Chapter 30: The So-Called ‘Sparring’
Copper Gong Mountain had a beautiful environment. Beside a waterfall and emerald pool in a deep, secluded valley, Linley and Bebe built two stone huts and settled down. Linley didn’t want to disturb the master of Copper Gong Mountain; it was enough that the man was willing to give him guidance.
“Rumble~”
The waterfall cascaded down like countless white pearls, crashing into the deep pool below.
“Whoosh, whoosh!” The water from the deep pool flowed away along a small stream. Linley sat cross-legged on the grass by the pool’s edge. His main body began to quietly comprehend the profound mysteries of the ‘Earth Element’, while his divine clone naturally continued studying the Wind Element laws.
“I’ve never felt the elements so carefully before.”
Linley completely dispersed his spiritual energy, merging it into every single particle of the Earth Element.
Earth Element particles were extremely tiny, invisible to the naked eye. Yet these particles filled the heavens and the earth. Countless Earth Element particles floated throughout space, moving in irregular patterns, colliding with and separating from each other.
The Earth Element particles both attracted and repelled each other.
“How marvelous. Is this the Elemental World?”
Linley marveled inwardly.
But when Linley’s spiritual energy merged into the earth itself: “These condensed, solid elements are too close together.” Indeed, rocks and soil were actually formed from the condensation of Earth Element particles, just with a very high density.
“The boundless earth, mountains, and rocks—though formed from condensed Earth Element particles, they lack a dense elemental aura. Ah!” Linley was shocked inwardly. “Based on the reasoning about elemental particles in space, when particles are very close together, they repel each other. Why… when the Earth Element particles in mountains and rocks are so densely packed, don’t they repel?”
Linley himself could control Earth Element particles to form clumps of earth or harden them into metal, but they always emitted a dense elemental aura.
“Why don’t mountains, rocks, and soil have that dense elemental aura?” Linley had never realized that the unremarkable earth and mountains contained such special profound mysteries.
Linley’s mind was filled with endless confusion.
Various problems troubled him.
Once Linley began this cultivation, he became completely immersed in the wondrous world of the ‘Earth Element’.
“Roar~”
Over the past two months, roars and bellows occasionally echoed through Copper Gong Mountain. These were the sounds of the magical beasts Linley formed by controlling the elements during his training. As he gained a deeper understanding of the essence of the elements, one problem after another was solved.
Linley finally understood.
Purely using spiritual energy to forcibly control elements and condense them into solid form was the most foolish method!
“There is a subtle relationship between elemental particles. I only need to apply a tiny bit of spiritual energy to make countless particles condense together.” Linley opened his eyes and looked at the Earth Raging Bear roaring in the sky.
The Earth Raging Bear’s body was faintly surrounded by yellow light. It roared angrily, occasionally pounding its chest.
This Earth Raging Bear was formed from condensed Earth Element particles.
“If it were two months ago, the spiritual energy I would have needed to summon this ‘Earth Raging Bear’ through magic would have been dozens of times greater than now!” Linley sighed inwardly. “And this is only after I’ve gained a slight understanding of the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery.”
If the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery were fully mastered, the difference would be even greater.
“With the same spiritual energy, one person who has comprehended the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery and another who hasn’t—the power of the ‘Earth Guardian Saint Armor’ formed on their bodies would be worlds apart.”
“The elements are truly unique.” Linley felt some gratitude toward the master of Copper Gong Mountain, ‘Lei Lin’.
Lei Lin was right. The ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery was just the foundation. The entire Law of the Earth was actually formed from the various unique profound mysteries created by countless Earth Element particles coming together. Understanding the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery would aid in comprehending the other profound mysteries.
Copper Gong Mountain, Lei Lin’s residence.
Inside the elemental mansion, Lei Lin was staying with his two brothers.
Lei Lin raised his red eyebrows in admiration. “This Linley’s talent is indeed remarkable. In just two months, his understanding of the ‘Earth Element’ has reached this level. At his current pace… the ‘Earth Element’ is the simplest profound mystery. It will probably take him two or three years to fully master it.”
“Linley’s talent is impressive, but can it match yours, Third Brother?” the bald, burly man ‘Burgess’ said with a laugh.
The white-robed middle-aged man also said, “Third Brother, you are the greatest genius in the history of our Yulan Continent plane.”
The white-robed middle-aged man and Burgess looked at Lei Lin with a hint of respect.
“You can’t say that.” Lei Lin’s gaze drifted toward the southeast, as if through the walls he could see Linley cultivating in the valley. He said with a faint smile, “Linley is only a lower-level god now, just beginning his path of cultivation. Who can be certain of his future?”
“At least his current cultivation speed is only slightly slower than mine back then. As for his future achievements, it’s hard to say.”
The bald, burly man and the white-robed middle-aged man both nodded slightly.
“Beirut also told me that in other planes, some peerless geniuses reach the lower-level god realm in ten years, the mid-level god realm in a hundred years, and the high-level god realm in a thousand years. Meanwhile, dull-witted individuals remain stuck at the bottleneck for tens of millions of years, unable to step into the lower-level god realm.” Lei Lin said with a faint smile.
“This is about spiritual nature and comprehension.”
Lei Lin said with emotion, “Linley is someone with great spiritual nature and comprehension.”
“Reaching the high-level god realm in a thousand years—that’s unbelievable.” Burgess and the white-robed middle-aged man both exclaimed.
Lei Lin just smiled faintly. “It depends on each person’s opportunities. That kind of peerless genius isn’t worth envying!”
Lei Lin clearly didn’t care much about such geniuses.
“Those geniuses desperately try to reach the high-level god realm as soon as possible, but how could they know? If they don’t try to fuse the various profound mysteries of the laws from the very beginning, and only attempt fusion after reaching the high-level god realm and mastering all the profound mysteries, it will be too late!”
“The profound mysteries of the laws must be fused as early as possible. The earlier, the easier.” Lei Lin said with emotion. “If I had known this principle back when I was a lower-level god, I might have been able to fuse all six profound mysteries and reach the state of perfection.”
“Fuse all profound mysteries? Third Brother, how many people across countless planes have achieved that?” the white-robed middle-aged man said.
Lei Lin smiled and didn’t continue this topic.
“Big Brother.” Lei Lin looked at the bald, burly man. “We were able to escape from the Gebados Plane Prison, and Linley contributed a bit. You also cultivate the Law of the Earth. Go and spar with him.”
“Alright.” The bald, burly man ‘Burgess’ nodded readily.
Lei Lin looked at the white-robed middle-aged man. “Second Brother, I am also greatly indebted to Beirut. Go and look after that little Soul Devouring Rat as well, and spar with him.”
“I was just feeling a bit bored,” the white-robed middle-aged man said with a laugh.
The stream gurgled as it flowed.
Linley was completely immersed in his perception of the elements. Bits of understanding surged into his heart, causing an involuntary smile to appear at the corners of his mouth. While Linley cultivated, Bebe also settled down to train nearby.
Suddenly, a burly man appeared here.
“This Linley.” The bald, burly man ‘Burgess’ saw the smile on Linley’s face. “Cultivating to the point of smiling—how enviable!”
Taking joy in cultivation was something only a few experts could achieve.
If you liked doing something, once you threw yourself into it, your efficiency would be very high. But if you didn’t like something and forced yourself to do it, your efficiency would be very low.
The vast majority of experts forced themselves to cultivate for reasons like not wanting to be beneath others or not wanting to be killed by others.
Forced cultivation—how could its efficiency match that of something you enjoyed?
This was a truth understood by countless experts. They also tried to make themselves like cultivation, to make it a joyful thing. That way, their cultivation speed would be faster, and they would find it easier to comprehend and break through.
But liking or disliking something was a natural reaction of the heart.
You couldn’t force yourself to like something just because you wanted to. For example, if you saw a very ugly woman, no matter how hard you tried to ‘like’ her, you couldn’t do it. The choices of the heart cannot be changed.
“Mr. Burgess, what are you doing here?” Bebe shouted loudly.
Linley also opened his eyes at this moment and immediately stood up, saying with a smile, “Mr. Burgess.”
The bald, burly man ‘Burgess’ laughed heartily. “Linley, I know you cultivate the Law of the Earth. Coincidentally, I also cultivate the Law of the Earth. How about you and I spar a bit?”
“This… this would be wonderful, of course.” Linley was pleasantly surprised.
Sparring with an expert who cultivated the same law, especially one who was much stronger than himself, was an extremely rare opportunity. After all, you had to get them to lower themselves to accompany you.
Calling it a spar was actually helping him, guiding him!
“Haha… I’m rather dull-witted. Among the profound mysteries of the Law of the Earth, I’ve only cultivated two. One is the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery, and the other is the ‘Strength’ profound mystery.” The bald, burly man ‘Burgess’ laughed loudly. “Linley, you’d better be careful.”
Linley’s heart stirred.
He now knew that the Law of the Earth also had a profound mystery called ‘Strength’.
“Hum~” A large amount of Earth Element particles condensed, forming a layer of earth-yellow, crystalline armor on the surface of the bald, burly man ‘Burgess’s’ body.
“Not black adamantite color?” Linley was secretly shocked.
“Linley, against you, I won’t use the ‘Strength’ profound mystery. I’ll just use the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery. Watch out!” Burgess grinned widely. As he spoke, he stomped the ground and charged forward with unstoppable momentum, his right fist smashing directly toward Linley.
Sunlight shone on the earth-yellow crystalline armor, making it dazzling. On Burgess’s right fist, the head of a ferocious wolf condensed, its fangs bared as it bit forward.
“Roar~” The wolf even let out a piercing howl.
Linley’s expression changed. He wanted to retreat, but Burgess actually used his ‘God’s Domain’. As a mid-level god, Burgess’s God’s Domain greatly reduced Linley’s speed.
“Clang!” The Violet Blood Soft Sword collided with the wolf-headed fist.
Linley was sent flying like a torn sandbag hit by a meteor. With a “Bang!”, he crashed heavily into the distant deep pool. Water splashed everywhere. Under the sunlight, the splashing droplets sparkled like translucent pearls.
“Tsk, too weak.” Burgess shook his head.
“Boom!” Linley shot up from the deep pool and landed on the ground. Looking at Burgess before him, he asked, “Mr. Burgess, that wolf’s head you formed on your fist earlier—why was its attack power so strong? Its hardness rivaled that of a divine artifact?” Linley was very puzzled by what had just happened.
Burgess curled his lips. “Figure it out yourself.”
Linley’s smile froze.
“Alright, let’s go again.” Linley gritted his teeth.
From that day on, Linley was defeated by Burgess three times every day. Burgess never gave any guidance. When Linley had questions, he just told Linley to figure them out himself. In truth, even if Burgess tried to explain, he couldn’t articulate the reasoning.
After all, it had taken Burgess over a thousand years to comprehend the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery.
Linley sparred with Burgess, while Bebe sparred with the white-robed middle-aged man.
Under this kind of ‘sparring’, Linley’s speed in comprehending the ‘Earth Element’ profound mystery increased dramatically.
Linley was sent flying again, crashing to the ground. But Linley laughed.
“I was wrong. Wrong!”
Linley laughed heartily. “It’s not dead. It’s not dead.”
“I’ve never understood what that ‘pulsating force’ contained within the boundless earth really is. Now, I understand. I understand. The Earth’s Pulse—haha, so it’s the Earth’s Pulse!” Linley looked like a madman, tilting his head back and laughing. Just as Linley laughed—
A vast, irresistible, unique power descended. The spatial region Linley was in began to distort. In the face of this special existence, akin to the laws, no matter how powerful a god was, they were nothing but ants.
Even Burgess couldn’t help but tremble.
The bald, burly man ‘Burgess’, who had just been about to gloat after defeating Linley again, was dumbfounded. “This Linley… he… he just comprehended it like that? Too freakish, right?” Burgess finally felt the gap between himself and a genius.