Chapter 24: Identity
Ever since he saw that fake Red Diamond Crown of the Black Iron Emperor in the Black Sand Castle, Linley had developed a new idea. During his travels through the Infernal Realm, every few years, when he went to a certain city, he would visit the Demon Castle to inquire about information regarding the Sovereign’s artifacts.
Each inquiry cost ten million inkstones.
This price seemed high, but generally, those interested in such information were either true experts or powerful upper-tier divine merchant traders. Ten million inkstones was not a high price for experts or powerful merchants.
On the streets of Jiliang City, Linley and his group were strolling about. Linley glanced at Bebe with a smile and said, “Bebe, this Liang’an Prefecture is Nisse’s hometown. I heard her eldest brother, Salomon, is now in Jiliang City, responsible for maintaining order in the city. Nisse has taken Ina to see Salomon. Why aren’t you going?”
“Hmph, I can’t be bothered to see that Salomon,” Bebe said disdainfully.
“Still remember what happened back then inside the volcano?” Delia teased with a laugh.
Salomon’s actions back then had indeed made Linley, Delia, and the others no longer consider Salomon a friend. Shortly after Bebe and Nisse got married, Bebe had accompanied Nisse to see Salomon.
“Last time I went to see Salomon, it was only because I didn’t want Nisse to feel bad. Unless necessary, I can’t be bothered to see him. I despise people like him the most,” Bebe said.
“That Salomon really isn’t worthy of being a friend,” Yale also spoke up. Yale, Reynolds, and the others knew about what had happened back then.
“Come on, the Demon Castle is just ahead,” Reynolds said cheerfully.
Everyone knew that whenever Linley entered a city, he almost always visited the Demon Castle.
The Demon Castle was empty, with very few people in the main hall on the first floor. Linley, familiar with the place, walked straight up the stairs to the third floor.
“Help me check for information regarding the Sovereign’s artifacts,” Linley said, walking to the counter on the third floor and handing over his Demon Medal. In the Demon Castle, whether taking on missions or inquiring about intelligence, it was a privilege of demons. Even if an ordinary person had money, they wouldn’t be qualified to inquire.
“Information about the Sovereign’s artifacts?” The thin, black-haired old man behind the counter glanced up at Linley and sneered, “One-star Demon Linley, are you a merchant?”
This short-haired old man had checked and found Linley to be a one-star Demon, so he naturally made this assumption.
“That’s none of your concern,” Linley said with a faint smile.
“Kid, it’s not that easy to fake Sovereign’s artifacts and try to fool people,” the short-haired old man sneered, pulling out a ledger. “This is a collection of all the information from the entire Infernal Realm up to today. Reading it costs ten million inkstones.”
Linley casually tossed out ten fist-sized azure stones.
One such large azure stone was equivalent to one million inkstones.
“When you read the ledger and want to see the corresponding projection, just tell me,” the short-haired old man said lazily. He hadn’t even taken out the projections.
Linley ignored him and directly began flipping through the ledger.
The ledger was divided into four sections: the Black Iron Emperor Crown, the Nine Spirit Pearls, the Red Diamond Crystal, and the Sovereign’s Seal. It was also arranged chronologically.
Linley went straight to the Red Diamond Crystal section and flipped to the back. After all, he had already read most of the earlier parts.
“Holding this Red Diamond Crystal instantly heals any injury on the body? Accompanied by a projection?”
“Having the Red Diamond Crystal allows one to comprehend the Laws of Life and directly become an upper-tier god? Also accompanied by a projection as proof?”
Seeing one piece of news after another, Linley couldn’t help but shake his head and laugh.
There were many fakes.
For example, someone would hold a fake Red Diamond Crystal while swallowing a pill refined by a Life-type expert. When attacked physically, the injury would occur, but the pill’s effects would kick in and heal it. From the projection, it would look like the fake Red Diamond Crystal was responsible.
“This one’s even more interesting: holding the Red Diamond Crystal grants an immortal body. But there’s no projection as proof.”
Linley glanced at the next entry and chuckled: “This news is absurd: holding the Red Diamond Crystal not only grants an immortal body but also kills anyone who touches you.” In Linley’s view, the Life Crown should be for healing. After all, the Black Iron Emperor Crown had once contained such energy.
The Nine Spirit Pearls were also for saving people. Linley subconsciously assumed the Red Diamond Crystal was the same.
But he forgot…
A Life-type expert could both save and harm. The Life Crown could save and protect people, but it could also harm them.
“Oh, this news has no projection either. It’s from the Muya Continent? A middle-tier god used the Red Diamond Crystal to kill a group of middle-tier gods and an upper-tier god? Without a projection, anyone could fabricate it, and no one would know if it’s true. Unreliable.” Linley’s gaze swept past, and he continued reading the following entries.
Only some news that Linley thought might be plausible would he check the projections.
“Hey, are you done yet?” the short-haired old man said impatiently.
“What’s your rush?” Yale, who was sitting nearby waiting for Linley, glared at the short-haired old man and shouted loudly.
“I’m just telling you to hurry up,” the short-haired old man glanced at Yale. “Also, no loud noises in the Demon Castle.” This short-haired old man was also an upper-tier god. Since fighting was prohibited in the city, he was usually rude to customers.
Especially since Linley was a one-star Demon, he was looked down upon.
“Don’t rush. Wait a moment,” Linley said coldly, glancing at the short-haired old man before continuing to read the intelligence.
Just then, footsteps came from the stairs, descending from the upper floors.
“Oh, quite a few people buying intelligence today,” a gentle voice came from afar. Linley turned and glanced over. Three people were walking over. The leader was a middle-aged man with golden hair and blue eyes, followed by two women in green robes.
The short-haired old man behind the counter, upon seeing the newcomer, was startled and quickly stood up respectfully, saying, “Castle Lord!”
“Sit down,” the golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man said with a faint smile. “By the way, give me the intelligence and projections on the recent challenges to prefecture lords across the Infernal Realm.”
In the Infernal Realm, it was common for Seven-Star Demons to challenge prefecture lords.
“Yes, Castle Lord,” the short-haired old man said humbly.
The golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man glanced at Bebe, frowned slightly in confusion, then walked to the counter and took the ledger the short-haired old man handed him. On the counter were also many projection crystal balls.
At this moment, Linley and the Castle Lord were reading side by side.
The golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man glanced at Linley beside him and suddenly his expression changed. He said in surprise, “Could it be Lord Linley?”
“Hmm?” Linley turned to look at him. “Who are you?” Linley didn’t recognize this person.
“Castle Lord…” the thin, short-haired old man, seeing the Castle Lord so respectful to Linley, quickly said, “His name is Linley, but he’s only a one-star Demon…”
“Shut up,” the golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man said coldly, glancing at the short-haired old man.
“One-star Demon?” The golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man looked at Linley in surprise, then at the Demon Medal still in the short-haired old man’s hand. “Shaya, go quickly and update this Demon Medal’s rank. Change it to Seven-Star Demon level!”
The short-haired old man was stunned.
A one-star Demon becoming a Seven-Star Demon?
According to the Demon Castle’s rules, that required completing many missions. How could it change just like that?
“Castle Lord…” one of the green-robed women behind him, Shaya, hesitated. Even though the Castle Lord of a city’s Demon Castle was extremely powerful, reaching the Seven-Star Demon level, he didn’t have the authority to directly change the medal to Seven-Star Demon level.
“Don’t worry. If even Lord Linley, a Paragon, isn’t qualified to be a Seven-Star Demon, then who in the Infernal Realm is?” the golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man said with a smile.
“Oh, you know me?” Linley looked at him in surprise.
The golden-haired, blue-eyed middle-aged man smiled and said, “Information about Paragons, these peak-level experts, is personally kept by the Castle Lords of each Demon Castle. I have all the detailed information from the planar wars, and I even have projections of several battles you fought, Lord Linley, before you became a Paragon. The most important reason is that I personally participated in the last planar war and saw you, Lord Linley.”
Linley was startled.
“Lord Linley, when you were fighting Lord Magnus back then, we were all watching. I know you, Lord Linley, but it’s normal that you don’t know me,” the Castle Lord said with a laugh.
On the planar battlefield, he was just a soldier.
“When I saw Lord Bebe earlier, I felt a sense of familiarity but didn’t react. Probably because I never dared to think that you, Lord Linley, would be here. But when I saw you in person, I realized,” the Castle Lord said with a smile.
Linley couldn’t help but laugh as well.
Intelligence was also graded. The Sovereign’s artifacts sounded like high-level information, but unfortunately, there were too many false reports, so the intelligence was considered low-level and naturally managed by an ordinary upper-tier god.
But information about Paragons, about Sovereigns, about ancient secrets, and so on, couldn’t be seen just by spending money.
“P-Paragon?” the short-haired old man stared blankly at Linley before him.
A one-star Demon? Could he be the legendary invincible Paragon?
Linley chatted with the Castle Lord for a while, then left with his Demon Medal. But now, the Demon Medal had been upgraded to Seven-Star Demon level.
“What a pity. Too many false reports. A few sounded plausible, but they didn’t even have projections,” Linley said regretfully as he left.
Back when Brody obtained the Red Diamond Crystal, he was at his poorest. Naturally, he took the bandits’ spatial rings and divine sparks with him when he left. During his journey, through experimentation, Brody discovered that the stronger his soul power, the more of the Red Diamond Crystal’s strange energy he could channel.
So, Brody decided to refine a divine spark.
He had two divine clones. To take revenge, he was willing to let one divine clone refine a divine spark. Even if it meant going from middle-tier god to upper-tier god through refining a spark, his soul would still undergo a leap in improvement.
Lott Tribe!
“Alott, come out!” A roar echoed over the Lott Tribe.
The warriors of the Lott Tribe stared in terror at the figure in the sky, who looked like a demon god. The once-weak Brody had returned and become so terrifying! The large number of corpses on the ground were the result of Brody’s attack just now! No one who touched Brody survived!
“Brody, you became an upper-tier god so quickly? Must have refined a divine spark, right? Instead of running far away, you dare to come back? You’re asking for death.”
A figure completely shrouded in black armor hovered above the castle. His entire body, including his face, was covered by the black armor, with only a pair of golden eyes visible. He was the strongest warrior of the Lott Tribe, the tribe’s chieftain—Alott!
“Bariman, we’ll discuss our cooperation later. Let me deal with this brat first,” Alott said with a smile, looking down at an old man with brownish-red curly hair.
“Chieftain Alott, handle your tribe’s affairs first. I’m in no hurry,” the old man Bariman said with a faint smile.
Alott was very confident because he was a Six-Star Demon-level expert. In his view, Brody could kill many warriors because he was an upper-tier god and had probably comprehended some special attack technique. But Alott didn’t care. He believed that a huge gap in strength couldn’t be overcome by tricks.
In battle, true strength mattered. If he, a Six-Star Demon, couldn’t kill an upper-tier god who had just refined a divine spark, that would be strange.
“Where is my wife?” Brody growled.
“Your wife?” Alott laughed. “Your wife is tough. She would rather die than submit. But I’m not in a hurry… I’ll take my time with her. But for now… I’ll kill you first.” Alott flipped his hand, and a blood-red giant scythe, two meters long, appeared.
The Six-Star Demon Alott and the upper-tier god Brody, who had refined a divine spark, faced off in the air.
“This battle should let me see Alott’s strength,” the old man with brownish-red curly hair muttered with a low laugh on the castle wall, simultaneously using a projection technique to record the battle.
In fact, he wasn’t the only one recording. Many warriors of the tribe who practiced water-type magic were also recording.
“Dying by my ultimate move, you should be proud,” Alott said with a faint laugh. His figure traced a red trajectory, and then the blood-red giant scythe slashed—
“Pfft—”
A spatial rift appeared in the air. For a Six-Star Demon, being able to tear space meant his physical attack power was high even among Six-Star Demons.
“Hmph,” Brody used a black short blade to block.
“Clang!”
The black short blade was directly cut in half.
“Too weak,” Alott said disdainfully, swinging his blood-red scythe at Brody’s head.
“Sss—”
The blood-red scythe had just cut into Brody’s skull when it encountered immense resistance. The injured skull was repairing itself at an astonishing speed, preventing the scythe from going deeper.
“W-What’s going on?” Alott was shocked.
“Die,” Brody, abandoning his broken blade, reached out and grabbed Alott’s right hand, which held the scythe.
The moment their hands touched—
“Hmm?” Alott felt a terrifying energy frantically devouring his soul. The devouring force was too strong.
“No, impossible?” Alott struggled desperately. “Die!” He crazily swung his scythe at Brody, but each strike only left a wound on Brody’s body without going deeper. And in the blink of an eye, even the wounds completely disappeared. This Brody was practically—
An immortal body!
“Impossible? Absolutely impossible?” Alott had never heard of such a thing.
“He can hold on,” Brody’s expression changed. “It’s because my soul is too weak, and I can only channel too little energy.”
“Buzz—”
The Red Diamond Crystal suddenly vibrated violently on its own. A strange, icy green energy surged forth, flooding into Alott’s body. With this energy added, Alott could no longer resist, and his soul was instantly devoured.
The warriors below, a large crowd, were all stunned.
They saw a green light flash, and Alott was dead!
“Th-That is?”
The brownish-red short-haired Bariman’s expression changed. He was an expert on par with Alott. His divine sense detected that the source of the green light was a Red Diamond Crystal: “Red Diamond Crystal? Could it be…” Bariman recalled a piece of news he had once heard and was greatly alarmed.
“Swoosh.” Bariman didn’t stay in the Lott Tribe any longer. He quietly slipped away.
“Vidonica!” Brody, however, became excited and flew straight toward the castle.