Chapter 2: Breakthrough in Spiritual Power
The shock of the Saint Domain was too great; it took Warden and the others a good while for their minds to cool down. But once they calmed, their hearts were filled with nothing but endless excitement.
They had been troubled recently, over Nina and Warden's marriage.
The pressure brought by the identity of the War God's personal disciple and Olivia was truly immense. But now, they all had ample confidence in their hearts.
Warden's face was beaming with an irrepressible smile. His elder brother had brought so many powerhouses with him. Warden could almost see the scene of his own wedding with Nina.
"Big brother, thank you. Cheers." Warden raised his wine glass.
Linley smiled and raised his glass as well.
Warden had admired Linley since childhood. Having a student from the Ernst Magic Academy come out of Wushan Town was naturally a big deal. And now, seventeen years later, Linley actually possessed two Saint Domain magical beasts, along with three Saint Domain followers.
"Big brother, in a few days it will be the Yulan Festival, and you'll be turning twenty-seven. When are you getting married?" Warden leaned in and whispered teasingly.
"You little rascal." Linley chuckled. "Let's not talk about that for now."
"Oh." Warden obediently nodded.
Even though he was now an Imperial Earl of the empire and a towering figure over two meters tall, in front of Linley, he was still like he was as a child.
"Actually, those three girls, Lina and the others, are all pretty good, you know." Warden whispered slyly.
Linley tapped Warden on the head.
"Alright, alright, I won't say anymore. Let's drink, let's drink." Warden quickly said.
Beside them, the butler Hiri and Hillman watched the two brothers, Linley and Warden, like this. Their hearts were filled with comfort. They exchanged glances and both smiled.
……
In the first few days after arriving at the Earl's mansion, Linley spent a very happy time with his younger brother. However, Linley instructed Warden and the others that it was fine if news of his own Saint Domain and Heiru's leaked out, but the strength of the Barker five brothers and Bebe should be kept secret for now.
The Barker five brothers and Bebe were Linley's important trump cards.
Moreover, in the entire O'Brien Empire, almost no one knew that the Barker five brothers were Undying Warriors. So keeping it secret was simple.
Linley and Heiru, a Saint Domain magical beast—these two Saint Domains should be enough to deter outsiders.
On the 30th of December, 10008 of the Yulan Calendar, the day before the Yulan Festival, a heavy snow fell. The imperial capital was completely covered by snowflakes, the world a vast expanse of white.
On the training ground of Earl Warden's mansion on Fushi Road.
Although snowflakes were flying, Linley still sat cross-legged on the grass in quiet cultivation. Warden, being such a powerful person, naturally didn't care about the snow either.
"Huff." Warden's bare upper body was steaming with heat. He set aside his battle saber, Massacre, and prepared to rest for a while. But when he looked at Linley, who was cultivating quietly beside him—
"Huh?"
Warden was surprised to find that, although snowflakes were flying everywhere, all the snowflakes, upon approaching Linley's body, swirled and veered away, as if there were a whirlwind around him. There wasn't a single snowflake on his clothes.
"What is this?" Warden was a bit shocked.
Linley, who had been cultivating quietly, suddenly opened his eyes. "Warden, what are you looking at?" Even while deeply focused on training, he could sense someone staring at him.
"Big brother, those snowflakes... how? Is it the realm of 'Force' recorded in the family books?" Warden asked in surprise.
Linley smiled faintly. "Warden, reaching the level of 'Force' can indeed prevent snowflakes and rain from touching the body, but that requires full concentration to control the surrounding natural Force. It's absolutely impossible to achieve this state unintentionally while cultivating."
Linley hadn't deliberately tried to do it just now; it was just a thought, and the snowflakes couldn't get near him.
"Surpassing 'Force'... what is that?" Warden truly admired his elder brother from the bottom of his heart.
He had trained hard for so many years and received the best education at the O'Brien Academy, yet he had only just reached the level of 'Handling Weight as if Light' recorded in the family books.
Actually, Warden didn't need to be too modest. The reason Linley could break through at such an astonishing speed, besides being a genius himself, was greatly aided by his super-grade elemental affinity.
For ordinary people, elemental affinity meant less time needed to train magic power. But for experts, it meant being more easily able to merge with nature and comprehend the laws of the world.
"This is the Wind Elemental Essence I have comprehended." Linley said calmly. "This is just the simplest application."
"Wind Elemental Essence?" Warden's eyes lit up.
"Continue your training." Linley said, then closed his eyes and resumed his quiet cultivation.
In fact, Linley now spent less time on stone carving. Unless he had that impulse, that surge of emotion, carving would put him in a better state and yield better results.
Ordinary stone carving had about the same effect as quiet cultivation.
Now, with his understanding of the laws of the Wind Element and the Earth Element, Linley's state of merging with nature during quiet cultivation had already caught up to the effect of normal stone carving.
This kind of quiet cultivation, comprehending the laws, also caused Linley's spiritual power to progress at a steady rate.
……
In the evening.
Linley, who had been in quiet cultivation, showed a faint smile on his usually indifferent face. Then his lips moved slightly. After a short while—
"Swish!"
Linley, who had been sitting, moved at a terrifying speed. In the same instant, nine Linleys appeared simultaneously at different corners of the entire training ground.
Then the nine afterimages vanished, and Linley reappeared in his original cross-legged position.
Only then did Linley open his eyes. "The reputedly strongest speed-enhancing magic, the wind-type level 9 spell 'Wind Shadow Art', truly lives up to its name. It allows me, in human form, to match my fastest speed when transformed into my Saint Domain form."
Yes!
Level 9 magic!
Back then, Linley had reached the level of an 8th-rank magician about a year and a half after entering the Magical Beast Mountain Range. But going from an 8th-rank magician to a 9th-rank magician required astonishing spiritual power. Even for a genius magician, it would normally take over a decade.
But Linley, having been in a state of quiet cultivation for a long time, had seen his spiritual power advance very quickly.
It only took him seven and a half years to finally break through and reach the level of a 9th-rank Grand Magus.
"Tomorrow is the Yulan Festival. Reaching the level of a 9th-rank Grand Magus the day before the Yulan Festival... truly..." Linley was extremely happy in his heart.
A magician's attack power was terrifying. Given enough time, a magician of the same rank could absolutely defeat a warrior of the same rank with magic. Especially a magician's large-scale magic, which was truly awe-inspiring.
"By tomorrow, I'll be considered twenty-seven years old. A twenty-seven-year-old... let's just leave it at that." A confident look appeared on Linley's face.
Very frightening.
A twenty-seven-year-old, dual-element 9th-rank Grand Magus was unprecedented in the history of the Yulan Continent. The previous record holder had been over thirty when reaching the level of a 9th-rank Grand Magus.
"In wind magic, spells like 'Tornado' could easily deal with an army of a hundred thousand. And in earth magic, spells like 'City of Earth' are large-scale defensive magics..." Linley had to admit that the more powerful a magician, the more terrifying their role in war.
Moreover, magicians were also very strong in single-target attacks.
"The wind-type level 9 spell 'Vacuum Absolute Kill Technique', said to be capable of killing even a Saint Domain if enough magic power is supplied, is truly monstrous." Linley couldn't help but admire.
Wind magic was formidable. 'Vacuum Absolute Kill Technique' was the strongest single-target attack among all level 9 spells, and 'Dimensional Edge' was the strongest among forbidden spells.
Earth magic was also famous for its defense, whether single-target or group defense.
The level 9 magician-level spell 'Greater Gravity Technique' could cause some experts to suffer heart rupture, blood vessel shattering, and die on the spot. After all, although some people had strong external muscles, the toughness of their internal organs and blood vessels might not be as good.
"But for me, the most useful is still 'Wind Shadow Art'. The strongest speed-enhancing magic!"
Linley's speed in human form was more than half slower than in his Saint Domain form. But with the Wind Shadow Art, his human form could match the speed of his transformed form. That was truly terrifying.
*******
On the day of the Yulan Festival, the sun shone brightly, reflecting off the snow covering the treetops and rooftops, casting a dazzling light. The entire imperial capital seemed much brighter.
On this day, the imperial capital would also hold grand celebratory activities.
In a carriage.
Linley and Warden, returning from watching the festivities, were in the same carriage. Warden was discussing with Linley how to handle the matter of Nina.
"Warden, in two days, take me to meet that Emperor." Linley said directly.
"Meet His Majesty?" Warden looked at Linley in surprise.
Linley said calmly, "I have no enmity with the O'Brien Empire. If that Emperor is willing to let Nina marry you, I wouldn't mind settling down in the O'Brien Empire."
Warden looked at his elder brother and understood Linley's meaning.
"If that Emperor is unwise and insists on marrying the Seventh Princess to Brummer, then there's only one last resort: directly snatch Nina away, and the two of you elope." Linley looked at Warden. "Warden, are you willing to accept that outcome?"
Warden was silent for a moment, then said, "Of course I don't care. I have no sense of belonging to the O'Brien Empire. But Nina..."
"Would the Seventh Princess object?" Linley asked.
This was very important.
Warden shook his head. "I know Nina. Back when I was competing with Kalan, Nina said that if His Majesty truly forced her, she would elope with me. But Nina was worried we wouldn't be able to escape."
"You don't need to worry about that, unless the War God personally makes a move." Linley said calmly.
Linley also knew that, given the War God's status, he wouldn't bother with such trivial matters. Unless the empire faced a catastrophic crisis, the War God might show himself.
For ordinary matters, even assassinating the Emperor, the War God wouldn't intervene.
The War God had many descendants. If one Emperor died, another would inherit. As long as it wasn't a matter that would topple the empire's foundation, the War God, who could already be considered a 'deity', wouldn't interfere.
*******
Three days later, a carriage appeared outside the palace gates. A tall young man in warrior attire and a young man in a black robe stepped out of the carriage one after another.
"Earl Warden, who is this..." a palace guard inquired. With their eyesight, they could tell that the person beside Earl Warden was no ordinary man.
Warden said calmly, "This is my elder brother. I wish to take him to see His Majesty."
The palace guards didn't make things difficult and let them pass. In fact, entering the outermost palace gates wasn't too hard; anyone with a bit of status could bring someone in.
Because the palace was very large, the security at some important locations inside was much stricter.
"Halt." Two guards shouted loudly. "Earl Warden, who is the person beside you?"
"Please announce us. This is my elder brother, Linley. I am bringing my elder brother to see His Majesty." Warden immediately said.
"Wait here." One of the guards shouted, then ran inside the courtyard gate.
There were many experts within this courtyard. Without the Emperor's permission, nobles were not allowed to barge in. After a while, the guard returned. "His Majesty bids you enter."
"There are quite a few experts here." Linley stepped into the courtyard, sensing the fluctuations of wind element energy, easily locating the positions of various experts.
They walked for a while, taking many turns, before arriving outside an elegant study.
"Your Majesty." Warden called out loudly.
"Haha, Warden, I hear your elder brother Linley has arrived? Come in quickly." The Emperor of the empire, 'Joan', said in a hearty voice from within the study.
Linley smiled faintly and stepped into the study.