Chapter 40: The Secret of the Yulan Continent
These words immediately stunned Linley.
Avenge what?
"No!" Linley instantly understood. The death of the fourth brother was indeed unjust.
Linley grabbed Yale's hand. "Yale, big brother, calm down. Come, let's go to my place, and you can tell me the whole story in detail." Yale nodded slightly.
They arrived at Linley's courtyard.
"How exactly did the fourth brother die?" Linley's face was extremely serious.
Yale said solemnly, "Third brother, that day the fourth brother was patrolling outside with his men. But who would have thought they would encounter troops from the O'Brien Empire. The fourth brother had too few men. Even fighting with their lives, only the fourth brother and a few dozen others managed to escape. They fled to the city of Neil. At that time, the pursuing enemies totaled only three hundred."
"Three hundred?" Linley found it hard to believe.
"Yes. It was because the people from the O'Brien Empire shot arrows at the city wall. At that time, Prince Yulin was on the city wall. That single arrow frightened Prince Yulin, and he immediately ordered that no one was allowed to open the city gates, and that everyone should hold their positions. It was only to protect his own safety. As for the fourth brother and the others, they shouted angrily below, 'Open the gates!' But no one dared to open them... And so, the fourth brother and his group were all killed."
Rage burned in Linley's heart.
He could fully imagine that scene—the fourth brother and the others screaming in anguish, "Open the gates!" but Prince Yulin stubbornly ordered the gates not to be opened. He also didn't send anyone to rescue them.
The fourth brother had died just like that.
He died so unjustly. He could have survived!
"What about the fourth brother's body?" Linley immediately pressed.
Yale said bitterly, "According to our Dawson Conglomerate's intelligence, the fourth brother first took an arrow to the shoulder, and then the enemy commander struck him in the chest with a war blade. The fourth brother fell at the base of the city wall. After that, the enemy leader captured the fourth brother's body and took it away."
"What?" Linley couldn't believe it. "Three hundred men, right under the walls of Neil. The garrison not only didn't attack, but they let them take the fourth brother's body away?"
It was ridiculous.
"To be precise, most of those three hundred men were out of arrow range. The ones who actually attacked were just over a dozen experts. Those experts didn't care about arrows at all," Yale said, his heart full of bitterness. "Those experts killed the fourth brother and the others and took the fourth brother's body away... And under Prince Yulin's orders, the garrison of Neil didn't dare to act without authorization."
The soldiers of the O'Brien Empire indeed strictly followed orders.
But such a laughable order was utterly disgraceful.
"Fourth brother..." Linley's mind conjured up the image of the fourth brother, standing beneath the walls of Neil, shouting in grief and anger, "Open the gates!" while the soldiers on the wall coldly refused.
Dying so unjustly filled Linley with intense resentment.
The fourth brother should not have died!
"Both that Joan and the Dunstan family lied to me." Now that Linley knew the truth, he understood somewhat. The Dunstan family had probably done this to avoid offending Prince Yulin and offending His Majesty Joan.
"So, behind it all is that Prince Yulin!" Linley's anger surged.
He had long heard of Prince Yulin's reputation. His Majesty Joan was famous for being protective of his own, and his incompetent younger brother had actually become the ruler of a province. From this, one could imagine how much Joan doted on his brother.
"Third brother, avenging the fourth brother can only rely on you," Yale said with grief and indignation.
At this moment, Yale was also filled with self-blame. He wanted to take revenge himself, but his strength was too weak. And the Dawson Conglomerate wasn't his to command.
Linley nodded, a few sharp glints flashing from his eyes. "Prince Yulin caused the fourth brother's death. Then he must die as well." Linley turned to look at Yale. "Yale, rest here for now. I'm going out for a while."
"What for? Are you going to strike now?"
"No."
Linley shook his head calmly. "If I go and kill Prince Yulin directly, that His Majesty Joan will likely retaliate against the Dunstan family... The fourth brother is dead. I don't want his family to decline as well."
On Mount Wushan.
Linley was currently standing quietly before the cave where the War God was in seclusion. Suddenly, a figure flew over from afar at extreme speed—it was Casserot.
"Linley, what are you doing here?" Casserot asked in confusion.
"I want to see the War God," Linley replied.
Casserot nodded. "Alright, I'll announce you." But at that moment, a voice sounded in both Linley's and Casserot's ears: "Linley, come in."
Linley had already cast his Wind Shadow technique, and he flew into the cave, following the familiar path into the deep cavern. He descended several thousand meters before reaching the bottom.
Soon, Linley arrived before the pitch-black stone door.
"Sssss~" Terrifying heat baked the crimson stone walls.
Linley said respectfully, "Lord War God, I believe you already know about my battle with Hedderson. I think I should now be qualified to know the secret you mentioned back then."
"Come in." The War God's indifferent voice rang out.
"Rumble~" The pitch-black stone door slid upward on its own, revealing the passage. A wave of scorching heat surged toward Linley.
Linley's Dragonblood battle qi naturally formed a "Pulsating Defense" on the surface of his body.
"What a hot place." Linley was astonished by the scene deep within the cave. In the distance ahead was a massive magma lake, a hundred meters wide and long, with lava flowing within it. But that wasn't the most shocking part.
What was truly shocking was the fireball hovering above the magma lake, nearly three meters in diameter.
This fireball was entirely crimson, and the terrifying heat waves were constantly radiating from it, forcing Linley to use his "Pulsating Defense." One could imagine how fearsome the heat was.
Ordinary magma temperatures wouldn't harm Linley even if he got close. He could jump into the magma and just use his battle qi to protect himself. There was no need for the "Pulsating Defense." Suddenly, Linley noticed something—
"Where is the Lord War God?" Linley looked around in confusion.
The surrounding space was clear at a glance. Aside from the central magma lake, the open area was completely visible. But there wasn't a single person.
"Linley!" The War God's indifferent voice came from the hovering fireball.
Linley stared in shock at the floating fireball.
Could it be that the War God was that fireball?
A blurry figure emerged from within the floating orb. In a flash, the indistinct figure reached the ground beside the magma lake.
This person was the War God.
Linley carefully observed this legendary figure of the continent. The War God wasn't very tall—about 1.8 meters. His face looked to be in his thirties, with thick eyebrows and fiery red hair that reached his waist. Upon closer inspection, Linley noticed that flames were actually burning on that red hair.
The War God's expression was as cold as stone, and his gaze was extremely sharp.
Every move he made exuded an overwhelming sense of dominance. The terrifying pressure he radiated made Linley's heart tremble.
So strong!
"Greetings, Lord War God," Linley said respectfully.
The War God looked Linley over carefully, a faint smile appearing at the corner of his mouth. He nodded slightly. "Not bad. I watched your battle with Hedderson. Your attacks are quite interesting."
Linley also smiled.
"Lord War God, I believe I now have the qualifications to know the secret of the continent, right?" Linley had long decided to visit the War God before setting off for the Chaos Territory.
And now, he wanted to avenge the fourth brother.
Linley had already planned to take revenge for the fourth brother and then immediately depart for the Chaos Territory. Moreover, meeting the War God would not only reveal the secret but also allow him to use the War God's influence to pressure Joan.
If there was one person Joan feared most, it was undoubtedly the War God.
"Linley, the attack you've comprehended is indeed very special. Your current strength is on par with Hedderson's, and you are fully qualified to know the secret of the Yulan Continent," the War God said indifferently.
Linley listened attentively.
"Linley, do you know how I became a god?" The War God suddenly looked at Linley.
"Wasn't it through enlightenment, breaking through the saint-level limit and reaching the divine level?" Linley asked, puzzled.
The War God shook his head slightly. "The divine level isn't so easy to break through. Even that Hesse, with his extraordinary talent, spent over five thousand years to reach the divine level. As for me... although I had reached the saint-level limit back then, the final step was extremely difficult to take. During a conflict over five thousand years ago, I was fortunate enough to obtain a lower-level god's divine spark. I fused with that divine spark... and thus, I reached the divine level."
Linley was stunned.
The exalted War God had only broken through by obtaining a lower-level god's divine spark.
"What, disappointed?" The War God said with a faint smile.
Linley shook his head. "No. The fact that the Lord War God spent several hundred years to reach the saint-level limit back then is already admirable. Your eldest disciple, Fain, has also cultivated for several thousand years and should now be at the saint-level limit."
The War God smiled.
He was satisfied with Linley's answer. Indeed, reaching the saint-level limit in a few hundred years was extremely rare.
"The saint-level limit is actually very difficult to cultivate. To reach it, one must have walked a certain path within the elemental laws to the very end. At that critical juncture, what is needed is a moment of enlightenment! In an instant, one must fully comprehend that aspect of the elemental laws. Only then can one succeed."
The War God sighed. "Throughout the entire Yulan Continent, there were still six people who had reached the saint-level limit and were only one step away from the divine level decades ago. Now that Hesse has broken through, there are five saint-level limits left. Among them is Fain."
"Currently, aside from the five divine-level experts on the Yulan Continent, the strongest are Fain and the other four. You should know Fain's strength."
Linley nodded slightly.
Linley was now beginning to truly touch the hidden side of the Yulan Continent.
"Lord War God, where does the Radiant Pope rank among the hidden experts?" Linley would definitely have to deal with the Radiant Pope in the future, so he naturally wanted to know.
"The Radiant Pope?"
The War God paused and then said, "Among the hidden experts of the continent, aside from the divine level, the next tier is Fain and the other four limit-level experts—those one step away from the divine level. Below them is the Radiant Pope's tier, which has about a dozen people. Below that is Hedderson's tier. Most of the hidden experts on the continent are at Hedderson's level."
"The Radiant Pope is stronger than Hedderson?" Linley made a mental note.
The War God glanced at Linley. "The Radiant Pope cultivates the Great Prophecy. The power of the Great Prophecy is extremely fearsome. It's only natural that he is a cut above Hedderson."
Linley looked at the War God and asked, "Lord War God, what exactly is the secret of the Yulan Continent?" Linley had always been curious.
What was it about the Yulan Continent that attracted so many powerful beings to stay in this plane?
"The Yulan Continent, among the gods in the higher planes, actually has another name." A hint of pride appeared on the War God's face.
"What name?" Linley's eyes lit up.
"The Necropolis of the Gods!" the War God said softly.
"The Necropolis of the Gods?" Linley's heart tightened. "Lord War God, even if gods die, they wouldn't necessarily choose to be buried in our Yulan Continent plane, would they?"
"Of course, it's not a burial ground." The War God smiled faintly. "Over five thousand years ago, experts from other planes descended. Many were divine-level, including middle-level gods and high-level gods. They fought and killed each other on the Yulan Continent plane. In the end, aside from a few who eventually left, almost all of those experts died."