"What an unexpected delight..."
Sensing the breakthrough in his fused Laws, even Locke couldn't suppress the corners of his lips from rising.
More than three trillion years ago, the fusion between Locke's fifth Water Law Profound Mystery and the Edicts of Fate had already reached its critical point.
Yet that final sliver had resisted him for over three trillion years of secluded cultivation.
Although over these three trillion years, Locke had only used his Fate Sovereign clone to cultivate the fusion of Water and Fate, the breakthrough of a major bottleneck required that flash of inspiration. Even if Locke devoted all of his efforts entirely to cultivating fused Laws, at most he would only be able to slightly increase the speed of fusion.
It was of no help whatsoever when it came to breaking through major bottlenecks.
At one point, Locke had even believed that perhaps this was his limit.
But Locke had never imagined that he would merely attempt to research a method to stimulate his son's spirituality, become immersed in it himself, and ultimately break through the bottleneck of fused Laws.
After putting away the Death Chief Sovereign ice sculpture into his interspatial ring, Locke casually tore open a spatial crack and entered the spatial turbulence, heading toward the Netherworld.
Although Locke also had an original body in the Netherworld, located halfway up Mount Nether, he felt that something like this would only have an effect if he demonstrated it to Loran personally.
Maintaining the same speed he normally displayed, Locke continued traveling through spatial turbulence.
He did not reveal any increase in speed due to his breakthrough.
At his current status and position, he no longer needed to display his strength to protect himself, nor would the other Sovereigns seek trouble for themselves by disturbing Locke's cultivation.
Those Sovereigns whose divine senses extended into the spatial turbulence sensed Chief Sovereign Locke leaving the Water Divine Plane and heading toward the Netherworld, but none of them followed.
After all, everyone knew the relationship between Chief Sovereign Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign.
And since Chief Sovereign Locke had guarded the Water Divine Plane for so many years, occasionally returning to the Netherworld wasn't something anyone paid much attention to.
At present, among all Sovereigns, Chief Sovereign Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign unquestionably occupied the first tier.
Even if the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts and the remaining forty Sovereigns joined forces, they still probably wouldn't be enough for Chief Sovereign Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign to kill.
Of course, while everyone held immense respect for Chief Sovereign Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign, they also knew that both of them were qualified leaders among Sovereigns.
The Sovereign Pact they had established, along with the division of responsibilities among Sovereigns, had caused the High Sovereigns to lose some freedom, but it had guaranteed the rights of Lesser Sovereigns and Intermediate Sovereigns.
Furthermore, Chief Sovereign Locke had led by example, personally remaining in the Water Divine Plane to sort out the disordered Laws and increase the concentration of Water elemental essence and Water Laws. The other Chief Sovereigns of the Laws had no choice but to follow suit.
In short, for the vast majority of Sovereigns, as long as Lord Chief Sovereign Locke and Lady Death Chief Sovereign remained, order among Sovereigns would never descend into chaos.
No one liked living in an era of disorder.
One Sovereign War was more than enough.
...
Rip!
Within the Sovereign Palace atop Mount Nether, the Death Chief Sovereign, seated upon her throne, opened her eyes.
A spatial crack appeared in the main hall, and Locke stepped out from the spatial turbulence into the Death Chief Sovereign's palace.
After sensing Locke's aura, the Death Chief Sovereign closed her eyes once more.
Tearing through space from the spatial turbulence directly into a Divine Plane or Higher Plane was considered a provocation toward that plane's ruling Sovereign.
If anyone else dared enter the Netherworld in this manner, even one of the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, the Death Chief Sovereign would certainly teach them a lesson.
But if it was Locke...
Well, Locke could be considered half the master of the Netherworld as well.
As long as he didn't destroy the Netherworld, the Death Chief Sovereign wouldn't feel the slightest dissatisfaction no matter what he did.
"Hehehe..."
Locke glanced at the Death Chief Sovereign. Seeing that she had no intention of paying attention to him, he chuckled awkwardly a few times and began searching for Loran's aura.
Death Chief Sovereign Lilia had never accepted being inferior to anyone in her life.
After becoming a Paragon of the Edicts of Death and touching upon the existence of a higher Law beyond the Edicts of Death, she herself had become a cultivation fanatic, devoting most of her time to training.
However, higher-level Laws naturally represented greater difficulty.
Although she had secluded herself for trillions of years, her progress in comprehending this unknown Law beyond the Edicts of Death had been limited.
Yet for the Death Chief Sovereign, any progress at all felt wonderful.
Compared to the days before becoming a Paragon, when no matter how hard she cultivated she couldn't improve even slightly, these tiny advances in the unknown Law felt like heaven itself.
Not to mention that the unknown Law touched through the Edicts of Death could fuse with the Edicts of Death and produce even greater effects, further increasing the Death Chief Sovereign's power.
Only concerns regarding Loran's safety could distract her attention even slightly.
However, the Death Chief Sovereign had absolute confidence in Locke.
She believed that with the sense of crisis Locke possessed back when he had still been at the god level, he would certainly have prepared everything for Loran.
All she needed to do was provide some "encouragement" whenever Loran became lazy and ensure that he didn't fall into despair because his strength could no longer improve.
...
"Hand of Death!"
Within one of the cultivation chambers in the Sovereign Palace, the gray-robed Loran raised his hand.
In front of him, an enormous palm condensed from the Edicts of Death appeared and clenched its fist in sync with Loran's own hand.
At the center of the giant hand, space itself shattered, countless fragments of space bursting into the spatial turbulence.
If a Prefect were struck by this attack, they certainly wouldn't emerge unscathed.
Judging from the power displayed by this move, Loran's Death divine clone had successfully reached the level of a Prefect during these several hundred thousand years.
"Not bad. It seems these hundreds of thousands of years haven't been wasted, An'an."
"Father!"
Upon hearing Locke's voice, Loran's eyes lit up instantly and he turned toward the cultivation chamber entrance.
Standing there beyond the open door was Locke, dressed in white robes with white hair.
"Father, is this your Fate divine clone?"
Loran curiously circled around Locke and asked.
Although he was Locke's son, all he had ever seen over the years had been Locke's original body.
This was his first time seeing Locke's Fate Sovereign clone.
"That's right. This is your father's Fate divine clone."
Locke did not explain that his Fate divine clone was also a Sovereign.
In Loran's mind, his father was a Water Sovereign Paragon.
Well, this was also information Loran had learned from the other inhabitants of the Netherworld.
"An'an, the reason your father has come to see you this time is because I've thought of a method that might help you take that final half-step."
With a flip of his hand, the ice sculpture of the Death Chief Sovereign appeared in Locke's palm.
"Mother?"
The pressure emanating from the sculpture in Locke's hand caused Loran's breathing to falter.
Although he was the child of Sovereigns, neither Locke nor the Death Chief Sovereign had ever displayed Sovereign-level pressure before him.
Yet the sculpture Locke had carved contained the domineering aura of the Death Chief Sovereign—the unrivaled majesty with which she stood above heaven and earth.
Aside from the intensity being weaker than the Death Chief Sovereign herself, the pressure it emitted was nearly comparable to that of a Lesser Sovereign.
Under such terrifying pressure, even Loran's heart trembled.
Had he not recognized the familiar face of the statue, Loran would probably have knelt beneath this overwhelming aura.
"That's right. This is an ice sculpture your father carved based on my impressions of your mother."
"And throughout the entire process, I didn't use any Laws to assist me."
"This is the technique I intend to teach you today."
"If you can also reach my level and carve a statue embodying my Paragon state, then the path toward becoming a Paragon will become completely unobstructed."
Next, Locke began teaching Loran the basic principles of the ice sculpture method he had developed over these years.
With Loran's current abilities, merely hearing it once allowed him to memorize almost everything.
What remained afterward was extensive practice and eventually reaching the realm of a true master.
"The complete Laws are already contained within the soul-protecting Sovereign artifact scroll your father gave you."
"Mm, I understand, Father."
"This time, I won't disappoint you again."
Loran spoke seriously.
Although his father had only said that this method might help him break through to become a Water Paragon, Loran also wished to test whether carving his mother's statue might allow his Edicts of Death to reach the Paragon realm as well.
"Hahaha, what nonsense are you saying?"
Locke laughed and lightly slapped Loran on the head.
"You're my son. No matter what achievements you attain, you are my pride."
"I have never been disappointed in you, An'an."
"Yes, Father!"
After Locke departed, Loran took a deep breath and began his cultivation.
Within a small city in the Fire Divine Plane, Loran's original body suddenly became absent-minded for a moment.
Then he stretched out his hand and condensed the surrounding moisture into a block of ice while forming a tiny ice knife in his right hand, beginning to practice the ice sculpting technique his father had taught him.
Whether it was to become a Paragon or to become his father's pride, this time Loran truly devoted his entire body and mind to practicing ice sculpting.
As for his Death divine clone within the Sovereign Palace atop Mount Nether, he had not yet begun sculpting.
At present, his Edicts of Death had not yet reached their limit.
The most important aspect of his father's ice sculpture method was that when one created a master-level sculpture, one's spirituality would fluctuate dramatically, allowing one to come into close contact with the Laws of the universe and enter a state of enlightenment.
If one had not yet reached a bottleneck in cultivation, such enlightenment would simply be an enormous waste.
(End of Chapter)
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