Chapter 18: Other-Planar Powerhouse
Linley, His Majesty Joann, and the others were all puzzled. Who exactly was this mysterious white-haired old man? Even the number one Saint-level powerhouse, ‘Hederson,’ was so humble before him?
“Could he be the War God?” Linley wondered inwardly.
Only a Deity-level powerhouse could make ‘Hederson’ so humble. Furthermore, Casart and Lanco clearly knew this white-haired old man as well, so he was likely the War God.
“Add a chair,” the steward, Hiri, immediately ordered a nearby servant.
At this moment, Linley stepped forward and said with a smile, “Sir, it is a great honor for us brothers that you have come to attend my younger brother’s betrothal ceremony. But may I ask who you are?”
“Me?” The white-haired old man chuckled as he glanced at Linley. “My name is Hodan!”
“Hodan?” Linley rapidly searched his memory, but there was absolutely no record of a powerhouse named Hodan.
“Linley, don’t ask too many questions. Lord Hodan’s presence here today is a great blessing. Everyone, please sit down first,” said the Adamantite Sword Saint ‘Hederson’ with a smile.
Though Linley, His Majesty Joann, and the others were confused, they all sat down.
“Lord, we brothers would like to toast you,” Casart and Lanco said, raising their glasses.
Lord?
Linley’s heart stirred.
First, for a Saint-level powerhouse to address someone as ‘Lord,’ that person should be a Deity-level powerhouse. At the same time… Casart and Lanco called him ‘Lord’ rather than ‘Master,’ so he probably wasn’t the War God.
There were five Deity-level powerhouses on the continent. Linley had met Dylin and Hiss. He had never seen the High Priest, the War God, or the ruler of the Dark Forest. This white-haired old man should be one of those three.
Now it was confirmed he wasn’t the War God.
So he was either the High Priest or the ruler of the Dark Forest.
“But those two Deity-level powerhouses haven’t shown themselves for who knows how many years. How could Hederson, Casart, and Lanco all know him?” Linley found it hard to believe.
Meeting a Deity-level powerhouse wasn’t that easy.
“Linley,” the white-haired old man named ‘Hodan’ said, raising his glass with a smile. “Come, let’s have a drink.”
Linley quickly raised his glass.
“Seeing you, Linley, reminds me of when I encountered several Dragonblood Warriors from your Baruch family back then. Haha, who would have thought thousands of years would pass in the blink of an eye,” Hodan said cheerfully.
These words made Linley’s heart clench violently.
“Several Dragonblood Warriors from my Baruch family? Thousands of years ago?” Linley looked at Hodan in confusion.
According to his family’s history, the first three generations had produced Dragonblood Warriors consecutively, but afterward, they only appeared once every thousand years.
Yet this man said he had encountered several of them thousands of years ago.
“I didn’t expect Senior Hodan to have known my family’s ancestors,” Linley said with a smile.
“Of course. Your family’s patriarch, Baruch, was truly a formidable figure,” Hodan said with emotion. “But your Baruch family has declined now. Back then, with dozens of Dragonblood Warriors, who would dare provoke you? A pity, a pity…”
Linley’s eyes widened.
“Dozens of Dragonblood Warriors?” Linley and Wharton both stared at Hodan in shock.
“What, surprised?” Hodan glanced at Linley and Wharton.
Hederson quickly said, “Lord, this matter is better discussed elsewhere. There are too many people here.” Such confidential matters shouldn’t be heard by ordinary nobles.
“It’s fine. Only the people at this table can hear us. As for the others in the hall, no matter how loudly we speak, they won’t hear a thing,” Hodan said with a chuckle.
There were eight people at this table. Aside from Wharton, His Majesty Joann, and Monroe Dawson, everyone else had Saint-level strength. And the white-haired old man was unfathomably deep.
“Dozens of Dragonblood Warriors?”
Linley and Wharton truly couldn’t believe it.
The family genealogy clearly recorded that the first three generations produced three Dragonblood Warriors, and afterward, only one appeared every thousand years. There were only five in total. How could there have been dozens thousands of years ago?
“The four ultimate warrior families. Sigh… they’ve all declined beyond recognition. How glorious they were back then,” Hodan said with a sigh.
Linley’s heart stirred.
He recalled that the “Dragonblood Manual” introduced a second method to become a Dragonblood Warrior: consuming the blood of a living dragon. But according to the genealogy, the three Dragonblood Warriors were all born that way.
If the second method had never succeeded, why was it recorded in the “Dragonblood Manual”?
Back then, Linley and Doehring Cowart had suspected that the family’s inherited book might have been tampered with. Their family should have produced Dragonblood Warriors through consuming living dragon blood.
“I never thought there were dozens!” Linley and Wharton were both deeply shaken.
“Oh, that girl Nina has arrived,” the white-haired old man ‘Hodan’ said cheerfully, causing Linley and the others, still in shock, to turn their heads.
Linley and the others stood up, and Wharton walked directly toward Nina.
Wharton and Nina, hand in hand, were toasting at each table. But at this moment, Wharton and Linley, still seated, were both deeply unsettled.
Their family’s history was clearly not as simple as they had imagined.
Furthermore…
The lifespan of Saint-level powerhouses was terrifyingly long. Why had all the Dragonblood Warriors of their family disappeared? And it wasn’t just their family—the Undying Warrior family, the Violet Flame Warrior family, and the Tigerstriped Warrior family were all the same. These four ultimate warrior families had all mysteriously declined.
“Secrets…” Linley understood that the continent’s history was definitely not what was publicly recorded.
For instance, the King of Killers ‘Hiss’ had once told Linley that over five thousand years ago, many other-planar powerhouses had descended upon the Yulan continent. Yet the continent’s recorded history made no mention of this.
Throughout the betrothal banquet, Linley was somewhat distracted. He kept thinking incessantly.
He even wanted to have a private conversation with this white-haired old man named ‘Hodan.’
Clearly, this white-haired old man ‘Hodan’ knew a great deal about the events of the past.
After lunch, many nobles were still chatting in the hall. Linley, who had been waiting impatiently, finally heard a voice like heavenly music.
“Linley, come with me. I have something to discuss with you.”
Hodan had taken the initiative to ask for a private talk with Linley.
Wharton looked at his brother. Linley instructed Wharton, “Wharton, stay here for now. Go spend some time with Nina later. As for Mr. Hodan, I’ll attend to him.” With that, Linley followed Hodan out of the hall.
Hederson, Casart, and Lanco exchanged glances.
“I wonder how Linley will choose,” Hederson said with a sigh.
…
Hodan and Linley left the hall. As they walked, Hodan said, “Linley, what about your two Saint-level magical beasts? Call them over too.”
Linley was startled.
How did Hodan know everything?
He knew Wharton and Nina’s names, and now he knew Linley had two magical beasts, including that Bebe was a Saint-level magical beast.
Linley didn’t deny it. He directly sent a soul message to summon Bebe and Blacky. Because Saint-level powerhouses were present today, Linley hadn’t let Bebe and Blacky go to the hall.
“Let’s go to the training ground behind the mansion. It’s empty there,” Hodan said cheerfully.
“Roar~~”
Blacky and Bebe arrived at Linley’s side in an instant.
“Squeak squeak~~” Bebe was still pretending.
“Little one, I know you’re a magical beast, so stop squeaking,” Hodan said with a laugh, reaching out to pat Bebe’s head. Bebe tried to dodge, but was shocked to find he couldn’t move. He could only let Hodan pat him.
Linley was secretly alarmed.
Without a doubt, Hodan was a Deity-level powerhouse.
“There are only a few Deity-level powerhouses on the continent. Who is he?” Linley thought as he followed Hodan toward the training ground in the backyard.
“Boss, who is this old guy? How is he so strong?” Bebe didn’t dare act too lively now and was behaving very obediently.
Blacky also followed Linley quietly.
“Close the courtyard gate. No one is allowed in without my orders,” Linley commanded the guards in the backyard. Then Hodan walked directly to a stone bench and sat down comfortably.
“You sit too,” Hodan said, pointing to a seat opposite him.
Linley obediently sat down and said humbly, “Mr. Hodan, I’m still completely in the dark. Could you explain things to me?”
“The main reason I came today is your two Saint-level magical beasts,” Hodan said with a smile. “Of course, you and the three Undying Warriors with Saint-level strength are also barely part of my target.”
“Huh?” Linley looked at Hodan in confusion.
Hodan smiled slightly and said, “Linley, over countless years on the Yulan continent, geniuses have been abundant. Even if only one appeared every hundred years, that would be a thousand in ten thousand years. Yet how many Saint-level powerhouses are there on the Yulan continent now? An empire might only have a few dozen.”
“Can Saint-level powerhouses live for ten thousand years?” Linley asked in surprise.
“Saint-level powerhouses, as long as they aren’t killed, can easily live for ten thousand years,” Hodan said with a faint smile. “Reaching the Saint level essentially grants immortality. But being killed doesn’t count.”
Linley was puzzled.
If that were the case, why were there so few Saint-level powerhouses? After all, every hundred years, the entire Yulan continent produced more than one Saint-level powerhouse.
“What’s the reason?” Linley pressed.
“It’s because… they’ve all gone to other planes,” Hodan said with a smile.
“Other planes?” Linley was stunned.
Linley’s heart stirred. He suddenly understood and pressed further, “Does that mean my Baruch family’s ancestors also went to other planes?”
“Yes. The dozens of Dragonblood Warriors from your Baruch family went to the ‘Abyss,’ one of the four higher planes. I even drank with your ancestor Baruch in the Abyss back then,” Hodan said cheerfully.
“The Abyss? Mr. Hodan, you’re from the Abyss?” Linley felt as if the most mysterious side of this world was being unveiled before his eyes.
Hodan nodded and said, “Yes. Linley, let me put it this way… In ordinary material planes, once a being reaches the Saint level, they have the right to enter the four higher planes or the seven divine planes to cultivate and live.”
“Throughout the history of the Yulan continent, many Saint-level powerhouses have left the Yulan continent, choosing to enter the four higher planes or the seven divine planes,” Hodan said with a smile.
Linley nodded in understanding.
“To be precise, you and the three Undying Warriors, though you have Saint-level strength, haven’t yet reached the Saint level in human form. I didn’t need to come looking for you urgently. I came for your two Saint-level magical beasts. They have both reached the Saint level and can choose… to stay on the Yulan continent or enter another plane.”
Hodan quickly began to persuade: “The four higher planes are definitely better than the seven divine planes. For example, in the higher plane ‘Abyss,’ experts are as common as clouds, and Saint-level beings are ordinary. There, you can receive the best training, and treasures are abundant. Space rings and the like are everywhere.”
Linley understood.
Only by reaching the Saint level could one qualify to enter the higher planes. Naturally, the four higher planes were filled with experts, and Saint-level beings were merely the most common.
“I’m not going. I’m staying with the boss,” Bebe said, shaking his head.
“I’m not going either. I’m staying with my master,” Blacky said.
Hodan looked at Linley and smiled. “Linley, your true strength is already at the Saint-level peak. You could easily enter the higher planes. Do you want to go?”
Linley didn’t answer but instead looked at Hodan. “May I ask who Mr. Hodan is?”
“Me? Oh, I forgot to mention,” Hodan said, smiling at Linley. “I am the ‘Plane Supervisor’ of the Yulan continent, this material plane.”