was shocked. That had actually been a Sovereign artifact!

  “However.” Gislason laughed as he looked at Linley. “The power of your Gravitational Space truly is terrifying, especially after you used a drop of earth-type Sovereign’s Might. Those two weaker individuals, even after having used their Sovereign’s Might, were actually repelled outwards. As for Patriarch Boleyn and the other Elders, they weren’t able to chase after and attack us at all.”

  Indeed!

  After Linley set up his ‘Blackstone Space’, the enemies could only attack from afar; they weren’t able to pursue at all.

  “Linley, thank you.” Elder Garvey, his face ashen, drew near and said gratefully.

  “Linley!” A deep, rumbling voice echoed out. The Black Tortoise Patriarch, the Vermillion Bird Matriarch, the White Tiger Patriarch, and a number of other Elders flew over as well. “What is going on? Why is it that as soon as you attacked, the eight great clans would suddenly attack you like mad? Even two Patriarchs joined forces. Is there some sort of huge enmity between you and them?”

  Linley felt completely baffled as well.

  “I don’t know either. I only fought for the clan on a few occasions and killed a few enemy Elders. Nothing else.” Linley stared into the distance. He didn’t understand why the eight great clans wanted to kill him this badly. Their madness had already reached an all-encompassing state, and they viewed him as the greatest thorn in their side.

  “What a wonderful chance that was…” Patriarch Boleyn shut his eyes, unwilling to accept what had just happened.

  “The two of you joined forces, and yet you still weren’t able to kill Linley. What a waste of a wonderful opportunity!” A cold, insidious man, dressed in voluminous black robes and with vipers hanging from his ears said in a low voice. “Patriarch Venna, how could you have missed with your blade?”

  The man with the long, blue eyebrows let out a cold snort, not explaining.

  “There’s no point to discussing this now.” A gentle voice rang out. Patriarch Edric. “What is done is done. What we now need to do is come up with a way…to find another chance to kill Linley. Linley’s Gravitational Space is simply astonishing. It isn’t so bad if he doesn’t use Sovereign’s Might, but once he does…only we Patriarchs have a chance to kill him.”

  “It doesn’t matter who kills him. What matters is forcing him out to fight again.” A growling voice rang out.

  “I’ll give it a try. Let’s see if I can force Linley out.” Suddenly, an elfin-looking Elder flew out.

  The clan leaders and Elders of the Four Divine Beasts clan were all together. The actions of the eight great clans had caused them to be utterly enraged, but all they could do right now was to endure it. After all, the number of experts the enemies had was simply too overpoweringly greater.

  “Boss, you were too rash.” Bebe hurried over as well.

  Linley could only chuckle. “I didn’t expect that the eight great clans would attack me so madly.” Linley had thought that when he attacked, the enemy would at most send out a single Elder to stop him…and in that sort of situation, Linley was confident he would be able to save Elder Garvey. But the reaction of the enemy side was simply too astounding; even he was terrified by it.

  Right at this moment, a mocking voice rang out from the other side.

  “That should have been Elder Linley of the Azure Dragon clan just now, right? Oh, excuse me, the Azure Pest clan’s Elder. I had thought that you, Linley, were an impressive figure. But from the display you just put on, Elder Linley…haha, you really disappoint me!” The snickering laugh rang out. “I, an ordinary Elder of the Edric clan, am here right now. Elder of the Azure Pest clan, dare you fight me?”

  This mocking laugh echoed throughout the Skyrite Mountains.

  Azure Pest clan?

  The Four Divine Beast clansmen were all enraged, and many stared hatefully at the enemy clansmen.

  Linley couldn’t help but look towards the gray-robed, elfin-looking Elder. In his heart, he was pondering. “What is going on with the eight great clans? They want to make me step out and fight again? Why are they focused on me?” Linley felt that there was something amiss.

  “Linley, don’t go.” Gislason immediately instructed.

  “Hey…!” Bebe shouted loudly. “You claim to be eight ‘great’ clans? Just now, six of you attacked Linley, and two of you were Patriarchs. The eight great clans truly are great; two Patriarchs and four Elders jointly attacked Elder Linley, and yet Elder Linley wasn’t even injured in the slightest!”

  On the side of the eight great clans, all of the Elders were pondering on how to make Linley fly out of the Skyrite Mountains. They viewed Linley as being the member of the Four Divine who was a true thorn in their side, a burr in their paw.

  Book 17, Indigo Prefecture – Chapter 63, A Turn Of Events

  The borders of the Skyrite Mountains. The clan leaders and Elders of the Four Divine Beasts clan were all gathered together, holding a secret meeting. This tactic of the eight great clans wasn’t a particularly brilliant one, but it really was vile, venomous, and vicious!

  When the Four Divine Beasts clan had decided to withdraw from battle, this decision had already caused them teeth-gnashing agony.

  But now the eight great clans came and openly mocked them and satirized them. This was like pouring oil onto a flame. The battle that resulted caused the Four Divine Beasts clan to feel angered, enraged, hate-filled. The four clan leaders and Elders were discussing how to resolve this matter, while Linley was pondering this matter as well. “Why exactly do the eight great clans want to kill me so badly? To the point where even two of their Patriarchs would be so shameless as to join forces to attack me?”

  Linley was filled with confusion.

  At the same time, Linley also looked towards the outside, but as he did, Linley suddenly frowned in puzzlement. “Hey, what are they doing?” The eight great clans had actually sent out several warriors who, working together, were shifting over a small mountain that was a thousand meters wide and nearly a hundred meters tall. The mountains of the Higher Planes were astonishingly heavy; given the size of this dwarf mountain, one could imagine how much
it weighed.

  “Why did they move a mountain over?” Bebe looked over, puzzled.

  Gislason and the other clan leaders, as well as the Elders, all looked over as well. Everyone was rather puzzled.

  Those warriors sent out their strengths in unison, directly tossing the dwarf mountain in front of them. It landed to the ground with a massive ‘boom’ sound, striking heavily down at the demarcating region between the Skyrite Mountains and the base of the eight great clans.

  That arrogant looking man with the long green eyebrows flew towards the dwarf mountain.

  “Him?” Linley wouldn’t forget this man. It was he who had used the weapon-type Sovereign artifact to attack Linley.

  The green-eyebrowed man flipped his hand, and instantly, a large amount of green energy knives flew into the air, slashing past the dwarf mountain. Immediately, large amounts of rocks and stones were smashed apart. The wind howled and pebbles blasted everywhere. In but a few moments, the appearance of the dwarf mountain had changed.

  It was now eight hundred meters in diameter and fifty meters in height.

  An enormous dueling platform!

  “Swoosh!” A skinny youth with cold, insidious eyes suddenly flew over to the dueling platform. He swept everyone with his gaze, then said brightly, “You say that we are fighting you in groups? Fine. Today, let’s fight one on one. Nobody will be permitted to interfere in a duel. Linley, you killed my older brother. Today, I challenge you, Linley. Linley, dare you accept my challenge?”

  “Linley, dare you accept my challenge?”

  This voice echoed throughout the Skyrite Mountains, reverberating in the heavens. Even Delia and Wade, originally in the gorge, heard this voice calling out to Linley. Worried, they all flew out.

  Everyone looked at Linley, waiting for Linley to respond.

  “Linley, don’t go fight.” Gislason said softly.

  “Linley.” Delia had already flown out. Linley nodded towards Delia, then smiled.

  At this time, the voice turned satirical. “You don’t even have the courage to fight one on one. Hmph!” Mocking, disdainful words. Despite that, however, quite a few people on the enemy side were staring at Linley, waiting to see his reaction.

  “Bebe, Delia, Wade. Let’s go back.” Linley just smiled calmly, then turned and left.

  Linley could tell that the eight great clans clearly wanted to incite him to go out and do battle. But after the previous experience, where six major experts had attacked him en masse, Linley had come to an understanding. The eight great clans wanted to kill him very much. “If I go accept a challenge now, that isn’t valor, that’s idiocy.”

  Seeing Linley fly into the inner regions of the Skyrite Mountains, the Patriarchs and Elders of the enemy clans couldn’t help but feel resigned. “Just now, when all of you attacked without killing Linley, I knew that Linley would definitely grow cautious. To force him to come out now…difficult!” A deep, rumbling voice rang out.

  “There’s no point to saying these things now!”

  The eight Patriarchs were filled with regret. They had the perfect chance just then, but they had missed it. Kill Linley now? Linley wouldn’t be so impulsive as to give them the chance!

  Within the Skyrite Mountains. The great gorge. Three days had gone by since the eight great clans had moved over. During the past three times, the eight great clans had especially arranged for a group of people who, working in shifts, spent their entire time cursing, insulting, and mocking the Four Divine Beasts clan. Of course, they would occasionally have to rest, but the majority of the time in each day was spent cursing and mocking.

  It seemed as though mocking the Four Divine Beasts clan was a source of amusement for them.

  And of course, they would call out some Elders and clan leaders by name, including Gislason and the other three clan leaders, as well as Linley. These names were often singled out for ridicule. Even though Linley knew that this was a treacherous plot by the enemy side, Linley still grew infuriated upon hearing it.

  “Linley, during this period of time, you must not go out, no matter what.” Gislason instructed him solemnly.

  Linley laughed bitterly and nodded. “Patriarch, don’t worry. I understand. Only, to tell the truth…” Linley could still clearly hear the constant mockery and insults drifting down from above. The eight great clans had already spent three days here at the borders of the Skyrite Mountains.

  “To be insulted like this…anybody, no matter how good their temper is, will be furious.” Linley said somberly.

  “In the past few days, quite a few of our clansmen were unable to endure it any longer, and they went to battle the eight great clans on the dueling platform.” Gislason let out a sigh. “When one’s rage reaches a certain level, one might not be able to endure it. These clansmen will even ignore the orders of their Patriarch and go do battle. But the eight great clans have held to their word as well; the fights have all been one against one. However, the results of the duels have actually been slightly favorable to our side.” Gislason, when saying these words, felt rather helpless as well.

  The clansmen were going all out, but the experts of the clan weren’t able to overcome the enemy.

  The battles of the Infernal Realm relied on supreme experts.

  Linley understood that this was a gloomy subject, so he changed the topic. “Right, Patriarch. That day, when you saved me, you were able to block that Sovereign scimitar artifact. Are those black gloves of yours also Sovereign artifacts?”

  “No.”

  Gislason shook his head. “I don’t have any weapon-type Sovereign artifacts. The Lord Prefect gifted me with this set of black gloves. They are godspark weapons.”

  “Godspark weapons?” Linley’s eyes lit up.

  Bebe had a godspark weapon as well. Divine sparks were indestructibly tough, and so godspark weapons naturally were extraordinary.

  “Sovereign artifacts are nourished by Sovereigns. Sovereigns contain astonishing levels of energy in their body, and so Sovereign artifacts have terrifying attack power. Godspark weapons, however, don’t actually have much energy in them. But they do have one strong point; their toughness!” Gislason laughed. “By relying on this godspark weapon, I am able to block even Sovereign artifacts. Still, that day, that wind-type Sovereign scimitar really was too frighteningly powerful. Even I only dared to rely on knocking it sideways and borrowing its own momentum, rather than taking it head on. After all, godspark weapons, compared to Sovereign artifacts, are still slightly inferior.”

  Linley nodded.

  Perhaps in terms of toughness, godspark weapons weren’t inferior to Sovereign artifacts. But Sovereign artifacts were formed from large amounts of Sovereign’s power nurturing them over countless years. Their attack power was simply too frighteningly great.

  “If you have the chance, you should ask for a godspark weapon from the Lord Prefect as well. I trust the Lord Prefect would give you one.” Gislason laughed. “The power of your ‘Blackstone Space’ is indeed great, but your attack power is still a little weak. With a godspark weapon, you will be much stronger.”

  Linley couldn’t help but feel stirred.

  He had already witnessed the toughness of a godspark weapon for himself; it was far harder than even his own draconic scales.

  “Don’t these people grow tired?” Gislason frowned, raising his head to stare into the distance.

  “Four Pests clans, why is it that you have only sent ordinary Highgods? Where are the Elders? You let all these minor figures come out to fight, while the Elders all hide like cowards. Haha…” Mocking laughter drifted in from outside.

  Linley couldn’t help but furrow his brow in anger.

  Although he was able to forcibly restrain his anger, he was still annoyed when hearing these things. When one grew annoyed, one would become irritable as well.

  “Endure for a few more days. The clan is currently carving out an enormous magic formation that will form a giant elemental barrier. By then, all sound will be bloc
ked out between the outside world and us.” Gislason said helplessly. Being constantly assaulted by those voices was a form of torture.

  ……………

  In the air above the Skyrite Mountains, an enormous elemental barrier had taken form. No matter what the forces of the eight great clans were saying, the clansmen were unable to hear it. But although they couldn’t hear it…everyone still felt unhappy.

  This sort of action was akin to just holding their hands over their ears. They felt humiliated!

  “The final bottleneck of the Profound Mysteries of Vitality truly is hard to break through.” Linley sat in the meditative stance atop a grassy area. Linley had been seizing every moment, wanting to reach mastery in the Profound Mysteries of Vitality, so as to become a Highgod.”

  In the past few days, although at first, the eight great clans had continued their insults and mockery, the clan had erected that enormous magic formation, sealing off all sound.

  These things caused Linley to constantly feel a suppressed rage in his heart.

  “Boss.” Suddenly, Bebe’s voice rang out. “Grandpa came.”

  Linley opened his eyes. He saw that in mid-air, Beirut, Bebe, and Phusro were flying down. Beirut had that perpetual smile on his face. Linley immediately stood up, walking forward to greet them.

  “Linley, you are actually able to keep calm, eh?” Beirut chortled.

  “What other choice do I have, other than keep calm?” Linley said helplessly.

  “Aren’t they holding one-on-one duels outside? Why don’t you go?” Phusro asked with curiosity, while Linley said resignedly, “Phusro, those eight great clans are definitely fixated on killing me. In addition…I’m still a bit too weak. I’m not a match for those eight Patriarchs.”

  Phusro laughed. “I have to tell you, if you don’t go now, in the future, it’ll be hard for you to find another opportunity like this.”

  “What do you mean?” Linley asked disbelievingly.