Guiding the Situation to Conclude the Battle

Hearing the intentions of Xingyi and Uthred, Hullei narrowed his eyes and chimed in, "An Intermediate Sovereign, masquerading as an Overlord—isn't this treating us like monkeys?"

Augusta also mocked, "Of the only thirteen Overlords in the world, to think one is a fraud."

Another Intermediate Sovereign of Fate, Karin, looked even more displeased, "By that logic, his strength is inferior to mine, yet he maintains such a haughty, aloof posture!"

As the Sovereigns chattered and traded insults, Vivian's expression turned icy, "Are you all saying that I intentionally caused trouble, or that my judgment is poor?"

The Sovereign of Earth, Arturo, quickly offered a conciliatory smile, "My lord, we have no such intention. After all, at the time, none of the Sovereigns thought to scrutinize the matter, which is how Desterie found his opening!"

Arturo's implication was that Vivian had recommended Desterie for the rank of Overlord without careful consideration. Furthermore, it wasn't just Vivian who hadn't scrutinized it; all the Sovereigns had been equally negligent. This explanation gave Vivian plenty of face.

Seeing himself become the target of collective denunciation, Desterie smiled calmly, "It seems everyone feels I am unworthy of my position. Lord Uthred, Xingyi, is my understanding correct?"

Uthred said coldly, "Naturally!" Xingyi immediately voiced his agreement as well.

Uthred continued, "Desterie, even if Vivian proposed you as an Overlord, you should have clarified the situation yourself. Instead, you went with the flow and reaped the benefits. Hand over the Supreme God Token, and we shall consider your deception and mockery forgiven this once."

Desterie laughed aloud, "I didn't kill the Four Divine Beasts simply because I didn't understand the strength and rules of Sovereigns at the time, and I dared not act rashly. Now that you all insist on believing I am masquerading as an Overlord, I couldn't explain myself even with ten mouths. When I entered the Plane Battlefield back then, in that terrifying place where even a Paragon would face danger, I did indeed wear a Material Defense Sovereign Artifact and a Soul Defense Sovereign Artifact for the sake of security, because I wouldn't have felt safe relying solely on my own innate defensive capabilities.

But as you have all seen, after becoming a Sovereign, with the amplification of the Sovereign Spark's will power, my soul defense is completely fearless against the combined attacks of the Four Divine Beasts. What, now because of a single word from Xingyi, you all assume my material defense is weak and insufficient to be ranked as an Overlord?

What is Xingyi, that he is qualified to criticize and look down upon me?

Furthermore, if I were to hand over the Supreme God Token as Lord Uthred suggests, to whom should it go? If it is given to Lord Uthred, will the other Overlords be satisfied? If it is given to Lord Orloff, will Lord Uthred be satisfied?"

Uthred's eyes narrowed, revealing a dangerous glint; he had little patience left for Desterie's incessant chatter.

"Hand over the token, and what happens afterward will be decided by each of us based on our own abilities—it will have nothing to do with you!"

Desterie smiled at these words, took a breath, and continued, "Lord Uthred, this now concerns my reputation; I cannot ignore it. Lord Orloff also agreed just now that I should find a way to clear my name. There is a simple, brutal, and effective method—I wonder if you would be willing to try it? If you agree, I am not opposed to considering handing over the Supreme God Token."

Uthred had intended to interrupt Desterie, but upon hearing the latter part, he reluctantly accepted and asked directly, "Who do you want to fight?"

Desterie smiled calmly. The Sovereigns were not fools; proving one's strength naturally relied on real, hard-fought combat. He cast a sidelong glance at Xingyi, "Him! The Star Sovereign, Xingyi. Xingyi, do you dare to fight? A battle that can decide both victory and life or death—how far we go will depend on our own strength!

If I lose, I will tell you the whereabouts of the Supreme God Token. Of course, it will not be kept in a spatial ring, nor will I use a Sovereign clone to block you from finding it, nor will I use a Sovereign-level magic array to seal it.

Naturally, since I am an 'Overlord' and he is not, to make it fairer, a draw will also count as my loss!

But if Xingyi loses, I would like to ask the Sovereign Zijing to give me something."

Suddenly being named, Zijing was quite surprised and instinctively asked, "What thing?"

The next second, she regretted it; she shouldn't have spoken at all. She hadn't participated in this conflict from the beginning, yet now she was inexplicably expected to pay a wager.

"A Soul Stone!" Desterie said with finality.

The Soul Stone, nurtured by the divine beast Zijing, was one of the top Heaven and Earth Exotic Items in the Panlong world, aside from Sovereign Sparks and Supreme God Artifacts. It not only allowed the gravity space of a god-level expert to soar a hundredfold, enabling cross-level combat, but it could also play a crucial role in the dangerous circumstances of soul mutation.

Amethyst, Soul Golden Beads, and Sovereign Power could all replenish soul energy, but these required active use. When Linley's soul mutated, Resjing had no shortage of Amethyst or Sovereign Power, yet he was helpless. A soul undergoing mutation had no consciousness and could not absorb the energy from Amethyst or Sovereign Power; in such times, only a Soul Stone could be effective.

Zijing showed a trace of hesitation, and Uthred sent a voice transmission, "Zijing, agree to him. If he truly wins your Soul Stone, I will owe you a favor!"

With her superior speaking, and since it wasn't a case of trying to get something for nothing, Zijing pursed her lips and said, "I agree to this condition, though this Soul Stone is only useful to practitioners of the Laws of Earth; I fear it will be of little use to you."

Desterie smiled, "I have my own plans."

Subsequently, Desterie looked at the indecisive Xingyi and laughed, "What, Sovereign Xingyi, didn't you just measure my strength? Now you are afraid? Do you doubt your own senses, or were you simply deceiving all of us Overlords?"

Using his own logic against him, he threw the accusation back, leaving him in a dilemma!

Xingyi had been annoyed by the mockery and humiliation, and upon hearing the challenge, he instinctively wanted to refuse, but he was immediately blocked by Desterie's words—being thought of as deceiving the Overlords was a small matter, but blocking the path for the Overlords to obtain the Supreme God Token was a major one!

Just as Xingyi was about to speak, he heard Uthred's voice transmission, "Xingyi, even if Desterie's soul and material defenses are strong, his attack power in the Plane War is clear to all; it is not outstanding. If you agree to this match, the probability of a draw is high; there will be no danger to your life."

"But, my lord, the fact that Desterie dares to propose such a wagered battle shows he is extremely confident. I..." Xingyi still hesitated.

"Xingyi, as long as you participate in the battle, I will owe you a favor. If you win, I will owe you two. Besides, what you said to me earlier—could it really be as Desterie argued..."

Thus, Xingyi took a deep breath. Instead of answering Uthred via voice transmission, he faced Desterie and replied, "Fine! Remember what you said: a draw counts as me winning!"

Hearing this reply, Desterie smiled with satisfaction, and his projected clone immediately dissipated, leaving only a faint echo, "Xingyi, I will wait for you outside the Mulan Material Plane. Let's be clear beforehand: if any other Overlords get too close during our fight, then all bets are off, and I will retreat directly into the material plane."