Rising into the sky above the Sovereign's palace, the Death Sovereign took out a violet crystal sphere from her interspatial ring and cast it downward.
The crystal orb slowly descended until it settled atop the palace roof, where it fused seamlessly into the structure itself.
The next moment, a surge of violet lightning erupted from the sphere.
Like a cascading waterfall of thunder, it poured down from the summit of Mount Nether, spreading in every direction until the entire mountain was enveloped beneath a vast web of crackling purple light.
Inside the Water Manor, Locke gazed at the violet net covering the whole of Mount Nether and once again marveled at the terrifying certainty of fate.
Even though Christina had already begun recruiting new experts into the Sovereign Army from within the mountain range, there were still many who had no interest in joining the army and only wished to become a Sovereign's emissary, continuing to flock toward Mount Nether.
Because of this, the Death Sovereign—who had no desire to deal with such people—had personally forged an offensive Sovereign artifact, transforming it into an endless lattice of lightning that completely sealed off the mountain.
The power of that lightning was no trivial matter.
Even an Asura Prefecture Lord–level expert, someone renowned for their defenses, would be severely wounded the moment they came into contact with the thunderlight.
Only those possessing a material-defense Sovereign artifact, or a Paragon with Will, could withstand its assault.
And those two categories were special cases.
Anyone with a material-defense Sovereign artifact was almost certainly an emissary of another Sovereign, and even the Death Sovereign would give such people enough face to grant them an audience.
As for Paragons—
They were worthy of respect from all Sovereigns.
Not because of power alone, but out of reverence for someone who had cultivated a single Law to its absolute peak.
"Still, now that all of Mount Nether is covered by this lightning net…"
Locke glanced at the purple web outside, then at the white mist shrouding the area around his Water Manor.
"…is there really any need for my fog to remain?"
After a moment, he shook his head and dismissed the thought.
In any case, there were still many magical beasts roaming Mount Nether.
The original purpose of this white mist had been to prevent other beasts on the mountain from disturbing his cultivation.
What he really wondered was when the Death Sovereign would feel inspired to build the Netherworld Hotel at the foot of the mountain.
But given what Locke knew of her temperament, at least for the next few tens of millions of years, she would have no interest in dealing with such things.
If she truly intended to concern herself with those visitors, she never would have gone out of her way to forge this Sovereign artifact to seal off Mount Nether in the first place.
Perhaps because of the Eight Great Clans and the changes taking place around Mount Nether, Locke's understanding of the Edicts of Fate deepened yet again.
Several tens of thousands of years later, the bottleneck restraining his Water Laws profound mysteries finally shattered.
At last, they completely fused with the Edicts of Fate.
Bzzzz—
The instant Locke's Water Laws profound mysteries fully fused with the Edicts of Fate, the Laws of Heaven and Earth descended.
"Hm?"
Inside the Sovereign's palace, the Death Sovereign sensed the location where the laws had descended.
Her figure flashed, and in an instant, her water-element Sovereign clone appeared within Locke's Water Manor.
On the floating bridge, the heavenly laws had enveloped Locke, forming a zone around him that none could approach.
Even Liliya herself was unable to draw close while the Laws of Heaven and Earth were in effect.
She stared at Locke within that radiant cocoon, the astonishment in her heart beyond words.
In the Coiling Dragon universe, the Laws of Heaven and Earth typically only descended when a lifeform underwent a true evolution in existence.
For example:
Saint-level ascending to DeityDemigod ascending to GodhoodA God ascending to Highgodfully fusing all the profound mysteries of a single Law
Yet now, in Liliya's eyes, there was no divine spark above Locke's head.
That meant he had not become a Deity through comprehending some new Law mystery.
And as for his other two divine clones, both had already reached Paragon.
There should have been no further breakthrough capable of triggering the descent of the laws.
Before long, the Laws of Heaven and Earth dispersed.
Locke opened his eyes and immediately saw Liliya.
"Liliya, you're here."
"Come in and sit."
With a nod, Locke stepped into the main hall of the Water Manor first.
Today, he had broken through a major bottleneck.
He intended to rest for a while and savor the joy of this harvest.
Liliya did not stand on ceremony.
Rather, ever since she had given Locke her blood essence, she had never once been formal in front of him.
"Locke, how exactly did you do that just now?"
Unable to contain her curiosity, she sat across from him and asked directly.
"This?"
Locke took out two teacups and a teapot from his interspatial ring.
Only after slowly pouring her a cup of tea did he smile and say,
"It's nothing too extraordinary."
"My fusion of the Water Laws and the Edicts of Fate has simply reached a new breakthrough."
"You know already that I'm a soul-mutated cultivator of Water and Fate. I can fuse the Water Laws with the Edicts of Fate."
"The fusion of different Laws—two fused together—is equivalent to the power of three profound mysteries of a single Law."
"So, before this… your fusion of different Laws had already reached the equivalent of a single-system Paragon?"
Liliya's eyes lit up in realization.
Of course.
Although Locke's water and fate divine clones had both already reached Paragon, his path had never been cut off.
He still had the path of Law fusion to continue advancing on.
At that thought, even Liliya couldn't hide the envy in her eyes.
She was the strongest Sovereign of the Death element, yet she herself had not even reached Paragon in the Edicts of Death.
And Locke?
He had effectively already broken through the Paragon realm three separate times.
So, while she might jokingly be what Locke called a "Paragon of luck," luck only determined one's lower bound.
The upper bound, however, had already been locked in place by herself.
"No."
Locke shook his head.
"When the fusion of two different Laws reaches the equivalent of a single-system Paragon, it still does not trigger the descent of the heavenly laws."
"Over two million years ago, my Water Laws and Fate had already reached that level, but the laws did not descend then."
"This breakthrough just now…"
"…was the complete fusion of three Water profound mysteries with the Edicts of Fate."
"That's roughly equivalent to the fusion of nine profound mysteries of a single Law."
The fusion of different systems meant that the fusion of two mysteries carried power equivalent to three same-system mysteries.
The difference was that the Edicts of Fate existed as an integrated whole.
So, for Locke, the fusion was one Water mystery fused with the entirety of Fate.
Now that he had completed the fusion of three Water mysteries with Fate, its power truly matched that of nine fused mysteries from one Law.
"Nine profound mysteries?"
Liliya inhaled sharply.
If the fusion of a single profound mystery multiplied strength by ten…
Then Locke's fused Law power alone had already surpassed the level of an ordinary Paragon.
After all, even a Paragon, with the hundredfold amplification of Will, was only around ten million times stronger than an ordinary Highgod.
But Locke?
The power of his fused Laws alone had already reached one hundred million times that of an ordinary Highgod.
Unless a Paragon wielded a Sovereign artifact, they were simply no match for Locke in his normal state.
And more terrifying still—
Locke was a soul-mutated cultivator.
Both divine clones, plus his Saint-level original body, could all wield this fused Law power.
"Then this descent of the heavenly laws…"
Liliya looked at him expectantly.
"Did your Will increase?"
After all, the only thing that truly made a Sovereign stronger than a Paragon was Will.
If Locke's Law fusion breakthroughs could strengthen his Will, then once he truly became a Sovereign, how terrifying would he be?
Seeing her expression, Locke smiled.
There was something strangely satisfying about being looked at with such anticipation simply because one had grown stronger.
"This time, the descent of the heavenly laws did not strengthen the Will of either my water clone or my fate clone."
"The one who received the increase…"
"…was my Saint-level original body."
At that, even Locke himself felt puzzled.
By all logic, as a soul-mutated cultivator, if he had advanced this far in fused Laws, the Will granted by the heavenly laws should have been added to the souls of his two divine clones.
But after the laws dispersed, he discovered that neither divine clone had gained any increase.
Instead, it was his Saint-level original body that had received it.
Moreover, the amount of Will his original body gained was actually greater than that of either Paragon clone.
By his estimate, it was roughly 1.5 times the Will of a Paragon divine clone.
Which just so happened to align with the relative power ratio between his fused Laws and an ordinary single-system Paragon.
In other words—
his Saint-level body had now leapt ahead to become the strongest of his three bodies.
"Only the Saint-level body received Will?"
Liliya frowned.
Will only functioned within a single soul.
It could not be stacked across separate souls.
Just like herself.
She possessed two Sovereign clones, yet the Will from her Netherworld Sovereign clone could not stack onto her Death Sovereign clone.
Locke was the same.
Even as a soul-mutated cultivator, the Will of his water clone could not stack with that of his fate clone.
"…Sigh."
Liliya let out a sigh.
"Locke, don't be too disappointed."
"With the power of your fused Laws, your strength…"
But midway through her words, she paused.
How was she supposed to comfort him?
Locke was still merely a Deity.
Not yet a Sovereign.
And yet what level had his power already reached?
His dual-system fusion now equaled nine profound mysteries of a single Law.
Combined with the amplification of his Will, his strength had already almost reached the level of a Lesser Sovereign.
An ordinary Lesser Sovereign had Will roughly ten thousand times stronger than a Paragon.
The gap remaining could be offset by the extra four profound mysteries' worth of power Locke possessed.
And once he completed the Dijiang Bloodline, bringing his body strength to the level of a Sovereign artifact—
he would truly step into the ranks of the Sovereigns.
A Deity whose power rivaled a Sovereign.
What kind of myth was that?
Even Liliya, who knew Locke better than anyone, found herself unable to speak words of comfort.
Before, Locke's ability to rival a Lesser Sovereign had depended on the fused innate divine ability of the Four Divine Beasts.
Strictly speaking, that had been external power.
And it came with limits.
The moment his reserve of Four Divine Beast blood essence ran out, he would lose access to it.
At that point, he would be revealed for what he was.
But now?
This was Locke's own true power.
Did someone like him really need comforting?
In fact, if Locke refined the Lesser Fate Sovereign spark in his possession right now, his strength would already surpass what Thunder Sovereign Hurley had once been with one additional Sovereign clone.
No—
he would be even stronger.
Because the Will increase Hurley gained from that extra clone had never truly reached tenfold.
"Locke…"
Liliya suddenly looked at him seriously.
"Do you want to become a Sovereign?"
Her question made Locke pause.
Yes.
Did he want to become a Sovereign?
The reason he had not immediately refined the Fate Sovereign spark back then was because he wanted to secure an additional portion of Will for Liliya through the future Planar Battlefield.
Over the years, Locke had come to understand the Death Sovereign deeply.
She was proud.
Arrogant.
She looked down on all others, convinced that no one in the world could stand beside her.
And it was precisely because of that pride that she had developed the personality she now possessed.
Of course, there were still people she truly admired.
At the very least, Locke believed he was one of them.
And he liked this side of her.
But Orloff, the Fate Sovereign, would inevitably rise.
Every time Locke thought of the future—of the Death Sovereign having to ask Linley for help in stopping Orloff—he made up his mind.
He would ensure that the Death Sovereign remained forever at the pinnacle of the Coiling Dragon universe.
The Will from ten consecutive planar victories—
if gained by one and denied to the other—
would be enough that even Orloff could at best only stand equal to her.
But with his current rate of growth, he likely would not even need to wait for the Planar Battlefield to be established before reaching Sovereign-level power.
In that case…
there was no longer any reason to delay.
Become a Sovereign.
And then—
the only one allowed to surpass the Death Sovereign…
could only be him.
Only him.
Even if the fate of the Coiling Dragon universe remained unchanged, Locke would still rise to a level where he could suppress Orloff.
So that if the Death Sovereign ever had to seek someone stronger to stop the Fate Sovereign—
the one she would turn to
would only ever be him.
In any case, it was already impossible for him to continue helping her as a Paragon divine clone.
At that point, whether he became a Sovereign now or later no longer mattered.
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