Boom!
After passing Beirut, Leylin did not reveal his perfected Laws or his Will. Instead, he merely displayed strength comparable to that of the Fire Lesser Sovereign before him as they clashed within the spatial turbulence.
"Hmph!"
"Weren't you acting so arrogantly just now?"
"From the looks of it, you're nothing special after all!"
After exchanging several blows with Zarachias, the Fire Sovereign immediately relaxed.
Although he had been provoked into charging out earlier, he hadn't lost his reason.
As long as Zarachias wasn't a Paragon, then even if he possessed a body comparable to a Sovereign artifact like Beirut, it would still be impossible for him to kill him in a short period of time.
If he found himself outmatched, he could simply flee.
Surely this newly ascended Fire Lesser Sovereign, who had become a Sovereign by refining one of the Sovereign sparks left behind by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns, wouldn't dare pursue him.
But judging from these exchanges...
This newly ascended Zarachias Sovereign appeared to be nothing more than an ordinary Fire Lesser Sovereign like himself.
With no fear for his life, the Fire Sovereign's confidence soared as he unleashed one ultimate technique after another at Zarachias.
While resisting the Fire Lesser Sovereign's attacks, Zarachias gradually retreated toward the direction of the Yulan Plane.
Furthermore...
To prevent the other three Sovereigns from coming to the Fire Sovereign's aid, Zarachias deliberately made a wide detour.
With this much distance between them...
Even if Zarachias revealed his full strength, that Intermediate Sovereign wouldn't be able to arrive in time.
Zarachias spread out his divine sense.
Once he sensed that Beirut had already brought Linley close to the Yulan Plane...
He stopped holding back.
Boom!
An overwhelming aura erupted from Zarachias's body.
The perfected Fire Laws and his Will were completely unleashed.
With a single punch...
Zarachias directly shattered the Fire Lesser Sovereign's attack.
Not only that...
The remaining force of the punch also smashed apart the material-defense Sovereign artifact the Fire Sovereign was wearing.
Pfft!
Protected by the material-defense Sovereign artifact, the Fire Sovereign wasn't killed in a single blow.
However...
His Sovereign artifact shattered, and the resulting shock caused him to spit out a mouthful of blood.
At this moment...
His eyes were filled with terror.
"No!"
"You're not an ordinary Lesser Sovereign..."
"You're a Paragon!"
"What a pity."
"You realized it far too late."
Having completely revealed his strength, Zarachias transformed into a crimson streak and instantly appeared before the Fire Sovereign.
Within his palm...
The blazing Fire Laws radiated terrifying power like a miniature sun.
"No!"
"You can't kill me!"
"A Paragon Lesser Sovereign is treated as an Intermediate Sovereign."
"Intermediate Sovereigns are forbidden from attacking Lesser Sovereigns!"
"If you violate the Sovereign Pact..."
"The Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns won't spare you!"
"Neither will Chief Sovereign Locke!"
"Spare me!"
"I swear I'll never involve myself in the conflict between you and the Light Chief Sovereign again..."
The Fire Sovereign frantically transmitted his plea through divine sense, hoping Zarachias would fear the Sovereign Pact and spare his life.
Unfortunately...
"I'm sorry, Sovereign Manru."
"The Sovereign Pact does indeed state that higher-ranked Sovereigns may not attack lower-ranked Sovereigns without cause."
"But..."
"Have you forgotten?"
"You were the one who attacked me first."
"I merely defended myself."
Hearing Zarachias's words...
Sovereign Manru suddenly remembered that although Zarachias had already arrived earlier, he hadn't attacked immediately.
Instead...
He had deliberately provoked him with words, causing him to strike first.
At the time...
Sovereign Manru had assumed Zarachias had only recently become a Sovereign and lacked both confidence and experience.
But now...
Would a dignified Paragon Lesser Sovereign truly fear an ordinary Fire Lesser Sovereign like him?
This had all been a trap designed to lure him into attacking first.
Terror completely filled Sovereign Manru's heart.
According to the Sovereign Pact...
Higher-ranked Sovereigns indeed could not attack lower-ranked Sovereigns without cause.
However...
If a lower-ranked Sovereign attacked first...
Then a higher-ranked Sovereign killing him no longer counted as "without cause."
Only now did Sovereign Manru fully understand.
The moment this newly ascended Paragon Fire Lesser Sovereign had seen him...
He had already decided to kill him.
And he himself had foolishly walked straight into the trap.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed throughout the spatial turbulence.
Sovereign Manru's headless corpse drifted aimlessly through the chaotic currents.
The death of a Sovereign was considered a major event even among Sovereigns.
When Beirut had fled through the spatial turbulence with Linley...
The Sovereigns who had extended their divine senses into the spatial turbulence had all sensed it.
Most Sovereigns knew they had no hope of obtaining the Overgod artifact.
Others simply didn't wish to invite unnecessary trouble.
Thus...
None of them had personally left their Divine Planes to intercept Beirut.
However...
Although they hadn't taken action, they had all extended their divine senses into the spatial turbulence.
They wanted to see exactly which Sovereigns would make a move against Beirut.
That way...
In the future, they might know which Sovereigns they should be wary of.
But none of them had expected...
That the newly ascended Fire Sovereign rushing over from the Yulan Plane was actually a Paragon.
The moment he revealed his true strength...
Only two moves were required to kill Sovereign Manru.
The first move shattered Manru's material-defense Sovereign artifact.
The second directly blew apart his head and seized his Fire Sovereign spark.
After obtaining Manru's Sovereign spark...
Zarachias didn't hesitate in the slightest.
Using his maximum speed, he flew toward the other three Sovereigns pursuing Beirut.
"Run!"
Manru's death shocked all three of the pursuing Sovereigns.
The moment they saw Zarachias charging toward them...
The two Lesser Sovereigns abandoned all hesitation and immediately fled toward their respective Divine Planes.
What a joke.
A Paragon Lesser Sovereign possessed strength comparable to an ordinary Intermediate Sovereign.
He was over a hundred times stronger than an ordinary Lesser Sovereign.
Moreover...
A Paragon Lesser Sovereign possessed a far deeper understanding of the Laws.
The ultimate techniques they created provided far greater amplification to their strength.
Thus...
If they truly fought...
An ordinary Intermediate Sovereign wasn't necessarily a match for a Paragon Lesser Sovereign.
Even Sovereign Manru had been killed in only two moves.
If they didn't flee...
They would undoubtedly be next.
The Intermediate Sovereign hesitated briefly before ultimately flying toward the Dark Divine Plane.
It couldn't be helped.
If Zarachias Leylin had been alone...
This Dark Intermediate Sovereign felt he might still have had a chance.
But with Beirut added into the equation...
Perhaps the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta could arrive while he held off Beirut and this newly ascended Paragon Lesser Sovereign.
But far more likely...
He himself would be killed by Zarachias Leylin and Beirut before Augusta ever arrived.
Perhaps...
That outcome was exactly what the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta would be happiest to see.
Not only would he avenge himself...
He would also obtain another Dark Intermediate Sovereign spark.
That was a gamble he didn't dare take.
Now that there were no more pursuers...
Beirut stopped fleeing and waited within the spatial turbulence for Zarachias Leylin.
After all...
They were already very close to the Yulan Plane.
Even if the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta left the Light Divine Plane right now...
They would still reach the Yulan Plane before he could catch them.
Perhaps Augusta understood this as well.
Although he was furious and had extended his divine sense to this area...
His true body never left the Light Divine Plane.
He only had one opportunity to deal with Beirut and the Sovereigns of the Yulan Plane.
After making one move...
All grudges would be settled.
If he attacked other Sovereigns a second time...
That would constitute a violation of the Sovereign Pact.
After all...
The only one who had truly offended him was Beirut.
The others had merely become Sovereigns because Beirut had given them Sovereign sparks.
They held no direct grudge against the Light Chief Sovereign.
If Augusta treated them as Beirut's accomplices and killed the Sovereigns of the Yulan Plane in one strike...
The other Sovereigns wouldn't say much.
But...
If Augusta attacked once, killed Beirut, and then continued attacking the other Sovereigns of the Yulan Plane...
Chief Sovereign Locke would absolutely intervene against the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta.
Every Sovereign knew this.
Over the years...
Everyone had learned that Chief Sovereign Locke valued stability above all else.
If you acted within the rules and didn't violate them...
Chief Sovereign Locke wouldn't interfere.
But if you broke the rules and threatened the world's stability...
Then Chief Sovereign Locke would show absolutely no mercy.
"It's done."
Zarachias arrived before Beirut and Linley, casually displaying the rainbow-colored Sovereign spark in his hand.
"Hahaha!"
"That's more like it, Zarachias."
Seeing the Fire Lesser Sovereign spark, Beirut burst into laughter.
"Let's go."
...
"So..."
"This is a Sovereign spark?"
Although Linley had already anticipated this...
Seeing the three Sovereign sparks placed before him still filled him with excitement.
However...
Linley had, after all, visited Mount Nether in the Netherworld.
He knew that even without refining a Sovereign spark, there existed people who could cultivate to a level comparable to Sovereigns.
Therefore...
Although excited...
He hadn't lost his composure.
"That's right."
Standing behind Linley, both Beirut and Zarachias smiled.
At the same time...
Zarachias deeply admired Linley's temperament.
Back when Lord Beirut had first shown him a Sovereign spark...
He certainly hadn't remained as calm as Linley.
He had nearly lost his composure.
"That's right."
"These are Sovereign sparks."
"Back then, I was cultivating within a pocket dimension I had created inside the Yulan Plane."
"By chance..."
"I witnessed the battle between the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta and the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns."
"Then..."
"While they were fighting, I extended my tail into the spatial turbulence."
"After the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta killed the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns..."
"I used my tail to drag their corpses into the Yulan Plane."
Even now that he had become a Sovereign...
Beirut still felt that snatching the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses from beneath the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta's nose was something he could boast about for the rest of his life.
It could be said...
That single feat had shaken the entire circle of Sovereigns.
Aside from Chief Sovereign Locke...
Beirut was the only being who, while still a Deity, had caused a Sovereign to suffer a loss.
Although Linley had already learned on Mount Nether that Lord Beirut had obtained the four Sovereign sparks left behind by the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns...
He hadn't known the details.
Now...
Listening to Beirut recount the events...
Linley could truly appreciate just how dangerous the situation had been.
Even now...
He still instinctively feared facing a Sovereign.
Yet Beirut had endured the immense pressure exerted by the Light Chief Sovereign, seized the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses, and refined the Wind Sovereign spark to become a Sovereign.
"I refined White Tiger Sovereign Eus's Sovereign spark."
"The Vermilion Bird Sovereign's Fire Lesser Sovereign spark was given to Zarachias."
"You completed a four-element soul mutation in the Planar Battlefield, causing your strength to soar."
"So..."
"The Azure Dragon Sovereign's Sovereign spark and the Black Tortoise Sovereign's Sovereign spark are most suitable for you."
"Originally..."
"Because of the pressure brought by the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta..."
"We planned to wait until you attempted to become a Paragon before allowing you to refine the Sovereign sparks."
"We hoped the vast amount of faith energy within the Sovereign sparks would help you break through to the Paragon realm."
"However..."
"Our luck was good this time."
"Among the Sovereigns chasing us happened to be a Fire Lesser Sovereign."
"So Zarachias decided to hide his true strength and see whether he could kill him."
"Fortunately..."
"Everything went according to plan."
"Zarachias successfully killed that Fire Lesser Sovereign and obtained a Fire Lesser Sovereign spark."
"Linley..."
"Now, as long as you refine these three Sovereign sparks..."
"You'll become a mighty Chief Sovereign capable of rivaling the Edicts Chief Sovereigns."
"Even the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta won't be your match."
"With your protection..."
"Zarachias and I will finally no longer be trapped within the Yulan Plane."
Looking at the three Sovereign sparks before him...
And hearing the earnest hope in Beirut's words...
Linley hesitated.
Lord Beirut was right.
He was the only four-element soul mutate in existence.
As long as he refined these three Sovereign sparks...
Even though they were all Lesser Sovereign sparks...
The additional Will they granted, together with the power of fused Sovereign power, would instantly make Linley a mighty Sovereign comparable to an Edicts Chief Sovereign.
But...
"Lord Beirut..."
"Lord Zarachias..."
"Could you give me a little more time?"
"Hm?"
Hearing Linley's words...
Beirut and Zarachias exchanged puzzled glances.
"Linley..."
"Don't you want to become a Sovereign?"
"Lord Beirut."
"Lord Zarachias."
"There may indeed be people in this world capable of refusing to refine a Sovereign spark and become a Sovereign..."
"But..."
"I'm certainly not one of them."
Linley thought of those Paragons on Mount Nether.
To them...
Strength itself was merely a byproduct of cultivation.
What they truly enjoyed...
Was the process of cultivation.
The journey of climbing ever-higher peaks.
Step by step...
Relying upon their own effort and talent to ascend to the highest summit of this world.
Influenced by them...
Linley also wished to witness the magnificence of the Laws of Space.
Only...
If he didn't refine the Sovereign sparks and become a Chief Sovereign capable of matching—or even surpassing—the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta...
Then Lord Beirut and Lord Zarachias would forever remain confined within the Yulan Plane.
(End of Chapter)
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