Book 21, The Peak – Chapter 6, Entrusted
The eighteenth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods. It had grown calm again. Linley’s eyes were now open.
Seeing that Linley had fused with the Sovereign sparks, Beirut, Bluefire, and Bebe couldn’t help but have their faces covered by smiles.
“Linley, how do you feel?” Beirut asked, rather nervous.
Beirut had never felt so nervous, not once in all these years! But right now...he was truly nervous! What if Linley, after fusing two Sovereign sparks, wasn’t as powerful as he had imagined? This would affect whether or not he, Beirut, would be able to openly depart the Yulan Plane in the future. If he would be able to go roam about the Higher Planes and the Divine Planes!
“I feel...” A hint of a smile was on Linley’s face. “Not bad at all!”
“Not bad at all?” Beirut, Bluefire, and Bebe all stared at Linley, puzzlement on their faces. What level of power did Linley’s ‘not bad at all’ represent?
“Boss, are you as powerful as a Chief Sovereign yet?” Bebe suddenly asked.
“Uh...?” Linley hesitated slightly.
“Grnadpa Beirut, do you know how great a difference in power there is between Lesser Sovereigns, Intermediate Sovereigns, and High Sovereigns?” Linley asked. Without a clear understanding as to how powerful each level was, Linley was unable to give an accurate accounting of his own power.
Beirut hurriedly explained, “Linley, there is a great difference in power between Sovereigns of different levels! For example, a Lesser Sovereign Paragon, compared to an Intermediate Sovereign who had fused five profound mysteries, is slightly weaker. But they will be fairly close! A similar example; an Intermediate Sovereign Paragon will have power that is fairly close to a Chief Sovereign who has fused five profound mysteries. But of course, he would still be slightly weaker. This is without taking weapons and innate divine abilities into account.”
“I understand now!” Linley nodded slightly.
Lesser Sovereign Paragons were comparable to Intermediate Sovereigns with five profound mysteries.
In terms of profound mysteries, Lesser Sovereign Paragons were more than ten times as powerful as Intermediate Sovereigns. But despite that, they still weren’t superior to Intermediate Sovereigns. This represented that the increase in the power of Will was more than tenfold!
In addition, as far as Will went, Lesser Sovereign Paragons didn’t just possess the power of Sovereign’s Will; they also possessed the portion of Will which the universe had bestowed upon them when they had become Paragons. Despite that, however...the power of their Will was still more than ten times weaker than the Will of an Intermediate Sovereign!
Then...
A normal Lesser Sovereign, compared to an Intermediate Sovereign, should only have a hundredth the amount of Will within his Sovereign spark.
“Logically speaking,” Beirut laughed, “Linley since you already had the power of Will from your four-way soul mutation, and have now fused two Sovereign sparks, the power of your Will should be on a higher level. You should now have a Will which is comparable to an Intermediate Sovereign’s.”
Bluefire looked at Linley, puzzled. “Linley, you are a Soul Mutate. After fusing the two Sovereign sparks, is the Will within them able to join together as well?”
“No.” Linley shook his head. “The power of a Sovereign’s Will is almost all within the spark. How can they possibly fuse?”
“Grandpa Beirut’s guess is accurate.” Linley nodded. “After fusing this water-type Sovereign spark, my five souls gained in Will yet again! According to my calculations, simply in terms of Will alone, I should be comparable to an Intermediate Sovereign.”
“But you also have fused Sovereign power.” Beirut laughed.
“Right. The two types of Sovereign power can indeed fuse.”
Linley sensed that greenish-gray Sovereign power flooding torrentially through his body. He nodded. “This fused Sovereign power, in terms of strength, should be ten times more powerful than ordinary Sovereign power! Now, in terms of Will and Sovereign power, I should be comparable to Intermediate Sovereigns!”
If it had been someone else, even though he might have two Sovereign clones, that just meant he had an additional Sovereign body, and that each soul would have an additional, separate boost in Will.
But Linley didn’t just receive an additional boost in Will; more importantly, his Sovereign power could be fused!
“And you have an Overgod artifact!” Bluefire smiled. “With an Overgod artifact, you should be comparable to the six ordinary Chief Sovereigns!”
Linley knew which six individuals Bluefire was referring to; of the eleven Chief Sovereigns, only five had Overgod artifacts.
The eighteenth floor of the Necropolis of the Gods.
“Whooosh.”
A gentle wind blew. Beirut, in an excellent mood, waved his sleeve. Instantly, with a ‘creaaaaak’, the many bluestone tiles began to move, and the platform which held the corpse of the Azure Dragon once more sank down. At the same time, a table and four stone seats appeared on the bluestone floor as well.
“Everyone, let’s sit down and chat.” Beirut chortled as he led everyone to be seated. At the same time, he withdrew some fine wine and food from his interspatial ring. “Ten thousand years. I’ve never been so happy as I am today. Haha, I never even imagined...that the one who would lead me to escape from my predicament would be that kid from the Fenlai Kingdom. In the blink of an eye, that magus institute student would become someone comparable to a Chief Sovereign.”
“I’m amazing, right?” Bebe said smugly. “I immediately recognized how great the Boss was and followed him.”
“Immediately recognized?” Linley said with a smirk. “Back then, I baited you. I lured you in with roasted hare meat and roasted chickens...”
Bebe was astonished.
“Haha...” Bluefire, seeing the look on Bebe’s face, couldn’t help but laugh as he drank his wine.
“Come, Linley. Cheers. In the future, whether or not Bluefire and I will be able to fearlessly depart the Yulan Plane will all be up to you.” Beirut laughed.
Linley hosted his cup as well. “Don’t worry, Grandpa Beirut. However, it is only proper for me to do these things. It was you who gave me these two Sovereign sparks. In the end, you are the one extricating yourself from your difficulties. I need to thank you.” Linley said with sincerity.
Beirut laughed, then shook his head. “Haha, you are too modest. I was going to have to find Sovereign candidates anyhow!”
“And where else could I possibly find a candidate like an expert who is a four-way Soul Mutate? This had nothing to do with me; it was all you. Originally, Bluefire and I continuously paid attention to you. When the Soulstone that was keeping you alive was used up, we originally thought that you wouldn’t be able to survive for much longer. Who would have thought that you descended from the precipice of danger and managed to return? You survived your journey to the borders of death.” Beirut sighed in praise.
Linley didn’t quibble any further. He just happily laughed with the people around him.
“However, my comprehension of the profound mysteries of the Laws is still too low.” Linley said with a frown.
In terms of the profound mysteries, Linley had still only fused four of them. The other Sovereigns had fused at least five.
“Don’t be impatient.” The nearby Bluefire laughed calmly. “Linley, given your level of innate talent and the fact that you fused four profound mysteries in just a few thousand years, and with that boundless amount of faith energy, I imagine that in a short period of time, you will reach an extremely high level of insight. However, Linley, let me warn you of something; I recommend that you develop towards material attacks.”
“Why do you say that...?” Linley was somewhat surprised.
“Your body is very strong.” Bluefire sighed. “I’ve heard from Beirut that your body is now comparable to a Sovereign artifact! You must understand that even amongst Sovereigns, the number who are at this level can be counted on one hand.”
“Oh?” Linley was rather surprised. “Is it very hard for Sovereigns to strengthen their bodies? Based on what I know, the ancestor of our Azure Dragon clan, the ‘Azure Dragon’, had a body that was as strong as a Sovereign artifact.”
Bluefire snickered. “The Azure Dragon? Do you think that ordinary Sovereigns can be compared to the Four Divine Beasts, those freaks of nature?”
Linley didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry.
The Four Divine Beasts...were ‘freaks of nature’?
But Bluefire’s words weren’t wrong either; not only did all four of the Four Divine Beasts possess excessively powerful innate divine abilities, they were even able to fuse their four innate divine abilities into one. This was simply too monstrous.
“Linley, look at me. I’m a Sovereign as well. However, I’m only able to use my Sovereign power to manifest my body; I’m not able to further strengthen it.” Bluefire shook his head. “For my true body to be as strong as a Sovereign artifact? That’s something incredible that you have to be born with. For example, the Four Divine Beasts, Beirut, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction, or the Chief Sovereign of Death. That is true for all of them.”
The nearby Bebe called out in surprise, “The Chief Sovereigns of Death and Destruction aren’t humans?”
“They aren’t humans.” Beirut nodded. “The Chief Sovereign of Death was supposedly the very first living creature which was created when the Netherworld was born. When the Netherworld was first created, the Netherworld continent didn’t have any living creatures within it. Deep within the vast, endless, boundless Nether Sea, the very first living creature was given life...a type of plant! That is the true form of the Chief Sovereign of Death.”
“Plant? What type of plant?” Linley was a bit curious.
“That’s not very clear.” Beirut shook his head. “Nobody has ever been able to force the Chief Sovereign of Death to show her true form. Supposedly, the ‘Abyssal Fruit Tree’ that lives in the Abyssal Mountain was once the fruit tree partner of the Chief Sovereign of Death.
“Oh?” Linley suddenly understood.
Linley suddenly thought back to the diagrams that had appeared on the robes of the Chief Sovereign of Death. Those tendrils and vines, and that coiling silver serpent. “The Abyssal Fruit Tree and the Chief Sovereign of Death are both plants! As for that pair of giant gold and silver snakes, they should have been two creatures that lived atop those two plants.”
“There is a limit to how much Sovereign power can strengthen one’s body.” Bluefire laughed calmly.
“My fused Sovereign power is unable to further strengthen my body either.” Linley said with a frown.
When he had first fused four types of Highgod power and created his fused divine power, he was able to dramatically strengthen his body and also strength his divine artifacts and godspark weapons! But the power of his fused Sovereign power, in terms of strengthening effectiveness, was inferior to his four-way fused divine power.
It must be understood that the power of his four-way fused divine power was more than ten times greater than ordinary Sovereign power.
As for Linley’s fused Sovereign power, it was also more than ten times greater than ordinary Sovereign power. Compared to his earlier four-way fusion of divine power, there wasn’t much of an increase! Although in terms of attack power, there was almost no different, in terms of having special effects, it was inferior to his fused divine power.
“It seems finding a balance is important. The energy of my four bodies is now unbalanced.” Linley could guess at the reason why.
“Linley, your body is as strong as Beirut’s and the Four Divine Beasts. You have to make use of it.” Bluefire said solemnly. “If you develop your material attacks, then even at your current level, you will be able to compete against ordinary Chief Sovereigns.”
“However...I’m still not a match for the Chief Sovereign of Light.” Linley shook his head.
The Chief Sovereign of Light had an Overgod artifact as well!
“Let’s not be impatient. Let’s take everything slowly.” Beirut laughed calmly. “You are a Soul Mutate. Once you successfully fuse four types of profound mysteries from different Laws, the power will be ten times greater than when you fuse six types of profound mysteries of the same Law. By then, you will definitely surpass the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta.
Linley’s potential, in terms of the Laws, was far higher than that of an ordinary Sovereign.
The moonlight was like water, flowing across the boundless earth.
Within Dragonblood Castle.
Linley and Delia were lying against each other in bed. This was the third night after Linley had become a Sovereign. The previous day, Linley had returned to Dragonblood Castle and had described everything to Delia. Delia had been stunned. She had never imagined...that Linley could reach such a level.
Just by relying on his Overgod weapon, Linley was now already comparable to a Chief Sovereign.
If he was able to gain greater insights into the profound mysteries, he even had a chance at surpassing the Chief Sovereign of Light.
“Linley, you’ve become a Sovereign. I feel like I am in a dream.” Delia rested against Linley’s chest and spoke softly, her gaze passing through the window and staring towards the outside.
“Sovereign...unfortunately, I wasn’t able to bring Grandpa Doehring back to life.” Linley sighed to himself.
Delia turned her head to look towards Linley, smiling encouragingly. “If Grandpa Doehring was alive, he would be very happy for you. In addition...life, death, age, infirmity...Grandpa Doehring lived a very long life. Don’t be too sad.”
“Forget it. Enough of this subject.” Linley shook his head.
“Everything is wonderful now.” Delia smiled. “There will no longer be any more storms of blood. You won’t even leave the Yulan Plane. Let’s just live a peaceful life. We’ll watch the sun rise, then watch the sun set...for a thousand, for ten thousand years!”
Hearing this, Linley couldn’t help but gently pull Delia into his arms.
Linley knew that his future life would indeed be very peaceful.
But of course, even during peaceful times, Linley still needed to train. As time flowed on, his power would continue to grow, to the point where he would catch up to the Chief Sovereign of Light!
“The Chief Sovereign of Light...I must defeat him and even kill him!” Linley said to himself silently.
After all, his mother’s freedom was still under the domination of the Chief Sovereign of Light.