After an exhilarating battle, Desterie and Iluka floated above the white clouds, enjoying the breeze against their faces.
Desterie laughed. "Even with the eighty percent Willpower granted by a Sovereign Spark, I never imagined I could fight a Paragon to a standstill without a full set of defensive Sovereign Artifacts."
A Sovereign's Divine Clone could easily crush an Asura, making them seem like a Paragon to others. But compared to a true Paragon, being one step behind in comprehending the Laws and lacking twenty percent of the Willpower still left a considerable gap.
Iluka gazed at the distant sun and said, "There's no need to be surprised. You're incredibly talented. It took you only thirty million years to reach this point."
Seeing Desterie hesitate, he continued, "If you still want to know why, wait until you've beaten me! Anyway, ever since I made this decision, I never expected to survive. If it weren't for you, I would have died in the Netherworld long ago."
Desterie's gaze was resolute. "Then just you wait. It's only a matter of time before I beat you!"
Desterie was confident he would reach Paragon in the Destruction Rule. But even if he didn't, getting two more portions of Willpower wouldn't be difficult—the Destiny Intermediate God Spark was the first Sovereign Spark he had refined, but it certainly wouldn't be the last.
Hell, Tianji Mountain Range, main hall of the Four Divine Beasts Clan.
The four Sovereigns—Azure Dragon, Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise—had gathered there, the atmosphere oppressive.
"Bang!" Vermilion Bird slammed her hand down on the long table, reducing the table, made from precious, sturdy wood from the Divine Realm, to dust.
"Damn it!"
"I can't believe that fool Angnak forced us to reveal our true strength. Now the Water Overlord is on guard, and we've been classified as Overlords. It'll be even harder for us to get an Overlord Spark," Black Tortoise sighed.
"Bang!" This time, White Tiger smashed another table. "The worst part is Desterie, who took our spoils. He's a newcomer, yet he dares to look down on us. And he isn't even afraid of our Combined Innate Divine Ability. How is that possible?"
"That's the truly outrageous part!" As the eldest brother, Azure Dragon spoke not to vent his anger, but to analyze the situation. "I gathered information on Desterie. He's an ordinary human born in an ordinary Material Plane. He has no special talent, and he isn't a Paragon. How can his defensive power be so absurd?"
"No special talent?" Vermilion Bird, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise were all stunned. "Then how could he withstand the soul attack from our Combined Innate Divine Ability? Even a Paragon Intermediate Sovereign couldn't do that!"
Azure Dragon Leiding nodded in agreement, then shared a shocking theory. "That's why, after turning it over in my mind, I can only think of one possibility: a soul-protecting Supreme Artifact!"
Supreme Artifacts were incredibly important treasures to Sovereigns. As far as Leiding knew, only four had ever appeared.
White Tiger asked in disbelief, "You mean a new Supreme God Mission has been issued, and that kid completed it? Could an Highgod like him really complete a Supreme God Mission?"
Azure Dragon looked at White Tiger with a hint of despair and sighed. "Who says an Highgod can't complete a Supreme God Mission? Does it have to be an Overlord?
"Still, he couldn't possibly have completed a Supreme God Mission. Here's why!"
As he spoke, Azure Dragon took out a black sheet of paper. "I found this in the Spatial Turbulence not long ago."
The three of them, Nemo among them, crowded around. The paper read: "Three tokens—the Slaying Order, the Termination Bead, and the Golden Triangle. These three Supreme God Tokens can be combined to form the Destruction Token. When the three tokens merge and the Destruction Token is formed, it can be presented to the Supreme God of Destruction to make one request."
"Big Brother, you actually found the Supreme God Mirror!" Vermilion Bird cried.
Azure Dragon smiled with relief. It was the only good news amid the day's string of blows. "I've already tested it. Although this sheet of paper looks ordinary, even a full-power strike from my Sovereign Artifact couldn't damage it. It's definitely the Supreme God Mirror. The Overgods are still on our side. We lost a Sovereign Spark, but gained the Supreme God Mirror.
"Everyone knows that countless years ago, Sovereign Sparks descended, sparking a struggle for power across the Supreme Planes and plunging them into bloodshed. The Four Rules Sovereigns each ruled one of the Four Supreme Planes. Back then, Orloff and Uthred fought a great battle. Orloff won, and from then on, everyone tacitly accepted him as the strongest Sovereign, though only by a narrow margin over the other three.
"Later, the Supreme God of Destruction was the first to issue a Supreme God Mission, and Uthred completed it. After that, the Overgods of Fate, Life, and Death each issued a mission, completed by Orloff, Vivian, and Lilith respectively. This cemented their positions as the Four Sovereigns.
"By that order, this Supreme God Mission from the Supreme God of Destruction should be the fifth. That's why I say that kid Desterie couldn't possibly have completed a Supreme God Mission."
The Four Divine Beasts didn't know that Angnak had obtained the Supreme God Mirror long ago and hidden it in his Spatial Ring. After he died, the Spatial Ring was destroyed by the Spatial Turbulence, and the Supreme God Mirror appeared nearby.
Originally, if Orloff had successfully killed Iluka, Augusta would also have been lucky enough to find the Supreme God Mirror in the Spatial Turbulence. But Orloff's attempt to kill Iluka failed because Desterie intervened. Augusta grew angrier the more he thought about it, went to the Netherworld, and missed the sheet of paper. In the end, Azure Dragon Leiding was the one who benefited.
Black Tortoise Bowen recovered from his excitement. Connecting Leiding's theory to what he'd said earlier, he spoke gravely. "So, Big Brother, you suspect the Sovereign of Fate, Orloff? You think this was his doing? But why would Orloff give a Supreme Artifact to an Highgod? Because he's handsome?"
Having never completed a Supreme God Mission or owned a Supreme Artifact, the Four Divine Beasts didn't know that only Sovereigns could bond with a Supreme Artifact.
Leiding pondered. "I also think it's impossible. But when you've ruled out every other possibility, the last option is true, no matter how impossible it seems.
"Without a soul-protecting Supreme Artifact, you'd need to be at least as strong as Hullei to withstand our Combined Innate Divine Ability. And among all the planes, the only one with a soul-protecting Supreme Artifact is Orloff.
"Perhaps Orloff is playing a much bigger game. Angnak is part of it, so are we, and perhaps... even the Sovereign of Death!"
The more Leiding analyzed it, the more unsettled he became. Orloff was already among the top tier of Sovereigns. Why scheme against them? His four brothers had never revealed the power of their Combined Innate Divine Ability before. What could have drawn Orloff's attention?
Bowen added, "That's right. Come to think of it, something else is strange. Iluka caused the Fate Sovereigns to lose a portion of their Willpower, yet Orloff let him off so easily? No matter how strong Desterie's soul defense is, could he really save someone right under Orloff's nose? And why would a Paragon like Iluka go out of his way to offend a Sovereign?
"If what Big Brother says is true, then everything makes sense. Somehow, Orloff learned how powerful our Innate Divine Ability is. This was all part of a scheme! He must have some other motive!"
Everyone knew Orloff was an obsessive researcher.
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