Book 9, His Fame Shakes the World – Chapter 22, The War God’s Summons
After saying these words, Fain turned and walked to the edge of the peak, allowing the wind to buffet his long robes. As for Linley, he continued to sit there, digesting what he had just learned.
From the Planar Overseer, Hodan, Linley had learned that upon reaching the Saint-level, one could leave the plane of the Yulan continent.
From Fain, Linley had learned that the Yulan continent’s plane contained a major secret. The descent of those experts from other planes five thousand years ago was also related to this mystery.
Actually, it was already quite incredible that Linley had reached his current level at the tender age of twenty seven. After all, those extremely powerful experts who were training in secret here in the Yulan continent had all been training for countless years.
“Whew.” Linley let out a long breath.
“Why worry about so much? As long as my little brother and I are happy, and as long as I can exterminate the Radiant Church to avenge my parents, I should feel satisfied.”
Linley’s current goals required that he reach a certain level of power.
As for Linley himself, he truly enjoyed the path of training.
The path of training was filled with obstacles, treacherous cliffs, and dangers. Many powerful people had lost their lives on this path. How few would actually reach the pinnacle?
In the entire Yulan continent, there were only five Deities.
Ever since embarking on this path, Linley’s goal was to stand at the very pinnacle of the Yulan continent. When he had embarked on this path as a youth, Linley had mentally prepared himself for the possibility of death and failure.
“When I was six, because I was unable to train in Dragonblood battle-qi, my dream was to become a warrior of the seventh or eighth ranks. Afterwards, I not only became a Dragonblood Warrior, I also became the genius magus of the Holy Union.”
“When I was young, I dreamed of eventually reaching the Saint-level. And now, I have become a peak-stage Saint.”
A hint of a smile was on Linley’s lips.
He had confidence.
“Fain? In the not too-distant future, I will defeat him as well.” Linley felt full of excitement. The more experts he surpassed and the greater the heights he achieved, the more satisfied he felt.
What truly moved a person wasn’t the results he gained, but the overcoming of setbacks and breakthroughs which one made on the path to success.
Fain turned his head, looking at Linley.
“Rest here for now. At nightfall, I will take you to see Master.” Fain smiled.
“The War God?” Linley frowned.
The War God wanted to personally meet with him?
“Naturally, Master has something he wishes to discuss with you. Just train here quietly for now. If there is anything you need, you can ask me.” Fain didn’t want to waste any more time on Linley. He walked to a stone that had already been polished smooth by him sitting on it countless times. Seating himself in the meditative stance, he closed his eyes.
Linley stared at the meditating Fain.
“What exactly does the War God want?” Linley didn’t think about it for too long, as he also sat down and began to quietly meditate.
.....
Time passed. In the blink of an eye, the sun had set.
Fain had been quietly meditating on the boulder. Suddenly, his body began to turn blurry, then disappeared from atop the boulder and reappeared next to it.
Seeing that Linley had been quietly meditating this entire time, Fain couldn’t help but secretly nod.
True experts had to learn how to endure solitude.
For example, Olivier had quietly meditated by himself atop that desolate mountain for three full years. Linley, in turn, had spent three painstaking years training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. If one couldn’t endure solitude, one’s level of talent wouldn’t make a difference.
“Linley, it is about time. Come with me to meet Master.” Fain smiled.
Linley opened his eyes as well, and immediately followed Fain.
Fain walked to the side of the peak, and then began to fly downwards. Although Linley wasn’t able to fly in human form, Linley leapt off the peak as well, allowing himself to gracefully drift downwards.
Based on his mastery of the wind, Linley could slow down the rate of his descent.
Soon, Fain landed at the half-way point down the mountain, and Linley landed as well.
“Come in with me.” Fain headed straight for a natural tunnel. Linley felt rather puzzled. The War God actually lived in a tunnel?
The tunnel curved left and right. After a long time, it ended in that deep, bottomless pit. Looking down into it, nothing but darkness could be seen.
“Let’s go down.” Fain jumped down directly, and Linley followed him.
“Whoosh.” “Whoosh.”
The two fell down at high speed. Linley was secretly shocked. “We’ve definitely fallen for at least two thousand meters. We’re below the ground level by now.”
After falling for a long period of time, Fain and Linley gracefully floated to the ground.
And then, Linley followed Fain as they continued to move through the tunnel, but as they did, the tunnel’s temperature grew higher and higher.
“What a high temperature.”
Even Linley didn’t dare to resist this terrifying heat with his body alone. He had to use his battle-qi to protect the soles of his feet, and even his skin and head was covered by a layer of azurish-black battle-qi.
Without the protection of his battle-qi, most likely Linley would have caught on fire.
The surrounding stone walls were all red with heat. After walking for a while, Linley saw a pitch-black stone door in front of him. Despite the extremely high temperature, the stone door hadn’t turned even the slightest bit red. Clearly, it was made from no ordinary material.
“Whoooooosh.”
Gusts of hot air came from the other side of the door, carrying with it a faint, majestic presence. Faced with this majestic presence, Linley actually felt the sudden urge to bow down towards it.
“Master, I’ve brought Linley.” Fain said respectfully.
The War God?
The War God was past this door!
Linley had previously been calm, but now, his heart couldn’t help but begin to beat faster. He was actually standing in front of one of the six ultimate experts of the Yulan continent, with only a stone door separating them.
“Alright. Fain. You can leave now.” A calm voice rang out.
“Yes, Master.” Fain respectfully departed.
Linley still stood there, quietly waiting for the War God to address him.
“Linley. Twenty seven years old. An Arch Magus of the ninth rank who has already embarked on the path of understanding the Laws...” The War God’s voice remained very calm. “Linley, you aren’t bad.”
Linley frowned.
He could sense that the War God’s voice seemed to be causing his soul to shudder. He had the sense that if the War God was to raise his voice a little bit, it would cause his soul to dissipate and collapse.
“Thank you for your praise, War God.” Linley said humbly.
“I have already instructed Fain to tell you that which you need to know. Outside the door, there is a scarlet talisman of command. Take it. From today forward, you can be considered to be someone belonging to my side.” The War God said calmly.
Linley’s heart shook.
Considered to be someone belonging to the War God’s side?
He turned to look at the side of the door. Indeed, atop a flat rock, there was a scarlet red talisman, which slowly rose into the air and began to fly towards Linley.
Atop the talisman, a single engraved word could be seen: “War”!
“What is this War God thinking? I’ll be considered as belonging to his side?” Linley felt somewhat unhappy. The War God was forcibly recruiting him without even asking or negotiating with him.
The War God’s calm voice once more rang out, “Given your current level of power, you actually aren’t yet qualified to receive this talisman. However...I believe you will reach that level sooner or later, which is why I am giving it to you in advance. Once you have this talisman, you will be qualified to investigate the secrets of the Yulan continent.”
“The secrets of the Yulan continent?” Linley said.
“When your human form reaches the Saint-level, or...when you defeat the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson, come find me again. By then, you will be qualified to know this secret. Only then would you truly be worthy of this talisman.” The War God said calmly.
From the War God’s words, Linley could sense a certain lonely arrogance.
In the War God’s eyes, the current Linley wasn’t even qualified to possess this talisman. In his eyes, Linley’s power was indeed quite weak.
Linley knew his own limits as well.
“War God.” Linley said respectfully. “You just said when my human form reaches the Saint-level, or when I defeat the Monolithic Sword Saint? Does that mean you, War God, feel that only after my human form reaches the Saint-level will I be able to defeat the Monolithic Sword Saint, Haydson?”
The War God was momentarily silent.
“That Monolithic Sword Saint is reputed to be the world’s strongest Saint. Although in the eyes of those other peak-stage Saints who lie hidden throughout the world, he doesn’t live up to that reputation, Haydson’s current level of power can still be considered on par with those who have trained for thousands of years.
Linley understood.
“As for reaching the Saint-level in your human form...if you remain unable to defeat Haydson even after your human form reaches the Saint-level, then I will feel embarrassed on your ancestors’ behalf.” The War God said calmly.
Linley laughed.
Clearly, as far as the War God was concerned, once Linley’s human form reached the Saint-level, Linley should definitely have surpassed Haydson. But the War God seemed to currently feel that he was not yet able to overcome Haydson.
“I refuse to believe that the War God knows about the true offensive power of my ‘Profound Truths of the Earth.’” Linley said to himself.
Although the War God possessed divine power, he wasn’t omniscient.
“Linley, let me offer you a word of advice!” The War God suddenly said.
“War God, please speak.” Linley’s eyes lit up, and he immediately listened carefully. The War God had become a Deity over five thousand years ago. His advice could allow Linley to avoid many missteps.
That calm voice rang out from behind the stone door. “The Elemental Laws contain all sorts of truths. What you need to do is select a single path and follow it to its conclusion. It is best if you don’t simultaneously train in multiple paths.”
Linley was startled. The Elemental Laws were indeed quite boundless. For example, Linley was currently analyzing two aspects of the Elemental Laws of Wind. The first one was speed, the ultimate speed.
The second was in single-target sword attacks, such as his Tempos of the Wind.
“War God, why should I select just one path?” Linley asked.
“Naturally, if you so desire, you can simultaneously analyze multiple aspects of the Elemental Laws. No one can force you not to do so. Whether or not you choose to take my advice is up to you. Alright, I am finished. You can leave now.” The War God said calmly.
Linley hurriedly said, “War God, I would like to ask, what sort of power or authority does this talisman confer upon me?”
“Possessing this talisman is a symbol that you are qualified to enter the ranks of those who know the secrets of the Yulan continent. As for everything else...even if you die, I won’t get involved. You must rely on yourself.”
“Then War God, I would like to ask, right now, how many Deities exist on the Yulan continent?” Ever since meeting Fain, Linley had been wondering...
Was it possible that the Yulan continent had more than just five Deities?
“In total, there are five.” The War God said calmly. “That Cesar broke through just a few years ago.”
Linley felt secretly relieved.
The Yulan continent only had a few Deities standing at its peak after all.
“War God, why did you give me this talisman? Previously, why did you help my younger brother?” Linley asked. Linley had been puzzled about this the entire time. What sort of relationship did the War God have with him?
As far as Linley could tell, the War God shouldn’t need anything from him.
After all, the War God was far, far more powerful than him.
“You ask too many questions.”
The War God’s voice turned cold. “You can go back now. For now, don’t think about too many things. Focus on your training. After you defeat Haydson, or after your human form reaches the Saint-level, come find me again.”
Hearing that the War God was starting to grow annoyed, Linley knew how he should act.
“War God, I bid you farewell then.”
Linley immediately left. Casting the Windshadow spell, Linley flew out of the deep pit, then exited the tunnel. After exiting the tunnel and allowing the mountain wind to buffet him, Linley let out a long breath.
Despite being separated from the War God by a stone door, Linley still felt enormous pressure when speaking to the man.
“Someone belonging to his side?” Linley stared at the scarlet talisman in his hand. The scarlet talisman occasionally flashed with golden light. Linley had never seen this sort of material before.
With a flip of his hand, Linley stored the scarlet talisman into his interspatial ring, then headed down War God Mountain.
On the way down, Linley was still thinking about the War God’s final bit of advice.
“The Elemental Laws contain all sorts of truths. What you need to do is select a single path and follow it to its conclusion.”
His current focus was the throbbing pulse of the world.
Linley shook his head. Without thinking about it any longer, he left War God Mountain and returned to the imperial capital.
The next time Linley would return to War God Mountain, it would be after he defeated Haydson, or when his human form reached the Saint-level.