Sparring and Disappearances (Two-in-One)

Doham came over carrying the black-clad man's bundle, his expression unchanged. He chuckled, "Come on, let's head into the valley. I need to have a good spar with Beibei."

"Squeak, squeak~"

Beibei jumped straight down from Linley's shoulder and ran after Doham, looking back to squeak at Linley twice.

Linley could only smile helplessly before following them.

He had been worried Beibei might beat Doham senseless, but after seeing what Doham had just done, he felt a little more at ease. Even if Doham couldn't defeat Beibei, it wouldn't be easy for Beibei to beat him effortlessly.

They entered the valley.

The valley had hardly changed in the past two years. The only difference was that three stone houses had been built in the clearing in the distance. Aside from that, many new sculptures had been added along both sides.

The new sculptures seemed even more "graceful."

Yes, Linley could sense a kind of grace in them. He stared in astonishment. "Grandpa Doehring, Mr. Fang Yun's sculptures are extraordinary."

When Linley had seen these sculptures before, he had only sensed something special about the wind in them. But now, it was as if that feeling of wind had been completely infused into the sculptures.

It was an indescribable feeling, something truly extraordinary.

Stone sculptures could convey a person's expressions or the bearing of an animal, generally some kind of feeling one could clearly perceive. But Linley couldn't understand how the wind of heaven and earth could be represented like this.

It was as though...

The sculptures had somehow absorbed the wind element between heaven and earth. It was miraculous, beautiful.

Doehring Cowart was just as moved. "Fang Yun's skill in stone sculpture may well be on par with Proulx's by now."

He considered himself quite skilled at sculpting, but he was still a little behind Proulx, who was almost his apprentice. If Fang Yun's skill was on par with Proulx's, then it had surpassed his own.

Seeing Linley study the sculptures, Doham said admiringly, though he wasn't well-versed in the art himself, "These were all sculpted by Sir recently."

"I doubt anyone on the entire Yulan Continent can match Mr. Fang Yun's skill in stone sculpture."

Linley sighed.

Even though Linley had now carved Dream Awakening, he still felt there was a vast gap between himself and Fang Yun.

Doham chuckled and said no more about the sculptures. "Come on, let's head to the clearing up ahead."

The clearing was where the Doham brothers usually trained and sparred with each other. Prequet even slept on the mountain beside it. But Prequet wasn't there now. Fang Yun hadn't restricted his movements, so he often wandered around the Stone Sculpture Valley.

"Big brother."

Dohar stopped training and walked over, smiling as well. "Linley, Beibei."

"Little brother, get ready. I'm going to spar with Beibei today."

Doham burst out laughing.

"Are you going to bully Beibei again?"

Dohar couldn't help laughing. He knew his big brother had reached the peak of the eighth rank. After transforming, he was second only to Saint-level powerhouses.

"Squeak, squeak~"

Beibei squeaked from the side.

"Haha, don't underestimate Beibei. This little fellow is eighth rank now," Doham said.

"Eighth rank?"

Dohar couldn't help looking at Beibei in surprise. "An eighth-rank magical beast?"

"Squeak, squeak~"

Beibei looked rather proud.

Linley smiled helplessly. "Beibei really is eighth rank."

Thinking of Beibei's strength when he had been fifth or sixth rank, Dohar understood. Beibei was probably now stronger than even an ordinary ninth-rank magical beast. "If that's true, then we might actually get in a decent fight."

"Come on. I haven't had a satisfying fight in ages."

Doham looked at Beibei.

Doham's expression changed as he entered his battle stance. His muscles bulged, and his gaze locked onto Beibei. He knew how fast Beibei was. If he didn't take this seriously, Beibei could very well beat him.

"Squeak, squeak~"

Beibei squeaked twice, then charged at Doham.

Beibei thought his speed was more than enough to crush Doham.

"What incredible speed!"

Dohar, watching from the sidelines, had guessed that Beibei was fast, but even he could hardly believe how quickly Beibei had burst into motion.

"Good!"

Doham laughed, then circulated the battle-qi of the Tiger-striped Secret Manual and moved quickly, looking for an opening to attack. His raw physical strength alone was no match for Beibei.

"Battle-qi!"

Linley exclaimed in surprise.

Ultimate Warriors could only cultivate the battle-qi manuals corresponding to their bloodlines. That was no secret.

Now that Doham had battle-qi, that meant...

"Haha, Linley, Sir has already helped us find the Tiger-striped Secret Manual. My big brother and I have both broken through to the eighth rank and become true Tiger-striped Warriors."

Seeing Linley's surprise, Dohar laughed, unable to hide his joy.

Recovering the Tiger-striped Secret Manual and becoming Tiger-striped Warriors was an enormous favor from Fang Yun.

The Bolei Clan was on the verge of rising again.

"Tiger-striped Warrior..."

Linley stared intently at Doham as he sparred, his eyes lighting up.

The Four Ultimate Warriors were among the most powerful beings at the Saint level. But apart from understanding his own transformation, Linley had only heard about the other three. He didn't know what they looked like or how strong they were.

Mr. Fang Yun was impressive, too. Doham had told him that the Tiger-striped Secret Manual had been lost for thousands of years. Yet Mr. Fang Yun had managed to find it.

Knowing that Doham was an eighth-rank Tiger-striped Warrior, Linley sent Beibei a mental message. "Be careful, Beibei. Big brother Doham has reached the eighth rank and become a Tiger-striped Warrior."

"Clang~"

Beibei and Doham separated after colliding.

Hearing Linley's message, Beibei replied, "No wonder this guy's gotten so much stronger."

Doham's speed and attacks had surprised him. When Beibei had been fifth or sixth rank, he hadn't been able to beat Doham, but he hadn't been completely helpless, either. Now that he was eighth rank, he had thought he would easily crush Doham. But after their first exchange, he knew he'd been wrong.

Doham's speed was almost on par with his own. His attacks were strong, too. If Beibei's defense hadn't been so powerful, he couldn't have blocked them.

"Haha, you're really strong."

Doham laughed, then praised Beibei. "I would've beaten an ordinary eighth-rank magical beast long ago."

He had always been excellent at controlling his strength, and he had a great deal of combat experience. So even without transforming, he could hold his own against powerful eighth-rank magical beasts.

But against Beibei, he was the one being suppressed.

"Still, you'd better be careful now. I'll have to give this everything I've got."

Doham looked at Beibei, his eyes shining.

He could tell that Beibei was the perfect opponent for him to go all out against.

"Squeak, squeak~"

Beibei squeaked at Doham twice.

"Haha, let me show you the bloodline of the Bolei Clan!"

Doham laughed. Then his body grew nearly a head taller. He had already stood about two meters and twenty centimeters tall, but now he was almost three meters.

His muscles bulged even more, packed with explosive strength.

Thick white fur sprouted across his body, and his hands were protected by what looked like tiger paws. His head had almost completely transformed into a huge white tiger's head, with long fangs. A white tiger tail, as thick as an arm, emerged from his tailbone, swinging with a powerful, weighty force.

At a glance, Doham now looked like a tiger-man. His presence was intensely oppressive.

"Squeak!"

Beibei was clearly more wary now. His body grew twice as large, as if preparing to go all out as well.

He had never seen a Tiger-striped Warrior before, but he had seen Linley transform into a Dragonblood Warrior. Linley's strength had jumped from that of a sixth-rank warrior to the early eighth rank—a tremendous leap.

Doham's transformation as a Tiger-striped Warrior probably wasn't much weaker than big brother Linley's. He might even be at the peak of the ninth rank now.

"Be careful."

Doham's voice had grown somewhat deeper. His dark golden eyes fixed on Beibei as he spoke.

But he didn't let his guard down, either. When they had sparred two years ago, Beibei hadn't changed his size.

"Whoosh~"

Doham moved, his speed so great that the air itself seemed to whistle. He was nearly twice as fast as before! The ground cracked beneath his feet as he pushed off.

Beibei seemed to turn into a shadow as well.

Black and white tangled together once more.

"What incredible speed!"

Linley stared at the scene, his eyes shining.

After transforming, he had eighth-rank strength and a good understanding of his abilities. If his Dragonblood Warrior transformation raised him to the ninth rank, his speed still wouldn't be anywhere near this great. He could only reach this speed by supplementing it with wind magic.

Among the Four Ultimate Warriors, the Tiger-striped Warriors' speed and attacks were unquestionably the best.

Still, he was confident that once he reached the ninth rank, he could defeat Doham. Dragonblood Warriors had the best overall strength.

"What kind of monster is Beibei?"

Dohar watched in amazement.

As a Tiger-striped Warrior himself, he knew Doham's strength very well, especially after transforming. Not only would an eighth-rank magical beast be no match for him, even a ninth-rank magical beast couldn't defeat him.

Yet Beibei was holding his own against Doham. He was only slightly at a disadvantage. In a real fight, Beibei could easily get away.

Soon, Doham and Beibei separated again.

"You're a real freak."

Doham returned to his human form, sounding a little frustrated. This was the first time a mouse had left him so speechless.

He had activated his bloodline, and his human form had also reached the eighth rank. He'd thought that even if Beibei reached the eighth rank, the gap between them wouldn't have narrowed. But who could have guessed he would now find Beibei so difficult to handle?

It wasn't that Beibei was as strong as him. Beibei's speed and defense were simply too great for Doham to land an effective hit. In other words, whether he transformed or not made little difference in a fight against Beibei.

Of course, Beibei's attacks weren't strong enough to threaten him, either. Even so, they were evenly matched.

"Squeak!"

Beibei, on the other hand, was a little dissatisfied. From his perspective, he had just been taking hits, while his own attacks barely hurt Doham. He'd come out worse.

"What an incredible ability."

Inside the Coiling Dragon Ring, Doehring Cowart had watched the sparring match and was amazed.

He had already been stunned by Linley's Dragonblood Warrior transformation. Now, seeing Doham transform, he found it even more extraordinary.

The Dragonblood Warriors and Tiger-striped Warriors grew so much stronger after transforming. The other two Ultimate Warriors probably weren't far behind.

When he had been alive, there had been no word of the Four Ultimate Warriors on the Yulan Continent. Yet not long after his death, all four had appeared out of nowhere. It was truly strange.

It seemed that a great deal had happened on the Yulan Continent not long after he died.

After sparring, Linley stayed in the Stone Sculpture Valley for two days and fought a few more times with the Doham brothers.

When the brothers learned that Linley's Dragonblood Warrior bloodline had been activated, they were even more astonished.

"If we can find the Violetfire Warriors and Undying Warriors, the glory of the Four Ultimate Warriors from five thousand years ago could be restored."

Doham was a little excited.

The bloodline of the Dragonblood Warrior Clan and a Dragonblood Warrior were two entirely different things. Although Linley's transformation only brought him to the eighth rank, they still regarded him as one of their own.

Two days later, Fang Yun still hadn't returned, so Linley had no choice but to leave with some regret.

Rhine Empire,

Wester Academy.

The dean's office.

"Edita, is there still no news about the Ring of Feilan?"

Potter looked at Edita and asked.

Edita sighed and shook her head. She had even visited some of the Radiant Church's powerhouses, but still hadn't found any leads. There wasn't a single ninth-rank powerhouse in the Holy Union with a Blood-Veined Great Ape magical beast.

She was beginning to wonder if that man was already dead.

Without dwelling on the matter, Edita looked at Potter and asked, "Dean Potter, you were in such a hurry for me to come back. Did something happen?"

She had planned to keep searching for another five years, while also spending those years in arduous cultivation and doing her best to reach the Saint level.

She had remained in contact with Wester Academy throughout that time. But a short while ago, she had suddenly received an urgent letter from Dean Potter, so she had hurried back.

Potter's expression grew serious. "Something has happened in the Rhine Empire."

"Hm?"

Edita furrowed her brows.

"People have been mysteriously disappearing all over the Rhine Empire lately," Potter said. "People go missing every year for all sorts of reasons, so it didn't seem like a big deal at first. But recently, the empire's third prince disappeared."

"During the investigation, we found that the number of missing people recorded by the empire had started rising noticeably several years ago. In the past six months alone, it has reached more than ten thousand. Half of those people were from Dolan Prefecture City and several nearby cities. The third prince disappeared in Muhuamu Prefecture City, near Dolan Prefecture City."

"The emperor is taking this matter very seriously and has ordered an investigation."

"They've uncovered a few clues. Behind the disappearances is a well-hidden organization that has been secretly capturing all kinds of people."

Hearing this, Edita frowned. "An organization?"

There were all kinds of organizations on the Yulan Continent, but most kept a low profile. Few dared to cause trouble in the Four Great Empires, especially since they all had Saint-level powerhouses.

And even fewer would dare kidnap a member of the imperial family.

"Yes. We've confirmed that there's an organization operating in secret."

Potter looked grave. "And the most frightening part is, we've only uncovered a few scraps of information, but they're enough to suggest the other side has at least four ninth-rank powerhouses!"

"Ninth-rank powerhouses!"

Edita was genuinely shocked.

A covert underground organization like this—and it had Ninth-Rank powerhouses?

On the Yulan Continent, Saint-level powerhouses were already at the pinnacle. They were the pillars of their respective nations. Even outside wars that threatened to destroy a country, Saint-level powerhouses rarely made an appearance.

So Ninth-Rank powerhouses were already among the strongest beings in existence. Any one of them could become king of a kingdom.

Potter nodded. "His Majesty is furious and wants to wipe out this organization completely. He's preparing to send several Ninth-Rank powerhouses. I recommended you to His Majesty."

"Me?"

Edita furrowed her brow slightly. "Does the empire know how strong I am?"

Potter nodded and said solemnly, "I know you're looking for the Ring of Feilan to investigate Dean Cherifet's disappearance, but that's not something you can get to the bottom of in a short time."

With that, Potter looked at Edita and said, "So I didn't hide the matter. You're the strongest genius on the Yulan Continent right now. Even Dixie would find it difficult to reach your level at his age. You're the pride of the empire. His Majesty was delighted to hear you'd reached the realm of a Ninth-Rank Grand Magus. He intends to make you a duke once this matter is over, and to announce it throughout the empire. This will greatly benefit Wester Academy. Do you understand?"

Hearing this, Edita said no more about what she had been about to say. She simply nodded. "I understand."

Dolan Prefecture City.

Kawent Institute.

After Fang Yun arrived, he looked over the institute and gradually realized why World Power had increased earlier.

Kawent had founded Kawent Institute to teach adults magic. It had great potential to influence Blue Star and could be said to have been created for Blue Star's current situation.

That was why the founding of Kawent Institute had caused World Power to begin rising steadily.

"Looks like Kawent really is a lucky star."

Fang Yun was a little surprised, too.

He had guessed that improving Blue Star's strength might be a way to increase World Power, but he hadn't been able to confirm it.

Kawent's actions had confirmed it.

It seemed that if he wanted to keep increasing World Power steadily, he could start with Kawent Institute. Once Kawent Institute was established on Blue Star, perhaps its influence would be even greater.

If that was really the case, then nothing could happen to Kawent Institute.

Fang Yun began to ponder.

In the original story, after Linley emerged from the Necropolis of the Gods, the War God and the High Priest discussed with him how to divide up the Yulan Continent. Afterward, the continent's power structure became a three-way standoff. The Rhine Empire and the Luo'ao Empire both fell at that time.

That wouldn't do.

Fang Yun narrowed his eyes as he watched Kawent Institute. Looks like your dream of a three-way standoff is going to fall apart.