The Water Elemental Plane, one of the Seven Divine Planes of the Magic Universe, was a paradise for countless beings who cultivated the Mysteries of Water.
The entire plane consisted of vast oceans, each dotted with countless islands. Five continents and one enormous sea lay across the Water Elemental Plane, with the Cangming Sea at its heart, in the very center of the plane.
At the center of the Cangming Sea, a colossal tower more than a million meters tall thrust into the clouds. The Cangming Tower was icy blue from top to bottom, its walls engraved with countless white patterns, and it radiated an intense aura.
A layer of pale blue mist surrounded the Cangming Tower for ten thousand miles. Even a High God who ventured inside without permission would be frozen into an ice statue, which was why the area was also known as the Forbidden Land of Water.
At that moment, in a palace atop the Cangming Tower, a young man in blue robes sat with his eyes closed on a throne. He had short black hair, sharp brows, and bright eyes, and a deep blue glow surrounded the palace.
"Lord Hope, Palhouse requests an audience!"
At the sound of a crisp voice, a round-faced, middle-aged man with green hair stood respectfully outside the door, his expression solemn.
"Come in."
The black-haired young man's eyes snapped open. His tone was calm, but the temperature in the entire room dropped sharply.
At his words, Palhouse, the round-faced man with green hair, walked slowly into the hall and approached the throne, step by step. He lowered his head and bowed slightly.
"My Sovereign, the tenth Plane War is about to reach its decisive battle. Our Water Elemental Plane is ready."
Palhouse spoke without fawning, his expression carrying a measure of respect. Though he had been a Sovereign for many years, his reverence for Lord Hope, Sovereign of Water, remained unchanged.
"I know. Prepare to depart."
The young man gave a slight nod, then swept his right hand through the air. A spatial rift more than ten meters long appeared. Without waiting for Palhouse to respond, he entered the Spatial Turbulence.
Palhouse followed close behind. Two blue halos of Sovereign's Might shot toward the Plane Battlefield like shooting stars.
"Nine consecutive victories again? Time really does fly. In this Magic Universe, nothing is cheaper than time."
Hope gazed at the familiar, multicolored Spatial Turbulence, his thoughts growing complicated. As a transmigrator from Blue Star, he had long since lost track of how many years he had spent in the Coiling Dragon Universe.
From the birth of the Sovereign Sparks to the War of Faith, Hope had lived through endless ages. He only remembered that there had been nearly a million Plane Wars, and that the Overgod Missions had come around five times.
Hope had arrived in this universe very early. Back then, there were only a few Material Planes, and the Overgods had yet to create the Supreme Planes. He was the earliest life born on the Qingya Plane, and could even be counted among the oldest beings in the Coiling Dragon Universe—older than Utrade, Sovereign of Destruction, and Thanatos, Sovereign of Death.
Hope had begun cultivating early, but he discovered that he had no talent for any of the other elements. He had talent only for Water, though fortunately it was quite good.
After the Supreme Planes were created, Hope formed a Water Divine Clone and roamed the Four Supreme Planes. A trillion years after the world began, the Sovereign Sparks appeared. Hope successfully seized a Water Element High Sovereign Spark, becoming one of the eleven strongest beings in the Coiling Dragon Universe.
In that era, the gap between Sovereigns was not so wide, and there was no Sovereign Covenant. Sovereigns fought one another often, and many fell along the way.
Since the beginning of the world, there had been three large-scale wars between the Sovereigns. The first Sovereign War was the struggle for faith, fought not long after the Sovereigns appeared. Once the power of faith was discovered, the Sovereigns used every means at their disposal to compete for it across the Material Planes. The first Chief Sovereign of Light fell in that battle.
Back then, Hope used his foreknowledge to send people to the Material Planes to spread his faith before anyone else. He was the first to reach the Water Element Paragon level, but he was still an ordinary life-form and held little advantage against Sovereigns who were Super Divine Beasts.
Later, Utrade and the Sovereign of Fate also reached Paragon. They fought their first battle, and Utrade was ultimately the weaker of the two. With their Paragon strength and bodies comparable to Sovereign Artifacts, the two became the strongest Sovereigns.
Though Hope was also a Paragon, he had neither the bloodline of the Super Divine Beast Wukun nor the Willpower that Oufu possessed through Augusta. Even if he revealed his Paragon strength, he would still be no match for the two. So Hope concealed his strength. Even now, no one knew publicly that he was a Paragon.
The first Sovereign War ended with the battle between the Sovereign of Destruction and the Sovereign of Fate. The Sovereigns lived in peace for a time.
Later, an Overgod Mission appeared. Oufu obtained a Soul Defense Supreme Artifact and a portion of Willpower for winning ten consecutive Plane Wars. Utrade obtained a Supreme Attack Artifact. The two fought again, and Utrade lost once more, but their battle cemented the absolute supremacy of the Sovereigns of Destruction and Fate.
Hope had considered stopping Oufu and winning ten consecutive victories for the Water Elemental Plane himself. But faced with Oufu's support from the Twelve-Winged Angels, Hope had no good way to stop him.
The second Sovereign War took place after the Supreme God of Life's mission. It was sparked by a clash between the Four Divine Beasts and the Sovereign of Fire. At the time, Springhall, Sovereign of Fire, had reached Paragon. While researching his bloodline and developing a soul attack, he sought out Zijing and tried to forcibly take her Soul Stone, bringing him into conflict with the Four Divine Beasts, who were allied with her.
Many Sovereigns witnessed what happened. The Four Divine Beasts' terrifying Innate Divine Ability left even Springhall, a Sovereign, unable to evade it. Bound in place, he could only watch as the fearsome soul attack entered his body.
"If I hadn't reached Paragon, I really wouldn't have been able to withstand that move! But now, if you can't use your Innate Divine Ability a second time, you're all dead!"
Springhall broke free of the restraint and let out an enraged roar. Pale-faced, he chased after the Four Divine Beasts.
The Four Divine Beasts could not use their Innate Divine Ability twice in quick succession, so they had no choice but to flee. They eventually charged into the Netherworld and reached the area near Nether Mountain, where the Sovereign of Life was visiting at the time.
Perhaps he was simply too furious, or perhaps he had paid no heed to the Sovereigns of Death and Life. Whatever the reason, Springhall actually attacked Nether Mountain.
The Sovereign of Death finally acted, unable to tolerate it any longer. The Sovereign of Life disliked fighting, but she was not afraid of it either. She took out the Supreme Artifact of Life she had recently obtained and brought the battle to an end. Only then did the Sovereigns learn that she had acquired a Supreme Artifact.
In that battle, the Sovereign of Fire fell to the Sword of Life. The Sovereign of Life, Vivia, also rose to become one of the three strongest Sovereigns.
Later, the Sovereign of Life reached Paragon, and the Sovereign of Death obtained a Supreme Artifact as well. With the two of them driving the change, the three strongest Sovereigns became the Four Rules Sovereigns. The Sovereign Covenant was also established at that time, with the Sovereigns of Death and Life working together to bring it about.
Hope had also tried to obtain a Supreme Artifact, but there was no foreknowledge advantage to be had with such things. Several times, by the time he heard the news, the Overgod Mission had already been completed.
The third Sovereign War was a clash between the Sovereign of Light and the Sovereign of Darkness. The power of faith had dwindled to almost nothing, so most Sovereigns paid little attention to the Material Planes. Only the Sovereigns of Light and Darkness still fought over them because of the angels.
The Sovereigns of Light and Darkness fought many battles, drawing other Sovereigns into the conflict as well. Frederick, a Water Element Midgod Sovereign, also intervened, hoping to seize a Sovereign Spark for his wife.
Frederick was a Water Elf with an exceptionally powerful bloodline. After reaching Paragon, his strength was comparable to that of a Sovereign. Hoping to obtain a Sovereign of Light Spark for his wife, who cultivated the Laws of Light, he actually set his sights on Augusta and ambushed him while he was fighting the Sovereign of Darkness.
In that battle, Augusta unleashed terrifying strength and killed Frederick amid the three-way battle. But the Sovereign Spark was snatched by the Sovereign of Darkness.
After that battle, Augusta called in a favor from the Twelve-Winged Angels and asked Oufu to act. He obtained the Supreme Destiny Sword.
Armed with a Supreme Artifact, Augusta overpowered the Sovereign of Darkness. He then killed him in the final battle. The Sovereign of Darkness's last self-detonation sent both the Dark High Sovereign Spark and the Water Intermediate Sovereign Spark in his Spatial Ring tumbling into the Spatial Turbulence, but Augusta still earned the title of strongest Law Sovereign.
After the two Sovereign Sparks disappeared, Hope eventually found the Water Intermediate Sovereign Spark, while a lucky individual acquired the Dark High Sovereign Spark. The new Sovereign of Darkness did not dare challenge the Sovereign of Light, and Augusta's reputation as the strongest Law Sovereign was gradually accepted.
Augusta had not obtained the Dark High Sovereign Spark or the Water Intermediate Sovereign Spark, but he had reaped the faith of much of the Sovereign of Darkness's faction, along with countless pure souls. The Twelve-Winged Angels were greatly replenished, so when the Celestial Realm went for its second nine-win streak, he sent them out once more.
Utrade had made extensive preparations for that battle. Sovereign Envoys, commanders, and Seven-Star Fiends were thrown into the fight without regard for their lives, yet they still suffered defeat after defeat under the Twelve-Winged Angels' attacks.
However, the Celestial Realm failed to achieve ten consecutive victories that time. Hope's Sovereign Envoy, Palhouse, blocked the Star River Passage with his Paragon strength, facing the Angel Battle Formation head-on with his body. He fought desperately, heedless of his injuries, and the Plane War ultimately ended in a draw.
After that battle, Augusta proposed at the Sovereign Conference that Paragon High-Gods were disrupting the balance of the Plane Wars and should be barred from participating. Utrade had no Dannington serving as his envoy at the time, and agreed.
The Sovereigns of Death and Life objected. They believed that the Plane Wars were the business of the gods, and the Sovereigns should not impose a ban. They also argued that Paragons should not be restricted entirely.
The Sovereigns of Death and Life opposed the proposal, while the Sovereign of Destruction supported it. In the end, after the Sovereign of Fate mediated, the Four Rules Sovereigns reached a consensus and decided to add a clause to the Sovereign Covenant.
Paragon High-Gods could participate in the Plane Wars, but they could not take part in the Star River battles during the first nine rounds. They could fight in one Star River battle only in the tenth round, after a plane had won nine consecutive times.
Once this covenant was established, Palhouse could no longer help Hope win ten consecutive victories in the next war.
Hope did not leave Palhouse unrewarded, though. He gave him the Water Intermediate Sovereign Spark, gaining a Paragon Midgod Sovereign as a subordinate. In the years that followed, the Sovereigns' battles dwindled into minor skirmishes.
Now, the tenth Plane War had begun. This time, the Water Elemental Plane had won nine consecutive battles, and its opponent was the Radiant Divine Realm. If the Water Elemental Plane won, the Water Sovereign would gain a new portion of Willpower. As a result, countless Sovereigns had turned their attention to the battle.
Beyond the Plane Battlefield, dozens of figures stood amid the Spatial Turbulence. They had separated into several groups and were discussing who would win.
Under normal circumstances, the outcome of a Plane War was not particularly important to the Sovereigns. But the tenth battle, after nine consecutive victories, was a major event that every Sovereign watched closely. The Sovereigns gathered there all wore somewhat unusual expressions.
At the center of the Sovereigns' gathering stood four figures. The Sovereigns around them kept a respectful distance, showing their regard for the four.
On the left stood a smiling, white-haired old man and a man concealed beneath a black robe. On the right stood a pretty, red-haired girl and a beautiful woman in green robes. Their identities were obvious.
The Four Rules Sovereigns!