That single display of force was enough.
None of the Fate Sovereigns dared delay any longer.
They immediately rushed out from their Sovereign palaces, tore open spatial rifts, sped through the spatial turbulence, and then ripped open space once more to return to the Celestial Realm.
No Sovereign dared flee.
All of them could clearly sense that, before they had even arrived, the Death Sovereign's divine sense had been locked onto them the entire time.
If they tried to run—
they would likely be annihilated on the spot.
Very soon, the Fate Sovereigns gathered before her.
"Greetings, Sovereign."
The six Fate Sovereigns bowed respectfully.
"Good."
"It seems everyone is here."
Her cold gaze swept over them.
"Now speak."
"That rumor from earlier—that a Sovereign with a divine clone can gain an additional portion of willpower and increase their strength tenfold by refining another Sovereign spark…"
"Who spread it?"
The six Fate Sovereigns were instantly stunned.
"Sovereign, we're innocent!"
"We only just learned of this ourselves!"
"Yes, Sovereign—we had only just heard it as well. How could we possibly have spread it?"
Immediately, all six began pleading their case.
Meanwhile, the other Sovereigns who had extended their divine sense into Heaven finally understood why the Death Sovereign had come.
So, she was here to drag out the culprit.
Rip!
Rip!
Two more spatial rifts split open.
The Destruction Sovereign, Wodred, and the Life Sovereign, Wawaya, arrived in the Celestial Realm.
"Big sister," Wawaya asked the moment she appeared, "are you saying that message originated from here?"
Though Wodred said nothing, it was obvious he was equally curious.
The Death Sovereign replied matter-of-factly:
"I was sleeping perfectly well in my palace when that message woke me up."
"I got annoyed, so I grabbed onto a trace of Fate within it."
Her tone was completely righteous.
Of course, the real reason was because she already knew Locke had a Fate divine clone and had deliberately investigated how such a message could be spread.
But naturally—
she wasn't going to say that.
Locke's existence was a secret best kept to herself.
"Only a Sovereign could deliver a message to every Sovereign in this way."
A brief pause.
"Well… Locke probably could too."
That last thought remained unspoken.
The moment they heard her explanation—
all the watching Sovereigns shifted their attention to the seven Fate Sovereigns.
If the Death Sovereign was correct—
then the mastermind behind all this panic was among them.
Previously, when everyone first became Sovereigns, they had naturally been wary of being hunted.
But at that time, there were two major reasons no one acted rashly.
First—
faith power could assist in fusing profound mysteries, meaning even Law Sovereigns weren't sure how many mysteries others had already fused.
Second—
there seemed to be little reward in killing another Sovereign.
The risk outweighed the gain.
But now?
This rumor had laid out the reward in plain terms.
Power.
Who didn't desire greater strength?
Sovereigns with divine clones would inevitably start eyeing Sovereigns of matching elements.
Those without clones would have to constantly fear becoming prey.
"Orloff."
As the Fate Sovereign, Wodred's voice rang out sharply.
"I hope you can give us a satisfactory explanation."
"Otherwise…"
His eyes narrowed.
"In my view, you should stop calling yourself one of the Rule Sovereigns."
Among the Four Rule Sovereigns—
Life, Death, and Destruction had all been the first lifeforms born in their respective planes.
In Wodred's eyes, only Heaven's first lifeform had the right to stand equal with them.
Unfortunately—
that being had died during its growth.
It never survived to inherit the Fate Sovereign spark.
So, from the beginning—
Wodred had never thought much of Orloff, the one who had essentially taken the position afterward.
Now that the Death Sovereign had found leverage—
he naturally intended to use it.
While everyone's attention was focused on Heaven—
no one noticed the Lightning Sovereign, Hurley, quietly leave the Lightning Divine Plane and head toward the Earth Divine Plane.
After becoming Sovereigns, everyone had learned from their Sovereign sparks the power gap between ranks.
At the same level—
Rule Sovereigns were slightly stronger than Law Sovereigns.
In other words—
even among Chief Sovereigns, the Four Rule Sovereigns stood above the seven Law Sovereigns.
And after seeing the Death Sovereign suppress the Fate faction so effortlessly—
that gap had become painfully obvious.
Hurley was unwilling to remain beneath them.
Unfortunately—
even though he had already fully fused five profound mysteries of lightning and was only a step away from the sixth—
he still felt an enormous gap between himself and the Death Sovereign.
But now—
he knew another way.
Kill another Sovereign.
Gain another portion of willpower.
Strengthen himself.
So, while everyone was distracted—
Hurley moved.
If he succeeded—
even the Rule Sovereigns might no longer be untouchable.
Back in Heaven, Orloff let out a sigh.
"My friends…"
"This message was indeed spread by me."
A compassionate expression appeared on his face.
"Through the Edict of Fate…"
"I glimpsed a fragment of the future."
"What?"
"The future?"
"Hahaha!"
The Sovereigns immediately burst into laughter.
"What kind of joke is that?"
"Who among us can't see the future?"
In a world where personal power reigned supreme—
everyone had their own understanding of "the future."
Especially Sovereigns.
Their creed was simple:
I am the future.
Now that the rumor had spread, everyone knew one thing—
a Sovereign war was inevitable.
Either become strong enough to deter others—
or become prey.
Under such circumstances, Orloff claiming he had "seen the future" naturally drew mockery.
How much of that mockery was also fear and resentment?
No one could say.
"Oh?"
The Death Sovereign narrowed her eyes.
"Then tell us."
"What kind of future did you see that made you release this information now?"
Unlike the others—
she actually believed him to some extent.
After all, if not for Orloff's message—
Locke would have waited until he was fully prepared, assassinated two Sovereigns, and only then released the rumor to plunge the planes into chaos.
At the very least—
Orloff's interference had likely saved one Water Sovereign's life.
Just as Orloff was about to answer—
a furious divine sense suddenly exploded across the planes.
"Lightning Sovereign, you—!"
The voice cut off abruptly.
Then—
the divine sense shattered.
Gone.
Dead.
A Sovereign had died.
Someone immediately identified the fallen one.
"That was Antonius—the Lesser Earth Sovereign!"
"The Lightning Sovereign killed him?"
In an instant—
six powerful auras burst out of the Earth Divine Plane and fled in different directions.
No one had expected it.
Not so soon.
And the killer—
was a Chief Sovereign.
At once—
terrifying killing intent erupted from both the Death Sovereign and the Destruction Sovereign.
"Heh…"
The Death Sovereign laughed coldly.
"Very good."
"Using us as bait to distract everyone's attention…"
"While you sneak into another Divine Plane to hunt a Sovereign."
Her voice spread throughout the spatial turbulence.
"You have truly angered me, Lightning Sovereign."
Every Sovereign listening could hear the fury in her voice.
At the same time—
their opinion of Hurley plummeted.
A Chief Sovereign stooping to ambush a Lesser Sovereign?
That was utterly shameless.
Of course—
more than a few Sovereigns with divine clones secretly regretted not acting first.
Hurley had seized the perfect moment.
Now that the first kill had happened—
Lesser Sovereigns would become infinitely more cautious.
Future hunts would be exponentially harder.
Locking onto Hurley's location—
the Death Sovereign tore open space and stepped directly into the spatial turbulence.
Then—
she sensed something that made her both amused and furious.
Hurley wasn't fleeing.
He was actually charging toward her.
Her lips curled.
This fool…
Does he really think that one extra portion of willpower is enough to challenge me?
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