"Rockpeak, don't you have anything you want to say to me?"
The moment Locke spoke these words, Rockpeak was immediately startled and hurriedly knelt to the ground.
"Lord Locke, please forgive me."
Originally, Locke had only asked that question because he sensed something wrong with Rockpeak's emotions.
But Locke had not expected that a single sentence from him would provoke such a huge reaction from Rockpeak.
"Rockpeak, both you and Ryan followed me when I was still only a God."
"All these years, thanks to the two of you, I was able to devote all my energy to cultivation and ultimately reach where I stand today."
"So Rockpeak, don't speak of forgiveness."
"You are my man. If you are wronged outside, and I cannot even seek justice for you, then what meaning is there in your service to me?"
"Indeed, I am a Sovereign, and I cannot interfere in the grievances between Deities."
"But don't forget—Oakes and Ryan are still here."
"Do you think those two would just watch while others bully you?"
"Lord Locke…"
Under Locke's patient guidance, Rockpeak finally spoke the truth.
Three trillion years ago, in order to collect divine beast blood essence, Locke had instructed Oakes to nurture certain forces throughout the seven Divine Planes and four Higher Planes to act as his white gloves.
Among them were the Eight Great Clans that would, over a thousand epochs later, besiege the Four Divine Beasts clan.
After Locke obtained two top-tier Netherfruits from the Death Chief Sovereign and raised both Ryan and Rockpeak's strength to the level of Prefects, Locke handed this matter over to Rockpeak to oversee.
After receiving resources through their long-term trade with Locke, the forces selected by Oakes across the eleven planes had expanded explosively over these three trillion years, all becoming famous clan powers within their respective planes.
Even the current Four Divine Beasts clan, which had already spread into other planes, was still somewhat weaker than them.
Of course, because the Four Divine Beasts clan had Sovereign backing, even though these eleven clans were stronger than the Four Divine Beasts clan, they still repeatedly yielded during clashes with them.
After suffering losses in one area of interest, some clans among these eleven families began looking elsewhere to recover those losses.
And Rockpeak, who conducted transactions with them once every ten million years, became their target for compensation.
Although Rockpeak had become a Prefect-level expert through the effects of the Netherfruit—
Because his strength had been forcibly elevated through the Netherfruit, Rockpeak himself possessed no especially powerful offensive trump cards, nor did he possess a Sovereign artifact.
As for the patriarchs of these clans?
The reason they had been chosen by Oakes in the first place was because their patriarchs were all Prefect-level experts.
After their clan powers rose to prominence, they also entered the sight of Sovereigns and were accepted as Sovereign Emissaries.
With Rockpeak's strength, how could he possibly be their opponent?
Even if Rockpeak wanted to use Sovereign power, these patriarchs also possessed large amounts of Sovereign power.
After all, the reason Locke had maintained cooperation with these clans for three trillion years was precisely because Locke had always settled transactions using Sovereign power.
Under such circumstances, in order not to delay Locke's affairs, Rockpeak had no choice but to privately dip into his own reserves to bring back those divine beast blood essences and natural treasures.
"Heh, these fellows truly are quite bold!"
After hearing of Rockpeak's experiences, Locke laughed instead of growing angry.
Should he say these people had brains, or that they lacked them?
They had brains because they knew to avoid provoking the Four Divine Beasts clan, fearing the four Sovereigns standing behind them.
But they lacked brains because—did they really think that, aside from Sovereigns, anyone else could possess enough Sovereign power to maintain such long-term stable transactions with them?
Could they really believe that a Sovereign's strength was determined merely by numbers?
The Four Divine Beasts clan had four Sovereigns backing them, while Rockpeak only had one Sovereign behind him, making him easier to bully?
"Rockpeak, you indeed are guilty."
"But your crime lies in being bullied while still hiding it from me."
"Do you know that, as one of my subordinates, every word and action you display outside represents my dignity?"
After Locke's original body entered the Four Divine Beasts clan's territory in the Infernal Realm and secretly stole the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' divine beast blood essence, the role these clans across the eleven planes played for Locke had greatly diminished.
No matter how much divine beast blood essence they collected, could it compare to the divine beast blood essence of the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns?
The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' divine beast blood essence not only contained the mysteries of soul fusion, but also the innate divine abilities of time and space.
It could be said that as long as Locke possessed enough Four Divine Beast blood essence, he could simply pile his "Dijiang" bloodline to an extremely powerful level through sheer quantity.
Moreover, three of the eleven clans had already begun displaying such behavior. If this trend was not suppressed immediately, what would happen if the remaining eight clans followed suit?
"Lord Locke, forgive me."
After being awakened by Locke's words, cold sweat drenched Rockpeak's body.
That was right. How had he forgotten?
He was no longer the same person as when he and Ryan had possessed no foundation after Lord Locke disappeared.
Lord Locke was a Sovereign!
As one of Lord Locke's subordinates, he represented the dignity of a Sovereign.
"Enough, Rockpeak."
"As a Sovereign, I will not interfere in matters between Deities."
"So, if you want revenge, you must personally take it yourself."
"Do you have a Sovereign artifact you desire?"
"Hm?"
At first, when Rockpeak heard Locke say he would have to seek revenge personally, his heart sank.
But immediately afterward, Locke's next sentence caused his heart to leap violently as he raised his head and stared at Locke in disbelief.
Lord Locke… was asking him what kind of Sovereign artifact he wanted?
What did this mean?
As one of Locke's subordinates, Rockpeak had long understood over the years that he and Ryan were different from Oakes.
He and Ryan were merely dispensable subordinates beneath Lord Locke.
After all, back then, both he and Ryan had been stuck at the Seven Star Fiend level, unable to progress further, fundamentally unqualified to serve Lord Locke.
Just look at the captains within Lord Locke's Sovereign Army. Seven Star Fiend-level captains did not even possess the qualifications to seek an audience with Lord Locke.
Within the entirety of Lord Locke's Sovereign Army, the only ones qualified to come to Mount Nether and seek Lord Locke at any time were Oakes and Ryan.
As the earliest followers of Lord Locke, they had ultimately received Lord Locke's repayment.
That was a treasure capable of driving countless lifeforms throughout the seven Divine Planes and four Higher Planes mad—the Netherfruit.
By merely consuming a single Netherfruit, Rockpeak and Ryan had broken through to the Prefect level, obtaining the strength necessary to once more follow Lord Locke and serve him.
As for Oakes, he had received a Sovereign artifact personally bestowed by Lord Locke. He was a genuine Sovereign Emissary valued by Lord Locke.
Now that Lord Locke was asking what kind of Sovereign artifact he wanted, could it be…?
"Lord Locke…"
"Be straightforward, Rockpeak."
"Lord Locke, I want an offensive spear-type Sovereign artifact!"
"A spear?"
"I understand."
"For now, return first. Come see me again in a thousand years."
"As you command, Lord Locke."
After respectfully bowing to Locke, Rockpeak stepped backward and exited the gates of Locke's Water Manor before instantly appearing outside Mount Nether's lightning barrier.
Compared to when he first arrived, Locke could now clearly sense Rockpeak's surging emotions.
It seemed this fellow had been hoping for this day for a very long time.
This was yet another matter where plans could not keep up with changes.
Originally, according to Locke's plans for his Sovereign Emissaries, those positions were intended at minimum for soul mutants or Paragons—super experts with the potential to continue advancing further.
However, Rockpeak's experience made Locke realize that he needed to give those restless forces a lesson.
If Rockpeak could not personally recover his lost dignity, then Rockpeak might become the first top-tier expert beneath Locke to leave him.
...
"Rockpeak!"
"Ryan, Oakes."
When Rockpeak returned to Mount Nether once more a thousand years later, because his mind was occupied with thoughts, he did not immediately notice Ryan and Oakes.
But the moment he heard his name he raised his head and instantly saw the two of them.
At once, Rockpeak smiled and stepped forward.
"Oakes, Ryan, it's been a trillion years since we last met, hasn't it?"
"Why have you two returned?"
"It was Lord Locke's order."
Ryan scratched his head and said, "Lord Locke said there's a combat mission this time that requires Oakes and me to act."
"I don't know who exactly angered Lord Locke this time, but from Lord Locke's tone, I could tell he seemed quite angry."
"Is that so?"
A smile appeared on Rockpeak's face.
He already seemed to know what task Lord Locke intended to assign to Ryan and Oakes.
"Let's go. Lord Locke is summoning us."
Seeing the expression on Rockpeak's face, Oakes' expression shifted slightly.
But before Oakes could ask further, a white doorway appeared before them.
This was a spatial passage directly connected to Lord Locke's Water Manor.
Once one stepped through the doorway, they would instantly appear inside Lord Locke's Water Manor.
Although this was not the first time Oakes and the others had passed through this doorway—
Every single time, they were still shocked by Lord Locke's power and mystery.
As Commander and Vice Commander of the Sovereign Army, Oakes and Ryan frequently interacted with the Commanders and Vice Commanders of other Sovereign Armies.
They had even seen other Sovereigns up close.
However, aside from possessing immense strength, they had never felt those Sovereigns were fundamentally different from themselves.
It was almost as though, as long as they possessed a compatible Sovereign spark, they too could become such Sovereigns.
But Lord Locke was different.
Lord Locke possessed the most essential difference from all other Sovereigns.
That difference was his attitude toward cultivation.
For Lord Locke, cultivation seemed to have no end.
Even after Lord Locke had become a Paragon, Oakes and the others had never once seen any trace of "slackness" from Lord Locke.
(End of Chapter)
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