"If I wanted to return to the Frostsnow Plane, he would cover the cost of the planar transfer."
"And if I wanted to remain in the Netherworld, he said he could get me three divine sparks. Once I fully refined all three, I would be able to become a Highgod-level expert."
"As you can see… in the end, I chose to stay in the Netherworld."
After hearing Colwell recount everything that had happened to him, Mila didn't seem too shaken.
But Celes was truly stunned.
Back when he had served as a battalion commander in the Falling Snow Sovereign's army, he had never even once laid eyes on the Sovereign.
And yet Locke had already grown to the point where he could negotiate terms with a Sovereign?
That was absurd.
Far too absurd.
"Then…"
Mila opened her mouth, only to realize she had no idea how she should address Colwell.
By bloodline, Colwell was one of the Locke family's ancestors.
By seniority, Mila was Locke's disciple.
So, should she call him Ancestor Colwell?
Or should she call him Martial Uncle Colwell?
"In the Netherworld, strength is what matters."
"You can just call me by my name."
Seeming to notice Mila's dilemma, Colwell spoke first.
"Mm, I understand."
"Then, Lord Colwell, do you know where Teacher Locke is?"
Although Colwell had said she could just use his name, Mila still respectfully added Lord.
"And also… why can't I sense Teacher Locke through the bloodline secret art?"
"Heh…"
Colwell chuckled softly.
"That big brother of mine should still be at Mount Netherworld."
"As for why you can't sense his bloodline…"
"It's probably because he's able to completely conceal his own presence."
"During the time I stayed with him, I heard that if Big Brother truly wanted to hide, even a Sovereign wouldn't be able to find him."
It was clear that although Colwell had changed his name and wished to free himself from the shadow of his brother's reputation, whenever he spoke of Locke's achievements, a trace of pride still inevitably surfaced.
"Mount Netherworld?"
"The Mount Netherworld where a Sovereign resides?"
Celes and Mila cried out at the same time.
"Mm. Unless there's another mountain in the Netherworld with the same name, then yes—that's where Big Brother is."
Celes glanced at Mila.
"Mila, are we still going to look for Locke?"
After what had happened with the Falling Snow army, Celes no longer wanted anything to do with Sovereigns.
After hesitating for a moment, Mila nodded.
"We should go."
"Since I've already come all the way to the Netherworld and now know where Teacher is, it wouldn't be right not to pay him a visit."
"All right then. I'll go with you."
Seeing how firm Mila was, Celes no longer hesitated.
"I'd like to see for myself what Locke has become after all these years."
"Then I wish you both a safe journey."
Hearing their decision, Colwell raised his glass toward them.
"I'm quite satisfied with my current life, so I won't be going with you."
That much was true.
Colwell was only a Highgod who had refined a divine spark.
In a small city like Bluewing City, he served as one of the captains of the city guard, which already placed him among the top ten important figures in the city.
But if he went to find Locke and serve under him, Colwell had the distinct feeling that he would end up living just as he had back in the Frostsnow Plane.
He had no desire to experience that kind of life a second time.
"All right."
Mila did not interfere with his choice.
"Lord Colwell, no matter what, you are still one of my ancestors."
"If anything ever happens, send word toward Mount Netherworld."
"If I'm free, I'll come and help resolve it for you."
"Hahaha, good!"
"I may not dare borrow Big Brother's prestige, but when it comes to relying on a junior like you, I won't stand on ceremony."
After finishing their conversation with Colwell, Mila and Celes wasted no time in Bluewing City and left immediately.
The moment the two departed, a group of city guards quickly gathered around Colwell.
"Wow, Captain Colwell, you really kept this hidden well!"
"You actually know two Six-Star Fiends!"
In order to travel more conveniently in the Netherworld and earn some Netherstones, both Celes and Mila had registered at the Fiend Castle.
Compared to Hell's Demon Castle, certification in the Netherworld was far less troublesome.
There was no need for a stronger expert to serve as an examiner.
As long as you could tear open space in the Netherworld, you could receive a Six-Star Fiend badge.
As for how you tore space open, the Fiend Castle had no interest in asking.
The organizations established by the Sovereigns of the other Divine and Higher Planes were largely the same.
This was precisely why the Fiend badge of Hell remained the most universally recognized.
A Demon from Hell could travel to any plane and be acknowledged at an equivalent star rank.
But the reverse wasn't always true.
A Demon, Fate Seer, or Gale Hunter from another plane might not necessarily pass Hell's Fiend evaluation.
In a small city like Bluewing City, a Six-Star Fiend was already considered a supreme expert.
Even the city lord himself was probably only at the level of a Five-Star Fiend.
Thus, seeing that those two major figures seemed to know Colwell, many people naturally rushed over to ingratiate themselves.
When your strength fell short, having a background that made others wary was itself a kind of power.
For all these years since descending from Mount Netherworld, Colwell had been too afraid that using his brother Locke's name as a banner might displease him, so he had never dared tell anyone that he had an elder brother who could laugh and chat with a Sovereign.
But using his descendant Mila's reputation?
That, he had no reservations about whatsoever.
So, in response to the questions from his fellow guards, Colwell merely waved a hand.
"Sigh, it's not that I deliberately kept it from everyone."
"The truth is, I didn't know myself."
"That woman, Mila Locke, is a descendant passed down from my bloodline in the material plane."
"If it weren't for the bloodline resonance secret art, I wouldn't have believed that such a genius had emerged from my descendants."
"Wow… I'm so jealous. One of your descendants actually produced a talent like that…"
After hearing Colwell's explanation, the captains of the city guard could only sigh at his good fortune.
And just like that, Colwell joined in their laughter and banter.
After all, if merely having a powerful descendant already made them this envious, then if they ever found out he had a brother who could bargain directly with a Sovereign, wouldn't they die of jealousy?
After explaining some of the underlying principles of magic formations to Figaroia, Locke no longer paid him any special attention and simply left him within Mount Netherworld to cultivate on his own.
The most important part of studying magic formations was still understanding the laws of heaven and earth, then using one's own methods to create nodes capable of drawing upon those laws.
The combination of those nodes—
that was a magic formation.
Every grandmaster of formations possessed a different understanding of the world's laws.
As such, the arrangement of the nodes each used to draw upon those laws was also different.
Even formations with identical effects could be set up in completely different ways by different masters.
It was much like comprehending Profound Mysteries.
From the perspective of the universe, the mysteries themselves were the same.
But because every living being understood them differently, no two people's insights were ever exactly identical.
Still, while studying magic formations could increase one's combat power to a certain extent, formations were ultimately an external force.
They offered no additional help in comprehending the Laws or improving the essence of one's life.
Unless someone truly loved the craft—
or had already reached the end of their cultivation path—
almost no one would devote precious cultivation time to it.
Inside the Water Palace, circles of spatial ripples spread around Locke.
In the Higher Planes, anyone with the strength of a Five-Star Demon could distort space and create ripples in it.
At a glance, the ripples around Locke looked quite similar to those produced when Five-Star Demons attacked.
But upon closer inspection, the difference between the two was fundamental.
The ripples created by Five-Star Demons were, in essence, damage inflicted upon space.
If their strength increased another tenfold, reaching the level of a Six-Star Demon, they would be capable of tearing space itself and opening spatial cracks.
But Locke's ripples were different.
Each ripple spreading outward from him reinforced the surrounding space.
It could be said that any portion of space touched by those ripples had become vastly sturdier than ordinary space.
The two were worlds apart.
"Spatial Lock!"
This was the portion of the Laws of Space Locke was currently comprehending.
Just as the Laws of Time could be divided into three levels—
Time Acceleration, Time Stop, and Time Reversal—
Locke had likewise divided the Laws of Space into three levels:
Spatial Shatter, Spatial Shift, and Spatial Lock.
Within the Coiling Dragon Universe, the easiest aspect to comprehend was Spatial Shatter.
After all, because the Laws of Space had been deliberately concealed by Hongmeng, even the space of the Higher Planes could be shattered relatively easily.
Each time space shattered, Locke gained a little more insight into Spatial Shatter.
Its greatest power lay in using the chaotic spatial turbulence to inflict massive damage upon enemies.
That was also why, within the Coiling Dragon Universe, Spatial Shatter could be considered the weakest aspect.
It couldn't even break a Divine artifact carried by a god.
Against Sovereigns, it posed even less of a threat.
Even if a Sovereign were blasted into spatial turbulence, they could still move freely within it.
Of course, because Locke had already comprehended part of the Laws of Space, he knew the reason for this.
The power produced by Spatial Shatter in this universe was merely raw spatial force, unsupported by the actual Laws of Space.
It was like gods fighting using only divine power while neglecting Profound Mysteries entirely.
Naturally, the resulting combat power was drastically reduced.
If Spatial Shatter were empowered by the true Laws of Space, its destructive force would rise dramatically.
However, due to the nature of his Water Laws, Locke's understanding of Spatial Shatter remained limited.
By contrast, his progress in Spatial Lock had been astonishingly smooth.
He had encountered almost no major bottlenecks.
The Laws of Space in the Coiling Dragon Universe were derived from earth, wind, water, and fire.
As such, Locke suspected that a Paragon of the Wind Laws would naturally gain access to aspects related to Spatial Shatter and Spatial Shift.
A Paragon of Water would gain access to Spatial Shift and Spatial Lock.
Fire Laws would connect to Spatial Shatter and Spatial Shift.
And Earth Laws would touch all three—
Spatial Lock, Spatial Shatter, and Spatial Shift.
Only through all four elemental systems could one fully master the universe's Laws of Space.
As for Spatial Shift, Locke had already been in contact with it long ago.
When he transformed himself into water elements and moved using his Water Movement Technique, or when he condensed a vast amount of water elements to unleash the Thousand-Mile Heaven-Reaching Palm, causing the strike to appear directly before its target—
both techniques already carried traces of Spatial Shift.
As for Spatial Lock, Locke had comprehended it through the Black Tortoise Sovereign's innate divine ability, combined with his understanding of the Water Laws.
The ripples currently reinforcing the space around him were one of the first fruits of that comprehension.
It was common knowledge that the stronger the spatial force, the less destruction even powerful gods could inflict.
For example, in a material plane, Saint-level experts could shatter mountains, split seas, and freeze oceans with a casual gesture.
But upon entering a Divine Plane, where spatial force was hundreds of times stronger, Saints became little different from ordinary mortals.
The ripples around Locke could now strengthen the surrounding space by several hundred times.
Which meant that once he used this technique, even a Seven-Star Demon would be unable to create spatial ripples within that zone.
A Five-Star Demon inside Locke's domain would be no different from a Saint in a Higher Plane—
utterly incapable of even flying by relying on their own strength.
Pop—
Suddenly, a figure broke into Locke's surroundings.
The terrifying pressure it carried instantly shattered the spatial ripples around him.
Crack—crack—crack!
The moment the ripples were broken, the surrounding spatial force fell into chaos, and countless spatial cracks appeared around Locke.
Yet before those cracks could unleash their destructive might, they were instantly frozen in place.
Willpower spread outward.
Locke smoothed over the spatial fissures caused by the disturbance, then slowly opened his eyes and looked at the newcomer.
There was not the slightest surprise in his expression.
Standing there in purple robes trimmed with gold—
was the Death Sovereign.
(End of Chapter)
⭐ Enjoying the story?
You can read ahead and support the translations by joining my Patreon! Your support helps me update faster and take on more projects. Thank you for reading!
Read up to 50 chapters ahead!
patreon.com/AminaSims
Next Bonus Chapter at 950 Powerstones