"Buzz, buzz, buzz~~"
The light on the surface of the Heart of Qingya dimmed considerably, and then a faint message entered Hope's mind.
"Absorb the essence blood of a Super Divine Beast to give birth to a new Super Divine Beast."
Hope looked toward the newly formed Divine Beast Island on the sea, his thoughts a tangled mess.
Hope had never imagined that after the Four Divine Beasts fell, their essence blood could be used to give birth to new life. In that moment, many thoughts crossed his mind.
Could the Heart of Qingya give birth to new Divine Beasts if he fed it the essence blood of other Divine Beasts? What, exactly, was special about the Qingya Plane itself?
When he had first arrived in this world, Hope had wondered whether the Qingya Plane was special. Among the countless Material Planes scattered across the universe like grains of sand along the Ganges, producing even one Seven-Star Fiend was already remarkable. Super Divine Beasts, meanwhile, had without exception been born in divine planes.
Yet, looking across the entire Qingya Plane, it had produced Beirut, a God-Eater Rat, and Beibei, who had returned to his ancestral form. It had also given birth to Leilin, who had the potential to become a Paragon, as well as Linley, Odin, Adkins, and several other powerful figures. It was certainly an exceptionally unusual Material Plane.
"Whoosh, whoosh~~"
After thinking for a moment, Hope raised his right hand and collected the remaining Essence Blood of the Four Divine Beasts. Then, Sovereign's Might surged within him, spreading around Divine Beast Island.
"Rumble!"
As waves of white mist billowed out, a force of divine power parted the seawater around the island, pushing every marine creature out of the area. An invisible barrier took shape a thousand miles from Divine Beast Island, forming a sealed circle.
Soon, thick mist covered the surrounding waters, ensuring that no life beyond it could see what lay within.
With that, Divine Beast Island—the place where the New Four Divine Beasts would be born—was completely sealed off. No creature in the Qingya Plane could enter.
"At this rate, it'll probably take a long time for them to be born. In that case, I'll study the Four Divine Beasts' magic array first."
Hope sensed the life signs of the Divine Beasts, then sat cross-legged in the air beside the Heart of Qingya. He took out Reding's Spatial Ring, found a set of magic array diagrams, and began studying them carefully.
Over countless years, Hope had studied all kinds of magic arrays and developed a thorough understanding of them. Even his most powerful technique relied on a magic array. However, his arrays couldn't fuse different kinds of energy.
Now, the Four Divine Beasts' unique magic array could combine the four of their energies into one. Perhaps it could help him transcend.
Hope settled down in the Qingya Plane to study the array, while waiting for the New Four Divine Beasts to be born.
Meanwhile, in Hell, on Bloodridge Continent, within the Skyrite Mountains.
Outside Azure Dragon Hall, a figure in green sat quietly on the ground, as if waiting for someone.
With long green hair and a loose green robe, he was none other than Gaislesen, the Azure Dragon Clan's patriarch.
"Why haven't Father and the others returned yet?"
Gaislesen's green hair stirred in the breeze as he murmured softly. He looked up at the sky, puzzled.
Ever since his father, Reding, had solemnly summoned him to Azure Dragon Hall some time ago, Gaislesen had been unable to calm down. Reding had told him some earth-shattering news.
The four of them planned to hunt the Sovereign of Water and give him the Sovereign Spark to refine. If they succeeded, Gaislesen would become the new Sovereign of the Four Divine Beasts—and one of the eleven most powerful people in the universe: the Sovereign of Water.
Gaislesen had been utterly stunned by this unexpected fortune. After telling his father and the others what he thought, he had waited excitedly outside Azure Dragon Hall.
Of all the Four Divine Beasts' children, he was the only one who knew the details of the plan. Gaislesen could hardly contain his excitement. Even Tiya, who had been sent to the Vermilion Bird Continent to confirm the whereabouts of Palhouse, the Water Element Intermediate Sovereign, knew nothing. That showed just how much the ancestors trusted him.
But as time went on, Gaislesen's excitement gradually gave way to unease. The ancestors who had gone to hunt the Sovereign of Water still hadn't returned. A month had already passed.
A battle between Sovereigns usually didn't last long. After a month of fighting, the outcome should have been decided long ago.
"Calm down. After killing the Sovereign of Water, the ancestors must have been left weakened. They probably need to recover in the Spatial Turbulence before coming back. Don't scare yourself."
Gaislesen took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Then he closed his eyes again to rest. He didn't want to—and didn't dare to—consider the worst possibility.
Besides, whatever the outcome, there was nothing he could do. All he could do was pray to the Overgod for his ancestors' victory, then wait quietly.
But Gaislesen could deceive himself; the other divine planes wouldn't stop turning because of it.
A year later, on the Azure Dragon Continent in the Water Elemental Plane.
At the Four Divine Beasts Clan's headquarters, a winding Dragon Path stretched across a vast mountain range. Mansions stood at intervals along the mountains, while large numbers of patrol soldiers in blue armor paced back and forth.
Most of the time, these patrol soldiers were little more than decoration. After all, no one had dared to cause trouble here in countless years. This was the home of the Azure Dragon Clan, a branch of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
The Four Divine Beasts Clan had ancestral lands in Hell, but its members also lived in great numbers on the Azure Dragon Continent in the Water Elemental Plane, the Vermilion Bird Continent in the Fire Elemental Plane, the Black Tortoise Continent in the Earth Elemental Plane, and the White Tiger Continent in the Wind Elemental Plane.
As its name suggested, the Azure Dragon Continent belonged to the Azure Dragon Clan, a branch of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. No force dared to oppose them.
But today, everything changed!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"
A vast cloud of ice covered the sky, and blades of ice fell like rain. A burly, green-haired man in armor stood in midair, gazing down coldly.
"Ah!"
"Elder, help!"
Wails of agony rang out from every direction. Blood quickly stained the ground, and the Azure Dragon Clan's ancestral grounds began to collapse.
"Barbary, you've got some nerve!"
At an angry shout, several figures in red robes rose into the sky, their eyes blazing with fury as they flew toward the green-haired man.
"Hahaha! You think things are still the way they used to be? I've got some nerve? So what if I do?"
Barbary laughed brazenly, his laughter brimming with fury. Years of suppressed anger erupted all at once.
"All of you, attack! Kill every member of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. Leave no one alive!"
Barbary's voice rang across the heavens and earth. The dozens of figures behind him moved at once.
"Boom~~"
A vast amount of Water Sovereign Power surged forth. Blue light enveloped the bodies of the elders from the Barbary Clan, and they charged frantically at the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
"How dare you! The patriarch won't let you get away with this!"
Seeing this, Hoke Reding, an elder of the Azure Dragon Clan, paled. He and the other elders stationed there used Sovereign's Might and charged straight at their enemies.
But in the next instant, a shadow flashed past. Hoke Reding felt an irresistible force bind him, and his body was tied up against his will.
"Barbary, you!"
Hoke Reding's pupils contracted in shock. The one who had bound him was Barbary. In Barbary's hand was a long green whip, radiating the aura of a Sovereign Artifact.
"Barbary, let me go! Damn it!"
Hoke Reding struggled desperately, trying to channel Sovereign's Might and turn it into energy to escape, but it was useless.
Though Hoke Reding was using Sovereign's Might, Barbary had not only Sovereign's Might but also a Sovereign Artifact. What was more, he was an Asura-level powerhouse. In the Azure Dragon Clan, only the patriarch, Gaislesen, and the Grand Elder, Gaia, could stand against him.
"Barbary, do you dare do this without fearing the Four Divine Beasts Clan?"
Hoke Reding's eyes were bloodshot as he watched one clan member after another fall below. His voice came out hoarse.
"Don't worry. The Four Divine Beasts Clan's destruction is just around the corner."
Barbary sneered, his eyes filled with unconcealed excitement.
"You... What did you say? Could it be..."
Hoke Reding's face turned deathly pale. In that moment, he thought of a possibility.
Barbary was a Sovereign Envoy. If he dared to treat the Four Divine Beasts Clan this way, he must have received some kind of news from his Sovereign. Perhaps the ancestors of the Four Divine Beasts Clan...
Hoke Reding's thoughts ended there. Seeing that the people around them had nearly all been killed, Barbary took the opportunity to kill Hoke as well.
The battle ended quickly. The Four Divine Beasts Clan had never imagined anyone would attack them, so they were caught completely off guard and overwhelmed. The strongest people on the Azure Dragon Continent were only a few Seven-Star Fiends. They couldn't possibly hold back the full force of the Barbary Clan.
In a short while, every member of the Four Divine Beasts Clan stationed on the Azure Dragon Continent had fallen.