"Big Brother, what's wrong?" asked the beautiful middle-aged woman beside him, dressed in a red battle uniform.
There were four of them. One of the other two looked broad-shouldered and powerful, with yellowish skin and a faint earthen-yellow glow surrounding him. The other had white tiger stripes on his face and a sharp gaze that seemed to make people afraid to look directly at him.
The two of them had also noticed that their eldest brother seemed a little out of sorts, and they both looked at him.
"I suddenly have a strange feeling, as if another me has appeared somewhere in the world," the man in the lead said uncertainly.
"Could it be that another Azure Dragon Divine Beast has been born?" the woman in red said in delight. "That would be wonderful!"
"That doesn't seem likely," the white-striped man said. "Besides, the four of us were born together. If a new Azure Dragon Divine Beast had appeared, shouldn't a White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise have appeared alongside it? None of us sensed anything."
"Not necessarily. So many Super Divine Beasts were born after the world first opened, but after the Sovereign Sparks descended, far fewer appeared. One might emerge only once in countless billions of years. It's still possible for an Azure Dragon Divine Beast to appear on its own," the woman in red countered.
The four of them were none other than the Four Great Sovereigns of the Four Divine Beasts Clan: Azure Dragon, White Tiger, Vermilion Bird, and Black Tortoise.
Though they were only four Lower Sovereigns, all of them were Super Divine Beasts, with bodies comparable to Sovereign Artifacts. Their individual combat strength was nearly on par with that of an ordinary Mid-level Sovereign.
Most importantly, the four of them possessed an extremely unusual Combined Innate Divine Ability. It was the most terrifying soul attack among the Sovereigns, and even an ordinary Sovereign might not be able to withstand it. Together, the four of them could therefore be considered Sovereign-level.
Although they were Super Divine Beasts, their descendants were not. The four had devised a method to awaken their bloodlines, but no matter how their descendants reproduced, no new Super Divine Beasts had ever appeared among them.
If an Azure Dragon Divine Beast really had appeared, even the four Sovereigns would be delighted.
The Azure Dragon in the lead continued to frown. Seeing this, the Black Tortoise asked, "Big Brother, whether or not it's true, why do you look so worried?"
The White Tiger and Vermilion Bird had also noticed something was wrong. The birth of an Azure Dragon Divine Beast would be wonderful, but if none had appeared, that was no great loss either. Yet the Azure Dragon's expression was clearly abnormal.
"If it were merely a new Azure Dragon Divine Beast, I wouldn't mind. But what I feel is..." The Azure Dragon struggled to put it into words. "It doesn't feel like a new Azure Dragon Divine Beast. It feels like another me."
"Another you?" Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and the others looked at one another, bewildered.
"Why not sweep the Higher Planes and Divine Planes with our divine senses? Whatever the truth, if a new Super Divine Beast Azure Dragon has appeared, it's still weak, which makes it vulnerable," the White Tiger said after some thought.
"If it's just been born, it should still be Saint-level, in its original form and easy to spot. Once it becomes a god and takes human form, we won't be able to find it by sweeping the area with our divine senses unless we know its soul aura."
Super Divine Beasts were powerful, but they had to grow to the peak of the Highgod level to unleash their full strength. No matter how incredible their innate gifts were, a Lowgod probably couldn't even defeat a Highgod who had refined a Divine Spark.
In truth, records showed very few Super Divine Beasts in the Higher Planes. The Sovereigns estimated, however, that many more had existed but were killed while they were still weak. Before these Super Divine Beasts reached their peak, who could even know they existed?
If it were some other Super Divine Beast, its death wouldn't matter. But if a new Azure Dragon Divine Beast had appeared—and the world itself had let the Azure Dragon Sovereign sense it—then the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns had to find him.
They might even make a discovery by studying this new Divine Beast. After all, the four of them could use their Innate Divine Ability instinctively, but they had no idea why it was so powerful. A new Divine Beast would certainly be worth studying.
"But sweeping so many planes with our divine senses is bound to upset a lot of Sovereigns," the Black Tortoise said with a frown.
Every Sovereign had their own territory, and over countless years, everyone had tacitly accepted this arrangement. They generally didn't sweep an entire plane with their divine senses unless they had business with another Sovereign.
Only High-level Sovereigns of each law were tacitly granted that privilege. Even so, High-level Sovereigns rarely swept over their subordinates without reason.
The Four Divine Beasts were said to be Sovereign-level, but they were still not High-level Sovereigns. Besides, this time they would have to cover every Divine Plane. Without a good enough reason, they would anger every Sovereign.
"Let them be upset. They won't come looking for trouble over it. What matters most is confirming whether an Azure Dragon Divine Beast really has been born. Otherwise, if another Sovereign or even a Sovereign discovers him first, that could be a real problem," the Azure Dragon said after a moment's thought.
Among Sovereigns, even Paragons and extraordinary Super Divine Beasts could generally bridge only one rank. That meant a Paragon Lower Sovereign or a Super Divine Beast Lower Sovereign could hold their own against an ordinary Mid-level Sovereign.
Each rank between Sovereigns meant a difference of two shares of Willpower, making their strength a hundred times greater—a gap that was almost impossible to cross. And both Super Divine Beasts and Paragons were exceedingly rare.
But the Four Divine Beasts' Combined Innate Divine Ability had broken through that gap—and trampled over it. Their strongest Innate Divine Ability attack could pose a fatal threat even to a High-level Sovereign.
Under those circumstances, nearly every Sovereign and Sovereign-level ruler coveted the Four Divine Beasts' Combined Innate Divine Ability. The four were powerful enough that, aside from a few Sovereigns of the Laws, the other Sovereigns had no confidence they could withstand the attack. And the Sovereigns of the Laws might have avoided falling out with them because of the balance of power and their own pride.
In private, however, the Four Divine Beasts knew that some High-level Sovereigns were secretly capturing members of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. The four of them closely watched over those with strong bloodlines, making them difficult targets. Those who could be captured usually had weaker bloodlines, so the research yielded little.
But if a new Azure Dragon Divine Beast had appeared outside the Four Divine Beasts' watch, and another Sovereign captured him and presented him to a Sovereign, getting him back would be next to impossible. If someone used the new Azure Dragon Divine Beast—even if only to study the Azure Dragon's Innate Divine Ability—they might greatly increase a Sovereign's strength.
That was the last thing the Four Divine Beasts wanted to see. And besides, no Sovereign would ignore the birth of a Divine Beast of their own kind.
"That's true." The other three Sovereigns agreed. Possessing the world's strongest technique was both a deterrent and a source of trouble. Otherwise, under the Sovereign Agreement, if they were merely ordinary Lower Sovereigns, they would have little to worry about.
Seeing that the other three agreed, the Azure Dragon Sovereign nodded. With a thought, he instantly spread his divine sense across all of Hell: Bauhinia Continent in the far north, the distant Sea of Chaos, and hundreds of billions of miles around Hell. A single Lower Sovereign covered it with ease.
"Azure Dragon, why are you spreading your divine sense across Hell?" asked the most powerful being in the Sea of Chaos.
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