Fortunately, this was the Sovereign Army.
Even though Figaroa was the commander's son, he still had to advance according to the rules set by the Sovereign.
Figaroa himself was quite capable. By relying on his magic formation, he defeated the Second Battalion and became the first Battalion Commander at the Five-Star Fiend level.
It was from that moment on that Figaroa truly established his own identity and status within the Sovereign Army—no longer merely "Commander Oakes's son," but "Commander Figaroa."
After Oakes left, Figaroa and Ceres exchanged looks of mutual disdain before returning to their respective battalion camps.
…
Water Divine Plane.
"It's been too long since I last sorted the laws—no wonder I'm a bit rusty."
The Azure Dragon Sovereign, Redding, slowly opened his eyes, withdrawing his consciousness from the Sovereign spark.
"Still, this time it took less time than I expected."
"I thought that, given the current state of the Water Divine Plane, it would take at least several million years to sort out the laws of a single continent."
"Yet it was completed in less than five hundred thousand years."
"Hm? That's not right…"
Having just awakened from the process of law-sorting, Redding suddenly sensed the condition of the Azure Dragon Continent and the entire Water Divine Plane.
"How is this possible? Haven't I already finished sorting the laws of the Azure Dragon Continent?"
"Why does it feel like, compared to the other continents I haven't yet sorted, the laws here are even more chaotic?"
For a moment, Redding was genuinely confused.
"Big brother, you're awake?"
Sensing the change in Redding's aura, Eres, Nemo, and Bovin entered the Azure Dragon Hall together.
"What's wrong, big brother?"
However, upon entering, the three immediately noticed something off about Redding's expression.
"It's just… I'm wondering whether I even started sorting the laws of the Water Divine Plane at all…"
Hearing this, the three brothers exchanged glances and gave wry smiles.
Not just Redding—even they, who had witnessed the changes firsthand, were seeing for the first time how a Paragon Sovereign handled law-sorting.
"Big brother, don't doubt it. You have indeed completed the sorting of the chaotic laws on the Azure Dragon Continent."
"But aside from the Azure Dragon Continent and the Frost Continent, all the other continents in the Water Divine Plane have already been completely sorted by Sovereign Locke."
"If you don't believe it, you can sense the current proportion of water laws in the plane."
Upon hearing this, Redding immediately spread out his divine sense across the entire Water Divine Plane.
"It's actually true?"
"And the density of water laws has already reached fifty-five percent."
If Redding remembered correctly, after Sovereign Frost fled the Water Divine Plane, the concentration of water laws and water elements had once dropped below fifty-three percent.
And yet, in such a short time, the entire plane had improved so much.
One must know that the greater the proportion of a plane's native laws, the more stable that plane becomes.
Why are the Four Higher Planes far more stable than the Seven Divine Planes?
Naturally, it is because the Four Higher Planes were created by the four Supreme Gods, with their native laws occupying nearly seventy percent.
As for the Seven Divine Planes, they were jointly created by seven Sovereigns of the same element using the abilities within their Sovereign sparks. At the time of creation, the native laws only accounted for fifty-five percent.
Other Divine Planes that possess a Laws Sovereign have been steadily increasing their native law proportions.
At present, the strongest Light Divine Plane has reached sixty percent.
Next is the Earth Divine Plane at fifty-eight percent.
Wind Divine Plane, fifty-seven percent.
Fire Divine Plane, fifty-seven percent.
Darkness Divine Plane, fifty-six percent.
Lightning Divine Plane, fifty-six percent.
The Water Divine Plane was the worst—fifty-four percent.
After Frost fled, it had even dropped to fifty-three percent.
But now, after being sorted once by Sovereign Locke using perfected water laws, Redding could clearly sense that—apart from the Azure Dragon and Frost Continents—the water laws across the rest of the plane had become unified and stronger.
It was as though, with Sovereign Locke present, the strength of the Water Divine Plane's water laws could rival the rule strength of the Four Higher Planes.
However, once Locke withdrew his water laws, the plane returned to a chaotic and disordered state.
Although it could still suppress other heterogeneous laws, both its stability and the strength of its water laws were reduced.
It was as if, when the water laws stood at fifty-five percent, they could exhibit the stability of fifty-eight or even sixty percent—but now, they had returned to what fifty-five percent should actually be.
Shaking his head, Redding let out a sigh.
No comparison.
At this point, he was even less certain whether the oath he had sworn in the name of the Supreme Gods had been part of Locke's design.
Back then, the Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding had sworn an oath in the name of the Supreme Gods to protect Locke for one hundred million years, blocking any Sovereign who tried to act against him.
At the time, Redding believed that as long as he possessed strength comparable to a Laws Sovereign, protecting Locke for a hundred million years would not be difficult.
But unfortunately, while Locke was in the Infernal Realm, he was not attacked by Sovereigns themselves—but by their divine clones.
From that moment, Redding felt that his oath had already been broken.
That Supreme God oath, etched into his soul, constantly reminded him that one day, he would inevitably perish.
During the Sovereign War, Redding seized the opportunity when Sovereign Muya left the Infernal Realm and instantly ambushed and killed Muya's divine clone, reclaiming some dignity for the broken oath.
Later, Redding sensed the oath in his soul tremble four more times, sinking deeper into his soul each time.
He had a premonition—once that oath fully embedded itself into his soul, it would be the moment of his death.
If Locke were to learn that Redding had been trapped like this because of him, he would probably laugh in disbelief.
After all, when Locke first approached Redding, it was only because he had information about the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns—something he could trade for protection.
By the time Locke gained the ability to protect himself, he had almost forgotten about the agreement altogether.
The first time was the battle between Muya's divine clone and Locke for the title of "Legendary Asura."
The second time was when the Death Sovereign brought Locke to the Nether Mountain.
The third time was when Locke went to the Infernal Realm and forced Sovereign Basham not to retaliate against Ryan and the others.
The fourth time was when Locke assassinated the Lesser Fate Sovereign, White Feather.
What Locke hadn't expected was that the Supreme God oath counted not only Sovereigns' divine clones, but also Locke's own proactive attacks against other Sovereigns.
"Big brother, are we returning to the Infernal Realm, or staying in the Water Divine Plane?" Eres asked.
Nemo and Bovin also looked toward Redding.
Redding's decision would determine whether the Four Divine Beasts clan would continue to develop together—or whether the Azure Dragon clan would dominate alone.
"Let's return to the Infernal Realm."
"Our earlier thought of staying here was due to concern that without Water Sovereigns maintaining the laws, the Water Divine Plane might collapse."
"But now that Sovereign Locke is here, there's nothing for us to worry about."
"Alright, let's go."
…
With Locke stabilizing it, the Water Divine Plane returned to stability.
This crisis passed unnoticed by all but the Sovereigns.
The countless gods of the plane never realized that, for a brief span of less than ten million years, the Seven Divine Planes had nearly become six.
Withdrawing his consciousness from the natural laws, Locke slowly opened his eyes.
A sky-blue light flickered within them.
"Fate Sovereign… Orloff…"
Only after acting personally did Locke fully realize just how dire the condition of the Water Divine Plane had been.
He could understand that Fate Sovereign Orloff did not want him to obtain the Water Intermediate Sovereign spark, and he did not consider that wrong.
But under such circumstances, for Orloff to still refuse to return the Water Intermediate Sovereign to stabilize the plane—disregarding the lives of countless beings—this, Locke could not accept.
In a transcendent world where power defines everything, the saying "with great power comes great responsibility" does not truly apply.
Those with immense strength rarely empathize with those beneath them.
However—why do Sovereigns exist in the Coiling Dragon universe at all?
The fundamental reason is that when Hongmeng first created the universe, he was inexperienced, and the universe he created lacked sufficient stability.
The primary universe required four subsidiary universes to support it.
Locke did not know the exact situation of the other subsidiary universes, but they likely had systems similar to the Four Supreme Gods maintaining stability.
Because Hongmeng's will transformed into the Four Supreme Gods to stabilize the universe, he lacked the capacity to directly manage its operation.
Thus, Sovereign sparks were created, allowing Sovereigns to assist in maintaining the universe's stability.
In other words—maintaining the stability of the Divine Planes is a responsibility that Sovereigns must fulfill.
To enjoy the power and privileges of being a Sovereign, yet refuse to shoulder that responsibility—
That mindset disgusted Locke.
In an instant, Locke's divine sense spread outward—from the Water Divine Plane into the spatial turbulence, reaching across all Seven Divine Planes and the Four Higher Planes.
"All Sovereigns, in the name of Sovereign Locke, I hereby convene the Fourth Sovereign Assembly."
"Please gather in the spatial turbulence outside the Water Divine Plane."
(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 1250 Powerstones