Coiling Dragon (Pan Long)

A cold, desolate wind swept across the world, carrying countless shards of ice and snow and hurling them randomly about. Within this icy world, multiple icebergs rose into the skies. After countless years of being ‘carved’ by the freezing wind, the icebergs had become completely smooth. If one stared into the surface of the icebergs, one could even see one’s reflections.

Within one of the tall icebergs.

Eleven mystical hexagram-shaped magic formations were set here, and next to them, not far away, was a house of ice. Currently, an old man with a white beard and white robes was walking out from within the house of ice, his blue eyes sweeping through the surrounding area. “It’s so rare to encounter someone, here in the Arctic Icecap! In recent years, the Saints that have come here to the Arctic Icecap are fewer and fewer in number. It seems I should go on a trip and roam the Yulan continent as well.”

This person was Hodan, the Planar Overseer of the Yulan Plane.

Just as Hodan was preparing to fly away, suddenly…

Hodan couldn’t help but turn and look. He saw that one of the eleven magic arrays suddenly began to glow with light. Rays of light rose into the heavens in an eye-catching manner, seeming so illusory and dreamlike. Hodan couldn’t help but be greatly shocked. “The Infernal Realm. Someone is coming from the Infernal Realm back to the Yulan Plane, a material plane?”

Hodan knew exactly how astonishing the teleportation fee was. Even most Seven Star Fiends probably wouldn’t be willing to pay for such a trip.

Originally, his clan’s forces had sent out a group of people led by Sadista. Amongst that group, Sadista was the only Highgod present. Because of the cost of the teleportation fee, and how expensive it was to teleport a Highgod, a certain number of Gods and Demigods who teleported alongside the Highgod would be permitted to come for free.

That time, when his clan had sent Sadista and the others, they had spent a trillion inkstones!

“I wonder which wealthy, extravagant person it is.” Hodan wondered to himself. He unconsciously bowed from the waist. How would Hodan dare to be disrespectful to a figure who came from the Infernal Realm to the Yulan Plane? Although Hodan bowed, he still looked carefully into the magic array. He wanted very much to know who this person was.

Blurry rays of light formed, slowly coalescing into six figures.

The six figures solidified, and the light of the array faded away.

“Lin…Linley!” Hodan stared with disbelief at the six figures before him.

“Hodan, it’s been nearly two thousand years since I saw you. You look the same as always.” Linley laughed calmly.

Hodan swept Linley’s group with his gaze, shock in his heart. “There are three amongst these six whom I cannot sense the auras of at all. There’s actually three of them who are Highgods. Based on the teleportation fee…they spent three trillion inkstones.” Hodan was terrified by this figure. “Linley’s only been in the Infernal Realm for two millennia. How did he become so powerful?”

More than two centuries ago, the Reinales clan and the rest of the eight great clans had ceased their struggle against the Four Divine Beasts clan.

But Hodan was just a minor figure of the Reinales clan, and was assigned here as the Planar Overseer. He didn’t know too much regarding the situation of the clan in the Infernal Realm. Naturally, he didn’t understand…what sort of status Linley now had! If he knew that Linley was an Elder of the Azure Dragon clan, Hodan probably would have been stunned.

“Lord Linley, you, on the other hand, are far more powerful than before.” Hodan was very respectful. He was just a God; how would he dare to be anything but respectful?

Linley turned to look at the endless world of ice and snow. The vast world was frozen and desolate, but Linley felt warmth in his heart. Because this was his home!

“Wade, this is the Arctic Icecap!” Linley clearly was rather excited. “The Arctic Icecap of the Yulan Plane! The Yulan Plane…my homeland! After two thousand years, I’ve finally returned! Finally returned, haha…” Linley was so excited that he couldn’t help but laugh loudly.

Delia’s eyes were moist as well. She was weeping from joy.

“We’re back. I wonder how my Leon clan is doing. If my older brother is doing well or not.” Delia was incomparably excited.

In the Infernal Realm, nearly two thousand years of time had passed. But the longer they had stayed in the Infernal Realm, the more they had longed for their homeland.

“So this is Father’s homeland?” Wade looked everywhere, also quite curious.

“Not even close. The Yulan continent is to the south.” Linley laughed. “Come. Let’s go to the Yulan continent. Hodan, we’ll leave now.” Laughing, Linley summoned a surge of earth-type divine power, sweeping them all up to fly away alongside him at high speed, departing from the Arctic Icecap and flying towards the Yulan continent.

As for Hodan, he stared into the distance as Linley left. “That year in the past, I kept on feeling as though Linley was a genius. But who would have imagined…in less than two thousand years, he would have returned from the Infernal Realm. Terrifying. Terrifying!”

To be able to return from the Infernal Realm was a proof of power. How could ordinary Highgods possess a fortune of a trillion inkstones?

Flying was restricted and cumbersome in the Infernal Realm. Upon returning to a material realm, Linley felt his flying speed rise dramatically, and he was now ten times faster than when he had been in the Infernal Realm. He used his divine earth power to wrap everyone up, so as to help Ina, Wade, and the others move more rapidly as well.

After flying a short period of time, Linley saw, off in the distance, the sinuous, coiling northern shorelines off the North Sea.

“Boss, we’re at the Yulan continent!” Bebe called out excitedly.

“So this is the Yulan continent?” Ina looked around curiously.

Linley and Delia’s faces were slightly reddened. Clearly, both were very excited. It had been two thousand years since they had left, after all. Delia turned to look towards Linley. “Linley, where should we go first? To the Forest of Darkness? Or to Dragonblood Castle?”

Linley let out a low sigh.

“It’s been so many years since I’ve paid my respects to Father. Let’s go to Wushan township.” For some reason, Linley missed Wushan township the most. Perhaps it was because that was where his roots were. His youth had been spent there. That was where he had met Grandpa Doehring. And that was where he had met Bebe.

“Wushan township. Right. Let’s go to Wushan township.” Bebe said as well.

“I was born in Wushan township.” Bebe turned, explaining to Ina and Nisse.

Wushan township was a place of tremendous meaning for both Linley and Bebe. That was the start of their life.

“Right. To Wushan township. I want to see it.” Ina said jubilantly.

“Wushan township is probably covered with magical beasts.” Linley sighed. “After nearly two thousand years…I wonder what it has become like.” Two thousand years was too long a period of time, after all. It was enough for many things to occur.

“Father, I want to see our ancestral manor as well.” Wade was very eager as well.

“Then, let’s go.”

Linley immediately led everyone directly to the western side of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, pressing forward towards Wushan township at a fast pace. Given that he was now a Highgod, he flew hundreds of times faster than in the past, when he was a Saint. Flying through this material plane, where the restrictive forces were much weaker, Linley quickly arrived at the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.

“When I was young, when I travelled from the Holy Union to the O’Brien Empire, I spent more than half a year. But now, from the North Sea to here, I only spent as much time as is needed to drink a cup of water…oh, and there’s Wushan township!” Just as Linley finished his words, he arrived in the air above Wushan township, emerging from the mountains.

But in the air above Wushan township, Linley’s group came to a pause, puzzled.

“Uncle, you said there must be many magical beasts here. But when we flew over here from the mountains, we saw many buildings and many people.” Ina didn’t understand. “Also, is this Wushan township? Why is it so densely populated? There has to be tens of thousands of people here.”

“Right. This is the former Wushan township.” Linley was certain about this.

As a Highgod, how could he be mistaken about the geography of such a place?

“Look, that’s Mt. Wushan over there! Mt. Wushan is still there. So this is Wushan township.” Linley pointed to the east, where there was indeed a large mountain. Although nearly two thousand years had passed, Mt. Wushan hadn’t changed much. The western side of Wushan township had, however. Because…

There was an extremely beautiful educational institute built here, with an astonishing number of people.

This institute, in terms of size, was far larger than the former Wushan township.

“What’s going on here?” Linley was completely confused.

Delia was puzzled as well. “In the past…this place should have been covered with magical beasts. We just flew past the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. We saw so many buildings on the way over. Look…there are humans in other places nearby as well, but no magical beasts.” After that ‘Apocalypse Day’, the Holy Union and the Dark Alliance had much of their territory taken over by magical beasts.

However…

After nearly two thousand years, this area was actually reclaimed by humanity.

“Two thousand years. Too many things have occurred.” Linley sighed. “Come. Let’s go to my ancestral manor.” As Linley spoke, he flew forward.

Although Linley’s group of six flew through the air, the people below didn’t notice them at all, partially because they were too high up, and also because Linley used elemental energy to form a cloud around them. Linley slowly flew forward while looking down below carefully. Linley’s vision was extremely good…

And he instantly found the centermost location of the institute; his ancestral manor!

“My ancestral manor remains standing?” Linley was surprised.

“Boss, the ancestral manor is actually in perfect shape. In fact, it seems to be in much better shape than it was in the past.” Bebe said in surprise as well.

The other areas in this enormous institute were newly constructed, but Linley’s former ancestral manor had been preserved and even renovated. Although it had been only two millenia, due to long-term caretaking, it wasn’t damaged in the slightest. Linley and Bebe, seeing it, couldn’t help but feel excited.

They had so many beautiful memories from this place.

“Let’s go down.” Linley said softly.

And then, with a ‘swish’ sound, their six shadows flashed through the skies, landing directly within the courtyard of the ancestral manor. Because they were too fast, they dropped down in less than the twinkling of an eye from the skies. There was no way ordinary people could possibly catch Linley’s movements with their eyes.

Within the manor.

“Everything is fine…everything is fine.” Linley stood there in the courtyard, looking around carefully. Suddenly, he saw that there was a chair in the courtyard. His eyes instantly turned red. “This chair is still…?” Linley couldn’t believe it. Staring at the chair, Linley’s memories returned…to when his father, Hogg, had often reclined on this chair, reading books.

Linley took a deep breath.

He could instantly tell that the chair had been recreated in that style; the original chair, after two thousand years, had probably rotted away long ago.

“Wade, this is the chair which your grandfather often sat in.” Linley pointed towards the chair as he spoke. “And there…that place. I used to study and learn culture from your grandfather there.” Linley still remembered how, every day, he intensively flipped through books and studied, and often had to go through Hogg’s strict tests.

“Wow…” Wade stared, wide-eyed, at every location.

“This is the place where I used to sleep. Bebe lived with me as well.” Linley pointed to a nearby room.

Bebe couldn’t help but grin as well.

“Come. In the back yard is the ancestral hall of our clan. In the past, Bebe was born in a courtyard near the ancestral hall.” Linley’s face was all smiles, and Bebe laughed as well. “That year, the Boss seduced me by cooking ducks and wild hares for me. Poor me. I was so young and naïve back then.”

Linley and Bebe laughed as they headed towards the inner courtyard.

As they walked through the ancestral manor, Linley and Bebe’s hearts were filled with warmth.

Right at this moment…

“Eh? Someone is coming.” Linley, Bebe, and the others moved away, instantly scurrying into the rear courtyard.

Creaaak! The door to the ancestral manor swung open.

An old man led dozens of youngsters and youths into this room. “Everyone, this is the place. It was here that the mighty genius grandmaster sculptor, also a genius warrior-magus double-expert, also the founding emperor of the Baruch Empire, and also the master of the sacred place ‘Dragonblood Castle’, used to live in his youth. The legendary Deity, Linley Baruch. Be careful. You are only allowed to look, not to touch.”

The old man explained. “This room was the place where Grandmaster Linley used to live.”

“Wow…Grandmaster Linley used to live here. It’d be so awesome if I could go sleep there as well.” A youth said softly, his eyes bright.

“Hmph.”

The old man couldn’t help but frown as he swept these students with his gaze. “Pay attention. This is the ancestral manor of Grandmaster Linley. During your studies here, this will be the only chance you have to come visit. In the future, you won’t have another chance! Enough. Let’s go to the study now. That’s the place where Grandmaster Linley used to read when he was young.”