Coiling Dragon

Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 1, The Overgod of Life

In the skies above the South Sea, Beirut, Bluefire, and Bebe were standing off to one side as in the air, a blurry figure slowly solidified.

Green robes. Long, jade-green hair. Jade-green eyes. Her smile seemed to cause the entire universe to tremble.

“This is the Overgod of Life?” Linley stared at the woman who had appeared. The woman who was wearing the Crown of Life on her head! His heart couldn’t help but clench with nervousness. In terms of appearance, Linley had never before seen anyone who was more perfect than the Overgod of Life. In terms of aura, the noble, exalted aura of the Overgod of Life was so prominent and pristine.

The Overgod of Life’s gaze fell upon Linley.

“Since the creation of the universe, this is the seventh Overgod mission, and my second time issuing an Overgod mission. Congratulations, Linley Baruch, for completing it.” The Overgod of Life’s voice was very gentle. Not only could it be heard through the ears; it reverberated within his mind as well. “According to the rules of the mission, you can now make a request of me. If I am able to accomplish it, I will do so for you.”

As the sound echoed, Linley completely lost his bearings.

“What request do you have?” The Overgod of Life said.

“Request?”

Only now did Linley come to his senses.

Beirut and Bluefire came to their senses as well. They, too, were stunned. “Bluefire, with but a faint smile, the Overgod of Life caused us to lose our bearing. This is too terrifying.” Beirut sent mentally. “The Overgods truly are supreme. The power of an Overgod artifact is definitely far beyond that of a Sovereign artifact.”

“Right. Unfortunately, Linley won’t choose an Overgod artifact.” Bluefire secretly sighed as well.

“Almighty Overgod of Life, my request is to have my Grandpa Doehring be brought back to life!” Linley raised his head to look at the Overgod of Life as he spoke.

“Back to life…” The Overgod of Life was momentarily silent.

Linley’s heart grew nervous. “I have to succeed! Grandpa Doehring has to come back to life!” Based on what Linley knew, after someone’s soul was dispersed, Sovereigns became unable to rescue that person. Only Overgods might have that ability, especially the Overgod of Life. She herself was the personification of the Edicts of Life, and controlled the lives of the countless living creatures of the countless planes.

“Forgive me. I am unable to satisfy your request.” The Overgod of Life’s voice was as calm as ever.

“Unable?” Bebe instantly stared.

“Unable?” Beirut and Bluefire were startled as well.

Linley’s mind went blank. The only thing in it was the words of the Overgod of Life, which echoed repeatedly. “Forgive me. I am unable to satisfy your request.”

“Unable to satisfy? Unable to satisfy?” Linley’s gaze grew sharp, and he stared straight at the Overgod of Life. He said frantically, “Overgod of Life, you control the creation and dissipation of the lives of all the creatures of the universe. Why can’t you bring someone back to life whose soul has dissipated?”

He had risked everything to lie to the Sovereigns and fight to acquire the Overgod talismans. He had done all these things to bring Grandpa Doehring back to life.

But the Overgod of Life was unable to do it?

“Forgive me. I am unable to do this.” The Overgod of Life shook her head.

“But you are an Overgod!” Linley called out frantically, his heart filled with unwillingness to accept this.

The Overgod of Life said calmly, “Linley Baruch, according to the rules of the mission, I will satisfy a request of yours. However, this request must be something I can do. The dispersal of one’s soul symbolizes a true death. This is an unalienable part of the Edicts. I am the Edicts of Life. Naturally, I cannot act in a way that violates the Edicts.”

“My very existence is that which allows the Edicts to function in the countless planes of the universe. To bring back to life someone whose soul was dispersed is to break the Edicts. If I were to break the Edicts, then the countless planes of the universe would no longer be bound by the Edicts. By then, without the protection and binding of the Edicts, the countless planes would themselves collapse.” The Overgod of Life said calmly.

Linley’s face turned white. His eyes were filled with despair.

“Boss…” Bebe looked towards Linley, his eyes filled with nervousness.

“So that’s how it is.” Beirut and Bluefire exchanged a glance. They couldn’t help but shake their heads and sigh.

Overgods were seemingly almighty, but in the end, they were the personifications of the Edicts.

Once a person’s soul was shattered and dissipated, they were truly dead. This was part of the Edicts.

How could the Edicts themselves do something which was against the Edicts? After all, the responsibility of the four Overgods was to allow the Edicts to function normally and without interruption.

“I expended countless efforts to seize these Overgod talismans, all for that tiny shred of hope. Who would have imagined…that in the end, it was all for nothing!” Linley lowered his head. Silently, two streams of tears flowed out. “Grandpa Doehring…” The response of the Overgod of Life had settled it. Grandpa Doehring would never come back again.

At most, he would forever exist in Linley’s memories.

“Boss. Don’t be too heartbroken.” Bebe said hurriedly.

“The heavens gave me hope, which allowed me to fight, to work hard, to struggle. But in the end, after I accomplished what I needed to, the heavens smashed that hope that they had given me.” Linley laughed with bitterness.

Beirut and Bluefire walked over as well.

“Linley, don’t be too heartbroken. Life, death, sickness, infirmity…these things are far too common. You can’t have perfection in all things, just because you desire it.” Beirut said consolingly.

“Where there is life, there shall be death! Life and death are determined by the Edicts of the universe.” Bluefire consoled as well. “You and I have surpassed life and death and live indefinitely, but if we were to die, our souls would also be dissipated, and we wouldn’t be able to come back either. There are many, many people in the world who have lost loved ones. Take a wiser view of things.”

“I understand this principle.” Linley took a deep breath, struggling to calm down.

If he had known all along that there was no hope, that would have been one thing. Linley would have kept his pain buried deep in his heart.

But after finding hope and struggling towards it, only to have that hope destroyed…this was like sprinkling salt onto a wound. It truly was painful.

“The existence of the universe requires that the restrictions of the Edicts be maintained.” The Overgod of Life said calmly. “Even though you have completed the Overgod mission, your request must be in accordance with the restrictions of the Edicts. I am unable to fulfill the request you made. Now, Linley Baruch, please change your request.”

“Change my request?” Linley was stunned.

“The successful completion of an Overgod mission means that I must fulfill a request of yours.” The Overgod of Life said calmly.

The earlier request that Linley had made was ineffective, and so naturally he had to be given another one.

“Boss, hurry up and make a request.” Bebe said frantically.

“Linley, there is no way to bring your Grandpa Doehring back to life. For now, I think you had best choose an Overgod artifact.” Beirut’s eyes were shining, and he hurriedly urged Linley, “Perhaps, you might have other dreams, but in this universe, many things depend on one’s own power! Only with enough power will many things be solvable.”

Bluefire said hurriedly as well, “It would be best if you chose an Overgod artifact that suited you. An Overgod artifact that will let you release your power to the greatest extent.”

“I understand.” Linley nodded.

After having experienced so much, Linley knew that only with enough strength would many things be easily accomplished.

“What sort of Overgod artifact should I request?” Many thoughts came to Linley’s mind. “A defensive Overgod artifact? No, that’s not that great an idea. My personal defense is already quite good. In addition, when I use my hands and feet to attack, I’m unable to unleash my full power.” Linley was still the most proficient in swordplay.

Whether when he using the heavy adamantine sword, Bloodviolet, or Mirage…

Linley’s supreme attacks had all relied on the sword.

“I will request a sword-shaped Overgod artifact.” Linley came to his decision.

Linley raised his head to look at the Overgod of Life, who stood there in midair. “Almighty Overgod of Life, I need a weapon-type Overgod artifact. A sword-shaped Overgod artifact!”

“I…shall satisfy your request.” The Overgod Life said calmly, while at the same time, she stretched out her slender right hand. A green sword shadow slowly began to materialize and solidify, and an astonishing, sharp energy began to condense, causing the surrounding space to crack and shatter.

“An Overgod artifact!” Beirut, Bluefire, and Bebe all stared.

According to the legends, only the Overgods were capable of creating an Overgod artifact. In the past, only the four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts and the Chief Sovereign of Light were in possession of an Overgod artifact!

“This Overgod sword…” Linley viewed it carefully.

It was a nearly 1.5 meter long green longsword. The guard of the sword was shaped like a flower petal, and the sword’s handle had runed etchings in the shape of coiling tendrils that perfectly matched the location where one would grip it. As for the blade of the sword, it was covered with diagrams of all sorts of plants and flowers. Both edges of the sword were extremely sharp. The longsword didn’t move, but just by hanging there, it brought the surrounding space to a point of near collapse.

“This is the Life Overgod Sword. Only after reaching the Sovereign level will you truly be able to withstand the terrifyingly powerful energy within this sword. Only then will you be able to truly bind it.” The Overgod of Life gently stroked the longsword with her left hand, and instantly, the luster of the longsword immediately retreated, making it seem plain and unadorned.

At first glance, it looked just like an ordinary sword. The surrounding space quickly returned to normalcy.

“Linley Baruch, I have already satisfied your request.” As she spoke, the Life Overgod Sword flew out of her hands and floated towards Linley.

And then, the body of the Overgod of Life slowly dissipated. In the blink of an eye, the world returned to its normal calm, as though the Overgod of Life had never appeared.

“The Life Overgod Sword.” Linley held the sword, and the coiling vines that were carved atop the handle were perfectly suited for his hand to grip onto.

“Why don’t I feel anything?” Linley wielded the Life Overgod Sword, but couldn’t feel any unusual energy to it. He couldn’t help but turn to look at the nearby Bluefire and Beirut. “Lord Beirut, tell me, what was the use of me requesting this Overgod sword?”

“Haha, of course there’s an important use for it.” Beirut laughed loudly.

“An Overgod artifact. An Overgod artifact!” Bluefire’s eyes were shining as well.

Right at this moment, Bebe sent to Linley, “Boss, my grandpa asked you to acquire an Overgod artifact, but you are unable to bind it. After all, only by using Sovereign power can that be done. Do you think that Grandpa did this because…he wants it for himself?”

Bebe was a bit worried for Linley.

Linley looked carefully at Beirut and Bluefire, then shook his head mentally and said, “I don’t think so. Given Beirut’s power, if he wanted it, he would’ve taken it long ago. Prior to this, when I wanted to ask to bring Grandpa Doehring back to life, Lord Beirut and Mr. Leylin didn’t try to stop me.”

“True.” Bebe nodded slightly.

“I have the Life Overgod Sword in hand now, but…” Linley didn’t feel much joy in his heart, because his goal had been to bring Grandpa Doehring back to life. That hadn’t happened. If Grandpa Doehring could now come to life and appear before Linley, and call out Linley’s name, Linley probably would have gone wild with joy.

Unfortunately, after this, Linley now truly understood that there was no hope at all for Grandpa Doehring to come back to life!

“Lord Beirut. Mr. Leylin. You wanted me to seize this opportunity to request an Overgod artifact from the Overgod of Life.” Linley looked towards Beirut and Bluefire, puzzled. “Now, I have acquired this Overgod sword, but my lack of power makes it so that I cannot bind it. So what do you want me to do with this Overgod sword?”

For him, the Overgod sword probably wouldn’t even be as effective as Mirage.

“Linley, you don’t need to be impatient about this.” Bluefire said with a laugh.

“Linley, don’t worry. Since I wanted you to acquire this Overgod sword, then…I naturally have a way to make it so that you can use it.” Beirut smiled.

Linley was no fool. Upon hearing this, a sudden light flashed in his mind, and he called out in alarm. “Lord Beirut, are you saying…?”

“Do you really need to ask? Linley, tell me, how do you think I became a Sovereign?” Bluefire chortled merrily.

“Grandpa, can it be that you are intending to let my Boss become a Sovereign?” Bebe called out in shock.

Beirut chortled, but didn’t deny it.

Seeing the look on Beirut’s face, Bebe was now completely certain. He couldn’t help but say in disbelief, “Grandpa, to become a Sovereign, you need a Sovereign spark. You and Mr. Leylin are Sovereigns; can it be that you have other Sovereign sparks as well?”

Linley just looked at Beirut, puzzled. Even if Beirut had Sovereign sparks, would he really let Linley use them?

“No need to ask so many questions. Just follow me.” Beirut smiled, then immediately turned to fly back.