Chapter 57: Danger
The content of the discussions was truly shocking. Over ten Seven Star Fiends were fighting, six of them using Sovereign power. Such a collective battle of super experts was extremely rare. Even when it happened, such projections rarely circulated.
"How could it be Linley?" Salomon was completely stunned.
But from the discussions, Salomon learned that the person they called Linley was from the Azure Dragon clan. And the Linley he knew was also from the Azure Dragon clan! "Could it really be him?" Salomon couldn't believe it. "He's just a mid-level god. How could he kill five Seven Star Fiends? Absolutely not, absolutely not!!!"
One person killing five Seven Star Fiends—the achievement was too terrifying.
In Salomon's eyes, no matter how fast Linley grew, he couldn't have reached such a level.
"Brother, did you hear that? They said Linley!" Nis turned to look at her brother Salomon, her eyes filled with disbelief. At the same time, a spark of hope ignited in her heart—
She had originally thought Linley and Bebe were dead.
Now that Linley was alive, maybe Bebe was alive too! Thinking that Bebe might still be alive, her heart, which had been dormant for over a thousand years, began to stir again.
"Maybe it's a different person with the same name." Salomon sneered, pretending to be dismissive. "You know Linley's strength. He's just a mid-level god. Even dealing with an ordinary high-level god would be a struggle for him. One person killing five Seven Star Fiends—do you believe that?"
Nis was stunned.
"Alright, don't pay attention to those rumors. It's probably some super expert with the same name as Linley." Salomon said with a faint smile. "Come on, let's go buy clothes today. Whatever you like, just pick it."
Salomon didn't want Nis to go see that projection. If it wasn't Linley, fine. But if it really was Linley... given Nis's personality, she would definitely want to go find Bebe. That would be terrible.
"Let's go see the projection." Nis said instead.
Salomon shook his head. "What's there to see in a projection? What, do you still think Linley is alive?"
"I don't know... Whether it's the Linley we know or not, a projection of a battle involving over ten Seven Star Fiends is worth seeing." Nis turned and walked away.
Salomon could only follow, thinking to himself: "That Linley died long ago, and his strength was too weak. This super expert is so powerful. It definitely isn't him. Just a coincidence of names!" Salomon had wronged Linley back then, so he naturally didn't want to see Linley become so strong.
There were three places in Bay City specifically for viewing projections.
Now, large crowds had gathered at the entrances of all three places. Each person paid black stones to enter and watch the projection. When Salomon and Nis arrived, they were also surprised by the sheer number of people.
At the same time, people who had finished watching were coming out one by one from the side exits.
"How exciting! That Azure Dragon elder is terrifying!"
"Yeah! That Azure Dragon elder's green prison enveloped them, and when the prison dissipated, all the enemy elders were dead!"
Hearing the discussions around them, Salomon and Nis grew even more curious. They queued up, paid the 100 black stone entry fee, and went inside. There were six halls for viewing the projection.
"Go to Hall Five. It just ended. It will start playing again soon."
Salomon and Nis entered Hall Five, found seats, and sat down. The hall was quickly filling up. Nis stared at the front of the hall, her body trembling slightly.
"Nis, relax a little." Salomon comforted her. "Don't get your hopes up too high."
Nis remained silent.
Suddenly—
A large amount of water elemental essence gathered in the air at the front of the hall, forming an image. A voice also sounded: "Ladies and gentlemen, this great battle took place in a mountain forest about a few thousand miles outside the city of Miluo, in the Youlan Prefecture of the Xuefeng Continent."
The hall fell silent.
The narrator's voice continued: "The experts in this battle were eleven Seven Star Fiends! Such a number of experts, according to our analysis, could only come from the Four Divine Beasts clan or the eight great clans within the Youlan Prefecture. Coincidentally, the two sides are currently in a state of opposition and conflict... Now, please begin watching. Because when the projection was recorded, one Seven Star Fiend had already died. The corpse is on the ground, still emitting Sovereign power. Please pay close attention, and you will see it."
With that, the projection at the front of the hall began to play.
Everyone in the hall fell silent. Nis and Salomon held their breath.
In the massive projection, two one-on-one battles appeared. They were the fights of Pussro and Tevila respectively... But just seeing these two battles, even those watching the projection for the first time were shocked.
The halos of light around their bodies, and the way their every move often tore cracks in space.
"Among these four, three are using Sovereign power!" Salomon was shocked.
"Where is Linley?" Nis was anxiously searching. "And Bebe?"
But at this moment, the projection was recording these two great battles. It also showed a gray-robed corpse lying on the ground, its body also emitting halos of light. It was the Seven Star Fiend who had been killed by Pussro at the very beginning.
Then...
The projection shifted to the ground. The ground surged like waves. After a moment, the ground suddenly burst open, and a figure shot into the sky. Blood stained the scales... But Nis and Salomon were both startled.
The ferocious spikes, the dragon tail, the dark golden eyes—they were all so familiar!
Behind him, five Seven Star Fiends were chasing Linley. Linley's body was emitting a green halo—it was water-type Sovereign power. Among the five Seven Star Fiends behind him, one was also radiating a black halo.
"It's Linley!" Nis's heart surged with excitement.
"This..." Salomon was also stunned.
They had both seen Linley's dragon-form transformation before.
"Brother, it's Linley, it's Linley." Nis could no longer suppress her excitement, transmitting her voice repeatedly. "It's definitely him, no mistake."
"Nis, it might not be." Salomon argued through divine sense transmission. "The Azure Dragon clan has a huge population. It's normal for dragon transformations to look similar. Besides, in over a thousand years, do you really think Linley could have grown this strong? Impossible."
Nis was taken aback. Could someone else's dragon transformation really look that similar to Linley's?
Nis wasn't very familiar with the Four Divine Beasts clan, so she didn't know how unique Linley's dragon transformation was.
Then, Salomon and Nis continued watching. In the projection, Linley went berserk, using the spike on his forehead to kill a Seven Star Fiend. The other four, who tried to flee, were all trapped in a massive green cube.
When the green cube dissipated, those four Seven Star Fiends were also dead.
The projection focused on Linley. After killing the four Seven Star Fiends, he flew toward the ground. In the recording, Linley knelt beside a woman lying on the ground.
The projection clearly captured the woman's face.
"Delia!!!" Nis's eyes went wide.
"It's Delia!" Salomon was also stunned.
Then, in the projection, Linley reverted to human form, holding a baby beside his wife. Pussro and Bebe walked over and also entered the projection's range.
"Linley, Bebe!!!" Nis's mind went blank with joy.
Within the projection's range, Linley, Delia, and Bebe were all present.
Without a doubt! This powerful Azure Dragon clan elder was exactly the Linley they had known.
"How is this possible? How is this possible?" Salomon couldn't believe it, but the facts had already proven it.
"Brother, it's really them. It's really them. They're not dead, they're not dead!" Nis transmitted joyfully. The projection soon ended, with Linley carrying Delia, and Pussro carrying the baby, flying off side by side.
The projection ended!
"That Azure Dragon clan elder, according to the person who recorded the projection, is named Linley. And the woman on the ground should be Elder Linley's loved one. She died, which is why Elder Linley was so grief-stricken." The narrator's voice sounded again.
Nis's face was filled with barely contained excitement.
"Brother, they're really not dead. They're really not dead." Nis had never been this happy in over a thousand years. "Bebe is still alive, he's still alive!"
"Yeah, it's good news." Salomon responded.
But deep down, Salomon's feelings were complicated. Back then, he had mistakenly believed Linley was the informant, and in a fit of rage, he had tried to kill Linley. In the end, Linley and his wife had both fallen into that golden lava lake. But who would have thought...
Linley was still alive and well, and had become this strong!
"But what happened to Delia?" Nis asked worriedly. "The projection said Delia died?" She still clearly remembered the image of Linley howling in grief and rage beside Delia's body.
Even though Nis couldn't hear the sound, she could feel Linley's sorrow just from the scene.
"Brother!" Nis suddenly said.
"Hmm?" Salomon looked at her. Nis looked at Salomon and said firmly, "Brother, I've decided... I'm going to the Youlan Prefecture of the Xuefeng Continent!"
"Nonsense." Salomon couldn't help but panic—this was exactly what he feared most. "Nis, going from the Bifu Continent to the Xuefeng Continent is no joke. You're a mid-level god. How are you going to get there? It's too dangerous. No, absolutely not!"
Nis just glanced at her brother and said nothing more. She had already made up her mind. She was only telling her brother as a formality.
Seeing his sister's expression, Salomon grew even more anxious.
"Nis, your strength is too weak. And going from the Bifu Continent to the Xuefeng Continent means crossing the sea... The entire journey is really too dangerous." Salomon said urgently.
"It's useless to argue." Nis wasn't going to listen to her brother this time.
Seeing his sister like this, Salomon felt helpless. They lived inside the city. He couldn't use force to trap his sister here. If she really wanted to leave, there was nothing he could do.
"Nis, can you bear to make me worry?" Salomon said worriedly. "How about you wait until you become a high-level god before leaving?"
Nis glanced at him but said nothing.
Nis had made up her mind, and Salomon couldn't control her. Even after watching the projection, Salomon kept a close eye on Nis's movements. But... in the second month after watching the projection, Nis left home.
Inside the house.
Salomon stared at a piece of paper in his hand. On it was a message from Nis.
"Sigh!" Salomon angrily threw the paper onto the table. "From the Bifu Continent all the way to the Youlan Prefecture of the Xuefeng Continent. The journey is treacherous... Why is Nis so disobedient?"
Salomon was anxious, but there was nothing he could do. He had no idea where Nis had gone.
Thinking about it, Salomon couldn't help but feel some resentment toward Linley. Because of the wrongful accusation against Linley and Bebe back then, Nis had grown distant from him, and he rarely saw her smile. And now... she had left on her own.
"Why didn't that Linley just die back then? And how did he become so strong?" Salomon couldn't understand how Linley had improved to such a level.
When Nis set out from Liang'an Prefecture, Linley, Bebe, and the others, far away in the Youlan Prefecture of the Xuefeng Continent, were living a peaceful life in the Tianji Mountains. Decades passed in the blink of an eye.
"Linley!" A deep voice rang out. "Father, Father!" Weide's shouts sounded. "The Second Elder is looking for you."
Linley walked out of the house and glanced into the distance. The Second Elder was walking over with a complicated expression. "Linley, let's go. The Four Divine Beasts clan is going to hold a collective elder meeting."
"Now?" Linley was a little surprised. "It hasn't been a thousand years yet. And the Four Divine Beasts clan is meeting together?"
"Yes! At the Blood Battle Valley, in the main hall of the Four Divine Beasts." The Second Elder sighed. "This time, we're summoning all the elders to discuss how our Four Divine Beasts clan should deal with the eight great clans."
Linley's heart trembled. "It seems that if we keep fighting like this, the clan can't take it anymore!"