Chapter 22: The War God Summons
After finishing his words, the Divine Hall’s senior brother ‘Fa En’ rose and walked to the edge of the mountain peak, letting his robe rustle in the wind. Linley, meanwhile, digested everything he had just learned.
From the plane overseer ‘Huo Dan’, Linley had learned that reaching the Saint realm allowed one to leave the Yulan continent plane.
And from ‘Fa En’, Linley learned that the Yulan continent plane held a great secret, one that had drawn the descent of many other-plane powerhouses over five thousand years ago.
…
In truth, at just twenty-seven years old, Linley’s current achievements were already extraordinary. After all, the super-strong experts hidden across the Yulan continent had all undergone long years of cultivation.
“Hoo.” Linley let out a long breath.
“Why worry about so much? As long as my little brother and the others are happy, and I can destroy the Radiant Church to avenge my parents, that’s enough.”
The goal in Linley’s heart required sufficient strength to support it.
And Linley himself also deeply loved cultivation.
The path of cultivation was always filled with twists, hardships, and dangers. Many experts had lost their lives along this road. How many had truly reached the peak?
Across the entire Yulan continent, there were only five Deity-level experts.
Since setting foot on this path, Linley’s goal had been to stand at the peak of the Yulan continent. When he had first embarked on this road as a youth, he had already prepared himself for failure or death.
“Back when I was six, unable to cultivate Dragonblood battle-qi, I dreamed of becoming a seventh-rank warrior, an eighth-rank warrior… and in the end, I not only became a Dragonblood Warrior but also the magical genius of the Sacred Alliance.”
“In my youth, I dreamed of one day reaching the Saint realm. And now, I’ve reached the Saint realm’s peak.”
A faint smile touched Linley’s lips.
Confidence.
“Fa En? Before long, I’ll defeat him too.” Linley felt himself brimming with passion. Surpassing one expert after another, reaching the peak—that was when the sense of achievement grew strongest.
What truly moved people wasn’t the final success, but the repeated setbacks and breakthroughs along the journey.
Fa En turned his head to look at Linley.
“Rest here for a while. When evening comes, I’ll take you to see the teacher,” Fa En said with a smile.
“The War God?” Linley raised an eyebrow.
The War God wanted to see him personally?
“The teacher has his reasons for seeing you. I’ll be cultivating nearby. If anything comes up, you can ask me.” Fa En didn’t want to waste time on Linley either, so he walked directly to a flat stone, sat down cross-legged, and closed his eyes.
Linley watched Fa En in meditation.
“I wonder what the War God actually wants.” Linley stopped overthinking and also went to one side, sitting cross-legged in silence, beginning to sense and cultivate.
…
Time passed, and soon the sun set.
Fa En, who had been sitting cross-legged on the stone, suddenly blurred, then vanished from the rock. He reappeared beside it.
Seeing Linley cultivating quietly, Fa En nodded inwardly.
True experts all had to endure loneliness.
Take Olivia, for example—he had spent three full years in solitary cultivation on a desolate mountain. Linley, too, had endured three years of bitter training in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. Those who couldn’t stand loneliness would amount to nothing, no matter their talent.
“Linley, it’s about time. Come with me to see the teacher,” Fa En said with a smile.
Linley opened his eyes, stood up, and followed Fa En.
Fa En walked to the edge of the mountain path, then leaped directly downward. Though Linley couldn’t fly in human form, he pushed off the ground and drifted down gracefully.
Controlling the wind, Linley slowed his descent.
After a short while, Fa En landed on the mountainside, and Linley landed as well.
“Follow me inside.” Fa En walked straight toward a natural cave ahead. Linley felt a bit puzzled—could the War God really live in a cave?
The cave twisted and turned. After walking for some time, they came to a hole that plunged straight downward. It was bottomless, pitch-black to the eye.
“Down we go.” Fa En jumped straight in. Linley followed suit.
“Whoosh!” “Whoosh!”
The two plummeted rapidly. Linley was astonished: “This depth is definitely over two thousand meters. We’re underground now.”
After falling for a while, Fa En and Linley landed lightly like drifting leaves.
Then Linley followed Fa En deeper into the cave. The temperature inside kept rising as they advanced.
“Such high heat.”
Even with his body’s natural defenses, Linley couldn’t withstand the heat directly. He had to use battle-qi to protect the soles of his feet, and a layer of dark-green-black battle-qi flowed over his skin and hair.
Without battle-qi protection, his hair would likely have caught fire.
The surrounding rock walls were all glowing red. After a while, Linley spotted a pitch-black stone door ahead. Despite the intense heat, the door showed no sign of turning red—clearly, it was made of no ordinary material.
“Huff, huff…”
Scorching hot air emanated from behind the stone door, along with a faint oppressive aura. Facing this pressure, Linley felt an urge to prostrate himself in worship.
“Teacher, Linley is here,” Fa En said respectfully.
The War God?
The War God was right behind that stone door!
Though Linley had been calm before, his heart now couldn’t help but race. The pinnacle powerhouse of the Yulan continent was separated from him by only a single stone door.
“Very well, Fa En, you may withdraw,” a cold, indifferent voice rang out.
“Yes, teacher.” Fa En respectfully retreated.
Linley stood still, waiting for the War God to speak.
“Linley, twenty-seven years old, ninth-rank Grand Magus, already embarked on the path of comprehending the laws of the elements…” The War God’s voice remained indifferent. “Linley, you are quite impressive.”
Linley frowned.
He sensed that the War God’s voice seemed to vibrate against his very soul, as if a louder tone might shatter it.
“Thank you for the praise, War God,” Linley said humbly.
“You already know what you need to know—I had Fa En tell you. There is a crimson token by the door. Take it. From today onward, you are considered one of my people,” the War God said coldly.
Linley’s heart jolted.
One of the War God’s people?
He glanced at the side of the stone door, where a flat stone held a crimson token. The token now floated slowly toward Linley.
On it was a single character—‘War’!
“What does the War God mean by this? Counting me as one of his?” Linley felt some displeasure. This was like being recruited without any room for negotiation.
The War God’s cold voice sounded again: “Based on your current strength, you don’t yet qualify for this token. But… I see that you will meet the requirements sooner or later, so I’m giving it to you early. With this token, you gain the right to explore the secret of the Yulan continent.”
“The secret of the Yulan continent?” Linley spoke up.
“When you reach the Saint realm in human form, or… when you defeat the Rock Sword Saint ‘Heide Sen’, come find me again. Then you will be qualified to know the secret, and truly worthy of this token,” the War God said coldly.
But Linley could sense a kind of aloof pride in the War God’s words.
In the War God’s eyes, Linley didn’t yet deserve the token. His strength, from the War God’s perspective, was still far too weak.
Linley was well aware of his own limits.
“War God,” Linley said humbly, “you say I must reach the Saint realm in human form or defeat the Rock Sword Saint? Do you believe that only when I reach the Saint realm in human form can I defeat Heide Sen?”
The War God was silent for a moment.
“Heide Sen is called the number one Saint realm expert. Though in the eyes of the Saint realm peak powerhouses hidden across the continent, that title is undeserved, Heide Sen’s strength still ranks in the middle among those who have cultivated for thousands of years.”
Linley understood.
“As for you reaching the Saint realm in human form… if you still can’t defeat Heide Sen under those circumstances, I would feel sorry for your ancestors,” the War God said coldly.
Linley smiled.
Clearly, in the War God’s eyes, if Linley reached the Saint realm in human form, he would definitely surpass Heide Sen. But as he was now, the War God seemed to think he couldn’t win.
“I don’t believe the War God knows the true power of my ‘Earth’s Profound Truths’,” Linley thought to himself.
Though the War God was a deity, he couldn’t know everything.
“Linley, I’ll give you one piece of advice,” the War God suddenly said.
“Please speak, War God.” Linley’s eyes lit up, and he listened intently. The War God had stepped into the lower-level deity realm over five thousand years ago. His advice could surely help Linley avoid many detours.
The cold voice came from behind the stone door: “The laws of the elements contain many branches. What you must do is choose one path and walk it. It’s best not to study several paths at once.”
Linley was stunned.
The laws of the elements were indeed vast. Take the wind element laws, for example—Linley was currently studying two paths. One was speed, extreme speed.
The second was the power of a single sword, like the rhythm of the wind.
“War God, why choose only one path?” Linley pressed.
“You can certainly study many aspects of the elemental laws simultaneously. No one can force you. That was just my advice. Whether you listen is up to you. If there’s nothing else, you may leave,” the War God said coldly.
Linley quickly asked, “War God, I want to know—what rights does this token give me, and what must I do?”
“Having this token only means you qualify to participate in exploring the secret of the Yulan continent. As for anything else… even if you die, I won’t interfere. Everything depends on yourself.”
“Then, War God, I’d like to ask—how many Deity-level experts are there on the Yulan continent now?” After speaking with Fa En, Linley had begun to wonder…
Were there really only five Deity-level experts on the Yulan continent?
“Five in total,” the War God said coldly. “That Xi Se only broke through a few years ago.”
Linley felt relieved.
The pinnacle Deity-level experts of the Yulan continent were indeed only a few.
“War God, why did you give me this token? And why did you help my little brother back then?” Linley pressed on. This question had been nagging at him. What was his connection to the War God?
In Linley’s view, the War God shouldn’t need anything from him.
After all, the War God was far stronger than Linley.
“You’ve asked enough.”
The War God’s voice turned cold. “You may leave now. Don’t think too much. Focus on your cultivation. When you defeat Heide Sen, or reach the Saint realm in human form, come find me again.”
Sensing the War God’s displeasure, Linley knew better than to push further.
“War God, I’ll take my leave.”
Linley withdrew, using the Wind Shadow Technique to fly out from the bottom of the cave and finally exit. When he stepped out into the mountain breeze, he let out a long breath.
Even speaking with the War God through a stone door had put immense pressure on him.
“One of his people?” Linley looked at the crimson token in his hand. It occasionally flickered with gold. He had never seen such material before.
Flipping his hand, he stored the token in his spatial ring and headed down War God Mountain.
On the way down, Linley kept thinking about the War God’s advice.
“There are many paths in studying the elemental laws. Choose one and walk it to the end.” In truth, Linley had already been following just one path in the earth laws.
He studied the pulse of the earth.
Linley shook his head, stopped overthinking, and left War God Mountain, returning to the imperial capital.
The next time Linley came to War God Mountain to see the War God, he would either have defeated Heide Sen or reached the Saint realm in human form.