After running into Infillia in the Life God Realm, Desterie had also learned a little about the Sovereigns' whereabouts across the various Divine Planes. Put simply, they were suffering a severe talent drain. The Fire Divine Plane was among the worst, with only three Sovereigns in residence, including its own Law Sovereign. The Earth Divine Plane was a little better off: its Law Sovereign, Arturo, and four other Sovereigns—Proda, Atra, and Anfis among them—were all there.
Sovereign Komodo had fallen countless years ago, and Hullei had obtained his Sovereign Spark. Hullei considered himself the foremost Law Sovereign, so he certainly wasn't going to stay in the Earth Divine Plane and take orders from Arturo. Sovereign Manlu was wholly devoted to Orloff, with his heart set on the Heavenly Realm. As for Black Tortoise Sovereign Bowen, he and his three brothers were of one mind, and their combined innate divine ability was so powerful they feared nothing.
In Wanlin Prefecture on Leiming Continent stood a city called Liujin City, where Desterie and Dalayer had first met.
At that moment, Desterie and Dalayer were standing at the counter in the God Hunter Secret Vault in Liujin City, casually browsing the mission board for assignments.
The God Hunter Secret Vault was to the Earth Divine Plane what Fiend Castle was to Hell.
"Heh, Dalayer, look. The missions posted by the God Hunter Secret Vault can be taken on regardless of your star rank.
"Searching for the Supreme God Token, the Slaying Order, in the Golden Triangle. Anyone who provides useful information will receive a direct reward of one hundred million Yao Stones. Anyone who can pinpoint the location of one of them will receive ten trillion Yao Stones. And anyone who brings one in will receive ten drops of Sovereign's Might. Tsk, tsk. Arturo's certainly put in the effort to get a token. Hmm... Though he probably isn't looking for one for himself. He might want to offer it to Vivian, or someone else." Desterie shook his head with a smile.
"And that's not all, Desterie. Look, it even says outright that these are Supreme God Tokens, and describes their size and appearance." Dalayer glanced at him. "Haven't you thought of looking for one yourself?"
Desterie smiled. "Everyone knows about them, so Arturo has no reason to keep quiet. That would only make them harder to find. Besides, if he didn't announce it, other Sovereigns would post even more detailed information. There's no need to tie his own hands. As for me, I'll leave it to fate. If I'm lucky, one might come straight to me without my even looking."
Dalayer raised an eyebrow and smiled. "You might fool someone else, but you can't fool me. You'd never be this carefree."
"Lady Dalayer, I think this mission would suit you quite well. What do you think?" The man behind them had seen how long Desterie and Dalayer were taking to choose an assignment. He stepped closer and made the suggestion in a quiet voice.
Dalayer had been smiling, but at the sound of his voice, her expression quickly hardened. She shot the burly man behind her an annoyed look. "Taylor, I told you that if you bothered me again, I wouldn't go easy on you! This is your final warning. Stay away from us. If you really make me angry, you won't like what happens!"
The burly man repeatedly offered her an ingratiating smile. He glanced indifferently at the one-star God Hunter badges worn by Dalayer and Desterie, then, under Dalayer's hard stare, retreated to a table ten yards away and sat down. His friends immediately began teasing him.
Dalayer turned back and saw Desterie wearing an inscrutable smile. She couldn't help complaining, "Someone's bothering me, and you're still laughing!"
Desterie grinned. "Someone bothering you proves I have good taste. And you rejected him so firmly that the more miserable he is, the happier I am."
Dalayer ignored him and changed the subject. "So, which mission are we taking? Have you decided?"
"Let's take this two-star mission. We'll escort the client from here to Lanyu City in Shenhuang Prefecture on Turo Continent. The star rank and route both suit us. And it looks like we'll have plenty of companions along the way, so it shouldn't be too dull." Desterie smiled.
As a Prefect of the Heavenly Realm, Desterie had never taken the God Hunter examination before, so he had only recently become a one-star God Hunter. Of course, he could have used his Fate Master badge as proof and applied directly for a seven-star God Hunter badge. But as it happened, Dalayer didn't have a God Hunter badge either, so he decided to experience the process and accompany her through the examination. Dalayer had made her name too early; by now, it was long forgotten. Back when she rose to fame, institutions like the God Hunter Secret Vault and Fiend Castle didn't exist, and she had never taken any similar examinations in the Divine Planes or Supreme Planes.
So, as one-star God Hunters, they could only take on missions up to two stars.
Back at their seats, Dalayer asked curiously, "Desterie, why did you take this two-star mission? It's just a simple escort job. Was it because of the destination, or the client?"
Desterie gave Dalayer a playful squeeze and smiled mischievously. "This isn't just a simple escort mission. Didn't you notice when we looked at it? It's a combination of two-, three-, four-, six-, and seven-star missions. They're recruiting one seven-star God Hunter, three six-star hunters, and ten each for the four-, three-, and two-star missions. There's a lot more to it than meets the eye.
"But the reason I chose it is that I just had the Fate Sovereign Clone make a prediction through our soul connection. Heading to Turo Continent might lead us to an opportunity, though he couldn't give me a more precise time or place. This mission is already taking us there, so we can enjoy the journey and see if we happen to run into it."
Dalayer's expression turned wistful. "I was hoping to stay here a while longer. But since your Sovereign clone has given you a revelation, let's follow it."
They communicated anything concerning the Sovereigns through voice transmission.
Desterie smiled. "On the way, I can also look for a few Sovereign Envoys. I have eight slots for Sovereign Envoys, but only Bolin to fill one of them. Leaving the rest empty would be a waste. Still, ordinary Sovereign Envoys don't interest me, and those long-established Paragons wouldn't agree to become my envoys. That leaves only beings with special talents as candidates."
"You're even dreaming of getting a Paragon? Greedy, aren't you?" Dalayer laughed.
Desterie offered no further explanation, only shaking his head with a faint smile.
With his foreknowledge, he could seek out renowned experts from the original story who hadn't yet become Paragons. But after years of asking around, he had found that some were already Paragon High-Gods, like Magnus and Clementine, while others, like Bayer and Dannington, were completely unknown. There was no way to find them.
That was only natural. Even counting those who were only suspected to be Paragons, the twenty or thirty Paragon High-Gods in the original story had taken more than a thousand Epochs to emerge. In reality, it likely took only tens of millions of years for a Paragon to reach that level. The odds of encountering one before they had made a name for themselves across such a long history were minuscule.
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