And if, after advancing to the Highgod level, he completed the fusion of all nine Wind Laws Profound Mysteries, then Teresia would become another Paragon after Dunnington.
And this was with Father's guidance despite Father lacking affinity for the Wind Laws.
He himself possessed a water divine clone just like Father. Therefore, Father's guidance for him would definitely be even more effective than the guidance he had given Teresia.
"I want to become a Paragon!"
At this moment, Loran seemed to have returned to the day he first stepped onto the battle platform and declared his ambition before everyone watching.
"I want to become the strongest expert of the Water Laws!"
"Good!"
"That's the spirit my son should have!"
Seeing Loran regain his drive, Locke laughed heartily.
To become a Paragon, possessing an invincible spirit was indispensable.
This was also why, when Teresia had said that the Wind Laws were the strongest, Locke hadn't denied him.
"Alright, An'an."
"Earlier, your mother said that she wants your Death divine clone to go see her at the Sovereign Palace atop Mount Nether."
"According to her, if your cultivation in the Edicts of Death doesn't gain her approval this time, then you should prepare yourself to leave your Death divine clone on Mount Nether for the rest of your life."
"How can this be?"
Locke's words immediately caused Loran's soaring spirit to plummet.
For Loran, interacting with his father felt like being with a brother, a father, and a friend all at once.
But toward his mother, there was only reverence.
The reason for this difference naturally came from the influence of Locke's memories from Earth.
Although the time Locke had lived in the Coiling Dragon universe far exceeded the age of Earth itself, his memories, personality, and values had all been formed during those twenty-some years on Earth.
Thus, when interacting with Loran, unless Loran made mistakes, Locke rarely displayed the authority of a father.
As for the Chief Sovereign of Death, Lilia, she naturally doted on Loran greatly as well.
However, the way she spoiled him differed from how the Intermediate Sovereign of Destruction, Redbud, doted on Reisgem.
Redbud kept Reisgem by her side to protect him.
The Chief Sovereign of Death, however, wanted Loran to possess enough strength to protect himself.
Thus, whenever she noticed Loran slacking off during their travels, she would take out a whip and urge him onward.
It was a literal "whipping."
It was precisely under the Chief Sovereign of Death's education that Loran's defensive techniques in the Water Laws had become noticeably stronger than his offensive techniques.
"Go on."
"Once your Death divine clone enters secluded training, we'll begin our own cultivation."
The reason Locke said this was because he knew that once Loran's Death divine clone arrived at the Chief Sovereign Palace, it would inevitably be "educated" by Lilia for a period of time.
Under such circumstances, Loran would be unable to cultivate peacefully.
That would undoubtedly weaken the impact of the Paragon-level Water Laws on his mind.
"Sigh..."
Loran drooped his head. Although he was extremely reluctant to go to his mother's Sovereign Palace, his reverence for her prevented him from disobeying her orders.
Immediately, his Death divine clone emerged from his body and flew toward the Sovereign Palace atop Mount Nether with the mentality of "the wind whistles mournfully by the Yi River; once the warrior departs, he shall never return."
A few breaths later, Locke sensed waves of divine power fluctuations coming from the Sovereign Palace, accompanied by Loran's miserable howls.
Even the flesh on the face of Loran's original body, which remained here with Locke, twitched from time to time.
From this, one could imagine just how tragic the treatment suffered by the Loran facing the Chief Sovereign of Death truly was.
...
As Locke had expected, before the divine power fluctuations from the Sovereign Palace ceased, neither Loran's original body nor his Water divine clone had any thoughts of cultivating.
Fortunately, the scene didn't last long.
More than ten years later, the Chief Sovereign of Death's education came to an end, and Loran's Death divine clone entered a state of secluded training.
Locke used his illusions to create several games and pulled Loran into his illusionary world to play with him for several days. Only after adjusting Loran's state did Locke remove the barrier over Loran's soul and allow him to witness the Paragon-level Water Laws for the first time.
"So beautiful..."
Like Lilia before him, upon seeing the Water Mansion formed from flawless and complete Water Laws for the first time, Loran immediately became immersed within it.
Soon, Water Laws surged around Loran. Under his comprehension, the six Water Laws Profound Mysteries began to touch, collide, and merge with one another...
Seeing that Loran had entered a state of enlightenment, Locke no longer paid attention to him.
After all, within his Sovereign estate, no accidents could possibly occur.
The only question was how much progress Loran would gain from this enlightenment.
While Loran cultivated, Locke closed his eyes. His soul power spread out, and his Water Laws clone, just as before in the Wind Divine Plane, continued following behind Teresia.
After obtaining direction from Locke, Teresia had not left the Netherworld. Instead, he continued traveling throughout it.
During this period, Teresia registered as a Two-Star Fiend, and in battle he mainly used the four Profound Mysteries of Sound Wave, Sound Music, Doppelganger, and Windstyle.
Precisely because he devoted himself to these four Wind Laws Profound Mysteries, and because each pair shared deep connections, within only a few years Teresia successfully established compatibility between the two pairs.
He merely needed some more time for fusion and a few flashes of inspiration before he could master the Sound Profound Mystery and the Windstyle Profound Mystery fused with Doppelganger.
Locke had long known that he himself was a "person of uncertain fate," ever since he intercepted the destiny of the creator of the Infernal Realm's Fiend Castles.
In the Coiling Dragon universe, the destinies of most living beings were predetermined. A Hongmeng Controller could see through the destinies of all life within the universe at a glance.
However, the Great Dao had fifty paths, while Heaven derived only forty-nine.
The Hongmeng universe was no exception.
If the destinies of all beings within a universe were fixed, then that universe would have no "future."
Because everything would already be determined, without the slightest variation.
Therefore, within the Hongmeng universe, several "people of uncertain fate" would always appear.
When such individuals came into contact with those whose destinies were fixed, depending on the circumstances, they would alter the fated individuals' destinies. Those changes would then influence even more destinies, creating an unknown "future" for the world.
Teresia was someone with a predetermined destiny.
In the future, he would obtain a Wind Lesser Sovereign spark, become a Paragon, and become a Wind Paragon Lesser Sovereign whose power rivaled that of an Intermediate Sovereign.
However, contact between those of fixed destiny and those of uncertain destiny would alter the former's fate.
Now, even Locke could no longer determine whether Teresia still possessed the destiny of becoming a Paragon or a Wind Sovereign.
However, one thing Locke could confirm.
Teresia had an extremely high probability of becoming a Wind Paragon.
And this time, it would happen before he became a Sovereign.
After all, Locke had followed Teresia for so long and still had not discovered him obtaining a Wind Lesser Sovereign spark.
Clearly, regardless of whether Teresia's original destiny involved becoming a Sovereign first and then relying upon the faith energy within the Sovereign spark to become a Wind Paragon, his current destiny would definitely be to become a Paragon first, and only afterward become a Sovereign.
...
"Hahahaha! Hahahaha!"
"I understand now!"
One day, Locke heard Loran's wild laughter. With his hands behind his back, he walked onto the floating bridge and looked toward Loran, who was laughing with his head thrown back and one hand covering his eyes.
Seeing this scene, the corner of Locke's mouth twitched.
Was that pose copied from Iori Yagami from The King of Fighters, or from the Pirate Empress from One Piece?
You're only a little brat barely over one meter tall. Why are you imitating those two?
It seemed that in the future, when playing games with An'an, he would need to pay attention to those cutscenes.
"Ahem."
Unable to bear watching any longer, Locke coughed several times to remind Loran that he was still present.
"Hahaha, Father! Not only have I found the compatibility point for my sixth Water Laws Profound Mystery with the other five, I've even fused a small portion of it already."
"I estimate that within a million years, I'll reach the final stage of fusion."
Hearing Locke's cough, Loran emerged from his state of enlightenment and immediately hopped over to report the good news.
"Very good, An'an."
"It wasn't in vain that I waited until now before allowing you to truly see the appearance of this Water Mansion."
Locke smiled and rubbed Loran's head in praise.
"Huh?"
At Locke's words, Loran suddenly remembered.
This wasn't the first time he had seen his father's residence.
Yet only this time had he discovered that the Water Mansion had been built using Father's complete Water Laws.
"Father, how did you do this?"
"You want to learn?"
"Mhm!"
"Then I'll teach you."
"However, An'an, you must understand that regardless of the technique, the Laws are always the foundation."
"I can teach you illusion techniques, but how powerful those illusions become depends on your comprehension of the Water Laws and the strength of your soul."
Seeing his son interested in illusions, Locke naturally had no intention of hiding anything from him.
He also wished to see whether Loran could learn his illusion techniques.
"An'an, the essence of illusions is deception."
"Deceiving enemies, deceiving oneself, deceiving the world..."
"Among the Water Laws, the Mist Profound Mystery is the one most closely connected to the soul, making it the best carrier for illusions..."
(End of Chapter)
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