The two eyes of Lingyu Heavenly Sovereign each contained a deep and vast prison—this was the manifestation of his path in chaos power.
In direct combat, Lingyu Heavenly Sovereign wasn't the strongest. But when it came to suppressing and trapping enemies, among the dozens of Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns from the six great ancient Kingdoms, he definitely ranked in the top three.
So long as the opponent wasn't a top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign, once trapped in his eye-prison, they'd be detained for several days, even up to several dozen.
As for facing a top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign? Lingyu would never carelessly imprison such a being.
First, he wouldn't be able to trap them for long.
Second, it would drain most of his focus to keep the prison intact.
It just wasn't worth it.
That wasn't much of a problem though—among all the Sovereigns present, the number who could truly be called top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns was limited—just a dozen or so at most.
The vast majority were still regular Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns.
Even Guanglie Heavenly Sovereign, who could split into thirty-three avatars, had each avatar at most equal to a strong Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign. If he encountered Lingyu, he'd still end up trapped for a while.
In fact, not only would Lingyu avoid provoking a top-tier opponent—
Even among top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns themselves, they wouldn't immediately clash upon meeting—not even over a treasured land's core pillar.
At this early stage of the treasure war, with many unclaimed cores remaining, even if top-tier Sovereigns ran into each other, one would usually withdraw to seek another pillar.
As for deadly battles? Those would come later, once most cores had owners—only then would the top-tier Sovereigns fight with full force to determine the outcome.
"My… eye?"
Lingyu screamed in agony. His right eye had exploded—a severe blow to the chaos power path he had cultivated.
Whoosh—
From deep within the intense spacetime turbulence, Lin Yuan slowly emerged, glancing at the injured Lingyu Heavenly Sovereign.
Within Lingyu's right-eye prison, spacetime had almost become solid. The moment Lin Yuan was trapped inside, he activated his divine art "World." The 33,333 Seeds within his body entered a grand cycle, projecting into the external cosmos, forming 33,333 blazing suns.
In a single burst, he shattered Lingyu's right-eye prison.
"This Lingyu Heavenly Sovereign truly lives up to his reputation," Lin Yuan thought.
If his Seeds hadn't formed a grand cycle, once trapped, he'd have been suppressed for at least a few days—maybe even ten.
"Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign… You possess the power of a top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign?"
Lingyu's body trembled slightly before he calmed down.
Though his right eye was destroyed, he still had his left—the foundation of his power remained intact.
To break his eye-prison like that, only a top-tier Sovereign could've done it.
And not just any top-tier Sovereign—one who specialized in lethal power.
This was exactly why Lingyu avoided imprisoning such opponents.
Top-tier Sovereigns' chaos paths were diverse. If one was exceptionally destructive, they could shatter the prison from within.
Lin Yuan was clearly such an opponent.
Nearby, the other Grand Ling Sovereigns looked visibly shaken.
Top-tier?
Wasn't Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign only recently ascended?
"My apologies," Lin Yuan said calmly, staring at Lingyu.
Once trapped in his eye-prison, Lin Yuan had no choice but to strike with full power. Otherwise, the consequences would've been far worse.
"Even if you possess an ancestor bloodline and became a Heavenly Sovereign from it, I refuse to believe you've grown this strong this quickly."
Lingyu stared at him, the depths of his remaining left eye faintly swirling.
For a moment, the laws of the world shifted. A vast, dark prison took shape, as if the prison of his left eye had extended into the outside world.
Lingyu had different methods for different foes. Against regular Sovereigns, he simply imprisoned them.
Against top-tier Sovereigns, he was much more cautious—first testing with the eye-prison. Only once he confirmed they couldn't threaten the core structure would he dare to trap them fully.
"He thinks I used an external force?"
Lin Yuan understood. While the power he used to break the prison was at the top-tier level, it didn't necessarily mean he himself was one.
Perhaps he used some secret technique?
But with the loss of his right eye, Lingyu wouldn't let Lin Yuan walk away so easily.
"Very well… let me see what top-tier strength really is."
Lin Yuan studied the changing battlefield. In the chaotic void, top-tier Sovereigns were almost equal to Invincible Supreme Saints. He couldn't help but feel a bit interested.
The earlier prison break was only possible because Lingyu had underestimated him—Lin Yuan had taken advantage.
Boom—
The next moment,
Two completely different forces of spacetime began colliding violently—Lingyu's left-eye prison against Lin Yuan's external cosmos. The terrifying shockwaves wiped out chunks of space.
"Lingyu's really going all out."
Nearby Grand Ling Sovereigns who had been refining the core pillar quickly retreated.
Among the Six Ancient Kingdoms' Sovereigns, there were four levels of power:
From weakest to strongest—
Regular Heavenly Sovereigns,
Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns,
Top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereigns,
And supreme ones like Fuxu Heavenly Sovereign.
Top-tier Sovereigns' chaos paths were vastly superior, giving them immense advantages in combat.
As for Sovereigns like Fuxu? While technically in the same realm, they had mastered supreme inheritances passed down by the Ancestors.
All six Kingdoms' Thirteenth-Rank Ancestors had left such legacies in their treasuries. Many tried cultivating them, but very few ever succeeded.
There's a difference between practicing and mastering.
"So this is the strength of a top-tier Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign?"
The Grand Ling Sovereigns exchanged glances, hearts pounding.
The shockwaves from Lin Yuan and Lingyu's clash were as powerful as their own full-force attacks.
"Milky Way Heavenly Sovereign… must be a top-tier Sovereign."
They silently observed, drawing conclusions.
Lingyu suspected Lin Yuan used external power to break the prison—so did they.
Lin Yuan's rise had been too fast. Even with a Heavenly Sovereign-level bloodline, it still takes time to develop.
But after this clash, despite losing his right eye, Lingyu still had top-tier power—yet he couldn't suppress Lin Yuan at all.
This was a real battle—undeniable proof.
If Lin Yuan wasn't top-tier, what was he?
Boom— The ongoing clash between the two top-tier Sovereigns sent waves of destruction across the land.
"Is that… two top-tier Sovereigns fighting?"
A top-tier Thunder Ancient Kingdom Sovereign had just refined a core and looked up, frowning.
"Already a battle this early?"
Besides the Grand Ancient Void Kingdom, the other five Kingdoms had their top-tier Sovereigns as the limit of power. At the start of the treasure war, they'd normally avoid direct conflict.
"One of them is Lingyu… who's the other?"
The Thunder Sovereign gazed out thoughtfully.
"Whatever, the more they fight, the better. Gives me more time to refine other cores."
He flew toward a new direction, seeking more treasures.
At the same time, all across the treasured land, many Sovereigns sensed the battle.
"That's Lingyu Heavenly Sovereign?"
"He already ran into an enemy? And they're fighting this soon?"
"Who's the other Sovereign? I've never felt that presence before."
"But the energy is blazing and sun-like—must be someone from the Liyang Ancient Kingdom. But among their top-tier Sovereigns, Red Flame, Eternal Sun, Vast Might… none match this power."
Many Sovereigns, even top-tier ones, paid attention but didn't dwell on it. Their focus remained on finding and refining more core pillars.
"Lingyu Spirit Prison!"
Lingyu's right eye was gone. His left eye radiated depth as the surrounding world twisted.
This was one of his killing moves, intended for other top-tier Sovereigns—but now unleashed on Lin Yuan.
"What's this?"
Lin Yuan's expression tightened. The Seeds in his body lit up. In the cosmic space around him, 33,333 suns rose.
He didn't use the hundred or so newer seeds—they weren't yet integrated into the grand cycle, so he didn't project them.
Whoosh—
The suns burned overhead.
This was the first time Lin Yuan had openly used "World" in front of others. When he'd broken the right-eye prison earlier, no one else was watching.
"This move again?!"
Lingyu grimaced. His right eye had been destroyed by this very power.
As the suns floated in space, the prison formed by Lingyu's left eye rapidly disintegrated—60% of it dissolved in an instant.
"No other top-tier Sovereign in Liyang history ever used such a technique!" Lingyu felt both strained and stunned.
He now knew—Lin Yuan's strength didn't come from an external source.
It came from himself.
"Still not running, Lingyu?"
Lin Yuan hovered amid a sea of blazing suns, his body itself transformed into a greater sun, illuminating the universe.
"Run?"
Lingyu was bitter—but he knew it was time. Any longer, and the cost would be unbearable.
"Milky Way… you hid your strength and crippled one of my prisons. Otherwise, I wouldn't be on the losing end."
He glared with his single eye, still unconvinced.
If his right eye were intact, even if he couldn't defeat Lin Yuan, at least it wouldn't end with his retreat.
Two prisons versus one was a major difference for Lingyu.
Of course, with Lin Yuan's terrifying strength now revealed, even with both eyes, it wouldn't be an easy fight—it would at most be a draw.
"Leave."
Lin Yuan looked down from above. Though strong, it would be hard to force Lingyu to stay. Even using all his cards, it would take time—and anything could happen.
For example, other Grand Ling top-tier Sovereigns could come to the rescue.
Such infighting would only benefit the other Kingdoms. Lin Yuan had no intention of letting that happen.
Driving Lingyu away was enough.
In truth, if Lingyu hadn't been unwilling to accept reality and insisted on testing Lin Yuan's true strength, this fight wouldn't have happened at all.
"I'm leaving."
Lingyu gritted his teeth but swiftly retreated, using what remained of his prison world.
Though the area was small, it was immune to all laws—he broke through Lin Yuan's suppression and escaped.
As for the other Grand Ling Sovereigns? They had fled long ago.
Sensing something was wrong, they had immediately withdrawn.
Lin Yuan didn't pursue. He returned to the core pillar and resumed refining.
"These pillars are the heart of the treasured land. Refining one allows a degree of control?"
As he continued refining, Lin Yuan vaguely sensed the connection between the pillar and the land.
In the Liyang capital's independent space, Red Flame, Vast Might, and the other Sovereigns' incarnations gathered to communicate.
Their minds were linked to their true selves, scattered across the treasured land—this was how they stayed in contact.
"Milky Way, why were there top-tier Sovereign battle fluctuations from the core pillar you found?"
Red Flame looked toward Lin Yuan.
The others turned too. A battle between top-tier Sovereigns sent shockwaves across half the land. Even if they didn't feel it directly, they'd heard about it.
"Milky Way, who was fighting Lingyu?"
Vast Might asked curiously, "I sensed blazing, sun-like energy—clearly from Liyang. But all twelve of our Sovereigns are accounted for."
Eternal Sun looked at Lin Yuan as well, thoughts stirring. His gaze shifted slightly.
"Lingyu directly trapped me in his right eye's prison,"
Lin Yuan replied truthfully. "I had no choice but to break it. He then attacked me, and we fought for a while. In the end, he fled. I've nearly finished refining the core pillar."
The room fell silent.
Even though the others had their suspicions, hearing Lin Yuan say it outright still left them stunned.
Milky Way wasn't just a regular Ultimate Heavenly Sovereign?
He was a top-tier one?!
...