Book 20, The Crown’s Riddle – Chapter 48, Success
Within chaotic space. A green blur and a red blur stood in midair, staring at each other.
“You are...” Teresia looked carefully at Bluefire. “That lucky kid?”
“Lucky?” Bluefire smiled, then nodded. “Right.”
Bluefire looked carefully back at Teresia. “Judging from the looks of you, it seems as though you didn’t gain any advantage in your battle with Beirut? A Lesser Sovereign who is also a Paragon, in the face of Beirut’s ultimate attacks, doesn’t seem to fare so well.”
“He, he’s a madman.” When Teresia thought back to his earlier battle with Beirut, he couldn’t help but feel enraged.
Beirut had launched one staff blow after another, surging forth like the wild, endless waves of the sea.
He was like a madman, just wildly smashing down.
Teresia was only able to just barely prevent himself from losing.
“Beirut has an advantage in terms of his Sovereign weapon as well.” Teresia said silently to himself.
Sovereign artifacts were all ordinary artifacts that had been constantly nurtured by a Sovereign’s ‘Will’ and power. After a long period of time, they would then form into a Sovereign artifact.
But the artifacts which were created generally didn’t have different levels of power, unless the difference in the original materials for the items were vastly different in quality.
For example, other Sovereigns’ artifacts might be made from ordinary mineral ores, while Beirut’s was created from divine spark essence.
Of course there would be a difference in these two Sovereign artifacts!
Beirut, as a divine beast ‘Godeater Rat’, had an extremely powerful body. That, paired with his Sovereign’s Will, made his material attacks extremely terrifying. In addition, thanks to possessing the innate divine ability, ‘Godeater’, Beirut’s soul defense had become incredibly terrifying as well. Although they were both Lesser Sovereigns...even Teresia, someone who had also become a Paragon in the Laws, found it hard to defeat Beirut.
“Beirut’s innate gifts are incredible; he is comparable to the former Four Divine Beasts. What of you, then? Do you think that you can stop me?” Teresia stretched his hand out, and that icy sickle once more appeared in his hand.
“Oh?” Bluefire smiled slightly. A fiery long spear suddenly appeared in his hands, and the sharpness of the tip of the spear seemed to cause the surrounding chaotic space to tremble.
“Come, then...” Bluefire suddenly smiled. The right arm which held the long spear suddenly trembled, causing the surrounding space within a hundred meters to begin swirling like a whirlpool...
But enough of the battle between Bluefire and Teresia for now. Beirut’s group of three was continuing to frantically advance towards the Yulan Plane at high speed.
“Fortunately, Bluefire was quite fast. Although I still have to carry the two of you over, by the looks of it, the Chief Sovereign of Light won’t be able to catch up.” Beirut’s divine sense informed him as to how far away the Chief Sovereign of Light was. Based the speed at which the two sides travelled at, he could easily tell whether or not the Chief Sovereign of Light would be able to catch up.
“Lord Beirut, how did Mr. Leylin become a Sovereign?” Linley was puzzled. “Back then, in the Planar Battlefield, wasn’t Mr. Leylin a Paragon?”
“If Mr. Leylin was a Sovereign during the Planar War, when Magnus wanted to kill my Boss, why didn’t he arrive earlier?” Bebe said, puzzled.
“Bluefire is the same as me; his Sovereign clone isn’t able to enter the other Divine Planes or Higher Planes.” Beirut said with a sigh.
“The Bluefire who entered the Planar Battlefield was just his original body and his divine earth clone. His divine fire clone remained within the Yulan Plane.” Beirut laughed as he explained.
“Original body?” Linley instantly understood.
Bluefire should have had three bodies as well. One a Saint-level original body, one a fire-type divine clone, and one an earth-type divine clone. Bluefire’s fire-type divine clone had become a Sovereign. When his Saint-level original body joined together with his earth-type divine clone, it naturally possessed the Godrealm of a Highgod. As for Sovereign power...he could borrow from his Sovereign clone.
As for the profound mysteries of the Laws? His Saint-level original body would naturally understand the Laws of Fire.
As for the power of Will...
Upon becoming a Sovereign, given how powerful the Will of his Sovereign clone was, although the Will of his other clones would be much weaker, they would still be comparable to a Paragon’s Will.
“No wonder.” Linley let out a sigh.
“Grandpa Beirut, you haven’t yet explained how Mr. Leylin became a Sovereign.”
“This...” Beirut hesitated momentarily, then shook his head. “This is rather complicated. I won’t be able to explain it all in a brief period of time. Once we return to the Yulan Plane, I’ll discuss it with you in detail...Bluefire and I have been forging Linley this entire time. Given your current strength, Linley, it is about time.”
Linley felt a surge of puzzlement. However, as they were currently fleeing, this truly wasn’t the time to chat in detail.
They continued to fly forward.
“Whooosh.” Chaotic streams of energy flew everywhere, and space constantly ruptured and collapsed.
Linley’s group of three travelled forward at high speed for quite some time. They were drawing close to the Yulan Plane, and at this moment, a surge of energy drew close to them from behind at high speed.
“Linley. Bebe.” That gentle voice rang out as the figure approached them.
“Mr. Leylin.” Linley and Bebe looked over. The newcomer was Leylin ‘Bluefire’.
Bluefire was a Sovereign, and also a Paragon. Experts of the Laws of Fire were specialized in speed...Bluefire’s speed was naturally somewhat faster than Beirut’s. Given that Beirut was also bringing two people with him, Beirut’s speed naturally grew even slower. It only made sense that Bluefire was able to catch up.
“Bluefire, how was Teresia? Annoying to deal with, right?” Beirut laughed as he spoke.
“Of course a Paragon of Wind would be hard to deal with.” Bluefire laughed calmly. “But I’m a Paragon Sovereign as well. I wasn’t able to do anything to him, but he wasn’t able to do anything to me either. Now that both of us are here, that Teresia naturally won’t dare to come over and just invite more suffering upon himself.”
“You are all Paragons, but I...” Beirut sighed. “It truly is hard to become a Paragon.”
“It truly is.” Linley nodded as well.
To the outside world, the story was that he was a Paragon. But Linley, of course, knew...that his power came not from being a Paragon, but from his four-way soul mutation.
“Haha...” Beirut suddenly laughed. “The Yulan Plane is up ahead. The Chief Sovereign of Light has been hastening towards us this entire time for nothing.” Beirut was quite smug. While speaking, the four of them arrived at the borders of the distant, massive plane.
Linley’s eyes couldn’t help but light up. They flew away from the center of that flow of chaotic space and towards the edges of the plane.
“The Yulan Plane. Here we are!” Linley felt extremely excited.
After reaching the Yulan Plane, he finally would be able to safely summon the Overgod. In addition, his family and friends were in the Yulan Plane as well...
“Haha, Augusta! We’ve already arrived. You’ve been hurrying over with no stop and no rest, but alas, in the end, you weren’t able to catch up.” Beirut, while drawing close to the planar borders, stared into the distant and spoke out through divine sense. “This was a rare chance for you, but you weren’t able to grasp it. You really are useless.”
A good distance away, deep in chaotic space, the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, simply stood there, an ugly look on his face.
“That Teresia really is useless.” Augusta said to himself.
But he understood that once the second Sovereign, ‘Bluefire’, made his appearance, it was guaranteed that there was no way Teresia would be able to tie down Beirut.
“Beirut, don’t be so smug. No matter how smug you are, you are limited to the Yulan Plane. If you have any ability...why don’t you let your Sovereign clone come to the Divine Light Plane or to the Infernal Realm.” The Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta, sent mockingly. “A fellow who is as cowardly as a rat, actually dares to talk so brashly?”
But Beirut wasn’t the slightest bit angry.
“As cowardly as a rat? I’m a Godeater Rat to begin with!” Beirut sent back with a laugh. “I, a Godeater Rat, love to eat divine sparks. I even like Sovereign sparks...haha...and I’m quite sorry about what happened that year! Haha...” Beirut was utterly delighted with himself.
Augusta, hearing these words, had an even uglier look appear on his face.
“Linley, Bebe, let’s go. Let’s go home.” Beirut laughed loudly. “Let Augusta slowly stew in his anger. Ideally, he’ll die from it.”
Augusta’s divine sense was spread out; naturally, he was able to hear these words. He became all the more enraged. But him and Beirut were like fire and water to begin with; even if Beirut had spoken kindly towards him, Augusta wouldn’t spare him. Thus, as Beirut saw it, he might as well anger Augusta a bit more.
“Oh, time to go home.” Bebe called out jubilantly as well.
Immediately, Beirut, Bluefire, Linley, and Bebe passed through the planar boundary and returned to the Yulan Plane.
In the air above the vast South Sea of the Yulan Plane. Beirut’s group of four was jubilantly flying through the skies.
“Haha, when I think about the look on Augusta’s face, I feel absolutely tickled.” Beirut laughed loudly.
“We are finally back. It is all over.” Linley felt as though he was in a dream. Everything was so perfect.
“Mr. Leylin, that continent you created is right ahead of us.” Bebe pointed towards a distant continent. This continent had been created by Bluefire through relying on his divine earth clone. After having been shaped and sculpted by Bluefire, it was now far larger than even the Yulan continent.
In addition, in the past, Beirut and Bluefire had jointly moved tens of millions of humans, many magical beasts, and many types of living creatures over to this continent.
In the past three thousand years, this continent had flourished and reached a population of billions as well.
“Lord Beirut, I have to admit something to you.” Linley said honestly.
“Eh?” Beirut looked towards Linley.
“I have three of the Overgod talismans.” Linley didn’t hide anything at all. Linley still felt very grateful towards Beirut. In addition...he was about to prepare to summon the Overgod. There was no way he would be able to hide that now.
“Three?” Beirut and Bluefire were both shocked.
Bebe nodded and chortled as well. “That rumor which Molde had made up back then wasn’t completely false. The nine soul pearls had indeed fallen into my Boss’s hands. As for the pentametal crown...my Boss was lucky enough to encounter it during the Planar War.”
“Haha...the heavens are helping us.” Beirut laughed loudly.
“Haha, wonderful. Beirut, this is absolutely wonderful.” Bluefire couldn’t help but laugh loudly as well.
Linley and Bebe exchanged glances.
What was going on?
Just because he acquired three Overgod talismans, Beirut and Bluefire would lose their composure like this?
“Linley.” Beirut’s eyes were shining. He seemed to be a beggar who was seeing a fortune worth trillions.” You have three talismans. You are about to summon the Overgod, and when you do, remember, you must request a Overgod artifact. As for what type of Overgod artifact...perhaps a defensive Overgod artifact or perhaps an Overgod weapon. Both would be good. You choose for yourself what you want!”
“Right.” Bluefire said hurriedly to Linley as well. “Choose an Overgod artifact! This is a rare opportunity.”
“Linley, you truly are quite formidable, to be able to hide this for so long...yes, you’ve done very well. You’ve acquired an Overgod artifact. Your actions were completely correct. Haha..I originally only thought you’d have, at most, two Overgod talismans. Who would’ve thought that you’d have three?” Beirut clearly was quite excited.
“An Overgod artifact...wonderful.” Bluefire couldn’t but sigh in praise as well.
Linley was rather astonished, but then he said with a forced laugh, “Lord Beirut, Mr. Leylin, I truly must apologize. I’m not planning to ask for an Overgod artifact!”
Beirut and Bluefire’s laughter came to a halt. The looks on their face froze as they stared towards Linley in astonishment.
“Linley, what did you just say?” Beirut was completely stunned.
The nearby Bebe said, “Grandpa Beirut, the reason my Boss has risked his life to acquire the Overgod talismans was because...Boss has always been wanting a way to bring Grandpa Doehring back to life. Grandpa Doehring is extremely important to him.”
“Doehring Cowart?” Beirut couldn’t believe it. He frantically urged, “Linley, I know about you and Doehring Cowart, but he’s already dead. His soul is dissipated and dispersed. Perhaps the Overgod of Life can bring him back, but...he is only a Saint. To sacrifice such a precious opportunity for him? This is an Overgod mission. You can acquire an Overgod artifact!” Beirut was extremely frantic.
“Linley. You can’t waste an opportunity like this. An Overgod mission will be issued only once in countless years. Even if there is a second one, you won’t necessarily be able to complete it.” Bluefire said frantically as well.
Linley looked at Beirut and Bluefire, forced out a smile, then shook his head.
“I’m sorry...”
Linley let out a sigh. “Lord Beirut, it is true that I wish to train to the very pinnacle of power. However, in my heart, the value of an Overgod artifact can’t even compare to Grandpa Doehring. Forget about an Overgod artifact; even if I had to give up my power as a Soul Mutate, I wouldn’t hesitate. In my heart...Grandpa Doehring is as important as my parents. He is also my true teacher!”
Family, teacher, guide...
This was what Doehring Cowart was to Linley.
“Linley, you can’t act based on sentiment. This is a rare opportunity! It is an Overgod artifact! Even Chief Sovereigns would go crazy for such a treasure.” Beirut said hurriedly.
“Linley, you can’t give up this chance.” Bluefire said frantically as well.
Linley just shook his head stubbornly, then said with apologetic regret, “Lord Beirut, if it hadn’t been for Grandpa Doehring, I probably would just be an ordinary mortal. Perhaps I wouldn’t even be able to restore my clan. As for the Overgod artifact...it is precious, but I have no other desire, other than for Grandpa Doehring to come back to life. I hope that you will understand, Lord Beirut.” Linley bowed solemnly.
“But...” Bluefire didn’t know what to say.
Bluefire and Beirut exchanged a glance. Beirut just let out a powerless sigh. “Alright, Linley. I understand how you are feeling. You were the one to complete this Overgod mission. I won’t force you! Make your own decision.”
“Apologies.” Linley bowed once more.
When this word came out, Beirut and Bluefire couldn’t help but to laugh sourly. Clearly, Linley had already decided that he would choose to save Doehring Cowart!
“Overgod.” Linley took a deep breath, then began to remove the three talismans. The Overgods were the personifications of the Edicts, and since the countless planes all operated in accordance with the Edicts...naturally, the Edicts were omnipresent. In other words, the Overgods were omnipresent as well.
The material planes held the Overgods. Chaotic space held the Overgods. The Higher Planes held the Overgods. They were truly omnipresent!
The Overgods were neither human nor living.
They were the Edicts!
Thus, they could appear anywhere. A summons to the Overgods could thus occur anywhere as well.
“I hope this is successful.” Linley murmured silently to himself. In his mind, the image of Grandpa Doehring once more sprang to mind, while at the same time, the pentametal crown, studded with the nine soul pearls, appeared in Linley’s hands, along with that red caltrop diamond. The nearby Beirut and Bluefire, seeing this, couldn’t help but laugh sourly.
The pentametal crown just hovered there. The red caltrop diamond hovered there as well.
“Swish!” The red caltrop diamond flew into the final, remaining central setting in the pentametal crown. It emitted countless rays of green light, causing even the sun to temporarily seem to grow dim by comparison.
“Rumble...” The world began to shake.
A blurry figure slowly began to appear, and a terrifying aura began to spread out. The pentametal crown immediately flew over towards the head of that blurred figure. The aura was so powerful that even Beirut and Bluefire couldn’t help but bow. Linley’s eyes lit up. He knew who the person in front of him was.
“The Overgod of Life!”