At the highest peak of the glacier.
Eleven enormous, intricate hexagram magic arrays stood in a row on the summit. A small house carved from ice and snow stood quietly to one side, and Roger sat inside, enjoying fine wine.
Suddenly, the divine sense Roger had sent out stirred. He opened his eyes.
"Hmm... Why are they coming to me all of a sudden? Didn't they say they weren't going to the Supreme Plane? Could they have changed their minds?"
Roger murmured and gazed north.
Two battered figures were flying rapidly toward the glacier.
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They were Xiao Yan and Albert, who had escaped from Lynn.
"Mr. Roger." Xiao Yan's weak voice sounded in his mind.
Roger glanced at Xiao Yan's severed arm, a flicker of interest in his eyes. "What happened to you?"
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose and gave a bitter smile.
"I ran into a difficult opponent. He broke one of my arms. To find shelter, I had no choice but to come to you. If Lynn pursues me, it'll be convenient to flee to the Supreme Plane and cling to a chance of survival."
"Lynn?" Roger quickly recalled the Saint Domain experts on the continent, but couldn't think of anyone by that name.
"Is this Lynn you mentioned a newly ascended Saint Domain expert?" Roger asked, looking at Xiao Yan.
Xiao Yan hesitated for a moment, then answered after a brief pause. "Probably... When I fought Lynn, he seemed young. About my age, I'd say."
"What!" Roger sounded surprised.
"About your age? Then he must be another genius!"
"I never expected two people like you and Lynn to emerge in the same era on the Azeron Continent."
"You flatter me, sir. Right now, I'm nothing but a stray dog." Xiao Yan smiled bitterly.
"I can only hide on this glacier until I master the laws, then return to the continent and kill him."
"The conditions for cultivation in the Material Plane are still too poor. I'd suggest taking this opportunity to go to the Supreme Plane. With your talent, it won't take long to become a Lowgod. Then... a mere Saint Domain expert could be wiped out with a flick of your hand." Roger's voice was coaxing.
Xiao Yan rubbed his nose, sighed, and shook his head.
"Sir, my strength is insufficient. Unless I have no other choice, I really can't go to the Supreme Plane."
"Fine." Seeing Xiao Yan refuse again, Roger furrowed his brows and swept out a hand. Divine power surged, sending Xiao Yan and Albert down to the foot of the mountain.
"No one is allowed to stay on the glacier. Go cultivate in the nearby sea." Roger's cold voice rang out.
"Yes, sir." Xiao Yan and Albert clasped their hands in salute, then left together.
Watching them go, Roger's lips curved in amusement, as if he could already see them leaving the Material Plane in the future.
"You think you can use the teleportation array as a shelter? It won't be that simple!"
Roger grinned maliciously and turned his gaze toward the continent. His divine sense swept over a remote stretch of sea, and his lips moved.
Ripples spread across the water. A massive figure swam beneath the surface.
Roger stroked his beard, a smile tugging at his lips.
If he spread the news that Xiao Yan had come to the glacier, he was sure the newly ascended Saint Domain expert named Lynn would come after him as soon as he heard. Then...
"It'll be fun once they start fighting!"
With Roger's covert meddling, news of the battle between Xiao Yan and Lynn soon spread across the continent.
Both men became famous.
"Hiss... I thought Flame Saint Xiao Yan's talent was already unmatched. I never imagined someone could be even more formidable. Where did Martial Saint Lynn come from, to have overpowered Xiao Yan?!"
"I heard he's a prodigy from the Imperial Capital Magic Academy in the Roland Empire," said someone who knew of Lynn.
"A prodigy from the Imperial Capital Magic Academy? What a joke! Even Wilcott, the academy's headmaster, is only a Level 9 Great Mage. Could he really have taught a Saint Magus?" someone argued.
People debated the outcome of the battle between Xiao Yan and Lynn, while others with ulterior motives spread rumors about where the two had gone.
"They say that Martial Saint broke one of Flame Saint's arms. Is that true?" someone called out.
"Of course it's true. It's all over the continent," someone answered.
"We mortals can hardly know what goes on in the heavens. Besides, for a Saint Domain expert, healing an arm is no difficult feat." A level-headed man shook his head.
"Two great geniuses... What a shame, what a shame," an old man murmured over his wine.
The people around him looked at him in confusion.
"You old coot, what are you saying is a shame? Why speak in riddles?" asked an impatient man, a burly redhead.
The old man glanced at him, a smile on his face that seemed to show he'd seen through the ways of the world.
"I pity Flame Saint for being born at the wrong time. He was a peerless prodigy, destined to dominate the world, but then he met Martial Saint."
"Now Flame Saint is hiding in the depths of the South Sea, presumably to escape Martial Saint's pursuit. And since even we know where he is, do you think the lofty Martial Saint doesn't?"
"He may already be on his way to the South Sea!"
"Flame Saint Xiao Yan broke through to the Saint Domain at seventeen, then killed the veteran Saint Domain expert Theodore that same year. He should have soared like a great roc riding the wind, rising ninety thousand miles into the sky."
"But now he's fallen into a miserable predicament, where he might well perish."
"Why was there an Flame Saint if there was to be a Martial Saint?!"
"A shame, a tragedy, a lament."
Lynn, who was in Blackstone Town, had naturally noticed the uproar beyond its walls.
His soul power kept watch on the conversations in the streets.
At the back of the mountain, Lynn touched his Spatial Ring. His expression was cool, his gaze indifferent as he looked south.
"The news couldn't have spread across the continent so quickly if Wilbur were behind it."
"It could only have been you..." Roger's face flashed through Lynn's mind, and his expression darkened.
"If Xiao Yan and I weren't one and the same, you might have tricked me into sacrificing a Clone this time." A murderous glint flashed in Lynn's eyes, but he quickly suppressed it.
"No time to waste. I've got the Pseudo Soul Gold Bead. First, I'll increase my soul strength. When it's time to make a Clone, I can split off a Saint Domain-level soul to accelerate its growth. The Pseudo Soul Gold Bead will last me."
"Besides, with Xiao Yan over in the South Sea, I can keep tabs on Roger. I won't have to worry about him discovering my secret when I use the Origin Bead!"
That's right. The battle between Xiao Yan and Lynn had been planned from the start.
After the battle, Lynn could not only obtain Xiao Yan's Pseudo Soul Gold Bead in the open, but also have Xiao Yan hide beside the Plane Teleportation Array, supposedly out of fear that Lynn would pursue him. That way, he could monitor the Plane Overseer by an unexpected means.
"Next, to keep Roger from getting suspicious, my real body will announce that I've entered closed-door cultivation. The excuse will be... that my battle with Xiao Yan gave me some insight into the Fate Law!"
...On January 1, 10002 of the Azeron Calendar, Martial Saint Lynn and Flame Saint Xiao Yan fought a decisive battle high above the clouds, and their names spread across the continent.
Later generations called it the Battle of the Firmament.
Lynn and Xiao Yan were also hailed as the Azeron Twin Stars.
Flame Saint Xiao Yan, peerless among men, towering above the mountains, ruling the four seas and quelling the eight wildernesses!
Martial Saint Lynn, rising from the North Sea, treading the highest heavens, immortal through the ages, breaking the limits of genius!
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