Battle

"What, a Middle-level God!"

Donald, Dennis, David, and George's expressions shifted sharply, disbelief written across their faces, but they all carefully sensed Linley's aura—it was indeed a Middle-level God, no mistake!

"Three hundred years to go from Low-level God to Middle-level God!"

The four of them practically had disbelief plastered on their faces, some suspecting Thomas was exaggerating.

"I can swear by the Supreme God, not a single false word!"

Thomas declared with resolute conviction.

At this, the four were shaken to their core, their gazes at Linley filled with envy, jealousy, and awe.

Linley's expression remained calm and composed, neither humble nor arrogant, even carrying a relaxed and natural air.

That was only natural—after all, none of the people present were truly his match!

Strength determined confidence!

The atmosphere fell into silence; everyone understood the purpose of today's visit.

Exchanging a glance with Thomas, Linley spoke first, "This time, our Tianlan Tribe needs to occupy seventy percent of the Blood Crystal mining points."

Previously, with the three sides checking each other, the Tianlan Tribe only took a forty percent share. Now, with an additional Middle-level God, their share had skyrocketed by thirty percent!

At these words, the four God-level powerhouses from the Fire Snake Tribe and Magic Cloud Tribe all darkened their faces, protesting that it was too much—this would slash their profits heavily, making it truly hard to accept.

"Fifty-five percent at most!"

Donald protested with displeasure.

Dennis also nodded, his face gloomy, his voice icy cold as he said, "Even among Middle-level Gods, there are differences in strength!"

"Heh!"

Facing this provocation, Linley merely smiled faintly, shrugged, and took the initiative to respond without any timidity, "In that case, why don't we have a spar?"

"Good, Brother Linley is straightforward enough!"

Donald laughed heartily, a glint of delight flashing in his eyes.

In his view, no matter how talented Linley was, spending three hundred years rising from Low-level God to Middle-level God must have consumed all his energy. He couldn't possibly have had time to develop techniques—he was definitely a rookie with empty cultivation, nothing more.

Perhaps in a few hundred years, he could catch up and make up for the gap in experience, but not now!

Time and accumulated advantages were on their side!

Thomas frowned slightly, but seeing Linley's confident demeanor, he found it hard to advise otherwise, only hoping he wouldn't be too overconfident.

"Not bad, you've got guts. I'll spar with you!"

Dennis volunteered, a sneer curling on his lips.

Linley smiled freely and suddenly said, "A simple spar is too boring. How about adding some stakes? If I win, the Tianlan Tribe takes eighty percent this time; if I lose, we take forty percent!"

Donald immediately retorted, "No way, that's too much!"

He wasn't stupid—seeing Linley so confident, what if Dennis actually lost?

"You can each take turns."

Linley's simple sentence directly shut down his concerns.

Donald and Dennis's eyes lit up at this—that could work!

Fighting two people in succession meant he couldn't afford to lose a single match. Even if he barely won the first, his divine power would likely be heavily drained, and his trump cards would be mostly exposed.

This bet was definitely in their favor!

The two grinned widely and agreed in unison, "Alright, it's settled!"

They exchanged secret transmissions, mocking the young man for being too impulsive and overconfident. This time, they'd seize the chance to humble the Tianlan Tribe's pride.

"Brother Linley..."

Thomas's expression changed, and he secretly transmitted a message urging him to reconsider.

"Don't worry, Thomas, I've got this."

Linley transmitted back, brimming with strong confidence.

"Ah, forget it. Just do your best."

Thomas reluctantly accepted the outcome, though his face didn't look too pleased. He felt Linley was getting a bit carried away and thought letting the young man suffer a little setback might be good—better than facing worse trouble later!

Linley and Dennis arrived at an open space of red rocky soil, surrounded by thorn-like stone pillars, like a natural dueling arena.

"We'll use the stone hitting the ground as the signal."

Donald chuckled, picked up a palm-sized stone, and tossed it casually into the air. A few seconds later, a "thud" sounded.

"Shwoosh!"

Dennis's gray hair flew wildly as his figure darted forward like a ghost, appearing before Linley in an instant. In his hand was a black Intermediate God Artifact long sword, its sharp edge gleaming with cold light, imbued with the power of the Destruction Rule!

Thomas and the other two changed expressions, exchanging bitter smiles. "Damn, we forgot Brother Linley's still green—he hasn't had time to nurture his own divine artifact. He's going to be at a disadvantage now!"

But...

In a flash, Linley easily created distance, his hands grasping the void as he condensed two Lightning Flood Dragons that crossed and bit toward his opponent!

"How is he so fast!"

Dennis was greatly startled, unable to mount an effective response in time.

The left Lightning Flood Dragon bit down on the longsword, while the right one sank its fangs into Dennis's left shoulder!

Arc flashes crackled and popped!

"Ah!"

Having underestimated his opponent from the start, Dennis suffered heavily. He let out a scream and hurriedly twisted his wrist, slashing his sword at the Lightning Flood Dragon, but instead of the smooth rescue he'd anticipated, the blade met tough resistance halfway through.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

"Try taking this move from me."

Linley smiled as he raised his hand. The sky darkened with clouds, and one thick bolt of lightning after another struck down at Dennis, like gleaming blades from the heavenly dome, carrying scorching, terrifying energy.

"This..."

Dennis actually sensed the approach of death. Instinctively, he gritted his teeth and made a choice.

"Stop! I concede!"

The next second, the blinding lightning grazed past him, blasting a massive crater into the ground.

Linley smiled and said, "Are you convinced of my strength now?"

He had still held back part of his power; if he'd gone all out, he could have easily killed Dennis in an instant.

In terms of divine power quality and Profound Mystery Fusion, the gap between the two was fundamental—something an Intermediate God Artifact couldn't bridge.

The residual lightning on Dennis's body dissipated into basic Lightning Element particles. He gasped heavily, his complexion pale, still shaken.

Hearing Linley's words, Dennis nodded repeatedly, his tone envious and bitter. "I'm convinced, completely convinced. Linley, your strength is too formidable!"

Outside the arena, several God-level powerhouses all wore stunned expressions. No one had anticipated that Linley would crush Dennis so thoroughly, given the vast difference in their experience and foundations.

Linley turned his head, looking at one person with a half-smile. "So, Donald, do you still want to challenge me?"

If this guy didn't know his place, Linley wouldn't mind beating him senseless—until he submitted, or until he stopped breathing!

In a place like Hell, one must never be soft-hearted! A strong man's status is earned through blood!

"No, no, no! Don't joke around!"

Donald shook his head and waved his hands, forcing a bitter smile. "My strength is about the same as Dennis's. If he lost that badly, there's no way I'd fare better. No need to go looking for a beating."

Then Donald thought of something and couldn't help asking, "Linley, have you already fused your Profound Mysteries?"

Linley nodded and admitted generously, "That's right. I was fortunate enough to fuse two Profound Mysteries!"

Upon confirmation, the few of them couldn't help breathing a little faster, and the way they looked at Linley carried a trace more reverence.