Chapter 31: Divine-Level Expert 'Muba'
In the southwestern region of the Baruch Empire, within the vast canyon of the continuous mountain range.
This was an important branch of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce, once heavily garrisoned with many people. However, ever since Linley killed the High Priest, Yale naturally ordered that no more slaves be transported here, and the number of personnel stationed at this branch plummeted. Now, only a few thousand remained, mainly to maintain business operations.
Night fell.
The members of the Dawson Chamber of Commerce in the great canyon lived quite comfortably. In the evenings, many men would gather together, drinking heavily. When the night grew deep, groups of men would stagger back to their lodgings, two or three at a time.
"Life has been much better these past six months," a burly young man reeking of alcohol said loudly. "A few years ago, here in our Yanshan Grand Canyon, it felt like we were living in a ghost realm every day. It really was..."
"Right, back then I didn't dare come out at night. Too many people died. I don't even know how many corpses I processed," a middle-aged man with golden curly hair recalled, still visibly shaken by those events.
In those days, tens of thousands of corpses were hauled out every day.
The Dawson Chamber of Commerce members living in this canyon had been constantly on edge.
The three men walking side by side were shocked to find they couldn't move at all. The surrounding air seemed to have turned into solid steel walls, trapping them in place. They couldn't even open their mouths. The three men could only stare in terror, their eyes wide.
In the darkness, a figure shrouded entirely in a black robe appeared before them.
Seeing this mysterious black-robed man, the three men trembled inwardly. They had some inkling... that the reason they couldn't move or speak was likely this mysterious black-robed man's doing.
"When did this canyon stop transporting slaves?" the black-robed man's low, hoarse voice sounded. "Speak. Don't think about shouting; no one will hear you. And if anyone shouts and angers me, I'll kill him."
His cold, piercing eyes swept over the three men. Sweat immediately broke out on their foreheads and backs. At the same time, they were surprised to find they could move their mouths again.
"Speak," the mysterious black-robed man said.
"It was half a year ago," the golden-curly-haired middle-aged man said, his mental fortitude slightly better than the other two, who were still frozen in fear.
"Half a year ago? What happened half a year ago? A great battle, for instance?" the mysterious black-robed man asked.
"There was, there was a great battle," the burly young man snapped out of his daze and quickly added. "It was late at night half a year ago. Two Saint-level experts were fighting. The ground in our canyon shook, and quite a few buildings were destroyed."
"The ground shook?"
The mysterious black-robed man seemed thoughtful. "Continue. Describe the scene in detail."
The young man with short hair continued: "At the time, we were on the ground. At first, we didn't notice anyone fighting. We just felt the earth tremble. Then buildings exploded, and we got scared and ran out. That's when we saw, above the canyon, two experts battling. One was a Dragonblood Warrior, and the other was a man in a black robe. Oh, and he used a huge black scythe. It was enormous, at least ten meters long."
"Right, very long. And in the end, we saw nine of those black scythes," the burly young man added.
They didn't know that was the High Priest's spiritual force materialized into an attack. Because it was dark, even with torches and lights on the ground, they could barely make out the scene above. But the massive black scythes formed from that energy were very clear.
"Scythes?" The mysterious black-robed man was silent for a moment.
"And what was the final result?" the mysterious black-robed man continued.
"The fight was too fast. We just saw the black-robed man turn into a pile of mush, and the Dragonblood Warrior landed on the ground. The Dragonblood Warrior won. Our president told us all to go back to our quarters, and he stayed with the Dragonblood Warrior for a while," the burly young man said nervously.
The mysterious black-robed man immediately asked: "That Dragonblood Warrior, was his name Linley?"
"Yes, it should be Lord Linley. Lord Linley and our president are very close friends," the golden-curly-haired middle-aged man said.
"Good." The mysterious black-robed man nodded in satisfaction. "I am very pleased with your answers."
The three men inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.
"Chi chi—" A very faint sound. The bodies of the three men instantly disintegrated, turning into three piles of dust.
"So he's dead." The mysterious black-robed man was very annoyed. "He died before he could refine the Soul Gold Pearl he promised me." This mysterious black-robed man was none other than Poment, the one who had commissioned the High Priest to refine the Soul Gold Pearl.
"Linley?"
Poment's eyes were cold. "I didn't expect him to reach the Divine Realm in such a short time, and to survive the High Priest's ultimate move."
Poment was well aware of the High Priest's ultimate move. It was a technique that harmed the user as much as the target. For someone who had just reached the Divine Realm to withstand it, Poment was shocked.
"Indeed, no wonder he's called a peerless genius by the people of the Yulan Continent." Poment was filled with deep resentment. The Soul Gold Pearl was extremely important to him. Refining one would bring immense benefits—not only strengthening the soul but also accelerating future cultivation speed.
"Hmph. Linley."
Poment silently repeated Linley's name, then let out a cold laugh. He transformed into a black blur and vanished into the sky.
* * *
Yulan Calendar 10040, December 29th. It had snowed all night. By the time the snow stopped during the day, Dragonblood Castle had become a world of white. Under the sunlight, the accumulated snow sparkled like pearls. Even Delia had temporarily stopped her training.
After all, the Yulan Festival was coming soon, and the whole family would be gathering together for the next few days.
Outside Dragonblood Castle.
A middle-aged man with shoulder-length silver hair, wearing a thick white robe, walked through the snow to the castle gate. A faint smile always lingered on his face, and his eyes were like black jade.
"Halt. State your business," the guards at the gate immediately stepped forward.
The middle-aged man glanced at the guard with a faint smile. "Go and announce me. I wish to see Linley, the master of Dragonblood Castle."
The expressions of the two guards at the gate changed. In the Baruch Empire, Linley's name was as inviolable as a deity's. Even when referring to Linley by name, people would respectfully say "Lord Linley." Few dared to address him directly.
Just as the two guards were about to reprimand him, suddenly—
"Let him in." Linley's voice echoed in the minds of the two guards.
The guards were astonished. Linley had personally sent them a telepathic message for this visitor.
"Please, come in," the guards said, puzzled but allowing the man to enter.
In the rear garden, Linley and Delia were sitting together, enjoying the snow-covered scenery and basking in the sun.
"Delia, we're about to have an important guest," Linley said with a smile.
Delia was surprised. "An important guest? Who? How do you know?"
"That guest sent me a divine sense message," Linley said with a shake of his head and a smile.
"You mean, a Divine-level expert?" Hearing the term "divine sense," Delia immediately understood. She looked very surprised. "Linley, which Divine-level expert? The War God and the others have already gone to the Necropolis of the Gods, right? They won't be back for about three more years."
"You'll see in a moment."
Linley was in a good mood. "I didn't expect him to politely wait at the gate for the guards to announce him. How interesting."
Usually, experts like Desri or Tulily would just fly directly into Dragonblood Castle. If a Divine-level expert wanted to see Linley, they could just fly over. Why bother announcing themselves at the gate? After a short while, the Divine-level expert walked into the rear garden.
"Mr. Linley, hello." The silver-haired middle-aged man smiled and said, "My name is Muba."
"Mr. Muba, I've long heard of your reputation," Linley said. The deity of that mysterious religious faith was 'Muba.' And Muba had just arrived at Dragonblood Castle's gate and sent Linley a divine sense message to greet him.
Although Linley was surprised, he still received him warmly.
After all, the man had come politely.
Hearing Linley say this, Muba understood that Linley probably knew about him from the religion he had established. He smiled and said, "I'm truly sorry for spreading my religion in your empire without your permission, Mr. Linley."
Linley didn't clearly indicate whether he was pleased or displeased by this.
"Mr. Muba, please have a seat." Linley pointed to a stone stool not far away.
Muba sat down with a genial smile. This Muba always wore a warm smile, and even his gaze made people feel like a spring breeze. It was indeed hard to feel hostile toward someone like this.
"May I ask, Mr. Muba, what brings you here?" Linley spoke first.
Muba smiled and said, "Actually, my first reason for coming is to apologize. Before, I knew you were a Saint-level expert, Mr. Linley. I thought you wouldn't care about faith power. At that time, spreading my religion wouldn't have affected you much. But now that you've stepped into the Divine Realm, I find myself in an awkward position."
Linley and Delia were both surprised.
For this reason, he came to apologize?
Were all Divine-level experts so courteous?
"Since you put it that way, Mr. Muba, I naturally won't take offense," Linley said with a faint smile.
Muba immediately continued, "Mr. Linley, rest assured. I will handle the matter of spreading my religion within a short time. At the very least, I will ensure that no trace of my religion remains within your Baruch territory." Muba's attitude was very sincere.
Linley didn't know what to say.
"Mr. Linley, I believe you've just entered the Divine Realm and may not know some things. Allow me to share some common knowledge with you, as a way of apologizing," Muba said earnestly.
Since the man was being so gracious, Linley found it hard to develop any ill will toward him.
But Linley was a bit puzzled in his heart—Muba's attitude was too good. He had just entered the Divine Realm; there was no need for Muba to go this far.
"I have indeed just entered the Divine Realm. Please, Mr. Muba, enlighten me," Linley said.
Muba nodded slightly. "Once you step into the Divine Realm, we are considered gods. For us, the divine spark and the soul are the most important. The divine spark is indestructible, but the soul is very fragile... I believe you, Linley, have already felt the benefits of faith power."
Linley nodded slightly.
When he first became a god, absorbing only a little faith power, Linley hadn't felt much.
But now, after half a year, Linley had clearly noticed that the faith power was gradually merging with his spiritual energy and forming a protective layer on the surface of his soul. Of course, in Linley's view, this protective layer was still very fragile.
"Faith power is extremely beneficial for the growth of the soul. At the same time, it can protect the soul. When faith power is very strong, a simple protective layer of faith power can block many soul attacks," Muba said with a sigh.
Linley nodded slightly.
After all, he had only been absorbing faith power for a little over half a year. Someone like the War God had been absorbing it for over five thousand years. His faith power reserves must far exceed Linley's. And as for some Sovereigns, they absorbed faith power from countless planes over eons.
The sheer magnitude of their faith power was astonishing.
"You clearly understand how beneficial faith power is to us. Next, I'll talk about an important piece of common knowledge regarding divine artifacts. This will also be very important for your future cultivation." Muba held nothing back. What he called "common knowledge" was something many who had just entered the Divine Realm only learned after suffering many hardships.