Chapter 22: Sixty Years on the Planar Battlefield
"That guy was disguised as an enemy. What a letdown." Bebe took out a red fruit and took a vicious 'crunch' bite, chewing loudly. "Boss, these commanders are all cunning and cautious. Finding a suitable target is so hard. It's really frustrating."
"Frustrated? Then calm down and feel ashamed." Linley sat cross-legged and began to cultivate quietly.
This kind of life would continue for over eight hundred more years. Linley also wanted to make another great breakthrough within these eight hundred years.
On the desolate, barren earth, three figures of varying heights were gazing into the distance, shock evident on their faces. Bebe had used his innate divine ability, and the phantom was over a hundred meters tall. These three had spotted the phantom from hundreds of miles away. Although they knew someone was there hundreds of miles off, they didn't dare approach.
"Gah, so Beirut really did come to the planar battlefield." The short, stocky man raised an eyebrow, speaking with disbelief.
Back then, Bebe had used his innate divine ability to kill Lang Slo, and other commanders had seen it. The news that 'Beirut has come to the planar battlefield' began to spread. Although Bebe had also used his innate divine ability against the purple-robed man on the other side of the Star River and had been seen, that news had only circulated among the commanders on that side, not reaching the enemy's side.
"Looking at that phantom, it's indeed Beirut's innate divine ability. I thought the rumor was false, but it's true! Why has this Beirut come to the planar battlefield like us? To earn military merits? He doesn't need them at all." The white-haired, white-browed, one-horned man sighed and said.
The third person was a woman in a black robe with black hair.
"What's there to fear? If we don't provoke this Beirut... but the three of us working together don't need to be afraid of him." The black-robed woman said hoarsely.
"Anya! Don't be overconfident. Legend has it that this Beirut is even harder to deal with than a Paragon Highgod." The white-haired, white-browed man said seriously. "He's not afraid of attacks from Sovereign artifacts, nor of soul attacks... He has no weaknesses. And his physical attacks and soul attacks are terrifyingly strong! If the three of us face him, he'll just break us down one by one."
The black-robed woman glanced at the white-browed man.
"Don't disbelieve me." The white-browed man said gravely.
Beirut's fame had come too quickly. Although he had reached Highgod a long time ago, Beirut was patient enough to endure loneliness. He had stayed on the Yulan Continent, only suddenly rising to prominence starting ten thousand years ago. This process of rising to fame was the birth of an invincible being.
"No weaknesses. Strong in every aspect." The short man said helplessly.
His innate divine ability 'God Devourer' was considered the strongest soul attack.
Beirut's physical attacks relied on a Sovereign artifact. Back then, among the eight great clans, the patriarchs protected by Sovereign artifacts were all heavily injured by his staff strike. One could imagine the power of his physical attacks.
How could such a person be stopped?
"Let's go. For this planar war, the three of us need to be careful." The white-browed man said indifferently. "At worst, we'll earn fewer military merits this time and wait for the next planar war to join! Beirut won't be bored enough to join another planar war, will he? And the next planar war will come soon!"
"Mm." The other two nodded in agreement.
The three then left.
Beirut, Paragon Highgods—they all stood at the very pinnacle of 'Gods'. Only 'Sovereigns' could easily deal with them, while other Highgods were still far behind them.
Moreover, these three strong individuals who formed a team weren't in a hurry.
Because...
Although planar wars occurred every ten thousand trillion years, each time a planar war began, it wasn't just a single one.
You see, there were seven Divine Planes and four Higher Planes. Among them, the 'Higher Plane of Life' did not participate in planar wars. The other ten planes would pair off against each other, conducting a total of five 'planar wars'. After the war between the Dark Divine Plane and the Light Divine Plane ended, before long, other Divine Planes would battle each other, and even the Higher Planes would fight among themselves.
Five consecutive great wars.
Generally, they would end within ten thousand years at the fastest. Even with long intervals, they would conclude within a million years at the latest. After the five wars ended... one would have to wait another ten thousand trillion years for the next round!
Ten thousand trillion years is an extremely long time. If a cultivator had potential, ten thousand trillion years would be enough to fully develop that potential.
A person, after ten thousand trillion years, if they were still just an ordinary Highgod...
Even if given ten or a hundred times that time, they probably wouldn't improve further. That was already their limit. And each planar war caused a large number of Highgods and commanders to die. This mechanism kept the number of super experts in each Divine Plane from becoming too exaggerated.
Of course, this also meant that the strong became even stronger!
Beirut had come to the planar battlefield!
This news spread rapidly among the commanders. Most commanders knew each other. When the news first spread, many commanders couldn't confirm it, but when Bebe killed the black-robed man and used his innate divine ability again, more than just those three saw it.
The news was now completely confirmed!
This also caused a stir in the planar battlefield!
Inside a military camp.
A silver-haired middle-aged man with a beardless face but long, drooping eyebrows sat opposite a golden-haired young man. The two were drinking together.
"Mr. Magnus, you don't believe my words?" The golden-haired young man laughed.
"I believe you." The silver-haired middle-aged man raised his drooping eyebrows and shook his head in confusion. "But... this Beirut is also standing at the very pinnacle of 'Gods'. He should maintain his dignity. Even if he came to stroll around the planar battlefield, he should be stationed at the camp, watching the other commanders fight from afar, rather than lowering himself to slaughter those commanders."
"That's just your way of thinking, Mr. Magnus." The golden-haired young man laughed.
Magnus was also an existence standing at the very pinnacle! He was stationed at the camp only out of boredom, as a game.
Ordinary commanders and existences like Paragon Highgods or Beirut still had a chasm between them. If figures like Beirut or Magnus went after ordinary commanders, it would indeed be a slaughter.
"No. Although I've never met this Beirut, I've heard of his deeds. He's the type who can endure greatly, not someone who would lower himself to slaughter ordinary commanders out of boredom." Magnus shook his head. "I suspect... that the one who used that technique might not be Beirut."
"Not him?" The golden-haired young man was startled.
"Mm, perhaps there is another person in the world who possesses the same ultimate technique as Beirut." Magnus mused.
Bebe had only reached Highgod two hundred years ago.
Moreover, even the people of the Four Divine Beasts Clan only knew that Bebe was Beirut's grandson. They didn't know that Bebe could use the same innate divine ability as Beirut... just as the son or grandson of the divine beast 'Azure Dragon' might not have the Azure Dragon's strength, they didn't think Bebe had that kind of power either.
Bebe's fame had not yet spread.
On the planar battlefield, atop a high mountain peak.
A man in a white robe with fiery red eyebrows was leaning against a rock. The mountain wind blew his black hair, and he held a wine bottle, tilting his head back for a drink. This was Qinghuo, who had entered the planar battlefield not long ago.
On the planar battlefield, commanders all hid their tracks. How many dared to reveal themselves? Let alone sitting on a mountain peak.
Sitting on the mountain peak, overlooking the boundless earth, Qinghuo smiled faintly and shook his head. "Innate divine ability 'God Devourer'? Hmm, it seems Bebe and Linley have also come to this side of the Star River." Qinghuo casually drank his wine on the peak, but if someone looked from afar, they wouldn't see anyone on the mountain at all.
Strangely...
The space around Qinghuo was distorted.
"Planar war, huh. It takes ten commanders dying to earn enough military merits for one Sovereign artifact. And many commanders are killed, their badges stored in spatial rings, essentially wasted. To truly get one Sovereign artifact, it takes far more than ten commanders dying." Qinghuo sighed.
"Whoosh!"
Qinghuo's figure slid down from the mountain peak, like a spark, instantly vanishing into space.
Time passed, and in the blink of an eye, sixty years had gone by.
Inside a cave at the waist of a large mountain on the planar battlefield.
"Lost another Death God Puppet." Bebe muttered.
Linley, who had been cultivating nearby, opened his eyes. "No gains?"
"No." Bebe said helplessly.
Originally, controlling the Death God Puppet was Linley's task, but Bebe found it boring, so he sometimes took over. However, Linley never expected that after obtaining one gold badge and one white badge, he would have absolutely no gains for the entire sixty years that followed. Moreover, Linley found that even the commanders he could detect were impossible for him to deal with.
Because...
If he encountered a lone commander, they were either too cautious or too strong.
Another situation was two or three people gathered together, or even three or four. Once Linley and Bebe made a move, even if they could kill one, the others would ensure Linley and Bebe couldn't escape.
"What happened this time? How did the Death God Puppet get destroyed?" Linley laughed.
"Boss, this time I ran into that big idiot, Hermes." Bebe said helplessly. "How did I run into that big lug?"
Linley could only smile bitterly.
"Be patient. This planar war lasts a thousand years. The longer it goes on, the more those who survive have their own tricks. It's not easy to strike. Right now, I hope that in the remaining eight hundred years, I can fuse four profound mysteries. Then, I won't have much to fear."
Linley knew that although he was considered strong, in reality, he was still lacking in 'soul defense' and attack compared to commanders. However, once he fused four profound mysteries, combined with his innate azure light, his soul defense would increase nearly tenfold, and his physical attack would also increase nearly tenfold.
At that time, aside from a few existences like Beirut, no one else would make Linley wary.
"Time!" Linley immediately closed his eyes, and both his main body and his earth divine clone immersed themselves in cultivation.
But less than three months later... Linley made a breakthrough! Of course, it wasn't a breakthrough in the Laws of the Earth. Linley was still far from fusing four profound mysteries. This breakthrough was... for his wind divine clone!
"Huh?" Bebe suddenly stared wide-eyed at Linley.
A vast heavenly law descended, directly covering Linley. A large amount of wind elemental energy floated above Linley, and from within his body flew another body—a wind divine clone with cyan hair and a cyan robe. Just now, Linley had finally fully comprehended the ninth profound mystery of the wind.
"Wow, Boss, your wind element is finally complete!" Bebe laughed.
"It is complete." Linley's main body flew to the side. His elemental affinity for both earth and wind was super-grade, but during his cultivation, he had leaned toward the earth element. Who would have thought that among the four elements, wind would come in third, behind earth and water.
But at least he had finally reached Highgod!
Now, only fire remained.
"Not good!" Linley's expression suddenly changed.
"What's wrong, Boss?" Bebe was still delighted by Linley's breakthrough.
"The descent of the heavenly laws, such a big commotion, is sure to attract people." Linley said urgently. He immediately grew anxious. Other commanders might come, but right now his wind divine clone's divine spark was undergoing transformation, and he couldn't leave temporarily. Although this process was short...
This brief time was enough for commander-level experts to arrive.
"What's there to fear!" Bebe's eyes lit up. "If one comes, kill one. If two come, kill a pair. If we can't win... we run!"
Linley could only smile helplessly, but his first instinct was to immediately release the 'Blackstone Space'. The Blackstone Space penetrated the mountain rock, covering the interior of the mountain, with a radius of five hundred meters.