Book 17, Indigo Prefecture â Chapter 34, The Eight Great Patriarchs
Bloodbath Gorge.
âWhoosh!â Emanuel was currently flying at high speed through Bloodbath Gorge. The other warriors within Bloodbath Gorge couldnât help but stare, puzzled, as Emanuel flew past at high speed.
âIsnât this that Elder Emanuel of the Azure Dragon clan? Why is he in such a rush?â
âNo idea. Must be something urgent.â
The warriors within Bloodbath Gorge all couldnât help but comment to themselves.
Currently, Emanuel couldnât be bothered with the idle chatter of others. A ball of fire was blazing in his heart, and fury had filled his mind. He charged directly to the residence of his father, âForhanâ.
âSmash!â The door was pushed open.
Forhan had been seated in his room, quietly drinking tea. He couldnât help but raise his head in amazement. âEmanuel, what are you doing here?â
Emanuel didnât say anything. Turning, with a âcreaaaakâ sound, he slammed the door shut.
âBang!â Emanuel fell to his knees, his kneecaps smashing hard against the ground. Even the tough ground cracked apart from the force of it.
âEmanuel, what are youâŠâ Forhan immediately stood up.
âFather!â Emanuel called out with grief and fury.
âWhat on earth has happened?â Forhan had a bad feelingâŠ
âMyâŠmy divine water clone died! It was because of that Linley! Because of him!!!â Emanuel said, his entire body trembling. âIt was all because of him! First, he intentionally refused to participate, and then, he parted ways with me!â
âYour divine water clone died?â
Forhanâs mind went momentarily blank. His son only had two bodies in total, one a divine water clone, the other a divine wind clone. The power of his divine wind clone was ordinary, and he hadnât been able to fuse any of the profound mysteries.
His son wouldnât even have the chance to refine a water-type divine spark and recover his former level of power.
âWhat exactly happened? Explain clearly.â Forhan said hurriedly.
âYes, Father.â
Emanuelâs face was covered in rage. Now that he had found someone to complain to, he immediately began to speak in detail. Only, once the words came out from Emanuelâs mouth, the story had changed. It seemed as though everything Linley had done, he had done to try and harm Emanuel.
The Azure Dragon Palace. The fifth floor. A side room.
The Grand Elder was seated in the meditative position on a prayer mat, quietly training. Suddenly, the Grand Elderâs forehead furrowed, and she opened her eyes. âWhy are the two of them here?â The Grand Elder immediately stood up and walked towards the main hall.
âGrand Elder!â Forhanâs voice rang out.
And then, Forhan and Emanuel entered the main hall on the fifth floor.
âWhat are you doing, rushing in here like this!â The Grand Elder shouted in a cold, unhappy voice.
âGrand Elder, Emanuelâs divine water clone died.â Forhan said frantically.
âEh?â The Grand Elder was shocked. She couldnât help but look at Emanuel. âEmanuel, didnât you and Linley go together to carry out this mission? Also, you and Linley both had a drop of Sovereignâs Might.â
âBang!â Emanuel knelt down heavily.
âGrand Elder, Linley and I encountered three Seven Star Fiends, all of whom were extremely strong. One of them was Elder Bulo of the Ashcroft clan.â Emanuel said hurriedly.
The Grand Elderâs face changed. âIt was actually him? Given his status, he should have had a drop of Sovereignâs Might.â
âHowever, if you and Linley had both used your Sovereignâs Might and joined forces, even if Bulo used Sovereignâs Might, the two of you, when joining forces, shouldâve been able to escape with your lives.â The Grand Elder said.
âThat Linley just watched me die without helping!â
Emanuel said hurriedly. âWhen I was in danger, he didnât help out at all. Afterwards, an expert suddenly appeared and ordered that Bulo to temporarily halt his attacks. That expert ordered Bulo to leave, and so I thought that I was safe. Linley then said that he had something to discuss with that expert, and so I was to leave by myself first.â
âI didnât suspect anything, and thus left by myself. But who would have imaginedâŠâ Emanuel was filled with both rage and grief. âGrand Elder, just as I left, I was ambushed by that Bulo again and killed by him. Grand ElderâŠit must have been arranged by Linley. He definitely must have secretly used his divine sense to speak with that Bulo and told that Bulo to ambush me. OtherwiseâŠhow could Bulo have left, then returned to attack me?â
The Grand Elder, hearing this, frowned.
âFor Linley to not assist earlier does show that he had the intention of harming you. However, as for Buloâs later attackâŠthereâs no way to be certain as to whether or not Linley used his divine sense to collude with Bulo.â The Grand Elder said in a low voice. âAlthough Linley didnât assist you, you didnât die, after all. Your death was caused by Buloâs attack. It canât be counted as being caused by Linley.â
âGrand Elder!â Emanuel was frantic.
Although the Grand Elder was his paternal grandmother, she was too obstinate and unfeeling. Even her son, âForhanâ, had to address her as âGrand Elder.â.
âGrand Elder, think about it. If Linley didnât have the intention of killing Emanuel, how could Emanuelâs divine water clone have died?â Forhan said frantically. âWhy wouldnât he return alongside Emanuel? Why would he insist on them taking separate paths? Even if he wanted to speak in private, couldnât he just have Emanuel wait off to one side?â
âAlso. That Bulo, having been ordered off by that mysterious expertâŠwhy would he dare return and attack? He definitely colluded with Linley.â Forhan said frantically.
But they all forgot about somethingâŠ
Bulo, after having used Sovereignâs Might, was able to use a Sovereignâs power for scouting.
âGrand Elder.â Forhan said frantically.
The Grand Elder couldnât help but look towards Emanuel.
âBang!â Forhan suddenly knelt down as well. Frantically, he said, âMother!!!â
The Grand Elderâs body trembled. Ever since she ordered Forhan to address her as âGrand Elderâ, it had been many years since her son had addressed her as âMotherâ again.
âMother, Emanuel is my only son. His divine water clone is now dead. For his divine wind clone to grow in power will be difficult, even after the passage of countless years! Mother, the future of your grandson has been shattered by that Linley. How can youâŠnot even a littleâŠâ
As he spoke, Forhan began to shed tears.
The Grand Elder felt her heart clench.
If she wanted to penalize Linley, just by being slightly partial, she could indeed penalize him.
âMother!!!â Forhan said frantically.
The Grand Elder looked at the two men kneeling in front of her. One was her son, and the other was her grandson. The Grand Elder took a deep breath, then said softly, âChild, rise.â
The Grand Elder rarely displayed her emotions, and within the clan, she always gave the impression of being callous and emotionless.
HoweverâŠ
She was still a mother. Deep within her soul, there was still a very soft place. She wasnât completely stone-hearted and unfeeling.
Forhan and Emanuel, hearing this, were overjoyed.
âMother. Linleyâs divine clone is at the Skyrite Mountains right now. We can interrogate him right away.â Forhan said hurriedly. âOur Azure Dragon clan should be unified and work together, but Linley actually dares to act in such a way. Even if we donât execute him, we have to punish him heavily.â
âRight. Punish him heavily.â
Emanuel said hurriedly. âIn addition, by what right does he, a junior, hold the Azure Dragon ring of the ancestor? The Azure Dragon ring should be in your possession, grandmother. Even if you donât need it, it should be given to Father.â
The Grand Elder was silent.
âMother, shall we send someone to summon Linley over?â Forhan said hurriedly.
Linleyâs original body and divine wind clone were currently in the battlegrounds outside, while his fire, water, and earth clones remained in the Skyrite Mountains. They could be interrogated immediately.
âWhatâs the rush?â
The Grand Elder glanced sideways at each of them. âEven if I am to punish him, can it be that I am supposed to punish those clones? Linleyâs original body isnât even back yet.â
Forhan and Emanuel both came to their senses.
âRight. We shouldnât interrogate him now. Otherwise, if we interrogate his clones, he might be so frightened that his original body flees. That wonât be worth it.â Emanuel said hurriedly. As Emanuel and Forhan saw it, the value of Linleyâs clones was far inferior to the value of his original body.
After allâŠ
Generally speaking, there were differences in power between the clones of an expert. The most important one was the one which mattered the most.
Within the borders of Indigo Prefecture. A place where four of the eight great clans were stationed.
The leader of the Ashcroft clan, which had moved here from the Netherworld, was currently chatting with Buloâs divine water clone. After all, Buloâs divine Death clone was still on the way back.
âBulo, did you say he has a Sovereign artifact?â This Patriarchâs eyes were scarlet red, and his eyebrows appeared very devilish. His long black hair which glowed with a green light extended to his knees, and the two green serpents hanging from his ears were currently staring at Bulo.
This personâŠ
Was the leader of the Ashcroft clan, and the ancestor of the Nether Serpent clan! The most powerful expert of the Nether Serpent clan.
âYes, Father. That fire-type Sovereign artifact is very formidable.â Bulo said respectfully. âHe also asked me to deliver a message to you. He said that he didnât kill me because he was giving you face, but if in the future, we dare touch Linley, then the repercussionsâŠwe can imagine them for ourselves.â
âHmph. Impudence.â
This Patriarch let out a cold snort.
âHis Sovereign artifact is fire-type. He should thus be the Emissary of a Sovereign of Fire.â The Patriarch of the Nether Serpent clan considered this, then he couldnât help but bark, âPay a visit to the Boleyn clan with me.â
âYes, Father.â
Immediately, the Patriarch of the Nether Serpents led Bulo directly towards the nearby Boleyn clan.
The Four Divine Beasts clan was led by the âAzure Dragon clanâ, while the eight great clans was a temporary alliance. Currently, the most powerful of the clans, the âBoleyn clanâ of the Celestial Realm was their leader.
The Boleyn clan. The Radiant Palace.
The Radiant Palace was over a hundred meters tall, with multiple pillars that were emanating a soft white light supporting it. Currently, outside this palace, Bulo was there, standing alone in a respectful manner. As for within the palace, there were eight figures seated.
These eight were the eight Patriarchs of the eight great clans!
To be more precise, four of them were the true bodies of the Patriarchs, while the other four were the âgolem clonesâ of the Patriarchs of the other four clans, who were far away on the opposite end of the Indigo Prefecture. These âgolem clonesâ were âDeathgod Golemsâ, and held a hint of consciousness within them.
The reason they had Deathgod Golems here was so that they could discuss things in a group.
Bulo was respectfully narrating what had occurred in this battle. After he finished speaking, he said formally, âThatâs all!â
The voices of the eight great Patriarchs could be heard from within, engaging in conversation.
âReinales, your clan has always been in the Infernal Realm. You should be familiar with its experts. Have you heard of this âPhusroâ?â
âPhusro? Iâve never heard of a person in the Infernal Realm who went by this name.â
âNo matter what, if he has a weapon-type Sovereign artifact, he is definitely a Sovereignâs Emissary!â
âSo what if he is a Sovereignâs Emissary? If he dares act wildly against our eight great clans and really forces us, we can just kill himâŠas long as we arenât the first to attack, the Sovereign behind him wonât blame us!â
Bulo, hearing this, couldnât help but be secretly startled.
However, Bulo also knew that of the eight Patriarchs of their eight great clans, seven of them were Sovereignâs Emissaries, with the eighth not being a Sovereignâs Emissary but still being in possession of a Sovereign artifact. In fact, the eighth was actually the most powerful of them all.
After allâŠ
The Patriarchs of the Four Divine Beasts clan also had Sovereignâs artifacts.
Given that the eight great clans to dare act against the Four Divine Beasts clan, how could they not have sufficient power of their own?
âHow long will it be before I, too, have a Sovereign artifact?â Bulo thought to himself. However, he understood that even if the eight Patriarchs didnât have Sovereign artifacts, they were still incredibly strong. It was precisely because they were so strongâŠ
That they were noticed and valued, and received Sovereign artifacts.
In Buloâs mindâŠ
The eight Patriarchs were high and lofty figures. Indeed, it was only natural for a Sovereignâs Emissary to be far above other people.
âDonât rashly make new enemies!â A somewhat hoarse voice rang out in a rebuke from within the palace. âThereâs no need for us to fear that Phusro anyhow. Right now, Iâm more suspicious about another person.â
âBulo.â The voice came from within.
Bulo immediately bowed.
âLet me ask you this. When you saw that Linley, you, too, believed him to be a God? You didnât sense any hint of a Highgod aura?â The hoarse voice in the palace said.
âYes. I couldnât sense a thing. I sent out my divine sense, but could only sense that he was a God.â Bulo said.
That hoarse voice rang out again. âRight. I am very familiar with Buloâs power. Your Ashcroft clan specializes in the soul to begin with, while Bulo is one of the supreme members of your clan, and has reached a very high level of accomplishment with regards to the soul. The number of people in the entire Infernal Realm who could hide their strength and prevent Bulo from realizing it can be counted on one hand. Someone with this level of powerâŠshouldnât be weaker than me. If Linley really was this formidable, it would be simple for him to kill Bulo.â
âBut he didnât! And in fact, it was that Phusro who saved him.â
âI have a suspicion! I suspect that this Linley really is just a God! The reason why his soul is so tough is that he has a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact!â The hoarse voice said.
âHe really is just a God? Patriarch Boleyn, donât jest like that.â Someone immediately said.