At last, after Hermes's unrelenting perseverance and effort, that drop of Sovereign's Might slowly took shape in the center of the Golden Space.
It radiated a gentle yet powerful light, like a miniature sun illuminating the entire space.
Though it hadn't been activated, he could sense the boundless energy it contained—powerful enough to destroy heaven and earth.
Only now could Hermes be certain that the Golden Space had refined and condensed Sovereign's Might.
A drop of Earth Sovereign God Power, yellow-brown and containing terrifying might.
"Hahahaha!"
A sense of relief unlike anything he'd ever felt suddenly welled up inside him.
"I've finally surpassed the original!"
He had been reborn as Golden Mountain and taken the destiny that had belonged to "Hermes." Surely he couldn't end up worse off than the original.
Now, as he gazed at the drop of Sovereign's Might in the Golden Space, Hermes felt as though he could finally breathe a sigh of relief.
He couldn't quite explain why.
All he knew was that an indescribable joy and pride surged through him.
Hermes knew that possessing this drop of Sovereign's Might would bring a qualitative leap in both his strength and status.
Not just anyone could refine Sovereign's Might.
Every powerhouse capable of refining Sovereign's Might from their Spiritual Sense was a super powerhouse in the Supreme Plane.
They had connections and status!
Sometimes, just a single word or token from them was enough to make people blanch.
When Salomon brought out Aiken's token, even Aliquin, a Seven-star Demon, had been wary of crossing him.
A person's reputation preceded them.
If Hermes had the reputation of a super powerhouse, he wouldn't have needed to go out of his way to get a Demon Medal for protection.
Of course, a Demon Medal was still very useful in certain situations.
Super powerhouses were far removed from the lower levels of Hell. Bandits in the wilderness wouldn't recognize the names of super powerhouses.
Only a tiny fraction of people ever became famous beyond their own circles.
Hermes, for instance,
had a far greater reputation than most Seven-star Demons around Yilan City these days.
Still, most people had only heard of Hermes. They didn't actually know him.
And that wasn't all. Hermes didn't have a good reputation.
He was now a prime target for bandits in the area, since word of the treasures he sold at Demon Castle had long since spread far and wide.
Suddenly,
Hermes opened his eyes. In the Golden Space, the Sovereign's Might formed from countless motes of light had stabilized.
It floated there, motionless.
With a thought, the drop of Earth Element Sovereign God Power, murky as the waters of the Yellow River, vanished from the Golden Space.
When it reappeared, it was suspended above his palm.
"Weighty and violent, yet perfectly contained until released!"
They seemed like contradictory qualities, but they didn't conflict at all!
The drop of Sovereign's Might displayed its different properties perfectly.
Feeling the boundless power within the liquid,
Hermes murmured, "So this is Sovereign's Might... a terrifying treasure that only Sovereign Gods can create!"
A determined glint flashed in his eyes. "I'll use it to usher in a whole new era."
"In the name of Hermes!"
"Since that's the case, I'll just devour all of these!"
Hermes waved his hand, and all the Earth Crystals inside the large Space Ring vanished.
In an instant,
the Golden Space surged. Countless Earth Crystals crumbled into nothingness, and a mote of light flew out of each one. The countless motes spun together, forming swirling vortices.
As billions of motes whirled and converged within the Golden Space, they gradually formed small tornadoes.
But they weren't real winds.
They were merely elemental tides stirred up by the surging energy.
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
Since he had poured in all thirty-some trillion Ink Stones at once, the strain on Hermes's consciousness was greater this time.
But though the strain was greater, it wasn't completely unbearable.
Only Hermes's consciousness had descended into the Golden Space—not his soul or his divine power.
Even if his consciousness were shattered, at worst he wouldn't be able to descend for a short time. The real impact on him would be limited.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble!"
The "tornadoes" churned, each energy vortex containing an unimaginable weight of power.
"I can take it. I even feel like my willpower is growing stronger."
Excitement gleamed in Hermes's eyes.
He could feel this power of consciousness responding to his innermost thoughts, ready to unleash its full potential.
"Consciousness is power too!"
Hermes reached out and gently touched one of the tornado-like vortices floating in the Golden Space.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble!"
A terrifying force of suction tore at his consciousness, as though it might cast Hermes out at any moment.
"No! I command you to stay!"
His words echoed through the air like an ancient incantation, as if awakening power sleeping deep within his consciousness.
"Rumble, rumble, rumble!"
At his command, and under his wholehearted guidance, the small tornadoes formed from the gathered yellow-brown motes began to rise slowly, circling the center of the Golden Space.
They spun faster and faster, eventually joining into a massive pillar of light.
Within the pillar, countless motes gathered into a yellow-brown storm.
Hermes took a deep breath. He knew this moment would mark a turning point in his fate, and focused all his willpower on the pillar of light.
If he succeeded, Hermes's willpower would surely increase dramatically.
He might even gain the ability to refine Sovereign's Might in batches.
If he failed, he would lose most of the Earth Crystals, and would probably only be able to refine Sovereign's Might one drop at a time from then on.
"Rumble!"
The enormous pillar of light trembled,
then contracted and collapsed into a small pillar at an incredible speed.
Inside it, countless motes that had once been imperceptible became visible. They had already undergone one round of aggregation.
Hermes waved his hand,
and the motes gathered once more, becoming streaks of light.
The tiny streaks were yellow-brown, circling through the Golden Space as if composing a symphony of the universe.
Gradually, the yellow-brown streaks began to emit a faint pressure.
That pressure continued to grow, eventually coalescing into three tiny drops that glowed with a yellow-brown halo.
Ripples spread across the three drops, and they resonated with the pillar of light.
"It worked!"
Hermes grinned. "This seems even easier than refining a single drop."
Of course it did!
The immense pressure had just brought about a transformation in his willpower.
Hermes felt that his control over the Golden Space had grown stronger.
"Sure enough, I can refine Sovereign's Might in batches!"
He grinned.
"With these drops of Sovereign's Might, I'm confident I could win even against an Asura powerhouse."
Most Asura powerhouses would have one or two drops of Sovereign's Might, too.
But that was in the later stages of the Magic Universe. For now, Sovereign's Might should be an extremely precious resource.
That was his assessment.
Hermes had already checked the intelligence on Yilan City.
He knew there was indeed a faction called the Four Divine Beast Family in Azure Mansion on Blood Peak Continent.
But...
The Four Divine Beast Family hadn't yet reached the height of its power, when everyone looked upon it with awe.
At least, its population was still small. It hadn't yet grown so large that it had to split up and expand into the Eight God Realms.
For now, the family had branches only in Hell and in the territories of the four Sovereign Gods of Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind.
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