It was precisely because of this that the Sovereigns spoke so openly.
Many things carry little weight when they remain beneath the surface.
But once they are brought into the open, not even a thousand-pound scale can measure their weight.
Now that dozens of Sovereigns had openly discussed the incident of Augusta being sprayed in the face, the Light Chief Sovereign Augusta would undoubtedly become a public laughingstock for countless years to come.
"Redding, I swear I'll flay you alive, tear out your marrow, burn your soul, and boil your spirit!"
The Light Chief Sovereign Augusta ground his teeth in fury. If Fate Chief Sovereign Orloff didn't require the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' blood essence, he would have liked nothing more than to tear Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding's corpse into countless pieces.
After speaking, Augusta transformed into a streak of white light and charged toward Redding.
"Dragon Roar!"
Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding let out a furious shout as the thousand-meter-long phantom of the divine beast once again appeared behind him.
"Trying that trick again?"
Seeing the divine beast phantom behind Redding, Augusta snorted coldly. His soul power transformed into an invisible ripple that shot toward Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding.
"ROAR—"
Augusta's soul attack collided with Redding's innate divine ability, Dragon Roar.
The two seemed to exist on entirely different planes of existence, passing straight through one another without interfering in the slightest.
Thus...
Redding's innate divine ability once again slowed the flow of time around Augusta.
And Augusta's soul attack also struck Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding.
There was no surprise whatsoever.
Among Sovereigns, a difference in strength of a hundredfold was enough to instantly kill the weaker party.
The gap between Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding and Light Chief Sovereign Augusta...
Was nearly a millionfold.
Under such circumstances, Augusta's soul attack shattered Redding's soul-defense Sovereign artifact before instantly annihilating his soul.
Inside the miniature plane, Beirut sensed Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding's life aura vanish.
He glanced at the still-slowed Augusta before instantly extending the tiny tail that reached into the spatial turbulence.
It hooked onto Redding's body and dragged it into the Yulan Plane.
"Beirut!"
Just as the effects of the time slowdown faded, Augusta happened to witness Beirut's tail pulling Azure Dragon Sovereign Redding's corpse into the Yulan Plane.
Within the Yulan Continent, Augusta's Sovereign Projection let out a furious roar.
That single roar alone caused nearly half of all living creatures across the Yulan Continent to perish.
Whoosh—
Beirut flew out from his miniature plane and stood beneath Augusta's Sovereign Projection.
"Lord Sovereign."
Suppressing the overwhelming joy in his heart, Beirut cupped his hands respectfully toward Augusta's projection in the sky.
"Beirut..."
Though filled with rage, Augusta forcibly suppressed his anger in order to retrieve the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses.
"As long as you return the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses to me..."
"I will overlook your offense against me today."
"Lord Sovereign, if I return the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses..."
"Does that also include returning their Sovereign sparks?"
"Of course."
"The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns are my spoils of war."
"Everything they possess belongs to me."
The moment Augusta finished speaking...
His heart suddenly skipped a beat.
"Damn..."
He inwardly cursed himself.
Sure enough...
The instant those words left his mouth, Beirut, who had been standing respectfully beneath the Sovereign Projection, immediately straightened his back.
No longer did he show Augusta the slightest respect.
How could Beirut not know the consequences of stealing a Sovereign's spoils?
Then why had he still done it?
Because...
The rewards were simply too great.
Four Sovereign corpses...
Meant that Beirut now held the means to elevate four compatible Highgods into supreme Sovereigns.
It was precisely because of such an overwhelming temptation that Beirut had dared extend his tail despite knowing Augusta would certainly bear a grudge against him.
Now...
Did Augusta really think that a few casual words would make Beirut hand over everything he had risked so much to obtain?
Impossible.
"Beirut, are you planning to defy a Sovereign?"
Seeing Beirut's attitude, Augusta immediately sensed something was wrong and angrily shouted at him.
"You should understand that you're merely a Dark-type divine beast."
"The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' Sovereign sparks aren't suitable for you."
"If you immediately return their corpses to me intact..."
"I can promise you this."
"When a Dark Sovereign spark appears in the future, I'll do everything in my power to help you obtain the qualifications to compete for it."
"Defy a Sovereign? A chance to become a Sovereign?"
Beirut chuckled softly.
Then, with a flash, he appeared beside White Tiger Sovereign Lauis's corpse.
"I can become a Sovereign right now."
"Why would I need you to decide my future?"
"Stop, Beirut!"
Seeing this, Augusta's heart trembled.
Could it be...
Slash!
Although White Tiger Sovereign Lauis's body was far stronger than a Highgod artifact...
It still hadn't reached the level of a Sovereign artifact.
Beirut's own body, however, had long since reached a level comparable to a divine spark.
Furthermore...
Beirut was going all out, while Lauis's corpse retained only the toughness of its body.
Without a material-defense Sovereign artifact to protect it...
How could it possibly withstand Beirut's attack?
Beirut's arm plunged directly into White Tiger Sovereign Lauis's skull and extracted the Wind Sovereign spark hidden within.
A cyan figure emerged from Beirut's body.
It was his Wind divine clone.
"Stop!"
The moment Augusta saw Beirut's Wind divine clone, his Sovereign Projection let out an enraged shout.
The immense Will carried an overwhelming soul pressure as it struck toward Beirut's Wind divine clone.
"Too late!"
Without the slightest hesitation, Beirut's Wind divine clone sliced open a fingertip.
A drop of blood fell onto the Wind Sovereign spark he had just removed from White Tiger Sovereign Lauis's corpse.
Buzz—
The instant Beirut's blood touched the Sovereign spark...
It transformed into a streak of light and fused into the soul of his Wind divine clone, replacing his original Wind divine spark.
Immediately afterward...
A tremendous surge of Will spread throughout Beirut's soul.
The boundless power of faith made Beirut feel that merely drawing upon an insignificant portion of it would allow him to make another breakthrough in the fusion of the Profound Mysteries of the Laws.
And...
That was exactly what he did.
Golden power of faith poured into Beirut's soul.
The fifth Wind Profound Mystery that had trapped him for several hundred Ordinal eras...
Was comprehended within only a few breaths.
Then...
It rapidly fused with the other Profound Mysteries until complete fusion was achieved.
Unfortunately...
Even after drawing upon even greater amounts of the power of faith...
The point of convergence for the sixth Profound Mystery still remained unimaginably distant.
Beirut slowly opened his eyes.
At that exact moment...
Augusta's Sovereign Projection's attack arrived, plunging into the soul of Beirut's Wind divine clone.
Unfortunately...
To Beirut, who had already become a Wind Lesser Sovereign...
Such an attack wasn't even enough to qualify as a gentle breeze brushing across his face.
Slowly rising into the sky...
Beirut came to hover level with the enormous Sovereign face.
"Lord Augusta, was it?"
"I'm sorry."
"Whether it's the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses..."
"Or their Sovereign sparks..."
"I have no intention of handing either of them over to you."
"Now then..."
"I ask Lord Augusta to leave the Yulan Continent."
"You are not welcome here."
"Beirut, you..."
Augusta still wished to speak.
But Beirut clearly had no intention of giving him the opportunity.
With a single thought...
The immense Will radiating from Beirut's Wind Sovereign clone erupted outward.
It forcibly shattered Augusta's Sovereign Projection.
BOOM—
Large amounts of Light Sovereign power scattered apart, transforming into countless white raindrops that fell over the Dark Forest before becoming a vast sea of white mist.
After absorbing the mist formed from those white droplets...
The surrounding vegetation suddenly grew by a tremendous amount.
"Damn it!"
Within the spatial turbulence, Augusta's expression became even uglier.
A mere ant...
One that hadn't even become a Paragon...
Had actually dared reject his request.
Even if that ant had been fortunate enough to possess a Wind Highgod divine clone and had luckily become a Sovereign...
In Augusta's eyes, he was still nothing more than an ant.
If Beirut weren't inside a material plane...
Augusta had ten thousand different ways to make him beg for death while being unable to die.
Unfortunately...
Reality was exactly that.
Even before becoming a Sovereign, Beirut had already been difficult for Augusta to deal with while inside the material plane.
Previously...
Augusta could still have paid an enormous price to hire a Paragon to enter the Yulan Continent, exile Beirut into the spatial turbulence, and retrieve the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses.
But now...
Beirut had refined the Wind Sovereign spark and become a Wind Lesser Sovereign.
There was nothing Augusta could do to him anymore.
No matter how powerful a Paragon might be...
Before a Sovereign, they were merely a somewhat larger ant.
Taking a deep breath...
Augusta extended his divine sense into the Yulan Continent.
Whoosh... Whoosh... Whoosh...
White Light elemental essence gathered before Beirut, condensing into Augusta's appearance.
This...
Was a Sovereign's Law clone.
"What is it, Lord Augusta?"
"I believe I already said earlier."
"The Yulan Continent doesn't welcome you."
"You've now sent your Law clone into the Yulan Continent."
"Do you intend for me to disperse this clone as well?"
After becoming a Sovereign...
Beirut had learned from the Sovereign spark about the three ranks of Sovereigns.
The Wind Sovereign spark he had obtained from White Tiger Sovereign Lauis was the lowest grade of Sovereign spark.
Refining such a Sovereign spark created the weakest class of Sovereign—
A Lesser Sovereign.
As for Augusta...
He stood among the eleven Chief Sovereigns at the very pinnacle of all Sovereigns.
Between himself and Augusta still lay the entire rank of Intermediate Sovereign.
In terms of Will alone...
Augusta surpassed him by ten thousand times.
Fortunately...
Sovereigns could not enter material planes that were not their Home Plane.
Otherwise, the resulting destruction of the material plane would invite punishment from the Overgods.
Precisely because he knew this...
Beirut treated Augusta with no courtesy whatsoever.
After all...
As long as he never left the Yulan Plane...
There was absolutely nothing Augusta could do to him.
"Hmph. Fool."
Contrary to Beirut's expectations...
This time, Augusta's Law clone showed no anger at his provocation.
Instead...
He looked at Beirut with open ridicule.
"Beirut."
"I know exactly what you're thinking."
"You believe that because I cannot enter a material plane, there's nothing I can do to you."
"Am I wrong?"
"Isn't that the case?"
Beirut wasn't surprised that Augusta had seen through his thoughts.
After all...
It wasn't exactly a secret.
"Indeed."
"If you remain in the material plane forever..."
"I truly can't do anything to you."
"But, Beirut..."
"Do you really think you can stay inside a material plane forever?"
"Chief Sovereign Locke once established the duties of all Sovereigns."
"Any Deity who becomes a Sovereign by refining a Sovereign spark must, according to their rank, periodically travel to their corresponding Divine Plane to regulate the chaotic Laws within it."
"A Law Chief Sovereign must spend at least one million years out of every one hundred million years regulating the chaotic Laws of their Divine Plane."
"An Intermediate Sovereign must spend at least five hundred thousand years out of every one hundred million years regulating the Laws of their Divine Plane."
"A Lesser Sovereign must spend at least two hundred thousand years out of every one hundred million years regulating the chaotic Laws of their Divine Plane."
"These are the duties of every Sovereign established by Chief Sovereign Locke."
"Every Sovereign must obey them."
"If any Sovereign refuses to fulfill these responsibilities..."
"The Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts will forcibly strip away that Sovereign's Sovereign spark and bestow it upon another Deity willing to carry out those duties."
A sinister smile appeared on Augusta's lips.
"Heh heh..."
"Beirut..."
"Do you know what that means?"
"If you're sensible..."
"Hand over the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses immediately."
"I'll let bygones be bygones."
"Otherwise..."
"When the appointed time arrives, the moment you leave the material plane to travel to the Wind Divine Plane and regulate its chaotic Laws..."
"I'll intercept and kill you."
"And if you refuse to go to the Wind Divine Plane to fulfill your duties..."
"The Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts will strip away your Sovereign spark."
"So..."
"Have you thought it through?"
"Will you hand over the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns' corpses and settle our grievances once and for all..."
"Or wait until a hundred million years from now to be hunted down by me..."
"Or executed by the Four Chief Sovereigns of the Edicts?"
Augusta coldly threatened Beirut.
What Augusta was exploiting was the fact that Beirut had only just become a Sovereign and didn't know that Locke had granted every Sovereign responsible for regulating a Divine Plane's chaotic Laws an "invincible" protection.
When Augusta had hunted the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns...
He had constantly been on guard against the possibility that they might suddenly enter one of the four elemental Divine Planes—Earth, Wind, Water, or Fire—to carry out Law regulation.
If that happened...
The Four Divine Beast Sovereigns, while regulating the chaotic Laws, would receive the protection of the Edicts Chief Sovereigns.
If Augusta dared attack them during that period...
He had absolutely no doubt that Chief Sovereign Locke would personally kill him.
(End of Chapter)
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