Coiling Dragon

by welyjesch

“They really are a single person.” Linley was completely stunned.

  Only a single person would be able to merge bodies like this.

  The strange thing was, after the two merged into one, the soul of the ‘fused’ person had a different aura. Compared to the pureness and gentleness of the white-robed Bresle’s soul aura, as well as the savagery of the black-robed Bresle’s soul aura, it was completely different.

  It was a mix, and yet, strangely, it was one.

  “Can you tell me what this is all about?” Linley looked at this Bresle, puzzled.

  Bresle looked at the surrounding people, then bowed and said, “Sovereign, I, Bresle…imagine that you can tell that I am not of an ordinary race.”

  Linley nodded.

  His body was so powerful that he could receive blows from Seven Star Fiend-level experts head on; how could an ordinary person withstand such blows? In addition, after transforming, the flesh on Bresle’s body would dramatically swell, and be covered with azure skin and complicated white runes. It actually looked rather like the skin of a serpent. And of course, two horns would emerge from his forehead.

  All of this represented that Bresle was not a member of an ordinary race.

  “I am a member of the ancient Bula race!” Bresle said respectfully.

  “Bula race?” Linley frowned.

  “Yes, Sovereign.” Bresle said respectfully. “The innate gifts of our Bula race are no weaker than a divine beast’s!”

  Linley knew that the world contained many marvelous creatures, some of which had their own innate divine abilities.

  For example, the Amethyst Mountains had given birth to the Redbud Sovereign, and the Nether Sea had given birth to the very first plant-based lifeform, the Chief Sovereign of Death. The Infernal Realm’s very first creature, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction…they all were all unique creatures. There were many creatures such as them, and generally speaking, each material plane would also give birth to one or two divine beasts or unique creatures as well.

  The Yulan Plane, for example, had given birth to the Godeater Rat.

  The other planes had quite a few as well. Only, everyone was different; although some had incredible innate gifts, their accomplishments were still meager.

  “Although our Bula race is powerful…we don’t have any innate divine abilities!” Bresle said.

  “No innate divine abilities?” Bebe couldn’t help but ask, puzzled.

  The more powerful a race was, the more likely it should be that they would have an innate divine ability.

  “The heavens are fair. We don’t have any innate divine abilities, but we have an innate gift from birth.” Bresle laughed. “Every single person of the Bula race, from their earliest memories, are aware of a very special technique…the technique to allow their souls to transform, and then for them to become two people.”

  “Transform?” Linley frowned.

  “Right, transform!” Bresle nodded. “Any intelligent lifeform will have personality flaws and weaknesses! For example, I like to research magic formations, and wanted to let myself be completely absorbed in analyzing them. But in my heart, I also hold desires and interests in other things, such as women, power, and more! These things will make it so that I am unable to calm myself down and focus on analyzing magic formations.”

  Linley nodded.

  This was much like how he himself was unable to completely focus on training without pause. Generally speaking, of Linley’s five divine clones, only four would train at once, with one being in a state of rest.

  “We Bulas are able to allow our personalities, bodies, and thoughts be completely separated into two. We put what we want in one, while we can discard the greed and vileness in our hearts into the other! Afterwards, we can allow our souls to transform and divide into two souls. And so, we will have divided into two people!” Bresle laughed. “For example, me. One of my bodies is calm and kind; I can completely focus on analyzing magic formations. But my other soul is filled with all sorts of venal desires; it can go kill, fight, and plunder.”

  “The two souls don’t want to disturb each other.” Bresle laughed. “And because each go to the extreme in their respective ways, I naturally will make great progress.”

  Linley, hearing this, was completely stunned.

  This was a single person who, in many ways, had become two persons.

  There was a saying that in the heart of every single person, there was a ‘demon’. Even the most noble, exalted of individuals would have, deep in their hearts, a brutal streak; only, those people had extremely powerful self-control and wouldn’t let it escape.

  But this Bula race, they were actually able to completely separate that brutality.

  “A person’s soul is very complicated! When a creature is born, they will naturally gain a soul, and as they gain experiences, their thoughts and soul will naturally change as well. Thus, their soul aura will also change minutely.” Bresle laughed calmly. “But of course, the change won’t be too extravagant. After all, when a person is born, their soul aura has essentially been set.”

  Linley nodded.

  He understood this principle. When he was young, he was a bit different compared to how he was right now. Although others could still recognize Linley at one glance, they would also be able to tell that he had changed.

  “After becoming a Deity, the soul is divided into two. That, however, is just a splitting of the soul; the mind and the aura doesn’t change. Or, more precisely speaking, it’s still exactly the same person, and so the thoughts are completely the same.” Bresle laughed. “But we of the Bula race are different. Our two bodies have different thoughts, different souls, different personalities! We go to two different extremes. Naturally, our soul auras will also change.”

  As he spoke, ‘Bresle’ once more transformed, dividing into two individuals once more; the white-robed Bresle and the black-robed Bresle.

  “When we are together, we will even get into fights because of our different attitudes and different methods of action.” The white-robed Bresle laughed as he looked at Linley. “Sovereign, can you imagine it?”

  “Bizarre. Inconceivable!” Linley sighed in amazement.

  The natural world truly was a bizarre place. Even these sorts of races could be created by the natural world. Although they didn’t have innate divine abilities, they had been bestowed with this unique racial gift.

  “How many members are there of your Bula race?” Linley couldn’t help but ask.

  “Very, very few.” The white-robed Bresle shook his head. “In all these years, I’ve only encountered three. When we Bulas meet each other, we can easily recognize each other.”

  “So few?” Bebe chortled. “Then if you want to find a Bula female and have a child, wouldn’t that be very difficult?”

  The white-robed Bresle was startled, but then he laughed and shook his head. “In truth, our Bula race doesn’t have ‘men’ or ‘women’; we decide which appearance we wish to take. The process of giving birth, for our Bula race, is actually quite simple. We sacrifice ourselves and use up our life energy to vomit out an egg. Soon after vomiting the egg out, we will perish. The child, in turn, will break through the egg and emerge, descending upon the world.”

  For one to be born, one must die.

  Linley and Bebe exchanged glances. They couldn’t help but sigh. This race truly was unique.

  Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 34, Samsara

  “For one to be born, one must die. Then how was the first Bula born?” Bebe blinked.

  Hearing this, Linley couldn’t help but laugh.

  “Bebe, tell me, how was the first Godeater Rat born?” Linley said.

  “Uh….” Bebe was speechless.

  “We Bulas, along with many other unique races, are all birthed by the heavens.” Bresle laughed. “For example, I was born in the Nala material plane, but the three members of my race that I met were all born from other planes. Although I know that I can sacrifice myself to give birth to a child, for now, I
don’t have that desire.”

  Linley understood.

  This was the rule of the universe; more powerful a race was, the fewer in number they would be.

  For example, the Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and the other two of the Four Divine Beasts. For example, the Abyssal Fruit Tree. The Chief Sovereign of Death, and the Chief Sovereign of Destruction. Those were most likely all unique. Although this Bula race had a very unique ability, they weren’t comparable to Godeater Rats or Abyssal Fruit Trees, and so there were quite a few of them by comparison. For example, over the course of the years, Linley alone had encountered, through using divine sense, more than a hundred members of the divine beast race, ‘Suanni Lion’.

  Divine beasts were divided into classes as well, after all.

  “Haha. I didn’t expect that this time, I had accepted a Bula as my Emissary.” Linley laughed. “And a grandmaster in magic formations, at that. Excellent. Let’s head out.”

  Linley released his Sovereign power, bringing the group alongside him as he transformed into a ray of earthen yellow light that flew at high speed towards the nearest teleportation array.

  While Linley’s group hastened towards the Infernal Realm, Borte and Manlu, the two Lesser Sovereigns, returned to the Celestial Realm.

  The one and only building that hovered in the air in the Celestial Realm…the Orloff Gardens.

  This levitating garden was the residence to one of the two most powerful of the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts…the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff!

  Within the quiet gardens. Orloff was seated in the meditative position atop the grass, his long, white beard past his chest.

  “Lord Orloff.” Borte and Manlu bowed as they arrived.

  “Oh, you returned.” Orloff smiled.

  Borte and Manlu couldn’t help but feel comfortable. As they saw it, choosing to subordinate themselves to the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, had been a wise decision. The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, was extremely powerful. In addition, he treated others very well. Given how icy and cold the Chief Sovereign of Destruction was, submitting to him would have been extremely unpleasant.

  But the Chief Sovereign of Fate? He always greeted them with a smile.

  Of course they would feel comfortable, and also feel all the more loyal to the Chief Sovereign of Fate.

  “Lord Orloff, you asked us to take on that man, Bresle, as an Emissary. But by the time we located and identified Bresle, he was actually with Linley.” Borte said helplessly. “We asked him to give up Bresle to us, but Linley refused. We even mentioned your name, Lord Orloff, but he didn’t care at all. He even barked at us.”

  The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, upon hearing this, simply laughed. “Forget it. This Linley is a Chief Sovereign-level expert, after all. It isn’t strange that he has a bit of an attitude.”

  “Alright.”

  Borte and Manlu both bowed.

  “Alright. In roughly a century, the Planar War will begin.” The Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, rose to his feet, then stared into the distance. “I have to pay a visit to the Divine Light Plane as well.”

  The Infernal Realm. Bloodridge Continent. Within the borders of the Indigo Prefecture.

  “Whoosh!”

  A ray of earthen yellow light flashed past the skies, descending into the Skyrite Mountains. The ray of light moved so quickly that even many of the Highgod clansmen weren’t able to notice it.

  The Skyrite Mountains. Linley’s estate.

  Linley’s group suddenly appeared out of nowhere within the empty, grassy field within the estate.

  “Elder Linley!”

  The maids and guards, upon seeing Linley, were badly startled. They all hurriedly saluted or curtsied.

  “Haha, Linley, you were gone for quite long, this time.” A voice rang out. Beirut and Bluefire emerged at the same time.

  Beirut swept Linley and Bebe with his gaze, along with the seven behind them. The seven were the five Emissaries, and the black-robed and white-robed Bresles. As for the commander of the army, Wilhelm, upon Linley’s group arriving at the teleportation array, Wilhelm had elected to stay behind with the teleportation array guards instead of accompanying them.

  “These are the Emissaries you found?” Beirut laughed.

  “Right.” Linley laughed and nodded. “But of course, finding Emissaries didn’t take up too much time. The main thing was, Bebe and I took a nice tour of those three Divine Planes.”

  The nearby Bluefire couldn’t resist saying, “You seem to be quite at-ease. Right. Those clones you left behind in the estate…why are they all absorbed in training? I wanted to speak with you, but didn’t find any chance to.”

  Linley could only chuckle.

  Indeed, of his five major clones, only his original body was relaxed and at-ease. The other three Sovereign clones, as well as his divine fire clone, were all training.

  “You can stay here for now.” Linley glanced at the Emissaries behind him, and then looked towards a distant maid. “Make the arrangements for them to have places to stay.”

  “Yes, Elder.” The maid said respectfully.

  The six Emissaries thus followed the maid away to settle down here.

  Linley and the other two sat down around a table. The three began to drink and chat.

  “Oh, from what you are saying, in the past five centuries, you’ve improved quite a bit?” Beirut said, surprised.

  Linley nodded. “My power is roughly three times as great as it previously was.”

  “Three times!” Beirut and Bluefire couldn’t help but feel stunned.

  In truth, ever since he had begun to completely merge the four Laws, Linley’s ‘Sword Intent’ had begun to increase in power as well.

  The different between the fusion of three profound mysteries of different Laws and four profound mysteries of different Laws was nearly a hundredfold. For Linley to have only improved his power threefold wasn’t much.

  But to a Chief Sovereign-level expert, a threefold increase in power was truly terrifying.

  “Haha, excellent!” Beirut couldn’t help but slap his hands on the table and sigh, “It seems the days of the Chief Sovereign of Light are numbered.”

  “Right.” Linley nodded. “The next Planar War is less than a hundred years from now. During this period of time, the forces that will send people in to do battle will begin to gather. Augusta most likely coordinate with the Chief Sovereign of Fate, Orloff, as he did before. This isn’t the time to attack yet. In addition, my power is still, slowly rising. I’ll wait for now. This is the right time to wait, and what’s more, I’m quite confident.”

  Beirut and Bluefire couldn’t help but laugh.

  Linley had never given up the goal of killing Augusta. The hatred between Augusta and Linley stemmed from multiple causes. Last time, Linley had compromised for the sake of his mother’s life. He had no other choice.

  Augusta himself knew that Linley was just biding his time and tempering his rage for now.

  But as Augusta saw it, since Linley was a Paragon already, he had no further potential for growth. Linley wasn’t someone for him to fear; in fact, Augusta seized the opportunity to give Linley a good fleecing during their negotiations.

  Time flowed on, and in the blink of an eye, decades passed.

  The six Emissaries under Linley’s control were in no rush to head to the Planar Battlefield. They remained within the Skyrite Mountains!

  The Skyrite Mountains. Linley’s estate.

  In an empty area, the black-robed Bresle and the other five Emissaries were organized into a hexagonal star formation. A very unusual surge of divine power was constantly circulating through them. The black-robed Bresle and the rest of the six were constantly moving about at high speed, flashing hither and to, sometimes going into the air, sometimes going into the distance, and sometimes landing back down.

  In addition, they often launched attacks towards the air, causing one spatial rift after another to appear.

  “Everyone, hal
t.” The white-robed Bresle barked with a frown.

  Instantly, all six landed onto the ground.

  “What is it, Bresle?” The four men and two women looked at the white-robed Bresle.

  “It’s wrong. The way the formation currently works…consumes too much energy. More than half the energy is wasted.” Bresle couldn’t help but shake his head.

  “It’s already quite excellent.” The beautiful lady with fish scales on her forehead said with a laugh. “When the six of us join together, our attack power and defense power all increase dramatically. In addition, those of us with stronger defenses can help those with weaker defenses take on some more of the burden. When we attack together, we are comparable to eighteen Emissaries fighting separately.”

  Sometimes, joining forces was a good thing. Sometimes, it was a bad thing. During Planar Wars, for six Emissaries to be gathered in one place was giving the enemy a chance to annihilate them all in one massive attack.

  However, if those six Emissaries were able to work within a magical formation that allowed their strengths and defenses to join together, then the situation would naturally be different.

  “No. Too much energy is being wasted in the activation of this formation. This is completely different from the ‘Samsara Formation’ that I envisioned.” The white-robed Bresle shook his head.

  Right at this moment…

  “Samsara Formation?” A voice rang out. Linley and Delia were walking together towards their direction.

  “Sovereign.” Everyone bowed.

  Linley laughed as he looked at the white-robed Bresle. “Bresle, your accomplishments in the art of formations is quite impressive. In recent days, I’ve been watching you six constantly test out this formation. I have the feeling…that the six of you will becoming marvels to behold at the Planar Battlefield.” When a Sovereign’s Emissaries did well, the Sovereign would gain face as well.

  “Sovereign, this is still quite different from what I had envisioned.” The white-robed Bresle shook his head. “Long ago, I spent nearly a hundred million years to develop this Samsara Formation for the sake of allowing myself and ‘Black Robes’ to join together and release even greater power. This six man formation is something which I devised based on an extrapolation and expansion of the original Samsara Formation. But this formation…six people joining together is much more difficult.”