Book 17, Indigo Prefecture â Chapter 9, Eighty Years
As they discussed this, Baruch actually laughed. âBut the strange thing is, my bloodline is actually extremely pure. When undergoing the Ancestral Baptism, I actually badly startled those warriors on guard there, and was received by the elder.â
âYour bloodline is very pure?â Linley looked at Baruch.
Baruch was just six thousand years old, while the Four Divine Beasts clan had been in existence for countless years. It was indeed quite bizarre for Baruchâs bloodline to be so pure.
âGenerally speaking, the children of our ancestor, in particular the second and third generation members of our Azure Dragon clan, will have an extremely pure lineage. But unexpectedly, my bloodlines are actually comparable with the second generation.â Baruch didnât hide anything at all.
The second generation of the Azure Dragon clan was composed of the sons and daughters of the âAzure Dragonâ Sovereign.
The children of the âAzure Dragonâ Sovereign naturally had very pure bloodlines. The members of the third generation who had great innate talent could also be compared to the second generation.
But as for the later generationsâŠ
Perhaps occasionally, in one generation, a genius would appear with extremely pure Azure Dragon lineage. But this was a vanishingly rare occurrence. Baruch, however, was one such example.
âThis is also precisely the case as to why that elder told me these things regarding our clan.â Baruch said.
So that was how it was.
Linley now understood. Up till now, he had been puzzled at how Baruch knew these things.
âActually, the affairs of our ancestor as well those eight clans isnât much of a secret. In the clan, everyone with pure bloodlines, high potential, or are at the Highgod level will all know about these things.â Baruch said solemnly. âAfter all, clan warfare occurs frequently.â
Linley nodded. âI could sense that when I saw those patrolling guards.â
The strictness and severity of the vigilance of the Four Divine Beasts clan was far greater than that of the patrols on Miluo Island.
âLinley, your natural talent is definitely better than even mine.â Baruchâs eyes were shining. âYou havenât even undergone the Ancestral Baptism, but you are already so powerful. After you undergo it, youâll then gain insights into the Elemental Laws of Water.â
âInsights into the Elemental Laws of Water?â Linley said in astonishment.
He currently had only gained insights into the earth, the wind, and fire. He didnât have any insights whatsoever into the other Elemental Laws.
Baruch said solemnly, âRight. Our Azure Dragon clan is the clan of a water-type divine beast. If the members of our clan arenât even able to understand the Elemental Laws of Water, then we would be jokes. Currently, you arenât able to gain insights into it, but thatâs only because your lineage hasnât been fully awakened. After you enter the âDragonize Poolâ and undergo the Ancestral Baptism, you will naturally be transformed into an âAzure Dragonâ, while at the same time, you will naturally and immediately reach the Demigod level in the Laws of Water. In addition, you will also gain our innate divine ability.â
Linley was completely stunned.
In the past, when Linley had watched how divine beasts would naturally become Deities after reaching adulthood, he would secretly sigh at how naturally blessed they were.
But he hadnât expected that the same was true for himself.
âI can become an Azure Dragon, and not only gain an âinnate divine abilityâ, Iâll also become a Deity in water!â Linley couldnât help but feel joy in his heart. âMost likely, in the Infernal Realm, there are very few people who have five divine clones, including my original body.â
Once he underwent the Ancestral Baptism, he would have the earth clone, fire clone, water clone, wind clone, and original body. Five bodies.
Since birth, he had high elemental affinity for âearthâ and âwindâ, and he was also able to somewhat use âfireâ. But now, he would also have âwaterâ.
âWe are the Azure Dragon clan!â Baruch said proudly. âTraining in the Elemental Laws of Water will be extremely fast. Look at me. Although my understanding and ability to gain insights is poor, in just a few thousand years, Iâve already gained insights into five of the profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of Water. Iâm not too far away from the Highgod level.â
Linley couldnât help but be astonished. For a person to gain insights and master five of the profound mysteries of the Elemental Laws of Water in just a few thousand years was indeed very fast.
âThe heavens have indeed been quite kind to the Azure Dragon clan.â Linley said to himself.
âClan leader, I havenât undergone the Ancestral Baptism yet. Then, how can I go undergo it?â Linley hurriedly asked. The Ancestral Baptism would allow himself to increase in power. Naturally, the sooner he experienced it, the better.
âDonât be impatient.â Baruch laughed. âThe Ancestral Baptism is carried out within the clan only once every century. Although the clan is very large, every hundred years, there will still be some newborn descendants. Thus, theyâll be allowed to undergo the Ancestral Baptism.â
âOh.â Linley hurriedly asked, âThen when will the next Ancestral Baptism be?â
âThe last one was twenty years ago. Thus, if you want to go undergo the Ancestral Baptism, youâll need to wait eighty years.â Baruch said.
âEighty years.â Linley wasnât in a rush.
Ever since he had stayed five hundred years in the Amethyst Mountains, Linley no longer cared too much about the passage of time. A single session of meditationâŠafter closing his eyes, eighty years might pass before he would open them again.
âLinley, in the future, you will be very powerful. Thus, your responsibilities will also be great. Our Four Divine Beasts clan is currently battling against those eight great clans. You will definitely become a powerful warlord for our clan. ThusâŠyou need to work hard. Only in this way will you be able to survive in the dangerous battles of the future.â Baruch said solemnly.
And Linley nodded seriously as well.
In the eight great clans, seven were from other planes. They had moved their entire clans over, pursuing and attacking the Four Divine Beasts clan. One could imagine how deep their hatred was for the Four Divine Beasts clan. However, given the arrogance of the Four Divine Beasts clan, there was no way they could forever hide within the Skyrite Mountains.
The struggles and battles between them thus naturally happened all the time.
The warfare between the Four Divine Beasts clan and the eight great clansâŠas soon as Linley got involved, he would begin to experience a true rain of blood and storm of slaughter.
âI need to train hard.â Linley said to himself.
Indigo Prefecture, Skyrite Mountains. It was as calm and peaceful as ever. Perhaps the army of the Four Divine Beasts clan would be sent out to battle and war against the eight great clans, but Linleyâs group who lived deep within the Skyrite Mountains knew nothing of these things.
The peaceful days spent in training passed very quickly. Sixty years soon passed.
On this day.
In the Skyrite Mountains. The gorge where Linleyâs group was currently living. The many members of the Azure Dragon clan living here were either training or gathering together.
âLetâs go to the Yulan branch and tease those little fellows. Want to come?â In one corner of the gorge, six youths were gathered together, and one of them, a blue-haired man, laughed as he spoke.
âIâm not going.â
âIâm not going either.â
The other five men all shook their heads, and one of them even said, âSecond Brother, donât go cause trouble at the Yulan branch.â
âWhatâs wrong with you? How come all of you are so cowardly now. Itâs just the Yulan branch. Their strongest members are just Gods. What are you afraid of?â The blue-haired man was rather unhappy.
âSecond Brother, in the past, it was fine to cause problems for the Yulan branch, but what you donât realize is that in the centuries youâve been in seclusion, there have been changes in the Yulan branch.â
âWhat sort of changes?â The blue-haired man snickered. âCan it be that in just a few centuries, theyâve produced a Highgod? A few centuries ago, their entire branch only had twelve Gods. Aside from that Baruch who trains a bit faster, the others are all very slow. Can it be that Baruch has become a Highgod?â
âItâs not Baruch. Sixty years ago, another member of our clan returned and said that he was of the Yulan branch. The tribesmen all took him to be a God, but he was able to just stand there without moving and send Asru flying.â
The blue-haired youth couldnât help but be stunned. âDid you say Asru?â
âNot just Asru. When we heard this from Asru, we didnât believe it. So, we went with Elder Brother to make some trouble for him, butâŠeven Elder Brother was easily defeated by that Linley.â
âElder Brother?â The blue-haired man was now truly stunned. âMy Elder Brother was defeated as well?â
âRight. Thus, Elder Brother is now meditating in seclusion.â Another one of the five spoke out.
Only now did the blue-haired man realize that this was the reason he hadnât seen his Elder Brother this time upon concluding his training. He had thought that his Elder Brother had gone travelling. So in reality, he was in seclusion.
âThis person truly is powerful?â The blue-haired man asked, puzzled. âWhat is his name?â
âFrom what the Yulan branchâs people say, he is named Linley!â Someone immediately said.
âRight. His name is Linley. Those Yulan branch members are now very smug. They even sayâŠthat if we want to struggle against the Yulan branch, then we should come and see if we can beat Linley. Unfortunately, all of the Highgods in our gorge who tested him were defeated.â
âThus, in the past sixty years, nobody has dared to cause trouble for the Yulan branch again.â
After hearing the explanation from his friends, the blue-haired man finally understood.
This gorge was a place where very weak branches lived. Many branches had just a few Highgods, and the entire gorge, all combined, only had twenty or thirty Highgods. But Linley was able to defeat several of them.
Naturally, the other branches in the gorge would acknowledge the new status of the Yulan branch and not go humiliate them.
After all, if instead of humiliating them, they were themselves humiliated, that would truly be a loss of face.
SuddenlyâŠ
A surge of endless ripples descended from the heavens. That unique energy ripple caused the blue-haired man and the other five to be startled.
âThe descent of the natural Laws?â The six men were greatly shocked.
This was the sign of a person becoming a Deity on their own.
The six immediately began to chat amongst themselves.
âWho made a breakthrough?â
âThe descent of the natural Laws was centered on the Yulan branch. It was someone from their branch.â
âItâs probably that Saint, finally breaking through to become a Demigod. No need for all this commotion.â The blue-haired man snickered.
âŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠâŠ
Currently, quite a few people were gathered outside Linleyâs door, with only Delia and Bebe having run inside.
âWhatâs going on?â Baruch walked over and immediately asked.
Tarosse laughed. âLinley made a breakthrough.â
âHeâs become a Highgod?â Baruch immediately asked through divine sense. Up till now, many of the other people in the Yulan branch viewed Linley as a Highgod, just one who was low-key and hid his aura.
âNot sure.â Tarosse shook his head. âHe shouldnât have. When Linley first arrived, he was still meditating on the fifth profound mystery of the Laws of the Earth.â
While they chatted amongst themselves, three figures emerged from within the room.
âHe came out. Linley came out.â The Yulan branchâs clansmen were all very excited.
âEveryone, you can go back to your own places now. I just made a breakthrough in one of my divine clones, thatâs all.â Linley laughed calmly. Seeing the group of clansmen present, especially the look of veneration with which they viewed him, Linley still felt quite happy.
After having arrived here, Linley naturally wouldnât just watch as his clansmen were humiliated. Thus, on multiple occasions, he had shown his might, shocking the other branches.
These days, the Yulan branch no longer needed to endure humiliation. These other clansmen naturally felt gratitude towards Linley.
âEveryone can disperse now. Donât stay here.â Baruch laughed as well.
Only now did the group of clansmen, chatting and laughing amongst themselves, depart. While doing so, they said amongst themselves, âLinley is so formidable. What clone do you think made the breakthrough?â
âMost likely, a divine Destruction clone.â
âIt might be his divine Wind clone.â
Those other clansmen werenât clear about Linleyâs detailed situation. They werenât even sure as to what type of Laws Linley was currently training in.
âLinley, what breakthrough did you make?â Cesar went up to him, greeting and asking him.
âDivine fire clone.â Linley laughed at himself. âOnly now have I finally reached the God level in my divine fire clone. I truly am slow in training in fire.â
Cesar, Tarosse, and the others were immediately speechless. He had been training for less than a thousand years, but had reached the God level in earth, wind, and fireâŠand he was complaining that he was slow?
âHow is your training in the Laws of the Earth progressing?â Tarosse asked.
âStill training in the fifth profound mystery. Iâve reached a bottleneck. I wonder if Iâll be able to completely master the âProfound Mysteries of Strengthâ before the Ancestral Baptism.â Linley said.
Only a decade or two was left before the next Ancestral Baptism.
Ten or so years, to Deities, was a very short period of time. Linleyâs original body accompanied Delia, while his three divine clones were completely absorbed in their training. But even after the day of the Ancestral Baptism was about to arrive, the âProfound Mysteries of Strengthâ remained stuck at the bottleneck.
On this day, nearly eighty years had passed since Linley had arrived at the Skyrite Mountains.
In front of Linleyâs residence. Baruch was walking over.
âLinley, tonight, the Ancestral Baptism is about to begin. Iâve already registered your name for it. Soon, youâll most likely be led away by others to participate in the Ancestral Baptism. Make your preparations.â
âUnderstood.â Linleyâs eyes couldnât help but be filled with a look of anticipation.