Chapter 53: Soul Power!
Hearing Linley say this, Reisgem could only rub his nose and remain silent.
“Linley.” Reisgem suddenly laughed again, “Fine, if you don’t want to be a Sovereign’s emissary, then don’t. But Linley… if I, Reisgem, ever run into trouble and need your help, you absolutely have to step in. Like when encountering someone like Monterro. When I ask you to come, don’t put on some lofty expert’s airs.”
Having witnessed Linley’s battle with Leylin, Reisgem had already classified Linley as being on the level of a Paragon.
“Reisgem, if there’s ever an emergency, just send me a message and I’ll come immediately.” Linley said decisively.
This Reisgem, though fond of joking and somewhat arrogant like Bebe, was sincere at heart and a good person. He had also done Linley favors.
“With those words, I’m satisfied.” Reisgem grinned cheerfully. “I don’t care anymore whether you become a Sovereign’s emissary or not. Anyway, from now on, when I run into those bastards, I’ll finally have a way to deal with them. Hmph. Sovereigns can’t lower themselves to deal with them, but Linley, though you’re strong, you’re still a god. Dealing with them isn’t too excessive.”
Reisgem, despite having the Violetflame Sovereign behind him, was frustrated because the Violetflame Sovereign let him suffer setbacks without intervening. He was deeply aggrieved. But now, he finally had a friend at the Paragon level.
“Hmph.” Thinking about the future, with Linley’s help, and imagining certain scenarios, Reisgem couldn’t help but chuckle with joy.
“Reisgem, when you encounter an opponent, there’s no need to rush to have my boss step in. For ordinary characters, I’m enough.” Bebe said casually, tossing a divine spark into his mouth.
“We’re brothers. What’s mine is yours.” Reisgem threw an arm around Bebe and laughed heartily.
Leylin smiled as he watched this scene, then suddenly remembered something and spoke seriously: “Everyone, keep Linley’s soul mutation a secret. Having four divine clones and undergoing a soul mutation is unprecedented. It’s best to keep it confidential for now.” Hearing this, Linley nodded in agreement.
“I understand confidentiality. You can rest assured.” Reisgem nodded. “As for Reihom, don’t worry about him. He rarely talks anyway.”
The nearby Reihom managed a rare smile.
“Hey, boss.” Bebe frowned. “But you’ll still have to fight people in the future. If you reveal your strength…”
“Just publicly announce that Linley has reached Paragon level.” Leylin said with a smile. “Although the deterrent power of a Paragon is great, there are still a few Paragons across the countless planes. Adding one more Linley won’t cause much of a stir.”
Linley nodded: “Then I’ll follow what Lord Leylin said. Actually, in my opinion, there’s no need to explain at all. When others see the strength I display, they’ll just suspect I’m a Paragon. As long as you few don’t mention the soul mutation, and I temporarily refrain from using fused divine power, it won’t be exposed.” Leylin smiled at Linley: “Linley, you can use Highgod power normally. If a critical moment arises, use a drop of Sovereign power. Your soul is so strong now that you can perfectly control Sovereign power without wasting a bit. One drop of Sovereign power can sustain a battle with minimal consumption. Then, perhaps centuries later, you can use it again in another fight.”
This was the advantage Paragons had in using Sovereign power.
Ordinary commanders, when using Sovereign power, would have it constantly dissipating. No matter how much Sovereign power they had, it couldn’t withstand such waste. But Paragons wasted none. When they didn’t need it, they could retract and store the Sovereign power within their bodies, ready for the next major battle.
“That works.” Linley willed it.
Instantly, a drop of Destruction-type Sovereign power surged within Linley’s body. However, Linley’s mental control was now incredibly strong. The Destruction-type Sovereign power eventually gathered on the surface of Linley’s soul sea, perfectly docile.
“In the past, using Sovereign power felt like lifting a mountain—overwhelming. But now, it’s as light as a feather, effortless.” Linley remembered how Beirut had once perfectly controlled Sovereign power to heal Delia.
“Linley, your will-based power seems even stronger than a Paragon’s.” Leylin suddenly remarked.
“Huh?” Linley was startled.
“Even stronger?” Reisgem, Bebe, and Reihom all looked at Leylin. Bebe spoke up: “Lord Leylin, earlier when my boss fought you, weren’t you evenly matched?”
“Actually, I was at a disadvantage.” Linley said with a smile. “Lord Leylin’s attack power is terrifying. Fortunately, my special technique incorporates spatial binding, especially combined with will-based power. This binding and compression is far stronger than ordinary spatial pressure. Lord Leylin’s speed was affected, which is why we were evenly matched. Moreover, Lord Leylin wasn’t using Fire-type Sovereign power but Destruction-type, so his strength wasn’t fully unleashed.”
Reisgem, Bebe, and Reihom were somewhat surprised.
During the battle, Leylin’s energy was contained within his body or condensed in his fists, with no dissipation or waste. From the outside, one couldn’t tell what Sovereign power he was using. But Linley, having fought him, naturally sensed it.
Leylin smiled: “You didn’t use your most proficient Earth-type Sovereign power either. How could I take advantage of you in that regard?”
The conditions were equal—both used Sovereign powers they weren’t most skilled with.
“Under these circumstances, you still managed to fight me to a standstill. I’m very surprised, because… I’ve already fused six profound mysteries. You’ve only fused four.” Leylin said. “So, I believe your will-based power is stronger than a Paragon’s.”
Deeper comprehension of profound mysteries could increase power.
But Linley and Leylin were nearly equal. Although spatial binding played a role, one had fused four mysteries and the other six—a significant gap.
“How do we judge the strength of will-based power?” Linley asked.
“Simple.” Leylin smiled. “Linley, control Sovereign power as divine sense and spread it out. See how far you can extend it.”
Controlling Sovereign power as divine sense tested mental control. Those with will-based power could extend it extremely far!
“An ordinary Paragon, controlling Sovereign power to spread out, can cover a straight-line distance of about eight thousand miles on the Planar Battlefield.” Leylin stated directly. “Linley, don’t use your soul power. Just control Sovereign power to form divine sense and see how far you can extend.”
Eight thousand miles! That number startled Reisgem and the others.
An ordinary commander, without Sovereign power and relying only on their own divine sense, could only cover a hundred meters on the Planar Battlefield. With Sovereign power, they could cover nearly a hundred miles. But a Paragon could cover eight thousand miles—nearly a hundred times the difference!
“I’ll try.” Linley willed it, and the invisible, colorless Sovereign power spread outward.
After a moment, it reached its limit and could extend no further.
“Thirty-six thousand miles!” Linley was shocked inwardly. “My will-based power really is much stronger than a Paragon’s.” No wonder he could fight Leylin to a standstill. His power exceeded his opponent’s, and combined with spatial binding and compression, it barely offset the gap in profound mystery comprehension.
Linley willed the Sovereign power back. Then, he spread out his own soul power! Linley had a feeling that his mutated soul was incredibly strong. Just from the speed at which he repaired the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact, he could tell. How far could his soul power extend on its own?
Straight-line extension—
One thousand miles, ten thousand miles, thirty thousand miles, sixty thousand miles… one hundred thousand miles…
Linley himself was shocked. After the soul mutation, he had never truly tried to extend his soul power to its full limit.
“Magnus, Hermes, Uman…” Linley clearly detected familiar figures, but none of them noticed his observation. Finally, Linley’s soul power reached its limit and stopped.
“Five hundred and twenty thousand miles!” Linley was terrified by this number.
“My soul power is even stronger than Sovereign power? Much stronger?” Linley was stunned, but then he understood.
His divine power—fusing three types—was already close to Sovereign power. Once his Fire-type divine power reached the Highgod level, fusing four types would far exceed Sovereign power!
As for his soul, it had already completed its transformation. There was no concept of fusion here.
Having four divine clones undergo a soul mutation made Linley’s soul power more than ten times stronger than Sovereign power!
“I estimate that someone with three divine clones undergoing a soul mutation would have soul power close to Sovereign power.” Linley judged inwardly. With four divine clones, his soul power was even more terrifying.
“It seems my current strongest technique shouldn’t be material attacks, but soul attacks.” Linley understood. With his now-formidable soul power, even if his comprehension of profound mysteries was weaker, once combined with will-based power, the effect would be extremely potent. “No… my innate divine ability!”
Linley suddenly thought of his innate divine ability. It was linked to soul power and the azure light.
“What would happen if I combined my innate divine ability with soul power and infused it with will-based power?” Linley felt a surge of anticipation.
Outside the cave corridor.
“Linley, no need to see me off.” Leylin said with a faint smile.
Linley and the others could only watch as Leylin drifted away. With Linley having reached such a level, Leylin truly felt no pressure. If Linley encountered a danger he couldn’t handle, Leylin’s help wouldn’t matter either.
“Let’s go back inside.” Linley said, and he, Bebe, and the others returned to the cave dwelling.
Back when Leylin had asked Linley about his will-based power, Linley had admitted that it was indeed stronger than a Paragon’s. But the strength of his soul power—since no one asked, Linley didn’t mention it.
On the bed.
“Compared to a Sovereign, my will-based power is still far off.” Linley sighed inwardly. A Sovereign’s power was terrifying, easily covering the entire Planar Battlefield. Not just the Planar Battlefield—even boundless planes like the Infernal Realm or the Netherworld could be observed entirely by a Sovereign if they exerted themselves.
The magnitude of that power was unimaginable.
If a Sovereign faced a Paragon up close, the Paragon would have no chance to resist.
“A Sovereign’s power is too terrifying.” Linley murmured. “Far surpassing a Paragon. Though from a distance, a Sovereign can’t kill a Paragon with a single thought, up close, a Paragon has no resistance. My soul power might be stronger, but my will-based power is nothing compared to a Sovereign’s. Covering the entire Netherworld, the entire Infernal Realm… what kind of will-based power is that?”
Just thinking about it made Linley shudder.
“No wonder Sovereigns and gods are on two different levels—a fundamental difference.” Linley sighed.
One was heaven, the other earth. Whether a Paragon or a soul mutant, they were still gods. As gods, they could never defeat a Sovereign. This was an insurmountable chasm set by their very nature.
“Why worry about Sovereigns? Unless I kill a Sovereign’s son, even beating up a Sovereign’s child won’t make them intervene.” Linley stopped dwelling on it.
Yulan Continent, Dark Forest, Metallic Castle.
“Haha…” Beirut laughed heartily. “It actually succeeded? Unbelievable! Four divine clones, and a successful soul mutation. I didn’t dare to even think about it before. But it worked!”
Beside him, Leylin was also beaming: “Indeed, it succeeded.”
“When I casually mentioned changing the plan, I didn’t really believe it. I thought it was too unrealistic. But who knew… now it seems a miracle might be born from our hands!” The usually composed Beirut was now so excited his eyes gleamed.
“I think we shouldn’t tell Linley yet.” Leylin suggested. “Right now, Linley is focused on fusing profound mysteries from different laws.”
For the same law, fusing profound mysteries amplified power by about ten times.
But for different laws, fusing profound mysteries amplified power by a hundred times! For example, the Lirmont Linley had encountered back then—by merely fusing two profound mysteries from different laws, he had killed Ariquen, Pussro’s master.
As for Linley, who cultivated four laws, if he took one profound mystery from each law and successfully fused all four, the effect would far surpass an ordinary fusion of six!
“The stronger his strength, the better.” Beirut smiled radiantly.