"That Ninisha might become a Paragon High-God someday. So you should keep an eye on her."
Zijing Sovereign wasn't annoyed by Leisijing's muttering. She merely shook her head slightly and answered his question.
"What? A Paragon? That Ninisha?"
Leisijing leaped to his feet, nearly smashing through the ceiling. He stared at Zijing Sovereign, eyes wide, as if trying to determine whether his mother was joking.
"But, Mother, how can you tell?"
Seeing that his mother was serious, Leisijing had no choice but to believe her. Even so, he was still full of questions.
"Actually, I don't know either. At least for now, I can't see that Ninisha will become a Paragon. But Lord Hope took her on as an envoy..."
Zijing Sovereign paused briefly, then added, "Jingjing, you can listen to what I'm about to tell you about Lord Hope, the Water Sovereign, but once you leave, don't go repeating it."
"Don't worry, Mother. I won't say a word." Leisijing mimed zipping his lips and nodded like a pecking chick.
Zijing Sovereign inclined her head and continued, "Lord Hope is the oldest Sovereign in the divine planes. What makes him most remarkable isn't himself, but his Sovereign Envoys."
"Normally, a Sovereign can have eight Sovereign Envoys. But from the dawn of the world until now, Lord Hope has had only three, including Ninisha."
"The first was Palhouse, once a Water Element Paragon and now the Water Sovereign. Lord Hope took him on when he was a Seven-Star Fiend. Palhouse now has the strength of a Sovereign, thanks to the Willpower he gained from being a Paragon and winning ten consecutive Plane Wars. Yet he remains utterly loyal to Lord Hope."
"The second was Bayer, a Wind Element Paragon High-God. Lord Hope took him on when he was still a Seven-Star Wind-Blood Fiend. Bayer also serves Lord Hope, and helped him win ten consecutive Plane Wars."
"Because of this, the Sovereigns privately speculate that Lord Hope either has the talent to sense Paragons or knows how to help people become Paragons. And Lord Hope's third Envoy is Ninisha, who has only just joined him."
After hearing Zijing Sovereign's explanation, Leisijing was utterly stunned, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"P-Palhouse and Bayer were both his Envoys..."
Leisijing stammered, at a loss for words.
Although Leisijing had never fought a Paragon and didn't know firsthand just how powerful they were, he had heard his mother talk about them more than once and knew the basics.
Paragons were Gods who had reached the pinnacle of cultivation. They had the strength to overwhelm Asuras, and were exceedingly rare—rarer even than Sovereigns. Across countless years and countless planes, only a little over twenty people were suspected of being Paragons, and half of those were Sovereign Divine Clones who had made names for themselves. Of those, only about ten had been confirmed as Paragons. On average, there wasn't even one per element.
The Battle Projections of Palhouse and Bayer were among the most expensive and sought-after at the Fiend Castle. Leisijing had watched them before. Their fighting strength and those blood-pumping battles were the very things he dreamed of achieving.
"All right, Jingjing. We should be heading back."
Zijing Sovereign collected herself and patted Leisijing's shoulder. He was still dazed, and she spoke gently.
"Oh. Hm? Wait, back? Mother, we've only been out for a hundred years!!!"
Leisijing snapped out of his thoughts, only to hear news that nearly drove him mad. His voice rose several octaves.
"Jingjing, before we left, we agreed that if you were defeated in battle, we'd end our travels and go back to cultivate."
At that, Zijing Sovereign's lips curved into a smile as she replied with an expression that was almost—but not quite—teasing.
"But... Mother, that's much too soon. Let me have a little more fun."
Leisijing was at a loss for words. He had indeed promised Zijing Sovereign that he would end his travels if he was defeated. But how could he have expected to run into Ninisha on the very first stop?
The last time his Destruction Clone broke through, Leisijing had spent a full hundred thousand years traveling before Zijing Sovereign finally called him back. He had returned reluctantly. But this time, it had been only a hundred years. To Leisijing, it was like stepping out the door and turning right around.
"No. You gave your word, and you can't take it back."
A rare hint of smugness flashed in Zijing Sovereign's pale violet eyes. Then her gray Sovereign's Might surged. Leisijing felt the world spin, and soon he was back inside the Amethyst Mountain Range.
"All right, Jingjing. Go back and cultivate. Once you've fused five Mysteries, you can go out again."
Zijing Sovereign's voice lingered behind after her figure vanished, leaving Leisijing no chance to pester her.
"Mo... Damn it, you awful mother! You mean mother! How could you do this to me?!"
Deep within the Amethyst Mountain Range, inside a cave filled with towering piles of amethyst, Leisijing had returned to the form of an Amethyst Cub. He puffed up with indignation, as if he had suffered a terrible injustice, and his roar echoed more than a thousand meters.
"Um... Young Master, are you all right?"
A deep voice rang out. Two figures had appeared behind Leisijing at some point.
The man in front stood over four meters tall. His skin was bronze, and his powerful build and stern features made him look like a giant of the earth.
The other man was about two meters tall, a middle-aged man with sharp eyes and a fierce air. Sword intent flowed across his gray robe.
They were Zijing Sovereign's two Envoys, and Leisijing's two good friends: Leihong and Busili.
"Ahong, Abu, tell me, isn't Mother being unreasonable? She promised to take me traveling, then ended it after only a hundred years! A hundred years!"
The Amethyst Cub turned around, waving his little paws as he grumbled and muttered all sorts of "disrespectful" things.
Leihong and Busili could only stand there awkwardly, unsure how to respond.
Their young master was complaining that his mother had gone back on her word, but they didn't dare agree with him. It was one thing for a mother and son to bad-mouth each other in private; it was quite another for a Sovereign Envoy to speak ill of a Sovereign.
"Forget it. I knew you two wouldn't dare say anything."
Seeing them stand there like a pair of wooden statues, the Amethyst Cub huffed in annoyance and stuck his little nose in the air. He looked adorable.
"Young Master, don't fret. Once you've fused five Mysteries, we'll go with you to the Plane Battlefield. There'll be no shortage of fights there!"
Seeing this, Busili stepped forward to reassure him. As an old friend, he knew Leihong was the silent type who hardly ever spoke, so it was up to him to comfort Young Master Leisijing.
"The Plane Battlefield! No, Mother won't let me go somewhere so dangerous."
Leisijing's eyes lit up at first, then dimmed. He shook his head helplessly.
"Not necessarily, Young Master. The Plane Battlefield is dangerous, but everyone who goes there is a top expert from the divine planes. None of them would dare kill you—you're a Sovereign's child. That's exactly how the head of the Augusta Clan does it."
Busili continued reassuring him. As a veteran commander, he had once seen Hankin Augusta, the head of the Augusta Clan, dominate the Plane Battlefield. No one dared lay a hand on him.
With Leisijing's status, he could practically do whatever he wanted on the Plane Battlefield. The only people who might dare offend him were members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan and the Augusta Clan.
"Really? That's great! I'm going to cultivate. Nobody stop me! I'm going to fuse five Mysteries and head to the Plane Battlefield!"
Leisijing's body suddenly changed, and he returned to the form of a bald young man. He shot deeper into the cave in a streak of purple light.
Leihong and Busili exchanged glances, both wearing helpless smiles. Then they sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate. The cave grew quiet once more.