Testing

Testing

Shortly after Lincoln had left, a projection clone formed from green Divine Life Power appeared before Zijing. It was none other than Life Sovereign Vivian. She walked over to Zijing, took her hand, and sat down beside her with a smile. "Thanks for all your effort."

Zijing smiled as well. She was happy to spend more time with these Sovereigns and build a good relationship with them.

"My lord, I followed your instructions and pointed out the benefits of refining more Sovereign Sparks to him, but he didn't seem interested." Zijing paused, then continued, "Still, I'm a little curious about your intentions. Why did you go out of your way to tell him all that?"

Lincoln had revealed Divine Clones of the Darkness, Light, Water, and Wind Elements. Few people knew he had Divine Clones of the other elements, and Zijing only knew about those four. She also knew that refining three more Sovereign Sparks would cause Lincoln's strength to skyrocket. But even then, he wouldn't stand a chance against the combined pursuit of the four Rule Sovereigns. It simply wasn't worth the risk.

Besides, deliberately drawing his attention to it made her wonder if Vivian had ulterior motives.

Vivian patted Zijing's hand and said gently, "Sorry for bringing up something painful. It's nothing much. I just made a bet with Eldest Sister." She changed the subject. "I hope he really isn't interested."

Vivian had chosen Zijing to sound Lincoln out only after careful consideration. If she chose a Chief God, Vivian wouldn't trust them herself. As for a Law Sovereign, Lincoln would likely have a hard time sitting down with one. Only an Intermediate Sovereign of the Rule Element could speak to Lincoln as an equal. Choosing someone from the Life or Death Elements would have been a little too deliberate, while the two Fate Intermediate Sovereigns were loyal members of the Orf Faction and unsuitable for such a plan. That left only Zijing and Xingyi, and Zijing was closer to Vivian.

After a few more pleasantries, Vivian's projection clone vanished. She took a Plane Teleportation Array back to the Life Divine Realm.

Zijing gazed at the Amethyst Cub in another cave and murmured fondly, "Jingjing... Leisijing."

Back in the Chines Material Plane, Lincoln returned through the Spatial Turbulence. A thought kept circling in his mind. After pondering it for a long time, he sighed. "I'll wait a little longer. Life is endless. I have to wait for the right moment before I can break free and soar."

Fortunately, there was a limit to the number of Master-Servant Contracts one could sign. Deities generally wouldn't sign them casually; otherwise, even after becoming Deities, these Saint-level magical beasts would still be slaves.

"No, it's too dangerous. Neither of us is very strong. If we run into trouble, we won't even be able to protect ourselves..."

"Would you look at that, Lincoln? This is the third island we've seen with such lush vegetation!" Aier said loudly.

"Indeed," Lincoln replied softly, nuzzling the side of Aier's neck.

After a while, a young woman's voice called out, "Look, up ahead—that's Feihong Island!" The others aboard the sea beast had been chatting. Lincoln and Aier opened their eyes and looked ahead together. An island appeared along the horizon. As they drew closer, they could make out its thick greenery.

The Water Divine Plane was an endless ocean with almost no large landmasses. It had only three somewhat larger islands, along with countless smaller ones scattered across the sea. Naturally, Plane Teleportation Arrays could only be found on those three islands. When Deity-level experts wanted to travel between islands, they could either ride Metal Lifeforms or take giant sea beasts known as Sea King Class. Though called sea beasts, they were actually Saint-level magical beasts specially selected for their enormous size, comfortable rides, and great speed. In a Material Plane, these beasts would be overlords in their own right. Here in a Divine Plane, they were little more than livestock used for transportation.

"Let's leave as soon as we've finished what we came to do on Feihong Island. The conflict between the Valeria Clan and the Redding Clan has been getting worse these past few years. We don't want to get caught in the crossfire!" the young woman's companion advised.

A long span of time passed in a flash.

"Honestly, you're impossible." Aier shot Lincoln a look, but didn't resist.

"Weren't you the one who said you wanted a child?" Lincoln stopped and stared fixedly at Aier's belly. "It's been ten thousand years, and there's still no sign of one. If I were any more proper, who knows how many tens of thousands of years it would take?"

If they couldn't become Deities, even eternal life would amount to eternal servitude.

"Aier, let's settle here for a while, then go watch the Prefecture Lord challenge," Lincoln suggested.

Lincoln's expression turned serious. He didn't want to visit the Four Divine Beasts until he was strong enough, but both the means of continuing their bloodline and the Talent Awakening Pool were exclusive to the Four Divine Beasts. After thinking it over, he still advised her, "Let's wait a little longer. Now isn't the time."

Hearing that, Aier's mood sank. Her talent was average, and she had remained a Six-Star Fiend all these years. She hadn't even shown any sign of becoming pregnant, despite wanting a child. Then she suddenly thought of something and brightened. "I think you once told me that the Four Divine Beast Sovereigns are each the only one of their kind in the world, yet their clan has plenty of descendants. Do you think we could ask them how they did it?"

"But I heard the Prefecture Lord challenge in Feihong Prefecture is happening in a month. I want to stay and watch," the girl said, coaxingly.

If he had children, would his grandchildren end up being a whole brood of snakes too? The thought sent a chill through Lincoln.

A Paragon Intermediate Sovereign was only as powerful as an ordinary Sovereign. Even with a Sovereign Artifact Body, which made him a little stronger than an ordinary Sovereign, he still wasn't in a position to negotiate with the Four Divine Beasts as a group.

Come to think of it, Beirut, who had yet to be born, had a sizable family too. Lincoln wondered how he had managed it. Unfortunately, Beirut only acknowledged his three sons, Bebe, and their relatives. He didn't care at all about the Shadow Mice that weren't even Saint-level magical beasts.

Aier held down the hat on her head with one hand and stretched out the other, enjoying the salty sea breeze. The strong wind whipped her sky-blue star-patterned dress. Lincoln gently wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, turned his face toward her, and kissed her.

The islands of the Water Divine Plane were like cities in other Divine Planes, filled with all manner of goods. Protected by the Sovereigns, each island had an Island Lord and an Island Army stationed there year-round, and no one dared cause trouble.

Of course, the waters near these city-islands were dotted with countless small islands and reefs. The "tribes," another specialty of the Divine Planes, gathered there and herded unique magical beasts in the nearby waters. As for the other specialty of the Divine Planes—the "Deity-level bandits"—they mostly hid beneath the waves, waiting for a chance to attack Sea King Class ships.

Above the Island Lords were the Prefecture Lords. Each prefecture had roughly a dozen city-islands and covered a vast area.