Chapter 64: Divine Might (End of Volume 17 and Leave Notice)
“The Grand Elder went to the battle platform?” Linley felt deeply puzzled.
He followed Beirut, Pussero, and the others as they flew out of the Grand Canyon. As they exited, Gatesley glanced at the elemental barrier covering the entire Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range and shouted to a group of patrolling warriors on the Dragon Path: “By my order, remove the entire elemental barrier!”
“Uh… yes, Clan Leader!”
Those patrolling warriors were somewhat startled but quickly snapped to attention.
Linley looked at the elemental barrier enveloping the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range. “This is a disgrace, a disgrace to the clan!” Others insulted them, and all they could do was block their ears and dare not resist. If that wasn’t a disgrace, what was?
Between the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range and the eight great clans stood the battle platform, scarred and pitted from countless fights, stained dark red with blood.
“Hah!”
A phantom claw pierced through the opponent’s head, then withdrew. In her dragon form, the Grand Elder glanced coldly into the distance. “Hmph, next!” This was the third person she had killed on the platform.
The first was an ordinary Highgod who had won a previous fight.
The second was only a Six-Star Demon-level expert.
But the third she had just killed was an Elder-level expert.
“Gaia! Looks like you’re asking for death today.” The experts from the eight great clans rushed over as well.
“Asking for death? I’d like to see which of you eight great clans can kill me today.” The Grand Elder’s icy gaze swept over them, utterly unafraid. Over these ten thousand years, the Grand Elder had truly been driven to the brink of madness.
Her father’s death had caused her immense pain.
During the clan’s flight and pursuit by other families, her husband had died.
And a few hundred years ago, her only son, Ferhan, had also died—killed by her own hand.
The pain and oppression in the Grand Elder’s heart—how could outsiders imagine it? Yet she had always held onto the clan, persevering for its sake. But in recent days…
The eight great clans, like flies, insulted and mocked them. They forced the Four Divine Beasts Clan to erect a massive elemental barrier, a self-deafening act that only deepened the Grand Elder’s shame.
She could no longer bear it. She no longer wanted to suppress herself. She feared she would go mad!
Kill!
Kill to her heart’s content! Only slaughter could vent the grief and rage in her heart.
The Grand Elder stood proudly on the platform, a trace of blood staining her silver mask. “Who will fight me? Whoever comes, I’ll take them on.” She sneered, her gaze sweeping over the eight clan leaders who had arrived first.
The eight clan leaders found this troublesome.
The second-generation members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan all possessed Sovereign artifacts. For instance, Gatesley had a soul-defense Sovereign artifact, while the Grand Elder, Gaia, had a defense Sovereign artifact fused into her dragon scales.
With a defense Sovereign artifact, although the eight great clans weren’t afraid, the Grand Elder was simply too difficult to handle.
“Clan Leader Babari, you should handle this more easily. Go ahead,” said Clan Leader Bolin.
Clan Leader Babari’s tiger-like eyes looked over, and he nodded slightly. Then, with a flicker of movement, he flew onto the platform.
“I knew it would be either you or Dein. The other six don’t have the guts,” the Grand Elder sneered. With her defense Sovereign artifact, physical attacks were useless against her, and she could strike back with her formidable body.
Moreover, the Grand Elder’s soul defense was strong too. She had her innate azure light and ordinary soul-defense artifacts.
Of course…
She was powerful, but the eight clan leaders were also formidable.
“Gaia, today is the day you die.” A deep voice rang out, echoing as if from within a chest. The over-three-meter-tall Clan Leader Babari flicked his right hand, and suddenly a green whip appeared. This whip was dozens of meters long, like a massive green python.
“We’ll see who dies!”
The Grand Elder shouted fiercely, then her form shot out, instantly crossing the platform. Clan Leader Babari took a large stride, flicked his whip, forming loops that encircled the Grand Elder. By the edge of the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range, the Grand Elder was locked in a bitter struggle with Clan Leader Babari, though she was on the losing end.
That whip was too monstrous.
“This… this is the Grand Elder’s strength?” Linley stared in shock at the scene before him. The Grand Elder and Babari had become two blurs, but the low, drum-like collision sounds and the tearing of space left Linley incredulous.
Beirut glanced at Linley and said with a faint smile, “Linley, no need to be surprised. Gaia’s dragon scales are fused with a defense Sovereign artifact, so her fists and feet are naturally strong. Her opponent’s whip is a Sovereign artifact. When Sovereign artifacts clash, the power is naturally immense.”
Linley took a deep breath.
“Linley, your weapon’s power is a bit weak. Want a more powerful one?” Beirut said with a light smile.
Linley turned to Beirut, his eyes full of astonishment. Even if he were slow, he understood that Beirut seemed to be offering him a powerful weapon. What weapon? The first thing Linley thought of was a divine artifact!
“Making divine artifacts isn’t easy for me either,” Beirut said with a faint smile. “Work hard on your own first. Once you reach Highgod, I’ll make one for you.”
Linley’s heart surged with excitement.
With a divine artifact, at least he’d have some ability to withstand attacks from Sovereign artifacts.
“Work hard and reach Highgod soon,” Beirut said cheerfully.
Linley turned back to watch the battle on the platform. The fight between the Grand Elder and Clan Leader Babari had reached its peak. That whip seemed to transform into countless snakes, swirling and covering the entire platform.
“How did it come to this?” Linley stared in amazement at the center of the platform. The more Clan Leader Babari fought, the more relaxed he became. That single whip had become a thousand, endlessly enveloping the Grand Elder.
The more Linley watched, the more he felt the profound mysteries.
“This water-element law is well cultivated,” Beirut praised.
“Hmm?” Beirut glanced at Linley. “This kid really gets absorbed easily.” Beirut somewhat understood why Linley cultivated so quickly.
While Beirut and his group watched, the clan leaders and elders of the eight great clans on the opposite side stared in shock. “Beirut has come! He’s actually here!”
“Beirut won’t interfere, will he?” Clan Leader Bolin’s eyes flickered with fear.
“We haven’t violated his orders. He won’t interfere,” Clan Leader Renales said confidently. Still, they were all worried.
The eight great clans harbored a certain terror of Beirut.
Those at the level of the Four Divine Beasts Clan leaders, the eight great clan leaders, or the Grand Elder had strength comparable to Infernal Lords. Though powerful, they weren’t monstrously so.
With soul defense and physical defense, they had no weaknesses. At this level, they weren’t afraid of each other. Killing one another was hard—just as it was now between Clan Leader Babari and the Grand Elder. Deciding life or death was difficult!
But Beirut was different!
Freaks like Beirut and Dannington stood at the pinnacle of Highgods. They could kill Infernal Lords. The deterrent power of any one of them was terrifying.
If Beirut went on a killing spree, he could slaughter the eight great clans. The horror of that was unimaginable!
“Endless cycles, unbroken chains… endless cycles, unbroken chains…” Linley murmured, closing his eyes. In his mind, the scene of the whip’s shifting, mysterious patterns played out…
The seven elemental laws and four edicts.
Though named differently, they shared common points. For example, the earth element had the profound mystery of earth, and the fire-element law had the profound mystery of fire. Some soul-variant individuals could fuse different profound mysteries from different laws.
Why could they fuse them?
Because there were points of convergence, commonalities!
Different laws weren’t entirely unrelated. They had mysterious connections. The water-element law had a link with the life-force of the earth-element law. At that moment, Linley grasped that link…
Linley was completely immersed in cultivation, but Gatesley grew anxious: “Lord Prefect, my sister’s situation is worsening. Let’s stop.” Gatesley couldn’t stop it himself.
With two Sovereign artifacts clashing, would he dare intervene?
“This kind of fight is indeed pointless,” Beirut said with a faint smile.
“Swish!”
With speed akin to teleportation!
Beirut instantly inserted himself into the center of the platform. A low collision sound rang out, and then the fight abruptly ceased. Beirut held the whip in one hand and the Grand Elder’s dragon claw in the other.
“Wow…” Bebe’s eyes widened.
“Too strong.” Gatesley, the Vermillion Bird Clan Leader, and the other three clan leaders, along with the elders, felt their hearts clench. The Grand Elder’s fist was equivalent to a Sovereign artifact attack, and the whip was also a Sovereign artifact, unpredictable and shifting.
Grabbing one in each hand with ease—daring to catch Sovereign artifacts barehanded—Beirut’s power left Gatesley and the others stunned. Though Beirut was also an Infernal Lord, he far surpassed the others.
“Alright, it’s over,” Beirut said calmly.
The Grand Elder and Clan Leader Babari were stunned. The Grand Elder silently retreated, while Clan Leader Babari’s lips moved as if to speak but dared not. Finally, he said, “Since Lord Prefect has intervened, I’ll spare her life.” Then he flew back.
On the side of the eight great clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan, countless experts watched Beirut, who stood at the center of the platform.
“Lord Prefect, why didn’t you notify us when you came?” Clan Leader Bolin said with a friendly smile. Freaks like Beirut and Dannington were not to be provoked by most clans.
Even the Four Divine Beasts Clan at their peak, backed by Sovereigns, though unafraid of Paragon Highgods, preferred not to offend such figures.
“Oh, I’m here today to help settle the grievances between your two sides,” Beirut said with a faint smile.
The clan leaders and elders of the eight great clans stiffened.
“For over ten thousand years, I’ve watched your battles in my Azure Prefecture. Now, the Four Divine Beasts Clan has lost enough elders and suffered enough damage to its reputation. The punishment is sufficient. I think it’s time for the eight great clans to return to where you came from,” Beirut said lightly.
Return to where they came from?
The eight clan leaders’ faces flushed with anger, and the elders of the eight great clans were furious.
“Lord Prefect,” Clan Leader Edric said, barely containing his rage, “We eight great clans have never violated your orders all these years. We haven’t entered the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range. You said before… as long as we didn’t enter, you wouldn’t interfere. Why are you interfering today?”
The eight clan leaders were furious.
They hated Beirut for breaking his word. They truly feared him. But no matter how strong Beirut was, he couldn’t break his promise.
Beirut smiled faintly and said nothing.
Clan Leader Bolin’s hoarse voice also rang out: “Lord Prefect, the Four Divine Beasts Clan has lost many people, but have we eight great clans lost few? Besides, when the four Sovereigns were alive, the Four Divine Beasts Clan owed us countless blood debts. My son was killed by their people back then, all because they coveted my son’s wife!”
“Lord Prefect,” the Nether Serpent Clan Leader said in a low voice, “I had nine children, but now only one remains. The deaths of the other eight were all unjust. Our Babari Clan won’t even mention other blood debts… If not for such hatred, would we sacrifice our elders to destroy them?”
“Beirut,” Renales said in a low voice, “You and I are both envoys under Blood Peak Sovereign. You must know my story. Tell me, can I easily give up this vengeance?”
“Lord Prefect…”
The eight clan leaders shouted in succession.
Was it easy for them to kill members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan? They had also lost elders one after another, and their reserves of Sovereign power were less than the Four Divine Beasts Clan’s. In the process of revenge, they had lost more elders.
Only by spreading the losses across the eight clans could they endure.
Over the years, they had lost over two hundred elders! These elders were the pillars of their clans. Did they want their elders to die? They couldn’t bear it either. But over billions of years, from ancient times to the present, the accumulated hatred was too great!
They would rather move their entire clans, sacrifice their elders’ lives, and even resort to insults and mockery. This behavior was despicable. They valued their dignity. Would they willingly do this?
But there was no choice!
The Four Divine Beasts Clan hid in the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range and wouldn’t come out. They had no other option!
“I know that the eight great clans all have deep grudges against the Four Divine Beasts Clan. But the Four Divine Beasts Clan has lost nearly ninety percent of its elders, and its reputation is ruined. The entire Infernal Realm will know of this. Their glory is gone, and so many elders are dead… that’s enough!”
Beirut said calmly, “Besides, they didn’t annihilate your clans back then.”
“Lord Prefect, you said before that if we didn’t enter the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range, you wouldn’t interfere. Why today?” Clan Leader Bolin pressed, along with the other seven clan leaders and a crowd of elders, all staring at Beirut.
The people of the Four Divine Beasts Clan also looked at Beirut.
They had been driven nearly mad, each one in agony. What they wanted most now was for this matter to end!
“I did make that promise,” Beirut said with a faint smile. “And you indeed didn’t enter the Divine Sacrifice Mountain Range. But today, it’s not me interfering in this matter—it’s the great Sovereign!”
Beirut flipped his hand, revealing a piece of parchment with complex magical patterns.
“Sizzle…” The parchment burned, and a strange fluctuation spread out.
The eight clan leaders were stunned.
“Sovereign?” They couldn’t believe it.
But at that moment, a peculiar energy gathered in the sky. Black energy rapidly condensed high above—it was Destruction Sovereign power. Manifesting Sovereign power out of thin air—what kind of technique was this?
Massive amounts of Destruction Sovereign power coalesced in the sky, eventually forming a black giant face dozens of meters high.
A terrifying pressure radiated outward.
“Sovereign!” Renales was the first to kneel devoutly. He recognized at a glance that this was the Blood Peak Sovereign he served.
The black giant face appeared in the sky, looking down at the clan leaders, the many elders, and the millions of clan members on both sides. Everyone held their breath. With a crash, a vast number of people knelt, trembling with tension.
“Sovereign,” Beirut bowed.
The black giant face showed a faint smile toward Beirut, then spoke in a thunderous voice: “The matter between the eight great clans and the Four Divine Beasts Clan ends here. Return to where you came from.”
“Yes!” Renales was the first to respond.
The other seven, though unwilling, replied respectfully, “Yes!”
They feared even Beirut, let alone a Sovereign. A Sovereign could annihilate the eight great clans with ease. The might of a Sovereign was unmatched.
“Beirut,” the black giant face’s gaze, like beams of light, fell on Beirut.
“Sovereign,” Beirut bowed.
“Who is that young man standing over there?” the black giant face said. “Here, besides you, only that young man is still standing.” The Sovereign’s gaze turned to the distance. When a Sovereign descended, who would dare to stand so arrogantly? Beirut also turned in confusion. Gatesley and the others looked over—
There stood Linley, eyes closed, motionless, with a faint smile on his face.
“Linley?” Beirut was also stunned.
When the Sovereign appeared, Gatesley and the others had knelt in fear, listening to the Sovereign’s judgment. Who would notice Linley beside them? Even if someone did, they wouldn’t dare speak.
“Boss,” Bebe urgently communicated via soul, but Linley showed no reaction.
“Sovereign, this is Linley, whom I mentioned to you,” Beirut said in a low voice.
“Oh,” the Sovereign looked at Linley with interest, its gaze like beams of light falling on him. “In all these years of my descents, someone has been immersed in enlightenment. This has never happened before.”
At that moment—
“Boom!”
A peculiar fluctuation of the laws of the universe descended. Everyone present was very familiar with this fluctuation—it was the fluctuation of becoming a god or the transformation of a divine spark. A divine spark emitting a yellow earth-element glow flew out of Linley’s body.
The laws of the universe began to transform this divine spark, and his soul underwent a transformation…
The Sovereign, the Four Divine Beasts Clan leaders, the eight great clan leaders, hundreds of elders, and countless clan members all watched Linley become a god. This was likely the most watched ascension to Highgod in the Infernal Realm.
After a long while…
Linley opened his eyes.
“What’s going on?” Linley was startled to find countless eyes fixed on him.
Then he sensed a terrifying aura and looked up—the black giant face in the sky was staring at him, its enormous gaze making Linley’s heart tremble.
Having seen Sovereign projections before, Linley instantly understood.
“A Sovereign? When did the Sovereign arrive?” Linley was completely stunned.
The black giant face’s lips curled slightly upward. “Interesting, interesting.” Then, with a crash, the giant face dissipated, and the vast Destruction Sovereign power vanished as if it had never existed.
Beirut flew over, looking at Linley with a mix of amusement and exasperation. “Linley, I said I’d give you a divine artifact when you reached Highgod, but you didn’t have to break through at this moment.”
“I…”
Linley was speechless.
This enlightenment—how could he have known it would come at this time?
PS: Three chapters done! Volume 17 ends! I’ll take two days off to organize my thoughts for Volume 18. I wasn’t fully satisfied with Volume 17, and I want to write Volume 18 well.
Taking two days off, Volume 18 will start updating on March 11th!