Of course, they were all Sovereigns. When Muya's divine clone had spoken on the arena, every Sovereign present had heard it clearly through divine sense.
"We're the same kind of person."
What exactly did that mean?
What made Muya and Locke "the same"?
After a moment's thought, the others quickly arrived at the most reasonable conclusion.
Muya must have recognized Locke's true identity.
The Locke in Hell was merely the divine clone of some Sovereign.
From the battle's display alone, Locke's strength had clearly surpassed Muya's clone. And since Muya was the only one among them who actually possessed a divine clone, his judgment carried weight.
The others were inclined to believe him.
Only the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns remained silent.
They knew Locke.
They had followed his guidance long ago, sworn brotherhood, and walked their path together because of him.
They knew very well that Locke was no Sovereign's clone. He was simply a god of terrifying natural talent—one who happened to know far more secrets than others.
Still, even they were astonished by the strength Locke had revealed today.
Based on the rule that each additional fused Profound Mystery increased power tenfold, Locke's displayed combat power seemed to exceed what fusion of six Mysteries should grant.
Could it be that perfectly fusing the final Mystery did not grant a mere tenfold boost—but eightyfold?
Before any Paragon had appeared, no one truly understood what full Law completion meant.
Perhaps only when the three Law-based Chief Sovereigns—who had already reached perfection—spoke openly would the truth become known:
For Sovereigns, Law perfection granted a hundredfold increase.
For gods, it granted a thousandfold amplification.
Not because a Paragon's Will was inherently stronger than a Sovereign's—
But because gods were so weak to begin with.
Against such a fragile foundation, Will appeared overwhelming.
Yet what truly kept the Sovereigns patient was something else Locke had said.
"I know what everyone wants."
"I'm quite willing to cooperate."
Since Locke had already signaled his stance, there was no need to rush.
He was generous.
They could afford to appear magnanimous as well.
Let him enjoy the first wave of dividends once Fiend Castle fully spread across Hell.
After that, they could discuss how faith would be divided.
And so—
Fiend Castle began expanding at an even faster pace.
The Tide of Fate
"Too much… it's too much…"
"I can't even comprehend it all…"
Within Blackstone Castle, Locke's Fate divine clone was immersed in the ocean of Fate Edicts.
The expansion of Fiend Castle had created an enormous swell of destiny. Riding that current, his understanding soared.
At this rate—
Two thousand years at most.
That was all he needed to fully comprehend the Fate Edict.
Unlike the fragmented Profound Mysteries of the Laws—
The Four Edicts—Death, Destruction, Life, and Fate—were complete wholes.
Other elements possessed Sovereigns.
But only the Four Edicts possessed Supreme Deities.
That alone made them inherently superior.
When a Law was mastered, one still had to fuse its Mysteries.
When an Edict was mastered—
Perfection was immediate.
Locke already grasped roughly eighty percent of Fate.
In terms of combat strength, his Fate clone was now equal to his Water clone.
While his Water clone strove toward fusing the sixth Mystery—
And his Fate clone marched toward Edict completion—
His original Saint-level body worked tirelessly as well.
Within his soul, Water Laws and Fate Edict collided and intertwined.
The spark from centuries ago had not faded.
At last—
He managed to fuse a sliver of Water's Essence of Water with Fate.
A single thread.
Yet even that was monumental.
Still—
As expected of the strongest heterogeneous fusion in the Coiling Dragon universe—
Progress was painfully slow.
At this pace, it would take at least ten thousand years just to approach bottleneck completion for this first fusion.
And that was only the beginning.
Beyond that—
Without sudden enlightenment or fortune—
The timeline might stretch into hundreds of thousands. Millions. Even tens of millions of years.
Locke exhaled slowly.
"It's fine."
"As long as I keep my head down and avoid Sovereigns, I have time to grow."
Heterogeneous fusion was equivalent to merging four ordinary Mysteries.
If he fully fused all six Water Mysteries with Fate—
That would equal twenty-four Mysteries of other elements.
If the world granted one Will per six fused Mysteries—
Then theoretically, he could obtain four Paragon-level Wills.
That would rival a Low Sovereign.
Add in his two divine clones—
Add in heterogeneous amplification—
Even Locke didn't know what realm that would reach.
Of course—
This was speculation.
Until completion, nothing was certain.
Still—
Dreaming cost nothing.
Fifteen Hundred Years Later
Time flowed quietly.
Fifteen hundred years passed.
Then one day—
The descent of the Laws appeared above Blackstone Tribe.
"Hmm? That direction…"
Gaspar looked up sharply.
That was where Lord Locke secluded himself.
It had been over three thousand years since Locke arrived.
Under his guidance, Blackstone Tribe had become the strongest power within hundreds of thousands of kilometers.
Stronger even than some cities.
Publicly, the tribe now had three Highgods.
A thousand years ago, after Chief Oakes' two divine clones broke through to become a God—
Lord Locke had bestowed Highgod sparks upon both Gaspár and Korst.
Only after refining them did they realize—
Yagoniya had already received hers long ago.
Though spark-refined Highgods were weaker—
A Highgod was still a Highgod.
Bandits vanished.
No one dared approach.
And so the tribe flourished.
Three Highgods.
Three Gods.
Five Demigods.
The Saints preferred cultivating naturally, aware of spark limitations.
Yet for those without great potential—
A spark raised their ceiling.
Gaspar frowned slightly.
"Wasn't Lord Locke already a Highgod? Why would the Laws descend again?"
"Does he… have another divine clone?"
He rushed toward the seclusion chamber.
Oakes and Yagoniya were already waiting.
"We were closer," Oakes chuckled.
Then his tone softened.
"Gaspar. I've seen how the tribe has grown."
"You've done well."
Gapar laughed bitterly.
"Without Lord Locke, none of this would exist."
Oakes nodded.
That was true.
Everything stemmed from one man.
The more powerful they became—
The more they understood how terrifying he truly was.
Based on his name alone, some had begun to suspect his origins.
But no one dared speak it aloud.
Ninefold Highgod divine power.
There was only one such figure in Hell.
And Oakes knew even more.
From Locke's familiarity with soul mutations—
He suspected Locke's true strength far exceeded what anyone had seen.
But one question lingered in Oakes' mind:
How far could he himself go under Locke's command?
Lord Locke had once said—
If Oakes failed to reach Six-Star Fiend level within one hundred thousand years—
He would personally kill him.
To prevent the secret of soul mutation from leaking.
And that—
Was not an idle threat.
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