Coiling Dragon (Pan Long)

The light of the morning sun peeked above the horizon, like a goddess of nature casting her illuminating gaze upon the earth.

Within the training fields of Dragonblood Castle, tens of people were gathered. They had come here to bid farewell to Tulily and Desri’s groups.

“Linley, now that this affair is concluded, you should begin closed door training as well. I imagine the next time we meet, you would have reached the Deity level.” Desri laughed while sighing.

Linley laughed as well. “Desri, Tulily, don’t forget that Lord Beirut had said that if you were fast, you would become Deities within a single day. Perhaps the two of you will reach the Deity level long before I do.”

Tulily and Desri both began to laugh.

“Enough, let’s head off.” Linley watched as Desri and Tulily’s group flew into the sky, then transformed into a series of black dots which disappeared into the horizon.

“Flying…it would be so great if I could fly.” Taylor, standing behind Linley, had a hint of jealousy in his eyes.

Linley couldn’t help but turn to glance at Taylor.

The nearby Cena laughed. “Taylor, why the rush? Train for a few more years. You’ve already reached the eighth rank. When you become a warrior of the ninth rank, you’ll be at the Saint level when you Dragonform, right? By then, you’ll be able to fly.”

“Taylor, it’s your own fault for not having chosen the Gold Dragon that year.” Behind Linley, a beautiful, golden-haired woman said.

Sasha, who had only been a young girl all those years ago, had now become an extremely mesmerizing beauty. Given that she also had an extremely high status, there were countless young nobles who were trying to woo her, here in Baruch City. Unfortunately, Sasha’s requirements were too high, and she didn’t give any consideration to the local nobles at all.

“Enough. Let’s go back to the main hall first.” Linley said to Taylor and Sasha.

“Yes, Father.” Taylor and Sasha immediately said.

Although Linley wasn’t too strict with Taylor and Sasha, the two of them hadn’t seen him at all during those ten years Linley had spent within the Necropolis of the Gods. During their growing, formative years, they hadn’t seen Linley, which caused them to feel a bit of dread and respect towards this ‘Father’ of theirs, who was already a figure of legend in their Baruch Empire.

Within the main hall.

There was a ten meter long table placed in the center. The experts of the Empire, including Zassler and the Barker brothers, were all seated on each side of it.

“This gathering which our family is holding today will perhaps be the only gathering we will have in the next few years with so many people in attendance.” Linley had already made up his mind that once the affairs of the clan had been arranged, he would begin to train and meditate.

Only…

Last night’s visit by Lord Beirut, as well that strange, sudden warning, had caused Linley to feel rather restless.

He kept on having this strange feeling as though some sort of hidden danger was lying in wait in the Yulan continent…and now, the hidden danger was about to reveal itself. But no matter what, training had to be the top priority. After all, waiting around like an idiot was pointless. The sooner he reached the Deity level, the better it would be for his family and friends.

After all, both Delia and Barker both had divine sparks already, but even if they became Deities, they probably wouldn’t be too familiar with how to use the Laws to do battle at first.

Their true source of combat strength was still Linley, as well as Bebe once he became an adult.

“Linley, you are going to engage in closed door meditation?” Zassler instantly could understand what Linley meant.

Linley nodded slightly. “But before I do so, there’s some things I have to discuss. Cena.”

“Uncle.” Cena immediately said respectfully as he listened carefully.

Linley looked at Cena, saying in a solemn voice, “Last night, although I told you some information about this upcoming world war, at that time, I had taken this war to be a very simple affair. But now, I have to remind you of a few things. You must remember them!”

“Uncle, please speak.” Cena said respectfully.

The surrounding people, including Delia, the Barker brothers, Wharton, and Zassler, all felt confused.

“The first point is this. Right now, the Baruch Empire, the Yulan Empire, and the O’Brien Empire are planning to do battle simultaneously to conquer and divide up the world. The original target of our Baruch Empire was to subdue the Rohault Empire and the great plains of the far east. But right now, I want you to slow down the rate of attack. Do not be impatient, and do not be greedy. Even if we are only able to take over half, a third, or even less of their territory, that is acceptable.”

Cena was instantly confused.

Last night, he had heard and understood that at the Saint-level, the alliance of their three Empires had an absolute superiority. There shouldn’t be any other variables in this war at all.

“Uncle…” Cena couldn’t help but interject.

“Listen to me.” Linley frowned, and Cena instantly no longer dared to make a sound.

Linley said solemnly, his brows furrowed, “The second point is…in this continent-wide war, the aim of our Baruch Empire is not conquest. It is self-protection.”

Cena was even more puzzled now.

“The final point. I want you, Cena, to be cautious, cautious, cautious.” Linley himself understood the importance of this. “All your actions should be taken with the goal of being able to protect ourselves.”

What sort of a person was Lord Beirut?

He was someone who could order about the likes of the High Priest, the War God, and Linley himself. Lord Beirut had personally emphasized this matter to him, so this would definitely be a matter of grave importance. After all, events which even Lord Beirut considered to be noteworthy would definitely be very, very few in number.

“Have you heard my words clearly?” Linley barked.

“I have.” Cena frowned, then asked in confusion, “Uncle, I want to ask…although we haven’t started this war yet, the start and the finish to it should already be set in stone. So why, Uncle…”

The nearby Zassler, Barker, his brothers, and the others all understood what Linley was saying…but they were also puzzled.

They had already destroyed the Radiant Church, while the destruction of the Cult of Shadows had been arranged by the forces under the command of the War God and the High Priest. If war really was to begin, they should definitely be able to win.

Linley shook his head. “All I can tell you is that the hidden dangers in this war are far greater than you can imagine. Not even Deities can underestimate these dangers.”

All of the experts in the hall felt shock in their hearts.

Deities?

At present, Dragonblood Castle didn’t yet have a single person who had truly reached the Deity-level. Delia was only halfway through fusing with her divine spark, while Barker had only just begun.

“Uncle, don’t worry. I definitely won’t let you down.” Cena, now knowing how serious the situation was, immediately spoke out.

Linley nodded.

He was still quite confident in Cena. Actually, even before entering the Necropolis of the Gods, Wharton had discussed the matter of the next Emperor with him. At that time, Wharton was preparing to have Linley’s son, Taylor, be the next Emperor. But Linley had a good understanding of the temperaments of Taylor and Cena.

Cena was the type of person who treated others with kindness, but when the time came to act, would do so with the speed and power of a lightning storm. This was the type of temperament that was suited to be an Emperor.

“After discussing this affair, there’s just one thing left.” Linley began to laugh. Seeing the looks in everyone’s eyes, Linley understood what they were thinking. “Right. I am preparing to go into closed door training for a long session. But of course, Delia will go into training with me. Barker needs to train as well. As for the location, the location will be the underground training room.”

Cena, Taylor, and Sasha looked towards Linley, their eyes filled with worship.

Their father (uncle) hadn’t even trained for a century yet, but relying only on his own abilities, was about to become a Deity!

A Deity, to them, was someone who definitely had to be venerated and looked up to.

“Lord Linley.” Barker spoke.

“Hrm?” Linley looked at Barker.

Barker said with sincerity, “Lord Linley, the process of fusing with the divine spark only requires one to study the mysteries of the Laws it contains. It doesn’t require one to attune with nature.”

Linley nodded.

To become a Deity the natural way required one to constantly train, attune with nature, and gain new insights. It meant that everything one discovered on one’s path had to come from within.

Fusing with a divine spark, by contrast, basically meant the mysteries of an aspect of the Laws were placed in front of you, and all you had to do was to study them. While fusing with the divine sparks, one naturally didn’t have to attune with nature.

“That’s why I think that there is perhaps no need for me to enter the underground training room. I’ll stay in Dragonblood Castle and do my training here.” Barker said. Actually, the main thing was that Barker wanted to spend some more time with his wife. After all, he could pause his fusing whenever he wanted.

This was like reading a book. You didn’t have to read the entire thing all at once.

But of course, the second reason was that Barker didn’t want to disturb Linley and Delia. The two of them were husband and wife, after all! With a husband and wife training together, if he were to be there as well, sometimes things might get a little awkward.

“Perhaps that’s for the best.” Linley nodded and laughed.

But then, Linley turned to look at everyone solemnly. He said, “Tonight, Delia and I will begin our closed door training. While we are training, unless something extremely important occurs, no one is permitted to come disturb us in the underground room.”

Everyone nodded.

Linley suddenly thought about Beirut’s warning again.

He hurriedly added, “But of course, if you really do encounter some difficulties or major crises, you need to immediately inform me. Everyone, make sure you know your own limits. In particular…if you encounter something extremely bizarre or dangerous, it’s best to inform me early on. Don’t act rashly.”

Without giving them some additional advice, Linley simply couldn’t put himself at ease.

“Big bro, don’t worry about it. We get it.” Wharton laughed as he spoke.

“Zassler.” Linley turned to look at the nearby Zassler. “You are the most experienced person in our group. If anything major happens, you can’t allow these people to get in over their heads and cause trouble.” Linley understood the temperaments of Wharton and the Barker brothers very well.

Although they weren’t exactly rash, when they were truly angered, any of them could lose their head in the heat of their anger.

“Yes, Lord Linley.” Zassler said.

Linley nodded slightly.

He had already said everything he had to say. Although he didn’t know what exactly was hiding within the Yulan continent and why Lord Beirut had warned him, Linley had at least made some preparations.

Darkness descended. Deep in Dragonblood Castle, within the pocket dimension.

The pocket dimension was surrounded on all four sides by boundless chaotic space.

The multicolored, chaotic space…it was indeed filled with secrets and alluring mysteries. But Linley and the others knew full well how dangerous chaotic space was. Even Deities wouldn’t dare to trespass into it.

Holding Delia in his arms, Linley gave her a gentle kiss, then looked at her and instructed, “Delia, you sit there on the stone bed while you train. I’ll sit on the floor.”

Linley, when training in the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’, occasionally needed to actually test out certain moves. Naturally, he needed a bit more space than Delia, who didn’t even need to move while fusing with the divine spark.

“Alright. Understood.” Delia nodded obediently, and then looked towards Linley with anticipation. “Linley, focus on your training. Don’t worry about me.”

Linley and Delia both sat down in the meditative position in separate areas. One on the stone bed, the other on the ground.

Almost instantly, Linley found himself utterly submerged and attuned to the wind. This time, Linley was whole-heartedly focusing on analyzing the Elemental Laws of the Wind. After all, Linley had almost reached the Deity level through his understandings of the Profound Truths of Velocity. As for the Profound Truths of the Earth, he was still a ways off.

What Linley had to do right now was to reach the Deity level through the Profound Truths of Velocity as quickly as possible.

“Ever since I reached the Grand Magus Saint level and had my soul transform, even my speed of training and theorizing has increased significantly.” Linley felt more and more confident in himself. And then, Linley’s spiritual energy stretched out to attune with the vibrations of the surrounding wind elemental essences.

Within his consciousness, the ‘Fast’ aspect and the ‘Slow’ aspect, these two different aspects, began to merge together, and two illusionary swords struck out time and time again in Linley’s mind. Linley was constantly testing how to have these two different aspects support and complement with each other, which would allow him to gain further insights in the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’. In his mind, he also envisioned a third sword, which was demonstrating the applications of the Profound Truths of Velocity…

Whenever the mental visualizations were unable to resolve Linley’s doubts, Linley would rise to his feet and try out his theories in real life.

Attuning, hypothesizing, merging, verifying, gaining insights, testing…

Linley was totally immersed in all of these things. He forgot the passage of time. In his mental world, there was nothing except those three swords; the ‘Fast’ sword, the ‘Slow’ sword, and the combined ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’ sword. These three illusionary swords were constantly changing.

In particular, the power of the illusionary sword of the ‘Profound Truths of Velocity’ was increasing nonstop.