Linley cleaved through space with a single sword strike, directly slicing off Brighton's divine artifact and one of his arms.
Everyone present was stunned beyond belief—especially Ignis.
As a being on par with a Paragon, Ignis naturally had the power to tear open space at will.
However, the space within the Amethyst Mountains had been reinforced by Overgod Sadius. Unless one was a Paragon, it was impossible to break through.
Suspecting that the spatial fabric here might be thinner than elsewhere, Ignis immediately attempted to slash it open.
But even with his full strength, the space remained unshakably solid.
If the space was still so firm…then there was only one possibility: Linley was a Paragon!
"Ignis' expression turned serious. "Lyle, Diana—do you know anything about this Linley? Is he truly a Paragon-level expert?"
"No, Linley's only a Midgod," Diana replied.
"But I've heard he's the first ever four-way soul mutate in all existence."
Everyone was shocked.
A four-way soul mutation?
Could such a thing truly exist?
Even dual-soul mutations were nearly a guaranteed death sentence. A triple-soul mutation was as good as suicide.
No one had ever heard of a successful four-way soul mutation.
Let alone surviving it—just being born with four elemental affinities was already unimaginably rare.
"Could it be…that four-way soul mutations are fundamentally different from dual or triple ones? That they directly grant one the divine might of Will, normally only gained by Paragons?" This thought emerged in Ignis' mind.
He had no idea whether his guess was correct.
Another possibility was that Linley was actually a Sovereign, and what stood before them was merely his divine clone.
Either way, this fourth trial was incredibly difficult.
The worst part was that this round was a one-on-one duel. They couldn't rely on the magical formation from the third trial.
Although Linley was just a Midgod, he possessed a full set of Sovereign artifacts.
And most importantly, he could casually tear through space—possibly banishing others into the chaotic spatial streams.
All ten of the challengers had already had their Sovereign artifacts destroyed in the third trial.
If they were exiled into chaotic space, even their Sovereign backers might not be able to save them before they died.
After losing an arm, Brighton immediately fled.
Linley didn't pursue. He simply stood in the center of the plaza, waiting for his next challenger.
Brighton returned to the group, using divine power to heal his wounds.
"That Linley is too strong," Brighton sighed. "Perhaps only Senior Ignis can face him."
Was Linley truly that strong?
With a full Sovereign artifact set and the divine might of Will, Linley could tear open space with a single strike—yes, extremely powerful indeed.
But his understanding of the profound mysteries was shallow. He was still only a Midgod. His combat techniques were limited, and he was still young—his battle experience far inferior to those who had lived for countless years.
In that sense, Linley was actually quite weak.
It was clear that Sadius had been lenient by assigning Linley as the final gatekeeper of this trial.
Otherwise, if Beirut's dark-element identity clone had been assigned, he could have crushed all challengers in a few blows.
In truth, Sadius had deeper intentions.
Who was Linley?
He was Sadius' youngest son.
But more than that—Linley was destined to become a Controller of the Hongmeng realm.
By making Linley the final gatekeeper and letting him choose the inheritor of the Destruction Sovereign's legacy, Sadius ensured that even Hongmeng would be satisfied with the outcome.
Sadius mainly intended for Linley to learn through these battles—facing soul mutates would help Linley better comprehend the profound mysteries. Perhaps it would accelerate his growth.
After some discussion, the challengers unanimously agreed that only Ignis stood a chance.
And so Ignis decided to face Linley.
After all—the legacy of the Overgod of Destruction was right before them.
"Ignis Ashura of the Abyssal Plane," Ignis introduced himself solemnly. He treated Linley with great respect—after all, this was a four-way soul mutate.
"Linley of the Yulan Plane." Linley gazed at the man before him. He knew full well—this opponent's combat power surpassed even that of a Paragon.
Ignis unsheathed a divine sword—an artifact he had used before obtaining a Sovereign weapon. Even after acquiring one, he continued to use this blade for his divine clones.
"Linley, may I ask you something before we fight?"
"Go ahead."
"Your divine Power of Will… is it because you have a Sovereign clone? Or is it due to your four-way soul mutation?"
"I don't have a Sovereign clone," Linley replied calmly.
He didn't outright say that his Will came from his mutation—but his silence confirmed it.
Outside the mountain range, the Sovereigns observing this scene were in an uproar.
There was now another method to obtain the divine Power of Will. Although incredibly rare, the revelation still shocked the Sovereigns.
No need to reach Paragon comprehension of the profound mysteries. No need to become a Sovereign. As long as one was a four-way soul mutate, they could gain the divine might of Will.
"And that's not all," said a Sovereign seated in a distant castle. "Linley's combat power is higher than I anticipated. It's not just one portion of Will. I estimate about 1.6 portions."
The other Sovereigns were stunned. News spread quickly among them.
Although Linley was the son of an Overgod and off-limits for personal schemes, these Sovereigns ruled countless material planes.
Among all those countless lifeforms, surely some had the potential for four-way mutations.
If they experimented enough—no matter how many died—they might be able to create another miracle.
And thus, in the minds of these Sovereigns, a storm even more terrifying than the ancient Faith Wars began to form.
Outside the Amethyst Castle, the battle between Ignis and Linley had already begun.
Ignis opened with his strongest moves, knowing full well he needed to keep the initiative—otherwise, Linley's space-tearing strikes would be impossible to evade.
But Linley held nothing back either.
Though his comprehension in each Law was shallow, he had touched upon all four.
Coupled with the divine authority granted by Will, he could slash open space at will.
Ignis couldn't get close at all. No matter how strong his attacks, they were ineffective against Linley.
The two clashed in the sky for a long time. Ignis unleashed all kinds of techniques, but for a while, neither could gain the upper hand.
Linley knew he was weaker than Ignis, so he used the fight to analyze and refine his understanding of the profound mysteries.
Ignis, too, realized that unless he broke through to Paragon level, there was no way he could win.
Relying on the stealth techniques of the darkness element, Ignis avoided being slashed by Linley's spatial rifts.
"This Linley's attacks are clumsy," Ignis thought. "If I time my counterattacks during his openings, he'll be forced to defend constantly—and if he can't go on the offensive, he won't be able to tear space!"
A plan began to take shape in Ignis' mind.
It wouldn't let him defeat someone wielding a full Sovereign set, but he didn't believe Linley could endure a relentless beating forever without yielding.
Ignis once again lunged toward Linley—dodging spatial rifts while closing the distance.