Ignis' moves were incredibly effective.
Compared to Ignis, Linley's combat experience was still lacking. Before long, Linley was forced entirely into passive defense, unable to unleash any of his advantages.
The spectators cheered loudly for Ignis, all believing he had the match firmly in hand.
Outside the mountain range, Uhtred was visibly excited.
Ignis was his Sovereign Emissary. Although no soul contract had been signed between them, their connection ran deep. If Ignis were to become an Overgod, the two would undoubtedly become the strongest of allies.
"Sadius, your son is getting completely overwhelmed by Ignis. Aren't you even a little concerned?" Uhtred asked.
"What's there to worry about? As if Linley only has this much skill. That kid hasn't even started using his full strength yet," Sadius replied with a smile.
Linley was personally taught by him. His trump cards were far from exhausted.
To help Linley hold the fourth trial gate, Sadius had taught him more than a few powerful techniques.
As Linley continued defending against Ignis's onslaught, his body suddenly transformed—he underwent Dragonform.
Then, dozens of spikes shot out from Linley's body.
Just like Sadius, Linley had exactly 108 bone spikes after transforming.
That was why Sadius had passed down to Linley his improved Amethyst Spatial Domain technique.
Linley's comprehension of the Laws of the Earth had reached the Triple-Fusion level. When he unleashed the Amethyst Space, it was incredibly potent.
Under the enhancement of Willpower, the amethyst bone spikes tore through space within the domain, rending it apart repeatedly.
It was only then that Ignis realized he had fallen into a trap.
He should never have gotten so close to Linley.
Now, surrounded by countless spatial rifts, even the slightest misstep could cause him to be struck by one.
Though Ignis's physical body was extremely durable—almost at the level of a Sovereign artifact due to his unique race—it still couldn't match a true Sovereign weapon.
If he were hit by one of these spatial tears, he wasn't sure he could escape unscathed.
Once Linley neutralized the danger, he recalled the bone spikes, and the spatial rifts gradually healed.
But he didn't intend to finish Ignis with this move. He wanted to keep fighting. In his clash with Ignis, Linley felt his understanding of Mysteries deepening further.
Ignis, a formidable warrior with a triple-element soul mutation, wielded Laws far beyond the reach of ordinary experts. Even in such a brief exchange, Linley had already learned a great deal.
Linley even felt that, once this trial was over, he would be significantly closer to becoming a Highgod.
"Come again!" Linley shouted, slashing out with his sword once more ripping open a new spatial tear. Ignis dodged the attack and began to counter.
Having learned his lesson, Ignis no longer fought at close range. All his attacks came from a distance.
"Ignis, with such timid and hesitant attacks, do you think you can win this fourth trial?" Linley taunted.
"This is the Destruction Overgod's selection trial. To earn the Overgod's approval, you must first understand what true Destruction is. If you haven't fully grasped the path of Destruction, how could the Overgod possibly choose you?"
"You think the Embodiment of Destruction would hand over the reins of Destruction to someone who's lacking?!" Linley sneered attempting to rile up Ignis.
Though Linley spoke confidently, he still harbored doubts.
Why had his father said that the Overgod's selection didn't matter—only his opinion did?
Was his own judgment really that important? As if a single word from him could determine who the next Overgod would be?
"If I really had that power," Linley mused internally, "I would definitely appoint Big Brother as the next Destruction Overgod."
But it was clear that the first condition to become an Overgod was a mutated soul, and Luoshen didn't have one.
What he did not realize is that it is not him nor the Embodiment of Destruction that chooses the new Overgods, but Sadius himself. Sadius was Aether and all other Supreme aspects fall under it.
He had to, of course, follow certain rules of selection, otherwise Big Brother watching wouldn't be pleased.
However, at that very moment, a surprising event occurred within the Amethyst Mountains.
Luoshen, who had overseen the third trial, suddenly felt his Destruction talent that had been stuck at the Saint-level for so long loosen. A moment of enlightenment struck him.
A burst of divine law descended upon the Amethyst Estate nearby.
Luoshen had finally become a God through his Destruction affinity!
Everyone turned to this unexpected development in shock.
But the phenomenon quickly ended, and people turned their attention back.
The battle between Linley and Ignis still raged on.
After Linley's earlier words, Ignis seemed to grasp something. From that moment on, he used only Destruction-element attacks.
He continuously unleashed various Destruction Mysteries, and both he and Linley entered a trance-like state of combat.
Ignis could feel that he had long been stuck at the final bottleneck of the Destruction Laws, but now, something was shifting.
Could it be that in this very battle, he would finally break through and reach the Great Perfection of the Destruction Laws?
Linley, too, was gaining much.
During their clash, he seemed to have touched upon the Mystery of Fusion of Different Elements.
Of course, he had just stepped into it. But this wasn't an ordinary entry-level understanding—
He had merged the Earth-style 'Pulsating Earth' Mystery with the Wind-style 'Dimensional Attack' Mystery!
At this point, Sadius could hardly contain his joy.
If Linley could also fuse the Fire-style 'Explosion' Mystery and the Water-style 'Malleability' Mystery, wouldn't that mean Linley would complete his ultimate attack—Sword Intent?
Though Sadius himself was once a four-element soul mutation wielder, he had never achieved a four-element fusion.
Now that Linley had that chance, how could Sadius not be thrilled?
The fight grew more intense, but neither side could land a decisive blow.
Everyone watched anxiously.
Time continued to pass…
Suddenly, a surge of divine law descended upon Ignis.
Ignis had achieved Great Perfection in the Destruction Laws.
Even Ignis himself hadn't expected to break through under such conditions.
Upon reaching Great Perfection, his power surged dramatically.
The gap between a Shura and a Great Perfection expert was one thousand times.
Add in his triple-element soul mutation—a further hundredfold boost.
Add again the fusion divine power enhanced by his God Spark essence Mystery, boosting it another hundredfold.
Now, Ignis's power was ten million times greater than that of a regular Shura.
Even among Great Perfection experts, he stood ten thousand times stronger.
Ignis could feel it clearly—Now that he had acquired Willpower, he was a completely different being.
"Linley, thank you. Without your guidance, I would never have reached Great Perfection in the Destruction Laws. Now, I will defeat you with my strongest strike."
"Congratulations," Linley said with a faint smile.
Ignis grasped his divine sword.
He then unleashed the ultimate technique drawn purely from the Destruction Laws at Great Perfection.
"I call this move…Shura Infernal Realm."
Homage to his title as the first Shura and the embodiment of destruction represented by the infernal realm.
An overwhelming, pure Destruction aura exploded from Ignis's body.
Linley focused entirely, finally bringing out his trump card.
Even Sadius didn't fully understand what Linley was doing.
"Ignis, you are indeed powerful. But this next move of mine…is terrifying as well. It's not from my own strength. No matter the outcome, I acknowledge you as a worthy inheritor of the Destruction Overgod."
Linley gripped his sword in his right hand.
Then, four-element fusion divine power surged from his left hand, brushing across the blade. A grayish energy emerged from the Sovereign artifact Mirage Sword.
No one inside or outside the mountain range understood what Linley was doing.
Only Sadius suddenly rose in shock.
Whether it was his true body within the Overgod Plane of Aether, or his clone at the Amethyst Castle or his clones in the other castles—
All wore the same expression of disbelief as they stared at the scene.
"This…this is impossible!"
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