However, that thought only flashed through Linley's mind for an instant.
Although Linley had now completed his four-element soul mutation, allowing his strength to surpass even that of an ordinary Paragon...
He was still only a Deity.
Even an ordinary Sovereign could kill Linley in an instant.
There was no need to mention someone like Chief Sovereign Locke, the strongest among all Sovereigns.
Before such a supreme existence, Linley simply had no room to dwell on such thoughts.
Only in the future would he uncover the mysteries behind all of this.
...
The atmosphere between Nanessa and Linley was quite pleasant.
On Linley's side, because Nanessa had saved Grandpa Doehring's life, he naturally conducted himself with great humility.
As for Nanessa...
She had already realized that the most important reason Chief Sovereign Locke had instructed her to rescue Doehring Cowart and accept him as a disciple was to create a connection between herself and Linley.
Although she had no idea what Lord Locke's purpose was...
She had no intention of putting on airs.
After all...
A Paragon could not be insulted.
Seeing that Linley suited her temperament, Nanessa smiled and asked,
"By the way, Linley."
"You've only recently become a Paragon."
"Have you had much experience fighting other Paragons?"
"If you'd like to experience it..."
"I can be your opponent."
Hearing this, Linley's eyes lit up.
"I only became a Paragon not long ago."
"The only battle I've had against another Paragon was exchanging a few moves with the Wind Paragon Bayer in the Planar Battlefield."
"We never actually determined a winner."
"If Lady Nanessa is willing to offer guidance..."
"Linley would be extremely grateful."
Indeed...
After becoming a four-element soul mutate, Linley had learned from Leylin's Earth divine clone that his Will was one and a half times stronger than that of an ordinary Paragon.
Although he hadn't completely fused all the Profound Mysteries of a single Law to become a true Paragon...
That additional half portion of Will was enough to compensate for his lack of complete fusion and even place him above ordinary Paragons.
However...
Exactly how much stronger he was remained unclear even to Linley himself.
Within the Planar Battlefield...
In order to conceal the true strength of his Will, Linley had merely exchanged a few blows with Bayer.
Likewise...
After sensing that Linley had reached the Paragon level, Bayer abandoned any intention of continuing the battle.
The Planar Battlefield contained countless experts.
Although Paragons were invincible among Deities...
The weakest individuals there were still Five Star Fiends.
Their magical formations were capable of killing Prefects.
Even a Paragon...
Although not truly in danger of dying...
Could still be blasted into spatial turbulence if targeted by enough magical formations.
No Paragon was willing to gamble on becoming the focus of concentrated attacks.
"Come."
"Let's fight outside."
Seeing Linley agree, Nanessa wasted no time.
She immediately rose and left her palace.
Linley followed closely behind.
As for everyone else...
Under Doehring Cowart's arrangements, they entered Lord Sovereign Rena's Chief Sovereign Palace to avoid being killed by the aftershocks of a battle between two Paragons.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Linley and Nanessa flew into the sky, stopping opposite one another.
It seemed that someone had already noticed the upcoming spar.
Several divine senses quietly spread over to observe.
"Lady Nanessa, excuse my offense."
Although Linley believed that his strength already exceeded that of the Lightning Paragon Nanessa...
At this moment, he was the junior.
Moreover, Nanessa had kindly agreed to help him become familiar with combat between Paragons.
Thus...
Linley deliberately lowered his posture and struck first.
Boom!
Since he had previously crossed hands with both Leylin and Bayer, Linley intentionally limited himself to approximately 1.2 portions of Will, displaying strength roughly equivalent to that of an ordinary Paragon.
Crack!
Linley fought barehanded.
Naturally, Nanessa did the same.
With a casual wave of her hand...
A bolt of azure lightning shot toward Linley.
Boom!
Linley's fist collided with the lightning.
A tremendous explosion erupted.
The lightning shattered beneath his punch.
The overflowing power tore open an enormous spatial rift.
However...
Under the influence of Linley's Will, the spatial tear failed to expand.
Instead...
It quickly healed.
Whoosh!
After smashing apart Nanessa's lightning, Linley transformed into a streak of yellow light and charged directly toward her.
Since the Blackstone Prison he had previously displayed was considered an Earth Laws technique...
Linley continued disguising himself as an Earth Paragon.
However...
Although Linley could shatter lightning itself...
He still couldn't close the distance.
Every casual wave of Nanessa's hand condensed yet another bolt of lightning.
Each bolt contained perfected Lightning Laws along with a Paragon's Will.
Without revealing greater strength...
Linley found himself completely unable to advance even half a step.
"Lady Nanessa is incredibly powerful!"
"And..."
"Her fighting style is remarkably similar to the magi of the material planes!"
Linley was secretly astonished.
After becoming Deities...
The distinction between warriors and magi essentially disappeared.
Unless one was a divine beast or some unique lifeform...
Everyone's divine body was formed from divine power.
The differences in physical durability were minimal.
Furthermore...
Having completely mastered at least one Profound Mystery, warriors could casually unleash elemental attacks, while magi could equally well fight with their fists.
Of course...
Most Deities still preferred fighting like warriors.
Their divine bodies were powerful.
Combined with divine sense...
Long-range attacks were easily detected and readily avoided.
Thus...
Rather than wasting divine power on ranged elemental attacks, most experts preferred engaging in direct close combat.
Linley felt that his battle against Lady Nanessa perfectly resembled the classic battle between a warrior and a mage.
In terms of raw offensive power...
Linley's physical strength combined with 1.2 portions of Paragon-level Will produced attacks stronger than the lightning Nanessa casually unleashed.
This much was obvious.
He could destroy every bolt of lightning she fired.
Yet...
Despite smashing through them one after another...
He couldn't move even half a step closer.
Because...
Nanessa's attacks possessed an indescribable rhythm.
Linley had the distinct feeling that every one of his movements had already been anticipated.
Every time he attempted to change direction and approach her...
Fresh lightning would suddenly appear, forcing him back.
Surrounded by endless thunder...
From the very beginning of the battle until now...
Linley hadn't moved from his original position at all.
Only now did he suddenly realize this.
"So before this..."
"I actually believed my strength surpassed Lady Nanessa's."
"I even intended to conceal part of my strength while fighting her."
"But now..."
"If I were merely an ordinary Paragon..."
"I'm afraid Lady Nanessa could keep me pinned here forever."
"In fact..."
"If her attacks were just a little faster..."
"She could completely shatter the surrounding space and directly exile me into spatial turbulence."
"Since Lady Nanessa is this strong..."
"If I reveal a bit more of my strength, it shouldn't seem out of place."
Having made his decision...
Linley suddenly let out a loud roar.
His body instantly expanded.
Both hands transformed into dragon claws.
Rows of spikes emerged from his back.
A thick dragon tail extended behind him.
Azure dragon scales rapidly covered his body.
His draconic eyes shone with brilliant golden light.
Roar!
With a thunderous roar...
Linley finally unleashed his full strength.
One swipe of his claw tore apart the sea of lightning as he transformed into a streak of azure light and charged toward Nanessa.
"Oh?"
Nanessa raised an eyebrow.
The ease with which Linley shredded her lightning immediately told her that his physical attack power had increased dramatically after transforming.
The offensive power of those dragon claws wasn't inferior to a Sovereign artifact.
"This..."
"Is this physical strength comparable to a Sovereign artifact?"
"The descendants of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns can actually strengthen their bodies to such a degree?"
After thinking for a moment...
Nanessa shook her head.
Perhaps...
It wasn't the Four Divine Beast bloodline that was extraordinary.
Rather...
It was Linley himself.
After all...
Even the direct descendants of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns—the four clan leaders—had never strengthened their bodies to the level of a Sovereign artifact.
No matter how pure Linley's bloodline was...
Could it possibly surpass Gislason and the others?
At most...
Their bloodline purity should be roughly equal.
That was already the limit for second-generation divine beast descendants.
Unless one's bloodline underwent ancestral reversion...
The first generation of descendants always possessed the purest bloodline.
The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns had expended enormous quantities of blood essence researching the Ancestral Baptism that enhanced their clansmen's bloodline purity.
Despite consuming so much Sovereign blood essence...
The greatest result they ever achieved was merely allowing someone's bloodline purity to approach that of second- or third-generation divine beast descendants.
Linley becoming a Paragon while strengthening his body to the level of a Sovereign artifact...
Was entirely the result of his own talent and good fortune.
"To accomplish this..."
"Linley, your strength is already quite impressive even among Paragons."
Nanessa nodded slightly, acknowledging Linley's ability.
"But you should understand..."
"Reaching the Paragon realm doesn't mean you've reached the end of cultivation."
As she spoke...
Nanessa continued effortlessly evading Linley's attacks.
Linley's offense was as fierce as a hurricane and as swift as lightning.
Yet...
Every strike was casually avoided.
Although every attack Linley launched tore open enormous spatial rifts that spread toward Nanessa...
Will naturally possessed overwhelming control over the surrounding space.
Before those spatial tears could even approach her...
She effortlessly closed them through her Will.
The speed at which they healed was almost equal to the speed at which Linley created them.
"What incredible speed!"
Linley was inwardly shocked.
He was no longer holding anything back.
His Will, nearly fifty percent stronger than an ordinary Paragon's, had already been fully unleashed.
Linley believed...
That even compared to Bayer, his current speed should be superior.
Yet...
Throughout his battle with Nanessa...
He couldn't touch her even once.
"It seems..."
"Without using my innate divine ability..."
"I won't even be able to touch Lady Nanessa."
"In that case..."
With a thought...
A gigantic Azure Dragon phantom, over a hundred meters long, appeared behind Linley.
It opened its enormous jaws toward Nanessa.
Roooar—!
The moment she saw the Azure Dragon phantom...
Nanessa immediately recognized it.
The Azure Dragon's innate divine ability—
Dragon Roar.
As descendants of the Azure Dragon, members of the Azure Dragon clan would awaken this innate divine ability once their bloodline reached a sufficient degree of purity.
However...
Compared to the true Azure Dragon's own innate divine ability...
The version used by its descendants was significantly weaker.
Invisible ripples spread outward from the Azure Dragon phantom's mouth.
Instantly...
Time within the surrounding region slowed dramatically.
Everything...
Including Nanessa...
Began moving in slow motion.
Meanwhile...
Linley calmly raised his right fist and struck toward Nanessa, whose movements had been slowed by Dragon Roar.
However...
To Linley's surprise...
Just as his fist was about to reach her...
A similarly invisible ripple erupted from Nanessa's body.
In an instant...
Their roles reversed.
Nanessa's movements returned to normal.
Instead...
Linley's own speed suddenly became nearly ten times slower.
He now drifted sluggishly toward Nanessa.
"The Azure Dragon clan's innate divine ability..."
"Dragon Roar truly lives up to its reputation."
Using Time Acceleration to negate Dragon Roar's slowing effect, Nanessa couldn't help sighing in admiration.
"What a pity..."
But immediately afterward...
She shook her head regretfully.
Possessing such an extraordinary bloodline...
Yet failing to pursue the Great Dao.
In Nanessa's opinion...
Azure Dragon Chief Sovereign Redding had utterly wasted his gifts.
If she herself had possessed the Azure Dragon bloodline...
She was absolutely certain she could have relied upon it to become a Sovereign.
"With Lord Locke's guidance..."
"I've barely managed to glimpse a trace of what lies beyond the Paragon realm."
"Now..."
"I'll let you witness the mysteries beyond the Paragon realm."
As she finished speaking...
Nanessa's speed suddenly increased severalfold in Linley's eyes.
In an instant...
Dozens of bolts of lightning engulfed him.
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
A dark figure plummeted from the sky, smashing a massive crater into Mount Nether.
When the dust settled...
Linley's somewhat disheveled figure emerged.
Nanessa's attacks had indeed been powerful.
But they had still fallen far short of actually injuring him.
After all...
Between two Paragons, seriously injuring the other was almost impossible.
Not to mention...
Linley's Will was even stronger than that of an ordinary Paragon.
However...
"I lost."
Linley dismissed his Dragonform and slowly flew back into the air.
Looking at Nanessa, he sighed.
"Lady Nanessa..."
"With a body comparable to a Sovereign artifact, I always believed I should already rank among the stronger Paragons."
"But I never imagined..."
"There would still be such a tremendous gap between us."
Had Nanessa not intentionally suppressed the spatial rifts created by her attacks with her Will...
Linley would likely have already been blasted directly into spatial turbulence.
Although...
With his current Will, spatial turbulence no longer posed any danger to him...
Without a Sovereign to rescue him...
Linley could only drift endlessly through the spatial turbulence.
(End of Chapter)
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