Chapter 34: Fame Spreads Far
Linley flipped his hand and took a robe out of his interspatial ring. Returning to human form, he draped it over himself and said with a faint smile, "Bebe, Hei Lu, let's go back." At the same time, Linley looked at Hedderson. The Adamantine Sword Saint 'Hedderson' was also looking at him at that moment.
Both Hedderson and Linley had pale faces. In this great battle, both had suffered not insignificant injuries, all internal injuries.
The two supreme powerhouses nodded slightly to each other. Then, without greeting anyone else, Hedderson soared into the air, flying directly east. He turned into a blurry black dot that vanished on the eastern horizon.
Linley led the way, with Bebe and Hei Lu, the two Saint-level magical beasts, following behind.
Watching this one man and two beasts, Emperor Johann, Kenyon, Lanco, and the rest of the group all felt immense pressure. Whether it was Linley or the two Saint-level magical beasts, all possessed terrifying, awe-inspiring strength.
"Master Linley." Emperor Johann was the first to step forward, greeting him warmly.
Linley nodded slightly, his face still carrying a trace of paleness. "Emperor Johann, I have gained some insights from this battle, so I will return first to cultivate."
Emperor Johann was startled for a moment, then quickly said, "Good, good. Master Linley's cultivation is the most important."
Linley smiled politely, then walked towards his own group. Wharton, Delia, and the others immediately came forward to meet him. Wharton even gave Linley a bear hug.
"Big brother." Wharton's eyes were red, but he was grinning.
"Let's go, back home." As Linley spoke, he looked at Delia beside him. There was still a mist of tears on her beautiful eyelashes. Seeing Linley in danger earlier, Delia had been so worried she had cried.
Linley's heart warmed.
"Let's go together." Linley smiled at Delia. Delia looked back at Linley and nodded slightly.
Linley and his group then took the lead and left. The countless people watching from the surroundings very consciously made way, forming a path. Almost everyone looked at Linley with eyes full of admiration. A young man only twenty-seven years old could fight to a standstill with the one known as the number one Saint-level powerhouse, 'Hedderson'. Not only that, he possessed two Saint-level magical beasts, one of which was powerful enough to suppress Hedderson.
"Big brother—" Bulumei looked at his big brother, Oliveria.
Oliveria was recognized as a genius, but three months ago in that battle, he had lost to the Adamantine Sword Saint 'Hedderson'. He lost, and no one blamed him. After all, his opponent was Hedderson. Everyone on the Yulan continent still considered him the top genius.
But…
Linley was younger than him, much younger!
Yet Linley's battle with Hedderson was clearly different from his. Even Hedderson himself had said… if it weren't for Linley's insufficient battle qi, he wouldn't have been able to win.
Winning by having more battle qi?
In the eyes of many experts, this didn't count as a real win. Because elemental laws are hard to comprehend, while battle qi is easy to train. Given enough time, an increase in battle qi is a certainty.
"Second brother, I am going to the Arctic Icefield for intense training… Take good care of yourself." Oliveria said indifferently to his brother.
"Big brother!" Bulumei's eyes went wide.
He had heard his brother talk about what the Arctic Icefield was—a place where the plane guardian resided, and where some hidden Saint-level experts went to train in that desolate, uninhabited land.
Oliveria turned his head to look back at his brother. "Second brother, remember. You are the brother of me, Oliveria. Don't disappoint me."
"En." Bulumei nodded solemnly.
Oliveria smiled slightly, then soared into the air, flying directly towards the northern horizon. In the sky, his robe fluttered noisily. Carrying his two swords on his back, Oliveria began his journey to the Arctic Icefield.
"Hedderson, Linley… wait for my return. I will definitely defeat you both!"
Oliveria's gaze was fixed on the north, more determined than ever before.
……
Under the unified management of the city guard, the flow of millions of people dispersed quickly and efficiently in all directions. Even after leaving, the spectators were still incredibly excited, chatting in groups of three or five about the battle they had just witnessed.
A single sword strike splitting a mountain, another piercing through its core.
A mountain a thousand meters high, several miles in circumference, had been reduced to a pile of rubble.
Then the sudden appearance of the two magical beasts…
…
Every single detail excited the onlookers. After this battle, countless people began to idolize Linley. Being twenty-seven and fighting Hedderson to a standstill was one thing, but the most crucial point was that he had two magical beasts! And it seemed one of them could even defeat Hedderson.
One man and two magical beasts—this combination, who in the Yulan continent would dare to block them?
"Thank goodness I chose Wharton back then. Thank the War God, His Eminence." Emperor Johann breathed a long sigh of relief in his heart. "This Linley, I never imagined he would be this terrifying. Fortunately, he is now practically a relative of my imperial clan."
*******
The battle at Tujiao Mountain in the imperial capital, spread by word of mouth among millions of people, propagated at an astonishing speed. Linley's fame rose like the sun at its zenith, becoming the most dazzling name across the entire Yulan continent!
Almost on par with the number one Saint-level powerhouse, 'Hedderson'!
Only twenty-seven years old!
A rank 9 Grand Magus!
A master sculptor!
And possessing two terrifying Saint-level magical beasts, one of which could even defeat Hedderson!
…
This was practically a legend. Whether in the world of sculpture, the magical world, or the aspect of a warrior… any single one of Linley's achievements could be called legendary. When all these legends were gathered in one person…
Undoubtedly, a peerless genius.
The most dazzling Saint-level powerhouse on the Yulan continent. His great name spread across the entire continent just like the name of the 'War God' had in his time. Some bards continuously sang of his legend. Countless youths took Linley as their goal, striving and working hard!
Linley was destined to leave a heavy mark in the history of the Yulan continent.
However… Linley's glory was only just beginning. He was only twenty-seven years old. His future was limitless!
*******
The news of the battle between Linley and Hedderson was quickly…
brought to the Sacred Island by the intelligence organization of the Radiant Church via flying magical beasts.
Waves crashed against the shore. The 'Sacred Island', located in the sea, was very tranquil. It also housed the most powerful forces of the Radiant Church.
Ninth floor of the Radiant Divine Temple.
Pope 'Haydyn' was quietly flipping through the church's treasured tome, the 'Bible', when suddenly "Bang!" "Bang!" a crisp knocking sound came.
"Enter." Haydyn's voice was as steady as ever.
Gilmore, dressed in a red robe, strode in quickly. He stared at Pope 'Haydyn' and said solemnly, "Your Holiness, news of the battle between Linley and Hedderson has arrived."
Haydyn looked up at Gilmore.
Gilmore's expression puzzled Haydyn. He took the paper from Gilmore's hand and casually scanned its contents. But his originally calm expression instantly froze.
"Your Holiness?" Gilmore called out softly.
Haydyn let out a low sigh, tossed the paper onto the table, stood up, and walked to the floor-to-ceiling window. Gazing into the distance at the boundless ocean, he said, "Linley… I knew he was a genius, but I never imagined that in just ten years, he would grow to this level."
Haydyn had long anticipated Linley's achievements; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent six angels to kill him.
But who would have thought that shortly after the six angels failed, Linley would create such a huge stir? His draw with Oliveria had already shocked the Radiant Church, but this time…
"Your Holiness, what should we do?" Gilmore asked in a low voice. "Now, this Linley is practically on par with Hedderson."
"Hedderson…"
Haydyn was still looking out the window, his back to Gilmore. "This Hedderson's strength is indeed very strong. Even I would have to expend a great deal of effort to defeat him."
Hedderson, though called the number one Saint-level powerhouse, many hadn't actually compared themselves to him. Besides those hidden experts who had been cultivating for who knows how many years, there were also the Radiant Pope, the Dark Pope, and some figures who didn't compete for fame or profit.
The Great Prophecy was one of the three high-level magics.
A Saint-level peak 'Great Prophecy' was extremely terrifying. It was far more formidable than an ordinary Saint-level peak magician. Haydyn was confident that, going all out, he could defeat Gilmore.
But that was only going all out. The intelligence report stated that Linley still had two magical beasts. One of them seemed to be someone even Hedderson couldn't handle.
"Linley has two Saint-level magical beasts. Even if Ussenor and I attacked simultaneously, we would at most be able to drive him back. To kill Linley… the church would need to deploy all its top experts!" Haydyn said in a low voice.
Defeating and killing were two different concepts.
That combination of one man and two beasts was simply too terrifying. Even the Radiant Church would need to commit all its top experts to have a chance of killing him.
"But even if we succeeded, the losses for my Radiant Church would be immense. And the imperial capital is still the War God's territory…" A trace of gold flickered in Haydyn's eyes.
Haydyn's heart was filled with anger!
"Boom!" The glass in front of him shattered into powder.
"Back then, we had a chance to kill Linley but didn't go all out. Now, the opportunity is lost." Haydyn looked at Gilmore and could only announce helplessly, "The cost of killing him is too high. We can't afford it. And success isn't even guaranteed… From today onwards, stop targeting Linley. We won't provoke him… I don't believe he would dare to attack the Sacred Island."
At this point, the Radiant Church had no other choice.
"Yes, Your Holiness." Gilmore smiled bitterly in his heart.
Gilmore couldn't help but recall the first time he saw Linley. It was in a hotel inside the Ernst Institute of Magic. Back then, Linley was just a youth with a bright future.
Yet, in just ten years!
That youth had already become one of the top powerhouses on the entire Yulan continent, and their Radiant Church could do nothing about him.
Haydyn frowned.
His heart was full of hatred!
Did the church really not have the power to deal with Linley? No, it did! Besides the public supreme experts like the Pope and the Head Inquisitor, the Radiant Church actually had a few even more terrifying individuals.
These people had been cultivating for thousands of years, or even longer.
But…
This group no longer served the Radiant Church.
"This group has all betrayed the Lord, only caring for themselves!" Haydyn's heart was filled with anger. Those few were all very strong, but they didn't care about the 'Lord of Light' or faith anymore.
That group had once been the pride of the Radiant Church.
Some of them were even former Popes. But now, even if the Radiant Church were to be destroyed, that group probably wouldn't care. Their goal was their own deification!
To step into the Divine Realm!
"Your Holiness?" Gilmore called softly, seeing Haydyn lost in thought.
Haydyn let out a long breath, looked at Gilmore, and instructed, "Ah, Gilmore, the damage from Dylin in the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts was too great for us. Too many believers were killed or injured… We must accelerate our pace in the 'Chaos Territory'. We need to let the Lord's light shine upon that land."
Gilmore immediately nodded.
The more believers, the more the Lord's grace. The forty-eight duchies of the Chaos Territory were a fat piece of meat in the eyes of the Radiant Church. They had been operating there for thousands of years, but unfortunately, the Dark Church also coveted that territory. The struggle between the two churches prevented either from succeeding.
Bordering the Chaos Territory were the 'O'Brien Empire' and the 'Luo'ao Empire', as well as the brutal prairie cavalry of the Far East Prairie…
Conquering the Chaos Territory was indeed very difficult.
"You may go." Haydyn said indifferently.
As Gilmore left, Haydyn felt a wave of exhaustion in his heart. "The Dark Church, the Chaos Territory, and that Linley who will be an even greater threat in the future…"
Knowing there was a threat, but what could he do?