Beirut, having just captured the newly ascended God Sadius along with the Saint-level main body of Leylin, swiftly returned to the Forest of Darkness.
Meanwhile, Leylin's two divine clones and his eldest and second eldest brothers had already passed through the sealing magic formation and descended upon the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts.
Dylin was startled by the sudden appearance of two mid-level Gods.
So quickly? Gods are already escaping through this weakened space?
As for Leylin's two high-level God clones, Dylin couldn't even sense their true strength. But even the appearance of mid-level Gods was enough to shock him.
The other Saint-level magical beasts within the palace were also frightened. They had never encountered this many God-level beings before.
"Lords," Dylin cautiously stepped forward and inquired tentatively.
Leylin instructed his eldest and second eldest brothers to stay behind while he personally headed toward the Forest of Darkness.
After all, Beirut's strength was overwhelming. As an Emissary of a Sovereign, he almost certainly wielded a Sovereign artifact. In front of that, a mere mid-level God was nothing more than an ant.
Only after Leylin's two divine clones flew away did Dylin realize—the strongest ones were actually the two individuals who hadn't released any aura at all.
"Wait… those two faces—weren't they by Sadius' side, posing as Saint-levels?"
In a flash, Dylin understood. That so-called peak Saint wasn't a Saint at all—it was clearly the true body of a high-level God.
"Earth and Fire dual element… a high-level God… Could it be—!" Dylin dared not even finish the thought. Those were figures on par with the five great kings of the Planar Prison!
The two brothers of Leylin grinned at Dylin.
"Mind telling us what exactly happened just now?" They had only learned from Leylin that his true body and the newly ascended magical beast had been captured by Beirut.
The specific details remained unknown.
Seeing how cordial they were, Dylin felt slightly reassured.
Beirut flew back to the Forest of Darkness.
The speed of a Sovereign was unimaginably fast—he wasn't even displaying his full Sovereign strength, just that of a city lord, and already no ordinary God could hope to keep up.
Before long, Leylin's fire-element divine clone arrived at the Forest of Darkness.
Beirut returned to his metallic fortress. Inside, his three sons were instructing two Saint-level little mice and paid him no attention.
With a wave of his hand, Beirut locked Sadius in another room covered in countless magic formations.
As for Leylin's Saint-level main body, Beirut didn't restrain him. Instead, he invited him to a tearoom.
"Leylin, it's been many years since we last met," Beirut was the first to speak.
"Not that long. Wasn't it when you dumped a large number of Gods into the Planar Prison last time? We saw each other then."
Beirut smiled. In truth, he and Leylin shared a certain tacit understanding.
Had Beirut not become a Sovereign, the two of them might well have ended up as rulers—one dominating the Yulan Plane, the other the Planar Prison.
Once Beirut became a Sovereign, he pretended to be merely a Sovereign's Emissary. Meanwhile, Leylin immersed himself in cultivation within the Planar Prison.
Beirut had always kept an eye on Leylin—this dual-element Earth and Fire high-level God born of the Yulan Plane, older than Beirut and with talent surpassing even his own. In fact, in Beirut's mind, Leylin was his top candidate for inheriting his Fire-type Sovereign position.
While the two were chatting, Leylin's two divine clones also arrived outside the metallic castle.
The three Violet-Gold Rat Kings noticed the two divine beings outside.
"Where did these high-level Gods come from? How dare they be so brazen in the Forest of Darkness?"
"Third Brother, that guy is Leylin."
"…Pretend I didn't say anything."
"You little brats, still standing around like fools? Don't you know to greet our guests?"
Beirut's voice rang in the ears of the three Violet-Gold Rat Kings.
They immediately flew out of the fortress.
"Nien, what's going on? I thought I just saw Lord Beirut bring back two humans."
"I heard Lord Beirut likes conducting research… Maybe he captured them for experimentation?" The two little rats still didn't realize that their own ally had just been brought back by Beirut.
After Leylin's divine clones greeted the three Rat Kings, they were finally let into the castle.
Soon, the two clones reunited with the true body.
Only after his three bodies fused did Leylin feel truly at ease.
"Leylin, weren't you doing just fine in the Gebados Planar Prison? What made you think of coming back to the Yulan Plane?"
"Ah, I just missed the rich elemental essence of the Yulan Plane."
"If that's the case, you could've gone to one of the Four Higher Planes ages ago. The elemental density there is even richer than here."
"Didn't you say the Necropolis of the Gods might contain Sovereign artifacts—even Sovereign sparks? Of course I want to give it a try."
"You came out too early then. The Necropolis won't open for another three hundred years." These two old foxes avoided addressing the real issue directly.
Eventually, Leylin took the lead.
"Beirut, that Sadius counts as half my disciple. Could you hand him back to me?"
"That guy's also a sworn brother to my son, so he's half my son. No way I'm handing him over."
Beirut naturally knew about the Amethyst Rat Kings swearing brotherhood with Sadius.
That sort of thing was typical of the third brother—already a mid-level God and still forming brotherly bonds with a Saint-level magical beast.
"Looks like you've already discovered his identity?" Leylin asked.
"Identity? What identity?"
Beirut believed he understood Sadius thoroughly—just a typical Armored Thornback Dragon with some lucky breaks.
First, he bonded with the Violet Blood Sword, then underwent a soul mutation.
Beirut had scanned Sadius' memories before. On the Yulan Plane, no one could escape his scrutiny.
However, what he didn't know was that ever since Sadius' soul core had changed, he'd never probed his memories again.
The one time he had tried, his Sovereign's divine sense had actually been forced out of Sadius' spiritual sea—by an Azure Dragon's soul.
Seeing Beirut's expression, Leylin realized he truly had no idea.
"You saw Sadius' innate divine ability, didn't you?" Leylin was convinced Beirut had witnessed what happened in the Planar Prison—otherwise, why had he positioned himself right at the rear of the magic formation?
"It was indeed strange. Who would've thought a dragon-type magical beast could transform into a legendary Divine Beast—an Azure Dragon? That's a first even for me."
That very reason was why Beirut was determined to keep Sadius—he wanted to thoroughly study him.
"In that case… aren't you curious about his identity?"
Beirut had been about to say "not really"—he thought he already knew Sadius through and through.
But on second thought—something didn't add up.
If he truly understood that little guy so well, how had Sadius' growth exceeded all expectations?
Azure Dragon transformation?
Could someone gain that kind of ability just from a drop of Azure Dragon essence blood and a sliver of water-element Sovereign power?
A seed of doubt took root in Beirut's mind, mirroring Leylin's suspicion.
Could it be… the reincarnation of the Azure Dragon Sovereign?
"Impossible!"
Beirut had personally seen the Azure Dragon die in front of him—his soul annihilated. The corpse was still in his possession.
Yet deep down, a seed of doubt had already sprouted.
Could this universe really hold a secret technique that allowed for reincarnation and restoration even after soul annihilation?
Beirut didn't believe it. He had already become a Sovereign and had never heard of such a thing.
But the Four Divine Beasts were far too legendary. The four lower Sovereigns, united, had reached Sovereign Lord-level strength.
Perhaps the Azure Dragon; head of the Four Divine Beasts really had mastered some kind of secret reincarnation art…