Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 19, A Choice
“Planar Overseer?”
Hearing this title, Linley somewhat understood. The term ‘overseer’ contained elements of both ‘watching over’ and ‘protecting’. No wonder this Hodan possessed such astonishing strength.
“Linley, you haven’t answered me yet. Are you willing to go to the other planes?” Hodan urged.
It was up to each individual Saint-level as to whether or not they wished to go to the higher planes. The Planar Overseer was only responsible for telling them about this choice.
Linley remained very calm.
“Mr. Hodan, honestly speaking, I don’t know anything about the other planes. Can you perhaps enlighten me a bit?” Linley asked humbly.
Doehring Cowart actually knew about the existence of the Planar Overseer, but at the time, Linley was far too weak, and so Doehring Cowart didn’t see a need to tell Linley right away. But Doehring Cowart had explained a little bit about the Four Higher Planes.
“There are many material planes such as the Yulan continent. These material planes are all about the same. On some, magical beasts are the primary power, while in others, other races are in power. In some, humans are in power. These planes are essentially the same.” Hodan began explaining some of the most basic information regarding the Higher Planes.
“Above these material planes are the Four Higher Planes and the Seven Divine Planes.” Hodan laughed. “The Seven Divine Planes were created by the seven principal Sovereigns of the seven elements. As for the Four Higher Planes, they were created by the four Overgods.”
Linley nodded.
“The Seven Divine Planes and the Four Higher Planes...what are the differences between them?” Linley asked.
Hodan laughed. “The Seven Divine Planes are planes of earth, fire, water, wind, lightning, light, and darkness. For example, you are someone who is training in the Laws of the Earth. If you were to enter the Divine Plane of Earth, you would find that you trained twice as fast using half the effort.”
“However, the Seven Divine Planes are inferior to the Four Higher Planes. It’s best if you enter the Higher Realms.” Hodan said enticingly. “Linley, you must understand, the Higher Planes were created by the Overgods. The four Overgods far outstrip the power of the Sovereigns.”
“Overgods? Can anyone reach the level of Overgod through training?” Linley suddenly asked.
Hodan stared at Linley in astonishment.
“Haha...” Hodan began to roar with laughter, as though he had heard the funniest joke ever.
Linley looked at Hodan in confusion.
“Linley, it seems you really know nothing.” Hodan laughed. “You have no idea. The Overgods aren’t people who reached that level through training. Let me explain to you. Every single race has the chance to become a Sovereign through training; the chance is just extremely, extremely low...”
“How low?” Linley asked.
“Let me give an example. In a hundred million ordinary Deities, it would be rare for a single Sovereign to appear.” Hodan laughed. “For example, in the Divine Realm of Light, there are countless Demigods, Gods, and Highgods. But in ten million years, you might not see a single Sovereign appear from their ranks.”
Linley was silent.
“Demigods, Gods, and Highgods?” Linley frowned as he looked at Hodan in confusion.
In the past, Grandpa Doehring had only discussed the existence of ‘Gods’. He didn’t explain further.
“The ‘divine spark’ of Deities are of different levels as well.” Hodan said calmly. “Once you reach a certain level of mastery with regards to the Laws, the Laws will themselves grant you their recognition and descend into you a ‘divine spark’, allowing you to become a Deity. But when you begin, you’ll only be a Demigod. As you continue to understand more...at a certain level, you will become a God.”
Only now did Linley understood.
“What level of Deity is the War God?” Linley asked with curiosity.
Hodan glanced at Linley with irritation, then laughed. “For the sake of your ancestors, I’ll tell you. The War God...is only a Demigod.”
“A Demigod?” Linley blinked twice.
Good heavens. The War God had become a Deity over five thousand years ago. Given his talent, he should be much more powerful now than before. How could he still just be a Demigod?
“Haha, Linley, do you think it is easy to advance from being a Demigod to a God?” Hodan shook his head.
“But the War God was a Demigod five thousand years ago.” Linley immediately said.
“At that time, he was indeed a Demigod. But there are differences amongst Demigods as well. For example, let’s say that to become a Demigod, one must master 1% of a Law, while to become a God, one must master 10% of a Law. Someone who only mastered 9% of a Law is only a Demigod...but is he on the same level of power as someone who mastered 1% of a Law? Even though they are both Demigods?” Hodan explained in a simplified way.
Linley now understood.
“Linley, don’t be too greedy. On the road to becoming a Deity, every single step is extremely arduous. There have been countless Demigods in the Four Higher Planes who have spent hundreds of millions of years, or even billions of years, without being able to break through from the Demigod level to the God level.”
“But what about the Overgods?” Linley immediately said.
“The Overgods?” Hodan laughed again. “You were asking me earlier if it was possible for humans to reach the Overgod level, right? Let me explain...”
“The Overgods...” Hodan continued to snicker at Linley. “Linley, the Overgods aren’t people, nor do they have genders. They don’t even have bodies.”
“Uh?” Linley stared at Hodan in surprise.
“The four Overgods are manifestations of the Four Prime Laws. They are nothing more than the very embodiment of the Laws that flow through the countless planes! The Overgod of Death is the embodiment of the Laws of Death. The Overgod of Destruction is the incarnation of the Laws of Destruction. The Overgod of Life is the avatar of the Laws of Life. And the Overgod of Fate is the personification of the Laws of Fate!”
Hodan laughed as he looked at Linley. “You tell me. Can you become an Overgod through training?”
Linley understood.
The four Overgods were a natural part of the infinite planes of the universe. They were the heavens, they were the earth...they were part of the souls of every living creature.
They were the Laws themselves!
“The Overgods are beings of pure Law. They know nothing of love, hate, friendship, grudges, or other such emotions. They are cold. If you cursed an Overgod, they would ignore you. If you flattered them, they will not reward you. However...if you were to damage the planes themselves, then the Overgods would punish you.”
Linley laughed.
Although the Overgods existed, they were the personification of the Laws of the universe. There was no need to pay them any heed or attention at all.
“Curse an Overgod? Someone would dare to curse an Overgod?” Linley asked, laughing.
Hodan stared at him, then laughingly berated Linley, “I was just giving an example. In all my years in the Netherworld, I’ve never heard of an Overgod manifesting in person. As far as you should be concerned, the most invincible power in the world is the power of the Sovereigns. The will of the Sovereigns is not to be disobeyed!”
Linley nodded, signifying understanding.
“Linley, the Seven Divine Planes are extremely beneficial for someone training in a particular Law. But the Four Higher Planes are different. No matter what sort of Law you are studying, the speed at which you train in the Four Higher Planes will be as fast as if you were training in the relevant Law in one of the Seven Divine Planes.” Hodan said persuasively. “Thus, the Four Higher Planes are the best choices.”
The Four Higher Planes – the Celestial Realm, the Netherworld, the Infernal Realm, and the Life Realm.
“Linley. The ancestors of your clan are all in the Infernal Realm. Why don’t you go there as well?” Hodan continued.
Go?
Linley had already made up his mind.
The Infernal Realm only had the ancestors he had never met. There wasn’t much point going there. By contrast, in the Yulan continent, he had his younger brother Wharton, and his dear bros, Yale, Reynolds, and George. He also had many friends such as Barker, his brothers, Jenne, and the others.
In addition...
He also had a goal that was unfinished. The utter destruction of the Radiant Church.
Seeing Linley’s hesitation, Hodan continued to speak persuasively. “Linley, the Infernal Realm has countless races and all sorts of powerful species of creatures, which have all sorts of attacks. In the Infernal Realm, training is extremely exciting.”
“No need.”
Linley shook his head and laughed. “Mr. Hodan, thank you for telling me so much. However, I am still young, and I haven’t even gotten married. I’m in no rush to go there.”
Hearing Linley say this, Hodan could only nod with resignation.
As the Planar Overseer, he was forbidden from forcing people to leave this plane. If others were unwilling to leave, they could remain in their own plane as long as they liked, even to the point of becoming a Highgod.
“Mr. Hodan, I wish to ask you, if one goes to a Higher Plane, can one return?” Linley suddenly asked.
Hodan shook his head. “It is virtually impossible. Out of hundred thousand people who enter a Higher Plane, there usually isn’t even a single person who can come back to his homeland. This is because returning home carries an extremely high price.”
Linley understood.
No wonder the War God and the High Priest were unwilling to go to the Higher Planes. For even Deity-level experts to be unwilling to go, one could imagine how difficult returning was.
Not even one out of a hundred thousand would be able to return.
This probability was simply too low.
“Mr. Hodan, I’m so sorry to have wasted your time.” Linley said humbly.
“Since that’s the case, I’ll leave now.” Hodan stood up. “Linley, if one day you wish to leave this plane, you can come to the Arctic Icecap at the end of the North Sea to find me. I live atop a glacier in the Arctic Icecap.”
Linley felt surprised.
“The Arctic Icecap?” This was the first time Linley had heard that at the end of the North Sea, there was an ‘Arctic Icecap’.
“Mr. Hodan, what about at the end of the South Sea?” Linley was curious.
“The South Sea is far larger than the North Sea, and is virtually boundless. But at the end of it...at the end of it is the end of the Yulan plane. You’ll find nothing there but chaotic space.
Linley now understood.
After speaking, Hodan immediately flew into the air and left, heading north and quickly disappearing. Linley stood there, not moving for a long time.
This discussion with Hodan had a major impact on Linley.
“Boss, I’m actually pretty curious about the Higher Planes. Wow. All sorts of amazing species, and Saint-levels are just ordinary people there. That place must be awesome.” Bebe’s eyes were gleaming.
Linley patted Bebe on his little head. “Do you want to die?” Most likely, any expert in that plane could easily kill them.
Linley already had a plan for his future training.
Sovereign? That was too far away.
One step at a time. First, reach the Demigod level. Upon becoming a Demigod, Linley would have confidence in his ability to destroy the Radiant Church.
Linley knew his own limits. Given his current power, he wasn’t yet strong enough to impose his will upon and act as he pleased in the Yulan continent.
“It’s hard to say if I’d even be able to defeat Olivier.” Linley didn’t feel any confidence at all when it came to Olivier’s spiritual attack in his obsidian sword.
Spiritual attack?
Linley suddenly thought of his Coiling Dragon ring. In the past, when divine power had entered Linley’s soul, a burst of power had emanated from the Coiling Dragon ring to counter it.
“But Grandpa Doehring was also a master of the Coiling Dragon ring in the past. Why is it that at the point of his death, the ring didn’t help him?” Linley was puzzled.
The mysterious power of the Coiling Dragon had to be activated somehow.
The divine power of the Radiant Sovereign had done just that, somehow agitating the power in the Coiling Dragon ring, causing it to manifest protectively. But Olivier’s attack wouldn’t necessarily also activate the Coiling Dragon ring’s protective energy.
“I have no idea what secrets lie hidden within the Coiling Dragon ring. But no matter what, I can’t just put all my hopes on the Coiling Dragon ring. In battle, the only one I can rely on is myself.”
Right now, the manor was filled with countless nobles and magnates, but Linley and his two magical beasts remained in the training courtyard in the rear of the manor. As if no one was present, Linley began to train.
“After going to the Infernal Realm, returning will be almost impossible. I can’t possibly hope that I will receive any support from my ancestors. Everything that I do in the Yulan continent, I will have to rely on myself.”
But Linley had forgotten something. Why was it that the dozens of Dragonblood Warriors as well as all of the other Supreme Warriors had left the Yulan continent en masse, and hadn’t left even a single Saint-level expert behind to look after their descendants?
The waters of the Yulan continent were far deeper than Linley could imagine.