"Edric will do everything in his power to carry out all the tasks assigned by the Sovereign, even at the cost of his life!" Edric had been struck by this sudden, heaven-sent blessing. He immediately stood up and knelt, thinking to himself that the Sovereign had just spent so long laying the groundwork before speaking. It was obvious he intended to take action against the Four Divine Beasts Clan. This was the perfect opportunity for Edric to avenge himself!
Seeing Edric pledge his loyalty, Desterie smiled in satisfaction. "Excellent. That's the attitude I want. Now, I'll give you your first task.
"You will go to the Water Divine Plane and contact the Barbary Clan, to the Earth Divine Plane and contact the Deen Clan, to the Wind Divine Plane and contact the Venna Clan, to the Netherworld and contact the Ashcroft Clan, to the Fire Divine Plane and contact the Saint-Nair Clan, to Heaven and contact the Bolin Clan, and to Hell and contact the Rernas Clan. Ask them to join us in plotting something big.
"The leaders of these seven clans, like you, have suffered under the Four Divine Beasts Clan for years. They hate them to the bone and wouldn't hesitate to die alongside them. With a little effort, you should be able to convince them to help.
"What you need to do is simple: find ways to get closer to the Four Divine Beasts Clan and learn which Heaven and Earth Exotic Items they've collected. Nothing else matters. The only thing that does is this Black Pearl I just showed you. The moment you find any trace of it, no matter how small, tell me as quickly as you can!
"This pearl is crucial to the decline and even the destruction of the Four Divine Beasts Clan. Do you understand?"
Desterie went on at length, while Edric could only nod like a pecking chicken.
Then Desterie took out an empty Spatial Ring, put some things inside, and handed it to Desterie. "Your Material Attack Sovereign Artifact, Sovereign Summoning Scroll, and Sovereign Token are all in there. I also put a thousand drops of Fate Sovereign Power inside.
"You can use this Sovereign's Might to win over the seven clan leaders. Give each of them a hundred drops, and the rest is yours.
"You must keep everything about the Black Pearl to yourself. Don't tell anyone else, including the seven clan leaders! If you do, I'll kill you!"
Having finished giving his instructions, Desterie picked up his wine bottle and walked out, laughing as he drank, ready to resume his travels.
Traveling meant wandering at ease, without a care in the world. Desterie roamed freely across the Life God Realm for hundreds of years.
Over the years, he fought and exchanged ideas with many experts. Unfortunately, the bottleneck before Paragon remained an impassable chasm. Thanks to those thousand years of travel, his name had also spread far and wide across the Life God Realm.
Time passed without a trace. One day, he wandered into the Guancong Prefecture region in the east of Life Continent, the territory of the Moon God Elf Clan.
The Moon God Elf Clan was an ancient family in the Life God Realm. It had three Asuras, but none dared challenge a Paragon. One of Desterie's original targets for a Sovereign Emissary had been an Asura from the Moon God Elf Clan. But Edric was already an expert in the Life Law, and since Desterie had taken him on as an emissary, there was no need to recruit one from the Moon God Elf Clan as well.
At the moment, the clan leader, Luluna—also the mother of Ocarowell, who was killed by Bebe's Innate Divine Ability in the original story—was warmly entertaining Desterie and introducing the beauties gathered before him.
As beautiful elf maidens filed past in a steady stream, Luluna said with a charming smile, "Mr. Desterie, those you just saw are the women in our clan with the finest looks and talents. If you like any of them, you're welcome to take them with you."
Desterie's mouth twitched. This was a far cry from the pure and noble elf clan he'd imagined.
"You're too kind, Clan Leader. I have no interest in taking what belongs to someone else. Please guide them well. They may one day become the backbone of the Moon God Elf Clan." Desterie politely declined.
Luluna smiled. "If they could follow a super expert like you, that would truly make them the backbone of our clan.
"To be honest, our Moon God Elf Clan doesn't rely solely on a few Asuras to maintain its standing in the Life God Realm. Our deep roots and years of careful cultivation are what give us confidence.
"If we could build a good relationship with you, our confidence would be all the stronger."
After chatting for half a day, Desterie was about to take his leave when an unfamiliar divine sense descended. A voice rang out, "Desterie, you've come to the Life God Realm and didn't even think to pay me a visit?"
As the voice fell, a vast amount of Life Sovereign Power gathered, forming two figures.
One had handsome features, a tall, slender build, and a pair of ruby-red eyes.
The other was just as beautiful and very familiar. It was Vivian, the Sovereign of Life.
Luluna was shocked. She hurriedly knelt and called out, "May the Sovereigns be well!"
Desterie merely rose to his feet and smiled. "My lord, I'm just traveling for pleasure with a Divine Clone. I was already near Lake of Life, so I was planning to visit you soon."
Luluna, however, was so startled that she hurriedly reminded him, "Mr. Desterie, these two are Sovereigns! You should—"
Before she could finish, she saw the handsome Sovereign raise a hand to signal her to be quiet. She immediately fell silent. Then she heard the Sovereign address Desterie with considerable respect. "Dracula greets you, my lord. It seems my emissary has been treating you well?"
Luluna froze. The Sovereign she served had called Desterie "my lord"? Then Desterie was...!
A sudden feeling of frustration welled up inside her. Why hadn't any of the elf maidens she'd just shown him been able to catch Desterie's eye?
Desterie naturally had no idea what Luluna was thinking. He smiled and said, "I've heard that among the Life Sovereigns, Sovereign Dracula stands second only to Lady Vivian. Now that I've met you, I can see the rumors were true. Your looks and strength are both admirable."
Dracula, the progenitor of the blood race. Though this "race" had a vast population, it lacked any real cohesion.
Dracula gestured for Luluna to leave. Only after she had gone did he say, "To receive such praise from you makes this trip worthwhile. Since ancient times, no one but the High Sovereigns has been able to rank among the Overlords. Yet you became a Sovereign only recently, and you're already able to rival the various Overlords as an Intermediate Sovereign. That is what's truly admirable."
Desterie smiled modestly. "If you put it that way, isn't it even more impressive that the Four Divine Beasts rank among the Overlords despite being Lower Sovereigns?"
To his surprise, the handsome Sovereign immediately let out a scornful laugh. "Those idiots who fused into one. I have no desire to provoke them, but I'm not afraid of them either."
It seemed the Four Divine Beasts and Dracula had their share of grievances.
Desterie wasn't planning to continue that topic, so he turned to Vivian and asked, "My lord, did you seek me out because you have something for me to do?"
Before you continue