"Linley!"
After Linley had finished refining the three Sovereign sparks, Locke extended his soul power to Linley's side and transmitted his voice directly into Linley's mind.
"Lord Locke!"
Linley's heart jolted.
He had never expected that the moment he finished refining the three Sovereign sparks, Lord Locke's voice would sound beside his ears.
Lord Locke should currently be on Mount Nether in the Netherworld.
Even Sovereigns couldn't spread their divine sense from one Divine Plane into another.
Linley wasn't surprised that Chief Sovereign Locke could accomplish such a feat.
After all...
He already knew that Chief Sovereign Locke had completely comprehended the Laws of Space, reaching the realm of a Godking, comparable to the Overgods.
What surprised him...
Was the timing of Locke's appearance.
Linley had completed an Overgod Mission before and had personally met the Life Overgod.
The Life Overgod's voice alone had nearly caused him to lose himself.
Had the Life Overgod possessed even the slightest intention of killing him...
His corpse would probably have been drifting through the spatial turbulence by now.
Yet...
Linley had never experienced such a feeling from Chief Sovereign Locke.
Because of that...
Linley had once believed that although Chief Sovereign Locke had perhaps reached the level of the Overgods...
Compared with the Four Overgods themselves, he was likely still slightly inferior.
Just as Sovereigns were divided into Lesser Sovereigns, Intermediate Sovereigns, and Chief Sovereigns...
Perhaps the Overgods possessed similar distinctions.
Chief Sovereign Locke might have only reached the equivalent of a Lesser Overgod.
As for the Four Overgods...
Perhaps they were the strongest among all Overgods, just as the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns stood at the pinnacle among Sovereigns.
Of course...
Regardless of where Chief Sovereign Locke ranked among the Overgods...
To Linley, he remained an existence as unreachable as a Sovereign was to an ordinary Deity.
"Lord Locke."
"May I ask what instructions you have for me?"
Linley respectfully bowed as he spoke.
"Linley."
"Now that you've become a Sovereign and possess strength comparable to an Edicts Chief Sovereign, I intend to convene a Sovereign Conference and formally announce you as the newest Chief Sovereign."
"This will prevent other Sovereigns from offending you unintentionally."
"I shall follow Lord Locke's arrangements."
Linley had no intention of concealing the fact that he had become a Sovereign.
After all...
He hadn't forgotten that he was now the pillar supporting Beirut and Zarachias Leylin of the Yulan lineage.
If he failed to display enough strength to deter the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta...
There was no way Augusta would abandon his pursuit of Beirut.
Therefore...
Linley readily accepted Locke's proposal to convene a Sovereign Conference on his behalf.
"Very well."
"Linley..."
"To what extent do you intend to reveal your strength?"
"Will you merely reveal yourself as an Earth Paragon Lesser Sovereign who has refined three Sovereign sparks, possessing strength comparable to an ordinary Law Chief Sovereign..."
"Or will you reveal everything..."
"Including the Will gained through your soul mutation, as well as the fused Sovereign power that allows you to rival an ordinary Edicts Chief Sovereign?"
"What?"
The information contained within Locke's soul transmission left Linley utterly stunned.
His four-element soul mutation was his greatest secret.
It was also his strongest trump card.
Naturally...
Linley had estimated his own strength before.
With power nearly ten thousand times greater than an ordinary Law Chief Sovereign...
He believed he had undoubtedly reached the level of an Edicts Chief Sovereign.
After all...
According to what Beirut and Lord Zarachias had told him...
The Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns were all Paragons whose bodies had likewise reached the level of Sovereign artifacts.
In other words...
The Edicts Chief Sovereigns were at least one thousand times stronger than ordinary Law Chief Sovereigns.
Linley had believed that with strength exceeding a Law Chief Sovereign's by ten thousandfold...
Perhaps only the Death Chief Sovereign, who had obtained an additional portion of Will through ten consecutive victories in a Planar War, would still surpass him.
Yet...
Judging from Chief Sovereign Locke's tone...
His current strength merely reached the standard of an ordinary Edicts Chief Sovereign?
However...
Linley quickly understood.
All four Edicts Chief Sovereigns were Paragons.
Chief Sovereign Locke was never one to selfishly keep cultivation methods to himself.
Thus...
The Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns had undoubtedly already learned of the higher Laws.
Over all these years...
They must have made considerable progress in cultivating those higher Laws, greatly increasing their strength.
Perhaps...
This was the primary reason the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred had looked down upon the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta's desire to become an Edicts Chief Sovereign.
For the Four Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
Only those who were also Paragons and had embarked upon the path of cultivating the higher Laws deserved to stand alongside them.
Linley estimated that...
Even if the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta somehow obtained another portion of Will...
The other Edicts Chief Sovereigns would probably still look down upon him.
Allowing someone who wasn't a Paragon to stand at the same level as them...
Would undoubtedly diminish the prestige of the Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
"Reveal everything..."
Linley silently pondered.
After a while...
He reached a decision.
"Lord Locke..."
"I'll reveal everything."
"The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta harbors intense killing intent toward Lord Beirut."
"If I reveal only strength comparable to a Law Chief Sovereign..."
"It won't be enough to intimidate him."
"Rather than exposing everything later in battle against the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta..."
"It's better to display overwhelming strength from the very beginning and prevent him from daring to make a move."
"Excellent."
"Linley..."
"You haven't disappointed me."
"Cultivation is an intensely personal matter."
"One's state of mind greatly influences one's progress."
"As a cultivator..."
"You should always possess the conviction that today's self is stronger than yesterday's."
"Only with such a mindset can you continue advancing along the path of cultivation."
"When I became a Sovereign..."
"I never concealed my own strength either."
"The other Chief Sovereigns even resorted to various methods in an attempt to use the limits of their own understanding to restrict my future growth."
"In the end..."
"I stood at the pinnacle of the magical universe."
"Linley..."
"I have great expectations for you."
"I hope that someday..."
"You'll reach my current realm."
"Perhaps..."
"You may even surpass it."
"I'll be waiting for you at the summit."
After speaking these words to Linley...
The corners of Locke's lips curled upward upon the throne within his Chief Sovereign Palace.
He was in an exceptionally good mood.
Even if Linley eventually became a Hongmeng Controller before he did...
At the present moment...
Linley was still nothing more than a little fledgling before him.
As for whether Linley would repeat those same words back to him after becoming a Hongmeng Controller...
Locke wasn't worried in the slightest.
What he sought...
Wasn't merely the realm of a Hongmeng Controller.
Even if Linley walked one step ahead...
So what?
Locke was confident that after becoming a Hongmeng Controller...
He would undoubtedly discover the path beyond that realm before Linley did.
Perhaps...
Qin Yu might eventually prove no worse than Locke.
He might even discover the direction of the next breakthrough before Locke.
But...
Just as Locke had said...
Cultivation wasn't a race to see who ran faster.
It was about who could travel farther...
And climb higher.
Rising from his throne...
Locke stepped directly into the spatial turbulence.
With another step...
His figure appeared directly above the Planar Battlefield.
At this moment...
The second Planar War of this trillion-year cycle was underway.
The battle currently taking place within the Planar Battlefield was between the Dark Divine Plane and the Wind Divine Plane.
Whenever a Planar War occurred...
The Sovereigns paid the greatest attention to the final decisive battle.
Besides determining victory and defeat...
They also bore responsibility for verifying whether every participating soldier still possessed their Commander Badge or Soldier Badge.
Only Commanders carrying Commander Badges and soldiers carrying Soldier Badges could leave the Planar Battlefield through the teleportation gates.
Those who hid their badges to conceal their locations...
If fortunate, might recover them later.
If unfortunate...
They could only blame their own luck.
Because...
Every Commander or soldier found without a badge would be executed instantly by the Sovereigns.
Thus...
After every Planar War...
The number of soldiers slain by the Sovereigns was by no means small.
At present...
The decisive battle of the second Planar War was still far away.
No Sovereigns had come above the Planar Battlefield to observe the fighting.
Standing above the battlefield...
Locke spread out his divine sense.
Almost instantly...
It covered the entire magical universe.
Then...
Every Sovereign heard Locke's voice within their minds.
"Everyone..."
"Today..."
"This universe has finally given birth to another expert possessing the strength of an Edicts Chief Sovereign."
"For this reason..."
"I have decided to convene the Seventh Sovereign Conference."
"There, I shall formally introduce everyone to our newest Chief Sovereign."
"If any Sovereigns are free..."
"You are all welcome to attend this Sovereign Conference within the spatial turbulence."
...
"What?"
"A new expert at the level of an Edicts Chief Sovereign?"
"Who is it?"
"The Light Chief Sovereign?"
"Impossible."
"It can't be Augusta."
"The last time, Lord Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred already said that if Augusta wished to advance to the level of an Edicts Chief Sovereign, he would need another portion of Will."
"The second streak of ten consecutive victories for the Light Divine Plane hasn't even begun."
"How could it possibly be him?"
"Then who could it be?"
"Surely it can't be that one of the Law Chief Sovereigns suddenly became a Paragon?"
"Heh..."
"That's even more ridiculous than Augusta."
Indeed...
After becoming Sovereigns...
They had all learned that using faith energy to attempt a breakthrough into the Paragon realm represented one's final opportunity.
Those who failed despite relying on faith energy...
Would find a second attempt at becoming a Paragon at least ten times more difficult.
If even faith energy couldn't shatter that bottleneck...
How could they possibly succeed without it?
"Then who exactly became an Edicts Chief Sovereign this time?"
After hearing Locke's announcement...
Many Sovereigns tore open spatial rifts and entered the spatial turbulence.
At the same time...
They extended their divine senses, exchanging guesses regarding the identity of the newly advanced Edicts Chief Sovereign.
Because of the restrictions imposed by the Sovereign Pact...
None of these Sovereigns feared the birth of another Edicts Chief Sovereign.
After all...
Regardless of that person's previous status...
Once they became an Edicts Chief Sovereign...
They would no longer inhabit the same pond.
With Chief Sovereign Locke around...
An Edicts Chief Sovereign certainly wouldn't descend into their pond to bully smaller fish.
"Hey..."
"Do you think it might be Chief Sovereign Loran?"
Suddenly...
One Chief Sovereign mentioned Loran's name.
Immediately...
Many Sovereigns voiced their agreement.
"Now that you mention it..."
"There's a very good chance."
"Chief Sovereign Loran was the first person after Chief Sovereign Locke to possess Chief Sovereign-level strength without refining a Sovereign spark."
"If his cultivation has broken through again..."
"Or if he refined a Sovereign spark..."
"Reaching the level of an Edicts Chief Sovereign would be perfectly natural."
"The only question is..."
"Did Lord Loran's breakthrough come from the higher Laws..."
"Or from refining a Sovereign spark?"
"I'd bet it's the higher Laws."
"If it were merely refining a Sovereign spark..."
"Chief Sovereign Locke wouldn't sound so pleased."
"Hmph!"
Suddenly...
A cold snort echoed through the network of divine senses.
Everyone froze briefly.
But once they realized whose divine sense it belonged to...
They all smiled.
It was the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta.
Thinking about it...
It made perfect sense.
After obtaining his Overgod artifact...
Augusta had eagerly sought out the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff and requested a Sovereign Conference to nominate himself as the sixth Edicts Chief Sovereign.
In terms of strength...
Possessing an offensive Overgod artifact, Augusta had indeed already reached the level of an Edicts Chief Sovereign.
Yet...
His proposal had ultimately been rejected by the Destruction Chief Sovereign Wodred.
He had become a laughingstock.
Of course...
Even as a laughingstock...
He was only a laughingstock among the Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
No matter how Augusta had been rejected...
He remained the strongest among the Law Chief Sovereigns.
Aside from the few Edicts Chief Sovereigns...
No other Sovereign dared laugh at him.
At this moment...
Augusta's face had nearly twisted with jealousy.
If the one who had advanced to the level of an Edicts Chief Sovereign truly was Loran...
Then no matter how jealous Augusta felt...
He wouldn't dare say anything.
Even before Loran's breakthrough...
Augusta had never dared provoke the Water Divine Plane.
The reason was simple.
Loran was the son of Chief Sovereign Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign.
Meanwhile...
The Water Chief Sovereign Levlenxia was Loran's wife.
She was Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign's daughter-in-law...
As well as the Life Chief Sovereign's goddaughter.
With such an astonishing background...
Even though Augusta possessed Orloff's Fate Edicts Chief Sovereign clone...
He still didn't dare provoke the Water Divine Plane.
He was genuinely afraid that the Water Chief Sovereign Levlenxia would come looking for trouble.
Indeed...
In terms of strength alone...
Levlenxia wasn't much stronger than the other Law Chief Sovereigns in Augusta's eyes.
But...
Her backing was simply too terrifying.
Whether Chief Sovereign Locke would personally act because of Levlenxia was difficult to say.
However...
There was a very high probability that both the Death Chief Sovereign and the Life Chief Sovereign would move on her behalf.
At that point...
Even if they had no intention of killing Augusta...
He certainly wouldn't escape a severe beating.
What left the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta even more despairing...
Was what he had recently learned from the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff.
Over recent years...
The Life Chief Sovereign Vivian's threat level had risen dramatically.
She had most likely already obtained the cultivation method for the higher Laws from Mount Nether's lineage...
And had achieved considerable success with it.
(End of Chapter)
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