Return

The huge temptation in front of him didn’t manage to cause the slightest change to Leylin’s expression. “False Eternity? Hmph!” he shrugged with apathy as a sneer surfaced on his face.

What Leylin pursued was the immortality afforded by reaching rank 9, a realm of power that exceeded the scope of the astral plane itself. This World Fruit would bind him to the Shadow World, stopping any further advance. Perhaps the other Magi who had no hope of advancing would make such a choice, but this definitely wasn’t so for Leylin.

However, the Snake Dowager couldn’t stay calm after seeing him take over Shar’s achievements. Unconcealable desire revealed itself in her eyes as she leaned forward. After all, this World Fruit was the essence of the Shadow World’s Will, able to give her dominance of the Shadow World once more as it fused with her laws to advance to the peak of rank 8.

Leylin knew that the Dowager had no choice but to agree to any requests he made right now. Unfortunately, he did not deign to speak. She and Shar were both rank 8s, and only together would they be easy to control. If one of them advanced to the peak of rank 8, they would choose to kick him aside.

Leylin hadn’t fought desperately and plotted for mere goodwill, or the World Origin Force. The Shadow World was a big world, and he felt it better to keep it with him. It wasn’t necessary to fuse with the world to control it.

‘These two women aren’t simple characters. Neither of them can be left behind alone as a representative. Instead, I can leave them both here so the two will have to act in tandem whether they stay or leave.’ This was Leylin’s decision, and right now was the best opportunity to enforce it. The Snake Dowager and Shar were both seriously injured, and currently he was the only one with enough power to call the shots.

*Bang!* However, Shar’s avatar lost the last of its strength at this moment, fading away as her silhouette dispersed.

“Where did she go?” The Snake Dowager frowned.

“Back to her true body, of course. Having taken so much damage, it’d be surprising even if she manages to stay awake.” Leylin shook his head. With the World Fruit in hand, he could see everything about the Shadow World.

“I’m heading out,” he said as his figure disappeared abruptly. The Snake Dowager was filled with resentment as she looked at his departing back.

The sea of origin force in the Shadow World had thinned down greatly. With the light of civilisation exhausted, all that could be seen was an ancient stone palace.

Leylin’s figure appeared to hover over this palace, and the origin force instantly separated, opening up a path for him meekly. He walked unimpeded into the palace, seeing Shar sealed in a huge crystal.

Leylin looked at the huge crystal and nodded, ‘The World Crystal! Is this the consequence of her trying to control the World Will?’

The girl sealed within the crystal seemed to notice Leylin’s arrival, slowly opening her eyes. A blob of shadows emerged outside the crystal, forming a figure he was familiar with. It was just that her aura was greatly weakened.

“You’re finally here… Are you here to destroy me?” A bitter smile surfaced on the young lady’s face. Although this Magus hadn’t yet eaten the World Fruit, the authority he had at his disposal made it easy for him to take care of her.

“I’m afraid you’re mistaken.” Leylin waved his hands, and the World Crystal that sealed Shar’s body cracked apart. Her body was thrown out.

“My Lord… This…” Having regained her true body, Shar opened up her eyes to stare at Leylin.

Although this body had the same face, Shar looked more pale now, like a young lady who’d been sick for a long while. Her aura was weak, making her look much more attractive than her previous gaudy look.

“I wouldn’t need to do much to destroy you. However, the conflicts between Magi and G.o.ds don’t concern us.” Leylin said with a smile, one of his hands behind his back.

“Now, it seems like we need to have a ‘long chat’…” Shar’s eyes betrayed a shrewd smile as she took the initiative to grab Leylin’s hands and lead him to the depths of the palace. The defeat had changed her mindset completely.

It took several more years for Leylin to leave the Shadow World. He glanced around him, seemingly able to see the figures of Shar and the Snake Dowager as the corners of his mouth revealed a strange smile.

Might made right. Leylin was currently the strongest person in the Shadow World, thus he was also the one with the authority to divide the cake. He’d taken his time and split up control of the Shadow World.

It was impossible for his true body to stay there forever, so he’d chosen the Snake Dowager and the Mistress of the Night as his representatives. He gave each 20% of his authority, keeping them both on the same level but still leaving himself the majority of power.

Although the Snake Dowager had been reluctant about it, she understood that she’d have been able to gain nothing without Leylin. She didn’t make a peep. On the other hand, Shar was the loser so she didn’t qualify to make any demands at all.

Furthermore, it wasn’t impossible to reach the peak of rank 8 themselves with 20% of the world’s authority. They’d be able to use the Shadow World’s origin force to recover, and strengthen themselves. Thus, the two of them both submitted to their new master.

Each of them had used all means possible to entice Leylin as a fighting partner, but in the end he’d run away with the greatest benefits. The Snake Dowager kept to her old promise, transferring a portion of her bloodline origin so he had control over her bloodline descendants. Shar refused to be outdone, so as a former intermediate G.o.d she divulged a great number of secrets regarding the World of G.o.ds. Leylin learnt what to take note of when he advanced to become a true G.o.d.

As for any other interactions… Leylin touched his chin in reminiscence as he looked at his status.

[Leylin Farlier, Rank 7 Warlock. Bloodline: Targaryen. Strength: 275.11, Agility: 229.88, Vitality: 400.97, Spiritual Force: 653.19. Body of Laws. Law Comprehension: Devouring (100%), Ma.s.sacre (58%), Disaster (27%), Decay (15%), Curses (1%), Shadows (33%). Origin Force Saturation: 100%]

‘I’m at the limits of origin force now…’ The Shadow World’s origin force wasn’t defective like that of Dreamscape, so Leylin had had no problems with absorbing it. It was something Shar and Allsnake had used to entice him before, but he’d just ended up becoming their master. Even the shrewd Shar would never have imagined that she’d become subordinate to a rank 7 Magus.

With more than half of the authority over the Shadow World, Leylin had naturally used as much origin force as he could to max out his attributes.

‘I’m still a rank 7 Warlock… I’ll come back after I advance to rank 8…’ A trace of a smile emerged on Leylin’s mouth. So what if the Magus World’s origin force was controlled by Mother Core and Dreamscape’s was flawed? With the support of the Shadow World, he could still advance by leaps and bounds. He couldn’t feel great enough for becoming the master of a world.

‘Shar and Allsnake went overboard this time… The Shadow World needs time to recover. If not, it would’ve given me much greater benefits…’ Leylin was currently the master and judge of the Shadow World, and he’d tasked the Snake Dowager and the Mistress of the Night to restore the world to its former glory.

“Ah, the contract’s been taken care of!” Leylin continued on his journey without hesitation, light constantly flickering in his eyes, “There’s only two things I have to do in the Magus World now…

“First is to talk to the other beings like Mother Core. After all, I can’t take out the entire World of G.o.ds myself…” Leylin was aware of his limits. His attempt to control the Shadow World had nearly cost him everything, and if not for the arcane spell that was his trump card the results would probably have been greatly different.

The World of G.o.ds would be far more dangerous. The enemies there were tens of thousands of times more powerful, and on top of that there were cunning and wicked Magi like Distorted Shadow waiting there with traps at the ready.

Leylin intended to surround himself with allies, bringing the entire Magus World along as he used absolute power to crush everything. As long as he revealed some information about the World of G.o.ds, he didn’t have to worry about powerful Magi not taking the bait.

“As for the other, I need to take care of the Lords of Calamity in Dreamscape… The Nightmare Absorbing Physique…” Leylin sighed deeply. The Nightmare Absorbing Physique was a gift from Dreamscape, but it was also the dagger the world used to eliminate its thugs. It was intended to destroy locusts like the Lords of Calamity.

However, Leylin didn’t think so simply. Proverbs said that the hunting dogs would be destroyed once the rabbits were killed, and even if he wasn’t afraid of such a thing he had to take precautionary measures.

The Nightmare Absorbing Physique was intended to restrain the Lords of Calamity. If Leylin revealed his might to eliminate all the Lords of Calamity, what would Dreamscape’s World Will do then? Would it leave him in control of such power? Leylin felt like he had to let the Lords of Calamity survive, because this would bring him great benefits.

‘Maybe I can do the same thing I did here, punis.h.i.+ng the Lords of Calamity like a judge after I spark infighting among them…’ Leylin didn’t want to be someone else’s weapon. Such people didn’t face good ends. Instead, he wanted to be the one in charge, the person making the rules.

Since Dreamscape was weakening itself because the Lords of Calamity were taking too much of the World Origin Force, he would restrict the amount they used. That way he would be able to please both sides, at the same time managed to preserve himself.