Chapter 469: The one with the last laugh
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Lin Li reached the Legendary-realm at the age of 20. In the aspect of magical talent, he could be said to be a genius among geniuses. Many people even compared him to Geresco. However, there was one thing that was not related to talent involved, and that was experience. In fact, the amount of time that Lin Li had spent practicing magic was also used for accumulating experience. This included individual research as well as learning from people like Andoine, Old Grimm, and Apophis. One should know that these people had easily researched magic for at least 100 years. Apophis was even an old monstrosity that had lived for over 1,000 years. In terms of combat experience, it was simply more than many people that had experienced eating and battling with masters ever enjoyed, and it was also one of important avenues where he gathered experience.
How could Lin Li, who grew up this way, not know that witnessing a high-level battle was important for improving his own abilities?
The battle of the two rulers of the Abyss of Tharlen undoubtedly was at a genuinely high level. For Lin Li, the potential benefits that this battle brought about would definitely be better than his researching magical techniques in solitude for months.
Hutton, who was already prepared to die, wiped off the sweat on his face. His body was already drenched in sweat. He glanced at the two rulers of the abyss, and turned his bewildered face to look at Lin Li. He could not describe what exactly he was feeling. He just inwardly screamed, Could it be that this was also his plan? If it is so, then that man is simply too terrifying, be it his schemes or abilities!
President Felic was a person that could not be made an enemy even if he could not be a friend. Hutton thought of his worthless brother, and could not help but feel hatred. If it was not because of the issues he’d caused, I would be able to become closer with this Mage Felic by quite a bit just from this expedition into the Abyss. Seems like I’ll have to teach that worthless fellow a lesson when I return before he causes a disaster for our family one day.
During the battle between the rulers of the Abyss of Tharlen, the whole space was constantly shaking, and the clashes of energy produced ear-rupturing explosions. It was just that during this constant clashing, the cyan soul flames of Mephistos looked like snow slowly melting under the rays of the sun.
“Damn. I’m not convinced, I’m not convinced!” Mephistos’ roars tore through the entire space. It was just a few exchanges, and the soul flames on his body dimmed considerably already. He could not understand why the Lord of Darkness would scheme with a human mage against him.
Mephistos gathered all of his strength, and his entire body was like a sun radiating cyan light. Now, it was no longer an issue of reaping rewards. Facing the pressure of the Lord of Darkness, he no longer had a way to retreat. Only by fighting with all of his might would there be a way out.
“Roar!” The Lord of Darkness let out an angry roar. It did not give a single chance for its opponent to catch his breath as the sword in its hand slashed at Mephistos. It was a single cataclysmic strike that seemed enough to destroy the whole space, and it landed heavily on Mephistos.
Time seemed to have stood still for a moment, and afterward came a loud “boom”. Mephistos’ body was like a shattered mirror, and he was once again blasted into smithereens.
“Hutton, I’ll leave these fragments to you. Use the Summoning Lamp to collect them. Not a single one can escape.”
Lin Li did not wait for Hutton to reply after speaking. He jumped onto the Humerus Wyrm and soared into the sky. After that, the light and darkness magical domains appeared again.
The tone of Lin Li’s command would have made Hutton resentful if it’d been at the beginning of their expedition into the Abyss of Tharlen. However, after going through so much, Hutton had seen Lin Li enter the Legendary-realm and saw him scheme against two rulers of the Abyss of Tharlen. His heart could not produce any form of resentment.
This was respect for the strongest.
Just as the voice fell, an incomparably strong mental strength surged into Hutton’s mind. Countless memory fragments as well as a transcendental incantation were etched clearly into his mind.
This was the strength of a Legendary powerhouse. Once humans entered this realm, it also meant they were half a step into the domain of deities. Many methods deemed unimaginable by humans were available to them—just like what Lin Li just did. He directly used mental strength to affect Hutton. No matter how hard the incantations were to comprehend, they were all mastered by Hutton in an instant.
When the incantations entered his mind, Hutton also used the Levitation Spell. His whole body was flying like a gigantic bird. The Summoning Lamp in his hands steadily gave off a dazzling radiance along with the recitation, and countless soul fragments appeared in the radiance. When each rune came out of Hutton’s mouth, large amounts of soul fragments would be sucked into the Demon Magic Lamp. Looking from afar, it was like countless moths were flying straight into the fire…
This time, Lin Li would not have to expend so much strength when facing the Lord of Darkness. In fact, with the ancient demonic runes that Connoris had provided, he did not have to exchange many blows with the Lord of Darkness at all.
The storm clouds were rolling above his head, and snowflakes were floating down, immediately turning Lin Li’s surroundings into an icy world. It seemed like there was a life form gathering the snowflakes. Angels of Light and Dark with black and white wings appeared beside Lin Li one by one. Their bodies had conflicting auras of Light and Darkness, yet it all harmonized so naturally it did not look out of place at all.
Everything seemed to have repeated itself. Lin Li raised the magic staff in his hands high up and countless Angels of Light and Dark surged upwards, binding the Lord of Darkness on the ground. When the Lord of Darkness let out a roar of despair, Lin Li slowly recited the 18 ancient demonic runes.
“Roar!” The Lord of Darkness roared gloomily. It did not know what that human did, but the power within its body escaped its control again. No matter how it summoned it, not a single shred thereof could be invoked.
Lin Li maintained the Magical Domain and asked, “Connoris, how do I keep this guy in the Dragon Crystal of the Dragon of Destruction? Hurry up and say something.”
“Don’t be hasty. I’ll tell you now,” Connoris said while he sent a segment of demonic runes bound to mental strength into Lin Li’s mind. Creating and using a clone to do things in place of the actual body was not the Dragon of Destruction’s expertise. Ancient deities like Connoris would usually use their clones to move around Anril and even take part in wars that could change the world, gaining benefits for themselves that way. Hence, receiving a clone back into the original body was something difficult.
The current Lord of Darkness was like a goat waiting to be slaughtered with its four hooves tied to the board, only waiting for the cut at its throat. Lin Li took out the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction and recited the demonic runes that he’d just learned. The magical crystal that was originally plain like a rock was now slowly emitting faint light.
“Roar!” The Lord of Darkness seemed to have sensed something, and instinctively struggled desperately, trying to avoid the knife that was aimed at its throat. Maybe after tens of thousands of years, it could actually gain its own sentience while retaining the identity of the Dragon of Destruction’s clone. Unfortunately, it only had some basic instincts. It could not produce any significant resistance against the absorption from the Dragon of Destruction’s magical crystal. With a sad cry, the Lord of Darkness’ body disintegrated, losing all semblance of a human form. It transformed into a patch of black energy, and flew towards the magical crystal in Lin Li’s hand.
Hutton landed on the ground and raised his head, looking at Lin Li in the sky with shock and a wide open mouth. He had already absorbed Mephistos’ soul fragments into the Summoning Lamp without leaving a single one behind, and was ready to watch how Lin Li dealt with the Lord of Darkness. However, he did not think that what’d appear before him was a shocking scene. An unknown stone in Lin Li’s hand was swallowing the Lord of Darkness like a whale swallowing water, and the overbearing Lord of Darkness did not have any power to resist.
Finally, the last bits of the Lord of Darkness’ strength were absorbed into the Dragon of Destruction’s magical crystal. The rock that was radiating light returned to its original state, without anything looking unusual except for it being ugly.
“This thing really can hatch into something like Tutankhamun? What did the Immortal King do as a nanny back then?” No matter how much he knew Connoris would not lie to him, Lin Li could not imagine a scene where this rock would hatch into a two-headed dragon.
“Hoho, I like this name, ‘nanny’. Of course, what the Immortal King provided was not milk, but mana and mental strength.” Connoris laughed twice, and continued, “To hatch the magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, the mana and mental strength required are immense. Mana can be replaced with other magical crystals. It’s not too much, about 100 Legendary level magical crystals would be enough.”
“100…? It’s not too much…?” Lin Li almost choked on his saliva. Were Legendary magical beasts so fun to provoke? Even if he could deal with Legendary level magical beasts, where would he be able to find 100 of them? The Summoning Lamp from the Brilliance Shrine was already something only for a lavish spender of magical crystals. Now, there was a magical crystal of the Dragon of Destruction, and it required Legendary magical crystals. Each and every one of them was a bottomless pit.
“Be content with that. Think about the Dragon of Destruction’s power and Tutankhamun that sent you here. 100 Legendary magical crystals really do not amount to much.” Connoris words somewhat meant that talk was cheap.
“Fine. After all, it does not require so many at once. Continue speaking. What’s next?” Lin Li knew that what Connoris said was the truth, so he could only resign himself to his fate.
“So far, I’ve mentioned the requirements in mana. As for mental strength, only you can bear the burden. Use mental strength to slowly awaken the Soul Brand within the magical crystal, and make it develop a feeling of reliance and intimacy through communicating at the pure mental level. This is something that others can’t replace. After all, you wouldn’t want to let others enjoy your hard work’s fruits.” Connoris had merely seen the records of hatching the Dragon of Destruction’s magical crystal in the Immortal King’s diary. He was rather interested in seeing the process and results of hatching it.
“I’ve talked about how mana and mental strength could only be done by you. The best way is the keep this magical crystal by your side so that every time you utilize mental strength when casting a spell, it will bathe the magical crystal in your mental strength waves. During this process, you will communicate with the magical crystal at the pure mental level, and the Soul Brand in the magical crystal will be slowly awakened, thus developing a sense of reliance and intimacy towards you. Of course, this is a work like grinding rocks with water. It is not something that can be completed in a few days.”
“So troublesome…”
“During this process of hatching, you will obtain the knowledge, experience, and rules contained within as your mental strength and the magical crystal’s Soul Brand are communicating. Of course, how much you will obtain depends on how strong your mental strength is. At the same time, the power of your mental strength will also affect the length of time before you successfully hatch it. Back then, the Immortal King needed 100 years. As for you…” Reaching this point, Connoris thought of the scene when he directly sent demonic runes into Lin Li’s consciousness. He had not seen the consciousness of the Immortal King or Geresco, but Lin Li’s mental strength was definitely the strongest he had ever seen. As for whether Lin Li would surpass the Immortal King or Geresco, it really was worth waiting to find out.
Lin Li placed the Dragon of Destruction’s magical crystal back into the Ring of Endless Storm. This hatching process was the work of grinding rocks with water, so this little bit of time was insignificant. What was the most important now was how to find the Throne of Darkness and exit this place. Of course, before leaving, the good stuff here could not be left behind and continue to collect dust.
“Do you know where the Throne of Darkness is?” Lin Li gazed into the distance, but the world constructed of the void and stars was the same everywhere. There seemed to be no end. Only God knew where the Throne of Darkness was.
“The Throne of Darkness is actually this world constructed of the void and stars,” Connoris said.
“F*ck, why couldn’t they find a chair? Which stupid person gave it this name, actually calling this place a throne without thinking who would dare to have such a large a*ss…” Lin Li swore with resentment. No wonder he saw the Lord of Darkness standing when he first entered. There was no throne at all.
“Uh… This space was created by the Dragon of Destruction for his clone. Here, the Lord of Darkness’s abilities would be strengthened immensely, while other demons would suffer from suppression. Hence, as long as the Lord of Darkness was here, the whole Abyss of Tharlen would be almost an unbeatable area. Previously, you were able to go against the Lord of Darkness, and other than the demise of the Dragon of Destruction and the Lord of Darkness’ powers weakening, it was also because you had your own magical domain. While being in this world, you also created a mini world where you called the shots, causing the influence of the Dragon of Destruction to be at the lowest,” Connoris explained.
It really was “you have to listen to me when you are in my territory”. This was the power of the Magical Domain. Lin Li thought for a bit, and asked, “Then, how are we going to get out?”
“As the Dragon of Destruction has already fallen, this space exists because of the Lord of Darkness. Once the Lord of Darkness disappears, this place would naturally collapse and disappear.”
“F*ck! Why didn’t you say so earlier!?” Lin Li was shocked when he heard this explanation, and quickly said, “What about the treasures over there? When is this space disappearing? I have to collect those items.”
After all, he was now a president. The Tower of Dusk was a gold-guzzling machine. Making potions was profitable, but he could not just stay in the pharmaceutical lab and concoct potions all day while doing nothing else. If he could obtain these treasures, he would not have to be flustered over money for a long period of time. He could focus on consolidating his magic practice and do what he wanted to do.
“Don’t be hasty. I did not aim for these treasures for just a few days. I prepared the solution a few thousand years ago.” Connoris laughed complacently.