"How rude!" An old voice came from downstairs. "Since our friend here doesn't want to leave, I might as well come meet him. You ignorant fool, get this straight: not every powerful person wears some kind of fairy badge!"
Desterie looked toward the voice. An old man with white hair and a youthful complexion came upstairs with a gentle-looking man whose green hair fell to his knees. The old man smiled. "You're too modest, my friend. I was entertaining an honored guest and didn't mean to disturb your enjoyment. May I ask your name?"
Desterie casually tossed two cups toward them. The old man and the gentle-looking man each caught one with lightning speed, but both were forced to stumble back several steps. They stared at Desterie in astonishment.
Desterie smiled leisurely, his expression playful. "Come over and have a drink. But shouldn't you introduce yourself before asking someone else's name?"
Suppressing his astonishment, the old man replied with a hint of respect, "I'm Rosagov, City Lord of Fenglin City. This is Edric, the patriarch of the Edric Clan."
"Edric?" Desterie turned to examine him closely, then chuckled. "So you have an Asura backing you. No wonder a mere Seven-Star Fiend dares to act so brazenly!"
Having learned a great deal about the Life God Realm and its top experts from Infillia, and with the Four Divine Beasts Clan also on his mind, Desterie had put his original plan to visit the Edric Clan on hold. He hadn't expected fate to be so strange, bringing them together by chance here.
The Edric Clan was one of the Eight Great Families that had pursued the Four Divine Beasts Clan across the planes in the original story. It hailed from the Life God Realm and specialized in the Life Law.
"May I ask who you are, exactly?" Noting Desterie's utterly unconcerned attitude, Rosagov composed himself and asked gravely.
Edric, standing beside him, said nothing. He stared at Desterie, lips pressed tightly together.
Desterie didn't answer Rosagov. He went on drinking and eating as if no one else were there.
After a while, Edric suddenly cried out, "You're Desterie, the man hailed as the strongest below Paragon, Lord Desterie!"
"The strongest below Paragon?!" Rosagov was astonished. How could anyone dare claim such a title? There were countless divine beings, and countless fame-seekers among them. A title like "the strongest" was bound to draw challenges from powerful people who resented it. Even if the person was strong enough to survive, the constant challenges would be a nuisance.
"Good eye, Edric. Sit down and chat," Desterie said with a smile.
Rosagov suddenly grew ill at ease. Edric led him to the table, where he sat down. As a Seven-Star Fiend, the most powerful person he'd ever dealt with was someone like Edric, an Asura.
After sitting down, Edric hurriedly invited Rosagov to join them, smiling ingratiatingly. "Rosagov, Lord Desterie was personally recognized by Iluka, a Paragon High-God, as the strongest below Paragon! It's an immense honor for us to meet him today!
"But may I ask what brings you to Maple Leaf City, my lord? Is there anything we can do to help?"
Desterie didn't answer right away. He left the two waiting while he drank several cups, then took out an image and said, "Take a look. Have you seen the object depicted here?"
The two looked over. The image showed a deep, lustrous Black Pearl nestled in a redwood box, rendered with lifelike detail.
"It looks like an ordinary pearl..." Rosagov examined it.
"This isn't an ordinary Black Pearl. Not even a Sovereign Artifact can damage it. You could toss it into the Spatial Turbulence, and it still wouldn't suffer the slightest harm."
"Well..." Edric hesitated. "I've seen plenty of Black Pearls, but I've never heard of one with this kind of luster that couldn't be damaged."
Rosagov shook his head as well. "I've never seen one."
A thought suddenly occurred to Desterie. He motioned for Rosagov to step outside, then asked Edric, "Which Sovereign are you serving as an emissary for?"
Edric laughed awkwardly. "Please don't tease me, my lord. I've made some progress in the Life Law, but no Sovereign has ever favored me. I'm not currently an emissary for any Sovereign."
"Hm?" Desterie was somewhat surprised. He'd unconsciously assumed that all the patriarchs of the Eight Great Families, apart from Bolin, were Sovereign's emissaries. He hadn't considered this possibility. It seemed Edric would only become a Sovereign's emissary later on. Over the endless years, the death and replacement of Sovereign's emissaries was nothing unusual.
Desterie then asked, "What's your relationship with the Four Divine Beasts Clan?"
Edric's gentle expression instantly turned furious. "To be honest, my lord, if I could make the Four Divine Beasts Clan pay a terrible price by staking my life, I wouldn't hesitate to do whatever it takes!"
"Oh? Aren't you afraid I'll tell the Four Divine Beasts Clan on you?" Desterie was surprised by his candor.
Edric smiled. "You're a person of great stature, my lord. If you wanted me dead, you could simply kill me yourself. Besides, everyone in the Life God Realm knows about the feud between my clan and the Four Divine Beasts Clan. Their backing is the only reason I've been unable to take revenge. There's no need for me to lie to you."
"Haha, good!" Desterie burst into laughter. "Then you can work for me from now on. What kind of Sovereign Artifact do you want?"
Edric didn't understand at first. A puzzled look came over his face. "A Sovereign Artifact? What do you mean, my lord?"
But he hadn't even noticed that his tone had grown more respectful.
"Just what you think. I'm inviting you to serve as my Sovereign's emissary. In return, you can choose a Sovereign Artifact!"
"My lord, you're a Sovereign?!" Edric stared at him blankly. The next moment, his eyes lit up and his face filled with delight. "There's a rumor that someone became a Sovereign during the Plane War ten thousand years ago. I always thought it was made up. Could that person have been you, my lord?"
After Desterie confirmed it, Edric continued excitedly, "Edric is willing to become your Sovereign's emissary. I hope you'll grant me a Material Attack Sovereign Artifact!"
"You only need to know that I'm a Sovereign. Don't tell anyone else," Desterie said with a smile. "To be honest, you weren't my preferred choice for a Sovereign's emissary. But you have a deep grudge against the Four Divine Beasts Clan, and I'm locked in a fight to the death with them too. We both get what we want."
With their goals aligned, Edric working for Desterie meant he was working for himself. That was far more convenient than having a Sovereign's emissary who simply followed orders mechanically. Besides, even those ranked among the very strongest couldn't be much stronger than Edric. At the very least, it was unlikely they could kill him in a single blow.
Before you continue