Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  Bebe had to swallow his discontent and bow before leaving as well.

  “Go then.” The Chief Sovereign of Death said calmly. “But I advise you that before heading to Tartarus, you should first become a Lord of Tartarus. That will also be very helpful to you in actually entering the Planar Wars. Arthurs, you lead the way for Linley. Send them out of the Abyssal Mountain!”

  “Yes, Sovereign!” Arthurs bowed.

  “First become a Lord of Tartarus, and then enter the Planar Wars?” Linley was rather puzzled.

  But Linley didn’t ask any more questions. Linley and Bebe looked meaningfully at Bailey in an expression of goodwill, and then strode out of the Sovereign’s palace, following Arthurs and flying away.

  “Mistress, that Linley seems to be quite confident. It seems he knows almost nothing about the Planar Wars.” By now, the silver serpent Yennaway was all smiles, quite delighted. Yennaway knew a great deal regarding the savagery of the Planar Wars, and the struggles between the commanders. In addition, this was a war! Not a one-on-one duel!

  Sometimes, multiple commanders of one side would join forces to attack another!

  “Thank you, Sovereign.” The silver serpent, Yennaway, laughed while bowing. She believed that the Sovereign had done this for the sake of letting Linley go and lose his life there as a way of helping Yennaway get revenge.

  “Thank you, Sovereign.” The colossal gold snake and his nine children all bowed in gratitude as well.

  The Chief Sovereign of Death glanced calmly at them. “Enough. You can all leave now. Bailey!”

  Bailey’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly walked forward to the center of the palace. The Chief Sovereign of Death finally was going to allow him to become an Emissary.

  At the base of the Abyssal Mountain.

  Linley and Bebe parted with Arthurs.

  “Linley, before leaving, I must tell you something.” Arthurs said solemnly. “Perhaps you aren’t aware of this, but the Sovereigns all have an agreement. At most, they will give their Emissaries or their children a single Sovereign artifact! Regardless of which Sovereign’s Emissary it is, they will at most receive a single Sovereign artifact.”

  “A single one?” Bebe frowned.

  Linley was stunned. “Just one?”

  But yes, that was indeed true!

  For example, the Azure Dragon clan’s Patriarch, Gislason, only had a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact. The Grand Elder, Gaia, only had that armor-type Sovereign artifact that merged with her scales. Given how much the Sovereign Azure Dragon cared about his children, why would he give them just a single one each? Linley finally began to understand.

  “The Sovereigns don’t wish for too great of an imbalance to appear amongst Highgods either.” Arthurs explained. “If, hypothetically, a Highgod not only had an armor-type Sovereign artifact that merged into his body, but also a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact and an attack-type Sovereign artifact, then tell me…even if this sort of Highgod was weak in terms of understanding the Laws, wouldn’t he be terrifying?”

  Linley was stunned.

  If one’s material defense, soul defense, and attack power was all powered by Sovereign artifacts! This sort of person would indeed be monstrous.

  “That’d…be invincible.” Bebe muttered.

  “Supreme experts who acquire one Sovereign artifact will naturally desire a second one! But Sovereigns can’t just give them one. But if they want to kill an Emissary and seize the Sovereign artifact…even if you kill the Emissary and the Sovereign doesn’t deign to lower himself to killing you in retaliation, the Sovereign will still take back his artifact!” Arthurs said.

  “What? Take it back?” Bebe stared, wide-eyed.

  Linley felt surprised as well.

  Still, it made sense.

  Each Sovereign artifact was the product of countless labors of a Sovereign, who then gave it to an Emissary. Not avenging the death of an Emissary was one thing, but how could they not take back their artifact?

  “Thus, if you want to acquire a Sovereign artifact without being obstructed by a Sovereign, there’s only one method; to participate in the Planar Wars, and to have accomplishments in battle! If you kill ten commanders, you’ll be able to trade for a Sovereign artifact you want. If you kill twenty, you can trade for two!” Arthurs said.

  “Arthurs, are you saying…” Linley frowned.

  Arthurs said seriously, “The more powerful a person is, the more one seeks perfection! The Planar Wars only happen once every trillion years! Some supreme experts who, because of their prowess in battle, have obtained a second Sovereign artifact will then wish to acquire a third one. These experts are extremely powerful! Thus, you must be extremely careful. You cannot be the slightest bit incautious. There might even be Highgod Paragons amongst them! After all, although they have perfected their mastery of the Laws, they might not have a perfect set of Sovereign artifacts!”

  Linley had a sour taste in his mouth.

  This was completely understandable. If he were to have become a Highgod Paragon, he too would then desire to simultaneously wield three Sovereign artifacts! If he went to participate in the Planar Wars and encountered this sort of freakishly powerful individual, he wouldn’t be able to fight back at all.

  “These people are too greedy.” Bebe felt frightened as well.

  “It isn’t greed, it is desire!” Arthurs laughed calmly. “Only by having a desire will one have the motivation to move towards that goal! For those who have reached the peak…which one of them didn’t have a firm goal in mind? Which one of them didn’t have a desire? Everyone who can roam about in the Planar Wars is a supreme expert, the true kings of battle! Although I am a Sovereign’s Emissary, I haven’t participated in the Planar Wars a single time. That place…is a slaughter field! The place where experts fall! But also the place where experts are born!”

  Linley shook his head and laughed.

  “Haha…Arthurs, thank you for telling me these things. I’m mentally prepared now.” Linley laughed.

  “Don’t worry.” Bebe said. “If someone wishes to kill my brother, we’ll first have to see if he’s qualified to do so! When my Boss and I simultaneously use our innate divine abilities…hmph!”

  Arthurs glanced at Linley and Bebe.

  “Just remember! It’s not just the two of you who have innate divine abilities. In the vast, myriad planes, there are quite a few other unique divine beasts who also possess extremely terrifying divine abilities. The others who have reached the pinnacle without a divine ability also have their own powers to rely on.” Arthurs chuckled. “Alright, I’ll say no more. I wish the two of you good luck.”

  “Thank you.”

  Linley and Bebe immediately bade Arthurs farewell, then transformed into two rays of light, flying away into the distance.

  From the Abyssal Mountain to Tartarus, the distance truly was too great. After flying for some time, Linley said apologetically, “Bebe, if we ride the metallic lifeform to Tartarus, we’ll probably need two or three centuries. I don’t have any time to waste, so…I’ve decided to fly forward at full speed on my own power. I’m going to have to ask you to fly with me.”

  “Haha, I love flying anyhow.” Bebe understood what Linley was thinking.

  It would be rather tiring and taxing on his spiritual energy to whole-heartedly fly forward at high speed, especially on such a long journey. Very few people would rely on their own bodies to fly. It was indeed much faster to fly on one’s own, and one would travel far faster than a metallic lifeform, true, but it was too tiring. Still…what Linley needed right now was time. This was his only choice.

  “Crackle…” Linley instantly Dragonformed.

  And then, activating the Laws of the Wind, Linley flew towards the northern skies like an azure streak of light. If he were to fly at full speed, Linley would outstrip even Bebe, but Linley also used his divine wind power to help Bebe slightly.

  “Boss, have you told this to my grandpa yet?” Bebe asked while flying.
<
br />   “My divine fire clone has already gone to the Forest of Darkness to ask your grandpa. We will have some results soon. I don’t know what your grandpa will say.” Linley wasn’t confident about this journey either. Fortunately, his divine fire clone remained in the Yulan continent, and so he could go ask Beirut about this.

  Moments later…

  “Your grandpa has a reply for us.” Linley said.

  “What did he say?” Bebe immediately asked. “He should allow us to participate in the Planar Wars, right? Actually, it doesn’t matter even if he refuses. He isn’t in the Netherworld.”

  “Your grandpa agreed.” Linley chuckled. “Based on what your grandpa said…we need to be careful and not be greedy. He also said that you, Bebe, should go experience some real danger and so hopefully gain some insights. This would be of assistance to you in improving your understandings of the profound mysteries of the Laws.” Linley still remembered the tone in which Beirut spoke.

  According to what Beirut had said…

  Men were supposed to adventure. If they were always hiding and afraid of danger, it would be very hard for them to be successful.

  “Right. Grandpa has already done enough for me. It’s time for me to work hard.” Bebe pursed his lips.

  An azure streak of light flashed through the skies of the Netherworld, travelling at such speed that no bandits who saw them would dare to stop them. Even if they were hotheaded, they still wouldn’t dare to stop them, nor would they be able to catch them.

  “Rumble…” A vast, endless sea of water was undulating slightly. Staring into this deep, fathomless sea was like staring at a titanic, man-eating beast.

  This was the Nether Sea! The Nether Sea which was even greater than the Infernal Realm’s ‘Chaotic Sea’!

  Suddenly…

  A streak of azure light flashed past the skies above the sea, then in the blink of an eye disappeared from sight.

  “Boss, we’re almost at the Tartarus region.” Bebe said.

  “Based on the islands we saw earlier, we’ll need just a bit more time before arriving at Tartarus.” Linley couldn’t help but feel much better as well. After having flown at full speed for more than thirty years, Linley’s original body hadn’t rested at all for those thirty years. Fortunately, he was able to withstand this sort of exhaustion.

  And in the past thirty years, Linley’s divine clones were all focused on training. However, in thirty short years, his power didn’t improve that much.

  Fortunately, the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, which had the ‘bandage’ over the flaw be broken through by the colossal golden snake, had been re-repaired quite a bit, after thirty years of effort.

  “Boss, look! An island!” Bebe called out jubilantly.

  Linley looked over, and saw that extremely far in the distance, land could be seen. “We’ve finally reached Tartarus!”

  Book 19, Metamorphosis – Chapter 2, Flamebone Mountain

  Tartarus was divided up into a total of eighty one territories.

  Although they were called territories, in actuality, they represented eighty one enormous islands. In the past, when the Overgod of Death had created the Netherworld, he had left behind this unusual region deep in the Nether Sea; Tartarus. These eighty one islands were all comparable in size and very close to each other. If one looked at a map of them, one would see that they were arranged into a round shape.

  “Tartarus, the gathering place for the experts of the Netherworld!” Linley stood there in midair, stared at the distant islands.

  Tartarus was just like the Infernal Realm’s ‘Purgatory’; many experts who loved to do battle gathered there. They were arrogant and unyielding, and they loved to fight. After the passage of countless years, the eighty one territories of Tartarus had given birth to eighty one Lords! The Lords of Tartarus were thus supreme experts!

  Upon becoming a Lord of Tartarus, one would then have to face the challenges of other experts. Upon being defeated, the new, stronger expert would take the position!

  “Swoosh!”

  An azure streak of light flashed past the skies, quickly descending on the nearest island. Although it was described as an ‘island’, that was just in comparison to the vast Netherworld continent. If the Yulan continent were to be compared to it, the entire Yulan continent would be but a speck! Every single one of these eighty one ‘islands’ had a circumference of millions of kilometers.

  As soon as they landed, Linley and Bebe stared at their surroundings.

  This was a desolate, dreary land with almost no people.

  “After having flown for so long, I still have no idea which of the eighty one islands this island is!” Linley frowned slightly. The Nether Sea was too vast. Linley had relied on some unique waypoints to sketch out a rough journey. But the vastness of the Nether Sea meant that even the slightest deviation in direction would result in one ending up in a different island.

  Their only choice was to first figure out which of the eighty one islands they were currently on.

  That way, Linley would be able to be certain of the locations of the other islands and so go find that interspatial gate.

  “Boss, that’s simple. Find someone and ask. However, there really are so few people here, completely different from the Netherworld continent.” Bebe said with a frown. Linley laughed, “Everyone who dares to come to Tartarus is an expert. Even if ten million or a hundred million people were present, given how large the island is, that still would be a small figure. I imagine everyone would be clustered towards the center. Oh, hey, someone’s over there!”

  Linley’s eyes lit up.

  From afar, a golden-haired male was flying forward at high speed.

  “Let’s go ask!” Linley and Bebe flashed forward like lightning, piercing through the skies in pursuit.

  The golden-haired man turned back to look and was shocked. “What fast speed! Not easy to deal with!” Killings occurred in Tartarus at every moment. This golden-haired man didn’t dare to flee, for fear of angering them. He came to a halt, waiting for Linley and Bebe to arrive and halt in front of him, then forced out a smile. “What do the two of you need?”

  However, he looked with especial surprise towards Linley, who was currently in Dragonform.

  “Don’t worry.” Bebe said soothingly. “We aren’t here to cause you trouble, just to ask you a question. Which of the eighty one islands of Tartarus is this island?”

  The golden-haired man let out an inwards sigh of relief, then replied, “This island is the Lotuscliff Island of Tartarus.”

  “Lotuscliff Island? It seems in our haste to get here, we did indeed go slightly off our mark. We were originally planning to head to Willowshu Island.” A map of the eighty one islands of Tartarus appeared in Linley’s mind, and he immediately knew where he was located, and where they should head next.

  “Thank you.” Linley said to the golden-haired man, then said, “Bebe, let’s go.”

  Linley and Bebe, without resting, immediately flew into the air once more, flying directly eastwards at high speed.

  “Whew.” The golden-haired man, watching Linley and Bebe leave, finally let out a sigh of relief. The aura from the Dragonformed Linley was enough to cause him to be nervous.

  The centermost island of Tartarus…Flamebone Island!

  Flamebone Island’s most famous location was ‘Flamebone Mountain’. Flamebone Mountain didn’t have any supreme experts living there, but it was the place which held the interspatial gate leading to the Planar Wars. Each time a Planar War was about to begin, large numbers of people would pass through from here to the Planar Battlefield.

  Flamebone Island. The vast land of this island had a few occasional ancient stone buildings scattered throughout it.

  “Second Brother, today, the bald man at the ‘Bloodbath Arena’ really was powerful. He has at least fused three profound mysteries in lightning.” Two black-robed youths were flying in midair while chatting amongst themselves about what the battles they had just seen in the
Bloodbath Arena.

  “He was indeed fairly strong. He has already won sixty battles, including today’s. I wonder if he’ll be able to win a hundred.” The other, slightly skinner black-robed said with a sigh.

  “So what if he does win a hundred battles? Do you think he’ll have the courage to go challenge the Flamebone Lord?” The slightly fatter black-robed youth snickered. “The two of us have been here in the Flamebone region for a hundred million years, and have seen quite a few victors of a hundred battles, yes? But there have been only three who dared to challenge the Flamebone Lord, and on those three occasions, you saw the Flamebone Lord’s power as well. Those who challenged him definitely had the power of Seven Star Specters or even higher. They were far more powerful than that bald man, but…they all died within one exchange! They didn’t even have the chance to fight back.”

  “However, no one will have the chance to challenge the Flamebone Lord for now, even if they want to. I hear the Flamebone Lord entered the Planar Battlefield.”

  “Right, right. The Planar Battlefield! That’s a place where even Seven Star Specters will end up being slaughtered. However, if they manage to make it out alive with some accomplishments, then it’ll be incredible. I hear that one can acquire Sovereign’s Might, or at the higher levels, even a Sovereign artifact!” The two black-robed men chatted amongst each other, rather jealous.

  The greater the danger, the greater the rewards.

  However…

  The vast majority of people would turn green with fear when discussing the Planar Battlefield and not dare to enter.

  “Eh?” The black-robed brothers suddenly turned to stare into the distance.

  Two blurs streaked across the sky in a flash, advancing forward at high speed. They were so fast that the two black-robed brothers immediately grew alert. They came to a halt, and saw that it was a youth dressed in a long, sky-blue robe and a youngster wearing a straw hat. The youth said with a smile, “Apologies. There’s something I would like to ask. Do either of you know where Flamebone Mountain is?”

  Linley knew that the Flamebone Island had a Flamebone Mountain, but had never been there before.