Watching the reactions of the Sovereigns before her, the Death Sovereign suddenly came to a realization.
The appearance of the Overgod had shown every surviving Sovereign a gap that simply could not be crossed.
Faced with such an overwhelming disparity, many Sovereigns would inevitably begin to think—
So, what if I obtained a few more Sovereign clones?
Would that really allow me to stand on the same level as a Rule Sovereign?
With that mentality, some Sovereigns would likely choose to simply give up striving.
Perhaps, because of that single piece of information released by Orloff, and the great Sovereign war sparked by Violetthorn Sovereign's husband and a certain Fate Sovereign spark, this conflict was finally coming to an end.
As long as everyone calmed down, they would realize something.
After all these years of slaughter, nearly thirty Sovereigns had fallen.
But among all the surviving Sovereigns, how many had actually managed to obtain a fallen Sovereign's spark and gain an additional Sovereign clone?
Not a single one.
Perhaps Chief Sovereign Hurley could be counted as one, but he too had already been annihilated. Even his Chief Sovereign spark and Lesser Earth Sovereign spark had long since been swept away into the depths of the spatial turbulence.
As for how long it would take before someone was lucky enough to find one of those sparks and become the new Chief Sovereign of the Lightning Divine Plane—
no one knew.
"...Sigh."
The Life Sovereign Wawaya let out a soft sigh.
In this Sovereign war, only the Sovereigns of the Life Divine Realm had refrained from joining the struggle for Sovereign sparks.
Because of that, the Life Divine Realm had become the only Higher Plane where no Sovereign had fallen.
But when Wawaya compared the gathering of Sovereigns at the first Sovereign Assembly to the sparse numbers remaining now, she could not help but lament the fragility of life.
"Fate Sovereign, Orloff."
Just as the Sovereigns were preparing to disperse, the Destruction Sovereign Wordred suddenly called out to him.
"Destruction Sovereign."
Orloff raised his head to look at Wordred, the smile on his face unchanged.
"I recall telling you before," Wordred said coldly, "that if you wish to sit firmly in the seat of a Rule Sovereign, then you must display power worthy of that title."
He extended his hand, and a black spear-shaped Sovereign artifact appeared in his grasp.
Pointing it at Orloff, he said,
"At the last Sovereign Assembly, the strength you displayed was still not enough for me to acknowledge you as my equal."
"Since we have the opportunity now, let me see what you are truly made of."
"If your strength disappoints me, then I will not acknowledge your standing as equal to mine."
Hearing this, Orloff nodded.
"Very well. I too wish to see just how great the gap is between myself and the rest of you."
"I accept your challenge."
The moment the Sovereigns heard that Orloff had agreed to fight Wordred, their eyes lit up.
The strength of the four Rule Sovereigns was something entirely beyond them.
Compared to the ordinary Sovereigns, it was like comparing different dimensions of existence.
Even the Elemental Chief Sovereigns were no more than somewhat larger ants in front of the Rule Sovereigns.
Hurley, who had refined an additional Sovereign clone, was the perfect example.
He had been roughly ten times stronger than an ordinary Elemental Chief Sovereign—
and yet he had still been killed in a single move.
Because of this, the Sovereigns had never had a concrete understanding of just how powerful the Rule Sovereigns truly were.
Everyone knew they were strong.
But how strong?
Now, with two Rule Sovereigns about to clash, they would finally be able to see the true extent of that gap.
As if by unspoken agreement, the Sovereigns quickly withdrew from the surrounding region of spatial turbulence, leaving the central area to Wordred and Orloff.
Netherworld — Mount Nether
"Locke, Locke!"
At the summit of Mount Nether, Liliya descended in a streak of blue light and landed within Locke's Water Estate.
"What is it, Liliya? Didn't you say the Overgod had descended?"
Locke looked at her bright, excited expression with curiosity.
"Did seeing the Overgod really make you this excited?"
"No, the Overgod only appeared briefly before disappearing," Liliya replied, waving her hand.
"It only left behind a new restriction."
"Destroying a material plane is now considered a violation of the universal laws. Any Sovereign who does so will be erased by the Overgod."
Locke nodded.
Just as he had expected.
During a Sovereign war, the only reason for an Overgod to appear would be something like this.
Still, even with a new law added, it shouldn't have made Liliya this excited.
"Then what happened that made you so happy?"
"Wordred is going to fight Orloff!"
"Is that so?"
Locke's expression turned thoughtful.
Then, in his mind, he began to calculate.
Yes… this was about the right time.
According to what he remembered from the original Coiling Dragon, the Death Sovereign had once mentioned that around ten million years after the creation of the universe, the Destruction Sovereign Wordred and the Fate Sovereign Orloff had sparred once.
It had now been a little over nine million years since the seven Divine Planes were created.
It seemed this battle between the Destruction Sovereign and the Fate Sovereign was also part of their destined path.
"Locke, do you want to watch?"
"If you do, I can take you there."
Liliya looked at him expectantly.
She knew Locke still possessed a Sovereign spark.
She simply didn't understand why he still had no intention of becoming a Sovereign.
But a battle between two Rule Sovereigns—
surely Locke would want to see that.
This was a clash between the strongest beings in the universe.
Perhaps one day, Locke himself would become the center of such attention.
And before that day came, understanding them better could only improve his chances.
"Hm… watch a battle between Rule Sovereigns?"
Locke stroked his chin.
Then he recalled the Sovereign war Liliya had once shown him through her projection technique hundreds of thousands of years ago.
Without becoming a Sovereign himself, he had not even been able to perceive the speed of their movements.
Much less comprehend the profundities within their techniques.
Watching such a battle now would yield him nothing.
In the end, Locke shook his head.
"I'll pass. With my current strength, I wouldn't be able to perceive any of the deeper mysteries in a battle between Rule Sovereigns."
"There would be nothing for me to gain."
"I imagine they'll fight again in the future."
"I'll watch then."
"Alright."
Although she didn't understand why Locke was so certain that Wordred and Orloff would clash again, Liliya did not press the matter.
Since he didn't wish to go, she would stay here with him.
As for the battle itself, her true Sovereign body could watch it and then describe it to him afterward.
Through Liliya's retelling, although Locke did not witness the first battle between Wordred and Orloff with his own eyes, he still came to understand their current state.
In this battle, Orloff had held something back.
He had not revealed the portion of willpower granted by his additional Sovereign clone.
However, he had still displayed the terrifying strength of a Paragon-level Rule Sovereign.
Not only that, Orloff's self-created techniques were exquisite enough to prevent Wordred from closing the distance.
Although Orloff was clearly at a disadvantage in the flow of battle, it was equally impossible for Wordred to defeat him.
It seemed Orloff understood that even if he revealed his full strength, he still could not defeat Wordred, whose body had reached the level of a Sovereign artifact.
In that case, it was better to conceal his trump card and wait until he discovered a way to strengthen his body to that level before defeating Wordred.
Later, Liliya also shared her thoughts after the Destruction Overgod had disappeared.
Locke agreed with her.
If the gap between two sides was visible and measurable, then everyone's pursuit of Sovereign sparks would become frenzied.
After all, one additional Sovereign clone meant a tenfold increase in strength.
But once the difference had reached a level where even turning every divine clone into a Sovereign still would not bridge it—
people would finally wake up and accept reality.
Having experienced the pressure of the Destruction Overgod, and having seen the absolute power of the Rule Sovereigns, the surviving Sovereigns should finally abandon those unrealistic ambitions.
Not to mention that many Sovereigns had perished in this war.
Even among those who survived, many had lost all of their divine clones.
At the very least, Locke knew that Muya Sovereign's divine clone had been ambushed in the spatial turbulence and annihilated by a single palm strike through a torn spatial crack.
Sure enough, the following years became peaceful among the Sovereigns.
However, the Sovereign armies still locked in battle across the Divine Planes were not so fortunate.
The surviving Sovereigns recalled their own armies, and the other Sovereign armies ceased attacking them as well.
Everyone tacitly accepted that the interplanar war had ended.
But for the armies whose Sovereigns had already fallen, things were far more tragic.
Like headless flies, they were mercilessly hunted down and wiped out by the remaining Sovereign armies.
Locke sighed after hearing this.
"I wonder how many divine beasts and unique lifeforms have vanished forever after this war…"
If all those fallen beings had been available to him—
just how much divine beast blood essence could he have collected over these hundreds of thousands of years?
"Hahaha, I knew you'd say that."
Liliya laughed heartily and tossed several interspatial rings toward him.
"Here."
"Oh?"
Locke raised a brow, sending strands of blood aura into the rings.
Then his divine sense swept through them.
"…Eh?"
He looked up at Liliya in astonishment, delight filling his eyes.
"These are…?"
"Mm."
Liliya lifted her chin proudly.
"Ever since the Higher Planes joined the planar war, I had already given the order."
"I told the soldiers of the Sovereign armies under my command to collect the blood essence of divine beasts and unique lifeforms for me."
"According to them, besides gathering it from the Life Divine Plane, they also collected blood essence from divine beasts and unique lifeforms within the Netherworld itself."
"Hahaha! This helps me tremendously, Liliya!"
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