Coiling Dragon (Pan Long)

“Haha…” Elder Garvey couldn’t help but laugh. He immediately pointed at Linley and said, “Elder Linley, I didn’t imagine that you are able to cook. I have to taste your dishes.” Garvey walked over as he spoke.

Elder Garvey was going to eat?

If Elder Garvey was to eat, the terribleness of the food would definitely be spread throughout the clan.

“Elder Garvey.” Linley hurriedly stood up, blocking in front of Elder Garvey. Laughing, he said, “Elder Garvey, this is my first time cooking. There’s no need to taste it. Right. Judging from your face, it seems as though you are worrying about something?”

Linley hurriedly changed the topic. And indeed, as Linley did, Elder Garvey couldn’t help but let out a long sigh, then sit down to one side.

“What’s happened?” Linley asked.

Elder Garvey laughed bitterly. “Elder Linley, in the past two centuries, you haven’t gone to Bloodbath Gorge, have you?”

“Right.” Ever since he had been summoned by the four clan leaders and then instructed not to participate in Bloodbath Gorge, he hadn’t gone there a single time.”

“It’s only been two hundred years!” Elder Garvey seemed to have a belly full of resentment and pain. “Linley, do you know? In these two short centuries, our Azure Dragon clan has lost five Elders!”

“Five?!” Linley was shocked by this number.

The Azure Dragon clan usually lost two or three Elders in a thousand years. To lose five in two centuries…this was too significant.

“Factoring in what happened to Emanuel and Arhaus…our Azure Dragon clan only has twenty or so Elders who truly have the power of a Seven Star Fiend!” Elder Garvey said, his eyes turning moist. “My teacher lost his most powerful clone just yesterday on a mission. He no longer has a Seven Star Fiend level of power either.”

Linley couldn’t help but fall silent.

As for Delia and Bebe, it wasn’t appropriate for them to interject right now either.

“It’s only been ten thousand years. Ten thousand years ago, the Elders of the clan numbered more than sixty. In ten thousand short years, we’ve lost more than half!” Elder Garvey sighed. “Based on this sort of speed, the number of Elders in Bloodbath Gorge definitely won’t be enough. We’ll probably be recruited earlier this time.”

Normally, the Elders of Bloodbath Gorge were swapped out every thousand years.

However…

They were losing them at too fast a pace. As this continued, the number of Elders available in Bloodbath Gorge would be insufficient. Those idle Elders such as Garvey would have to go make up the numbers.

“What is going on? How could there be so many casualties?” Linley couldn’t understand it. “Defeating a Seven Star Fiend is easy, but killing a Seven Star Fiend is very hard.”

“The eight great clans have gone mad!”

Elder Garvey snorted angrily. “In the past two centuries, they’ve gone completely mad. Each battle, they’ll send out three or four Seven Star Fiends, and one of them will definitely be holding a Sovereign’s Might! Our Elders have barely any chance to survive each battle.

As Linley heard this, the look on his face couldn’t help but change.

“Why are the eight great clans acting like this?” Linley felt rather puzzled.

The eight great clans had never gone so mad before, but ever since that last battle of his, the eight great clans had gone mad.

“Could it be that it has something to do with me or Phusro? Or was this the original plan for the eight great clans all along?” Linley couldn’t help but speculate.

“Alright, Linley. I won’t disturb you any further. You need to train hard…originally, I thought that this battle between ourselves and the eight great clans would keep on dragging out. But now, it seems, the final battle between us will come soon!”

Elder Garvey finished his words, then immediately flew into the air and left, departing.

“The final battle?” Linley couldn’t help but mumble.

“Boss, what ‘final battle’?” Bebe’s eyes were shining.

“Don’t ask. Based on your current power, you aren’t qualified to participate. When one day you become a Highgod, then we’ll talk.” Linley laughed.

Once Bebe became a Highgod, given his innate divine ability, ‘Godeater’…he would be an absolutely monster.

“Uhhhh….” Bebe couldn’t help but pout. “I’ve only mastered five profound mysteries. I haven’t even gained a basic understanding of the sixth profound mystery. Grandpa Beirut is really…ugh. Why didn’t he give me that sixth soul slice fragment to me early on? Wouldn’t that be much easier?”

Both Linley and Delia laughed.

Bebe had currently mastered five profound mysteries. The first one was one which he had naturally understood upon becoming an adult. As for the other four, he had gained them from soul slice fragments that contained understandings of profound mysteries that was at the bottleneck level.

He had succeeded in taking this shortcut. To have Bebe gain insights on his own? Unlikely!

“Bebe, if you can’t gain any insights, you can go try fusing other mysteries.” Delia chortled as well. “Once you successfully fuse something, your power will improve greatly.”

“That’s not a bad idea. Although it’s a bit harder, I might just succeed.” Bebe grew animated. He immediately flew towards his own residence, and Linley and Delia both laughed.

“I wager that Bebe will be able to hold on for one year at most.” Linley laughed.

“A year? He might not even be able to hold on for half a year.” Delia laughed.

“I will definitely persevere for two years!” Bebe’s voice rang out from above. Linley and Delia glanced at each other, then both began to laugh. Linley then said solemnly, “Delia, just now, from what Garvey said, I feel some pressure…I plan to have my original body begin training again, starting today.”

“Alright.” Delia’s eyes became filled with worry as well. “I feel rather worried as well. The situation is growing worse and worse. Train hard. I won’t disturb you.”

Linley nodded and chuckled.

The eight great clans continued to act with wild abandon. One Elder after another of the eight great clans and the Four Divine Beasts clan fell, while rows on rows of Six Star Fiends died as well…the situation was unbearably grim. As for Linley’s four clones and his original body, they were all quietly training.

As he trained, time flowed on like water…

Ever since acquiring the ‘black stone’, Linley had treated his divine earth clone as his primary divine clone, whole-heartedly focusing on the Laws of the Earth.

When fusing profound mysteries, the further one advanced, the harder it became.

With regards to the Laws of the Earth, Linley had fused three types. He had attempted to fuse a fourth, but was completely unable to fuse the ‘Worldwalking’ technique with the other three profound mysteries. At the same time, Linley had also attempted to fuse the not-yet-mastered ‘Profound Mysteries of Strength’ with the other three as well.

Within the gorge. Linley was currently together with Delia. Linley looked into the distance, clearly able to see quite a few clansmen. It had been three centuries since Linley had left Bloodbath Gorge.

“I’ve finally made a breakthrough.” Linley’s face was all smiles.

“Look at how pleased you are.” Delia laughed.

The greatest breakthrough he had made on this training session was that he had begun to link together and fuse the Profound Mysteries of Strength with the Throbbing Pulse of the World. However, to fuse the Profound Mysteries of Strength with the other three required that they had to all become as one.

“Of course I’m happy. Delia, this Profound Mysteries of Strength is something that can allow me to unleash my power more effectively.” Linley said hurriedly. “The Throbbing Pulse of the World can allow me to unleash material attacks as well. Once I fuse them…I can unleash the strength I have in Dragonform in a much more effective manner.”

His greatest advantage was his body!

The power of his body in Dragonform was such that with a single fist, he could block the most powerful sword attack of a Six Star Fiend. And that was just by relying on a simple punch. Once he included the might of the ‘Profound Mysteries of Strength’, the power would greatly increase.

But if he were to then fuse the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, the power would increase still further!

“Different profound mysteries are suited to different types of attacks. Thus, generally speaking, after fusing certain profound mysteries, one will develop an attack that allows one to best unleash one’s power.”

Linley sighed. “Seven Star Fiends have generally fused four types of profound mysteries, but some are specialized in fleeing, some are specialized in soul attacks, and some are specialized in material attacks. This is because…their fusion of profound mysteries is different!”

Delia nodded.

Prior to this, Linley had fused the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, the ‘Essence of the Earth’, and ‘Gravitational Space’, these three types of profound mysteries. These three profound mysteries, when combined with the ‘black stone’, created the ‘Blackstone Prison’, his most powerful technique.

But as for material attacks?

The profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth most suited for material attacks were the ‘Profound Mysteries of Strength’ and the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’.

The most suitable were the best.

“When these two profound mysteries are fused, my attacks in Dragonform will reach a new level.” Linley said confidently. His strength in Dragonform was tremendous to begin with. He had a very good base. Once he fused these two profound mysteries…

It was frightening just to think about how powerful he would be.

Linley’s ‘Blackstone Prison’ could be used to trap people, but his attack was too weak, and the energy in his body was only at the God level. He had to rely on his Dragonform…but although his strength was great, he still wasn’t able to kill someone in one blow.

“Once I fuse these two profound mysteries, I’ll first use my ‘Blackstone Prison’ to trap the enemy, and then give him a punch. Even if he doesn’t die, he’ll be badly injured.” Linley was completely confident.

Delia laughed as she watched Linley grow so animated as he spoke.

“Boss!” Suddenly, a voice rang out.

Linley and Delia both turned, only to see Bebe fly over, beaming merrily. “Boss, I need to go out on a trip.”

“Go out on a trip? To Meer City?” Linley laughed.

“Right. It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen Tarosse, Dylin, and the others. I’ll go visit them.” Bebe mumbled. “I hear that Olivier has already left Meer City. He’s gone out for an adventure. Who knows if he’s still in Meer City.”

“Fine, go then. Have a safe trip.” Linley laughed.

“Heh heh, no worries.” Bebe chortled and waved, then flew into the skies.

Linley suddenly had a thought. Ever since he had returned to the gorge, Delia hadn’t made a single trip. Linley couldn’t help but turn to look at Delia. “Delia, do you want to go out as well? How about this time, we’ll go to Meer City together?”

“No rush.” Delia shook her head. “Linley, you’d best focus on your training. After you’ve mastered your fusion of the Profound Mysteries of Strength and the Throbbing Pulse of the World, we can go together.”

“Thank you.” Linley said gratefully.

Delia just smiled at him.

Linley ignored the chaos that was happening in the outside world, focusing solely on his training. Occasionally, his original body would pause for a while to spend some time with Delia. After beginning the fusion of the Profound Mysteries of Strength and the Throbbing Pulse of the World, he continued to advance and improve…

As he trained, he barely noticed the passage of time.

In the blink of an eye, five hundred years had passed since he had left Bloodbath Gorge.

In the great gorge, the place where Linley lived.

Delia was seated quietly within her room, flipping through a book in her hands. Right at this moment…

“Haha…” Suddenly, loud laughter rang out from within the room.

Delia was startled, but then turned to look, overjoyed. She saw Linley, his long hair fluttering loosely, walk in with great strides. As soon as he saw Delia, he laughed, “Delia, I finally broke through. After five hundred years, I’ve finally broke through.”

“What did you break through in?” Delia hurriedly stood up.

“I’ve finally mastered the Profound Mysteries of Strength. And, I’ve completely fused the Profound Mysteries of Strength and the Throbbing Pulse of the World.” Linley was exceedingly delighted.

After this day, Linley had mastered a total of five of the six profound mysteries of the Laws of the Earth, with only one remaining – Vitality.

“However, fusion really is hard. The Profound Mysteries of Strength have only been fused with the ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’. I haven’t fused it at all with the ‘Gravitational Space’ or the ‘Essence of the Earth’, Linley said with a sigh.

He had originally hoped to be able to fuse it with the other two as well, so that he could strive to fuse four profound mysteries.

But from the looks of it, the path of fusion was indeed an extremely long one.

“You are already doing quite well.” Delia laughed encouragingly. “Didn’t you say that after you fuse the Profound Mysteries of Strength and the Throbbing Pulse of the World, that you will have a powerful material attack?”

“Of course.” Linley laughed as he thought of this.

The Profound Mysteries of Strength and the Throbbing Pulse of the World were both suited for material attacks.

“However, although I’ve fused these two profound mysteries, I still need to carefully analyze them and develop an attack technique suited to these profound mysteries.” Linley said. “Still, it won’t take too long. At most half a year or a year, but perhaps as little as two weeks.”

Linley himself was rather eager.

Once he developed it, he could pair this attack with his ‘Blackstone Prison’. Even if he were to encounter Bulo again, he wouldn’t just launch a simple fist without injuring Bulo at all. Even if he was unable to kill Bulo, he’d still be able to heavily wound him.