Chapter 3: The Azure Dragon Clan
Based on Linley's observations along the way, as well as what he had learned from Beirut, in Linley's view, the Four Divine Beasts clan was extremely powerful. Moreover, on Crocodile Island, after watching a large number of floating images that night, he had discussed with the castle lord 'Morse' about leaving for the Blue Prefecture. Morse had also talked about the Four Divine Beasts clan.
In Morse's words, the Four Divine Beasts clan seemed to have declined.
But even after its decline, it should still be on par with the Bagshaw clan.
"The Bagshaw clan calls the shots on Crocodile Island. No one dares to provoke them! For countless years, Crocodile Island has been renowned far and wide. On Crocodile Island, something like this—being hunted down while serving the Bagshaw clan—would absolutely never happen!"
Linley truly couldn't believe it.
The Blue Prefecture could be said to be the stronghold of the Four Divine Beasts clan. With the powerful Four Divine Beasts clan here, why were they in such a situation? Would a truly powerful clan allow something like this to happen?
Anyone with a bit of sense could understand.
If a powerful clan encountered such a situation, they would definitely annihilate that 'Bolin Family' just now, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys!
"Something's wrong." Linley's eyes narrowed slightly. The joy of returning to the clan instantly vanished. Linley began to worry. The situation of the Four Divine Beasts clan didn't seem to be what he had imagined.
Inside the entire metallic lifeform, Tarossa, Bebe, Delia, and everyone else were puzzled and confused by what had just happened!
"Boss," Bebe said, frowning.
Tarossa also said solemnly, "Linley, this Four Divine Beasts clan in the Blue Prefecture doesn't seem to be that dominant." When Linley had originally invited Tarossa and the others to the Blue Prefecture, he had said that with the influence of the Four Divine Beasts clan there, they wouldn't face any more hardships or dangers.
But now it seemed…
"I don't know either," Linley said with a serious expression.
After all, he had never been to the Four Divine Beasts clan himself. Everything was based on judgments from various pieces of information.
"I'm sorry. It seems I've led everyone into a dangerous situation." Linley couldn't help but say to Olivia and Tarossa. He had invited them to come along because he wanted all his brothers from the Yulan continent to be together, with little danger.
In his view, his own clan's home base should be safe.
But it seemed… he was wrong!
Dilin laughed: "Linley, don't think about it. No matter what, I owe you my life. What do I have to worry about?"
"Let's go. Even if someone wants to kill us, they'll have to see if they have the strength," Tarossa said.
Linley nodded as well. If the Four Divine Beasts clan was on par with the Bagshaw clan, then such a powerful force couldn't possibly just collapse overnight. A starved camel is still bigger than a horse.
In Morse's words, the Four Divine Beasts clan after its decline was still on par with the Bagshaw clan.
What about before its decline?
How could a clan that was originally so overwhelmingly powerful just collapse?
"Let's go to Vance City first," Linley said, putting aside his thoughts.
Vance City was the westernmost city within the Blue Prefecture and the first city in the Blue Prefecture that Linley and his group reached. Vance City, like all cities in the Infernal Realm, was bustling!
The streets were crowded with people everywhere.
"Boss, where should we go now to find out the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?" Bebe asked, puzzled.
The War God 'O'Brien' laughed and said, "Just find a place, like the Demon Castle. We can ask some people there. Those in the Blue Prefecture will definitely know the famous Four Divine Beasts clan well."
Asking at the Demon Castle was indeed a good idea.
"No rush. Let's go to the Bloodpeak Castle first!" Linley said.
On the Violet Continent, there was the 'Violet Castle'. On the Bloodpeak Continent, there was the 'Bloodpeak Castle'. Both were the same—places for buying and selling large quantities of goods.
"What are we going to the Bloodpeak Castle for?" Dilin asked.
"Bebe, do you remember that time we bought books at the Violet Castle?" Linley turned to look at Bebe. Bebe quickly nodded: "I remember. That time, we went to buy books about the geography of the Infernal Realm."
"Right. Last time, we only wanted to get a general idea of the Infernal Realm's geography. So the books we bought had very rough introductions to the 108 prefectures. But that time, we also saw many books that introduced each prefecture in great detail," Linley said.
A book introducing one prefecture could be five or six centimeters thick.
Such a detailed book introducing a prefecture would naturally describe some special places and powerful families in that prefecture in great detail, and might even mention some supreme experts.
Delia's eyes lit up, and she nodded approvingly: "Buy a book that introduces the 'Blue Prefecture' in detail. The Four Divine Beasts clan is so famous in the Blue Prefecture; it will definitely be described very thoroughly. Their exact location will be clearly stated."
Linley smiled and nodded.
If he asked someone, they might point out a location, but he wouldn't even know where that location was.
After all, he didn't have a detailed map of the Blue Prefecture. He only knew the general locations of important areas. But buying a book that introduced the 'Blue Prefecture' in detail would also give him clear geographical information about the Blue Prefecture.
"Buying books? I've never bought books since I came to the Infernal Realm," Tarossa also laughed.
"You were on Crocodile Island all the time. Why would you need to buy books? You only go when there's a need," Linley said as he headed straight for the Bloodpeak Castle.
In any city, the three castles were the most bustling and noisy places. Following the flow of people, Linley and his group quickly arrived at the Bloodpeak Castle. At the entrance of the Bloodpeak Castle, there were also Bloodpeak Army soldiers on guard.
"Tsk, tsk. I still think the Bloodpeak Army's uniforms are cooler. Better than the Violet Army and the Star Army," Bebe said in a low voice, looking at the Bloodpeak Army soldiers at the entrance.
Linley glanced at them: "They have a heavier killing aura than the Violet Army and the Star Army."
"Let's go," Linley said, and his group entered the first floor of the Bloodpeak Castle. The layout of the Bloodpeak Castle was very similar to the Violet Castle. Linley and the others easily found the separate room filled with books.
There were only three people in that room, one of whom was a service staff member.
"What do you want to buy?" Seeing Linley's group walk in, and most of them being Highgods, the service staff member quickly came over.
"Which book has the address of the Four Divine Beasts clan?" Bebe was the first to say.
Linley, however, said, "Do you have a book that describes the entire Blue Prefecture in detail? Show me that one."
"Yes." The female service staff member took a book with a black cover, about two fingers thick, from a bookshelf, then walked over and handed it to Linley. "This one should be the most comprehensive introduction to our Blue Prefecture."
Linley took it and began to flip through it.
The book's table of contents was divided into sections such as Geography, Dangerous Places, Famous People, Families… Linley easily found the 'Four Divine Beasts Clan' listed first among the families.
"Page 15!" Linley couldn't help but feel a bit excited.
He turned to page 15.
What met his eyes was—
The Four Divine Beasts clan is the collective name for the four divine beast families.
They are respectively: The Azure Dragon clan—the Redding Family!
The Vermilion Bird clan—the Nimo Family!
The White Tiger clan—the Esi Family!
The Black Tortoise clan—the Bowen Family!
The Four Divine Beasts clan, with the Azure Dragon clan 'Redding Family' as the leader, the four families are like one, spread across the four supreme planes…
Reading the detailed content about the Four Divine Beasts clan, Linley's forehead was beaded with sweat. The history of the Four Divine Beasts clan shocked Linley. It turned out that this Four Divine Beasts clan wasn't just in the Infernal Realm!
"The Water-type Divine Plane, the Earth-type Divine Plane, the Fire-type Divine Plane, the Wind-type Divine Plane, the Celestial Realm, the Netherworld, the Infernal Realm, the Life Divine Realm—these four supreme planes and seven divine planes… all have branches of the Four Divine Beasts clan!"
Linley was horrified.
According to the book, the Four Divine Beasts clan was considered a very terrifying family across the four supreme planes and seven divine planes, with influence everywhere. Of course, the Blue Prefecture was the Infernal Realm's base for the Four Divine Beasts clan.
"So strong?" Linley couldn't believe it.
"Boss, let me see." Seeing Linley's expression, Bebe took the book from him and looked at it carefully. As he read, his eyes widened. "Wow, Boss. The Four Divine Beasts clan is really fierce."
Delia also leaned in to look.
"They really are formidable," Delia was also shocked.
"We can go now. I now know where the Four Divine Beasts clan is." A smile couldn't help but appear on Linley's face. This Four Divine Beasts clan was the root of his Baruch clan. His Baruch clan was just a branch.
Knowing that the main clan was so strong, Linley was naturally happy.
"No, that's not right." Linley suddenly frowned.
If the Four Divine Beasts clan was truly that powerful, why was the 'Bolin Family', which could grow golden wings, so arrogant when he arrived?
"Are you looking for the location of the Four Divine Beasts clan?" Suddenly, a crisp voice sounded.
Linley and the others turned to look. It was the female service staff member who had spoken.
The female service staff member smiled and said, "If you look for them according to this book, you won't be able to find the Four Divine Beasts clan."
"Huh?" Linley was stunned.
"Why not? Is this book fake?" Bebe quickly asked.
The female service staff member shook her head: "No. Everything described in this book is true."
"Since it's true, why can't we find them?" Bebe asked.
The female service staff member smiled: "This book is uniformly printed and sold in cities throughout the Infernal Realm. Because the Infernal Realm is so vast, just transporting it to various places would probably take a thousand years."
Linley nodded. Sending it to all parts of the Infernal Realm would indeed take a thousand years.
"Because transportation takes so long, this geography book is compiled once every million years. This one is from hundreds of thousands of years ago, describing the situation of the Four Divine Beasts clan from hundreds of thousands of years ago," the female service staff member said.
The Infernal Realm was vast and boundless. A million years was nothing in its long history.
"You mean…?" Linley was starting to understand.
"Yes," the female service staff member laughed. "If you asked others, they might not know, but I've been in the Blue Prefecture all along, so I'm quite familiar with the Four Divine Beasts clan. Ten thousand years ago, a major upheaval occurred within the Four Divine Beasts clan. The branches that were originally in other divine planes and other supreme planes all converged into the Infernal Realm's 'Blue Prefecture'."
Linley understood in his heart.
Lord Beirut hadn't lied to him. The Four Divine Beasts clan was now only in the Blue Prefecture.
Delia asked, puzzled, "What caused the Four Divine Beasts clan to shrink all its branches back to the Blue Prefecture?" Delia was confused.
"I don't know about that," the female service staff member laughed. "At that time, the large number of experts returning to the Four Divine Beasts clan caused a sensation throughout the entire Blue Prefecture. Because when they returned, there were constant battles!"
"Constant battles?" Linley was startled.
"Yes," the female service staff member nodded. Then she laughed, "Of course, I'm just a small fry and know very little. I only know that the battles were too intense at the time. Later, the Four Divine Beasts clan, which was originally scattered across the Blue Prefecture, gathered together."
"Gathered together?" Linley remembered the book he had just read.
The book described the four families of the Four Divine Beasts clan as being in four different places within the Blue Prefecture.
"Yes, now the Four Divine Beasts clan is indeed close together. The place they are located is called the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range!" the female service staff member said.
As soon as Linley heard this, he immediately recalled the introduction to the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range from the rough geographical information about the Infernal Realm he had seen before. The Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range was a very famous place in the Blue Prefecture.
It could be said to be a landmark mountain range of the Blue Prefecture.