The Man Was a God

At the back of the Ernst Institute, days of continuous snowfall had covered the entire area in a layer of silver. Here and there, huge boulders dotted the dense forest.

From a distance, it looked like a winter landscape painting.

Linley stood in a clearing, eyes closed, quietly facing a boulder.

Beibei stood guard over him in the snow not far away.

Even George and Reynolds had no idea what to do as they watched Linley.

Doehring Cowart, however, floated nearby, secretly astonished. Linley seems to have entered a new realm.

A state akin to "enlightenment" was exceedingly rare.

Not far away, Fang Yun stood atop a boulder. The moment he noticed Linley's condition, he hurried over to witness Linley's transformation with his own eyes. After all, this marked the beginning of Linley's rise.

Before long, Linley moved, sending stone chips flying.

In the blink of an eye, ten days passed.

When Linley finally lowered his chisel, the stone sculpture Dream Awakening was complete.

It was as if the heavy snowfall had come just for Linley. Now that Dream Awakening was finished, the snow stopped, too.

The world was blanketed in white. Thick snow covered the entire back mountain, deep enough to reach a person's knees. When the snowfall stopped, the temperature plummeted.

In these conditions, Yale and the others had pitched a tent nearby and stayed by Linley's side. They even had food brought to them.

At that moment, the three of them were all in awe of the sculpture.

"Yale, George, Reynolds."

Linley smiled as he walked over, having finished speaking with Doehring Cowart.

The three of them snapped out of their shock at the sculpture.

"You're finally talking!"

Reynolds said excitedly, "It's been eleven days. You haven't eaten or drunk anything for eleven days!"

They had been worried about Linley this whole time.

"Eleven days."

Linley came to his senses and smiled. "I am a little hungry."

"This sculpture has the touch of a master."

A voice suddenly spoke from nearby.

The others were startled. Someone was here?

They hadn't seen anyone else in the area. Even Doehring Cowart's soul shuddered as he instantly turned his attention to his surroundings.

Although he was only in a soul state, he had once been a Saint-level expert. There was no way someone could be nearby without his knowing.

Which meant that the newcomer was at least Saint-level.

"All right, stop hiding."

Fang Yun's voice appeared directly within Doehring Cowart's soul. Doehring Cowart, who had been about to hide inside the Coiling Dragon Ring, stopped. His face even showed his shock.

That alone told him the other man was far stronger than he was.

To transmit his voice directly into Doehring Cowart's soul without being detected—

Then...

A terrifying thought flashed through Doehring Cowart's mind. The newcomer might be a god.

At the thought, Doehring Cowart didn't dare say anything else. Trying to communicate with Linley in front of a god would be ridiculous.

But who could he be?

Could this man be the War God?

Linley hadn't noticed Doehring Cowart's reaction. He stared in shock at Fang Yun, who had suddenly appeared in front of Dream Awakening.

He was stunned. Although he hadn't yet accumulated any magical power, his spiritual force had already reached Level Seven. How could he not have noticed someone approaching?

The only possibility was that the newcomer was immensely powerful. A Level Nine expert, or even a Saint-level expert.

But since Grandpa Doehring hadn't gone into the Coiling Dragon Ring, the man probably wasn't Saint-level.

Even so, a Level Nine expert was more than he could handle right now.

Still, the powerful stranger who had suddenly appeared didn't seem hostile.

"Boss, he appeared out of nowhere."

Beibei sent a Soul Transmission. "I've been guarding this spot the whole time, but I didn't see how he got here."

"It's fine. He doesn't seem hostile."

Linley replied.

After all, this was the back mountain of the Ernst Institute. Even a Level Nine expert wouldn't dare cause trouble here.

"All right, don't be nervous."

Fang Yun noticed that Linley and the others were on guard. He smiled casually, circled Dream Awakening twice, then nodded. "It's an excellent piece."

Fang Yun didn't know exactly what Dream Awakening had looked like in the original story, but looking at this sculpture, he could sense a hint of Wind in it. There was even a trace of similarity to his own sculptures. What a coincidence.

After becoming a god, he had left the two brothers, Doham, to cultivate in the valley and reach Saint-level as soon as possible. He had then come to the Ernst Institute to watch Linley's transformation.

So he had no idea that Linley had visited Stone Sculpture Valley. Naturally, he didn't know Linley's sculpting had been influenced by him.

Seeing this now, he couldn't help but marvel at Linley's talent.

He had always believed his sculptures were one of a kind.

"Thank you for the praise, sir."

Linley replied earnestly.

Fang Yun smiled and waved his hand, then asked outright, "Are you selling this piece?"

In the original story, Dream Awakening eventually ended up in Delia's hands. It was probably kept by her family, and after that, the story didn't mention it much.

But judging from what might have happened, the sculpture had a good chance of being damaged after the gods descended upon the Yulan Continent.

It would be a shame for Linley's first master-level sculpture to be damaged like that. It would be better to keep it with him; it would make an extremely valuable addition to his collection.

Sell it?

Linley was taken aback. He hadn't expected Fang Yun to ask him that. But it made sense. Perhaps this was someone who enjoyed sculpting, too.

Linley then replied, "Sorry, sir. I don't plan to sell this sculpture for now."

Linley wasn't especially short of money at the moment. During his earlier training in the Magical Beast Mountain Range, he had collected magic beast cores worth nearly a hundred thousand gold coins. That was enough to cover his expenses, and even Wharton's tuition.

In these circumstances, he had no need to sell Dream Awakening.

"That's a shame."

Fang Yun's tone didn't change much. He knew Linley wasn't short of money right now. Both the sculptures he had made before and the magic beast cores were worth a lot.

Besides, this was Linley's first master-level sculpture. In the original story, Linley hadn't planned to sell it at first, either.

He had only sold it because he needed several hundred thousand gold coins to buy the battle-axe Slaughter from the Lucas Clan.

Now, Slaughter was in Fang Yun's hands. He could offer it in exchange for the sculpture later. Linley probably wouldn't refuse then.

"All right, then. I won't interrupt you brothers any longer."

Fang Yun looked at Linley and the others, then at Beibei and Doehring Cowart, before flying away.

He had only come to witness Linley's transformation.

He flew away?!

Linley's eyes narrowed at the sight. Yale and the others stared, too.

A Saint-level expert!

"Th-this is a Saint-level expert?!"

Yale couldn't help exclaiming. Even his family's Dawson Chamber of Commerce didn't have a Saint-level expert.

Every Saint-level expert was a legend. Any one of them could easily raise a family to prominence.

"A Saint-level expert actually came to the Ernst Institute!"

Reynolds was also stunned. This was a Saint-level expert, someone even the Four Great Empires had to treat with caution.

George calmed down a little more quickly, but his voice was still excited. "Even a Saint-level expert thinks highly of Linley's sculpture. This..."

"Grandpa Doehring, what was that?"

Linley suddenly noticed that Doehring Cowart's soul was still outside the ring and couldn't help asking.

He knew Grandpa Doehring could sense Saint-level experts. He usually wouldn't reveal himself in front of another Saint-level expert, since they could sense his presence, too.

Only after Fang Yun had disappeared from sight did Doehring Cowart calm down a little. But his voice still trembled with barely concealed shock. "Linley, that person just now... He was a god!"

"A god?!"

Linley's eyes flew wide open.

For a moment, he thought Grandpa Doehring was joking.

A god...? How could that be?

"Linley, actually, that man sent me a Soul Transmission as soon as he appeared."

Knowing Linley was shocked, Doehring Cowart briefly explained what had happened and shared his guess. "So I'm certain he was a god. Most likely, he was the War God of the O'Brien Empire."

Doehring Cowart knew that in the era when he had lived, the gods on the Yulan Continent had been the High Priest of the Yulan Empire and the one in the Dark Forest.

The newcomer couldn't have been either of them. That left the War God, who was also the closest to this place.

Although he didn't know why the War God had come here, he still guessed that the man was the god who had appeared five thousand years ago.

"The War God."

Linley could hear his own heartbeat.

The most powerful being on the Yulan Continent.

He didn't doubt Doehring Cowart. In fact, after hearing his explanation, he was all the more convinced of the man's identity. Did I just turn down a god's request?

It had only been a question, but it had still come from a god.

If he had known the man was a god, he would never have refused.

A god-level expert!

The most powerful being on the Yulan Continent. No matter how hard Linley worked, he had never imagined that he could reach that level.

So, facing a god, Linley was filled with awe.

He couldn't help looking toward the spot where Fang Yun had disappeared. His heart was suddenly surging with emotion.

Linley didn't tell Yale and the others that Fang Yun might have been the War God. The matter was simply too unbelievable.

Even the appearance of a Saint-level expert was enough to shock them. A god? That was beyond their imagination.

The four of them ate casually around the tent. Linley remained distracted the whole time.

Anyone who learned they had just faced a god-level expert probably wouldn't stay calm. Linley was already holding himself back quite well.

"Linley, are you still thinking about that Saint-level expert?"

Yale couldn't help asking when he saw Linley's expression.

George and Reynolds looked at him, too.

Linley wasn't the only one who still couldn't settle down. The others were shaken as well.

After all, everyone knew how powerful Saint-level experts were.

A Saint-level expert?

Linley could only smile wryly to himself. If the man had really been a Saint-level expert, he wouldn't be feeling like this. He had met Saint-level experts when he was a child, and not just one but two.

Still, Linley didn't explain. He forced down his turbulent emotions and changed the subject. "Yale, hold on to this sculpture for me."

Then Linley stood up and looked around at the vast expanse of snow. "I went to train in the Magical Beast Mountain Range when I was fifteen. By rights, I should have gone out to train in July or August, when I was sixteen, but because of Alice, I didn't go. Now I've decided to head to the Magical Beast Mountain Range and train for a while."

His spiritual force had now reached Level Seven. This training would be enough for him to accumulate the magical power he needed to become a true Level Seven Mage.

"You're going to the Magical Beast Mountain Range?!"

Yale and the others were taken aback. They stopped thinking about the Saint-level expert and began worrying about Linley instead.

They didn't know how strong Linley was now, but they knew he had only just gotten over his heartbreak. Going to the Magical Beast Mountain Range in that state could be dangerous.

"Don't worry."

Linley could see their concern, and it warmed him. "I'm thinking clearly. If I hadn't moved on, I would have destroyed Dream Awakening. It's just a memory now. It's all in the past."

As he spoke, Linley smiled. "Don't you have any faith in me?"

Seeing him like this, the three of them didn't try to dissuade him. They could only remind him to be careful.

Before long, Linley set out for the Magical Beast Mountain Range once more.

Besides training and becoming a true Level Seven Mage as soon as possible,

he also wanted to visit the Stone Sculpture Valley and see the two brothers, Doham, as well as Mr. Fang Yun, whom he had yet to meet. In particular, Mr. Fang Yun's sculptures had always stayed in his mind.

His experience in Stone Sculpture Valley had also played a part in helping him create Dream Awakening.

The last thing he planned to do was visit Mist Valley. He had discovered it the last time he came here, but at the time, he had only been a Level Six Mage and wasn't strong enough to enter.

Now, once he became a Level Seven Mage and learned the Flight Technique, he would be able to explore Mist Valley.

I managed to write a chapter between classes. I have more classes this afternoon, so I'll see how much time I have.