Upon reading this, a light went on in Linley’s mind.
Right. The Soaring Technique, compared to the Floating Technique, really just added the additional directional components of left, right, forward, and backward. In essence, it was still controlling wind elemental essence around the body to propel one in the various directions.
“Right, it just adds the components of forwards, backwards, left and right. If this hypothesis is correct, shouldn’t be too hard to extrapolate the incantation for the Soaring Technique.” Linley immediately began to try and mentally work out what the incantation should be.
But of course, whether or not the extrapolated incantation would be correct was something which only experimentation could prove.
Previously, Linley had been under the impression that the Soaring Technique had to allow a person to fly in any which way, and thus the incantation would be quite complex.
But now, given that it just had four more directions compared to the Floating Technique, the level of difficulty for extrapolating the Soaring Technique was much lower.
Linley continued to read, excited.
“Of course, high level magical incantations that could be easily extrapolated are in the minority. For example, the a higher level variant of the Soaring Technique is the Airwings spell, which forces the surrounding air elemental essences to form giant, invisible wings around the caster. This is far more difficult, and its incantation is very different from that of the Soaring Technique. There’s simply no way to extrapolate it at all.”
Linley nodded as well.
The more he read, the more confident Linley was that the author of this book was an expert in researching magical spells, because the explanations this book gave were almost all rooted solidly in the fundaments of magical theory. It gave advice on how to truly understand the mechanisms behind controlling elemental essence and in understanding each magical incantation. But it didn’t say anything about how to improve the power of one’s spells.
Most people, upon seeing how deep and in depth this book went with regards to magical theory and usage of elemental essence, wouldn’t bother to read further.
But Linley understood that if he could understand the reasoning behind each spell, he would naturally also learn how to better control his magic. At that time, the power behind each of his spells would be greater.
“Linley.” Just as Linley was getting absorbed with this book, a clear voice sounded out by his side.
Lifting his head, Linley looked off to the side, where he saw a tall, slender, beautiful girl standing next to him. It was Linley’s good friend, Delia. But the expression on Delia’s face wasn’t too happy.
“Hey Delia, what’s up?” Linley laughed.
Delia bit her lower lips. She was silent for quite a while, before finally asking, “Linley, I hear…you have a girlfriend?” Delia’s eyes, beautiful and large, were firmly fixed upon Linley.
* * *
Book 4, Chapter 8
* * *
Book 4, The Dragonblood Warrior – Chapter 8, Experts Everywhere (part 2)
Linley was slightly startled. He hesitated. In his mind, many thoughts flashed by. But in the end, he still nodded. “Yes. Her name is Alice.”
Delia’s eyes immediately turned red. “Congratulations.”
Delia hurriedly turned away, unable to prevent her tears from coursing down her face. She quickly ran out of the reading room.
But Linley himself did not see Delia’s tears.
“Sigh.” After directly telling Delia the truth, Linley felt restless and annoyed. But at the same time, he also felt relaxed.
After this event, Linley had no desire to keep reading. After noting down the name of this book, he returned it to the shelf.
On his way back to his dormitory, Linley couldn’t help but feel rather grumpy.
“Boss, I get it. You also like that Delia girl, right?” Bebe said, engaging in a bit of schadenfreude. “You know, I think Delia is a great gal. She’s better than Alice, y’know.”
“Shut your mouth.” Linley yelled at him mentally.
“Hrmph, hrmph, I was right on the money, wasn’t I.” Bebe said delightedly.
Linley let out a deep sigh. After a while, a hint of a smile appeared on his face. “Forget it. Since I’ve made things clear to Delia, this won’t be on my mind anymore. Mm, right. I’m meeting with Alice again tomorrow. I have to prepare a present.”
As he began thinking about Alice, Linley felt much more happier and relaxed.
……
December 29th. Evening. Linley split apart from Yale and his other bros, and headed off by himself to Alice’s house for his rendezvous. This time, Linley was going to be able to spend some extra time with Alice.
The first day of the first month of each year was known as the ‘Yulan Festival’. This was the biggest holiday in the entire Yulan continent. On this day, every year the Radiant Church would organize a huge religious mass.
As Fenlai City was known as the ‘Holy Capital’, with the headquarters of the Radiant Church located in West Fenlai City, naturally the religious mass in Fenlai City would be the largest one in the entire Yulan continent. When the time came, the Holy Emperor himself would officiate over the proceedings. This was always an incredible mass, and many, many people attended each year.
January 1st.
West Fenlai City, the headquarters of the Radiant Church. The Radiant Temple. This was a huge building that rose up nearly a hundred meters. Anyone at any place within Fenlai City could see it in the skyline.
In front of the Radiant Temple was an enormous city plaza, over a thousand meters in length. The plaza was paved with smooth, equally sized white stones. At this moment, the plaza was filled with a sea of people, and Linley and Alice were amongst them.
Many mounted knights of the Radiant Church were there as well, keeping order amongst the crowd. But in general, all of the people there were very orderly and obedient.
“Big brother Linley, at eight o’clock, a group of high-level officials of the Radiant Church will appear, including the Holy Emperor himself.” Alice said to Linley in a soft voice.
Linley nodded, glancing at the knights of the Radiant Church maintaining order. “Alice, look at all of these guardian knights here. There’s got to be at least a few thousand of them, and from the looks of it, none of them are weak.”
“Of course. This is the Yulan Festival. The ones who are guarding the event are the elite knights of the Radiant Church. Every single one of them present is at least a warrior of the fifth rank.” Alice, having grown up in Fenlai City, clearly knew much more about it than Linley.
Linley’s heart skipped a beat.
All knights of the fifth rank or higher? Such a powerful troop of knights, all consisted of knights of the fifth rank, would possess inconceivable power. As a mere magus of the fifth rank, he was nothing in front of their might.
Alice pointed at some magnificently dressed people in front. “Look, many of the highest ranking nobles have come today. In a bit, the royal clans of the six nations of the Holy Union will come as well.”
Time passed very quickly. In the blink of an eye, it was eight.
Suddenly, that hundred-meter high Radiant Temple began to radiate light, bathing the plaza in white. The enormous statue of an angel, located in the middle of the plaza, also began to dimly glow. At the same time, the entire plaza was suddenly filled with a beautiful song that seemed to have come from the realm of the gods.
At this point in time, from a building to the side of the Radiant Temple, a group of people walked out. In front of them were several rows of men clad in gleaming white armor and helmets with red plumes. These were the guardian knights of the Radiant Temple itself. Each and every one of them was a majestic, knightly sight to behold. This group of nearly a hundred knights all marching in perfect unison made for an awesome, high-pressure sight which quickly silenced the entire crowd.
“I didn’t realize the Radiant Church had this much power.
Those hundred or so knights must all be warriors of the seventh rank at least.” Doehring Cowart appeared next to Linley, carefully inspecting the people present. “And there are even Saint-level combatants here today? Forget it, best I hide inside the ring.”
And then, Doehring Cowart promptly disappeared again.
“Saint-level combatants?” Linley couldn’t help but also carefully inspect that group of people.
Behind those hundred guardian knights of the Radiant Temple, there were ten or so people dressed in long, flowing white robes. And behind them, surrounded by several Cardinals wearing crimson, was a bald-headed old man dressed in silver robes.
“The Holy Emperor!”
Clearly, the bald-headed old man dressed in silver was the center and heart of this group of people. Linley couldn’t help but focus all of his attention on this man. The Holy Emperor was a tall man, perhaps almost two meters tall. In his left hand, the Holy Emperor was wielding a scepter that was nearly as tall as he himself was.
Behind the Holy Emperor and the Cardinals, there were four old men all dressed in black, as well as over a hundred warriors dressed in violet. This group of people walked in an orderly fashion to the center of the plaza. None of the hundred thousand people gathered in the plaza dared to make a sound.
“Grandpa Doehring, you said there are Saint-level combatants present. Which of these are Saint-level combatants?” Linley asked mentally.
“I could tell at a single glance. That Holy Emperor as well as one of those four old men in black are both Saint-level combatants. They are quite self-confident, it seems; they didn’t attempt to mask their power in the slightest. I didn’t expect that after five thousand years, that little Radiant Church which was hiding within the Pouant Empire would develop to such a level.” Doehring Cowart sighed nonstop.
“Not mask their power?”
Startled, Linley looked at the group of people again. Honestly speaking, when looking at the Holy Emperor, the Cardinals, and the four old men in black, Linley only felt they were imposing and majestic, but didn’t sense any powerful aura emanating from them at all.
But Doehring Cowart had just said…that those two Saint-level combatants weren’t masking their power at all?
“Linley, you have a long way to go. In the Yulan continent, a magus of the fifth rank isn’t much. Only upon reaching the seventh rank are you qualified to be considered ‘powerful’. But a combatant of the seventh rank, in front of one of the mightiest forces in this continent, is only a small fry as well.”
“On this continent, the Radiant Church, the Cult of Shadows, the Four Great Empires, and various other secretive organizations, all combined, have far more experts than you can imagine. Right now, you have very little power. You haven’t had any contact with people of this level. In the future, you’ll understand.” Doehring Cowart chuckled as he spoke. “Your biggest advantage is your youth. The strength of those powerful people was cultivated over many years of constant, bitter training. In the future, you will also become powerful.”
Linley nodded slightly.
Because at the Ernst Institute, he was praised as a genius, in his heart, Linley really did think rather highly of himself. But these words by Doehring Cowart startled him and woke him up. In comparison to the Yulan continent as a whole, Linley really didn’t count for much.
By the time the Holy Emperor’s group arrived, everyone on the plaza began discoursing amongst themselves quietly.
“Big brother Linley, look. The six royal clans have all arrived. That one in front is the royal clan of our Fenlai City, while that big, golden-haired man is his Royal Majesty, who also happens to be a powerful warrior of the ninth rank.” Alice whispered quietly into Linley’s ears.
* * *
Book 4, Chapter 9
* * *
Book 4, The Dragonblood Warrior – Chapter 9, Cracks (part 1)
“His Royal Majesty?” Linley looked over.
Dressed in resplendent golden armor, built tall and muscularly, the king was a middle-aged man with a full head of lion-like golden hair. This man was not only the king of the Kingdom of Fenlai, he was also a warrior of the ninth rank. This was inconceivable.
As a citizen of the Kingdom of Fenlai, Linley had long ago heard speak reverently about the pride of Fenlai, the legendary ‘Golden Lion’, Clayde [Ke’lai’de]. For a kingdom to have a king that was an extremely powerful warrior was, without a doubt, a huge source of pride to the citizens of that country.
At the Radiant Temple’s plaza, over a hundred thousand people were there, watching. In front of the angel statue, the Holy Emperor, the Cardinals, the white-robed attendants, and the guardian knights of the Radiant Temple all quietly stood. Amongst all of those people, without a question, the Holy Emperor was the most dazzling figure.
The members of the six royal clans of the six kingdoms, as well as all the dukes of the various duchies, all quietly stood there as well.
Suddenly.
With the Holy Emperor at the center, a wave of pure, billowing light suddenly emanated outwards, spreading across the entire plaza. The entire plaza full of people fell silent, and on everyone’s face, a calm, peaceful smile appeared, as they felt their hearts and minds be comforted.
“How terrifyingly powerful, for him to be able to so easily emit a wave of light that ensconced over a hundred thousand people.” As a magus himself, Linley could immediately tell how mighty this Holy Emperor really was.
The entire plaza was now so quiet that the sound of wind could be heard.
“In the name of the Lord!” The Holy Emperor said quietly, but his voice penetrated everyone and shook everyone’s souls.
Everyone present at the plaza could sense the majestic presence now emanating from the Holy Emperor. Linley, too, didn’t have any chance to resist this pressure, and he obediently bowed. The strength of this awesome presence emanating from the Holy Emperor was even more terrifying than the presence which emanated from those two Saint-level combatants who did battle in the sky over Wushan township, and more terrifying than that Black Dragon as well.
This sort of presence did not need to compel others to do anything. Its very nature caused people’s souls to feel worship and veneration towards it.
It was a deity’s presence!
In the entire plaza, aside from the Holy Emperor, everyone else, including all hundred thousand onlookers, the Cardinals, and the kings, all bowed reverently to hear the Holy Emperor speak.
“May you be blessed with the love, the kindness, and the benevolence of the Lord.”
The Holy Emperor’s voice didn’t seem to be too loud, but it shook the heavens and the earth, causing everyone’s soul to tremble.
Countless patterned rays of holy light suddenly emanated forth from the top of the Radiant Temple, bathing every single person in its radiance. Everyone in the plaza felt their hearts suddenly grow calm, and their bodies feel more comfortable than they ever had before. Everyone was extremely solemn and respectful.
“May the Lord bless you with peace and love.”
At the same time, a glorious aura began to emanate from the Holy Emperor himself. “Children of the Lord, let us admit our sins. Let us genuinely reflect and repent for our mistakes in thought, action, and speech. May the Lord take pity on us and pardon us our sins, and grant us eternal life.”
Instantly.
The entire world seemed to be filled with the sound of a holy song, which all the adherents of the Radiant Church immediately began to chant along with. The sound of the adherents singing, combined with the holy song emanating from the heavens, filled everyone’s hearts with reverence and solemnity.
…..
The mass was an extremely complicated one. It started with repentance, proceeded to God’s pity, went on to songs of praise, was followed by prayers, then words of thanks, before finally ending with a choir.
The vast majority of the people on the plaza were followers of the Radiant Church, and bathed by the radiant glow from the Radiant Tem
ple, almost everyone was silent. Even those people who didn’t really believe in the Radiant Church were sincerely moved by the sight. When the choir songs came to an end, everyone finally woke up. By now, it was mid-day.
With the mass concluded, everyone present began to leave.
Hand in hand, Alice and Linley were walking together. “Big brother Linley, how do you feel? Don’t you feel very comfortable?”
But Linley shook his head. “I was influenced by the atmosphere, to the point where I couldn’t even think clearly. Perhaps those who are not mentally strong and need something external to rely upon would really like that feeling, but personally speaking, I do not. I dislike being influenced by outside factors.”
He had to admit, during the mass itself, Linley had been affected, and he had lost himself within that comfortable, embracing aura.
But Linley had, after all, fought his way through and survived the deadly Mountain Range of Magical Beasts. After the mass ended, he immediately woke up. Thinking back to what just happened, he was terrified. The seductive power of the Radiant Church was really too frightening.
“Influenced? No. The Lord is like our father and mother. We are all the Lord’s children, and we are all blessed with the Lord’s benevolence and love. Big brother Linley, how could you think such a thing?” Alice was somewhat unhappy.
I Eat Tomatoes - [Coiling Dragon 04] Page 4
