Black Sovereign

The Dark Sovereign Clone opened his eyes, his gaze trembling with indescribable delight. He had finally become a Sovereign! At last, he could claim a place for himself in the vast Coiling Dragon World! He no longer needed to fear those lofty Sovereigns! And since he had refined a Mid-level Sovereign Spark, with a body on the level of a Sovereign Artifact, he could protect himself against anyone but a Chief Sovereign; the other Intermediate Sovereigns were all inferior to him.

Lincoln quietly sensed the Willpower flowing through his Sovereign Clone, Divine Clones, and Original Body. "After being transformed by the Sovereign Spark, the Willpower granted to the Sovereign Clone's soul should be equivalent to a Paragon's. The souls of my other Divine Clones and Original Body should have about eighty percent of a Paragon's Willpower. Unfortunately, apart from my Water Divine Clone, my other Divine Clones are still in other planes searching for Overgod Tokens and haven't had time to return..."

Suddenly, a mighty golden flood poured into Lincoln's Soul Ocean and was completely absorbed by his soul. He felt his ability to make deductions increase by dozens, even hundreds of times. "Faith Power! With an amplification this absurd, no wonder anyone who refines a Sovereign Spark can fuse the Mysteries of a system. What a shame it still hasn't helped me break through the final barrier to fusing the Mysteries. Still, with my cheat-like method of cultivation, it's only natural that I didn't have a sudden flash of inspiration this time."

Now that he had become a Sovereign, Lincoln felt completely at ease. It was time to pick up a few things he had set aside over the past several thousand years. With a thought, his Divine Sense spread across the entire Chainis Plane. In a vast palace in the royal compound of the Alpas Empire, several nobles were enjoying an opera when countless tendrils of black Sovereign's Might appeared from nowhere and formed a giant face in the air. Its overwhelming pressure froze everyone in place. Those below Saint-level collapsed to the floor, nearly fainting. A few Deities looked fearfully toward the gentle, mild-mannered woman seated at the center of the audience, only to see that she, too, looked extremely tense and hurried to her feet to kneel. They were astonished. What could make even a Highgod kneel? Having never left the Material Plane, they had no idea.

"Aier greets the Sovereign. May I ask what you require?" the gentle woman asked, lowering her head.

"Hahaha, Aier, you don't even recognize me anymore?" the giant face laughed, teasing her. "It's only been a few thousand years, and you've already forgotten my aura. That deserves punishment—yes, punishment!"

Aier looked up and studied the face carefully. "Lin...coln? You became a Sovereign?!"

Lincoln laughed again. "That's right. Starting today, the Azure Sea's forbidden zone can be abolished. The Chainis Plane will be entirely under my rule. Wait for me; I'll be there in a moment." With that, the giant face vanished, leaving Aier murmuring to herself, "He really became a Sovereign..."

The Sovereign's pressure vanished, and everyone finally caught their breath. The Deities gathered around her. A female Low-God asked cautiously, "Lady Aier, was that the ruler of the plane, Lord Lincoln? What does it mean to become a Sovereign?"

Aier came back to herself. "Yes, that was Lincoln. A Sovereign is a rank above the gods. Regina, you all know that after becoming Saint-level, if you fully comprehend one Mystery, you can become a Low-God. Comprehend all the Mysteries of one system, and you become a Highgod. But if you fuse all the Mysteries of a system, you become a Paragon High-God, invincible among the gods."

Another male deity asked, "Then what is a Sovereign?"

Aier let out a long breath. "A Paragon High-God is invincible among the gods, but only at the level of gods. The ones who truly rule the world are the Sovereigns. Even a Paragon High-God has no power to resist a Sovereign."

The Deities drew deep breaths. Aier was already incomparably powerful in their eyes, yet she said that to a Paragon, she was no different from a mortal—and there was still such a vast gap between a Paragon and a Sovereign. The male deity continued, "Lady Aier, then how can someone become a Sovereign?"

Aier was about to answer when a deep voice rang out. "You've only comprehended one Mystery and are still a long way from becoming a Mid-God. Isn't it a little premature to worry about all this?" A streak of black light shot over from the distance, and as the voice faded, Lincoln appeared beside Aier.

Aier paused, thought it over, then lowered her head with a bitten lip. "I greet the Sovereign."

The male deity immediately prostrated himself. "Barton spoke out of turn. Please punish me, Lord Lincoln."

Lincoln glanced at Barton. "A newly emerged Deity, I see. Cultivating in a Material Plane will only take you so far. Young man, you should go out and get some experience." As he spoke, he spread his Divine Sense across the entire plane once more, locating every Deity. He sent his message without Willpower: "If any Deities are still lingering in this plane a year from now, they can go spend their time in the Plane Prison or the Spatial Turbulence!"

At that, Barton broke into a cold sweat. He wasn't afraid that Lincoln would hold a grudge. They all knew that going to a Supreme Plane or Divine Plane meant certain death for Saint-levels, and even those who had become gods would struggle to stay alive. Mid-Gods were only barely able to protect themselves. Now, because of him, everyone would have to give up their safe, exalted lives, and they would surely resent him. He had to be the first to leave the Chainis Plane, setting an example for the others and showing his respect for Lord Lincoln's words!

"If there's nothing else, you may all leave. Aier and I have things to discuss," Lincoln said.

The palace was now empty. Lincoln and Aier strolled through it together. "Over these past few thousand years, I learned of a Sovereign Spark and devoted myself completely to finding it." After considering it carefully, Lincoln chose not to mention the Overgod Mission. Looking back, it still seemed strange. Judging by the original story, quite a few Deities should have been capable of playing a part in an Overgod Mission, but the only one who completed one without being a Sovereign was Linley—and at the time, he was already destined to become a dual-system Sovereign of Earth and Water. Besides, the Fate Overgod's explanation just now had seemed off, too. Usually, she should have waited to be asked before answering...

As he thought about it, if the Overgod had refused to grant him a Sovereign Spark, or if there hadn't been a suitable one, he had been prepared to make a wish for Soul Mutation and Paragon status. Soul Mutation was certainly precious, especially Earth-Water-Fire-Wind Quad-element Mutation, the one sure path to transcendence. He had considered it when he first crossed over, but once he learned that he was born as a Seven-Law Divine Beast, he had given up on the idea entirely. Successfully mutating was even harder than transcending directly, and ordinary Soul Mutation was still nothing compared to becoming a Sovereign. If a wish for Soul Mutation failed, he would have asked to become a Paragon instead.

"So after searching for eight thousand years, you finally found a Sovereign Spark?" Aier asked. After spending some time together and regaining their old familiarity, she had become less reserved. But her eyes made it clear she didn't believe him. Who would spread word after obtaining a Sovereign Spark, then leave it unused for eight thousand years?