If a Sovereign Emissary possessed only a single Sovereign artifact, then unless it was a physical attack Sovereign artifact, they would be incapable of defeating Linley.
And if it was an offensive Sovereign artifact, then they would have virtually no way to resist Bebe's innate divine ability.
In other words...
At this point, Linley and Bebe fighting together were enough to sweep through experts of the second tier among Prefects.
Even experts of the third tier who possessed two Sovereign artifacts would still be nothing more than prey before Bebe's innate divine ability if they lacked a soul-protecting Sovereign artifact.
Strength was confidence!
Other than supreme experts possessing a complete set of three Sovereign artifacts or Paragons, there was truly no one whom Linley and Bebe feared.
On the contrary...
It was everyone else who should fear Bebe now that he had become a Highgod.
Entering Greenleaf Castle, Linley and Bebe casually found a restaurant.
After ordering several local specialties, they quietly listened to the conversations around them, carefully extracting the information they needed.
It wasn't long before both of them had learned what they wanted to know.
After all...
Among the five Greenleaf Castles surrounding Mount Nether, the method for obtaining an audience with the Sovereign wasn't any secret.
"I never expected this Death Chief Sovereign to be so generous."
"As long as someone passes through the three layers of mist, they can receive an audience with the Sovereign..."
Bebe sighed while picking up food with his chopsticks.
Having obtained the information they wanted, Linley and Bebe relaxed and began enjoying the restaurant's cuisine.
Nowadays...
Any restaurant capable of surviving within a city naturally possessed its own unique specialties.
Otherwise...
How could it attract customers?
After all, once someone reached the Saint-level, they could sustain themselves simply by absorbing the elemental essence of the world.
Eating had long since become nothing more than a matter of habit and satisfying one's appetite.
Those who secluded themselves for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years without food never starved to death.
"Don't underestimate these three layers of mist, Bebe."
Linley looked around before speaking.
"Just look at the number of people gathered around Mount Nether."
"There are at least hundreds of millions of them."
"And every day, many more people arrive just like we did."
"But over all these years..."
"Have you heard of many people actually meeting the Sovereign?"
"That alone proves these three layers of mist must contain some hidden mystery."
"Hahaha, this brother sees things clearly."
As soon as Linley finished speaking, a young man seated at the neighboring table raised his wine cup toward Linley and Bebe.
Clearly, he had overheard their conversation and couldn't help joining in after hearing Linley's conclusion.
"According to records kept by those who have investigated the matter..."
"In all these countless hundreds of millions of years, the number of people who have passed through all three layers of mist and met the Sovereign..."
"...is zero."
"What?"
Hearing those words, Linley and Bebe immediately changed expressions.
Both of them knew meeting a Sovereign would be difficult.
But neither of them had imagined it would be this difficult.
Over hundreds of millions of years...
Not a single person had managed to pass through all three layers of mist.
"Brother."
Linley clasped his hands politely toward the young man.
"My brother and I have only just arrived here and know very little about this place."
"I hope you won't mind answering a few questions."
He then called toward the waiter.
"Waiter, bring this brother a pot of your finest wine."
"Brother, you're generous!"
The young man's eyes immediately lit up.
"Ask whatever you like."
"As long as I know the answer, I won't hide anything."
"Brother."
Linley continued,
"If no one has managed to pass through the three layers of mist for so many years, then why are there still so many people coming to Mount Nether?"
"Hahahaha..."
The young man burst into laughter.
"Brother, you don't know the full story."
"It's true."
"For hundreds of millions of years, no one has managed to pass through all three layers of mist and earn an audience with the Sovereign atop Mount Nether."
"But..."
"That doesn't mean no one has ever received an audience with the Sovereign."
At that moment, the waiter arrived with a pot of wine and placed it on the young man's table.
"Your wine, sir."
The young man picked up the wine jug and poured it straight into his mouth.
Gulp... gulp... gulp...
"Ha!"
"Excellent wine!"
Looking at Linley, he continued,
"Little brother, you've only just arrived at Mount Nether, so naturally you don't know."
"Most people believe only one Sovereign resides atop Mount Nether."
"But in reality..."
"There are at least two Sovereigns living there."
"You can infer that simply from the Sovereign Armies stationed between the three layers of mist."
"Every so often..."
"The Sovereigns atop Mount Nether scatter some Abyssal fruit."
"Abyssal fruit?"
Linley and Bebe exchanged puzzled glances.
Neither of them had any idea what that was.
"Haha."
"When many people first arrive at Mount Nether, they've never heard of Abyssal fruit either."
"In reality..."
"Abyssal fruit is a treasure belonging to one of the Sovereigns atop Mount Nether."
"According to their effects, Abyssal fruit can be divided into four grades."
"The lowest-grade Abyssal fruit allows a person to fuse two Profound Mysteries."
"The second grade allows one to fuse three Profound Mysteries."
"The third grade enables the fusion of four Profound Mysteries."
"As for the highest-grade Abyssal fruit..."
"It allows someone to fuse five Profound Mysteries."
"Hiss..."
Linley and Bebe both sucked in cold breaths after hearing the effects of Abyssal fruit.
At present...
Linley had only fused three Earth Laws Profound Mysteries.
Although he had fused all six Wind Laws Profound Mysteries, without using Blackstone Prison, his true combat strength was merely at the level of a Six Star or Seven Star Fiend.
As for Bebe...
There was even less to say.
In order to give Bebe enough strength to protect himself as early as possible, Beirut had asked the Death Paragon Dunnington to strip away the Law insights of countless Saint-level experts who had been only a single step away from becoming Deities, allowing Bebe to refine those insights and quickly become a Highgod.
Because of that...
Bebe hadn't fused even a single Profound Mystery of the Laws of Darkness.
Within a Material Plane, anyone capable of reaching the Saint-level was already a genius among geniuses.
Within the Divine Planes...
Those capable of becoming Deities were the most outstanding among those countless geniuses.
Among those Deities...
Only a tiny handful could ever cultivate to the Highgod realm.
And among Highgods...
Those capable of fusing Profound Mysteries were the elite of the elite.
Anyone capable of fusing two Profound Mysteries already possessed the strength of a Five Star Fiend.
Experts of that caliber could easily become the lord of an ordinary city.
Yet now...
They had suddenly learned that even an ordinary Abyssal fruit could allow someone to fuse two or more Profound Mysteries.
How could Linley and Bebe not be astonished?
And the highest-grade Abyssal fruit...
Could actually allow someone to completely fuse five Profound Mysteries!
Even an ordinary Highgod who consumed one could become an expert at the level of a Prefect.
"So treasures like this actually exist..."
Seeing the amazement on Linley and Bebe's faces, the young man smiled.
Having lived for so long, he seemed to have forgotten how shocked he himself had been when he first learned about Abyssal fruit.
"That's right..."
"But actually..."
"The greatest value of Abyssal fruit isn't helping Deities fuse Profound Mysteries."
"It's that anyone who obtains the highest-grade Abyssal fruit can use it as a token to request an audience with one of the Sovereigns atop Mount Nether."
"If they're willing to become a Sovereign Emissary..."
"The Sovereign will even bestow a Sovereign artifact upon them."
"It's said that the Castellans of the five Greenleaf Castles surrounding Mount Nether all obtained the highest-grade Abyssal fruit and later became Sovereign Emissaries."
"And if someone doesn't wish to become a Sovereign Emissary..."
"They can instead use the Abyssal fruit to make one request of the Sovereign."
"Of course..."
"If you don't want to meet the Sovereign at all, you can simply eat the Abyssal fruit yourself and become an expert at the level of a Prefect."
"So that's how it is."
After hearing the young man's explanation, Linley and Bebe finally understood.
There was more than one way to meet the Sovereign on Mount Nether.
The first method had remained unbeaten for countless years.
The second, however, had already succeeded before.
Even if someone couldn't meet the Sovereign...
Simply obtaining a Abyssal fruit would greatly increase their strength.
"Thank you for clearing up our confusion, brother."
"Hahaha."
"These things aren't secrets within Greenleaf Castle."
"Anyone who stays here long enough will eventually learn them."
"I should be the one thanking you for the wine!"
After bidding farewell to the young man, Linley and Bebe wasted no time and headed straight toward Mount Nether, which lay shrouded in mist.
"Boss."
"Now that we know there are two different ways to meet the Sovereign..."
"Which one should we choose?"
"Is there really any choice?"
Linley shook his head.
"Since we've already come all the way to Mount Nether..."
"We'll prepare for both possibilities."
"However..."
"According to what that young man said, there's no fixed schedule for when the Sovereign scatters Abyssal fruit."
"It seems to depend entirely upon the Sovereign's mood."
"When the Sovereign is in a good mood, a bad mood, or simply bored..."
"They'll throw down a batch of Abyssal fruit for everyone in Mount Nether to compete over."
"It's just that not every batch contains the highest-grade Abyssal fruit."
"So..."
"We can't place all our hopes on Abyssal fruit."
"Let's first see how difficult these mists actually are."
"Perhaps..."
"We'll be able to pass through them."
"Alright."
Bebe nodded.
It had always been this way.
Whatever the boss decided...
He only needed to stand beside him.
Stepping into the mist, Linley and Bebe quickly felt its effects upon their souls.
"Hiss..."
"Boss."
"Why does it feel like the soul-suppressing effect of this mist is actually weaker than the mist inside the Amethyst Mountains?"
"Is it because the Amethyst Sovereign is stronger than the Sovereign here..."
"Or is it because the Sovereign of Mount Nether deliberately held back?"
Although the soul attacks within the mist posed no threat whatsoever to either Linley or Bebe...
Especially Linley.
Although the Azure Dragon Ring in his possession remained damaged and unrepaired, a Sovereign artifact was still a Sovereign artifact.
Its soul-defense far surpassed that of ordinary soul-protecting divine artifacts.
As for Bebe...
As a Godeater Rat, the soul defense naturally formed by his innate divine ability God-Eater was likewise no weaker than a soul-protecting divine artifact.
However...
The fact that the soul attacks couldn't affect them didn't prevent them from judging their strength.
"I don't know."
Linley shook his head before reminding Bebe,
"But Bebe..."
"This is, after all, the territory of Lord Sovereign."
"When discussing matters concerning Lord Sovereign..."
"We'd better avoid making careless guesses."
"Otherwise..."
"If one careless remark offends Lord Sovereign..."
"The consequences aren't something we can bear."
"I understand, Boss."
Hearing that, Bebe was startled and hurriedly covered his mouth.
He knew perfectly well that his boss had come here seeking the Sovereign's help.
If a moment of loose talk from him caused the Sovereign to develop a bad impression of Linley...
Bebe would never forgive himself.
Passing through the first layer of mist surrounding Mount Nether, Linley and Bebe soon saw the Sovereign Army training there, along with numerous Demigods and Gods attempting to pass through the second layer of mist.
Without stopping, the two entered the second layer.
"Hiss..."
The moment they stepped into it, Linley and Bebe immediately understood why so many Demigods and Gods remained between the first and second layers.
The effect of the second layer of mist was incomparably stronger than that of the first.
In Linley and Bebe's estimation...
The soul-suppressing power of Mount Nether's second layer of mist was already comparable to that of the deepest regions of the Amethyst Mountains.
If that was the case...
Then the third layer of mist was unquestionably even stronger than the mist of the Amethyst Mountains.
Moreover...
In Linley's judgment, the difference was far greater than just a single level.
After all...
The enormous increase in intensity between the first and second layers already revealed much.
The first layer of mist could be crossed by virtually any Demigod who hadn't refined a divine spark.
The second layer...
Could stop even ordinary Highgods.
It didn't take long before Linley and Bebe successfully passed through the second layer of mist.
Rumble!
The moment they emerged into the area between the second and third layers...
A tremendous roar reached their ears.
Powerful Law fluctuations spread throughout the surroundings.
Instinctively, Linley and Bebe stood back-to-back, fully prepared for any danger.
However...
They quickly relaxed.
They discovered that those fighting were a Sovereign Army legion and an overwhelmingly powerful expert enveloped in a blue aura.
Whether it was the army formation or the mysterious expert...
The power both displayed left Linley deeply shocked.
If the current Linley had to face either side alone...
He wasn't even certain he could survive.
Fortunately...
The battle between the army and that supreme expert was confined to a designated area.
Many experts stood outside watching.
After observing for a while, Linley and Bebe also realized that this wasn't a life-and-death battle.
It was merely a friendly spar.
Listening to the surrounding spectators, Linley and Bebe learned that battles like this occurred here frequently.
On one hand...
The Sovereign Army stationed here served to intimidate the surrounding experts and prevent anyone from ambushing those emerging from the mist.
On the other hand...
These demonstrations also served as recruitment for the Sovereign Army itself.
Any living being capable of passing through the second layer of mist could join the Sovereign Army.
Furthermore...
Their position within the army would be determined according to their own strength.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 3700 Powerstones