"Sigh…"
Inside the water estate, Locke's water divine clone looked at the violent lightning raging outside the Netherworld Mountains and shook his head.
Then, with a flicker, he appeared directly beside the Death Sovereign and called out, "Lilia!"
"Crackle—!"
Outside the Sovereign's palace, thunder roared incessantly.
"Locke, do you know what this means?"
The Death Sovereign slowly raised her hand and took a deep breath.
"It means that in the endless years to come, if you dare do anything excessive… I might not be able to stop myself from slapping you to death."
She wasn't joking.
Outside the Netherworld, perhaps she couldn't kill Locke with a single blow.
But within the Netherworld, with the amplification of the "Heart of the Netherworld," she could mobilize the power of the entire plane—her strength nearly rivaling that of the Death Overgod.
If she said one slap would be enough, she wouldn't need a second.
At least, before Locke fully comprehended the Laws of Space and ascended to the level of a Godking, within the Netherworld, she was unquestionably the strongest.
"Haha…"
Locke reached out with his right hand and grasped hers.
"Don't worry, Lilia. You won't get that chance."
Within the water estate, Locke held Lilia's right hand with his left, then took the ring from the box and slipped it onto her right index finger.
…
It was not unusual for Sovereigns to marry.
Some had families before becoming Sovereigns, and naturally did not abandon their spouses or children after ascending.
Some were already couples before becoming Sovereigns.
For example, the Amethyst Sovereign couple.
Others, after becoming Sovereigns, established families for the continuation of their bloodline.
For instance, the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns—or the Light Sovereign Augusta, who did so to conceal his identity.
However, a Sovereign marrying another Sovereign after ascending—
Throughout all these years, only Sovereign Locke had done so.
What shocked the other Sovereigns even more was his partner.
She was one of the Four Edicts Sovereigns—the Death Sovereign, who stood above all others!
And yet, when they thought about Locke's achievements, they couldn't help but feel—
If anyone in existence could match the Death Sovereign, it would only be him.
Compared to the other four Edict Sovereigns, what Locke lacked was merely the rank of his Sovereign spark.
If the Fate Sovereign spark he had obtained had been a High-level one instead of a Lesser one, then perhaps the current balance among Sovereigns would not be one dominated by four Edict Sovereigns—but five supreme rulers.
Even now, if Locke were slightly less restrained and less bound by reason, the structure of power among Sovereigns could shift into a "one supreme, many strong" configuration.
It could be said that Locke alone had the potential to reshape the entire structure of the magical universe.
Of this, the Death Sovereign had no doubt.
After all, Locke—who had now completed the fusion of four Water Profound Mysteries with the Edicts of Fate—already possessed strength on par with the Four Edict Sovereigns.
Although the other three were unaware of his recent breakthrough, they already treated him as an equal.
They had even made various preparations to prevent him from hunting Intermediate Water Sovereigns.
However, while they could restrain Locke through the Sovereign Pact regarding Sovereign sparks, they had no means of interfering with his fusion of Laws.
Still, the fusion of different types of Laws was far more difficult than that of a single system. They did not believe Locke could achieve that step in a short time—
Perhaps he was even stuck before reaching it.
Only the Life Sovereign, Wawaya, knew more.
From the Death Sovereign, she had learned that Locke might complete this breakthrough within a hundred million years.
And from their interactions, she had discerned something deeper.
Even then, she had already anticipated that before long, the Fate Sovereign Orloff would contact her and Wordred for a private meeting.
If their previous alignment to prevent Locke from hunting Water Sovereigns had been an unspoken understanding—
Then this time, that alliance would likely be brought into the open.
…
"That woman… actually got married?"
In Hell, within the Chaotic Sea, at Wukun City—
When Wordred, the Destruction Sovereign, heard the news of the Death Sovereign marrying Locke, his first reaction was to laugh.
It didn't sound like a funny joke.
Even now, Wordred still remembered the first time he had met her.
He had prided himself on being a supreme divine beast, Wukun—peerless in physical strength among equals.
Yet in the end, he had been beaten down by her bare fists.
Though both were the first lifeforms born from a supreme plane, he had still fallen short.
For countless years, Wordred had cultivated with the goal of surpassing her.
After achieving Paragon in Destruction, he had believed he could finally surpass her.
But during the first Sovereign Assembly, when she struck the Lightning Sovereign Hurley, Wordred could clearly sense—
Her strength was no weaker than his.
However…
In terms of Laws, he had already reached the end.
His physical body had also reached its limit.
To grow stronger, the only path left was to create a supreme technique capable of amplifying his power tenfold or even a hundredfold.
Just like Locke.
His water divine clone possessed only one percent of a Lesser Sovereign's Will, yet through fused Laws, he had reached the level of a Lesser Sovereign.
Then, with a single move—"World Freeze"—capable of instantly freezing Lesser Sovereigns, he had been elevated to Intermediate Sovereign status by Wordred himself.
A powerful technique could increase strength just as much as Will.
The difference was—
Will enhanced everything.
Techniques enhanced only specific aspects.
But a sufficiently powerful technique could even allow one to cross ranks.
For example—
The Four Divine Beasts' fused innate ability.
And Locke's "World Freeze."
Others might think differently, but after witnessing "World Freeze," Wordred had already begun focusing on creating his own ultimate technique.
What he hadn't expected was—
Before he could surpass the Death Sovereign, he received news of her marriage.
Though disbelief filled him, he had no choice but to accept a simple fact.
The Death Sovereign, despite being one of the most powerful beings in existence—
Was still a woman.
"So, after all these years… I, the Destruction Sovereign, am not even comparable to a woman…"
Once he accepted the news, Wordred lost all desire to surpass her.
No matter how strong she once was, now that she had become someone's wife, she no longer held his interest.
His pride would not allow him to challenge a married woman.
"Locke…"
Shifting his focus away from her, Wordred turned his attention to Locke.
Although Locke had been placed among the Law Sovereigns, Wordred—and the other two Edict Sovereigns—regarded him with even greater importance than their peers.
Only Paragons understood how difficult it was to fully comprehend a single set of Laws or Edicts.
Even Wordred, Wawaya, and Orloff, despite achieving Paragon, could not guarantee they would succeed again if they had to start over.
But Locke—
Water Paragon.
Fate Paragon.
And beyond that, his fusion of different Laws after soul mutation had already surpassed single-system Paragon, reaching the equivalent of nine fused Profound Mysteries.
Such talent and insight…
Wordred felt fortunate that Locke was only a dual-element soul mutate.
If he had been triple—or even quadruple—
Then even without a Sovereign spark, Locke might have been able to kill Sovereigns as a mere god.
At the thought, even Wordred felt a trace of fear.
Then his expression shifted slightly.
Perhaps this marriage… wasn't entirely bad.
Previously, he, Wawaya, and Orloff had silently aligned to prevent Locke from refining higher-level Water Sovereign sparks.
At that time, they believed that before Locke completed his fourth fusion, killing him would be no harder than killing Hurley.
But now—
The strongest among them, the Death Sovereign, had become Locke's wife.
There was no doubt—
If Locke attempted to refine an Intermediate Water Sovereign spark, she would stand by his side.
From now on, their vigilance would no longer be directed at Locke alone—
But at both Locke and the Death Sovereign.
With her power, she could suppress any one of them long enough for Locke to invade a plane and seize a Sovereign spark.
Wordred raised his head, glancing toward the Celestial Realm and the Life Divine Plane as his divine sense spread outward.
Soon, he snorted softly and withdrew his divine sense, returning to his research.
Alliances… were temporary.
Once he completed his ultimate technique—
Even if Locke seized an Intermediate Sovereign spark, he would have nothing to fear.
(End of Chapter)
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