The metallic lifeform pierced through the waves and advanced.
Within the metallic lifeform, everyone was chatting, drinking wine, and laughing. Only, occasionally, some of them would intentionally glance at the others, pondering who was most likely to be that secretive, ultimate expert.
“Who was that expert?” The green haired man, Tam, was very curious. At the same time, with a rather excited gaze, he glanced at every single lucky survivor nearby. When his glance fell upon the silver-haired ‘Wilburn’, he shook his head slightly. If Wilburn was that expert, he most likely wouldn’t have let his big brother die.
Tam continued to look at them, one by one.
“Shouldn’t be them. I know these ones.” Tam then turned to look at the big-bearded Bates, who stared at him. “What are you looking at?”
Tam immediately laughed awkwardly.
However, Tam knew that Bates trained in the Laws of Darkness and so wasn’t that expert.
“Can it be them?” Tam then glanced sideways at Linley’s group, looking at each of them. Upon seeing Linley, he paused slightly. “That shouldn’t be right either. I saw him use that violet longsword. He seems to train in the Elemental Laws of the Wind. Not him either!”
Although Deities would train in more than one type of Elemental Law, when they engaged in battle, they would generally use their most powerful profound mystery. They had seen Linley utilize the Elemental Laws of the Wind, and thus were certain that Linley was a wind-style Deity. They didn’t think about anything else.
“Linley.”
A voice rang out in his mind. Linley himself was at the side of the main hall. He was staring at the outside through the translucent metallic metal. Hearing this sound, he immediately replied with divine sense, “Bates, why have you kept on chatting with me these past few days?”
“Hmph. Ever since that day when I revealed my true power, those kids have been very careful when chatting to me. It’s really boring.” The big-bearded Bates said.
Linley chuckled. Bates was someone who liked a lively atmosphere.
“Hey, look. That Wilburn kid has had a gloomy face the past few days. He seems to have been turned into a cripple. I didn’t expect that that short big brother of his was so important to him.” Bates sent with divine sense yet again.
Linley turned to look at Wilburn. This Wilburn was someone who also valued emotional relationships. If either Linley or Wharton had died, the other would probably be very heartbroken as well.
“Wharton. When I didn’t let him come to the Infernal Realm, that was the right decision.” Linley sighed in his heart.
The many dangers of the Infernal Realm had been far greater than he had imagined. However, after six hundred years of training in the Amethyst Mountains, he already was confident in his ability to protect himself. Regardless of whether it was a ‘Fogsea Storm’ or those Knifeblade Island bandits, there wasn’t much of a threat to him.
Night. The sea wind blew drearily.
Linley walked to the front of the ship. Although the metallic lifeform moved very quickly, Linley still walked very stably atop it.
“Huh?” Linley looked towards the front of the ship in surprise. “There’s someone here!” Tonight, aside from himself, there was actually someone else who had come to the front of the ship long ago. It was the silver-haired youth, Wilburn, who was leaning against the railings.
Linley found to his astonishment…
Wilburn’s face was covered with tears. He was quietly staring into the distant seas. Who knew what he was thinking about?
“Wilburn.” Linley sat down as well.
Wilburn was startled. The tears on his face immediately dried and vanished, and he looked as cold and emotionless as ever.
“Thinking about your elder brother?” Linley stared into the dark waves up ahead, but spoke very directly.
When Wilburn heard this, the muscles on his face couldn’t help but begin to tremble slightly.
“You had an elder brother, while I, I have a little brother.” Linley let out a long sigh. “His name is Wharton! However, this time, when I came to the Infernal Realm, I didn’t let him accompany me…and in the blink of an eye, nearly seven centuries have passed. I wonder how my little brother is doing.”
Nearly seven hundred years.
It had only taken Linley, in the Yulan continent, a few decades to become a legend. In the Infernal Realm, he had spent nearly seven centuries. Seven centuries…how many things could happen in such a period of time? Linley didn’t know. How were his family members in the distant Yulan continent doing?
“My elder brother and I have been in the Infernal Realm for tens of thousands of years.” Wilburn suddenly said.
Linley was somewhat astonished. Wilburn was actually speaking.
However, Linley still listened carefully. Given how heartbroken Wilburn was, he would indeed feel better after speaking out.
“My elder brother cared greatly about me. I still remember what it was like back in our homeland, that material plane.” Wilburn’s gaze drifted away as he returned to his memories. “My elder brother was fairly honest and simple, while I was fairly arrogant! When I was young, because of my arrogance, I didn’t have many friends. Only, my elder brother always cared about me.”
“Afterwards, when I grew up, because of an certain matter, a rupture appeared in the relationship between myself and my elder brother.” Wilburn said bitterly, “I killed my elder brother’s fiancée!”
Linley was startled.
Seeing the look on Wilburn’s face, Linley could imagine that the situation back then must have been very complicated. Otherwise, given how much Wilburn cared about his brother, he wouldn’t have done such a thing.
“From that day onward, my elder brother stopped meeting with me. As for myself, I became all the more arrogant. Because of some complicated matters, in my anger, I attacked the Imperial palace and killed that detestable Imperial crown prince, and even the Emperor. That night, blood flowed into a river…”
“Only, the power of the Imperial palace was also very strong. They actually had eight Saints! I killed five of them, but was badly injured as well. I could see death coming for me.”
“I had given up. After all, I had killed that Imperial crown prince and that dogshit Emperor. I was willing to die. Only, at that moment, my elder brother appeared. He saved me! Doing so meant that he was directly opposing the Empire!” Wilburn thought back to the events of that year.
Wilburn shook his head and said bitterly, “Actually, back then, I had killed my future sister-in-law by accident. I had always felt guilty towards my elder brother…”
“After killing the Emperor, things became extremely troublesome. The elder chairman of the Empire’s magus association normally never got involved in matters, but after learning about this, he would definitely intervene.”
Wilburn sighed. “Thus, we immediately fled, and then immediately found the Planar Overseer to go to the Infernal Realm!”
“You came here as Saints?” Linley was shocked.
Wilburn nodded. “Only after arriving did we learn…how dangerous it was. For Saints in the Infernal Realm…this place is a nightmare…” As he spoke, Wilburn turned silent, and his tears began to quietly cascade down again.
“Enough of that.” Wilburn shook his head. “After arriving here and experiencing the myriad dangers of the Infernal Realm, my elder brother and I understood that death could descend at any moment. I always hoped that if we were to die, I should be the first to die. I didn’t want my elder brother to die…because in my entire life, he was the only true family and friend I have ever had!”
Linley glanced at Wilburn, then sighed to himself.
However, Linley himself didn’t feel too sad. He had experienced too much, here in the Infernal Realm. He had seen these things often. Those Fiend trial participants, only a few dozen survived from a thousand participants. For the people who had come to the Infernal Realm, how many of them were ‘ordinary’?
Linley quietly sat there.
At some point in time, Wilburn returned to the ship’s cabin. Linley continued to sit there and stare at the waves of the sea.
Tonight, only a tiny hint of a crescent of the Violet Moon remained. The entire Starmist Sea seemed so dark and gloomy. The waves of the sea seemed like part of some incomparably enormous monster.
“The Infernal Realm is just like this Starmist Sea. It is incomparably vast, and it devours one living creature after another. Only a truly powerful expert can remain here in the Infernal Realm and reach the pinnacle. Experts die, and only still more powerful experts can live!” Linley stared into the boundless waters in front of him. For some reason, he felt his heart tremble slightly.
The dark sea waters were vast and endless.
Linley quietly sat there at the head of the boat, silently staring into the boundless sea, not a single hint of light in his eyes.
Perhaps a long time passed, or perhaps just a moment later…
Linley opened his eyes.
In Linley’s mind, illusory rays of divine power actually were forming. The rays of divine power formed into the ‘Blackstone Prison’. The ‘Throbbing Pulse of the World’, ‘Gravitational Space’, ‘Essence of the Earth’…all sorts of profound mysteries were fusing into his soul.
Dawn.
Linley stood up as well. Staring at the Blood Sun, blurry behind those thin clouds, he had a hint of a smile on his face.