Book 16, Starmist Sea – Chapter 28, The Secret

Originally, Ganmontin had wanted to forcibly take Olivier away, but Linley had refused. Thus, Ganmontin and Linley had battled against each other. At that time, Linley had relied upon his Blackstone Space to execute Ganmontin’s divine wind clone, but who would’ve thought that Ganmontin actually had a divine water clone as well?

Ganmontin naturally hated Linley to the core.

Linley still clearly remembered Ganmontin’s dying bellow. “You can’t kill me. If you kill me, the Lord Commander will definitely kill you!” Ganmontin had, back then, used the so-called ‘Lord Commander’ to threaten Linley.

“He went to find the Lord Commander? And he is now here...can it be that the Lord Commander is right here?” Linley frowned.

This mysterious seafloor castle...Castle Hendsey. The white-haired elder who had welcomed him had once said, “Opening the secret room was a matter of great importance. We need to request permission from the master of the castle.”

“Master of the castle?” Linley pondered. “The people which Uriah had brought were all roughly around the level of Six Star Fiend in power. Then Uriah’s power...? The power of the master of the castle...?”

“Ganmontin’s so-called. ‘Commander’...”

“The master of the castle?”

In that instant, Linley suddenly thought of a possibility.

As soon as he thought of this possibility, Linley only felt a sense of terror fill his mind. His entire body couldn’t help but tremble, and his face instantly turned white. “Can it be...”

“That I’m like a lamb who has delivered himself into the mouth of a tiger? That I’ve come to throw my life away?” Linley pondered.

From the number of experts at Miluo Island and the number of experts on display here at the seafloor Castle Hendsey, Linley could tell that this master of Castle Hendsey was, without a doubt, an ultimate expert who possessed astonishing power!

In the Infernal Realm, a person who had great status had to have an equivalent, matching amount of power. Otherwise, others wouldn’t submit to them!

“Eh?” Lomio, who was travelling alongside Linley, naturally noticed that Linley currently seemed rather ‘off’. He glanced at Linley, puzzled. What had caused Linley to lose his bearings like this?

Fortunately, the person leading them didn’t turn to look at Linley, and didn’t know what had happened.

“Milords, once we arrive at the guest houses, we’ll be nearly there.” The black armored red cloaked warrior laughed as he spoke, his words causing Linley to be startled awake from his pondering. Linley immediately began to adjust his mindset.

After all, the situation hadn’t become utterly disastrous yet. Even assuming that the master of the castle was the ‘Commander’, which he might even be, this person had never met Linley.

“One thing at a time.” Linley said to himself.

The seafloor Castle Hendsey was like a small city, filled with intersecting corridors that divided it into many areas. Generally speaking, guests all stayed in one area, which had a number of two-story buildings that were all built in a similar fashion.

These small buildings were built with a type of rice-yellow stones, and made one feel quite comfortable within the black castle.

“Lord Lomio, you will stay here in room twenty six. Lord Linley, you will stay here in room twenty seven.” The black armored, red cloaked warrior said respectfully. “When the time comes, someone will deliver food to you. As for when you will enter the secret room, please don’t be impatient, milords. When the time comes, there will be people who will come notify you.”

Lomio frowned. “Are we just supposed to wait here indefinitely?”

Linley felt rather uncomfortable as well.

“Milords, don’t worry. Based on our long-established rules, in roughly half a day or so, you’ll be invited to the secret area. At the slowest, it would only take three days.” The guard smiled as he spoke.

“Right.” Lomio nodded calmly.

At most, three days? Lomio wouldn’t mind. But Linley minded!

“You can go now.” Linley stepped back from the guard, feeling rather concerned, because the more time he spent here at Castle Hendsey, the more dangerous it was. After all, Ganmontin was within this castle.”

“Linley, I’ll go to my room for now. If you need anything, you can come find me.” Lomio said, then immediately turned and entered his room, not giving Linley a chance to reply.

Lomio was normally a very arrogant, solitary figure. It was only because he had seen Linley fight and wanted to spar with Linley that he was now so courteous. Otherwise, why would he say so many things to Linley?

But Linley’s mind was preoccupied with Ganmontin, and so he didn’t have any energy to bother with Lomio. He turned and went to his own room as well.

Taking a meditative stance on the stone bed, he looked through the window to the outside.

“I had wanted to come watch the scryer recordings of battling experts, but who would have imagined that Ganmontin was here?” Linley sighed to himself. At this time, footsteps rang out from outside, followed by a knocking on the door.

“Enter.” Linley said calmly.

The door opened. Immediately, two beautiful women dressed in bright yellow robes walked into Linley’s room, carrying a large platter of food.

“You can just leave it on the table.” Linley said calmly.

“Yes, milord.” The two maids were very respectful. They gently set down the platter of delicacies, but Linley suddenly raised his head to look at them. “Has the examination of those who had come alongside us concluded?”

One of the maids said respectfully, “Yes, milord. The examination is complete. Of those six lords, two of them have already returned to Miluo Island, while the other four are living here, not too far from you, milord.”

“Oh.” Linley understood.

Of the six, two were like Dylin; they had been refused and shut out, and weren’t going to be permitted to enter the secret room.

“You can go now.” Linley instructed.

The two maids curtsied, then left. As for the platter of delicacies, Linley didn’t take a single bite. He didn’t have any appetite or desire to enjoy delicacies right now.

“Whether fortune or disaster...if it’s a disaster, I won’t be able to avoid it anyhow.” Linley shut his eyes, quietly meditating.

Castle Hendsey. Currently, that red armored, red cloaked old man with white hair, ‘Uriah’, was currently walking on a tightly controlled and restricted corridor.

“Rumble!” A great door covered with all sorts of mystical runic carvings swung open, revealing a narrow walkway.

Uriah continued in.

And then, the two guards at each side of the door immediately closed it again.

The walls on each side of the walkway had some carvings, either of thousands of soldiers doing battle, or two figures dueling each other in mid air...

At the end of the walkway was a wide, empty throne room.

On one end of the throne room, there was an enormous fireplace. Uriah walked to the end of the fireplace and pressed a button, immediately causing a wide corridor made completely from a blood-red stone to be revealed. This blood-red corridor had a deathly aura about it that made one’s heart tremble.

Uriah took a deep breath, then stepped into the wide, hidden tunnel.

The tunnel wasn’t very large. At the end, there was a blood-red door with black edges that was ten meters tall and six meters wide. The entire gate faintly emanated a red glow. Uriah didn’t dare take another step forward.

“Teacher!” Uriah said in a low voice.

“Mm. The examination is done?” A low, gentle voice rang out from past the door.

Uriah said respectfully, “Teacher, nothing out of the ordinary happened. The other six didn’t have any special abilities or potential. However, Teacher, those two you paid attention to should be very strong. I, your disciple, personally witnessed Lomio’s battles in the Arena. He is definitely on a Seven Star Fiend level. As for that red-robed elder, Linley, he was able to easily defeat the red-robed elder, Boslo. There’s no need to say anything further.”

“Mm.” The person inside made a noncommittal sound.

Uriah hesitated a moment, puzzled, then asked, “Teacher, that Linley is a descendant of the Four Divine Beasts clan.”

“Four Divine Beasts clan?” The low voice suddenly began to laugh. “Haha...if this was ten thousand years ago, I’d be concerned. However, the Four Divine Beasts clan, at present, wouldn’t dare come irritate me! There’s no need for me to be concerned. However, for him to possess a drop of Sovereign’s Might means that this Linley should be an important figure within the Four Divine Beasts clan. Unfortunately, the present is the present, not ten thousand years ago.”

“Tomorrow, bring Linley and Lomio in to see me. Let Lomio come in first, then let Linley come in.” The low voice instructed.

“Yes, Teacher.” Uriah said respectfully. After waiting a few moments without any response, Uriah added respectfully, “Then I’ll leave now.”

“You can go.”

Uriah immediately bowed, then left, not worried about his teacher at all. Sovereign’s Might? A drop of Sovereign’s Might was indeed powerful, but his teacher was at the highest level one could be at, beneath the Sovereign-level.

Forget about just a drop of Sovereign’s Might.

Even that ultimate expert, Lord Aikens of the Redbud Continent, who was able to refine Sovereign’s Might from inkstones was someone his teacher didn’t fear!

“Sovereign’s Might, in the hands of different people, have different amounts of power as well.” Uriah clearly remembered the words his teacher had once said to him.

At present, Linley was seated with his eyes closed, while people would occasionally cross by from outside on the street. Most were maids and guards. But of course, occasionally some guests would pass by as well, and each time they did...

Linley would open his eyes!

“Ganmontin is a guest. He should live in this area as well!” Linley said to himself. “Judging from his conversation with that captain, Ganmontin clearly is waiting to see that so-called ‘lord’.”

Quietly, silently, time flowed on.

Although they were at the bottom of the sea and unable to tell whether it was day or night, Linley could clearly calculate in his mind if it was time for the sun to rise or the sun to fall. It was night, now. Suddenly, footsteps came from the street, outside the window.

Linley still opened his eyes, looking outside the window carefully.

A figure walked past the window.

Linley’s eyes instantly lit up. “Him!” Although he only caught a glimpse of the man, Linley immediately recognized him. It was Ganmontin. With but a thought, a human figure appeared in Linley’s room. It was one of Linley’s Deathgod Golems!

“Swoosh!” The Deathgod Golem instantly appeared outside the door, looking towards the street.

The Deathgod Golem wasn’t a living creature. It only had a hint of Linley’s consciousness within it. At the doorway, it stared at the distant Ganmontin, who didn’t notice anything. But of course, if it had been Linley himself staring at Ganmontin, he would have noticed.

A Deathgod Golem, in the end, wasn’t a living creature. It was just an object. Who would care about an object?

“I didn’t expect that this Ganmontin would be here as well.” Linley, through the Deathgod Golem, could clearly see Ganmontin enter a little two story building that was eight hundred meters or so away from them.

It made sense. Ganmontin had arrived a month earlier, after all. It made sense that he lived here.

A killing look flashed past Linley’s eyes.

“Ganmontin hasn’t yet had a chance to meet with his ‘Lord’. It’s best to remove this potential source of disaster early on.”

If Ganmontin was allowed to remain alive, it would be very dangerous for Linley as well as Olivier. It was better to remove him immediately. The roving patrols of Castle Hendsey didn’t keep a very strict patrol watch on the guest living area.

In addition, even if they kept strict watch, it didn’t matter.

“Whoosh!” The Deathgod Golem entered the interspatial ring, while Linley himself instantly arose, his body immediately fusing with the ground...

Worldwalking!

Linley didn’t dare to emanate any hint of an aura. Immediately using Worldwalking, he reached the window below that two-story building, but as soon as he arrived, Linley heard Ganmontin cursing loudly.

“Hmph, a group of bastards. They knew that my divine wind clone was destroyed so they all look down on me. After talking to them for so long, all of them are still delaying. Most likely his lordship doesn’t even know that I’m here!”

Ganmontin had a belly full of fire right now, and thus was currently cursing in his room.

𝒻𝑟ℯℯ𝑤𝑒𝑏𝑛𝘰𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝒸𝑜𝘮

He came here wanting to meet the Lord Commander, but now that his power had greatly dropped after losing his divine wind clone, those ‘old friends’ of his all looked down at him. It was like pressing his warm face against their icy buttocks; how could he possibly not be upset?

“Motherf*cker, it’s all that Linley’s fault!” Ganmontin would forever remember Linley, who had destroyed his powerful divine wind clone.

“Once the Lord Commander knows that there is a soul mutant God, he will definitely intervene. That Linley will definitely die!” Ganmontin ground his teeth. “Alright. I’ll have the Lord Commander use his ‘Soulseed’ to control Linley and live for millions of years without freedom, and then be killed!”

Linley, hearing Ganmontin’s ‘cursing’ from outside the window, felt his heart tremble.

“Soulseed control?” Linley clearly remembered that when he had been at the Yulan continent, his old friend, ‘Boss Yale’, had once been controlled in such a manner. People controlled through a Soulseed had their own memory, but were completely devoted to serving their master.

“Soulseed control?”

Thoughts flashed like lightning through Linley’s mind. He instantly thought of a possibility.

“Why would Miluo Island be so generous as to allow the victors of a hundred battles in the Arena to come here and look at the precious scryer recordings of their clan?”

“Why would Miluo Island permit the red-robed elders to come to this secret area?”

“This Ganmontin is hunting for experts with great potential for his Lord Commander. Why does this Lord Commander want experts with high potential? If he was to train them, how could he be assured of their loyalty?”

“Also, why are so many Seven Star Fiends willingly serving Bagshaw’s clan? Why are Seven Star Fiends so loyal to the Bagshaw clan?”

“And also, Tarosse and Dylin. When Cesar was about to be killed by Sequeira, why had they actually, unbelievably, chosen to throw their lots in with the Bagshaw clan’s side? In addition, the two of them just so happened to have come here before as well!”

Linley’s face instantly turned white!