Above the Amethyst Mountain Range, mists swirled endlessly through the sky. Sadius and the Earth Sovereign Clone of the Redbud Sovereign stood suspended in midair.
The Redbud Sovereign struck first, unleashing a profound mystery attack against Sadius.
In her hand was a Sovereign artifact shaped like a staff. Although it wasn't her usual main Sovereign artifact, it was still more than sufficient to battle Sadius.
Wielding the staff, she launched a strike imbued with the rhythmic pulse of the earth, laced with will-infused might. The blow tore through the air, revealing terrifying spatial turbulence beneath.
Against such an attack, Sadius knew better than to rely solely on defense. Only offense could dispel offense—otherwise, he'd be caught in the destructive force of the spatial fissures.
Raising his Amethyst Divine Blade, Sadius unleashed his ultimate move—Slaughter Tempest. The terrifying blade storm surged outward. On their first clash alone, the space around them quaked violently.
Naturally, neither of them would limit the battle to distant strikes for long.
With a flash, their weapons collided directly.
Two Sovereign artifacts crashed together, and the space once again shook.
Yet Sadius felt something lacking from this battle.
"My lady, how about we take this fight into chaotic space?" he suggested.
"You think you can survive within spatial turbulence?" the Redbud Sovereign asked with surprise.
The chaotic spatial flows were extraordinarily perilous. Below the Great Perfection level, one without a complete set of defensive Sovereign artifacts was almost guaranteed to die within.
Even with such artifacts or Great Perfection status, one could only drift helplessly within the flows, completely unable to control their own body.
Only Sovereigns could truly move freely within the chaotic space.
"My physical body is already approaching the level of a Sovereign artifact. My soul-protecting Sovereign artifact has also been completely repaired."
"But it's still only close to Sovereign artifact level," she countered.
She then took out an item from her spatial ring and tossed it to Sadius.
Catching it, Sadius discovered it was a full-body defensive Sovereign artifact that could be concealed beneath the skin.
"My lady, isn't it against the rules to grant more than one Sovereign artifact to a Sovereign's Emissary?"
"You're just borrowing it for now. As long as you don't take it out publicly, no one will know you have more than one."
In truth, the Sovereign artifacts on Sadius already surpassed that of most Sovereign Emissaries. However, his soul-defense Sovereign artifact hadn't been bestowed by a Sovereign—it was a remnant, broken artifact left behind by the deceased Azure Dragon Sovereign.
Such artifacts didn't prevent a Sovereign from rewarding their Emissary with additional ones.
Sadius' Coiling Dragon Ring had only been repaired after his four-way soul mutation and was now completely flawless.
He bound the new Sovereign artifact to himself and merged it into his body.
Then, the Redbud Sovereign used her artifact to tear open space, and the two of them leapt into the chaotic space.
As soon as he entered, Sadius realized he couldn't control his body at all. His limbs could move, but he had no leverage or footing—he could only drift along with the currents.
At that moment, the Redbud Sovereign's clone entered the turbulence as well, wrapping her and Sadius in her Sovereign power of Destruction.
Only then did Sadius regain his mobility—but just within the area she controlled.
Immediately, the battle resumed.
This time, neither had to worry about shattering space. After all, this was chaotic spatial turbulence. If even that could be broken, they'd be piercing through the entire Coiling Dragon universe itself.
Their Sovereign artifacts clashed again and again as they continuously unleashed profound techniques and ultimate strikes.
Sadius gradually entered a peak state—fully immersed, mindless, flowing with the rhythm of battle.
After a long while, Sadius' every movement had become instinctual, effortless.
Just then, in the far reaches of the chaotic space, a rift opened.
A figure stepped through into the turbulence.
"Zijing, I didn't expect you'd be dueling your own Sovereign Emissary inside the chaotic space," the man said as he flew over.
"Zijing greets my lord," her clone respectfully bowed.
In the Infernal Realm, there was only one person the Zijing Sovereign would address as "my lord"—Chief Destruction Sovereign, Uhtred.
Hearing her call the man "my lord," Sadius immediately guessed his identity. He hesitated, unsure whether to stop and pay his respects.
But Uhtred simply said, "Continue your duel. Pay me no mind."
The reason Uhtred appeared was because he sensed someone within the chaotic currents near the High Plane of Destruction. Upon investigating with divine sense, he discovered it was the Zijing Sovereign.
He had observed Sadius and Zijing's clone fighting under her protection, and his curiosity was piqued.
What's more, the techniques Sadius used bore a strange resemblance to Uhtred's own.
Sadius wielded a sword, while Uhtred used a spear—entirely different paths. Yet somehow, there was a shared essence.
"Zijing, if I recall correctly, this Emissary of yours is named Sadius? The second person in all of existence to undergo a threefold soul mutation?"
"Yes, my lord."
"From his techniques, I sense echoes of my own," Uhtred remarked.
Uhtred's ultimate technique was called World-Ender, but it was a spear art, not a sword technique.
"Your senses are sharp, my lord. He gained those insights not long ago, after watching a combat mirage of your battle."
"So that's why…No wonder I sensed it even from so far away. If only I had a clone myself—I'd love to spar with him."
Zijing hadn't expected Uhtred to think so highly of Sadius. For Uhtred to want to spar with someone…that individual would have to be at Sovereign level.
Meanwhile, the battle between Sadius and Zijing continued.
Bit by bit, Sadius began identifying the shortcomings in his comprehension of the Destruction Edict.
"This fifth profound truth…it's movement-based, involving spatial manipulation within the edict. The sixth… encompasses physical defense, soul defense, even physical offense, and resistance. But pure defense doesn't align with my path of Destruction."
"My defense doesn't come from withstanding—it comes from offense as defense."
"This fifth profound truth, I realized here in the chaotic space. If I master it, I won't need to dodge spatial rifts while inside a plane. No one will be able to exile me. Even in the turbulence, I'll be able to momentarily control my body without external help—and fight within the flows."
"And if I become a Sovereign, I could interfere with the currents themselves—manipulate them into weapons against my enemies."
Sadius' mind was clear as crystal. He had already grasped the essence of this profound truth.
"I'll name it: Destruction Reversal Profound Truth!"
"As for the sixth…After watching countless combat mirages and dueling the Redbud Sovereign, I've come to understand it. Attack as defense. End battles through assault. Integrate the endlessly cycling power of destruction into my body—harmless to myself, but able to wear down enemy attacks. Or release it outward as a light of annihilation capable of obliterating all."
"I'll name it: Obliteration Profound Truth!"
Thus, Sadius had entered the threshold of both his fifth and sixth Destruction Profound Mysteries. With his talent, it would take only a few more years of cultivation to reach Highgod level.
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