When Locke said those words, his expression was very serious.
As the son of himself and the Death Chief Sovereign, Loran would inevitably have many people gathering around him in the future.
Neither Locke nor the Death Chief Sovereign intended to interfere with Loran's friendships.
However, to prevent Loran from suffering severe setbacks in his future relationships, Locke had to make him understand human nature.
Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign could teach their son truth, kindness, and beauty, but they also had to let Loran know that in this world, falsehood, evil, and ugliness were far more common aspects of human nature.
Even Sovereigns could not escape this framework.
The reason the Sovereigns were currently so peaceful was primarily because of the Sovereign Pact established by Locke and the Death Chief Sovereign, the two strongest Sovereigns.
Otherwise, just look at what happened before the Sovereign Pact existed.
As soon as the rumor spread that refining a Sovereign spark could increase one's power, the Lightning Chief Sovereign Hurley secretly assassinated a Lesser Earth Sovereign.
Had the Death Chief Sovereign not forcefully convened a Sovereign Assembly, slain Hurley's Lightning Chief Sovereign clone and his Lesser Earth Sovereign clone, suppressed that unhealthy trend among the Sovereigns, and established the Sovereign Pact, then the current Sovereigns would likely have already become nurseries for High Sovereigns.
Even so, during the Sovereign Wars, Sovereigns possessing additional divine clones had most of those clones secretly eliminated by other Sovereigns in order to extinguish any thoughts of growing stronger by hunting fellow Sovereigns.
Among the forty-five Sovereigns currently existing in the entire Coiling Dragon Universe, aside from Lilia and himself, Locke did not even know whether any others still possessed divine clones.
Locke's two clones were already powerful Sovereigns whose combat power had entered the ranks of the Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts.
Other Sovereigns not only dared not act against Locke's divine clones or Sovereign clones, they did not even dare think about it.
As for Lilia, her Water divine clone had never left the Netherworld alone.
And with the Death Chief Sovereign's abilities, no Sovereign would dare enter the Netherworld to target that divine clone.
If they truly possessed such courage, they would probably be slapped to death by the Death Chief Sovereign the moment they entered the Netherworld.
By drawing upon the power of the entire Netherworld and adding it to herself, the Death Chief Sovereign was effectively equivalent to the Death Overgod while within the Netherworld itself.
Perhaps in terms of the profundity of Death Edicts, she could not compare to the Death Overgod, but in terms of raw power, she had already reached the level of an Overgod.
To defeat or kill the Death Chief Sovereign, one would first have to destroy the Netherworld.
And Loran listened obediently to everything.
Meanwhile, the Saint-level turtle in Loran's arms was secretly overjoyed.
Had its luck finally changed?
Just listen to this!
Its young master's father's mount had actually received divine sparks as a reward and become a Highgod.
Then no matter how mediocre it might be, after serving the young master for some time, obtaining a Demigod spark should surely be possible, right?
Although Highgods who refined divine sparks were not worth mentioning in the eyes of people like Locke, for many living beings, Highgods were already the strongest experts they would ever encounter.
Don't underestimate Highgods!
One should know that in the vast and boundless Netherworld, a Demigod could become the chief of a small tribe, while a God could become the chief of a medium-sized tribe.
As for Highgods, even within cities, they were absolute experts.
Ordinary tribes, unless they possessed some special characteristic, could not attract Highgods at all.
Conversely, if a Highgod was stationed within a tribe, that tribe would inevitably become a large tribe.
Should a Highgod choose to join a city's guard force, they would immediately occupy the high-ranking position of squad captain.
Looking even farther ahead, within the Sovereign Armies, Highgods could serve as team leaders.
For the much larger population of Saints, many who spent tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years unable to break through to the Deity level dreamed only of gaining the favor of a Deity and receiving a Demigod spark.
That would allow them to rise from an ant into a "person."
Below the Deity level, all are ants.
This statement was an absolute truth throughout the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes.
No matter how powerful your background might be, if you did not become a Deity, nobody would truly regard you as a "person."
Of course, background was not useless.
Take the Four Divine Beasts clan, for example.
After undergoing the clan's Baptismal Ceremony, at least one-third of their members could break through the shackles of Saint-level and advance to the Deity level.
Because the Four Divine Beasts clan's influence was so vast, with members spread throughout the Seven Divine Planes and Four Higher Planes, even Saint-level clan members could hold certain positions within cities and receive support from the clan.
However, that support only went so far.
If they could not become Deities, then their entire lives would be little different from being imprisoned within the city, unable to leave.
Now that it knew it might have the opportunity to become a Highgod like that rabbit predecessor, how could Little Black not be ecstatic?
Still, after secretly glancing at Locke, the turtle ultimately decided it was better to remain cautious.
As for the story about that rabbit predecessor making mistakes and being killed by a Sovereign, that was far too distant for Little Black.
Right now, it was merely a Saint-level ant and had no qualifications to think about such matters.
Even so, Little Black silently made a vow.
In the future, it would absolutely avoid coming into contact with anything capable of leading it into temptation.
Just as the young master's father had said, human nature could not withstand testing.
If some treasure ever awakened greed within its heart, then that rabbit predecessor's fate would become its own future.
Naturally, Locke's soul vision saw through the turtle's thoughts, and he silently nodded in approval.
It seemed this little turtle possessed a healthy amount of self-awareness.
In that case, perhaps it really could become Loran's mount.
Although Locke had taught Loran that human nature could not withstand testing, in truth, Locke also understood that some people did not need to be tested at all.
Take himself and Lilia, for example.
The feelings between the two of them had already surpassed the category of something that could be tested.
Locke would never think of testing Lilia, nor would Lilia ever think of testing Locke.
Back when the Overgod Talisman appeared, the Death Chief Sovereign had handed it directly to Locke without saying anything.
She never once thought Locke would secretly complete the Overgod Mission himself and claim the Overgod's reward.
Likewise, Locke never thought that the Death Chief Sovereign was testing him by giving him the Overgod Talisman.
As someone fortunate enough to obtain a sincere relationship, Locke naturally hoped that his son would also find true friends.
Whether brothers or husband and wife, one still had to try.
What Locke was doing now was merely laying the groundwork for his son's future, ensuring that even if Loran someday felt betrayed, he would not sink into despair or lose trust in everyone else as a result.
"Alright, An'er."
"Look, the food you gathered for Father earlier has already been eaten by your mount."
"How about going out and finding some more food for Father?"
Locke looked at his son with hopeful eyes.
Perfect.
The skewers he had grilled earlier should not have gone cold yet.
If his son left now, he could still enjoy a few hot bites.
"Uh..."
Loran hesitated.
He had already had enough fun today and did not really want to go back out.
However, after glancing at the little turtle in his arms, he could only agree.
After all, since it was his mount's mistake, as the owner, he had to take responsibility for it.
"Alright then, I'll go find more."
As soon as Loran left, Locke sent a divine sense message to Little Black.
"Little fellow, if the food your young master brings back next time is still this terrible, I don't mind letting you enjoy another meal of it."
Hearing Locke's transmission, Little Black immediately shuddered.
The taste of those unripe fruits still lingered in its mouth.
If it had to experience that again, the turtle felt it might not want to eat anything for years.
Of course, what frightened it even more was the possibility that if the young master's father had to eat too many such fruits, then the meat on its body would truly be in danger.
Although, according to the young master's father, he would not kill it and would only eat as much meat as it could regenerate each day...
That was even more terrifying, alright?
Wasn't that worse than the Saint-level creatures captured and raised within cities by hunting teams?
"Hurry, hurry!"
After Loran left, the scenery around Locke instantly transformed.
A water-curtain floor appeared, along with flowing-water chairs.
Then Locke took out the grill and skewers he had stored within his interspatial ring.
Seeing that several skewers were still steaming, he quickly took a large bite.
Feeling the spicy flavor spread through his mouth, Locke could not help but sigh.
"Sure enough, this is what life is all about!"
Lilia smiled as she watched Locke fool around.
While on Mount Nether, Locke seemed to do nothing but cultivate.
Yet once he descended the mountain, he seemed to transform back into that somewhat carefree person who enjoyed pleasure and showing off before others.
Speaking of showing off, however, Lilia secretly rolled her eyes at Locke.
If she remembered correctly, the first time this fellow had shown off had been right in front of her.
Back then, that Water Laws Paragon aura had left her utterly stunned.
It was also from that moment that the Death Chief Sovereign learned that someone could truly cultivate a single Law to such a degree.
Likewise, although the title "Paragon" had been established and spread to the outside world by the Death Chief Sovereign, even among the Sovereigns, nobody knew that she had originally heard the term from Locke.
Perhaps only the title "Paragon" could truly reflect the level a being had reached in their comprehension of Laws and Edicts.
Who could have imagined that Locke, as a mere Deity, would be capable of defeating a Sovereign?
No matter how many expectations the Death Chief Sovereign had once placed on Locke, she had never believed he could achieve such a feat.
Yet the facts spoke for themselves.
Before Locke had even become a Sovereign, the Bloodridge Sovereign Pash had already been forced by him to abandon pursuing Ryan for killing a captain of the Sovereign Army.
Locke had even recorded Pash's apology using a scrying spell.
It was precisely because she had witnessed Locke's overwhelming victory over the Bloodridge Sovereign Pash that the Death Chief Sovereign had so readily informed Locke of the location of that Lesser Fate Sovereign.
(End of Chapter)
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