Sadius was puzzled. Why did he somehow know that only a soul-mutated being who cultivated both the Laws of Earth and the Edicts of Destruction, and who then independently ascended to become a Highgod before signing a soul contract with the Redbud Sovereign could help her break free from assimilation?
That knowledge felt exactly like the inherited memories of a magical beast. Although Sadius had no idea where it came from, he knew it was unquestionably real.
And so, Sadius resumed cultivation in his training chamber.
Among the Laws of Earth and the Edicts of Destruction, the Earth Law was the easier path to Divinity. After all, Sadius had already comprehended the foundational aspects of all the associated mysteries. He had even delved deeply into the Mysteries of Strength and the Mystery of Earth Movement.
If not for his recent efforts to fuse four of those mysteries together, Sadius would've fully mastered them by now.
But now that he had stopped focusing on fusion and returned to individual comprehension, his progress on the two mysteries soared. It wouldn't be long—just a few more years—before Sadius became a Highgod of the Earth Element.
The Edicts of Destruction, however, were a different story. Each God who followed this path had their own unique understanding. The mysteries they grasped varied widely.
So far, Sadius had comprehended four:
Mystery of Destructive Power
Mystery of Destruction Sword Intent
Truth of Battle
Truth of Combat
The last two were especially critical. Without them, he would need to comprehend even more mysteries to qualify for Divinity under the Destruction Edict.
"The Four Supreme Edicts really aren't so different from the Seven Elemental Laws," the Amethyst Lord explained. "Take Earth, for example. Its six major mysteries include: Earth Elemental, Earth Movement, Strength, Life Energy, Gravitational Space, and Earth Pulse.
"These encompass material offense, soul offense, material defense, soul defense, spatial-type abilities, time-like powers, movement-type abilities, and even a few unique elemental traits. Think carefully about which of these ability types you're still missing. I've prepared a large number of phantom recordings. Choose those that suit you best."
She retrieved a pile of crystal spheres from her spatial ring.
Sadius fell into deep thought. Judging by the four mysteries he had already grasped, his Mystery of Destructive Power resembled the Earth Elemental Mystery, and his Destruction Sword Intent was similar to Earth Pulse. As for the Truth of Battle and Truth of Combat, although paired like the Wind Element's Fast and Slow Mysteries, their level was clearly higher—each one comparable to a medium-level mystery.
That meant Sadius still lacked two types of abilities: material defense, soul defense, time-like, space-like, or movement-type mysteries.
Of course, not every Law or Edict contained all of these categories. Each element or rule had its strengths:
Life, Death, and Fire: Strong in soul-related abilities.
Wind and Light: Specialized in speed.
Earth and Water: Known for defense.
So what was the specialty of the Edicts of Destruction?
Offense.
Whether it be physical or soul-based—destruction excelled in attacking.
Sadius selected several phantom spheres that seemed useful and began watching.
All of the recordings the Redbud Sovereign had collected were at least Seven-Star Fiend level or higher.
He watched one after another—until finally, a battle between two sovereigns appeared.
"Milord," Sadius exclaimed, "you even have recordings of Sovereign-level battles?"
"Why not?" she replied. "Sovereign clashes are rare, and they usually occur in chaotic spatial realms. But during the era when the Sovereign sparks first appeared, there were intense struggles among the Gods. Naturally, some phantom recordings from that time remain."
Sadius nodded, now fully engrossed in the stunning battle before him.
"This is a clash between a Destruction Sovereign and a Darkness Sovereign!"
"Try and guess," said the Redbud Sovereign, "who the Destruction Sovereign is."
Sadius looked at the male Sovereign of Destruction in the phantom and felt an odd sense of familiarity.
Then the battle commenced.
Though phantom recordings couldn't convey the overwhelming might of a Sovereign's will, the visuals alone were terrifying. Even without sound or force, the imagery made Sadius' blood run cold.
"That Darkness Sovereign fused six different mysteries into his ultimate technique…He's a Great Perfection Sovereign! No wonder his attacks are so fierce."
Was there even a Paragon of the Darkness element?
Sadius couldn't remember.
"The Destruction Sovereign's fusion is clearly weaker, yet his strength surpasses the Darkness Sovereign's. Could they be in different tiers?"
Sovereigns came in three ranks—High, Mid, and Low. The difference in strength between these ranks could easily be a hundredfold.
From the combat, Sadius inferred that the Destruction Sovereign must be a Mid Sovereign.
Among the seven Destruction Sovereigns, only two were Mid-level: the Amethyst Lord before him, and the Star Sovereign Xing Yi of the Star Mist Sea.
If that Mid Sovereign spark hadn't changed hands, then this man in the recording could only be Xing Yi.
No wonder Sadius had found him familiar—he had once seen Xing Yi's giant projection face in the Star Mist Sea.
But who was this Darkness Sovereign, a Low Sovereign who had already achieved full fusion?
Generally speaking, a Great Perfection Sovereign possessed a hundredfold more strength than their same-tier peers.
Why? Because the leap from five-fold fusion to six-fold fusion gave a tenfold boost, and adding a Sovereign's will gave yet another tenfold increase. Hence, the vast difference.
A Great Perfection Low Sovereign was nearly equal in strength to a non-Great Perfection Mid Sovereign.
As Sadius watched the titanic battle between the two Sovereigns, he found it exhilarating.
What stood out to him most was the Darkness Sovereign's technique. Though slightly weaker than Xing Yi, he survived every exchange thanks to his unique divine ability.
Oddly enough, Sadius didn't gain much insight from Xing Yi's attacks… but did gain some from the Darkness Sovereign's!
"That Darkness Sovereign used a technique based on Shadow Split Form, blending it with five other Darkness-element mysteries. The result? His clone technique melted into the void—unpredictable and near intangible. His strikes became hauntingly elusive."
Sadius suddenly experienced a spark of realization.
The Redbud Sovereign watched all this with exasperation.
"I told him to comprehend the Destruction Edicts," she muttered. "Why's he suddenly having an epiphany about the Darkness Laws instead?"
Sadius gave an awkward chuckle.
"Forgive me, Milord…That Darkness Sovereign's technique was simply too marvelous. I couldn't help but gain insight."
The Redbud Sovereign stared at him, speechless once more.
Just how absurd is this guy's talent? He gains insights just by watching a phantom recording?!
After watching the entire Sovereign-level duel, Sadius' Darkness-element divine clone, located far away on the Blood Ridge Continent, also began to cultivate.
Clearly, that clone would now make rapid progress.