Chapter 40: Will
"Truly a Paragon!" Even though Linley had been prepared, he still couldn't help but gasp.
What did it mean to reach Paragon status? It meant that a particular law had been completely comprehended. Those who could reach 'Paragon' status were even rarer in number than the Sovereigns. It was evident that everyone who reached that level was unparalleled in their generation, possessing astonishing talent, insight, luck, and diligence!
None of these aspects could be lacking, and only then could a Paragon be forged.
Bebe's eyes were wide as saucers as he stared at Bluefire, unable to speak for a long time.
"What expressions are you two making? There's no need for this," Bluefire said with a laugh.
"What do you mean, no need? A Paragon!" Bebe exclaimed. "Mr. Leylin, even counting you, across all the planes, there are probably less than thirty Paragons! There are countless material planes. Over countless years, how many material planes can produce a single Paragon? Our Yulan continent plane probably only has you!"
Bluefire laughed. Even though his heart was as still as water, thinking about this, he couldn't help but feel a trace of pride.
Reaching Paragon was indeed the thing he was most proud of in his entire life.
"Mr. Leylin, I admire you. I truly admire you," Linley said, his heart also burning with passion. When would he be able to reach that level?
Bluefire couldn't help but smile. But Bebe suddenly said, "Boss, didn't Grandpa say that he would only let you enter the Necropolis of the Gods when you reached Mr. Leylin's level? Ah... a Paragon! Boss, when will you be able to reach Paragon? Doesn't that mean entering the Necropolis of the Gods is indefinitely postponed?"
"Beirut said that?" Bluefire was startled.
"Yes, he did say that," Linley said helplessly.
Earlier, Linley had still held some hope, but now that he knew Bluefire was a Paragon, "Am I supposed to wait until I become a Paragon before being allowed into the Necropolis of the Gods? When will that be?" Linley was very self-aware. The further fusion went, the more astonishingly time-consuming it became. Linley even suspected that even if he spent billions of years, he probably wouldn't be able to reach Paragon.
After all, many people cultivated quickly at the start, but upon reaching a certain level, they could no longer improve.
For example, the Patriarch of the Azure Dragon clan and others had not improved for billions of years and had reached their limits.
"Haha..." Bluefire shook his head with a laugh and said, "When I entered the Necropolis of the Gods back then, I had only fused five types of profound mysteries. I think Beirut meant for you, Linley, to also reach the level of fusing five profound mysteries, just like I did back then, before letting you enter! It couldn't possibly be Paragon; that would be too harsh."
Linley nodded upon hearing this. Yes, Bluefire hadn't been a Paragon when he entered back then.
But Bebe muttered, "Even fusing five types would take a very, very long time. It gets harder and harder the further you go."
"What's the hurry?" Linley said with a faint smile. "Bebe, with my current strength, I can protect myself against the Commanders. After this planar war is over, we'll return to the Infernal Realm! There won't be anything important then, so we can take billions of years and cultivate slowly."
Bluefire smiled approvingly and said, "Not bad. Not arrogant or impatient; only then can cultivation come naturally. The more anxious you are, the harder it becomes."
"Don't think too much about the Necropolis of the Gods," Linley said with a laugh.
Linley really had no burdens now. After so many years on the planar battlefield, he had obtained three Commander badges. He only needed one more, and with his greatly increased strength now, Linley believed that if he and Bebe joined forces, getting another one wouldn't be difficult. Once he accomplished this, he could truly relax and peacefully pursue the pinnacle of cultivation.
"Mr. Leylin," Linley said, looking at Bluefire seriously, "I have a doubt that has been troubling me."
"Speak," Bluefire said with a faint smile, taking a small sip of wine.
"I'm very puzzled about Paragon Highgods," Linley said, frowning. "Many Commanders have extraordinary talents, like Lei Sijing and Lei Hong. Their innate strength is formidable. And in terms of profound mysteries, they have also reached the level of fusing five types! Logically, with their strong foundation plus fusing five types, I feel they should be almost on par with a Paragon. But earlier, when I fought with Baehr, I discovered... the gap was too great. I was completely toyed with."
"Right, that Baehr was too strong. A simple spatial binding had an incredibly powerful binding force," Bebe quickly added.
"And there's also the soul attack. Wind is good at 'material attacks' and isn't particularly skilled in the soul aspect. Although it has 'Music' and 'Sound Waves', their power is very ordinary. But why, when Baehr launched a soul attack, did I have no resistance and fall into a dazed state?" Linley was very puzzled.
Even Paragons had their differences.
A Wind-type Paragon was extremely strong in material attacks. A Water-type Paragon was extremely strong in defense. Earlier, Hermes had also said that a Water-type Paragon Highgod was slightly inferior to him in a direct clash.
But Baehr was a Wind-type Paragon, so why was his soul attack also so terrifying?
Linley was very confused!
"Haha..." Bluefire laughed.
"What's so funny?" Bebe muttered. "Paragons are indeed freakishly strong, as if they're strong in every aspect." Different types of Paragon Highgods might have different specialties. But even their weaker aspects far surpassed ordinary Commanders and were extremely powerful.
For example, that Water-type Paragon was weaker in material attacks, but he was still close to Hermes.
"Paragons have no weaknesses," Bluefire said with a faint smile.
Linley and Bebe immediately pricked up their ears to listen carefully. On matters like this, naturally, a Paragon himself was the most authoritative.
"No matter the aspect, Paragons are extremely strong! Different elemental and rule systems only cause Paragons to be strongest in one particular aspect. For example, my strongest is soul attacks! In fact, Paragons are strong in all aspects, and this involves a secret," Bluefire said.
"A secret?" Linley and Bebe were startled.
"Yes!" Bluefire said admiringly. "Linley, I can tell you this matter, but... whether it's about me being a Paragon or the secret of Paragons themselves, don't spread it around."
"Of course," Linley and Bebe both nodded.
Bluefire nodded slightly and then said, "Back then, I had completely fused all six profound mysteries of the Fire-type laws and reached a bottleneck. I was only one step away from Paragon. At that time, my strength was already considerable. But when I took that final step and reached Paragon, do you know... how much the difference in strength was?"
Linley shook his head and said, "I'm not sure, but generally, breaking through a bottleneck doesn't increase strength by an outrageous amount."
"Taking that final step felt like a transformation!" Bluefire said admiringly. "A fundamental transformation, like the difference between heaven and earth!"
"Like the difference between heaven and earth?" Linley and Bebe were startled.
"I'm sure you also know that no matter how powerful an ordinary Highgod is, if they aren't a Paragon, once they provoke a Sovereign, the Sovereign can kill them with just a thought. But there is one type of Highgod that is an exception, and that is a Paragon! The will of a Sovereign cannot kill a Paragon Highgod!" Bluefire said with a smile.
Linley nodded slightly. He knew about this.
"Why?" Bluefire said with a smile. "This touches upon the secret of Paragons. The transformation that occurs in an instant upon reaching Paragon."
Linley and Bebe listened intently.
"In the instant of reaching Paragon!" Bluefire seemed to reminisce about that feeling from back then. "A peculiar law of heaven and earth enveloped my soul! My soul underwent a transformative leap. After the transformation was complete, I understood the terror of a Paragon." Bluefire laughed.
A qualitative improvement of the soul? Linley was shocked.
From a Demigod to a God, and then to a Highgod, the soul improved each time. He hadn't expected that reaching Paragon would also improve the soul.
"This soul transformation grants us Paragons a right bestowed by the laws of heaven and earth!" Bluefire said with a faint smile. "It is a will that contains the rules of heaven and earth! The will of a Paragon!"
Linley was shocked.
Everyone has a will, but the will of an ordinary Highgod is a non-existent entity without any offensive power. "The will of a Paragon contains the rules of heaven and earth?" Linley couldn't help but ask.
"Yes!" Bluefire said with a laugh. "In fact, the increase in the power of the profound mysteries themselves is limited. But once our ordinary attacks are infused with our will, their power rises to a terrifying level! This is a kind of authority! A power bestowed by heaven! It is also our reliance for resisting a Sovereign's divine will!"
Linley and Bebe understood somewhat.
They had also heard that a Sovereign's will was irresistible. Sovereign's power wasn't special, but Sovereign's power infused with the 'Sovereign's will' was terrifyingly powerful. The most fearsome thing about a Sovereign was their will.
"It's like an emperor! He doesn't need to act personally; a single command from him can cause many heads to roll. To ordinary humans, the emperor's will is irresistible!" Bluefire said with a faint smile. "This is authority, the power of his will! The will of an ordinary Highgod doesn't contain offensive power. But a Paragon Highgod has this privilege, a privilege bestowed by heaven!"
Linley and Bebe suddenly saw the light.
Good heavens!
So that was it. Will? Among the countless Highgods, Paragon Highgods were like the lofty 'emperor'. The will of a Paragon Highgod contained the 'rules of heaven and earth'. The ordinary attacks of a Paragon Highgod contained power that was terrifying to the extreme!
"No wonder! That Baehr could casually bind the four of us with a simple gesture," Bebe said admiringly. "An empty-handed strike was comparable to an attack from a Sovereign artifact."
"And what about a Sovereign's will?" Bebe quickly asked. "How much stronger is it than a Paragon Highgod's?"
"Much stronger!" Bluefire said with a laugh. "By the same logic! The Sovereigns who possess 'Sovereign Edicts' are also granted immense authority by heaven! This gives their will an even greater power. If a Sovereign attacks us from billions of miles away, merely using their divine will to control Sovereign's power, we Paragons can barely resist and preserve our lives. But if a Sovereign comes before us in person to kill us, we absolutely cannot withstand it."
Linley and Bebe understood completely.
The Sovereign's will, the authority bestowed by heaven, far surpassed the will of a Paragon Highgod.
If separated by billions of miles, a Sovereign couldn't kill a Paragon. But if they got close, the Paragon would still die. Of course... within the circle of Highgods, Paragons were already invincible existences.
"A will with unfathomable power," Linley sighed inwardly.
Bluefire stayed with Linley and the others for three days. During these three days, the three of them drank and chatted. Linley also recounted his experiences over the years and his encounters on the planar battlefield. Bluefire also sighed with emotion. But after three days, Bluefire still parted ways with Linley and the others.
After all, Bluefire's purpose for coming to this planar battlefield was different from Linley's. Bluefire disdained killing.
At this moment, outside a cave, on the wasteland, Bluefire was bidding farewell to Linley and the other.
"Haha, Linley, I wish you success in obtaining your fourth Commander badge," Bluefire said with a faint smile. "By the way, you mentioned that you were staying with Lei Sijing and the others. About half a month before I met you, I discovered Lei Sijing and the Lei Hong you described in a cave."
"Oh?" Linley and Bebe were overjoyed.
"Where are they?" Linley quickly asked. He was still very grateful to Lei Sijing.
Bluefire looked around and then pointed in a direction. "If you go straight in this direction for about 110,000 miles, you'll find a Ram's Horn Mountain. In a cave at the foot of the mountain, the two of them are staying. Of course... I'm not sure if they're still there now."
"Thank you, Mr. Leylin," Linley said joyfully.
Generally, they would stay in one place for many years. Bluefire had only encountered them not long ago, so Lei Sijing and the others should still be there.
"It seems you want to go and reunite with them. Then we'll part ways here," Bluefire said with a smile.
Linley and Bebe immediately said goodbye to Bluefire. Then, without returning to the cave, they sped off in the direction Bluefire had indicated. Upon hearing 'Ram's Horn Mountain', Linley already had a general idea. He also had a map of the planar battlefield, so he naturally knew the location of that Ram's Horn Mountain.
Bluefire watched the two figures disappear into the wilderness and couldn't help but smile. He sighed, "Beirut really put a lot of thought into this! But Linley has already fused four types of profound mysteries. Beirut's goal has been achieved. As for fusing five types, that's still a long way off. It seems there's nothing for me to do for now! Hmm, I've never watched a planar war before. I can't miss the final decisive battle in three hundred years." Bluefire drifted away.