Teluzake

Chapter 37: Teluzake

Teluzake let out a breath of relief, then suddenly asked, "Did you two come from the Underworld, just like Grandpa Mebis?"

Lincoln chuckled. "So you really did inherit something from a Deity-level powerhouse? You're quite lucky. To be precise, we came from the Life Divine Realm. Like the Underworld, it's one of the Supreme Planes."

Teluzake's expression turned rueful. "I'd rather never have received Grandpa Mebis's legacy. Ever since that Aofen somehow found out Grandpa Mebis had left it to me, he's been hounding me. He even lured my teacher into betraying me and joining his side. Honestly, if my teacher simply wanted it for himself, I wouldn't mind. But I can't accept it when I know that in the end, the despicable Aofen would be the one to benefit. They even wanted to trap me through marriage, without the slightest regard for how I felt!"

"Oh? He didn't use your teacher to threaten you, but lured your teacher to his side instead?" Lincoln asked.

"My teacher told me before that they had once fought side by side and were close as brothers," Teluzake explained.

"What about your parents?" Aier asked.

"I'm an orphan," Teluzake continued. "I don't really have any friends, either. The people closest to me were Grandpa Mebis and my teacher, but..."

"Tell us about it," Aier said gently. "We're happy to listen, if you're willing."

"All right." Teluzake hesitated for a moment, then began speaking frankly.

"As far back as I can remember, I was already wandering from place to place. I was only a few years old. One day, I couldn't find anything to eat and was so hungry that I fainted. Grandpa Mebis saved me, and after that, we lived together, relying on each other. Every day, he used a very strange power to nourish my body. I grew healthier and healthier, but Grandpa Mebis seemed to be in poor health. Back then, I always thought he was weak because he'd given me his 'life force,' so I even begged him to stop nourishing my body. About a year passed like that. Because I'd become exceptionally healthy, I was accepted into the Warrior Academy, and Grandpa Mebis disappeared soon afterward. I didn't see him again until five years ago, when I'd just become a Six-Star Warrior. He suddenly appeared beside me, but he was already extremely weak."

He must have been using divine power, diluted first, to nourish the boy's body, Lincoln thought. But a god who had left the battlefield should have recovered as his divine power was replenished. There was no reason for him to grow weaker and weaker. Most likely, he'd been afflicted with soul poison that could never be fully cured.

"Grandpa Mebis told me many things: the Divine Planes, the Supreme Planes, Low-Gods, Mid-Gods, Highgods, becoming a god independently, and refining a Divine Spark. He told me all of it at once. He also said he'd died long ago on his home Material Plane, but had been fortunate enough to become a god in the Underworld, regain his memories, and eventually cultivate to become a Highgod. But fate had played a cruel trick on him. He'd taken the wrong path. He'd been so close to the pinnacle, yet he'd chosen the wrong direction. He was so grief-stricken then that I had no idea how to comfort him."

As Teluzake spoke, his voice grew more and more subdued. Lincoln used the Metal Lifeform to refill his tea and soothe his emotions.

After a long while, Teluzake finally looked up and continued, two uncontrollable streams of tears running down his face. "Later, Grandpa Mebis encountered a powerful opponent. He was lucky enough to escape with his life, but his enemy planted soul poison in him. He grew weaker by the day, and by the time he realized what was happening, it was already too late. Seeing that his death was near, he lost all hope and returned to his home plane. Before meeting me, he'd wandered aimlessly across the Walun Plane for more than three thousand years. When he found me on the brink of death, he felt we shared the same fate and took pity on me. That was why he saved me and lived with me. Later, when I entered the Warrior Academy, he didn't want to interfere in my life any further, so he left. Five years ago, when he felt he couldn't hold on any longer, he thought back and realized I was the only one he still couldn't let go of. That was why he came to find me. That was when I learned that Grandpa Mebis was a powerful Highgod, while the master of the Aofen Empire was only a Low-God."

"Before he left, he gave me his spatial ring. It held all his possessions, but since I had no use for them, I hid them somewhere. As it turned out, that was exactly what kept Aofen from getting them." Teluzake's voice took on a hint of anger when he mentioned Aofen.

"Grandpa Mebis treated you well. You should be glad. He'd be happier knowing you were doing well," Aier comforted him.

"Mm." Teluzake's voice was slightly hoarse. "Before Grandpa Mebis left, he gave me everything he owned and told me never to give it to anyone else, or it would bring deadly calamity upon me."

At that, Teluzake changed the subject and smiled slyly. "But the two of you come from a Supreme Plane, unlike the people of the Walun Plane. You're much stronger and more knowledgeable. I'm willing to give you Grandpa Mebis's wealth, as long as you agree to take me as your disciple."

"Honestly, after Aofen caused such a commotion, I'm sure most of the Deity-level powerhouses on the continent know about my relationship with Grandpa Mebis. It'll be hard for me to survive on this plane alone, too. I also hope to have your protection."

Lincoln was at a loss whether to laugh or cry. This young man was clever. He knew they were far stronger than Aofen and the others, and probably wouldn't care about what was in the spatial ring. Even if they did, he could seize the chance to become their disciple. It was a good deal for him either way. And since he'd laid out his thoughts without any ill intent, it was hard to take offense. But as someone who was likely a Paragon, and a Chief God, how could Lincoln possibly covet a Highgod's wealth?

Just as Lincoln and Aier were about to shake their heads, Teluzake fell to his knees. "Why don't you look through the spatial ring before you answer? Grandpa Mebis said it contains a vast fortune that even a Deity-level powerhouse couldn't spend in a lifetime."

So what if it was a vast fortune? Even billions upon billions of Moshi would amount to no more than a little Sovereign's Might. Besides, Lincoln had never heard of anyone named Mebis, so he was probably just a Six-Star or Seven-Star Deity-level powerhouse. Lincoln was about to shake his head when Aier said, "All right, Lincoln. Let's go take a look. We can decide after we've seen it."

Aier gestured to Lincoln, and he understood what she meant. They could show Teluzake a fortune even greater than Mebis's legacy, enough to convince him to give up. Taking him as a disciple was out of the question. After all, Teluzake was only an Eighth-level Warrior, still a long way from becoming a Saint-level expert. Becoming a god was even less likely, and becoming a Mid-God or Highgod was more distant still. It would be an unrealistic decision for either Lincoln or Aier to take him as a disciple.