"Techniques like this might make my attacks considerably stronger, but my improvement in the Laws over these years hasn't actually been very great."
"As long as my Laws haven't broken through, I don't consider myself to have become stronger."
Hearing Locke's words, the Death Chief Sovereign rolled her eyes at him.
If those words had come from the mouth of any other Sovereign, they would probably have been beaten up by the other Sovereigns.
But when Locke said them, all the Sovereigns would only feel that they were perfectly reasonable.
"Oh, right, Locke. I remember you once said that Paragon wasn't the limit of Deities, but rather the beginning of cultivation at another stage, didn't you?"
"Mm."
Locke nodded.
"I think you should understand this point as well, Lilia."
"After all, it was because your Water divine clone accidentally comprehended some of the power of space that can only be touched after reaching Paragon in the Water Laws that you were able to create that powerful supreme technique."
The Death Chief Sovereign nodded.
On this point, she indeed had some authority to speak.
However, because her own Water Laws had not reached the Paragon level, after that she had only been able to invoke higher-level Spatial Laws through that one supreme technique. At all other times, she had no particular insight into them.
"Lilia, for you to suddenly ask me this today, could it be...?"
All this time, although the Death Chief Sovereign had been very interested in cultivation beyond Paragon, she had never specifically asked Locke about it.
Now that she had suddenly brought it up, could it be...
Thinking of this, Locke suddenly looked at the Death Chief Sovereign in delight.
"Lilia, have you reached Paragon in the Edicts of Death?"
"You finally noticed?"
The Death Chief Sovereign rolled her eyes at Locke.
"You've done so much for me. If I still couldn't cultivate the Edicts of Death to Paragon, how could I possibly be worthy of everything you've invested?"
"I had already reached Paragon in the Edicts of Death before summoning the Death Overgod."
Hearing this, Locke nodded slightly.
Back then, Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign had discussed the possibility that the Four Overgods of the Edicts might enable Sovereigns who cultivated the Edicts to reach the Paragon level.
At that time, when the Death Chief Sovereign made her wish, she hadn't wished to become a Paragon. Instead, she had wished for a Death Overgod artifact.
At that moment, Locke had already formed a suspicion.
Lilia might already have become a Paragon in the Edicts of Death.
Otherwise, considering the Death Chief Sovereign's strength, a hundredfold increase in all aspects would certainly have been more worthwhile than merely increasing her attack power by a thousandfold.
After all, the Death Chief Sovereign's strength was already at the absolute peak among all Sovereigns. Whether her attacks became even stronger or not through an Offensive Overgod artifact was not particularly meaningful.
However, Locke had also worried that perhaps the Death Chief Sovereign's pride had flared up and she wanted to become a Paragon through her own efforts, which was why she hadn't asked the Death Overgod for it. Thus, he had never questioned her directly.
As for the Death Chief Sovereign, since Locke didn't ask, she didn't tell him either.
She wanted to see how long he could endure it.
Unexpectedly, three trillion years passed, and Locke never brought it up even once.
"It's just that, in the end, I still failed to break through solely through my own abilities. At the final moment, I still had to rely on the assistance of faith energy to achieve my breakthrough."
The Death Chief Sovereign sighed.
Because of this, she felt there was still some gap between herself and people like Dunnington, who had become Paragons purely through their own efforts.
"Lilia, how many people do you think have become Paragons without relying on faith energy?"
"Even the other three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts only broke through to Paragon by relying on faith energy."
"I was the same. If I hadn't obtained that wave of faith energy from the Fiend Castle, whether I'd have reached Paragon in the Water Laws by now would still be uncertain."
Seeing that Lilia was still somewhat depressed, Locke hurriedly comforted her.
However, these words were not merely meant to console her.
Back then, Locke's soul realm wasn't much different from that of native lifeforms of the Coiling Dragon Universe. To completely comprehend a set of Laws still depended heavily on "luck."
At the time, Locke's only hope was that after establishing the Fiend Castle, his Edicts of Fate would reach Paragon.
Who would have thought that his luck would be so extraordinary?
After the Fiend Castle was completely accepted by the Infernal Realm, the faith energy he obtained directly allowed him to comprehend the final key point in the fusion of the Water Laws, enabling him to simultaneously become a Paragon of both the Water Laws and the Edicts of Fate.
As for Locke's later achievements in the fused Water-Fate Laws, those were mainly due to his soul being refined into a "Soul Golden Core," allowing his soul realm to surpass the limitations of the Coiling Dragon Universe. Only then had he been able to fuse the Water Laws and Fate Edicts to such a degree without encountering significant bottlenecks.
Now, Locke's soul realm had advanced even further, reaching the stage of a Nascent Soul.
It could be said that regardless of which Laws or Edicts they were, as long as he was given enough time, he would inevitably be able to cultivate them to the Paragon level.
The only problem was that his innate affinities were limited to Water and Fate, preventing him from becoming the first eleven-system Paragon in the history of the Coiling Dragon Universe.
However, just after comforting the Death Chief Sovereign, Locke suddenly reacted.
Since the Death Chief Sovereign had already become a Paragon in the Edicts of Death three trillion years ago and was now asking him about cultivation beyond Paragon...
Could it be...
Thinking of this, Locke stared intensely at Lilia.
"Lilia, have you already touched a higher-level Law beyond the Paragon Edicts of Death?"
"Hahahaha, Locke, your expression right now is so amusing..."
Seeing Locke's eager expression, the Death Chief Sovereign laughed while slapping her thigh.
After all these years, this was the first time she had seen Locke looking at her like this.
For a moment, she couldn't help but feel a little pleased with herself.
Of course, she didn't keep him in suspense for long.
"Mm. I've touched another trace of it."
As she spoke, the Death Chief Sovereign stretched out her hand.
A cluster of violet-gray light shimmered in her palm.
"This is..."
Upon seeing the violet-gray Law energy in her hand, a trace of fascination appeared in Locke's eyes.
"So beautiful..."
The color of the Edicts of Death was gray.
Yet the Law light in the Death Chief Sovereign's hand was violet-gray.
Clearly, the color manifested by the superior Law above the Edicts of Death was violet.
This was similar to Locke's fused Water-Space Law.
The Water Laws were blue, Spatial Laws were colorless, and the fused Water-Space Law appeared as a translucent blue.
Locke reached out toward the violet-gray Law energy in the Death Chief Sovereign's palm.
Then, the power of Mirror Flower, Water Moon began infiltrating that violet-gray Law energy, allowing Locke to analyze the Law within her palm.
After a long while, Locke finished his analysis and opened his right hand.
Immediately, a complete Paragon-level Death Edict appeared within his palm.
This complete Death Edict was one that Locke had copied and preserved from Dunnington.
It was precisely because he possessed this complete Death Edict that when Locke used Mirror Flower, Water Moon, even the Laws of the universe themselves could be deceived, causing the Death Edicts manifested through Mirror Flower, Water Moon to be recognized by the universe.
To a certain extent, aside from lacking the Will bestowed by the universe, Locke could also be considered a Paragon of the Edicts of Death in the eyes of the Laws of the universe.
Gradually, a faint violet hue began appearing within the complete Death Edict in Locke's palm.
Through Mirror Flower, Water Moon's ability to turn illusion into reality, Locke used the complete Death Edict to touch upon the superior Law above the Edicts of Death.
Although it was only a trace, that trace of Law felt no weaker than Spatial Laws in Locke's perception.
At the very least, it existed on the same level as Spatial Laws.
"Lilia, you're truly my lucky star. You've helped me tremendously!"
Dispersing Mirror Flower, Water Moon from his palm, Locke immediately embraced the Death Chief Sovereign and pecked her on the cheek.
A long time ago, Locke had already conceived a plan.
He wanted to recruit all Paragons as his Sovereign Emissaries and teach them how to use complete Laws to touch higher-level Laws.
Then, after they touched those superior Laws, he would use Mirror Flower, Water Moon to copy their superior-Law insights and analyze them into his own understanding.
Unfortunately, until now, the only suitable Paragon who had appeared was Dunnington. Due to his relationship with Figueroa, Dunnington had become a Sovereign Emissary under the Destruction Chief Sovereign.
As for the other Paragons, aside from the three Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts, none had yet been born.
Thus, now that the Death Chief Sovereign had revealed her comprehension of a trace of the superior Law above the Edicts of Death, Locke's theory had finally been confirmed.
As long as he recorded a complete Paragon Law, he could use it to replicate another Paragon's comprehension of superior Laws and then analyze that understanding into something that belonged to him.
This path led all the way to the heavens!
Perhaps, aside from transcending through the Laws of Space-Time, the path of illusions could also become his second reserve path toward transcendence.
Turning the False into the Real!
Looking at the Death Chief Sovereign in his arms, Locke couldn't help but sigh emotionally.
He had originally thought that he had already reached a level comparable to hers.
Yet he had never expected that Lilia had already become a Paragon of the Edicts of Death three trillion years ago.
In other words, even without using an Overgod artifact, the Death Chief Sovereign Lilia was now a hundred times stronger than before.
The undisputed strongest Sovereign!
Even if Locke used a Law Sovereign artifact, facing the current Death Chief Sovereign, he would only end up being the one getting beaten up.
"Looks like in the coming years, I'll need to put more effort into my fused Water-Fate Laws."
"Otherwise, if I'm weaker than the Death Chief Sovereign, it'll start to feel like I'm living off a woman's support..."
(End of Chapter)
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