For Locke, successfully forging a Sovereign artifact capable of soul attacks was not something worth celebrating.
In his eyes, whether it was the divine artifacts used by gods in the Coiling Dragon universe, or even the Sovereign artifacts wielded by Sovereigns, they were all far too primitive.
Infused with divine power, they became divine artifacts.
Infused with Sovereign power, they became Sovereign artifacts.
These weapons could withstand the might of gods and Sovereigns, and even provide some degree of amplification.
But in Locke's view, let alone divine artifacts—even Sovereign artifacts nurtured by Sovereigns were nothing more than somewhat stronger weapons. They could not truly be called "artifacts."
The kind of artifact Locke envisioned was one imbued with all manner of special abilities—so powerful that even a weak god could rely on it to contend with, or even slay, a stronger opponent.
From that perspective, the natural treasures of the Coiling Dragon universe more closely resembled what Locke considered a true "artifact."
Since becoming a Sovereign—no, even since beginning his cultivation—Locke had hardly ever used a weapon.
Before reaching the Saint level, he had only carried an ordinary magic staff.
After becoming a Saint, given his profound understanding of the Laws, weapons offered him little enhancement.
If one counted carefully, the weapon he had held the longest was the Highgod artifact "Rising Sun Spear," which he had seized from the Radiant Pope.
However, after returning to the Frostsnow Plane, he had returned the spear to the Pope.
After all, at that point, whether he possessed the weapon or not made no difference to him.
Now, after fully fusing four Profound Mysteries of Water with the Edicts of Fate, Locke's strength had reached a level comparable to the other three Edict Sovereigns.
But compared to them, he still had a weakness.
The four Edict Sovereigns would, in the future, each possess their own Overgod artifact.
Although Locke had immense confidence in his strength, he was not arrogant enough to believe he could defeat an Edict Sovereign wielding an Overgod artifact.
At present, he did not know whether he would have the fortune to complete the fifth or sixth Overgod missions and obtain such an artifact.
Thus, he decided to forge a weapon of his own—one perfectly suited to him.
And this weapon would be entirely different from anything that currently existed in the Coiling Dragon universe.
This marriage contract was merely a byproduct of his research.
While Lilia believed he had pioneered a new class of Sovereign artifacts, in Locke's eyes, it was nothing more than a failed attempt.
"This Sovereign artifact only counts as half a step forward. It's still far from ushering in a new era."
"Oh?"
Hearing this, the Death Sovereign's eyes lit up.
"Locke, from the way you speak, it sounds like you already have a clearer idea of this new kind of Sovereign artifact?"
"Mm."
Locke nodded.
Before their marriage, he had never hidden things from her.
Now that they were husband and wife—sharing fate, life, and death—there was even less reason to conceal anything.
Aside from the secret of his transmigration, and anything related to the Hongmeng Space before he was strong enough, there was nothing he felt the need to hide from Lilia.
"Lilia, the Sovereign artifact I want to forge… will be my own ultimate weapon."
"You know that my strongest aspect right now is my fusion of Water and Fate."
Not long ago, Locke's fusion of Water and Space had even rivaled—or surpassed—his Water-Fate fusion.
Otherwise, he would not have been able to use "World Freeze" to completely immobilize the Falling Snow Sovereign, leaving him utterly unable to resist, and prompting Wordred to propose elevating Locke's water divine clone to a Intermediate Sovereign.
However, after completing the fusion of the fourth Water Profound Mystery with Fate, the power of his Water-Fate fusion had once again surpassed Water-Space, reclaiming its position as his strongest Law.
With a thousandfold increase in strength, Locke's water divine clone, relying solely on fused Laws, was now more than ten times stronger than ordinary Intermediate Sovereigns.
"A Sovereign artifact nurtured by Sovereign power alone is meaningless to me."
"In fact, unless it's in the hands of one of you four, even a Sovereign artifact wielded by a Law Sovereign is nothing more than trash I can shatter with a casual strike…"
On this point, Lilia nodded.
The inherent strength of Sovereign artifacts was the same.
What differed was the Will of their wielder.
Under the protection of Will, only a gap of more than tenfold strength could damage a Sovereign artifact.
To shatter one in a single blow required a difference of a hundredfold—just like killing a Sovereign.
The same artifact, in the hands of a Law Sovereign, could be crushed by Locke in a single strike, killing its wielder in the process.
But in the hands of the four Edict Sovereigns, even Locke could only damage it—not destroy it outright.
"So, what kind of Sovereign artifact do you want to create?" Lilia asked.
"Hmm…"
Locke rubbed his chin.
"The Sovereign artifact I want should be something that can carry my Laws."
"I want to inscribe all the Profound Mysteries I've comprehended into it—so that the weapon itself possesses the same power as me. It would be almost like a second version of myself."
As Locke slowly described his vision, Lilia's eyes grew brighter and brighter.
The other three Edict Sovereigns had formed an alliance against Locke. Both he and Lilia were well aware of this.
Now that Locke had already broken through, his strength was no weaker than theirs—and Lilia herself was even stronger.
Thus, neither of them truly took the alliance seriously.
However, being guarded against like this—even though Locke had no interest in Water Sovereign sparks—still left a sour taste in their hearts.
This was also why Locke had chosen not to publicize his breakthrough.
At present, the others only feared that Locke might obtain an Intermediate or Highgod Water Sovereign spark.
But if they learned of his actual strength, they might go as far as relocating even the two Lesser Water Sovereigns to the Life Divine Plane or Hell.
At that point, the Water Divine Plane would become the only plane without a Sovereign's protection, and its unstable Laws would inevitably lead to its collapse.
Of this, both Locke and Lilia had no doubt.
After all, even when the Water Divine Plane had previously been on the verge of collapse, Orloff had refused to allow the Azure Wave Sovereign to leave the Celestial Realm.
To prevent Locke from growing stronger, Wordred and Orloff would not hesitate to take such measures again.
Unless absolutely necessary, Locke did not want the Water Divine Plane to suffer because of him.
Though he was not a Water Sovereign—and thus would not be punished if the plane collapsed—
The Death Sovereign, as one of the four Edict Sovereigns and a creator of the Sovereign Pact, was implicitly entrusted by Hongmeng to maintain stability.
If the plane's collapse led to her punishment—even with a one-in-a-billion chance—Locke would not take that risk.
If he succeeded in creating such an artifact, then even without using it, it would be equivalent to having another Locke.
And if he wielded it himself…
Whether their power combined additively or multiplicatively, it would be enough to force the other three to abandon their opposition.
Because by then, they would understand—
While they had tried to block Locke's progress along one path, he had already surpassed them through another, reaching heights they could never attain.
This realization was precisely why Lilia felt such excitement.
Though they did not fear the others' schemes, the constant vigilance was still irritating.
"So how far have you gotten?" she asked.
"Still far from it…"
Locke shook his head. Unlike Lilia's confidence, he was not as certain.
His concept for this weapon came from a novel in his previous life—one that described Great Emperors and their Imperial Weapons.
In his view, the Sovereigns of the Coiling Dragon universe were far stronger than those so-called Great Emperors.
But their weapons—
Imperial Weapons far surpassed Sovereign artifacts.
They possessed intelligence, could carry the Emperor's Laws, and even without their master, once awakened, could rival a newly ascended Emperor.
Since the Coiling Dragon universe also revolved around Laws, Locke wondered—
If he could inscribe his own Profound Mysteries into a Sovereign artifact, could it also wield fused Laws?
Unfortunately, after all these years, he had not found any material capable of bearing such inscriptions.
Or rather—
It wasn't that he hadn't found anything.
The natural treasures he had collected all contained fragments of the universe's Laws, each with unique and wondrous properties.
But none could store or carry complete Law inscriptions.
What Locke truly desired was to observe the birth of such a treasure.
If he could witness the formation of a natural treasure firsthand, he believed he would be able to comprehend how to engrave Laws into a Sovereign artifact.
Yet despite the abundance of such treasures, not once had he ever seen—or even heard of—anyone witnessing their creation.
(End of Chapter)
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