Between the incredible display of skill and power shown by Linley and the others and the explanation of the path of Concepts by Aiden, the whole universe was in a state of awe.
Seeing that, the body of the Overgod of Life, whose energy projection was in the midst of dissipating, suddenly solidified as she glared intensely at Aiden, whilst her brain operated at its top speed, desperately searching for a method to interrupt Aiden from finishing his message.
She knew full well what he was doing and how much of an impact it would have on the current state of the universe. Unfortunately, as much as she wanted to, she was ultimately too weak to stop Aiden. Even if she awoke the other three Overgods of the Edicts, as none had finished condensing their Overgod bodies, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
The smirk on Aiden's face only seemed to grow as he seemingly saw through the thoughts of the Overgod of Life, and that was when he said the words that the Overgod of Life was so desperate to stop him from saying. Not only did he explain that he, the Overgod of Wind, had been the one to create the path of Concepts, but he also explained that aside from the newly formed Mandate of Pure Yang, all of the other eleven elements had an Overgod.
In that moment, the killing intent of the Overgod of Life became so potent that even the Sovereigns were forced to kneel in fear.
No one below the level of the Overgods could feel it, but as Aiden said that, there was a sudden and dramatic shift in faith.
It had to be remembered that until now, most thought that there were only four Overgods – one for each of the Edicts – so to learn that not only did each of the seven ordinary Laws also have an Overgod of their own, but the Overgod of Wind was the one who created a path that would allow many of them to increase their skill and power so substantially… it wasn't hard to imagine what happened to the faith.
Forget Aiden, even Orloff, Phueus, and Bluefire could feel the increase in faith that was heading their way. As they hadn't condensed their Overgod bodies yet, it didn't do much to increase their current level of power. Even so, they knew what it would mean for their power in the future. Still, they couldn't help but feel envious of Aiden.
If their levels of faith had spiked by so much, they could only imagine how much faith Aiden's increased by.
Still, as envious as they were, their envy paled in comparison to the wrath the Overgod of Life was feeling. It wasn't just her either. At that moment, feeling the sudden shift in faith, the other three Edict Overgods, who were busy condensing their Overgod bodies, suddenly awoke and manifested an energy body beside the Overgod of Life.
They didn't say a word, but the killing intent they manifested as they glared venomously at Aiden said it all. In response, though, Aiden merely smiled and nodded towards them as he continued speaking to the entire universe.
Finally, Aiden revealed that whilst he was the one who created the path of Concepts, it was his disciple, Gol D. Ace, who created the Mandate of Pure Yang.
As he said that, the scenes that everyone saw in their heads changed to the one of Ace as a Full God defeating and killing the Lesser Sovereign of Wind, Teresia, followed by him slaughtering Matadall, the Intermediate Sovereign of Death, in a single strike.
As if that wasn't enough of a shock, the scene suddenly changed to one of Ace attacking the Overgod of Life, but before it could finish, the Overgods of the Four Edicts attacked Aiden with everything they had.
They didn't dare bring their unfinished true bodies out of seclusion, but still, the might of an Overgod couldn't be underestimated, even if it was just an energy projection. If before, Aiden could be said to have approached their bottom line, his action of showing Ace attacking an Overgod had directly crossed it.
As talented as Ace was, he was still just a deity. If the scene of Ace attacking one of them were to get out, their status as lofty and untouchable overlords of the universe would be tarnished, and by extension, the faith of that Overgod would take a hit.
They attacked before the scene could really get started, as such, those watching never got to see who it was standing before Ace. Still, the overwhelming aura of Life force Aiden projected into the scene allowed many to guess who it was. Even though it wasn't enough for them to be sure, many could guess, and as a result, the Overgod of Life felt a sudden dip in her faith.
At the same time, Ace felt a sudden surge in the faith he had access to. It was barely enough to be considered a fraction of a single percent of the faith of an ordinary Overgod, but it still surpassed that of a Chief Sovereign.
It did nothing for his actual combat power, but like with Sovereigns, it allowed his perception to increase drastically.
In that moment, Ace felt a sudden urge to sit down in meditation as he was almost bombarded by insight after insight, but he knew now wasn't the time for that. Even though his master and Orloff were present, he couldn't afford to lose focus in case he was suddenly attacked and killed.
Looking ahead, Ace witnessed Aiden grinning excitedly as he stood before the energy projection of the four Overgods with his glaive in his hand.
Spinning his glaive in his hand, Aiden told them that if they wanted a chance at taking his head, they had better summon their true bodies, because even if their four energy projections teamed up, it was far from enough to even begin to pose a threat to him.
Despite knowing he was right, the four Overgods didn't heed his advice and simply attacked.
As Aiden said, the four of them weren't a match for Aiden. Still, even Aiden had to admit that the four worked incredibly well together, a lot better than he foresaw. It was to the point where despite him being so much stronger than any of them individually, and holding a distinct advantage, he wasn't able to kill any of them.
Previously, Aiden thought all four would need to bring out their true bodies to fight him to a standstill, but clearly he had underestimated them too much. Even though the expression on his face was light and leisurely as usual, inside he was anything but.
If they were able to fight him to a standstill with just their energy projections, he knew he would be the one to lose if their true bodies were forced out; even if Orloff and Bluefire were to join in, things wouldn't change much.
Still, he knew he couldn't allow things to end like this. The reason why he did what he did wasn't just to increase the faith of his side; he wanted to anger them enough to force their true bodies out so he could, at the very least, injure them before they finished their condensation, but as things stood, that clearly wasn't possible.
But that was when Aiden showed why he was a genius that didn't lose out to his freakishly talented disciple. The more he focused on the battle, the faster he gained insights into his various glaive arts.
Not long later he had managed to comprehend a new glaive art based on the Concept of Life.
He wasn't the only one growing and progressing; each of the other four Overgods were well on their way to comprehending the second Concept of their respective Edict, but for Aiden to do so first, and for one of their elements… It was like he was trying to slap their faces.
Even as the natural laws descended around him, Aiden continued his fight with the four Overgods, but with his most recent breakthrough, Aiden's Willpower jumped from 481 to 501. Although it wasn't enough to completely turn the table, it was enough for him to slowly start to suppress them.
But before long, each of his four opponents showed their prowess by simultaneously comprehending the second Concept of their respective Edict. Although it only increased their willpower by one unit, the fact that the four of them were able to work so seamlessly together allowed them to once more fight Aiden to a standstill, albeit only barely. Unfortunately, Aiden was far from finished.
Aiden then comprehended the Concept of Destruction. With a further 20 units of Willpower at his disposal, the table turned in Aiden's favour.
Realising their position was constantly worsening; the four Overgods had Phueus join their side. Although he wasn't able to join in their perfect teamwork, he didn't get in their way, and as an Overgod himself, his power was far from negligible.
Orloff prepared to jump in as well, but Aiden told him not to. Instead, he should take Ace and the other deities and Sovereigns back to their Yulan Plane and protect it with Bluefire.
Orloff frowned for a second but ultimately chose to do as Aiden said. The only reason, none of their side had died to present was because Orloff had brought all of them far enough away and protected them in the void with his energy, but if he were to join the fight, Ace and the others would lose their protection. And should their enemies decide to throw caution to the wind and bring out their true bodies, Orloff knew that it would only be a matter of time until Aiden was defeated, at which point Ace would be their target.
As much as he hated to admit it, Ace also understood that point, which was why he merely frowned and clenched his fists as Orloff brought them away.
All he could do right now was head back into seclusion so as to increase his strength as quickly as possible!
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