Chapter 25: Must Go
At this moment, the Dragonblood Warrior transformation was complete. Linley's feeling was one of immense power, filled with boundless strength!
"Whoosh! Whoosh!" The dragon tail whipped through the air, producing a sharp screech as it cut through the air. The cold, metallic sheen of the bluish-gold dragon scales, their edges as sharp as knives, could easily slice through precious ores if a single scale were torn off.
The golden blood merged into his body. Linley's transformation was a complete overhaul, covering every inch of him.
Enduring the intense pain, he occasionally let out low, pained growls.
After a long time…
The transformation finally ceased.
"Whew." Linley let out a long breath, simultaneously observing his transformed appearance. The dominant color was cyan, with a golden halo enveloping him. In his transformed state, Linley naturally exuded an ancient aura, like a terrifying primordial divine beast coiled here.
"Linley." Delia, who had been tense the whole time, finally relaxed a little when she saw that Linley was no longer convulsing in pain.
"Delia." Seeing Delia, a smile appeared on Linley's face. At the same time, he immediately deactivated his Dragonblood Warrior form. However, this transformation process had been too violent, and his robe had been completely shattered and sent flying, leaving not a single scrap of cloth on his body.
Fortunately, only Delia was here.
"Hurry and put something on." Delia scolded with a laugh.
Linley immediately took out an inner shirt and an outer robe from his interspatial ring. As a Dragonblood Warrior, he always kept plenty of clothes in his interspatial ring. After dressing, Linley sat down with Delia, leaning against each other and talking.
"Linley, how does it feel to have reached the divine plane?" Delia was very curious. After all, she hadn't successfully refined a divine spark yet.
"Becoming a god?"
Linley was momentarily stunned. Although he had reached the divine plane, he didn't feel any fundamental change in himself. Hearing Delia's question, Linley carefully examined himself and sensed his surroundings. Sure enough, he noticed some changes.
"It's clearer to feel with the divine clone." Linley shifted his body.
Indeed, in his divine clone state, Linley could clearly sense his control over the surrounding space. It was a kind of authority granted to him by the Demigod divine spark. Linley had a feeling… this divine spark was essentially a proof of the laws, also representing certain powers.
The stronger the divine spark, the greater the authority.
"Changing bodies again?" Delia laughed. "When you fight, if one body is damaged, can't you immediately use the other body to continue fighting?"
"I can switch bodies, but it's more effective to use the divine clone when executing the profound mysteries of speed." Linley sighed.
"Eh?" Linley discovered another change. Countless strands of golden thread-like energy were directly entering his soul space. Although each strand was very small, when accumulated, the total amount was still astonishing.
"What is this?" Linley was puzzled.
He had never seen this kind of peculiar energy before. But as these countless golden threads touched him, Linley's mind naturally sensed countless devout figures, each golden thread representing a person.
"Faith force!" Linley understood instantly.
Linley immediately focused on these golden threads. They directly entered Linley's soul space, but this soul space was vast and boundless. A large number of golden threads were merely a drop in the ocean. After the golden threads entered his soul space, Linley couldn't feel any change in himself.
Except for being able to sense those who devoutly believed in him.
"I've heard that this faith force is very beneficial for cultivation, but why can't I feel it?" Linley was somewhat puzzled.
But after just a moment, Linley smiled: "I've only just reached the divine plane, so I can only now obtain faith force. But this faith force is inexhaustible. Take the War God, for example—he has accumulated it for thousands of years. And beings like the Sovereigns have believers in countless planes. They have obtained an unimaginable amount of faith force. This faith force probably needs to reach a certain quantity before its effects can be felt."
Although he didn't understand the use of faith force now, Linley was certain it would be beneficial to him.
After all, even beings like the Sovereigns needed faith force.
"Linley, what are you daydreaming about?" Delia interrupted Linley's thoughts.
Linley snapped back to reality and immediately told Delia in detail what had just happened. Delia was also surprised: "Faith force? So when sensed with spiritual energy, faith force appears as golden threads. Faith is so ethereal and intangible—why does human faith produce this kind of peculiar power?"
"I don't know either." Linley smiled. "Delia, I plan to go out in a couple of days."
"Hmm, you've already reached the divine plane. There's no need to continue this arduous training here." Delia nodded.
"No. I'm going out to fight a divine-level expert. A life-and-death battle." Linley looked at Delia seriously. Although he hadn't told Delia before, he didn't want to hide it from her now, especially since this matter was so serious.
Fighting a divine-level expert—Linley himself wasn't entirely confident.
After all, the opponent was also at the divine level.
"What!" Delia was shocked, her eyes widening. "Linley, you're going to fight a divine-level expert? Who? The War God? The High Priest?" Delia's heart was immediately filled with worry and fear. Linley had just stepped into the divine level.
It was too dangerous.
"No, not them."
Facing Delia's gaze, Linley felt a twinge of guilt. After all, fighting that divine-level expert was like risking his life. If he succeeded, fine. But if he failed… would he be worthy of Delia?
"Then who is it? Why do you have to fight a life-and-death battle with them?" Delia pressed on. "Can't this battle be avoided?"
Linley took a deep breath: "Alright, Delia. I'll tell you everything." Linley immediately recounted everything about Yale, from Yale's initial abnormal request to buy all the prisoners of war, to the later attempt to poison him, and Sessle's deductions.
If he didn't kill that divine-level expert, Yale would forever remain a puppet!
Moreover, during this period, the divine-level expert was in a severely injured state and busy with other matters. If he waited a few more years, the divine-level expert's strength would recover, and it would be difficult to find a good opportunity.
Most importantly…
He could afford to waste time, but Yale couldn't.
Who knew when that divine-level expert would sacrifice Yale again? If Yale really died, Linley would probably blame himself for the rest of his life.
"Linley." After listening, Delia wanted to say something but couldn't.
She didn't want Linley to take risks, but she knew Linley's character. Linley would go to any lengths for her, Delia, even risking his own life. And Linley would do the same for Wharton, Yale, and Reynolds.
"Delia, don't worry. I have some confidence." Linley said this.
"What confidence?" Delia pressed on.
She hoped Linley would say something that could put her mind at ease.
"A person's combat power comes from their own strength and their weapons.
Delia, this Violet Blood Soft Sword of mine should be considered a very powerful type among divine artifacts." Linley explained. "Besides that, Delia, remember this: I have two bodies—the main body and the divine clone."
Linley held Delia's shoulders and said solemnly, "Delia, I can promise you this: if one of my bodies is destroyed, I will immediately choose to retreat."
A bitter expression appeared on Delia's face.
She understood what Linley meant. In truth, losing either body would be an extremely heavy price for Linley. If the main body was destroyed and his soul scattered, then… Linley would never be able to cultivate other laws again, only possessing a single wind-element divine clone.
If the divine clone was destroyed and his soul scattered, that would also be a permanent loss. He would never be able to cultivate the wind-element laws again. Even if he comprehended them, the universe wouldn't acknowledge it, and he wouldn't be granted another divine spark.
Looking into Linley's eyes, Delia already knew his decision.
"Alright." Delia took a deep breath, staring at Linley. "But Linley, I want you to promise me. You must remember what you said today. If one body is destroyed, you must abandon it. You can't let yourself die! Besides Yale, you have many more family and friends!"
Linley and Delia gazed at each other.
"I promise you."
In the hall of Dragonblood Castle.
Many people were gathered here. Linley reaching the divine level excited everyone. But most of them didn't know… that when night fell, Linley would quietly set off to the Dawson Conglomerate's branch to fight that divine-level expert to the death.
Of course, some people knew.
Two people: Sessle and Wharton.
When night fell, the three of them hovered in the air above Dragonblood Castle.
"Brother, please be careful." Wharton strongly disapproved of Linley going to fight a divine-level expert. But he knew Linley's temper, so he could only hope Linley would be careful. "Brother, don't forget. There are many people in Dragonblood Castle waiting for you."
Linley nodded slightly.
Sessle said solemnly, "Lord Linley, that divine-level expert cultivates the path of death. His specialty should be soul-based attacks. You must be careful. His weakness should be close combat. If you engage him in close combat, your chances of victory will be high."
Both Sessle and Wharton were very worried.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine." Linley himself was full of confidence.
Smiling at the two, Linley flew up and headed southwest, disappearing into the sky in an instant. His speed was astonishing.
"Just based on this speed alone, my brother should be fine." Wharton felt a little more at ease.
Linley, who had become a god by comprehending the profound mysteries of speed, was strongest in speed!
In the dim underground secret chamber.
The withered, skeletal Great Wizard, draped in a black robe, sat cross-legged on the ground. The crystal ball in front of him continuously emitted a faint green light, illuminating his cold face. At that moment, "Creak~" the secret chamber door opened.
A figure, also wrapped in a black robe, appeared in the chamber as if teleporting.
"Is it refined?" A hoarse voice came from the newcomer.
"Oh. It's Lord Pomerant." The Great Wizard let out a hoarse, piercing laugh, one that could scare a baby into silence.
The mysterious newcomer snorted coldly and said, "We've been here in the Yulan continent from the Gobadan plane for six years now. You've already taken control of the three major chambers of commerce of the Yulan continent. The number of slaves you've killed alone exceeds ten million, not to mention the people killed by your servants. I think the Soul Gold Pearl should be almost refined by now."
"Hmph. Lord Pomerant, do you think refining souls is that simple?" The Great Wizard said angrily. "Even some intermediate gods don't have the ability to refine souls. Souls are very fragile. Extracting their essence requires extreme care, without any negligence."
The mysterious newcomer glanced at the Great Wizard.
After a moment of silence: "You should know my temper. I've been protecting you these past few years. Otherwise, in your severely injured state, you would have been killed by Muba long ago. I'll give you three more years. If you haven't refined the Soul Gold Pearl by then, don't blame me."
"Three years. That should be enough." The Great Wizard said indifferently, without concern. "During these three years, I hope Lord Pomerant will continue to help intimidate that Muba. Once my soul injury is healed, I won't have to fear him anymore."
The mysterious newcomer glanced at the Great Wizard, then vanished from the underground chamber with a flicker.
The Great Wizard stared at where Pomerant had disappeared, sneering inwardly: "Soul Gold Pearl? A lowly wretch wants a Soul Gold Pearl? If I weren't severely injured, would I be afraid of you? Do you know… I've actually already refined one successfully. But I won't give it to you."