The Scheme of the Four Divine Beasts, Hunting the Sovereign

"Oh? You want me to give you a reason?"

Hearing Reding's words, Hope immediately furrowed his brows, his tone turning incomparably cold in an instant.

"Reding, do you dare to question a Sovereign?"

A layer of frost instantly flashed across Palhouse's face, and the volume of his voice rose significantly.

"That is not the case; it is merely a simple inquiry. After all, my Four Divine Beasts Clan has lost quite a few people."

Seeing this, Reding raised his eyebrows slightly. His tone softened a fraction, but he continued to speak regardless.

"Swish! Swish! Swish!"

The next moment, three streams of Sovereign's Might condensed out of thin air, transforming into three figures that landed behind Reding.

"Sovereign, you are a noble Sovereign, yet your Paragon envoy attacked members of my Four Divine Beasts Clan for no reason. There should at least be an explanation, right? If the people of my Four Divine Beasts Clan offended you first, the four of us would be happy to discipline them and offer you an apology."

Dressed in white robes, the White Tiger Sovereign Lius stood behind Reding. Ripples like tiger stripes flashed through his eyes as he spoke indifferently. Although he was offering an apology, there was not a hint of respect in his gaze.

"You..."

Palhouse's brows were tightly locked. He clenched his fists so hard his bones creaked. Just as he was about to say something, Hope raised a hand to stop him.

"You want an explanation, is that it?"

Hope stopped Palhouse, the blue water-like luster in his eyes sweeping over the four divine beasts.

The four of them did not answer, merely watching Hope with calm expressions.

"Swish! Swish!"

The next moment, two beams of light flashed from Hope's eyes. Emmanuel and Fuerhan, who were hiding behind, lost their vitality instantly, not even having the chance to react.

"You!"

The White Tiger Sovereign Lius flew into a rage, staring fixedly at Hope as if he were about to strike at any moment, but Reding's right hand blocked his path.

"The people of your Four Divine Beasts Clan actually dared to snatch the items my envoy was offering to me. Therefore, they deserved to die!"

Hope met the gaze of the four divine beasts, which seemed to be spitting fire, and spoke with complete indifference.

As the oldest Sovereign between heaven and earth, Hope had his own trump cards. The only ones he needed to be wary of were the four Rule Sovereigns; the Four Divine Beasts were not yet qualified.

"Fine. Provoking a Sovereign is a capital crime. Now that Emmanuel and Fuerhan are dead, can this matter end here?"

Reding remained silent for a moment before squeezing the words through his teeth. His tone had risen, and his expression had turned cold, but he still held back the impulsive Lius.

Although the four of them did not fear ordinary Law Sovereigns, this was Hell—the territory of the Sovereign of Destruction—and furthermore, Palhouse possessed the strength of a Sovereign himself. They had no confidence in taking on two Sovereigns at once.

"Keep your clan members in check. Otherwise, perhaps one day, the Four Divine Beasts Clan will simply cease to exist."

After Hope finished speaking, he waved his large hand, and with a surge of Sovereign's Might, he took Ninisha and Dili and vanished from the spot instantly.

Water Elemental Plane, Cangming Sea.

"Swish!"

Ninisha and Dili only felt themselves enveloped by an irresistible force, and when they regained their senses, they had already appeared here.

"Dili, take Ninisha and head down."

Hope slowly sat down upon his high throne, his tone indifferent.

"Yes, Sovereign!"

Dili and Ninisha rose simultaneously, bowed, and exited the room.

"Sovereign, it seems that Reding and the others will not let this matter rest easily."

Palhouse stood not far below, his tone filled with concern.

"Of course they won't let it rest. However, who is the hunter and who is the prey is not yet certain."

Hope looked up toward the distant sky, his expression filled with confidence.

"Father!"

After Hope left, Gaia finally regained her senses, her eyes bloodshot as she looked at Reding.

Just a moment ago, her only son, Fuerhan, had died, and her only grandson, Emmanuel, had died. They had perished in front of the father she respected most, yet no one could stop it.

"Return!"

Reding's face was incomparably gloomy as he squeezed the word out through his teeth.

With the surging of Sovereign's Might, the four divine beasts quickly brought their people back to the Tianji Mountain Range, landing directly inside the great hall.

"Father! Why did you let that Water Sovereign go? He is only a Law Sovereign..."

Tears welled up in Gaia's eyes as she looked at Reding, seemingly unable to understand, her expression filled with deep grievance.

"Gaia! Silence!"

Gaislesen was the first to react, quickly shouting to stop her. He then carefully glanced at Reding. Seeing that his father's brows were tightly furrowed but that he did not seem angry, he felt slightly relieved.

Although Reding was their father, they were all high and mighty Sovereigns; while they could enjoy the privileges of being his children, they could not casually question their father's decisions.

"Father, I apologize!"

Gaia also calmed down significantly in an instant, dropping to her knees with a thud, her voice trembling as she spoke.

"This matter is more complicated than you imagine."

Reding glanced at Gaia, whose eyes were red, and sighed inwardly, offering a brief explanation.

"Alright, Big Brother, the children are only acting this way because they feel aggrieved; please don't take offense."

Seeing this, the Vermilion Bird Sovereign Nimo gently tugged at the Azure Dragon Sovereign's sleeve and took the opportunity to speak.

"Very well, children, tell me, what exactly happened?"

The Black Tortoise Sovereign Bowen, standing to the side, directly changed the subject and looked toward the children below, skipping over the matter of Gaia defying Reding.

"Father, it is like this..."

The Black Tortoise Clan Leader Morei stepped forward and briefly recounted the entire sequence of events.

"Bang!"

Halfway through Morei's account, the Black Tortoise Sovereign Bowen's eyes widened abruptly, and a beam of earthy yellow light erupted from them.

"You just said, a heaven-defying treasure in the form of a blood-colored crystal containing five colors, a Five-Colored Blood Crystal?"

Bowen's voice rose several octaves, and Reding and the other two instantly focused their gazes on Morei, their stares as sharp as if they were trying to see right through him.

"Yes, it is a Five-Colored Blood Crystal..."

Morei suddenly felt as if he were sitting on pins and needles, at a complete loss for what to do.

"That Five-Colored Blood Crystal..."

Reding stopped Bowen, who was about to continue speaking, and asked many more detailed questions. After a long while, Reding waved his hand, signaling for Morei and the others to leave. Morei and his group did not linger and departed quickly, leaving only the Four Divine Beasts Sovereigns in the great hall.

"Big Brother, that Five-Colored Blood Crystal is likely the one we have been searching for. Now that it is in the hands of Hope, what should we do?"

The White Tiger Sovereign Lius spoke first, the markings on his forehead turning blood-red, appearing full of pressure against his white skin.

"It seems we must alter our plan. Our next target: the Sovereign of Water, Hope!"

The Azure Dragon Sovereign Reding kept his eyes tightly shut, then suddenly snapped them open, a cold killing intent instantly radiating from him.

"Big Brother, are we going to fight both Hope and Palhouse at the same time?"

The Black Tortoise Sovereign Bowen spoke with some concern, pouring a bucket of cold water on the furious group.

"With Palhouse by his side, we indeed lack sufficient certainty, but if they are separated, Hope is merely a Sovereign who has not reached the Perfection level. Even with the extra Willpower from the ten-consecutive-victory streak, he cannot withstand two of our innate divine abilities!"

Blue light flickered in Reding's eyes, and he made no effort to conceal the killing intent in his voice.

"Ever since his ten-consecutive-victory streak in the Water Elemental Plane, Hope has seemed a bit too arrogant. Since Hope dares to provoke us, we will let him know that even a Sovereign must pay a price for offending us!"

The White Tiger Sovereign Lius also revealed a murderous aura, showing no concern whatsoever for the coming battle.

In the eyes of the Four Divine Beasts, although Hope had gained an extra portion of Willpower due to the ten-consecutive-victory streak in the Plane Wars, their years of research allowed them to use their innate divine abilities twice. As a non-Perfection Sovereign without the bloodline of a divine beast, Hope's soul defense would not be able to block it.

"Hope, I look forward to seeing the expression on your face when the time comes!"

Reding's eyes gazed into the void, as if he were locking eyes with Hope in the Water Elemental Plane across the distance.