Locke believed that Hongmeng should still be capable of elevating the Death Chief Sovereign's Edicts of Death to the Paragon level.
After all, even the supreme Law of Time, after a new Celestial was selected through fusion with a Celestial treasure, could be completely comprehended under accelerated time. In comparison, helping a lifeform within a subsidiary universe reach the Paragon level in the Edicts of Death was hardly impossible.
If the Death Chief Sovereign chose that wish, then her power would once more increase by a hundredfold over her original foundation.
As for the final option—the Overgod artifact—this was the optimal answer for the Coiling Dragon Universe's current version.
Just as Sovereign artifacts could only truly be opposed by Sovereign artifacts, Overgod artifacts likewise could only be opposed by Overgod artifacts.
The one-sided enhancement an Overgod artifact granted to a Sovereign exceeded a hundredfold.
Aside from Linley, after achieving the Hongmeng body, crushing the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff's offensive Overgod sword, there had never been a precedent in the Coiling Dragon Universe of an Overgod artifact being destroyed.
As for Sovereign artifacts, even Paragons empowered by Sovereign power had never managed to shatter one.
At the Sovereign level, a tenfold difference in power would damage a Sovereign artifact.
A hundredfold difference in power would allow one to shatter a Sovereign artifact in a single strike.
This was also how the strength differences between the various Sovereign tiers were distinguished.
A higher-ranked Sovereign could shatter a lower-ranked Sovereign's Sovereign artifact in one move. If they wished to kill a lower-ranked Sovereign, then unless the weaker Sovereign possessed a Sovereign artifact-level body, they would not survive even three exchanges before the stronger Sovereign.
To Sovereigns, an Overgod artifact was equivalent to a divine-level expert obtaining a Sovereign artifact.
A Prefect-level expert possessing a material-defense Sovereign artifact could remain unharmed even before a Paragon.
Likewise, the enhancement a Sovereign gained from obtaining an Overgod artifact, whether offensively or defensively, exceeded a hundredfold.
At the very least, even Locke did not feel he possessed the power to destroy an Overgod artifact.
Of course, the optimal version answer was not necessarily the answer best suited for the Death Chief Sovereign.
Indeed, obtaining an Overgod artifact could allow the Death Chief Sovereign to gain an enhancement exceeding a hundredfold in a particular aspect.
But reaching the Paragon level herself would likewise allow the Death Chief Sovereign's overall power to rise by a full hundredfold.
Hearing Locke's suggestions, the Death Chief Sovereign merely smiled without speaking.
Seeing this, Locke did not press further.
In any case, regardless of whether the Death Chief Sovereign chose to become a Paragon or chose an Overgod artifact, it made little difference.
Either option would grant the Death Chief Sovereign at minimum a hundredfold increase in power.
Even if the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts obtained Overgod artifacts, they still would not be the Death Chief Sovereign's opponents.
As for Locke—one should not forget that he still possessed Law Sovereign artifacts.
If the Chief Sovereign of Destruction or Fate Chief Sovereign obtained an Overgod artifact and wanted to provoke him, Locke also wished to test whether his Law Sovereign artifacts or Overgod artifacts were stronger.
…
Streams of dazzling light flew out from the Seven Divine Planes and the Four Higher Planes, heading toward the spatial turbulence outside the Netherworld.
Having suddenly received news from the Death Chief Sovereign convening a Sovereign meeting, the Sovereigns all wondered internally what exactly this meeting was meant to announce—or judge.
During this time, the Sovereigns arriving outside the Netherworld secretly cast glances toward the Chief Sovereign of Destruction.
After all, not long ago, this person had brought his Sovereign Emissary to the Netherworld and caused quite a disturbance.
Although the Death Chief Sovereign had not shown herself then, she was likely furious internally, right?
Could the convening of this Sovereign meeting be related to the Chief Sovereign of Destruction's previous visit to the Netherworld?
However, with his arms folded and eyes closed in silent meditation, the Chief Sovereign of Destruction revealed nothing they could read into.
Locke swept his gaze around. Mm. Including himself, there were currently forty-five Sovereigns.
Of those, forty-one had come to participate in this Sovereign meeting.
Among those absent, one was the Death Chief Sovereign's twin-lotus lifeform Sovereign true body atop Netherworld Mountain.
Another was the Snowfall Sovereign of the Water Divine Plane. The punishment she had received earlier for abandoning her Sovereign duties and fleeing into a material plane had not yet ended, so she also did not attend.
Another absent Sovereign was the Violetflame Sovereign of the Infernal Realm.
Ever since retrieving her husband's soulstone and extracting his blood essence, the Violetflame Sovereign had been using both her husband's blood essence and her own to nurture new violet crystal ore veins, hoping to use this method to conceive a child belonging to both herself and her husband.
Before succeeding, the Violetflame Sovereign would not leave the Violetflame Mountains.
The final absent Sovereign was unexpectedly the Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff.
Reportedly, after witnessing Locke successfully elevate his body's toughness to the Sovereign artifact level, Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff had experienced a sudden flash of inspiration and was currently in secluded meditation.
Perhaps by the time Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff emerged from seclusion, his strength would also experience considerable improvement.
"Very well. Since everyone who should be here has arrived, then this Sovereign meeting shall now begin."
Seeing that all the Sovereigns had arrived, the Death Chief Sovereign did not waste words and directly took out the Overgod talisman from her interspatial ring.
"The matter I wish to discuss at this Sovereign meeting concerns the Overgods."
Next, the Death Chief Sovereign shook her Sovereign power, instantly copying and spreading the contents recorded on the Overgod talisman throughout the spatial turbulence.
The Sovereigns merely swept past the three images above with a glance.
But the line of text below caused all the Sovereigns' eyes to widen and their breathing to quicken.
Gather the three items, and using the Overgod talisman as a guide, one may summon the Death Overgod and make one request that does not violate the rules.
Then, all of them turned their gazes toward the three images above.
The Black Demon Robe, Bloodshadow Flame, Soul-Extinguishing Pearl.
Some of the quicker-minded Sovereigns suddenly recalled that a million years ago, the reason Locke and the Fate Chief Sovereign had fought was because of a gray flame.
Could that gray flame have been the Death Overgod mission artifact, the Bloodshadow Flame?
"This is… an Overgod mission?"
"Correct. This is an Overgod mission issued by the Death Overgod."
The Death Chief Sovereign nodded. "Several tens of millions of years ago, I obtained this Overgod talisman recording the Death Overgod mission."
"With Locke Chief Sovereign's assistance, after spending tens of millions of years, we finally gathered the three Overgod mission artifacts."
"During the years spent collecting these artifacts, Locke Chief Sovereign and I also considered how to maximize the benefits from a request to the Overgod while remaining within the rules."
"And we also considered the purpose behind the Overgod issuing such missions."
"After all these years, the two of us have gained some understanding regarding these two matters."
"Therefore, at this Sovereign meeting, we will first discuss these two topics."
"Afterward, before everyone here, we will summon the Death Overgod and present our request."
"Death Chief Sovereign, your benevolence is unmatched."
Upon hearing these words from the Death Chief Sovereign, all the Sovereigns present bowed toward her in respect.
Even the Chief Sovereign of Destruction Wordred and the Life Chief Sovereign Wawaya lowered their heads toward the Death Chief Sovereign.
Although the Death Chief Sovereign only chose to reveal the Overgod mission after gathering all three Overgod mission artifacts, everyone could understand this.
After all, who, upon encountering a fortunate opportunity, would not first want to benefit from it themselves?
Yet after benefiting from it, instead of hoarding it alone, she chose to share it with everyone. That alone was enough to earn respect.
There were far too many people in this world who clung tightly to things useless to themselves, refusing to reveal them in the slightest, terrified that what they could not use themselves might become the medicine for another's meteoric rise.
"First, let us discuss why the Overgods issue Overgod missions."
"The Four Overgods are manifestations of the Supreme Laws. They possess no independent consciousness, only the instinct to maintain the stability of the universe's laws."
"Then why would they issue missions capable of fulfilling any rule-compliant request from the mission's completer?"
At this point, the Death Chief Sovereign swept her gaze over the Sovereigns present before continuing, "According to the conclusions Locke Chief Sovereign and I reached over tens of millions of years, the Overgods issue Overgod missions to leave Sovereigns with a sliver of hope."
"After refining Sovereign sparks and becoming Sovereigns, all of you are like divine-level experts who refined divine sparks to become gods. Your strength has already been fixed at a certain limit, leaving no room for further progress."
"If this continues indefinitely, Sovereigns may eventually fall into madness and despair because there is no longer any possibility for their strength to improve."
"How much destruction could a despairing Sovereign inflict upon this world? I need not explain that for everyone to understand."
"At that time, even if the Overgods descended to punish the Sovereign, the damage done to the universe would not be restored."
In truth, with a Hongmeng Controller's power, restoring a universe was merely a matter of thought.
However, the last time the Overgod of Destruction descended to punish the two Sovereigns whose intrusion into a material plane caused its destruction, the destroyed material plane had not been restored.
Thus, Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign used this as supporting evidence.
Locke also believed that unless a universe had reached the brink of destruction, Hongmeng would not casually interfere in its development.
Perhaps even the destruction of universes was merely one of Hongmeng's interests.
"Therefore, in order to prevent Sovereigns from falling into such despair, the Overgods issued Overgod missions, giving all Sovereigns a sliver of hope to increase their strength."
"Now that we've discussed the intent behind the Overgod missions, next I shall speak about the three best choices permitted within the rules, as concluded through discussions between Locke Chief Sovereign and myself."
"These three choices are also the primary reason why Locke Chief Sovereign and I inferred the purpose behind the Overgods issuing these missions."
"Of course, if any Sovereigns here have thought of even better requests and are willing to share them, you may also speak them aloud so we may all examine them together."
"The first request—this request is useless to Paragons, but for all Sovereigns who have not reached the Paragon level, it possesses enormous value."
(End of Chapter)
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