Hankin's Thoughts

The Radiant Plane lay deep beneath the Divine Realm's seas, and there was an island called Aowei Island.

Aowei Island had a population of nearly a million and was where the core members of the Augusta Clan gathered.

Surrounding these waters were 81 affiliated islands, whose populations totaled more than a hundred million.

From time to time, a few talented members of the ordinary clansmen joined the core ranks and became core clansmen.

This was the home of the Augusta Clan, the foremost clan in the Radiant Plane.

At that moment, in the clan's grandest hall, a figure in white robes sat cross-legged on the floor. His brows were sharp as sword edges, and a scarlet mole between them marked his identity.

Hankin Augusta, the most outstanding son of the Chief Sovereign of Light, Augusta; the patriarch of the Augusta Clan; and an Asura who possessed three Sovereign Artifacts and was on friendly terms with Magnus, the Fate Grand Perfection.

Although the Four Divine Beasts Clan always considered itself the foremost clan, setting everything else aside, Gaiselesen simply couldn't compare to Hankin as a patriarch.

Gaiselesen had only one Sovereign Artifact. To be precise, all the children of the Four Divine Beasts had only one Sovereign Artifact each.

They were like a bunch of ignorant fools. They had never participated in a Plane War and didn't even know any Purgatory Commanders. They didn't even know that Raystine was the only son of the Bauhinia Sovereign.

The Bauhinia Sovereign had once owed Reding a favor, but they knew nothing about it. Later, when the Four Divine Beasts fell, the Four Divine Beasts Clan still didn't know.

The Bauhinia Sovereign couldn't very well lower herself to go to them in person and repay the favor, so she repaid it to Linley instead.

In fact, given the strength of Gaiselesen and the others, they could easily have gone to the Plane Battlefield and obtained enough Sovereign Artifacts.

They weren't particularly strong among the Asuras, but they had one huge advantage.

Because of who they were, nobody dared to kill them. They were just like Raystine—all children of Sovereigns.

And they were only children. The Azure Dragon Sovereign, Reding, had two children, Gaiselesen and Gaia; Xuanwu had two as well; and the other two Sovereigns of the Four Divine Beasts each had only one.

That meant that, like Raystine, they were people nobody dared to kill—not even a Paragon Highgod.

Raystine had told Bayer to kill him if he wanted, and Bayer had simply told him to stay out of it. Magnus had bound Raystine and let him hurl abuse as much as he liked, but still didn't dare kill him.

If the five of them, all Asuras, had teamed up, with the added protection of being people no one dared kill, then surely they could have gotten three Sovereign Artifacts each.

Perhaps, in Gaiselesen and the others' eyes, having two extra Sovereign Artifacts made no difference. After all, no one dared kill them.

As a result, after the Four Divine Beasts fell, they could only be besieged by the Eight Great Clans.

If the five of them, all Asuras, had possessed three Sovereign Artifacts each, the Eight Great Clans would have been forced to their knees, begging for mercy.

Hankin was different. He wasn't as arrogant as Gaiselesen and the others, and hadn't managed to offend the entire world. Besides, his clan had only expanded within the Radiant Plane.

They could be overbearing in their dealings, but they didn't make enemies indiscriminately.

To put it bluntly, even if Augusta, the Chief Sovereign of Light, suddenly died, the Augusta Clan wouldn't necessarily decline.

First, the Augusta Clan had only expanded within the Light Divine Realm. It was impossible for eight clans to storm in and besiege them. They'd be lucky if even one did.

Second, with his three Sovereign Artifacts, Hankin himself couldn't be killed by any Highgod. Even if two or three clans truly risked everything to fight them, Hankin would be more than capable of handling them.

Third, Hankin wasn't just powerful in his own right. He was also on friendly terms with Magnus, the Fate Grand Perfection.

Even the Chief Sovereign of Light himself couldn't manage that. One couldn't win a Paragon's friendship through status alone.

Augusta had a Paragon Chief God's Envoy, but if he wanted a Paragon to do something for him, he had to go and discuss it with Clementine himself.

In theory, he could have gone straight to Hankin and asked him to approach Magnus, but Augusta wouldn't do that. He couldn't afford to lose face.

A Sovereign unable to get a Paragon Highgod to act, forced to ask his own son Hankin for help.

If that news got out, Augusta would become a laughingstock among all the Sovereigns.

"The Augusta Clan's grounds are off-limits to outsiders! Keep your distance!"

Two silver-haired guards flew out and blocked Barbary's path.

"Please announce my arrival. Tell the patriarch that Barbary of the Water Divine Plane requests an audience."

Barbary adopted a very humble attitude as he addressed the guards.

"Barbary?"

One of the guards raised an eyebrow, then replied:

"Please wait a moment. I'll go inform the patriarch."

The name Barbary carried some weight in the Divine Planes. The clan guards often kept themselves informed about the various powerful figures.

People like Aiken of Hell, Raystine of Hell, Palhouse of the Water Divine Plane, and Hermes of the Earth Divine Plane.

After all, as guards, they might well encounter powerful visitors from all over. They couldn't afford to be discourteous.

Barbary might have been an ordinary Asura, but they recognized his name. He was, at any rate, one of the powerful figures of the Water Divine Plane.

This alone showed that the Augusta Clan was much better at dealing with people than the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

"Oh? Barbary? What's he coming to see me for?"

When he heard that Barbary had come to visit, the red eye between Hankin's brows glowed. He asked in surprise.

"This subordinate doesn't know. However, Barbary seems to be taking a very humble attitude."

The silver-haired guard considered the matter, then replied.

"Very well. Let him in."

Hankin rose to receive his guest and headed toward the hall.

Although Barbary was inferior to him in both strength and status, and they had never been on friendly terms, he was an Asura, after all. He had come to visit with a humble attitude, so Hankin ought to meet him.

After some time, Barbary entered the hall under the guard's escort and greeted Hankin with a smile.

"I came to visit you without warning today, Patriarch Hankin. I hope you won't take offense at my presumption."

"Haha, of course not. I love making friends. If you've come, you're my guest. Please, sit."

Hankin laughed as well, though he was privately puzzled, unable to figure out what Barbary was up to.

The two of them drank tea and chatted for a while. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought they were old friends.

When they still hadn't gotten to the point after all that time, Hankin decided he'd better ask first.

"Brother Barbary, may I ask what brings you to the Augusta Clan?"

Hearing this, Barbary knew it was time to get down to business. He composed himself and said:

"To be frank, I've come today to ask you to save my clan."

"Oh? Save your clan?"

Hankin's expression shifted slightly as he fell into thought.

Barbary was an Asura, after all. If he'd come seeking help, it could only mean that he'd offended someone he couldn't handle and hoped Hankin would shelter him.

The only ones powerful enough to threaten an Asura like Barbary and wipe out his clan were Sovereigns, Paragons, or a few super clans.

Sovereigns and Paragons could be ruled out first. If he'd offended one of them, he'd be better off taking his own life on the spot. That might at least save some of his clansmen.

Besides, if he'd offended a Sovereign, he couldn't possibly have made it here alive. A single thought from a Sovereign would have killed him.

If he'd offended a Paragon, he wouldn't have come to Hankin either. The Augusta Clan was powerful, but it couldn't stop a Paragon from hunting him down.

And no outsider knew about his friendship with Magnus, so the chances that Barbary had come hoping Hankin would ask Magnus for protection were almost zero.

That left only one possibility: Barbary had offended a massive power, a powerful clan.

There weren't many forces capable of wiping out the clan of an Asura like Barbary. Besides the Augusta Clan, the most likely culprit was the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

Moreover, some time ago, his subordinates had reported that Barbary's youngest son in the Water Divine Plane had apparently offended the Four Divine Beasts Clan and been hunted by them.

Although he didn't know what had happened since, this was very likely where it had started.

"To be frank, Patriarch, my son offended the Four Divine Beasts Clan. I had already disowned him, but the Four Divine Beasts Clan has gone too far!"

Barbary spoke angrily.

"My son Sean fled to a Material Plane, and the Four Divine Beasts Clan sent several Midgods to hunt him down. They ended up being killed instead."

"Then the Four Divine Beasts Clan claimed we'd secretly sent people to help Sean and threatened to wipe out the Barbary Clan. It's just... it's just..."

"The Four Divine Beasts Clan really is arrogant and completely unreasonable."

Hankin wholeheartedly agreed with that assessment.

He hadn't yet decided how to handle the matter, but that didn't stop him from joining Barbary in cursing the Four Divine Beasts Clan.

Having heard Barbary's account, Hankin also felt that he'd been wronged.

He didn't believe Barbary would have sent anyone to help Sean.

Barbary knew perfectly well what would come of it and how foolish it would be.

Barbary was a clan patriarch, a man who could abandon his own son for the sake of his clan. If he were that foolish, he would have died countless times by now. But the Four Divine Beasts Clan didn't care about reason.

Their men had been killed while hunting someone, so someone had to take the blame and satisfy their anger. They didn't care whether the Barbary Clan was innocent.

Hankin had personally experienced the Four Divine Beasts Clan's arrogance. It was what had sparked the enmity between their clans.

Hankin knew that the Augusta Clan was usually overbearing toward others, but honestly, compared to the Four Divine Beasts Clan, they were nothing.

"It seems the Four Divine Beasts Clan has driven Barbary into a corner, and he wants to seek refuge with the Augusta Clan. So, what should I do?"

Hankin began weighing whether this was worth doing, and what the benefits and costs would be.

Normally, he would gladly welcome an Asura powerhouse joining them. Who would complain about having more Asuras in the clan?

Even the powerful Augusta Clan couldn't treat Asura powerhouses like cabbages.

But now that Barbary had been targeted by the Four Divine Beasts Clan, Hankin had to think it over carefully.