Judging from this, when the Laws of the Universe descended, within a certain area centered around the living being receiving the blessing of the Laws of the Universe, either time or space was likely in a "frozen" state.
Locke remembered that back on the Planar Battlefield, when Linley's fire divine clone broke through, the descent of the Laws of the Universe had been sensed by many experts.
Among those experts who sensed the descent of the Laws of the Universe, those who realized they could not reach the location before the Laws disappeared simply gave up pursuing Linley.
From this alone, it could be seen that the Laws of the Universe remained active in the outside world for a period of time.
Yet during that period, what state spacetime within the area covered by the Laws of the Universe was actually in remained unknown.
Or rather, even the Sovereigns, without reaching the necessary realm, had no idea what conditions existed within the area enveloped by the Laws of the Universe.
This time, however, Locke had personally verified it with his own body.
The primary effect within the area covered by the Laws of the Universe was spatial freezing.
If it had been temporal stasis instead, then Locke's body would never have been able to shatter the surrounding space. Rather, his consciousness itself would have been completely frozen.
However, Locke could sense that after he shattered the space restrained by the Laws of the Universe, the Laws themselves underwent some subtle changes.
His heart stirred.
Extending his soul power, Locke attempted to probe the mysteries hidden within the Laws of the Universe.
As he gently shifted his body, the surrounding space began to collapse.
Within an auxiliary universe, the highest realm any living being could reach was that of a Sovereign.
This was because Godkings who had fully comprehended the Spatial Laws, as well as Celestials above the Godking realm, could tear apart the space of an auxiliary universe and inflict damage upon it.
Locke had already advanced his own bloodline into that of a spatial supreme divine beast.
Relying solely upon his physical strength and bloodline power, even among Godkings who had not comprehended the Temporal Laws, he ranked among the very strongest.
Naturally, the space of the Magical Universe could not withstand the destructive force of Locke's body.
However, after Locke damaged the space of the Magical Universe within the area governed by the Laws of the Universe, the Laws underwent certain marvelous changes.
Under those subtle transformations, Locke felt the restraints and pressure exerted by the surrounding space gradually increasing.
At first, Locke only needed fifty percent of his physical strength to tear apart the space within the area covered by the Laws of the Universe.
Gradually, that became sixty percent...
Then seventy percent...
The cause of all this was none other than the Laws of the Universe's application of the Spatial Laws.
Although Locke had already fully comprehended the Spatial Laws, that did not mean there was no further room for improvement in how he used them.
Take the Asura-level experts as an example.
Some could only display the strength of an ordinary Asura.
Others, however, possessed combat power comparable to experts wielding a Sovereign artifact.
The difference between them lay in each individual's application of the Profound Mysteries.
Locke had only recently become a Godking.
Meanwhile, the Laws of the Universe of the Magical Universe could be regarded as the strongest Godking imaginable.
Compared to the Laws of the Universe, Locke's application of the Profound Mysteries of Space could not be described as crude, but it certainly wasn't particularly exquisite either.
Now, within the area governed by the Laws of the Universe, the Laws continuously repaired the space that Locke had damaged.
During this process, the profound mysteries displayed by the Laws of the Universe were directly captured by Locke's soul power.
It was as though the greatest teacher in the world were personally explaining the intricacies of applying the Spatial Laws to his student.
While Locke analyzed the mysteries of the Laws of the Universe, the Death Chief Sovereign, Lilia, was likewise receiving the blessings bestowed by the Laws of the Universe.
Unlike father and son, Locke and Loran...
All three of Lilia's divine clones possessed divine sparks.
Among them, her Death divine clone, which comprehended the Laws of Reincarnation, possessed the Death Chief Sovereign spark.
Under such circumstances, the descending Laws of the Universe did not strengthen the soul of Lilia's Death Chief Sovereign body.
After all, her soul already contained a Sovereign spark capable of bearing Laws.
According to the Laws of the Universe of the Magical Universe, the higher Law naturally had to be inscribed upon the Sovereign spark.
It was only because neither Locke's nor Loran's original bodies possessed divine sparks that the Laws of the Universe strengthened their souls until they reached a level capable of bearing the Laws.
The Laws of Reincarnation were, to begin with, the higher Law derived from the Edicts of Death.
Thus, for the Laws of the Universe to inscribe the Laws of Reincarnation upon the Death Chief Sovereign's Sovereign spark posed virtually no difficulty at all.
However, after the Laws of Reincarnation had been inscribed, Lilia's Chief Sovereign spark underwent certain changes.
Among its seven-colored radiance, an additional strand of deep darkness appeared.
Sensing that the inscription of the Laws of Reincarnation onto Lilia's divine spark was nearly complete, Locke ceased probing the Laws of the Universe.
Otherwise, once the protection that the Laws of the Universe provided to the surrounding space disappeared, Locke's body would immediately shatter the space of the Magical Universe itself, allowing Hongmeng energy from outside the universe to leak into the Magical Universe and inflict significant damage upon it.
More importantly, Locke was currently still incapable of resisting the erosion of Hongmeng energy.
If that Hongmeng energy were to affect the people around him whom he cherished, Locke knew he would regret it for the rest of his life.
Still, brief though it had been, during those dozen or so breaths while the Laws of the Universe had descended, Locke's mastery over the application of the Spatial Laws had advanced yet another step.
More importantly, the exquisite methods by which the Laws of the Universe employed the Spatial Laws had opened an entirely new avenue of thought for Locke.
Just like Godking Jiang Lan in the future Linmeng Universe, whose mastery of countless applications of Time Acceleration placed him among the strongest beneath the Invincible Godkings.
Against Godkings who had not comprehended Time Stop, Godking Jiang Lan could fight many opponents alone.
If Locke could completely comprehend the methods by which the Laws of the Universe applied the Spatial Laws, then his own strength would undoubtedly undergo another tremendous increase.
Setting those thoughts aside for the time being, Locke looked toward Lilia as she slowly descended from the sky.
"Congratulations, Lilia."
Seeing Lilia open her eyes, Locke stepped forward with a smile to congratulate her.
"Haha, this is all thanks to your guidance, Locke. If you hadn't resolved the doubts in my heart, I have no idea how much longer it would have taken me to break through."
"That's because you've accumulated enough over all these years. Only then could my guidance be of any use."
"That's true."
Accepting Locke's compliment without hesitation, the Death Chief Sovereign nodded.
She had no idea that Locke had been constantly observing the flashes of inspiration within her soul and deliberately tailoring his explanations of the Laws of Reincarnation related to the Edicts of Death specifically for her.
From Lilia's perspective, she had simply listened to Locke's explanations, resolved many of the questions she had regarding the Laws of Reincarnation, and finally broken through the bottleneck, completely comprehending ten percent of the Laws of Reincarnation.
"Big Sister..."
Just as the Death Chief Sovereign was delighting in her breakthrough, the voice of the Life Chief Sovereign suddenly drifted from behind her, startling Lilia.
"Wawaya, what's wrong with you?"
Turning around to look at the Life Chief Sovereign, Lilia was immediately startled by Wawaya's current appearance.
Wawaya's hair was completely disheveled.
The dark circles around her eyes were black enough to rival those of a panda.
That aggrieved little expression made Lilia feel as though she had somehow betrayed Wawaya after leading her on.
"Sob... sob..."
The Life Chief Sovereign covered her eyes with both hands as she let out pitiful sobs.
"Big Sister, after all these years... don't you know how I feel about you?"
Thump!
"Ah!"
Looking at Wawaya, who was now squatting on the ground clutching her head, the Death Chief Sovereign Lilia casually blew across the edge of her right hand.
"Wawaya, speak properly."
"Yes, Big Sister."
After receiving a chop to the head from Lilia, the Life Chief Sovereign immediately behaved herself.
A flash of green Life Sovereign power swept over her, instantly restoring her previous noble and elegant appearance.
Only...
Her eyes were completely at odds with that dignified bearing.
They looked like those of a puppy begging for something it desperately wanted, watery and pitiful as they gazed at the Death Chief Sovereign.
"Big Sister, when did your Edicts of Death reach Paragon?"
"And earlier, when the Laws of the Universe descended... what exactly were you cultivating?"
"Take a look at me. Do you think I have the talent to cultivate that as well?"
"This..."
Only now did the Death Chief Sovereign suddenly realize something.
Her entire family was currently standing within the territory of the Life Chief Sovereign, Wawaya.
Everything—from Locke's earlier explanations of the Spatial Laws and the Laws of Reincarnation, to the later breakthroughs of Loran and herself—had all taken place right in front of Wawaya.
Now, not only had the secret of her reaching Paragon in the Edicts of Death been exposed...
Even the existence of the Laws of Reincarnation had been discovered by Wawaya.
Thinking this, the Death Chief Sovereign glanced toward Locke.
Whether it was her attainment of Paragon or the cultivation beyond Paragon, everything had originated from Locke.
Without Locke's permission, Lilia would never reveal these matters.
Fortunately, what reassured her was that Locke nodded toward her.
That meant Locke had no objection to her revealing the existence of the higher Laws to the Life Chief Sovereign, Wawaya.
"I really don't know what to do with you."
After receiving Locke's approval, the Death Chief Sovereign smiled dotingly at the Life Chief Sovereign and reached out to rub Wawaya's long hair.
"As you've already seen, whether it was achieving Paragon or continuing to cultivate beyond Paragon, everything I learned came from Chief Sovereign Locke."
"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm!"
Wawaya nodded repeatedly.
If there were anyone in this world who could make new progress on the path beyond Paragon, Chief Sovereign Locke was unquestionably the only possible candidate.
Moreover, after witnessing Locke shatter the space within the area governed by the Laws of the Universe earlier, Wawaya had already guessed that Chief Sovereign Locke had likely surpassed the level of a Sovereign and stepped into an even higher realm.
Perhaps an Overgod...
Or perhaps something else entirely.
"Thank you, Brother-in-law."
Wawaya bowed respectfully toward Locke.
She knew that if her elder sister was willing to teach her, it was only because Chief Sovereign Locke had already given his approval.
(End of Chapter)
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