Beyond the Water Elemental Plane, countless colorful halos flowed through the Spatial Turbulence, forming a constantly swirling maelstrom.
Spatial Turbulence was a forbidden zone for gods. Even High-Gods would die after spending some time there. Only Paragon High-Gods, gods with material defense Sovereign Artifacts, and a few special divine beasts whose bodies rivaled Sovereign Artifacts could survive there permanently.
However, even if a High-God survived, they could only drift like a tiny boat on the ocean, carried along by the Spatial Turbulence, perhaps never finding a way out. Only Sovereigns, endowed with the power of heaven and earth, could move freely through it.
"Boom~~"
Amid a tremendous crash, a huge blue sphere of light shot out of the Water Elemental Plane under the impact of a whirlwind, then split into four figures.
"As expected of the Sovereign of Water. Your attack really packs a punch! A casual strike from you has this much power."
A strange look flashed through Reding's eyes before his expression returned to normal.
Though it was clear that the attack just now hadn't been Hope's strongest, Reding wasn't worried. The four of them hadn't used their strongest Black Tortoise Absolute Defense, either.
"You four have surprised me, but this kind of trick is still nothing to write home about!"
Hope's figure coalesced in the distance, pale blue ice crystals covering his body as dazzling light radiated from him.
"Hope, don't think you've won just because of that!"
As Reding spoke, he retreated. Lius stepped directly to the front of the group, glaring at Hope with a fierce expression.
"Roar!!!"
A furious roar burst from Lius's mouth as his body became covered in silvery-white fur. Each strand was like a steel needle, forming an impenetrable physical defense.
Reding and the others fell in behind Lius. Sovereign's Might surged through their bodies, and a golden sphere of light appeared once more. The patterns of a magic array began to emerge. This time, Lius stood at its center, and pale green light instantly enveloped the entire sphere.
At the same time, an irresistible green storm appeared. Fueled by the surging Sovereign's Might, it rapidly expanded, reaching a million meters across in the blink of an eye. Accompanied by countless blades of wind, it swept toward Hope like a tornado.
Four Divine Beasts' combined ultimate move—Four Elements Wind White Tiger Impact!
"Oh? Now that's interesting!"
Hope narrowed his eyes slightly and studied the patterns on the magic array, a thoughtful expression on his face.
In Hope's memory, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire were special in the Magic Universe. By combining the Sovereign's Might of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, one could transform it into Hongmeng Spiritual Energy and become a true Controller of Hongmeng.
Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire were special in the Magic Universe in more ways than that. The Godhead Weapon Shadow, forged by Beirut from the Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire Godheads, was a seamless whole, far surpassing other Godhead Weapons.
The Four Divine Beasts, the four Super Divine Beasts of Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire, could combine their bloodlines and merge their Innate Divine Abilities. Utrade had developed Space-Time Disorder by studying the bloodlines of the Four Divine Beasts, and Oufu had further perfected Transcending Reincarnation by drawing on the principles behind Space-Time Disorder.
In a sense, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire represented a kind of truth in the Magic Universe. Hope had naturally studied them for many years and had researched magic arrays extensively. In the end, however, he had only managed to create an ultimate move based on the Water Law, with little to show for his efforts in the other three elements.
Hope had only one clone, and no matter how many methods he tried, he couldn't combine Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire. But now, seeing the magic array developed by the Four Divine Beasts, he was immediately intrigued once more.
Though his thoughts had wandered for only an instant, Hope's hands never slowed. He raised his right hand high and swept it in a semicircle. A layer of milky-white ice mist erupted, transforming into an ice-blue dragon over a million meters long.
"Break!"
Hope swung the long sword in his hand. The Azure Dragon exhaled an icy-blue torrent, then spiraled toward the green tornado ahead.
Water Law, Ice Mist Mysteries attack—Ice Mist Azure Dragon Break!
The moment the two collided, the Azure Dragon's massive form suddenly dispersed. A Mist Sea that shrouded the entire sky took shape, and the million-meter-high hurricane dissipated within it, like a drop of ink sinking into the ocean, vanishing without a trace.
The ice mist had shrunk considerably after swallowing the hurricane, but it didn't stop. It turned into an Azure Dragon once more and charged straight at Reding and the others.
"Damn it!"
Lius's face changed instantly. He controlled the magic array as all four of them hurriedly retreated, their movements suddenly disordered.
He had known his attack couldn't surpass Hope's, but he hadn't expected the gap to be this vast. For a moment, he lost his bearings.
"Strongest Defense!"
Reding rushed forward, grabbed Lius, and roared the command.
At Reding's shout, the Four Divine Beasts quickly changed positions. Bowen, the Black Tortoise, stepped forward, and his body suddenly expanded. A yellow earthen shield appeared in an instant. Powerful Sovereign's Might gathered into a massive sphere of light, over a thousand meters thick and considerably larger than the previous one.
Inside the sphere, Reding and the others stood behind Bowen. A long, narrow magic array suddenly appeared, and three streams of Sovereign's Might—ice-blue, pale green, and scarlet—formed into clusters of special energy that swiftly poured into Bowen's shell.
As the magic array shone with four colors, three streaks of light like lightning flowed through the yellow earthen Sovereign's Might. Scarlet, ice-blue, and pale green patterns flashed across the yellow defensive sphere.
Four Divine Beasts' combined ultimate move—Four Elements Earth-Style Black Tortoise Defense!
"Hissss~~~"
The Azure Dragon's icy-blue breath struck the yellow sphere. Milky-white mist rapidly engulfed it, yet the sphere now stood as steady as a mountain. Even after the mist cleared, it had only trembled slightly.
"Big Brother, this Hope..."
Lius spoke with a troubled expression, then trailed off.
"It's fine. Isn't this what we expected?"
Reding shook his head slightly, unconcerned by the situation. Their magic array was powerful, but not enough to truly stand against a Sovereign. They had only used this move to wear Hope down.
Their real killing move had always been the Combined Innate Divine Ability. Over these countless years, each of the Four Divine Beasts had occasionally extracted a few drops of their blood essence and then waited for it to recover. The blood essence they had accumulated over the ages would let them use their Innate Divine Ability one extra time.
Their Innate Divine Ability could kill an ordinary Sovereign. But Hope possessed an extra portion of Willpower. If they used their Innate Divine Ability directly, they would probably need to use it twice to kill him.
So, after discussing it, the four of them had decided to first use their combined magic-array attacks to wear Hope down. Reding's original plan was to defend with the magic array while using soul attacks to exhaust Hope, then kill him with a single Innate Divine Ability. That way, they could save their second use.
Though they could now use their Innate Divine Ability twice in a row, doing so would leave them weakened for a time and might tempt other Sovereigns. So the best option was to save one use as a trump card.
But Hope's attack power had exceeded their expectations. That left them with only one option: use their Innate Divine Ability twice in a row and forcefully kill Hope.
"After we kill Hope, we must take his Sovereign Spark to Gaislesen immediately. Before the other Sovereigns arrive—especially before Palhouse finds out—we need to make Gaislesen the new Sovereign of Water!"
Many thoughts raced through Reding's mind. Then, he abruptly transformed into his true form. The enormous Azure Dragon coiled and twisted, its body gleaming green.
"Now!"
At Reding's furious shout, Lius, Bowen, and Nimo also transformed into their true forms. The bloodlines within all four of them began to resonate.
The Azure Dragon let out a resonant cry as its body coiled. The White Tiger opened its enormous jaws and roared. The Vermilion Bird soared into the sky, its wings wrapped in golden flames. The Black Tortoise grew larger, the patterns on its shell glowing earthen yellow, as if locking the surrounding space in place.
Innate Divine Ability—Dragon Roar!
Innate Divine Ability—Tiger Howl!
Innate Divine Ability—Bathed in Fire!
Innate Divine Ability—Stasis!
At that moment, the Four Divine Beasts unleashed their Innate Divine Abilities at the same time. Under the influence of a strange energy of heaven and earth, the four merged into one, and a translucent phantom shot toward Hope.
"So, it's here—the Combined Innate Divine Ability!"
Hope narrowed his eyes and stopped moving forward. Feeling the Innate Divine Ability take effect on him, he wore a confident expression.