A million years later, Hell, Zijing Continent.
Snowlake Prefecture lay north of the Mirror Moon Cliff teleportation array. It was a territory under Zijing Continent's jurisdiction.
Snowlake City was the largest city in Snowlake Prefecture, bar none. It represented the Prefect of Snowlake.
At that moment, inside a massive, twenty-story building in the city, two figures sat by a window in a restaurant lined with white jade.
One of them had neatly styled short black hair, sharp brows, and bright eyes. He sat calmly in his chair, as if nothing could draw his attention.
This was Hope, who had come to Hell to travel.
Standing behind Hope was a woman with lustrous green hair. Her fair skin and finely crafted ice armor made her look like an ice valkyrie.
Anyone from Fiend Castle who came to gather intelligence would quickly recognize her as Dili, commander of the Water Divine Plane's Sovereign Legion and the emissary of Palhouse, the Water Sovereign.
Yet this powerful figure, a Prefect in her own right, followed the young man like a servant, not daring to show the slightest disrespect.
Through the window, one could clearly see the Battle Arena in the center of Snowlake City. Two figures were fighting on it.
One was a female Seven-Star Fiend. Female Seven-Star Fiends were a rare sight in Hell, so she drew even more attention.
Hope's gaze settled on the female Seven-Star Fiend. In all his years, he had seen plenty of women at that level, but this one still piqued his interest. Her name was Ninisha.
If Hope remembered correctly, the only female Paragon Highgod of the Lightning Element in Blue Star's memories—the one who competed for the Red Diamond Crystal, a Supreme God Token, in the Aokaren Plane—was named Ninisha.
The fight in the Battle Arena had already become a one-sided affair...
"Rumble!"
Purple lightning gathered into a cloud, circling high above the ground. Then it formed a gigantic, golden-glowing lightning serpent and hurtled toward the red figure below.
After a flash of blinding light, a powerful shockwave rocked the entire Battle Arena. Two divine sparks hit the ground, and a purple figure slowly descended.
She was a purple-haired woman with pale blue eyes. Her elegant hair fluttered in the wind, unimpeded by the battle, and her face held the cool beauty of a valkyrie.
The Violet Thunder Fiend—Ninisha!
A Seven-Star Fiend from the Thunder Divine Plane, she had come to Hell's Star Fog Sea a million years ago. Fiend Castle had later recognized her as a Seven-Star Fiend, and she had fought her way across the land to Zijing Continent. Now she had entered Snowlake Prefecture's Battle Arena, seemingly intent on challenging the Prefect.
In theory, any Seven-Star Fiend could challenge a Prefect. However, challengers were subject to a time limit: if they failed to issue a challenge within ten thousand years, they lost their eligibility. After traveling all the way to Zijing Continent, Ninisha had naturally begun fighting again.
"Ninisha! Ninisha!!"
More than a million gods cheered from the stands, filling the arena with a feverish excitement.
Ninisha took no interest in the crowd's cries. Her cold gaze swept over her opponent, and she spoke in a frigid voice:
"Next!"
Soon, a gaunt, silver-haired old man stepped into the arena, only to be reduced to dust. Ninisha's day of fighting was over.
Elsewhere, Hope sat at the restaurant table, holding a teacup. Suddenly, he raised an eyebrow and looked toward the entrance.
"Zijing!"
Hope set down his teacup and looked toward the distant doorway, where a beautiful woman in a purple robe slowly appeared.
"Zijing pays her respects to Lord Hope!"
The Zijing Sovereign came to Hope and bowed slightly.
Although the Zijing Sovereign was a Sovereign of Destruction under Utrade, she still had to observe basic etiquette when meeting another Sovereign. It was a mark of respect for the eleven Sovereigns of Heaven and Earth.
"Have a seat."
Hope gave a slight nod, then pointed to the chair opposite him and spoke softly.
He wasn't surprised by Zijing's arrival. After all, he had made no effort to conceal his identity. It was only natural for the Zijing Sovereign, the host of Zijing Continent, to show up.
"The Zijing Sovereign?"
Dili, standing behind Hope, was startled. She nearly lost her balance, but quickly recovered and discreetly stepped back to clear the way.
The Zijing Sovereign paid Dili no mind. She went straight to Hope and slowly sat down across from him.
"It's been a long time since you last visited my Zijing Continent, sir."
After sitting down, Zijing spoke softly. She was somewhat surprised by the Water Sovereign's arrival. Their last meeting, on the Plane Battlefield, had been only a million years ago.
"Has it been about a hundred billion years?"
Hope took a sip of tea and spoke with a hint of emotion. Since coming to this world, he had lived through several hundred epochs, each lasting sixty quadrillion years. A hundred billion years really did pass in the blink of an eye.
"May I ask if you have business here this time, sir?"
Zijing picked up her teacup and took a small sip, then cautiously asked.
She wasn't worried that Hope bore her any ill will. Still, there was no harm in asking when a Sovereign came to visit.
"Nothing in particular. I'm traveling through the planes and happened to come here."
Hope gently shook his head and said no more. He really was traveling through the planes; unlike Oufu, he wasn't a madman who devoted all his time to cultivation and research. Every so often, he paid attention to the outside world.
However, his visit to Zijing Continent wasn't a coincidence. He had heard about the Seven-Star Fiend Ninisha and deliberately come to see her. Of course, Hope had no intention of telling Zijing that.
"I see. Then you should take a good look around, sir!"
A kind smile graced Zijing's lovely face. She didn't quite believe Hope's answer, but had no intention of asking more.
Whatever Hope's purpose, it was better for a Midgod Sovereign like her not to pry into a Sovereign's affairs. No Sovereign who had survived this long was a fool; they knew what they could ask and what they couldn't.
Especially since she had clashed with the Four Divine Beasts a million years ago. Lately, she had been even more cautious.
"Speaking of which, Reding and the others have seemed rather unhinged lately."
Hope looked at Zijing, a rare note of surprise in his voice.
"Sir, Reding and the others have become even more fanatical lately. They've even clashed with some Sovereigns. I tried to talk them out of it..."
A wry smile appeared on Zijing's face. She shook her head helplessly.
A million years ago, the Azure Dragon Sovereign Reding had suddenly come to Zijing at the Amethyst Mountain Range and demanded Soul Stones. Zijing refused because they still needed a long time to fully form, and taking them out then would badly harm her.
Reding and Zijing had argued over it. They hadn't fallen out completely, but their relationship had frozen over.
Afterward, the Four Divine Beasts went to Wukun City and traded with the Sovereign of Destruction for Wukun Essence Blood. They arranged for members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan to search the divine planes and Material Planes on a vast scale for Heaven and Earth Wonders. The four of them even hid deep in the Spatial Turbulence to "research a secret technique."
"I wonder what Reding and the others will come up with."
Hope shook his head slightly, lifted his teacup, and took another sip. Then he turned his attention back to the Battle Arena.
While Hope and Zijing chatted, Ninisha had defeated several more opponents in succession, bringing her winning streak to sixty-nine. She only needed one more victory to reach seventy wins for the day.
"Next!"
Ninisha landed lightly in the arena. Her pale blue eyes turned toward the other side, bored. Today's fights had been dull.
"Heh, here I come!"
A boy's clear voice rang out, sounding relaxed, as if he wasn't entering a life-or-death Battle Arena but simply coming for a bit of fun.
Ninisha frowned slightly, displeased by his attitude. A flash of pale purple lightning flickered in her eyes as she looked toward the other side.
What she saw was a bald boy, barely over a meter tall. His delicate features still held a touch of childishness, and he wore a faint smile, showing none of the tension of someone about to fight.
Yet the instant she saw him, alarm bells rang in Ninisha's mind. She had never seen him before, but her instincts told her that he was strong—and that she had to give this fight everything she had.