Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

  “Linley, your power isn’t that much stronger than mine. The only advantage you have is that your Dragonformed body is comparable to a Sovereign artifact and can be used as a Sovereign weapon. But if I go all out, it’s hard to say who will live and who will die.” Augusta sent back. “Are you truly willing to fight in such a manner?”

  After their recent clash, Linley knew this as well.

  He wasn’t that much stronger than his foe. In a life-and-death battle like this, it would indeed be hard to say who would win and who would lose. However, in terms of chances, Linley should have an 80% chance while Augusta only had a 20% chance.

  “I’m willing!” Linley said calmly.

  “Fine, you madman!” Augusta’s face turned savage. “Then don’t blame me for this.”

  As he spoke, Augusta suddenly changed directions, flying towards another region at high speed.

  “Eh?” Linley’s face changed.

  Augusta was now fleeing towards the direction of the Celestial Realm. Although the two were only ten or so kilometers apart from each other now, the amount of time necessary for Linley to catch up was more than enough for Augusta to reach the Celestial Realm.

  Linley couldn’t help but feel puzzled as to why Augusta was fleeing towards the Celestial Realm.

  “According to the stories, the Divine Darkness Plane is aligned with the Infernal Realm, while the Divine Light Plane is aligned with the Celestial Realm. Can it be that Augusta is going to beg the Chief Sovereign of Fate for help?” Linley couldn’t help but guess at this possibility. It was normal for Chief Sovereigns to have relationships with other Chief Sovereigns.

  “What, you are going to find the Chief Sovereign of Fate?” Linley sent.

  While fleeing, Augusta said threateningly, “Right, I’m going to find Lord Orloff! Lord Orloff owes me a favor. Although he never gets involved in worldly affairs, if I call in that favor and have him kill you, that won’t be a problem at all. This trump card…I’ve never been willing to actually use it. Don’t force me to do so!”

  Linley hesitated.

  “Is Augusta telling the truth or not?” Linley mused to himself.

  If it was true…given the power of the Chief Sovereign of Fate, for him to kill Linley definitely wouldn’t be a problem. Linley wouldn’t be able to fight back.

  “A favor? Why would Lord Orloff owe you a favor?” Linley snickered.

  “Linley, don’t doubt it. You can go ask the Chief Sovereign of Destruction or anyone else about this favor which Lord Orloff owes me. They all know about it! Go ahead and ask, and you’ll know if I’m lying or not.” Augusta wasn’t actually willing to use up his trump card in such a manner either.

  The Chief Sovereign of Fate wouldn’t casually beg someone for help.

  A favor from him, in exchanging for having helped him with something…that could be used to save one’s life.

  If the favor was used up, it would be gone. Unless Augusta was truly at the verge of death, how could he be willing to use it?

  Linley pondered rapidly, then let out a cold laugh. “Oh, Lord Orloff owes you a favor? Fine. For Lord Orloff’s sake, I’ll let this matter come to an end. But I warn you; in the future, don’t make trouble for members of my Four Divine Beasts clan. Otherwise…even at the cost of my life, I will kill you.”

  After speaking, Linley turned and flew towards the Infernal Realm.

  “Whew.” Only now did Augusta let out a sigh of relief.

  Augusta watched as Linley flew towards the distant Infernal Realm, and he couldn’t help but curse softly. “How did this Linley suddenly grow so powerful? Fortunately, his speed is roughly equal to mine. If I want to be able to get rid of Linley, I either have to train to the Paragon level, or use the second method.”

  The second method was naturally to go ask Orloff to dispose of Linley.

  “However, there’s no need for me to fear Linley either.” Augusta stared into the distance and let out a calm laugh. “Linley is a Paragon! He has already maximized his potential, whereas I have only fused five profound mysteries, and am just a step away from becoming a Paragon. When, one day, I too become a Paragon, I will be able to easily deal with him.”

  “This time, when I go back, I need to calm my mind and focus on my training.”

  And so, Augusta turned and flew towards the Divine Light Plane.

  The Four Higher Planes were all neighbors, while the Seven Divine Planes were close by as well.

  These eleven planes were located in the same area, and in their center was the ‘Planar Battlefield’.

  “I didn’t expect that Augusta would actually be so powerful.” While flying through the void, Linley frowned pensively. If Augusta had been just slightly weaker, Linley would have killed him long ago. But Augusta’s power was almost on par with his own. Once Augusta fled to the Chief Sovereign of Fate, then there would be no hope.

  Linley couldn’t afford to die. If he died, Beirut and Bluefire would be in trouble as well.

  The Yulan branch would probably be forever suppressed by Augusta, never to rise again.

  Thus, Linley chose to temporarily retreat.

  “The Chief Sovereign of Fate owes him a favor? Hmph. I’ll let Augusta live a bit longer for now, then.” Linley mused to himself. “I will go back and focus on fusing the Laws. If I become a Paragon, then even Orloff will be no match for me, much less Augusta.” Linley had already reached the borders of the Infernal Realm.

  With a wave of the hand, he tore open a spatial rift.

  And so, Linley re-entered the Infernal Realm!

  In terms of fusing the different Laws, Linley had currently only fused three of them. It must be understood that with each increase in the number of different Laws, the power of the fusion would increase a hundredfold! In addition, based on what Linley believed, once he fused all four of the Laws, the heavens would probably bestow him with another portion of Will.

  By then, who would Linley have to fear?

  The Infernal Realm. The air above the Bloodridge Continent.

  Linley’s figure was soaring through the skies. Compared to Linley, the nearby metallic lifeforms seemed to be slow, crawling ants. They were on completely different levels of speed.

  “Whoosh!” His divine sense covered the entire Bloodridge Continent.

  Linley instantly discovered Beirut, located within the Skyrite Mountains. This was Beirut’s divine clone.

  “Grandpa Beirut.” Linley sent.

  Beirut’s divine clone always remained within the Indigo Prefecture of the Bloodridge Continent.

  Indigo Prefecture. The Skyrite Mountains. Beirut was temporarily living within the estate that had been built for Linley.

  “Hm?” Beirut raised his head, only to a figure descending from the skies, moving towards him at a speed comparable to teleportation. It was Linley.

  “Linley.” Beirut was overjoyed. “How did it go? Did you kill Augusta?” Beirut’s eyes were filled with hope. Upon seeing the look on Beirut’s face, Linley couldn’t help but laugh bitterly.

  “I failed.” Linley shook his head and sighed.

  “How?!” Beirut was shocked. “Given your true power, you should have been able to easily kill him.”

  Linley shook his head. “Grandpa Beirut, everyone has been deceived by Augusta. His true power…isn’t even close to what we thought it was. His power is more than ten times greater than what I had expected! He isn’t much weaker than me at all. Even if I fought with him to the death, it’s uncertain as to who would be the one to perish. More importantly…the Chief Sovereign of Fate apparently owes him a favor. Have you heard of this matter?”

  “The Chief Sovereign of Fate owes Augusta a favor?” Beirut shook his head. “I’m not too sure about that. I’ve only been a Sovereign for twenty thousand years, after all.”

  “I have the feeling that Augusta wasn’t lying.” Linley laughed helplessly. “Alright. We’ve been waiting and enduring for so many years; we’ll just wait for a while longer. Now that I’ve fused
with my wind-type Sovereign spark, I’m going to establish a divine plane of wind and increase my insights in the wind as well. Perhaps it will also help me improve my level of understanding with regards to fusing separate Laws as well.”

  Beirut nodded.

  It seemed as though this was the only option.

  However, Beirut wasn’t worried. Given Linley’s potential, he had a chance to surpass even the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, much less Augusta. Only…he needed time!

  Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 23, Twelve-Winged Angel

  “Hey, Grandpa Beirut, why are the four clan leaders here?” Linley looked towards Beirut, puzzled.

  Linley’s divine sense had easily detected that Gislason and the rest of the four were within his estate. Only, there were in the east gardens of the estate.

  “Oh, about that…” Beirut said awkwardly. “Linley, when you went to kill Augusta, I thought that this matter would be resolved without a hitch. And I also knew…that Gislason and the others had always wanted to take revenge for their four ancestors. Thus, I told them in advance, so as to let them be happy about this.”

  Linley was stunned. He didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.

  “Are they…waiting for my good news?” Linley truly didn’t know whether he should laugh or do…something.

  Beirut tugged at his beard, coughing twice. “After I told them, they were extremely excited. They simply couldn’t wait, so they decided to stay in your estate, so that they could immediately come find you once you returned. I imagine…the guards and the maids of the estate, upon seeing you return, have already informed the four of them. They will be arriving soon.”

  Without a quiet hall.

  Gislason and the Vermillion Bird Matriarch were both seated. The White Tiger Patriarch was frowning and pacing back and forth, while the Black Tortoise Patriarch was standing at the doorway, anxiousness in his eyes.

  “Elder Brother, when will Linley return?” The Black Tortoise Patriarch couldn’t help but turn and speak in a deep, booming voice.

  “Sovereigns move extremely quickly. Based on my calculations, it should be soon. Stop standing there at the doorway and sit down. Calm down and wait patiently.” Gislason urged.

  “How can I possibly sit down at a time like this?” The Black Tortoise Patriarch had a hint of impatience on his face. Clearly, he was quite frustrated and uneasy.

  The Vermillion Bird Matriarch, seated next to Gislason, let out a helpless chuckle. “Elder Brother, stop criticizing Third Brother. Even I, sitting here, don’t feel calm in the slightest. Sovereigns are extremely fast, and so today he will definitely return. I wonder if Linley was able to succeed or not.”

  “Lord Beirut said it himself.” Gislason said. “Given Lord Beirut’s temperament…would he say something he wasn’t confident of?”

  “Right.” The others all acknowledged this.

  Despite that, however, the four clan leaders still felt nervousness in their hearts.

  “Patriarch, Patriarch.” Right at this moment, a figure flew over at high speed.

  “Whoosh!”

  Gislason and the Vermillion Bird Matriarch all suddenly stood up, and the four clan leaders looked towards the maid who was flying over. The maid called out hurriedly from afar, “Lord Linley has returned! He is at Lord Beirut’s estate!”

  “Swoosh!”

  Streaks of light flashed past, and the four figures disappeared from within the hall.

  Beneath the large tree. Next to the stone table. Linley and Beirut were currently seated, facing each other.

  “They are coming.” Linley took a sip of wine, then let out a resigned laugh.

  “This is all my fault.” Beirut shook his head, letting out a resigned, awkward chuckle. “To be honest, I still don’t understand. The Chief Sovereign of Light is a Chief Sovereign, but not a Paragon. How could it be that his power was ten times greater than what we predicted it to be? The Divine Light Plane has never won ten consecutive rounds in the Planar Wars.”

  “Unless…Augusta has a Sovereign clone.” This was Beirut’s judgment.

  Linley pondered for a long time, but could only come to this conclusion as well.

  But this seemed to be impossible.

  “The chances are quite low.” Linley shook his head. “I’ve met more than sixty Sovereigns by now. Not a single one of them shares the same aura as the Chief Sovereign of Light. If the Chief Sovereign of Light had a Sovereign clone, how could he possibly manage to hide it from the other Chief Sovereigns? The Chief Sovereigns of Death and Destruction were born with the creation of the planes themselves. Even if others might be fooled, those two would not.”

  Beirut nodded as well.

  What, exactly, was the reason for the Chief Sovereign of Light to be more than ten times as powerful as they had predicted?

  “Linley!” A frantic voice rang out.

  Linley turned to look. He saw four streaks of light surge forward, then solidify into four figures. It was Gislason and the other three clan leaders. The stable, reliable Gislason; the grim, callous White Tiger Patriarch; the wise, intelligent Vermillion Bird Matriarch; the taciturn, reserved Black Tortoise Patriarch. All of them were staring towards Linley with blazing, eager eyes.

  “Has the Chief Sovereign of Light been killed?” The Vermillion Bird Matriarch couldn’t help but ask.

  Linley and Beirut shared a glance, and then Linley laughed bitterly. “Gislason, I’ve disappointed you. I wasn’t able to kill Augusta!”

  Linley didn’t explain further.

  Gislason and the other three were stunned. And then, they let out forlorn, awkward smiles.

  “Linley.” Gislason bowed. “I know that for Lord Beirut to tell us about it meant that he had felt a certain degree of confidence. This time was a failure…we very much would like to know, Lord Linley, will you kill the Chief Sovereign of Light in the future?” The other three clan leaders immediately looked towards Linley.

  Linley’s divine sense stretched across the entire Skyrite Mountains. Given the power of his divine sense, if there were any other Sovereigns watching, they wouldn’t be able to avoid drawing his attention.

  “I’m uncertain as to exactly when I will kill him. But once I have enough power, I will.” Linley said solemnly.

  Gislason and the other three looked at each other, then smiled gratefully towards Linley.

  “Thank you.” The four all bowed slightly.

  “No need. I’m a member of the Four Divine Beasts clan as well, after all.” Linley let out a low sigh. Actually, the grateful look in the eyes of Gislason and the others only made him feel even guiltier. After all, he hadn’t killed Augusta yet.

  “Alright.” Beirut laughed. “The four of you can go back and rest. The Four Divine Beasts clan has been able to wait twenty thousand years for vengeance; there’s no need to be impatient now.” Beirut could sense that things were a bit awkward right now between the four clan leaders, himself, and Linley. It was best to have them leave for now.

  Gislason and the other three immediately left.

  “This time…ugh.” Beirut laughed self-mockingly. “Their awkwardness just now…that was completely my doing.”

  “It isn’t your fault. After all, I still have yet to understand how the Chief Sovereign of Light could have been more than ten times as powerful as we had anticipated. What caused this?” Linley suddenly frowned. “Grandpa Beirut, I also discovered two particularly special things. The first is that Augusta’s physical strength is very powerful. Although it is inferior to mine, he’s still very powerful. Secondly, Augusta’s soul defense is also very powerful.”

  Augusta had been struck by Linley’s ‘Sword Intent’, but his soul didn’t seem react to it at all.

  Beirut, hearing this, felt puzzled as well.

  “His body is extremely strong, and his soul is extremely strong as well? Augusta…what is his secret?” Beirut mused softly.

  “If we can’t figure it out, we might as well stop thinking about it.�
� Linley changed the subject. “Grandpa Beirut. What I’m worried the most about is my mother! However, I have no memories of my mother at all, nor do I know the spiritual aura of my mother. Even if I stretched my divine sense across the Divine Light Plane, I wouldn’t know which Angel is my mother.”

  Even if his mother was standing right in front of him, he probably wouldn’t recognize her.

  “This is quite troublesome.” Beirut let out a helpless laugh. “When your mother was alive, I swept her with my divine sense. Only, why would I pay any particular attention to an ordinary mortal? Thus, I have no memories of your mother’s soul aura.”

  “Grandpa Beirut.” Linley said, worried. “I know that the Angels are divided into Two-Winged Angels, Four-Winged Angels, and even Twelve-Winged Angels. What sort of angel should my mother be?”

  Linley was worried that his mother was already dead.

  It must be understood that most low-level Angels were sent to descend upon material planes. Those low-level Angels could die at any time.

  “What sort of Angel is your mother? Let me ask you this, when your mother’s soul was offered to the Sovereign, did the Radiant Church receive any sort of reward?” Beirut suddenly asked.

  “They did.” Linley’s eyes lit up, and he hurriedly said, “Based on what I heard, the Radiant Church itself received an astronomical reward. Even King Clayde, the one who offered my mother to the Radiant Church, was rewarded by having his strength increased from the eighth rank to the ninth rank.”

  “Oh.” Beirut’s eyes lit up, and he immediately laughed. “Linley, Angels are divided into six ranks. The lower three ranks are all Saints, while the higher three ranks are Deities. Generally speaking, they are determined by the purity of the offered soul. Only when a church in a material plane offers a soul that can become a Deity will it be rewarded.”

  Linley couldn’t help but nod.

  Right. Angels were numerous beyond measure. If the offered soul could only become a Saint, of course there wouldn’t be any reward.

  “But the size of the rewards are also determined by the purity of the soul. Generally speaking, Eight-Winged Angels are equivalent to Demigods. Demigods, being the weakest type of Deities, naturally won’t result in significant rewards. At most, the rewards would simply be encouraging in nature. Souls that are able to be transformed into Ten-Winged Angels will result in slightly better rewards. After all, Gods aren’t anything either.”