Chapter 40: The Undying Warrior Transforms
Reading the news about Wharton in this letter, Linley couldn't help but frown.
"Wharton signed up for next year's War God Sect apprentice disciple selection?" Linley felt both puzzled and somewhat displeased. "Those who want to enter the War God Sect, even as direct disciples, can at most reach the Saint realm. Can a Dragonblood Warrior not reach the Saint realm?"
Linley was well aware that joining the War God Sect wouldn't be of much help to one's own progress.
After all, reaching the peak of the Saint realm was something a Dragonblood Warrior could achieve with one hundred percent certainty. A Transcendent Warrior was no joke.
As for the Deity level.
Hadn't the War God, O'Brien, had so many apprentice disciples and direct disciples over the years, yet not a single one had reached the Deity level? The Deity level wasn't something that could be taught by a Deity-level instructor.
"Understanding the laws—how could that be taught? Each person has their own comprehension; another's path may not be the most suitable for oneself."
Linley was somewhat dissatisfied with his younger brother's choice to participate in the War God Sect's apprentice disciple selection.
But then again, his brother had grown up.
"Wharton, I can't really blame him for making this choice." Linley continued reading, but as he reached the later parts, a smile spread across his face. "Haha, so that's what Wharton, that kid, is up to. Haha..."
The letter sent by Yale's people detailed that the main reason Wharton was participating in the War God Sect's apprentice disciple selection was the Empire's Seventh Princess.
"I hope Wharton finds a perfect love, at least not like me." Linley silently wished his younger brother well.
Indeed, becoming an apprentice disciple of the War God Sect—and since the sect's founder was the Empire's founding emperor, the War God 'O'Brien'—joining the sect would significantly lower the difficulty of marrying an imperial princess.
After finishing the letter, flames flickered in Linley's hand.
"Crackle." The letter was instantly burned to ashes.
Linley then followed Rebecca, who had been waiting nearby, and walked back toward his mansion.
...
The quiet training continued. Linley kept an eye on Wharton's affairs. According to the letters, the Empire's Seventh Princess was a very beautiful girl, incredibly cute and kind-hearted. With the Empire's emperor doting on her, she had many suitors.
Several of them held higher status than Wharton.
But...
The Seventh Princess had a very close relationship with Wharton. She often spent time with him, going on outings and such.
The following year, the War God Sect's apprentice disciple selection competition began. It was also the fourth year that Linley and his group had been staying in Cloud Peak Town.
"Brother Linley, your letter."
Rebecca handed over another letter. Linley took it and immediately opened it to read. According to the schedule, this month's letter should contain the results of the selection competition.
With his brother's strength, he should be able to succeed, right?
"Hmm, he failed?" Linley raised an eyebrow as he read the contents.
The War God Sect's apprentice disciple selection competition ultimately awarded the spot to a young man named Bloomer. The competition wasn't about who came in first place.
Instead, it involved a series of selections, ultimately producing ten candidates. These ten candidates were then chosen by the War God himself or by his designated direct disciples.
Wharton had indeed made it into the top ten candidates, but in the end, the War God Sect chose Bloomer.
"Another genius?" Linley was very surprised.
Bloomer, now thirty-two years old, had just stepped into the rank of a ninth-stage warrior. Such astonishing talent was indeed remarkable.
"But in terms of talent, Wharton should be a bit stronger. He's only twenty-one this year, right? He's already reached the eighth-stage warrior level." Linley had only learned of Wharton's breakthrough to the eighth stage the previous month.
A twenty-one-year-old eighth-stage warrior was truly impressive.
"Hmm?" As Linley looked at Bloomer's resume, he noticed something.
"Bloomer's older brother is actually the genius Sword Saint 'Olivia'." Linley was inwardly shocked. Olivia was the genius who, upon first entering the Saint realm, had defeated the Starry Sky Sword Saint, Tillon.
A newcomer to the Saint realm defeating a Saint-level powerhouse who had been there for years wasn't impossible.
What mattered was the level of insight.
For example, Linley's current level of insight had already reached the peak of the Saint realm. However, his own battle qi and physical strength were still far from sufficient, which was why he hadn't yet stepped into the Saint realm.
Once his strength and battle qi were sufficient, he would step into the Saint realm.
This also meant that Linley spent a great deal of time each day training his battle qi, hoping to reach the ninth-stage warrior level as soon as possible.
"I wonder how Wharton is feeling right now." Linley thought to himself. That little guy, who used to babble and had a tiger-like, naive look, was now an adult.
Linley had always cherished Wharton.
"If the Empire's emperor's intelligence is accurate, he should know that Wharton is a member of the Dragonblood Warrior clan. With Wharton's current strength, he can clearly Dragonform. My brother, as a Dragonblood Warrior, marrying his daughter wouldn't disgrace the imperial family."
In truth, Linley held no reverence for any imperial or royal families.
What he revered were true experts—those at the pinnacle: the War God, the High Priest, the King of Killers, and the two kings of the Magical Beast Mountain Range and the Dark Mountain Range.
********
Insight was important, but strength was even more important! Especially for Linley now, he urgently needed to increase his battle qi and physical strength.
The same 'lifting a weight as if it were light'.
When Linley executed it, compared to a Saint-level powerhouse, the attack power was dozens of times weaker.
The same 'Earth's Profound Mysteries'.
Linley might be able to catch a Saint-level powerhouse off guard and seriously injure them. But if a Saint-level powerhouse executed it, they could instantly kill their opponent.
The same triple vibration waves. However, the intensity of the vibration waves from Linley's power was limited, while a Saint-level powerhouse's 'vibration waves' could be ten times stronger.
"Foundation!"
Linley sat cross-legged on the bed in his room. Beneath his skin, it looked like earthworms were rapidly crawling around, and the veins on his forehead bulged.
A dark cyan battle qi flowed rapidly through his meridians, repeatedly drawing upon the special energy contained within the Dragonblood Warrior bloodline, nourishing the Dragonblood battle qi.
In his lower dantian.
The battle qi had become extremely dense. The liquid Dragonblood battle qi slowly revolved around the central core.
"Whoosh."
Linley let out a long breath, and a white stream of air shot out from his mouth like a sharp sword.
"From the peak of the eighth stage to the ninth stage, I wonder how long it will take." Over four years of arduous training had already brought Linley to the peak of the eighth stage. But training was always like this; breaking through the bottleneck always took a long time.
If Linley transformed now, he would still be at the peak of the ninth stage.
But once he reached the ninth stage, after transforming, he would be at the early Saint stage.
From the peak of the ninth stage to the early Saint stage. This was a true transformation, a vast difference.
"Haha, haha..." Suddenly, loud laughter came from outside. Linley got up from the bed, puzzled. "It's early in the morning. Why are Buck and his four brothers so happy?"
At this time, the sky was still dim, and thick fog filled the air. For an ordinary person, they couldn't see anyone within five meters. That's how dense the fog was.
"Brother Buck, what are you yelling about so early? My sister and I still want to sleep." Rebecca's dissatisfied voice rang out.
Linley's eyesight was far better than an ordinary person's. He immediately saw Buck, the eldest of the five brothers, so excited he could barely contain himself.
"Big brother, what are you so happy about?" The other four brothers also came out of their respective rooms.
"I did it! I've reached the ninth-stage warrior level!" Buck excitedly said to his four younger brothers. "Haha, after I transform, I can finally reach the early Saint stage!"
The transformation pattern of an Undying Warrior was the same as a Dragonblood Warrior. In normal human form at the ninth stage, once transformed, they would be at the early Saint stage.
"Early Saint stage?" Sethler, who had just walked out of his room, was also greatly surprised.
Linley, the two sisters Rebecca and her sister, and Buck's four younger brothers were all stunned.
Linley's eyes lit up.
"Buck, you've really broken through?" Linley said, unable to contain his excitement.
Buck nodded repeatedly. "Yes, my lord, I've really broken through." In the past, the five Buck brothers had addressed Linley as 'Lord Linley'. In this town, Linley and his group pretended that Linley was a noble and the five brothers were his guards, so they naturally kept calling him 'my lord'.
After four years, everyone had gotten used to this form of address.
After all, the five Buck brothers were very straightforward and hearty. Their minds were far less sharp than Linley's or Sethler's. Whenever this group made a decision, they always looked to Linley for the final say.
"Come on, let's go to the open space to the west. Let us see your current strength." Linley immediately said.
Everyone eagerly left the mansion and headed to an open space to the west. Since it wasn't fully light yet, most people in the town were still fast asleep. There wasn't a single person around.
"Transforming to the early Saint stage... Master, when will I break through?" The Blackstriped Cloud Leopard, 'Heilu', said somewhat worriedly beside Linley.
Heilu had been stuck at the peak of the ninth stage for a very long time.
"Roar~~" Bebe roared beside him. "Heilu, I know your sly thoughts. You're after the boss's Saint-level magical beast core."
Linley shook his head with a smile.
For a peak ninth-stage magical beast to reach the Saint realm, they generally had to break through on their own. Of course, if they swallowed a Saint-level magical beast core of the same attribute, there was a high chance of successfully breaking through.
Of course, there was also a chance of failure.
"Roar~~" Heilu also roared back at Bebe. "Bebe, I'm not like you. You've been growing in strength for the past four years, but I'm still stuck."
No one knew exactly what kind of magical beast Bebe was.
But Bebe was definitely the type whose talent was even more terrifying than the Blackstriped Cloud Leopard's. Although four years ago, Bebe was on par with Heilu, Bebe was still growing at that time.
After four years, Bebe could now completely dominate the Blackstriped Cloud Leopard.
Both in speed and defense, Bebe was terrifyingly formidable.
"I'm afraid that even a Saint-level powerhouse would have to exert some effort to kill Bebe." Linley sighed inwardly. Four years ago, Bebe's defense was already terrifying; now, it was beyond words.
"Heilu, the boss's Saint-level magical beast core is of the darkness attribute, while you have both darkness and wind attributes. If you eat it, the chance of failure is too high. It's not worth it! I am purely darkness attribute. When I reach my growth limit, my chance of success after eating it will be much higher than yours." Bebe said proudly. "What, you're not satisfied? Want to taste my claws?"
Heilu let out a low growl and then fell silent.
Bebe proudly raised his little head. Even a ferocious magical beast like Heilu had been thoroughly tamed by Bebe.
At that moment, Buck began to transform.
"Bebe, stop messing around." Linley focused his gaze on Buck, who was standing in front of everyone.
"Haha, everyone, watch closely!"
Buck was incredibly excited. The sound of muscles tearing, 'crackle, crackle', rang out continuously. Buck's entire body's muscles began to swell wildly, and the color of his skin also started to change.
"Crack, pop!"
Originally two meters and twenty centimeters tall, Buck's muscles bulged, and his body began to grow larger. In the blink of an eye, Buck had transformed into a three-meter-tall, terrifyingly powerful humanoid monster.
Buck's entire body's skin had turned a dark green.
His muscles and skin looked like rock, the bulging muscles containing immense power that was evident just from looking. Then, on the surface of his dark green muscular skin, a white armor, like marble, began to emerge. This armor covered his entire body except for his face. Buck's head was also adorned with a helmet.
This so-called armor and helmet had grown out from within his body. It was eerily strange.
And then, Buck's entire body suddenly shot into the air, flew around, and then returned, hovering in midair.
"Haha, the Saint realm! This is the power of the Saint realm!" Buck excitedly slammed his two fists, each the size of a sandbag, together. The impact of the fists caused the very air to tremble.
This was a Saint-level Undying Warrior!
(Three chapters completed.)