Book 11, Necropolis of the Gods – Chapter 39, The Predictions of Beirut
“Grandpa Beirut, you already know what happened?” Bebe instantly rushed over to him.
Beirut beamed as he hugged Bebe, nodding. “I manage the Necropolis of the Gods on behalf of the almighty Sovereign. Of course I know what happened within the Necropolis of the Gods.” Beirut cast Linley an amused, meaningful glance.
Linley suddenly understood.
Perhaps...
It was Beirut who had placed those three divine sparks there for him. If the person to successfully overcome the challenges of the eleventh floor had been Olivier, perhaps the divine sparks would have become of ‘light-style’, ‘darkness-style’, and ‘Destruction-style’ instead.
But of course, this was just Linley’s hypothesis.
“Linley.” Beirut laughed calmly as he looked at Linley. “I trust you have already had a dim sense of the Deity-level. You should be at the precipice now, yes?”
Linley nodded, secretly saying to himself, “It seems that Beirut knows everything which happened within the Necropolis of the Gods. Beirut...he should be the ‘housekeeper’ for the Sovereign, in charge of managing this Necropolis of the Gods.” Linley understood.
The Necropolis of the Gods was nothing more than a game to the Sovereign, so he could send any one of his subordinates down to manage it.
Only, any one of the subordinates of a Sovereign was someone far and above Linley’s level.
“If my prediction is correct, within ten years, you should reach the Deity-level.” Beirut said.
Linley’s ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’ included both the ‘Fast’ and the ‘Slow’ aspects. If Linley were to fully master the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’, then he would have fully mastered and fused those two major aspects into one, and he would have risen to the full God level.
“Ten years?” Linley murmured to himself, then nodded slightly.
This speed was roughly on par with what he had anticipated.
The nearby Desri, Fain, and other experts all looked at Linley in shock. They all knew what Beirut was saying. Linley, not by relying on a divine spark, and only by relying on his own insights, would be able to reach the Deity-level, and it would be within ten years.
Even if Linley had been training since the day he was born, he would have been training for around half a century.
Ten more years would only be sixty plus years. In sixty years, he would have reached the Deity-level by his own efforts!
“But Linley, you’d best not slacken off. The potential of that young fellow, Olivier, is perhaps even a bit higher than yours.” Beirut laughed calmly, turning to look at Olivier.
These words instantly stunned Desri, Tulily, and the other experts. If Linley was powerful, fine. After all, in the Necropolis of the Gods, based on his performance...Linley was clearly more powerful than them, and he had single-handedly procured divine sparks on the eleventh floor. They admitted inferiority to him.
But Olivier...
Linley was rather surprised as well.
“Lord Beirut.” Olivier paid his respects.
Beirut smiled and nodded. “Your luck wasn’t bad. You were able to fuse both light and darkness without your soul being destroyed...I’ve wandered through countless planes, but situations like yours are rare, incredibly rare! Even I am rather envious of what you have become.”
Olivier’s face changed slightly. Although Beirut hadn’t said it openly, Olivier could tell that this Beirut knew his secret!
“Could it be that this Beirut is capable of inspecting my soul?” Olivier was somewhat astonished. He didn’t know...that Beirut was so powerful that he could even easily riffle through someone’s memories without them knowing about it. Compared to that, how trifling a matter would it be for him to inspect Olivier’s soul?
Linley looked towards Olivier as well.
“This Olivier...when we encountered the Beholder King and were hit by the Beholder King’s attack, I became utterly helpless, but Olivier was able to break the Beholder King’s technique.” Bebe had later told Linley about what had happened.
At the time, the Beholder King had been quite surprised by Olivier’s soul as well.
“Based on your current rate of improvement, if my prediction is correct, in ten years if you are fast, fifty years if you are slow, you should reach the Deity-level as well.” Beirut said with a calm laugh.
“No wonder Olivier was so confident to say that after training for a few years, he would come challenge me.” Linley had a hint of anticipation in his heart as well. Previously, he hadn’t paid much attention to Olivier’s words, as he now possessed the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’. He had only replied out of politeness.
But now, Linley rather looked forward to it.
Desri, Fain, Rosarie, and the other experts felt their hearts clench.
What a difference!
They had trained for thousands of years, but compared to Linley and Olivier, the difference between them was simply too great.
“Lord Beirut, might you tell us how long we need until we can reach the Deity-level?” Desri said respectfully. Rosarie, Tulily...even the two Six-Eyed Golden Ni-Lions and the Blackscale Scorpion all looked towards Beirut with anticipation. They wanted to hear Beirut’s judgment.
Given Beirut’s power, it was very easy for him to judge the level of understanding a Saint was at.
“You?” Beirut glanced at them. “For you to reach the Deity-level, hrm, if you are fast, just one or two days...”
The eyes of Tulily, Desri, and the other experts all lit up.
“But if you are slow, it could take you trillions of years.” Beirut finished, causing Tulily and the others to be utterly stunned. These experts deeply desired to become Deities. This was their reason for existence, the goal they had pursued for thousands of years, which they had never reached.
Beirut shook his head and laughed. “You young fellows...there is such a thing as ‘genius’, and both Linley and Olivier can be considered geniuses. In addition, the ‘Profound Truths’ which they are training in are more powerful than yours.” Beirut said with a lecturing air.
Desri, Fain, and the other experts who had trained for thousands of years all listened obediently, as though they were children listening to a lecture.
“Your vision is too narrow and limited. You must understand...these countless dimensions possess countless material planes, but your gaze is limited to just the Yulan continent. Genius? Amongst the geniuses I have seen, one of them reached the Deity-level ten years after being born, but I’ve also met those who have trained for tens of millions of years while being trapped at the Saint-level.”
Linley and Olivier were both stunned.
Reach the Deity-level ten years after birth? This was simply monstrous. Could it be some sort of divine beast race? But even a divine beast such as Bebe would take nearly a hundred years to grow into maturity.
“Linley, Olivier.” Beirut looked at the two of them. “The Yulan continent has existed for countless years, and the experts it has produced are numerous beyond measure. But of course, in the past hundred thousand years, the two of you can be considered to be the two most talented.”
Linley and Olivier didn’t display a hint of self-satisfaction.
“But if we look at the countless planes of the universe, there are simply far too many people who are greater geniuses than you two.” Beirut sighed. “There are some geniuses whom even I can only stare at in dumbfounded awe.”
Linley and Olivier both nodded slightly. At their current level, they had a greater vision than before.
“In addition, there are some races that are exceedingly powerful, such as those races you encountered in the Necropolis of the Gods. The Beholder race, or that Lachapalle...and so on. These races are naturally powerful. There is nothing which the boundless universe does not contain.” Beirut turned to look at Desri and the other experts.
Desri and the other experts had a rather unpleasant feeling in their hearts.
“After becoming powerful, don’t grow complacent. As for Fain and the rest of you, don’t underestimate yourselves. After all, in the Yulan continent, you are already at the top of the mountain. In the countless planes, there are even people who have trained for tens of millions of years without being able to reach the Deity-level. There are plenty of people far inferior to you.”
Desri, Fain, and the other experts could only laugh bitterly in their hearts.
There were many people they were superior to, but also many they were inferior to.
“The most important thing is having self-confidence.” Beirut said seriously. “Actually, I’ve discovered that in your hearts, you’ve all begun to doubt yourselves. You’ve become worried over having been at the Prime Saint level for so long, and thus you entrusted your hopes to getting a divine spark?”
“Wrong!”
Beirut shook his head. “If even you yourselves doubt yourselves and don’t have strong faith in yourselves, how can you possibly break through to the Deity-level?”
Desri, Fain, and the other experts all felt their hearts tremble.
Indeed, they had all entrusted their hopes to finding a divine spark, and deep in their hearts, they had begun to doubt their own ability.
“But Linley and Olivier are different. They believe in themselves, believe that they will be able to train to the highest levels, and so they truly have continued to advance, making one breakthrough after another.” Beirut sighed appreciatively.
This was indeed the truth. Linley’s heart had always been focused on reaching the limits of training, never doubting his own ability. As for Olivier, when he had first left the O’Brien Empire and arrived in the Arctic Icecap, despite being so weak, he had dared to say that he would challenge Rutherford.
Even now, after Linley had returned from the eleventh with divine cores, he still dared to say that in the future, he would challenge Linley.
Self-confidence!
Linley and Olivier were both filled with self-confidence, and they were both extremely hard working as well.
If a person constantly doubted themselves, it would be simply too hard to make a breakthrough.
“Thank you, Lord Beirut.” Desri and the other experts seemed to understand a bit.
Beirut said calmly, “After having experienced countless life and death experiences in the Necropolis of the Gods, can it be that you’ve gained not even a shred of insight? This sort of place, where one is constantly at the border between life and death, can easily allow someone’s potential to be unleashed and a breakthrough to be made. Unfortunately, none of you had truly believed in yourselves.”
“Enough. Everyone leave the Necropolis of the Gods.” Beirut said.
Linley and the other experts followed Beirut out from the exit he had created, leaving the tenth floor.
Outside of the Necropolis of the Gods was the bottom of the sea.
As soon as Linley and the others came out, they discovered that there was one black exit after another leading from the second, fifth, and tenth floors of the Necropolis of the Gods. Clearly...these three levels had Saints present.
“Hrm? War God, High Priest, Dylin, Cesar...” Linley instantly noticed the four great Deities standing off in the distance.
At this moment, there was a large group of experts outside the Necropolis of the Gods, such as Higginson and the others. Aside from Linley and the other nine who had remained on the tenth floor, there were nearly twenty or so other experts who had stayed on the second and fifth floors. One of them was a familiar figure...
“Barker!” Linley’s eyes instantly turned round, and a look of wild joy appeared on his face.
“Lord Linley!” Barker saw Linley as well, and immediately flew over with surprise and joy.
Linley excitedly gave Barker a bear-hug. If Barker truly had died, then on the return trip back home, Linley truly would have found it hard to face Gates and the others, as well as Barker’s wife and son.
“Barker, you didn’t die!” Bebe flew over to Barker as well with a surprised howl.
Barker began to laugh as well.
Outside the Necropolis of the Gods, the experts who knew each other began to engage in conversation, such as the personal disciples of the War God who had been hiding on the second or fifth floor. All of the lucky survivors were here.
“Barker, how did you manage to escape from the third floor?” Linley immediately asked.
Barker shook his head. “I was very baffled as well. When the Ba-Serpent woke up, he slaughtered many of the Saints, and I didn’t know if you, Lord Linley, had even managed to flee or not. I couldn’t see anything clearly.”
Linley nodded slightly.
“Only, after slaughtering all of the Saints on the third floor, the Ba-Serpent gave me a whack with his tail.”
Linley’s heart trembled. Although Barker was still alive and perfectly well, that scene was simply terrifying to even contemplate. How could Barker not have died after being struck by the tail of the divine beast, Ba-Serpent?
“The strange thing was, when the tail of the Ba-Serpent struck me, it sent me flying back an extremely great distance, and I was totally paralyzed, as though an invisible rope was wrapped around me. When I landed...I found that, as if by coincidence, I fell into the exit to the second floor.” Barker, even while telling the story, seemed to find it unbelievable as well.
Linley and Bebe immediately stared, mouths gaping.
“Hey there, guys.” A playful voice rang out, and a devilish, green-haired youngster suddenly appeared next to Linley and the others.
Linley, Barker, and Bebe immediately looked in astonishment at this nearby green-haired youngster. The three of them had only noticed his presence after he had spoken.
“Linley, right?” The devilish green-haired man laughed. “Not bad. You were actually able to successfully get the divine sparks on the eleventh floor. You rock, kiddo.” As he spoke, he patted Linley on his head. Linley wanted to dodge, but he found that his body couldn’t move at all.”
“Godrealm!” Linley was shocked.
Aside from the War God and the rest of the four, there was another Deity-level expert?
“Tarosse [Da’luo’sha], get over here.” The distant Beirut called out.
The devilish green-haired youth immediately ran over quite obediently, laughing, “Lord Beirut, let’s go back to the Yulan continent. It’s been so long since I’ve gone back. I really do miss home.”
All of the experts looked at the devilish green-haired youth in puzzlement. Who was he?
Beirut glanced at the surrounding experts. Calmly, he said, “Let me introduce you. This person is named Tarosse, and quite a few of you have met him before. He was the guardian of the first eleven floors of the Necropolis of the Gods, that slumbering divine beast, the ‘Ba-Serpent’.”
“Ba-Serpent?” Many of the experts were shocked, and when they looked at Tarosse, their eyes were now filled with respect and fear, while deep in their hearts, they secretly felt hatred as well.
After all, many experts had been slaughtered by Tarosse.
“I know the four of you. I knew Catherine from way back. We’re old friends. Oh, this one is O’Brien, and this one is Cesar, right?” Tarosse chortled.
O’Brien and Cesar didn’t dare to say much. After all, Tarosse was a full God!
Linley could tell that this Tarosse should be only now meeting O’Brien and Cesar for the first time, but had met Catherine in the past.
“Whoaaaaah. Dylin. My dear friend! Your luck is excellent. You actually managed to escape from the Gebados Prison. The happiest part of me getting out of there is having a chance to see you. C’mere, we two buddies need to have a nice reunion.” As he spoke, ‘Tarosse’ went over to give Dylin a hug.
Dylin, with a frown, moved next to Beirut.
Right now, Dylin was not in a good mood, because his second son had died. These lower eleven floors were under the control of Tarosse. However, he knew that Tarosse wasn’t able to break the rules. He was able to turn a blind eye to some things, but if he were to intentionally rescue someone on a certain floor, that was not permissible. Even a Highgod would fall if he violated the rules of the Sovereign.
“Tarosse, enough.” Beirut said calmly, and Tarosse immediately no longer dared to make another sound, standing obediently behind Beirut. Only, he turned his head to wink at Barker. Barker now understood...that the ‘Tarosse’ in front of him was the Ba-Serpent.
The Ba-Serpent who had spared his life!
“Everyone, prepare to head out and return to the Yulan continent.” Beirut said calmly.
“Yes, Lord Beirut.” All of the experts said in unison.
Under Beirut’s leadership, Tarosse and the rest of the five Deities as well as the thirty Saints headed back together, journeying back towards the Yulan continent.
On this day, it was Yulan calendar’s year 10034, March 4th. Exactly ten years had passed since Linley and the others had arrived!