Chapter 34: Reincarnation
“If one is born and one dies, how did the first Bula tribesman come into existence?” Bebe blinked his eyes.
Linley listened and couldn’t help but laugh.
“Bebe, tell me, how did the first Soul Devourer Mouse come into being?” Linley asked.
“Uh…” Bebe was taken aback.
“We Bula tribesmen, and even many beings with extraordinary talents, are naturally born from the heavens and the earth,” Breyler said with a smile. “I, for instance, was born in the material plane of Nara, while the three other tribesmen I’ve encountered were born in other planes. Although I know I could sacrifice myself to bear a child, I have no such intention for now.”
Linley understood.
The rule across countless planes was that the more heaven-defying and fearsome a race was, the fewer its members would be.
Take the Four Divine Beasts—Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise—or the Netherworld Fruit Tree, the Sovereign of Death, and the Sovereign of Destruction. They were likely unique. Although the Bula tribe possessed peculiar innate abilities, they couldn’t compare to beings like the Soul Devourer Mouse or the Netherworld Fruit Tree, so their numbers were somewhat greater. For instance, Linley had discovered over a hundred divine beasts like the Suanni just through his divine sense.
After all, even among divine beasts, there were hierarchies.
“Haha, I never expected to take on a Bula tribesman as a messenger,” Linley laughed. “And a grand mage of magical arrays at that. Alright, let’s set off now.”
Linley released his Sovereign power, transforming himself and his group into a stream of earthy yellow light as they flew toward the nearest teleportation array.
As Linley and his group journeyed toward the Infernal Realm, the two lower-level Sovereigns, Bietier and Manlu, returned to the Celestial Realm.
In the Celestial Realm, the only floating structure was the Augus Garden.
This floating garden was home to one of the most powerful beings among the four Overarching Laws’ Rulers—the Ruler of Fate, Ouf!
In the silent garden, Ouf sat cross-legged on a patch of grass, his white beard cascading down to his chest.
“Lord Ouf.” Bietier and Manlu arrived at his side and bowed.
“Oh, you’re back.” Ouf smiled gently.
Bietier and Manlu felt a wave of comfort. Submitting to the Ruler of Fate, Ouf, seemed to them a wise choice. The Ruler of Fate was immensely powerful, and moreover, he treated others kindly. In contrast, the Ruler of Destruction always wore a cold expression; serving him was a form of suffering.
But the Ruler of Fate? He greeted them with a smile.
Naturally, they felt at ease and became even more loyal to the Ruler of Fate, Ouf.
“Lord Ouf, you sent us to recruit Breyler as a Sovereign’s messenger. When we investigated his identity and found him, Breyler was actually with Linley,” Bietier said helplessly. “We asked him to release Breyler, but Linley refused. We mentioned your name, Lord Ouf, but he didn’t care at all and even scolded us.”
The Ruler of Fate, Ouf, chuckled upon hearing this. “Forget it. Linley is, after all, a Ruler-level figure. It’s not surprising he has a temper.”
“Yes.”
Bietier and Manlu bowed.
“Alright, there’s less than a hundred years until the planar war begins,” the Ruler of Fate, Ouf, said, standing up and gazing into the distance. “I need to visit the Divine Light Plane.”
In the Infernal Realm, Bloodpeak Continent, within the territory of Azure Prefecture.
“Whoosh!”
A stream of earthy yellow light streaked across the sky and descended into the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range. The light moved so fast that even the many Highgod clansmen in the range didn’t notice it.
Inside Linley’s estate in the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range.
Linley and his group landed abruptly on the open grassy area of the estate.
“Lord Linley!”
The maids and guards were startled at the sight of Linley, then quickly bowed.
“Haha, Linley, you’ve been away quite a while this time,” a voice rang out as Beirut and Azurefire appeared simultaneously.
Beirut’s gaze swept over Linley, Bebe, and the seven people behind them—these seven consisted of five Sovereign’s messengers and Breyler’s two bodies, the black-robed and white-robed ones. As for the legion commander William, he had stayed behind at the military camp near the teleportation array and hadn’t followed them.
“Are these the Sovereign’s messengers you found?” Beirut asked with a smile.
“Yes,” Linley nodded with a smile. “Of course, finding Sovereign’s messengers didn’t take that long. The main reason was that Bebe and I wanted to explore the three divine planes thoroughly.”
Azurefire couldn’t help but add, “Looks like you had a pleasant time. By the way, the clone you left in this estate has been immersed in training. I wanted to talk to you, but I never got the chance.”
Linley could only smile.
Indeed, of his five clones, only the main body was relaxed and idle. The other three Sovereign clones and the fire-type divine clone were all in training.
“You all stay here for now,” Linley said, glancing at the Sovereign’s messengers behind him. Then he looked at a nearby maid. “Make arrangements for them to settle in.”
“Yes, Elder,” the maid said respectfully.
The six Sovereign’s messengers followed the maid to their accommodations.
Linley, Beirut, and Azurefire sat down around a table, drinking and chatting.
“Oh, from what you’re saying, you’ve made great progress in these five hundred years?” Beirut asked in surprise.
Linley nodded. “My strength is about three times what it was before.”
“Three times!” Beirut and Azurefire were shocked.
In truth, ever since Linley began fully fusing the four types of Laws’ profound mysteries, the power of his Sword Intent technique had been steadily increasing.
When fusing different Laws, the difference between fusing three profound mysteries and four was a full hundredfold. Linley’s threefold increase wasn’t much.
But for a Ruler-level figure, a threefold increase in strength was already terrifying.
“Haha, excellent!” Beirut couldn’t help but clap in admiration. “It seems the Radiant Ruler, Augustina, doesn’t have much longer to live.”
“Mm,” Linley nodded. “With less than a hundred years until the planar war, the various forces preparing to enter the war have already begun mobilizing. Augustina is likely often with the Ruler of Fate, Ouf, so now isn’t the time to act. Moreover, my strength is still improving. Once this period passes, the timing will be right. And I’ll have more confidence.”
Beirut and Azurefire couldn’t help but smile.
Killing Augustina was something Linley had never given up on. The enmity between Linley and Augustina stemmed from several issues. The previous compromise was something Linley had been forced into for his mother’s sake.
Augustina himself knew that Linley had been enduring and compromising back then.
But Augustina believed that Linley, having reached Paragon, had no further potential and posed no threat. So he took the opportunity to bleed Linley dry.
Now, Linley’s six messengers weren’t in a hurry to head to the planar battlefield. They remained at the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range.
At Linley’s estate in the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range.
On the open ground, the black-robed Breyler and the other five Sovereign’s messengers formed a six-pointed star formation. Streams of distinct divine power flowed continuously among them as the six figures rapidly shifted positions—soaring into the sky, darting to distant points, and then descending again.
They frequently attacked the air, tearing open spatial rifts.
“Stop,” the white-robed Breyler commanded with a frown.
Immediately, the six figures descended from the sky.
“What’s wrong, Breyler?” The four men and two women looked at the white-robed Breyler.
“Something’s off. In the operation of this formation, the energy loss is too great—more than half is wasted,” Breyler shook his head.
“It’s already pretty good,” said the beautiful woman with fish scales on her forehead, smiling. “When the six of us join forces, our attack and defense capabilities increase significantly. Those with strong defenses can take on more of the burden. The six of us working together can match the output of eighteen Sovereign’s messengers acting independently.”
Joining forces could be both good and bad.
In a planar war, six Sovereign’s messengers gathering together gave the enemy an opportunity to wipe them all out at once.
But if these six Sovereign’s messengers used a magical array to fuse and amplify their attacks and defenses, it was a different story.
“No, the energy loss during operation is too great. This isn’t the Reincarnation War Array I envisioned,” the white-robed Breyler shook his head.
Just then—
“Reincarnation War Array?” A voice rang out as Linley and Delia walked over from a distance.
“Sovereign.” Everyone bowed.
Linley smiled at the white-robed Breyler. “Breyler, your achievements in magical arrays are impressive. I’ve been watching you demonstrate this war array over the past few days. I feel that the six of you will shine on the planar battlefield.” When one’s Sovereign’s messengers performed well, it brought honor to the Sovereign.
“Sovereign, this is still far from what I envisioned,” the white-robed Breyler shook his head. “When I originally developed the Reincarnation War Array for myself, it took me nearly a hundred million years. It was meant to allow me and my black-robed self to combine effectively and unleash greater power. This six-person war array is an expansion based on the same principles as my original Reincarnation War Array. But with six people, the difficulty increases significantly.”
Linley nodded.
Creating a powerful, perfect war array was extremely difficult. Creating one in a few thousand or ten thousand years? Impossible.
The original Reincarnation War Array had taken Breyler a hundred million years. Now, using the same principles to extrapolate was naturally faster. Even so, it would likely take several hundred years.
Delia, standing beside Linley, smiled and said, “In my opinion, if the six of you use the same type of Sovereign power during operation, the energy loss would be much smaller.”
“That’s what we thought too,” the white-robed Breyler said respectfully. “But this war array clearly isn’t perfected yet. However, Sovereign, there are only ten years left until the planar war. We don’t have enough time.”
“Don’t worry.”
Linley said calmly, “The planar war lasts a thousand years. The early part is about hunting each other down. Only in the final moments of the thousand years does the decisive battle occur. You just need to join before the final battle. So, you still have a thousand years. When the time comes, I’ll personally send you to the planar battlefield.”
Traveling from the Heavenly Sacrifice Mountain Range to the planar passage in the Abyssal Realm would take a long time.
Only a Sovereign could make it in less than half a day.
“Thank you, Sovereign.” The group was overjoyed.
The more perfected the war array, the stronger their collective defense and offense, and the higher their chances of survival.
“Continue your work. I won’t disturb you,” Linley said with a smile as he led Delia away.
Unnoticed, another ten years passed.
In the Infernal Realm, deep within the Chaotic Sea, there was a region known as the Abyssal Realm.
“Rumble…”
Streams of people formed long dragons, surging toward a distant black castle. Tens of thousands of Infernal Realm experts poured into the castle. Though the castle was only so large, the influx had been going on for a long time.
At a window of this black castle, two figures stood side by side, watching. They were Linley and Pasch, two Sovereigns.
“There are quite a lot of people this time,” Linley remarked in amazement.
“There are indeed many this time,” said the Bloodpeak Sovereign, Pasch, standing beside Linley. “Although this is a war between the Infernal Realm and the Celestial Realm, many experts from the Netherworld, the Life Overgod Plane, and various divine planes have joined our side. In terms of army size, we far exceed the Celestial Realm. But in terms of quality, we’re far behind.”
Linley smiled faintly. “The Ruler of Destruction and the others are doing their best. It won’t be easy for the Celestial Realm to win this war.”
“By the way, Linley, where are your six Sovereign’s messengers?” the Bloodpeak Sovereign suddenly asked.
“What’s the rush? As long as they join the army before the final battle, that’s fine,” Linley said with a faint smile.
“Suit yourself.” The Bloodpeak Sovereign looked down at the endless stream of people and sighed. “The planar war has begun. More people are going to die.”
Linley nodded slightly.
The thousand-year planar war had begun!